Nanowrimo: 50,000 words FTW!

Drum roll, please . . .

Yes, for the second year in a row, I managed to beat my computer keyboard to death until I got a total of 50077 words onto the screen. Astonishingly enough, most of it makes sense.

Unsurprisingly, the novel is not finished. But, that's okay, because I have most of the major scenes already written or outlined (except for the jailbreak scene, but I don't count that because it came into being quite suddenly last week when one of my characters decided to get herself arrested, and that was NOT part of my original plan). Most of what's left is filling in the gaps and finishing/polishing off important scenes.

I'm very happy with the story so far. I'd intended it to be all about how Dark Man forced the girls to compete to be his bride, but that turned out to be only the first half of the story. The second half (and the major plot, as it turns out, because by the end of the third chapter, Del and Sha'as are talking about this) is about how the girls escape from Dark Man and their attempts to get as far away from him as possible. Characters got shuffled a little bit (the salamanders have a small but still pivotal role), and a few popped up when I hadn't even known they were there (hello, Wollton Symphony Orchestra!). It's been hard work, but it's been a lot of fun to write and discover where the story is trying to go. And pretty much everybody ends up happy.

Even though the story's not finished, I'm proud of myself. It's not easy for me to stick with a story idea long enough to get 50000 on it, much less to have a plan for how I'm going to finish it. Even last years Nano novel fell to the wayside after November - but that was actually due to real-life issues than anything else.

My next goal is to get the rest of the novel outlined by the end of December, if not entirely finished. I've got a busy month coming up, what with at least two parties to attend and a trip to Kamakura planned, but if I keep up with my writing in the evenings, it's entirely possible that I can get at least another 25,000 words written by the end of the year.

And then comes New Year's and a whole week of vacation for which I have nothing planned. I see much editing in my future.

Non-Japanese Food Journal: guacamole

Yeah, this year's Thanksgiving went mostly unmarked by me, other than exchanging greetings and well-wishes with a lot of people. The one special thing I did was make guacamole.

Okay, before everyone starts thinking that this is a little weird, I'll admit that it is. Most people don't think guacamole is a Thanksgiving food, and I doubt it'll ever be considered such, it's not like I'm trying to start a trend here. But it amused me to make it, and it was something I wanted to do. It just so happened that I decided to do it on Thanksgiving.

For the record, I don't like Thanksgiving. Oh, the sentiment's alright, but it's totally at the wrong time of the year. In the northern hemisphere, who is doing their harvesting at the end of November? Here in my little region of Japan, it seems that the only things that are really in season right now are persimmons and apples. Of course, turkey is pretty rare, and most people wouldn't eat mashed potatoes, but that's not my point. All I'm saying is that it's a ridiculous time of year to have a harvest festival. The Canadians are way more logical about it - their Thanksgiving is in the beginning of October and thus makes sense.

And I'm not going to get into the whole "Indians and pilgrims" thing, because, man, what a line all that is. I'll believe that happened when I believe that Benni-sensei will actually clean her room (seriously, she's going to get trapped in there one day if that stack of books and papers on her desk keeps multiplying). But, yeah, color me cynical on that one.

A couple of weeks ago, Benni-sensei and I went to the grocery store for something, and we were hanging around in the produce section when she grabbed me and yanked me toward a pile of avocadoes. Benni lived in California for a long time, and she loves Mexican food, and she stared at those avocadoes like they were ambrosia. Then she asked me if I liked guacamole, to which I of course replied that I love guacamole and also enjoyed making it. She laughed and said, "Hey, maybe you can make some for me some time!"

I said maybe I would, and we went on our merry way. Later that same day, we were talking to Naofumi, and he mentioned that he'd spent some of his childhood in California, and Benni immediately asked him if he liked guacamole, and he said he thought he remembered liking it. This led to a mostly-Japanese conversation about living in California, which Naofumi looked kind of embarrassed about because he insisted he was too young to remember most of it. I snuck away and went home because it was late.

When it comes to saying that I'll make food, I usually end up making it. Maybe it takes me a little while to get around to it, but I do get around to it. I love to cook; I think it's relaxing. And I miss it terribly. I'm almost convinced that I miss my oven more than I miss my family! (sorry, family!) And this week, I got it into my head that I should make guacamole.

Let me say that avocadoes in Japan are really small and really expensive. Indeed, this is probably the most expensive guacamole I've ever made, but that's probably because I had to buy some ingredients that I would normally have stocked - like cayenne pepper, jalapeno tabasco sauce, and cream cheese. Dairy products are kind of frightening when it comes to price, but I expected that. It took me FOREVER to find Tostito chips and they were insanely expensive, but totally worth it. I think most people were more impressed that I'd even found a bag of them than they were with the guacamole.

But, it was all worth it. I ended up using sour cream as a base (I found the tiniest container of it, a major victory as far as I'm concerned because Naofumi seemed pretty convinced that I would be unable to find it) because it was more like cream cheese than the cream cheese was. It had the right consistency and a better flavor. But it turned very nicely, and everyone who tried it exclaimed, "Oishii!" which seems roughly equivalent to "holy crap, this is really good!"

Benni-sensei was especially pleased because she was having a bit of a crappy day due to scheduling problems with her vacation. She was going to Thailand, but there are some major protesting issues going on right now and the airports are closed to traffic. So, she's currently on her way to Taipei, which she was not all that thrilled about but she felt obliged to go because her travelling companions wanted to go. Also, on the plus side, Naofumi had showed up to (finally) renew his contract, so it was nice to offer him some guacamole as a thank you, even though he'd been debating about this for three weeks now.

Ultimately, I enjoyed my Thanksgiving, even though it was a pretty typical day for me. The only thing I really miss about Thanksgiving is the cooking and especially the baking. I don't think I'm going to survive the Christmas holiday without doing some kind of baking, so this weekend, I'll probably end up heading over to Cainz Home and buying a new toaster oven. I already have one in the apartment, but I hate it, and I couldn't bake with it anyway because I can't regulate the temperature. It'll probably be an expensive purchase, but I have the money to spare, and it will definitely be worth it. I'll just have to figure out where to put it . . .

Anyway, Turkey Day is come and gone, and I hope it was a pleasant day for all!

UPDATE: commercial love, part deux

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4207

As it turns out, there are 16 Tommy Lee Jones commercials made by Boss so far. The above link has a playlist of 13 of them with English subtitles.

Enjoy!

Japanese Food Journal: ramen

The above is a picture of real ramen. Note all of the delicious things floating around in it. Mmmm.



Americans think of ramen and imagine college dorms and slim pickings.

Japanese think of ramen and magic happens.

The flavor of real ramen cannot be described, it must be experienced. It is remarkable.

The sad truth is that it's unlikely that it's possible to capture such wonderful flavor in a little foil pouch. You can't compare real fresh-made sushi with Publix sushi, and you can't compare real ramen with the packaged stuff. It just stands to reason.

Anyway, so this ramen I had. Hitomi had offered to take me to a store to get some things for my apartment, and afterward, she asked if I wanted to go to lunch. She suggested finding a ramen restaurant, and I said okay. I wasn't sure what to expect: I figured ramen = noodles + broth + spices + a little bit of something resembling vegetables floating around.

Uh-uh. First, consider the fact that for the equivalent of about $4.50, I get this ginormous bowl of soup. HUGE. I saw these bowls sitting at other tables, and I thought people were SHARING them. Nope, all for one person. Second, it's got stuff floating in it all right: awesome noodles, yummy veggies, this weird disk thing that I still don't know what it is but tasted good, and thinly sliced pork. That's correct, my ramen had MEAT. And delicious hot broth that tasted heavenly.
Ramen can't be eaten with just a spoon, you've got to get in there with chopsticks to get the best of it all in a bite. It's like going on a treasure hunt. It's highly amusing. By the time I'd finished, I felt like I was about to explode from the deliciousness of it all.

Also, it's important to note that slurping is not only allowed but it's expected and necessary. I haven't quite figured out how to eat ramen without making a complete mess of myself.

Hitomi-san tells me that there are a number of ramen restaurants near GEOS, including one called I Love Ramen. Must find as soon as possible.

commercial love

Um, so remember that pic of Tommy Lee Jones on a vending machine that I posted? Apparently, that was just scratching the surface - he really IS a spokesperson for that Boss coffee brand.

Okay, so Japanese commercials are way more interesting and amusing than American commercials. Why? Not sure, maybe it has to do with the fact that I have no idea what they're saying or that I have no idea what most of these products are so it's all new to me and I think it's great. Whatever it is, I like Japanese commercials, so I watch them when they come on.

So, Monday, SMAP just went off, and I'm trying to decide what to do next (lesson plans or ironing? there's a conundrum for you), and this commercial comes on. It's a bunch of maintenance guys doing something in a tunnel - they're all dirty and worn-out and looking like they're not enjoying this. And the foreman stands up and says something and points to what looks like a demolitions detonator - you know, the kind you see the Coyote always trying to blow up the Roadrunner with. And then he looks out at the men and says, quite clearly, "Jones."

The next thing you know, Tommy Lee Jones is walking out of the crowd - dressed just like all the other Japanese guys - and looking all noble, and he says something in Japanese that I don't know what it is yet. And he pushes the detonator and blows a whole in the top of the tunnel and everyone is happy and tears are streaming down TLJ's face in such a stereotypical melodramatic Japanese-emotional reaction that I just busted out laughing. It's a commercial for Boss coffee drinks, and the last shot is TLJ chugging one of their little super-espresso products.

This, I have decided, is awesome incarnate.

I also enjoy the car commercial with George Clooney. It's about 45 seconds of Clooney parking his car (Japanese, because the steering wheel is on the right!), putting money in a parking meter, putting the ticket on his dashboard, and walking down the street. I like its simplicity.


EDIT:
Okay, so I'm taking a break from writing and thinking, "gee, I wonder if I can find those commercials online." And I went searching. What did I find? TREASURE.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4082864
Nicholas Cage as an overly-stereotyped (and insanely hilarious) cowboy.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=3866533
Governor Arnold also endorses power (?) drinks.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4073112
For any "24" fans out there. Not the best quality, but it's mildly amusing.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=8696368
Hulk Hogan sings "The Days of the Week" song (which my kids hate) in a Japanese AC commercial.

And because I love Tommy Lee Jones in Japanese commercials, here's a WHOLE PAGE DEDICATED TO THEM. In commercial #9, he becomes my new personal hero.
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=2770

[p.s. The Pee Wee Herman commercials were too horrible to link here. Find them if you dare.]

J-Rock

It's considerably trite to say that I like music, considering that most people do, but it's a straightforward truth. I like music, and I was unsure how I'd like Japanese music, because if you live outside of Japan, chances are you know J-Pop and that's it. And J-Pop is some of the most irritating music I've heard, but I think American pop is pretty irritating too, so maybe it's just me.

Anyway, now that I've been watching TV pretty regularly, I've seen a couple of music countdown shows, which basically review the best singles and albums of the week. Most of it is J-Pop, and my general rule is that if it looks like a girl or boy band, it's probably going to make me want to hit the mute button as fast as possible. This is especially true in the case of such groups like Perfume and Speed; calling them bands would be a misnomer because these girls don't play instruments, they just sing shrilly. Boy groups aren't much better because they're kinda sappy and do a lot of coordinated dancing and often look a little too effeminate for my tastes.

BUT. All is not lost when it comes to Japanese music. I have thus far discovered two groups that I not only like but have enjoyed so much that I went out and purchased their cds. I have also compiled a list of singers/bands that I want to learn more about because I think I might like them too. Most of them are very "rockish" and utitilize real instruments and not a bunch of electronica.

The first is Naifu, a group that is making their debut. They are an actual band that plays actual instruments (which I've noticed is the first step in catching my interest), and they have a definite "rock" sound. Their second single, "Mysterious," is in the top ten and has been used as an opening theme to an anime show called "Detective Conan," which I've seen a couple episodes of and plan to watch from now on. It's kind of a rock-love ballad, and I've found a couple of translations online, and I like the lyrics. (nota bene: a lot of Japanese music uses English in small ways, usually as titles or with a word thrown in here and there in the lyrics - in this case, the song title is actually in English, but the rest of the song is 98% Japanese.)

The second band is Asian Kung-Fu Generation, which I've decided is just downright awesome. They write almost 100% of their music themselves, and some of it is just plain brilliant. Their most recent album was released this year, and after hearing the single "Fujisawa Loser," I went out and bought it, and I've listened to it pretty much non-stop for the past three days. All of their songs are sung in Japanese, but they also supply English translation lyrics with their album. "Fujisawa Loser" is my favorite, but I also like "Inamuragasaki Jane" (which references the Beatles) and "Kamakura Goodbye." All of the songs are named for stops on a train line, and it's really just a great cd. There's a lot of indie and alternative influence in their style, and that's something I can appreciate.

My only complaint? iTunes has next to nothing when it comes to J-Rock, even in the Japanese store (which I can't buy from anyway, so maybe that's a good thing). Also, my iPod is nearly full, so I won't be able to add much more music to it - not that this is inherently a bad thing, considering I could play music on it for 5.5 days before songs started repeating themselves.

Bottom line: Japanese music is more than just J-Pop, and that makes me happy.

Japanese Food Journal: Kit Kats

I'm fascinated by Japanese Kit Kats. Aside from Snickers and M&Ms, it's the only popular American candy I've seen so far. (the lack of Reese Cups was fairly traumatizing at first, but I got over it.) I, however, had no idea that Kit Kats could come in so many flavors. Pictured above are the Kit Kats I've tried so far: grape Kit Kats (the "muscat" one), melon Kit Kats, strawberry Kit Kats (in milk and in white chocolate), blueberry Kit Kats, and orange Kit Kats. Want to see something awesome?

That's a green Kit Kat, my friends. It's the grape one, in case you're wondering. White chocolate, so not that great flavor-wise. The melon one was delicious. I saw watermelon Kit Kats at Don Quixote (easily the most awesome store in Isesaki, where you can get just about anything, and I really mean that; the place is open until 3am and is HUGE), but they only came in big bags and I didn't want to buy a whole bag. The strawberry Kit Kat is better in milk chocolate, and the blueberry Kit Kat actually tasted quite good despite being white chocolate. The orange Kit Kat was also yummy.

However, my favorite Kit Kat flavor by far is the sweet red bean paste Kit Kat:

I happened upon this in the grocery store a few days ago and bought four of them. It's the first time I've seen this flavor, and I haven't found it anywhere else. And I love it.

I love azuki beans, whether in their regular bean form or as sweet red bean paste. Not a day passes that I don't eat azuki beans in some way, whether in a rice ball, or in daifuku, or as sekihan (which is just rice mixed with the beans), or as yokan (which is kind of like a hard jelly), or as a filling in bread. Seriously, I think it's become an addiction. Benni-sensei and my students think this is pretty amusing because, apparently, most foreigners don't really like azuki beans. I don't understand this, because they're delicious. It's a little strange for me, however, because I normally don't like beans and generally avoid them.

But, back to the topic at hand: Kit Kats! Who knew that you could get them in so many flavors? Not me, and let me tell you, discovering this has been playing havoc on my daily calorie count. The really excellent thing about Kit Kats is that they're packaged in pairs and are smaller than American Kit Kats, so eating one pack is really not that bad. That box of red bean Kit Kats will last two days. So, in my little cabinet in the school canteen, I've got a little stack of various flavors of Kit Kats. Again, Benni-sensei finds this extremely amusing. Actually, she finds everything about my cabinet extremely amusing, because I also have assorted instant ramen packages, several packets of instant soup, and three or four varieties of senbei (rice crackers). I have this really bad habit of randomly buying stuff just to see what it tastes like.

Hmm, I should definitely do a post on senbei some time. I had no idea that rice crackers could be so delicious.

sara-sensei loves the 7-11

I've never thought much of convienence stores. You got your soda, you got your candy bars, you got your fast food fare. Big whoop. And then, I stepped into a Japanese 7-11, and thus, I found another reason to love Japan.

Japanese convienence stores - especially the 7-11 - are pretty keen, and I've been getting meals there 2-3 times a week. I realize that it's a bit silly to get so excited over conbini food, but I can't help it. I'm thrilled that I can buy full meals at the 7-11 and be satisfied by them in flavor and in fulfillment. It's so much better than buying a bag of potato chips and hoping for the best.

I love their sandwiches, though I'm not sure what's in some of them. I'm pretty sure there's an egg salad one, and I think there's a salmon salad one, but I haven't tried it. My favorite is lettuce, cheese, and ham. A simple, handy lunch. And it comes with the crust cut off, which sends me into fits of adulation. I've also had a tonkatsu meal (which is battered pork with sauce), which was also quite yummy. I've been avoiding it lately, because the calorie intake on that one is kinda frightening. And the other day, I had a pasta meal, something like a carbonara sauce. It was a cream sauce with bacon and a poached egg. Mmm. Also fairly dangerous in regards to calories, but still. Yum.

They also have a few noodle dishes, some frozen and others fresh. The frozen ones are pretty ordinary and unexciting, but the fresh ones aren't too bad. There's one with tempura shrimp on it that I usually get once a week. It's got soba noodles, which I like much better than udon or ramen noodles. Also, the calories aren't completely out of control with it.

I've tried some of the onigiri, but I'm not impressed with them. Maybe I just need to stick to plain rice balls, because some of the fillings (as Sarah mentioned in her blog) are kinda gross. Usually, I just get the plain ones, or the ones with adzuki beans in them.

I'm enjoying the selection of breads though. Most bread in Japan seems to be of the sweet variety, which pleases me to no end. Sliced bread is so far the only bread I've found that isn't sweetened in some way. Yesterday, I found a yellow mushi cake, which was to die for. Good thing I'm doing all this walking and biking, or I'd be the size of a blimp by New Year's!

I don't feel too bad though, because I'm working my butt off and I have 5-6 hours between most meals. I'm up and down during classes, as well as while I'm planning, so I do a lot of walking at work too. Breakfast is fairly light, yogurt with some granola thrown in for texture. I try to limit myself to one sweet treat per day, which means I'll buy a few things whenever I go to Marue (a nearby drugstore) or Beisia (the grocery store) and eat them over the course of the week. Most of the time, though, I cheat and have two sweet snacks, but I justify it by telling myself I deserve it.

It's just that I have so much to choose from! Every day is a new adventure when it comes to food!

and it only took six weeks!

I finally have internet at home! Yay!

It turns out that my tuner was fried and needed to be replaced. So, now the problem is solved and I can once again get online. Time to fire up Skype!

Today was a very good day. I only have three classes on Thursday (but only two students; one of them stays for two classes), and they're both private students and very fun, so I typically have good Thursdays. I decided to go to the 100 yen store to get some things for tomorrow's class, and I ended up riding around and taking pictures of random things. Overnight, trees started to change colors - I swear, last week everything was still green. Riding around with Benni-sensei yesterday, I noticed that there were many more colors bursting into the sky. It helped that yesterday and today were both very clear, very beautiful (and very cold) days. Even though it was pretty windy, I had a very nice ride around my little corner of Isesaki.

I thought it was a beautiful house, so I took a picture of it. It's shiny. And very peaceful-looking.

Pretty yellow trees! The whole street was lined with the trees, which Benni-sensei says are possibly maples. I have no idea, so that works for me.

Those trees are in a park very close to my school.

On the way to school. Last week, a crew came along and trimmed all the trees on one side of the street; the other side was left alone. I have no idea why and no one can explain it to me.

The Spaghetti House. I thought it made a nice picture.

My neighbor's yard. He's an elderly man, and he seems to spend a lot of time working on it. I see him every once in a while when I leave for work.

Sara-sensei is mobile!

Finally, I have a bike!

The previous manager left behind her (very old) bicycle, which was in desparate need of a new front tire and some oil. It also needed to be de-cobwebbed. Hitomi-san very kindly drove it over to Cainz Home (roughly equivalent to Wal-Mart, I swear you can do and get anything at this store) to get fixed, and voila! I am mobile! Hitomi-san and Benni-sensei were very pleased, as they seem to think I'm a little crazy for enjoying walking everywhere. For a brief while, they were trying to convince me to get a car, but they let that go when I agreed to the bike.

And I love having the bike. I don't mind walking so much, but riding is definitely faster, and I don't mind travelling farther away from the school or my apartment. Tuesdays-Thursdays, I don't have any classes until about 5pm, and I usually don't need to do any lesson plans during that time, so what I've been doing is going out on my bike and riding around for about 30 minutes, getting lunch, and bringing it back to the school. It makes me feel like I'm getting a decent amount of exercise and I don't feel so much like a do-nothing lump. And it's fun. I've located a couple new restaurants I want to try (seriously, the Japanese take on Tex-Mex? I have to see this), and I found a McDonald's, which I'm thinking I should try just because it might be amusing. I'm all about being amused.

My only problem is that I don't have much in the way of accessories. I've got a bell and a small basket on the front. I need to get a couple other items for it, such as a headlight, a reflector, and a basket for the back end to put my groceries. Making plans for making those additions in the future.

But, otherwise, I'm happy with it, even if the brakes squeal and it looks like it could be older than I am. It does have written on it "nice friend," which is kind of cute.

Yay for mobility!

Nanowrimo: 25,000 words

November is halfway over, which means that I should have 25.000 words written so far for National Novel Writing Month. As of right now, I have 25,006 words. And I'm not even done writing for the evening.

Woot!

Unless some unforeseen horrible thing happens to me before the end of the month, I am so totally hitting that 50,000 word target by the 30th. Of the seven years that I have been participating in Nanowrimo, this will be the second time that I've reached the goal.

I was actually a little worried about this year, considering I'm in Japan and doing the whole teaching thing and therefore being completely out of my element. Now that I'm deep into Nanowrimo, I'm thinking that moving to Japan and getting this job is the best thing that could have happened to my writing at this time. For the first time in years, I have a regular writing schedule that I'm sticking to, and I'm easily churning out 1600-2000 words a day, most of it type-written.

This success has mostly to do with my schedule. I've always felt like my most productive hours are the late-night hours. Midnight is truly the magic hour for my creativity. But for the past couple of years, I've been getting up at 6 or 7am, so I was going to bed around midnight and thus not writing at my most productive hours.

Now, however, my hours fit my desired sleep cycle much better. I get up at 9am and usually leave the apartment around 10, either to go to the grocery story to get food for lunch and dinner (both of which I often eat at the school - I mostly do my cooking on the weekends) or to just wonder around for a little bit and get some fresh air and exercise. This gets me to work really early (by 11 most days), but it does give me a little time to check my email before Hitomi-san gets in. Once I get internet up at my apartment, I probably won't leave as early and just check my email at home instead. I usually get back to my apartment between 9-10:30pm, and I generally mess around until 11pm, at which point I sit down to my computer and write until 2am, aka bedtime. That's three hours of writing (with breaks to brush my teeth and do some ab work), but most of it is writing. So, productivity is not a problem right now, and it feels pretty awesome to be able to devote such a large chunk of time to something I've always been passionate about but never seemed to have enough time for.

No guarantees that what I'm writing is worth reading though. Editing will have to come later. For now, I'm just happy to get it out of my head and into the computer.

Japanese television

I got the tv figured out finally. Apparently, something was wrong with it, and it required someone coming out and fixing it. I wasn't really concerned about getting the tv fixed until I learned that I had to check-in through it in order to get my internet up and running. So now I can get hours of mindless entertainment in a language I don't speak. Also, I have no idea how scheduling is done, so obviously, I have no idea what's going off or coming on. Even better, the only chance I get to watch tv is between 10pm and 2am, and late night Japanese tv is kind of insane.

There are more shows of people doing crazy things than I can count. And by "crazy things" I mean making complete fools of themselves. Last night, I watched a show where four guys had to move around a bunch of crap while their hands were covered in slippery, slimy goo. As a result, they dropped most of it, and they were punished by a woman wielding an air hose. What was the point of all this? I have no idea, but maybe it's because I didn't understand what was being said or what all that writing on the screen was. There are any number of strange "competition" shows, where people continue to do crazy things in order to win . . . something. I don't know what, but at least they all look like they're having fun when they do it. At the time of this writing, I'm watching a show where a bunch of high school girls in gym clothes appear to be judging/beta-testing/guessing about various odd products.

And then there's this crazy show called SMAP (I think; it might also be a band, nobody's been able to give me a straight answer on that). I'm pretty sure it's meant to be a comedy/variety show, because there's skits and cooking and always lots of laughing, and generally, it can be pretty hilarious, even when you don't know what's going on. Naofumi tried to explain it to me, but he even had a hard time doing it, and I don't think it's because of the language barrier, because he's easily my highest level student. It's comedy, that's all I got out of it. And possibly a boy band, I need to check into that to figure it out. Either way, he kinda just shrugged and left it at that.

Late night also seems to be the best time to watch programs about learning foreign languages. English is pretty popular; I've seen about six different programs teaching English. My favorite is the one that uses Anne of Green Gables as its text. It's cute. However, there are other languages taught too. In one sitting, I learned Italian (asking how much something costs), French (the 3 meanings of "comment"), Hindi (various transportation vocabulary), and German (how to ask where to find a good place to eat). Of course, it's all Japanese --> other language, so I doubt I'm really learning much, but it's entertaining. Benni-sensei told me there's a program teaching Japanese to English speakers and she wants me to watch it, but I haven't seen it yet.

There are also lots of random information programs. I watched a documentary on Martin Luther King, Jr, a program about silk worms, a show about a guy wondering around a farm and looking for a place to get horseback riding lessons, sumo wrestling, and the news. Pretty keen, huh?

Wonderfully, at any given time, food is being talked about somewhere. Not just Japanese food either - I've seen mini-programs that had French and Italian-based recipes too. I find that I can follow food programs fairly easily. Not sure if this is because most of my Japanese vocabulary has to do with food or if demonstrating how to follow a recipe is generally universal.

So, even though I got my tv set up for reasons completely unrelated to watching it, I've gotten plenty of amusement out of it already. Most times, I don't really watch it, I just turn it on and let it go. This is partly because I can't stand to leave it off and uncovered, because it's right next to me, and it's creepy seeing me move in its reflection. Turning it on is easier than taking the sheet on and off.

Anyway, that's it. I'm also told there are American programs played late at night, but so far, the only one I've seen is a show called Kidnapped which I wasn't interested in when it was on in the States (it's another one of those failed NBC dramas from a couple of years ago). Oddly enough, two of the new cast members of Law & Order starred in it, which now explains to me why they were brought onto recent seasons of that show. Not that it's a problem; I've always been kind of fond of Jeremy Sisto. I might have watched Kidnapped, but it started at 2am, which is now my bedtime. And it was dubbed in Japanese. Actually, that was pretty entertaining. Oh, but not as entertaining as watching parts of the X-Files movie dubbed in to Japanese. Heh, now that was amusing.

No, wait, the most amusing thing EVER? Alf in Japanese. That's right, Alf. Chew on that one.

Christmas madness

So, you think it's mildly irritating when Christmas paraphernalia is put on display before Thanksgiving? What if it showed up before Halloween?

That's right. My first trip to the grocery store with William, and what's there to greet me? A ginormous display of Christmas cards, wrapping, bows, and other things that I'm not sure what they're for. There were some Halloween-themed things out in the aisles in the store itself, but it was rather telling that the Christmas stuff was prominently arranged. And since the passing of Halloween, the Christmas items have expanded, creeping into the store to take the place of odd Halloween goodies. I'd take pictures of it, but that doesn't seem like a polite thing to do in a grocery store. The other day, I was in a convenie, and Christmas music was playing over the loudspeaker. I thought I was going nuts, but I went to the grocery store the next day - MORE Christmas music.

Also, now that I have my tv working, I notice that there are a lot of Christmas-related commercials on. I had kinda been under the impression that Christmas wasn't a big holiday in Japan, but I'm starting to disbelieve that. Unless we've already hit a peak in Christmas decorating, in which case, I'd feel a little relief. However, I get the feeling this is just the start of a much bigger thing, especially considering that Benni-sensei is a self-professed Christmas freak. She's already been playing Christmas music nearly non-stop, and she's started teaching her students carols. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my kids' classes other than the special Christmas lesson in the book. I'd like to have them make snowflakes, but other than that, I've got nothing so far. Still brain-storming on that one.

In the meantime, I've just got to attempt to hold on to my sanity for the next six weeks. Beacuse, yeah, I like Christmas and all. But there's such a thing as TOO MUCH Christmas.

Japanese Food Journal: Monjayaki

Maybe it's not the most disgusting-looking food on the planet, but neither is it the most attractive-looking food. It's monjayaki: hard to pronounce, fun to eat. (Seriously, it took me forever to figure out what they were saying when they told me what it was called. I had to go to google and try random spellings until I found the right one. "yaki" was the easy part, because that basically means "grill.")

Benni-sensei and a couple of her students (Akiko, who is hilarious and awesome and is going on a homestay to Canada this month, and Kazuhiro, who has served as my personal translator at times and is thus very helpful) invited me out to a tiny monjayaki restaurant near a high school close to GEOS. I had no idea what we were doing or what we about to eat, but given the option of spicy or sweet, I chose sweet. Everyone else had spicy, so my little monjayaki was over in a corner all by itself.

Monjayaki is very much like okonomiyaki, in that it is a batter filled with all kinds of yummy things. However, it's much runnier, so that when you pour it out onto the grill, it runs all over the place. You have to use little metal spatulas to keep it all together and form it into a pancake so it cooks evenly. When you first pour it out, it looks exactly like a mess of puke, and it is possibly the most least appetizing site ever. Fortunately, it tastes way better than it looks, and it starts to look edible after its cooked a while. You eat it as it cooks, straight off the grill. It's kind of fun, chasing the batter around on the grill and fighting with the others to get at a good piece. The best parts are the burnt bits, they get all crunchy and yummy.

So, moral of the story? Even if it looks gross, it might still be yummy. I have no idea what went into it, but it sure did taste good.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monjayaki

Japanese Food Journal: homemade eel patties

For my first homecooked meal in Japan, I wanted to make something that was vaguely Japanese and definitely not complicated. I settled on eel patties, a recipe I found in the Japanese cookbook I brought with me. It suggested serving them as burgers, but I couldn't find hamburger buns in the grocery store, so I decided to just make them patties instead.

I've found that Japanese respond to my love for in eel in two ways: they're shocked that I love it or they're shocked that most Americans don't eat it. One student was even horrified when I said that eel is not readily found in American grocery stores. She simply couldn't believe it. Another student was thoroughly amused that I liked it so much that I wanted to cook with it. Overall, though every Japanese I've met is thrilled that I'm embracing Japanese food. One of my kids' classes saw me eating onigiri (a riceball) today, and it was apparently the most amazing thing they've ever seen, the idea that an American would willingly eat such a thing.

Anyway, back to my home-cooked Japanese meal. It was all quite simple: peel, chop, and cook the eel just briefly. Eel comes prepared, already grilled and flavored, so I'm not having to cook it for more than a couple of minutes. Then, mix the eel with a beaten egg and enough panko to form into patties. I was afraid I'd used too much panko, but the combination turned out to be perfect. In a skillet, I cooked the patties in some olive oil, just enough to get them crispy and crunchy on the outside.

To serve: I laid out a bed of cabbage and squirted mayo over top it. Then I placed the eel patties on top, in a triangle. I had one beautiful tomato that cost half a fortune but was well worth it because it was so juicy and yummy. To finish, I covered the eel patties with tonkatsu sauce. And voila! I cook once again!

Don't know when I'll do it again though. My kitchen has zero counterspace, and that makes it exceedingly difficult to do any kind of prep work. I'll definitely make the eel patties again soon because I still have plenty of panko and cabbage left (though I might make okonomiyaki with the cabbage before I get to the patties again). But cooking is going to be a major chore because I have so little space to work in. I'm going to keep things simple at first (pasta, perhaps, since that requires little prep), and if I find I can manage the space better, I'll continue trying new things.

Until then, I have plenty of food to choose from outside the apartment!

my new favorite holiday

I love my Headways class with my horticulturist student. It's always amusing. Naofumi is probably my most advanced student. He spent 7 years as a child growing up in California, and his reading and conversation are excellent. He takes classes mainly to practice English and keep it honed and because his job encourages it. Headways is the most advanced class GEOS offers, and it's pretty intense. The book was published at Oxford, so it's painfully British at times, to the point where I've had to look stuff up because I had no idea what they were saying. But, he's a smart guy, so we've had some pretty interesting conversations regarding the text.

Monday was a Japanese holiday: Culture Day. I asked Naofumi what it was for, and he explained that people were supposed to go out and get cultivated, by going to a museum or a concert or something (yay for Sarah and Nick! I just went to the ￥100 store). He added that most Japanese people just take the opportunity to be lazy and do nothing. He seemed to be of the opinion that those kinds of holidays (Culture Day, Sports Day, etc.) were kind of useless, except for the fact that it's a three-day weekend for a lot of people.

"Sounds like some holidays we have in the States," I replied.

"Yeah." A pause. "Like what?"

"Like Columbus Day, for one. He discovered Hispaniola, not the North American continent."

Naofumi kind of chortled at this. "Wasn't the continent discovered by some other guy from Scandinavia or some place like that?"

"Yeah, Lief Ericsson."

"Hmm. So why don't you have Lief Ericsson Day?"

See? I love this class.

Speaking of holidays, I find it amusing that head office sent out an email encouraging NETs to tell their students about Guy Fawkes Day in an effort to convince them to travel abroad and "experience holidays unlike their own." For some reason, when I think of foreign holidays that I want to observe, Guy Fawkes Day isn't the first one that comes to mind. Just hope no one uses V For Vendetta as their reference point.

sara-sensei's apartment

Finally! No video, but I do have pictures of the apartment for you to enjoy.


This is what you see when you step through the front door. I'm standing in the entryway, where shoes are put. I have a little closet there where I keep my sneakers and sandals, as well as the trash bags and the Jayne Cobb: Hero of Canton bag that I use to haul my groceries in. Take a left turn right before the fridge, and you get to the bathroom area of the apartment.

But first, a shot of the actual entryway. The rolling thing is my kitchen storage unit, where I have my dried goods, the dishes, and various tupperware containers (William left quite a few of them, but NONE of them have lids, and they're all super tiny). The top is concave, so it doesn't work well as a cooking space, but it's handy to put my drying dishes on.

And here is the washing area. Directly ahead is the washer, which holds about a week's worth of clothes in one load. To the left is the toilet, to the right is the shower.

This is the toilet. It has its own little room. It's not a super-futuristic toilet like the one in the motel, but it has a faucet on top where clean water comes out when you flush. It's kind of cool.

Here is the shower. Note that the whole room is the shower, even though there appears to be a tub there. There are two drains, one in the shower and one in front of the sink. Theoretically, you're supposed to draw a hot bath, wash yourself outside of the tub with the shower hose, then get in the tub and soak. It's quite relaxing, but it's also a bit complicated, especially if you're not so graceful like me. It's a tiny space, and it's kind of maddening. I also hang a lot of shirts in here to dry, since I don't have much room on the line out the window.

Here is a closer shot of the kitchen. Seriously, that's the kitchen. Fridge, microwave, rice cooker, stove, and sink. Notice the lack of counter space? And the lack of an oven, but that was a given anyway.

I do have some shelves just above the microwave, which is where I keep my spices and utensils and whatnot. There is not enough room to keep food up there. That all goes in the fridge or in the rolling storage unit. Which, by the way, either blocks the front door or the path to the bathroom. There is no room for it to just be, as you can see:

I have plenty of pots and pans, more than I'll ever actually need. I make pasta every once in a while, and I have a skillet that I use more than anything else. I don't often cook in the evening. On Tues-Thurs, I have enough time to come home and make myself some lunch (or bring home lunch), around 2-3pm. So, that is when I cook. For dinner, I just get something mircowaveable, and I don't consider that cooking.

Here is the stove and the sink. Small, huh? The stove works wonderfully, I have no complaints with it (except it randomly decided to turn off in the middle of boiling pasta one day). The cans there are waiting to be rinsed out so I can recycle them. All cans and bottles are recycled.

And here is the living room, entering from the kitchen. I have a door separating the kitchen from the living area, which I like, because I feel a little more closed-in and protected. That's my closet, which is big enough to accomodate all of my clothing. It's got a few shelves in there under the hanging clothes, so I was able to fit all of my socks and things in there too. The AC/heat unit is above it next to the window. I have a crummy view of still more apartments. I have also a really ugly blue futon couch which is usually covered with clothes or someting, but that's okay, because it's not really comfortable. I have to climb on it to open the window and hang my laundry to dry. I'd really prefer to get rid of it, it's just taking up space, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to. Or what to do with it if I were to throw it out. I spend most of my time at the little table, where I do my ironing, my computing, and my eating.

Across from the table is the desk with the tv. You can see how often I use the tv. I didn't like it glaring at me (I hate tvs that aren't turned on, they're creepy), so I covered it with a sheet. Above it are some shelves that I've got my GEOS paperwork crammed into. You can also see some of my bed, but here's a better picture:

Yes, my bed is elevated! I have steps to get into bed. What's really cool is that the steps open up and give me more storage. And there's all kinds of storage underneath my bed, so that's nice. My bed is very hard, though. I think I need another futon on it. I'm not sure if I made it correctly either, but I'm pretty sure that I should be sleeping under one of those things that I'm sleeping on. I needed more cushion. Two blankets came with it: the pink one (I did NOT pick that out) and a soft, warm, fuzzy one. The sheet over the tv was also provided, but I didn't like it. They're all too short for me; if I stretch out, my feet stick out. They're also not very wide, but that's okay because there's not a lot of room for me to move anyway. Maybe it's not overly comfortable, but I sleep just fine in it.

So . . . that's it! Not very exciting, perhaps, but it gets the job done. I don't spend a whole lot of time here, maybe six hours out of the day (not including sleeping hours). Mostly, I'm over at GEOS or out wondering around. But it's nice to come home to, and I keep it fairly tidy. What can I say? It's home.

not quite perfect

Let me begin by saying that I love Japan. But I am a self-profressed cynic and curmudgeon, and there's no way I'm going to say that Japan is perfect. Much as I love this country, there are some things I'd change if I could. Because I can't, I accept them as they are. But I'd thought I should take a break from singing the praises of Japan and vent a few grievances.

coffee
Nothing wrong with it as it is. It's strong, which I like. Seems to me that most Japanese drink their coffee black, but sugar and cream (even the disgusting non-dairy kind) is readily available. There's also some kind of syrup with flowery labels, but I'm still not sure what it is, and it doesn't do much in the way of sweetening things, so far as I can tell. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate Splenda, which I've come to prefer over regular sugar. No, the problem with coffee is the price. You think Starbucks is expensive in the States? Try paying the equivalent of $4.50 cents for a small cup of regular coffee. Ouch. At Mister Donut, the coffee was cheaper (about $2.60), but the serving size was even smaller! Fortunately, both Benni-sensei and Hitomi-san drink coffee, so it's in ample supply at the school. All I have to do is buy sugar and creamer, and I'm set. Still, it's a ridiculous price to pay for coffee.

my utter and complete lack of a dryer
Domestic duties are not my strong suit. I have no problem with the washer - it's simple enough to use, and it does what I need it to do. However, I would kill to be able to fit a dryer into this place. I cannot figure out how to keep my jeans from drying crunchy and stiff. My towels are flatter than the Kansas plains. I can't deal with it. As soon as I'm mobile on a bike, I'm going down to a nearby coin laundry and scouting for dryers. I know they exist in Japan! I've seen them in stores! I've got to be able to find one to use somewhere! My work suits are fine (they just need some ironing, which I can do without much problem), but the crunchy jeans are beginning to get to me.

the size of my bathing room and my kitchen
The whole apartment is small, and I'm okay with that, really. This is just something that's going to take some serious adjustment on my part, because I can't help being a big, clumsy gaijin. Also, I'm clinging to some fairly American ways of doing things. Like drying off in the bathroom after getting out of the shower. I can only assume that most Japanese don't do this, because it's pretty damn difficult to do given the space available in the bathroom. This is true of the kitchen, too, in which there is no counter space at all. I knew this was going to be a problem, I just had no idea how difficult it would be to actually deal with it.

having to bag my own groceries
Okay, this is just because I'm lazy. But, at least I'll admit it. I just really hate having to bag my own stuff.

mosquitoes and spiders
Holy crap, mosquitoes are everywhere, and they come in droves. Whenever I kill one, it seems like two more come to replace it. It's freezing outside, and yet, there are mosquitoes. It makes no sense. Even Hitomi-san was complaining about them the other day. Also, there are spiders. Duh, it's not like I expected Japan to have no spiders. And most of them aren't too big. The biggest I've seen have been in house gardens or in the bushes in front of restaurants, and they're about the size of the banana spiders that are all over the place in Florida. I'm fine with that, as long as they're hanging out in their webs and not bothering me. I'm just wondering how they manage to survive this COLD and very STRONG wind that has been blowing every night for the past week. They're apparently more resilient than I would be.

And, um, that's about it so far. I have yet to come up against the "you need your gaijin card to get in here/do this/buy that thing," so I consider myself fairly lucky in that regard. Most people have been very nice and polite and willing to help as much as possible (though, according to Hitomi-san, the woman who processed my information for my gaijin card was "making things more difficult than they should have been - she was very grumpy," but the woman has a government job and I can't say I expected anything more than what we got).

Overall, Japan's pros definitely outweigh its cons, as far as I'm concerned. I'm just feeling grouchy after dealing with the internet, which is irritating no matter which country you're in.

seriously?

Okay, so I was going to post two videos of my apartment today, and I even came down to the office on my day off to do it.

You'll notice there aren't any videos posted, yes? Because I just spent the past TWO hours waiting for blogger to upload ONE measly three-minute video, except it wasn't finished but I cancelled it anyway because I have other things I want to do with my life besides sit in front of a computer watching it process something that I don't know what. I have no idea if it had another hour to go or if it would be done in thirty seconds. Either way, I was done with it.

I guess I'll just go back and take pictures of my apartment instead. Not as exciting, but until I can get vids uploaded to blogger without it taking half a century, that's what I'm doing.

Also, because I'm now in a grouchy mood, I'm going to post my grievances with Japan as well.

a lil' bit of the neighborhood and GEOS

And now, for your viewing/reading pleasure, I present to you pictures of my neighborhood and my school.


This is my apartment building: Leo-Palace Rainbow Chateau. Apparently, Leo-Palace gets its kicks by naming its apartment buildings weird, flowery names taken from English or (as in the case of my home) French. Who knows why, because there's clearly nothing rainbow-y or chateau-y about this building. My apartment is not in view here because it's all the way at the end on the second floor. The tree by the gray boxes (which is where the trash goes) is blocking my apartment.

The street on which I live. The striped building at the end on the left is Rainbow Chateau. Across from it is a vegetable field in which is growing a big, leafy crop of something I don't know what.

This is facing away from my apartment building, the direction that I walk to go to work. At the end of the street, I turn left and go a little ways before hitting a major crossroads. It's a pretty quiet neighborhood. The buildings you see here are all residences (except for the spired building on the left, that's a restaurant called Spaghetti House). And look - mountains! It was a little cloudy the day I took these pics, but they were still visible. On clear days, you can see green and brown patches, and on really cloudy days, you can't see anything at all.

The road to GEOS! It's a short walk from my apartment to the school, about 10 minutes (less if I don't have to wait at the light at the crossroads, but I almost ALWAYS have to wait on the light). The only time I don't enjoy it is when it's really cold and windy at night, because it's a pretty fierce wind. Apparently, Gunma-kun is gets very windy in the winter, and it's a Siberian-based wind, so you can imagine how cold that can get. The past couple of days, I've had to take my overcoat to work to wear at night, and that makes it much more manageable. I shudder to think what it'll be like in January, though.

This is the outside of the GEOS office. Not all that impressive, is it? It's a pretty small school, with only two teachers and a manager, and our numbers are consistently too low to keep head office pleased, but Isesaki is a pretty small town by Japanese standards. The school itself has the lobby area, two classrooms, a larger activity room, a small office, a canteen area, and a small bathroom with separate washroom. It's cozy and suits our needs pretty nicely.

This is my room. It's kind of small and not much to look at, but it's my room and I like it. Today, I'm spending my day off straightening it up and getting it better organized. William did things a little differently than I want to do them, and there's not a lot of organization going on, especially in regards to the Kids' classes. I play 2-3 games with them each class, and some of them require a lot of props. I'm trying to make it so that everything is within easy reach and I don't have to go off on a search for something and in the process lose control of the class.

So, that's a bit of my "neighborhood." It's what I see every day. The 7-11 and the grocery store are about a 5 minute walk from GEOS, so everything I need on a daily basis is pretty close. There's a ￥100 yen store about 30 minutes from my apartment, and I don't mind walking there. I'm hoping to try out some of the restaurants that are nearby - there's quite a selection of them, and it's going to be only a matter of time before I get tired of convenie store fare.

Japanese Food Journal: vending machines

Before coming to Japan, I was told that there were vending machines everywhere and that they sold a variety of items (including the fabled "used panties" machine, which I really don't think exists, but there are stranger things out there, I suppose). This is probably true in larger cities. In Isesaki, all of the vending machines sell liquid refreshments. But, this goes way beyond just soda and water. There's also juice of all kinds, beer, various bottled coffees, and a lot of other things that I haven't figured out what they are yet.


I use vending machines about once a day, especially the one in GEOS. It has two kinds of lemonade drinks, plus Pepsi Twist, which is one of the few soda drinks that I will allow myself to drink because I like it. I haven't seen much of Pepsi Twist in America in several years, and I thought it was no longer so there and therefore no longer produced. Shows how wrong I can be. I could drink a can of it every day, but I try to limit myself to one a week, opting for water or lemonade instead. I still haven't purchased a Brita container, so I've been getting a lot of bottled water too. It's about ￥100 for most drinks, and I think it's worth it. The one at the train station also sells cherry juice, which is a little weird but pretty good.


My favorite vending machine is the one next to a takoyaki stand near the school. I pass it nearly every day, on my way to the 7-11 or to the grocery store. I have never bought anything out of it because it's mostly canned coffee (which says it's hot, and this intrigues me, so maybe I'll try it someday). No, it's my favorite because of what it looks like:

Yes, my friends, that's Tommy Lee Jones on a Japanese vending machine. I had no idea he was so fond of canned Japanese coffee. Talk about your awesomeness.