First and foremost, I've been in training. Eight to ten hours a day, working over the weekend as well as on Monday and Tuesday, which made this week extra-extra long. I can't really talk about the training itself because of contractual agreements, but it was fun and difficult. Learned a lot about teaching kids and about the Japanese school system. Interesting stuff. Here are some pictures of Iidabashi, where I've been training:
I got moved to a new place. It's a cozy little apartment. Has character.
Went and got a health check. This involved walking between a set of numbered rooms, where I did a urine sample, chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, blood sample, weight and height check, and blood pressure. I learned how to say, "Take off your shirt," in Japanese. :)
I started teaching on Wednesday. My first school was a junior high, where I taught 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students. The kids there spoke a decent amount of English, so they were easy to communicate with. I had a little trouble connecting with them (they had that "I'm tired and don't won't to be at school today" kind of air about them), but the day got better as things progressed. Thursday and Friday I was at two elementary schools with 3rd, 5th, and 6th graders, and I had a lot of fun with the kids there. They got a kick out of my reenactments of various sporting activities. Also played dodgeball with them, in my nice suit.
Been riding a lot of trains, which have caused me some degree of distress. I've fallen into every beginner pitfall, including boarding the wrong train, getting on a train going in the wrong direction, paying too little or too much for a train ticket, buying the wrong ticket altogether, boarding a "local" train instead of the faster "express" train, and, of course, getting off at the wrong stop. The trains really are one giant maze. I'm glad I got offtrack, though, because it's allowed me to explore the stations and the area around the stations.
Speaking of exploring, I found a small shrine the other day. I'm not sure if the shrine is devoted to anything, and I didn't catch the name, but here's a look:
It's finally the weekend. Finally getting some rest. I'm going to take a stroll around my new hometown today, which is called Musashi-Yamato, and will post some pictures of that as I get them. See you then.
Nice little apartment. Not sure about that raised bed myself - that's a new one. You'll get used to the futon. If it really is too hard, you might be able to borrow another one from an acquaintance at some point, and double them up. The snowflake is for defrost. Good luck with the washing machine :-) Your "shrine" is really a temple in the Nichiren sect of Buddhism, although the tiny one with the red flags and fox statues is a Shinto shrine to the god (kami) "Inari". Inari-zushi is rice wrapped in a pocket of fried tofu, which is called "kitsune" when put in noodle soup, because supposedly foxes like thin sheets of fried tofu. "Kitsune" means fox, and foxes guard the Inari shrine. See? It all comes back around to make sense :-) Glad to hear you're enjoying work... I can't believe they've thrown you into the cauldron so quickly! -Dave I.
ReplyDeleteAh! Defrost. Makes sense. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a K-Mart near me that I'm going to make a trip to in a little. Hopefully I can find a good pillow and another futon while I'm there. I also need to find soap.
Thanks for the temple translations. I took a picture of that display case hoping someone could figure it out. :)
"...but I get by"
ReplyDeleteHaha, lovely tour. It's a good thing I didn't suggest putting milk in the microwave and using the snowflake setting to make ice cream...I doubt that would result in anything good.
By the way, I want that toilet SOOOOO bad! Having a built in bidet AND a sink above it? Brilliant! Not to mention the heated seats. I hate the butt shock when you sit on a cold seat in the morning. Our toilets have no character at all. Pssh.
I'm very impressed with the space optimization in that apartment. So this is your place now, then. Awesome.
And, like you said, making every mistake with the trains is the best way to learn and to explore!
I agree that toilet is awesome! All these videos are making me want to come and visit you in Japan! Good luck to you, keep writing.
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