Settling down

Life is now starting to settle into patterns, and I can honestly say I am giving it my 120% effort.  Life in Japan is not at all like the first time I moved here.  Of course I was single then, but I really threw around cash like an idiot back then.   I have seen a couple of differences in people since I have returned as well, it could be like this nationally, or of course it could just be the area I am living in.  

1)      Really hot young mothers who look like they about to hit the club with a Gucci  stroller.  It looks like instead of adapting to a motherly lifestyle, they are adapting motherhood to their image.

2)      More chubby people.  Not a lot really, but it was a rare thing to see someone I would consider obese when I first lived here, now I see at least one a day.  This is nowhere near the US where it is common to see obesity, just an observation from a chubby dude himself.

I have also had photo filtering growing on me.  It seems like its popular lately to filter photos so they look like they are from the 60s/70s.  Instagram, through Iphone seems to be the number one way, but since I do not own an Iphone, I can’t use it.  I sometimes think of getting an Iphone, but most apple products smack too much of fashion for me.  People get them because it’s the ‘in’ product… If you get an apple, you are a stylish hipster, whereas if you have a PC… you just can’t afford an apple.  I am probably a bit off when I say that… but I have a tendency to not like what is in at the moment.   Anways, I found a free filtering program that is pretty damn cool here: http://pixlr.com/o-matic/

"We are hip individuals, absolutely unconcerned with what is trendy..."

 

I took some random snapshots around town today and filtered them when I got home.

I haven’t got a handle on teaching again quite yet.  That is because by the time I get used to a school, I am flipped to another school.  It’s a process I am not too fond of, but I suppose I will get used to it.

China Town

Shorompo,,, yum!

Chukagai (China Town)

Well, I finally finished training for the new job.  It was alright, and I learned a couple of new tricks.  The new kind of contracts are a bit odd though, but I think I can thank the unions for that.  Anyhow, it thankfully has cooled off quite a bit lately… not enough to be really comfortable, but enough not to feel like I am about to melt away.  Some of the people I met were really good teachers, and some of the others… well… I think that consideration of another full time endeavor may be in order…  To be nice about it.  The main office of my new company is in Yokohama, and is really near the China Town there, which means I have been stuffing my face with Chinese/Japanese food.  The reason I put that slash is that its food made for Japanese people in a Chinese way… Much like American Chinese food is not real Chinese by a long shot.  But where American/Chinese is cheap and low quality, Japanese/Chinese tends to go the exact opposite route.  At the Yokohama Chinatown (Chukagai), there seemed to be a greater mix of the low end crap…  I would recommend just stuffing your face with stuff from the street vendors.  They are a little more expensive, but they are delicious.  I had something called shorompo...  These things are amazing...  Imagine a potsticker that intentionally has a lot of meaty juiciness left in it.  I took a huge chomp out of one and it almost sprayed across the street!

Making a shorompo (kind of like pot sticker but way better... and jucier)

I have done almost everything a new foreigner immigrating to Japan has to do.  I went to a doctor’s clinic in Tokyo, where the doctor has an excellent reputation and can speak English quite fluently.  That was a real plus for me.  I have opened a post office bank account, registered as an alien (I always think that is rather quirky to say) and have done a lot of shopping for the basic set up stuff.  The station that I am closest to is Machida station, which is actually in Tokyo, although I am not… I am just on that border to be considered Kanagawa.  It feels quite odd, because my apartment feels like I am way out in the country, but once you hit Machida station, you may as well be in the center of Tokyo.  There is just oodles and oodles of shopping on one side of the station.  The other side looks cool, but I have yet to really explore it.  I am living next to a huge public housing area.  What that means in Japan are people need a subsidized place to live and they keep it relatively nice.  In America it means drugs and gangs… I should know, I lived in public housing before. There is one Udon chain here I love called Marugame... and it is hubba hubba!

No old noodles here... They make em fresh, boy!

End result... Bliss... with fried things on the side

This is my last week to really goof off before work starts.  Sure I have done this kind of thing a lot, but in truth, I am still a little nervous.  It has after all been a while.  It is how I started down this long road however.  From an Eikaiwa, to Japanese public schools, to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, to teaching American history and Geography in a High School, and back to the  Japanese public schools again…  I don’t know quite what to expect.

On a different note, I have been addicted to nerd-rap lately… They actually have a really good beat to them, despite the silly background or topic.

 

 

Too hot and a waterproof frog

Now I am moved into my new apartment.  Sort of…  We don’t have any kind of storage set out for all these boxes, so they will just sit here until we buy some tension rods for the closets as well as some storage bins of some kind.  This means we are kind of stuck in a half way unpacked apartment until we can get this resolved.  The weather here is consistently hot and humid.  Not as bad as South Carolina, but we don’t have an air conditioner.  Since I have moved in, I have been in a constant state of sweat and have been leaving cold water in the bath tub, so I can jump in whenever and cool off.  My back has unfortunately been giving me a lot of grief as well and it seems that I have overworked it.  It really frustrates me, because I feel like an old man that has to stop every few minutes for a rest.

Other than the heat, my back and my unpacked place, I am loving this place.  The location is great and the apartment itself is large for our needs.  Today is also a god-sent, since it rained, the temperature must have dropped 10 degrees, which means for once, I am not sweating. 

On another note, I will be training for my job and this video clip from the movie “Gung Ho” (From where I get the title of my blog) is how I feel it will turn out.

I have been in Japan for almost a week now, but it feels like I have been here a month.  I began moving stuff into my new apartment, which I am very impressed with, but I have completely destroyed my back in the process and I am now just sore all over.  The humidity means I have also been in an almost constant state of sweat, which is really no fun at all.  It is not as bad as I thought though.  All in all I still really like it here, despite the fact that I still feel like a fish out of water.  

View of my hotel room from the back of the bed

Hotel room from the desk

Love the view from this hotel room. Lots of pretty girls holding the hands of much older men... hmmm

The apartment is really nice, and my wife did a great job with the place.  There is no AC, but the constant breeze in the area where I live is just amazing.  We have not met any of the neighbors unfortunately, and that is probably because of it being Obon (a yearly festival where people often return to their hometown).  

View of my new apartment from the kitchen

I am really lucky that the hotel has a connection to the internet, because who knows how long it will take for the net to start working at my new place.  So I guess I will post more later… whenever I really settle down.  It won’t be too exciting though, since I am conserving money and just staying put.

The park/garbage pick up near my apartment... yeah... thats all of it.

Touchdown Japan

Well, how fast time flies from my last post.  Since that time, I was given the placement call for the Yokohama branch of Interac and contracted to Isehara.  Soon after, I was given a time and date to show up and given a Japanese level test which I bungled badly. 

The interac staff has been fairly accommodating and has worked well with my wife in getting a nice apartment for me.  It’s actually quite large for Japan and is a good deal.  Unfortunately without an air conditioner, I will sweat it out for a while until I can buy one, maybe next spring.   I booked a ticket for an outrageously expensive ticket of 1055USD… one way… its about 1200 round trip… pretty stupid if you ask me.

So now I am sitting in my hotel room in Yokohama.  It’s a lot nicer than I expected with a cool view.  Tomorrow the real work starts, as I am meeting my new landlord and getting the keys.

I have kind of surprised myself with how many little things about Japan I forgot about, and can’t shake the feeling of feeling off balance.  Since I am a veteran of living in Japan, I thought I would adapt instantly, but that isn’t the case.  In fact I am glad about that… I feel like it’s my first time, and things feel new and fascinating… Just like my first time… It’s like being a virgin all over again… hahahah!

View from my hotel window.

Being a Ronin part VIII

While in Japan, working for Interac, I got married.  It was really cool, because when I first went to go ask her parents for permission, I made sure to wear a good suit.  Some buttons got damaged while I was teaching, and the whole teachers room came alive with activity as everyone was trying to help out and wishing me good luck.  Later they all chipped in and gave me an envelope full of money.  Its rare in my life when I feel truly touched, but I did feel that way.
Some of my friends always want to know why I don't talk about my wife often, and its a simple reason... She doesn't like the idea of being on the internet, so while I love her dearly, I don't speak about her online because she asked me to do that.  When I do speak of her, I do so only in the vaguest of terms.

Soon after we registered as husband and wife, I left Japan to get work in the US.  I have to admit, my students really inspired me to make teaching my profession, so I decided to become a social studies teacher in America.  I also got a job again with DJJ.  It was still a messed up position, with me breaking up lots of fights, butting heads and basically being a hard ass, but it was an improvement from when I worked with DJJ before.  It was hard for me because those very hard and strict characteristics which makes a good officer, is very different from what I naturally am.  It allowed me time to take the courses I needed to become a certified teacher.  I also had some time to get a TESL certificate... just in case.  Unfortunately, the five years my wife and I spent in America did not work out and we came to the decision to return to Japan.  There is no more need for teachers in America, so my wife and I chose to go back to where my passions were ignited.  She left in October to get the ball rolling... and so here I am now... waiting to go... I have my spousal visa ready... All I need is the word to go.

And so that is my reflections on being a Ronin...

The wait

The wait...

The beginning sound of this music clip is what is going through my head constantly.  Every T has been crossed and every I has been dotted, so now its just a waiting game... When and where will I be placed in Japan?  How is this going to work out...  When can I start living?  Its all about the wait now.

Its making me slightly mad...