Sports Day at USTS and Exam Week

Well, this week is exam week at 2 of my schools. That means that I only have 1 class to teach at the all boy’s school on Thursday and the rest of the week I sit at my desk and do pretty much nothing. Oh! Sidenote: I was handed my re-contracting papers today. Wow, that’s pretty early. For now, I will set them aside until the February Deadline. Anyway, I was off Monday because it was one of two scheduled “no working” days that I get in October. If there are more than 20 working days in a month, then I get them off… why?... because it says so in my contract. It doesn’t occur all that often though. There are 2 this month and then I think there’s one in April and two next June. Some people get to choose when theirs are, but mine have been scheduled in. I took the day to get some important things done though. Let’s see… I went to some city hall type of building to FINALLY pick up my foreigner card. I registered for it THE DAY I arrived in Ube – before I even got to my apartment. I was supposed to pick it up at the beginning of September, but I haven’t had time to… because when the building is open, I’m at work. I thought maybe they’d say something like “why didn’t you get this a month ago when you were supposed to”… but they didn’t. The woman just handed it to me and smiled.

After that I was on my way to Shimonoseki – the largest city in Yamaguchi (about 45 minutes away by train). I went there because I needed to get a re-entry permit in my passport and my options were either Shimonoseki or Tokuyama. Shimonoseki was closer, so I went there. Ube has a place where I can get this re-entry permit, but they're only open 2 days out of the month – both of which were days I have to work. Basically, a re-entry permit is needed if I plan on leaving the country and then returning. If I didn’t have it and then left the country then my visa would become void and everything would be a mess. So I purchased the MULTIPLE re-entry permit for 6,000 yen instead of the 3,000 yen single entry permit. Which means I am now even more determined to leave the country and return more than once… gotta get my money’s worth! Right?! When I got to Shimonoseki I hopped in a cab (after a stop in KFC of course) and just handed the driver the address. I wasn’t about to find this place on my own – especially with no map. It was actually pretty far away… but the cab driver talked to me the ENTIRE way and was a rather friendly man. I had an entire conversation with him in Japanese… I impressed myself.

After the 10 minutes it took to actually fill out the form and have a woman put a sticker in my passport I decided to walk around. I made my way over to the famous bridge that connects Honshu (Japan’s main island) to Kyushu. (Shimonoseki is on the southernmost tip of Honshu). I’m always surprised how short the bridge is and how close the two islands are to one another. I took these picture standing on Honshu – no zoom. They’re really that close together. Crazy! Shimonoseki is a very important city in terms of trade. It’s got a HUGE port. It’s really pretty down there too. There was actually a naval battle there back in 1863 involving the US Navy. If you’re interested you can read more about it here.

Anyway, before my little excursion to Shimonoseki on Monday: I had a pretty good weekend in Ube – consisting of karaoke, beer, and restaurants. I also went shopping at this place called Uniqlo for warmer winter work clothes… and also bought a new bag : ) Check out this car I saw in a parking lot... only in Japan...

Saturday morning I went over to Ube Technical High School (the all boys school I go to every Thursday) to watch their sports day. It was a lot of fun and I was seriously given the best spectator seat. There was an area set up front and center for important people to sit in the shade and watch and drink tea – this is where they put me. I sat next to the principle the entire time. I didn’t realize at first that he was the principle… but around noon I realized that’s who it was. He’s really friendly and talked to me all day. Here are some pictures from the day:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

And now, to end this incredibly long post, I have a story about what it’s like whenever I leave my apartment:

I live near 3 very large grocery stores. The closest one to me is this one called Maruki. While it's close, I ALWAYS feel so uncomfortable in there. Maybe it's just the people who go there? I don't know. In my quest to stock up on Peach Fanta, I got stared down by a little girl there yesterday. At first it was cute, but then it was just kinda creepy. Once, this old woman walked up to me, looked at me, and got all startled and screamed. I'm serious. I thought she was going to have a heart-attack. It was awkward. Whenever I walk into Maruki, there are at least 5 people who make that stupid noise Japanese people make when they're surprised. As soon as I leave my apartment, somebody is looking at me. If I pick a wedgy, somebody will see it. If I trip over nothing (which I often do), somebody will see it. I've begun to get used to this... but it's still kinda weird.

On a somewhat relevant note: everytime I leave my apartment, I run into students. Seriously. Teaching at 3 schools means I have A LOT of students and they are always out and about. I hear my name from every direction. They get really excited when they see me outside of school... ok, well actually, they get really excited when they see me AT school. It's kinda nice.

Ube happenings and Hiroshima Baseball

I think it’s time for an update!

To begin.  Here is a random picture I took from my apartment the other day.  You can see a Japanese house to the right, the supermarket called "Maruki" in the back, with the mountains in the background.  Yep, this is where I live.

Things in Ube have been pretty good.  Last weekend was the first full weekend I’ve had in Ube for a long time.  It consisted of karaoke with friends and lots of eating out… because that’s all there is to do here!  But it was really fun!  Since I last updated, I’ve met another ALT in Ube – Saranne from Australia.  She’s not a JET though.  She works for some other company at a private high school.  She’s been here for 3 years.   I’ve also been hanging out with this girl named Mayuko who Meng and I met from going to this Indian restaurant all the time because she’s a waitress there for her part time job.  We were actually going to head to Fukuoka that Saturday night for a fun night out, but the bus never came because it got into an accident or something.  But anyway.  I’ve also met another girl in Ube.  Her name is Mitsue and she’s really cool.  My friend Eric, who lives in Yamaguchi City, met her when he studied abroad here in college and introduced her to me because she lives in Ube.  We went to the Shimonoseki Aquarium one day – it was cool!  The dolphin show was awesome!

This past weekend I went to Hiroshima to watch a baseball game – The Hiroshima Carps.  It was an AJET event.  It was fun.  Saranne drove us from Ube so we didn’t have to take the train and it was way cheaper that way too!  We got there Saturday and had some awesome okonomiyaki for lunch.  Hiroshima is famous for okonomiyaki and it was really good!  Then we walked around the Peace Park for a little bit before the game.  I didn’t have any desire to check out the museum this weekend because I already did when I was there 5 years ago… and it is so depressing.  Really good though and I highly recommend it.  I just assume I’ll be back with my family when they come to visit next year – so I’ll wait until then to see it again.  Here are some pictures from the Peace Park and then some random shots of around Hiroshima City:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The game was a lot of fun!  I really like going to baseball games – and Japanese baseball games are especially fun.  The crowd has all these chants and songs and noise makers and it’s like that the entire game.  The food is so weird though!  It’s not hamburgers, pop corn, and hot dogs.  No – it’s all Japanese… it’s weird!  Here are some pictures from the game:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

On our way back home on Sunday, we stopped in Iwakuni which is in Yamaguchi.  There’s actually a military base there as well… but you have to know somebody in order to get on it… I really want to meet a marine so I can check it out… and I hear there’s a TACO BELL on the base as well.  I really want to go just for the taco bell.  But anyway.  We stopped to check out this really old, famous bridge.  It was cool.

So yeah.  Things are pretty good.  Last Tuesday was a national holiday for Autumnal Equinox Day – which means it was the first day of Autumn.  It’s really weird because ever since, the weather has been pretty nice.  The humidity is GONE.  Weird.  I’ve never experienced Japan without humidity.  I was actually cold today.  Apartments don’t have heaters here.  I have some sort of kerosene heater… I guess.  It’s under a sheet in the corner of my kitchen.  I’m not looking forward to figuring out how to use it.

Oh!  On Friday I had to go to Mine City to judge a middle school speech competition.  It was SO BORING – but the middle schoolers were so cute!  I hope I never have to judge one again though.  Sitting through 50 speeches, judging, is boring.  Not to mention, they all memorize the SAME speech.  Ok, well there were 3 different ones, basically.  So I sat through 50 speeches of the same thing being repeated over and over again.  Yeah.  Oh, and we have to give them comments and I totally wrote the word “enthusiasm” wrong on about half the papers.  I kept spelling it “enthusiasUM”… whoops.  I thought it looked funny…

So yeah.  I started Japanese class - FINALLY.  Last Wednesday was the first class.  It's held at Yamaguchi University (the Ube campus) in the engineering building.  There are 5 levels and I tested into level 4.  I was kinda surprised... considering I haven't studied Japanese for a good 2 years.  So yay!  I'll go to that from 6:30pm - 8:30pm every Wednesday up through December.  Wednesdays are a busy day because I don't leave work until after 5pm thanks to English club.  

Friday I’ve got to go to Yamaguchi Orientation for our JET program fall orientation or something.  Then I’ve got to rush back to Ube for my enkai… or welcome party!  My base school is having a welcome party for me.  I hear all the teachers usually get hammered at these things… Should be interesting!

yay!

After work today I was feeling really tired, I had a headache, and I had to pee.

When I got to my apartment I found a package in my mailbox.

It was season 3 of The Office from my mom : )

Thank you very much!

It made me happy... and a little homesick.

... ok, not gonna lie, I cried.  I was happy and homesick all at the same time... and for some reason, it made me cry.  

Tonight I will watch the first episode.

On a different note - there's a typhoon coming tonight.  Supposed to hit in the middle of the night.  Hope it cancels school tomorrow : ) ... Then I'd stay home and watch The Office allll day.  It might completely miss Yamaguchi though... we shall wait and see.

Weekend Trip to Osaka via 12-hour Overnight Ferry

Yep, I went to Osaka this past weekend… and it was really fun!  Monday was a national holiday – Respect for the Aged Day – so it was a 3 day weekend.  Osaka is where I stayed in summer 2003.  It’s one of the largest cities in Japan and is one of the most expensive places to live in the world.  I took the overnight ferry from Moji (which is in Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu) with Meng, Cheryl, Nia, and Ian.  We all live in Yamaguchi Prefecture except for Ian – who is an ALT in Saga… which is where I did my homestay in 2002. 

Friday after work I hurried home, changed my clothes, and headed over to Ube Shinkawa Station to meet up with Meng.  One of my Japanese Teacher’s of English who I teach with on Thursdays at Ube Kogyo (the technical school) offered to give us a ride to Moji because that’s where she lives.  It’s pretty far away too, so that was really nice.  Here's a map of the route that the ferry took:

Once we got to Moji we hit up the KFC for dinner and bought some snacks for the ferry at the convenience store.  We were dropped off at Moji Station where the free shuttle to the port leaves from.  Nia and Cheryl met us there because they were coming from Shimonoseki city which is only about a 10 minute train ride to Moji.  We caught the free shuttle to the port, but Ian missed it, so he had to pay for a taxi.     

The ferry was pretty big.  On the way there we were in a Japanese style economy room… which meant that we were in a room with a bunch of strangers and given a mat and a really hard rectangle pillow to sleep with.  But it was the cheapest option, so that’s what we did.  It left at 7:50pm Friday and arrived at 8:20am Saturday (about 12 hours).  It wasn’t so bad.  There were a lot of motorcycle guys on board who entertained us.  They were nice… I really think they have some affiliation with the Japanese mafia because they had so many tattoos… and that’s an indicator of the mafia.  Haha, but that’s definitely stereotyping.  On our return trip we were in the "western style" economy room which meant we got to sleep on a bed with a pillow that wasn't a brick rectangle.  Here are some pictures from the ferry:  

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

When we arrived at the port in Osaka it was rainy and crappy, but by the time we got to the center of the city it was fine and sunny the rest of the weekend.  We found our hostel and then got food.  We found a Subway and I ate an entire foot long.  I miss turkey… I miss American food.  Osaka is known for really great food.  I had a lot of good food while I was there over the weekend.  It was also pretty neat to see how the city has changed in the 5 years since I was last there.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

We eventually made our way over to Kishiwada.  The main reason I wanted to go to Osaka this particular weekend was because of the Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri – which is a famous festival in Osaka.  It was really cool!  All weekend long people run around the city pulling these huge floats (danjiri) that weigh tons and tons.  It’s really cool to see.  Check out my pictures!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Saturday night I met up with Mina who is my friend from when I was there back in 2003.  We met at Matsubara High School 5 years ago and had kept in touch.  She still lives with her parents in Osaka City and goes to law school.  Some of her friends came to dinner with us too.  It was nice.  Then we went to Starbucks for some coffee.  

After dinner with Mina she went home and the people who I came to Osaka with headed out.  We all went out and enjoyed Osaka night life.   I had an interesting start to the nightlife though.  See, my friend Nathan, who I met at Chicago orientation and who is from Indianapolis met up with us in Osaka.  He’s an ALT in Shiga which isn’t TOO far from Osaka.  He never booked himself a hotel or hostel because he thought it wouldn’t be a problem finding one once he was there.  But no, he couldn’t find one because they were all booked due to the 3 day weekend and the Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri.  I walked around with him forever trying to find a place before he decided to just rent a room in a love hotel just to take a shower and get ready.  Love hotels are hotels that people go to… to hook up.  There isn’t any VISIBLE staff because they don’t want people to be embarrassed or ashamed.  So you use a machine to check in.  Once you’re in, you’re in for the night because you don’t get a key.  So you can’t leave and come back.  So he drops about $100 for this room to take a shower.  I have to go with him because you have to have 2 people in order to get a room – and they know because they monitor who comes and goes on cameras.  So we get in, he showers, and then it’s time to go.  You have to check out using this computer screen in the room.  Well, I just hit the red button not knowing what it did and we get LOCKED IN.  Oh my gosh.  I was pissed.  Our door locked and we couldn’t get out for a good 10 minutes.  I was so pissed.  I thought we were going to be stuck in there ALL night and I just wanted to go out and have fun.  Eventually I kept hitting buttons and it let us out.  It was very traumatic.  But anyway, after that experience, it turned out to be a really fun night.

Sunday we checked out of our hostel, went to lunch and then me, Cheryl, and Nia went over to Osaka Castle to check it out.  It's in a nice park and that day there were some bands performing.  It was a nice afternoon.  Here are some pictures:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

We all met back up Sunday evening and then headed back to Osaka port to catch the ferry back to Moji.  Again, it left at 7:50pm Sunday and arrived at 8:20am Monday morning.  It was a wonderful weekend and I hope to make it back to Osaka sometime in November  : )

As for work, teaching is going a lot better!

Got it.

The cockroach dared to show his face yet again.  I was prepared.  Although, I think I ingested more cockroach poison spray than he did...

Whatever.  There is now a dead cockroach behind my tv stand.