You know all about Sunday and most of Tokyo Orientation. The sense of "being in Japan" was diminished because 800+ English-speaking foreigners were dominating a 5-star hotel. First night I went for sushi with people from Nashville and a guy from Manchester, Monday night I went for coffee and sweets with my former host mother, and Tuesday night I went for yakiniku with my Japanese relatives. You'll be surprised to know there are only 4 of them compared to the 70-somethin' on my Dad's side.
Wednesday, those who are working in the same prefecture (state equivalent) as I rode a bus to Shizuoka prefecture. We stopped at a "rest stop" on the way and you would all die to have seen it. Some of the best fast food ever. The food is on display in a glass case with a number, description, and price. Then you go to the ticket vendor, pop in the coins or bills, and out pops a ticket. You then take the ticket to the respective counter (ramen, cold noodles, curry, etc) and they make it up for you fresh! ON THE SPOT! Even though it's terribly hot and humid here, I had soy sauce ramen with pork loin for less than $6. It was SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD. Upon arrival in Shizuoka, we went to the prefectural office and had a briefing before introducing ourselves in Japanese to our bosses gathered there to pick us up.
Around 4pm, I rode with two of my English teacher colleagues: Sano-sensei and Mori-sensei. They both speak English very well so it was no trouble striking up conversation on the 30 minute car ride to Shimizu, my seaside town. They took me to my school to meet my principal, Kawanishi koucho-sensei and the head of the English department, Muramatsu-sensei. Although Kawanishi koucho-sensei could not speak any English, he was pleased with my adequate Japanese and we managed through the initial introductions just fine. From there, I picked up my largest piece of luggage that was shipped from the airport and was shown to my apartment.
My apartment is very spacious by Japanese standards. Once I get a camera, I'll entertain everyone with my version of MTV's "Cribs" to be posted on my blog (see profile). I am the 4th apartment in a set of 5. My front door is pink.... Mary Kay pink... gross. The front door is heavy with a charcoal gray mail slot. Upon entering, there is a small square area to take off one's shoes and replace them with houseslippers from a cabinet on the direct left. This area of the house is called the "genkan". For those of you who have been to my parents' house in Searcy, it's basically the foyer and guestbook area but much smaller.
Stepping up on the small platform, you will almost stumble upon a set of VERY STEEP stairs. Seriously, I have to climb on all fours to keep from falling backwards. You'll have to see it to understand! Anyhow... that platform.
To the slight right is a wooden sliding door of paneling and misted glass. But we aren't going through there yet. Opposite the sliding doors is one small door that leads to the toilet room. No, not bathroom: toilet room. In Japan, the toilet is kept separate from the tub and shower for convenience. For those of us that have lived in dorms without the stall in a shared bathroom, we can relate to the frustration of having to wait to use the loo when a suitemate was taking his/her good ol' time in the bathroom.
Remember those sliding doors, well, we can go in now. Sliding the door to the left, you enter the kitchen/dining area. To the direct left is a hutch filled with dishes and to the direct right is a washing machine. Taking a step forward, you almost bump into the small square dining table with two chairs. Opposite it is a large single sink upon counters with space to put clean dishes on a drip rack. Step forward again and there is a slightly-larger-than-dorm-
And more sliding doors! These are actually kept open all the time to show off the spacious living room. Two beige leather sofas face one another with a low coffee table in the middle. How Japanese. Upon the left wall is a map of Shizuoka City, capital of Shizuoka prefecture and a bulletin board with some postcards of Mt. Fuji that I have yet to see because it's so hazy and a collection of pictures of HU friends. Against the opposite wall of where you're supposedly standing, is two sliding doors that lead to a small backyard that desperately needs mowing. Oh, and these sliding doors look like the traditional paper sliding doors, only the paper is actually recycled plastic. A bit tougher and easier to replace. In the top left corner is a bookshelf with a collection of random books previous ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) have left and in the top right corner is an end table with a CD/Mini-Disc player.
Let's go upstairs... on all fours!
A small landing and to the slight right and my bedroom. The floors are traditional tatami, 6 tatami mats to be exact which mom says is pretty spacious. In the top left corner is my full-size bed. It's uber soft but the pillows are another story. I get to choose between one of those odd-foam-form pillows or a traditional bean/rice pillow. Whee..... X| On the right is an "entertainment center" of what looks like papertowel tubes and plastic. I have a small collection of tapes and DVDs to use in my TV/VHS and codeless DVD player combo and Japanese reference books. Oh, and I have an itty-bitty balcony with a lovely view of my neighbor's second floor window. The houses are packed closer than River Oaks I'm telling you... Across the landing from my room is the "guest bedroom" that is currently being used as my drying-laundry space. HOWEVER, if anyone would like to visit, you can sleep traditional style (on the floor) with my spare futon mattress and bedding. The guest bedroom also has 6 tatami mats.
And that's my apartment!
In the next issue of "Jill's Awesome Life", we'll discuss my school and the crazy errands I've had to run so far.
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