Three weeks in...and mostly illiterate.

This is the start of my third week and I am sure you are all chomping at the bit to get a birds-eye view of what my life has been like...to summarize, I was like an infant initially - unable to read and write...needing help with the most simplest of tasks. Now I bounce between infancy and kindergarten...I have learned how to do some basic things, but every now and again I have to ask for help. I can now read a little...and speak a little (sukoshi=little). Here are some pics and stories from my first three weeks to wet your appetite for the Japanese culture...

Here are some basic stats that will give you a flavor of what life in suburban Japan is like for me...remember...every situation is different! That idea was pounded into our gray matter for the last several months to temper our expectations for what life in Japan is like as a JET participant...

Number of times I have....

1) eaten sushi? - 2x (both from a grocery store)

2) eaten ramen? (popular fast food here) - 5 ish

3) been asked to be in a picture with a Japanese person? - 1x (this is also known as gaijin (foreigner) on parade).

4) had that `deer in the headlights / I dont know what you are saying` look on my face? - too many to count.

5) been giggled at by the students for saying hello? a lot.

6) banged my head into the various doorways in my apartment? - at least 10

What does it cost for gasoline here? The price per liter is 180 yen. For my geeky accounting/auditing friends, here is what is would cost per gallon.

$1 = 110 Yen (as of 8/20/08), therefore 180 Yen = $1.64

1 Gallon = ~3.8 liters, so...

1 Gallon of gasoline in Japan cost about $6.23 (3.8 x $1.64)

And as a result...I take the trains and buses everywhere...b/c its more convenient and I dont have to deal with car insurance, buying a car, parking, blah, blah, blah.

What is my day to day like?

I wake up just like you and take a shower/bath (my bathroom is not like at home in US...see pics). Eat bfast (asa-gohan or morning meal) which for me consists of granola and yogurt. If I get up early enough I will study some Japanese, read a book or just listen to the mind-numbing sounds of cicadas outside my window. I leave my apartment around 750am ish and walk to school. It takes me about 30 minutes to get to school...about 1.5 miles each way. The phrase `sweating bullets` has a new meaning for me...just standing still sometimes makes me sweaty (humidity is unreal at times).

I am supposed to be at school by 835am...I am allowed to wear my Nike workout geat to walk to school, but after I towel off the sweat I change into my khakis and collared shirt...I usually stick to my seat/pants for most of the day...very difficult to stay cool.

I spend my day chatting with teachers, students and checking out the club activities (e.g. baseball, ping-pong, kendo (like fencing), volleyball)...just trying to show my face around. August is the summer holiday season, so there are no classes until September 1st. It gives me time to acclimate and settle into my new life.

My contract states that I work five 7 hour days (total of 35 hours per week). However, I will stay later if needed or work on the weekends if there is a special activity. My principal (kocho-sensei) allows me to leave work at 1pm ish during August to explore my home town of Suzurandai and asks me to journal about my experiences...the intent is for me to use my life experience to teach my English lessons to the students...the goal is to help students learn `living English`...since I am learning `living` Japanese, I can relate to their struggles.

Sayonara for now...

Check out this pic album - http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.papp/MyLifeInJapanNihon

First Day on the Job...

Ohayo Gozaimasu! (Good Morning / おひよ ございます) from Tokyo Japan...my first day on the job started off with a buffet breakfast in our hotel (Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku).  I have not worn a suit in like 8 years, but I look pretty nice -- don't you think?

My adventure began 2 days'ish ago at the Portland International Airport (PDX) where I nearly lost my gortex jacket...luckily it was rescued by one of our travel agents...whew!  Upon arriving at Narita Airport, we were greeted with the pizza oven like weather of Japan...and hearded like sheep from point A to point B.  We could only take one piece of luggage and a personal item with us to the hotel...the rest of it had to get shipped off to our prefecture.  I think I did a good job packing...one suitcase (51.5 lbs), one backpack (31.5 lbs) and one carry on (20 lbs).  Oh ya, the turbulence got soooo 

bad on the flight that the flight attendants were not allowed to serve our 2nd meal...we all believe that they did not have any food on the plane (another effort to do cost cutting) and turbulence was there excuse...very suspicious :)

The next two days will be spent in the Shijuku area of Tokyo for orientation and then we're off to our homes on Wed, August 6th.  This is the view from our hotel room looking at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building..."we're not in Kansas anymore Toto."