End of the year musings VIX!(999 JAPAN EDITION

I dare you to try and make sense of that title.

I dare you.

So here we are again folks, another year, another note rambling about things that happened, didn't happen, disappointments, achievements, and most importantly, memories.

To be quite honest, the fact that yet another year has just zoomed by is something I haven't quite gotten over. Not to mention the place from which I am typing this note, is not my home, but rather a house in another country altogether.

Funny how things turn out. The year started off with some poor decisions on my part. To be honest, I did some very, very juvenile, cruel and just plain mean things to people I care deeply about. In the end though, things worked out, and I'm eternally grateful that I could be forgiven and allowed a second chance. The beginning of the year also saw the single most stressful period of my life I would think.

Applying for AKP was a painful experience. Not so much in that it was difficult (It really wasn't), but in that my self confidence was at an all time low. After getting a C in second semester first year Japanese (Freshmen year), my Japanese GPA was below the required 3.0 to apply. This meant that Fall semester of sophomore year, I'd have to get an A or above in order to qualify. Fortunately I had, so that wasn't an issue, yet. However, the whole interview process, and waiting to see if I had gotten in or not was so absurdly stressful I can't even begin to express the feeling. I spent everyday, with my friends, panicking over whether or not we had been accepted. Things turned out ok, but I then became stressed over whether or not I could keep my grade high enough to allow me to STAY qualified for the program.

In the end everything turned out alright, and here I am.

This past Summer is one I won't forget. I met a lot of fantastic people, and made a lot of good memories. I was taught by some of the greatest teachers I've ever had the honor of learning from, and my Japanese abilities made huge leaps that I haven't seen since. To the Chukyu ichi students. You guys kicked all sorts of ungodly ass, and living with you all for three months was an amazing experience. I'll never forget "Iumademonaku, hige ha hitsuyo da". You guys are the best, and to those not in that class, I'll always cherish the laughs we had. Having to graduate and say goodbye before it was actually time for real graduation was one of the saddest things I've had to do thus far, and it's made me more nervous about next year. ^^:

I had few precious weeks at home before departing to Colorado and then Japan. Which meant I wanted to spend as much time with my family and friends as humanly possible. Saying goodbye was...certainly an experience. Even now, it's crazy to think I'm so far from all of them, many of which I haven't spoken to or seen since mid-august/beginning of Summer. Hey guys. I'll be home in a bit. Then we can have some Shiny Blue retarded fun. To my family, I love you guys, thanks for supporting me all this time, and when I come back, we best celebrate Christmas. =p

Colorado with Danielle and Erin was awesome as well. I've been lucky recently in that I've had the ability to travel: something I had never been able to do when I was younger. My family never had that sort of money. But this past year, I feel as though I've made up for that. Thanks to Danielle's family, we were able to see so much, go to so many places, and just have a blast.

Japan. Damn. I still can't believe I'm here. It's one of those strange things that make you feel like you're in a dream, rather than reality. Receiving money every month, going where you want, having fun: it's unreal. But here we are. Half way done. Lots of memories, lots of troubles, lots of good things. It's not over yet, but I look to next year with hopeful anticipation.

To the kids: I miss you guys. You helped to make everyday of last year a blast. Hearing all your crazy stories, insane ramblings, practice, club. I won't lie: as much as I love Japan, I'm incredibly nostalgic for those things, and can't wait to see you all again. READ ONE PIECE.

Next year will also mark the beginning of Senior year, my turning 21, and a whole new bucket filled with stress and intensity.

I can say I'm looking forward to it, despite all odds.

Until then folks, when life gives you lemons, make apple juice instead. It's tastier.

-E.

Midnight ramblings.

So, it's midnight, now Monday morning. Tomorrow I have a Japanese test.

What better time to update the travel blog than now? I mean seriously, I'm a goddamn genius!

In anycase, I've had a fever for the past week: since last Monday to be exact. Fantastic news for me right? I missed all of Wednesday classes as a result, and also ended up missing the first half of Thursday classes. I got very close to not showing up on Friday as well, but found that I should probably make an appearance at some point.

I'm still in pain even now, but at least my temp has gone down and I feel less like I just got hit with a nuclear weapon.

I got a package from the folks yesterday which actually caused me to tear a bit, just because it made me feel so goddamn homesick.

I suppose this is that chunk of time they mention in the handbook where you start to get homesick, hate Japan, and want to go home. I don't hate Japan, but I would be lying to you if I didn't say that a part of me does want to go home and see my family again. Granted, everyone seems to be feeling the exact same way, so I wouldn't be surprised if this goes away in a little bit. In fact, I'm expecting it to.

I saw a ten year old girl with her father sitting on the train yesterday, and watching them giggle and laugh as they both cracked jokes made me feel good. I was led to believe fathers weren't very often seen with their kids, but I feel like I've seen it everywhere here: maybe even more so than I would normally see in Providence. It's nice to be wrong sometimes.

I also had an encounter with an older woman who accidentally bumped into me at the subway station, causing me to drop my ticket. She kept apologizing and asking if I was ok with a smile, and I told her that it wasn't a problem at all. We smiled and parted ways and I left feeling fairly good about the world.

I guess it's those small encounters that really shape a person's concept of the place they're in. Who knows how I'll feel about the world seven months from now.

And God, when I come home, Obama better fucking be the president or I will reign hell upon the Earth.

In other news, I picked up an M3 yesterday. Which means that I will no longer be buying games for my DS. Ever. Again.

You have no idea how much this frees my wallet from the chains of hell. I'm very excited about this. Believe me.

Saw 20th Century Boys last Tuesday in theaters. What a fuckin' fantastic movie. It adapted the manga nearly perfectly, and as a stand alone beginning of an epic movie series, it works as well as any Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings: it sets things up beautifully, introducing a new world, with new heroes, and never slows from there. I'm excited for the sequel in January.

And I suppose that's all for now. To the people reading this who don't live in Japan, I love you all, I miss you dearly, and feel free to send me a message on here. I'm getting ready to send some stuff out across the ocean soon, once I figure out how to, so stay on your toes!

-E.

GTE: Great Teacher Elliot? Wait...you mean it's possible?!

Today was a fairly generic day. Class, eating, hanging with friends. Generic doesn't equal bad mind you. It just means that I've settled into a comfortable pattern for school and the like.

It also means I've gotten much more used to being in a foreign country, a lot faster than I would have expected. I also haven't suffered from the immense homesickness others have. But I suppose that may have something to do with Skype. It truly is a handy tool.

So, as of today, I've been here for about a month. I can honestly say though, it has probably been one of the best months of my life. Fulfilling a long held dream, it took a little while for it to sing in that I was really here, and that I was doing something I've wanted to do since I was only a little kid.

Here I am. Living out my school life like normal. Man, it's still surreal when I think about it.

So, to address the current title of this entry, it looks like as of tonight, I have become an English teacher in Japan. I was called and informed that I got the gig (It's non-paying, which is fine with me), and I'll be teaching a class every Monday night from 6:30 to 8.

Holy snap son. I'm a fucking English teacher.

Last time I did any teaching was as the Kungfu Sensei at Summer school. And I'm not going to lie, there is something I absolutely love about teaching, and one of my secret goals is to become a teacher. Not for the long run, but for a short period of time.

Now here's my chance to do it for a whole goddamn year. Hoh shit. I seem to have a class to myself, so I need to come up with some kind of curriculum now. XD. Oh jeezus, my first class is Monday, and I have no idea how I want to do this, or what format to use, or what to start with, or where everyone's English stands. This is going to be insane.

But I'm so incredibly happy and excited about it. I get a rush from teaching, and I don't know why, but as long as I enjoy it I'm certainly not concerned.

Damn, this is crazy. I need to get my shit together. Maybe start off with self introductions, and then watching a movie clip or something? Thank God I have the internet.

We also met a group of crazy Japanese people Tuesday: Machiko, Bo, and Hiromi.

They're amazing, and Machiko drew this picture of us today.

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v346/231/101/1269784577/n1269784577_30120052_622.jpg

She rocks our world.


PEACE


-E.

Japanese girls, and the cheerfulness of older men.

So, these past few days have been very busy ones, so you'll have to forgive my lack of updates.

Tuesday was a holiday, so we had the day off. To take advantage of this, we celebrated my buddy Greg's 21st Birthday by having dinner Monday night, going to a pub, and then sitting by the river eating Mcdonalds and drinking some more Conbini bought alcohol.

It was a lot of fun. And we all went home kinda out of it. Though some more than others (Hehehehe).

Other than that though, the days have just been going by. Classes have been fine, no changes there.

Though today we did have our thankyou/welcome party for the Doshisha students who helped us out. We had some pretty good Domino's Pizza for dinner. Not bad Japan.

I saw Yuuko and Kayoko again. Ironically, Yuuko came up to me, rather than vice versa, which was a pleasant surprise. We ended up talking the entire night, and she was rather disappointed that I never mailed her about hanging out after our initial day of running around Takatsuki to save my life. That was kinda off-putting, and so I definitely plan on hanging out with her more very very soon. She's very charming, kinda, attractive, and pleasant to be around, so I'm excited to get the chance.

Lord knows I need something positive to happen to me on the relationship end. XD I only kid, but who knows what'll come of this. It's just nice to have confirmed another friendship.

This weekend I have absolutely no plans, but who knows what we'll all be doing this time.

Perhaps....ZOMG.

No idea where that was going. Ah well, sleepy timez for me. GOODNIGHT SAN DIEGO!

-E.

Japanese gardens, drawing, and rain.

So today was an entertaining rollercoaster ride of a day.

Japanese was once again quite easy, and we'll see about me and D getting moved up tomorrow or Friday.

I went with my gardening class to a cool Japanese garden near Doshisha, and we sketched out sections that we thought were interesting and brought up strange feelings in us.

I was actually kinda impressed with how not that crappy my drawings were, especially considering how unskilled I am when it comes to that sort of art.

After that, me and a few others went to Shijo, where after various not so great events, I ended up back at Takatsuki, with rain suddenly pouring down on my head.

The irony of it was of such quality, that I had to laugh despite the situation.

And thus, without an umbrella, I ended up at home, where I am now typing this entry.

I kinda feel like rocking out to some Gorillaz tonight...so ciao for now folks.


-E.

What I've been enjoying most about Japan.

Hey folks.

You know, it's both strange, and cool. A lot of people have told me that Japan is a place where you never feel like you have time to yourself, and yet I find it to be the complete opposite.

Whenever I'm on the train or in a large group of Japanese, I can feel both alone, and surrounded at the same time. People are so engaged in themselves and their friends, that it's so easy to just blend into the background and be unseen, even as a foreigner like myself.

Walking through Shoji in the evening really hammered that point in.

This whole nonsense about class placement is a bitch, but hopefully me and D will have it sorted out on Tuesday afternoon.

Tomorrow morning me and the host mom leave for Wakayama, her home town. I'll be there till sometime Monday. I'm definitely looking forward to it, though I doubt I'll be able to update while I'm there.

Anyways all, I love you like I love cake. Which means, sometimes, but not always. =p


-E.

Japanese men are very very strange.

Howdy folks.


So today, I'm standing on the train coming back from Kyoto Station, and there's this fairly stylish younger guy sitting in front of me. Of course, he has one of those man purses that seem oh so popular here, and a variety of odd things within.


The strangest of which is a small mirror with which he can check his makeup and his hair.

And guess what he did? He checked his make up and his hair, making sure everything was in order. I'm clearly bias because I'm an American, but nonetheless I found it strange for a Japanese guy to check his hair and makeup via a small mirror. Something about it just didn't float right in my head.

I suppose a lot of things are like that here though.

Take Japanese toilets. They. Are. Fucking. Crazy.

I knew they were wild even when I was a kid, but I guess it doesn't sink in just how crazy they are till you use one, and promptly become frightened by the strange noises and features it forces on you.

Would you like a high-pressure lazer water with your bathroom exploits?

Third day of classes was a hoot. Turns out my Gardening class meets only on Fridays. So Tuesday and Wednesday, I'm only going to have one class in the morning. VICTORY.

Tomorrow is the beginning of placement stuff, so wish me luck. I should be ok though.

Alright you slimy vixens, please, feel free to comment and tell me about what you're up to. I'd love to hear from you. And if you have any questions about life in Japan, send me a line. I'd be happy to answer. Maybe. If I can. Hehehe.

Stay frosty folks!


-E.