Goin' Home

12/17/08
Finally managed to make a worksheet that Ato likes. I feel like I accomplished something.

Mona was absent today. I didn't know that teachers could be absent. I thought it was called something else.

Anyway.

Again, an incredible amount of nothing going on. I should get on that...

we had our last conversation class last night. I'd decided to hold a small party. I brought my laptop and had it playing Christmas music in the background, and I also bought a cake. That transaction went something like this:

I'd like a cake
how much are you willing to pay for it?
uh.....
is $40 okay?
uh......

For a cake that was roughly the size of a coffee can(and half as tall), I think $40 was a bit of a swindle, but I can't complain.

Really. I can't. It's not in any of my Japanese textbooks.

It was really funny at first because everyone had brought something, and we had this fantastic spread, but NO ONE wanted to be the first to eat. We all just stood around the table saying stuff like,

“ooh, that sushi looks nice, doesn't it?”
“Yes, I think so, too.”
“and those sweet potatoes look delicious. Did you make those?”
“Yes I did.”
“Oh, what a lovely cake!”
“uh....”

Fifteen minutes passed. I decided to play the Rude American and grab a cookie. After that, people began to dig in, and the party really started.
So I'm really excited to be going home for the holidays. Not that Japan hasn't been an absolute brast; I love it here* But a few days at home is just what I need to get my head on straight.

A few things I'm looking forward to:


Blending in again
central heating
being able to read the signs
wide, spacious traffic lanes
being able to throw EVERYTHING out in the same trash can
“my size” trash cans.
“my size” clothes
central heating
whole grains
flouride in the toothpaste
cottage cheese
0% humidity
0% humility
no rain
no snow**
central heating
Mexican food
Mexicans

Things I'll miss:

people telling me I look like DeCaprio
People telling me I look like Tom Cruise
People telling me I look like Rocky
random gifts from total strangers on days that aren't my birthday.
People offering to drive me places when I just ask for directions.
Fresh brown rice
fresh, sweet, DELICIOUS produce

Well, that's my last entry in Japan for a while. Catch you in America.

Maybe.


*can't you tell?
**apparently, Vegas recently got three freak snow days; everyone frolicked, some small snowmen were made. some small snowballs were tossed, and people forgot how to drive.

I'm Mister Grey Christmas

Earlier this week, I found this on my desk:

Please make speech or picture about Christmas. We have the extra room each grade. I want you to make “International Area” each room. For example, put some pictures or cards or write explanation...something like this:(example not included, as there wasn't one)

Not so elaborate!! Something interesting. First, please think about this!
-Thanks!
I learned later that this meant I was to make a Christmas poster, fashioned out of normal-size paper and blown up to a not-so-elaborate size to be displayed in the classroom in my absence. I set to work.
But first, I thought about it.
That done, I got out my Crayolas. Coloring at your desk at the age of 25 is one of those singular privileges exclusive to ALTs and the mentally challenged.
I thought up a really nice, but easy-to-understand explanation of Christmas, complete with snowman and a bare Christmas Tree which, when blown up, could be decorated with real ornaments purchased from the 100 yen store. I presented it to the teacher, who also admitted it was very nice. But, she told me, since they didn't have a color copier, the poster would be in black-and-white.

Take that, children.

Winter: a Prelude

A sweater can hide
The wrinkles in your dress shirt
But not in your heart
-Hakuma



Last week, it snowed.
I'm not talking one of those early November sprinkles, where people drop what they're doing and run outside to frolic; where class is disrupted but teachers don't mind because it's the first snow of the season and oh, don't they just remember how it was when they were little; gathering what meager flakes they could to make precious, tiny little snowballs that melted before impact.

No.

I'm talking about a ton of snow being DROPPED on our quiet little town as we slept. I'm talking about going outside and not being able to find my car. Seriously, it's like God said, “Let there be SNOW!” and then the phone rang.

Japan is really proud of its four distinct and uniquely beautiful seasons, and I can appreciate that, especially coming from a place where the only time I get to see snow is on television. What I don't appreciate is when one season bullies its way in before another season is through. Apparently, Spring is just as wimpy.

Now let me tell you something now about Japanese housing; they're made light and airy, designed to deal with earthquakes and the harsh, muggy summers. This means that it gets very drafty in the winter, and the temperature inside is the same as the temperature outside. Your only hope is a space heater, often only strong enough to heat one room at a time, and a kotatsu.

A kotatsu is a small table with a built-in heater underneath to keep for legs warm. A thick blanket is draped over the top to keep the heat in, which generally makes for a good reason never to get up from it again. Those who are having trouble studying their Japanese, or want to finish that novel they just KNOW will make them famous, I suggest moving to Japan and purchasing a kotatsu. You'll get the work done, and then some.

One good thing about the winter; no more bugs. The bugs are dead! Honestly, I never thought I'd be so happy about mass extinction, but DING, DONG the bugs are DEAD!! Take THAT, you little fuckers!

Would you believe, as a little boy, I wanted to be an entomologist?

On the other hand, they might all reincarnate as degrees Celsius and freeze my shower...

Classes, My Personal Life, and Tony Hawk

Had my classes for the day. The first was with Mr. Mori. The subject was how to make sentences out of the “How many _____ do you have?”

Now, I ask you. How much trouble can we get into with that?

Lots.

MR. MORI: “how many CDs do you have?”
ME: “I have twenty CDs.”
MR. MORI: “how many brothers do you have?”
ME: “ I have three brothers.”
MR. MORI: “how many girlfriends do you have?”
ME: “What? I mean...I have no girlfriends.”
MR. MORI: “Is that so? I have one hundred girlfriends.”
ME: “ah...”
MR. MORI: (holding up a picture of baseballs)“how many balls do you have?”
ME: “I have two balls. Thank you.”

next class was with Ms. Mona. I read a short article out loud about skateboarding:

“...Many people skateboard. It is fun. I skateboard, too. It is also fun....many people think that skateboarders are not good people, but that is not true. The most famous skateboarder is Tony Hawk. He built many safe parks....”
Then we passed out a test based on the reading. While the students were working on it, Ms. Mona cornered me and asked me what the answers were. Not being the one who PREPARED the test, I said I didn't know exactly. The questions were simple enough: who is the most famous skateboarder, Are skateboarders good people, etc. We figured it out.
Lunch is wierd. they have eat with a different class each week, I guess to help familiarize me with the students, and Vice versa. It's great when I go to the elementary schools; everyone talks and laughs and we have a great time. But today I had lunch in the middle school with the ninensei(2nd years), and they were all very quiet. The teacher had warned me about it beforehand:
TEACHER: I dont understand it; in class they won't shut up, but when it's time for lunch, they're little angels!
ME: Maybe they're plotting something...
She was right. I get in there and absolutely NO ONE is talking. The only sound was the click of chopsticks and the slurping(it is polite to slurp-means you like the taste) of miso soup. I actually became very conscious of how I was eating; no way was I gonna be outdone by a bunch of little ninenseis!
Then, as if by some evil magic, the bell rang and the ninenseis immediately reverted back into ninenseis. They yelled, slammed chairs, and wrestled over the last piece of fried chicken on one poor little boy's plate. While the teacher was tried to regain control of the class, I beat a hasty retreat back to the office. My contract says nothing about wrestling for fried chicken.



What I learned today:
Skateboarders are good people.

Public Announcements, English Drama, and a Little Burr-Sheets.

It's getting colder here. Tonight I'm sleeping with a sweatshirt over my T-shirt. Also, I closeted my fan in exchange for the space heater. I didn't expect it to happen so soon, and I'm a little worried. What kind of winter am I in for?
No sleep last night. Like many small towns in Japan, mine has a public announcement system, which also serves as a public alarm clock(for factory workers and farmers) and a public nuisance(for everyone else). Something must have gone down last night, for at the hours 12, 3, and 5am, it blared messages; something about a car, I think. I actually got up and peeked out my window to see if my car was properly parked, lights off, etc. Call me egotistical, but I have this terrible fear that one day I'll hear my name in one of those things. This might be because I often hear them when I'm walking somewhere new, and not sure if I'm supposed to be there or not:
ATTENTION: THE AMERICAN HAS WANDERED ONTO THE HOLY TEMPLE GROUNDS; WOULD THE CLOSEST INDIVIDUAL PLEASE REMOVE HIM AND STERALIZE THE GROUNDS. REPEAT: THE AMERICAN....
It doesn't help that I can only understand a few words, and that the same message, slightly delayed, is playing in another area of town, just as loud and distorted.
Classes at Mountain Village Middle/Elementary today. It's still my favorite, and now I'm directing an “English Theatre” production of Momotaro, a popular Japanese fairytale. Among the translated lines, my favorites are:
“Honey, I'm home!”
"OGYAH! OGYAH!"
and,
“Oh, my GOD! What a big peach!”
(I did not translate. I only direct...and chuckle quietly.)

Mountain Village is also my favorite school because the elementary teachers are really serious about team-teaching, and if you know anything about this program, you know that's a rarity. We're either running the whole show, or we become a sort of expensive tape-recorder the Japanese teachers use for pronunciation exercises. This is especially true for some of my schools:

ME: Banana.
STUDENTS: Banana!
ME: Apple.
STUDENTS: Apple!
ME: Bullshit.(as in: This is____)
STUDENTS: Burr-sheets!

I suppose there's no point in me doing this blog if I'm not honest. Some of the classes are like that, and I think it's a shame.

But back to Mountain Village. One teacher, we'll call him Montag-sensei(he loves Ray Bradbury, I found out), comes to me before every lesson and explains what he wants covered that day. We exchange ideas, and usually end up with something very effective. He is helping to direct the English version of Momotaro, but instead of just getting the students to memorize the English lines, he thinks up lessons to explain the various grammer points the characters use. Of all my coworkers, he seems the most connected with the kids. I also like him because he's got a great sense of humor and laughs like a cartoon character. If nothing else, my weekly trip to Mountain Village is a breath of fresh air.

Japanese Word of The Day:
Burr-sheets

Quote of Current Book:
"You deal with the madmen. All men are mad in some way or the other; and inasmuch as you deal discreactly with your madmen, so deal with God's madmen, too-the rest of the world." -Van Helsing, from: Dracula

Which Concerns Holidays

Yesterday was the autumnal Equinox, and I'd like to share something.
Due to its rampant commercialism; the books and movies, the toys, the slew of television programs, I think we've forgotten this holiday's true meaning. You see, folks, Autumn Equinox is not about presents, or cookies, or the sun being directly over the earth's equator. No. It's about love.
Also, Halloween came early this year. That's right; one of my coworkers asked me if I could whip up a short presentation about Halloween.

"For October?" Says I.
"No, no. For tomorrow," says she.
"Oh," says I.

Halloween just happens to be my favorite holiday, so I had already been planning just such a lesson, and even had the foresight to bring a costume from home. Coming from Vegas, there was really only one choice as to who I would be.

Finally, it was my brother's birthday the other day. I sent him a sarubobo(baby monkey doll-very popular in my area of Japan), and he sent me a picture he drew of me. He's pretty talented. Hopefully someday he'll have better models;)

Japanese word for the day:
Metcha-metcha: messy or in shambles-perfectly describes:my blog entries; my Japanese; my sink after removing the Halloween makeup.

Favorite Quote of current book:
'I could hear a lot of words often repeated; queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd... amongst them were...Satan...hell...and...something that is either "werewolf" or "vampire"...I must ask the Count about these superstitions.' -Jonathan Harker, from: Dracula

In Which Money is Made...And Lost.

Yesterday was definitely a day worth blogging about, but I was too busy being flabbergasted. I'll explain:
The day started off well enough; I made play money with my face on it and passed it out while we played an English game. Once my students have enough cash, I plan to devise some form of English/gambling games. They all love the fact that I'm from Vegas, so I figured I'd play it up. Although I wasn't really much of a gambler back home. Not too many Vegas natives are. I explained it this way to another teacher:
"People come to Vegas, lose money, and go home. The people who LIVE in Las Vegas get a new casino."
Later, I finally found out how to pay those annoying cell phone bills which keep showing up in my mailbox. All I have to do is take them down to the convenience store, and the clerk does all the work. The Japanese word for "convenience store" is "konbini"(con-beenie), which is essentially a shorter(more convenient?) version of the English phrase. They do this a lot.
Anyway, so I made the mistake of bringing the FIRST bill along with the reminder bill to the konbini. The clerk takes both of them from me before I can stop her, and proceeds to write them up. Years of Japanese classes back in the States had prepared me for just such a scenario:
CLERK: Ok, I'll just take those and write them up...
ME: No...don't understand...same.
CLERK:(as she is writing them up) Sorry, what was that?
ME: Same...those are...same.
CLERK: Ah, yes. Of course, sir. That'll be $$$$$(double)
ME: What? No! No understand. Same!
CLERK: Hm?
ME: Because I forgot...another was sent...same. Same, understand?
CLERK: Ah, yes. So that's $$$$$$(double)
ME: NO!
CLERK: Sir, you have to pay your bill.
ME: Yes...but...SAME!
CLERK: Hm?(looks at the bill) It says here that these are the same bill. They sent you another one because you hadn't payed, yet.
ME: YES!
CLERK: Oh, dear. That's a problem. You see, I've already entered the information, so you have to pay what's on the screen.
ME: What? Please say again.
CLERK: I already put the bills into the system, so we must recieve this amount.
ME: Sorry...I no understand.(points to bills) Same?
CLERK: Yes, sir, I know that now. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do.
ME: ...
CLERK: I'm very sorry.
ME: (points to screen) I have to pay?
CLERK: Yes.
ME: No!
CLERK: Sir, I...
ME: No...this...a little bit...error. You...is...mistake. These are same!
CLERK: Wait just a moment, please.
(she disappears and the manager enters)
MANAGER: Hello.
ME: Hello.(points to bills) Same?
MANAGER: Yes, sir, I heard all about it. Unfortunately, you have to pay what's on the screen.
ME: (long pause)...Is okay. I return tomorrow.
MANAGER: Sir, you can't leave the building until you've payed.
ME: (points to bills) Have to pay?
MANAGER: Yes.
ME: Now?
MANAGER: Yes.
ME: NO!.
MANAGER: Sir, there's nothing we can do.
ME: But...but...SAME!
I eventually had to pay the amount on the screen. At this point, half the town had lined up behind me, waiting to pay for soda, cigarettes, and other daily sundries. It was only after that I found out what had happened from Ms. Shige, one of the English teachers. Apparently it will take the phone company two weeks to track down and confirm the twice-paid bill, at which point they'll give me back my money.
Strangely, I found a letter from the phone company in my mailbox today. I haven't opened it yet. Maybe they've already realized their mistake, and enclosed a letter saying they've put the money back in my account, and then some. Maybe it's an apology letter, along with an offer of two month's free service.
Maybe.

A Failure to Communicate

I found a note on my desk this morning informing me that my first class had been cancelled, and that, as my only other class wasn't until third period, I needn't get up early. It also said that tomorrow's classes will be slightly switched around, and that I need to prepare a twenty-minute lesson for three of them. I used the extra time to write up the lessons. Sometimes it just works out that way.
An hour before lunch, I was told that lunch had not been ordered for me, probably because I'd not been present at the meeting(which no one told me about)in which the other teachers ordered theirs, so I had to go pick some up.
After lunch, a teacher waylaid me in the hallway and asked me to help in her fifth period class. Since my contract states that I must remain in the building unil 4:15, and since I had no other classes, I complied...
... only to find that by doing so I had missed another class at which I was supposed to be present, but which, of course, no one informed me of.
I'm not complaining here; I was warned long before gettng to Japan that the gaijin teachers are treated in this way. It's not a malicious thing, either; the teachers were sincerely sorry. I write this only because it seemed to be today's theme.
Also, the gym was closed today. It's usually closed only on Mondays, but...

My Daikon is Bigger Than Yours

Back to my favorite school way up in the mountains, where they held their annual Daikon Marathon. For those who don't know, a daikon is a long, white radish indiginous to Japan which also happens to be a symbol of masculinity among JETs who possess an eight-year-old's sense of humor(That is to say, all of us) and which has NOTHING to do with running or marathons.
I was late in handing in my application, which, for anyone else, would have caused problems. However, being a gaijin, it only seemed to make me more exotic. And that, friends, is the wonderful thing about being a gaijin-anything you do can only amplify the other-worldliness about you. You can do anything, and you'll never lose your gaijinity. You can even make up words, like gaijinity.
It has a downside, though, because there are standards, set long ago by the first foreigners coming to Japan off the black ships, to which all gaijin are set. It is widely believed that we are naturally superior at looting, pillaging and other cardiovasular activities, and therefore good at marathons.
In keeping with this stereotype, I signed up for the longest and most difficult course in the marathon-a good 16 km run, which, I later realized, was also a good 10 mile run. It is also widely believed that gaijin are inferior in(or simply apathetic to)mathematics.
Losing 100 pounds does something to a man. Since then, I have become dangerously overconfident, tackling tasks which I would have never attempted three years ago. This was one such occasion, and one in which I learned a lot.
The race started off ok enough; we all ran down the track, cheered on either side by people with more common sense than to run themselves. My students, bright-eyed and admiring, ran alonside the track, shouting my name until I and the other runners were well out of view. Deep into the mountains we ran, iPods in our ears, the spirit of the Great Daikon in our hearts.
I run two miles every morning. It's how I lost the weight. I can do this. I am Gaijin.
By the fifth kilometer I realized the extent of my gaijin powers, the extent being five kilometers. But what could I do? To turn back would mean disgrace, but to go forward meant almost certain death. I trudged on, head down, hoping against hope to meet a bear or a ninja and so end my life without shame.
By the tenth kilometer, old people were passing me, and I was wheezing worse than they were. I pressed on, however.
And came in second-to-last.
I actually don't care. I finished the marathon. I ran FIVE TIMES my normal distance without stopping(much),and even though I didn't win the daikon, I got a nifty certificate with my name and a PICTURE of a daikon. And that, readers, is what REALLY matters.
Yeah, right.

What I Learned:
16 km = 10 miles
the word "gaijinity"

Sports Festival at Yamanomura

I really should update this thing. Last week was Sports Day at my favorite school, Yamanomura. That's the school up in the little mountain village with only 14 kids. Because the school is so small, parents and teachers also participated in the festival. They even had a mini-relay for the toddlers. I ran a few relays, and got to carry big heavy things from one end of the field to the other. One of the relays pitted me against a police officer from Kamioka, whom I(and I say this with all modesty) smoked. After that, they made me do the town folk dance. I think it was my punishment.
The kids were great. Both teams(red and white) did little cheers and skits in between the games. At one point, the principle(whom until now I had taken to be a very serious and stoic man) came bounding out in a dragon costume. Everyone laughed. Except the toddlers. They cried.
That evening, all the teachers had a party in a place twenty minutes away and even DEEPER into the mountains. Driving there was fun. I had to follow a guy who was doing 80km up this REALLY narrow mountain pass in near-total darkness. The guy would not SLOW DOWN, and every time he turned a sharp corner(they were all sharp, btw), I lost sight of his lights and had to speed up to catch him again. I kept waiting for that one time I'd miss the turn,crash though the guardrail and go tumbling down the mountainside. But driving is different here. We don't fall off mountains-that would be rude.
At the party I met a guy who trains at my gym in Kamioka. He also does Aikido, and asked if I would like to join. Why not? Since coming here, I've accidentally joined two soccer teams, one volleyball team, and an English club. One more couldn't hurt.

Today I learned:
Sports Days are fun.
Making promises is easy(especially if you don't know what you are saying).
I can outrun the Kamioka police officer.

Chapter 5 : A fresh start: sans internet, sans money

Not much has happened since I last blogged. I still don't have internet. I keep trying to explain to my supervisors that I need my NTT phone line activated before I can do anything, but they won't listen. Either that, or I'm not saying it right in Japanese. A "professional" is supposed to come over today and discover this.
Drove to Yamano mura the other day, that's my other school. It's far away in a smaller(yes, smaller) village on the other side of a mountain. People complain about the long journey, but I actually found the ride to be quite beautiful. The mountains are completely covered with trees and every now and again I pass close to a river.
The school is very small, but also very nice. At most, I'll have only four or five students to a class. The principal has a huge brick oven where he and the students make pizza sometimes. There's also a marathon coming up, which they asked me to join. I don't want to jinx it, but I think I'm going to like this school the best.
Still studying(or should I say re-learning?) Japanese. The difference now is that I'm actually making progress; not just memorizing things for an upcoming test and then forgetting them. That was my problem back in the States, coupled with the fact that I didn't really NEED Japanese to survive. Here, of course, it's different.
Am actually warming up to karaoke. Got standing ovations the last couple of times.
Today marks the beginning of school for the students. Made a speech(in English AND Japanese)in the gym this morning, and then stood for an hour while everyone else made theirs. Once again, I overdressed, showing up in a suit while everyone around me wore what they call "cool biz"(short-sleeved shirt and tie). I was easy to spot.
Money continues to slip through my fingers. I've already gone through the two thousand dollars I brought with me, and am steadily eating into my first paycheck. I know things in Japan are expensive, and I know culture shock and jet lag have temporarily altered my common sense, and I KNOW now is the time for gatherings, eating, drinking and celebrating, not to mention furnishing my new overseas life, but this is a little too much. I haven't even payed my bills yet, and already I've spent twice the amount I usually do in one month. I'll have to pay that "professional" when he comes over and tells me something I already know. *sigh* I guess it can'T be helped.
Tomorrow is the birthday of a famous hamburger joint in a nearby city. All the nearby JETs are attending. I'm excited. I think I've said before that I had the best hamburger of my life over there. We'll see how it goes.

Chapter 4: Mukade

"Japan is a very friendly place."
I've heard this a hundred times, but I never realized the all-encompassing meaning behind that phrase. Even the BUGS aren't afraid to get all up in your face and welcome you to Japan. Since I've been here, I've killed enough bees, crickets and flies to be qualified as an amatuer exterminator. I share my apartment with three large spiders(that I know of) and actually keep them around to keep the insect population under control.
It's safe to say that, back in Vegas, all arthropods adopt the "live and let live" philosophy and tend to keep to themselves, which is great because just about the only kind of spider there is the black widow. Out here, you see them everywhere: on the bridge, in your house, in the trees, and even at school, but none of them are poisonous.
Except mukade
Mukade are a type of poisonous centepede. Apparently, they like to drop from the ceiling onto the heads of unsuspecting sleepers, or hide in the tatami and ambush tender bare feet. Their bite may not be deadly, but it is very painful, and will leave you with a swollen appendage for some time.
The other night, I awoke to a tickly sensation on my arm. Reaching out, I grabbed something squirmy and threw it. I turned on the light to see a small, half-dead centepede writhing on my tatami. I imediately thought this was the mukade, and prepared for the killing ritual.
Killing mukade is a lot like killing a vampire in the West. There's a lot of folklore behind it. Many Japanese say that you should never step on mukade, for it will call more. Likewise, you cannot burn them. If you cut one in half, the head will still come after you. You must either boil it in water or submerge it in oil. In this way, the mukade cannot call out, and so you are safe.
I had no oil, and it would take too long to boil the water, so I flushed it. Take THAT, mukade.
Later, I found out that what I had slain was not a mukade, but a house centepede. Apparently, mukade are bigger.

Chapter 3: You're Never Alone in El Sol

The evening started out with me trying to find El Sol, the local bar in Kamioka. I'd only gone there once with Warren, so I couldn't remember exactly where it was, only that it was on the other side of the river, in the downtown area.
After some searching, I eventually asked a man in the street. He had no clue what I was talking about, which didn't surprise me(Warren warned me that almost NO ONE in town knows the bar even exists, except perhaps the coolest locals and gaijin), but he stopped a taxi - actually STOPPED a taxi - and asked the driver. The man in the back seat was drunk, but he knew the place, and, inspired by my gaijin presence, said, "You! Come!" in English. With much polite hesitation and thanks, I got in the taxi and they took me to El Sol.
Once there, I found a seat at the bar and chatted with Keiko, the bartender. Keiko is somewhat famous among the Kamioka gaijin because she can speak English and a little Spanish as well. She's also quite pretty, and so is always being hit on by the local barflies.
Almost immediately, two guys joined me at the bar. They bought me a beer, and started asking me all sorts of questions: where are you from, how do like Japan, would you join my soccer team, and do you want another beer?"(this one at least three times) One thing lead to another, and I soon had two new best friends and dangerously low inhibition. Toora-san is my age, and Takushi("sounds like `taxi`" is his favorite joke) is 31, and hopelessly in love with Keiko.
They bought me drink after drink as the night wore on, and we talked endlessly about movies, sports, and of course, our dreams. Toora-san taught me the finer points of Japanese alcohol, and every now and then reminded me that I had promised to join his soccer team. Keiko successfully dodged every one of Takushi's come-ons, and I was having a good time. Not only that, I noticed that, since my two new friends had joined me, I had not spoken a lick of English. Blame it on the booze.
Takushi-san(whom Toora-san assures me is quite rich) payed for my drinks and even my dinner, and just when it looked like we would turn in for the night, they invited me out for ramen(and more drinking). I am quickly learning that this is the Japanese way; to have several parties one after another, and that refusal is impossible.
Ramen it is, then.
At the restaraunt, Takushi and Toora tried explaining to me how to subtley decline an offer without being impolite. They did this while offering me more beer.
I can't really remember whether or not I ever got the hang of it...

Chapter 2: dinner with Kuma-sensei

Made another friend at work the other day. We'll call him Kuma-sensei because the first part of his name means `bear`. It might just be me, but I find it really funny that I'm out here in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people with names like "forest" and "bear" and "mountain". It's probably more common than I'm imagining.

As it turns out, Kuma-sensei lives just above me in the same apartment. He invited me to dinner, and we ended up going out of town to this really fantastic sushi place. The area is famous for sushi because it's right next to the Sea of Japan. The sushi was good, but I have a feeling Kuma-sensei took me as much for his own enjoyment as mine.

Since being here, people have been asking me strange questions, like, `Do you like natto?`(a fermented bean that's notoriously gross, but apparently very healthy), and then flashing evil grins when I say I've never tried it. such was the case here. Kuma-sense treated me to dish after dish of sushi, most of which were delicious. There were a few that I didn't quite agree with, but being in the Land of the Rising Sun, I couldn't very well say that it was "nasty". Instead, when asked, I replied that it was "interesting".

Here's a breakdown of the sushi we ate:

eel - good
egg - very good
salmon - delicious
tuna - delicious
tako(octopus) - interesting
Squid - very interesting
natto - so interesting that Kuma-sensei had to finish it for me.
By the end of the dinner, Kuma-sensei had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. He treated me, though, so I have no complaints.
Gaijin seem to have the power to make Japanese people buy things for them. I must examine this power and utalize it fully.

Chapter 1-in which Ignorance Leads to Gluttony

Warren lent me his rice cooker, and with Tanaka-sensei's help, I managed to get it working. The rice came out perfect, I'm proud to say. However, not knowing that cooked rice could be stored in rice cookers for several days, and, not wanting to be wasteful, I ate the entire batch.
Live and learn.

Pre-internet 1: Friday, August 1st: Kamioka -cho

Went jogging today and got lost. Don`t know exactly how I managed that in such a small town, but I guess I`m capable of anything. Kept missing the little(tiny) street that lead to my apartment, and so kept ending up either at the(only) supermarket or the(only) gym. I think I must have combed the entire town(minus that one street, of course) in my search. Beacause it is a small town, I figured word would get around that the crazy gaijin was lost and wandering aimlessly, so I kept jogging wherever I went and pretended to enjoy the scenery(which is actually VERY nice). Better for them to think that I`m crazy about fitness.
I`d gotten up early because I`d actually planned on getting lost my first day, but even with the extra hour, time was running out. Showing up late for work on my firday would not make for a good first impression. I started to get worried.
Though I could not find my apartment, I was able to remember where Miss Shige`s ryoukan(Japanese - style inn) was. Ms. Shige(not her real name, but close enough) is this really nice lady who moonlights as an English teacher at my school. I stayed at her family`s ryoukan the night I arrived in Kamioka, before moving in to my apartment. The ryoukan was actually across the river in the downtown area. I arrived, sweaty and pitiful, and asked if she knew where I lived, an interesting question, which I recommend everyone ask at least once in their life. She was very understanding and actually drove me home! One thing I`ve noticed is that the people here in Kamioka are INCREDIBLY nice. They`ll go out of their way to do almost anything in order to make me feel more at home. More examples of that later.
Back home, I called my supervisor, Mr. Yama. Turns out I didn`t have work today.
I might go out again.