Welcome To The Inaka!

After one day I have had the AET experience in full. I'm here sitting in the Miyazu Board of Education office not doing nothing, but doing not much. My classes don't start until the beginning of September, but because I'm expected to show up for work and I work of a board of education not a single school, I have to come into work during the holidays, from 8.30 until 4.15. It looks like my predecessor Kim was in the same boat – there are wads of origami paper and assorted things of general distraction but not much else.

For the last few days I have been at the Tokyo Orientation and despite its mind numbing boringness during the day, the nights were cool – correction – above 34°C (the thermometer didn't go higher than 34°C so it was higher, I'm sure). Orientation was pretty blah. Everyone was put into shared rooms of two or three with others from our country. I happened to be with two Chinese New Zealanders from Auckland – Deborah the ALT and Cindy the CIR heading to Fukuoka, both of whom were very nice. On the first night I mentioned that I wanted to buy a laptop while I was in Tokyo and Cindy offered to come with me to translate, but at first I refused, puffed up my chest and said I'm capable of doing it! Crappers, was I wrong. Cindy came along despite having other stuff to do and even bargained with the guy at Yodobashi Camera to get me a mouse and a laptop bag thrown in with a discount. Unfortunately I ditched my passport just before I left to go into town and with that I could have gotten it tax free. Facepalm moment.

The view of Shinjuku as seen from our room window at the Keio Plaza.
It was hazy and cloudy all the time. And hot. Real hot.

It's finally hit home that I'm in another country. At orientation, the number of gaijin greatly outnumbered the Japanese so in that gaijin bubble we were all in a state of purgatory even when we did go out into the stinking hot of Shinjuku at night for karaoke and drinking. At many times we caught ourselves out saying “here” and meaning New Zealand, which is how much we felt like we were in Japan. Now however, being surrounded by my Japanese co-workers here at the BoE, I've finally realised the reality of the situation – despite being nice in your head, you're in another country, it's hard to say what you want or move around the way you want. Also work is work no matter what you do or where you are, and it has its prolonged moments of tediousness. I'm glad I put off work for so long.

The trip to Miyazu began yesterday morning with a short walk from the orientation in Shinjuku to Shinjuku Station, the busiest station in the world, then a train to Tokyo Station. From there all of the Kyoto JETs bought bentos, gallons of water and a box of real Tokyo Banana – a Tokyo regional okashi (sweet) – to prepare us for the 1½ hour trip to Kyoto Station on the Shinkansen. During the trip everyone worried over their self introductions rehearsing and correcting them, but I was too tired, so I just helped the others make theirs. And the Tokyo Banana was soooo good! A banana shaped banana sponge with concentrated banana goo inside. Nothing says “yum!” like goo.

Heat was a figment of our imagination until we stepped out of the station to meet our supervisors awaiting us outside while everything rehearsed was promptly evaporated along with any moisture in our bodies. My predecessor Kim, my supervisor Nishihara-san and another BoE worker, Kawahara-san were there to drive me to Miyazu, and we had to leave straight away to get out of the extreme heat. Nishihara-san and Kawahara-san are, as I was to find out that night at a bar, the rowdiest, drink-loving people at the BoE, so the two hour ride home was fun hearing Nishihara-san and Kawahara-san's nicknames for the rest of the BoE workers based on their characteristics, while the victimised co-workers had no idea. Kawahara-san was the driver and being the head of the Rowdy Duo, drove at twice the speed limit (in Japan it's 70km/h on the highway) while they played their favourite new CD – a collection of famous songs played by music box. I can't really judge, I like listening to chiptunes. When we arrived at my new flat I had a couple of hours to myself to half unpack and settle in before we would go out for dinner. My neighbour for the next year or two, Maggie, had gone back to the US for the holidays but she had left me a bag of presents, all Shinsengumi related. Shinsengumi themed Hatsu Hashi – the regional okashi of Kyoto, a file pouch and a cup. It's funny that someone I've never met knows exactly what I'm into. Either that or I'm just so predictable. Or my Facebook page is an exact reflection of my life. That's kind of scary.

Thanks, Maggie!

As we drove into Miyazu I felt nothing really. The Japanese countryside pretty much all looks the same and being surrounded by it in my first visit to the country eight years ago, I can't marvel at the nice Japanese style country houses and the rows of rice paddies the way I used to. It all just registers in my head as normal now.

I felt this too as we took the bus from Narita Airport to the Keio Plaza in Shinjuku. I had taken, for the first part, the same route as I had back in 2003 and I remember at the time feeling so ecstatic watching the massive buildings tower above me, beside and underneath the raised expressway. And being mesmerised by the lights of a nearby Ferris wheel cascading rainbows from it's centre. It was such a surreal feeling being alone on that bus, not knowing where to get off but also not caring, watching the people drifting around me in their hi-tech cars. Doing it all again eight years later I felt nothing. Just dread for the upcoming orientation, surrounded by gaijin and just wanting to get to my placement already. But now as I work in my placement, I am very underwhelmed by it all and am currently thinking about what to do for lunch and when I can catch up on the sleep I have been deprived of since I arrived. And the heat.

Last night however, Nishihara-san, Kawahara-san and Kim took me out to a bar at Mipple – the pride and joy of our town – a four storey high department store in the middle of town. Rumours as to what the name means have been passed down from previous JETs, one being that it is a contraction of Miyazu's nipple. It sounds like the most likely, so we'll go with that. Dinner was fun as the Rowdy Duo were reunited and became quite wasted and couldn't stop laughing at the fact NZ has Christmas in the summer and all they could envisage as a Santa in his big coat, dripping with sweat, creating wet patches under everyone's Christmas tree, or Santa on a surfboard delivering presents. Kim and I only had coke and were interrogated for it. I have yet to try Japanese beer but I don't mind putting it off for as long as possible, like when I'm forced to at enkais.

Miyazu's Nipple, or Mipple.

At dinner I mentioned to Nishihara-san that I was interested in taking up the shamisen and she too said she was interested, and just a few moments ago she informed me of a seminar at the opera house (it's actually the town events centre but it's shaped like the Sydney Opera House, so that's the name it goes by), at 1.30 on Saturday. I don't know what to expect, a lesson or a recital but if it is a lesson I hope I can follow along as Nishihara-san can't come along to the first meeting. I had always thought my grasp of the Japanese language was enough to understand what was going on around me, but last night the gas guy came around and although I knew what was going on and what he was saying I couldn't really talk to him as my Japanese had been in disuse for so long. After he left I just collapsed into my little floor chair, the only chair in my apartment and felt so beaten that I could hardly talk despite my years of learning the language and trying to surround myself with it as much as possible. But today at lunch I bought a bento with Nishihara-san and her friend and ate it here at the office with the others that had stayed behind (I won't elaborate on the fact I tried to go home before this to get my computer and couldn't find my house, so came back to the BoE). During lunch the atmosphere was relaxed and it gave me the confidence to speak in Japanese to my co-workers and joke around with them. At least it salved my wounds from last night.

Tonight again I'm going out for dinner with Kim and her friend Masako, who speaks excellent English so I've heard and can apparently get you anything you want. You just mention it to her and days or months later she produces it or refers you on to others no matter how elusive it is. Such things have included calico cats which in Japan, are highly sought after and not easy to come by, invitations to private events and introductions to private tutors that only take on acquaintances of friends. She knows half of Miyazu, loves gaijin and luckily is not a crazy gaijin stalker like the ones I used to get in Matsue.

This has been the extra-long recap of the first few days bought to you by the letter す for すーん (sob). I promise the rest of my entries won't be this long and boring, but this is a record of thoughts and feelings as well as events so bear with me.

And excuse the lack of eye candy. I'll take photos of the town in the weekend.

Jaane.