keitai hell. . .

this is supposed to be keitai heaven, but i somehow managed to end up in keitai hell. . .ahhh. . . how many times have i said that i do not want a keitai (cellphone)!?!?! i knew this was going to be a disaster. . . yesterday, i went to the store with tatekun, picked out a phone (by cuteness as instructed), filled out almost all of the papers, and then realized that i forgot my damn hanko. . . a hanko is a stamp that acts as a signature would in the united states. . . so, after wasting a good hour or so of our time, i couldn’t get the phone. . . tatekun had to go back with my hanko and get it for me during his lunch break today. i felt absolutely horrible!!!! anyway, i now have a phone that i do not know how to use because all the controls are in japanese. . . how did i manage to forget that tiny little question “can i set it in english?” . . . stupid, stupid, stupid. ahhhhhhhhhh. . . right, so. . . give me a call, eh?

rainy days. . .

that was interesting. . . for whatever reason, almost no one is in the office at the moment. the only people left are the three ladies who speak the least english of anyone i have met thus far. naturally, i decided to ask them one of the most difficult questions i have asked of anyone during my time here. . . since i work at the board of education (which is in the same building as all of the other city offices. . . city hall if you will), much prep is going on for the upcoming elections (september 11th). i innocently pointed to a banner spanning half of the building and said, “what is that?” . . . ha. oops. i got something to do with “how many” “election” “house of representatives”. . . after much searching in dictionaries. . . the thing is that once a question has been asked, they do not stop until they feel as though i fully understand the point they are trying to get across. . . no matter how long it takes! . . . if only my students will be this motivated to speak with me!

anyway. . . last night, i made two friends! (sounds like i’m in kindergarten, eh?). . . as i was exploring on saturday, i stumbled into the anpanman library and had a chat with the summer librarian. . . mostly in japanese, which should let you know the level of the conversation. . . she somehow managed to tell me that she has a daughter who studied in america. . . this is friend number one. . . sayaka (the librarian’s daughter) was my first official visitor! we had cookies and tea and a true conversation in english!!! sayaka, age 24, is an artist and wants to learn how to dance. . .we talked about starting ballet or modern classes on saturdays. . . guess it depends on how busy my schedule really ends up being. . . dance classes or not, sayaka should be a fun friend to try out japanese things with. . . friend number two. . . hmmm. . . i forgot his name. . . he is the industrial arts teacher at the junior high school and the only other teacher that lives in my dorm. . . while i thought he was in his mid-twenties, he is actually thirty-one. . . but a typical guy. . . coaches soccer, loves fishing (“my boat. . . dorm. . . my boat”). . . we played cards for an hour and a half and then chatted for a bit longer. . . his english actually isn’t that bad. . . like a lot of people, he just needs a chance to practice. . . along the way, i learned some new japanese words. . . yay! i have friends. . . sayaka suggested that “we” have a party to get to know the people in my dorm, which i had considered. . . but my room is a bit small. . . and i can’t bake cookies without an oven (and without flour. . . i looked the other day and never found it. . . but it must be somewhere. . . ugh) . . .

haha, i was just asked my blood type. . . why does everyone here know their blood type?? evidently, type A is the most popular in the board of education. . . because you all care to know that. . .

oh, my weekend was entertaining. . . i obviously had to test out my new car, so. . . i decided to check out some spots on the tourist brochures i was given upon my arrival in kochi. . . tourist spots should be safe enough to drive to alone, right? the most popular sites in kahoku (after the anpanman museum of course) are its waterfalls. . . i checked out my brochures, planned my route to the closer of the two, and was on my way. . . being in a brochure does classify it as a tourist site, does it not? tourist sites are typically located on large, paved roads, are they not? i drove across the bridge, through the next little village, and started up the mountain. . . the roads grew narrower (inconceivable one would think). . . the mirrors showing cars rounding the corners disappeared and signs signaling cars to honk appeared instead. . .about one third of the way up (as the side rails disappeared and the distance of the fall continued to increase), my fear of heights kicked in. . . i found a place to do about a twenty point turn and headed right back down the mountain. . . everyone in my office found this hilarious on monday. . . “you went up alone?”. . . of course i did, no one told me not to. . . they just gave me the brochures. . . i now have about ten offers from people in both offices for a weekend in the future. . . of course they find my driving in general amusing. . .

other news of the weekend, i visited the local café. . . “biraifu” (pun on birafu – where i live in kahoku – “be life”). . . and ordered my first meal in japanese by myself. . . this old lady kept standing up, looking at me around the corner, and sitting back down. . . finally, as she and her husband were leaving, she asked me where i live. . . not thinking, i told her near the elementary school. . . i eventually figured out that she meant where in the world (i.e. america) not where in kahoku. . . because why would a foreigner be living in kahoku? ha. . . sunday i managed to make my way to the big city of kochi (really it is rather large. . .tall buildings, lots of shopping, six lane highways) to visit the famous sunday market and the kochi castle. . . i ran into four or five other obnoxious americans. . . they were so loud and kept sticking their cameras right up in people’s faces. . . this was actually my first run-in with americans in japan outside of orientation in tokyo. . . i know i shouldn’t be arrogant because i don’t even want to know how many people i have annoyed or offended in my two weeks here, but. . . i hate how people speak louder to try and make others understand english. . . they are not deaf, they just don’t know the language. . . i also hate that tourists never seem to be concerned with just stepping back and observing their surroundings. . . the point of traveling is not to see some spectacle but to learn, to gain a new understanding, a new perspective. . . i don’t really know how to describe this. . . and i realize that not everyone travels with this same idea in mind. . . haha. . . silent observer . . . guess i should remember that from movement analysis. . . anyway. . . i learned how to drive in the city, in the inaka (rural area), and how not to drive in the mountains all in one weekend. . .

school begins on september 1st. . . i have to speak at two opening ceremonies (in english and japanese at both) and then teach my first three elementary school lessons! i will try to give an update soon after. . .

it's about time. . .

on monday, i spent an hour writing an entry about life in japan. . . because all the instructions on this computer are in japanese, i somehow managed to lose the entire entry!!! ugh!!!

i suppose it is now quite obvious that i arrived safely in japan last wednesday, august 17th. . . although i began my journey in tokyo, my main impressions came from its airports and the keio plaza hotel. . . toshi took me out on the town the first evening i was there, but all i really remember is falling asleep standing up on the train! sorry to disappoint those of you who were hoping to hear about the excitement of shopping and drunken karaoke. . . my first two days in japan went something like this. . . sleep, eat, sit through never-ending seminars on life as an alt in japan only to hear ESID (every situation is different), eat, want to sleep, more seminars, eat, sleep, get up at 5:30a.m. thanks to jetlag. . . by the time i left for kahoku on friday, i was finally beginning to adjust. . .

upon my arrival in kochi-ken, i discovered that essentially no one in my town speaks english! the good news is that more and more people in my office are trying to speak english . . . even when they speak to each other, which tends to keep everyone entertained. . . kazu and yoshi are especially funny. . .at my second enkai – after bowling – kazu answered his phone in english and thoroughly confused the person on the other end. . . oh, returning to my arrival in kochi. . . kaori and tatekun (my supervisor) took me out to lunch at a japanese restaurant. they insisted on requesting a fork, which was presented to me in a special little basket. . . everywhere i go, i am asked “can you eat japanese food? can you use chopsticks?” . . . “really?!?! sugoi desu ne!”. . . oh! the first item they showed me in kahoku was a vending machine! “do you know what this is? you have them in america?!?!” . . .

ugh, i have so much to say but doubt that you all have time to read three hundred pages on my first week in japan!

to sum up my first two days at the office. . . “let’s meet kahoku mayor.” “let’s meet elementary school principal.” “let’s meet town office workers.” “let’s meet junior high school teachers” . . . do you get the picture?? on friday, i visited five or more offices (which took at least three hours) before i even got to see my home!! after one hour of unpacking, tatekun returned to take me to my first enkai (office welcome party), where i shocked everyone by eating all kinds of raw fish with my chopsticks and meeting my first challenge. . . japanese style toilets. . . on monday i had to meet another five hundred people. . . and see the sports complex and soccer field, where i was told “green . . . friday brown. . .(hand gestures) ame (that means rain)”. . . i think that the stop at the sports field was more for the two guys to check out the team and condition of the field than it was to really show me anything. . . ah well. . . i am learning. . . learning names, learning japanese, learning to cook (without an oven or microwave even!), learning to drive on the opposite side of the road. . .oh! lots to tell about the roads. . .

at orientation, my roommate was telling me about japanese roads and how narrow they were. . .i really didn’t think much about what she was saying until we turned off of the highway to get to my office in kahoku. . . a road here would classify as an alley in the united states. . . no sidewalks, one car at a time. . . if two cars meet, one has to back up so the other may pass. . . what makes it worse is that there are drainage ditches on the sides (about a three foot drop usually leading to a rice field). . . as i walk or ride my bike to work each morning (you cannot drive anywhere within a one kilometer radius. . . a great idea i think!). . . oh, but as i go to work and have to pull to the side for cars to pass, i need to move as close to the edge as possible! i may end up in a rice field someday soon!

what else can i tell you??? haha. . . how about the bugs??? on saturday (my first full day in kahoku. . . alone. . . with no car), i set out to explore the town. . . of course the first thing i found was a ginormous spider . . . do you all know about my heart-wrenching fear of spiders??? i though i was going to die . . . the farther i walked, the more spiders i found. . . thankfully, i think the rain washed the spiders out because i have not seen the large ones for a while. . . anyway, when i returned home to organize my house, i discovered a dead cockroach under my bed (yes, thankfully dead or i would have died again). . . i was told later that the large spiders are good because they eat cockroaches. . . what a lovely thought. . . this is my favorite though. . .as i was about to leave for my first day at the office on monday, a “small” spider was waiting for me on my door handle. . . as i went to smash it with my restroom slipper, it started blinking its eyes at me!!! my heart was pounding so hard! i thought i was going to be late to work. . . i know, i know. . . it’s quite stupid, but it’s true!

ha. . . a lot of what i have written could be considered negative, but it honestly is not meant that way at all. . . things are mostly just different. . . i think the most difficult adjustment for me thus far is simply learning to live on my own (and therefore cook and clean and meet people and schedule my time). . . the main thing I miss is having people to visit at all hours of the day! it is especially hard because i am very young. . . only one other person in my office is in his twenties (27 and married) . . . most of the others are in their thirties or forties and have kids. . . i hope to get involved in some community activities soon, which should help . . .

oh! the kids i have met thus far are really cute. . . especially the elementary school boys are very curious to see an american. . . they come up and ask “amerika-jin desu?” and then begin to jump around saying “amerika-jin, amerika-jin”. . .september 1st will be the first day of classes. . . i was surprised to find that i will be teaching two preschool classes every wednesday, three elementary school classes on thursdays, and a community class on tuesday evenings (all of these are on my own. . . not team taught!). . . on mondays, tuesdays, and fridays, i team teach with the one and only person in this town that can carry on a fairly fluid conversation in english. . . my schedule is a bit intimidating at the moment, as i have never taught small children and i do not know what the level of the adult community class will be!! guess i wanted a challenge!!!

okay, i’m sure i have a million more stories to share but think i should end here as i am now approaching three pages! if you read all of this, you are most likely my mother. . . if you are not my mother, you have more patience than me. . . i will try to write more soon. . . oh, if you skipped to the end, know this. . . the people are very kind and energetic. the food is amazing! the roads are small. the bugs are large. life is good. . .think that summarizes it.

oh! for those of you waiting to see if i am alive. . . the typhoon changed its course late in the week and missed kochi-ken.

fourteen hours and i'm . . .leavin' on a jet plane!!!

for my last american meal, i ate sushi. . . all the chefs were korean. . . hmmmm. . .

anyway, my flight leaves at 11:10 a.m. central standard time from o'hare. . . my next blog will be from tokyo. . . or kahoku . . . who knows when i'll have internet access again. . .

okay. . . i will miss you all. . . but not enough to skip out on japan :) . . . jaa, mata.

stocking up. . .

i finally got my year's supply of deodorant (among other things), as instructed by all of you who have lived in japan. the checkout woman seemed to think i was a bit nuts. i figure i'll be thankful soon enough. in other news, my boss sent me an email in response to the intro email i wrote. . .


Konnichiwa! Erinn.

Thank you for your Mail.
Recently it’s been fine and very hot.
The temperature is around 32 degrees centigrade in the daytime.

You’ve been studying languages hard, haven’t you? I respect you. I can hardly read and write besides Japanese. I regret that I should have studied more at the age of student. Ms. Setsuko Kawamura, an English teacher of Kahoku J.H.S. help me with English. I think that she becomes your good partner.

Don’t hesitate to tell me, if you meet difficulties while you stay in Kahoku. We’ll support you as possible as we can. If you have some more questions, send me a mail, please.

The day you come to Japan is coming soon.
Let's enjoy new life together.


i think i am going to enjoy my time in japan very much! the people are so kind and accommodating (at least via email!). . . okay, i should go accomplish something. . .like pack! (two suitcases at 70 pounds each. . .ugh.)

goodbye minnesota. . .goodbye kansas. . .

saturday was my final day in minnesota. . . considering my excitement in leaving the united states, it seems a bit odd that i would be so sad to leave minnesota. . . thankfully, jake picked me up at the airport and took me to explore the uptown art fair. we danced across the streets and in the stores (literally - tombé, pas de bourrée, glissade, pas de chat, pas de chat, pas de chat - each time we crossed the street!). what will i do without my friends to keep me sane and entertained!?

last night, i headed out to explore highland and doniphan county with andrew. . . got to see the stairway to hell (this insane hill we had to run for cross country), the mouth of the wolf river, and the four state lookout . . . went for some country cruisin' . . . a good reminder of life in rural kansas.

i suppose it's time to start my day. . . why am i so lazy when i come back to kansas? ugh. . . now is not the time with all the packing and prep i should be doing! ah well. . . bis spaeter.

the two week marker has come and gone. . .

wednesday was my two week marker . . . as in i will now be on a plane to japan in less than two weeks!!! does this seem completely unreal to anyone else?!?! i have had some wonderful conversations with counselors and villagers here at elv about japan and ways to prepare for my adventure. . . these make it more real and more exciting. . . at times i am still a bit unsure about the idea of living in rural japan. . . and yet at other moments i could not be more satisfied (mountains, a river, the ocean, and who could forget anapanman) . . . i still have not had time to review much japanese; however, i have cheated a bit in my job as an esl teacher by allowing the japanese students to speak in their native language so that i can eavesdrop! :) oops. . .

what else? my kids are great. . . even when they are a pain and refuse to listen to anything we tell them. . . last night was restaurant night, which consisted of the counselors acting as waiters for an evening. . . one of my tables left me a three dollar tip (300% of the bill!) and another left a piece of gum (not yet chewed). . . two weeks is such a short period of time! i cannot believe i will already be saying goodbye to these kids. . . only to receive more once i get to kahoku-cho! . . . it is so rewarding to hear their english improve! even a "hello teacher. how are you?" is a huge step for some who have not said a word in a week and a half. . . others keep me amused as they stare straight at me and speak in their native language as if i should understand what they are asking. . . edward, from yemen, is perhaps my favorite with his nonchalant singing (this kid is a natural comedian!) and his using everything from paper mache balloons to toilet paper as a soccer ball. . .and dustin who is always so polite and proper (even about his mischievous acts). . . and lindsay who is always upset by some oh so tragic event in her life and shares each tragedy in her adorable french accent. . . and clara. . . and maria. . . and mike . . . and so many more with all their broken english and enthusiasm for life! i really think that i will love teaching! i do not know what profession could possibly be more rewarding!

anyway, i believe i should end now in order to have enough energy for one more day of herding them around. . . if washington (my state) can just make it out of bed and to morning circle once this session!!! :) okay, to bed i go!