Ladies and gents-
One of my best friends Mother died this week, so in her honor there will be no formal post this week. Take care all of you,enjoy the time with your families and happy new year! Ake Meshite Omedetoo!
-Scott
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Friday, December 24, 2004
Message from SkyMail
let me be the first to wish u all a merry christmas!its 1202 christmas morn here!thanx for reading!
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Merry Christmas three days early!
I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me, there'll be snow and misletoe and presents on the tree... blah blah blah, (but does anyone actually remember the last line of this song?) BUT ONLY IN MY DREAMS. I finally understand the song. Im not home. Im missing the turkey, cookies, pine tree smells, christmas songs (ok, i hear those here ALL the time), the family being together, football, gifts under the tree, the tree itself, and the hassle of shopping (yeah i do miss it). BUT... I cant complain about where I am. Im having a great time over here, and its a once in a lifetime experience, so my gift to all of you are these three pics. Enjoy! And merry Christmas! I will miss all of you, and I wish you all the best during this holiday season, whereevr you are in this crazy world.
Now on to the last week and a half...
I traveled to Hakone last Wednesday and Thursday. Hakone is a very popular japanese tourist destination, due to the many beautiful views of fuji, the onsens (an onsen is a natural hotspring bath, heated naturally by underground magma), the museums, and the escape from the city life of tokyo. Because i went in the middle of the week i missed most of the craziness. one of The other great things about hakone is the method of transportation. Once you get to hakone you can take: A double backing mountain train, cable car, two different ropeways AND... a pirate ship? where did the pirate ship come from? turns out that the japanese LOVE fantasy, so they made the lake ashi ferries into three pirate ships and one mississippi river paddle boat. Yeah, those are SOOO japanese.
I took the whole tour, which was great and very relaxing. My favorite things were the onsen baths (damn those were hot, try 45 celcius), The AMAZING hakone open-air museum (The museum is a collection of hundreds of sculptures by numerous artists like Rodin as well as paintings by picasso, all of which are situated in a beautiful flat area on a mountain side)(I stayed two hours but could have stayed longer), Owakidani (the crater of a volcano that blew its top 3000 years ago, which is still active and has many bubbling water pools(think yellowstone), where they cook eggs in the waters which then turn black and are said to extend your life by 7 years. Yum. I ate two.) And the transportation with breathtaking views of Fuji. Amazing.
The photos below are from the hakone trip.
In other news...
My roommates are both gone for at least a month. which means that if i clean now, the place will be clean for a month. of course, cleaning a years worth of filth takes awhile.
I have also moved into my new room. its bigger, has a closet, access to the porch, and a jack for the TV, but i dont have a tv so it doesnt help.
I watched the last samurai for the sixth time yesterday. Its tough to watch movies when they are all in japanese, so i rewatch the movies we have on hand (o, and USA DVDs dont work on japanese dvd players) which are: Kill Bill Volume 1 (watched 5 times), The Last Samurai (6 times), League of Extrodinary gentlemen (twice), Windtalkers (once. That movie sucks.), Dreamcatcher (twice) Snatch (four times), and Office Space (7 or 8 times).
I will be going to see the Incredibles though tomorrow. should be good.
My two favorite people from work are leaving the end of january. im sad, because i really cant stand some of my other coworkers.
Over the new year break i will be traveling to Hiroshima, Osaka, and possibly Kyoto. It should be a very solemn and humbling experience.
Political two cents: I had a nice talk with a student the other day, and since it was one on one, we talked about more serious issues. I asked her about how japanese people feel about americans now. her answer actually made me sad and i really couldnt think of how her views could change in the near future. she said: after the iraqi war started, the japanese people not only felt disappointed, but also felt that their dreams were gone. It turns out that in this uncertain world, the one country that japanse people really looked up to (yes she said that) was the US. The US gave the japanese a feeling that anything was possible, that the american way of life was greatest on earth, and it was something to strive for. since the iraqi conflict, these views and dreams have been shattered. Makes you think of a older sibling that has done something to lose the trust and role-model status in the mind of a younger sibling. Two more cents: Look up the Kyoto Protocol and find out why the US doesnt want ANYONE to be part of it, just because their not.
Blah blah blah...
Ok folks, merry Christmas. I love you all and believe me you will be in my thoughts on Saturday.
Take care!
Scotto San
Now on to the last week and a half...
I traveled to Hakone last Wednesday and Thursday. Hakone is a very popular japanese tourist destination, due to the many beautiful views of fuji, the onsens (an onsen is a natural hotspring bath, heated naturally by underground magma), the museums, and the escape from the city life of tokyo. Because i went in the middle of the week i missed most of the craziness. one of The other great things about hakone is the method of transportation. Once you get to hakone you can take: A double backing mountain train, cable car, two different ropeways AND... a pirate ship? where did the pirate ship come from? turns out that the japanese LOVE fantasy, so they made the lake ashi ferries into three pirate ships and one mississippi river paddle boat. Yeah, those are SOOO japanese.
I took the whole tour, which was great and very relaxing. My favorite things were the onsen baths (damn those were hot, try 45 celcius), The AMAZING hakone open-air museum (The museum is a collection of hundreds of sculptures by numerous artists like Rodin as well as paintings by picasso, all of which are situated in a beautiful flat area on a mountain side)(I stayed two hours but could have stayed longer), Owakidani (the crater of a volcano that blew its top 3000 years ago, which is still active and has many bubbling water pools(think yellowstone), where they cook eggs in the waters which then turn black and are said to extend your life by 7 years. Yum. I ate two.) And the transportation with breathtaking views of Fuji. Amazing.
The photos below are from the hakone trip.
In other news...
My roommates are both gone for at least a month. which means that if i clean now, the place will be clean for a month. of course, cleaning a years worth of filth takes awhile.
I have also moved into my new room. its bigger, has a closet, access to the porch, and a jack for the TV, but i dont have a tv so it doesnt help.
I watched the last samurai for the sixth time yesterday. Its tough to watch movies when they are all in japanese, so i rewatch the movies we have on hand (o, and USA DVDs dont work on japanese dvd players) which are: Kill Bill Volume 1 (watched 5 times), The Last Samurai (6 times), League of Extrodinary gentlemen (twice), Windtalkers (once. That movie sucks.), Dreamcatcher (twice) Snatch (four times), and Office Space (7 or 8 times).
I will be going to see the Incredibles though tomorrow. should be good.
My two favorite people from work are leaving the end of january. im sad, because i really cant stand some of my other coworkers.
Over the new year break i will be traveling to Hiroshima, Osaka, and possibly Kyoto. It should be a very solemn and humbling experience.
Political two cents: I had a nice talk with a student the other day, and since it was one on one, we talked about more serious issues. I asked her about how japanese people feel about americans now. her answer actually made me sad and i really couldnt think of how her views could change in the near future. she said: after the iraqi war started, the japanese people not only felt disappointed, but also felt that their dreams were gone. It turns out that in this uncertain world, the one country that japanse people really looked up to (yes she said that) was the US. The US gave the japanese a feeling that anything was possible, that the american way of life was greatest on earth, and it was something to strive for. since the iraqi conflict, these views and dreams have been shattered. Makes you think of a older sibling that has done something to lose the trust and role-model status in the mind of a younger sibling. Two more cents: Look up the Kyoto Protocol and find out why the US doesnt want ANYONE to be part of it, just because their not.
Blah blah blah...
Ok folks, merry Christmas. I love you all and believe me you will be in my thoughts on Saturday.
Take care!
Scotto San
Monday, December 20, 2004
Message from SkyMail
im still here! had a great week last week so ill give a full rundown with photos wednesday!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
I didnt Spend it All!
Ha! Here it is the end of my pay month, and i actually didnt spend my entire paycheck! Its really not that tough to do to tell you the truth (saving and spending). I was actually able to buy an mp3 player that can upload songs by a direct connection to a stereo. good since i dont have a computer. in case anyone is wondering its the iRiver H320. pretty cool.
my brother mike asked me a good question the other day. for those of you up on your history, December 7th was the 63rd anniversary of Peral Harbor, and mike asked me what it was like to be here in Japan. Truthfully, all the americans knew it, and im sure some of our students did too, but NO ONE MENTIONED IT. thats number 2 on the list of taboo topics, number one being the a-bomb, so no, it wasnt that bad.
lets talk about the real bad day... Two days ago I had my strangest day to date. First off, one of our students is having a mental breakdown. He followed the teachers into the teacher area and kept on saying 'I understand, I understand'. turns out that he thinks he can be an english teacher, because he memorized some old english (think 1600's) novel. Due to this fact he speaks like shakespere (Tis a tad brisk on this eve shant it not be?) Wha? OK. well, he also thinks he found the cure for cancer, and doesnt understand why the newspaper is written differently from the english he learned.
part 2- A student walked out on me the same day. It was the nightmare class. no way that it was going to work, an 11 year old indonesian girl that doesnt talk because shes bored (she skipped 20 classes in a row, but was finally caught when we called her mother to ask where she was and realized she had been dropped off for class 20 times, but hid by the vending machines outside for the 40 minute lesson), and an eccentric chinese woman that says she was a director, actress and a teacher, yet she can never explain which job she actually holds right now. The chinese woman was getting most of my attention, and the little girl was content not to talk, but we dont work that way, so when i talked to her, i was accused of going to fast for the chinese woman, who then got ticked. the girl almost started to cry, and the director refused to talk as well. blah blah blah, she then stood up and left the place. bummer. dont worry, im not in trouble, and i have become one of the fav teachers, so they cant touch me.
Quicks-
-No one posts here anymore
-karaoke again last night. got home at 5 this morning. ugh.
-i received my first letter from the states! Thanks Angela!
-I officially have a japanese friend
-Watashi wa biru ga nomitai
-I need to sleep
- No skiing, going to hakone this week. should be very relaxing. onsens here i come!
take care
scotto san
my brother mike asked me a good question the other day. for those of you up on your history, December 7th was the 63rd anniversary of Peral Harbor, and mike asked me what it was like to be here in Japan. Truthfully, all the americans knew it, and im sure some of our students did too, but NO ONE MENTIONED IT. thats number 2 on the list of taboo topics, number one being the a-bomb, so no, it wasnt that bad.
lets talk about the real bad day... Two days ago I had my strangest day to date. First off, one of our students is having a mental breakdown. He followed the teachers into the teacher area and kept on saying 'I understand, I understand'. turns out that he thinks he can be an english teacher, because he memorized some old english (think 1600's) novel. Due to this fact he speaks like shakespere (Tis a tad brisk on this eve shant it not be?) Wha? OK. well, he also thinks he found the cure for cancer, and doesnt understand why the newspaper is written differently from the english he learned.
part 2- A student walked out on me the same day. It was the nightmare class. no way that it was going to work, an 11 year old indonesian girl that doesnt talk because shes bored (she skipped 20 classes in a row, but was finally caught when we called her mother to ask where she was and realized she had been dropped off for class 20 times, but hid by the vending machines outside for the 40 minute lesson), and an eccentric chinese woman that says she was a director, actress and a teacher, yet she can never explain which job she actually holds right now. The chinese woman was getting most of my attention, and the little girl was content not to talk, but we dont work that way, so when i talked to her, i was accused of going to fast for the chinese woman, who then got ticked. the girl almost started to cry, and the director refused to talk as well. blah blah blah, she then stood up and left the place. bummer. dont worry, im not in trouble, and i have become one of the fav teachers, so they cant touch me.
Quicks-
-No one posts here anymore
-karaoke again last night. got home at 5 this morning. ugh.
-i received my first letter from the states! Thanks Angela!
-I officially have a japanese friend
-Watashi wa biru ga nomitai
-I need to sleep
- No skiing, going to hakone this week. should be very relaxing. onsens here i come!
take care
scotto san
Friday, December 10, 2004
Message from SkyMail
and now the quik update:i bought an mp3 playr yesterday AND a student walked out of my class today!
Sunday, December 05, 2004
The Crazy country that is Japan
i know many of you think that i am crazy, but check out these doozies from the japanese.
First off: The Ice Cream Man-
Every Tuesday, wednesday, thursday and saturday morning i hear the icecream man. you know, the tunes that play throughout the neighbor hood, to let children know that a big truck with a scary looking man is on his way to sell you a tasty summer treat. well they have it japan too, but here the scary looking man is actually the driver of the garbage truck. They japanese actually place music throughout the city to let you know that the trash is being picked up. i hate it. on my days off i wake up to japanese music pouring out of A GARBAGE TRUCK!!! at 8 in the morning. ughh.
Hooker Boots:
In the states we call them hooker boots (or stripper boots). the tall black boots with high heels that come up to a girls knees, followed by some gratuitous leg then a short skirt. Perverts...welcome to japan. i would be willing to say that 50 percent of all women wear these outfits. by the way, japanese women CANT WALK in high heels. i cant count the number of times i have seen a japanese woman fall on her face because of the awkward walk they do in the boots. how about this... TAKE THEM OFF!!!
The Tim Allen effect:
all people in japan make a strange noise. i call it the tim allen. why you ask? ever seen home improvement? you know the EEeaaauuuiii? noise that he makes? the japanese have mastered it, and it is part of their language. It is extremely annoying. i think i can translate. it means: Really? No Way! Are You sure? i dont believe you. What? I just went to the bathroom! You did what!? Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
I just dont get it, but i have mastered it... like i said, i now understand about five percent of japanese, and that word constitutes 99% of that understanding.
Finally... The Wow Japanese girls:
A friend here once asked me what i though tof japanese girls. i said i thought that it was about the same as in the us. some were actractive, some werent. He said it one step better: 'I see a beautiful japanese girl and i think 'Wow!', then she opens her mouth and i see her teeth, and i think 'Wow'.
enjoy. laugh. merry christmas.
scotto san
First off: The Ice Cream Man-
Every Tuesday, wednesday, thursday and saturday morning i hear the icecream man. you know, the tunes that play throughout the neighbor hood, to let children know that a big truck with a scary looking man is on his way to sell you a tasty summer treat. well they have it japan too, but here the scary looking man is actually the driver of the garbage truck. They japanese actually place music throughout the city to let you know that the trash is being picked up. i hate it. on my days off i wake up to japanese music pouring out of A GARBAGE TRUCK!!! at 8 in the morning. ughh.
Hooker Boots:
In the states we call them hooker boots (or stripper boots). the tall black boots with high heels that come up to a girls knees, followed by some gratuitous leg then a short skirt. Perverts...welcome to japan. i would be willing to say that 50 percent of all women wear these outfits. by the way, japanese women CANT WALK in high heels. i cant count the number of times i have seen a japanese woman fall on her face because of the awkward walk they do in the boots. how about this... TAKE THEM OFF!!!
The Tim Allen effect:
all people in japan make a strange noise. i call it the tim allen. why you ask? ever seen home improvement? you know the EEeaaauuuiii? noise that he makes? the japanese have mastered it, and it is part of their language. It is extremely annoying. i think i can translate. it means: Really? No Way! Are You sure? i dont believe you. What? I just went to the bathroom! You did what!? Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
I just dont get it, but i have mastered it... like i said, i now understand about five percent of japanese, and that word constitutes 99% of that understanding.
Finally... The Wow Japanese girls:
A friend here once asked me what i though tof japanese girls. i said i thought that it was about the same as in the us. some were actractive, some werent. He said it one step better: 'I see a beautiful japanese girl and i think 'Wow!', then she opens her mouth and i see her teeth, and i think 'Wow'.
enjoy. laugh. merry christmas.
scotto san
Friday, December 03, 2004
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Either a Cool Japanese or an American fool
I just got my haircut, the first time since i have been here, and I either look like a cool Japanese person or just a dumb fool. because in the states i think that this style might get laughed at. i would post a photo but it doesnt seem to want to let me right now, sorry folks. I walked into the place expecting a disaster, because most haircuts around here run about 50 bucks, this one was ten. the guy took 45 minutes. he had no clippers. thus my neckline, sideburns and ears were all cut by... A STRAIGHT RAZOR!!! ARRRGGHHH! actually, it wasnt bad at all, and after he was done he wiped my brow with a hot towel, and took another 15 minutes twisting many of the hairs together, brushing out all remaining hair, and finishing by cementing it all together with hairspray and gel. i actually like it.
lets see... the week that was for scott... Thanksgiving I chowed down on tuna, beef and chicken... in the smallest portions i have ever seen. it was fun, we ate at a restaurant that had all the booths shaped like eggs. the floor was see through glass with a zen like sand/rock garden beneath. nice place and amazing ly enough fairly resonable.
Friday-Tuesday not much. I worked, went to my lesson, and my teacher asked me out!!! If you think im serious, i feel sorry for you. Two more weeks until i move to the better room. i cant wait.
went to disney land yesterday. almost exactly like the other parks except that it is much more crowded and no one can speak english. strangly enough the characters NOT in full face covering outfits (ie. mary poppins, cinderella, snow white, the mad hatter, alice, etc.) were ALL either american or australian or british. hmmm.. future job possibility? I went with my roommate and his girlfriend (the mistress) and her friend. Neither one speaks english, so my listening comprehension ability for japanese has now increased from 4% to a whopping 5%.
i have finally decided that it is best, no matter how dirty, for me to stay in my current living arrangements. It would cost way too much to move if im not staying beyond next may or june. Stay tuned for next weeks entry "How I traveled to Japan to become a maid"!
the shorts-
-Fuji has snow on it, magnificent cant describe its beauty.
-The word for 'cute' and 'I hate you' are one letter apart and sound VERY VERY similar, which might explain why none of my pick ups are working. heh. kidding, dont worry mom, im not even looking.
-i have amassed enough friends to keep me busy, and my money disappearing.
-Who is coming to visit? and when? I already have info from one person.
-Sunday is dans BD. wish him a happy one
-i have once again forgotten the crazy little things that happened to me during the week.
have a good week.
scotto san
p.s. yes, students do call me scotto san, turns out that japanese words never end in a letter other than 'n' or a vowel. so, they cant understand how to say it without adding the o. I have actually seen a student add the 'o' to my WRITTEN name because they thought I had written it wrong! also, san means Mr.
I responded to you brett on the comment thread.
lets see... the week that was for scott... Thanksgiving I chowed down on tuna, beef and chicken... in the smallest portions i have ever seen. it was fun, we ate at a restaurant that had all the booths shaped like eggs. the floor was see through glass with a zen like sand/rock garden beneath. nice place and amazing ly enough fairly resonable.
Friday-Tuesday not much. I worked, went to my lesson, and my teacher asked me out!!! If you think im serious, i feel sorry for you. Two more weeks until i move to the better room. i cant wait.
went to disney land yesterday. almost exactly like the other parks except that it is much more crowded and no one can speak english. strangly enough the characters NOT in full face covering outfits (ie. mary poppins, cinderella, snow white, the mad hatter, alice, etc.) were ALL either american or australian or british. hmmm.. future job possibility? I went with my roommate and his girlfriend (the mistress) and her friend. Neither one speaks english, so my listening comprehension ability for japanese has now increased from 4% to a whopping 5%.
i have finally decided that it is best, no matter how dirty, for me to stay in my current living arrangements. It would cost way too much to move if im not staying beyond next may or june. Stay tuned for next weeks entry "How I traveled to Japan to become a maid"!
the shorts-
-Fuji has snow on it, magnificent cant describe its beauty.
-The word for 'cute' and 'I hate you' are one letter apart and sound VERY VERY similar, which might explain why none of my pick ups are working. heh. kidding, dont worry mom, im not even looking.
-i have amassed enough friends to keep me busy, and my money disappearing.
-Who is coming to visit? and when? I already have info from one person.
-Sunday is dans BD. wish him a happy one
-i have once again forgotten the crazy little things that happened to me during the week.
have a good week.
scotto san
p.s. yes, students do call me scotto san, turns out that japanese words never end in a letter other than 'n' or a vowel. so, they cant understand how to say it without adding the o. I have actually seen a student add the 'o' to my WRITTEN name because they thought I had written it wrong! also, san means Mr.
I responded to you brett on the comment thread.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Thanksgiving
Happy thanksgiving everyone! i hope you are having a good one, because over here its business as usual... but... the japoanese have a one up. They started playing christmas songs three weeks ago. and you thought that just after thanksgiving was bad. santa is everywhere, trees and lights are being put up, and songs are in the air. of course, come christmas day nobody really cares, and ill be working. the day after the japanese will try to find another american holiday to cash in on.
not much else to report... i am still looking at other housing options and even though i feel that i am getting screwed by nova for the price i pay, IT IS CONVENIENT. and also considering that i will have the apt to myself for several weeks in december... i might be able to live with it. i wonder though who else i could have met if i didnt live with computer (play gameboy on the toilet) roomie, and cheater.
on that front though, i am going to tokyo disney sea with the mistress and her friend next week. btw, they speak approximately as much english as a three year old. combined. should be fun. we will carry the eng/japanese dictionary in tow, and see how it goes.
the human body exhibit was amazing (IT WAS ALL REAL!!!!), but in the end, almost too much for me. I couldnt take pics, but here is one of the sites about the exhibit: http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/topics/040902/4.html
enjoy!
times up folks, enjoy the holiday, and eat an extra bite of turkey for me...
scott
not much else to report... i am still looking at other housing options and even though i feel that i am getting screwed by nova for the price i pay, IT IS CONVENIENT. and also considering that i will have the apt to myself for several weeks in december... i might be able to live with it. i wonder though who else i could have met if i didnt live with computer (play gameboy on the toilet) roomie, and cheater.
on that front though, i am going to tokyo disney sea with the mistress and her friend next week. btw, they speak approximately as much english as a three year old. combined. should be fun. we will carry the eng/japanese dictionary in tow, and see how it goes.
the human body exhibit was amazing (IT WAS ALL REAL!!!!), but in the end, almost too much for me. I couldnt take pics, but here is one of the sites about the exhibit: http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/topics/040902/4.html
enjoy!
times up folks, enjoy the holiday, and eat an extra bite of turkey for me...
scott
Monday, November 22, 2004
The things I forgot
as i have said before, i seem to forget many things that happen to me over the course of a week, which is disappointing, since many of the best things are the smaller occurrences that i fail to mention. i will now try my best to remember them...
Let me start by saying that I while i am not a violent person, I really wantto punch one of my coworkers in the face. Honestly i feel that the guy is threatened by me, since he NEVER says anything nice to me, yet always finds something about my personality to gripe about. i dont care, because i know how the rest of the office feels about him, so in lieu of a brawl, I will continue to use my sharp wit, and quick quips to prove that he is a tool. i'll keep you informed.
Caravan- Went to a huge party out of a mini winnebago the other night. my aussie friend(who is moving home because his best friend died suddenly today) decided to have a party at his current residence, a small three person motor home. the place could fit about 7 people standing, but thats it. well 30 people showed up. The caravan was parked literally on the MAIN ROAD, right next to the most respected shrine in tokyo. the best example i could give is to imagine parking a caravan (with a bunch of japanese people)in the middle of sundance squar on a VERY busy saturday night (tokyos pop is 14 million, so this is very difficult to compare to anything) with passersby all the time, and about 20 of the fopreigners drinking in the middle of the road.
good times.
the train ride home... well, it stopped two stations form mine, which ended up taking an hour and a half to walk back from. ugh. but hey, i found a nice umbrella on the road on the way back, so it wasnt that bad of a walk.
Hearse- i saw japanese hearse the other day. they literally look like the ark of the covenant welded to the top of a normal hearse. hmm.
Bungie Babies- serious ly, japanese people find the most interesting ways to attach their kids to themselves. they ride bikes with their kids on their fronts, backs, sitting in the grocery basket, and i honestly saw a man with a baby seat that attaches to his head the other day. like riding on a mans shoulders, but all the time, and with out fear of falling.
This week is thanksgiving... enjoy the time with your families, be thankful for what you have, and enjoy life. And eat LOADS OF TURKEY FOR ME! ill be eating eel. mmm eel.
Movin on up- YES!!! and no... the roommate of mine that i usually hang out with has decided to move, which means i finally get a closet, and a bigger room. on the down side, he is moving about a hour and a half away, which means i wont have him to go out with anymore. sooo.... i am going to speed up my search for a new place, as i cant stay in that apt with the other pig that lives there.
human body- mom, this one is for you. there is a VERY interesting exhibit in town right now that has several real bodies that have been preserved by numerous methods. Example: there is one body that was injected with red rubber in the blood system. they then took the rest of the body away leaving the red rubber behind to show the ENTIRE system of veins, arteries, etc... pretty cool, i think i might go this week.
thats it for now folks... i hope you are all well. have a good holiday week! and BE CAREFUL!!
scotto san
Let me start by saying that I while i am not a violent person, I really wantto punch one of my coworkers in the face. Honestly i feel that the guy is threatened by me, since he NEVER says anything nice to me, yet always finds something about my personality to gripe about. i dont care, because i know how the rest of the office feels about him, so in lieu of a brawl, I will continue to use my sharp wit, and quick quips to prove that he is a tool. i'll keep you informed.
Caravan- Went to a huge party out of a mini winnebago the other night. my aussie friend(who is moving home because his best friend died suddenly today) decided to have a party at his current residence, a small three person motor home. the place could fit about 7 people standing, but thats it. well 30 people showed up. The caravan was parked literally on the MAIN ROAD, right next to the most respected shrine in tokyo. the best example i could give is to imagine parking a caravan (with a bunch of japanese people)in the middle of sundance squar on a VERY busy saturday night (tokyos pop is 14 million, so this is very difficult to compare to anything) with passersby all the time, and about 20 of the fopreigners drinking in the middle of the road.
good times.
the train ride home... well, it stopped two stations form mine, which ended up taking an hour and a half to walk back from. ugh. but hey, i found a nice umbrella on the road on the way back, so it wasnt that bad of a walk.
Hearse- i saw japanese hearse the other day. they literally look like the ark of the covenant welded to the top of a normal hearse. hmm.
Bungie Babies- serious ly, japanese people find the most interesting ways to attach their kids to themselves. they ride bikes with their kids on their fronts, backs, sitting in the grocery basket, and i honestly saw a man with a baby seat that attaches to his head the other day. like riding on a mans shoulders, but all the time, and with out fear of falling.
This week is thanksgiving... enjoy the time with your families, be thankful for what you have, and enjoy life. And eat LOADS OF TURKEY FOR ME! ill be eating eel. mmm eel.
Movin on up- YES!!! and no... the roommate of mine that i usually hang out with has decided to move, which means i finally get a closet, and a bigger room. on the down side, he is moving about a hour and a half away, which means i wont have him to go out with anymore. sooo.... i am going to speed up my search for a new place, as i cant stay in that apt with the other pig that lives there.
human body- mom, this one is for you. there is a VERY interesting exhibit in town right now that has several real bodies that have been preserved by numerous methods. Example: there is one body that was injected with red rubber in the blood system. they then took the rest of the body away leaving the red rubber behind to show the ENTIRE system of veins, arteries, etc... pretty cool, i think i might go this week.
thats it for now folks... i hope you are all well. have a good holiday week! and BE CAREFUL!!
scotto san
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Little Time
I have been in the internet cafe for about an hour, and i have been sorting through the 696 emails i had, as well as searching for information on skiing. Now i have 15 minutes to spill my guts about the last week, and i have so much to say.
first off- no my teacher doesnt want me. its a motherly thing. she KNOWS that i have to run to work right after class, and have little time to eat, so she made me the sandwiches. you people are sick. you obviously have nothing exciting going on over there.
secondly... i looks as though my quest to get home has hit a roadblock. It costs WAY too much to get home. around 1200 dollars, at least! soooo... i believe that i will be sticking around nihon for the new years breeak. since i have a full week offf, i am currently planning on heading west to osaka, Kyoto (the one place to go if you EVER come to japan), and on a solemn note Hiroshima. I have contacts out there, and the trip wouldnt possibly cost more than 1200 dollars. i guess ill see everyone next year! unless dan makes up his mind and drops in for a bit.
speaking of visitors... start making plans, or if you know you are coming, start looking at dates towards the end of march, and april or may. i need visitors, and i would be glad to show anyone around. this place is so big and there is so much to see, plan for a week, and thats just to see highlights. BTW, im not one to give financial advice, but if you are coming, you might want to purchase yen now. when i arrived here the dollar was between 110-111 yen per dollar. now its 103.5 GO BUSH!!!! thanks you dumb fool for allowing MY pay to increase by over $1500 a year, in just two months!! yep, its good for me NOW, but anyvisitors in the future might find that their dollars dont go as far... so do what you want, but something to think about.
culture...
-japanese people dont say excuse me as they shove and push people onto the trains. they just push.
-japanese people, even though they DONT USE DEODORANT, actually dont smell.
-japanese people are so scared of mispronunciation that if you ask a question in your broken japanese, they wont answer for fear of looking stupid.
-japanese girls in their late teens early twenties enjoy dressing up as what seems to me to be 'little bopeep' i dont get it, i just dont get it.
-the word for 'NO' and 'house' are the same, creating a strange situation if you ask someone out on a date. think about it.
food-
had korean organic meat balls today. small and light, but good. i also bought some kind of bread pastrry thing yesterday in Asakusa, the oldest part of tokyo. they were filled with a purple substance that i think is bean... but im not sure. they are pretty good though.
weather- it is raining now.
friends- i have none.
earthquakes- they did a computer visual an earthquake of the same magnitude that hit 3 weeks ago to show how the same quake would have affected tokyo. once again, dont fear, but it was massive destruction. the quake three weeks ago had a greater speed and WAS STRONGER than the one in kobe back in 1995 that killed 3000. difference is that kobe is a city of 2 mill, niigata is mountains and some small villages. just food for thought.
they deleted the software that i previously used on this comp to post things, meaning that evrytime i post a pic i will have to download it again. ugh.
ok folks thats all for now... the other day was payday and im now on a budget, loose but at least its a budget, so i will budget money for email updtaes everyfew days, so you will probably see more stuff and more photos here. please remember to respond, and feel free to email my phone ANYTIME!
japanese of the day- kore wa nan desu ka?- what is this? important during meals
look mom no BOOZE comments!
scotto san
first off- no my teacher doesnt want me. its a motherly thing. she KNOWS that i have to run to work right after class, and have little time to eat, so she made me the sandwiches. you people are sick. you obviously have nothing exciting going on over there.
secondly... i looks as though my quest to get home has hit a roadblock. It costs WAY too much to get home. around 1200 dollars, at least! soooo... i believe that i will be sticking around nihon for the new years breeak. since i have a full week offf, i am currently planning on heading west to osaka, Kyoto (the one place to go if you EVER come to japan), and on a solemn note Hiroshima. I have contacts out there, and the trip wouldnt possibly cost more than 1200 dollars. i guess ill see everyone next year! unless dan makes up his mind and drops in for a bit.
speaking of visitors... start making plans, or if you know you are coming, start looking at dates towards the end of march, and april or may. i need visitors, and i would be glad to show anyone around. this place is so big and there is so much to see, plan for a week, and thats just to see highlights. BTW, im not one to give financial advice, but if you are coming, you might want to purchase yen now. when i arrived here the dollar was between 110-111 yen per dollar. now its 103.5 GO BUSH!!!! thanks you dumb fool for allowing MY pay to increase by over $1500 a year, in just two months!! yep, its good for me NOW, but anyvisitors in the future might find that their dollars dont go as far... so do what you want, but something to think about.
culture...
-japanese people dont say excuse me as they shove and push people onto the trains. they just push.
-japanese people, even though they DONT USE DEODORANT, actually dont smell.
-japanese people are so scared of mispronunciation that if you ask a question in your broken japanese, they wont answer for fear of looking stupid.
-japanese girls in their late teens early twenties enjoy dressing up as what seems to me to be 'little bopeep' i dont get it, i just dont get it.
-the word for 'NO' and 'house' are the same, creating a strange situation if you ask someone out on a date. think about it.
food-
had korean organic meat balls today. small and light, but good. i also bought some kind of bread pastrry thing yesterday in Asakusa, the oldest part of tokyo. they were filled with a purple substance that i think is bean... but im not sure. they are pretty good though.
weather- it is raining now.
friends- i have none.
earthquakes- they did a computer visual an earthquake of the same magnitude that hit 3 weeks ago to show how the same quake would have affected tokyo. once again, dont fear, but it was massive destruction. the quake three weeks ago had a greater speed and WAS STRONGER than the one in kobe back in 1995 that killed 3000. difference is that kobe is a city of 2 mill, niigata is mountains and some small villages. just food for thought.
they deleted the software that i previously used on this comp to post things, meaning that evrytime i post a pic i will have to download it again. ugh.
ok folks thats all for now... the other day was payday and im now on a budget, loose but at least its a budget, so i will budget money for email updtaes everyfew days, so you will probably see more stuff and more photos here. please remember to respond, and feel free to email my phone ANYTIME!
japanese of the day- kore wa nan desu ka?- what is this? important during meals
look mom no BOOZE comments!
scotto san
Monday, November 15, 2004
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Monday, November 08, 2004
Message from SkyMail
my japanese teacher kicks arse.she bought me a hanky to wipe my brow.im always sweating in class!
Message from SkyMail
yatta! today i only spent 120 yen! my cheapest to date! thatwill be tough to beat!
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
The Only thing we have to fear...
Is fear itself. and politicians use it well. Frightening really, how well fear worked in this campaign... and that scares me. actually, the false fear around our country is not what scares me, but the ignorance of some of its people.
A wise man once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. OK yes, it was in spiderman, but think about what it means... (here i was going to go on a long rant about this and that, but in truth, my words dont matter) lets do our part to make the world better, not turn the world against us.
in conclusion... (hum glory glory halleluia here) America, please think. Use your heads. Dont wait for handouts. INVEST YOUR MEASILY TAX BREAKS GIVEN BY BUSH, that money used to be called social security for generation x. Dont assume that we are the best, lets prove it by our goodwill to others, not bombings.
Hug a tree, hug the environment, hug a gay person, hug a liberal, hug alaska, and hang on... its going to be a long four years.
A wise man once said, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. OK yes, it was in spiderman, but think about what it means... (here i was going to go on a long rant about this and that, but in truth, my words dont matter) lets do our part to make the world better, not turn the world against us.
in conclusion... (hum glory glory halleluia here) America, please think. Use your heads. Dont wait for handouts. INVEST YOUR MEASILY TAX BREAKS GIVEN BY BUSH, that money used to be called social security for generation x. Dont assume that we are the best, lets prove it by our goodwill to others, not bombings.
Hug a tree, hug the environment, hug a gay person, hug a liberal, hug alaska, and hang on... its going to be a long four years.
Monday, November 01, 2004
Message from SkyMail
its a sad sad day folks. mcdonalds took away the 3 minute free phone. no more random quick calls.
bread and water part 2
soooo... Its Nikko, not nikko. if you pronounce this wrong, no one will have any idea what the hell you are talking about. its a city name, yet pronunciation is so important that a slight emphasis on a different vowel means two of 'something' no one knows what, but two of 'something'. why the heck cant the japanese just realize that i am trying to say the city and not two of something? o well...
thursday my ffriend chrissy and I travelled to nikko, apparently the setting of a famous novel called Shogun, which ive never heard of. Nikko is know around japan for its beautiful autumn leaves, and probably the most extravagant temples in the country. I will say they are amazing. bright reds blues and yellows that i havent seen in anyother temple or shrine. very intricate as well. The temple is actually the 'suppossed' site of the original monkeys in the position of see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. I saw the carvings which are over 400 yrs old, so its hard to dispute, but those monkeys are so popular around the world, that its hard to believe that i actually saw the originals.
chrissy and i had a great time, saw the fall foliage, got out of the city, and saw the japanese country side, it was a long day, but well worth it. in one of the temples the japanese were offering sake to one of the gods of the temple. the sake is also given to visitors who want to cleanse their souls. lets just say im now cleansed. heh. free sake.
for dinner/lunch we ate at an awesome yakitori place. for 800 yen we dined on skewered chicken and meatballs, rice, and yakisoba. yum yum yum. the woman also spoke broken english so that helped.
this week i am going to try and catch the autumnal festival at the meiji shrine. ive read that there is an archery tourney there n wednesday. and on thurday im going to try tsukiji again, maybe ill have better luck.
in the case of accommadation... i might have found anopther palce to live. its in tokyo, but the rent is 150 less a month and their are many people living there, meaning more contact with hopefully cleaner individuals.
o and i have finally broken the NOVA sacred rule of not hanging out with students. one of my students saw me at the station last nioght and we wnet for a few beers. nice guy, and i have a feeling we will hang out again.
time is running short so ill end here. take care all and PLEASE vote.
VOTE. VOTE. VOTE! but not for bush.
scotto san
thursday my ffriend chrissy and I travelled to nikko, apparently the setting of a famous novel called Shogun, which ive never heard of. Nikko is know around japan for its beautiful autumn leaves, and probably the most extravagant temples in the country. I will say they are amazing. bright reds blues and yellows that i havent seen in anyother temple or shrine. very intricate as well. The temple is actually the 'suppossed' site of the original monkeys in the position of see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. I saw the carvings which are over 400 yrs old, so its hard to dispute, but those monkeys are so popular around the world, that its hard to believe that i actually saw the originals.
chrissy and i had a great time, saw the fall foliage, got out of the city, and saw the japanese country side, it was a long day, but well worth it. in one of the temples the japanese were offering sake to one of the gods of the temple. the sake is also given to visitors who want to cleanse their souls. lets just say im now cleansed. heh. free sake.
for dinner/lunch we ate at an awesome yakitori place. for 800 yen we dined on skewered chicken and meatballs, rice, and yakisoba. yum yum yum. the woman also spoke broken english so that helped.
this week i am going to try and catch the autumnal festival at the meiji shrine. ive read that there is an archery tourney there n wednesday. and on thurday im going to try tsukiji again, maybe ill have better luck.
in the case of accommadation... i might have found anopther palce to live. its in tokyo, but the rent is 150 less a month and their are many people living there, meaning more contact with hopefully cleaner individuals.
o and i have finally broken the NOVA sacred rule of not hanging out with students. one of my students saw me at the station last nioght and we wnet for a few beers. nice guy, and i have a feeling we will hang out again.
time is running short so ill end here. take care all and PLEASE vote.
VOTE. VOTE. VOTE! but not for bush.
scotto san
Friday, October 29, 2004
bread and water
The first month was bad. very little money and too much partying... ok maybe not that much partying, but this month is worse. not because i have been spending my moneyfoolishly, but because i only received a half months pay on my first check, and i did quite a bit of sightseeing this week, enough to warrant two separate entries, so here it is, bread and water part one:
Up to this point i have been feeling very down about the fact that i dont have many people to hang out with other than my roommates. they are ok, but one has a girlfriend that he is with all the time, and the other seems to always be cheating on his. im doing neither, and i m not made of money, but this week i got fed up with it, took matters into my own hands and sent out mass emailings to my acquaintences here in the area, and made solid plans, or almost solid.
so on my first night off this week i called up my friend jill, a fellow nova person, and went out drinking. we stayed out until last train, then crashed at her place to wake up early for the next days activities which were... to hit up Tsukiji fish market, the largest and busiest in the world. see you have to get there early and i live a hour away, while she lives 15 minutes. so we got up around 645 and headed to the market. imagine my surprise when i realized that wednesdays are fisherman holidays around here, which means the place was dead. i had slept on a cold floor with no bedding, sacrificed my morning to sleep in for nothing. actually, we did see about 5 men there, (the hardcore fishermen) who continued to work on the holiday. from what i saw in about 15 minutes from one fisherman, bashing the heads of the fish then throwing them on the floor, i realized that i have to see it when its really busy, it must be crazy!
we also saw one fisherman who was removing the previous days catch from his 40 below freezer (thats celcius folks) and cutting the huge beast with a table saw. it looked and sounded like wood cutting, but im sure the saw dust doesnt smell as good.
after the lesson in fish cutting, jill and i decided to head out and eat. in the middle of breakfast we decided to check out the imperial palace, where the emperor lives. good idea. since i have been here i am constantly on the look out for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. found it. the imperial palace grounds were gorgeous! i have a feeling that they werent that spectacular, butr when you live in the most densely populated city in the world, any grass helps, and here they had plenty of it. i slept for a half an hour on the palace lawn, always wondering if the guards were going to kick me out. they didnt, and im glad. it was so peaceful there, and very quiet. sure, the buildings were still everywhere, but the people werent, and i loved it.
sidenote: on the way to the palace we stopped at the tourist info office. as we stood there i noticed that the brochure stand was shaking, no one else seemed to notice and i started laughing. the subway station was right below the building, so i thought nothing of it, until...
i got home that night. turns out that he shaking of the brochure stand was in fact another earthquake. a 6.0 to be exact, and i had fact it again, but blown it off. that seems to be the trend here, because as of now i have officially felt four quakes, only one of which was a quake that i recognized as a quake, and not my own dizziness or figments of my imaginination. so... dont worry folks, odds are, if they are that bad, ill know. and ill run.
part two comes soon... Nikko...
o, and im doing well. i have very little money, but i get paid in two weeks, and im frantically searching for new accomodations. i dont enjoy spending the amount that i am in such a filthy, small environment.
and now that tthe dollar has dropped in value, i make an extra $850 a year. may drop more, and i may stay longer... we shall see.
SSDD-
take care-
Scotto san
Up to this point i have been feeling very down about the fact that i dont have many people to hang out with other than my roommates. they are ok, but one has a girlfriend that he is with all the time, and the other seems to always be cheating on his. im doing neither, and i m not made of money, but this week i got fed up with it, took matters into my own hands and sent out mass emailings to my acquaintences here in the area, and made solid plans, or almost solid.
so on my first night off this week i called up my friend jill, a fellow nova person, and went out drinking. we stayed out until last train, then crashed at her place to wake up early for the next days activities which were... to hit up Tsukiji fish market, the largest and busiest in the world. see you have to get there early and i live a hour away, while she lives 15 minutes. so we got up around 645 and headed to the market. imagine my surprise when i realized that wednesdays are fisherman holidays around here, which means the place was dead. i had slept on a cold floor with no bedding, sacrificed my morning to sleep in for nothing. actually, we did see about 5 men there, (the hardcore fishermen) who continued to work on the holiday. from what i saw in about 15 minutes from one fisherman, bashing the heads of the fish then throwing them on the floor, i realized that i have to see it when its really busy, it must be crazy!
we also saw one fisherman who was removing the previous days catch from his 40 below freezer (thats celcius folks) and cutting the huge beast with a table saw. it looked and sounded like wood cutting, but im sure the saw dust doesnt smell as good.
after the lesson in fish cutting, jill and i decided to head out and eat. in the middle of breakfast we decided to check out the imperial palace, where the emperor lives. good idea. since i have been here i am constantly on the look out for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. found it. the imperial palace grounds were gorgeous! i have a feeling that they werent that spectacular, butr when you live in the most densely populated city in the world, any grass helps, and here they had plenty of it. i slept for a half an hour on the palace lawn, always wondering if the guards were going to kick me out. they didnt, and im glad. it was so peaceful there, and very quiet. sure, the buildings were still everywhere, but the people werent, and i loved it.
sidenote: on the way to the palace we stopped at the tourist info office. as we stood there i noticed that the brochure stand was shaking, no one else seemed to notice and i started laughing. the subway station was right below the building, so i thought nothing of it, until...
i got home that night. turns out that he shaking of the brochure stand was in fact another earthquake. a 6.0 to be exact, and i had fact it again, but blown it off. that seems to be the trend here, because as of now i have officially felt four quakes, only one of which was a quake that i recognized as a quake, and not my own dizziness or figments of my imaginination. so... dont worry folks, odds are, if they are that bad, ill know. and ill run.
part two comes soon... Nikko...
o, and im doing well. i have very little money, but i get paid in two weeks, and im frantically searching for new accomodations. i dont enjoy spending the amount that i am in such a filthy, small environment.
and now that tthe dollar has dropped in value, i make an extra $850 a year. may drop more, and i may stay longer... we shall see.
SSDD-
take care-
Scotto san
Sunday, October 24, 2004
engrish of the day.
Because the thing which a ball appears most in Shinjuku SUCH A THING IS. Our supporter in this store. The way that a ball like the sun bursts open is the order in this store. Love a ball is. if anyone knows what this means, let me know.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
not to scare anyone...
but the earthquake that i felt tonight was 160 MILES away. wow. if that had been anywhere near tokyo... bad news. my building definitely shook quite a bit. i stood up dropped all of my paperwork and ran to the stairwell. students were as well. our staff didnt know what we were doing but they quickly understood. kind of ironic, but all day we had been feeling the building move because of somenearby construction, so at first we thought it was just more of the same. it wasnt. the windows started banging, the scaffolding on the side of the building was slamming up against the side of the wall, and there was a nice sway. i must admit, it was exhilarating, but next time i hope im at my apartment.
Yahoo! News Story - 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Japan
TOKYO - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 shook northern Japan on Saturday, injuring several people and rocking buildings hundreds of miles away.
The quake, which struck at 5:56 p.m., was centered in the Niigata prefecture about 12 miles beneath the earth's surface, the Meteorological Agency said. Buildings in Tokyo, 160 miles to the southeast, swayed for nearly a minute.
Authorities received reports that several people were injured by objects that fell from shelves, public broadcaster NHK said. Other media reports said the shaking was so severe in some places that people couldn't keep their feet.
The Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of tsunami, potentially dangerous waves triggered by seismic activity.
The temblor came just days after Japan's deadliest typhoon in more than a decade killed 77 people. More than a dozen others were still missing.
Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, ripped through the country earlier this week with high waves and rapid mudslides, demolishing homes and flooding dozens of communities in western Japan before losing power and disappearing over the Pacific Ocean.
Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries.
A magnitude-6 quake can cause widespread damage in a heavily populated area.
The quake, which struck at 5:56 p.m., was centered in the Niigata prefecture about 12 miles beneath the earth's surface, the Meteorological Agency said. Buildings in Tokyo, 160 miles to the southeast, swayed for nearly a minute.
Authorities received reports that several people were injured by objects that fell from shelves, public broadcaster NHK said. Other media reports said the shaking was so severe in some places that people couldn't keep their feet.
The Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of tsunami, potentially dangerous waves triggered by seismic activity.
The temblor came just days after Japan's deadliest typhoon in more than a decade killed 77 people. More than a dozen others were still missing.
Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, ripped through the country earlier this week with high waves and rapid mudslides, demolishing homes and flooding dozens of communities in western Japan before losing power and disappearing over the Pacific Ocean.
Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries.
A magnitude-6 quake can cause widespread damage in a heavily populated area.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Message from SkyMail
typhoon 22 killed 7 people. last nites typhoon 23 killed over 83 and 25 are still missing. crazy.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
i have done my civic duty as an american and voted. while at the embassy i also watched the thrilling conclusion of the sox/yanks game. they tried to kick me out in the bottom of the ninth, but i just looked at them and stared and said ~you have to be kidding me.~ the american staff let me stay. heh. go sox!
dilemma
hello?
sweet mother... someone is barfing all over the stall next to me in the internet cafe. good lord this is gross. my text has just been erased again. this is very frustrating. to make it short. .. i can travel home for the holidays, but it will cost an ars load. IF i travel 2 weeks earlier or one week later, i would only pay about 500 or 600 dollars round trip. but ... since i have no vacation, this is difficult. ill get back to you later.
on the other hand, i have reached a good settling point here in japan. i know where most things are and know more about the country than most of the other foreighners who have been here for years. i have a four day weekend in december where i think i might go skiing. until then i really have no big plans. the fall foliage is suppossed to be great around here, but so far i cant tell.
i still havent met many people. i want to hang out with some of my coworkers, but they seem to always be busy as well as having different off days. i hear there is a bouldering gym nearby, i might check it out a nd see who i can meet there.
no new food. when you are on a budget and literally get down to your last 30 yen, you cant eat the eel. but i will try something by the next update for sure.
japanese classes: i must not have learned from college. i need a swift kick in the groin. it is impossible to learn the new week's lesson, if you didnt learn the previous week's, so i have a lot of studying to do this week. i can officially read one of the japanese alphabets. but that doesnt mean that i understand it. it just means that i can sound it out and ask my japanese coworkers what it means. hey, it s getting somewhere. but like i said, if i study, it will surely help. here is the japanese for the day: Biru o nomimas. meaning: i drink the beer. enjoy.
i missed another earthquake. this one was at 3 in the morning and i was dancing in a bar. go figure.
typhoon is set to hit the area tomorrow or thursday. i cant wait, and on my day off too.
no t much else to say.... oh yeah... met a drunk homeless man the other night. we had drinks ,mumbled in our native languages, and had a few beers. probably the best japaneses conversation to date. yes.
take care all, and i hope all is well
oh yeah and congratulations to the coxs, who will be having their first child in may. deedle deedle.
scotto san
sweet mother... someone is barfing all over the stall next to me in the internet cafe. good lord this is gross. my text has just been erased again. this is very frustrating. to make it short. .. i can travel home for the holidays, but it will cost an ars load. IF i travel 2 weeks earlier or one week later, i would only pay about 500 or 600 dollars round trip. but ... since i have no vacation, this is difficult. ill get back to you later.
on the other hand, i have reached a good settling point here in japan. i know where most things are and know more about the country than most of the other foreighners who have been here for years. i have a four day weekend in december where i think i might go skiing. until then i really have no big plans. the fall foliage is suppossed to be great around here, but so far i cant tell.
i still havent met many people. i want to hang out with some of my coworkers, but they seem to always be busy as well as having different off days. i hear there is a bouldering gym nearby, i might check it out a nd see who i can meet there.
no new food. when you are on a budget and literally get down to your last 30 yen, you cant eat the eel. but i will try something by the next update for sure.
japanese classes: i must not have learned from college. i need a swift kick in the groin. it is impossible to learn the new week's lesson, if you didnt learn the previous week's, so i have a lot of studying to do this week. i can officially read one of the japanese alphabets. but that doesnt mean that i understand it. it just means that i can sound it out and ask my japanese coworkers what it means. hey, it s getting somewhere. but like i said, if i study, it will surely help. here is the japanese for the day: Biru o nomimas. meaning: i drink the beer. enjoy.
i missed another earthquake. this one was at 3 in the morning and i was dancing in a bar. go figure.
typhoon is set to hit the area tomorrow or thursday. i cant wait, and on my day off too.
no t much else to say.... oh yeah... met a drunk homeless man the other night. we had drinks ,mumbled in our native languages, and had a few beers. probably the best japaneses conversation to date. yes.
take care all, and i hope all is well
oh yeah and congratulations to the coxs, who will be having their first child in may. deedle deedle.
scotto san
Friday, October 15, 2004
Message from SkyMail
quite an anomaly. rice is a staple of japanese food, yet it is very expensive. oh yeah, PAYDAY!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Message from SkyMail
must be 1000 people in line 4 the US embassy. my vote wouldnt matter in texas anyway.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
day of the dead umbrellas
so much to say... so little time. hope everyone is well, i am, considering the gambit of natural disasters that have hit here in the last week... let me start with the quake. turns out it was pretty big, a 5.8 on the scale, amazingly enogh, no damage, to anything. almost evryone felt it except those of us who were returning on the train from a night of 500 yen all you can drink sho-chu and juice. one of my friends from australia said he 'Shat his pants'. sorry mom. but, being the good geologist, i felt nothing. UUURRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! is it strange to want to feel you first earthquake? it cant be. its like an aerospace engineer riding in the vomit comet, or a sculptor seeing michelangelos david. i know i will get my chance though, hopefully not while in my office, as i have been constantly told that "the building is old, get out fast". hhmmm pleasant thoughts.
o yeah... and the umbrellas. well, typhoon 22 hit the tokyo area yesterday. the strongest typhoon in tens years!!! what a load of garbage. the damage? well only about 1000 homes were damaged, few enough to where they could say the actual number of damaged homes in each city. some trains were delayed, two people were killed, and MAYBE five injured. note on deaths: an older man went outside to look at the flooding waters, was swept away and died, and another older man walked into his backyard to check on his plants and was killed by a landslide. the injuries? well, they include the two deaths, and two different men who thought it would be a good idea to get on their rooftops BEFORE the storm. they fell off. thats it. all preventable. note to allyson in florida: before the next hurricane, dont get on your roof. dont get me wrong, the wind was strong, approximately 110 km an hour (wussy). my final assessment: many dead umbrellas, and many more scared japanese people, afraid of a storm that couldnt even match the fury of floridas weakest hurricane this season.
honestly not much else to report today. my days off were spent in yoyogi koen (park) visiting the most beloved shrine in tokyo. it was again very interesting and peaceful to get out of the craziness of the city. but overall it was my attempt to see more of tokyo and not spend a lot of money. the next day i checked out mp3 players, as i feel that i need one. everyone has an mp3 platyer here. even the older people. i guess it gives them something to do while their not talking on the trains. and believe me, the mp3 players here are really cool. alas, i have no money until friday, so it will have to wait.
work... going well. i think that many students like me and we definitely have fun in class. my reviews from my boss have all been positive, so thats good.
food front... umm... bagel sandwiches and cereal? and a lot of curry. like i said, trying to save money.
Random front... my roommates are geeks who want to start a ninja colony, because they have been playing too much ninja gaiden on xbox.
i saw breakdancers in the train station right before the earthquake, i wonder if they fell over or if the shakin earth kept them upright?
i need to get a haircut, but if i cant get a good one even in the states, what can i expect here?
i have discovered the free three minute international phone call, thanks mcdonalds!! family, be ready for quick chats!
i have not yet received any mail from overseas, but no worry, i cant find the postoffice to send any back home.
times about up folks. remember to keep reading.
scott
o yeah... and the umbrellas. well, typhoon 22 hit the tokyo area yesterday. the strongest typhoon in tens years!!! what a load of garbage. the damage? well only about 1000 homes were damaged, few enough to where they could say the actual number of damaged homes in each city. some trains were delayed, two people were killed, and MAYBE five injured. note on deaths: an older man went outside to look at the flooding waters, was swept away and died, and another older man walked into his backyard to check on his plants and was killed by a landslide. the injuries? well, they include the two deaths, and two different men who thought it would be a good idea to get on their rooftops BEFORE the storm. they fell off. thats it. all preventable. note to allyson in florida: before the next hurricane, dont get on your roof. dont get me wrong, the wind was strong, approximately 110 km an hour (wussy). my final assessment: many dead umbrellas, and many more scared japanese people, afraid of a storm that couldnt even match the fury of floridas weakest hurricane this season.
honestly not much else to report today. my days off were spent in yoyogi koen (park) visiting the most beloved shrine in tokyo. it was again very interesting and peaceful to get out of the craziness of the city. but overall it was my attempt to see more of tokyo and not spend a lot of money. the next day i checked out mp3 players, as i feel that i need one. everyone has an mp3 platyer here. even the older people. i guess it gives them something to do while their not talking on the trains. and believe me, the mp3 players here are really cool. alas, i have no money until friday, so it will have to wait.
work... going well. i think that many students like me and we definitely have fun in class. my reviews from my boss have all been positive, so thats good.
food front... umm... bagel sandwiches and cereal? and a lot of curry. like i said, trying to save money.
Random front... my roommates are geeks who want to start a ninja colony, because they have been playing too much ninja gaiden on xbox.
i saw breakdancers in the train station right before the earthquake, i wonder if they fell over or if the shakin earth kept them upright?
i need to get a haircut, but if i cant get a good one even in the states, what can i expect here?
i have discovered the free three minute international phone call, thanks mcdonalds!! family, be ready for quick chats!
i have not yet received any mail from overseas, but no worry, i cant find the postoffice to send any back home.
times about up folks. remember to keep reading.
scott
Friday, October 08, 2004
Message from SkyMail
typhoon 22 is expected to hit here approx. 6pm tomorrow. i love mother nature! scott
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Message from SkyMail
apparantly i just missed my first quake.i was on the train and didnt feel a thing. sorry guys!
Monday, October 04, 2004
tacoyaki
i just spent 45 minutes typing something here that was not published. thus i wasted a lot of time and i am very frustrated. i am sorry for theshort post but now im angry and very tired here are the highlites...
i am now 27.
i had too many drinks on two occasions this week and woke up with half of my clothing off and the other half still on(see shirt and pants with one arm and leg inserted)
i ate tacoyaki, fried cheese octopus balls.
i went to the park and saw many museums.
i saw mt fuji for the first time.
the guy who used to live in my apatment visited and stole my flatmates hairgel and toothbrush
i take my second japnese leson tomorrow.
thats it! enjoy!
scott
i am now 27.
i had too many drinks on two occasions this week and woke up with half of my clothing off and the other half still on(see shirt and pants with one arm and leg inserted)
i ate tacoyaki, fried cheese octopus balls.
i went to the park and saw many museums.
i saw mt fuji for the first time.
the guy who used to live in my apatment visited and stole my flatmates hairgel and toothbrush
i take my second japnese leson tomorrow.
thats it! enjoy!
scott
tacoyaki
so it seems that im not going to be able to write as often as i would like, considering the fact that i have no computer and my roommates had the internet disconnected because they didnt pay the bill. which means that i will be writing at least once a week, but unfortunately not much more, any short bites that i send are from my phone cant be that long.
but... for this week... on the age front, im a yearolder. 27. i cant believe it. TWENTY SEVEN! im old. i celebrated by going out to dinner with my roommates and the guy whose place i took in the apt. we had a lot of fun and all i remember is waking up at 7 in the morning with one pant leg on, my shirt unbuttoned, and a hangover from hell. oh yeah, and i ate a whole fish, head and all. according to my parents thats the way you are suppossed to eat them, not bad actually.
on my days off it rained, making it difficult to do much of anything, but by the afternoon of my second day off the weather had cleared and actually became beautiful outside. i headed to Ueno where there is a large park and many museums. The museums were ok, kindof boring really, but just getting out of the hustle and bustle of downtown tokyo was nice. on the way back though was the real treat. as i walked back to my apartment i saw, for the first time... Mt. Fuji. it was such a rare site that the TV reported it as well later on that evening. dont get me wrong, it wasnt a spectacular view, but just the fact that i saw it from that distance gave me goosebumps.
the next few days went off without a hitch. dan, the guy whose place I took, left on thursady, and took my flatmates hair gel and tothbrush, for which my roommate confronted me about. i said i didnt take them (he had good reason to wonder though, ive been a madman throwing things away that look old and not used in this century) So it turns out that dan HATES steve, my flatmate, but acted nice to get a place to crash for the week. sadly, i think i like dan more than the people i live with, so i was sad to see him go. o and dan is bald, so it was no accident that he took the hairgel.
last night i met a friend in downtown yokohama for the annual Oktoberfest. i had many beers and sausages and kept one of the mugs, heh. afterwards was when we hit the karaoke place. dont get me wrong, i dont mind karaoke, but i already had 3 large beers and i then come to find out that drinks are free for the first hour at the karaoke place. time for a math lesson. 3 large beers + free drinks+ loud singing+scott = HELL. im not saying much after that except to say that i woke up at 9 am with one shoe on (the other was by the front dor where it was suppossed to be) my contacts still in, and im not going to have another drink for a few days. sorry mom. but i did make it home ok, and to work on time so no real problems. (also considering the fact that evryone has different days off, it was nice to hang out with someenglish speakers and not wandering around by myself)
tomorrow i have my second japanese lesson. i dont know how it will go, but ive been looking forward to it all week.
Food of the week- tacoyaki- tacoyaki is deep fried cheese and octopus in a convenient ball shape. not bad actuallly.
word of the day- genkan- the place where my shoes should have been this morning.
ttfn-
scott
ps check the qa section for answers from last weeks questions
but... for this week... on the age front, im a yearolder. 27. i cant believe it. TWENTY SEVEN! im old. i celebrated by going out to dinner with my roommates and the guy whose place i took in the apt. we had a lot of fun and all i remember is waking up at 7 in the morning with one pant leg on, my shirt unbuttoned, and a hangover from hell. oh yeah, and i ate a whole fish, head and all. according to my parents thats the way you are suppossed to eat them, not bad actually.
on my days off it rained, making it difficult to do much of anything, but by the afternoon of my second day off the weather had cleared and actually became beautiful outside. i headed to Ueno where there is a large park and many museums. The museums were ok, kindof boring really, but just getting out of the hustle and bustle of downtown tokyo was nice. on the way back though was the real treat. as i walked back to my apartment i saw, for the first time... Mt. Fuji. it was such a rare site that the TV reported it as well later on that evening. dont get me wrong, it wasnt a spectacular view, but just the fact that i saw it from that distance gave me goosebumps.
the next few days went off without a hitch. dan, the guy whose place I took, left on thursady, and took my flatmates hair gel and tothbrush, for which my roommate confronted me about. i said i didnt take them (he had good reason to wonder though, ive been a madman throwing things away that look old and not used in this century) So it turns out that dan HATES steve, my flatmate, but acted nice to get a place to crash for the week. sadly, i think i like dan more than the people i live with, so i was sad to see him go. o and dan is bald, so it was no accident that he took the hairgel.
last night i met a friend in downtown yokohama for the annual Oktoberfest. i had many beers and sausages and kept one of the mugs, heh. afterwards was when we hit the karaoke place. dont get me wrong, i dont mind karaoke, but i already had 3 large beers and i then come to find out that drinks are free for the first hour at the karaoke place. time for a math lesson. 3 large beers + free drinks+ loud singing+scott = HELL. im not saying much after that except to say that i woke up at 9 am with one shoe on (the other was by the front dor where it was suppossed to be) my contacts still in, and im not going to have another drink for a few days. sorry mom. but i did make it home ok, and to work on time so no real problems. (also considering the fact that evryone has different days off, it was nice to hang out with someenglish speakers and not wandering around by myself)
tomorrow i have my second japanese lesson. i dont know how it will go, but ive been looking forward to it all week.
Food of the week- tacoyaki- tacoyaki is deep fried cheese and octopus in a convenient ball shape. not bad actuallly.
word of the day- genkan- the place where my shoes should have been this morning.
ttfn-
scott
ps check the qa section for answers from last weeks questions
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Message from SkyMail
Its strange, but i honestly STILL cant believe that i am in a foreign country. scott
Monday, September 27, 2004
Message from SkyMail
not knowing how to read is one thing, taking your first japnese lesson is another. UGH!
Q&A
since i am finally getting settled, i am opening up the floor to questions and answers about japan or my experiences. please feel free to post your questions under the Q&A post, and i will answer as soon as i can. this should be fun.
It was bound to happen...
I find myself reluctantly sitting ast the gera gera, not because i dont want to write, but because i am so tired. its ten at night and i just got off of work and im hungry, but my fans await! (please keep posting responses, even though i write less frequently, i still read them ALL, and its good to know that you guys are still out there)
and now, the week in review...
when i last posted i believe i was on the train to kamakura. beautiful. just beautiful. i took many pics and sent a pic of myself and the budha to many of you, enjoy. the city was really amazing, temples EVERYWHERE, so many in fact that i only saw about six of them. see, there were so many amazing temples that i ddint want to waste my time on many of the smaller ones, since i walked everywhere that day. the ones i went into were amazing though. huge structures that were bulit before our country was even imagined, large budhas that have stood exposed to the elements for over 500 yerars, trees that were planted so long ago that Bush might not even want to cut them down. ooops sorry, ive honestly ejoyed being away from the political garbage in the states, so i'll hold my tongue. i really cant put it all into words, except that it was beautiful and very peaceful. even though im not buddist, i could understand how in such places like these anyone could feel at peace. throughout the day i met several americans on vacation, and had them take my picture a couple of times. i also learned a new term... Gochisosama deshita! this is said at the end of a meal to signify that the meal was good and much appreciated. at the end of the day i was exhausted, but happy with my day trip. anyone that comes to visit me will see kamakura, its very close, and a nice way to see ancient japan.
before i came to japan many people used their stereotypical views of the country to tell me things that would happen to me. one, which i heard CONSTANTLY, was, "You know you are going to come home with a little japanese girl don't you?" and the always popular, "You are going to eat dog!" well, neither has happened yet, sort of...
four days ago my roommate matt and i went to a Yakiniku place, Korean BBQ, where you cook and eat the food right at the table on a mini charcoal grill. very resonable price, only 2600 yen for the two of us, but it wasnt the price trhat concerned me... matt can read SOME japanese kanji (the symbols). but not many. i wanted beef and chicken and a few veggies. what i got was... drum roll jeff... beef AND a BULB of garlic AND mushrooms AND more beef (they gave us more beef by mistake) AND beef tongue. what the hell? beef tongue? beleieve it of not, i was skeptical, but it tasted pretty good. much like beef but a little tougher. BUT that wasnt the kicker. matt looked at the menu and said, "oh, this is chicken, at least it says chicken" Yeah. it said chicken. CHICKEN CARTILEDGE!!!!! ughh. i am very happy to try new and exciting things, but if i evr, EVER have that crap again, it will be too soon. "here, cook this, and then eat it." how long do you cook chicken cartledge for? how do you know its done? how do you know its cartladge anyway (notice i dont know how to spell cartlegde?) beleieve me... you know. its that stuff we humans throw away while prepping a chicken breast, and wild animals dont even touch. ugh. gross. BUT... i ate it. and since that was five days ago and there have been no advese effects, i guess thats good.
not much else to report. i am almost done with my first FULL week at work. my coworkers seem very nice and willing to help, and i actually found out that one of the 3 girls at my branch lives in the same building as me. other than that im just trying to conserve my pesos until payday, while still going out and meeting new people.
keep reading and ill keep writing.
take care and beware of the chicken cartiledge.
scott san
and now, the week in review...
when i last posted i believe i was on the train to kamakura. beautiful. just beautiful. i took many pics and sent a pic of myself and the budha to many of you, enjoy. the city was really amazing, temples EVERYWHERE, so many in fact that i only saw about six of them. see, there were so many amazing temples that i ddint want to waste my time on many of the smaller ones, since i walked everywhere that day. the ones i went into were amazing though. huge structures that were bulit before our country was even imagined, large budhas that have stood exposed to the elements for over 500 yerars, trees that were planted so long ago that Bush might not even want to cut them down. ooops sorry, ive honestly ejoyed being away from the political garbage in the states, so i'll hold my tongue. i really cant put it all into words, except that it was beautiful and very peaceful. even though im not buddist, i could understand how in such places like these anyone could feel at peace. throughout the day i met several americans on vacation, and had them take my picture a couple of times. i also learned a new term... Gochisosama deshita! this is said at the end of a meal to signify that the meal was good and much appreciated. at the end of the day i was exhausted, but happy with my day trip. anyone that comes to visit me will see kamakura, its very close, and a nice way to see ancient japan.
before i came to japan many people used their stereotypical views of the country to tell me things that would happen to me. one, which i heard CONSTANTLY, was, "You know you are going to come home with a little japanese girl don't you?" and the always popular, "You are going to eat dog!" well, neither has happened yet, sort of...
four days ago my roommate matt and i went to a Yakiniku place, Korean BBQ, where you cook and eat the food right at the table on a mini charcoal grill. very resonable price, only 2600 yen for the two of us, but it wasnt the price trhat concerned me... matt can read SOME japanese kanji (the symbols). but not many. i wanted beef and chicken and a few veggies. what i got was... drum roll jeff... beef AND a BULB of garlic AND mushrooms AND more beef (they gave us more beef by mistake) AND beef tongue. what the hell? beef tongue? beleieve it of not, i was skeptical, but it tasted pretty good. much like beef but a little tougher. BUT that wasnt the kicker. matt looked at the menu and said, "oh, this is chicken, at least it says chicken" Yeah. it said chicken. CHICKEN CARTILEDGE!!!!! ughh. i am very happy to try new and exciting things, but if i evr, EVER have that crap again, it will be too soon. "here, cook this, and then eat it." how long do you cook chicken cartledge for? how do you know its done? how do you know its cartladge anyway (notice i dont know how to spell cartlegde?) beleieve me... you know. its that stuff we humans throw away while prepping a chicken breast, and wild animals dont even touch. ugh. gross. BUT... i ate it. and since that was five days ago and there have been no advese effects, i guess thats good.
not much else to report. i am almost done with my first FULL week at work. my coworkers seem very nice and willing to help, and i actually found out that one of the 3 girls at my branch lives in the same building as me. other than that im just trying to conserve my pesos until payday, while still going out and meeting new people.
keep reading and ill keep writing.
take care and beware of the chicken cartiledge.
scott san
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Culture
On my way to Kamakura, the ancient capital of japan. it is written that if you take one trip outside of tokyo, go there. it is the home of the second largest Budha in the country, full report later! sayonara for now! colonel san
Monday, September 20, 2004
people people everywhere but not a one can speak
its been about a week since last hi tthe gera gera internet cafe, and i figured that even though i am very busy you guys deserve a long post.
where to start... quick rundown of last week, tues,wed and thursday i was in ojt training. it went well but i nearly freaked out worrying about my first ever lesson, especially since we were being watched at all times. the lesson went amazingly well, the students here are VERY eager to learn, and they shell out crap loads of money to do so. ive never gotten a straight answer along those lines, but i believe that each 40 minute lesson is between 15 and 20 bones. in contrast, my japanese lessons will be about a dollar for two hours. (i was going to start japanese lessons today, since i dont work until 1 p.m. but today is a national holiday and tomorrow the lessons are canceled as well, so i SHOULD start next week) since training i have been assigned a branch, in western tokyo, called Meguro. The view from my branch is AMAZING! i will take a pic sometime and try to get it to everyone, but just imagine a view of the largest collection of skyscrapers in tokyo, with the tokyo tower in the center. the tokyo tower was designed after the eiffel tower, so it looks very similar, but the tokyo tower is actually a few meters taller. the people in my branch seem very nice, only two girls and they work part time, so the teacher prep area is much like a locker room at halftime.
on the drinking front... thursday night many of the new teachers that went to karaoke earlier in the week got together to go drinking in shibuya (all locations are in Tokyo or Yokohama unless otherwise noted). The party continued on into the night and included a stop at the 1000 yen all-you-can-drink place. here is a question... if you are a business owner and no one is at your club, and you want future business,what do you do when some customers come in? the answer? make their drinks incredibly strong. i mean 80% wild turkey 10% ice, 10% coke. all thisd equals mass craziness. dont worry mom, i wasnt that bad. as a matter of fact, i was out until 9:30 the next morning, not because i was partying, but because i helped another (VERY VERY VERY sick) guy home, he lived an hour north of tokyo and i live 40 south, so you do the math.
heres an observation though that I noticed during that excursion, and it also tells alot about the people of japan. on the train ride home from the guys house (which is much nicer than mine by the way, and cheaper) my other friend blair (Kiwi) and I hit rush hour train traffic. note that we travel right through the BUSIEST TRAIN STATION ON EARTH, shinjuku. even though we were mobbed and crammed into the train like sardines... no one spoke. not one japanese person was speaking. not a peep. the only talking came from blair who was still a little tipsy and kept complaing about the proximity of a mans rear to his privates. i just laughed. the observation, while written in books but must be experienced to believe, is that japanese people avoid confrontation at all costs. the people on the train were going to work, it is not a social time, it's prepare your mind for work time. these people are amazing, Im going to enjoy these daily observations of the japanese people.
friday i slept it off... saturday, sunday and today i worked.
on the food front... i tried what i now believe to be seasoned rubber bands this morning. one of my coworkers takes the same train to work, and this morning he offered me a common japanese convenience store finger food... seasoned dried squid tentacles.... hmmm.... hmmmm.... i think im still chewing some right now. gross. last night however i ate something that seemed just weird but probably very common: seasoned fried mini crab. i have a great picture. imagine a crab, about the size of a silver dollar that you just pop into your mouth and eat whole, shell and all. strange but surprisingly good. (also a convenience store finger foood)
to answer your questions... i dont know about the fiber in sushi... believe it or not i havent had it yet, waiting for a bigger meal, since it is so pricey. as for japanese milk, they have milk here, but it tastes slight ly different, since i had been drinking soy milk at home, i really cant tell how differnt this is from US milk. and the only cheese that i have seen here is in my frig... and it smells like wasabi, gross.
well folks, my time is about up. on my day s off this week i am going to go venture around tokyo and yokohama, seeing the sights on my own, and getting cultured. enjoy the reading, and keep sending short message to my phone, it makes my day more enjoyable.
scott sensei
where to start... quick rundown of last week, tues,wed and thursday i was in ojt training. it went well but i nearly freaked out worrying about my first ever lesson, especially since we were being watched at all times. the lesson went amazingly well, the students here are VERY eager to learn, and they shell out crap loads of money to do so. ive never gotten a straight answer along those lines, but i believe that each 40 minute lesson is between 15 and 20 bones. in contrast, my japanese lessons will be about a dollar for two hours. (i was going to start japanese lessons today, since i dont work until 1 p.m. but today is a national holiday and tomorrow the lessons are canceled as well, so i SHOULD start next week) since training i have been assigned a branch, in western tokyo, called Meguro. The view from my branch is AMAZING! i will take a pic sometime and try to get it to everyone, but just imagine a view of the largest collection of skyscrapers in tokyo, with the tokyo tower in the center. the tokyo tower was designed after the eiffel tower, so it looks very similar, but the tokyo tower is actually a few meters taller. the people in my branch seem very nice, only two girls and they work part time, so the teacher prep area is much like a locker room at halftime.
on the drinking front... thursday night many of the new teachers that went to karaoke earlier in the week got together to go drinking in shibuya (all locations are in Tokyo or Yokohama unless otherwise noted). The party continued on into the night and included a stop at the 1000 yen all-you-can-drink place. here is a question... if you are a business owner and no one is at your club, and you want future business,what do you do when some customers come in? the answer? make their drinks incredibly strong. i mean 80% wild turkey 10% ice, 10% coke. all thisd equals mass craziness. dont worry mom, i wasnt that bad. as a matter of fact, i was out until 9:30 the next morning, not because i was partying, but because i helped another (VERY VERY VERY sick) guy home, he lived an hour north of tokyo and i live 40 south, so you do the math.
heres an observation though that I noticed during that excursion, and it also tells alot about the people of japan. on the train ride home from the guys house (which is much nicer than mine by the way, and cheaper) my other friend blair (Kiwi) and I hit rush hour train traffic. note that we travel right through the BUSIEST TRAIN STATION ON EARTH, shinjuku. even though we were mobbed and crammed into the train like sardines... no one spoke. not one japanese person was speaking. not a peep. the only talking came from blair who was still a little tipsy and kept complaing about the proximity of a mans rear to his privates. i just laughed. the observation, while written in books but must be experienced to believe, is that japanese people avoid confrontation at all costs. the people on the train were going to work, it is not a social time, it's prepare your mind for work time. these people are amazing, Im going to enjoy these daily observations of the japanese people.
friday i slept it off... saturday, sunday and today i worked.
on the food front... i tried what i now believe to be seasoned rubber bands this morning. one of my coworkers takes the same train to work, and this morning he offered me a common japanese convenience store finger food... seasoned dried squid tentacles.... hmmm.... hmmmm.... i think im still chewing some right now. gross. last night however i ate something that seemed just weird but probably very common: seasoned fried mini crab. i have a great picture. imagine a crab, about the size of a silver dollar that you just pop into your mouth and eat whole, shell and all. strange but surprisingly good. (also a convenience store finger foood)
to answer your questions... i dont know about the fiber in sushi... believe it or not i havent had it yet, waiting for a bigger meal, since it is so pricey. as for japanese milk, they have milk here, but it tastes slight ly different, since i had been drinking soy milk at home, i really cant tell how differnt this is from US milk. and the only cheese that i have seen here is in my frig... and it smells like wasabi, gross.
well folks, my time is about up. on my day s off this week i am going to go venture around tokyo and yokohama, seeing the sights on my own, and getting cultured. enjoy the reading, and keep sending short message to my phone, it makes my day more enjoyable.
scott sensei
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
I FOUND IT!!!!!!
I found out what my phones address is!!!! you should be able to email my phone whenevr!!!!
WRITE THIS DOWN!!! but please, go easy, i think it costs me even to receive some emails, but i will check and make sure. here it is:
e7deae976bzzr@t.vodafone.ne.jp
i expect all to email me at least once, so then ican store your emails in my phone and send photos dirctly to you.
please email me, i miss you guys!
scott
WRITE THIS DOWN!!! but please, go easy, i think it costs me even to receive some emails, but i will check and make sure. here it is:
e7deae976bzzr@t.vodafone.ne.jp
i expect all to email me at least once, so then ican store your emails in my phone and send photos dirctly to you.
please email me, i miss you guys!
scott
back at the gera gera
ok, im back at the internet cafe. unfortunetley i cannot post my photos online to this blog by phone, but one of my roommates seems pretty nice and might allow me to download the necessary program to post there, so stay tuned. work today was scary as anything. i didnt even teach a class, but the way classes are taught are so regimented that one mistake and you get a talking to. most of the people there seem nice though.
my days off are going to be wed and thurs, when i get out of ojt. for the most part i get out of work early, around 5 or so, but on monday and tuesday i work til 9. i have a feeling that after my probationary period this will allow me to work some overtime and make more money, which i know i'll need. not that things are TOO expensive, but i see ample opportunity to go out after work. heck, yesterday just after orientation we went out to a karaoke place that looked EXACTLY like the one in lost in translation. i naot saying that it was the onwe, but more so that they all really look like that. GEORGE... this is for you... i sang, drum roll... Debaser by the Pixies. i didnt even need the teleprompter becasue of the wonderful times in high school, screaming that some at the top of our lungs. george, thank you. o and i finally saw the huge building with the elephants walking on it which were on a video screen that were actually the windows of the building. it was enormous.
BTW, my branch is the Meguro branch. Just two stops from Shibuya (like the second busiest subway station in the world next to shinjuku) whichs means... i am in Tokyo. before the time i come home for christmas i hope to know my way around backwards and forwards, so folks coming out here, be ready for a wild ride.
on the food front... i ate some curry last night for dinner with what appeared to be fried oysters or clams. definitely a little gross, since the oysters looked like they were just shucked, but ok on taste. today my fellow trainees and i ate at what i call japanese fast food. it is relatively simple, usually a bowl of rice with something on top and some soup. so tonight i ate a bowl of rice with some fried meat product on top that was then covered in egg. Note, the egg was literally poured raw into the bowl right on top of the fried thing, cooking it instantly and giving the rice more flavor. this also came with a bowl of miso soup and bottomless green tea. all for 490 yen (a little more than 4 dollars) AND i couldnt even finish, it really is a lot of food.
ok guys i will talk to you later.
colonel san
phrase of the day: irasshimase! translation: welcome (to our restaurant, store, etc.)! (you hear this everytime you enter a restaurant or store)
my days off are going to be wed and thurs, when i get out of ojt. for the most part i get out of work early, around 5 or so, but on monday and tuesday i work til 9. i have a feeling that after my probationary period this will allow me to work some overtime and make more money, which i know i'll need. not that things are TOO expensive, but i see ample opportunity to go out after work. heck, yesterday just after orientation we went out to a karaoke place that looked EXACTLY like the one in lost in translation. i naot saying that it was the onwe, but more so that they all really look like that. GEORGE... this is for you... i sang, drum roll... Debaser by the Pixies. i didnt even need the teleprompter becasue of the wonderful times in high school, screaming that some at the top of our lungs. george, thank you. o and i finally saw the huge building with the elephants walking on it which were on a video screen that were actually the windows of the building. it was enormous.
BTW, my branch is the Meguro branch. Just two stops from Shibuya (like the second busiest subway station in the world next to shinjuku) whichs means... i am in Tokyo. before the time i come home for christmas i hope to know my way around backwards and forwards, so folks coming out here, be ready for a wild ride.
on the food front... i ate some curry last night for dinner with what appeared to be fried oysters or clams. definitely a little gross, since the oysters looked like they were just shucked, but ok on taste. today my fellow trainees and i ate at what i call japanese fast food. it is relatively simple, usually a bowl of rice with something on top and some soup. so tonight i ate a bowl of rice with some fried meat product on top that was then covered in egg. Note, the egg was literally poured raw into the bowl right on top of the fried thing, cooking it instantly and giving the rice more flavor. this also came with a bowl of miso soup and bottomless green tea. all for 490 yen (a little more than 4 dollars) AND i couldnt even finish, it really is a lot of food.
ok guys i will talk to you later.
colonel san
phrase of the day: irasshimase! translation: welcome (to our restaurant, store, etc.)! (you hear this everytime you enter a restaurant or store)
Monday, September 13, 2004
karaoke and a phone
i am typing this message from my new phone.the number is country code 081 8030949739. get that? dang this technology is great! colonel.
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Test Test
If this works, it opens up a whole new can of octopus.
colonel
_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Shop for Back-to-School deals on Yahoo! Shopping.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/backtoschool
colonel
_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Shop for Back-to-School deals on Yahoo! Shopping.
http://shopping.yahoo.com/backtoschool
Saturday, September 11, 2004
McBreakdown
Many things, not enough money. To start, after i begin work tomorrow you will be hearing less of me. i cant afford to spend 3 bucks a day everyday to write email, but i will get here as much as possible.
i traveled to the shinjuku section of tokyo today. the subway station is insane, and it was only a sunday. huge place. saw the hotel that bill murray stayed in in lost in translation, walked around a 14 story department store called... crap what was it called, takashiyama times square. carzy place as well.
i now have approximately 27 packets of tissue. the preferred means of promotiojn here in japan. i also have a smaller stomach. i broke down and had mcdonalds today. dont worry i will try many more kinds of food, but i need to ease into it. see, here in japan the restaurants have plastic displays outside to show their foods, well when i became really really hungry i walked up to one ready to order, unbtil i noticed that one of the meals looked like worms with sauce, and my appetite for japaneze was gone.
i start work tomoorow, and hopefully get my train pass. while the trains here are nice, they get expensive when you dont have your company paid travel pass yet. my trip to and from shinjuku today cost 780 yen all together, which in time adds up.
thats it for now. no earthquakes yet, and no japanese girlfriends... yet. HA!!! gotcha! but they do seem to really really like foreign men. (both of my roommates have japanese girlfriends.)
sayonara!
colonel
p.s.- phrase of the day- toirre wa doko desu ka? where is the bathroom?
i traveled to the shinjuku section of tokyo today. the subway station is insane, and it was only a sunday. huge place. saw the hotel that bill murray stayed in in lost in translation, walked around a 14 story department store called... crap what was it called, takashiyama times square. carzy place as well.
i now have approximately 27 packets of tissue. the preferred means of promotiojn here in japan. i also have a smaller stomach. i broke down and had mcdonalds today. dont worry i will try many more kinds of food, but i need to ease into it. see, here in japan the restaurants have plastic displays outside to show their foods, well when i became really really hungry i walked up to one ready to order, unbtil i noticed that one of the meals looked like worms with sauce, and my appetite for japaneze was gone.
i start work tomoorow, and hopefully get my train pass. while the trains here are nice, they get expensive when you dont have your company paid travel pass yet. my trip to and from shinjuku today cost 780 yen all together, which in time adds up.
thats it for now. no earthquakes yet, and no japanese girlfriends... yet. HA!!! gotcha! but they do seem to really really like foreign men. (both of my roommates have japanese girlfriends.)
sayonara!
colonel
p.s.- phrase of the day- toirre wa doko desu ka? where is the bathroom?
KUSOTTARE!!
I have learne dmy first japanese curse word and it is the title of this post. since no japanese peole are reading this, no one should be offended. (dont worry, it basically just means poop).
I have so much to say and so little time, i eithe rneed to learn to type faster(and with a better grasp of key location) or just sit here all night describing it all, i think that i will need to find the middle ground.
last night i went out tto meet up with my roommate matt and some of his coworker friends, one of which was `spinning`at a club that night. i boarded the train by myself and traveled about six stops to the yokohama main station (i was meeting matt at a station on another line not far from there). once there i realized i was screwed. see nova provided me with about 5 maps of the area but since i saw where the meeting station wasbefore i left, i left them at home (im cool like that). to my horror, unlike in other stations, no roman symbols were used to tell you which line to get on to reach Kannai (the meeeting station). I walked around yokohama station for no less than twenty minutes looking for a map in english, but to no avail. i finally just said kannai to a security guard, and he pointed me in the right direction, but sheesh, i fraked out for a minute there.
i met up with matt and we went to the bar\club the `green bowl'. (HA! Just found the apostrophy button!!!) we had many many many drinks, and i conversed with many a japanese person. one guy, Ruji,the DJ at another club which i will be going to tonight, kept trying to dance with everyone, including me, which was interesting to say the least. How do you say 'Get your butt away from my leg' in japanese?
at the end of the night, or morning, since it was 4:45 a.m. and we had missed the last train home by about 4 hours, we crashed at matts friend Michelle's house. nice, clean and very japanese, i loved it. In the morning michelles japanese roommate made the two remaing houseguests (myself and the DJ from the 'green bowl') omlettes. good stuff and free.
the rest of today was a hangover blur. i think i slept for about three hours, and then wandered my section of town for another two until i had dinner (very inexpensive place where i had cooked pork on a bed of rice, miso soup, and a salad all for 380 yen (currently 1 us dollar is 110 yen)) and then came here. phew!
thanks to everyone who responds to my posts, it's nice to know that people are reading along and hopefully getting a laugh or two.
now... onto tonights bar, 'The Happy Man', where Ruji is DJ,
colonel san
I have so much to say and so little time, i eithe rneed to learn to type faster(and with a better grasp of key location) or just sit here all night describing it all, i think that i will need to find the middle ground.
last night i went out tto meet up with my roommate matt and some of his coworker friends, one of which was `spinning`at a club that night. i boarded the train by myself and traveled about six stops to the yokohama main station (i was meeting matt at a station on another line not far from there). once there i realized i was screwed. see nova provided me with about 5 maps of the area but since i saw where the meeting station wasbefore i left, i left them at home (im cool like that). to my horror, unlike in other stations, no roman symbols were used to tell you which line to get on to reach Kannai (the meeeting station). I walked around yokohama station for no less than twenty minutes looking for a map in english, but to no avail. i finally just said kannai to a security guard, and he pointed me in the right direction, but sheesh, i fraked out for a minute there.
i met up with matt and we went to the bar\club the `green bowl'. (HA! Just found the apostrophy button!!!) we had many many many drinks, and i conversed with many a japanese person. one guy, Ruji,the DJ at another club which i will be going to tonight, kept trying to dance with everyone, including me, which was interesting to say the least. How do you say 'Get your butt away from my leg' in japanese?
at the end of the night, or morning, since it was 4:45 a.m. and we had missed the last train home by about 4 hours, we crashed at matts friend Michelle's house. nice, clean and very japanese, i loved it. In the morning michelles japanese roommate made the two remaing houseguests (myself and the DJ from the 'green bowl') omlettes. good stuff and free.
the rest of today was a hangover blur. i think i slept for about three hours, and then wandered my section of town for another two until i had dinner (very inexpensive place where i had cooked pork on a bed of rice, miso soup, and a salad all for 380 yen (currently 1 us dollar is 110 yen)) and then came here. phew!
thanks to everyone who responds to my posts, it's nice to know that people are reading along and hopefully getting a laugh or two.
now... onto tonights bar, 'The Happy Man', where Ruji is DJ,
colonel san
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Konnichiwa! and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I am here. It’s Crap... i just pushed the japanese button and i cant figure out how to change it back. ok i think i have it now. Well, I have dozens of stories, mostly about my first ten minutes here, so i cant get to them all, but ill give a quick rundown when I can.
First and foremost I have found the internet cafe, it costs about 380 yen an hour which is about 3.40 american, and they suppossedly serve drinks, which i have yet to see. This all means that I can write fairly often, but I dont know about photos yet so we ill see.
My friends Tina, Megan, Jeff, and Lindsay have all lived abroad. Tina In Germany, Megan in the netherlands, and jeff and lins in Italy. Let me tell you, and this really isnt a fair comparison since i never moved to those countries or tried to live there, but if we american sget a culrute shock from moving to a foreign land, then moving to Japan is like a culture KICK IN THE CROTCH!! I have never felt more helpless in my entire life, and it makes it easy to realize why so many people fail and move home before too long. I cannot lie and say that when I walked to my apartment late last night i felt hunky dory, honestly I was scared to death. So many people, so many signs, even the guy who walked to my place with me got lost. heh. But I will not leave. I can tell that this will be an amazing experience for me, and something that i will look back on fondly. In addition, while registering for my alien card, i found out about 2 hour japanese lessons for only 100 yen! thats less than a dollar! and they are open evry day, so i can pick and choose my time.
By the way, for anyone interested, my time is 14 hours ahead of central standard, making it 11:40 am for me and 9:40 pm the night before for you.
o, and another disclaimer. the japanese must have the tiniest fingers on earth because just about every other word i am bumping another key, so please bear with me on the spelling.
I have met my roommates, matt and steven, nice guys, but they make my old apartment look like the ritz in cleanliness terms.
On monday i have orientation at the tokyo coorperate office in the shinjuku area. the shinjuku station is considered to be the busiest subwy station on the planet, literally a million people use that station alone each day, so that should be fun.
i will be getting a cell phone. not so much to call home, but the phones here are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! the current free phone offered by my company takes videos, and has a 2 megapixel camera. my usual camera is 3.2 so you get the idea. The other reason is EMAIL! for 3 yen (3 cents) i can send and receive emails (not long ones or mass emailings, just up to 180 charactgers, but enough to say hi). i can handle 3 cents, so those of you that commhjunicate frequently with me, look forward to it.
That s it for now, i will wirte more later, as for now im going to find out where my beverage is and see about IM. take care all!
Colonel San
First and foremost I have found the internet cafe, it costs about 380 yen an hour which is about 3.40 american, and they suppossedly serve drinks, which i have yet to see. This all means that I can write fairly often, but I dont know about photos yet so we ill see.
My friends Tina, Megan, Jeff, and Lindsay have all lived abroad. Tina In Germany, Megan in the netherlands, and jeff and lins in Italy. Let me tell you, and this really isnt a fair comparison since i never moved to those countries or tried to live there, but if we american sget a culrute shock from moving to a foreign land, then moving to Japan is like a culture KICK IN THE CROTCH!! I have never felt more helpless in my entire life, and it makes it easy to realize why so many people fail and move home before too long. I cannot lie and say that when I walked to my apartment late last night i felt hunky dory, honestly I was scared to death. So many people, so many signs, even the guy who walked to my place with me got lost. heh. But I will not leave. I can tell that this will be an amazing experience for me, and something that i will look back on fondly. In addition, while registering for my alien card, i found out about 2 hour japanese lessons for only 100 yen! thats less than a dollar! and they are open evry day, so i can pick and choose my time.
By the way, for anyone interested, my time is 14 hours ahead of central standard, making it 11:40 am for me and 9:40 pm the night before for you.
o, and another disclaimer. the japanese must have the tiniest fingers on earth because just about every other word i am bumping another key, so please bear with me on the spelling.
I have met my roommates, matt and steven, nice guys, but they make my old apartment look like the ritz in cleanliness terms.
On monday i have orientation at the tokyo coorperate office in the shinjuku area. the shinjuku station is considered to be the busiest subwy station on the planet, literally a million people use that station alone each day, so that should be fun.
i will be getting a cell phone. not so much to call home, but the phones here are OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!! the current free phone offered by my company takes videos, and has a 2 megapixel camera. my usual camera is 3.2 so you get the idea. The other reason is EMAIL! for 3 yen (3 cents) i can send and receive emails (not long ones or mass emailings, just up to 180 charactgers, but enough to say hi). i can handle 3 cents, so those of you that commhjunicate frequently with me, look forward to it.
That s it for now, i will wirte more later, as for now im going to find out where my beverage is and see about IM. take care all!
Colonel San
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
In 16 hours...
I will be on a jet plane, headed for Detroit, but then onto Tokyo. I miss everyone already, and if I didnt get a hold of you, then take care. I am going way too crazy right now to post anything more monumental. But i do have a neat story about how my friend Bev fell into a goose poop filled pond over the weekend! Let's just say that she was going to walk along the edge of a stinky pond, when her brain told her no but her feet kept on going. The balancing act, holding of the nose, and the british accent saying expletives all at once was classic.
sorry bev, it was funny. ;)
I'll post again when I arrive. Sayonara!
sorry bev, it was funny. ;)
I'll post again when I arrive. Sayonara!
Sunday, September 05, 2004
o carolina!
I'm here. having fun. comp keeps freezing up, so i'm not writing much. Three more days. crazy.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Just like George W
I make no apologies fors mys not better grammar. Me is writin' this her posts so dang nabbin faast i doesnt care what is capitalized and what aint! That be fer spelling two.
So Mom, and her coworkers reading this Blog, believe me when I say that I do know that some of my posts have grammar and punctuation errors. Just consider that when I reach Japan my keyboard probably won't even have Roman lettering on it, so I'm getting you acclimated to what's to come.
So Mom, and her coworkers reading this Blog, believe me when I say that I do know that some of my posts have grammar and punctuation errors. Just consider that when I reach Japan my keyboard probably won't even have Roman lettering on it, so I'm getting you acclimated to what's to come.
I'm goin to Carolina in my mind
No shanks in my shoes, belt off, no change. I shouldn't get stopped by security. Today's flight should be a warmup for next week, where I almost reach the point of muscle atrophy before they tell me to bring my seat to the full upright position. I hear acupuncture works well in these cases, BUT, I really don't have room to talk, I'm pretty short, and I'm sitting in an exit row.
I think it's fun to use words when you think you know the meaning, but find out later that you were wrong, but continue to use them. Take atrophy up there. I think that I used it correctly, but I studied Geology and not the medical field, so I'll use these terms in the future: grusification, erosion, solidification, deterioration and corrosion. There that's better.
I think it's fun to use words when you think you know the meaning, but find out later that you were wrong, but continue to use them. Take atrophy up there. I think that I used it correctly, but I studied Geology and not the medical field, so I'll use these terms in the future: grusification, erosion, solidification, deterioration and corrosion. There that's better.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
New Model? Eh?
the days just tic by... and i still can't find my dress socks. Do you have to wear brown dress socks with khaki slacks? who wrote this rule? I found my best pair of brown dress shoes the other day and realized that i had no idea when or where i bought them, which means i had to buy another pair. I ended up getting a pair for 30 bones, a deal really, since they are usually sixty. When I asked why they were on sale the woman replied that they were last years model. Last Year's Model? What the? do people walk around and say, 'Hey, I wish I had a pair of mint condition '87 British Knights, the ones with the black trim and the spoiler.'? Odd, maybe I just havent bought 'Cool' shoes in awhile. Either way, I don't think the Japanese will look at them and think that i'm cheap because i have last year's design, no, they'll think i'm cheap because of the mickey mouse on my tie. I'm Stalling, i need to go back and pack. and since it doesnt look like frances is going to hit NC til next week, i think im safe in going.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
T-minus seven days and counting
As of this time next week, I will be on a plane to japan. My stress levels are currently high as I know i have already forgotten something. Still need to pack, contact many people to say goodbye, and make a huge decision concerning a trip to NC. See, Frances is already planning a trip there, and while the possiblility of meeting up with one of earths most destructive forces seems like fun... I can't afford to have a flight delay on my return trip Monday night. That would mean driving from NC to DFW in one day, then getting to the airport before 7 am. to catch my flight. Hmmm. what to do, what to do. OK, must continue on my quest to be completely ready to go by tomorrow night.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Up and Running
This is a test to see if this whole blog thing works. It's free and will definitely be an asset when trying to communicate with folks back home while I'm in Japan.
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