Date:	2007-09-30 22:09
Subject:	Greeting from Ikeda, Hokkaido. We're talking Japan, folks.
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Okay, so yeah, I know. I fell off the planet for a while.  A big BIG BIG apology to all those eagerly waiting people in the states to hear about life in the east.  After being here for 2 months, it feels kind of cliche to "go live in Japan". Its like I caught the tale end of a fad to expatriate to "the Land of the Rising Sun" in an attempt to gain a broader horizon.  Truth is, most of the time it feels like I'm still in America, only instead of everything in english and spanish, its english and japanese.  Everybody knows some English, many can carry on a simple conversation about the weather and what they like about America.  Hate to say at first it was kind of a let down.

So I'm sure you are wondering about the place I live and what exactly do I DO everyday to pass the time.  Unfortunately, this is the 20 or so posts I should have been writing on MS Notepad but didn't, and now feel too overwhelmed to start.  I will do a recap post in the near future, just to give some background to the "present" but most of my writing will be my musings in the here and now.

In short, my life is pretty similiar to my life in Savannah, except I like my boss.  I study everyday, maybe averaging 5-6 hours a day.  Sometimes on the weekends I will only leave my apt. for lunch and dinner because I am too busy studying to cook.  Oddly, for the first time in many years, I really enjoy studying! I mean, I'm addicted to it.  I can read alot around me, although I still don't have the grammar down, but I can read signs and some vocab. Just about everything has a english translation though, so its not as big as thrill as it could be.  Please don't get me wrong, I'm not a hermit. I go out often, but there isn't anything huge and exciting in my area of Japan (look it up on google earth. You'll see what I mean.) It is expensive to always "go do something fun" which invariably means alot of traveling and hotel bills. I figure, I will put in the time now to learn the language, then in the (hopefully) near future I can enjoy those things other people CAN'T because they don't know the language and culture.

In spite of my random placement, I have been blessed to be in one of the few towns with it's very own Catholic Church.  So I can still go every week, which has been my stronghold of sanity. However, mass is the one place I have no translations.  That's right. All japanese all the time.  The readings, homilies (from an italian priest!) the songs(I know Ave Maria in japanese!), the prayers.  The true beauty of being in such a standardized,global,looong traditional religion really comes through in this circumstance. I am never at a loss when to sit, or stand or kneel. :P I know enough to muddle through the responses, and what I don't know I blatantly state in English. So I still feel like one of the fold.  The priest knows some english, so after mass he gives me the "reader's digest for kids" version of the homily  which for some reason I find really endearing.

"Teaching" is more like hanging out with the kids and getting them to feel comfortable enough around me to speak either japanese of English. I make lesson plans and play "games" toencourage more natural speaking, which is a lot of fun but far from what I would classify as a real job. However, during lunch and between classes I can expect to be treated to a free lesson in Japanese slang if I sit with the right kids :P  I routinely have downtime in the office, so all in all, I would describe my job as getting paid to learn Japanese.  Which is the best educational deal in the world.

There are thousands of other foreigners in Japan, so its not that difficult to find someone to go hang out with at a western-style restaurant or club and speak english and drink non-japanese beer and basically pretend you are not halfway around the world.  Considering it was hard enough for me to do those things in America, it just seems pointless to do it here. I can happily report that I have accumulated a bevy of good friends and the majority are Japanese,. And even a  few dont know 50 words of English.  In fact, the owner of the local electronics store and I have a pretty sweet understanding. I visit him about everyother day, we say hi, how are you, how was the trip/party/family visit/festival, etc.  And after we've exhausted all of my japanese small talk abilities, we quietly eat dinner together, I play with his three kids and watch american cartoons translated to japanese on his 5 brand new big screen TVs (all this takes place in the middle of the store...) and every so often he shows me some new high-tech gadget that came in. After about three hours we say goodnight, see you later (in English AND Japanese) and I ride my bike the four blocks home.  It's so quirky and feel-good, I can't imagine being without it.

My one American indulgence however is that I have joined the hip hop dance team.  Uh, yeah.  Hip Hop. I won't post the play by play here, but I promise I will soon. Although right now we are deviating into the land of "Buri-chan". For you uninitiated, that's Britney Spears, folks.  In case your wondering, I had no say in the musical choice, the whole routine was in place before I arrived on the scene and quite unitentionally and somewhat against my will suddenly found myself fumbling through some slightly provokative dance moves to the instruction of the drop-dead gorgeous 60 year old instructor with calves of steal and the tiniest dancer's waistline.  But the best benefit is I can now watch any excercise video in japanese and know exactly what is going on.

What do I eat? More fruits and vegetables than I thought I could choke down in a week, much less a day.  The produce is almost all local (my grapefruit is from California, though....) and it tastes so much better than I remember in the states!! The big reason is vanity. Im a girl.  I dont want to get fat.  It is already 30 degrees F here at night, and the temperature will be down to 10 by November. The winter lasts until May, and the majority of the time is frozen solid.  It doesn't even snow much in this region (not past November) because its so freakin cold.  I'm just a tad nervous about no activity and very high boredom.  Its a shame I can't/ have no interest in ice skating.  I asked "Since everything closes in the winter, what does everyone do here?" " Oh we ice skate. We have great skating parks" " Oh. Well, what ELSE do you do?" " Uh.....that's about it.  We also drink alot"  uh,Yeah.  

Wow, that was longer than I had time for.  Anyway, I have a little studying to do yet, soo.....please let me know if you still remember who I am and drop me a line!

Date:	2007-07-11 00:00
Subject:	8 days till take off
Security:	Public
Mood:	sick

So now I have seen far more of the U.S in one month than I had any year previously. Still recovering from some mystery flu, but I have time to just chill here in Atlanta until its time to leave. I still have to close my bank account, exchange my last dribbles of pocket change to yen, cancel my credit card, pay the At&T extortioners to cancel my phone contract, and buy a few odds and ends for my first month of "adjustment" but otherwise I am ready to go.

Once I leave, I wont have a phone for a while and internet access will be spotty, but I will continue to update here whenever possible. Unfortunately, I dont have money for a camera right now so pictures will be limited to nonexistant BUT to make it up to you, please email me your address and I will send you a bonafide Tokyo-post stamped postcard during my luxurious three day vacation in the megatropolis. ALSO- if you would like my address in Japan, please let me now and I'll email it to you. I would adore any foodstuffs or scraps of paper anyone is willing to send me to keep me sane.

In my obsessive activity on japan forum boards, I managed to weedle my way into being designated hokkaido HEC webmaster to volunteer my services as well as secure any special priveleges usually denied to the newbie. My pre-departure orientation is next Friday, so until then I will work on prettying this site and working on the other. Expect my next update from Tokyo!!