I’m In

Yesterday, I went to the train station to say goodbye to all of my fellow trainees and to meet one of my managers.  She is very nice and she took me to my new apartment where I was able to meet my other manager ,a coworker, and Makensie (the teacher that I’m replacing).   The apartment is small, but it should have plenty of  room for anything I need.  I will post pictures or a video very soon.  My apartment is a 5-10 minute walk from work.  It’s nice to be close.  I’d hate to have to struggle with public transportation in order to get to work.  I also have a bike that I can use to get around.  It’s a piece of junk, but it will get me around.  A new one would only cost about $150.00, so I’ll do that if I have to.  Last night was my first night in my building.  Both of the other teachers (Tiffany and Sandy) are in my building.  They invited me over for a late Thanksgiving celebration.  We had apple and cheddar stuffed chicken breasts with cranberries, mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans.  Today, I went shopping for some groceries and small items for the apartment and I met up with Taichi.  He brought me to get my “alien registration card” and my bank account.  We were supposed to work in getting a cell phone as well, but we ran out of time because the bank took a long time.  The other teachers convinced me that I’ll probably need a cell phone.  It will probably make it a lot easier to get a hold of the other teachers that I trained with so I can visit them.  It’s about 1:41am on Monday morning in MN.  I hope everyone is resting well.  I should be able to be more reachable from now on.  I’m probably not going to be quite as busy.  I’ll also have internet eventually, but that will take a while. 

Training Is Over!

Training is officially over.  It went really well.  I got to meet four of the kids that I will be teaching today.  They’re all really great kids.  Tonight, the trainers are taking our whole group out for dinner.  I don’t know where we’re going, but it should be a pretty crazy night.  I’ll meet my manager tomorrow, pick up my luggage, and move into my apartment.  I’m excited for that.  It will be nice to finally be in my own place and be able to have access to all of my things.  The only bummer is that all of my training buddies are going to their schools.  It will be an adjustment.  I’ve made some really great friends.  Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to visit some of them who are staying in other parts of Japan.  This will post with one or two other entries…. Sorry for not being in contact.  We’ve been working pretty hard and I haven’t found time to get over to the International Center for internet.  I definitely will tomorrow.

First Three Days of Training

With all of this training going on, it’s hard to find time for the internet.  I have to go to the International Center in order to use it and it’s only open until 9pm.  It’s usually about 7:30 when I’m ready to go to dinner and there’s not enough time left after dinner to get to there.  Tuesday was the first day of training.  It was pretty intense and tiring.   We learned mostly about our baby lessons on Tuesday.  Wednesday started with a demo. of a baby lesson that we planned.  I need a lot more practice before I feel totally comfortable.  It’s difficult to flow smoothly from one activity to another.  It’s also hard to remember all of the little things to say to get maximum involvement out of the students…or pretend students in this case.  We also have had the added frustration of having to wear surgical masks.  Somebody got diagnosed with H1N1 somewhere so we all had to wear masks and have our temperatures taken twice a day for a few days.  We get to go without masks tomorrow, but we’ll still be monitoring temps.  I think it’s a little crazy, but it’s better to go with the flow.  Today(Thursday) was a good day.  It didn’t seem as long as the others.

I’ve been spending most of my evenings studying and hanging out with other trainees.  Shane and Colin are the two that I most frequently spend time with.  I really like those guys.  I’ll miss not having the other trainees around once Sunday rolls around and they all leave.  At least I’ll finally get to move into my apartment.

Last night I went for a run.  I just found a straight road and kept going so I didn’t get lost.  I was mostly in residential areas.  There were a few really nice looking, gated houses.  I wonder about what the people who saw me run by were thinking.  It was much needed exercise.  However, it seems like the more time I take off from exercise, the worse my hip/knee problems gets.  I think I’m going to try strengthening instead of rest for a while.  I’m losing too much of my progress with all of this resting.

This blog will probably get posted in conjunction with another because I’ve done it ahead of time and will save it for posting later.  I need to get better at finding good food.  I haven’t yet had a meal yet that’s made me feel great.  There always seems to be something missing.  I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon.

Training Starts Tomorrow

Last night was my first night out in Okayama.  I went to dinner at a place that was pretty cheap and had decent food.  I ate a chicken curry dish with cabbage salad and rice.  I had some iced green tea as well.  After, I went with some of the other trainees to Aussie Bar.  It’s owned by a real cool Australian guy.  The place was pretty dead.  As a result, we had the chance to talk a lot with the owner.  That will be a great place to go if I feel like having a chat.  The weather today was much better than yesterday.  Sunshine and what seemed like low 60s.  You can fact-check me on weather.com if you want.  I spent most of the day hanging out with Colin from CO and Shane from WI.  We started at the International Center using the internet.  I got to talk with my parents and my brother.  Then, we walked all over Okayama and did some shopping for random things.  Mostly, we were browsing.  I’m excited to be able to walk around and actually feel like I belong here/know what I am doing with myself.  I keep getting in peoples’ way because I’m walking on the right side of the sidewalk and I’m supposed to be on the left here.  I also look forward to starting my language study.  I don’t know how to behave or what to say at shops and restaurants.  I’m sure I’ll learn quickly, but It will be a relief when I finally reach some sense of understanding.  Tonight will be for studying and getting prepared for a heavy week of training.  I hope it’s not too stressful. 

I’ll keep you posted.

Here are some pictures from  Sunday(1st full day)

Walking to Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle Phillipe resting on my pillow.

I Made It!

Right now I’m sitting in the Okayama International Center using the internet.  It sucks because people smoke in here.  I just got all showered and into my clothes and now I’m going to smell.  I’ve met most of the people in my training group and they’re very nice.  For training week, I’m rooming with a guy named Mike.  He’s real nice.  He was having trouble sleeping last night and I told him to do some controlled breathing.  He said it worked and was very appreciative.  I haven’t done much yet.  We got in late last night and went to bed.  It’s been a slow morning, but it should be fun.  The milk here is delicious. 

Three More Days in the USA

It’s probably time to panic, but I’m not very good at that.  I still haven’t packed anything.  Last weekend was awesome.  Thanks to everyone who came to the party.  It was a great night.  The party went until 4am!  Today, hopefully, will be a productive day.  I hope to do most of my packing.  I’ll be posting/emailing/facebooking all of my contact info soon as well.  Have a great Tuesday. 

Party Tomorrow

Grenny just got into town and the big going-away party is tomorrow.  I’m going to buy plenty of cider and rum.  I just finished painting the ceiling in my parents’ basement and I stained and varnished their closet door.  Those were the last projects that I needed to finish.  It’s now time to focus on partying and getting all ready to leave. 

First Post

Well, I haven’t left yet.  In fact, I haven’t even started packing.  I’ve just started to feel some anxiety about my departure.  Only a few loose-ends to tie up before I go.  November 20th is the big day.  I’ve started to make some friends that I’ll be training with for the first week.  They all seem like outgoing people.   Some of us have become Facebook friends for pre-training stalking.  My goals, so far, are to learn as much Japanese as possible and to find a martial art to study.  That’s all for the first blog.  I’m not sure how this whole thing even works yet.  Hopefully I haven’t completely wasted my time typing this and you’ll be able to read it.