This past week was awesome! I went to all three of my schools and I must say that I have a bit of a soft spot for Tsurugamine because when the Vice Principal heard that I liked Ramen and I mentioned how there were a lot of Ramen shops around my house but that I hadn't tried them all, she asked if we could go get Ramen together! W00t~
I must say that I'm growing really fond of the second graders because 1) they're ridiculously adorable and 2) almost all of them (boys AND girls) like Pokemon and therefore love me because I drew Chikorita (my favorite pokemon) on the board. lol.
One of the teachers at Tsurugamine looks exactly like my friend Andrew, which is hilarious because Andrew is Chinese and this teacher is obviously Japanese. Just goes to show that all Asians look alike, right? XD
Sadly, Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat. The weather went from really warm to suddenly really cold, and the fact that it was raining probably didn't help. Well, I went to school and got through my classes, though it proved difficult because singing the Hello Song with all the kids and then singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes really made my throat turn to sand paper. Nagashima-Sensei asked the Vice Principal if I could leave early because I was sick, so they let me leave an hour early. I dropped by the Shiseido drug store on my way home and got Stona (I love that name) cold medicine. I had already promised to go to Tanyisha's house for the weekend, and I didn't think my cold would get much worse.
Well, it got worse. I had a slight fever by the time I got to Tanyisha's place. It really doesn't help that it was still raining, the temperature had dropped drastically, and that I had to transfer to a lot more trains that normal because I didn't take another train. Tanyisha and I had pizza that night while talking to her boyfriend via Skype. I have deemed her my surrogate mother for when my mommy's not around because she took really good care of me and ended up babying me. She made me a hot tea that consisted of whiskey, lemon juice, honey, and tea. I drank a lot of it and probably got a little tipsy because drinking it not only helped clear my sinuses, but also made my throat hurt less.
I woke up the next morning at about 8. We had gone to bed past midnight, but I just didn't seem able to continue sleeping. The original idea was that we were going to call up Arvin to swing by Akihabara because I'd never been there. After looking up the weather, and seeing that it was raining in Akihabara and that my condition had worsened, we decided to try Harajuku instead. But first, breakfast.
We had breakfast at Denny's, which was really interesting because they offered not only American breakfast, but also Japanese breakfast. I can't begin to tell you how weird it is to walk into Denny's, look at the menu, and see miso soup, rice, and other stuff offered for breakfast. Anyway, we ordered the 2 eggs, bacon, one pathetic piece of sausage and salad set along with a side order of mini pancakes because they don't make full-sized pancakes. I had come to Denny's with the intention of ordering pancakes, so it was really disappointing not to be able to have full ones. We split an order of french toast as well to satiate our cravings for an American breakfast.
After swinging by a drug store to pick up some Vitamin C lemon drink, face masks, and some various other things Tanyisha needed, we made our way back to her place. I took a nap that only lasted about an hour. Tanyisha played Oblivion IV while I checked emails on my laptop. Soon, I started getting chills. Tanyisha had me check my temperature, which led me to look up how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit.
I had a fever of 38 Celsius, which translates to 100.4 Fahrenheit. We called Hikki-san, who was a representative from Interac who helped Tanyisha get settled in Odawara, to ask him if I should go to the hospital. He said I should, so we called Arvin who speaks more Japanese than I do. He said he could come along as a translator, but he'd need an hour before he could make it. I volunteered to take a nap to buy him enough time before we went off to the hospital.
An hour later, I had a fever of 38.7 Celsius, which is 101.6 Fahrenheit. We went to the hospital, where I was told to wait and fill out some paperwork. Arvin arrived shortly after I finished filling out my paperwork. After that, the nurses secluded me off in an area that was closed and being cleaned. Arvin, Tanyisha and I waited there for about five minutes before a nurse stuck a q-tip up my nose (it was really weird and slightly painful) to get a sample and test for Influenza. I knew when I came in that I didn't have the flu, but they had to make sure. Half an hour later, she confirmed that I didn't have Influenza and took me and my friends off to go see a doctor. He was busy, so we had to wait out in the hall.
And now to explain the title of this entry. I bet you're all wondering about that perverted doctor that touched my leg. Where on my leg, you ask? It's actually quite innocent, but still kind of odd.
So I finally get to see the doctor and he checks with me again about my symptoms and does like all doctors do and checked where my jaw meets my neck to see if my lymph nodes were swollen and then checked my throat and made me say ahhh. It was quite hilarious because I hadn't brushed my teeth, so I felt really bad saying ahh in his face and worried about having really stinky breath. It didn't help that he was a cute doctor. Then it came time for him to listen to my breathing with a stethoscope. Here's the interesting bit. So I'm wearing my camisole and Lennox Brigade shirt (because that's what I fell asleep in) as well as two sweaters. No bra. It's quite embarrassing, and I said as much, as he reached up my shirt to listen to me take deep breaths. I don't know about you, but all the doctors I've had have only ever needed me to take two deep breaths for the chest and two more for the back. I was sitting there taking at least six deep breaths while the cute doctor has his hand up my shirt!
So after not finding anything wrong with me, he has me get a chest x-ray. He asks if I'm pregnant, because it's bad for the baby to get a chest x-ray, and I very adamantly say that I'm NOT. I was sitting there thinking: Come on! I'm only 22! Anyway, I go, get the chest x-ray, and then come back and sit out in the hall with Arvin and Tanyisha cracking jokes about how the doctor is totally going to ask me to come back into his office to ask me out on a date because he had his hand on my leg while he was listening to my breathing with a stethoscope. I swear, I cracked some really good jokes last night while we were sitting out there in the hall. It really didn't help that when I laughed really hard I also started coughing. @_@
Anyway, so he eventually calls me back into the office and there's this big monitor with my chest x-ray on it (and I must say that my lungs are magnificently clean) and he once again checks my lymph nodes and has me say ahh and puts his hand up my shirt AGAIN to listen to my breathing before asking me to give a blood sample and a urine sample to check if there's really anything wrong with me.
2 1/2 test tubes of blood and one flush later, I'm sitting out in the hall again waiting for test results while my friends and I crack more jokes. We're called into the office again and he tells me that the blood and urine tests show nothing, so essentially there's nothing wrong with me other than that I have a cold and a high fever than I really should. But there's nothing wrong with me. So he prescribes me some medicine and has me sit out in the hall again while he gets some paperwork put together for me to bring to a hospital or clinic near me should my condition worsen.
Finally, we get the paperwork and go to the window to pay. Now, because it's a Saturday and the office isn't open on the weekends, the man at the window says that he's not sure if I owe more money than I'm being charged (5000 yen, or a little over $50) because we need to check with the national health insurance to see if they're going to cover everything or not. I might get my 5000 yen back, or I might receive an extra charge. I really couldn't care at the moment because my friends and I had been sitting in that hospital for three hours just to have the doctor tell me that there's nothing out of the ordinary wrong with me.
So we leave and manage to finally get some food at a place called Sukiya that has cheese burger curry that was positively delicious and I ended up bringing leftovers home. After that, we went browsing at the Odakyu OX shop before leaving Arvin at the train station so he could catch the train home while Tanyisha and I took the bus home. I'm glad we took the bus because I totally fell asleep in the minutes we were on it. Once we got home, it was tea, a little bit of ice cream, and another temperature check (I was 36.6 Celsius/97.8 Fahrenheit) before off to bed.
Now, I bet you're wondering about that medicine the doctor prescribed me. Well, to tell you the truth I didn't realize that the doctor had prescribed me anything and the guy at the window didn't tell me that the 5000 yen I had paid had actually been for some medicine that I hadn't received. While relaxing at home with some hot tea, I got a phone call from the hospital telling me that I hadn't picked up my medicine, to which I explained that the man at the window hadn't even told me that I had medicine to pick up. The nurse said I could pick it up the next day.
Now it's Sunday. I woke up at 9 am, took a gloriously hot shower and totally blew my nose so much that it's raw, but at least i'm getting rid of all the phlegm. I dropped by the hospital to pick up my medicine from the cute pharmacist (why does Odawara have all the cute guys?!) and came back to Tanyisha's to write this blog entry. It's a beautiful day outside. I have the window open and can hear the river alongside Tanyisha's house flowing happily by.
You know, it's really ironic. Tanyisha has a fiancee and yet she lives in an area with a lot of really attractive Japanese men. While I am totally single and live in an area without a lot of attractive Japanese men. It's just not fair. Though Tanyisha says that it's partially a way for her to bribe me to come visit her more often. haha. She said that I can't come over every time I get sick to come see the cute doctors, which is a shame. Oh well~
But the plan for the rest of the day is to relax, possibly take a nap, and drink more tea before heading back to my house. Hopefully by the time I get back home, it'll be a decent time in America and I can talk to mom and dad via Skype and wish mommy a Happy Birthday. :3
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Odawara Castle Part Deux
Whew, I really should've written this last weekend when it was still fresh. Well, here's a (hopefully) brief summary of what happened.
So last weekend I went back to Odawara to visit Tanyisha and do Hanami, or flower viewing, at Odawara Castle. Since it wasn't raining, it was the best time to go. We met up with Arvin, one of our fellow teachers (he works for the Odawara BOE just like Tanyisha) and went to Odawara Castle. Along the way though we happened to bump into Williams, who is the third and final other teacher for the Odawara BOE. It was actually really funny because he's this tall skinny black guy from Uganda and he stuck out like a sore thumb among all the Japanese people walking around the city. It was hilarious.
So all four of us walked around the castle. Tanyisha and I took a bunch of pictures and we had soft-served ice cream. Arvin and I got Sakura flavored while Tanyisha got Matcha (green tea) and Vanilla swirl. Both were really tasty. :3
After the castle we decided to go to the beach. Along the way we saw a street that was framed on both sides with Sakura trees. It was so beautiful that not only me and Tanyisha, but other Japanese people were taking pictures of it. We ended up standing in the middle of the road to get a good shot. After that, we got a little unsure as to where the beach was, so we asked some women for directions. After getting some directions, they gave us these books (completely in Japanese, by the way) that tell the true history of Japan, because for years the Japanese have been neglecting to include certain important events in their history. Events like, oh, I don't know... Pearl Harbor.
Yeah...
Anyway, we each got a copy of the book. I haven't had the chance to try reading it yet, but hopefully I'll work up the courage to practice my translation skills on it.
So! The beach. We found a big tiled version of The Big Wave (that famous Ukiyo-e painting by Hokusai) on a jutting piece of cement that went out into the ocean. There, we took video of waves crashing on rocks as well as picked sea shells and pretty stones. Arvin was really good at finding the pretty rocks. The beach in Odawara consists mostly of rocks, with a little bit of a grayish-brown sand, which was really interesting to walk around on. I was constantly worried about falling down or losing my footing. Sure was fun though. Especially after I found a denture on the beach. WEIRD.
After spending at least an hour of sea shell and pretty rock hunting, we left the beach and went back toward the Odawara train station where we ate tempura at this one tempura restaurant we'd found the other day. It was delicious!
Last, but not least, we dropped by Don Quixote, which is the store to go to for American products. If you want some Downy, you go here. It's a huge store, and unlike the one in Hawaii I don't believe this one sold food.
We went home with bags that were heavy with pretty beach rocks and sea shells. I also bought this really pretty umbrella that when it gets wet goes from being an ordinary pink umbrella to having sakura designs all along it. It's awesome, because when you look up at it, it looks like it's raining sakura instead of actually raining. Tanyisha has a purple one from when she went to Kawagoe. I really like my pink one though. :D
So last weekend I went back to Odawara to visit Tanyisha and do Hanami, or flower viewing, at Odawara Castle. Since it wasn't raining, it was the best time to go. We met up with Arvin, one of our fellow teachers (he works for the Odawara BOE just like Tanyisha) and went to Odawara Castle. Along the way though we happened to bump into Williams, who is the third and final other teacher for the Odawara BOE. It was actually really funny because he's this tall skinny black guy from Uganda and he stuck out like a sore thumb among all the Japanese people walking around the city. It was hilarious.
So all four of us walked around the castle. Tanyisha and I took a bunch of pictures and we had soft-served ice cream. Arvin and I got Sakura flavored while Tanyisha got Matcha (green tea) and Vanilla swirl. Both were really tasty. :3
After the castle we decided to go to the beach. Along the way we saw a street that was framed on both sides with Sakura trees. It was so beautiful that not only me and Tanyisha, but other Japanese people were taking pictures of it. We ended up standing in the middle of the road to get a good shot. After that, we got a little unsure as to where the beach was, so we asked some women for directions. After getting some directions, they gave us these books (completely in Japanese, by the way) that tell the true history of Japan, because for years the Japanese have been neglecting to include certain important events in their history. Events like, oh, I don't know... Pearl Harbor.
Yeah...
Anyway, we each got a copy of the book. I haven't had the chance to try reading it yet, but hopefully I'll work up the courage to practice my translation skills on it.
So! The beach. We found a big tiled version of The Big Wave (that famous Ukiyo-e painting by Hokusai) on a jutting piece of cement that went out into the ocean. There, we took video of waves crashing on rocks as well as picked sea shells and pretty stones. Arvin was really good at finding the pretty rocks. The beach in Odawara consists mostly of rocks, with a little bit of a grayish-brown sand, which was really interesting to walk around on. I was constantly worried about falling down or losing my footing. Sure was fun though. Especially after I found a denture on the beach. WEIRD.
After spending at least an hour of sea shell and pretty rock hunting, we left the beach and went back toward the Odawara train station where we ate tempura at this one tempura restaurant we'd found the other day. It was delicious!
Last, but not least, we dropped by Don Quixote, which is the store to go to for American products. If you want some Downy, you go here. It's a huge store, and unlike the one in Hawaii I don't believe this one sold food.
We went home with bags that were heavy with pretty beach rocks and sea shells. I also bought this really pretty umbrella that when it gets wet goes from being an ordinary pink umbrella to having sakura designs all along it. It's awesome, because when you look up at it, it looks like it's raining sakura instead of actually raining. Tanyisha has a purple one from when she went to Kawagoe. I really like my pink one though. :D
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Iron Penis Festival and Odawara Castle
It's Adventure Time!!!
So I bet you're all wondering what I mean by the Iron Penis Festival. Well, once a year on the first Sunday of April in Kawasaki there's this fertility festival at the Kanamara Shrine. There you eat penis shaped foods (like banana-chocolate flavored crepes) as well as buy depictions of different sexual positions on small towels or charms. I heard about this festival at the end of my senior year in Santa Barbara and when I heard that it was on Sunday, I HAD to go. It was an imperative. I mean, who doesn't want to celebrate fertility and eat corn dogs and, omg, penis or vulva shaped lollipops?
It was incredibly embarrassing looking at all the giant wooden cocks.
I went with my new friend Tanyisha. Getting there was an adventure in itself. We were going to meet up with some of our fellow teachers, but we ended up walking from the Kawasaki train station to the Kawasaki-Daishi station where the actual festival is held. It took about half an hour, but we bumped into some fellow tourists (one was from Brazil and the rest were from various South-East Asian countries) and eventually found our way there. Sadly, Tan-chan and I got there after the lollipop man had sold out of all his hand-made penis and vulva lollipops. I really wanted one, though it would've been ridiculously embarrassing to actually eat one. We did succeed in getting a banana-chocolate crepe each, as well as take some (need I say) incredible pictures with giant renditions of phalluses. After wandering around the festival and spying a priest and priestess (I loved their outfits!), we went to the closer train station and got corn dogs (because they're phallus-shaped, and caught the train back to Odawara, where Tan-chan lives.
Odawara is actually quite the touristy area because it has a gorgeous castle that is simply littered with Sakura trees. I must say that Odawara, or at least the part she lives in, is not very well lit and seriously looked like a ghost town when we got off the train at night. I really wouldn't want to make that walk at night by myself. We dropped by Denny's for dinner and had the Japanese version of Denny's, which was really really good. Sadly, I had the tomato lasagna and found an inch by inch piece of plastic in it. The waitress apologized profusely. Tan-chan and I joked that they were trying to kill us after she had a coughing fit while eating her matcha green tea sundae. I got caramel. Since we were obviously the only ones who spoke English in the whole restaurant, we joked back and forth that the restaurant was going to sick "The Denny" on us, who would stalk us back to her place and kill us with a glowing red sword with a D for a handle like the little skewers that kept her sandwiches together. He'd also sing corny pop songs while he hacked us to pieces. We have a wonderful sense of humor. :3
After Denny's we got a six pack of beer and split it between the two of us while watching a movie at her place before sleeping. I slept in her loft, which is much smaller than mine. It was actually really nice and comfortable! I'm really tempted to drag my futon up to my own loft and sleep there instead, but my table and my laptop are down here, so that's obviously out of the question. Haha!
The next day it was raining. We went to Odawara Castle anyway and walked around looking at all the sakura trees. I can't begin to express how gorgeous they were. Walking beneath them and watching the petals fall with the slightest breeze was heart stopping. I'm thinking of going back to her place on Friday or Saturday to go back to the castle and see it when it's not raining. It was so beautiful. I used up my battery life just taking pictures there.
After admiring nature's beauty at its best, we found this cute little Italian restaurant called Piazza and had lunch there. It was delicious! And cheap. Tan-chan had the pasta lunch special and I had the fish lunch special. We're definitely going back there when we get a chance. I would love to eat there everyday. The owner and his assistant were really nice too. :D
After lunch we wandered around Odawara near its train station, which is a stop down from Tan-chan's station. I found out that my Japanese shoe size is 25, which is the largest size they make for women. Shoes only fit, it seems, if they're sneakers. lol. Not that I need more shoes, but my flats were totally drenched halfway through walking around the castle, which was why we looked. We totally walked into a kimono store called Sagami because I really wanted to look at the kimono. They had really cheap kimono there, and they looked really nice. I bought one because 1) it was cheap and 2) it came with an obi of your choice. My very first kimono! It's not made of silk, but it's still really nice. I figured out that most of the pinks they use for kimono doesn't look good on me because my cheeks flush too much and I blend in with the kimono. My kimono is black with wide pale yellow vertical stripes with flowers on it. I got it over another because it has flowers from all four seasons depicted on it, so it can be worn any time of the year. I don't have a hadagi, or under kimono, yet because Tan-chan said I could buy it elsewhere for cheaper. When I go back to her place this weekend, she's going to lend me her hadagi and her obi ties so I can wear my kimono to the castle again. :D
The woman who helped me try on my kimono, Keiko, liked me and Tanyisha so much that she asked for our addresses so she could mail us a letter! Tanyisha asked her to have tea with us, which is supposed to be a really big compliment in Japan. Hanging out with her is really teaching me a lot because she's been here for almost 3 whole years!
That night we cleaned up her place a bit (since she just moved in) and we watched Lilo and Stitch, which you should totally watch if you haven't already. It's a fun movie, not to mention they got real local kine actors to do the voices. It made me a little homesick.
The next day, today actually, I caught the train home. I was so overcome with emotion watching the sakura while flying by on the train that I almost cried. They are so beautiful. I could sit outside and watch them all day. I can see why hanami, or flower viewing, is so popular here. I'm really looking forward to the weekend so I can go see them again at the castle. :3
I came home to find a letter from grandma! I was so surprised and happy all at once. Reading her letter really made me homesick and I'm totally not ashamed to admit that I cried. I really miss my family and I really need to find out how much it costs to mail letters to America. haha. I'm going to try doing that tomorrow morning before I go to meet my Board of Education. I'm kind of nervous, but since over 100 other people are going I'm feeling a bit more confident. I finished writing my speech, which includes my name, age, where I was born, hobbies, and even the fact that I like Pokemon. I timed it and it won't even last a minute, even with slip ups. I hope they like me!
So I bet you're all wondering what I mean by the Iron Penis Festival. Well, once a year on the first Sunday of April in Kawasaki there's this fertility festival at the Kanamara Shrine. There you eat penis shaped foods (like banana-chocolate flavored crepes) as well as buy depictions of different sexual positions on small towels or charms. I heard about this festival at the end of my senior year in Santa Barbara and when I heard that it was on Sunday, I HAD to go. It was an imperative. I mean, who doesn't want to celebrate fertility and eat corn dogs and, omg, penis or vulva shaped lollipops?
It was incredibly embarrassing looking at all the giant wooden cocks.
I went with my new friend Tanyisha. Getting there was an adventure in itself. We were going to meet up with some of our fellow teachers, but we ended up walking from the Kawasaki train station to the Kawasaki-Daishi station where the actual festival is held. It took about half an hour, but we bumped into some fellow tourists (one was from Brazil and the rest were from various South-East Asian countries) and eventually found our way there. Sadly, Tan-chan and I got there after the lollipop man had sold out of all his hand-made penis and vulva lollipops. I really wanted one, though it would've been ridiculously embarrassing to actually eat one. We did succeed in getting a banana-chocolate crepe each, as well as take some (need I say) incredible pictures with giant renditions of phalluses. After wandering around the festival and spying a priest and priestess (I loved their outfits!), we went to the closer train station and got corn dogs (because they're phallus-shaped, and caught the train back to Odawara, where Tan-chan lives.
Odawara is actually quite the touristy area because it has a gorgeous castle that is simply littered with Sakura trees. I must say that Odawara, or at least the part she lives in, is not very well lit and seriously looked like a ghost town when we got off the train at night. I really wouldn't want to make that walk at night by myself. We dropped by Denny's for dinner and had the Japanese version of Denny's, which was really really good. Sadly, I had the tomato lasagna and found an inch by inch piece of plastic in it. The waitress apologized profusely. Tan-chan and I joked that they were trying to kill us after she had a coughing fit while eating her matcha green tea sundae. I got caramel. Since we were obviously the only ones who spoke English in the whole restaurant, we joked back and forth that the restaurant was going to sick "The Denny" on us, who would stalk us back to her place and kill us with a glowing red sword with a D for a handle like the little skewers that kept her sandwiches together. He'd also sing corny pop songs while he hacked us to pieces. We have a wonderful sense of humor. :3
After Denny's we got a six pack of beer and split it between the two of us while watching a movie at her place before sleeping. I slept in her loft, which is much smaller than mine. It was actually really nice and comfortable! I'm really tempted to drag my futon up to my own loft and sleep there instead, but my table and my laptop are down here, so that's obviously out of the question. Haha!
The next day it was raining. We went to Odawara Castle anyway and walked around looking at all the sakura trees. I can't begin to express how gorgeous they were. Walking beneath them and watching the petals fall with the slightest breeze was heart stopping. I'm thinking of going back to her place on Friday or Saturday to go back to the castle and see it when it's not raining. It was so beautiful. I used up my battery life just taking pictures there.
After admiring nature's beauty at its best, we found this cute little Italian restaurant called Piazza and had lunch there. It was delicious! And cheap. Tan-chan had the pasta lunch special and I had the fish lunch special. We're definitely going back there when we get a chance. I would love to eat there everyday. The owner and his assistant were really nice too. :D
After lunch we wandered around Odawara near its train station, which is a stop down from Tan-chan's station. I found out that my Japanese shoe size is 25, which is the largest size they make for women. Shoes only fit, it seems, if they're sneakers. lol. Not that I need more shoes, but my flats were totally drenched halfway through walking around the castle, which was why we looked. We totally walked into a kimono store called Sagami because I really wanted to look at the kimono. They had really cheap kimono there, and they looked really nice. I bought one because 1) it was cheap and 2) it came with an obi of your choice. My very first kimono! It's not made of silk, but it's still really nice. I figured out that most of the pinks they use for kimono doesn't look good on me because my cheeks flush too much and I blend in with the kimono. My kimono is black with wide pale yellow vertical stripes with flowers on it. I got it over another because it has flowers from all four seasons depicted on it, so it can be worn any time of the year. I don't have a hadagi, or under kimono, yet because Tan-chan said I could buy it elsewhere for cheaper. When I go back to her place this weekend, she's going to lend me her hadagi and her obi ties so I can wear my kimono to the castle again. :D
The woman who helped me try on my kimono, Keiko, liked me and Tanyisha so much that she asked for our addresses so she could mail us a letter! Tanyisha asked her to have tea with us, which is supposed to be a really big compliment in Japan. Hanging out with her is really teaching me a lot because she's been here for almost 3 whole years!
That night we cleaned up her place a bit (since she just moved in) and we watched Lilo and Stitch, which you should totally watch if you haven't already. It's a fun movie, not to mention they got real local kine actors to do the voices. It made me a little homesick.
The next day, today actually, I caught the train home. I was so overcome with emotion watching the sakura while flying by on the train that I almost cried. They are so beautiful. I could sit outside and watch them all day. I can see why hanami, or flower viewing, is so popular here. I'm really looking forward to the weekend so I can go see them again at the castle. :3
I came home to find a letter from grandma! I was so surprised and happy all at once. Reading her letter really made me homesick and I'm totally not ashamed to admit that I cried. I really miss my family and I really need to find out how much it costs to mail letters to America. haha. I'm going to try doing that tomorrow morning before I go to meet my Board of Education. I'm kind of nervous, but since over 100 other people are going I'm feeling a bit more confident. I finished writing my speech, which includes my name, age, where I was born, hobbies, and even the fact that I like Pokemon. I timed it and it won't even last a minute, even with slip ups. I hope they like me!
Friday, April 2, 2010
A Week Full of Training
Just a quick update before I totally crash:
I just finished my entire week of training! Yay! 29.5 hours of sitting in a classroom with my peers doing activities to learn the do's and don't's of being a teacher with the company. Made some nice friends as well, one of whom I'll be helping unpack tomorrow when she moves into her new apartment. :D
Training was fun, though the last two days were exhausting. It really doesn't help that we had to not only demonstrate different parts of a lesson, but there was a point where we were going through each group one right after another until we were all done. My brain felt like mush today.
We also had our physical. Apparently I'm really healthy, because the doctor took a look at my stats (my blood pressure was 127) and immediately said "Ooh! This is good!" (But in Japanese, of course). It made me feel a lot better about my ability to take care of myself. Now it's just a matter of time before they finish up their report to tell me that I'm overweight (I already know this and I'm working on getting to 25 bmi). But anyway.
Oh! I made my own flashcards of fruit last night for a demo lesson I did today with a partner. I'm really proud of the flashcards because I did happy-faced fruit and they turned out ridiculously adorable. I got a lot of compliments on them too. :3
I was going to go out drinking with a bunch of my fellow teachers tonight, but after having to starve ourselves before the physical, and after finally being able to eat, I really wasn't in the mood for staying out late drinking. At least all of us can keep in touch, so hopefully everyone will be able to meet up to go drinking again in the near future. Some of my friends couldn't go because they couldn't afford to go. I'm really looking forward to a chance to go drinking with everyone. It sounds like a lot of fun.
I just finished my entire week of training! Yay! 29.5 hours of sitting in a classroom with my peers doing activities to learn the do's and don't's of being a teacher with the company. Made some nice friends as well, one of whom I'll be helping unpack tomorrow when she moves into her new apartment. :D
Training was fun, though the last two days were exhausting. It really doesn't help that we had to not only demonstrate different parts of a lesson, but there was a point where we were going through each group one right after another until we were all done. My brain felt like mush today.
We also had our physical. Apparently I'm really healthy, because the doctor took a look at my stats (my blood pressure was 127) and immediately said "Ooh! This is good!" (But in Japanese, of course). It made me feel a lot better about my ability to take care of myself. Now it's just a matter of time before they finish up their report to tell me that I'm overweight (I already know this and I'm working on getting to 25 bmi). But anyway.
Oh! I made my own flashcards of fruit last night for a demo lesson I did today with a partner. I'm really proud of the flashcards because I did happy-faced fruit and they turned out ridiculously adorable. I got a lot of compliments on them too. :3
I was going to go out drinking with a bunch of my fellow teachers tonight, but after having to starve ourselves before the physical, and after finally being able to eat, I really wasn't in the mood for staying out late drinking. At least all of us can keep in touch, so hopefully everyone will be able to meet up to go drinking again in the near future. Some of my friends couldn't go because they couldn't afford to go. I'm really looking forward to a chance to go drinking with everyone. It sounds like a lot of fun.
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