Survival Japan

FRIDAY, JULY 30

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I ended up waking up before my 6:45 alarm, which I find shocking. I was to meet Elizabeth at 7:45 and still ended up having plenty of time. I had been told the previous day that I don't need to dress so formally for work at school every day, but that I should wear a suit to the ceremony in Otsu. So I did. Elizabeth wore a dress, just as she had when we first arrived. Together we walked to the station, where she taught me to buy a ticket. From there, we caught the train, quite uneventfully into Otsu.

There are four new high school ALTs and this ceremony (official work business) is to officially offer us the job at our high school. It involved lots of speeches, then being called one by one up to the podium where we were (in Japanese) presented with a certificate and told to work hard. We then signed contracts (and I got to write (or attempt to imitate) my name in katakana for the first time). Then the officials left and everyone else trickled in for survival orientation.

This was a much more practical orientation than Tokyo. Things were more definite. Some questions didn't pertain to me (like the information on how to get a car) but everything covered was on the key questions we're all working with now. The most relevant for me were (1) how to get internet and (2) cell phones available here. I need internet, and I'm probably going to get a cell phone. I tried to go without a mobile in Ireland, and lasted one month, or until I traveled alone abroad and my friends insisted that I have a means of contact in case something went wrong.

We also learned how cold it will be this winter. Now, many of us (but not all... the southerners are fun to watch during these sections) come from climates that get colder than it will here. The fundamental difference, however is that in Japan, you never get warm again. Japan has no central heating (or, as I can tell heating at all) built into the apartments. There is also no insulation in the walls. Back home, while we may freeze as we run across the parking lot, once we get inside, we can thaw. Not here. We discussed types of heaters (space heaters, kerosine, etc.) and how much people spent on heating (~$200/month) trying to stay warm in the winter. One girl mentioned that she moved her olive oil off the shelf in her apartment and into the refrigerator to keep it from freezing and congealing. It's a sad, sad day when your fridge is warmer than your apartment.

I met Andrew who lives in a nearby town. Many of the festivals listed in a calendar they provided are in his town, so I hope to team up with him and attend as many of them as possible. I already had to choose between a lantern festival and fireworks this weekend, but the explosions are probably going to win out over tranquil lanterns floating down a stream.

For lunch, we all trekked outside (in the heat) to a department store, which had restaurants on the top floor. I had brought the two leftover rolls from Mama as I didn't know what the lunch plan was, but decided to be social and eat with the group. I ended up eating with Julie, a veteran JET at this cute organic place.

In the afternoon we did a bit of a hike around Otsu in small groups and visited important locations such as the immigration office, the supermarket, the 100 yen store, and a convenience store. This was the first time I've paid for water in Japan, but I hope to refill the bottle in the future.

After orientation, most of the group headed to Kyoto for drinks. To get there required traveling on a train, then the local subway. Kyoto is gorgeous, with canals and what resemble willows and bridges over the canals. I was charmed.

We went to an expat bar with lots of British fare. I ended up, with the help of another JET ordering gnacchi with gorgonzola cheese, which was a regular menu item. It was heavenly, and also the menu item that had the most cheese. I miss cheese. I was very tempted to order a second helping, but decided to spare my pocket book, which I suppose I needn't have worried about as most people were drinking and I wasn't. I talked to quite a few former JETs, and had one tell me that this group, while not as incestuous (as far as dating in the circle) as you might expect, loved to gossip. So, anything you do, any hook ups, anyone you date, will become public knowledge and gossiped about. It was good to know. It was also interesting to see her try to recall if ANY female JETs were dating Japanese men. It just doesn't seem to happen. JET guys dating Japanese women, however, is quite common.

Andrew and I had been planning to head back together, as his stop is just one or two after mine on the train and both of us were worried about making it back without getting lost, but I ended up leaving with Parker, who had arrived to hang out with everyone. On the ride back, I asked him more about the schools I would be at, and the lessons he plans each week. It was very helpful. I'm quite a lucky JET as most people don't have this resource.

Once back home, Parker let me use his internet to e-mail my father and tell him to tell my mother that I'm okay. I then used the internet to try to get internet. See, here's how it is. We were told at orientation to go to bbapply.com to get our internet going, despite the fact that most of us HAVE NO INTERNET! I'm just lucky that I have Parker around to help out. So, I spent most of the time I was there (and it was past 9pm, so I was trying to rush) trying to get the form filled out.

The most difficult thing was that it required my landline telephone number. I knew I had a landline, and Mama had told me the night before that it worked. I just – didn't know the number! I mentioned this to Parker, who sent me back to my apartment with his mobile number to see if it would come through on caller ID. It didn't. Then his wife, who had been looking stuff up, said to call back with three numbers (I forget which) in front of the number this time. I did and, I don't know how or why, this time the Caller ID went through and Parker was able to write down my number. So, now I know that I have a working phone and what the number is.

I also found out that the tatami in my apartment is all new, which is why it's green. Parker's is 10 years old and a nice golden hay color. This also explains the smell in my apartment that's not in his. I think I'm getting a bit used to it, although it could also be because I always have all the windows open, so the place is quite aired out. Apparently this apartment has been vacant for two years, thus the new tatami.

I completed the form and sent it off. They will e-mail me back (excellent planning...) in the next few business days with the information about internet options in my area. Hopefully I'll have internet up in a week or two.

Now, it's gotten much later and I'm tired. It's past time to sleep for me.