Warabekan

Back during Tottori Orientation, I had arranged with my PA to meet today for a playdate. So Yana, Justin, and I took the train in to Tottori city and then took the bus to Warabekan, the Tottori toy museum. We met her and her two kids, M and H, in front of the museum. We wanted to get together because M is the same age as Yana and although she speaks English and Japanese (my PA is married to a Japanese man), she doesn't get the chance to really play with English-speaking kids.

It was Y250 for me and Justin, which is discounted from the normal price because we're foreigners, and Yana was free!

It was a great day out, especially for Yana, who has probably been a bit lonely lately. A guy from my BOE came over with his 4 year old daughter while he was setting up our TV yesterday, but both kids seemed a little shy and confused about not understanding each other.

Anyway, there was a special exhibit on at Warabekan, which was basically a room full of toys. There were things like dolls and trains, but also some fun Japanese games too. It wasn't too busy either, which was great. They also have this cool thing at the front door which is a toy hospital kind of thing. Basically you can bring in any broken toys and have them fixed for free by the toy doctors!

The kids playing fishing in the front area; behind are the toy doctors.

After playing for an hour or two we decided to eat lunch. Unfortunately it was pouring rain outside, so we had to eat inside. We also ended up cancelling the second part of our playdate due to the rain, which was a visit to Kodomo no Kuni. Kodomo no kuni (lit. "children's country") is a park for kids, and only during summer vacation they have a splash pad and petting zoo open and today was the last day! :( We will definitely have to go next summer, because it looks so fun for kids and you can hold baby goats and hamsters and stuff!

Home Internet Has Arrived!

Last night I decided to do an experiment and bake a cake in my rice cooker! I chose a recipe for carrot cake. I bought all the ingredients, with some help from the grocery store staff. But once I got home I realized I didn't have a grater for the carrots! Undeterred, I decided to try boiling the carrots and mashing them instead. It managed to work alright, even though it took forever and even though I had to use a rice scoop instead of a masher. I followed the recipe exactly, but once it was all mixed together it looked a bit wet, so I added a little more flour. I didn't want to doubt it, though, so I poured the batter into my rice cooker, pressed cook, and hoped for the best.

To my surprise, after two cook cycles, I had a cake! It was so light and spongey...and promptly fell and became a moist, dense cake. It was tasty, though! It actually tasted more of orange (from the zest) than carrot. My confidence has been bolstered by this attempt, so next maybe I'll try a chocolate cake! Flour and sugar and pretty expensive here, though. It was like $4 just for 2 cups of icing sugar!

Today I had my second day of work, at the JHS again. I walked in the rain this morning, passing several groups of students on the way. There was another omiyage treat on my desk this morning. I spent the morning chatting with my JTEs and working on my power point some more. I get along with them pretty well, and I'm so thankful for that! I suppose I've yet to see how it goes in the classroom, though. One of my JTEs, M-san, is the same age as me, so that's great!

I was told I could go home around 9 or 10am again. One of the office ladies brought me a slice of baumkuchen, which is really popular here! It is super delicious, but also expensive. Around lunchtime I decided to go home, since internet construction was today and Justin felt uneasy without me home. It had also stopped raining, so I figured I should take my chance.

The internet construction was long. They had to hook up the fibre, run the cable all around the ceilings and walls, and hook up a phone line. Our phone is awesome - it is touch screen, has a webcam/mic, and has free calling to anywhere in Chizu! We don't know our number though...Once the construction was done, a man from the BOE helped us set up the internet itself, which took forever because there was a set-up CD which refused to work on Justin's computer because it wasn't Japanese (mine doesn't have a drive). So he had to go and get his computer and bring it to our apartment. But he got it done! And set up wireless too! It was so great. We are supposed to have another internet appointment at our apartment on Monday, but I'm not sure why, since everything is set up already.

I also got my health card and pension book and finally paid the deposit on the apartment. Still waiting on the health cards for Justin and Yana. I also haven't signed my contract yet!

My First Day at Chizu JHS

Today was finally my first day of school! I go to JHS on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and ES on Tuesday and Thursday, so it was JHS today. The JHS is actually my base school; my employer. 

I met N-san at the town office around 8:15am and we walked to school together, which took about 20 minutes. It was sooo hot! The sun was out with no clouds and shining directly it is very strong. So of course I arrived looking disheveled and dripping with sweat. Somehow with all the walking my skirt also managed to turn around so I was wearing it backwards. Great start.

One of my JTE’s, J-san met us in the hallway and brought us to the meeting room. The principal was there to greet us as well, and then N-san left. J-san explained to me the schedule for the day, and then we went with the principal to the staff room. The principal introduced me in Japanese first and then I introduced myself in mangled Japanese. 

After that, J-san showed me my desk, the locker beside my desk, my shoe locker at the entrance, and my other two lockers in the change room! Then she brought me back to the staff room, and all the teachers promptly left for a meeting. I wasn’t completely alone though, there are 3 office ladies who work in the school. Their job is to do things like cleaning, serving tea, answering phones, etc. Two of them chatted with me for a bit. It was a bit of a challenge, but I think we managed to do alright somehow. 

My desk at JHS.

I spent a while going through all the things in my desk. There were also 2 omiyage left on top of my desk, gifts of food from other teachers who had traveled recently (which was so thoughtful!). I later got a third omiyage from my other JTE as well. One of the coolest things in my desk was a collection of cards from all the past ALTs at the school. 

Omiyage on my desk

After a while I decided to go wander around the school. It is a completely new building, and actually is still in the process of being finished. So its super gorgeous and on top of that it is made almost entirely from local cedar and the architecture is based off of traditional Japanese design. I had just started wandering when one of the OLs (office ladies) came out to accompany me, which was nice, because she introduced me to a few students and told me what each room was. We also peeked into the Japanese style room (for tea ceremony, etc.), which had just been finished, because she hadn’t seen it yet either! 

The hallway just outside the staff room.

JHS Courtyard

We went back to the staff room, and it was around noon by this point, so all the teachers came back from their meeting for lunch. I didn’t bring one (derp, plus they had told me I could go home right after my introduction), so my other JTE drove us to Ikari, a grocery store near the train station, and we bought lunch. I got yakisoba. My two JTEs, the vice principal, and I all ate lunch together in the kitchen/staff lunch room place. 

After lunch the teachers all had another meeting at 1pm, but I had gotten the password for my computer, so I was able to use it to make a powerpoint presentation for my self introduction classes. The computer is all in Japanese and unable to be changed, so that was a challenge. I managed to waste enough time that the teachers finished their second meeting around 3pm or so. They were pretty surprised to see me still there and repeatedly told me I could go home, but I wanted to show my work ethic by staying until my contracted time and also it was nice in there because of air conditioning and internet access, if I’m being honest. 

We spent a while trying to figure out if we could change the language settings on my laptop, and by that time it was after 4pm, and J-san was leaving, so she told me to leave as well. I figured I may as well, so I left around 4:30pm and walked home (about 25 minutes). 

Overall, it was a nice and easy first day, which I appreciated. Everyone seems really friendly as well; two or three people have invited me to their houses, which is so kind but I have no idea who they are or where they live. 

On my walk home.

More Shopping

This afternoon, N-san took us shopping at the big AEON in Tottori city. We bought a rice cooker, which oddly was impossible to find anywhere else, most inconveniently. We also got a clothes rack so we could start getting some things out of our suitcases finally! 

Afterwards, we bought some bread for dinner and I had the most amazing, delicious croissant of my life! It was so chewy and soft inside that I thought there was cheese! I really wish that AEON wasn’t so difficult to get to! Although, I guess my wallet would suffer! I also managed to find a bottle of yuzu juice, which I was thrilled about because they don’t sell it in our little TOSC.

When we got home we used the rice cooker, which took some effort because we had no idea what the directions said. But in the end it turned out really good! And we even got a cheap rice cooker. So even the cheap ones here cook rice better than I did in a pot in Canada. Then again, the rice is better, so that’s probably part of it. I think the rice we have is actually from Tottori prefecture, which is really cool! 

Exploring Tottori City

I hadn’t heard anything from my supervisor since she left on the 12th, so I sent an email asking what I was doing today. I got a reply that I was on vacation until Tuesday! So I guess I’ve basically been on vacation this whole time and didn’t know about it. 

With nothing else to do, and tired of being stuck in the apartment, we decided to go into Tottori city to do some shopping for the apartment. 

We managed to purchase train tickets on our own, thanks to the handy “English” button on the machine. I should add, though, that Tottori is so country that I haven’t seen an automatic gate anywhere! There are actual people who stand at the gate to stamp your tickets. (Normally you buy the ticket, then go to a gate, where you stick the ticket in the machine, it opens the gate, you walk through, and get your ticket at the other end. Then you keep the ticket and do the same thing when you leave the station, except the machine keeps the ticket so it knows you’ve completed your ride.)

We got on the train, which was very busy, probably due to the Shan Shan Festival happening in the city. Justin, me, and Yana sat down in that order, and a couple sat beside us, with the man beside Yana. I noticed from the corner of my eye that the woman had her tablet out and it was on camera. I saw my face appear so I looked over and she rushed to hide the tablet. Then the couple switched spots so the woman was beside Yana. She blatantly took our her tablet and snapped a selfie with Yana! I was a bit taken aback, but the couple were very kind. They were actually from China, so I’m curious as to what they were doing in Chizu! The woman even gave Yana some jelly and a pack of crackers and a wipe when she spilled. 

Once we arrived in Tottori we were pretty hungry, so we went and got lunch at MOS Burger. It was really delicious! I have never tasted such fresh tomatoes at a restaurant. I got a mango lassi too, which was amazing. They also had this spiced meat taco thing, so I decided to try it. The meat was definitely not the normal taco seasoning, and it was really sweet. But otherwise it was tasty too.

After that we walked to the nearby AEON, which I recognized as the place where we bought our futons on our first night here. We did some shopping, and along the way we ran into two other JETs, R and K! When we finished checking out, the cashiers and I bowed to each other, and Yana bowed too! It was the cutest thing, and I’m thrilled to see how she is absorbing things without even being told.

We walked back to the station and bought our tickets, but we were a bit early for the train, so we stopped in a bakery in the station, which was delicious. I love Japanese bakeries more than I can say!

Then we went to catch our train, and amazingly the Chinese couple had caught the same one! So we smiled and waved, but they weren’t sitting next to us this time.

Tottori Prefectural Orientation 2014, Day Two

View from my hotel room.

Unfortunately I had to wake up early again the next morning for our second day of orientation. I was pretty tired, but luckily the night before I had purchased some coffee just for this reason!

We had to check out first and then everyone had to meet Mayumi in the lobby. We all walked together to the Hopestar, the location for the day. Here’s what our schedule was like:

9:00am-9:05am Introduction of senpai JETs (there were a few new people today)

9:05am-9:35am Introduction to TPIEF and emergency preparedness

9:45am-11:35am Workshop (divided by school levels)

11:45am-12:15pm Bus to lunch

12:15pm-1:15pm Lunch at Kuimonya Sazanami in Iwami

1:15pm-1:30pm Bus to boat ride

1:30pm-2:30pm Boat ride along the Uradome coast

2:30pm-3:00pm Bus to Tottori sand dunes

3:00pm-4:00pm Tottori sand dunes

4:00pm-4:30pm Bus to Tottori station

The boat ride was nice and relaxing, and there was a great cool breeze, but overall to be honest it was a bit boring. The rocks were pretty, but after about 10 minutes it just all looked the same. The seagulls and lone hawk following the boat and catching food was the most exciting part.

Uradome boat cruise.

The sand dunes were actually a bit more exciting. I explored with R1 and R2. R1 desperately wanted to sit on a camel, and we found that you can get photos for Y500; still a rip off, but cheaper than a 3 minute ride for Y2,500. So we waited in line for that, R2 and I did a photoshoot for R1 and then we decided to climb to the highest sand dune.

On top of the largest sand dune. It is a deceptively steep  drop to the water below.

It was a bit of a walk and on the way there we argued over whether or not we should attempt to scale the nearly vertical wall of sand or go for the gently sloping easy path. In the end we decided on the middle path, which was a bit steep, but not too much. Even that turned out to be a challenge though, so props to the people who attempt that vertical wall! The top was surprisingly high, and my fear of heights kind of began to kick in when I realized just how tiny the people at the bottom were. We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then took the much less harrowing climb down. R2 decided he wanted to run down the vertical wall, but R1 and I declined after seeing another guy attempt the same and end up doing several impromptu summersaults and just completely eating it. 

The hike back was almost worse, because we had to go back up to the small dune, which was loooong and gently sloping. My legs got a serious work out! We rinsed our feet off and then went to get some of the famous nashi (pear) soft cream. They also had peeled, fresh pears to eat too. The soft cream was delicious, just as advertised. I only wish my cone had been larger! We took our ice cream inside the gift shop, where it was air conditioned. There were a bunch of free samples there, and I bought a pear to take home and try.

My 20th century pear soft cream.

Then it was time for the bus ride back to the station. I had been thinking of doing some shopping, but I was tired and my bags were heavy, so I stuck with R2 and L and took the train home with them.

Tottori Prefectural Orientation 2014, Day One

This morning I left the house early to meet N-san at Chizu station. I have Tottori prefectural orientation in Tottori city for today and tomorrow, so she rode the train with me. Three stops away from the city, two other JETs came on the train, R from New Zealand and L from USA, so we sat together and chatted.

When we got to the city there was still a lot of time to spare, so firstly we dropped our baggage at the Washington Hotel and then we all went to a cafe in the station for some iced coffee. I was never a coffee drinker before, but there is a lot of sweetened coffee here and I’ve been so exhausted that its almost becoming a habit. 

After coffee, we told N-san that we would be okay on our own, so she left to go back to Chizu. However, as soon as she left we realized we had no idea how to get across the street. I discovered a tunnel under the road, so we followed that. Along the way we picked up another JET from USA, C. There were two exits - one went to the street and one went into the basement level of the Daimaru department store. We decided to kill some more time in there and wandered around. After not too long we thought it would be best to head to the building for orientation. We thought it would be a short 5 or 10 minute walk, but it ended up being more like 20 minutes! It was getting a bit hot and humid by this point, and it didn’t help that several other JETs who live in the city passed us on their bikes!

We finally arrived at the building, which is huge with a cathedral-like ceiling all made of glass. It was like a giant greenhouse. Our orientation was held upstairs in a conference room. I sat beside L. Here’s what our schedule was like for the first day:

10:30am-10:50am Registration

11:00am-11:05am Opening remarks

11:05am-11:10am Explanation of schedule

11:10am-11:40am Basic information about work and life in Tottori (CIRs and ALTs)

11:40am-11:45am Introduction of Tottori AJET and senpai JETs

11:55am-12:55pm Lunch

1:05pm-1:35pm Basic information (continued)

1:45pm-2:45pm ALT specific information

2:45pm-2:55pm Break

2:55pm-4:45pm Panel discussion with senpai JETs

After that we all walked to the Washington Hotel near the station, which is where we were staying overnight. We checked in, picked up our luggage, and went to our rooms to rest a bit before the AJET party at 6:30pm. We were also able to rent wireless routers from the hotel, which was awesome!

My room at the Washington Hotel.

Around 6:20pm I went down to the lobby and met up with M (from AJET, and who was leading us all to the beer garden for the party) and the other JETs going out. We walked over to the beer garden, which is on the roof of the Daimaru department store, so not too far away. It is normally like Y3,200 or so for the beer garden, which is nomihodai (all you can drink) and tabehodai (all you can eat). But there was a coupon for Y700 off, which was great! There were lots of different drinks, mostly alcoholic, but some soft drinks too. The food was definitely different and I had no idea what most things were except for the potato wedges, chicken balls, edamame, and escargot. I only had one glass of alcohol, so overall it was a bit of a waste of money in that way, but it was fun to be there and I enjoyed meeting a lot of people. The beer garden closed at 9:30pm, so we crammed onto the elevator and met up on the sidewalk below. I don’t want to talk about it much for discretion, but some people were super drunk already, so it was getting pretty wild and people wanted to continue the party! We decided to got to karaoke, so a senpai JET led us to a spot, stopping along the way at a convenience store for more alcohol and fried chicken. We got a big room there and sang for almost two hours (a surprisingly good selection of songs actually, although the Celine Dion was questionable). I didn’t really drink much, but everyone was so fun and I love karaoke, so it was a really great experience anyway. Actually, afterwards I felt really energized and like it was good for opening up before going to teach a bunch of energetic kids. A few of us decided to call it a night around 11:30pm, so we paid and walked back to the hotel. I was a bit wired still, so I stayed up and finally crashed around 1am.