Tropical Nights
This is, of course, the second-hottest August on record in Hokkaido and Western Japan.
It's pretty freakin' hot here, too...
It's pretty freakin' hot here, too...
2006年8月25日金曜日
2006年8月18日金曜日
2006年8月16日水曜日
Where I live...
My "apaato":
Hallway, usually hot, separates the bath/toire from the rest of the living space.
Entryway, where the shoes are left. The door is metal, since the humidity makes wooden things swell too much:
The tatami room... I'm not sure what I am going to do with that one. Originally, I was sleeping there, but now, I am not sure. It probably SHOULD be the "living room" but that will depend on when I get some stuff.
From the tatami room, you can see (directly ahead, on the left) the other two rooms, which will be the "office" and the bedroom, and on the right, the hallway again. Looking through the "dining room" section of the kitchen.
In the kitchen now, near the stove. The office is to the right, and the hallway to the furthest right:
The kitchen. Note the lack of stove on the right. That came later.
Kitchen with stove (finally!):
Inside the fridge, after my first trip to "LIFE":
More pix soon...
Hallway, usually hot, separates the bath/toire from the rest of the living space.
Entryway, where the shoes are left. The door is metal, since the humidity makes wooden things swell too much:
The tatami room... I'm not sure what I am going to do with that one. Originally, I was sleeping there, but now, I am not sure. It probably SHOULD be the "living room" but that will depend on when I get some stuff.
From the tatami room, you can see (directly ahead, on the left) the other two rooms, which will be the "office" and the bedroom, and on the right, the hallway again. Looking through the "dining room" section of the kitchen.
In the kitchen now, near the stove. The office is to the right, and the hallway to the furthest right:
The kitchen. Note the lack of stove on the right. That came later.
Kitchen with stove (finally!):
Inside the fridge, after my first trip to "LIFE":
More pix soon...
2006年8月12日土曜日
Run for the Border
In case you were wondering...
There are two Taco Bells in Japan. Both on American military bases. One is in Okinawa, and that's a plane ride for ANYONE since it's so freakin' far out in the ocean. It's sort of like the Hawaii of Japan.
The other one is in Aomori.
That's about$150 $200, 2 hours in a train to Kyoto, and 4 hours in a bullet train (plus probably some other train thing for Aomori) for a soft taco supreme. ONE WAY. C'est la vie.
There are two Taco Bells in Japan. Both on American military bases. One is in Okinawa, and that's a plane ride for ANYONE since it's so freakin' far out in the ocean. It's sort of like the Hawaii of Japan.
The other one is in Aomori.
That's about
ラベル: food
2006年8月10日木曜日
Teaching Schedule
This doesn't seem so bad... 8 classes a week. The first half of the week seems to be best, since I have the same class twice for both Oral Communication 1 and Oral Communication 2. Those are the kids who "major in English," at least on the ninensei (year 2 students, or Juniors) level. The sannensei (Seniors, year 3 students) might also be "English majors" but I'm not sure.
But Friday seems like it will be a bit of challenge. 2 once-per-week OC1 classes and the ichinensei (first years, Sophomores) in English 1. Probably good it is all on Friday... because from what I have heard, it might be rough going...
I am supposed to go to another school, Yoshino, on Thursdays. The students there are "genki" -- which usually means "well" or "good" but I think it means "rowdy" in this sense. Apparently, they don't need a teacher most of the time, so I get to explore on that day...
But Friday seems like it will be a bit of challenge. 2 once-per-week OC1 classes and the ichinensei (first years, Sophomores) in English 1. Probably good it is all on Friday... because from what I have heard, it might be rough going...
I am supposed to go to another school, Yoshino, on Thursdays. The students there are "genki" -- which usually means "well" or "good" but I think it means "rowdy" in this sense. Apparently, they don't need a teacher most of the time, so I get to explore on that day...
2006年8月8日火曜日
Atsui Desu Yo!
That means "It sure is hot!" It's over 30 C every day, and I figured out last night that 78 F is about 24.5 C. I think 40 C is 100 F. The rest is math involving 5/9 blah blah blah. It's freakin' hot.
I live in a much more rural place than I had expected. There is a train stop about 2 blocks from my apartment building, and that's really good, because from there I can get all the way to two of the largest megalopolises in the world (Kyoto and Osaka) in less than 2 hours (I think). But in the short term, I shop for food at LIFE (raifu), and I got my two-gas-burner stovetop from a local "home center" (homu sentaa)... carried it home walking, which was "aho," or the local dialect's word for "stupid." I have 3 rooms plus a kitchen with some extra space. Two of the rooms are 8x8, with faux wood floors that is actually sort of springy, spongy vinyl. The main room, which was originally going to be my bedroom, but I dunno now, is about 10 x 8, and has tatami mats on the floor. The kitchen is probably 8 x 16. There's a college sized refrigerator that my vice-principal and the head clerk from the school (Oyodo Senior High -- Oyodou Koukou) carried up to the 4th floor for me.
I have seen a beetle the size of my big toe (I wear size 11) and two moths the size of my hand (I am six feet tall with long fingers) -- one of the moths I mistook for a small bird until it landed. There are spiders all over my apartment complex, some of them strange colors, and most of them big, and all of them looking pretty sinister in the dark. Cicada call all morning long (I can hear them now). There is a rooster in my neighborhood, and he's going at it from about 4:45 PM til dark (7;20ish), and starting around 5:30 in the morning. Since it is so hot, though, I bought a $650 air conditioner and had it installed on Sunday, so I don't hear him singing until I go in the other room to get my clothes in the mornings.
I only have 4 pieces of furniture right now: a bookshelf and futon (not the couch kind with the frame, but a spongy mattress for the floor for sleeping) left by my predecessor (James Kennedy, who was very generous), a camping chair made of vinyl, and a camping stool that I use as a table. I should have more stuff once I get paid on August 21, but for now, this will do. Ascetic. That's it. Right.
The food is great. I can have the nigiri selection of a "Swordfish Supreme" for under $9.50 every day if I want (and 50% off after 7 PM) if I got to LIFE's delicatessen. (I also just learned that you need to use SHIFT+CAPS LOCK to turn the caps lock off on Japanese computers. guh.)
I cannot get a cell phone from the best local company (DoCoMo) until I get my alien registration card (some companies will let you get it with just the form that says you applied) so it will likely be August 29 before I can get it. Ah, well. Hopefully, my computer will arrive here today or tomorrow, and I will have home phone service and Yahoo!BB broadband by next week.
More soon... hope you are all doing well! Ted, lemme know when you're back in the country.
I live in a much more rural place than I had expected. There is a train stop about 2 blocks from my apartment building, and that's really good, because from there I can get all the way to two of the largest megalopolises in the world (Kyoto and Osaka) in less than 2 hours (I think). But in the short term, I shop for food at LIFE (raifu), and I got my two-gas-burner stovetop from a local "home center" (homu sentaa)... carried it home walking, which was "aho," or the local dialect's word for "stupid." I have 3 rooms plus a kitchen with some extra space. Two of the rooms are 8x8, with faux wood floors that is actually sort of springy, spongy vinyl. The main room, which was originally going to be my bedroom, but I dunno now, is about 10 x 8, and has tatami mats on the floor. The kitchen is probably 8 x 16. There's a college sized refrigerator that my vice-principal and the head clerk from the school (Oyodo Senior High -- Oyodou Koukou) carried up to the 4th floor for me.
I have seen a beetle the size of my big toe (I wear size 11) and two moths the size of my hand (I am six feet tall with long fingers) -- one of the moths I mistook for a small bird until it landed. There are spiders all over my apartment complex, some of them strange colors, and most of them big, and all of them looking pretty sinister in the dark. Cicada call all morning long (I can hear them now). There is a rooster in my neighborhood, and he's going at it from about 4:45 PM til dark (7;20ish), and starting around 5:30 in the morning. Since it is so hot, though, I bought a $650 air conditioner and had it installed on Sunday, so I don't hear him singing until I go in the other room to get my clothes in the mornings.
I only have 4 pieces of furniture right now: a bookshelf and futon (not the couch kind with the frame, but a spongy mattress for the floor for sleeping) left by my predecessor (James Kennedy, who was very generous), a camping chair made of vinyl, and a camping stool that I use as a table. I should have more stuff once I get paid on August 21, but for now, this will do. Ascetic. That's it. Right.
The food is great. I can have the nigiri selection of a "Swordfish Supreme" for under $9.50 every day if I want (and 50% off after 7 PM) if I got to LIFE's delicatessen. (I also just learned that you need to use SHIFT+CAPS LOCK to turn the caps lock off on Japanese computers. guh.)
I cannot get a cell phone from the best local company (DoCoMo) until I get my alien registration card (some companies will let you get it with just the form that says you applied) so it will likely be August 29 before I can get it. Ah, well. Hopefully, my computer will arrive here today or tomorrow, and I will have home phone service and Yahoo!BB broadband by next week.
More soon... hope you are all doing well! Ted, lemme know when you're back in the country.
