I've been back in country for a month, as of a few hours ago. It's been great, being back in Japan, and I doubt that is going to be changing. Work continues to be better than I could have hoped, and I have to say that I am enjoying the vast majority of the classes I teach. Sometimes, work feels a little rushed (can anyone say 8 class Saturdays?), but much better than many jobs I've worked. Hell, compared to the lunch rush in any kitchen, Saturday is a cake walk.
Heading to Beppu, next weekend. Looking forward to seeing some old friends, and getting out of the local area, for a few days. Will post, after, when I have compiled more pictures, and have more to tell.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Kumamoto - First contact
Ok, so it's been a while since I last wrote anything. Excuse: I can't upload any pictures, and I can't really get online. How, then, am I updating this? Well, this unsecured (techinically "pay" network I am able to connect to) apparently allows traffic to the wide array of google services. This means I can search google, but I still can't get to any websites outside the google products. I have access to gmail, blogger, google maps, picasa, etc... However, I cannot download or upload any attachments. Sooooo, I can't really use picasa, and I can't get to facebook. For someone who grew up without the internet, one would assume this is ok. And, it is... to a point. It gets a bit isolating, at times. Luckily, I have nothing but good things to say about the people I have met, in Kumamoto.
My apartment is, as one would expect, small. However, it is notably larger than the apartment I occupied on Front St, in Wilmington. That said, the neighborhood makes up for it's size. Being back in Japan more than makes up for the smaller accomodations. I will post pictures, after I clean it up, and get my full internet privileges back. That will happen after I get my Japanese bank-issued credit card, in about 2 weeks. With the credit card, and my alien registration card (gaijin card), I pay considerably less for the phone.
Will leave it at that (a sorry excuse for not posting more). However, I plan on including a new element to the blog. One that Eden (my co-trainee, and co-coco curry conspirator(good luck saying that one fast)) cooked up: the occasional write up about my continued taste-testing of all the available vending machine coffee offerings, both cold and hot. I look forward to Eden's hot corn soup chronicles.
For now, that is all. Goodnight, everyone.
My apartment is, as one would expect, small. However, it is notably larger than the apartment I occupied on Front St, in Wilmington. That said, the neighborhood makes up for it's size. Being back in Japan more than makes up for the smaller accomodations. I will post pictures, after I clean it up, and get my full internet privileges back. That will happen after I get my Japanese bank-issued credit card, in about 2 weeks. With the credit card, and my alien registration card (gaijin card), I pay considerably less for the phone.
Will leave it at that (a sorry excuse for not posting more). However, I plan on including a new element to the blog. One that Eden (my co-trainee, and co-coco curry conspirator(good luck saying that one fast)) cooked up: the occasional write up about my continued taste-testing of all the available vending machine coffee offerings, both cold and hot. I look forward to Eden's hot corn soup chronicles.
For now, that is all. Goodnight, everyone.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Training Day
Ok, first off: sorry there aren't any pictures. I'm planning on dragging the camera around, a little later, but yesterday didn't offer much in the way of opportunity (aside from a 4 hour layover, in Dulles).
That said, it's good to be back on Kyushu. In some ways, I think it hasn't really hit me that I'm back. There have been moments where I could feel it to take some time to put together a decent post about the things that have really stirred up some of that feeling, when I have the right words for it. I think the moment I find a vending machine with some C.C. Lemon in it will be the appropriate time.
Leaving the States was about as bittersweet a moment as I can think of. Having to leave a lot of people behind, good friends, and people I care about, is never easy. Knowing that I would be coming back to Japan, and being able to see friends that I haven't seen in over year, tempers some of that. I've missed being here when I wasn't, and I'll miss people back home when I'm not there.
Anyways, today was the first "official" day of training. Went about as well as one could hope, and I'm looking forward to this job. Haven't been able to say that about many jobs in the past, so that's a definite improvement in situation, in itself. Today, we covered some of the basics, as far as work is concerned, and then concluded with lunch, and a quick tour of the area around the hotel and Kyushu office. Not a very strenuous start, but they're being very accommodating of any jetlag issues. Luckily, I managed to knock that one out in the days leading up to arrival, and on the plane. Now, I just have to adjust to shaving, again, every day. That one is going to be far more difficult. I'd grown quite accustomed to being free to adorn my face with days, and weeks, worth of stubble. No longer, I'm afraid.
I'll have more to write about, soon, when things start to pick up, and I've been free to wander. I'll be sure to add some pictures, as well, to make this all much more interesting. Maybe, if we're all lucky, it'll be worth reading, soon.
Until then, またね。
That said, it's good to be back on Kyushu. In some ways, I think it hasn't really hit me that I'm back. There have been moments where I could feel it to take some time to put together a decent post about the things that have really stirred up some of that feeling, when I have the right words for it. I think the moment I find a vending machine with some C.C. Lemon in it will be the appropriate time.
Leaving the States was about as bittersweet a moment as I can think of. Having to leave a lot of people behind, good friends, and people I care about, is never easy. Knowing that I would be coming back to Japan, and being able to see friends that I haven't seen in over year, tempers some of that. I've missed being here when I wasn't, and I'll miss people back home when I'm not there.
Anyways, today was the first "official" day of training. Went about as well as one could hope, and I'm looking forward to this job. Haven't been able to say that about many jobs in the past, so that's a definite improvement in situation, in itself. Today, we covered some of the basics, as far as work is concerned, and then concluded with lunch, and a quick tour of the area around the hotel and Kyushu office. Not a very strenuous start, but they're being very accommodating of any jetlag issues. Luckily, I managed to knock that one out in the days leading up to arrival, and on the plane. Now, I just have to adjust to shaving, again, every day. That one is going to be far more difficult. I'd grown quite accustomed to being free to adorn my face with days, and weeks, worth of stubble. No longer, I'm afraid.
I'll have more to write about, soon, when things start to pick up, and I've been free to wander. I'll be sure to add some pictures, as well, to make this all much more interesting. Maybe, if we're all lucky, it'll be worth reading, soon.
Until then, またね。
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Tar Heel Dispatch
Ahhh, so I suppose I should at least give some sort of lead-in, prior to arrival in Japan. At the moment, I have plenty of free time, after all. Of course, this resulted in a lack of inspiration for writing anything worth reading. Well, perhaps not all true. But, given that I still haven't decided whether or not I will be using this particular venue as a means of maintaining contact with family, I will keep some of the more entertaining bits to myself.
So, Tar Heel, North Carolina. I'm going to go ahead and guess that anyone who winds up reading this has no idea what in the hell I'm talking about. "Tar Heel?" one might think to themselves, "Isn't that Chapel Hill, North Carolina?" No. But, you could be forgiven for thinking I've misspoken, or I'm confused, on drugs, all of the above, or any other number of things about my crumbling sanity (And, have no doubts: living here, alone, in this house, WILL result in some sanity starting to slip). There is, however, a little place in the sandhills of southeastern NC by the name of Tar Heel. You may have heard of it from it's brief moment in the national spotlight: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/18/nobody-runs-for-office-in-small-n-c-town/. Or, perhaps you have enjoyed one of the fine pork products which have come from the world's largest pork processing facility, located conveniently just outside the town, courtesy of Smithfield Foods. Regardless, I present, for your mockery, the town of Tar Heel, North Carolina: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_Heel,_North_Carolina
So, why, you might ask, am I enjoying all the fine opportunities for entertainment and mental stimulation which Tar Heel offers, rather than rotting away in the confines of a more metropolitan area, prior to deploying to Kumamoto? Well, I often ask myself the same question.
The short answer is: I'm helping sell a house. That's right. Me. Selling a house. A property encompassing 4 bedrooms, 3 and a half baths, about 2700 sq feet, and 50 acres of wooded land. It's my dad's old place. The house I spent the most time in, out of all my temporary residences, and the one in which I resided through the last half of my education at the hands of the fine teachers at, the now defunct, Tar Heel High School. See, right as I got my marching orders, my brother took a job in Savannah. Well, as my brother would be moving from Portland Oregon, to Savannah Georgia, and had no desire to sell his house on short notice, in the current housing market, he needed someone to rent his place. Enter my father, who has entertained ideas of moving back to the West coast for some time now. In a strange game of musical houses, my brother moved to a new place in Savannah, my dad moved to my brother's old place, and I moved to my dad's old place. In doing so, I'm doing my dad a huge favor, doing maintenance on the house, making a few improvements, and handling the real estate sale, should it come to pass. I'm getting paid a little money for my work, and a good deal of money, should the place actually sell.
So, that's the why. I get a job as a housesitter/seller's agent, a chance to see some friends and family before I leave, and plenty of quiet time for working on the ol' 日本語 and some English grammar points I've forgotten about. I mean, who the hell, aside from English teachers, remember all the verb forms, the difference between count and non-count nouns, conditionals, etc... (and I know at least one NC high school English teacher who doesn't). Go ahead, try it out for yourself: http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/presentconditional.html Not so smug anymore, are you?
Otherwise, this place is actually rather nice to be in, should one prefer a good deal of peace and quiet. It's great for studying, for relaxing, for enjoying what nature has to offer, around here. The property includes frontage on the Cape Fear River, and the walk through the woods to the river is fairly enjoyable, should one remember to bring their mosquito spray. What it is not, however, is very stimulating. You either need to be very in touch with nature, and really enjoy being outside, have other people here, or have a deep, unending, thirst for solitude. Without the multitude of things which need to be finished before I leave, this place would completely drive me insane.
That's it for backstory, for now. Next time I am out and about the property, maybe I will drag out the camera, to better illustrate what I mean. Until then, I bid you a fond またね
So, Tar Heel, North Carolina. I'm going to go ahead and guess that anyone who winds up reading this has no idea what in the hell I'm talking about. "Tar Heel?" one might think to themselves, "Isn't that Chapel Hill, North Carolina?" No. But, you could be forgiven for thinking I've misspoken, or I'm confused, on drugs, all of the above, or any other number of things about my crumbling sanity (And, have no doubts: living here, alone, in this house, WILL result in some sanity starting to slip). There is, however, a little place in the sandhills of southeastern NC by the name of Tar Heel. You may have heard of it from it's brief moment in the national spotlight: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/18/nobody-runs-for-office-in-small-n-c-town/. Or, perhaps you have enjoyed one of the fine pork products which have come from the world's largest pork processing facility, located conveniently just outside the town, courtesy of Smithfield Foods. Regardless, I present, for your mockery, the town of Tar Heel, North Carolina: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_Heel,_North_Carolina
So, why, you might ask, am I enjoying all the fine opportunities for entertainment and mental stimulation which Tar Heel offers, rather than rotting away in the confines of a more metropolitan area, prior to deploying to Kumamoto? Well, I often ask myself the same question.
The short answer is: I'm helping sell a house. That's right. Me. Selling a house. A property encompassing 4 bedrooms, 3 and a half baths, about 2700 sq feet, and 50 acres of wooded land. It's my dad's old place. The house I spent the most time in, out of all my temporary residences, and the one in which I resided through the last half of my education at the hands of the fine teachers at, the now defunct, Tar Heel High School. See, right as I got my marching orders, my brother took a job in Savannah. Well, as my brother would be moving from Portland Oregon, to Savannah Georgia, and had no desire to sell his house on short notice, in the current housing market, he needed someone to rent his place. Enter my father, who has entertained ideas of moving back to the West coast for some time now. In a strange game of musical houses, my brother moved to a new place in Savannah, my dad moved to my brother's old place, and I moved to my dad's old place. In doing so, I'm doing my dad a huge favor, doing maintenance on the house, making a few improvements, and handling the real estate sale, should it come to pass. I'm getting paid a little money for my work, and a good deal of money, should the place actually sell.
So, that's the why. I get a job as a housesitter/seller's agent, a chance to see some friends and family before I leave, and plenty of quiet time for working on the ol' 日本語 and some English grammar points I've forgotten about. I mean, who the hell, aside from English teachers, remember all the verb forms, the difference between count and non-count nouns, conditionals, etc... (and I know at least one NC high school English teacher who doesn't). Go ahead, try it out for yourself: http://www.englishpage.com/conditional/presentconditional.html Not so smug anymore, are you?
Otherwise, this place is actually rather nice to be in, should one prefer a good deal of peace and quiet. It's great for studying, for relaxing, for enjoying what nature has to offer, around here. The property includes frontage on the Cape Fear River, and the walk through the woods to the river is fairly enjoyable, should one remember to bring their mosquito spray. What it is not, however, is very stimulating. You either need to be very in touch with nature, and really enjoy being outside, have other people here, or have a deep, unending, thirst for solitude. Without the multitude of things which need to be finished before I leave, this place would completely drive me insane.
That's it for backstory, for now. Next time I am out and about the property, maybe I will drag out the camera, to better illustrate what I mean. Until then, I bid you a fond またね
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Hello World
So, my hope is that this will become a useful source of interesting information for anyone interested in Kumamoto/Kyushu, ESL instruction, traveling/living in Japan, pretty pictures... or maybe just another home for some voyeurs. All of the aforementioned are welcome, and I hope to gain a little something from you, as well. It'll be a learning experience for all, I am sure.
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