Why Japan Rocks!

I guess I am going through a little Japan Separation anxiety. I think I need to create a little entry on things that I miss the most about Japan. In comparison with the food abundant, here in London- though British food does leave my tongue wanting for some things, seriously eel pie? sure it may have been a cheap alternative for the lower class workers and basically the only thing that could live in the Thames at the beginning of the industrial revolution, but still, eel pie?-the best thing about Japan that I will say I miss the most is always the food; not necessarily Japanese food per se, but food in Japan.

Case in point 1.MISTER DONUTS!!!!!!!!!

One can always depend on Japan to have a new food for every seasonal event; sometimes a native Japanese season or event or it can be a foreign one. Mister Donuts is my favorite donut shop in... THE... WORLD! The angel cream or anything with cream is delicious. The chewy texture from the use of rice flour in some donuts like the ポン～デ～リングis so superb, that one could easily eat a dozen by becoming lost in the taste and texture orgy in your mouth. This little store is just a good example of the seasonality of Japan and how the general mindset of the Japanese people is in-tune with the changes of the seasons and how sometimes having something once a year just makes it better instead of always having access to it.

Nikuman

I love nikuman so much. It was one of my favorite foods in Japan. However, originally from China in the north from the wheat producers there, nikuman has been a distinctive way of making them in comparison to the baozi of China. Many different pizzaman or curryman are in the convenience stores all over the country. I loved going with Amber and getting some warm nikuman as dinner on a cold winter's night in Sapporo.

Matsuri

Festivals play an important part in Japanese life. There is usually a matsuri for each major shrine throughout the year and with the massive amount of shrines in Japan or events in general, there is sure to be a matsuri somewhere in Japan on any given day. Drawing from Shinto traditions the influence of the spiritual thought is still visible in Japanese lives today.

Zangi and the Clown

 Hokkaido is one of the best places in the world for nature, food, and generally kind people. Zangi- or karaage to most other Japanese speakers- is the Hokkaido word for chicken nuggets or karaage. I was never able to tell if it was just nugget since I saw it applied to both. The clown in the title is the mascot for the Hakodate-only burger chain called Lucky Pierrot. It is very interesting and one of the highlights for tourists as one can get a whale burger there (kujira) and other fish burgers like crab or scallops that one has never seen in the USA or even the UK. Then there is always the Japanese phenomenon of trying to make the biggest burger to show on the interesting fact quiz shows they have on TV. There was also a recent new story I saw about Loteria making a five-patty cheeseburger and a five-patty shrimp burger. I would say I would prefer the shrimp one to the cheeseburger at first sight. If you have ever had one, you will understand.

Customer Service and Kindness
Japanese people are the kindest and most thoughtful people I have met. However, one may never be able to get to know Japanese truly as a foreigner or even as someone who is not family- the cultural phenomena of tatemae and honne: the face to the public and your inner self- kindness is one of the best things about Japan. Japanese customer service is way above anything I have ever experienced in the States. Now how many companies would refund a person their membership fees for the year if you cancel them after the renewing cycle and after already being on service with them for a year? Not many I would say. The JAF gratefully did this for me after I had forgotten about signing up for the Japanese AAA. Though I used Japanese- and trust me knowing and using Japanese never ever hurts- the refund is something normal it seems as an outward example of trying to know what the customer wants and trying to give that to them even when the customer doesn't say anything. I was perfectly fine with my mistake and paying the $60 for the year, but it was refunded. Companies around the world should definitely look to Japan for customer service advice.


The Kids

The last bit in this long entry is the kids. Though I guess I would have to say that I am a little partial to the matter, Japanese kids are so lighthearted and fun that it made teaching all the worthwhile.

I hope someday I can use my language and degree to help others get to experience the awesomeness that is Japan.

Japan -> USA -> UK

Well, it has been a long time since i have done a blog post. I have spent a year or so in good ole' USA making money and helping people with their oxygen. Gratefully, I was able to save up a large amount of money to be able to fund my studies in the UK.

London is great. Though people do not exaggerate when they associate London with grey skies and rain everyday. The only error with that is that it should be every week, not everyday. i mean there are sometimes when it isn't wet here.

I am enjoying my classes and find no problems with the course load so far. I am a little worried as i haven't done any actual assignments for my classes just yet, but they will be coming this week or next. Hopefully reading week will be a time to have fun and go out on the town. But i will have to study and try and stay within my budget.

London does have some Japanese stuff going on in the town. The Japan Festival a couple weeks ago was fun and the food was good. though i do have to say the okonomiyaki I made the night at home was a little better and a lot more affordable. But takoyaki is one delicious japanese-style pudding- which i know a little more about puddings after watching the Great British Bake Off. I had the opportunity as well to go to a good Japanese in Anime and Manga class at the Japan Foundation and look forward to the translation classes next month as well. The link to the Anime/Manga website is below.

http://anime-manga.jp/

Paris was a wonderful trip with Harry before school started. But i do have to say I am glad i finally went to the Louvre and had a croque Madame. I got everything i wanted to do done in Paris. only took 2 days and then i was ready to leave.

Now to start another week and do my best in the great city of London!

well just the first little while of work at the company and good. I don't have too much of an idea of what i will exactly be doing, seeing as how we will get into the training for that later in the next 2-5 weeks. But looks like it will be good. Nothing else is going on, just a little tired and feeling different with the big switch from nothing to do barely to working 9-5:30.

i got a job working for customer service for a medical company and start next week thankfully. Better pay than the other customer service jobs that i was looking at too. I am doing okay, but still trying to avoid all this bad food at home. The birthday cake was just evil, despite me being the one that bought it. The meat cake that i made worked out very well the first time, but i am guessing if i tried to make it again, it would be worse because i always tend to have beginner's luck when i make a new recipe. Then i fail the next times. other than that nothing else is happening to me.

Still not much progress on the job searching. I had an interview this week and that went okay. i am going to go in for some other jobs in Lexington and do the application process there. Thankfully thanks to the Kohl's sale i get $30 for free thanks to my sister's spending this week that i will humbly be partaking of. The weather has turned a little cold with more rain expected throughout the week. Then there is Rocky Horror this weekend at the Kentucky theatre. I saw Potiche this weekend with the parentals and i liked it. Pretty wit and funny for a french film with Catherine Deneuve, based on her very dramatic performance in Dancer in The Dark as a comparison. I think that i will just have to start making all the foods that i want instead of going out for them because american food is such crap and laden with all these hidden dangers like trans fat in pretty much all the ice creams, even in a wide selection of the ones in the grocery stores. I would like to go to the world's largest grocery store near Cincinatti sometime soon and get some good flours, cheeses, and maybe some hot sauce and roasted cocoa beans, and whatever else i can find up there. Doctor Who was a lot better this week than the stupid pirate episode.

Had to do traffic school online today for four and a half hours, then i went to the vein doctor for an ultrasound. It looks like they will be able to do something about it. I just have to wear compression socks for 6 weeks to see if that does anything before the insurance company will allow me to have the surgery for it. Then i made dinner, and then i worked on my translation sample i had to do for a job offer somewhere i applied to-but at the moment i forget where i applied for it. Did some job searching today, but still no luck with anything. I really want a job, and if i don't have one by the end of the month, i will have to start thinking about doing more drastic things and looking for something outside the US even. I feel like i am not accomplishing that much. It feels like the summer before i left for Japan. I stay home and make dinner and look for jobs, though nothing really happens, and then i have no real friends here that will actually talk to me on a regular basis. My family is off doing their things, and i just feel a little depressed. I left Japan for this. I just have too much time on my hands now to reflect on how wrong that decision could have been and how unemployable i am and imperfect in my mind i am about everything. The only plus so far to coming home is the healthcare in English. My mom has awesome insurance that i was allowed to be on till i am 26, so that is the only positive that i have been seeing here. It is a good one and it is nice to be getting all this stuff done that i needed to get done, But then again, i have a lot of things that need to be taken care of that in itself is probably not a good thing.

I do like my nephews and nieces, and they are dears to be around. I just wish i could be allowed to teach them something, or get them in some sort of language school while they are young. They will thank me and their parents later.

well still looking for a job. got my deferral, so i guess i am set for the next year besides not having any money. I feel really bad because i do not have a job and the expenses are still going to be there. I want to have a good job so i can learn and get the experience in order to have a better job and live in London. got my computer reformatted because of the virus i got. not much else is going on in my life.

I need a JOB!!!!

Job searching has been going slow and stuff. I went to the JASK thing last night and made some contacts, but nothign has come out of my job hunting yet. I think i should just take that job down in Hopkinsville. It looks like i will probably need to move or commute a long way for a good job that will help pay for school. I keep feeling like i made the wrong decision to leave Japan, and wish i hadn't. All the important people in my life for the past few years are all thousands of miles away, and i miss them. 

not much going on for easter weekend. With everything closed, i had nothing to really do in terms of job searching. Today will be a little busier. i am going to call toyota and the fayette county school system to see if it would be possible for me to teach Japanese somewhere without having certification and getting it while i teach. Chiropractors appointment was changed to the afternoon, and then there is a Japanese speaking thing going down at the library this evening.

change of plans most likely

Well, if i am able to defer my schooling for one more year, i think that i will have to do that in order to get the funds to support my educational costs and those of living in London. I know that may break the hearts of some of those who were waiting for my in London, but i just can't go there on my earnings at the moment. If someone has an extra 25000 dollars lying around that would be great to get as a present.

I had a pretty good interview today with a Japanese Travel agency in town, so all pluses. I really want this job because it is close and i could use my Japanese and get paid sort of decently well. Went to the chiropractor and they said my spine is a little twisted to the right, so i guess that explains my back pain since august.

I think being here for another year might be the answer to most of my financial woes, and then i will try and get my JLPT certification so i can actual have some sort of piece of paper that says i can speak Japanese. but i guess i don't that much else to write about since i am living in the USA, i don't seem to have the much going on with me like i did when i was in Japan.

Well i have been home for about a week, and it has been okay. I have been offered a job after an interview, but it was 3 and half hours away, and i can't trust my car that i have to go that distance. It was 20 bucks an hour but oh well. I have to still look for other jobs. I have an interview for another just call job on Monday.
I have updated my pics from my London trip. It was very nice. Still America seems a little less exciting than traveling around the world, but at least i think my skin has improved a little with the weather. 

it has been a whole, but i am finally back home in Kentucky. The weather from last night is still going on and i couldn't really sleep because of it. I had my dogs sleeping with me for a little bit because they were scared from all the wind and rain. Japan will be missed, but London even more. I had a great week with a friend there and we did some good things together. There was the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, Kew Gardens, Kenwood House, Borough and Leadenhall Markets, and picnics and such. Very fun. The chocolate tour was amazing, but a little sickening at the end with all the sampling, and the Doctor Who experience was very interesting, though i was a little disappointed in the merchandise sold at the end. Not many practical things to buy. No to call people, get a phone sim card, and then get a job, and gt this school papers underway.

Ode to Japan

Well, the time has finally come for my departure from the land of the rising sun. The past year and a half have brought many changes and challenges to my life and i have grown for the better from them. I have gained some good friends, and met one person that i have been the closest as a friend more than anyone else in my life. I have had some physical struggles and physical changes came because of those. I have lost much of the weight that i always wanted to lose, but i guess it took being in Japan to finally get rid of it and see just what kind of crap i was putting into my body. My Japanese has improved somewhat i think. Not much more complex in speech patterns i think but fluency and general knowledge of daily life and how people speak and interact with each other. I wonder what i am going to do in both London and Kentucky in order to keep up with my Japanese and get a language fix. In a weird turn of events, before i came to Japan i used to watch animes and dramas and not much American TV. Well the later is still sort of true, i didn't watch any Japanese TV or animes while i was here save for one, but that one i kind of stopped after it just seemed to be another anime trying to be commercialized and selling products. That seems to be the case for many of the new anime that i see, so i will just have to deal. I do miss watching those deep emotional anime that i watched when i was in high-school.

     I have matured emotionally and mentally to a point where i believe that i am ready to take on the things that i want to accomplish in this life. I have a clearer perspective on my life and what i want out of it. No longer am i the sad child pondering on the desolation of this life and the next, but rather trying to make the most out of the singular and impossible life that i have. Tried dating a little, and still in the process. But best not to talk about my personal life, some people are still flinchy about it and i like to be a private person.

There are a few things that i will miss about Japan and my town in particular:
1. kyuushoku- school lunch
2. convenience stores- they truly are convenient with being able to pay bills, buy more food than just chips and soda, and buy tickets for museums and concerts and movies.
3. Japanese rice- it is so much better when you have the good stuff. my favorite condiment for it is Tabasco, but that's just me.
4. the many varieties of canned fish available for purchase- mackerel and saury are my favorites.
5. There is always a taste sensation some where be it a rice burger, octopus beaks, or whale.
6. the people are always very kind and willing to answer questions but it helps to speak the language.
7. The school band and the teacher for it- they were my girls and i really respect the teacher so much. One of the few teachers i would talk to on a regular basis.
8. Tofu- so many varieties and ways to cook it. fried tofu, silken, firm, inari-zushi, atsuage are all delicious varieties.
9. tax being included in the displayed price- if only there was a national VAT in America instead of each state deciding it and making it different. But even still, why do we not display the price with tax included? a marketing ploy to make it seem cheaper, no thank you.
10. Kibaco

Though there are some things that i miss
1.salads made with lettuce and not cabbage, though corn makes any salad better.
2.being able to understand everything said around me, i get 70% but still to understand all the documents i read would be nice again.
3. central heating and air
4. dryers that dry
5. cheaper music and dvd's and movie tickets. i will never pay 50-70 bucks for a dvd, and never 30-40 for a CD.

Sitting in a hotel in Sapporo now and woke up from a not so restful night. i seriously need a pillow between my arms or it is just ever so hard fro me to fall asleep. We all went out to Round One last night for our last hurrah together- though i think our lunch today will be the final finale. I am putting pics on my phone to keep it clear for London, and i am updating it as well. I hope that i will be able to use it somewhere else in the world, i guess i will have to go to Chinatown and see if i can get an "upgrade."

I can't believe that i have left the little town that i spent almost two years in. I had a great time and i learned a lot. I met some great people, but now i think that i will have an awesome time in London this next year.

I closed out all my accounts and even got 100 bucks from the mayor. Very formal even on the last day, though i was wearing just what i had because i only have one pair of nice clothes since all the others don't fit me anymore- yeah!!!!- and so i had to apologize for that. Now to spend the day here until i can go to the airport. I like traveling sometimes, but only if the airports are really interesting.

today is the day that the new alt moves in to her apartment. I cleaned and did most of the stuff yesterday that i needed to do. Tomorrow i have to send off my sim card and modem back to the people. Then close my accounts and finalize my bills for most of the utilities. My suitcase is underpacked and i even had room to put in my backpack and external hardrive. Not much else has been going on. I got accepted to another university that i applied to, but it is the one an hour out of London, so it was just the final back up school. Now to start living off of convenience store food for the next while. I love and appreciate the going away gifts of money that i have been receiving. It will be nice to pay for some things like food and souvenirs with it. Well, got a busy day but hopefully it won't be too bad.

Had my going away party for all the teachers that are going away this year. I was nice and the food wasn't as bad as it had tasted when it first came here. Heck the only thing that was a little unpalatable was the squid sushi. I liked the uni and ukura, I guess the sushi was just really good this time, because i thought uni tasted like mushy butter the first time i had it. I basically have just come up with the idea to not really be affected by what i am putting in my mouth in Japan. "Oh, i'm eating pig intestines, okay. A little chewy but still okay. Oh, whale... tastes like fishy pork." You know stuff like that.

The party was nice, and the karaoke party after it was good as well. The nicest teacher that i had the opportunity to work for was trying to apologize to me with saying "yeah i know you have been a little troubled by the students[ with their poking and such of all regions of my posterior and front] and i was just wondering if it might have been different if you had gone to another town." I was like, "they are just kids, don't worry about it." She reminded me of my first grade teacher, she was extremely nice and she had pretty good english as well. The one thing that a couple of teachers did keep saying throughout the night was "i wish i had learned a little more English [from you was sort of implied]" But i guess it worked both ways with us teaching you Japanese and you answering our English questions. I still think i got closer to them by speaking Japanese though, but then the kids just got used to me being able to understand them.

I sent two boxes home for about 100 bucks with souvenirs and stuff i wanted to keep from here. Not really that much for the my family, but i tried to get a bunch of stuff for the new in-laws. I bet my new niece would probably like cute things like precure and sugar bunnies here. But i don't know. My sister-in-law likes Hello Kitty so i tried to get some things for her. Then i tried to get some boyish things for my nephews, so paper balls and head bands, and fang keychains.

sugar bunnies


precure

Well, i got accepted to one of the schools that I applied for. It is not my first choice, but it is still a  good one i think. Birkbeck University of London is a night school and my classes would be two to three times a week is what the site said, so that would maybe give me a lot of free time, or i will have a lot of homework and studying to do. I guess that means i will be okay with trying to get a job seeing as how i will need money in order to survive there. I do have some saved and i will work this summer to save up some more, but i need to get a student loan secured and all the other things as well along with it. London will be a nice adventure, i just hope that i will be able to find employment after my degree to pay for my student loans.

Today was my last day of classes teaching the first years, and i think the class went well. I did Jeopardy and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Tomorrow is the closing ceremonies and greetings from me and other teachers who are leaving, i need to write some greetings and words to say to them beforehand because i do not think that i could come up with something eloquent off the cuff in Japanese.

The snow keeps on falling here, i am just like "Shkleesh, will you stop already! It's gonna be June before the snow melts."

I will miss it here, but i think Japan has helped me change for the better and given me some good friends and great experiences. I will miss being away from my best friend Amber for a while, but she will have a reason to visit London now.

Well this weekend was the last hurrah for all us folks up in Sapporo. We had lunch with the kids and family that Amber teaches English to on Saturday and then we had a dinner party that night with her other friends. All the Japanese people amber knows are super beautiful and awesome. Dinner was good and a good time was had by all, then we went dancing at the clubs afterwards.

On Sunday, Amber and I went to the movies and had dinner. We saw Agora, which was awesome. Just look at the trailer below. I personally loved Rachel Weisz, and for some odd reason she does good with movies that are in Egypt.




Very thought provoking, and some people thought it put some people in a bad light, but hey the historical events did happen, the people's dialogue and story were fictionalized, but the events did happen and they were all real people.

Pics have been updated.


Wow today was an eventful day. First i had to write my Japanese going away greeting all in Japanese. I hope there aren't that many problems with it. I will send it to the English teacher to look at it before i give it to the Vice-principal. Then i had my last elementary school for the year, and they are by far my favorite school. We had play practice and then all the grades got together for this English class assembly where each of the three grade groups got together and showed each other what they had learned in English class from the year. Then at the end the 5th and 6th graders did a play, "The big turnip." It's a Russian story that never heard of before, but it is well-known in Japan. Then i said my goodbyes and thank yous and the kids gave me three bottles of Tabasco sauce and about 35 pounds of rice. I don't know what i will do with all that rice, i think i will give the bulk of it to the new ALT when she comes, but i want to send some of it home so i can give it to friends and have some for when i get back. Man, think about what you need, and the Japanese will instinctively give it to you. I was gonna buy some more tabasco, and i wanted some rice to take home and now i have it.

Then i have to write a thing for my application to one of the schools i am applying for. I have to write about if there is such thing as "bad grammar." I think i came up with a good 500 word essay about it.

Then finally, the weirdest thing happened, i didn't see it but from what i gathered and the huge amount of key-chains, one stranger apparently gave the kids as they were leaving school right out in front of plain view of the teacher's room, a big amount of key-chains, look at the pic. I don't know if he handed them or just threw them, but there was like 7 or 8 bags of really old looking key-chains- at least 5 or more years old- and they looked a little moldy. So the kids came and gave them to the teachers and they called the cops. i will have to see how this unfolds, but i think that there was about $1000 worth of key-chains in the entire lot. So many of them, there would be enough for more than one per kid, but still it is just so strange. some of the teachers looked around town and drove to find the guy since he was in a car and the kids go a description and a plate number.

An interesting day, but i am still worried about the radiation, i just hope that i can leave here without any injury. I think the best comment i heard in regards to the poor response from the Japanese government-but not the response from the crews and workers, they have given their all and the Japanese people are awesome at a time like this- was that Japan could do without politicians for ten years or something along those lines. Good idea maybe since the public seems to have lost an confidence that they have had in the revolving-door line of prime minsters since Koizumi left power.

Well the earthquake and the tsunami aftereffects seem almost unreal. It seems like where i live is not even part of Japan. We haven't been affected at all and even for where i am especially i do not feel any earthquakes compared to people in Sapporo. The devastation is immense and this is worse than the one in Kobe 15 years ago. It is horrible and then all the nuclear reactor worries are the biggest worries on my mind at the moment. You don't know how much the government is actually saying and how much of it is actually true. I just hope that Japan can recover from this. The Nikkei fell 7 percent in 20 minutes after it reopened since the earthquake happened on Friday. So many people are without home and water and food and electricity. Tokyo is having planned blackouts in order to deal with the power reactors being offline. It just seems so distant, but so close in actuality.

I just hope i can get to London when April comes around.