Sorry (again) for the long entry! Sometimes it's hard to find a time where I'm not exhausted to write about everything...
I was warned via email from my predecessor regarding the mandatory town health exam that takes place every fall for all city employees. She wrote in her email: "I'm just telling you what I remember about it because it's kinda weird. You get your vision tested (don't worry, they'll just have you point down or right, etc...no reading req.), have blood drawn...then you do a pee test. But it isn't like in the states-all sterile and stuff. They'll give you a little paper cup, you go to the regular toilet and pee, then walk down the hallway again with your pee cup. I thought that was kinda akward. Then you do the chest xray. There's also an EKG. I think that was it. Don't worry, Shima should go over everything with you. I just wanted to give you a heads up from a girls perspective because it isn't quite the same as at home. It isn't bad, it is just different."
Her description made me laugh, because I could only imagine how strange the whole process would really turn out to be! Lily and I were very nervous as Shima drove us to one of town hospitals. The hospital was obviously one of the older hospitals by the looks of the exterior and inside smelled, like a hospital and the nurses were scurrying around in nurses outfits that belonged in the 1930's I felt like.
We were given a slip of paper that stated the order of the various procedures to take place during our exam. Then we waited on a bench outside a big room for our names to be called. 1st we did the vision test- you just have to say if the character is facing up (ue), down (shita), left (hidari), or right (migi). I definitely surprised the nurses because I answered in Japanese, instead of pointing! Next we went down the hall for the urine test, so gross because you have to carry your urine sample down this long hallway after you're done!!! There was no little door you put it in inside the bathroom - GROSS!
Lily and I were laughing this entire time, we kept telling Shima we weren't laughing to make fun of the situation, just more of a 'I can't believe this is happening right now' kind of laugh. Next we were rushed into another room for the EKG and then the Chest X-RAY, all very efficientally, the whole process took less than 15 minutes. I couldnt imagine having all of those things done in the US in under at LEAST an hour and a half. That's one thing that's nice here-the Japanese are very reliable and VERY conciencious of time, they are never late! The radiologists showed us our chest x-rays, which showed nothing unusal, and Shima said the blood tests would come back in a week (mine are fine!). I still don't know what happens if they find something in your test, do they send you home? Shima said this is often times the only time people go to the doctors all year.
After Taiko practice last week we were outside talking to the young girls our age - they're really nice and one of them (who works at the post office) speaks really good english. Lily and I invited them to a party we are having in November and they started jumping up and down!! They were so excited we invited them. One of the reasons being that in Japan you live with your parents until your married - so there aren't parties to go to when you're in your twenties, or ever really...The only parties they have are almost like planned matchmaking-cocktail-type parties - I understand it to be where everyone gets paired up with someone of the opposite sex for the night They've really only seen 'house parties' in movies, and I think they think they're all like American Pie or Animal House - they'll be in for a surprise! The one girl who speaks little English got really nervous after she realized that most of the people there would be other English teachers-and they have obviously never been around that many gaijin (foreigners) before in their lives. Definitely understand how it would be extremely intimadating, especially seeing how loud we get!
Katherine and I took the Friday afternoon train to Osaka for Halloween weekend! I hadn't spent more than one night (with Leila) in Osaka yet so I was excited to go up with someone who knows the city. We ate 2 delicious meals of Mexican food, got real western pizza and french fries, and Frappacino's at STARBUCKS! I was so excited, the shopping was great too - except for the sizes. They have something called 'Free Size' which equates to our 'One size fits all,' and that would be great except for the average Japanese girl is a size 0, so my arms break the seams if I even try a shirt on...and forget buying pants here, I'll have to do that online and have them shipped. Katherine and I did manage to find some clothes that fit us, and they were rather cheap too! As usual I bought a lot, my justification being that I didn't bring all of my clothes with me to Japan so I need some more here! haha oops
In general life in Osaka is like that of any other large city, a lot of hustle bustle, people always seem to be going somewhere with at least 4 shopping bags in tow. OH-and japanese women? always in high heels, no matter what.
Saturday we were walking around Osaka and came upon a TON of police lining a main street.
Katherine had seen this before and told me that she thought it was because the Japanese Nationalists were protesting around certain stores and the Korean Consulate office. The Nationalists drive vans with huge japanese flags (the new one AND the old one with the red sun beams coming out of the red sun) trailing behind them around and around the same streets on the weekends. They blare propoganda from loud speakers on the top of the vans saying things like 'Koreans are taking our business!' 'Go back to your country!' 'Only support Japanese owned shops, restaurants!' 'Gaijin (foreigners) get out! Japan is for the Japanese!' ...things like that, it was really freaky, I kinda felt like Hitler was driving down the street yelling crazy things through a speaker...needless to say I didn't want to draw more attention to myself than I already do by my looks alone, so I kept my camera in my bag and Katherine and I quickly ducked into a restaurant...
Saturday night we wanted to partake in the annual Halloween Train Hi-jack-o-lantern, which I know sounds weird, but literally hundreds of gaijin "hijack" 2-3 train cars on the main loopline in Osaka and ride them around the loop (about an hour). Apparently this has been going on for anywhere from 8-13 years in cities all over Japan on Halloween weekend.
Why? Who knows, but it's another excuse to dress up in a ridiculous costume, get drunk, and be obnoxious foreigners. This year was rumored to be different than the past because the Japanese police had finally had enough antics on the train - passengers were being harrassed, squirted with waterguns, etc...Various websites for foreigners were saying the Japanese police had cancelled the train hijacking, to which people replied, well this isn't an official event, so technically it can't be cancelled - and how can you stop us from riding the train?
Anyways, Katherine and I were intrigued and upon recommendations from many fellow JETS, who said you have to go at least once while you live in Japan, we set off for the Osaka station. The strange looks and whispers began when Katherine and I boarded the subway on our way to the station where everyone meets...we weren't wearing anything ridiculous, she was a half angel/half devil, and I was a ladybug. The Japanese love the commercial things associated with Halloween: cute pumpkins, Hello Kitty in costumes, candy, etc...but to see someone in an actual costume? WOW, CRAZY!
We arrived at the Osaka station to find a few gaijin there in costume also. The police were already beginning to surround us and began pushing us to the far end of the platform. Gradually more people came, and as the costumes got better, the crowd got more rowdy. At this point the police have encircled all the costumed foreigners and are furiously handing out yellow flyers that say in English and Japanese "Do not shout or make a lot of loud noises with taking up space on the train or inside the station premises/ These acts cause a nuisance and trouble to other passengers and are STRICLY PROHIBITED." HAHAH everyone was laughing hysterically at how paniced the police looked at the sight of all of these unpredictable gaijin yelling and screaming in scary masks. The best was when Ronald McDonald showed up, everyone went crazy!
Around 9:00 a train arrived and everyone rushes the trains, the police couldn't do anythign to stop it. Even though they probably had 4 times the amount of staff on hand for the evening they couldn't contain everyone. Katherine and I had been there for a while at that point and ended up getting on a different train to go back to the hotel before we went out. It was lots of fun, despite rumors about arrests, people losing their jobs if found participating, etc...
School observations:
-one school requires the students in 3-4 grade to a big wad of (thank god, sugarless) gum for 5 minutes after lunch...why? oh, to strengthen their jaws.
-teachers usually seperate the class into boys v. girls whenever I ask them to get into 2 groups...how is that fair? I always seem to end up helping the girls win somehow.
-I'm working with all my classes on the phrases Please, Thank you, and You're welcome...they have a VERY hard time saying "You're welcome," those particular sounds are very difficult for them. One boy actually said "Beckham?" because that's what he thought he heard me say! No...sorry slightly different than that....and at that, we would play the game again.
-Today I was eating with the 3rd graders at my biggest school and a crowd formed around me to inspect my lunch as usual, and they took interest in my trail mix (sent from trader joes, thanks mom!) asking what everything was. A few minutes later a new boy approached me and in Japanese asked me if I was eating HAMSTER FOOD!!! hahaha The teacher and I couldn't stop laughing...Once I told them a lot of the trail mix was seeds they really freaked out, they couldn't believe I was eating something from a flower as large as a sunflower. I asked the teacher if I could give each student a few seeds and she said yes - they all loved them! Definitely need to plan a food tasting class so they can try some different foods besides rice, seafood, vegeatables and miso soup!
ROAD TRIP TO MIE-KEN, and NAGOYA!
Wynne, Katherine, Sara and I left to spend our 3 day weekend in Nagoya (the 4th biggest city in Japan). We stopped in the next prefecture, Mie-ken to see the Eagle Rock and then drove up through the mountains (verrry windy roads, no highway until you go a few hours north), enjoyed the scenery, good music, and each others company. We made another stop at Ise Shrine - which is the most important Shinto shrine in Japan. Shinto tradition has stated for centuries that the shrine buildings (about 200) be replaced every 20 years with exact imitations built according to ancient techniques-no nails, only interlocking joints! Seems crazy huh? The god is then transferred to the new shrine and the wood from the old shrine is used to make the new torii gate. The last time the shrine was rebuilt was 1993, and cost $50,000,000! A ridiculous price for such a small temple I think-so it's a good thing all Japanese people making a pilgrammage to Ise at least once in their life and throw tons of money into a huge offering area. The best part about this magnificent shrine is that you can't see it! The main building is almost completely hidden from view - only members of the imperial family and certain priests are allowed to enter. The shrine houses the sun goddess-who is considered to be the guardian deity of the Japanese nation. The shrine is even more important because it also houses the sacred mirror, one of the 3 imperial regalia (the other two are beads, and a sword).
We drove another 2 hours north along the coast (thank god for highways!) and spent the rest of the weekend in Nagoya! We had a blast doing big western city things like eating at outback (see photo's for a sequence of pics from the night we ate ourselves sick), getting drinks at starbucks, doing lots of shopping, and going to clubs. We walked around a lot, explored the city, and visited an orchid botanical gardens with over 250 types of orchids inside - definitely one of my favorite things I've done in Japan so far, it was that beautiful! The drive back was fun and flew by thanks to the people in the car! We stopped at Meoto-Iwa (the wedded rocks) on the way home for some quick pics, then were on our way again.
All in all another great weekend in Japan...now it's time to lesson plan!
Hope everyone is well :)
PS: Don't forget that I miss home and would love to hear what you're up to too, emails/pictures about even the most mundane things from home are very much appreciated!
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