So finally, not only do I have a pretty new Macbook, but I also have high speed internet connection in my apartment! I am so happy. I certainly did not expect to have problems finding internet in Japan considering they are the technology leaders of the world. But what I failed to realize is that in Japan, everyone -- and I do mean everyone -- has the internet in their pocket on their super advanced cellphones, so as a direct result, there are no internet cafes. But, those dark days are over, praise jah!!!
The question now is where to start? I've been here in Tokyo for almost two months now and as you can imagine have accumulated a large collection of photos and anecdotes to illustrate what life is like over here. So I figure I will back track and upload some shots from the first few things I saw here, and then update it until the pictures are more current.
So, without further adue, let the blogging begin!
When I first arrived, I spent a week in Chiba which is a city to the east of Tokyo. This is where the school has its head office, and myself and three other new teachers did our training before heading off to our respective branches. At the training sessions we were shown exactly how to be 'genki', which means how to be really enthusiastic, energetic and even a bit silly when teaching children. This being my first time teaching kids, I was a bit horrified at the clownish antics, but looking back at it now, being genki is absolutely crucial to the success of your class!
While I was in Chiba I was lucky enough to catch the annual Obon Festival, a very important Buddhist event on the Japanese calender. Buddhists believe that every year their ancestral spirits return to their homeland in order to visit their relatives, so they are welcomed back with music, drumming, folk dancing, singing, ceremony, fireworks and lots and lots of and lots of drinking.
This is the 'yagura', or central stage where much of the drumming takes place, and around which the festivities revolve. Everyone dances in a procession around the stage. The red lanterns are hung there to guide the spirits to the festival.
Some lovely ladies in 'yukata', or summer kimono, who do the lovely dancing. You'll notice, by the way, that Japanese people ALWAYS give the two-finger peace sign in pictures. I don't know why, but they all do it.
People of all ages line up to take turns at the 'taiko' or drum. The drums were amazing!
And these sweaty gentlemen saw me wandering around and invited me to have a beer with them. The one on the left then proceeded to take a wooden chain from around his neck, and put it around my neck. 'I give you gift, you give me kiss!' he then said. Very amusing. And again, please note the peace sign!
ISN'T SHE CUTE! OH LORSE! She's giving me some cut-eye though.
These Japanese youths were walking around enjoying themselves, and amusing me by doing the women's traditional dance. Nobody seemed to mind though. 10 points for the first person to see how many peace signs are in this shot.
At the end of the ceremony there is a massive fireworks display. Lots of ooh-ing and aah-ing from the appreciative crowd.
So after 5 days in Chiba, I made the move to my new town in the suburbs of west Tokyo. It is a good area, the rent is cheap, I can walk to my school, and it is easy to jump on the train and head downtown within half an hour. The west side is the cool side of Tokyo where all the funky entertainment areas are while the east side tends to be the financial district. In the next post I'll put up some shots of soon.
Here's an interesting tidbit for you: Out of the group of 4 new teachers whom I trained with, I found out that half of them dropped out! The first one, as I may have reported earlier, was fired after having a drunken psychotic episode in the school guest house where we were all staying the very night he arrived. During this episode he threw himself against the walls, screamed 'WOOOOO! HOOOOOOO!!' at the top of his lungs, took a sh*t in the tub, smeared it on the walls, took off all his clothes, peed on the couch, and then passed out naked on the living room floor. He has now become stuff of legend, known as 'The Shit Slinger'. The other guy who is no longer here pulled what is known as the infamous 'Narita Bye-Bye', whereby for whatever personal reasons they decide they are skipping the country. They pack all their bags, go directly to Narita International Airport, buy a ticket home, and then call the school to say that they are leaving the country. That leaves me, and the other guy Parker who is in Shanghai. Only the strong survive I guess?
More on the episode of The Sh*t Slinger in the next post.
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