First two weeks
On my first day in Hyogo I was met by my new supervisor at the teacher training facility in Yashiro. Her name is Itoi Sensei. I don't yet have a picture of her to post on this blog. She drove me and the other two guys working near Tatsuno to the Board of Education in Tatsuno City. There we met the Superintendent, Kario Sensei, and some of the staff dazzled me with their impressive knowledge of my country (eg. the Beatles, David Beckham and Big Ben). After applying for my foreign identity card and opening a bank account I was driven to my new apartment. It's on the second (and top) floor. I've been very lucky since everything is new and working, and although it's a bit on the small side I don't have to pay any rent. That night Oeda Sensei (one of the officials from the BOE) invited me to his house for dinner and to meet his family. I told his wife the food was oishii (delicious). When I got back to my apartment I got a phone call from Mike Shu, the second year JET who lives in an apartment opposite mine and works at the other Junior High in Town. He told me he was hanging out with some people at a restaurant in Tatsuno and that I should go down to meet them. One of the guys there was Markane, my predecessor. I had a lot of email contact with him before I arrived in Japan and he helped me no end with my preparations so it was great to meet him. I also met some cool Japanese people at the restaurant but chose not to join them for karaoke on that occasion.
The following day I cycled to the BOE and was met there by a teacher from my school, Ishihara Sensei. He took me to the school where I met the Kocho Sensei (Principle), Kyoto Sensei (Vice Principle) and some other staff. I gave a brief speech in Japanese and they all clapped. I was then driven around town and shown where I can buy all the essentials... food, alcohol, etc. I was told to start work the following day at 9.30. I did just that, and was then given a tour of the school and introduced to many a giggling girl and sniggering boy. In Japan kids come into school during the holidays. They will come in 4 or 5 days a week and practice their activity be it sport or music. Furthermore the sport teams will train for several hours everyday, and in the blazing heat. At lunch time I was told I could go home because there was nothing for me to do.
My first weekend in Tatsuno was a little bit weird. I didn't know anyone and didn't know where anything was. So I just cycled around and explored during the day and sat in and ate noodles at night. On Sunday I vertured in to Himeji to see the famous castle and Japanese style kokoen gardens. Then that evening there was a fireworks show down by Ibo river in Tatsuno so I walked down for a gander. As a westerner in Japan you have to accept that you're going to stared at a lot. Normally I don't mind people checking me out, but it's when you're already having a bad day that it tends to compound your misery.
It was nice to get back to school the following Monday if only to speak English to someone! Kubo Sensei and Ogawa Sensei (two of the English teachers) both speak very good English. That week they helped me with various things including applying for an internet connection in the apartment. I had very little to do at school so I decided to start studying the Kana (the collective name for the two Japanese Syllabaries, Hiragana and Katakana).
That week I also went for a beer at the only bar in Tatsuno (a town of 80,000 people!) with Kim, the JET working at Tatsuno Senior High School.
I then marked the end of my first two weeks in Japan in style with my debut at karaoke. And I really came into my own when blasting out Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas'. I caught the train to Himeji and met up with Liz and Julie (JETs I met in Tokyo who live in Aioi - the next town along from me) and their neighbour Jeff and together we sang our hearts out.
The following night I went one better and met up with Ryan (my American friend living in Mitsu, just south of Tatsuno) in Himeji and from there we got the train to Kobe. After scoping out some some of the cool little side streets and then the harbour we met up with a large group of JETs. The thirteen of us went to a bar, where, at certain times throughout the night, the lights go out and men dressed up as ghouls run around and try to abduct you! This all ends when the waitresses (who at this point are wearing police uniforms) shoot the ghastly ghouls with cap guns until they die, retreat or both. After hitting another bar Ryan and I teamed up with a girl called Amanda and rocked the karaoke for the second night in a row. We hit the sack at 4 in the morning and spent the following day dragging our bodies around Kobe until we simply couldn't deal with the heat any longer.
The following day I cycled to the BOE and was met there by a teacher from my school, Ishihara Sensei. He took me to the school where I met the Kocho Sensei (Principle), Kyoto Sensei (Vice Principle) and some other staff. I gave a brief speech in Japanese and they all clapped. I was then driven around town and shown where I can buy all the essentials... food, alcohol, etc. I was told to start work the following day at 9.30. I did just that, and was then given a tour of the school and introduced to many a giggling girl and sniggering boy. In Japan kids come into school during the holidays. They will come in 4 or 5 days a week and practice their activity be it sport or music. Furthermore the sport teams will train for several hours everyday, and in the blazing heat. At lunch time I was told I could go home because there was nothing for me to do.
My first weekend in Tatsuno was a little bit weird. I didn't know anyone and didn't know where anything was. So I just cycled around and explored during the day and sat in and ate noodles at night. On Sunday I vertured in to Himeji to see the famous castle and Japanese style kokoen gardens. Then that evening there was a fireworks show down by Ibo river in Tatsuno so I walked down for a gander. As a westerner in Japan you have to accept that you're going to stared at a lot. Normally I don't mind people checking me out, but it's when you're already having a bad day that it tends to compound your misery.
It was nice to get back to school the following Monday if only to speak English to someone! Kubo Sensei and Ogawa Sensei (two of the English teachers) both speak very good English. That week they helped me with various things including applying for an internet connection in the apartment. I had very little to do at school so I decided to start studying the Kana (the collective name for the two Japanese Syllabaries, Hiragana and Katakana).
That week I also went for a beer at the only bar in Tatsuno (a town of 80,000 people!) with Kim, the JET working at Tatsuno Senior High School.
I then marked the end of my first two weeks in Japan in style with my debut at karaoke. And I really came into my own when blasting out Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas'. I caught the train to Himeji and met up with Liz and Julie (JETs I met in Tokyo who live in Aioi - the next town along from me) and their neighbour Jeff and together we sang our hearts out.
The following night I went one better and met up with Ryan (my American friend living in Mitsu, just south of Tatsuno) in Himeji and from there we got the train to Kobe. After scoping out some some of the cool little side streets and then the harbour we met up with a large group of JETs. The thirteen of us went to a bar, where, at certain times throughout the night, the lights go out and men dressed up as ghouls run around and try to abduct you! This all ends when the waitresses (who at this point are wearing police uniforms) shoot the ghastly ghouls with cap guns until they die, retreat or both. After hitting another bar Ryan and I teamed up with a girl called Amanda and rocked the karaoke for the second night in a row. We hit the sack at 4 in the morning and spent the following day dragging our bodies around Kobe until we simply couldn't deal with the heat any longer.
This picture tells the story of my first week and a half in Tatsuno (for those of you who skipped the journal entry for the pictures!). Wrapping gifts, writing down things to do and eating pot noodles!
My neighbour and fellow JET Mike Shu has gone away for a month and left me this mellon as a going away gift. Do I eat it, or do I just pose for photos with it?!
I especially like this photo I took at the Tatsuno fireworks show.
I stumbled across this shrine on a bike ride (as one does).
posted by Laurence at 2:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home