Another successful day

I won't go on and on about how I'm doing the same thing well everyday. I just would be remiss if I didn't hi-light one of todays differentiating factors. 4th grades
Surprise! I had to teach 4th grade today.  Which was cool. I did the same thing I did for the 5th and 6th graders, it just took longer, so we used fewer cards for Wipeout.  But they are so. LOUD! They were SCREAMING at me the entire class period.  It was intense.  And the look on the 4th grade teacher's face was just like, "Yep. This is my life everyday. Deal with it."  Not only that, but they were literally crawling over their desks to try to talk to me. And to touch my hands to try to get my attention.
And there was this one boy.  Okay, so in my flash cards, I have one of a random Shiba Inu, which is the kind of dog I have, and I have one of Kiba, my dog.  It just so happens that I am also in that picture holding her.  It makes for some quick laughter when I'm showing them all my card. I pick a random student and point to me and say "Kiba jya naiyo!" and everyone laughs.  And so at the board I point to the japanese dog and they all say "Shiba" and then I point to my dog and the all say "Kiba" because rhyming is fun. The end. But this guy. He decided "Eff, that noise. That is a picture of you" So everytime I pointed to Kiba he would scream "D sensei." And when no one else joined in, he just kept....getting....LOUDER.  I have some fun rhythmically with the cards and get a nice little "Kiba! Shiba! Kiba! Shiba!" chant going on.  But this guy, just kept screaming "D sensei!" And at the end of class, he started a chant "D sensei! Shiba! D sensei! Shiba!"  I guess he wanted to make sure no one else was fooled. It was hilarious.
Also...I just remembered. I made friends with the kids with special needs at this school, too.  After lunch, I was hanging out outside the teachers room, cuz I felt awkward sitting in there with nothing to do.  And they all came up to me saying "Hello! Hi!" and the like.  And they kept giving me high fives. It was awesome.
Also, some guy asked me if I ate poop. He thought it was hilarious. I pretended not to understand. So then he mimed it for me.  And I just kept playing dumb.  Cuz eff that. I'm not dignifying that question with an answer.

I don't know how...

but every day gets a little bit better.  It's hard to believe.  I had such a good day my first day.  And then my second day was even better. I had heard tales that sixth graders were shy, but those tales were wrong.  Not that I had to do much teeth pulling the first day, but the second day, the kids were raring to go.  Maybe they talked about me, or maybe they are just really energetic kids, but I had a blast up there.  It was a special day, because all of the teachers went to the students houses around 1.  So I had all 4 of my classes back to back.  It was awesome, and then it was over.  I had the rest of the day to sit and think about my next lesson plan.  So the Vice principal comes up to me with a bunch of craft stuff.  And I think "Why would I want this?" So I just accepted it graciously.  But as the lesson planning began to unfold, I found some uses for it.  Made some numbers, printed out some pictures.  And then eventually, I left.  The teachers have all been super nice.  Apparently, I'm adorable. The end.  I can't fight it.  The kids and the teachers alike keep calling me kawaii.(cute) Which is fine, I suppose, but dangit, I'm 27.  Weird thing is, the teachers can't believe I'm that old, while the students can't believe I'm that young.
Today was a new day at a new school.  It was made extra special by the children with autism who were in my class.  The first one read to me.  In the middle of my introduction.  I was walking around greeting everyone hitori zutsu(1 by 1), and when I got to him, he was reading.  At first I thought "rude."  Then I said hello.  He stood up, opened his book so I could see it, and for what must have been a full minute, read a few sentences here, flipped some pages, read a few sentences there...Then out of nowhere, he says "My name is nani nani(I dont remember cuz its hard to remember a million japanese names in a day). Nice to meet you" And then he sits down.  And I'm like "got it." And moved on.
The next two were in my second class.  They showed up late. I have no idea why, but I didn't stop to find out.  I just kept going.  The first one, kept trying to get my attention so he could greet me, and the second one ran.  He had a big goofy grin on his face when he did it, but he ran, ducked behind the Japanese Teacher, got on his knees and covered his face.  And I thought. "Okaaaaaay...."  And the japanese teacher just smiled as I moved on.  During the song, though, the child came out from behind the teacher and was clapping and singing along.  He was off beat, but that's ok.  I tend to not rely on my students to keep time for me.  The teacher felt bad, though, and stuck his hands in between the students hands to dampen the sound.
Then I was back at the front of the class, working my way through my flashcards.  And that's when I knew. Aspergers.  The kid in the front row has Aspergers. Like, whoa.  He WOULD NOT stop talking. To me.  While I was trying to do my thing.  But it was ok, because it was kind of a free for all of communication.  I could tell eh was super excited about everything I was doing, and he made the class a lot of fun.  He tried to cheat during rock, scissors, paper, but I called him out. (Made a shocked face, gestured towards him and said "bye-bye")  And he knew he was caught so he sat.
Then I had a break before lunch.  And I was feeling so good about my lessons, that when the VP of this school brought me markers, scissors, paper, and such, I was totally psyched to make stuff.  Made an Alphabet chart, got my number cards finished, wrote out my plan for next week...I was on a roll. So much, in fact, that  I worked right up until lunch.  How did I know? Because the lunch lady showed up and all of my stuff was where the teachers were supposed to eat.  Oops.  I'm just saying, don't give me a space to work without telling me it's also where you eat.  I won't know.
So I went to lunch with 6-1. Sixth graders, room 1.  And guess where they sat me?  Yup.  The kid who won't stop talking.  His support staff lady was there.  She explained that he needed special help.  I told her I knew, and that I had taken a class about it in college.  She said "Sugoi."  And he kept asking me questions.  Mostly about dinosaurs, and where they are in the US.  He likes the T-rex, and the Allosaurus.  I like Anklyosaurus and Apatasaurus.  He also likes sharks, but I told him I like whales more.  And I also told him I liked dragons.  He was super impressed that I knew what dragons were. For some reason.
And then, surprise. "D sensei( which everyone calls me. It's AWESOME!), we are having a combined 5th grade lesson."  That means 60ish kids at once in the music room with no chairs.  oh, boy. But it was fantastic.  They were REALLY into my song, and really excited about Wipeout.  Thats the name I just gave the game I play with flash cards.  It's basically memory.  I have flash cards up, I eventually take them down 1 by 1, but still have them say what was there when I point to the blank space.  Also, I turned the words "cherry blossom" into a chant.  And today, it evolved. I used to(meaning the two days Ive done this before) just have them say "cherry blossom" like the drums from the war chant.  If, somehow, you don't know what that sounds like, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_vpfblTqng. If. So today it turned into "che-rry blo-ssom, che-rry blo-ssom, che-rry blo-ssom, rose!"  And it was the best pet. For the DPS.  And then my day was over. And still I can't believe how lucky I am to be here.

My first Day

Where do I begin?  There's so much to say, but I don't want to ramble on like an incoherent druggie.  But that's kind of how I feel. High on success.
This morning, I was fretting a little.  And the more I sat in my apartment, the worse it got.  So I said, "screw it" and went in at 8:00 instead of 8:30.  Which is good, because the head teacher wanted me to introduce myself at 8:20. Lucky me.  It was also cool, because of the BAJILLION elementary schoool kids who were arriving at the same time.  They were very excited to see me. And it put me at ease.  Cuz worst case scenario, even if I'm a bad teacher, the kids like me at least.
Everything was awesome.  The teachers were really warm and receptive.  I showed the head teacher my lesson plan, and she said it was really good, then made copies, and handed it out to all of the fifth grade teachers.  So then off I went.  Aside from a little girl crying when I said Hello, it went really well. I forgot to play Janken, which I was supposed to do to eat up some time and find someone to talk to, but it worked out in the end.  The kids, for the most part, all really liked my song.  Which made me happy.  When they were walking me back to class, they kept singing it. And that's fine by me.
I taught for classes today.  All the same lesson. And I will do the same tomorrow, and probably for the rest of the week. Which is fine, cuz it's an awesome lesson. *brushes shoulders off*  So after the first time, not that I ever really get nervous, but all the reasons I had to be nervous were gone.  I had affirmation that my lesson was solid, so I didn't need to worry anymore.
Lunch was great. I ate with my third class.  All of the girls kept staring at me, and when I looked over, they would break out in hysterical giggling. So I rolled with it.  Better than crying.  And they would huddle into groups, and come up with a question, then force some poor soul to ask me.  I tried to be warm and inviting, but I'm just too big for Japan.  I bumped my head on a "doorway", my shoes don't fit in the locker, and the kids kept commenting on just how big I was.
After school, I went to watch the brass band rehearsal.  Or I tried to anyways.  The kids rehearse themselves when the teacher isnt present.  Once they broke into sectionals, though, it was kind of game off.  Some of them lingered in the main room and started asking questions, which led to a tour of all the rooms, which led to one of them seeing that I had big hands and feet, which led to a person by person comparison of EVERY person in the band.  At that point, I decided to leave, lest absolutely nothing get accomplished.
The only bad thing is.....social fo paws. ( I have no idea how to spell faux paux?)  I think I was good for most of the day, but I'm pretty sure I messed up when I was trying to leave. Unbeknownst to me, the teachers were having a meeting that I basically barged in upon.  Then it was really awkward, and I don't knwo how to make it less awkward.  So I tried to grab my stuff and leave, but without making too much noise, and eventually the head teacher came and said I was ok and that I could go.
All in all, today was awesome, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.

My life over the last two weeks

Sorry about the lack of updates, everyone, but a whole lot of nothing has been happening lately, and I'd rather not update than update meaningless one-liners that would be better posted on twitter. So I will try my best to make this as interesting as possible, and soon, will have many things to past about.

My start date got pushed back a full two weeks later than originally anticipated. I'm still getting paid(Can I get a "hell yeah?") We had two more days of training during that time. It was good and useful, but it's hard to retain all of the information when I don't get to put any of it into practice because I'm sitting in my apartment NOT teaching.

I like Hitachinaka. After the initial exploration adventure, nothing of that caliber has really happened again. A bunch of us did get together recently for a night out. We went to my first authentic ramen house. It was delicious, and we spent a few hours just talking and hanging out. Then, we hit up a karaoke bar. it is very different in japan. Instead of a noisy crowded bar where everyone sings in front of everyone, you and your friends cram into a room and sing in front of each other. it is fun, in its own way, but it isn't what I'm used to. Its a very tiny space, and I feel bad belting into the ear of the person next to me. But we had fun, and then called it a night.

I'm a potential member for the Brass band here. But I will be playing flute. Brass band is just a term they borrowed to use for ensemble. I think...I had my first rehearsal yesterday. I showed up late, because Aya, one of the coolest girls I've met here, decided I shouldn't show up by myself, and she didn't finish work until 730. And she was driving me. So we rolled up and then her Dad saw us and told the conductor I was there (The were expecting me) so I got on stage and joined them. It was refreshing. I was trying not to play too loud, but apparently the director could hear me, and told Aya that I was really good. Cuz in Japan, I don't think its ok for him to tell me himself. Anywho, I introduced myself in Japanese, and they were all impressed. And they all think I'm super kawaii(cute.) I DIDN'T MEANT TO BE! I just heard them all ooh-ing and aaah-ing about me speaking japanese, so I basically explained that I wasn't fluent, but I'd try my best. And I don't know. I said it cutely, I suppose?

I went to to all of my schools yesterday, too. It was awesome. My feet are too big for Japan. So my shoes don't fit in the cubby I'm supposed to use. So they had to assign me to a cubby that doesn't close....like an animal. But other than that, and the fact that I'm not a fast shoe changer, everything was awesome. One of the schools had my name written on the greeting board. It was adorable. And the kids...oh, the kids. Apparently, I'm sugoi and kakkoii. And everyone wanted to say "hi" and "bye" a bajillion times. And that's ok with me. But all of the girls were shy, and wouldn't talk to me unless they were in groups. The boys would straight up follow me and keep saying "hi." They were fearless. It was awesome. I'm excited about starting, and all of my co-teachers are excited that I speak japanese. I feel like they are going to come at me, bro. So I have a feeling there will be a lot of "Sumimasen ga, yukkuri hanashite kudasai" (I'm sorry, could you please speak slower?)

Also........A new fire emblem came out......so bye

JAAPAAAAAN!

Ok. Today was a super adventure that lasted all day. Jerome and I planned on going to the mega mall, Joyful Honda, today, just to scope it out. Then, Viren got in touch with us and we invited him along. And thus it all began.

First, I drove Kimi, my new car, to a gas station. I was getting close to empty, because why would they give me a car with a reasonable amount of gas in it? So the first one I see is a block from my house. Score. Good to know. I roll up, and the guy is directing me where to go. I'm like "Cool, cuz I have no idea which side of the car the gas thing is. Then I get out and explain that this is the first time Ive gotten gas, and that I just got the car yesterday. And he's like, "ok." He does unscrews the things, asks if unleaded is ok, I say yes, and then he starts gasing it up. And then he asks if I want to fill it up and I say sure. then eh starts washing my car and windows as we wait for the gas to be filled. Hell yeah.

So then I go to find Viren...who isn't very good at giving ladnmark directions, but since we have no idea what anything is called, we kind of have no choice. After some initial buffoonery, we get it figured out, and head over to pick up Jerome. We get there and he's not back from running errands with his IC. Which is cool cuz he told to wait 15 minutes, but we didnt have anywhere else to go. So he shows up and runs inside to drop off his stuff, so we start chatting it up with his IC, and she's like "omgyouspeaksuchgoodjapanese." And I'm like, "score!"

So we go to the mega mall, and its mega epic. We eat first, cuz we're all starving. Then we just wander around. Check out the movie theater, the home center shops, the clothing store, and spend some time in the pet store too. I saw a shiba...and he looked at me the same way Kiba does when she knows I'm not gonna play with her. And it almost broke my heart. So I had to run away.

Then we tried to join the mafia. Or at least board their ship. Let me explain: We found out that a very large mafia family is stationed in hitachinaka. Which makes all the pachinko places we pass seem a lot more shady... We wanted to see the coast. So we head towards it. We didnt want to go to the park, so we head for the port, thinking that wed be out by a dock and see some boats near the water. No biggie. We'll we end up on this road where there is no whre to turn around. And all of a sudden its a giant pier warehouse area. And I'm like "This is wrong." BUT THERE'S NO WHERE TO TURN AROUND! So we keep driving. Passing these men in masks waving cars in different directions. And I try to turn around but they wont let me. And eventually I get to the gate where you need a special access code or sticker or something that I didn't have. So I put on my "Bakagaijin" face (stupid foreigner face.) And I say "I just want to turn around." So this guy lets me do a u turn and leave. So then we try to go back the way we came, but the road makes a weird turn and we end up at some crazy construction site, and its a one way street. So we couldn't get out. I tried to sneak through part of the parking lot into somewhere else, but WE COULDN'T GET OUT. Eventually, we follow some angry looking lady, back the wrong way down the one way street, and make a quick turn to get on a side road that leads back to where we were trying to get in the first place. Then Viren pulls out his Gps, and we follow it to the beach. Hooray.

The beach was fun, but windy. The weather wasnt spectacular. I tagged the beach with my fraternity symbol though. It was really nostalgic. Well, the candidate class symbol, not the actual emblem of the frat. Eff that. Then we kept driving, taking a couple pictures as we went down windy narrow roads. We passed a couple of our schools, and eventually ended up back on what we call "Main street." its the street that leads away from the train station. Then we went in search of an arcade. And boy, was that harder than it needed to be. We kept getting directions, but they weren't very clear or specific, even when given by someone who speaks English as a first language. FINALLY, the lady at the supermarket was able, in japanese, to give us solid directions to the ARCADE/BOWLING ALLEY!!!! HELL YES!

During our search, we stopped for dinner at this place called The Drunken Duck. But since we're regulars now, we just call it,"the duck." And it was tasty. We watched some rugby, cuz some australian guy ran the joint.

There is this game at Japanese arcades. Its a rhythm game with TAIKO DRUMS! I rock at it, by the way. They had mario songs, naruto songs, other j-pop madness. It was so much fun. Jerome and Viren did some car racing, then we did some time crisis. We stopped by the liquor store, just to say we went. But 1 drink, and its illegal to drive in Japan. I am the only one with a car. So monday Viren will get his, and he doesnt drink, and he already down with the DD idea, so im sure things will work out fine.

Today was the best day. Strengthened some relationships, got to get some driving on the left side of the road practice in. Had a blast. I think I might like it here...

I got a new car

These are the pictures of said car

Yep. Still have asthma

People with asthma shouldn't go running in cold typhoon winds. It gets dramatic very quickly. Its tragic, too, because the sun is beautiful. And the air isn't that cold. But when the wind is whipping it every which way, I just can't breathe.

MOAR PICTUREZ!

So I live in my new apartment now

I was heading out of the lobby today to go on a run. I just so happened to look up and see an unassuming japanese man holding a sign with the word "DEXTER" on it, in blue marker. I walked over and said hi. Lots of confused dialogue later, I found out that moving day was today, and that I had to check out of my hotel basically immediately....oops. So after a frantic ten minutes of hurried packing, I trampled(cuz I had a lot of cumbersome stuff) my way out of the hotel. Which, btw, I had really grown to love.

Then, it hit me. I'M MOVING IN TODAY! Aki san and I drove to the real estate agency and filled out the paper work. I mostly sat there pointing and agreeing until it was time for my hanko. For those of you who don't know, it's my official Japanese signature stamp. It reads "デクスター.” (Dexter). And then that was that. He handed me my key, we said our farewells, I made another good impression by using Japanese and we were on the road to Hitachinaka-shi. (Like viridian city, but with fewer pokemon.)

Got to my apartment, did a quick sweep of the place to make sure nothing was broken or damaged, and then went out shopping. Bought some stuff. Nothing to major. Just the essentials for tonight. Some provisions, some laundry detergent, some trash bags, a trash can. A place to hang my clothes. Tomorrow, I'm buying a microwave, some utensils, and anything else I can think of. Hopefully a cell phone, too, if time permits. If not, I will take care of it in Mito on wed, because I have to go back to try to set up my own internet. I'm borrowing someone's internet right now, but it says guest, so I don't feel too bad.

So...yeah. I live in my apartment now. It's cozy. I'd post the pictures I took, but only just now do I realize that I left the thingy that connects my computer to my camera back in the hotel. Sigh. Maybe they still have it?

Ok. If you're in a brand new city for the first time, in a country that you just moved to two weeks ago, and you aren't fluent in the language, and you have no idea where you're going, and you don't have a cell phone, or know anyone's phone number, DO NOT go wandering into the night to try and fight your way to a station you've never been to before, in hopes of taking a train back to a city you just moved out of, to see if MAYBE the hotel found your stuff. It's a BAD IDEA.....so anyways, they totally did, so here are pictures.