Updates and observances

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged but I get into phases of not wanting to type long entries, and that often influences my blogging and e-mail responding… Anyway.

Second trimester has started. We have a new schedule, which now leaves me dreading Mondays because it is not only back to back classes with little room for prep time after the weekend (there is also little prep time on Fridays), it has my two least favorite classes back to back. Oh, well. They've gotten better behaved, so there’s that.

Almost as immediately as it had set in, the horrendous summer that I never talked about at this point has left us, before September even started. Fall has struck, albeit fairly slowly. Once in a while, like today, it’s a little warmer, but nothing like July and August. I can now leave my window open to let the fresh air in, and I need to wear actual pajamas to bed and maybe even cover up with the top sheet. It even gets cold enough that I need to use the fleece blanket sometimes! It’s glorious, and only September! Being from Southern California, I’m getting an early winter!! Which has yet to come, and I’ll want more than a top sheet and fleece blanket I keep being told. I look forward to it, though.

As for general updates, I have purchased a PS3 and a TV, which have of course done a number on how I spend my evenings and weekends. That all being said, I bought an HDMI cable and can connect my laptop to my TV, which means I can sit at the desk and work on a large screen when I draw and paint. That comes in handy because during summer training, a fellow AET roped me and another into a comic tournament through Deviant Art, which has led to many, many hours sat at my desk scribbling away furiously once I’m off work. The deadline is fast approaching but I think I’ll be alright.

I also purchased plane tickets for Okinawa in November to visit my best friend for an early Thanksgiving, and plane tickets for California for Christmas with the family. Interestingly, the tickets to Okinawa were half the price of the international tickets. Also, I love being able to pay for things through the convenience store. There is rarely a fee for it, and it gives you a 48 hour window typically. Another thing that is done here is Cash on Delivery, which is absolutely fantastic considering the lack of credit cards and online banking. They exist, but they are not the norm.

Another thing that is not the norm in my neck of the woods is night life. If you don’t have a car and a designated driver, you pretty much can’t go out drinking past 11. The busses stop at 9:30, and the trains at 11:30. There is also a zero tolerance for drinking and driving, and that includes riding a bike. This means you can’t drink any alcohol and expect to do anything but walk home from the watering hole. When said watering hole is 4 miles away from your home, you’re rather limited. This is yet another reason I don’t go out on weekends, and instead opted to buy a PS3. ;D

With the departure of summer means that flu season will be upon us soon. I’m not worried normally but here is a whole different can of worms with regards to prevention. First of all, in having frequently occupied a bathroom at the same time as other women, I can safely report that the majority of them do not wash their hands most of the time. I’ve been told that this is because they believe that washing your hands too much strips your hands of beneficial bacteria. While that may be true, it also prevents you for slathering your coochie germs all over the place. Apparently a lot of the men forgo this, as well. What’s more, in spite of nearly everyone wearing medical masks year-round, it seems to be the norm to open the windows and let in fresh air and fresh germs during the dead of winter (which can reach 20°F), so that the kids don’t breathe in the “old” germs. I’ll be investing in some moisturizing hand sanitizer before long.

Other AETs and I have also noticed a distinct lack of actual cleanliness around here, with most everything simply being symbolically cleaned. Rags used for the daily cleanings are frequently not wet, and are almost never washed, leading to simply pushing dirt and germs around every day. Amazingly they can manage to sweep every day and there will still be dust bunnies everywhere. They also still prefer cleaning the floor with a filthy rag and the all-fours method, instead of joining the modern times and using mops or even cheap-ass dry mops. And good luck finding cleanser anywhere, even when you want to clean the bathrooms, which reek of urine and other foul odors on account of the prevalence of squat-pots, which somehow manage to smell worse sometimes than Port-O-Potties. Bathrooms of school gyms tend to be the worst kept thus far as I’ve seen.

But what matters is that we swished and pushed that dirt and those germs around together!

DuelJewel concert

So last night was my first concert in Japan! It required me to take a train to Kashiwa city, which is roughly 90 minutes away via train. This was my first time leaving Mito without supervision, so I was a little nervous. But I knew where the venue was, and what the train schedule was, so all was good.

I got dolled up, made sure I had cash for purchases, and headed to the train station. Spent the next twenty minutes fretting whether or not I was on the correct platform (not a whole lot of choices...), but finally the train arrived and I got on without a doubt.

I did wonder if the train would stop and I'd have to transfer, but in the end I didn't have to, and I arrived at Kashiwa station without incident.

I walked to the venue and checked the place out. They let you go upstairs to buy merch without a ticket, so I did just that, and then went to get something to eat at the grocery store across the way. Then it came time to line up and have the tickets ready. For some reason there were A and B tickets. The girls in front of me had A, and I had B, but they said I didn't need to switch lines. Then I saw them take out 500 yen. I asked what it was for, and they said it was the entrance fee.
Naturally I had stuffed my purse in a $3 single-use locker upstairs.

One of the girls was kind enough to spot me the 500, and after the event I made sure to wait for her to exit so that I could pay her back, which they did not expect.

Once in though, I was mostly confined to the back of the venue near the bar window. The entrance fee is good for one drink, possibly 2 but I didn't verify, and I got a Jack and coke. Probably one of the best ones I've ever had to date, too.

The show started and there was a lot of side-ways headbanging and para para with flashy glowy rings that would be right at home at a rave, but they quickly got put away after the first two songs. There was also a lot of log-winded MC moments, which are bad enough in English, but when you can't understand the language they're in, it's even worse. I picked up bits and pieces of it but for the love of music, dudes, I traveled 90 minutes and spent $40 on just the ticket to hear you guys play, not blather. If I had gone all the way to Tokyo, I would have been livid. My folks and I walked out of a concert once because there was too much MCing between songs.

Ultimately however it was a very enjoyable concert. I walked back to the train station and made my way home. The last bus was hours ago, however, so I had to walk home once I reached the home turf. 

Summer in Mito!

Summer has come! June and July were humid but mild, and I kept being assured that “summer was coming.” Well, it finally hit around mid July. Between the temperature and the humidity and the constantly beating sunshine, it often felt like it was high 90s or even over 100. My class is on the fourth floor and I have no fans in my room, and there was frequently no breeze to be had. When they didn’t have swim class right before mine, my kids were often quite miserable.

My weekends were often spent indoors with the curtains drawn and my AC blowing periodically, with me only venturing outside near closing time to grocery shop. Dishes were done minimally to avoid standing over a sink of hot water for an hour, and this was accomplished partly by switching to salads and sandwiches for most of my meals. Showers were taken 1-2 times a week and otherwise replaced with cold sponge baths to avoid sweating after cleansing. I was never one to wear ankle socks, but ever since July it has been the only kind of sock I wear. When out walking I huddle under a parasol, and I consume roughly three litres of water a day. I’d also taken up drinking barley tea, which tastes absolutely vile (think watered down coffee), because it was prepared in a cooler at school.

I went home the second week of August, coming back 9 days later. Roughly a week later, the horrible sweltering heat just disappeared. I couldn’t believe it.