Teaching and chillin, relaxing like a villian

I guess I will only be updating this blog sporadically.  With such a small readership, I am sure no one will blame me.  I have been incredibly lazy however.  I won’t even try and claim that I have been busy.  I really haven’t.  I am just lazy about it, and would rather just play my PC games. 

 

While yeah, I am in Japan, and yeah, it’s cool, I am also pretty broke, and even when it looks like I am going to be saving some money… boom! Something happens to eat all the cash up.  Case in point, our refridgerator is leaking.  So we have to buy a new one.  Granted the old one was a hand me down from the early 90s… It was free.  So that is a bummer.  At least we will get a lot of points on our Yodobashi Camera card.  I would love to go out and do some touristy things, but now is not the time really.  Thank god I like games, and 50$ can hold me off for a month.  Just going to Tokyo for a day would cost twice that I think.  From my last post, I was playing Shogun 2 (Which I still am.. ) Mass effect 2 and WItcher 2… All of them were great games.  Now I am downloading Space Marine, LA noir and Dragonage:Origins… let’s see how this goes.  

As far as work goes, I am teaching at 4 different middles schools, peppered by an occasional Elementary school.  Middle school A, the biggest of the lot, is my least favorite.  That doesn’t mean I don’t like it, but I go so infrequently, I have no relationship with the students or other teachers.  I feel bad about this school too, because I really don’t do a lot there.  They always schedule me with so much free time, and I get the feeling that the principle isn’t too keen on me either, and if it were his choice, I wouldn’t be there.  The English teachers are all really cool though, and I have only taught the 3^rd year students.  I have no idea about the other grades.  They are the only school that has invited me to 2 different functions; I have unfortunately not been able to make them, so maybe they think the feeling is mutual. 

School B is one I have to take a bus for, and the kids at that school are the roughest lot of all the schools.  Most aren’t very motivated, and there is quite a lot of acting out by the students.  The poor teachers are always trying to keep things under control more than they teach.  They are all really nice people there, and it seems that I am at that school the most, so I have a bit of a relation with the kids.  Being a foreigner and the fact that they know I used to work for the Department of Juvenile Justice, makes most of them back off immediately, but I still get tested… and they still lose when they do.  I am not enforcing any rules and I am not getting on their case, but they hardly scare me… and most of them see that when they try to do that, they actually encourage me.  Like all schools, that is a minority though.

School C is a smaller school which I could technically walk to, but if I take the bus, its paid for and I get to ride with a bunch of cute nurses who get off at the University hospital down the street… *sigh*….  This school is smaller, but has a good concentration of really motivated kids and teachers.  The teachers there are very accepting of me, and are generally relieved I speak a smattering of Japanese.

School D is my favorite, and is the smallest.  Small schools have always been my favorite, since I can better develop relationships.  The teachers there have an amazing corp de esprit, and the students are a riot.  The only bad part is the girls are openly, and uncomfortably flirtatious…  My job is to be as friendly as possible, develop a working relationship with the students, and basically be an entertainer.  This complicates things a little, but it’s a minor and innocent thing, I’m sure.  I have a lot of fun with everyone there, but unfortunately I go there very rarely.

To finish this off, let me talk about teachers in Japan.  Teacher is not the correct word for them, and is only vaguely similar to what we refer to as a teacher in western society.  I would rather call them social custodians.  They are never off duty, and I mean that in the most literal of senses.  When they are not actually teaching a course, they are coaching or leading some other club… That includes the weekends too.  If one of their students does something stupid outside of school, then the ‘teachers’ are involved sometimes before anyone else.  They are a second set of parents, working for peanuts.  A western teacher would find this untenable, and unions would certainly go berserk.  But they all knew what they were getting into before they joined, and the ones that survive are made of really tough stuff.  You see that while US teachers do less (I am not saying they do little, I am just saying they are only in charge of the lessons), they receive better preparation and much better support.  Teachers here figuratively sink or swim, with only a few weeks of on the job training. 

So here’s to you! Japanese teachers that survive! And to those ALTs who dare call themselves teacher… yeah… you’re really not.

Game galore...

Cornbeef hash skillet...

Blueberry, cheesecake pancakes

Now that work is in full swing, I have let the blog kind of go by the wayside.  My wife and I have kind of settled into a routine as well.  It seems I have become the chef since I get home about 4 hours before she does.  This wasn’t really a rule, its just how things ended up.  A couple of my creations have been the breakfast skillet and my blueberry, cheesecake pancakes...

I have been cruising other blogs lately from people who just arrived in Japan not too long ago, and I am reminiscing quite a lot.  They are all in their Disneyland phase of Japanese life.  It’s the best phase to be in and usually last for only 3 months.  This is when everything is so new and interesting that everyday is an adventure.  Every little festival is a gold mine of culture.  Since my return to Japan, I didn’t get any of that… I had mine long ago I suppose.  I am also saving a lot of money for things like pension payments, initial apartment set ups and healthcare, which isn’t much now, but it will be next year.  I do really miss going out to explore on my days off or going into Tokyo to be irresponsible with my money.  Instead, I stay home and play video games… Not that it’s upsetting me.  Truly, I love it.  I have 4 great loves right now.  

The first is Dawn of war II…  I have always loved the Warhammer intellectual property, and since I can’t play the tabletop games anymore, I play the computer games and read the books by black library.  Incidentally, I am going to try and snag a gold copy of ‘Aurellian’ tonight.  Shipping is free, so it’s worth it.  Wish me luck… They sell out super- fast, so I will be playing quick button on the computer.  Plus its by Aaron Dempski-Bowden… One of my favorite up and coming authors.  As for DOWII, its actually an uninspiring game as far as story goes… It’s just really gratuitous violence, and Astartes.

The second is Shogun Total War 2.  I am a huge fan of the total war series.  They are usually about 90% historically accurate and a great way to relive tumultuous times in history.  The whole total war series started with Shogun… and this is such a beautifully rendered version.  It gets my strategy fix on.

The third is the Witcher 2.  Honestly, I haven’t played it a whole lot… yet, but its stunningly beautiful and really adult.  Most games for adults are PG13 if they are movies… but the Witcher 2 is definitely R.  I haven’t played much, but there is full nudity and a whole lot o cursing.  I like to call this low fantasy.  High fantasy is your D&D realm stuff, which borders on science fiction.  This feels like it could be what medieval Europe would be if it had magic.

And lastly is an older game… Mass Effect.  Oh my god! It’s like playing a movie.  The story is amazing, and what makes it more amazing is that you can import your files to the next installment, and from there you can further do it to Mass Effect 3… coming out soon.  Since they all link, the game has a lot of replay value.  I am stuck to this game like crack… The trailer is for the second installment... which I have yet to play... but its better than the first, which does it no justice.

Anyways, I have been living vicariously through the blog of someone I interviewed with for my current job.  It’s kind of like reliving a lot of past experiences.  Of course she has a bunch of experiences unique to her, but the over- all jumble is very familiar to me.

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.