Laura, befriender of Noise Dudes and ILXor extraordinaire is in Japan RIGHT NOW → ∞

Hi all--

So I'm finally settled in Toyohashi, the smaller city where I will
live for the duration of my time in Japan. It's a little quieter,
which I prefer. The staff at the school is all really nice, though I
guess my manager was hospitalized so the asst. manager is now in
charge. She speaks no English, but a few other people do. Basically,
everyone is sort of new to their job and very overworked, so people
constantly say Ganbatte! to each other (which means Work hard! or Try
your best!) I think I will have to ganbaru a lot this week as my
schedule is packed.

I haven't taught yet, because my first class yesterday was replaced by
some sort of photo session that was not entirely explained to me. It
involved a lot of Japanese photographers who spoke no English calling
me Sensei! and pantomiming the various poses they wanted me to enact.
I think I am going to be in some sort of flyer, which will be
hysterical.

It is ridiculously hot here. The only time I've ever been so hot is
when I went to New Orleans in July, and next month is supposed to be
hotter. My workload is going to be pretty heavy this week, so I need
to start preparing lessons more quickly. Today will be my first big
day teaching, and I'm a little nervous.

My apartment is much nicer than I expected. Two full rooms, a
separate bathroom, and a loft. I cooked a Japanese meal last night
and ate it with chopsticks, which made me feel really authentic. It's
so hot here that it's hard to cook or eat much (and easy to get
nauseous). Plus I walk or bike everywhere, so I think I'm losing
weight.

The other night I had a welcome party, which involved a lot of
drinking. The Japanese apparently cannot hold their liquor as well as
I can, which I find very funny since I am so small. They were very
impressed by my ability to drink more than a few beers and not fall
down. My students also did not know the proper way to do a shot of
tequila, which I taught them, as I am their sensei!

There are a few other foreign teachers from AEON and other companies
in my building, so I think I may spend time with them. It is really
nice to just speak English with a native and relax. There are a lot
of different rules here, and I'm worried about offending people,
though that may pass.

One thing that threw me at first is that getting to work on time
involves getting there 15 minutes early. If you come actually on time
they will not be happy. Right now I'm going to work a couple hours
early to prepare lessons. I guess that's all for now. Perhaps
another update in a few weeks when I am settled in. Feel free to
write me, as I'm a little homesick and I miss my friends from home.

Laura

-- dfdfsdf (gdfgdf...) (webmail), July 21st, 2004 11:07 AM. (later) (link)

http://secure.giantrobot.com/graphics/2004/06/01/gr33.gif

http://secure.giantrobot.com/products.php?code=GR33

There were big earthquakes and tsunamis last week.

Last night I got drunk with a 50 year old Japanese lady who "love to party." Like quite a few of my students, she is proud to tell people that she drinks every day.

At some point during the evening I apparently bought a ticket to a Japanese heavy metal concert, as I found one in my wallet this morning.

Anyway, my life is hilarious and I'm back on ILX.

The earthquake was pretty fun... not to make light of the awesome power of nature that may someday kill me if the Big One comes, but it was like I was on a Universal Studios ride called EARTHQUAKE!! or something.

Kind of like how driving often seems like a video game to me, which is probably also dangerous.

If you're in the vicinity, Andrew, we can certainly meet up. Let me know. Have you ever been to Japan before?

Nope, never. This should be an interesting experience.

If I don't come back soon enough, I want to plan a whirlwind chemically-fueled tour of my friends' colleges.