My First Visitor in Japan!!

My dad came to visit me this weekend! He came to Japan on business and was able to add a few personal days and come to Nagoya to visit me! It was funny because Manager had arranged for him to stay at the Az-Inn Obu with me and he arrived on Saturday while I was working. I woke up Sunday morning and got ready to go downstairs and ask what room he was in (I had gotten in at 2:30am and hadn't asked). I was just thinking of how I was getting used to not understanding anything being said around me when I suddenly heard someone talking and it sounded like ENGLISH! I put my head to the wall and sure enough, dad was next door talking on the phone! It was so nice to see him, even though I've only been gone 2.5 weeks.



We jumped on the train to Nagoya Station where I called my mom, burst into tears when I heard her voice and had every Japanese passerby staring at us. It started to rain so we hopped on the subway to Sakae (Nagoya's shopping district) with the mission of finding a bookstore with an English book section and the HUNDRED YEN STORE!! We found the bookstore, browsed for a while and then headed to the major department store. When I say department store I mean deapartment store. This one had Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs...and the list goes on and on. We saw some purses that were in the $30 000 price range and quickly backed away from them. We found the food floor, where it smelt like heaven and we bought some pastries (amazingly, they were reasonably priced!).
(Hand selected cherries - oh wait, that's what you do for me and Christopher, mom!)
(The famous square watermelon - Only $210)

We asked a girl in the bookstore where the hundred yen store was (we would NEVER have found it without her!) and I must have spent around 1.5 hrs in heaven, gawking at everything for a buck!). I restrained myself (I'm still living out of a suitcase until Tuesday) but made mental notes of things to go back for. I got some kick-ass stationary and the BEST notebook ever ('4 Sheeps on the grass. Sheeps are grazing quietly!' - with a picture of a house and 4 sheep).



We walked over to a fountain and ate our pastries, much to the amusement of the Japanese, who I have the sneaking suspicion thought my dad was my much older significant other. We then checked out this bizarre sports/shopping/garden complex that had a glass platform above it where you could walk around and look at dolphin statues in small pools of water. We couldn't understand its purpose...even after picking up a brochure. We took the subway back to Nagoya station and walked over to Bic Camera this HUGE electronics store. I looked at computer speakers and a printer but decided to see how small my apartment actually is before buying.
Dad treated me to an unagi (eel) dinner, where you scoop some rice and unagi into your rice bowl and then pour some green tea over top. SO DELICIOUS!!

This morning we went on a walk of Obu. Dad had walked around when he got here and had found a garden that he wanted to show me. It is located almost directly behind my work but I would never have found it it he hadn't have gone exploring. It was supremely humid today, so much so that our glasses were foggy and it was hard to breathe. It was trying to rain by not succeeding. We walked by some really nice houses and gardens and up a hill to this park-thing were there was a modern looking windmill structure. If you walk up it you can see all of Obu. I got bitten by about 500 mosquitos while we were checking it out and the cicadias were chirping like mad. I took a movie of the garden just to capture the insane sound! A little ways down the hill there is a garden with a bamboo forest and a small koi pond. Another 500 mosquito bites later we emerged beside the Obu library. I think I will visit the garden on my lunch/dinner breaks...but maybe in the autumn or winter when I won't be eaten alive!





I went into work for a couple hours to lesson plan and then dad and I hopped on the train to explore the area around my apartment.
(The third balcony from the right on the second floor could possibly be my apartment...but as there are no street signs or numbers in Japan, I'm not 100% sure)
We think we found my apartment (I'll find out tomorrow for sure) and right around the corner is the most awesome 99yen store (open 24 hours) that is mainly a grocery store! I almost wept at the sight of the fruit and veg!!! I think I might have to create a 100 yen store budget for myself or I know where all of my money is going to go!

(A 2 minute walk from my apartment...this is dangerous!)
(Look at how happy I am to find cheaper fruit and vegetables!!)

We also found the real grocery store that had beautiful produce for pretty good prices! We walked around forever just staring at the fruit, vegetables and fish. I can't wait to start cooking for myself. I am afraid I might be getting scurvy...

Much relieved that I won't starve in my new apartment (Mateo walked around all day yesterday and couldn't find a grocery store near HIS apartment....He later learned it was over 20 minutes away) we headed to Kanayama station (where we got the train) and ate some Chinese food. It was no Lee Gardens but it was tasty. We experienced a little bit of drama on the train when we realized we were on an express train and it might not stop at Obu. Dad whipped out my digital camera and zoomed in on the picture of the train schedule we had randomly photographed earlier in the day. We decided to stay on the train and luckily, the train did stop at Obu.
(A shrine located in a parking lot beside an office building. A woman came out to look at me take this picture. I felt like saying, 'what?? you're the one with the shrine in your parking lot!')

Tomorrow dad goes to Osaka for the day, I go to work and then move into my apartment. On Wednesday morning dad will come and visit my apartment and then head for the airport. It has been an amazing weekend and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will be coming back to Japan on business more often.

(Aaron, yet another enjoyable flavour of KitKat - I think it is green tea and red bean dessert...SO YUMMY!)

Teaching + Stress + Party + Karaoke = My New Job!

Hi Everyone!

I made it to Obu and I have been staying at the beautiful Az Inn Obu since Thursday (One of my adult student's father owns the hotel). It is brand new, high-tech (the key turns on the electricity) and super clean. I love it here. They have the most wonderful bed and I want the down bedspread and bean-filled pillow for my apartment!

Mateo and I travelled to Obu on Thursday morning. We immediately starting observing the two foreign teachers who were here and then on Friday we started teaching. I really had no idea what I was doing. Training prepared me for nothing. My adult classes went okay...and then it happened. In my first kid's class the little girl looked at me with such horror that I froze. Luckily my lessons on Saturday went so much better and the kids in those classes were actually laughing.

On Saturday night my office had a welcoming/farwell party. I thought it would be a little get together in or near the office...boy was I wrong. They rented a bus, tons of adult students came and we went to this Japanese restaurant about 15 minutes away. There we all sat at long tables. I sat at a table with Sueanne and some students (I had taught two of them earlier in the day) but at some point Sueanne was told to eat in another room. This left me with a table of people I didn't know...


The food was amazing and it kept getting better as the dishes arrived. Sueanne and Peter had to give a speech and then Mateo and I were introduced. At this point Manager told me that I had to make a small speech. WHAT!?!?! In front of about 50 people??? Right now?!?!?!? So I babbled about something and was about to run away when Manager grabbed my shirt and told everyone in Japanese about my Japanese middle name and how my mom was Japanese...they all went 'aaahhhhh' and then I was allowed to escape. When I returned to the table, the students started asking me everything from 'why don't you speak Japanese?' to 'What's your favourite sport?'. One older gentleman asked me about the 'situation' with Quebec and one girl asked me about religions in Canada. It was a night of great conversation, delicious food and lots of laughing.



At that point I thought we'd go home (it was about 11:30pm)...I was tired...again, I was wrong. Manager asked me where I thought I was going...and that I had to stay for karaoke. What? You want me to sing infront of some of my students, my co-workers and my boss??? Damnit. So we all headed upstairs for some crazy Japanese karaoke. I swear they had every English song I have ever heard of and more. One of my students started things off with some Britney Spears and it continued until 2:00am! And yes, I was forced to sing...Beauty and the Beast of all things...one student just forced the microphone into my hand...I didn't even know the words! My Britney Spears singing student sang another awesome song that was like country hoedown met dance music. All I remember is that the chorus said '5,6,7,8' and she knew all of the words!





The madness finally ended and we all headed back home. I was informed that office parties usually involve either karaoke or bowling. I say, bring on the bowling anyday. Karaoke is meant for friends, when you can sing Spice Girls terribly and not worry about what your boss with think of you the next day.

Mailing Addresses

I will be emailing everyone my apartment address (This post was edited because my dad doesn't want any creepy men showing up at my home)

Here's my work mailing address (suitable for anything larger than a letter)

AEON Obu
The Relation Bldg, 3F
5-200 Momoyama-cho
Obu, Aichi 474-0026
Japan

Colour the Ball, Colour the Ball, Colour the Ball Blue!

So kids training is over!! Three days of singing songs (this post's title is a song we sing while the little kids colour their work) and playing English games (I totally beat our trainer Andy at Rock,Paper,Scissors) is over and now I'm heading to Obu to teach actual students. Kid's training was less stressful than adult training but just as exhausting. I have all of the songs going around my head at night and I'll find myself eating dinner and randomly singing the 'Good-bye Song' or the 'What's this?' song. It has happened...I have turned into the crazy foreigner.


I just wanted to show everyone the coolest thing about being a pre-school student at AEON. This is called the Mimic-Me and each kid gets one when they buy all of the books. You insert the cartridge for the student's level and then they run the little wand over the pages and it talks and plays music. You may be thinking, but Silly Laura, we have these in Canada! but wait, these things can give you quizzes, check your answers, tell how many times you've run the wand over a picture and when the teacher gives you a sticker it registers the sticker and makes new sounds! The pages are filled with tiny sensors...its so amazing...I want one to learn Japanese. I'd totally be motivated if I had a Mimic-Me that would yell out the words in Japanese when reading a book. Anyhoo, we don't actually teach with these things...

Yesterday was Mateo's birthday and being in the creative kids training mood, Elspeth and I made him a pop-up card. We also found the most random flavoured kitkat bar, which he told us later that it tasted like Fruity Pebbles. Oh Japan...this is why I love you.

We made the card to the tune of 'what's this?' - one of our vocabulary words songs




Well, I'm off to my new hotel in Obu and then on Tuesday I move into my apartment. I'm not sure of the internet situation so I might not be able to post as often, but don't worry, I'll be back!

Inkan Shopping!

In Japan when you sign official documents you must have an inkan or name stamp. Foreign teachers have to get one in order to open a bank account or get a cell phone. Japanese have one of their last name but foreigners either have their first or last name (which ever one is small enough, when translated, to fit on the tiny stamp). I am lucky because I got mine made with my middle name.

Elspeth and I started the day with a trip to a sketchy laundromat. The men hanging around it were questionable and Elspeth quickly popped her laundry into the machine and we walked around until it was done. We found a grocery store and were pleasantly surprised by the prices of Japanese meat (you could get 2 pieces of salmon or chicken for less than $5 - I can't wait to cook for myself in my tiny apartment) but gobsmacked (that's for you, mom!) by the prices of fruit. Apples were pricey, peaches were out of the question and canteloupe...well check it out for yourself...
($30 CAN!!)

After lunch we headed to the department store in Nagoya Station to order our inkans. It was a holiday weekend (tomorrow is Marine Day to celebrate the ocean) so the place was packed...and when I mean packed I mean it reminded me of Boxing Day at Yorkdale! We had to wait an hour for them to be made so we wandered around...and I had to restrain myself from spending ALL of my money...here are some of the weird and wonderful things we saw...
(Tiny stuffed toys, which have long arms that 'hug' your curtains and keep them tied back!)
(?????)
(There was an entire section dedicated to outfits for your dog. These are Japanese summer robes for your puppy)
(A pillow designed for when you are lying down watching tv....note - the holes in the pillow allow you to hear the t.v.)
The weirdest object of the day goes to this cat's paw-thing. There was a video playing advertising it or I wouldn't have known what it was...it bends when you push a button and tiny claws come out....and the woman in the video was using it to pull open doors, reach her alarm in the morning and wave 'sorry' to all of the people in the elevator. SO WEIRD!! Why would someone buy this??

I splurged and bought myself a book ( 'Japanese for Busy People') so that I can start learning Japanese and a stamp that captures training week perfectly...
(It says 'yoroshiku onegai shimasu', which is roughly translated as 'please do good for me' or 'please do a favour' and is something that you hear often in a Japanese office. The little bird is even bowing properly (hands in front for ladies!).

Kids training starts tomorrow and we are down to four trainees (me, Mateo, Elspeth and Super Creepy Dave)....I believe we will be singing...lets hope we're not dancing...

The Training Week Blur

I apologize for not updating this week. Training has been intense. We were in the office for 8 hours a day, I was getting around 5 hours of sleep a night and every other available minute was spent lesson planning or preparing lesson materials! We got our first lesson on Monday, presented it to a trainer on Tuesday, presented the revised lesson on Wednesday to 2 actual Japanese students on Wednesday, taught another lesson on Thursday to the trainers and then taught our last lesson on Saturday to 4 Japanese students. It has been pretty much a blur of notes, lessons and rules.


[from left: David (super crreeeppy), Mateo (my fellow Obu teacher from Hawaii), Becky (from California - she cracks me up!) and Elspeth (my shopping buddy from Washington, D.C.)]


[Tommy (party boy from Orange County) and Neil (lived and went to uni in Wales, but insists he is not Welsh)]

There were 9 trainees (including me) and I liked 6 of the others. Two were super creepy and annoying. Especially one guy who kept talking about how he'd been in the JET program and had dated a Japanese girl (who we later learned was a JET student...making her a high school student?! ICK!!). It was all very awkward and uncomfortable! At night we would all usually get some dinner and then go back to the hotel and lesson plan, lesson plan, lesson plan.

It is interesting working for a Japanese company (AEON is quite a traditional company) especially when you arrive or leave for work. When you arrive you go into the office and say 'ohayoo gozainmasu' (good morning) and bow to everyone in the office. When you leave at the end of the day you say 'osakini shitsurei shimasu' (I'm sorry to leave before you) and bow to the whole office (because Tanaka Kacho, the Education department boss always stays really late). I think I've gotten used to the whole suit thing and I feel really professional...it's weird.

After the lesson on Saturday (which went really well and I think the 4 Japanese students enjoyed my lesson) we got our official AEON pins and a stack of business cards(!!). What I realized then was that I now work for the same company that Ewan McGregor worked for!!! That's right, Ewan was an AEON spokesperson a couple years ago (along with Cameron Diaz). For your viewing pleasure, here are Ewan's AEON commerials (This is especially for you, Taryn and Steph!)

After our 'graduation' we went out for dinner to this Chinese restaurant around the corner from the hotel. One of the waitresses there speaks amazing English (not that we needed it because Elspeth, Ultra Creepy David, Tommy and Neil know Japanese) and the food is awesome.





On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the convenience store and Mateo bought an ice cream cone. In Japan you do not eat on the street, or while walking so he received his ice cream cone in a plastic bag to bring with him. Here is how he was able to bring his ice cream cone back to the hotel...it cracked me up...

Ice cream in a bag

It has a cover made from the cone stuff

When you have arrived back at the hotel, you remove the 'cover' and eat your ice cream. Man, even eating an ice cream in Japan has rules with it.

Nagoya Castle & More Cool Food

I have to leave for training soon but I just wanted to post some pictures from yesterday's sightseeing trip to Nagoya Castle. I went with Rebecca and Elspeth and we met Tommy and Ryan and his girlfriend there. It rained while we were on the subway so when we arrived at the castle station it was SO HUMID!! I have honestly never felt humidity like this.


The castle was reconstructed after being bombed in WWII and only the walls and some artwork are original. A highlight of the tour was a 3-D movie tour of what the castle would have looked like during the 1600's (hosted by an imperial lord who looked slightly Mexican!).


We walked up to the top of the castle where you can see Nagoya (it was slightly cloudy and hazy from the HUMIDITY)

After walking around the gardens, seeing some deer chillin' in the moats and getting eaten alive by more mosquitoes, we headed back to the hotel for a nap and some dinner. We decided on this place right near our hotel called Pepper Lunch. Here's how it works;

You put your money into this machine, choose your meal and grab the ticket that shoots out. Hand the ticket to the waitress and have a seat. A few minutes later, this arrives for you...

It was a scrumptious sizzling plate of beef, rice, corn and green onions ($6.40) and when it was done the rice was slightly crispy and the meat perfect - Delicious!

Well, I gotta go put on the pantyhose and suit for training, sayonara!

Heeheehee Oops!

Just wanted to let you know that I have changed it so that now everyone can leave comments (Sabrina kindly pointed out that I had it on 'bloggers only' - I did not mean to leave people out, I am just new to the blogger set up as Hacker Steph took care of that on the European Extravaganza blog)

The Nagoya Subway System Is No Match For Laura!!

I was determined to go sightseeing today, even if it killed me. There was no way I was going to sit in the hotel and watch Japanese game shows (all 12 channels are games shows!) when I could be out there exploring. I bought some drinks from the convenience store and went to the subway station. I had read about a one day ticket in my guide book and because it was the 8th of the month it was even cheaper (why the 8th? I have no idea!). I figured out the line I needed to take and where to transfer and went for it.

This is the Atsuta Shrine, which houses the huge sword, Kusanagi, one of the three sacred treasures of Japan. The shrine is also surrounded by a dense 1000 year old camphor tree forest. It was nice to wander around but I was the only foreigner so I felt a bit akward.

After walking around the shrine I walked down a the road and over the river to the Shirotori Gardens. It was really hard to find, as there was no detailed map and there was only one English sign pointing the way. Let me stop right now and just briefly discuss the weather in Nagoya. It is SWELTERING. I mean Naples' sun and heat + a tropical rainforest = Nagoya. I was drenched in sweat and when I finally arrived at the garden I was hoping to find some shade. Ha, stupid me. Even in the shade it is awful.

The gardens were beautiful and it was a nice and relaxing place to deal with my jet lag. There were only 6 other people in the whole garden so I just wandered, took photos, sat in the shade and pretended there was a cool breeze.

After about 2 hours the heat and jet lag became too much for me and I decided to call it an afternoon. I said goodbye to the carp (the stand that had held all of the fish food broke so the lady who worked at the tea house just threw it all in the pond) and walked back to the subway.


Back at the hotel I ate some lunch (fabulous noodles from the convenience store - Gad I love convenience stores in Japan) and had a nap. When I woke up I heard that the girl in the next room had arrived so I went over to say hi. Her name is Elsbeth and she's from Washington. She also speaks Japanese really well. She had arrived with Rebecca from near San Francisco. We went to the ramen shop down the street for dinner, where we dined on miso and sesame ramen, while sitting on benches on the sidewalk.

During dinner we saw some of the other AEON trainees arrive from the airport. Later, when we got back to the hotel, Elspeth and I went and introduced ourselves to Neil (from England, near Cardiff) and Ryan (who has a Japanese girlfriend who lives in Nagoya). The others were out to dinner. Tomorrow a group of us are going to go to Nagoya Castle and on Monday training starts.

Okay, I'm beat. Off to bed. oyasuminasai!