lightbulbs. again.

I feel like a lot of my life here is consumed by thinking about lightbulbs. I know I wrote about my bathroom light saga already, but in the past week I lost one of two lightbulbs in the living room (on a three bulb fixture- one of them was already out) and then the single bulb in my kitchen started flickering....

I was a away for the weekend, so I sort of forgot. And then last night I cooked dinner while wearing my headlamp. So on the way home from school today I stopped to buy some lightbulbs. I bought four, feeling fairly confident that I had the correct size (a mistake I had made last time).

Well, I was right on the size. But. One of the fixtures doesn't appear to work at all in the living room. The other one blew the bulb when I turned the light switch on. Eventually I got another of the bulbs to work. Then the kitchen. First a bulb that didn't seem to work (and I was starting to fear that I would have to call the landlady again because the fixtures don't work) and then finally one that did.

I can't explain. And my suspicion is that the bulbs may have been faulty to begin with, in addition to my apartment possibly having been wired by a teenage amateur electrician. But I have lights in all my rooms. For now.

The other exciting thing is that last weekend in Greece (and I will do a post about Greece, probably tomorrow) I found lentils. Lentils!!! I'm pretty excited about them. People keep telling me that they do exist here in Pristina, but I have yet to find them. Apparently that's how it goes; sometimes you can find stuff and sometimes you can't. So this afternoon, beneath the glow of a new lightbulb, I made an amazing lentil salad with tomatoes, peppers, olives, and feta in a delicious mustard-balsamic vinaigrette. So. Amazing.

I still feel like, foodwise, I'm struggling to figure out what I can and want to cook. The ingredients are not so unfamiliar, it's just that there's not the same variety of options. So I find myself making a lot of spinach mac and cheese, pasta with olive-tomato-feta sauce, grilled cheese and ajvar (it's kind of a roasted pepper spread), I made a frozen pizza once, some frozen chicken cutlet things (in fact, I think the fact that nearly all of the chicken is frozen and my freezer is TINY is the reason I haven't bought more meat), eggs over fried potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and now this lentil salad. I haven't been able to get myself back into green salads like I'd been eating at home and I only made some smoothies the first week I had my blender. Also I've been super obsessed with chips, particularly ketchup flavored Ruffles. I'd like to get back to a little more healthy diet, when I get time to figure out what that might look like here. Though I don't think I'll have that much time any time soon.

And I promise to write about school sometime. It's just right now, I kind of hate all my kids and I'm feeling frustrated about stuff. But soon.

hi! remember me?

so yeah.... i guess you could say i've been on a bit of a hiatus. i just really haven't felt like writing (for a variety of reasons). but i'm back. i'm feeling like sharing. not that anything particularly exciting is happening...

so i was watching the food network the other day and alton brown was talking about how blueberries are so good for you, anti-aging, and blah blah blah. so i started thinking about blueberries (yes i am the highly suggestible type) and looking for recipes i could use them in (beyond just mixing them into yogurt, which is the only thing i could really think of). i found some blueberry-cornbread recipes and this one salad.

needless to say i was fully committed to the idea of eating blueberries at this point. i mean, let's face it, i don't really eat a lot of fruit even though i know i should. i eat green apples. i drink juice. sometimes i'll eat grapes or cantaloupe. so i was kind of psyched about this salad. went to the supermarket today to pick up the wherewithal needed. salad greens, check. feta cheese, check. almonds, check. blueberries, $7.

WHAT????!!!!!?!

well, i bought them anyway. i wanted them. at this point i'm almost used to paying $5 for one of those little 8oz. sacks of shredded cheese. but most fruit is pretty reasonable. guess they're not really into blueberries here in costa rica. maybe if they ate more of this salad they would change their minds. it was fab. anyway.

in just three short weeks we end up at the end of the 3rd quarter. i almost can't believe it. almost except that i feel exhausted. i had a sort of preliminary review with my principal this week, which was pretty good. but she asked me to change my awesome shoot for the moon bulletin board! which makes me sad. we have a week off between the 3rd and 4th quarters, which is pretty awesome. since no one decided to suck it up and come to horribly tranquilo, beautiful costa rica to visit looks like i'll just be hanging out and probably getting myself all planned for the 4th quarter.

muchas playas!

we've moved on to a new beach town on the same peninsula (and yet nearly a 7 hour journey to get here) we are now at playa del coco. so far so good, it's really nice. last night was sushi night at this bar/restaurant. a little pricey (for costa rica, it was good prices for home) but sooo worth it. absolutely amazing.

today we rented a scooter and cruised around to some of the other beaches in the area - ocotal, hermosa, and panama. they're all pretty swanky places with lots of new construction and wealthier travelers. but nice beaches and a worthwhile place to sit by the ocean and have a mango daquiri. :)

might be hitting the local discotheque tonight - if it turns out to be cool. we've gotten in such a groove of going to the disco it seems like it's been forever. and there's this lizard lounge place that our driver yesterday reccomended.

so we're off to find some food - hopefully some nachos (though i've been craving a burrito and the only mexican place in town is closed down) and then maybe chill out on the beach to watch the sunset/moonrise.

i can hardly believe that by next week at this time i'll be getting ready to get on a plane to come home... a few more beach days and then off to arenal volcano, i think. :)

the haggis experience

so this morning we rose bright (seriously, at 7am!!!!) and early to catch the bus to inverness, north of edinburgh. we were collected at the bus station by jill's mum and dad and took off to loch ness. the weather was a bit rainy, but we managed to get some sunshine while we explored urquhart castle on the banks of the loch.

i have a few nessie sightings caught on film, which i'll share later when i get my camera hooked up to the internet. and loads and loads of pictures of the castle itself (i'm a bit obsessed).

we had a little nap on the ride back to elgin (and got a little bit of a sore neck) and when we arrived the dinner started getting prepared... a traditional bit of dinner... haggis, neeps, and tatties...

truth be told it was actually really nice! even though i had read the ingredients to haggis in the supermarket (not a nice image) it was very, very tasty. you don't really eat the intestine wrapping, you just kind of scoop it out. it's like a pile of minced meat. and there's oats in it, it's spice very nicely. i really, really enjoyed it (which was a surprise to me - i did intend to try it, but i never imagined i would like it). the "neeps" were not so good... (that's turnips) but i can never say no to "tatties" (potatoes). if you ever have the opportunity to try it, i highly reccommend. just don't think about it too much.

so tomorrow we'll do a bit more looking around elgin, and traditional roast lunch. then we're back to edinburgh for a scary ghost tour in the evening.

hello kitty holidays

one "weekend" late in november (which is almost never saturday and sunday for nova teachers, it was tuesday and wednesday for me, wednesday and thursday for jill) jill and i made plans to go to takamatsu for a little starbucks and to start our christmas shopping. and in the evening we would meet mariko for some dinner and drinks.

well after lolly-gagging in starbucks for far longer than normal people (it feels a little like home... plus there's great people watching) we attempted to do some shopping for people on our lists. sounded like an easy enough task, to pick out some cute japanese themed stuff to mail home. and yet all we came away with that day was a 3-foot plastic christmas tree and some hello kitty decorations. we made plans to go to takamatsu *again* the following weekend - and this time really get some gift buying done.

christmas presents started arriving in our mailbox, along with some confusion trying to pick up packages at the post office, and our flat started to look really festive. we began planning our christmas eve and day feasts, as well as a post christmas detox day before we headed to tokyo for new year's.

christmas eve day was so balmy that we could open our balconey doors and let the air flow in. after watching "pirates of the carribean" for the second time over a breakfast of poached eggs and hollondaise it was time to get ourselves moving. we rode our bikes to vivre in utazu (the shopping center extrordonaire) without coats to purchase our holiday feast supplies. we came away with ¥10,400 worth of groceries packed in our bike baskets and our backpacks (which seems like a lot of money - it's about $100 - but we did get 4 bottles of wine and ¥1,000 worth of beef, so i'd say it was pretty good) and headed home to start preparations.


our christmas eve setup
we spent christmas eve like i do at home every year. we watched christmas movies (my family sent a tape with some of the classics on it - a charlie brown christmas, rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and white christmas). and we drank and ate (edamame, gyoza, chili shrimp, sushi, pistachios, pringles, and mulled wine).

christmas day was the strangest ever - for many reasons. in the morning we had a lovely, holiday breakfast of bacon sandwiches and mimosas. but then jill had to go to work (while they love christmas in japan, it's not *really* a holiday as most people are shinto and buddhists). i spent my day doing laundry, going to the store to buy jill's christmas gifts (they were open, since it's not a holiday), i painted my nails, and pretty much sat around watching movies until jill got home from work.

then the real holiday began. we started by opening some wine and our presents. then we began preparing our feast. we started with a butternut squash soup (from a carton). then we had a japanese flavored beef stew, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn, broccoli citron, and of course more wine. by the time we finished we could barely move.


christmas dinner (notice the mobile phones at the dinner table)
we had planned to meet some of our friends at karaoke to sing some christmas songs, but in the end didn't feel like getting off the couch. we watched "pirates of the carribean" again (a gift from my lovely girls) and drank more wine. all in all it was a lovely day, but strangely didn't quite feel like a real christmas....

monday is a new day

my partner in crime, jill, and i were similar in many ways. one of those ways was that we both loved our food and drink. after living together for just over a month jill declared "monday is a new day". this meant that we were going to stop behaving as if we were on vacation - stop eating and drinking loads, stop lounging around all the time. i planned to eat slightly healthier, slightly less, and start practicing yoga on a regular basis.

the fact was that we had had enough time to discover many of the yummy foods japan had to offer. the izakayas that we visited had picture menus (for easy ordering) and every time we visited one we knew what things we wanted. of course gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), deep fried oysters, tiny eggplant halves with miso, french fries, sashimi, edamame (green soybeans), and atsukan (hot sake!). white russians at karaoke. fried chicken and egg on rice concoctions from the mini-mart, onigiri (filled rice balls wrapped in seaweed), and late night bowls of ramen.

and as if that weren't enough our home cuisine creations were evolving too. every friday night was "gyoza night". we cooked up a couple packages of supermarket gyoza and sat on our little sofa watching videos. we started making pizza toasts. we managed to make nachos in our toaster oven (in japan they didn't have tortilla chips, but we did find "plain" unflavored doritos - seriously). other favorites included beef stroganoff and jill's fabulous mac and cheese (which i now make for myself and claim it's my recipe - sorry hon!).

so despite riding the bloody bikes everywhere all this food was starting to add up. and i behaved for a little while. but then came christmas. and our trip to tokyo. japan is just a food lover's paradise, what's a girl to do?

tortilla espagnol

on my second night in spain i went out with carlynne and alida from my hostel and a friend of alida's who had been teaching in madrid. we charged him with choosing a restaurant, since he was the most familiar with the city. his first pick was far too crowded - we were never going to get a table. after a little more wandering we finally found another of his favorites and sat down to eat.

after perusing the huge menu (which was translated into english, german, and french) i decided that i would try a tortilla espagnol - literally a spanish omelette, meaning a potato omelette. it turned out to be one of the most divine things i've ever tasted. and so i decided then and there that my mission for this trip would be to find the best tortilla espagnol in spain. so here's what i found:

madrid
my first tortilla was perfectly round and crisp on the outside - like it had been flipped out of the pan and onto the plate. no rolled or folded omelettes here. the potatoes were diced small with just a touch of chopped onion and some spice i couldn't quite identify. also, far from being just a filling, the potatoes were evenly dispersed through the entire omelette.

granada
this tortilla was thicker than my last, but still about the same circumference. the potato peices were larger and it was lacking something... that i couldn't quite put my finger on.

sevilla
1. a pre-flamenco meal (very early by spanish standards). once again there were big chunks of potato but that elusive spice was back. :) it was also served with some potato slices on the side.
2. when i arrived early at the bus station on my way back to madrid from sevilla i went out in search of coffee. outside the bus station i found a little stand with a funny man inside. as i stood there chatting and drinking my coffee i decided to get a sandwich for the ride - a tortilla sandwich. the omelette was rolled this time - obviously - to fit inside the bread. the potatoes were a medium dice with onion. overall the omelette sandwich was pretty tasty, even at room temperature a few hours later.

the verdict
madrid wins it - the first was definitely the best. the small dice of the potato gave a better egg to potato ratio. i've even been able to reproduce this at home! it turns out that the onion *is* the elusive spice, somehow in this recipe it's just very subtle.

overall i found spanish food mediocre. but the tortilla espagnol has forever become one of my favorites. this is my last post about spain, next week i hope to get some more japan stories posted as well as a tribute to my 2003 fritaly trip.

twice as long for a third the price

so yesterday i walked around and around (there's something new...) looking for the entrance to the alcazar (the palace). there were lots of roads blocked off, police standing all around. and still it took me nearly an hour to figure out that i wasn't going to be able to get in. i happened to overhear someone say that el presidente was at the alcazar, hence the security. oh well. i didn't really want to see it anyway.

so i went back and had a little siesta then decided to take my tired legs and feet out to a nice dinner. a close dinner. in the plaza right near my hostel i plunked myself down without checking out the menu or prices and ordered some sangria. well, the man brought me a mini jug of sangria. and a wee plate of potatoes in oil. i had definitely mentioned that i wanted to see the menu, but he seemed to forget and in spain sitting around for hours on end with nothing but a drink is not uncommon.

when i finally got a menu i noticed that the restaurant was a little pricier than i normally do. but i was already seated and settled in, so i ordered tagliatelle carbonara. disappointingly but not surprisingly it wasn't actual carbonara, it was alfredo with bits of bacon. (and that my friends is *not* carbonara, carbonara must involve egg yolks). still taste good, though.

this morning i woke early and headed down to the bus station. i opted to take the bus instead of the train, even though it would take me twice as long to get to madrid, because it was a third of the price. and i certainly got what i paid for. by the time i got here i was dying to get out of that seat. i made my way on the metro to my hostel (this time my window overlooks the actual outdoors, but still no view).

i'm now about to head to the supermarket to load up on some cheap eats. my last real day in spain is tomorrow and i intend to head to toledo to explore.

ole! vayamos!

so i woke up this morning, the sun shining brightly through my window, the smell of bread baking and hot coffee...

oh wait- no i didn't. there was the smell of laundry detergent wafting into my cell and suffocating me - that was what woke me. i managed to salvage my day yesterday after i was settled in a bit and more familiar with my surroundings. i bought a souvenir for myself and i purchased tickets to a flamenco show.

i chose the venue (there are many) based on it's proximity to my hostel - to minimize the chances of me getting lost *yet again*. my show was at 8 o'clock, and i was told to arrive a half an hour early. so i found a cafe that was actually serving food at 6:45 pm (not an easy task in spain) and ordered a tortilla espagnola knowing full well that there was no chance i'd last through the 2 hour show without having dinner first.

i was seated in the front row and my ticket included a drink (vino blanco, if you're curious). it was a small theater with a small stage and walls covered with paintings and photos of flamenco and bull fighting. after everyone's drinks were served the show began. the guitarist and a couple of singers took the stage. they played and sang a bit before a dancer in a full skirt came down the stairway onto the stage. and it began.

i was enthralled. it was an amazing show, the footwork, the costumes, the music, the castanets. i was so wound up after the show, that i could barely keep the smile off my face or the beat out of my head.

back at my hostel i opted to head up to the patio for some air and to see if there was anyone around. (there wasn't). i tried out a couple of flamenco moves and wrote in my journal. i went to bed feeling much better about sevilla.

today i'm on my way to visit sevilla's cathedral, which is the 3rd largest in the world, and the alcazar, which is the palace, where apparently spanish royals still live, when they're in town. hopefully tomorrow i'll be on my way back to madrid for the night, then spend saturday in toledo before heading home.

there's a band outside my balcony!

so yesterday after i left here (the internet place, that is) the sky was very gray and dark. there was some thunder rumbling. i made a quick phone call to my hostel in sevilla and just as i was finishing the sky opened up and it began to pour. i rushed to the nearest shop and stood under the awning, thinking it would be over soon. (we had a rain shower in madrid, it only lasted from the time i entered the metro to the time i left it). well, i stood there for almost 40 minutes. and it was really pouring, and there was lightening, and HAIL.

after it stopped i walked around some more, *carefully* - flip flops are slippery on stone sidewalks. poked in some shops and had an early dinner (by spanish standards, it was about 6:30pm). after my early train i decided i would have a relaxing evening in.

so i stretched out and read and wrote and as i was people watching out my balcony i noticed a gaggle of teens carrying instruments. they set up in the plaza right below my balcony and proceeded to play for nearly 2 hours. it was fabulous - sort of marching band/pep band style tunes, and some singing (you know how those spanish are, can't help themselves). so i got some major people watching in as well as live entertainment. until the policia shut them down.

today i visited the alhambra, a moorish palace/fort atop a large hill here in granada. it was magnificently beautiful, filled with gorgeous tile work and carvings in stone, wood, and plaster. i took so many pictures, as i couldn't possibly describe it well enough. there was also a great view of all of granada.

i had lunch at a "french" cafe (not like it didn't serve the normal spanish things, but it also had french style foods). very good, and a welcome break. the jury is still out on spanish food, i have some likes, but as a whole it's not that appealing (and that's saying something, for me to say that). well, my time is about to run out here, tomorrow i'll be on my way to sevilla!

the lovely siesta time

so i'm just up from my siesta, a spanish tradition that i've really taken to. :) and making plans for the evening, possibly seeing some flamenco dancing/music (though the *best* is supposed to be in sevilla, so perhaps i'll go there as well).

yesterday i went out to get myself some food at a little cafe i found near the hostel. i got a coffee (which wasn't the best idea, as i was a bit dehydrated still from all the flying) and a pizza (which was mediocre at best). after sitting in the sun for a while and people watching i walked down to plaza mayor. it's basically a square, surrounded by buildings and shops and filled with cafe tables. really lovely, but i was starting to fade, so i bought a couple of bottles of water and went back to the hostel for a little nap.

i napped for a marvelously long time. it was fabulous, especially since i hadn't actually been able to lie down for 24 hours! i woke at about 8pm and decided i was going to go for a walk to find something to eat. i managed to find my way to a shop and back to the hostel with only a small detour down the wrong road (madrid is a bit like boston, in that the streets don't neccesarily have any logic to their layout).

when i got back two girls i had met earlier carlynne and alydta were about to go off to meet a friend of alydta's. so i ate my little cheese and spinach pastry and we set off to sol, which is the center of madrid (also kilometre 0 for many spanish highways). we met up with alydta's friend eric, who happened to know the city pretty well, so he took us all to a restaurant he liked. i had the tortilla espagnola - a spanish omlette, but so much better than in the states. instead of just some hunks of potato mixed into an omlette, there was little tiny bits of potato all through the egg. it was delicious. we washed it down with some sangria and some free entertainment from the table near us. (spaniards seem to break into song just about everywhere)

this morning i slept a little late, missed the free breakfast at the hostel, then went down to el rastro (the flea market) with carlynne and alydta. a bit of shopping, a coffee and a snack, then we headed towards museo del prado. (many museums are free on sunday ). we poked around there for a while, saw some goya, some valasquez, etc. carlynne went to catch a train to barcelona and alydta and i went to get some food and back to the hostel for siesta.

so refreshing, and a timetable very much to my liking. lunch between 1 and 3. a nap. dinner around 10-11. sleep late. repeat.

things start looking up

so i had received a message at work that i was going to get a new flatmate called jillian. though no one could seem to tell me when she might arrive.

on the friday after natasha left i had a particularly bad ride to work. the wind was blowing so hard across the rice paddies that i had to get off my bike and walk in order to make any forward progress. by the time i reached work i was in quite a mood, as you might imagine, and it wasn't a good mood for teaching english. i simply got through my classes with as little effort as possible then headed home.

on the ride home i ran into grant, a canadian teacher from a different school i had met out a few times. we stopped and chatted for a while, which lifted my spirits remarkably. there's something about running into someone i know on the streets that makes me so happy. it makes me feel that i have a place, that i know people, that i'm not alone. i made one more stop, at the liquor store for some vodka, before arriving at my apartment.

most homes and apartments in japan have a small area just inside the front door where your shoes are to be removed. my apartment was no different. that night when i opened the door i noticed a new pair of sneakers next to my flip-flops. it seemed that jillian had arrived.

we chatted as i began to make my dinner (a packaged version of an omelet, served with a kind of gravy, that i had bought ready-made from the supermarket the day before). she had taken training with dave from my school, but had been staying in himeji until now. my guess from her accent was irish (i was wrong, she's scottish, but now, over a year later, i can tell the difference between english, irish, scottish, australian, and kiwi accents - not bad, eh?). i tried to give her the rundown on life in marugame, but myself only having been a resident for less than a month, it was general at best.

the next we talked more, about everything, finding that we had much in common and were both quite easily amused. the green mile came on tv - *in english* - which was very exciting. using some christmas colored origami paper left behind by previous tenants we started making paper chains and plans. in my journal that night i wrote:

i think things will be looking up here...

goodbye roommate, hello karaoke

friday, two weeks after my arrival, was natasha's last day of work with nova. that evening another teacher from my school (and a friend of natasha's) named bec came over and we drank wine and chatted until the wee hours of the morning. by the end of the night i had planned the next year and a half of my life: after a year of teaching i would take off and do some traveling around japan. after i'd seen what i wanted to see i would head over to the asian continent and make my way through thailand, cambodia, vietnam, maybe malaysia and some islands. *then* i would go to india and meet bec and natasha at an ashram. after a month of yoga and meditation i'd finally go home.


bye natasha!
good plan. fueled by the chatter of two australian girls who had already visited much of asia and, along with me, drank quite a bit of wine. bec left and natasha and i finally went to bed around 4 in the morning, only to wake up a few hours later for work. (the worst part of a nova teaching schedule: weekends are early shifts, weekdays are late shifts)

saturday evening was natasha's last night out in marugame. the plan was to meet a bunch of other teachers and friends at an izakaya and then go to karaoke. despite having gone to an izakaya the previous week with natasha and mariko, i wasn't prepared for the amount of food we had. there were some heavenly cabbage and cheese rolls, sashimi, fried cheese balls (which i burnt my lip very badly on, had a scar the next day), fries, grilled garlic with miso, edamame.... so much food and so good.


grant, dave, and gavin
after we'd eaten our fill it was off to a karaoke bar, which was on the 5th floor of a building just down the road. (while most floors above street level would be residences in america, they are often businesses in japan) it was a small place, not at all like karaoke bars in america - there is no stage, nor much light. along one wall there was a long bar with stools, on the opposite wall was a long couch, in front of which were tables and small benches. we sat down and were given warm cloths for our hands and a basket of chip-type things. straight away people started looking through the telephone directory sized song book. once i got up the nerve to sing my first song ("it's not unusual" by tom jones) there was no stopping me.

also on this momentous first night of karaoke i met two of my future favorites: dave and paul. i went over and talked to paul after he sang a U2 song (my *favorite* band). i was introduced to dave, as he was new and soon to be teaching at my school. while chatting with dave i was glad to hear that he was interested in going out for some beers sometime. natasha had told me that most people didn't really like to go out that much. i now had hopes that we could change that.


me
it was 6 in the morning by the time we left the karaoke bar. i had to work the next day and natasha had a bus to catch in the morning. she asked me to make sure she was up, i was instructed to hit her if i needed to. that time came too soon and while i had quite a time waking her up. but when she finally did wake up, she popped out of bed still dressed from the night before. i walked with her to the station and we said our goodbyes, still talking about meeting up in india. then i walked home alone.

how to teach (part 2)

training - day two

on my way to training the second day i grabbed my lunch from the department store on the way to the school. the basement level of the store was filled with little stands and booths - part food court, part marketplace. i picked out a ready-made tray of food (since i didn't know the names of anything) and went outside to find a bench to eat on. my meal consisted of some chicken on a stick and a couple of grilled rice balls accompanied by some unidentifiable condiments.

back in class we were taught about more pieces of the nova class. we learned some basic classroom management tactics. then we taught parts of a couple more classes. it was stressful. the idea that some day i would have to fill out student evaluations for 4 students in the 10 minutes between classes seemed ludicrous. my biggest challenge was still developing role plays - my stories were far too complex and involved.

the ever adventurous jeremy and i found a little counter service place around the corner from nova for dinner called yoshinoya. there we feasted on bowls of miso soup, and rice topped with thin slices of beef (this was before the american beef "mad cow" scare) for not a lot of yen. let me tell you, this is heaven in a bowl, topped with pickled ginger. it wasn't until much later that i discovered that this was a large chain in japan - alas, not in marugame.

that evening in my hotel i found an episode of one of my favorite shows (favorite after the x-files), ALIAS on tv. i was so excited that i didn't even care that it was dubbed in japanese.

training - day three

by the third day i was really starting to feel confident in my classes, provided i had my lesson plan in hand. i was even starting to see how maybe i could write comments in less than 10 minutes. still the thought of teaching classes back to back was a little un-nerving. my lesson planning was still taking forever. at this rate i feared i'd be spending all my waking hours trying to plan my classes.

this last day of training was a very sad day, as well. no, not because i was sad to be leaving okayama (though i was - i like cities). not because i was sad to part ways with weird jeremy. but because my venus de milo pen finally kicked the bucket. *sigh*

how to teach: a crash course

orientation

when i first arrived i was given a huge packet of information. maps, directions, my key, and a train ticket to my orientation. on the monday following my arrival i headed to okayama for orientation. i managed to take the right train *and* find the school without too much difficulty.

the big question on my mind at this point was "how soon can i transfer to a city?". webber, our orientator, said it would be possible after my probationary period was over (2 months). i wasn't convinced, but there was so much information being thrown at us that i didn't have time to care.

the highlight of our orientation was the free meal - webber took us all out to some pizza place. not your average american pizza, but still recognizable. after dinner we were sent home, which seemed a little pointless to me, since i was supposed to come back the next day to begin my 3 day training.

when i got back to my place natasha was back from work eating her dinner. i made myself a little snack and was pleased to be told that CSI was going to be on - IN ENGLISH - and that it was on almost every monday night. i also learned that on saturday there was often an english movie on tv.

training - day one


the next day i was back in okayama. i had read in my guidebook that there was a kaitenzushi (rotating sushi bar) place near the school, so i made it my first mission to find this place. when i finally did, i took a seat at the counter and tried to watch and learn. when i still couldn't figure out how to get tea, an old woman sitting near me decided to educate me. she didn't speak a word of english, but she got me up to speed quickly. the tea bags were on the counter along with tea cups. all along the countertop were spigots which poured out the hot water. chopsticks. ginger. et voila.

i was really quite amused by the whole experience. watching and waiting for the plate of sushi i wanted. trying to match plates to pictures on the menu to words in my phrase book so i would know what i was eating. my only disappointment was the tako, octopus. yuk. at the end your plates are counted up and priced by color. easy, fun, and cheap.

still loaded down with my overnight bag i went straight to the school to begin my training. our class consisted of only myself and one other boy, jeremy. there was a lot of talk to start with, the sequence of nova lessons, the levels of students, and the timing of the class. we started by planning a couple of role plays and before we knew it we were thrown in to teach part of a class.

my first class went mostly as planned, i was able to guide the students in the role play and scribble a few notes about their efforts. my second class didn't go as well. my role play was planned for 3 characters, but only 1 student had shown up for the class. i got a little panicky and flabbergasted. but i got through it.

my training partner, jeremy, wasn't much of a talker, so i managed to fill in for him. i went on and on about the fabulous kaitenzushi place i had eaten lunch. and after talking it up so much, we decided to go there on our dinner break. only this time *i* was the one doing the educating.

after a long first day i was ready to pass out in my little hotel room. but before i could sleep i had more sample lessons to plan....

next time, training continues

food quest

yes, it has been too long since i last posted. i won't bore you with my excuses, suffice to say i've been pre-occupied. i hope you are finding all this interesting, it is fun for me to write about my time in japan. it brings back a lot of memories. well, on with the story.

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sitting in my flat in marugame, trying to take it all in, i realized that i had not actually eaten for 24 hours. i had a beer at my hotel the night before. i had tea in my hotel room that morning. and since then, nothing. very unlike me. so with natasha gone to work and the sun shining outside i was ready for a trip to the grocery store.

it was very easy to find the marunaka, it was a right hand turn off our road, just like natasha said. still feeling a little spacy i grabbed a shopping basket and began to shop. perhaps shop is too strong a word... really i just wandered. for about an hour. i walked up and down the aisles, looking for items i recognized. i repeatedly hit my head on low-hanging signs by the refrigerator cases. i was examined by the locals.

eventually i came away with soba noodles (i had been eating those in the US for months), instant miso soup (something else i had purchased in the asian market at home), some green tea bags, yogurt, orange juice, a package of mushrooms, a carrot, and a tray of maki rolls.


i returned to my flat and devoured my maki rolls. and though it was about 5 o'clock in the evening i decided a nap was in order. i curled up on my futon and napped for a good 3 hours until i was jolted awake by the doorbell. there stood a man with a clipboard and my luggage. he pointed out where i was to sign and i dragged my bags inside.

about an hour later i had unpacked most of my things and arranged them in my room. even then my room looked very bare - the only things in it were my futon and a small set of drawers. everything else was in the closet. i had started making a list of things i needed when natasha came home. she cooked herself dinner and we sat chatting for most of the evening.

after natasha went to bed i sat up and wrote for a while. i was feeling a little apprehensive after what she had told me about the area. she said it was a very small town and there wasn't a lot to do. that i would most definitely need a bike to get around. and she was leaving after 3 months becuase, obviously, she didn't like the job. my mind was racing, i was considering requesting a transfer immediately (i did state that my preference was for a large city) or if i found out that it would be impossible to get to work without a bike.

when i finished writing, i closed my journal and stretched out on my futon. only now, i wasn't tired at all.

working up the nerve

exiting the hotel in dotonbori i noticed the large easter island looking statues that flanked the door. how could i have missed those on the way in? clearly i wasn't at my most perceptive after 15 hours in the air and not much sleep. i turned right and started exploring the well lit streets.

my first thought was that this area looked... seedy? the lights were so bright and the locals mostly men, a few couples. a car drove by with two japanese men inside. "hello, hello!" shouted one of the men. which was strangely comforting. comforting in that it is familiar, the international pickup line of foreign men to english speaking women. i offered my familiar response to this line: feigned deafness.


dotonbori
i looked at a couple of restaurants. i admired the plastic models of the food offered. i caught some glorious whiffs of unidentified street food. but in the end i couldn't work up the nerve to actually try to get some of it. with my yen burning a hole in my pocket, i went back to my hotel. there i bought a large can of asahi beer from the vending machine and sat in my room watching a clippers/sonics basketball game on tv, with japanese commentary.

i managed to sleep a bit, until about 2:30 am. after that i was awake and restless until about 7 am, when i manged to fall asleep for another 2 hours. though i wasn't feeling very rested, and i had set my alarm for 10 o'clock, i decided to get up and start getting ready for our 11 o'clock departure from the hotel. as i made myself a cup of green tea i noticed that my clock and the room clock were not the same time... i started to panic a little. i packed up my stuff and headed down to the lobby. everyone else was waiting there, chatting in small groups. i was the last person to check out.

the people who were staying in osaka were off to be shown their apartments. the rest of us headed to the subway with our nova guide. from there we boarded the shinkansen, without our guide, and were told where to get off and switch trains. seemed simple enough, i have taken many trains in my travels. but i still missed my connection because i was unsure which train to take, what platform i should be on... eventually i figured it out and took the next train to marugame, where i was met by my flatmate, natasha.

natasha walked her bike as i lugged my bag. she explained the lay of the land - the 100 yen store, the supermarket, the bank. after 15 minutes or so we arrived at our building and took the elevator to the sixth floor. the apartment was larger than i had expected (i had been told many times how small things would be), with a large main room and small kitchen with three bedrooms, one too small for habitation and therefore used as a closet.

the living room

my room and balcony door

after showing me around (which took about a minute and a half) natasha had to leave for work. i flipped on the tv and zoned out a little on the loveseat. i considered trying to find the town offices to get my alien registration card. but i realized that would mean finding a photo booth first and then figuring out japanese forms... i decided i should leave that for another day, when i was not spaced-out and jet-lagged. good plan.

panini e birra

i know, i know... i'm already off my schedule for posting. but i've told myself it's because i wanted to give everyone i e-mailed about this site a chance to view the first posting at their leisure and decide whether or not it's amusing/interesting enough to read on a regular basis... or i could just be a procrastinator. ;P

this postcard is one i wrote to my family on st. patrick's day from milano, italy:

"..since arriving in italy i've discovered just how bad the french "panini" are, here they are sooo delicious. in france they are just warm. also had a can of beer from the sandwich stand on the side of the road. have decided i'm not doing enough casual european drinking. you can even get beer at McD's!"

it really was very amusing - there was a small hut that made sandwiches and some picnic tables right on the side of the road. luckily it was a sunny and somewhat warm day.

it was a quiet st. patrick's day in for me. the hostel had a kitchen available for guest use, so i cooked up a packet of instant risotto milanese accompanied by a bottle of white wine. from my personal journal:

could be the vino, but i'm v. excited about my upcoming travels. keep thinking of molto mario!

i have food on the brain at all times... a few days later i got it into my head that i could re-create a spinach and ricotta panino i had in milano by simply buying and mixing spinach and ricotta... i do not reccomend this.

next post will be posted next week (first week of may), i promise!