David In Japan

2 months!

2010-06-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hello! Sorry its been so late. I have been really busy lately. I am trying to find a new job and that is keeping me quite busy! I am coming home for a visit at the end of July and I will be there for about a month! I am so excited to come home! It will be so weird to be there after over 2 years. I am also keeping busy watching the world cup. I was so mad last night because the USA game was not on basic cable here in Japan. So I missed it! But I read the live updates on Yahoo....it was kinda weird "watching" a game that way! I must cut this short because I have to get ready for work. I hope everyone has a good day! See yall soon!

The 10K Marathon...

2010-04-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

I did it! I ran in a 10 K marathon. My personal goal was just to run and not stop. I did it! I didn't slow down to a walk once! I continued running the whole time! I just made it to the start of the race too! There was a long line for the shuttle bus from the station to the start. They had to get extra buses in order to shuttle everyone! As soon as I pinned my number on my shirt, the race started. I made it just in the nick of time. Therefore, I didn't really get to stretch as much as I wanted to. Now my back hurts a little bit but I will get through it. It feels really good to accomplish that little goal...now next year will be 22 K and then I will run a full marathon! Maybe...! I want to run in the Honolulu Marathon some day. And I want it to be a full marathon. I think I can do it! 10 K down, it is the first step! Yay! Well, I am going to relax a little now and then I am gonna go shopping for a frame for my certificate!

Oh yeah, my stats and the weather conditions:

Time: 58 minutes 20 seconds
Place: 199 out of 277 for my age group (Under 39)
Temperature: 10 Degrees Celsius (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit)
Humidity: 40%
It was very cloudy today and the sun never broke through!

Gyoda Marathon

2010-03-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I am training hard for my 10 k marathon...but now I am getting really nervous about it. It is on this coming Sunday and I don't think I can run that whole distance. Oh well, I will give it my best and see what it gets me. I went to Tokyo today and did some birthday shopping for my favorite niece. Hopefully she will like it. Other than that, there has not been much going on here. I have been over the job ads with a comb lately, hoping to find something that starts in September! Keep your fingers crossed for that! The cherry blossoms should start blooming soon, but we have recently had a cold snap and it is not warming up at all right now! All this hot and cold is giving me a headache, probably due to allergies...gotta love that! Well, I know it is early, but I need to get to bed, I am tired and want to go running in the morning! Have a wonderful day in the US!

Sorry for the delay

2010-03-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for the 3 month leave of absence! I just didn't realize time was passing so quickly! Especially when life here feels much more normal. Things are not as shiny and new as they once were for me. Life has been fun though.

I went snowboarding for the first time about 3 weeks ago...and man did it hurt, especially my arms! I didn't know snowboarding could hurt my arms so much! But it did! It's like you have to do a backwards push-up in order to get on the snowboard. I did it...kinda. It was disappointing to see such young kids just flying by me! It was hilarious!

I also went to Osaka and Kyoto last weekend. That was awesome! Osaka and Kyoto each have some of the best food and cultural items in Japan. I would definitely suggest going there to anyone who visits Japan. One of my friends now lives in Osaka so it was nice visiting her and her family. The food in Osaka is the most amazing! They have this thing called kuidaore...and it means you live to eat food! LOVED IT!!! The food in Osaka was incredible. I went with Ryuta. We were smart though in leaving early, because it snowed soooooo much here in the north! If we would have waited to come up more than likely our flight would have been canceled. Thankfully it all worked out. It snowed so much, trains stopped and Saitama prefecture came to a stop!

I heard my mom has given this address to some young people interested in studying Japanese and Japanese culture, please feel free to contact me with any questions!

イーメルが大丈夫です！！よろしくおねがいしま！日本語をべんきょうしてがんばってね！

i-meru ga daijoubu desu! yoroshiku onegaishimasu! nihongo wo benkyoushite ganbatte ne!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

しんねん、あけましておめでとうございます!
(Shinen, akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!)
aka Happy New Year!

Wow, another year has come and gone. Hello 2010! I can't believe it! I have been in Japan for 20 months now, in fact exactly 20 months tomorrow. My life here is great. Let me catch you up on my life for the past month.

I went to Nagasaki with Ryuta to visit his family. Nagasaki is a beautiful city. It reminded me much more of America than Tokyo or even Kumagaya does! You can be in downtown and still see the hills covered in trees! The first thing we did was watch people make mochi. Mochi is a rice paste kind of thing. You put rice in a ceramic bowl and repeatedly pound it with a mallet. This eventually makes a paste like substance that is delicious! It is one of my favorite foods here so it was really cool to see it made.

After that we went to Peace Park, where the A-bomb was dropped. It was a very humbling experience and I felt so sad! The horror of what happened that day is burned into my memory. The pictures from the museum will never be forgotten. Everyone should visit Peace Park. I can't write more about it, you just have to experience it.

Later that night we went to the harbor and also to Glover Garden. The harbour is beautiful! It was the only harbour open to international trade when Japan was in isolation. Glover Garden is an extraordinary garden area. There are many old homes from the late 1800's and of course, lots of plants. It is on top of a hill and there is an exceptional view of the city below.

We went to China town for dinner and it was wonderful. Local Nagasaki food is delicious!

The next day was a little calmer. We visited his grandma and she was a lot of fun to talk to. I could understand her Japanese a little bit better because she talked a little slower for me.

We were only there for 2 days but it was wonderful! I can't wait to go back there again!

For New Years I went to Mama san's house. She made an exceptional New Year's meal with lots of traditional Japanese food. We watched a singing competition that has the men versus women. It is an annual competition and it was fun to watch. This year the men won, but I think the women were actually better.

That catches you up on my life. I hope everyone had a good holiday back in America. All my love!

2009-12-02T06:43:00.001-08:00

Hello all! Another boring week. Nothing out of the ordinary. I did see the movie New Moon on Sunday with another foreign friend, Margo. She is a teacher for the same company but at another school. It was great fun! I also went Christmas shopping on Monday...Hiroko!!! I need to know any information about lacrosse stores you heard about here. I can't do any good research and my friends do not play lacrosse so they do not know where to find any gear. Well, I need to get ready for bed. Love to all!

2009-11-23T05:18:00.000-08:00

Hello America!

This weekend I had a nasty cold. I had a fever and sore throat and everything. Luckily the doctor said it was only a cold and nothing more. If I have a fever tomorrow then I have to go back and get more medicine. I have started reading Lord of the Rings this week. I love the movie and so far the book is even better. I was so sick this weekend I did not even want to read the book! I have drank lots of tea, if you see blueberry/raspberry tea, please drink it! Well, I am gonna head off to bed soon. Nite!

2009-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

Well, what a week I had. I spent most of the week getting ready for a Japanese Speech Contest. I placed exactly in the middle...number 7 out of 13 so i can not complain. It was a great experience and that was why I was doing it. I met a lot of other people there and it was wonderful. Giving my speech in Japanese was very tough...especially since I have a small fear of speaking in front of big crowds. I did do some shaking, but overall, did alright. I won 10,000 yen which equals about $100, so that was an unexpected bonus...I would have tried much harder if I had known money was at stake. But I did it only for the experience and had fun doing it. Some of my students even came and watched me!

Other than that...it's been a nice slow week. I started my holiday shopping. Still have a couple more gifts to buy, but I think everyone should like there gifts. Well, I need to catch some ZZZs, have a great day!

Sorry about the month hiatus

2009-11-01T03:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Sorry it has been so long. I have been so busy lately! October flew by in a flash. I had an interview for an Emergency Teacher position with AEON. One of the important people from the head office came up and observed my classes. He gave me a lot of good feedback to help me with my classes. I was offered a one year contract to become an ET but I declined it and have decided to stay at Kumagaya for the 3 more months. I thought about the possibility of a long 2 and a half hour commute in Tokyo during rush hour and decided that really wasn't for me.

I also went to a wonderful ikebana exhibition. Ikebana is the traditional flower arrangement art here in Japan. One of my co-workers does it and she invited me to the exhibition. It was very amazing and I learned a lot. I also was served green tea the traditional way.

I am actually feeling a little under the weather today. I have been sneezing and coughing and have a slight temp. I am gonna go to be early tonight after I call home of course! No need to worry about me though....I will be fine.

Thank you so much for the pictures Aunt Pat! You and Uncle Bill look great! Keep them coming!

Aloha aka Hello aka Konnichiwa aka Guten Tag aka Dobry dei

2009-09-27T04:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Well, Hawaii was wonderful! It was so good to see my family and friends. I had the perfect vacation and I hated to see it end. The flight wasn't that bad either, so that was a relief. I guess after flying to Japan from Pittsburgh (14 hours) a 7 hour flight to Hawaii was nothing!

Well, Sunday was fun, and I first met up with my friends before my family got to Oahu. Alison, Sara, Matt and I went out for a drink, and I got to eat a gyro! YAY! That was wonderful. After that, my family arrived at the hotel. It was so nice to see them all! I ran up to their shuttle as soon as I realized it was their car! I wish that moment didn't end. We had a nice dinner that night and spent a relaxing day.

Monday we went to Pearl Harbor, which was very somber, and probably not a good idea for our first public outing as a family...Michael and I had 18 months of brotherly teasing to get out of our system! The memorial was beautiful! I think all of us had a tear for that.

Tuesday was awesome because we rented mopeds and I FINALLY got to drive a little bit! Sara, Mikey, Matt, Alison and I took the mopeds and drove to some awesome beaches! One of the beaches had killer waves and that was sick aka clutch! It was so nice to be driving again, and I stayed on the right side of the road! I was a little worried about that after living in Japan!

Wednesday the family and I went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and North Shore. That was so awesome! I have never seen so many pineapples! At North Shore, Mikey and I got mom and dad to go snorkeling! THAT WAS COOL! I am so proud of my parents for doing that! I do wish we went to a calmer spot to snorkel! We had a blast anyways and I loved every moment of that day. And what happened but my parents and grandma run into Hany and Stef! What a small world! It was so cool having dinner with them that night! I hope to make it out their way once I am back in America!

Thursday was the Luau aka Polynesian Cultural Center! We had a blast there and learned a lot about the Polynesian Islands. The Luau was a nice treat! Luckily no swine flu! Whew! The dancers were awesome and the canoe show was awesome!

Friday we did the dinner cruise and Mikey and I drank quite a bit! It's not a good idea to mix beer, wine, and mixed drinks...that's a lot of alcohol! The sunset cruise was beautiful even though it was cloudy. It was just nice being with the family. Michael and I danced the Hula in front of the diners during the cruise. All in all, we had a blast. We also went to the zoo earlier that day. They had some amazing tropical birds there.

Saturday was the hardest day...because we surfed and I had to say goodbye to everyone. I did manage to stand up on the surf board once, for like 2 or 3 seconds. Mikey and Matt were much better than me at it. But I had a blast trying. After saying goodbye to everyone I was left alone on the island. It was bittersweet. I wished no one had to leave but it was nice to do nothing and relax. There was a street fair and I went down to it, but I really wanted to be alone. I won't lie, I cried a little in my hotel room after everyone left! I can't believe it is going to be at least another year before I see anyone again!

Well, my trip back to Japan was good. I got to watch the Steelers game at the airport, so that was gnarly! At the airport, everyone at JAL kept asking me if I was on the right flight! I was like, yes! I live in Japan, I have a reservation! Everyone seemed quite surprised. I was the only foreigner on the flight back to Japan, so the stewardesses mostly spoke Japanese to me, and I was finally able to use it back!

Now that I am back in Japan, I had a lot of classes to make up! But in the end, I would do it all over again just to see my family! What a reunion!

2009-08-31T02:15:00.000-07:00

Hello! This week has been rather dull, if I do say so myself. We had a small earthquake last night, but it was only a little shake! I wasn't even sure we were having an earthquake until I saw my fan moving a little. And then for the past 2 days it has been raining...we had a typhoon in the area. The sky just now was an amazing orange and now rosy pink. I have never seen the sky like that.

Moving on, only 1 week and 6 days until I am in Hawaii with my family! I can't wait to get there! I even have started packing! YAYAYAYAY! Well, I wanted to let everyone know I am still alive! Hope things are good there!

PS School

2009-08-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, here is my school's website if you want to check it out!

http://www.aeonet.co.jp/school/school.php?sno=1113

Have fun going to town on the website! Be creative and click some of the toolbar buttons and see some pictures of me and the school!

Hello Again

2009-08-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog. Sorry about that. I am not really good at this blog thing, am I? Haha! Well, I have had an eventful summer. Last week I had Obon Vacation. So that meant a week off for me! YAY! But I didn't do anything too exciting. I am saving money for Hawai'i! another YAY! I can't wait to go. It will be so good to see my family and some friends again! I can't believe it has been a year and a half since I have seen any of my family! That's crazy!

Well, last week I took a tour of Gyoda. Gyoda is the town right next to mine. One of my friends gave me a tour of it. We went to this really cool place where are a bunch of tomb mounds. Some of these mounds are super old! They had many artifacts from about 400 years ago. Lots of samurai armor. It was awesome. I even got to go inside one of the temple mounds. After that we went to a museum about the history of Gyoda from pre-historic times. That was another really cool museum. Lots more artifacts.

I have been studying my Japanese a lot lately! I conjugate verbs like it's my job lately. So I guess you could say I am having fun with that. It's not too hard, but it's a lot of vocabulary to remember.

We did have 2 earthquakes last week. They were both the strongest quakes I have felt since I have been here. They lasted a couple minutes each so it was kinda scary. All in all, not that bad where I live though.

Well, I am tired, and I have work tomorrow!

2009-07-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hello America!

So Thursday was a fun day at work. We had a photographer come in to take pictures for our website. That was fun, I just hope I don't look to chubby in the photos! Anyways, the past 2 days have been quite ordinary besides the photo shoot. I had a long day today, 6 classes and I have 6 classes tomorrow. Just wanted to give everyone an update on my life. But now it's time to go to bed, since I have the classes tomorrow. Tomorrow night will be an ALF season 2 marathon after work for me. On Sunday I am having lunch with some friends and then going to Tokyo for the night. On Monday I am going to a BBQ party, so I will give you an update after that! All my love!

2009-07-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I hope everything is going good in America! Last week was a wonderful week with Hiroko and the kids! On Saturday, I left work early and then took the train down Hiroko's mom's house. When I got there I got to see the best 2 kids on earth! I loved it! It was so nice seeing the niece and nephew. Shaun took about 10 minutes to warm up to me, but then he was himself!

On Sunday, we went to Ikebukuro. That was a great time. Jason, Hiroko, and I all agreed that portion sizes in Japan are much better than in America. They usually give you the best sized portions, just full enough but not too full. Anyway, Sunday was spent in Ikebukuro and mostly just shopping. I loved spending time with all of them. It was so nice to be with my family again. I can't tell you how wonderful it was!

Monday and Tuesday were spent at Disneyland and Disneysea. We had a great time on Monday at Disneyland. We had a little bit of rain during the afternoon. We rode lots of rides, and had lunch at our hotel. Which by the way, is one of the nicest, if not the nicest, hotels I have ever stayed in. Anyway, after we checked in at the hotel, we went back to Disneyland. We rode Splash Mountain twice, because both of the kids were tall enough to ride it, and they loved that ride. Unfortunately, Space Mountain was closed. But we had a great time without it.

Tuesday we went to Disneysea. This theme park is more geared for adults. Alyssa rode the Tower of Terror and she loved it! Most of our waits were only 5-10 minutes, which was perfect for us. I found out the it isn't as busy during the week because mostly adults go to Disneysea, while families usually go to Disneyland. Anyways, we had another fabulous day there.

I can't believe how big those kids have gotten. Shaun is like a miniature adult. It was so funny! I am so happy to have seen Hiroko, Jason, Alyssa, and Shaun. They really re-energized me. But at the same time, it was kinda sad for me. I really wanted to be with them, but it also made me sad. I realized I won't see them again for quite a while, maybe another year or two....I don't know if I can make it! Hate to cut this now, but I need to get to bed. It is late here.

PS-Thank you Michael! I love the DVDs! I got them yesterday!

2009-07-03T07:19:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was great gettin to read all of those! I miss you all terribly! I need to get some shut eye! I get to see Hiroko and Jason and the kids tomorrow! I am so excited for it! YAY!!!! Have a great day everybody!

2009-06-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!

I am really tired but I wanted to let you know I am thinking of all of you! Happy Birthday and Father's Day Dad! I am going to Shinjuku tomorrow so i need to get some shut eye. Hope all is well with everyone! Enjoy Bonanza!

2009-06-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the last day of my weekend. The work week starts tomorrow! Joy of joys! I am going to be super busy tomorrow. I have 4 private lessons in a row to start my day off. Can't wait for that.

Today was an average day. Not too much happened. I should have my plane ticket to Hawaii soon. I ordered it from JAL and should have my confirmation soon. I am going to be paying for it at the convini store! How different is that! Not much else happened today. I did eat the best takoyaki (fried octopus balls) today! Have a great one in the US of A!

PS from the last one

2009-06-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

That post was just for you Grandma! I miss you and love you very much!!!

Rearranging!

2009-06-07T06:44:00.001-07:00

Well well, what a day today. Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I really feel there isn't too much news on my end. Today I rearranged my apartment. It really feels bigger now. I created extra space by moving things around so I am definitely pleased with that. I now have a "kitchen," "dressing area," and "bed/living room!" So that is my exciting news for today!

I went to the John Lennon Museum a couple weeks back and it was amazing! I couldn't believe everything they had. It was a very surreal and sobering day at the museum. When the Feroz's get to Japan, that will be one of our first stops! It is definitely worth the visit. The exhibits were really cool. Lots of Beatles stuff and the museum told the whole life story of John Lennon, from birth to death. It was AMAZING!

Kumagaya school is getting ready to welcome a new FT (foreign teacher) very soon. He will join us in about a week. We are all very excited for him to get here, and very sad to see Greg leave. Tomorrow I will be buying my plane ticket for Hawaii! YAYAYAYAY!!! I CAN"T WAIT! That will be such an amazing trip.

All my love to those in the States!

2009-05-17T07:06:00.001-07:00

Well, another boring week. Not much to report on really. Went to work, worked, sleep, go running, repeat. That is pretty much my schedule for right now. Although, mom, dad and Michael went down to see Hiroko, Jason and the kids. Thankfully, Mike took his laptop down and I got to see my whole family! Mom and dad are looking great! Michael .... Michael.... Michael....wow. I love you brother but man, looking a little like an old western bartender! That's all I can say right now. That was really nice. I couldn't believe how big Shaun has gotten. WOW! I have missed a lot. I am so happy he likes his train! I hoped he would like it because that is the train that I ride. I got him a toy train of the Shonan-Shinjuku. If I want to go to Tokyo, that's the train I take. I am also happy Alyssa likes her oragami. Hiroko already made her a crab, and I hope Alyssa takes a shot at it soon!

Besides that, I have been studying a lot of Japanese. I am trying to study an hour or more everyday. At my last lesson, I learned simple commands so that I can help mama-san when Hiroko and Jason plus the kids come over. I want to help do some translating for her! I hope I am up for the challenge.

All my love to the states!

2009-05-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry I haven't written in a few days aka week! I have been busy. The end of my holiday was wonderful. Rika's house was so much fun! For dinner we made our own sushi! I have never done that and it was a lot of fun! It was quite interesting actually. I can't wait to do it back in America with my family! Rika's niece was so much fun. She is 6 years old, so kinda around Alyssa's age, so that was really nice. She really liked me and we studied Japanese together as well. She was a show off though and read really fast, while I read really slow. That made everyone laugh!

The rest of last week was work.....and by the way everyone, I extended for another 6 months from the end of my contract, therefore I am here until April next year!

I went to Kawagoe this past weekend. It was really interesting there. They had these really old buildings from the 1700s and 1800s built out of clay. It was really cool to see them. The ceilings were really low and I had fun exploring the city. Now I am going back to my regular work week. Lots of fun. Happy Birthday Alyssa! I know I talked to you on Sunday but I thought I would say it on here too! Have a great day in America everyone. The sun has set on the land of the rising sun for today.

2009-05-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

Well the Golden Week vacation is a nice one this year. I'm laying low through most of it. I'm trying not to spend too much money. I want to save money for Hiroko and then Hawai'i. I believe I already told everyone about frisbee golf. So that leaves just a couple days to catch everyone up on. I went shopping on Friday for some birthday gifts. I will be mailing those out on Thursday or Friday, after the holidays that is. Yesterday and today I spent lackadaisical days. Mostly exercise and then movies. I will be watching some Marilyn Monroe movies. I already watched Some Like it Hot. I will watch The Seven Year Itch on Wednesday, after my return from Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture. I will be visiting one of the teachers I work with, Rika. I'm going to spend the night up there with her family. I'm nervous because no one in family speaks English except her. But, I have learned some Japanese especially for this, so hopefully that will help. Well, that's all for now, I will write more when I come back from Gunma!

End Of April

2009-04-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the Golden Week vacation has finally started! Which basically translates to 8 days off for me! It started on Wednesday and I have had a full day today. Greg and I rode our bikes to this really nice park on the outskirts of Kumagaya. We played frisbee golf there. They call frisbees sports disks here. So it was kinda funny seeing the Flying Sports Disk Golf Area. They also made a big mistake with the word par...they said per. So we were at hole 1 per 3...I had a good laugh at that one. I am going to Tokyo tomorrow to go shopping for some birthday gifts for my favorite kids. That's about all for now. I hope everyone has a good day in the states. And a happy belated birthday to Jason!

2009-04-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Things are going well on this side of the Pacific Pond. One more day to work and then it's my weekend! Unfortunately things are getting crazy here, with the school and all...so we will see what happens soon. I am at the moment coordinating a bungee jump, white water rafting, and canyoning vacation with some co-workers and students. I think it will be great to get out of the city for a day! As of yet, there is no bungee jumping schedule because the river we jump over is too high...but that is perfect for white water rafting! Right now the river is a grade 4, which means lots of tall waves!

My Japanese lessons are coming along great. I can now write about 20 different kanji and I am learning about 15 more over the next 2 weeks...it's a lot but it's beginning to get easier remembering them all!

Well, time for bed, and sweet dreams! Hope this finds everyone in good health!

2009-04-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well today was so normal, it was blah. My classes all went well. I had lunch with Rika and that was nice. We are going to be the school leaders for the Self Study program for the spring. We just did the same job for winter as well. So it will be nice working together again. Today it rained all day. I couldn't believe it. But luckily I was inside all day so it didn't affect me except for my walk to and from work. Well that was my daily update. Take care in the States.

2009-04-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

And here another day has passed. Today I had a lazy day. I did my normal workout this morning and then took in some movies. An Affair to Remember is now one of my favorite films! What a touching and great story. Rosemary's Baby is another great film I discovered. I made some hummus...which was kinda difficult without a blender or processor. I just mashed everything...but it took a long time to make! All in all, it was good, a nice little taste of home. Well, that was my day in a nutshell. Hope all is well.

Howdy

2009-04-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a couple of days. All is well here. Mom AND Michael already told me it's been too long since I have posted a blog. It's like Mikey said, once I start writing everyday people expect it. So I am going to try and be good and keep this continually updated. Well work has been work. No new news there. Kept busy with my classes and did a couple of interviews this week. Today was an awesome day. Greg and I took a bike ride to the northern part of town to go to an international food store. The ride took about 50 minutes. It was beautiful! I even wore shorts! The weather here has been phenomenal! I love it. In the 70s during the day and high 50s at night. But anyways, my adventure at the international food store was great...I GOT SALSA!!! YAY! and it's TOSTITOS! I love it! And I also got tortilla chips! Yay! I haven't eaten those in months! I also found Snyder's Buttermilk Ranch pretzel bites! I also bought some beans and chili mix for....wait for it....CHILI! And my most favorite items today were the garbanzo beans (for humus) and nan bread mix! I love it! This store was amazing. I can't wait to go back, now that I know where it is. The only thing on my shopping list right now is flip-flops. I saw some but they had separators for all the toes! That was too weird! So I didn't buy them. I want my original only big toe and 2nd toe separator. Well, I am tired and in need of some sleep. Enjoy your day off mom! You deserve it!

Wow!

2009-04-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Well my day was normal...too normal. Taught my classes, ate lunch, and taught more classes. Nothing major there. But I did see a video for Britain's Got Talent that blew me away! If you haven't seen it yet, go to youtube.com and type in Susan Boyle. She is an amazing singer! It stunned me and gave me goosebumps. Definitely a must see. Trust me, you will be happy that you saw the video. It was shocking and brilliant.

My day today

2009-04-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

My day today consisted of running, riding my bike, cleaning and then going to Em's going away party. It was a sad party but I am thinking of going to Australia before going back to the USA. Only for a vacation! And not that long! Maybe a week or two. I think it would be a good time to go because I am already on this side of the world...I might as well make the most of it. I know I have been keeping up with the blog so I will try to write at least 5 times a week!

Anyway, I rented Friends on DVD. It is fun to watch it with Japanese subtitles. It helps me with the kanji that I recognize. Have a good day everyone!

2009-04-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Well it was a very beautiful Easter Sunday in Japan. I ate some chocolate and watched an Easter documentary on Youtube, but that was about it for me in the actual celebrations...there aren't really any churches here in my area. I enjoyed the day at Odaiba and Shinjuku. It was sunny and warm and wonderful! So I had a great time! Not much else to share right now. Tomorrow is Em's going away party. She leaves on Thursday. I still can't believe it's been over a year since I have been here now. Many others are returning to their home countries as well, but I am on for a little longer. We will see what the cards hold for me soon. The pictures were taken in Odaiba, which has a mini statue of liberty! See how sunny it was!

Hello

2009-04-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well today was a long day. My busiest day and it went by fast, until the last 15 minutes of it. Oh well. We had fun in all my classes. So that was a very good thing. I really do not have anything to comment on today. I didn't get out of work until 8 tonight, so that meant a lot of things to do. I got some movies so I am going to enjoy them. I watched The Passion of the Christ last weekend in celebration of Easter...and that was my holiday. I know Easter is tomorrow but I lose track of time here! Well, I am going to finish dinner and watch some movies. Have a good day all!

And here's another...

2009-04-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

Well today was so normal, there is no point in talking about it. I worked all day, that's about it. We were busy with prospective students, so that was nice. All my classes were great! I will need to go to work early to prep for the day, but that's about it in the fun zone for me. I did get my Easter package from my mom and dad! That was really nice! I love all my chocolate! Especially the Reeses Peanut butter Eggs! THANK YOU! I love you both so much! And Dad you were right, the Obama speech book is a big seller here in Japan. Many people are using it to study English, because Obama speaks clearly and his speeches are perfect for every learner. He uses easy English as well as more advanced English so it is perfect for all learners! Many of my students have bought and they do ask me questions. It is always nice to have those questions. YAY OBAMA! It looks like many things are going right in America right now. Iowa and Vermont, welcome to the 21st century, hopefully the rest of the country will follow suit soon. Have a great day today!

Wow....5 Days in a Row

2009-04-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Wowzers! I wrote on my blog 5 days in a row! Take a look at that! Not much to report on today. Things are OK here. My classes went splendidly today. So nothing to report on there. We have a new Head Teacher at Kumagaya. She is very nice and I am very hopeful with her at Kumagaya. I think she will work out fine at the school. Tomorrow is going to be slightly busy for me. I have a Japanese lesson in the morning before work, then 5 classes plus 2 interviews...I'm going to be dog tired! Hope everything is good in the US of A. Oh by the way, the weather here is spectacular! over 70 degrees now! Gotta love it!

I heart Japan!

2009-04-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

So Japan has an economic stimulus plan too! Even I am getting a small chunk of change to help stimulate the economy here! I am very happy! I just have to fill out some forms and what not and BAM I got da money! I'm looking forward to it. There was something else I was going to say.... hmm... what was it ....

Now I can't remember. Oh well. I'm sure I will remember it tomorrow. OH YEAH! Now I got it. So I finally got my pass for the AZ building, that's the building AEON Kumagaya is in. I needed to get it so I could get my bike pass. Since the police carted it off once, I wasn't going to let that happen again! So I got my pass, and low and behold, I have to attend a meeting for AZ employees. That is going to be scary. It will be in JAPANESE! With no interpreter! It will definitely be a unique moment here for me. I will let you know more on the meeting after it happens, which is not scheduled yet for me.

DVDs and CDs

2009-04-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well today was a beautiful day here in Kumagaya. On my morning run, I had a splendid view of the Cherry Blossoms. It was wonderful. I lost track of time during my run...which rarely happens! Rika and I even ate lunch in the park today. There were so many food stalls and we ate yakisoba (fried noodles) and takoyaki (octopus in pastry balls) which was delicious! Then for desert I wanted a chocolate banana on a stick. So it was play rock paper scissors to win a free one too. So I played and I won! So Rika and I both got to eat chocolate covered bananas.

In Japan, DVD rental stores are the best! You only pay like a buck fifty to rent a movie, and then you get to keep it for a whole week! I love it! You can also rent CDs at the rental store. I am so obsessed with it now! I go there way to often, but it is worth it to hear my English movies! Plus I am gettin to hear lots of music now as well, Japanese as well as English! I hope that trend catches on in the States by the time I get back. Have a great day!

Hanami

2009-04-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well today was a wonderful day of cherry blossoms. I met some friends in Funabashi and we had our own hanami party. Basically you just sit under the the cherry blossoms and talk. It was a wonderful time and the day was beautiful! The park we went to had a nice little river running through it with the cherry blossoms on the banks. It was a wonderful time spent by all! It felt so good that spring is here! Unfortunately for me that means summer is around the corner and the heat of Kumagaya will be all consuming! Gotta love being in the hottest city in Japan!

Top 10 Things I Have Done

2009-04-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I figured a Top 10 list would be in order to celebrate my one year in Japan. So let's get started!

In at number 10 is Hanabi. Hanabi is a celebration of fireworks. There is nothing like watching fireworks in Japan. In America it's ok...but in Japan it's spectacular. Fireworks here last about 2 hours almost! It's just an amazing show. In Kumagaya they are launched over a river (the Arakawa River) and it's amazing to see the light from the fireworks reflected in the water. If you are in Japan between the end of July and the middle of August, find out where some fireworks are going off and go watch them!

Number 9 is Hong Kong! I know Hong Kong isn't technically Japan, but I went there since I have been living here. Hong Kong is a beautiful city. I love it there. Macao is another wonderful city. The Las Vegas of China! Spending 3 days in Hong Kong and Macao was a wonderful experience. I went with Ryuta and we had a lot of fun there. There is so much to see and too much to do in only 3 days! I hope I can go back there again soon!

At number 8 is the Uchiwa Festival! This festival is to celebrate traditional Japanese fans...I think. But to be honest, I'm not sure! No matter what, it was a wonderful time! Food is always best when eaten at a festival. Things on sticks just taste better! For the festival I wore a jimbe which is a traditional Japanese outfit. It is very comfortable and I will definitely be wearing it in the States when I return! A little breezy but wonderful to wear in the hot summer! Anyways, there are lots of floats with drums on them and they are played throughout the streets. It's an amazing site to see! So many people all out having a good time!

For number 7 is my visit to Yokohama. Yokohama has Japan's largest China Town. The place is really amazing and colorful. It's so beautiful. The Chinese food is really delicious too! One funny musing I have is that Chinese food tastes different in every country! In Hong Kong, which has traditional Chinese food it's good. Japan is a little different, but close to it. My favorite Chinese food is gyoza. America seems to have the .... well .... let's just say different version of Chinese food. It's not like Chinese food at all. Gettin back to Yokohama, it is so enchanting with all the Chinese architecture and clothing. It's a wonderful place to go. I even ate at a conveyor belt Chinese restaurant, like the sushi restaurants! It was wonderful!

Number 6 is my Welcome Party at AEON Kumagaya. I had a wonderful time with the students and staff. I can't believe we drank all night. But that's what they do best here in Japan. When you have a party and it goes past 11, you need to stay out all night because of the last train situation. SO, needless to say, we were out for 3 parties plus breakfast at a Denny's type of restaurant. We did everything that night. 2 izakaiyas, karaoke and breakfast! Talk about a party!

For number 5 I had to go with New Year's in Japan. It was especially nice for me because I was with mama-san, Hiroko's mom. She really is like a mother for me here in Japan. We sit around, and try to talk and usually do a good job of it. It's just a lot of dictionary looking or calling Hiroko to help! But we manage! She cooked me a wonderful New Year's dinner and it was very traditional. She even bought me 2 new suits because there are fantastic sales here on New Year's Day! It was very special bringing in the New Year with family, something different from America!

In at number 4 is my trip to Toyota. Really, this is tied with number 5, because it was in the same trip. I got to ride on the shinkansen, aka bullet train, to Nagoya. From Nagoya I went to Toyota on the train. It was great seeing Keisuke there. He and his family are doing well. Their house is AMAZING for Japan. It's so big! I love it! It had 2 huge floors! I haven't seen something like that for so long! I went all around Toyota and Nagoya. I got to Miso Katsu which is surprisingly sweet and delicious. I also got to eat eel. I love eel. It's so tender and I had it 3 ways. The first is eel with rice, then eel with rice and a sauce of some sorts, and finally you have it with a little water added to the eel and rice. The bullet train is what edged this to number 4! It is really quite an experience!

For number 3 I chose seeing Brandon. This was truly special for me! I grew up with Brandon because he is my brother's best friend. So he really feels like a brother to me. Brandon was spending a semester at sea and they came to Japan. He stayed in a hostel with some of his friends. I took them all around Harajuku and Shinjuku aka Tokyo to everyone in the States. We had a great time. They got to see a temple and an illumination. They also got to eat Mexican in Japan as well as have a more traditional Japanese meal. I was surprised! Brandon ate the raw octopus (tako). I was very proud of him. We even did Karaoke too!

My number 2 is Hanami, or the Cherry Blossom Viewing. Really, the idea gets old after a while. Sitting under cherry blossom trees watching the petals fall. But it is a lot of fun! Last year the sight was amazing to see. Really all you do for a viewing party is drink and eat and not even look at the blossoms! I love it! Last year was special because it was my first one! Tomorrow is my next one!

Finally number 1....MINAKAMI!!! Minakami is the city where I went bungee jumping, white water rafting, and canyoning. These were the best experiences I have ever done in my life! Canyoning is fun because you just jump off rocks or slide down waterfalls into the water. One of the best things I have ever done. White water rafting was ok...but it was only a grade 2, I am gonna go back when it is a grade 4! That means higher waves and a little more adventure! Bungee Jumping was the single best experience I have lived through! You feel so free and connected to everything. The excitement can't be matched...even thinking about it again makes my heart begin to pound! I loved it! I am planning to do this one more time before I come back to America!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my top 10 of Japan. In the next year there will be even more things to put in that list! Have a good one in the States!

One year today

2009-04-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Well, today, April 4th, marked my one year anniversary in Japan. I can't believe it's been one year already. Things are fine here. Work was very fun this week and no new news to report on. I am feeling a little under-the-weather today, so I am going to bed early. I will post a longer post tomorrow. Have a great day in the States.

One more day...

2009-03-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Well I have been working for 7 days straight right now, and tomorrow marks my 8th day and then I can rest! I'm looking forward to my Sunday and I am planning on baking! That's right, I finally have gotten a microwave/oven. They are very popular here in Japan since space is a hot commodity. One of my friends is moving to Osaka and her and her husband don't want to take it with them. So they offered it to me. AND I TOOK IT!!! I am going to bake some cookies and muffins and pies and have pork chops for dinner! OH I CAN'T WAIT!!!! If you have any suggestions for what I should bake, let me know! Have fun in the USA! Time for bed here.

Wow...almost a full year!

2009-03-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. I have been tremendously busy! Work is keeping me tied down. Plus, now that it is spring, I am getting outside a lot more often. I am going to be working everyday for the next week (Sat-Sat) straight. YAY! I am so excited....i wish you could hear the sarcasm. Speaking of sarcasm, that was about the hardest unit I have ever taught to my advanced students. I never thought about it, and I had to explain it to them. All in all, it went alright. Most of the students got it by the end of the class.

Today was a beautiful day! I went to The National Museum of Art where they have a Louvre Exhibit. Basically they are copying the Louvre in Paris. It was supposed to rain all day today so I decided to go to the museum with some friends. Afterwards, we went to the zoo because it was such a BEAUTIFUL day! It only rained a little bit this morning and gorgeous the rest of the day. I just made some fruit salad to take to work with me for the next few days...Well, I am gonna hit the sheets, dog tired today.

Not much...again

2009-03-02T06:43:00.001-08:00

Well, not much to report here. Our school is getting a new Head Teacher and Manager as well. Things should be gettin pretty interesting around Kumagaya I think. There is a really good Indian restaurant here in Kumagaya and they were closed for a while but they have reopened. They completely redecorated the inside and its really nice now. I love the nan and curry there! OOH! I did learn something about my blanket. There are little ties on the inside of the cover that I can tie to my blanket! YAY! After 11 months I figured it out! Well, I will try to write more tomorrow! Love to all in the states!

Snow!

2009-02-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

Well, what a surprise this morning! When I left my apartment low and behold there was snow on every building's roof! It was the first time this winter I saw snow! To be honest, I was kinda hoping to not see it at all. But oh well, this will probably be the only time I will see snow all year. Not much has happened this week. I did find a KFC restaurant in Kumagaya! I was shocked! I didn't know we had one. The chicken is better in the states...and they didn't have biscuits! Thats all I really wanted! It was the first time I have eaten there since I have moved here. I prefer to eat Japanese food instead of fast food on a normal basis. Well, I am tired...and in need of sleep! Hope all is well!

mmm...MEATLOAF!!

2009-02-12T06:09:00.001-08:00

So, this might sound weird to everyone in the United States. But, I went to a meatloaf party yesterday! It was so good! I haven't eaten meatloaf in about 11 months. Everything in Japan is a party, i.e. wedding party, drinking party, nabe party....everything has party at the end of it. This basically just means a gathering. We would even say dinner party, but in Japan we are more specific. Anyways, back to the meatloaf. We had a holiday on Wed, therefore a day off work! YAY! So just us teachers got together and the other foreign teacher and I decided we wanted meatloaf. The meatloaf was delicious. It was kinda funny because we couldn't find an actual loaf pan for the meatloaf, so we made it in a basically 8x8 pan. I will say I miss my own meatloaf. I love cooking it...with all the bacon! Anyways, it was a lot of fun, and we played a few card games afterward. That's pretty much the most exciting news in my life, at the moment right now. I can't wait to eat actual meatloaf in the states!

Here we go...

2009-02-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally tried shabu-shabu. It is basically boiled sliced meat. At first I was appalled at the thought of it. But in actuality, it is really delicious. I tried pork and chicken boiled that way. Everything was delicious. I also had a meeting today in Shinjuku at the head office. That is about an hour away for me, so yay(!) i had to wake up early. The meeting was an interview workshop, which was supposed to be for new teachers. I have been working here for 10 months and now I have my interview training? Odd....just odd timing. I will say what a nice surprise it was for me to go onto the Derrick today and see my grandma's picture! I hope the cookies were great! Time for bed yall!

My Bike!

2009-02-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I can't remember if I had mentioned it, but my bike was taken last week. I wasn't sure if it had been stolen, or if the police had taken it. The police usually ticket bikes, but mine had never been ticketed so I thought my bike was good. Then one day, I saw a policeman writing out tickets, and I thought to myself, my bike is safe, I have never had a ticket. So I parked my bike and went into the train station. After work, I came outside and saw my bike was missing. I checked all the bikes there. My name is written on my bike, so therefore it's easy to spot my bike. But low and behold, the bike was gone! I told my headteacher at the school and finally we both had some free time to go to the koban (a police box by the station). They looked up the numbers for my bike and there it was. Unfortunately, I have to walk quite a distant in order to get it, but it will be an easy ride back to my house. Those are my Sunday plans...it should be interesting. Well, tomorrow is Saturday and that means it is my busy day. I have to get ready for bed. Have a great day and I will have a good night!

Glasses and an eruption

2009-02-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

So during the Super Bowl, there was a volcano eruption northwest of Tokyo. Near my city actually. Nothing to worry about though, supposedly there was a little ash but nothing major. We were told to be on alert in case of another explosion. I also got new glasses on Monday after the Super Bowl. It's weird to see the world again through glasses instead of my contacts. I think I look a little "smarter." I will try to get a picture of me in my glasses soon. And they were cheap! Japan's glasses are cheap! I can't believe it! Having the eye exam in Japanese was funny though...and an experience. Hope all is well in the States. Time for work!

Black and Gold

2009-02-02T03:48:00.000-08:00

Hello all! What an exciting week! The Steelers made NFL history, 6 Super Bowl wins! And I got to watch the game too! So, I had to wake up at 5 a.m. this morning to catch the train at 6:15a.m. I went to the first bar in Roppongi at about 8a.m. and they were full, so I had to take the subway 2 stations and go to another bar to watch it. Finally I made it there, and I think there were only 10 Steeler fans there, and about 30 Cards fans. It was wonderful watching the game! I felt so at home! I just wish I could have been there to watch it with the Feroz's. All the Polish food would have been great, but eggs and toast were dandy too! I hope all is well, I am really tired today because of it. I need to get some sleep.

Hong Kong

2009-01-22T05:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I have had quite a busy week or so. I went to Hong Kong last weekend. Before I left I got a cold, so I was a little miserable right before the trip. It was very nice though. I made it through my cold and beat it! I flew to Hong Kong business class! That was so nice to have someone call me "Mr. Feroz." Free champagne once I boarded the plane, and such a nice meal! I couldn't believe it. Well, once we got to Hong Kong, we walked around Kowloon for a while then took the ferry to Hong Kong Island. It was very nice, there are so many tall buildings in Hong Kong! It was such a trip! The buildings were all lit up and it was such an amazing view. I was in shock. The next day we went to Macao, and I won HK$1,000. That amounts to about US$100. All in all, it was a nice winning. I won it at the biggest casino in the world, The Venetian Hong Kong. We walked around Macao for a while. It was a very beautiful city. We could see the Portuguese influence in a lot of the architecture. All the signs had Chinese and Portuguese on them. It was very neato. That night we went back to Hong Kong Island, and went to the peak and got to see an amazing view of Hong Kong at night. I mean, you are like on the very top of a cliff and you can see so much! It was tremendous! The food was really good everywhere. It was really cool eating all the Chinese food. The servers served us the entire meal, it was very nice. On Tuesday we came back to Tokyo, so it was mostly spent at the airport. Unfortunately on my trip I had a scratch on my eye and got some dust trapped there and now I have an eye infection. So I am not allowed to wear my contacts in my left eye and have to put two different drops in my eye four times a day. I also have to wear an eye patch for a week on my left eye. It is crazy with the students, they are all asking me what happened. But it is ok...it is a conversation starter. Well, I am tired and have to go to bed. Hope all is well! YAY for Obama's inauguration!

PS

2009-01-09T05:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you mom!!! The Christmas Stolen tastes great! It is a real nice taste of home!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-09T05:24:00.001-08:00

Well, it is 2009 now, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Sorry I have been scarce, but I have been super busy since the Winter Holiday. I took the shinkansen (aka bullet train) to Nagoya and visited Keisuke and his family for a few days. It was a lot of fun! I love riding the shinkansen, but it is so expensive. My first night there I got to eat miso-katsu. It is a dish which is a fried pork cutlet with a dark miso sauce covering it. It was sweet and delicious. The next day I went to a kimono store and got to see many kimonos in different states of being finished. Keisuke's mom and I then picked up his father at the airport. I got to eat eel while I was there and it was delicious too...or oishi! On Tuesday I went to see a castle in Okizawa...I think...and it was incredible. I love traditional Japanese architecture. That was pretty much the big thing that day. I ate at the restaurant Keisuke works at that night with his family. It was wonderful. It is an Okinawa style restaurant. The food was divine. On Wednesday Keisuke and I went to eat with his friend and then went down to Nagoya. Unfortunately that was the day I had to leave. That night I went to Hiroko's mom's apartment. We had a wonderful New Year's Eve Night. We ate a lot of food! I couldn't believe how much there was! I thought everyone was going to bed, so I went upstairs and found out the next day mama-san stayed up for a little bit. Oh well! We had breakfast on New Year's Day of fish and assorted seafoods. It was wonderful. After breakfast, mama-san bought me two new suits! They are Japanese looking suits, so I blend in better now...not that there is much difference! She spoils me so much! But in Japan on New Year's Day, there are a ton of sales...so luckily she spent only the amount of one suit. We spent a few days together and then I finally made it home! Work started right away for me...and I have been busy all week. I can't believe I am still awake right now. Yesterday I got my re-entry permit before I went to work. My friend Chihiro went with me to help. We finished very quickly. I need the permit because I am going to Hong Kong in a week and a half. I am going to go for now. I will write more soon, I promise!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

Late Merry Christmas everyone! It was very nice here in Japan. It definitely was different this year. The Christmas music has stopped instantly. That was kinda nice. I hope everyone got what they wanted for the holidays. Next up...New Year's! Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go to work...will write more later!

Almost Christmas

2008-12-21T07:35:00.001-08:00

I can't believe Christmas is around the corner. Where did this year go? It flew by! I hope there is winter weather back in Columbus and Oil City, my 2 hometowns. It was very nice seeing the family last night for an hour. I was so happy I could see everyone open their gifts. It was perfect seeing Shaun playing with the bullet train I got him. He loved it and my work is done! And Alyssa was so excited about the books and DVDs I got her! Yay! I got Jason a very stylish hat and lots of "snack" food from Japan. Hiroko received a ton of Japanese books. Everyone seemed pleased with their gifts.

Tomorrow I am having a late lunch, early dinner, with my friends from training. It will be a pot luck style and I am looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to Winter Break. I need to re-energize! I have felt so tired the past week. I can't wait for some good rest!

Everyone enjoy the holiday festivities! I wish I could be there for the parties. OH! I made a ton of Buckeye candies today. It felt like home that way. It was nice. Eat, drink and be merry! It IS Christmas. Love to all!

Whoa....

2008-12-14T05:53:00.001-08:00

I am so tired right now! I had a busy day today. I went to Ueno and saw tons of foreigners! It was really weird. I saw way too many of them! I am now definitely used to being the only foreigner. Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. I am going to get my re-entry permit tomorrow...if all goes well! I am planning on going to Hong Kong with a friend in January, so I need the re-entry permit. I will only be in Hong Kong for a couple of days. I am going to see Keisuke at the end of the month! It will be great to see him and his family. I have a Winter Break from December 28th to January 5th. I am going to be busy the whole vacation. After Keisuke, it will be off to mama-san's house.

Oh yeah! It was really funny today when I was coming home on the train. There was this little old man, and he started talking to me in Japanese. He didn't know any English, so I had to use all Japanese...which was trying. But I did it. Well, I am gonna go to bed so I can wake up early and go to get my re-entry permit. Night all!

December....

2008-12-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe it's December already. Time has really flown here. I can't believe I have been here 8 months already. I recently started a new class at my school. It is an Intermediate level Discussion Class. I have 2 students in it already. We like to call it a Chat Class. It seems students are intimidated by the word discussion if they are not a high level. The first class was yesterday. We had a lot of fun, and I think that more students will flow into the class. It is held every 2 weeks to give the students time to prepare.

Oh, I can't wait for the New Year's Holiday. I need some time off from the school. That will make me feel re-energized. I also have taken over a class for another teacher because she started a new class as well. I really enjoy the students in that class, and it was the first time I met most of those students.

Hope all is well, I need to get going to work.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T06:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States! It was weird today...it was so normal, not even a holiday really for me here. Since today was Thursday we had our teachers' meeting and then we all went out for lunch. Greg, Chihiro and I all had a pumpkin tart for dessert, which was the closest thing to pumpkin pie for us today! It at least had a little taste of pumpkin pie so that was nice. All in all, not a bad day. I hope everyone drinks some wine and stuffs themselves silly with turkey and all the fixins. Its really cute because all my students ask me what we do for Thanksgiving. Makin this one a short one tonight, I'm tired and must retire to bed!

Christmas is around the corner

2008-11-24T05:02:00.000-08:00

Wow, the year has flown by so fast! I only have 3 more presents to buy! YAY! But then there are the shipping costs and what not...thank God I get paid on the 25th of every month! YAYAYAY!!!! I love it! In Japan it is very common to get paid only once a month. The 25th is everyone's pay day...which makes going to the bank horrendous on pay day...trust me, you want to avoid it. Everyone is in lines waiting for the ATMs.

Today I attempted to get my shopping done, but I couldn't find anything for dad....but I have an idea so hopefully I will get it tomorrow morning before work. Mom is another one I still have to buy for and Jason, my brother in law, is the last person...although I have already gotten most of Jason's present. Its going to be weird not being in the States for Christmas...I really wish I could be home for the holidays. And if the economic situation doesn't improve, it may be the first of many. We will just have to see.

Have a great day today in the States. It rained all day here, but I guess that is better than snow. Stay dry everyone!

Tokyo with Brandon

2008-11-23T04:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I met up with Brandon last weekend. We had a smashing good time. I took him to a temple where we got to see a traditional Japanese wedding. We walked the streets in Harajuku and he got a first hand look at some of the crazy Japanese fashion. We then went to an izakaiya where we had a more traditional Japanese dinner. It was a great time! Brandon even tried raw octopus and salmon! I loved it, and I think he did too! After dinner I took him and his friends to a karaoke bar. We sang for 2 hours and had a fabulous time.

This past week has been a good week. Nothing major at the school. We had a fun time as always in class.

It was great seeing the article in the Derrick about our family all voting absentee and on three continents. It was nice to see the picture of Michael as well. I am not surprised that was front page news in good ole Oil City! I love the small town! I'm almost finished Christmas shopping! I will be done tomorrow! I can't wait to finish! Then, I have to mail everything....thats gonna hurt the bank account.

Some of the teachers at school are going to help me even more with my Japanese. I am very excited about it. I have learned a couple of things in the past few days. The language is slowly coming along........its scary!

YAY OSU BEAT THAT STATE UP NORTH (AKA MICHIGAN)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO BUCKS!

Hello Hello

2008-11-12T07:11:00.001-08:00

Wow, today was an incredibly long, yet quick day. I taught 7 classes today...just like on Saturday. Usually on Wednesdays I teach 5 classes but I had 2 private lessons as well. I am worn out from it. The rest of this week is just as crazy. I can't believe how much I am teaching. On the up side, I will be seeing Michael's friend Brandon this weekend. Brandon is studying in the Semester at Sea Program. He will be in Tokyo between the 15-17. I work the 15th so I will see him on the 16th. I can't wait! I need a little Oil City in my life right now. I can't wait to see him! He may not be my natural brother but he feels like one! Have a great day in the US of A! Night!

Yay America!

2008-11-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, Obama won...I am so happy! The international perspective of America is now optimistic. After living overseas you can learn so much about how different peoples view America. Some people even say they are Canadian instead of American, because feelings of America are so strong. I am so happy America decided to go for change. I think it is definitely time for that step. I am very confident about the future. It is now time for Americans to unite and be what we have always been, the United States.

OK....political talk over. This week was another Counseling Week. And once again I over estimated my students abilities. I did an Interview Class and a Charades Class. It was a lot of fun, but sometimes very trying. My Japanese is getting better, slowly...my friends say I am now talking faster in Japanese and I am not taking as much time to form my sentences. The particles are death for me with the language. I never know when to say wa, ga, de, mo, (w)o....so confusing! But I wish myself ganbatte! or good luck! I am translating some easy to read Japanese books right now to help me. I decided to do The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty, since I know those stories in English. It is very difficult. I have to read the Japanese then translate into English which is horribly dreadful and confusing...but I am learning a lot. I am also learning Japanese tongue twisters....and trust me, they really are! My tongue can't always do the right thing....for example ka versus kya. When I say it fast my ka turns into kya. OOOO!!!

Way to go Buckeyes! Victory this week! My condolences to Penn State....ouch....one second left. You will beat the Hawkeyes next year! Sorry about the perfect season. I think you still have a shot for the National Championship! But, the Buckeyes won! So dakara, therefore, I am very very very happy!

VOTE VOTE VOTE

2008-11-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone goes out and votes today (OBAMA)!!!!!!! I will be closely watching the news tomorrow! Who knows, maybe we will know the next president when I wake up in the morning! Probably not though, we won't hear til afternoon when the polls have closed. Thank you daylight savings. Just a warning, a vote for McCain keeps David in Japan another 4 years! Something for everyone to think about when you are in the voting booth! I already voted 2 weeks ago! Make yours count!

Oil City on Yahoo!!!!

2008-10-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

Woah! To my surprise tonight after work, Yahoo.com had featured a story about Oil City. Congrats to the city for having Halloween back at night! I faintly remember Halloween at night, and I am happy more kids in the area will have that chance again. It has been a long time, but the events 16 years ago did change our view of Oil City. I am still dumbstruck. It was kinda funny. I saw the headline and thought, that sounds like Oil City. I read the little description and thought wow, it really sounds like Oil City. Then I opened the article and almost choked on my dinner because it WAS Oil City. How funny. Hope all it well back there. Life is good here. Goodnight! Oyasumi!

What a Month

2008-10-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Here is a picture of me canyoning. This is when we were lowered down a waterfall halfway then released to plunge into the pool below. It was amazing! I loved it so much. That was back in August, so now, back to October.

October has been a different month. I have started Christmas shopping...and have not been as successful as I have wanted to be. Alyssa and Shaun's shopping has come along pretty good, but everyone else....eeeeeee. I will work some magic, no worries. This month I also have had my allergies act up. That was fun, and I caught a little flu or cold for a couple of days.

I also had a medical check up. AEON allows us to have one medical check up a year. One would think that there would be English interpreters to help out. HAHA.....no. I had no such luck. First, the place was near impossible to find. I had to travel about an hour away from Kumagaya by train and bus. Then a nice little walk followed where Hidemi, the head teacher at my school, and I had to ask for directions a couple of times. The map AEON gave us to the medical center was all sorts of messed up. So anyways, we get there. And after about 10 minutes of figuring out what is going on and how to sign in, we find out no interpreter. So my head teacher has to act as my interpreter. YAY for me! I mean, what if I had a problem and I didn't want him to know about it, there goes that. I don't have a problem, but still, what if! Isn't there any privacy here? I don't want my colleagues to know everything about me! Well, I am rambling, so back to the story. The medical center was set up very station like...you go here get an x-ray of your chest, you go here and pee in a cup, go here for height, go here for eyes, blood pressure....etc. At the end of the exam the doctor says I am overweight. But I think the doctor is comparing me to Japanese standards where the men are sticks. So compared to them, yes, I am fat, but I am normal in America. Anyways, the whole thing was basically an odd experience. It wasn't very well organized and the medical center looked like the Bates Motel.

So, tomorrow, I am thinking about going to Asakusa. Hopefully I will find some pretty good Japanesey Christmas gifts for everyone. Have a great one in the USA...

Oh yeah....congrats to Penn State and Uncle Bill and Aunt Pat for their win against OSU....just luck if you ask me....from what I have read at least! Don't worry....we will get you next year!

Happy Sunday

2008-10-12T03:50:00.000-07:00

Well, my Sunday is coming to an end, and yours is beginning. My allergies have been acting up for the past couple of days, so I stayed home and cleaned and relaxed. I did watch some movies today. I found Dexter on the internet! I love that show so much! IT WAS SO GOOD! I hope I can find the next episode tomorrow evening.

I went to Disneyland last Sunday. It was a lot of fun, except all the children! There were far too many of them there, but I guess that should come as no surprise. The lines were horrendous. I wont ever go back on the weekend, only the weekdays from now on.

A special thank you to my mom and dad for sending the wonderful taco seasoning and ranch mix! There is no ranch dressing in all of Japan....trust me, I have been looking for it! Oh well, what can you do?

Tomorrow I am going to Omiya to go shopping. Unfortunately tomorrow is a holiday, so it will be crowded. At least it won't be like Tokyo! It is weird to think I really have to start Christmas shopping soon, so all the presents get back in time!

I hope all is well! Time to get some dishes cleaned. Have a good time in the USA!

Hello October

2008-10-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I am approaching my sixth month here in Japan...and I can't believe it. Time has gone by so fast! I'm loving it. This weekend I am planning to go to Disneyland with some friends. It should be a good time. One thing is for sure, the Japanese love, and I do mean LOVE, Disney. Almost every student I have has something Disney. I'm looking forward to it.

I need ideas for a Halloween costume. I need something that will be really great! Something to really shock the staff and students. I am honestly lost on this...my best idea is an 80s aerobic instructor. I can't think of anthing else! PLEASE SEND ME SOME IDEAS! Yall know the email addy. Drop me a line.

This week is normal normal normal. Nothing new as of yet. I am working on a new short course for the school. I am trying to do a discussion lesson for intermediate students. Usually discussion lessons are only for advanced students, so I am trying to broaden the curriculum.

All the best for the States....I can't wait to watch the Palin-Biden debate! I wonder how silly she will sound!

Not much

2008-09-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well well well, not much to report on. Work is just plain old boring this week. I have nothing to report on as of yet, same old same old. I think I may be coming down with something...i have a slight tickle in the back of my throat...and a little headache that started after lunch. Besides that, nothing, zip, zilch. We had chinese food for lunch today. I am going to be studying a lot of Japanese tomorrow, since I don't have any classes til 6:00. Hope all is well!

Another slow day

2008-09-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Well, today kicked off counseling week for our group lessons. I had one private lesson, all day...it was one of the most boring days I have ever spent at work. Tomorrow should be more exciting, I at least am teaching some classes. In fact, it will be a busier day for me than usual. I had a little contest for my classes, guessing the highest temperature for Kumagaya for the month of June. The prize was a trip to 31 for some ice cream, whatever they want. I am looking forward to it. I am considering taking the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd closest guesses. Hope all is well. Look at me, keeping up with the blog, bet yall are surprised!

1st Place

2008-09-15T01:16:00.000-07:00

Hello once again! I had the swimming competition this past weekend. I placed first in the breast stroke and backstroke for my age group! The mayor of Kumagaya handed out the certificates...it was truly a wonderful feeling. I didn't think I could get first. I got third in the freestyle but they only award the first places for the adult categories. It was really funny listening to them pronounce my name! I am always called debitto-san. I am getting used to it. I had rocky road ice cream today! It has been so long...we have a Baskin Robbins in one of the malls here. Although they call it 31, not Baskin Robbins. It was a great weekend overall. Hope everything is good in America. Have a good one guys!

Swimming

2008-09-13T07:18:00.001-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the swimming competition that I am in. I am looking forward to it. It should be a fun time. One of my students is taking me there because he is in it too. Hope all is well in the USA....

With the political climate right now I have to say go OBAMA!!!!

Will write more soon....who would have thought 3 posts in one week! I will try to keep up this work!

Cutting your nails

2008-09-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

I learned a new Japanese superstition. You should not cut your nails at night. If you do, this can bring very bad luck. You only cut your nails while the sun is out! I thought this was interesting. I am learning new tidbits about Japanese culture everyday.

I am feeling more comfortable here in Japan. It is a very wonderful feeling. I am so happy.

I did have a dream about Scooby last night. It was so real. I could feel his fur, hear his bark, and of course smell him! I miss that dog so much. I wish he was here with me...any chances we could Fed-Ex the cute little furball here mom and dad??? I hope my baby is behaving himself. I can't stand being this far away from him.

Hope all is well in the US of A. All my love!

Another Week

2008-09-08T06:47:00.001-07:00

Hello all! Yesterday I went to the Sunshine Aquarium in Ikebukuro. It was a lot of fun. There were so many cool species. I also checked out an IMAX type movie there about Cosmic Collisions...there was a Planetarium at the Aquarium. You know Japan, try to put everything there as close together as possible!

I am in a swimming competition next week...not really sure what its for but hey, it will be fun. Sorry I haven't posted much, but this life is normal for me now. I am still having fun and wouldn't trade this in for anything!

I had to work today (Monday), which is normally my day off. I cleaned the air conditioning ducts at the school...and I sneezed a lot! Not much more, post more soon! I promise!

Bungee Japan!

2008-08-13T03:02:00.001-07:00

WOW! What an amazing vacation I just had! Here are some images of me taking the plunge. I was so terrified! But I feel so alive overcoming that! I am afraid of heights, especially when I can see below my feet, so I feel very accomplished with this holiday. After bungeeing, we went to the Alpine Lodge and relaxed. We took a dip in the river and had dinner. The next day we went canyoning. That was great fun. Canyoning is basically going down a bunch of natural waterslides, ex waterfalls, jumping off rocks into the river, floating down some fast currents. We had an amazing day. We did the canyoning in the morning and went to Mt. Tanigawadake in the afternoon. What amazing views. We took a nice walk along the side of the mountain. The air was so fresh! I forgot what nature looked like! I should have some pictures from that posted soon. We (Em, Lisa, and myself) ended up deciding to stay an extra night last minute. So, we stayed Tuesday night and went white water rafting Wed morning (this morning). The rapids were only a grade 2 at this time of year, so it wasn't that thrilling. I can't wait to May or June next year and go when its a grade 4. We jumped off some more rocks and played in the water a lot. After that we decided to return home. We bought some omiyage, small gifts, for the office of course. That is a custom here in Japan, if you go somewhere on holiday, you buy a little something for the office. I bought them some wafer cookies. Just a little something to share with everybody. I still can't believe I bungee jumped. This was a thrilling vacation and I am so happy I did it. I will bungee jump again, I just have to convince some more people to go with me! I kinda fell off the top instead of leaping, and now I am ready to actually jump when I leave that little stand. I hope all is well in the states. I will have more to report on later. All my love!

Goin Bungee

2008-08-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, just wanted you to know I am going bungee jumping today! I am very excited! Should be loads of fun! I can't wait! I will give you an update soon. I think we are coming back tomorrow night so I will update then, hopefully with a picture or two. I am jumping at noon today, say a prayer at 11:00 pm PA time! I will call you soon MICHAEL!!!

M&Ms

2008-08-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ifound M&Ms!!! YAY!!! I am so excited! They have never tasted so good. I couldn't believe it but I walked into the convini and there they were. I couldn't believe my eyes, so I bought a bag, right then and there. Today felt like a slow day at the school. I had a 2 and a half hour prep period and it was just boring. I had prepared most of my classes for the next few days so I had some down time. Above is also some pictures from the Uchiwa Festival. I am in a traditional jimbe outfit. It looks like PJs, doesn't it?!? Have a great day in the States! It's time for me to go to bed! Love to all!

The newest one!

2008-08-03T06:13:00.000-07:00

First and foremost: CONGRATS FEROZ BROTHERS REUNION SHOW!!! I wish I could have been there to watch it. I heard it was an awesome show, despite the rain. All my love to the family! It was good to talk to you, even if just for a minute.

Well, this has been a busy week. Last Monday I went to the beach. The beach was a 2 and a half hour train ride there and a 3 hour train ride back. All in all, it was fun! Tattoos are very taboo in Japan, and we saw so many young people at the beach with them. Many workout facilities and hot springs will not allow you to enter if you have a tattoo. So it was kind of a shock when we saw so many. I got sunburned at the beach...and we played ultimate frisbee! It was a wonderful day. Its been so long since I have been in the ocean, I forgot there was salt in it! I had such a good time there and can't wait to go back to the beach.

This week has proven to keep me busy at work. My lessons are solidifying and I am becoming a better teach with every lesson. My time management is improving. I think my students are enjoying the classes even more. I wish I had more time to work on my Japanese. I will soon.

I have bought 2 Disney movies to help me learn Japanese, Bambi and Cinderella. There is a method in Japan called Ondouku where you listen to a short audio clip first in English, then read the translation, then say the Japanese while the English is playing, and repeat repeat repeat. Finally, you listen to the English one last time and you understand most of it. I am just reversing the process for me. I will use these 2 movies to help me. I hope it helps!

The Uchiwa festival was last week as well and that was a lot of fun. I wore a traditional Japanese Jimbe, which basically looks like PJs to Americans. They are very comfortable though. I loved them. I can't wait to wear them in America. I think everyone will get a kick out of me wearing them as well! The festival had many floats decorated with lanterns and drummers on them. It was amazing to see. Go to www.youtube.com and type in kumagaya uchiwa festival...you will get a glimpse of what I saw during the festival.

I finally found REAL peanut butter! I am going to buy it tomorrow. I can't wait! They have peanut cream here, but its not the same. I really want a PB and J sandwich. I am so excited for it.

As always, hope all is well in America. Miss yall!!!

Random

2008-07-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

So, today was another hot day. A lot of companies are doing this "cool biz" idea, which I wish we were doing. In cool biz, you do not have to wear a suit coat to work, or a tie. That way you do not sweat as much and you do not need to have the AC on so much. This not only saves the environment, but I don't have to wear a tie! Everyone wins! Its such a great idea. I love it. I just wish we did it.

I also learned many things are closed on Mondays in Japan, such as museums and the zoo. There was a shocker when I tried to go to the art museum! Oh well, better luck next time. Congrats to my Aunt Pat for taking the plunge! I wish I was there to see it! I really wish I was there to do it with you as well! Skydiving has always been a dream of mine. I am going to try and go bungee jumping here in Japan at some point. I hear there is a spot in the prefecture just north of mine to do it...so I might have a post about it in the coming weeks.

Hmmm....not much else goin on this week. Classes and more classes. Hope all is well with everyone!

2008-07-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well, everybody, here are some pictures for ya. The first one is a picture of the meats that a yakitori restaurant offers. The second is my friend Em and I enjoyin a drink in Shinjuku. The third is the temple in Kumagaya. The last is a picture of Keisuke. We were eating at the Yakitori restaurant. We were as crazy as ever.

Lordy its hottttttt

2008-07-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

So, one thing I have learned about Japan is that it gets crazy hot here in the summer. There is so much humidity here! Surprise! I am on an island! No wonder! But now it is borderline crazy hot, and its not even halfway through summer...and Kumagaya is the HOTTEST city in Japan! I can't take it! Oh my lord! Even sitting in my apartment I am sweating. My word is it hot.

Well, that felt good to rant for a minute. Now I am going to discuss some of my favorite food here. Inari is like a tube of rice in fried tofu. It is so good! You can order it at sushi restaurants, or you can buy it at the convini (convenience store)!!! Yakitori is another favorite of mine. It is basically skewers of meat...but they are so good. Tori is the word for chicken but at yakitori restaurants they have a vareity of meats to choose from. Eating raw food is becoming more of a norm for me. The Japanese love raw egg. I have had it on many dishes, ranging from salads to Tonkatsu. Tonkatsu is another favorite...fried pork over rice, usually with an egg broken over top of it. It is so delicious, or as the Japanese would say oishi!

McDonald's even has some very traditional Japanese food that it serves with its oishi fries! The tereyaki burger is delicious. Also the shrimp burger is wonderful. They have the standard big mac but who wants that when your in Japan? It is overall wonderful.

Thats all for now, will write more later. Lots of love!

25 now...

2008-07-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

First, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! It's nice to know people are still thinking of me in the states. My birthday was a very quiet celebration this year. It was the perfect way to turn 25. I worked during the day. At the end of the day, the staff gave me a very nice present. I have some new dishes that are very traditional looking. I can't wait to have everyone over for a dinner! I stopped by a dessert shop and they gave me a free piece of cheesecake since it was my birthday.

I wish I could be back in Pennsylvania for the Feroz Brothers Reunion Concert! My love to all my family who will be there. I can't wait to see the DVD of the event. I know it will be a great show. Wish I could be there!

Back to Japan...we had a slight earthquake during one of my classes on Saturday. It wasn't very strong and I am used to them now. I didn't even feel it, except one of my students pointed it out to me. I just hope I won't be in the big one!

Classes are going great. The students are all enjoying the classes. The hardest part is explaining the grammar to my students. I had to explain a, an, and the to my advanced class on Saturday. Boy was that interesting! I think they understood after the class was done. But man, is it hard to explain. I hate teaching grammar. Students will ask when to use this or that, and for me I use it naturally. I don't know how to explain it half the time.

The Uchiwa Festival is coming up in 2 weeks. I am very excited. There will be over 500,000 people who come to Kumagaya for this festival. Its going to be very crowded and my apartment will be in the center of it! YAY!

The Internet

2008-06-30T02:35:00.000-07:00

Guess what! I finally got the internet today at my apartment! YAY! I am so excited! I know its been a while since I posted anything, but not having the internet was kind of a deterrent. Now I have it and will have much more regular posts.

Well, I had a meeting about a week ago in Shinjuku, an area of Tokyo. Shinjuku is my favorite area of Tokyo. It is very modern (surprise!). I had follow up training there and it was so nice to see some of my friends from the training house. We had such a good time at the meeting. The meeting itself was good, kinda boring though. I got lost going to the AEON Head office building. Big surprise there! I still got there on time so no worries. After the meeting a group of us went out for some drinks at an izakaiya. It was a lot of fun, and good beer as well. On my way home I was crammed onto the train from Shinjuku. That was not fun, I really felt like a sardine! It was amazing how many people really do fit onto those trains.

Teaching is definitely keeping me busy. The students are great and I am still having fun. The "newness" of it all has ceased. This is life for me now. I am very happy about that. Being here in Japan just feels so normal. The only way it would be perfect would be to have all my friends and family here as well!

I played tennis yesterday with some of the students. We had a great time. I picked up some more Japanese. Speaking is still difficult but I am starting to get a little better. We played tennis for about 2 hours at an amazing sports complex. After that we had dinner, there were 6 or 7 of us. They surprised me by having the restaurant bring me a birthday cake. That was very nice of them and quite a surprise!

Oh yeah, last week was my welcome party to the school. It was nice. We all drank a lot! What can I say, they all love drinking! The shocker was I was out until almost 7 am. People here stay out all night because they have to take either the last train or the first train in the morning! We went to 2 izikaiyas first then to Karaoke. After that we went to Jonathon's, its like Dennys. I was so tired the next day. Anyways, we had a fabulous time and I am happy in Japan.

The best hair cut

2008-06-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Howdy yall, Hope things are good in the states. This week is counseling week at AEON. Which means I have to make my own lessons, again. I am teaching English for Travel and American Slang. Once again, I over-estimated my students abilities and now I am trying to completely re-do my lessons. Its kinda frustrating....I think they should be able to do something, but, the can't. Well, that won't stop me! At least the students are having fun...which to me is the most important element. If they are having fun, it is easier to learn.

Now, onto the best hair cut I have ever gotten. I went to a salon and they first washed my hair. It was an amazing experience! They treated me like a god! It was so nice. Then obviously, they cut my hair. And they were so nice, we managed to communicate in broken English and Japanese. I had to point to a picture in a magazine of how I wanted my hair to look. They were extremely nice and patient with me. They even gave me magazines, although I couldn't read any of them! Well, after the cut, they washed my hair, again! AND then comes the best part...they massaged my scalp and shoulders. Oh I was in heaven! It was so nice! I felt so good! I couldn't believe it!

On a sad note, 7 people were killed in Akihabara on Sunday because some guy went psycho and killed them. He drove a truck and ran over three people then got out of the truck and began stabbing people. Crimes like this are on the rise in Japan but I still feel very safe here. I am just happy I wasn't in Akihabara that day. It is a beautiful section of Tokyo. I am going to Tokyo this Monday to meet up with some friends from training. It is getting hotter here but I hear yall are in a heat wave! I hope it cools down soon!

Wow...2 months down

2008-06-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

I am just 3 days shy of being in Japan for 2 months. I can't believe its been that long already...time is really flying by. I had another Japanese lesson today...it was difficult once again. I am getting a private lesson tomorrow. Hopefully that will help a little bit. We'll see. There isn't much to report right now...same old same old. Teaching is fun, everything is good at work. I need to go grocery shopping though at this point. I don't really have anything to eat. Plus I am gettin kinda hungry. I need to get more snack type foods. The food here is amazing. I love it all. I get the internet in about 4 weeks. That will be blessing. And yay! there is my apartment. That is my everything room. I sleep, eat, relax, do everything here for the most part. Its not much, but its home now. I also have a picture of my kitchen....complete with sink and one burner right next to the washer....you get to the kitchen/entrance way/etc through the white door in my everything room. Glad the pictures took this time! Enjoy!

The Sunday lesson and the gym

2008-05-25T18:12:00.001-07:00

Well....I taught my Sunday lesson yesterday. It was based on Harry Potter. It was a definite learning experience for everyone, myself included. It felt more like a train wreck for me at the moment. I made the lesson too difficult for the students! OOPS. I mean, I did manage to help the students learn something, but now I have a better idea for what to do next time. I had them listen to some of the movie, repeat it, and also had a fill in the blank section. All in all, I guess it wasn't that bad, but definitely a learning experience for us all.

I became a member of Athlie (pronounced a-tsu-ri-e). It is a very nice gym and there are other members of the my schools staff there as well. I am starting to swim again, which is great exercise. Although I seem to be the odd when wearing what we all think are regular swimming trunks. Everyone else wears skin tight suits. Swimming caps are a must there, so I need to buy one of those for myself! I am also beginning to life weights. At the gym they have a machine to tell you what your body fat is and weight, and such and what your goals should be. I need to lose about 10kg. That is close to about 20 pounds. But if I stick to the exercise regime they have given me it won't be that hard. They showed me how to use the machines there. I can't wait for my body to start its transformation. I am so excited. I want real abs! I want a six pack, not a kegger. Its going to be tough but you know what they say, no pain no gain. Hopefully I will be a little more slender and a little more muscular next time I see yall.

Friday was pay day so I am going to pay some bills and do a little shopping. I want to get a gym bag and swim cap and some exercise shorts. Its a beautiful day...about 25 deg C which is close to 80 F. I think. I am still working on the metric system! Hope all is well in the states.

I tried to attach some pictures of my apartment, I hope they show up.

Last weekend in Tokyo

2008-05-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Finally I can put a post up! Last weekend I met Keisuke in Tokyo on Sunday. Keisuke was an exchange student that my family hosted when I was in high school. It has been about 7 years since I have seen him! He is doing great and he is a sous chef at a sushi restaurant. Well we first met at Shinjuku station, a very large station. After we found each other, which took a moment, we had dinner. We ate konkatsu which is fried pork and rice and miso soup. It was all very delicious. After that we walked around Shinjuku for a while and he showed me where the only Krispy Kremes in all of Japan is! There is always a line going out the Krispy Kreme door. I then took the train to Chofu and he rode his motorcycle, because we didn't have an extra helmet at first. After we finally found each other there, we started looking for a jazz bar. One of his friends was listening to some live jazz at a bar in Chofu and we were going to meet up with them. Well, after thoroughly walking around Chofu we finally found the jazz bar, called Live Jazz. Like everything in Japan, it was small! We were there about 2 hours and then we went back into Tokyo. This time Keisuke bought an extra helmet and I was able to ride on the motorcycle. It was awesome to see Tokyo from the bike. Everyone on motorcycles always creep to the front of the line when you are at a red light, so its easy to pass a lot of traffic. We then at and drank a little more. We went to this restaurant where I ate raw chicken liver, heart and stomach in sesame oil with salt. It tasted a lot like peanut butter! I also ate these little eggs that looked like olives, intestines, liver, stomach, tongue and ground up chicken something or other! It was all very delicious. After that we crashed at his friends house and slept for a little bit.

The next day Keisuke had to go back to Nagoya early and I met up with my friend Em in Ginza. Ginza is the really expensive shopping district in Tokyo. It was fun but I couldn't buy anything....they had Gucci, Armani, everything! We walked around there and got Em's IPOD fixed. I think I am going to get an IPOD next month. Anyways, we then went to Jimbucho, which is the used book store district basically. I was able to buy a new book for about $3. Now that I know where that district is I will be going back there soon! We ate at Yoshinnoya which is one of my favorite restaurants here. It is fast food japanese style. We did a lot of walking that day! Then we went to Shinjuku. I love Shinjuku. It is so nice there. When yall come here that will be one of the first places we go! We had some coffee and cakes after walking around a bit and then split to go home. I love being out in Japan but it is always nice to come back to my apartment, even if it is small, its mine!

The rest of the week I have been teaching. No big news there. I teach on Sunday and I made a lesson based on Harry Potter! I think it will be fun. I will try to write more then or on Monday. Have a good one in the States and you are all in my thoughts.

Call me Mr. Bath

2008-05-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well well well....not too much has happened this week. I did get my hanko, which is a stamp that acts as your signature here in Japan for official documents. I needed on to open my bank account. For many foreigners, they try to find a hanko that sounds like your last name. But my last name, Feroz, isn't very common, hahaha. So we looked and looked and the closest hanko to my name was Furo. Most foreigners hanko doesn't mean anything in the Japanese language. Although mine does! furo is bath in Japanese. So you can call me Mr. Bath! The lady at the bank laughed out loud (lol!) at my hanko when I had to use it. She never saw a foreigner with a name like mine. She thought it was some kinda of joke! Wish it was, but its for real!

I am going to see Keisuke this Sunday! I am very excited, he is coming to Kumagaya and we will go be having dinner together. I also have my Japanese lesson on Sunday so I will be very busy. For those of you who don't know Keisuke he was an exchange student that stayed with my family when I was in high school. It has been 7 years I think since I last saw him.

I will be going to Funabashi on Monday to visit Em! YAY! I can't wait to see her too. The other teachers have to go to kids training but Em and I do not teach kids classes. Which I hear is a good thing! We are going to look for a second hand English book store. I think its in Tokyo, but I am not sure. I need lots of books and they are so expensive here.

Mom was wonderful and sent me some delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies and two books! THANK YOU!!!! You are a life saver! That made my day! I have only one cookie plus some crumbs left and I am saving it for after work tonight!

Hope all is well state side...no more earthquakes yet!

Teaching and Earthquakes

2008-05-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

Well, teaching is becoming easier every day. I'm remembering my students names more! That was definitely a tricky part of the job. I didn't think it would be but no one is named Sara or Bob, aka normal English names. I am remembering the order of the lessons much better now and I can even teach most of a lesson without looking at my lesson plan.

The weather has been beautiful here. Usually very sunny and hot. I am living in the hottest city in Japan. They had the record high for Japan last summer with 41 degrees C. So this summer I should be sweating like a pig! Gotta love those Polish genes! The past 2 days it has been a little more chilly than normal. But oh well, I hear it is the same in the states!

So I went through my first earthquake early Thursday morning. The quake struck off the coast of Japan and was a magnitude 6.8. I don't live close to the quake but we felt the after shocks here in Kumagaya. It happened at 1:45 am and I had just turned off all the lights and the tv and was laying on the floor...er my futon...getting reading for bed. I was laying there in the dark and then everything started shaking. It lasted for a long time too....30-45 seconds I would say. In the dark I could see my curtains moving. It was really weird to hear the building creaking and making noise from the quake. I didn't really know what was happening at first. I thought maybe I am sleeping and this is a dream. Then I realized I was awake. I tried to turn on the light but I couldn't find the switch since everything was shaking. Finally everything stopped. I laid there for a while and then turned on the TV. There were reports of the quake all over the TV. They even showed a map of Japan and where the quake hit, with other numbers on the map, I'm guessing they were how strong the aftershocks were. I really don't know what they were sayin on the TV because I couldn't understand it! The funny thing is earlier that day I was talking to another teacher at school, discussing earthquakes. I told her if one struck while I was at school I'm underneath my desk and its every student for themselves! Now that I have gone through it I now know a little more of what to expect.

Everyone tells me that Kumagaya doesn't get major earthquakes...mostly just after shocks. But they happen about every other month or so. I can't wait for my next one! I will keep everyone posted on how many earthquakes I go through!

Well, I'm gonna cook some dinner....instant curry....i love it!

Golden Week and catching up

2008-05-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, my training is over and I am now teaching at the Kumagaya Az branch of AEON. This has been a wild ride so far and I have made so many friends along the way. Training was a lot of fun. It demanded a lot of attention but it was worth it! The only down fall was having to wear suits even in training! Oh well. Life goes on. After training was completed on a Friday night, we all went out and went to Izakaiyas. Those are places where you pay like $15-20 and its all you can drink for about 2 hours! They are awesome and well worth the money! After we drank and ate a ton of food, we went karaoking. I love how they have karaoke set up here in Japan. You get a private room with your friends and you sing and sing and sing! They have many American songs available to so its even easy for us to sing!

The Cherry Blossom Festival, aka Haname, was ending as we were arriving! During training we got to see the last day of the blossoms. It was spectacular. The trees are so pink with the blossoms and it is amazing to see so many in one place. The Japanese way to celebrate is to get some adult beverages and sit at the park, then drink your frosty beverages and pay no attention to the blossoms! It was a lot of fun. I went with a group of people from the training house. We had a blast. This Japanese man came up to us and asked us to join him and his friends. We didn't want to be rude so we went and sat with him. The gave us a lot of sake, and plenty of good food. They were all so nice. After the festival we decided to go an Izakaiya! Basically you drink all day during Haname. Sorry mom!

I left Omiya (where I trained) and took the bullet train, aka shinkansen, to Kumagaya. It took a total of 13 minutes to arrive here. I was in my city before anyone else left the train station back in Omiya! I was greeted my manager and my head teacher. That whole day was a whirlwind of events. I had to go to City Hall to register for my Alien Registration Card. My friends from training and I all call it the "gaijin card." Gaijin is the word for foreigner in Japanese, sometimes with a negative connotation. Then we went shopping for my start up supplies. I got rice, cereal, milk, fruit, oranges, etc. The necessary stuff to survive. I went to my apartment at 3:30 to have the gas and electric put in my name. That is also when I received my futon. Everything went smoothly so I was happy about that.

That whole first week went by so quickly. I observed quite a few lessons and taught first lesson on the my second day there. It was kinda scary and there were only 2 students but it went very smoothly. I started teaching full time on the third day I was there. That was a scary day. But I got through it and now I am used to the lessons.

Everyone at the school, staff and students, are incredibly nice. Everyone introduced themselves to me, but I can't remember all the names right now! Its just way to much at one time! I am starting to remember more names but its still going to take me some time. My classroom is very small. It seats 6 students plus my desk and myself! I have decorated it a little bit with pictures of my family, my friends, and postcards from Oil City. I am going to need to get some Buckeye memorabilia to put in there as well....hint hint to yall in Columbus!

Now we are in Golden Week. As far as I can put together its a couple of festivals around the same time so we get the whole week off! I don't know what the festivals are about or anything but thats ok! I went to Yokohama which has Japan's largest China Town and ate Chinese food off of a conveyor belt. I walked around and saw plenty of shrines. I will be posting pictures soon. I have to wait til I get the internet at my apartment before I can do that. I went to a party that night and met some more gaijin and locals. Everyone was very nice. I spent the next day in Funabashi. I met some friends and we got lunch and what not. I finally found Ketchup here! and it is Heinz! I was so excited about that! The rest of Golden Week I have explored my city and seen some amazing sites around here. Once again I will have pictures eventually, just have to wait for that internet connection! I am going to try and have some different sections like food, travel, festivals, etc on this blog. I am not exactly internet savvy so it may take some time to figure out. I will try to update this blog at least once or twice a week.

Hope all is well in the US of A. I miss everyone like crazy! Oh yeah, I would kill right now for a real cheeseburger, with bacon and mushrooms, just like one from Thurmans! Damn does that sound good!

Testin it out

2008-03-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

Well....here is my test blog...never have done a blog. If this works I will post something on here tonight.