Shea's Life & Experiences in Japan

Update! 6 month mark!

2009-03-09T19:25:00.004+09:00

Hello folks! Yes I know it's been many months (OK, just 2) since I updated last, so save that. The fact is I'm updating, so enjoy that.

Lots of stuff happening, and also...not a lot at the same time. Things in the good ol' Land of the Rising Sun are going OK. Since I last updated, I've been many places. New Year's in Tokyo, Yokohama, Snowboarding, etc. For those of you who follow this blog I'm sure you've all seen the pictures. So you mainly know from those how things are going in that arena.

On the actual LIVING in Japan side...things are still pretty much the same. However, I just got a brand new bed yesterday and boy, after sleeping on a futon on the floor for 6 months, it sure felt good to sleep in a bed. Once I actually get some sheets to put on it and such, pictures of my newly remodeled apartment will be up so don't worry.

Luckily it's starting to warm up and Spring is upon us here. Early next month the cherry blossoms come in and I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures of that. I'm excited :)

Lots of allergies and hay fever around, luckily I don't succumb to that! So it's all good :)

My Japanese study is coming along VERY nice as well. I try and study a bit every day and I can honestly say I've learned more Japanese in the last 6 months than I did Spanish when I studied it over a course of 11 years. But I actually like and want to learn Japanese, maybe that's why. Regardless, I hope to be able to speak/understand/be fully literate/etc. before I come home...it is doable I know and all it takes for me is willpower. I can already follow some news/TV shows and read a lot but really just getting the minor gist of it...still progress is progress.

Speaking of 6 months, yes it's already been 6 FRIGGIN' MONTHS since I came to Japan. That in itself is crazy. Time has honestly flown by very quickly, but I'm enjoying every minute of it, especially since things seem so grim in the US right now (to be honest though, Japan has felt the economic pinch as well as the rest of the world). But I hope to keep on keepin' on over here until I know my time is up, it's far from up as I'm concerned right now...I'm just NOW getting used to it! HA!

Anyway, so here was an update for all who were wondering. I'm not gonna promise anything, but I'll at least try to stay regular (on updates that is!)

Kumiko's farewell & return to Shinjuku

2008-12-23T23:21:00.017+09:00

Saturday night we had a end of the year potluck and farewell party for our departing Asst. Manager Kumiko. She's probably the biggest help I've had at AEON, plus she has such a good spirit and personality that she was probably the funnest person to work with. The party consisted of the usual. Tons of people in the cramped school lobby and tons of food and drink to go with them. Right before the party, Josh and I, along with Yoko (the new Asst. Manager) were tasked with buying all the drinks for the evening, on only a 10,000 yen budget (about $100). So we get all the tea and sodas out of the way first, then it was on to buying the ビール　("biiru" or beer for those who can't read Japanese) and cocktail drinks. A daunting task it was hauling all of it in plastic bags back to the school.

Josh & I with Kumiko near the end of the party, we'll miss her (and constantly teasing her as well)

I had a three day weekend thanks to the ol' emperor of Japan celebrating his birthday and all. Must say it's nice having a break. So naturally, I took advantage of the extra time and woke up bright and early on Sunday morning to head to Tokyo. Now, every time I have been in Tokyo it's either been raining or I'm stuck in some office building with no time to sight see. So I took it upon myself to take advantage of the nice weather on Sunday and do some exploring of one of Tokyo's busiest wards: Shinjuku.

After an hour and a half or so train ride, I left Shinjuku station and went out of the South Exit. From there, I went on foot in search of the giant government building in which you can see far and wide all over Tokyo. Having not been in this place in nice weather (minus a short business trip back in October) it looked rather different, so it was like exploring a whole new city. The wind had picked up rather quickly and was blowing really hard. I had a chance to see many yellow-leafed trees be stripped of their leaves in a spectacular urban leaf tornado. Too bad I didn't capture a video of it.

Lucky for me, I didn't even have to ask where the building was, I just happened upon it (although I was hoping to make use of what Japanese I knew -- "Tokyo Tocho wa doko desu ka?"). During my journey I snapped a few photos of my way:

My goal point, actually I was two blocks away at this point

A cat statue outside of a building

I finally made it to the building, and took the long elevator ride up (I'd say around 45-50 floors) and I finally made it. While the weather was clear and sunny that day, there was still a slight haze in the sky:

View down of where the cat statue is

It's a shame it was so hazy, on very clear days you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance as well as others. Once I had my fix, I headed back down to Shinjuku Central Park which was right across the street. But before I did I took some shots of some interesting art outside of the building:

And here's a shot of the tower I was in, only now it's the opposite view:

Once I reached the park, I did some walking around and sort of relaxed a bit, oh and I shot a quick panorama of where I was:

Once I left the park it was on to exploring the rest of the city. I was actually quite surprised at how small it is (I say small, in reality it's really big, but I was able to find places I'd been to before quite easily on foot). I was starting to get hungry at this point, so I decided to find somewhere to eat. I wasn't going to settle for McDonald's again so I was going to find a nice, small Japanese place until I saw a Wendy's:

I hadn't eaten at one, even in America, in what felt like over a year. And this was the first one I've seen in Japan, so I decided to have lunch there, and it was quite good.

After lunch I went back to the station and went in the opposite direction. I took a quick photo of the South-East exit of the station, there was a live band playing down below:

Finally, I went back in another direction and found AEON East Japan's head office, only this time I went by foot instead of the subway. Once I made my way back from that, it was starting to get dark (in the winter time, the sun sets at around 4:20PM here). I made one last stop at a department store to look around and it had some pretty good Christmas decorations up:

After having some jasmine tea at a cafe there, I decided it was time to head back. Luckily, I was just in time for a departing train to Utsunomiya. This ride took almost 2 and a half hours though, it seemed as if I stopped at at least 20 stations on the way back.

I was supposed to be going to Oya on Monday with Josh, but it was rainy (again) and got really cold, so we decided to put it off until after New Years. Speaking of which, after this short week, I will have 9 days off. I plan on doing many things during this time. On my agenda is Yokohama (including Chinatown there) as well as spending New Year's Eve/Day in Tokyo. Rest assured, pictures will follow.

Oh where, oh where have my blog updates gone?

2008-12-15T19:34:00.003+09:00

OK, yes I realize I haven't updated this in over a month. I've just been SUPER busy with work and really no time for anything else it seems. But, after this week it's time for the holidays!

December 23rd is the Emperor's birthday, so naturally we have that as a national holiday! It just so happens to fall on a Tuesday, thus giving me a three day weekend coming up! And immediately after that, starting on December 28th (Sunday) I am off of work until January 6th. An entire nine days of no work. Now what am I going to do? I haven't really decided yet. I really want to spend my first New Years in Japan right. Since I'm not really taking a "trip" it seems, I might as well do some local travel to places I haven't been to yet. I might take a trip to Nikko just to FINALLY see it. I kind of wanted to go when it is covered in snow, so maybe it will be within two weeks.

For those that don't know, Nikko is where probably the most famous person in Japanese history is buried. Tokugawa Ieyasu's tomb is there along with his grandson's, and the Futarasan Shrine which dates back to the year 767AD. Also of note, it is the original place of the "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil" monkeys, yup, that's where they're from. Anyway, that's on my list.

Also, if I can find some friends to go with me, I'll try my hardest to finally go snowboarding. What's great is I can really go anytime I want this winter as there are good ski and snowboarding spots very close to my home city (within a few hours drive).

And I'm wanting to spend New Years Eve/Day in Tokyo of course. Who wouldn't want to be in the world's largest metropolitan city during New Years?

Anyway, that's what's up lately. Hopefully I'll have more to update in the coming weeks (along with wintery pictures) so don't fret. I'm still around.

Ice Bar anyone?

2008-11-10T16:36:00.009+09:00

You've all heard of such things as ice hotels right? If not, I'll clue you in. In certain parts of the world, from what I've been told, colder regions of Europe, they have themed hotels made entirely of ice. The moment you walk in, everything is ice, from the counter tops, tables, beds, everything. It's the novelty of it I guess that attracts people I suppose.

Now, imagine a bar, made entirely of ice. That's where I was Saturday night.

After a long week of work, I was ready for a good, long rest. This did not take place until much later, as I had already made plans to go partying in Tokyo with Dayne and Anthony, as well as others on Saturday night. A friend of ours, Gregg, had made get together plans to go to Tokyo, however it was sort of disjointed as we all had to meet somewhere and all came somewhat separately. The plan was to meet in Shibuya and start with drinks and food around 7:30. This proved to be a problem for some (including me). I work until at least 8PM on Saturday so by the time I hopped on a train to Tokyo I'd be getting there around 11PM or so. Well Anthony and Dayne didn't want to go early as money was an issue, so the later we go, the more money we save, because Tokyo is a pricey city.

So I meet them at the station around 9PM, and we were on our way. Arriving in Shibuya around 11:15 or so, we wait for Gregg & co. to show up. Once we finally meet up, the plan was to take a short train ride to Nishi Azuba to where Muse (the club we were going to) was. Well, for some apparent and unknown reason, we all took a taxi over there...or should I say a few taxis. The first stop was actually the Ice Bar, which is a bar...made of ice. Sounded alright, and Gregg had made reservations, but the kicker here is that for only 45 minutes, it was around $35 per person. Quite pricey if you ask me. Upon entering you are given some spacey looking silver cape/parka to wear. So the entire place has a strange atmosphere, that is actually quite neat.

The whole group

Mingling for a few minutes

View of the actual "ice bar"

It was a chilly -5 degrees C in there (which is about 23 degrees F) so people were getting cold, very fast. Needless to say we didn't stay the entire 45 minutes.

After leaving, we walked to our next and final destination: Muse. Muse is a nice club, but quite pricey. The cover charge to get in was about $20 and that only came with one drink, the rest are around $12 each. Yeah. On top of it all, it was quite crowded:

We stayed there until about 5AM (when the club closes, but we had heard Gregg had gotten kicked out anyway). After that, Anthony, Dayne, and I went with two others to the nearest train station to head back to Utsunomiya. While on the subway to Ueno station we played the game "20 Questions" and ended up missing our stop in Ueno, so we hopped on the subway AGAIN at the next station to go back. Once in Ueno we got our tickets back to Utsunomiya. At this point, I had been up 22 hours straight and was pretty tired. Once we got back to Utsunomiya station, we all parted ways to get some much needed rest.

I exit the station to get on the bus back to where my bike was parked. Except in my deliriously tired state I got on the wrong bus and it took me to the east side of the station. As a result I had to walk twice as far back to my bike instead of riding the bus like I had originally planned. But I did find a tanning place I'd heard about before on my detour:

Only in Japan it seems. Even being up for 24 hours at that point I had a nice chuckle. By the time I got back to my apartment, I was out cold and slept until around 3PM...it was a nice slow day from then on.

Today I decided to clean and re-arrange my apartment. It needed both very bad. And since it's getting close to Christmas time I decided to be like all the department stores in the area and set up my little tree...it's puny but it livens up my mostly bare apartment at the moment...later I'll get more decorations.

Now it's on to buying Christmas presents for those back home and here...good thing Japan is the world capital for novelty things.

Oh my, and update!

2008-11-03T21:10:00.005+09:00

Yes, now a LOT has happened since my last post. I'll start with the day after and move on to the other exciting things. Since this blog covers a LOT of information, and there are too many pictures to post...I'll just put the link to my flickr at the bottom to save time.

The day after I dropped my camera, I got a new one. Jung, a student at AEON, felt bad for what happened and I met him around noon. He's from Korea originally, so he took me to a Korean place to eat. If you haven't ever tried Korean food, it's REALLY spicy. But I love spicy food so I enjoyed it a lot.

After an awesome meal, we go shopping for my new camera. After hours of comparing at different shops I buy a new one that's much better than my old one, and it cost about half as much...so all in all it was worth it really.

We then travel to the prefecture government building to test the camera out. You can see all of the city from the top. Later, we met Kaori and Nishii (Takayuki) and went to the Korean place again and then played darts and pool.

The next day, I had to go back to Omiya for follow-up training. It was nice seeing everyone again and during lunch I had a great chicken steak. Not much else happened that day, but it was long.

Fast forward through the week until this past Saturday night. I got off of work and then met Kaori (one of the Japanese teachers at our school by the way) at 7/11 and we rode over to Jung's house for...wait for it....more Korean food. He cooked us dinner. Stacy and Josh were there, as well as Stacy's husband Motoki, as well as others. We had a nice dinner and then watched a bit of Kung Fu Panda....pretty decent movie.

Then today, I made a return to Tokyo, only this time it wasn't for business reasons. Another AEON student found out I was interested in history and we visited the Emperor's Palace, the Edo Tokyo Museum, and then went to Asakusa.

The Emperor's palace was nice, not much really to explain here so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (link at the end).

The Edo museum was great. I love history and Japan, so to see how Japan was during its most famous period was a real treat. Again the pictures will explain a lot. I did however have a near mishap when it came to my bag. We had stopped in Ginza I believe to eat lunch (curry & rice, which seems to be a staple of my diet lately) and I left my bag and my camera case there (NOTE: My camera was safely on my person). I only realized it when we were on the subway to the museum. So we go back and luckily it was still there.

Anyway, back to the museum, once we finished the Edo exhibit, it went on to show parts of the Meiji period (in which Japan opened up to the rest of the world and became strikingly similar in clothing and architecture to Victorian England) and then the effects of the Second World War on Japan (which by the way was completely objective in its story telling).

Once we were done there, we headed to Asakusa by taxi. We bought our train tickets back to Utsunomiya, but had an hour to kill so we visited the giant shrine there. This was my first time to Asakusa so it was a real treat as well. The shrine was HUGE and the place was crowded...but I loved this area of Tokyo, very nice, and definitely worth another trip to.

Finally, after a LONG train ride back...well two in fact, I made it back home, now ready to start what could be my busiest week at AEON (self-study counseling week). But I think I'm going back to Tokyo next Saturday night with some friends, so I'm hoping to have some more fun then as well.

All in all...being busy and having fun, AND I have a shiny, new camera.

Pictures as promised!

No New Pictures for a While...

2008-10-26T01:26:00.003+09:00

So tonight was our Halloween party at AEON. And well, during the excitement, I was trying to take a picture and someone accidentally bumped into me. The result was my camera falling out of my hands and hitting the ground lens first (it was on so the lens was out about 3cm or so) also resulting in my lens not being able to retract anymore.

What's this mean? It means that my camera, the replacement for my lost one some 2 years ago, is now broken. Since it's a Nikon, I may be able to get it repaired by the HQ in Yokohama if I send it over...but I dunno. If all else fails I will either pay for the repairs or just buy a new and better camera here.

This is twice I've had horrible luck with my digital camera. I lost my first one in a restaurant in LA about 2 years ago, so I bought another one....and now this.

It's all material I understand, and I'm really not all that pissed about it, but what upsets me is it may be a while before I can get to take any pictures of anything...so until then I'll have to rely on others for pictures.

As a side note, the Halloween party/Josh's welcome party was quite fun and I'm sure you'll see pictures OTHERS took when I get them, so don't worry.

Monday is followup training in Omiya again, it's my day off, but I get paid over time and I get to see people I haven't been able to see much since training, so that'll be nice. And then next weekend I'm off to Tokyo with one of my students, should be fun.

So just a heads up, if pictures come late, it's due to a malfunctioning lens...so until then sorry, no visual updates :(

Update

2008-10-22T11:25:00.004+09:00

To sum up my life right now would be put into one word: BUSY!

But, nothing really significant has happened to report on other than a few things. This past Sunday, a few of us were invited to one of our student's homes for an afternoon lunch. I was amazed at their home & garden, it was absolutely stunning! Their garden has a pond full of carp and waterfalls, as well as many trees and flowers.

And the home was amazingly beautiful, traditional Japanese style, very very hospitable. The "lunch" lasted about 5-6 hours or so, but that is normal. Her husband even had his own wine, which we were offered.

Coming up this Saturday is our Halloween party, I have my costume picked out, but it's rather uncomfortable...I guess you'll see why when pictures come but it's definitely not something I could wear all day...ugh. But it makes me laugh every time I wear it so that's a plus.

This Sunday, I may be going to Nikko with Josh, but it's also the prime weekend for the leaves to change color, so unless we go early enough, there will be too many people traveling from Tokyo to see them as well for it to be enjoyable. Also, on Monday I have to head back to Omiya for followup training, which is on my day off....so that should be fun as well.

Next weekend however, I have an opportunity to go back to Tokyo, but this time it's for my own enjoyment. One of our students invited me and Josh to go to the Tokyo Edo Museum, and I'm really looking forward to going.

So a whole lot of busy, and hopefully more updates soon. This was a quick update only because there really hasn't been that much important stuff to talk about since last time, but hopefully that will change in the coming weeks.

Survived!

2008-10-10T11:45:00.004+09:00

Yesterday I had to go to Shinjuku for more training. It started at noon and ended at four in the afternoon, so it wasn't too bad. I must say I was a bit nervous about this trip though, as it was my first time navigating the train system in Japan by myself without much help. Actually, scratch that, I was helped a bit.

I met up with Simon near his hotel near 9:30AM (he was heading back to the head office as well since he just finished his emergency teaching in Utsunomiya) so we were headed to the same place. We took a bus trip to the station, and it cost about 150 yen (it has gone up 50 yen since I came to Utsunomiya). We had to take the Shinkansen(bullet train) to Omiya and proceed from there. Simon showed me how to work the Shinkansen ticket machine, but went ahead and bought a 2 adult ticket and I paid him half the cost later. Once in Omiya, it was time to switch to the Suica train to Shinjuku. I went ahead and bought a Suica card for future travel in the Tokyo area, I basically just put a certain amount of cash on the card and use it instead of buying tickets every time. I also bought my return Shinkansen ticket for 5:34 that evening...more on that later. We boarded a train to Shinjuku and arrived in Shinjuku Station (for those who don't know, it's the busiest in the world).

Once there we traveled on the subway to the Nishishinjuku station that opens up right near the head office building. I met up with several people I trained with, as well as other teachers coming out of the subway station. It was a nice reunion, but as they all live and teach in the Tokyo area themselves, they did not have to travel as far or as long as I had.

It was a beautiful day, and the view from the head office 16th floor was amazing, however I did not have a chance to take any pictures that day as I was in a constant state of being busy...next time will be different.

Once training ended, I headed straight for the subway again and really didn't get a chance to say goodbye to any of the others. I rode back to Shinjuku station with Jeremy (a teacher I was in training with) and once there, we tried to find our respective lines back. I had to board a line near the same area as his, so after walking around trying to find it ourselves, we asked for help.

We eventually found our lines and parted ways. Once I was on the train to Omiya, I gave a sigh of relief, because remember how I said I bought my Shinkansen return ticket earlier? I had to make it by 5:34 and had less than an hour to navigate on my own. After a 30 minute, very cramped train ride back to Omiya, I was instantly off to find my way to the Shinkansen. I had enough time, however there were money issues involved and I ended up paying out of my own pocket to get the REST of my train ticket (there is a boarding pass and actual seat ticket).

Then I hit a slight roadblock, I couldn't find which platform to go to, but through the use of what limited Japanese I know, I eventually found it AND the right line for my reserved seat. With all of that out of the way it was time to relax until I made it back to Utsunomiya to teach 2 classes at the end of the night...

One neat thing was while Simon and I were in Shinjuku station we ran into one of our students (who I was having dinner with that night coincidentally) so it was a nice surprise and we joked about it later at dinner.

After a slow trek back to my apartment, I was dead tired...

Now keep in mind, I understand people do this sort of thing every day. That's fine and all but I'm originally from a small town, where there is no busy train system to travel around on. So even if it were in English, I would have had the same stress and trouble. But now I know that I can do it on my own, and hopefully the next few times will be an easier experience. I'm now wanting to go back to Tokyo on a free weekend just to explore some more, so hopefully soon. Part of the fun in exploring Japan is getting lost in the train system sometimes but that can be a bit costly if you don't know what you're doing.

On an added note, we have a new teacher from Seattle. His name is Josh and he seems to be doing great so far. On his first full day of teaching he had seven classes, five were his normally scheduled ones and 2 were taking up part of the slack that I left during my day trip. So he handled it quite well and I think he'll be just fine.

Nothing much else to update on, still trying to acquire my Halloween costume, so we'll see how that goes.

Bicycles, alien cards, and......chicken hearts?

2008-10-02T10:42:00.006+09:00

A lot has actually happened since my last update. Saturday, I FINALLY got a bike to travel around on, and the best part about it was, it was free. I was supposed to get it a month prior, but Dayne had to get it fixed before he gave it to me. I wasn't even expecting it either, so it saved me at least $100 on a new one. It didn't have a working light, but I took care of that last night. So, in case you're wondering what kind of awesome wheels I'm blazing around on...take a look:

It gets me around, and that's all I really care about. Saves my poor feet from having to endure anymore torture as well.

I worked last Sunday in an open house type format at work. It was just me and my manager Chiho for 5 hours, so it wasn't bad at all. I didn't teach any classes and generally it was a slow day. Sunday night though, Motoki invited a few of us to dinner at a place called Modern. I pass by it every day going to work, and it is very close to my apartment. We had tons of food and tons of drinks. One of the interesting food items I tried was a chicken heart. At first I didn't know what it was. It looked like a rubbery meat nugget (well several actually, they're quite small) on the platter. Motoki finally told me what it was and asked will I eat the chicken heart, or do I have a chicken heart, or something along those lines. I tried it, and guess what? It tastes like chicken. But has the consistency of gristle...so I passed on eating anymore.

Other dishes were passed around and finally this came out:

If you know me, I don't really care much for seafood. This fish was indeed cooked though and I did have some. It wasn't all that bad.

Monday I headed over to AEON and went with Kumiko to FINALLY pick up my alien registration card. Now that it is in my possession I no longer have to carry my passport everywhere. It's good for 5 years and all is right. Except, they put my nationality as "TEXAS" instead of "UNITED STATES" but I doubt that will be an issue if anything comes up.

Monday night I went with one of my students and her friend to eat okonomiyaki. Basically what that means is "cook whatever you like". You have a grill on the table, you order the food, you mix it up in a bowl and pour it like batter on the grill and cook it like you would a pancake. It's actually quite good and you can eat a lot.

Here is what it looked like before we mixed it up

And after (while cooking)

Here I am now, sampling some for the first time

And here is a group photo: Me, Yumi, and her friend Shoko

I feel like I'm starting to enjoy Japanese food more and more now. I swear I do eat rice for at least 2 meals a day, and it's quite good. The rice in Japan is much different than in the States, so adding different spices and ingredients makes for all sorts of new meals on top of whatever else I eat.

And the weather is finally cooling down significantly as well. It seems after the first official day of fall, the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees F, and the humidity along with it. My only problem now is lack of long sleeved shirts (other than for work) so it can get quite chilly at night time.

Halloween is coming up and I'm probably either going to order my costume online, or go to Tokyo and pick it up. I won't reveal what I'll be this year, but Halloween is becoming one of my favorite holidays by far. I love creating costumes now every year.

Next week is Simon's last week with us (he's the emergency teacher filling in for Dayne) and Josh is coming next week. He's from Washington state so there will be another American around now.

Also, next week I have training at the head offices in Shinjuku. This will be the first time I've had to travel there alone, and getting there isn't really an issue since Simon is going the same direction as well. But getting back in time to teach that night will be quite a task. Hopefully I won't get lost in a Tokyo train station.

Finally have internet, and rafting report!

2008-09-22T12:36:00.000+09:00

So I finally have internet in my apartment, so updates should be more frequent. Apparently, it took previous teachers up to a few months before they were able to get internet in their apartments, so I guess I'm really lucky. I was able to get my cell phone and internet faster than most.

I will finally be able to pick up my alien card after Wednesday, and it's about time. I hate having to constantly carry my passport around everywhere with me, when the card would be much simpler.

Last Monday, I had the opportunity to go rafting down the Kinugawa River in Kinugawa. My co-worker, Stacy, had invited me long before I even came to Japan and I have always wanted to go. I woke up early that day and met everyone outside of AEON. We loaded up the crew, which consisted of Stacy and her husband, me and Anthony (the teacher I replaced), our head teacher and school manager, as well as two of our students. Kinugawa takes a bit less than one hour to get to by car. We arrived around 8:30 in the morning or so, signed some forms and got our gear.

Chiho, Madoka, and Stacy's friend from Tokyo getting prepared

A group photo before we head out, even though I'm tall, still didn't get in the photo that well...doh!

After waiting a few minutes, the bus arrived to pick us all up and take us to the river. There were other groups going as well. Our group took up almost two rafts, so we had to have two people from another group fill in the rest of one of ours. Once we got to the river we went over all of the rules and safety guidelines and then we were off!

The rapids were not that rough, it was basically a beginners course. But that was fine because most of us had never been rafting before. Our raft seemed to crash into things frequently and lagged behind the others quite frequently. But when we caught up with them it turned into a battle of trying to get the other rafts soaked and sneakily pulling each other out of the rafts into the cold water.

After a few skirmishes of that effect we eventually came to a cliff that was about 5m tall. We decided to tie the rafts up, climb up the cliff and jump into the water below. Now I'm naturally afraid of heights, but for some reason this was nothing but FUN for me. After one of the raft guides demonstrated what we were "supposed" to do, Anthony went first, followed by me.

As you see, while they were counting down I was thinking it over in my head quite a lot, but I decided to jump in. The funny thing is the fall seemed longer than I thought it would. Right as I was thinking, "Wow, why haven't I hit the water yet?", I suddenly found myself deep under the cold water and surfacing soon after. As I swam toward the raft the others started going in one by one. I was really surprised that most of the people decided to jump, even a young girl jumped in, while her mother had reservations of doing so.

After we loaded back up we set "sail" again and played a few games that always ended up with someone, or ALL of us, falling into the water. The rivalry between other rafts continued, with so much as people from our raft invading another one to throw them overboard. Needless to say we didn't fair so well, however their many attempts to pull me out into the water were in vain and I managed to escape the icy grip for the most part.

After about an hour and a half we ended the rafting adventure.

Once we got back and changed, we were off to find some food to eat. We finally found a small restaurant to eat at and I had soba and tempura for the first time. It was quite a good meal, I'm starting to get used to and like Japanese food now.

After lunch, we went to one of the many onsens in Kinugawa. Now, I've never been to an onsen before, and by the way it's a Japanese hot spring, they are indoor and outdoor and it's completely nude. But for some reason, when it's a common custom and no one feels weird about it, it is quite relaxing (they separate the sexes by the way). After a while though, the heat was getting to me so I got out. Once everyone was done, we were all worn out from the day and decided to head back to Utsunomiya.

Here I am with Kinugawa in the background

I am looking forward to the fall and winter time here in the Tochigi prefecture. Tochigi has some of the most beautiful nature in the world and I'm glad I live so close to it. When the leaves change color this fall it will be a sight to see, and when winter comes the snow over the mountains will be great as well. I still have yet to visit Nikko, but that is coming very soon.

I plan on visiting the natural history museum very soon, so expect an update and pictures from that as well!

No updating for a bit...but thoughts on my first week!

2008-09-08T12:25:00.000+09:00

This may be my last update for a while...I have no regular internet. When I get a permanent source of internet, the updates will flow better.

My first week at work, and my first week in Utsunomiya were in one word, BUSY. I arrived on Monday on the Shinkansen (bullet train) and while technically my day off, it was nothing but busy. After a slight mishap on where to meet my manager at the station, we were on a bus to the school. There I relaxed for a bit and met some of the other Japanese staff (since Monday is the day off for the foreign teaching staff).

Anthony showed up after a while and first thing I did was get my bags to my new apartment. After a short taxi ride, we walked to city hall to register for my alien card. It took a little while so by the time we went to go to the bank to get my account, it was closed.

So I hung out at the school for a bit more and then I went back to my apartment and changed, and met Anthony and Dayne (another former teacher) at a local restaurant to hang out and relax.

Tuesday was my first day and the first half was spent getting my bank account and cell phone. This took half a day because of the language barrier. I went with SoftBank for my cell service, but I'm still not sure about what service I have. All I know is I had to pay up to $250 on my American credit card to get the cell phone, and from what I understand it was a security deposit in case I skipped the country before my contract ended...youch!

Then I observed classes and met the other two foreign teachers, who are currently my co-workers. Tuesday night was spent having drinks again and then back to my apartment to unpack more.

The next few mornings I tried to find a supermarket, and kept getting lost, but I did eventually find it...when it was closed.

Thursday was my first full day teaching and it went alright. I made more beginner mistakes of course...but my real test of Saturday, our busiest day. I showed up at 10AM and didn't leave the school until midnight basically. I taught 7 classes that day and then we had the welcoming party for me and our new manager. I loved getting to know all the staff and students who showed up better.

After catching a ride home I changed and met a few more people from other schools and then had drinks again.

I start again tomorrow, my second week. Hopefully this week I'll make less mistakes and get a feel for my teaching groove, I guess we'll see!

Next Monday I am going rafting with my co-workers and some students, so that should be exciting! It's my first time to go rafting, and my first real outdoor experience in Japan.

Now, I'm slowly starting to get more acquainted with Utsunomiya, so hopefully soon I'll stop getting myself lost and know my way around a bit more.

I'll try and update more when I have a chance to, so farewell until then!

Shea

Training is over! Now onto the next stage.

2008-08-31T13:03:00.000+09:00

I haven't been able to update as much as I would like to, but I've been crazy busy in training all week. I not only taught in front of Japanese students Tuesday and Wednesday night but I taught a full lesson on Friday. The entire week has just been a whirlwind basically so it was nice to cut loose this weekend in Omiya and Shibuya.

My first time teaching wasn't that hot, I made a lot of mistakes and was kind of nervous the entire time. But I really enjoyed teaching the students I did, they were very gracious to me. Right in the middle of my lesson two new students showed up unexpectedly, and my trainer apologized for that. The next day went even worse, I thought it would go a lot better but I messed up the steps. Again, my students were very gracious. I made a mistake and misunderstood what one of them said and I thought she said she wanted to go to a BATH after work with her male co-worker. I found that kind of odd since they separate the sexes in baths here but I asked again and heard the same thing. A little later, the male student corrected me saying he thinks she meant to say "BAR". My only reaction was "Wow, that makes the situation MUCH less awkward!" Everyone had a good laugh though and they were not offended in the least. Even my trainer was laughing. He later told me that I did a good job at making them feel comfortable and in a friendly atmosphere and if they DIDN'T feel comfortable around me, they would not have corrected me and not laughed. So I feel that at least I can bring a good atmosphere to the classroom.

Friday was my full lesson and I think it went MUCH more smoothly. It was 45 minutes long, and while I was a bit nervous for the first 5 minutes I relaxed a bit and went through my entire lesson without a hiccup. There are things I still need to work on, such as smiling a bit more and preparing for my lesson more, but I feel after my first week I'll be doing really well.

Spent the weekend in Tokyo again, I just have fun exploring what all the city has to offer. It's just so huge and each ward is so different. I don't think it will be the last time I visit, it's good that I'm only about an hour away from Tokyo.

Tomorrow, I finally meet my branch school and move to Utsunomiya. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and settling in.

I think the first thing I'll do once settling in is make a trip to a 100yen shop and buy essentials I couldn't bring with me from America (ie. hangers) and finally just settle down and unpack. It's been a long and strenuous week, hopefully the next will be just as eventful and exciting.

Interesting start to the week

2008-08-25T20:37:00.000+09:00

Today we started our practice training for our mini-lessons we'll be giving to actual Japanese students tomorrow! Another interesting note is we all got to meet the President of AEON East today and he gave a lengthy speech to our group. Very nice and fun guy! The entire atmosphere I get from him and the company as a whole is very positive. This week is going to prove to be quite strenuous, but I feel I'll benefit overall.

We also received our apartment and school info. I'll be working Tuesday through Saturday, with Saturday being my busiest day. But on the plus side I will be going into work at about 1PM three days a week, 12 on the rest, except for Saturday which I'll be going in at 11AM. Kind of an odd schedule but still very cool. I only wish I could have had Mon-Fri work days, but not many AEON teachers ever get that schedule.

Hopefully it will stop raining soon, it seems to have stopped right now, but I think it will continue for a few days. Tonight will just be spent grabbing a quick bite to eat and then working on my lesson plan and lesson itself to present tomorrow. I'm kind of nervous but at the same time excited. Here's to hoping I do well!

Exploring Shinjuku

2008-08-24T21:54:00.000+09:00

We all had the day off today to rest up from lingering jet lag and to explore a bit. A few of us took the train from Omiya to Shinjuku. For those unfamiliar with Shinjuku, it's a pretty big administrative and entertainment center in Tokyo, as well as having the busiest train station in the world.

We explored several department stores first and then set on to just see what we could find. We happened upon a hot dog eating contest, but these were no ordinary hot dogs, they were MASSIVE. There was an old man who looked to have almost won, but was taking too long to eat the last of his "meal" and was beaten. We posed for a picture with a guy in a pig suit and were on our way. We explored several more blocks and shops and then finally decided to visit the Tokyo Metro Government Building and head up top for a good view. Much to our...expected dismay, it was very cloudy up top and we couldn't see anything. I say expected because well it's been raining constantly since I've been here. Kind of a bummer when it comes to taking pictures, but we have a few.

Once done there we decided it was time to head back but we took a very long and thorough way back to Shinjuku Station, once back on the train we were crammed pretty close to everyone else. There was a girl and I think her older sister (could have been her mother) that we were speaking some English to and they seemed to enjoy it a lot. Once back in Omiya we were all hungry and stopped in a small curry restaurant and I had some excellent curry with cheese on top.

We then headed back to the seminar house and I crashed for a bit. Now it's time to start reading more for training tomorrow, the week is going to be quite intense so I have to get some rest. The few pictures I took from our trip to Shinjuku should be up soon though, some are quite entertaining.

First couple of days

2008-08-23T22:29:00.000+09:00

Well I arrived in Tokyo yesterday, my first time setting foot on Japanese soil and I must say it was quite a different experience. After going through customs and immigration I picked up my luggage and met a trainer and met up with other new AEON recruits. There are an even number of Americans and British/Aussies so it's a nice diverse mix, three of us are from Texas.

The train ride to Omiya was the first surreal thing for me. For one it was the first time riding on a train like that and two it was my first real experience seeing Japan. Not the cities you see in pictures, but actual day to day Japan. All the housing is compact and close together, streets do not run parallel and it just looks so busy all of the time. Granted we are still in the Greater Tokyo area but it's a very suburbanite local.

Today was the first day of training and while it started off with me waking up to a massive headache, a quick trip to a nearby convini fixed that right up. The training itself wasn't too bad and we get tomorrow off to explore. I'll spend tomorrow snapping as many pictures and exploring Omiya as I can. To make things a little better, I found that Utsunomiya (where I'll be teaching) is very close to Omiya so the train ride will not be that long.

I feel like I'll do quite well here. I already love the environment and the people I'm training with. So here's to good times within the next year. Let's hope training goes well and the transition to teaching full time goes smoothly.

PS: Does anyone know how to properly play Pachinko? I haven't a clue but after visiting a building with NOTHING but Pachinko machines going non-stop...it looks like a new addiction.

Sayonara USA

2008-08-21T06:55:00.001+09:00

Well, the time has finally arrived. I'll be leaving for Japan tomorrow morning around 10AM. A lot has happened in the past few months, so this all has come up really fast. I didn't even know if I was going to be going to Japan until the end of April, and now I'm going.

I guess it won't really sink in until I arrive over there and spend a few weeks. I know I'll encounter homesickness and loneliness but it will pass in due time as I make some new friends and keep active. I have already made a few friends so hopefully it will take the edge away from any ill-feelings.

I'm not sure exactly what to say right now either. I guess to my close friends and family, I just want to say I love all of you very much and thank you so much for all of the support. I really am grateful and blessed to have all of you in my life. I'll miss every one of you dearly, but don't worry too much, as I WILL be back.

On a side note, there may be a chance that my charger for my laptop burns out at some point (not saying it will, but a possibility due to the voltage differences in Japan) if that is the case I won't have access to my computer or email for a good while until I can get the cord replaced. Hopefully that won't happen, but if I suddenly fall off the face of the earth, that's probably why, so don't worry.

I guess this is more than just a goodbye to the USA and my loved ones, this is a goodbye to everything I've ever known and who I am at this point. Because when I come back I'll be a new person. I'll have new wisdom and experience that I probably will not find anywhere else and for that I'm very happy. I'll still be the same old Shea in most regards, but also the Shea everyone knows right now is about to leave for good.

Thank you all again, I'll let everyone know I made it safely soon after I arrive. The next time you'll hear from me I'll be 6,000 miles away.

Love you all

A mere 18 days away...

2008-08-04T02:08:00.000+09:00

Alright, time to get crackin' at this thing now, I've neglected it long enough. I figured I'd spare everyone the nitty gritty details of all the preparation for my trip to Japan, but that is all pretty squared away at this point.

I quit my job at Saint-Gobain Friday and now it's just a matter of a few weeks before I'm off to the Land of the Rising Sun. I must admit it hasn't fully hit me YET that I'm doing this, but I feel it will come soon enough. All I have left to do is pack and exchange some money and I'm gone. Oh and say goodbye to everyone. I will be in Galveston all next week saying goodbye to family, and then coming back to Stephenville to say goodbye to friends and family here.

I've already been in contact with many people already in Japan, and some moving there around the same time I am. It's always nice to have friends when you move to a foreign location.

I've never moved away this far before, so everything is going to be a lot different, however I feel I can face and even embrace any challenges that come my way with this. This is something I want to do, and have wanted to do for a good portion of my life. And because of that, I must accept everything that comes with it. The language barrier, the culture differences, being away from friends and family, and adjusting to the new environment, I'm preparing myself for all of that. But along with the difficult there will be plenty of good times I can already see happening.

So now I must cherish the time I have left here with the people I love and care about, because it will definitely be a while before I can see them face to face again. I'm contracted for a little over a year, but I feel I'll stay a bit longer than that. I guess only time will tell.

I'll update again when the time gets closer.