First Impressions

Well I am about to wrap up my first year here in Japan. This blog is to sum up my feelings and opinions on Japan. (I probably should have written this and sent it into the yearbook or zenzen but I guess it is a little late for that) Warning- I am going to try and put this honestly, so if I seem like a complainer I am not, I truly love it here and would only change a few minor details!

The People: Let's first start with Japanese people. I would like to say that Japanese people are the most kind, giving, well mannered, and patient people I have met. Since I have been here I have never heard a complaint out of anyone's mouth other than atsui! or samui! (hot or cold). When you are in line at the supermarket, or sitting in a restaurant waiting for your food to come there are no complaints no matter how long it takes. On the road I have never heard anyone (other than myself) toot their horn. If I ever have a problem or a favor I can guarantee that it will be solved or attended to. I have heard instances of people recieving wonderful gifts such as an i-pod or a gameboy just for being themselves. On the other hand the politeness can turn into dishonesty or just a pain in the neck. Rarely do you hear someone's honest opinion on a subject (at least with my low level of Japanese). The hierarchy of trying to get something done is ridiculous. When my parents came to Japan I asked my JTE if they could come to school with me, then she asked the kyoto-sensei who asked the kocho-sensei who asked the kyoiku-cho etc. The list goes on and on. They are also extremely nosey but wouldn't dream of sharing a detail about their personal lives. My neighbor told me that she watches me. She will knock on my door 30 seconds after I have arrived home with a question or a comment. She loves to ask about the 'green car' that is often at my house and she went through my trash to figure out whose it was when it didn't get picked up on garbage day. To summarize, I like Japanese people, they are kind and nice but Westerners have the advantage of being outgoing, outspoken and out of their mind!

The Food: Stuff I have to eat. Kyushoku, my school lunch everyday. I feel like after I eat it I do get a balanced meal, which is the most important part. When eating dinner I will throw together whatever, it may not always be balanced, so kyushoku is my savior in that sense. It is also my arch rival every time I sit down. The minute I walk into the lunch room I try to get a glimpse of what they will feed me today. There is always a huge bowl of rice, milk, some sort of salad, some sort of soup and maybe a fried treat. I am getting better at eating it, I only physically gag about once a month now. The last time was soup that tasted and had the consistancy of phlegm and umeboshi salad which tastes like a chemically generated flavoring. Almost like eating salad dressed with old ladies perfume. Stuff I chose to eat. There are many other tastey creations outside of kyushoku. First I must add that they will take anything out of the ocean and eat it. All types of seaweed and creatures. I have mentioned this before. Besides that the portions here are a perfect size, things aren't cooked with tons of butter or creamy sauces. They do fry a lot of food, but I don't seem to mind it. There could be a whole other subject of different varieties of snacks and candies, but I often skip over that section in the supermarket so I won't talk about it. I will note that many things are seafood flavored, they have edamame flavored puffs and other various goodies. I have actually lost some weight since I have been in Japan, so that is miracle (not really, I used to eat TERRIBLE when I lived at university).

The Job: The reason most people go home after one or two years. The lifestyle that us JETs are living is wonderful, good pay, decent vacation time, low rent, lots of friends our age etc. But the job can be what ruins it all. I am not saying it is a miserable time all the time but if you step back and generalize what you do, it is pointless. It is boring and at jr high schools we feel useless and ignored. Teachers don't often talk to us, our lessons plans aren't taken seriously or used at all. But you gotta take those lemons and make some lemonade. Here is my own recipe for lemonade. I have given up at the jr high. My teacher plans all the lessons-no stress, no worries. I just sit back and enjoy the ride. I take time in between classes and at various breaks during the day to bond with my students and try and teach them some useful phrases. As for the ignoring teachers I have become friends with one or two people in my office that will actually talk to me. All the others (mainly the men) F-em! They can go out and smoke their cigarettes and kill themselves, I will just sit back and enjoy reading my book. Don't get me wrong I am not a total slacker. In my opinion I kick ass at elementary school and my eikaiwa. I kick so much ass that I actually enjoy my own lessons (and I am teaching the simplest of vocab). When on the playground with the kids I see myself as one of them. Never does it cross my mind that I am a 23 year old woman. I swing with them, wrestle them, play in the dirt, look for bugs, play games etc. I love it and wouldn't change a thing about it. As for my eikaiwa my students want us to get together more often so I guess I will take that as a compliment.

The Climate: Four seasons. Did you know that Japan is the only place in the world with 4 seasons? Can you believe it? Well they lie. Not about them being the only place in the world with 4 seasons, but there are 5 seasons. I am experiencing the 5th right now. It is rainy season. They weren't kidding when they say it rains everyday. It rains a decent amount too, not just drizzling. Unfortunately there aren't many thunder and lighting storms which makes it all worth while. So I arrived in July/August which equals HOT HOT HOT. Not just HOT, but humid as well. The kind of humidity that you can breath in and almost drink the water content in the air. All you do is sweat, all you can do is sweat. After living ehre i have realized that I hate the heat worse than the cold. Then comes fall. It is gorgeous with the changing leaves and nice tempuratures. Good time for hiking and doing things outdoors. But watch out, you have to be careful of the millions of typhoons that happen in September and October. Then comes winter. It takes a long time for it to finally get cold. The worst part about winter here is the lack of indoor heating. If we had that luxury I would be fine. Cleveland winters are way colder and way snowier than Japanese winters, so I have nothing to worry about. I never had to dig my car out of the driveway or risk getting frostbite when going in and out of buildings. However, I did get frostbite on my toes just from living in my house. They still haven't fully recovered. Some set backs to the climate here. One I just mentioned. My feet are schmang dangled. One toe got frostbite and is still red. It was pealing until just recently, even though this happened months ago. My toe nails are a mess, and I haven't painted them in ages so I can't blame it on chemicals. Another thing to do with feet is the mold. All of my shoes have a fuzzy layer of mold on them. If they don't have the mold than they wreak like rotten vinegar. I can't get them dry for the life of me. Next is spring which is wonderful, just like fall. The sakura blossom, people come out of their shells. We BBQ and play outside, it really is a toss-up between fall and spring.

Thick skin: I have developed quite a thick skin since I have lived here. I constantly have people insulting me and pointing out my weaknesses. Everyday at school I get ridiculed by my students. It's like I am living through middle school all over again. But this time I am the weird foreigner that everyone gets to make fun of. I have been outright insulted by adults and kids. Famous insults by adults-mainly they comment on weight and general body size. When being fitted for a yukata or kimono they constantly remark on my big stomach and hips. I have actually been asked when I am due. My students often call me buta (pig), beef, pork etc. I think if you eat a lot of meat than you will become fat in their eyes. It would be like ragging on someone for eating fast food all the time. I actually don't eat that much meat here, so I don't know what they are on about. Just so you know this isn't killing my self esteem, I don't think I am fat. I could do to lose a few pounds but I am not taking any of this to heart seeing as the average body size of women here is about that of an American 12 year old pre-puberty girl. Another insult I get is about how big my nose is. Yes I have a bigger nose than you. It is a characteristic of being western, sorry, can't help it. My little kids ask about my red face. I just ignore it. Some kids the other day told me that I am chocolate chip, due to freckles on my arms. I have been asked by my pottery teacher if I was often mistaken for a boy when I was younger. Since I am so loud and outgoing I guess that is characteristic of little boys. So if there is a girl that speaks louder than the sound of a mouse squeaking I guess they are considered masculine. On top of that stuff, I am American. I don't get much flack from the Japanese people, but I do (or did) get it from other Westerners. I think the JETs are over the fact that everyone is from another country so it is cool. But at the beginning or when traveling to other countries man do Americans get it. 'Hello! I can't help where I was born...and if I could I probably wouldn't change it'! To make matters worse, now I live in Japan. A country that many other Asian countries hate. When in Hong Kong my friends aunt was talking bad about the Japanese. Now I am going to Korea, who equally hate the Japanese. But I guess I am used to it, being American.

Everyday Life: Or, everyday annoyances. The biggest annoyance is the garbage system. I kid you not I have 8 different bags of garbage going on right now. 8! Not one for food and one for recycling, basically I have to separate EVERYTHING I want to throw away into a separate bag. I get so nervous when garbage day comes around (about once a month for each type of garbage) because if you don't separate it correctly than they won't pick it up. And if they don't pick it up you have to have it in your house for another month. It is my least favorite thing about Japan. Next is cats. I have never liked cats but now I downright hate them. There are 3 cats that live outside of the house behind me. They meow at the most obnoxios hours everyday. 5am, 6am. One morning I woke up and there was a lovely pile of cat puke on my back porch. I hate puke as much as I hate cats, so you can imagine how mad I was. Climate control. Everyone has mentioned it, now it is my turn. So Japan is an advanced nation, right? More technologically advanced than the US. Why is it that there is no indoor heat or AC? I will pose that question now and not go into further detail about it. Things I do like about everyday life in Japan. I like taking my shoes off before entering my house. It just makes tons of sense. Why would you want all that outdoor dirt from your shoes in your house where you are comfortable and clean. I like tatami mats a lot. They are cool in the summer and pretty. 100 yen stores are pretty cool, however I got over them after my first month there. I live pericura or the little sticker pictures. Karaoke is the best! Taxi drivers aren't sketchy foreign men but middle aged, clean cut men. Speaking Japanese, though it may be difficult is a lot of fun. Shopping in big cities is amazing. ummm...

Things I have missed out on: Meeting my brother's fiance, I will miss Daina's wedding, which is my first wedding and the first wedding I would have been a bridesmaid in. Two Irish Cultural Festivals. Gramma's 80th birthday. Christmas (just for one year though). Small cousins growing up (and forgetting who I am). The presidential election. Fun times with friends. New music and movies. And American Idol, though I got to watch it, I didn't get to vote.

So I guess that is my year in a nutshell. It is probably about 5% of the things I have experienced and done, so take it as a grain of salt. Had I not been here I would have missed meeting an excellent group of people, that are so like me but so not like me at the same time, it is amazing. I would have missed out on the soccer tournament, many themed parties, Japanese festivals, meeting the hottest Japanese man ever (Kengo), visiting amazing cities and countries, having a whole house to myself for the cheap price of about $135 a month, hanging out with Japanese jr high kids, learning flamenco and pottery, and eating jellyfish. How could you go wrong with living in Japan