the Earthquake

I was not quite ten weeks pregnant when the 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Tohoku region of Japan. Although Geordie and I made it through without any injuries or damage, it changed our lives. For today's Nanowrimo writing session, I spent a good chunk of it writing down my memory of that day. Here's an excerpt about the exact moment the earthquake hit, just those first few minutes as it happened and before I knew the full extent of the damage.


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March 11.

A Friday. A good day, then, because Geordie would be coming home. He’d meet me as I was finishing work, and we’d probably have dinner together in Loc City. Ramen, maybe. Then home to relax a bit together and to talk about the week. Those were all the plans we had made.

My shift started at five, though I usually went in early, around four. I did my hair in the morning but would not bother with getting fully dressed until three or so. A little after one, I sat down to the computer to write an email to my brother. I had been putting it off, as I often do; I am not the best of penpals. As I wrote, the apartment began to shake – another earthquake, a minor occurrence in Japan, for the most part. It gave me something to share with Ryan, and I added a sentence about it to his email.

The ‘quake started small. It felt like any other ordinary earthquake, one of dozens I’d felt since I arrived in Japan. After the few seconds of shaking, you go back to your usual business, as though nothing had really happened. One had woken me from my sleep on Wednesday morning, a little stronger than usual but nothing to get worked up about.

But the shaking did not stop. Instead, it intensified. That made me pause.

“Don’t panic,” I said aloud to myself. It would die down in a moment; it always did. I had never before been in an earthquake that had actually scared me.

Then a can of soup fell off the shelf above the kitchen sink, and I knew that this was not an ordinary earthquake, that it was something big, that I could not just sit there and wait for it to stop. Other things began to fall, including one of my rose pictures in the hall. I leaned over my computer and took down my diploma so it wouldn’t fall on the monitor.

I stood and pulled open the curtains of the sliding glass door at the front of the apartment. Across the narrow street was an empty house, and a couple hours earlier, two men had shown up to do some work on the interior. They ran out into the street as the shaking continued, holding their arms out to balance themselves. They spoke to each other. Often, I could hear when people on the street spoke, but because of the noise of the earthquake, I couldn’t hear the workmen. Some earthquakes are quiet, but with some come a rumbling, a deep and earthy sound like terrestrial thunder. This earthquake brought that sound.

Everything in the apartment moved, rattling about, a surprisingly tremendous noise. I suddenly did not what to stay in the apartment any longer.

I had on only a t-shirt and a pair of around-the-house boxer shorts. Grabbing the closest pair of pants to me, I pulled them on and put my cell phone and wallet into the pockets. I went into the hall and pulled on my heavy winter coat, leaning against the wall for support. Without bothering with socks, I slipped into my shoes and reached for the front door. My hands shook as I laid them on the door handle, and I thought that it was not just because of the earthquake’s shaking and the cold. After at least one minute, the ‘quake still had not abated. It felt like it would never end.

I can’t say how long exactly the earthquake lasted – somewhere between two and three minutes perhaps – but it felt like an eternity as I stood on the street and watched the houses shake on their foundations. The street moved – back and forth – and the electric lines overhead swayed and jumped, pulled taut before sagging and then going taut again. No tall buildings were in the area, so I didn’t worry about anything falling on me, but those wires made me uneasy. It was hard to stand up straight; I rocked from side to side as though I were on a boat.

Most of the buildings on my street were residences, but because it was the middle of a week day, not many people were at home. Only a few came out into the street, and all of them save for the workmen and myself were elderly. They clung to fences or carport supports and said very little. A crash came from the home across from my apartment, and one of the workmen ran back inside.

After a time, just as it felt like the earthquake would never end, the earth began to calm, and the shaking died away. It did not stop altogether, not immediately, but the buildings ceased their swaying, and it was possible to walk easily again. I stood in the street, pulling my coat around me, shivering with cold and fear. I did not know what to do.

My direct neighbor in the apartment home came outside and into the street, looking around amazed but unshaken. She said to me in Japanese, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m okay,” I said. “Are you?”

“I’m alright.” She nodded her head and added, “That was very big, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Very big,” she repeated. “Probably a 5.”

It did not occur to me until later, after I knew the full magnitude of the earthquake, that I realized she meant that by the Japanese scale, which tops out at 7.

She waved at one of our neighbors down the street and called to them, leaving me alone. My thoughts flew to Geordie; I didn’t know where the earthquake had originated, but I was sure he had felt it to some degree. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed his number. All lines were busy, as I had guessed they would be. That didn’t stop me from trying again.

I went back into the apartment to survey the damage. Only one plate in the sink had broken, probably from the soup can that had dropped on it. Books and other odds-and-ends had fallen off the coffee table and my tall bookshelf, but nothing had broken. My desk had been pulled away from the wall. The wall on the left side of the window over the couch had cracks at the window’s edges. Everything was in disarray, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage. The power was off.

The aftershocks came steadily, some of them stronger than other earthquakes I had felt in the previous two years. The sliding doors that separated the two rooms rattled constantly, and I knew I could not stay there. I decided to dress properly and go to work. I could think of nothing else to do.

I want my internet!

I have another internet appointment next Monday, and I'm really REALLY hoping this can be resolved. I've got so much that I want to post about - it's amazing how much I've done in the past two months - but I don't even really have the time to post something I prepared at home. (That, and I keep forgetting my jump drive.) There's not much time for me to use the computer at work anyway. My manager get crazy busy sometimes; she's had hour long V-chats three days this week, and then there's a crapload of paperwork to do. Besides, my schedule's so full that I barely have time to check the incoming emails from head office.

All of this I could accept if only I had internet at my apartment.

I'd go to an internet cafe, but there is ONE in Moriya, and it's a LONG way from the station and it would take forever for me to get there. There are three around Shin-Matsudo station, but I don't know when I'd have time to actually go to them. My working days are long and busy - I leave home around 10am and get home around 11pm, and most of that time is actually spent at the school. My days off have also been active lately, what with going places with Benni-sensei and going off to meet with other friends. I don't mind that so much, because it's much more preferable than sitting around me apartment all day. Not having the internet has certainly made me a more active person.

But it'd be nice to have, all the same. If my problems persist next Monday, I guess I'll have to figure out something else. Most people tell me it will get solved - but I know at least two other people who have been trying to get internet for 3-5 months and they STILL don't have it. They don't live in the same apartment building (in fact, they live in completely different cities), but their problems sound a lot like mine. And so far as I can tell, I'm using the same procedure as the other people in my building.

[Speaking of this building, you'd think I'd get some help from GEOS because everyone who lives there is a GEOS employee. Not so. My trainer says, "Keep working at it, you'll get it fixed." And then she ignores me until she decides to chastise me about our school's money numbers. My manager has been left with the brunt of being the middle man between the internet company and me, and she's been incredibly helpful despite being so far separated from Shin-Matsudo. She had to contact another school's manager to find out how their NET got internet. I'd ask them myself, but my neighbors are kind of hermity. They don't seem to even interact with each other all that much. They sit in their apartments and play video games or watch movies with their girlfriends, all of whom laugh in annoying high-pitched squeals. I prefer my Japanese neighbors in Isesaki. Granted, I prefer everything in Isesaki over Shin-Matsudo, but that's just life, isn't it?]

Anyway, that's that. Other than the internet and the poor location of my apartment (if I want/need anything, I have to walk ten minutes to the station to get it, not to mention that 40-60 minutes commute), things are going well. I'm busy at work, but the classes are fine and the students are great. I've got a routine going, and that's helped a lot. Plus, I'm not sitting at home and doing nothing, and that's the most important thing to me. I hadn't realized how tired I was of just being a lump.

"there were vikings and boats and some plans for a furniture store"

To make a long and complicated story short, I adore IKEA. It is simply one of the greatest things that has ever existed.

So, I'm not much of a shopper. Unless it's a book store, I'm usually in-and-out when it comes to shopping. I don't linger. Spending two hours in a furniture store is not something I imagine myself doing, and yet, it happened today. I spent two hours in IKEA, and during most of that time, I was barely controlling rapture.

Yesterday, from the train, I noticed that there was an IKEA within easy walking distance of the Shim-Misato station, and I thought, 'I should totally go there sometime.' And then I thought, 'Hey, I need some stuff for my classroom - omg, I'm totally going there tomorrow.' And I did. And I bought some things for my room, but it was mostly stuff I needed: a clock, containers for my props, organizational stuff. I also bought a soft, soft pillow because I hate the two pillows I do have, and I'm hoping this one works better for me.

This does not fully describe how wonderful IKEA is. The showroom is amazing - I've been to furniture showrooms before, but there's something different about IKEA. It's more comfortable. You don't feel so bad throwing yourself into one of the chairs and wiggling around in it to get the feel of it. It's not invasive to go through drawers and cupboards and inspect everything. I've always felt that showrooms are too pristine to touch, to perfect to disturb. It's hard to imagine living in them. IKEA showrooms already feel lived in; it's easy to drift into the idea that this could be home.

It makes me wish my apartment was worth furnishing (it's not, by no means is it worth the time and effort, much less the money), because I would think nothing of going completely IKEA. I don't need anything else, but I'll probably go back every so often just to look around. And I so want to get one of those weird heart pillows with arms. It's so insane that it's awesome.

And thus I have had another super Japanese day. In a Swedish store. Go figure.

a very fast update

I do not have internet at home yet, which is the biggest and most disturbing news I have right now. I have blogs prepared for all of the awesome and/or irritating things that have happened to me in the past week but no way to post them. The only reason I'm able to post now is because my new manager is away at head office for a meeting, because most of the time, she's sitting here in the office and monopolizing the computer. Which is part of her job, so I understand.

I will try to post again on Saturday morning, because that's about the only time I have the office to myself - I have to come in at ten-flipping-am for a full day of classes. It's so early that nobody else is here yet. I should have time to quickly post any blogs I have prepped. So, check back here on Saturday.

As for how things are going: pretty good. The Moriya school is very nice - very new and very big. My apartment is the complete opposite and is as far from impressive as is possible. The only nice thing I can say about it is that today I found a little grocery near the station, so I will no longer have to survive on combini food. I really wish I lived in Moriya and not Shin-Matsudo, eevn though Shni-Matsudo is more convienent to Tokyo and Kumagaya and possibly even Gunma itself.

But it's not been all bad. My social life remains mostly intact. I went to Kumagaya for gaming, with the added bonus of a brief visit to a sakura festival (which I must blog about, if only because sakura plays sucha large part in Japanese culture). On Monday, I went into Tokyo to meet some people and do more sakura viewing. This was enjoyable, because it mainly involved wondering about and drinking.

And now I must get back to work. Will post more soon, possibly with pictures!

T-minus 5 days

The Tokyo travelogue will have to wait. It's mostly just about the St. Patrick's Day parade anyway.

More importantly, moving is hard. I've spent the past four or five days trying to get myself packed. It's not that it's been especially difficult, it's just that it's tedious. And boring. And I'm mostly doing it after work when all I want to do is relax and chill.

Plus, I'm packing at work too. Previous NETs have left all kinds of crap behind that either needs to be packed to send to Ito Yokado or just thrown away. Hitomi-san was told to bring all of whatever props/toys/books I don't take, but I don't see how they're going to fit it all into the Ito Yokado school. It's tiny. The office is miniscule. And it doesn't have any light. But, it's what she was told to do, so she'll do it. I've gone through everything and decided what I want to keep, which amounts to a big box of prop stuff and a small box of books.

On the apartment relocation side, I've received negligent information from my trainer(s): how do I get to my apartment from the train station? will someone be meeting me to give the key? if not, how do I get in? most importantly, how long will it take me to get internet? Actually, the only thing I'm worried about is getting into the apartment. Everything else will follow that. The utilities are already being arranged (Hitomi-san is a saint), and I'll have Thursday to get settled in.

As for my trainer(s), the only communication I've gotten is that they want pictures of my clean and empty apartment yesterday. At which I laughed quite a bit - after I sulked angrily for a while. Cuz, see, I thought I had until Tuesday to clean and empty my apartment. So, it's a major mess right now. Because I'm in the middle of packing and all. I've been doing most of the work at night (read: midnight-3am) because I've been staying at the school all day to help clean and pack there too. Yeesh, I am so sick of this cleaning and packing thing.

So, I spent two hours last night cleaning the toilet room and the kitchen and moving my crap from one side of my living room to the other to take pictures. The bathroom is still a mess because I just happened to do a load of laundry, and it was still hanging up to dry. It was too windy yesterday to hang it outside. As is typical of Gunma's spring weather.

(On a side note, it got cold again this week. Stupid weather.)

The bright side of this is that, if I continue this level of diligence, I'll be 95% ready to move by Tuesday - the other 5% being packing up my futon and finishing up my last load of laundry. So, at least I'll be able to enjoy my last couple of days in Isesaki to hang out at the school and chill with the students. They've all been very sweet and kind and sad about everything. Only two criers so far, but I imagine that our farewell parties are going to bring out the waterworks. We'll see.

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.

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.

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!

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.

the skinny on my internet situation

I still do not have internet in my apartment, which is the only thing causing me any grievance at this moment. My rent includes internet, and it is supposed to be super-easy to use, but so far, I have only met a wall of non-cooperation. For now, my internet is reduced to my use of the computer at work, and that means no Skype for me. I am hoping to have this rememedied by next week, but I must rely on the availability of the Japanese teacher to explain the (Japanese) instructions to me. William (the previous teacher) thinks it is broken somehow, so he couldn't show me how to use it or what to do to get it fixed. I think it requires making a phone call to Leo Palace, and I'm not sure if I can do that on my own, given my extremely limited command of Japanese.

I can't promise it will be up and running by next week, but I'm hopeful. It is a challenge I am willing to face, and I will be victorious! Until then, I'll do what I can with what I have.