A bit of what you fancy

The two big questions my students have been asking me this week. The super-specific: ‘Oh, you like Japanese men? Why? What are the differences between Japanese men and western men?’ And the wide-scoping ‘So how are you finding Japan?’

In the first case. I’d like to make it clear I like western men, as all my previous boyfriends (bar one) were western. But there is something… different appealing about Japanese men. Let’s get more specific: young Japanese men. We’re talking 18-35 year olds. First of all, and if you know me you know how highly I rate this, they all seem to have good hair. Yes, some of them tease it and pouff it to epic manga-style proportions, but most of them just seem to have a natural, snappy, style. It follows from head to toe as well. That belt, those shoes, a scarf on colder days – they just look so… well put together. Sometimes on the train it’s like being in a Gap advert and I wish my iPhone didn’t have such a noisy camera or I’d capture it for sure. But, as some of my students told me this week, appearance is important in Japan. To the extent where, if a boy band behaves and looks good, they’ll sell records even if their music is a bit pants. So I guess it’s all about the image.
In a country that has such amazing traditional dress, it’s not so surprising to hear that appearance matters, I suppose. I know I still find it thrilling when a women in a kimono steps onto my train, and can’t help but peek a few times at her obi, pretty sandals, neat hairstyle and accessories. I’ve only seen one group of men in Kyoto in traditional male kimono too, but I have to say it does a number on me even more than the snappy everyday clothes. There’s something about the simple cut, and the colours, that makes a guy just look amazing.
But what are the chances of me meeting a nice Japanese guy who might just wear it at my demand, ahem, request? Fairly thin, if my fellow gaijin are to be believed. Just one female teacher I’ve met so far has a Japanese husband, and all the dating talk seems to be around western guys with Japanese women. I have to be honest, it’s a little disappointing for a single western woman to hear, like being in a sweet shop where all the tasty sweets are on really high shelves: for display purposes only.
A few students, and fellow teachers, have already offered me some advice on this matter. ‘Japanese men are shy.’ ‘They won’t approach you because their English isn’t good.’ ‘It’s not a good match, a Japanese man and a western woman. It’s too difficult.’ ‘Japanese men expect women to agree with them, and they don’t think western women will.’ An interesting point, the last one, because I’ve met quite a few feisty Japanese women already, and they’re not all single. Well, I think it’s easy to sweep a generalisation about any demographic, and Japanese women particularly for some reason. There seems to be this image in the west of them all being meek, pretty little creatures who all love cute things, and want to get married by 30 and have babies. Pretty, I’m not going to deny them, because like the oh-so-stylish Japanese men, they value their appearance, and when they’re in full-on kimono there are few things more stunning. As for liking cute things – I think that’s a national obsession and not just unique to women. But as for the rest – I think it’s just down to character. Recently one of my students asked the other: ‘You love your husband, don’t you?’ and student 2 considered it a moment, then replied, ‘I suppose, he’s like family to me.’ Student 1 nodded, and said: ‘Some people say when they have been together a long time, their partner becomes like… air.’ We couldn’t decide between us if that was a good thing or not.
Another student, a friendly guy about my dad’s age, appraised me and said with a twinkle in his eye: ‘You should stay away from Japanese boys, they’re bad news.’
Whether he was referring to his own colourful past, I don’t know, but I feel he might have been hinting at what yet another student outright asked me. He stopped me in my tracks in a media class I subbed, by asking: ‘Weren’t you scared to come to Japan after you read about that English teacher getting killed?’
No, I explained, no more scared than I would be to move to any unfamiliar place. In fact, the murderer in that case has recently been caught, despite having plastic surgery to evade the authorities. I understand from other blogs that the Daily Mail has been having a field day with it, probably not doing the image of Japanese men, and society in general, much favour in western eyes. I think I’m lucky to have been exposed to so many different sides of Japanese culture through its manga, films, language lessons and previous holiday visits, that I know this is a generally safe country to live in. But it makes me wonder how the Japanese media portrays western people, and how that shapes Japanese people’s perceptions of us.

Last weekend, which was rainy and grey, I decided to go the International Museum of Manga in Kyoto. It’s packed full of modern manga to browse, as well as exhibits tracing the history of manga in Japan. One of the exhibits showed the American comic Blondie translated for the Japanese audience in the post-war period: a character was making a gigantic sandwich in one sketch, which the information panel explained gave Japanese people a vision of American excess while they struggled to revive their economy. It seems manga was a vital key in keeping people’s spirits up in the post-war era, giving them something easy to discuss/laugh over, or perhaps aspire to. Overall I found the exhibits fascinating, and was excited to see a full colour panel signed by the manga artist from one of my favourite titles. My love of manga is one of the things that drew me to Japan; I don’t mind admitting I’m a female otaku (geek) to my students, and they seem to love quizzing me about my cosplay, and favourite animes. Although one student advised me ‘You don’t want an otaku boyfriend. Don’t look for men in the manga store.’ I have to say it’s the only place I am distracted from them… unless I’m paying for some goodies and the clerk has good hair of course. But boys, heed a warning note here: the gaijin boys tell me they don’t like to profess their love of anime here. They didn’t bring their favourite t-shirts from home, and they keep the semi-naked statues hidden, because apparantly Japanese girls aren’t so keen on gaijin otaku. So ssshhh… keep it secret, keep it safe and you’ll get the girl. Maybe ask her to wear the costume *after* she’s your wife.

Oh yes. And in answer to question 2: how are you finding Japan? Sorry to say I can only answer in one-word sentences at the moment. Bewildering. Interesting. Thrilling. Emotional. Beautiful. Educational. Daunting. I need to improve my English on that score; perhaps my students can teach me how – when it comes to Japan, I’m as much their student as they are mine.

One month on...

So it’s been a month, already? Wow. It feels like a lifetime ago that I was saying a teary-eyed goodbye to my folks. And now here I am: I can find my way home no matter what exit the train station throws me out of; I can lead a group of six kids whose native language isn’t English to sing and act out ‘head, shoulders knees and toes’ four times in a row; and I can resist buying every oh-so-pretty anime goody that catches my eye*

I wanted a challenge, now I’ve got one. Yeah, I only work six hours a day but those hours are intense. Managing a class of chattering Japanese children is something I still haven’t got to grips with yet. At ECC, I’m not allowed to speak or show I understand any Japanese, which is hard when you have a group of six or seven restless children bouncing around and chattering to you and each other in Japanese. Harder still when I’m out in the school lobby trying to make small talk with students or parents who can barely answer ‘what’s your name?’ in English.

But the kids, once you get them going in a song or game, are fantastic fun and amazing little sponges of language. The adults, once they understand a new word or relax and get chatting, are all fascinating. So many of the older students I’ve met have really interesting hobbies – traditional flower arranging in Kobe, scuba diving in Okinawa, ski bunnies in Osaka. None that I’ve met so far have said ‘I just watch TV’, or ‘I don’t do anything.’ The shortest answer to ‘What did you do at the weekend?’ I’ve had so far was ‘Study my kanji. A lot.’ (Hm, where to go from there..?)

Perhaps I’m only meeting a small minority of Kansai people who like pushing themselves to achieve (hence why they are learning English) but I feel like it’s teaching me a little about the ethos of people here. They like to challenge themselves; they like to keep busy; and they are enthusiastic about what they do. So I want to take those qualities on board too, and get myself a few good, challenging hobbies outside of work.

Learning Japanese is obviously a huge goal, and I can’t get any free lessons until December 1st when the Kobe Community Centre opens up their books again, so I’ve bought a challenging new textbook to give myself a little head start. My old textbook at warwick uni was mainly in English, but this one is in hiragana and katakana, so I have to get studying them again to use it.

Karate is my other burning desire to try here; having a weekly lesson in the UK was a great routine I had to stick to, rain or shine, and I made some great friends through it. It helped take my mind off work too which is something I can see I’m going to need. It’s hard to switch off sometimes. So. I have a YMCA just a short walk from my house, which I’ve seen runs loads of activities, so I’m going to brave going in to ask about classes there. I hope they have a flexible timetable as my working hours are so late at the moment; I could really do with either a morning class and/or a Sunday/Monday class. We’ll see what they’ve got.

Last but not least, I would love to get talking to some other anime/manga fans in the area too, as this is the mecca of it all, I’m sure there’s loads of events and good shops right under my nose. I wish there was a manga club just like at the astral gypsy in Coventry, perhaps there is but I’d have to find the otaku first.

One of the great things about doing sub classes at the moment is meeting other ECC teachers around the area. I’ve been for a few drinks with a group in Kobe, and today one of them kindly showed me some cool places around Sannomiya. They’re all pretty pleased to see new teachers arriving now, and as there’ll be more still coming later this month, I’m sure more opportunity for beer and possibly even karaoke will arise. We can but hope.

*not a guarantee

Love it, hate it

Good morning from sunny Kobe once again (hard to believe it's November) it's a national holiday today, so I'm getting a few chores done then im going for a walk to the mountains at the end of my road. Yesterday i went to Kyoto for the first time which was fantastic; I only saw two shrines, a park and some shops but I'm definitely going to go back, oh yes!
I've still not been in japan for a month yet but I wanted to share some of my likes and dislikes so far... we shall see if/ when they change!
Likes:
1. The weather. It's beautiful most days, and by english standards, ki d of tropi al for November. I love the sunshine so I'm very happy. I have been warned however that august is disgustingly humid and I won't want to leave the air con.
2. The pretty men. Oh so many of them! everywhere!
3. The students I've had so far. They are all nice and willing to learn. I haven't done any kids tea bing yet so far though.
4. The department stores. Huge and amazing. So many things have cute faces as well, it's like cute overload, even in a relatively boring area like kitchen equipment - the potato mashed has a cute face on the handle!
5. The bakeries. Oh wow. Such nice cakes and sweet breads and one I found in namba plays music just like disneyworld... It's awesome.

Dislikes:
1. Smoking is still allowed pretty much everywhere so the offices do smell, and after a few drinks in a bar I do too X_X
2. Paperwork... Anything involving paperwork seems to take hours on end ( even after I've figured out how to fill it in!) in general anything admin-y takes about three times the time back home.
3. The sneaky meat. It looks vegetarian, it says it's vegetarian, but oh.. What's this? Surprise pork!
4. Not being Able to speak Japanese very well makes me feel like a small child when trying to do simple things. In Kobe I can get free lessons, but found out yesterday I have to be resident for a month first. so, will have to just get on for another few weeks with my dictionary. What's really hard is, I'm not allowed to speak any Japanese at work, as the students Re paying for an English class, they wNt total immersion. But even to the staff, I'm not allowed. So I feel myself becoming super polite English girl, in the vein of Mary Poppins... Cor blimey guv!
5. Not having any money to buy everything I want/ do things I want to do. One of my friends was in Tokyo this week bhut I couldn't afford the train fare to go visit her (or go to Disneyland as we'd discussed) train fares within kinki are pretty reasonable, but to get to Tokyo on the Shinkansen it's about £50, one way, if you don't book in advance. Crazy. so I'm going to hVe to save up and reserve those Tokyo tickets... I'm sure it will be worth the wait once I do. Meanwhile Ive got a Lot of kinki to explore!

Settling in a bit...

Wow, my first few weeks in Japan have already flown by. I only have one week left of training, and then I’m unleashed on the Japanese public. So, this is now the longest time I have ever spent in the country, as my holidays here before have only been 7-day trips. And so much has happened since my last post. Let’s see.

TRAINING In the initial few days, as I think my previous posts show, I felt so out of my depth, and was questioning if I’d made the right decision. So I was grateful just to have a purpose on the first day or training, as if the job itself could somehow help me make sense of my decision to come here.

Well, the training has been intense – long hours, lots to remember and very short breaks – but the trainers are all pretty friendly and energetic so they make the time pass quickly. I’ll be teaching both kids and adults lessons, so our first week concentrated on adult training which is basically using a textbook we have to get really familiar with. This week we’ve been doing all the kids class training, which is a total contrast, although just as structured in its own way. And I get to play with cookie monster puppets! Yes!

One of the best things about training has definitely been meeting the other trainees. I’m the only only Brit, the others are Australian, Canadian and American – which has been really cool for learning about each other’s countries/customs as well as marvelling at the Japanese experience together. They’re a great bunch and I hope once our work begins proper we can still arrange to meet up often. Most of them are in Osaka, although one is moving out to Hiroshima next week which will be sad because she’s ace… but I want to go visit Hiroshima anyway so it will be good to go see her once she’s settled.

SIGHTSEEING Not done a huge amount of it so far, mainly exploring Osaka and my own neighbourhood, but gathering confidence on the subways and trains means I’m less daunted about going elsewhere once I get paid again. Last week a few of us went to the cup noodle museum/factory, where we saw the history of instant ramen and were able to make our own personalised cup. It was really fun and reminded me of why I wanted to come to Japan, to see the kind of place you wouldn’t get to go on a jam-packed holiday. So more of that to come!

SHOPPING Now, I haven’t got a whole lot of money to spend at the moment so my usual shopping habits have taken a nosedive. However – ECC require we all have a mobile phone, so I had a real adventure getting one.

An ECC trainer had told us about a westerner who worked in one of the Softbank stores in Shinshibashi, and by luck we found his shop - he made a beeline for us as we nosed around the phones. I’m glad we did manage to find Michael, because the process for setting up two phones (mine and Robby’s) took about four hours. Michael had to scan in all our documents (passport, visa, receipt for gaijin card) and fill out several forms with us. And here came the rub – because our visas are only valid for one year, we had to pay upfront for our phones AS WELL AS take out a contract. If we’d got two-year visas, we would have only had to take out the contract. It was a very expensive day, let’s put it that way. However – I’ve always wanted to own an iphone, so I decided to splash out and just get what I wanted. The idea of being able to check my facebook/email any time I wanted was just too much of a draw. The Disney phones were very tempting, though I felt a Disney phone, bank card (YES!) and watch (Which I’m wearing) might be a little overkill. Michael’s customer service was above and beyond – while he worked on Robby’s application papers he sent us to a nearby curry place, or rather, he actually walked with us out of the shop and pointed to his recommendations on the menu. Later, when I flapped about not having a phone case for my super expensive phone, he walked me out to the mac shop just two minutes away. Such personal service!

Michael himself was a really interesting guy. An American, he has lived here 8 years. He gave me some advice, to try and learn more Japanese and just try it out, not be afraid of making mistakes. He also said ‘look around – do you see many old western people living here? Or many children? That tells you a lot about westerners who come to Japan. There’s a time limit.’ He also said it took him three years of living here before he could learn Japanese on a basic level. Wow. So yeah – if you ever come to Osaka and need a phone, drop into Michael’s store because you’re guaranteed an interesting few hours (and he had a very cute co-worker with good hair… my eyes kept drifting!)

By the way, a week on, I completely love my iphone – It’s a great way to kill time on the train and I found a manga reader on it and everything so I’m racing to catch up on my favourite titles. Yay!

SOCIALISING! While she’s a busy bee working her two jobs, I have spent a bit more time with my housemate in the last week or so, which has been really nice. We have little chats when she gets in, usually where I show her what I bought or what I’m working on, and it makes me feel a bit more at home. She told me she has a dog back at her parents, which I would love to meet.

When we’re not correcting grammar or fretting about demos, me and the other trainees have been out and about, drinking in a gaijin-friendly bar in Osaka or shopping in a massive electronics store. We’ve been having some great times and I think meeting each other made us all feel a bit less ‘What have I done??” Why ECC don’t put you in touch with other trainees on your first day I don’t know – well, to be fair they were all miles from me anyway, but it would have been nice to know if I braved the train I could meet others. Which leads me to another point. I’ve seen quite a few westerners wandering around Kobe. I wonder if they work for ECC too, and if they do, why doesn’t ECC put us in touch with one another? It would sure have made settling in a little easier. Maybe they just don’t have anything like a social network… or maybe there is and I just haven’t found it yet. We’ll see.

 Anyway. I know I am still feeling waves of homesickness. I didn’t realise it would be so strong in the initial few weeks. I thought I’d have so much to do and think about that it wouldn’t hit me until a few weeks later. But perhaps some of it is just fear of the unknown. I do wish it didn’t cost so much for my mum and dad to ring me though (£17 last night and we were barely on for ten, fifteen minutes?) So I’ve got to get some skype set up – maybe when I get paid (Nov 12^th)I’ll go and get a dongle (or memory card I think they call them here) so I can have better net connection in the flat. Also I’ll be able to update the blog any my camera pics quicker – just one thing my iphone can’t do. I still love it though <3

 That’s it apart from to say Happy Halloween (^_^) / I hope I can get some trick or treat theme fun in even though its my first proper working week. We’ll see!

Day 2 mission: Shopping

Heed my advice today. If you’re planning on moving to Japan, bring a bottle of shower gel with you for the first few weeks. I brought everything else but – and spent an hour today trying to decide what if what I was holding was indeed shower stuff, hand lotion or bath cleaner. The bottle says ‘body soap’ so I’m hopeful I have the right thing. We’ll soon see.

 Shopping was today’s big mission – well, food shopping to be exact. After paying 1,500 yen (about a tenner?) for a pizza last night I realised I needed to stock up on some basics or I’ll run out of money quickly. I don’t get paid until Nov 12^th, and even then it’s less than I will usually get (due to training for most of the month). So I headed hopefully back to the huge 10-floor department store that furnished my bed. The bottom two floors are food – one is fresh (fruit. bread, meat) and the other has everything else. Luckily I bought a book about Japanese food buying in the UK, so I skim-read this before I left, and took it with me to check against Kanji. I’m really glad I did that for the milk alone, as it was hard to distinguish between milk and yoghurt drinks.

 Japanese supermarkets are clean, fairly busy, and LOUD. There’s music playing, but it’s not good music, more like lift music, and there’s also people on aisles shouting about the samples they want you to try. Some displays talk as well, I’m not sure if they are motion activated or just go off randomly.

 I bought a modest amount, thinking I can go back easily if I find I like something in particular. I was happy to see a lot of familiar snacks (yes, Pocky!) and brands (Tropicana, Kelloggs, Twinings). I bought a few of these, and I also bought a bag of rice purely for the fact it had cute illustrated instructions on the back. Also because the flat has a rice cooker, which I’ve always wanted to try… maybe I’ll have a go later. Although I might need Yuko’s help.

 Oh yes! I met my housemate at last. After catching up with everyone in the UK on the net last night, I headed for bed as I was feeling really tired out and spacey. I was dozing when I heard her come into the flat last night – and then she knocked on my door. I scuttled to it in my hello kitty pyjamas, eager to make a good impression. She seems really nice, and confirmed she does have two jobs – one as a chef in a kitchen, the other in Starbucks. Her English isn’t great, and neither is my Japanese, so it was just a brief conversation before my head hit the pillow again. Today is her day off, and I kind of woke her up when the nice man from JAL came to drop my bag off. I was flapping at the intercom with him going ‘sumimasen…’ as he talked to me, and she came out and rescued me. JAL said it would come 6-7pm yesterday; it came at 10am today. Oh well. The important thing is, I’ve been reunited with my case! So my wardrobe looks a bit less bare.

 Do I feel as freaked out as yesterday? In some ways, a little less. Seeing Hello Kitty branded face wash and loo roll called fruit basket made me smile, the sun is beautiful (it’s tshirt weather here) and I had a friendly nod from an elderly neighbour as she left the building. Once again, I think when I start work, things will get a bit easier because I’ll have a lot to occupy me, other aliens to share the experiences with, and I’ll get paid, so I can afford to do things on my days off like visit other parts of Japan that I really want to see. Right now everything still feels very alien, and anything vaguely familiar (like the Twinings tea!) is comforting. I understand now why people often go to travel/live in English speaking countries like Australia or America; it takes some of that alien element away at least when you’re in a new environment. I wonder how many people come to the UK and feel this way?

 So I feel quite cut off communications-wise, and I’m hoping as soon as I can get a phone that might subside a little. I would love an iphone, but not sure it’s affordable. I’m definitely going to get one with internet access though, so that I can go online any time. Otherwise I’m going to be drinking a hell of a lot of coffee at the place next door! What a shame Japan doesn’t seem to have anything like the dongles you get in the UK – you’d have thought they would, being so nifty in general with the technology. What I’m most gutted about at the moment is skype – I was really looking forward to being able to talk to my folks and friends face to face for free, and show them my room virtually. Now I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do that. Maybe when the café is quieter they won’t mind but I’m a bit too nervous to ask. So instead I have an expensive phone card where 2,000 yen buys me 51 minutes on the phone to the UK.

 Lastly on the phone front. I’ve been told I probably can’t get a phone unless I have an alien registration card, which I can’t apply for until Tuesday when the hall I need to go to is open – Monday is a national holiday here. The card itself may take a few weeks to be completed. So it might be a little while until I can get a phone. So again, my advice to anyone coming out here = get a phone that can work in Japan, even just for the initial few weeks. I know I used to live without a phone strapped to my side once – but it wasn’t in another country that’s for sure.

 UPDATE: The internet told me Apple have an English speaking advice line in Japan, so I’m going to call them tomorrow and see if they can sell me a phone. Yes!

Noodles or icecream?

After getting my passport back from the Japanese immigrations counter this morning, I noticed a piece of paper poking out of it that says: ‘To the Alien entering Japan, you must register at your local city hall or ward in 90 days.’

Alien. You couldn’t pick a better word for how I feel at the moment. Even though I’ve been to Japan before, getting bussed to a cozy hotel with fellow tourists to chatter to is a world away from arriving here to work.

 The flight itself was good. After an emotional farewell with my parents (used a whole pack of Kleenex!) I just barely made it to my gate for the first flight to Amsterdam. I’d just about caught my breath from the dash when we landed, and then had about half an hour to get over to the gate for my Osaka flight. Once onboard I was thrilled to discover I’d somehow been upgraded, and so my seat not only reclined fully, but also had no one in front or behind me, so surely only the captain had more legroom. Thank you KLM!

 The reclining helped when trying to sleep on the flight, but my whirling and emotional mind didn’t. I kept going over the things my parents said as we hugged each other tightly, and all the messages of support people have given me over the last few months. It seemed hard to believe the big day had finally arrived.

 I was finally dozing to some degree when a cabin crew member’s soft shuffles woke me up. I peered into the dimmed cabin lights to hear her ask, somewhat surreally, ‘noodles or ice cream?’ This was about 3 or 4am Japan time. (I went for the ice cream).

What seemed like moments later, we were woken up for breakfast, and as the plane dropped slowly through the clouds, I saw mountains and blue sky. Hello Japan.

I had to fill in some more paperwork on the plane (I declare I am not in possession of fireworks or swords, etc) and once that was handed over and my bag returned I was swiftly pushing the cart to the exit. Looking for the JAL delivery desk, as ECC kindly pay for your heaviest bag to be sent to your apartment through them, thus meaning you don’t have to lug it on buses/trains in your first few hours.

 The man took my bag without much ado, and it’s meant to be returned to me within the next hour as I type. Looking forward to having all my things with me again, not least because my mum crammed in 2 packs of wispa bars. Yay mum!

 That done, I headed to the phonecards, bought one and phoned my housing agent. I make that sound really quick – it wasn’t. It involved much pondering of the machines and then the phones – but I got there in the end. Next I headed out to the coach stops to find number 6, to Sannomiya station. There was a friendly staff member by the machines, who helped me to buy the right ticket, then another friendly staff member took my heavy rucksack away to put in the luggage compartment, and gave me a ticket to collect it at the other end. Super efficient, punctual and clean. It’s a world away from UK public transport, I pondered as I gazed out of a coach window at the tapestry of industrial heavyweight, and beautiful mountains, of Kansai.

As the stop had said Sannomiya station, I was expecting at least a shed of some sort, but it turned out to be referring to the train station that sits opposite where the bus stops. Right in the middle of busy Kobe. I stood back and tried not to feel too much like an eyesore. Which must have worked, as Robert was there for 20 minutes before he found me (and he walked around the stop a few times).

Then began information overload: Robert stopped the car twice to give me directions, much to the chagrin of fellow drivers. He kept telling me how they’ve put me in one of their nicer houses (well he was hardly going to say anything else…) but I didn’t really believe it until we arrived. His wife and baby daughter met us outside the building, and the minute we got inside, the information began to flow. My new housemate is Japanese, she works two jobs, garbage is Tuesdays and Thursdays, make sure you put the fan on after you shower, here’s how to work the air con, would I like to pay next month’s rent now? I felt bewildered, but glad someone was here to at least take me round and show me things, even if I forget half of them tomorrow. The flat itself is lovely; a neat kitchen, bathroom and living room, place to take your shoes off, loads of cupboard space, sliding doors. 

Once we’d signed the contract (5 months minimum), I paid up and he’d shown me how to open the postbox, Robert and wife were off, but they each gave me a hug before they left. Which was really sweet. ^_^

I opened my post - a package from ECC with yet more information, some confusing Japanese forms and a training schedule that begins next Wednesday. The hours aren’t too bad (first day 12pm) and it’s pretty much until 30 October. That semi-absorbed, I decided I best head out for some bedding. ECC in their wise ways have only supplied me with a bed and mattress. I think they just like making you do this kind of stuff so you can get some independence, but god it’s a bit intimidating after a long flight.

Robert had pointed out a gigantic building I could get bedding from on his mini Kobe tour, so I headed back in that direction. Finding it again wasn’t too hard, but deciding on the bedsheets themselves took me ages. Japanese beds don’t seem to have flat sheets as we do in Europe, and everything was sized and, of course, I didn’t measure the bed. So I took a wild guess (as it turns out, spot on!) I managed to pick up a duvet as opposed to futon set and, as I didn’t trust the picture, I bought a separate pillow. I was really glad I did. So now I have a bed to lie on as I type and the jet lag is starting to prick at my eyes. I’m really trying to stay in this time zone though as it just seems like the best way to get into things.

 My housemate hasn’t come home yet, I really wish she would as having no-one to talk to is making me think about all the people I’m really missing right now. U_U

I don’t have a mobile or a house phone, although the nearest net café is next door, which I’m planning to go visit and upload this once my suitcase arrives. So that will be good to catch up with everyone’s news.

 And a few good things from my bedding trip: I spotted a starbucks in the department store (huzzah!) and a tokyu hands, which is a massive craft/model/cosplay store. I definitely need to visit, as Rei’s foot has come off in the journey – but the dolls otherwise travelled well. I only brought two – lucky as no more would have fit in my bags.

 What I keep telling myself at the moment, I have been telling myself for the last few months, is that I have to take each day at a time. Don’t worry about tomorrow or stress about next week. Just think about what today involves, and what I need to do today.

 And today was always going to be the worst 24 hours of this experience – leaving my family, tiring long flights, and seeing a strange new world. Nothing can really prepare you for that experience. But I wonder how long it will be before I feel comfortable here. I think the training will help next week, as I will be able to meet other ECC people in the same position, and it will give my day real purpose and other things to concentrate on. God. In the UK I used to long for my weekends to never end, now I’m wishing mine away.

So if you offered me a ticket home right now would I take it? Hm. Maybe we’ll come back to that question in a month’s time. What’s most scary right now is the unfamiliar. What you know, even if you hate it, is always going to be the easier way to live, isn’t it? I keep thinking about the similarities with the last two big moves I made – going to university then going to live in the midlands. My parents were there to support me through both of those moves too. What’s different is they were able to see where I was going, in person. And they were able to come and see me on a whim or whenever I really needed them. They can’t do that right now and I think that’s what’s the hardest thing. I’m in a strange place and everyone I love is physically hours away from me and they can’t share this in person unless they come out to visit. I have such respect right now for anyone who’s ever done this kind of thing, because it’s hard. And emotional. And confusing. I think I might feel more positive when I’ve spoken to my family, and had some food and some sleep. Hmm, and my suitcase still hasn’t turned up. So I think I’m going to try going to the internet café to make me feel just a little bit less lonely.

UPDATE; And it worked! Everyone has been on here chatting to me so I feel a bit better. Next time, I'll bring my mac plug X_X battery fail!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Argh! I’ve got a weight problem!

And having just returned from holiday in America, aka land of the HUGE meals and mouthwatering brownies, this might not sound too shocking. But I’m not talking about my waistline, just yet, as the focus on this update is my luggage allowance.

While on holiday (fab by the way, thanks!) I found a super-nifty lightweight backpack that doubles as a small case (I’ll take pictures!) that will be perfect for my hand luggage. And my parents also bought a set of digital baggage scales to help me check my bags before I check them in. As my last suitcase was wrecked by baggage handlers, they kindly furnished me with one to take to America, so during the holiday we were discussing the merits of me taking it to Japan.

Well. I came back home on Friday to see that ECC were emailing me to offer a service where they transport one bag from the airport to my accommodation for free. It was only when reading that email, in the haze of jetlag yesterday, I realised I hadn’t even checked my weight allowance on the flight. I’d just assumed I could take two bags about 20K. Boy am I glad I checked.

The KLM website says it’s ok to take two bags… if you are going to a certain list of destinations. Like America and Africa. But Japan isn’t on the list. ^^; so I phoned them to double check. ‘Yes, we can confirm you have 20KG allowance… and 12KG hand luggage.’ The cheery helpful KLM person told me. ‘Oh. Right. Thanks.’ Me: not so cheery. But at least I found this out now, and not at the airport. KLM charge about £20 for every kilo you go over that limit.

So. I have to pack everything I need for a year into bags weighing a total of 20KG (32KG including my hand luggage). To give you an idea of how scary this sounded to me, two years ago my bag coming back after just 2 weeks in Florida weighed 32KG alone (and had a CAUTION HEAVY sticker slapped on it) Meep.

My parents, helpful as ever, whipped out their new scales for some instant experiments. (It’s just like being at school!) We found the case they bought me weighs 4.5KG. Three pairs of shoes weigh 1.5KG. After consulting the ECC list and stuffing my case with an approximation of the amount of clothes they recommend, we estimated my clothes and shoes alone will weigh about 12KG. Not bad. 20KG sounds a bit better now. But on a shopping trip today we were all eyeing up the lightweight cases in Debenhams, playing weight bingo together: ‘4.8… no that’s more’ ‘3.8! That’s good. But look at the price.’ ‘ah, this one is 4.5 too but it’s made of polycarbon’. Did I mention before how fab my parents are at helping me out? They’re absolute diamonds. And I’m glad that we booked the US holiday, expensive though it was, as I got to spend some fun time with them before this – the Japan countdown proper – began.

So where am I now with all the important paperwork stuff? Almost there. I’m currently racing down to London, heading for the Japanese Embassy tomorrow to submit all my info for the all-important Visa. My Certificate of Eligibility (very small, more like a leaflet of eligibility I’d say) arrived while I was on holiday so I’m playing a bit of catch up. I need to take that in tomorrow plus my passport and a photo. I also needed to fill out an A4 form, which took five attempts for my jetlagged brain this afternoon. I’m sure they make the lines deliberately too small to write Japanese addresses on as a test of your determination. Hopefully I’ve passed!

And speaking of addresses. I now have one! I haven’t google-earthed the address yet, but give me time. All I know at the moment is I’m going to be in Kobe City, in ‘one of our nicer shared houses’ according to the ECC email. One other housemate is listed on the information. Just a name, no other information. A third room is listed as vacant.

So that’s us all up to date for now. Tomorrow, London and on Tuesday, I’ll be shopping for new smart work-type clothes. Horror. I’ve worked in jeans for the last 10 years. So my waistline might be the subject of my next post after all ^^; wish me luck!

Happy... then sad... then happy again...@_@

I'm posting from my holiday hotel room in Orlando, Florida right now - trying to get myself into a new time zone by staying awake for another hour. So excuse the slight rambling due to tiredness/emotional state. A lot has happened since my last post. People have kept asking me 'Are you excited? You must be excited about going to Japan.' And of course I am, but, the excitement has been buried under a lot of sad farewells. A lot of lasts. On Tuesday it was my last karate class, and movie chillout with the Walters. On Wednesday it was my last day at the Walters, which was very emotional for me, and work, which was just really strange. It didn't feel like my last day ever. Everyone was lovely; I got cake, and a little wad of cash to take away with me (plus some English money for the duty free which I was really touched by ^_^) After a swift few drinks in the pub, my cousin Gordon came to whisk me away to Manchester Airport. And then this morning when I got on the Virgin flight to sunny Orlando, I realised that's kind of it: all my time in the Midlands has just flown past. Flying itself is like a suspended animation. You're hurtling forward at thousands of miles an hour. But unless you stop and think about it, it can just feel like you're going nowhere (and getting served really bad food). So I'm always the kind of person who looks out of the window at the clouds once in a while, just to remind myself - eep! I'm flying! And so the excitement of the journey returns. And that's kind of where I am right now. Happy, sad.. and every so often, super-excited! For example. I'm just a few hours into my Florida holiday, and I've already had two emails from ECC. One to say they're sending out my certificate of eligibility (which I need for the visa) and a second to say they are placing me in Kobe City. (Home of the beef? Oh man!) Well, they describe it as a beautiful little port city (OMG I'm going to be just like Kiki! I need a sassy black cat and a broomstick forthwith!) My housing will be about 5-10 minutes walk from a mountain and 20 minute train ride from Osaka. Wow! Actually, as a lot of people have asked questions about where/how I'll be living I'll just give you a little rundown. As I have requested, it will be in shared accommodation, I'll be with two other people according to the email.  I have been placed a western shared housing, which ECC say is: "generally modern and nice just like back home with full amenities and of course a bit more expensive. These places are usually shared between three tenants and each has their own private bedroom. Shared quarters would be a spacious living room, bathroom, and kitchen (full amenities). These places are approx. 65,000yen/month plus utilities which are paid for and divided evenly amongst the tenants." 

I'm looking forward to being in a shared house again, as I think it will be a nice way to move to a new area, and two other people sounds like a good number – I wonder if they'll be new teachers too? And, um, I hope they don't have a rota pinned up the moment I walk in the door. OK. That's enough rambles for now. I'm off to relax and enjoy my American holiday (another last... US trip with parents). Still on antibiotics for the nasty wisdom tooth problems, bah, but the last tablet is Monday. That's one last I will be very happy about! TTFN.

One week left in the Midlands

Oh wow. Where is the time going? This time next week I’ll be flying off to America on holidays. And my work in the Midlands will be done – literally. As I’ve worked here for the last ten years, I don’t think my brain has quite wrapped itself around that concept yet.
Although I’m finding it easier to step back from the actual work, I think I’m really going to miss the people and I don’t think that will hit me for a good while yet. Everyone who leaves the agency says that the people here are unique, like a little family, and I think it’s one of the things that has kept me here so long. They’re a really nice bunch. For example. yesterday I had to go home with excruciating toothache. One £50 trip to see my dentist in Yorkshire (long story) later, I’m stockpiled up with antibiotics and solpadeine. So when I came back in to work today, everyone was concerned: ‘how are you?’ ‘toothache is the worst’ ‘you went to Yorkshire??”Yeah. So whether it’s good or bad news, people want to know, and they genuinely care about the answer. I don’t think it will be the same at ECC. But who knows? Speaking of families, I’m very happy to say I’m now out of the rented house and in with the Walters family, who kindly agreed to put me up/put up with me (!) for my last week or so in the Midlands. They are a family I met through karate, and over the last 5 or so years have shown me just the hugest amount of kindness and friendship,. Too huge to try and explain, but I know I can never fully repay them (though I often try, in small cake shaped doses) for everything. Living with them is fantastic – the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and I am eating well and sleeping pretty soundly. In case I do wake in the night and forget where I am, there’s a sign on the wall made by the girls reminding me ‘you are at the Walters’. Well, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now. They’re proving a good medicine for my relocation stress (which has seemingly melted away since I moved in.) So I didn’t feel sad at all to leave my rented house. Stressed, yes – overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, yes - but not sad. More like… it was just time to go. And so grateful my parents came and helped, they made the whole thing a lot easier and quicker. I managed to send 3 carloads back to Yorkshire for storage with them, so now their house probably looks like a jumble sale! It was a fantastic weekend in one way though, because I saw a lot of my friends and family who had offered help. They arrived, they helped clear, they rehomed things, they gave hugs and smiles of support. It made the weekend a hell of a lot easier. So I know I have to a do a lot of thanking people this month. And maybe for the rest of my life!
As I leave one home and temporarily pitch up at another, I’ve just got some more details from ECC about my Japanese accommodation. Basically I tell them what I’d like (a beautiful 20- tatami mat house in the bamboo woods in Kyoto with bishy neighbours please) and they sort it out (a small flat shared with a few teachers in Osaka/Kobe... like it or lump it) so on the day my plane touches down, a helpful ECC person can take me straight there. I should get exact location details about a month before I fly out. Which would be around next week then. Good gravy. Oh, and I have my first proper big leaving do tonight – and I won’t even be drinking because of the antibiotics. Well, maybe one won’t hurt. I just can’t believe I’m really saying to goodbye to people already. And that’s the whole tooth.

To your good health

Well, it's finally happening... I'm moving out of my house this weekend.

And I don't know if it's particularly that, or my mind just coming to terms with he whole moving house/job/country/ eeek-ness, but I have not been feeling like myself over the last two weeks. Work sent me home last Friday because I looked awful - and I felt it! I ached all over, and just felt exhausted. So I went straight to bed at 5pm and didn't get up until 8am the next day. Since then I have felt fine and then exhausted in waves - when the wave hits, it's like having an out of body experience - the nearest thing I can compare it to is jetlag. Oh so ironic considering my medical paperwork ('this lady is medically fit and well') has only just reached Japan giving them the green light to sort out my Certificate of Eligibility >.< Anyway. Most people I talk to think it is stress related, and so I'm trying to take it a bit easier, and I hope when things get simpler (like when I have no house to worry about) the waves will start to subside. It may or may not be related, but I've been saying my first round of goodbyes as well recently. The local comic shop owners fed me a cup of tea and a farewell hug tonight; and last weekend I went out with all my doll friends for bento at Mount Fuji in Birmingham. Ah yes,I should explain about the dolls. I collect Asian Ball Jointed Dolls - very expensive, made of resin. I have 6, and I'll be taking some of them to Japan with me so expect to see some pics of them here. As a taster here's Kokoro (which means heart in Japanese) with a teddy that one of doll friends gave her on Saturday. I'm looking forward to meeting some Japanese doll owners as the friends I've made here through meet-ups are a cracking bunch. I'll miss our monthly get-togethers.

And still on the subject of Saturday at Mount Fuji (most yummy Japanese food I've ever eaten in the UK) I had the most delicious cake, called matcha - it was so light and fluffy it kind of boing-ed when you poked it. The cream with it is like a sweet red bean buttercream dusted with green tea powder. I certainly hope to have more of this in Japan - oishii desu ne! (Tasty!) Sweet dreams...

Unconventional conventions

Well it feels like progress has been made in the last few days, as I finally got all the medical paperwork sent off to ECC (registered mail!) today. Just don't mention the postal strike in Leamington. Tch. Aaand another carload went at the weekend which is making my house look a bit better ^^; my parents' house is probably looking a whole lot messier though... I'll have to buy them a really giant cake to say thanks at some point!

Aside from the tidying and medical nonsense, I had an absolutely fantastic weekend at Ayacon - a UK anime/manga convention that was held conveniently ten minutes from my house. It was packed with excellent cosplayers, all very friendly and willing to pose and chat, some interesting demos such as kimono wearing by Japanese lecturer Akemi Solloway, and a fantastic dealers room that I really had to run through to avoid buying anything. Except. The lovely Tokyo Toys, who I always stop and chat to at UK anime events, gave me a really good deal on two snazzy luggage tags. For my two suitcases. So it would have been rude not to, ne? Well to finish up tonight, here's a pic of me with the friendly Jon from Tokyo Toys.

Yes I'm cosplaying as Yuki from Vampire Knight *^_^* I only have a few costumes in total, but I'm not taking any with me to Japan as I'm hoping to get some new ones out there. And maybe go to a few conventions to show them off! I really hope the convention scene is as friendly as it is here, and I look forward to meeting some awesome Japanese cosplayers. Oh go on then have another pic of me cosplaying! With a group of friendly Vampire Knight-ers

How is the packing going? And medical matters

I have two pieces of advice for anyone wanting to follow in my footsteps today.

Advice nugget 1: Don't buy things. Or rather, don't keep them.

Um, whose crazy idea was it to move house at the end of Aug again? ^^; One car load of my stuff has already zoomed off up to yorkshire, with my folks...

...now the rest awaits them. Reckon it will all fit?

I completely filled my wheelie bin today after hitting on the idea of throwing away my old bedding instead of washing it. Saves me some packing space. But I know that's not very green, so I stuffed my recycling bin full of paper to counter it. Sorry planet. And I've got at least another 2 loads of paper recycling already! And the amount of storage shelves and that I have is ridiculous. The good news of today is, a few things I've advertised for free on facebook have already been snapped up by friends. Hurrah!

Advice nugget 2: Save money. A lot of money. And patience!

I went for a chest xray today which ECC requires me to do, as part of a medical record the Japanese labour law requires them to have. Here's how it works:

1. I book medical. Doctor gives me check up and fills out ECC form. ('This lady is medically fit and well') <-- hurrah. I give Doctor £89 for his 45 minutes.

2. Doctor gives me a separate form to request I have a chest xray. I book xray appointment.

3. I go to xray, hand over the doctor's form and pay £75. The report from it now goes back to my doctor.

SO.

Tomorrow I need to 4. Call the doctor and get them to give me a copy of the report (you can bet they'll charge me for it) so I can

5. Send ECC form and xray back to ECC. (Registered post to Japan...) 

6. Wait for ECC to send me a certificate of eligibility so I can then

7. Go get my Visa. (Travelling down to London £_£)

With me so far? The only good thing is, I believe this is the most faffy part of the process. It's not the most expensive though, I've already done that... the flight.

Oh yes. The flight.

I had to get a flight which arrives 4-6 days before my training begins. But it had to be early, and not on a Sunday. So me and my folks spent a good hour pouring over flight comparison sites, and plumped for the best one we found: 13 hours with KLM, flying from Birmingham to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Kansai. Arriving Saturday 9.30am Japanese time. 4 days before my training. The cost = £715.

So lets do a quick reccy... £715 flight plus £164 medical costs =My new job is costing me £879 so far! This is not a money-making career move people. But as some keep saying to me, I'm sure it will all be worth it! ^__^

Irrashaimase! Welcome to my blog ^_^

Hullo. In exactly two months I will be flying out of the UK to Japan on a one-way ticket. I've given up my job, my rented house, and a rung on a career ladder to do this. So if you've ever wondered what it's like to just ditch it all tomorrow (almost...) and move to another country, then feel free to join me on the journey. 

A few questions and answers:

Why Japan?

I'm a huge manga, anime and J-drama addict. Because of this I've been on holiday to Tokyo twice, and enjoyed the sights, the culture and the language. But I feel like I've only seen a teeny sliver of what the country has to offer. So I applied for a job, with the hope of learning more about life in Japan. 

What am I going to do in Japan?

Teach English with a company called ECC (see my website list for more info on them) To get this, I had to attend a group interview session and do the hardest grammar test of my life! Oh, and I did the interview last September. Patience is a virtue when it comes to landing a job like this >.<

What am I doing between now and 9th Oct?

Still working in my current job, where I'm a sub editor for a communications agency. I finish there on 9th September. Then I'm off on holiday to America for a few weeks before I fly out to Japan.

What kind of stuff am I going to blog about?

I'll tell you what it's like to move to another country, all the highs and lows, and I'll share what I learn about Japan with you. I love taking pics so expect loads of those too. I'll update as often as I can. 

Why 'two suitcases'?

Apart from hand luggage, that's all I'm taking to Japan on the 9th. My whole life in two suitcases! That won't even fit my manga collection XD but as I'm a complete clutter-holic, I think it might do me some good. I'll keep you posted on that.

Got another question?

Feel free to post comments/questions at any time and I'll do my best to answer them. Thanks for reading (^_^)/