A poem written in the cold abode of my Jutaku

The shivering rattle,

Glass panes collide with the thin metal between.

For here we are, a quiet city, disturbed only by

The wind.

The memories of each Teacher woven into Tatami,

Experience laced between,

The path trodden by foreigner alike,

All with different looks but the same outsider skin.

Can we continue? Question we,

The lonely, language crowd,

Colliding with the palpable wall of culture,

That keeps us between paper doors.

The summer brings elation, the winter cold thought,

Though children’s’ smiles sustain,

Are they enough to keep sanity and professionalism

Entangled?

Japanese people and food

So, before I came to Japan, I thought I was in for a treat. Finally a country who worked along my line of thought! Slim populace, health conscious and with one of the longest lifespans in the world. I thought I would be in for salads, fish and all sorts of lovely goodies that I would actually be able to eat!

Boy, was I wrong.

Welcome to Japan, home of 'pan'. Bakeries and curry houses on every corner, every type of food deep fried and of course, a distinct lack of being able to order salad anywhere. Even the fish dishes came with copious amounts of rice, sauce and fried vegetables. There was absolutely no where I could go and nothing I could eat! 

Restaurant after restaurant I visited and yet, I couldn't ever have 'just a salad' or 'sauce on the side' or anything like that. Anything remotely green was so covered in mayonnaise that it lost all of it's original colour! All the portions were so huge that I began to wonder, how on earth do Japanese people stay as slim as they do?!

Admittedly, working at a high school, I had some clues. The children and the teachers do a lot of exercise. The existence of bukatsu or 'club' means that every day after school is spent participating in the sport you agree to join in with. Teachers are not excluded from this. Some only watch from the sidelines but some are active trainers to their clubs, a feat I'm fairly certain most teachers in England wouldn't be able to accomplish. 

The second clue was bicycles. In my town especially, people bike everywhere. To and from school and work, to the conbini, even in a suit. The children at my school walked 23kms for ensoku, which is like a physical challenge, and they still cycled home afterwards. It doesn't matter who you are or how old you are, the ability to cycle everywhere, and not fear getting knocked off, must have some  effect. Cars here are always mindful of pedestrians and bikes. Without fail, they always look first and slow down. I've never felt unsafe on a bike in Japan, and I'm sure that freedom has a hand in their slim forms.

Lunch box size is another thing - the average lunch box for adults is much smaller than any I've seen. Portion sizes in restaurants are so much larger than what people bring in for lunch. Perhaps they are used to eating much less than the average Westerner is, especially in one portion. With continual small portions there is no issue with them snacking.

Metabolism. With all the rice that Japanese people eat, and it being sweet, sticky rice, they must have a fast metabolism. I don't know how else they can consume so many high gi carbohydrates and stay so thin and healthy.

All of these factors play a part. The Japanese lifestyle is unendurably hectic, with very little personal time, so the time they have to think about food is very little. However, I think the most important thing to consider is the whole Japanese -attitude- towards meals. They learn from day one that they can't start eating until everyone is ready and has said 'itadakimasu'. They only eat when they are hungry and are able to stop when they are full. They are constantly surrounded by sweet things and are able to hoard any chocolate and eat it square by square when the mood takes them. There is no rush. Food is always carefully prepared and beautifully displayed. 

And given just how much availability there is, their self restraint is admirable.

I have learned a lot from these eating habits. I'm not going to lie, being able to cook without tasting what I'm preparing or eat just one square of chocolate from a chocolate bar is truly liberating. I think their constant having snacks in the near vicinity tests their mental strength when they're young, until they are old enough to ignore snacks entirely until they actually want them.

If I can take these tips back to the UK, maybe it'll make my life a whole lot easier looking forward.

Christmas, New Year and all the bits in between

So I haven't written on this blog practically for the whole time I have been in Japan so far which is a bit of a fail. I should really have chronicled my experience more, but here's to 2013 being a more productive and fully chronicle year! 

During November and December I was definitely feeling the culture shock blues. My weight went up, I couldn't sleep, and my jutaku was so damned cold I wanted to run away and hide somewhere warm, just so I could escape the freezing weather. Additionally, my dog of 11 years died, which didn't help my overall morose mood. I didn't even get to say goodbye.

                                                              Christmas

However the start of December had me looking hopefully towards the winter vacation and any new improvements it might bring. It started with an exam (JLPT, level 5. I was playing it safe), and was shortly followed by an amazing trip to Disneyland! I went with a Japanese friend who, although she had been many times before, agreed to accompany to the magical land of happiness.







We left very early in the morning and arrived at Disney around 10:30 in front of a huge, well decorated 30th anniversary sign. Unbeknownst to me I was destined to visit Disney on the Christmas of the anniversary! As we entered, I was immediately floored by the elaborate Christmas decorations that covered every inch of every building, despite the fact that Japan doesn't really celebrate Christmas. Behind the decorations you could see the Princess' castle, and it was just like something out of a dream. Copied with such precision and adorned with lights, it was just the sight I needed to make me behave like a gleeful five year old for the next couple of days. My friend and I spent time going on every ride imaginable at Disneyland, from Winnie the Poohs honey pot (Actually Christopher Robin's tales) to a Roger rabbit ride, which was vey nostalgic! They even had 'It's a Small World' and The Nightmare before Christmas'. My favourite by far was the Monsters Inc ride; I had bought myself a Sully themed hat and scarf so I was particularly enthused to go on it. However the ride was so busy that there weren't any fast passes until 8pm! As you don't have to pay for fast passes in Japan, we decided to get one anyway, and even then it took half an hour of queuing! We ate 'little green men' and watched some of the parades (entitled "Happiness is Here"), and even got to meet Mickey! (We were both exhausted by that point).

After collapsing in exhaustion, and sleeping so deeply not even a hurricane could have woken me (a rare occurrence in my life), we spent the second day immersed in the joys of Disney Sea. Water themed, there were boats and rivers everywhere. The Little Mermaid had a Kingdom made if 'coral' and mosaics with intimate, glittering detail.

We rode some good rides, taken straight from the movies, like Indiana Jones, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and a haunted house rider which involved sitting in a falling elevator. Surprisingly, the queuing time was fairly misleading. Times listed as 40 minutes, only took 15 and it enabled more thrill seeking! One of the best rides of the whole two days was the Toy Story ride. The queuing area was made to look as though you were a toy, everything a hundred times it's usual size. It was so imaginative! The actual ride was a 3D shooting game, and definitely brought out my competitive side. 

Our two days of sunny bliss ended in a firework display on water, lit up with a thousand lights to accompany it, and containing music from Fantasia. Images were projected onto canvas balls which had been blown up until they were taught, I came home exhausted, but elated.

Following that, the Christmas season truly began. I took chocolate and sweets into majority of my lessons, wrote Christmas cards until my hands were sore and made a gingerbread army to give to the teachers at the end of the year. ESS and I made English Christmas cake one week and had a huge party the other, including games, stockings, and a young male English teacher starring as Santa. I made my Japanese friends Christmas dinner, exchanged presents and attended a bunch of parties, including a 'jutaku' food crawl. 

The bonenkai, the end of year party, was an evening of nabe (Japanese stew) and the freshest sashimi. Although I didn't drink, it was so much fun talking to the teachers out of the formal setting of school, and I even got number one in the lucky draw! The lower the number the better, and it meant I won a 15-year matured bottle of scotch. Although not my drinking taste, it was nice to be included and get a good prize. ( I never win at anything!)

When I headed to the airport early Saturday morning, I felt truly appreciated, after having received multiple notes and presents from various different teachers. 

The flight home was fairly uneventful and narrowly missed the violent storms battering the UK. I accidentally hit my dad in the face at the airport in my vigorous attempt to hug him and my mum, and I was beyond relieved to relax in front of the TV, in a warm room with my family and the Christmas tree sparkling.

Christmas time at home was similar to every year, with added happiness of seeing everyone after such a long time. My closest friend and I went ice skating in Winter Wonderland much to her chagrin and my joy, I did some sale shopping with my mum and my near 90 year old grandmother made the arduous trip across London to come and see me on Boxing Day. Presents both silly and sentimental were shared. And I will never forget the image of my father in a Kermit the frog onsie, a present from my mother, which provided us with endless amusement on Christmas Day. 

Saying goodbye to my family was harder this time, as I knew what I was returning to, but the hardest part of. Japan, the culture shock, was over. And as I returned to the country I both love and loathe sometimes, I had the good fortune to be met with one of the best New Years I have ever experienced. 

                                                                New Year

I arrived at Hakuba, in Nagano after a near 24 hour journey. Planes, trains, buses and taxis, I had used them all. All that was missing was a bike. I lugged my very overweight suitcase to my New Years hostel and immediately collected my ski gear. After all, nothing says 'fresh start' more than hurling yourself down a mountain on plastic blades. 

Following ski gear, I headed straight for the in house bar, which, to my surprise, held an Australian majority. There I met a miscellany of lovely people and was initiated into this backpackers' hotel by way of drunken Jenga and Uno.

The first day of skiing was a little akin to being caught in a blizzard, as the visibility was next to 0, and finding anyone that you were potentially skiing with was an absolutely nightmare. Undeterred, however, my friend and I bought our first ski pass to Hakuba 47. It was very strange to see the difference in ski passes between Japan and France. Le Trois Vallee (missing an accent, but ah well) have the fairly outdated system of paper cards and subsequent demagnetisation of said cards should you mistakenly place them next to your phone in your pocket. Japan, however, is far too high tech for that. They instead essentially have chips which you pay a deposit for and get a refund for at the end of the day.

We proceeded unhindered by the heavy snow and skied to our hearts content in the valleys of Iwatake, Happo One, and Hakuba-47/Goryu. Although it was freezing cold, after 5 or so layers, and a couple of black runs, it definitely began to seem more manageable. And as the days progressed, the visibility came better and better.

New Years itself was brilliant because there was no expectation at all. For my part, all the New Years spent partying in London, or elsewhere have been letdowns for various different reasons, not the least of which is that it's expensive, and difficult to get home after. However, in Hakuba, everything was very close, the people were absolutely lovely, and great fun to be with, the drinks were cheap, there was no need to pay for entry, and I even got a kiss at midnight.

Oh, and with the added bonus was a glow in the dark gin and tonic.

The final day was glorious sunshine, and with even mogels conquered, I returned to Kurume feeling more revitalised and ready to face the other half of the year. Although I'm fairly sure at this point I'm not going to stay beyond a year, I can definitely say that Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014 was a winter holiday to remember.

P.S. To all the friends in these photos that I have blurred out, I hope that's okay. Let me know if you want me to blur you out some more/put your beautiful faces back up there!

A month in :)

So it's been about a month since I arrived in Japan, and so far it has been an experience and a half. There are so many incredible things about Japan that wouldn't happen anywhere else in the world. A week or so ago I left my phone in my bike basket outside of a supermarket and half an hour later, low and behold, it was still there. Completely untouched. Unmasked and unsecure and yet it hadn't crossed anyone's mind to take it. What an amazing sense of trust there is everywhere in Kurume. I've left bags of shopping in my bike and no one has even ventured forth to look, let alone take anything. I am sure it is different depending on which part of Japan you go to but, still. Quite incredible.

People here have also been so very kind; my supervisor is almost like a second mother, she worries as much, but she's also good fun when i'm team teaching with her, and the rest of the English department are just as nice. If I need help reading Kanji or school newsletters they are always happy to help.

There are so many things that I like about Japan. Even though it has been raining for the past few days, it still pretty fun cycling through it as its not that cold. Conbinis are absolute Godsends. The trains run on time, deliveries are efficient, people in shops are so polite and helpful. The children at school are so lovely and polite, and when one of them writes 'I am so happy you said hello to me' on an essay, it genuinely makes my day.

However, there is just something sadly nostalgic about things that remind me of home. It's not so much that I'm in Stage 2 yet (JETs will know, but for those who don't, stage 2 of culture shock); I still enjoy living in Japan, the liberation of cycling safely and freely, not bothered by the rain, the trust, the efficiency, all of it. It's just little things that remind me that I do actually love my home town. I miss the bustle of London, the lights, the sounds, the 1am trains. The ease of finding exactly the right teabag in the supermarket and the stereotypical British rendering of tea. The cramped underground, the litter, how every single public building has an amalgam of people smoking outside. The lack of any cultural or ethnic homogeny. All of it.

I miss the people too. Being able to hug someone unreservedly; my mum, my best friend, my whole family. Even my little dog.

How could you not love such a face?

It's just little pangs that get me at the worst times, little things that Japan doesn't do quite 'like England' because, of course, they wouldn't. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Japan. But I know whenever I go home, be it in a year or in two, London is the first place I am going back to. 

In Japan Update

So the last week or so has been a whirlwind. Tokyo orientation was busy and full of people who were buzzing with both excitement and nerves. It was also the last time I will really see the majority of the UK Jets until we go on trips visiting each other which I hope will happen very soon. I am missing familiar faces but am getting to grips with familiar ones here. Whilst in Tokyo I saw parts of Shinjuku, Akihabara and Harajuku which were full of both lights and convenient things. I didn't do karaoke in Shinjuku but some of the Fukuoka Jets did go to the lockup which was a funny and interesting izakaya - it was so much fun! Weird drinks, 'breakouts' and waiters dressed as convicts:

It was really good to get to know people out of a formal scenario. Then after orientation we flew straight to Fukuoka and at the airport I was met by my lovely predecessor, one of the English teachers and some very sweet members of the ESS Club. They greeted me with signs saying 'Welcome Natasha' and the high schools name. It completely dispelled any worries I might have had, even if I was boiling in my two piece suit.

I was taken to school to meet my supervisor who is a vey kind lady and she spent the best part of her evening taking me out to make my own okonomiyaki!! Which was awesome, and taking me to get some groceries. The next day at school I met the Kocho-Sensei, who took me out for the most beautiful unagi meal (ill upload the picture later).

This week has been another blurry one. On Monday there was Fukuoka orientation in a building with very little aircon. We were seriously sweating it out. We watched a video about Fukuoka and went to some workshops. There was a particularly good one about how to decipher food in Japan which eased my concerns about dietary stuff. We had a meal in the evening too which was another tabehoudai. Fun all around! :)

After all the excitement the rest of this week was a flurry of marking and working with students to practice for a speech contest reciting 'The Wizard of Oz' one of my favourite stories from childhood. I also had a meal last night with the Kamitsumachi Colony at a rakuten sushi place which was really good fun, lots of laughing and silliness . I was especially impressed when a Japanese Waitress came over to speak English to us! But these troublemakers were the main source of fun (and awesomeness)

Throughout all of this I have never had the chance to slow down a little bit, and on my first real day off today, I have has a chance to really look at my surroundings and I've come to realize that Japan really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. No where else I've been has dragonflies merrily flitting around so sleepily that you can see their colours. There is intense sunshine and greenery and some beautiful flowers. It's not tall buildings and cityscape even if they have everything around where I'm living. It's actually really calming if you just take the time to look. 

Aside from the telephone wires that is the view down my road. :) I don't know how this year is going to go but I know I'm lucky to be In Japan.

Packing Pandemonium

So the days between my Japanese adventure and I are slowly diminishing into nothing. It has been a very busy month for me and this weekend was no exception. One of my closest friends from University came down from Leeds for one day just to see me and say hello and goodbye for now. It was a very kind visit for her to make given it was probably expensive and exhausting for her but it meant the world.

She gave me my birthday present which was something very sweet. I have a pandora bracelet which over the past year my friends and family have gifted me charms for. It was important for me to have a piece of everyone very close to my heart on my wrist at all times. Now this may sound a little soppy bur it meant a lot, especially as it started on my 21st birthday.  Pandora charms are not cheap and I would never expect or ask any of my friends for charms because it costs too much. But this year my best friend gave me two of the most beautiful charms imaginable as a present and good luck going forward.  And this friend down from Leeds did the same. The charm she gave me was very symbolic of our friendship and I was so touched it nearly made me cry. She also made me a photo collage to take with me to Japan which was lovely and finally some emergency chocolate:

The amount of effort she made was astounding.  Thank you so much for it all love, you know who you are, and sorry to say the emergency chocolate is already gone!

Then, today was my little brothers' 20th birthday.  And like a mad thing he completed the triathlon (yes on his birthday) in 2 hours 55. We have been celebrating today ans scheming our last trip together which is a local theme park complete with adrenaline junkie roller coasters.

Updates on life aside,  I have really started to panic this week. Its not that im doubting my decision to leave everything behind because itll be my biggest adventure yet, but the whole process is quite overwhelming.  I have been wrestling constantly with mt suitcase over the past week or so and contemplating just how the heck I am going to fit my life into 23kgs. Im a little on the curvy side for Japanese sizing and get a bit funny about tight outfits so clothing was the priorty. Im very fair skinned so suncream and aftersun followed. Along with a miscellany of toiletries and a bag full of 'what ifs'. I almost think it would have been easier as a guy (my flatmate at uni went to spain for a year and packed virtually nothing) but I am starting to think that is more attributed to his laissez faire personality than guys in general.

Then there is the omiyage debate, the resource preparations and the endless pretravel paperwork. Tax, shipping, customs declaration. You name it, ive filled it in. And a workload awaits me at school which although I am very excited about, I am worried I wont perform to Japanese standard, although I will certainly try. 

Im sure the majority of the group B JETs are having the same panic/excitement fluctuations and the same suitcase scenario so best of luck to everyone with it all.

Now only if I could believe that myself....

9 Days to go!

Oh my goodness. When did this happen?

So it's been a long time since I've actually updated because my life seems to have gone into complete overdrive! I finally have a destination and a school as to where I'm headed, and my whole life is in upheaval in an attempt to pack! I am headed to the sunny Kurume-shi in Fukuoka-ken, Southern Kyushu. I'll be going to a Senior High School with a University focus. It couldn't be any different from the school I have just come from - North London, rough, with children more wild than I have ever seen (although admittedly 'children' is a loose term. I was teaching sixth formers and at 5"2, they were more often than not taller than me. ) Even the idea that I won't have to fight with the children tooth and nail to get them to write their names on a paper is an intriguing prospect! I will miss them though, and the teachers there too. Some of the children might have been a pain at the best of times, but most of them had hearts of gold. One of them even cried when I told her I was leaving ;( But I know they are going to make it, get to Uni and create an amazing life for themselves. Even if they were the geeky side of Ghetto.

The last month has been more than a blur - I have been cramming in so much stuff it's insane, seeing people and doing things before I go. My work leaving do was on the day before my birthday, and we all went to dirty martini to have a few drinks which was really good fun. It ended up in a really fun bar in Oxford Circus (Gem bar, anyone know it?) with a bit of silly dancing and drunkeness - great night out. My birthday itself I was blown away by; my best friend went out of her way to make it a special evening. I was sung happy birthday by the 'Master of Mischief'

He certainly looks the part!

(seriously, he even has a card to this effect) and had a truly Hollywood-esque evening, including dancing to buskers, and riding a carousel like a five year old!  

I had a blast at Pre-Orientation in London, where it was amazing to get to meet all of the UK JETs who had been on the forums and otherwise, the Embassy reception was incredible too (although I wish I'd picked up on the Champagne Ninja's earlier! They managed to refill my glass three or four times before I even noticed what was going on!) Thanks for a great time guys, it was really reassuring to see that so many people were likeminded and in the same boat about packing, travel insurance and other bits and bobs. I went on the Language Course too which was really helpful for basic conversational Japanese, and also quite a relief - perhaps I am not as terrible as I think! Although admittedly that might be a little optimistic. The fluent Japanese volunteers were really helpful, and if my skill was terrible, it was definitely useful to know that by having the right cheerful mannerisms it was easy enough to get by, even if neither party quite understood what was being said.

I've just had dinner with another of my closest friends as well (so many goodbyes!) and we had a real laugh and an overall great time. I got a little misty eyed saying goodbye to her because I'm going to miss her terribly. I am a little worried that I'm going to miss the people I'm closest with a lot, but I guess it's just one of those things you adapt to, and besides! I'm hoping to meet as many new people as possible out there! I'm sure that all the excitement will keep me occupied.

Still, 9 days to go. The fact that I've only had one real panicky moment up until this point is probably fairly good news! :) It does feel like the amount of stuff that I have to get done before I leave is mounting up into this pile of postit notes that I can only really hack at, but never get through. Insurance, electronics, converters, phone contracts out there, all sorts of different things are plaguing me, combined with the fact my body is trying to convert to Japanese time already, meaning I'm not sleeping well-.- thanks body, you are useless.

9 days. My predecessor seems lovely, my school supervisor seems very friendly and even though I am swinging between excitement and panic, it's just a new adventure ahead!