Episode 4:Have I really been here a month?!

Konichiwa-mina san!

Wednesday and Thursday trips to the IC have become a routine that I'm particularly fond of these days. In order to better appreciate my situation, let me explain why these trips are almost therapeutic in quality. I normally sleep in, then take a leisurely pace to have some breakfast, some green tea, and I then gather my computer and belongings into my travel bag. After a quick trip on the train (for a buck fifty) I walk over to the fabled Mister Donut. Since MD has dollar donut days on Wednesday and Thursday, I pick any donut for 100 yen. (Normally this would be an outrage for Timmies' fans, but here, it's a pretty decent price.) 120 yen for a heated can of coffee, and I'm on my way to sit in a comfortable chair, with free wireless internet access. With my headphones jacked in, I listen to music, reminisce about my week, eat my food, drink my coffee and respond to e-mails from friends and family alike. I also watch my favourite TV show (Heroes) and check out a full week's worth of online comics, and website updates. it's almost like a tiny Christmas just for me. Anywho, I'm quite normally in a very good mood for the day's posting, and today is no exception. Now, onto the strange and the new, like the pancake/icecream/maple syrup sandwhich that I'm eating in the picture above.






I had my first Karaoke experience the other night! That's right, Japanese Karaoke at its best. When you read this post, remember that Karaoke is pronounced (Ka-ra-o-kay) and directly translated from Japanese means "Empty Orchestra." Anywho, here are a few pics of Neil, Leigh, Richard, Tomo-san, myself, Joey, Graham and Ellen. We went to two different Karaoke places that night, and the night ended at about 4am. Though almost unheard of in Canada, it is quite normal for Karaoke groups in Japan to go all night, catching the first train home in the morning to get ready for work. Also, unlike Karaoke in Canada, where you sing infront of a whole bar full of people, you actually go and rent a small room, bring your own booze (which is inexpensive in Japan btw) and pay by the hour. With a group of 6-8 people, you probably only have to pay under $20 Canadian each for the night, and you can have all the free softdrinks you want (for mixing or otherwise.) Now, hopefully you don't have to be in a place with kitchy leopard print walls, but hey man, c'est la vie. Everyone who was there that night were from the EU, except for Tomo-san and myself. Benjamin + Bohemian Rhapsody = Canada Represent!

Right, so I promised a little info on Tristan in this post, and I don't like to disappoint. Where to begin, I wonder... well he's been here for one week, and he's finished his OJT (on the job training) as of yesterday. He's an Aussie, and he's 21. He has never lived on his own before, and he has never been overseas, until now that is. I have no doubt that this is quite the system shock for him, but despite this fact he seems to be adjusting quite well. He has begun learning a few stock phrases in Japanese, and he's a snappy dresser. We share some similar interests when it comes to comic books, and though I feel like we're very different people coming from two very different walks of life, I'm not worried that there will be any conflicts. Thusfar it has been good, and I hope for that arrangement to continue.

On an entirely different note, I want to mention that I may end up purchasing a scooter. That's right, a scooter. I'm pretty stoked, and I think it would really make some trips pretty fun. I've got a fellow co-worker and Canadian (Jon) looking into insurance, international licence, etc, and he's also thinking of getting one. $500 can buy you a scooter here, and the insurance on a $500 scooter isn't that bad, as you'll probably just get the basic on that covers damage to other people's vehicles. I think it would be pretty cool be ride around in Japan on a scooter taking pics of the countryside on my days off. Not to mention, I could paint it in Red and White colours, representing Japan, Canada, AND Switzerland.

We've had a lot of rain here recently, and though it's nothing compared to the -30 C weather going on in Canada, I've had to carry an umbrella around most of the time. I find that Japan looks quite beautiful in the rain, and I've uploaded a picture from my appartment balcony for you to see. Not a great pic, but still, maybe it'll help capture the atmosphere here.

Finally, before I sign off, I just want to mention that though my Katakana training has been slow, I've got a few more characters under my belt, and I've joined up with Tomo-san's Japanese class Monday and Tuesday mornings before work. He's a great guy, and I'm sure that under his training my Japanese will improve quickly.

See you all next week, same Ben time, same Ben Blog.

-ja matta neh.
Did you know that when you order food at a food court here they give you a buzzer, you go sit down and when you're food's ready they beep you? I thought this was amazing, as the picture clearly shows.


Also, I don't know what to say about that last pic... apparently it was a shape to be revered... ummm... ???

Episode 3 - Oddities and Tribulations

Konichiwa Mina-san!

There are so many things to talk about and so little time to talk about them! I'm on a time restriction today, as my new roommate will be arriving today at 2pm. He's an Aussie (like 40% of all Nova Teachers) and his name is Tristan Barry. I spent all morning cleaning up my 'lovely' appartment and setting up his room, so hopefully that works out. I'm going to dedicate a portion of my next posting to talk about Tristan, but until then, let's get back to my story.

Right, so I finally got a chance to see something that many Japanese people are embarassed about! About once a week at my school in Tsuminami there is a large group of people who drive in large cars and trucks in a parade of sorts waving HUGE banners and shouting over megaphones. I was obviously curious as to what all the noise was, and so I went out and asked the Japanese staff at the desk, "Whoa, what's that all about?" She nervously and shyly responded saying that it was a right wing activist political party group that basically hate all foreigners and want them out of Japan. Apparently they have a bit of a following here (not a huge one mind you, so don't you worry!) I thought it was hilarious, and I asked Neil (a fellow teacher) about it. He said that he thinks it's so funny, because sometimes they'll come by during a lesson, and he says his students all start rocking in their chairs and looking down at the floor. Hahaha. A very uncomfortable situation for them, but as long as we don't draw attention to it, I'm pretty sure that nothing bit will come from it. I would guarantee that almost 100% of our students don't belong to that party, seeing how Nova's teachers are exclusively foreigners.




Oh, and hey, I finally got a chance to go walking around through the underbelly of Tsushimmachi! So exciting. I went down a few dark side alleys and found a lot of "snack" bars. (Snack bars are essentially like prostitution bars.) And in case you were wondering, NO, I didn't go in! I also found a cool temple and some neat stores. One store that I found here in Tsushimmachi probably has the best sign I've ever seen. Now, the picture didn't turn out so well (camera phone pic) BUT, I will tell you now that the sign was brown.

Right, so teaching has been pretty good thusfar. I had an observation recently, and I did quite well. I've also had a chance to teach some kids classes. Right now I'm the teacher for 3 Junior classes (ages 6-9) and 1 Senior class. No Kinders, or Chibikos at this point, but hopefully next month I'll get the chance. I may sub in for a Chibiko class sometime soon, so that will be awesome... Chibiko classes are for 2-3 year olds, and they're there with their parents. All you do is sing and do some games. Krazy fun.

Our Soccer team had a challenging night on Sunday, since there were some new Ninhonjin teams out. I must say though, team Gaijin (we wear orange vests) has dominated in the last two nights. On Sunday, we played about 6 games (20min each) and we won each and every one of them! We're kicking-ろば and taking names! (If you can read Japanese, you'll be fine with that last sentence.) I'm in the midst of making a video for our soccer team, but you'll have to wait a few weeks before you get to see it. I've gotta get a lot more footage, and of course, some crazy Japanese music to re-mix it to. I'll try and fly a Canadian banner in there somewhere.





Also, one of my new friends Gill (like a fish gill) and her friend Leigh (Lee) hosted a trivia night on Monday night. I've got a few pics of some of us, but don't let these deceive you because it was a killer turn out with 21 people in total. Although my team didn't opt for the name "Team Optimus Prime" we still managed to take the bronze medal. 3rd out of 7 isn't that bad... Our game was excellent in the beginning, but after a bottle of Sake and some beer, it's sometimes hard to get all the answers, right? Haha.

Well, with that I believe I will bid you fairwell for now, and if you've got an $40 bucks, ship me some Tim Horton's Coffee... the stuff here is terrible.

Ja mata neh,

-benjamin

(Mmmm... deep fried Squid tentacles!)
(Japanese Graffiti is so hardcore, eh?)
(Although one person is lonely, he is making it cleverness.... ???)

Episode 2: Bentron's Training!!!

Well well, hello there again. It seems like it has been way too long since my last post about my arrival in Japan, and perhaps that's just the case. The reason you ask? Definitely, definitively, and directly put: Training. Simple as that... I've been running around like crazy trying to get everything done, trying to do new things, and trying too darn hard to keep swimming! But I'm sure you'll get that feeling by the end of this post. First thing I want to talk about is some pictures. Alright, check it out:


So my training began on Monday, January 29th, and it was at the Nova office in Tsu-city. (This is about a 5 minute train ride from where I live.) It was a three day long set of training exercises with our trainer Mustafa. (He's pretty cool btw.) Ashanthi and myself were the only people getting trained at the time, and though we did really well, I know like both of us felt underprepared for the next week of actual teaching. By the last day of our three, we had taught 6 lessons, and had learned the "Nova Method!" (Or at least, mimicked it really well, haha.) At this point, we still had Chibiko and young student classes to learn, but that would be Monday and Tuesday of the next week, all the way up in Nagoya.





With the Thursday of that training week off, we had the chance to go around town and check out some sights. Let me tell you, there are things here that you won't see anywhere else. First of all, there are people who dry out their fish on their home balcony. There are more Engrish signs than you could imagine, and if you look hard enough, then you can see some pretty beautiful pieces of scenery. I even managed to find a pic of a couple other Gaijin who were posing near the Samurai monument that I posed at recently (see my previous post for a photo.) It isn't the greatest picture on the left, but the woman was posing with her arm out just like I did. Hahaha, I nearly fell over laughing.




With that day off, Ashanthi, Simone, Sherice and I decided to make the most of the day, and make a trip up to Ise (pron. Ee-Say.) Due to the severe jealousy that I have been suffering with due to the opening of a fantastic Indian curry restaurant next to my parents house in Guelph, I found an all you can eat Indian curry restaurant with the girls and we gorged ourselves for 800 yen including tax, drinks, Naan bread (regular and cheese), and salad. Good price (approx. $8 Canadian), but the curry was sub-par in quality.

Ise shrine was a very nice walk. Though it was a little windy, the shrine offered us protection from the wind, and there was definitely an evident tranquility in its setting. I took a lot of pictures, most of which are not posted (or else this page would take FOREVER to load...) But I wanted to include a picture of Ashanthi next to the wash station. For those of you who don't know, when you enter a shrine (or most temples) you are supposed to wash your hands in the holy water that comes from a special spring. Some people drink from it, but usually not... (Ashanthi is just doing so to be funny.) Though I was excited to be there and more than willing to walk around for hours, soaking in the moment, Simone and Sherice had places to go, so we cut our stay short. Ashanthi and I will probably return in the near future.



After a couple more days of work under my belt, Ashanthi and I made our way back to Nagoya for training over Monday and Tuesday. These days were pretty awesome, seeing how I was reunited with some of my Canadian friends from the flight over, namely, Melissa, Sophy, Cassie, Claire and Yvette. I don't seem to have a picture of all of us together, but I can tell you that it's a good day for Nova who are populated by mainly male teachers to have 6 out of seven new teachers being female. (Apparently female teachers are in higher demand in Nova at the moment.) I didn't feel out of place at all, since I'm used to being outnumbered many to one from my days at the University of Guelph. (70% female campus, and most of the guys are in Sciences... ) Anywho, point is good and fun classes were the hand of the day, and I held all aces. Acting like a five-year-old all day is something that I can do very well, and I think I took a lot away from that class. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to teach the young'ins. Chibiko (classes for 2-3yr olds) is pretty cool. Essentially, you play a CD that lasts 40minutes, and you sing and dance with them the whole time. Their parents are of course involved, and apparently it is super great, but super tiring. Anywho, here are some pics of me around Nagoya in some anime-shops, etc.









Oh, and these guys were fantastic. They dance in Nagoya for fun, all done up like 50s greasers, and their hair is huge. Tight pleather pants, jackets, and 50s rock. I just couldn't stop taking pics.












Finally, to end my post, I'd like to show you an Engrish picture or two and some funny things I've seen... I'd like to keep a running tab on all the funny signs I see, but I doubt I will have enough space on my harddrive to store them all... at least I now have an idea for later on in life. I will hire myself out as an English translator for companies that don't want to put ridiculous phrases on their products. (For clarification, that is a shirmp burger from McDonalds, those are red-bean paste shaped frog cookies, the sign was posted in a train station, and the Spicy tatoo parlour is the first English pun that I've seen here thusfar.)

Ja matta neh, (see ya)

-benjamin