So as Laura mentioned we had an earthquake this morning. It MAY have been the second one since we got here, though I'm not entirely certain if what I think was the first actually WAS a quake or just a big truck goin' by.
Earthquakes here are measured on the Shindo scale (measure intensity) rather than the Richter (magnitude). The epicenter was a prefecture away (Chiba) and there it was a 3. By the time it hit us, it was a 2. Looking online, my best guess is it would be a 4-4.9 when describing it using the Richter scale. We looked at each other, half asleep, shrugged, and went back to bed.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Last Week
Grrrr...I just wrote a long post and it somehow got deleted. I'm sure this one won't be near as good either.
Things are good here. I started teaching Tuesday, Bri started Friday. I really enjoy teaching, much more than I thought I would. One of my students the other day told me that he really appreciated my slow way of speaking, which I thought was funny. I guess I have adapted quite a bit, because I usually speak so fast that native English speakers can't understand me!
It's been really rainy the last couple of days. Luckily it's still pretty warm (mid to late 20s). We were supposed to get a typhoon on Saturday but no such luck. We did, however, have a pretty big earthquake this morning. Enough to wake both of us up.
What else...we're going to Tokyo on Tuesday! We have the day off so we're going to go a wandering. Hopefully it won't be raining. We'll hopefully get cell phones on Tuesday as well- so far, we haven't been able to get them.
That's it for now. I'll keep ya posted!!
Things are good here. I started teaching Tuesday, Bri started Friday. I really enjoy teaching, much more than I thought I would. One of my students the other day told me that he really appreciated my slow way of speaking, which I thought was funny. I guess I have adapted quite a bit, because I usually speak so fast that native English speakers can't understand me!
It's been really rainy the last couple of days. Luckily it's still pretty warm (mid to late 20s). We were supposed to get a typhoon on Saturday but no such luck. We did, however, have a pretty big earthquake this morning. Enough to wake both of us up.
What else...we're going to Tokyo on Tuesday! We have the day off so we're going to go a wandering. Hopefully it won't be raining. We'll hopefully get cell phones on Tuesday as well- so far, we haven't been able to get them.
That's it for now. I'll keep ya posted!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Quick Update
Hey guys!!
I haven't posted in about a week, so I thought I'd give a quick update. My week was good, very busy. We're still observing other teachers, and we'll continue to do so until about the upcoming mid-week. I think teaching will be fairly easy but occasionally full of challenges. People learning English tend to have the same struggles: plurals, double meanings, etc. I feel really lucky to have learned English naturally, for it seems very difficult for most people to grasp.
So as I think I've mentioned, food here is tasty as hell. I went for Indian food this week, which I didn't have high hopes for (I think I've been spoiled living in the lower mainland of BC), but it was actually really great! Reasonably priced as well. As I think we've previously posted, buying liquor is super cheap (up to 1/2 the price of liquor at home). However, the drink prices in restaurants are the same. Quite the mark-up me thinks.
One of the schools I teach at has a traditional Japanese toilet. This is a bit of an issue for me. As a lady, I can't imagine using one-just doesn't seem comfortable/practical. If you don't know what a traditional Japanese toilet is, I recommend you Google it. Luckily, there's a convenience store around the corner that I can use...I've just heard so many disaster stories about women using the traditional ones, that I'm going to avoid it at all costs.
I'm not sure if Brian's posted about this, but it's insane how many people smoke here. It's like BC 15 years ago. Probably even worse. I HATE cigarette smoke, so it bothers me that I constantly smell it. A pack of smokes here is like $3, so it's easy to see why so few people quit.
It's still pretty warm-about early 30s and very humid. I FINALLY bought a blow dryer/hair straightener yesterday so I no longer have to look like a frizzy poodle. That's a good thing. Though it is so humid, my hair will go wavy right after straightening it. Oh well, could be worse!
I think that's it for now. Take care!
I haven't posted in about a week, so I thought I'd give a quick update. My week was good, very busy. We're still observing other teachers, and we'll continue to do so until about the upcoming mid-week. I think teaching will be fairly easy but occasionally full of challenges. People learning English tend to have the same struggles: plurals, double meanings, etc. I feel really lucky to have learned English naturally, for it seems very difficult for most people to grasp.
So as I think I've mentioned, food here is tasty as hell. I went for Indian food this week, which I didn't have high hopes for (I think I've been spoiled living in the lower mainland of BC), but it was actually really great! Reasonably priced as well. As I think we've previously posted, buying liquor is super cheap (up to 1/2 the price of liquor at home). However, the drink prices in restaurants are the same. Quite the mark-up me thinks.
One of the schools I teach at has a traditional Japanese toilet. This is a bit of an issue for me. As a lady, I can't imagine using one-just doesn't seem comfortable/practical. If you don't know what a traditional Japanese toilet is, I recommend you Google it. Luckily, there's a convenience store around the corner that I can use...I've just heard so many disaster stories about women using the traditional ones, that I'm going to avoid it at all costs.
I'm not sure if Brian's posted about this, but it's insane how many people smoke here. It's like BC 15 years ago. Probably even worse. I HATE cigarette smoke, so it bothers me that I constantly smell it. A pack of smokes here is like $3, so it's easy to see why so few people quit.
It's still pretty warm-about early 30s and very humid. I FINALLY bought a blow dryer/hair straightener yesterday so I no longer have to look like a frizzy poodle. That's a good thing. Though it is so humid, my hair will go wavy right after straightening it. Oh well, could be worse!
I think that's it for now. Take care!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Just to clarify
We don't really have a room mate. Just on paper:) Too tired to post more, so check back in later. We have a couple days off, so who knows? I might actually spend time on the blog's look itself.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Dr. Pepper
So it's a bit odd when it comes to soft drinks here. Coca-Cola is king, and from what I've been able to learn, they seem to have a monopoly on the bottling rights in Japan. I noticed that it's VERY difficult to find Pepsi here, though both Laura and I have noticed it in at least two vending machines near two of our schools. That said, Pepsi PRODUCTS are readily available. The one's I've noticed so far are:
Mountain Dew
Gatorade (though it supposedly tastes like a salty electrolyte beverage, like all Japanese sports drinks)
Dr. Pepper
For those who know my taste in pop, I've mixed feelings about this. First, I much prefer Pepsi to Coke for everyday consumption, with the exception of drink mix and with sushi. It helps greatly that we've found those vending machines, but they're a ways out simply for a bottle of Pepsi and a trend in Japan is that stores change stock on just about everything seasonally. So if you love something, stock up as it may never be available again. Not sure how this works for vending machines though.
What really DOES help soften the blow is the dominating presence of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. Now, you may be saying to yourself 'Those are Pepsi, damn it!' and you would be right. In a bizarre twist that actually seems at home in Japan, Pepsi has struck a deal with Coca-Cola to have Coke bottle and sell their products here. The reason for this (as far as I've been able to discern) is that Coke's similar products (like Mellow Yellow and Powerade) fail miserably here. Fine by me. Sadly, while Red Bull has been recently introduced here, my favorite energy drink (Coca-Cola's Full Throttle) is no where to be found. Neither is Mountain Dew's. Grape Fanta is here in full force, so at least Coca-Cola is good for something.
A wonderful twist with Dr. Pepper here are the cans. Compared to ours THEY. ARE. GORGEOUS. They have an amazing art display on the unlabeled side, and while I haven't purchased more than one can, I have been told that the art work does vary. Not sure how many variations there are or how often they come out, but I will find out as this has sparked my first Japan-centric hobby... collecting Dr. Pepper cans. What fun!
Mountain Dew
Gatorade (though it supposedly tastes like a salty electrolyte beverage, like all Japanese sports drinks)
Dr. Pepper
For those who know my taste in pop, I've mixed feelings about this. First, I much prefer Pepsi to Coke for everyday consumption, with the exception of drink mix and with sushi. It helps greatly that we've found those vending machines, but they're a ways out simply for a bottle of Pepsi and a trend in Japan is that stores change stock on just about everything seasonally. So if you love something, stock up as it may never be available again. Not sure how this works for vending machines though.
What really DOES help soften the blow is the dominating presence of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. Now, you may be saying to yourself 'Those are Pepsi, damn it!' and you would be right. In a bizarre twist that actually seems at home in Japan, Pepsi has struck a deal with Coca-Cola to have Coke bottle and sell their products here. The reason for this (as far as I've been able to discern) is that Coke's similar products (like Mellow Yellow and Powerade) fail miserably here. Fine by me. Sadly, while Red Bull has been recently introduced here, my favorite energy drink (Coca-Cola's Full Throttle) is no where to be found. Neither is Mountain Dew's. Grape Fanta is here in full force, so at least Coca-Cola is good for something.
A wonderful twist with Dr. Pepper here are the cans. Compared to ours THEY. ARE. GORGEOUS. They have an amazing art display on the unlabeled side, and while I haven't purchased more than one can, I have been told that the art work does vary. Not sure how many variations there are or how often they come out, but I will find out as this has sparked my first Japan-centric hobby... collecting Dr. Pepper cans. What fun!
City Planning. Or: Not my fault.
Thursday, September 11
So we finally got the car last night, and while it will allow us to actually grocery shop and eat at home, it was far too late to hit up a grocery store with any real amount of time to both learn what the store has that we are somewhat familiar with AND make an educated purchase. Thus, dinner consisted of instant Ramen noodles (think Mr. Noodles but much more authentic), ready made hamburger patties w/Tonkatsu sauce, and grape Fanta. But before we could eat, we needed something to boil water in.
This meant a trip back to our old apartment to claim the dishes we had left behind. We were on the way back to the house when I had the good fortune to experience something I had noticed earlier: the craziness that is the Japanese traffic system. It's not that the Japanese are crazy drivers (though they are a little when it comes to the extremely narrow back roads, which are supposedly WIDE for Japan), it's that there are these delightful sections of road where the layout is ambiguous, misleading, or JUST PLAIN WRONG! I had seen this as a passenger earlier in the day driving to a school with the teacher I'm replacing. We were heading down a straight stretch of road, at least 3 lanes wide, and while crossing a major intersection, a lane simply disappeared, with no heads up. Suddenly we're in oncoming traffic and forced to wait while traffic let us back in, as well as the many native Japanese who were caught unawares as well.
Back to my experience. We're making a right hand turn onto a main roadway (keep in mind this would be a left hand turn back home), and as it's a fairly wide street, I wanted to ensure that I didn't drift into the lane that oncoming traffic would be turning left into. I did the obvious thing and followed the line painted on the road. Big mistake. Suffice to say, we ended up in oncoming traffic (which was stopped of course) and I had to dart through a small gap in the median to get back on my side.
Moral of the story? Don't trust the lanes painted on the road in Japan. *Sigh*
So we finally got the car last night, and while it will allow us to actually grocery shop and eat at home, it was far too late to hit up a grocery store with any real amount of time to both learn what the store has that we are somewhat familiar with AND make an educated purchase. Thus, dinner consisted of instant Ramen noodles (think Mr. Noodles but much more authentic), ready made hamburger patties w/Tonkatsu sauce, and grape Fanta. But before we could eat, we needed something to boil water in.
This meant a trip back to our old apartment to claim the dishes we had left behind. We were on the way back to the house when I had the good fortune to experience something I had noticed earlier: the craziness that is the Japanese traffic system. It's not that the Japanese are crazy drivers (though they are a little when it comes to the extremely narrow back roads, which are supposedly WIDE for Japan), it's that there are these delightful sections of road where the layout is ambiguous, misleading, or JUST PLAIN WRONG! I had seen this as a passenger earlier in the day driving to a school with the teacher I'm replacing. We were heading down a straight stretch of road, at least 3 lanes wide, and while crossing a major intersection, a lane simply disappeared, with no heads up. Suddenly we're in oncoming traffic and forced to wait while traffic let us back in, as well as the many native Japanese who were caught unawares as well.
Back to my experience. We're making a right hand turn onto a main roadway (keep in mind this would be a left hand turn back home), and as it's a fairly wide street, I wanted to ensure that I didn't drift into the lane that oncoming traffic would be turning left into. I did the obvious thing and followed the line painted on the road. Big mistake. Suffice to say, we ended up in oncoming traffic (which was stopped of course) and I had to dart through a small gap in the median to get back on my side.
Moral of the story? Don't trust the lanes painted on the road in Japan. *Sigh*
Burgers
Tuesday, September 9
Immediately after the move, Laura had to head to her school, while I had an hour to kill before being picked up and whisked away to the school I was teaching at. This meant lunch. With Lala Garden being only a 7min walk from the main office, I decided to revisit a burger place we had been introduced to earlier. Freshness Burger (mentioned briefly in the 3-day post summary I posted earlier). The initial reaction to this restaurant was:
At least there's a decent burger place here that isn't a fast food chain, but it hardly lived up to the praise we'd heard about it.
Well, 2nd time was the charm. The burger was so hot I couldn't hold it. I had a beer this time (I'm sure that helped improve its rating), remembered to order onion rings, and it was so tall (with two cheese-covered patties) that not only could I not fit it in my mouth, I had to severely rethink the entire eating process of this heavenly food-stuff.
It's not quite White Spot, but I am in love with Freshness Burger, and like another delightful food item here (which I will describe in a later post), I shall miss it dearly when we leave.
Immediately after the move, Laura had to head to her school, while I had an hour to kill before being picked up and whisked away to the school I was teaching at. This meant lunch. With Lala Garden being only a 7min walk from the main office, I decided to revisit a burger place we had been introduced to earlier. Freshness Burger (mentioned briefly in the 3-day post summary I posted earlier). The initial reaction to this restaurant was:
At least there's a decent burger place here that isn't a fast food chain, but it hardly lived up to the praise we'd heard about it.
Well, 2nd time was the charm. The burger was so hot I couldn't hold it. I had a beer this time (I'm sure that helped improve its rating), remembered to order onion rings, and it was so tall (with two cheese-covered patties) that not only could I not fit it in my mouth, I had to severely rethink the entire eating process of this heavenly food-stuff.
It's not quite White Spot, but I am in love with Freshness Burger, and like another delightful food item here (which I will describe in a later post), I shall miss it dearly when we leave.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)