Sushi

Back in my uni days sushi was a comfort food for me and my friends. We would always go out for sushi if we had a bad day or a bad lab partner. Well, yesterday I met two of my friends who have gone away to school in Toronto, for lunch and of course we had to reminisce so we stopped by our usual Sushi joint for lunch, YUMI FUJI SUSHI. Unfortunately it was closed for lunch but we managed to find another one. It was so much fun to be out and about with them. It was like nothing had changed over the 2 years since we have really seen each other. We have this great relationship, filled with sarcasm, a bit of razzing, and genuine love and admiration for each other. It was a hoot to be hanging out with them. We laugh and make a bit of chaos when we get together.

It was a good day.

Snow

The main winter weather in Vancouver is rain and more rain, heck the main weather in Vancouver is rain and more rain almost all year. However, today we got snow. I am so excited we got snow, it was not a lot of snow but enough snow to lightly dust all the houses and yards. It was so pretty. I was out and about today in Vancouver doing some post-Christmas bargain hunting and was delighted to be walking around while the snow was falling. It was the wet gross stuff we used to get in Toyama. In fact, it totally reminded me of all the gross days we had in Japan with the wet snow. It was not so bad today, it made me happy. Nasukashii so... I think that I am happy with any type of snow here in Vancouver, wet or otherwise.

And no I did not find a lot of bargains, but did get a pair of super warm boots lined with wool that keep my feet nice and toasty with super traction. Yippie for my new boots.

Merry Christmas


I have just gotten back from a rousing Christmas dinner with my extended family at my sister's house. My tummy is full with nummy food and my soul rejuventated for a little while. It has been a long time since I have had a "normal" Christmas. Normal being the weird and wacky hodge podge Chinese/N. American Christmas traditions that we have. I think the most important thing was spending time with my family. It was nice to be all together and laugh with my cousins. My family drives me nuts for the most part but once in a blue moon it is nice to be able to spend a little time with them. My overbearing sisters, my lack a dazy brother, and my know it all cousins. There have been some changes in the last two years, first of all Christmas was not in Chilliwack and my grandmother was not there but it was nice to be on the same continent as my family this Christmas.

Our Christmas, consists of all my cousins, aunts, uncles getting together. We usually end up cooking a lot of random food, all different types from all continents. The kids get together and chat while the adults sit together and chat. I remember once that there was even a bit of karaoke. We tease each other, we share what is going on in our lives, but most of all we laugh and are happy. Somewhere in there we open presents and ooh and aah about what each other got.

My Christmas spirit was lacking, it got sucked out of me by the craziness of working retail during the holidays. I never really felt like celebrating Christmas and it seems like I have not had a chance to enjoy and it has passed by. My soul has been rejuvenated by my family and the craziness that they bring, and I think that just as long as I do not work at the BAY I will be much happier.

BTW, I quit but somehow got suckered into working still. I am still trying to quit.

I hope that everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas no matter where they were. Remember it was not about the number of presents under the tree but about your friends and family.

Decisions

I am going to leave the BAY. I have not told my boss this yet but I have decided that after next week I will not be working at the BAY anymore. It was sucking the life out of me and I felt like such an uncaring robot just out there to make money for the company. It was sell, sell, sell. I am really surprised that I had not quit early in fact. I think I felt some kind of loyalty to them and did not want them to be left high and drive before Christmas...(cause we all know what a selling machine, I am)

I am going to step out the comfort zone and perhaps just take some time to find a job I do like or if not, then take a train ride to NY and take in some of this beautiful country and the one below us. I know that this is not financially sound but alas, I think my happiness and my own sanity are worth more. I will just have to take a dip into my savings and finance it from there.

Sayonara, BAY

Christmas Day is on its way

I was really excited this year that I would be having Christmas at home with my family. However, after several weeks of retail hell at the BAY, I am starting to wish that Christmas is over.

I normally abosolutely love Christmas and cannot wait for it to come. This year, my Christmas season consists of disgruntled customers complaining to me about how long the line ups are and how expensive items are. Where is the Christmas spirit? It seems that Christmas is all about the presents and money.

ARRGHGGH!!!

Well, I am out here to remind you that Christmas is about spending time with your family and realizing just how blessed you are to be able to spend time with them. I had the pleasure of making cookies with my sisters one afternoon. It turned out to be quite disasterous but bad cookies aside it was what the Christmas spirit is all about.

The Future

What am I suppose to do with my life? That is probably a question that almost everyone has struggled with at one point in their lives and perhaps like me, still are asking themselves that question. Man...How am I suppose to know what I want to do with my life? I feel like I am 5 again, when I wanted to be an anthropologist/aeronautical engineer/prime minister. It seems like there are many things that I want to do but am not sure what I want to do exactly. The only difference is that at 5, I thought that I can do anything, now at 25, I am not so sure of myself anymore. Can I really do it all?

I do not think I want to be a kinesiologist anymore. After encountering some very memorable people in my travels, I want to find a career that is more meaningful, something that will benefit people and help to alleviate some of their problems. As a kinesiologist, I think that the people that I would encounter would only have "first world" problems, problems originating from a too rich society taking too many things for granted, for ex. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, caused from too much time on a computer. Hello...there are people out there who have problems affording food, let alone affording a computer.

I know that this sounds very preachy, but I cannot help but feel that my career should be something more meaningful and helpful.

I have narrowed it down to two things, get my MBA in non profit administration or do acupuncture. Not sure, both seem equally challenging. In all honesty, I am a bit scared of the unknown and my own capabilities. Can I do it? I am not as invincible as I thought. The trials and tribulations of getting older, self doubt creeps in.

The Future

What am I suppose to do with my life? That is probably a question that almost everyone has struggled with at one point in their lives and perhaps like me, still are asking themselves that question. Man...How am I suppose to know what I want to do with my life? I feel like I am 5 again, when I wanted to be an anthropologist/aeronautical engineer/prime minister. It seems like there are many things that I want to do but am not sure what I want to do exactly. The only difference is that at 5, I thought that I can do anything, now at 25, I am not so sure of myself anymore. Can I really do it all?

I do not think I want to be a kinesiologist anymore. After encountering some very memorable people in my travels, I want to find a career that is more meaningful, something that will benefit people and help to alleviate some of their problems. As a kinesiologist, I think that the people that I would encounter would only have "first world" problems, problems originating from a too rich society taking too many things for granted, for ex. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, caused from too much time on a computer. Hello...there are people out there who have problems affording food, let alone affording a computer.

I know that this sounds very preachy, but I cannot help but feel that my career should be something more meaningful and helpful.

I have narrowed it down to two things, get my MBA in non profit administration or do acupuncture and TCM. The trouble now is choosing which one to do. In all honesty, I am a bit scared and doubtful of my own capabilities. Can I do it? I am not as invinceable as I thought I was. The trials and tribulations of getting older, self doubt starts to creeps in.

MIA

I have been away for a while from my blog, both physically and consciously. All apologies for the MIA (missing in action), to those faithful readers of the goings on in the Wacky World of Char. The things I have been writing about lately, just seem so trivial and so inconsequential. It feels like the things I have been writing about just have not been coming from my heart. It lacks my usual enthusiasm and spirit.

The thing is that as of late, my world has not been so wacky, in terms of adventures in wonderful and exotic lands, nor in meeting of random people who stalk me. So it feels like there is nothing I am really excited to blog about. My life has been crazy in terms of finding myself in a place that I cannot actually place. I am at a point where nothing is really concrete and everything seems like it is in suspension. I am in fact in transition and let me tell you it has been a difficult time here. Things have not turned up rosey as I had expected upon my return to Canada. I find myself in a position that has been hard for me to adjust to, living at home, working in a job that I do not love, not having the chance to travel, and of course the involuntary relationship abstinence (that is a given in my life and I have gotten used to that), among the changes in relationships with my 2 year absence. I am not complaining about my life because I know that I am extremely blessed to have a wonderful family who allows their 25 year old daughter to once again invade their space and live with them and of course the fact that I am employed.

It is just that I had imagined my life at ......25 a little differently. Not married nor in a career persay, but at a place where I am sure of the direction that I am supposed to head in. Oh, the joys of life post Japan and the depression that goes with it. How can I smile, when I feel like there is nothing to smile about.

I am sure that I will figure it out soon, afterall you are not given challenges that you cannot overcome, you just have to try a little harder.

The Rest of my Life....

From what I can gather, I am a retail genius of some sorts. My talent , however, does not work in the traditional sense that one would believe it to work. One would believe that a self proclaimed retail genius would have the ability to sell everything and anything. My talent on the other hand, seems to function in the favour of the customer and not in the favour of those signing my paycheque. I think the correct term would be "Retail Idiot Savant". It seems that I have the ability to talk a potential customer out of buying the 1200$ diamond ring, they had their hearts set on, and instead steer them into the direction of the 120$ cubic zirconia. I can spend hours talking to a customer about their lives and get to know them, and then talk them into realizing they do not need that ring but instead should spend their money on something else. I am not cut out for a career in retail. I think the closes thing to retail that I seem to excel at is shopping.

So is my life and the trials and tribulations of one Wacky girl at the Hudsons Bay Company.

Weird things are happening....

Tonight, at work we had this fragrance, cosmetic and jewellery night. I bought a ticket cause I kind of got suckered into it. The high pressure sales tactics of the Bay.

Side note, I had my eyebrows done and I must say they are nice looking for a change, better than the raggedy job I do myself. Sorry, I am sure everyone out there cares about my eyebrows.

Anyways, the real reason for this blog is the psychic reading I got done. I thought that I would have my stones read just for fun. I usually do not believe in these sorts of things but I thought what the heck, why not. Well, first of all she asked for something of mine, I gave her one of my rings and right away she said, something else, you don't wear this all the time. In general, she gave me some good advice about life and being myself, but she did mention some other things that kind of weirded me out. She was completely right about some things and about how my life is proceeding. I am not a believer in things like this at all, but it was kind of strange how accurate she is about some of the stuff she said.

A little bit of the Twiglight zone.

Astro Boy

I am not sure if very many people out there remember this cartoon about a robot boy who had extraordinary powers. When I was little I used to watch it all the time with my brother and loved it. When I was in Japan I found a whole bunch of Astro Boy aka Atom things there and could not get enough of it. So my friend sent me the theme song and I thought I would share it with you all

SORAOKOETE RARARA HOSHINO KANATA YUKUZO ATOMU SEIGINOMIKATA
KOKOROYASASHI RARARA KAGAKUNOKO JYUMAN BARIKIDA TETSUWANATOMU

Find Char a job....

It seems like the whole job search process is like another full time job in itself. It requires searching for the job, then applying for it, and then hoping and praying they like how you look on paper, to call you in and see just how fabulous you are in person. It is at times pretty tiresome, especially with over 10 resumes and cover letters sent out. Please note that I am not complaining, just stating a fact.

If only it were easier and people or companies out there would just figure it out and realize that I would make a great employee. Come on I am well travelled, love to laugh and smile, speak 4 languages, only one of which I can speak fluently, but who needs to tell them that, two years of teaching English to highschool kids in Japan, and survived...
and gosh darn it I have a 4 year degree and lets not forget a certificate both of which cost me a lot of money and now have a student loan that is the GNP of a small third world country. Come on, with those qualifications, who wouldn't want me.

Job oh job, job meaning the non retail kind...where art thou?

Been thinking....

Yeah, yeah, I know what some of you are saying to yourself...thinking...Yeah right...Char...Never.....

Well FYI, I have been thinking about a lot of things since my return home, yup you have a lot of time on your hands when are do not work full time. Well, it has occurred to me that I am a complainer...Yup...I complain about everything....First I complained when I was in Japan and now I complain that I am not in Japan. Man, have I always been a complainer or has this been a recent phenomenon?

Well, I have decided to do less complaining and suck it up. After seeing the poverty in Nepal, I have no right to complain about anything at all. From here on in, I am going to be thankful for things and try to focus on just how lucky I am. Sometimes we forget about all that we have been given and just how good we really have it. Even for retail hell and the BAY....Well, that one will take a little more time to be thankful for....Working up to that ....Thankful for my great co-workers who at least make working there a little more bearable...That is a start, I guess.

Pictures

My Japanese family, (one of a few), sent me the photos of the rice I planted last spring. They harvested it by hand and then sent me the photos of it. I was sad I was not there to help them do it, but touched that Nao, sent me an email and told me about it...




nb: I love this family, they are un-like any other family I have ever met in Japan and treat me like I am one of their own...plus, I think Nao is kind of cute....

Retail Blues...

To those regular readers of the Wacky World of Char, (those loyal bloggers, you know who you are and I love ya all), I must apologize for the lack of blogs lately. I have to say that I have not had anything exciting happening to me in the last few weeks, other than the tales of working retail and how it is sucking the life out of me and making me a drone of the corporate greed that drives oppulence and overspending in an already over saturated first world country. Let me get off my soapbox....

Anyways, my friend (my sister in retail Bliss) sent this along to me and I thought that I would share with y'all and remind everyone to be kind and not forget that we too are human and deserving of the Christmas spirit too when you are shopping for the holidays.

From Courtney...

Hey everybody, the holiday season is approaching, and
in the interest of general peace and harmony, I think
it's high time someone compiled a list of DON'TS for
shoppers across the nation. Having worked retail for
almost 10 years, I'd like to draw your attention to
the most common, most annoying bad habits of customers
I have dealt with.

I make no apologies for truly bad customer service!
I'd just like you to keep these things in mind for
those of us who really try to treat you well but
become frustrated by the following:

1. DON'T walk up to the counter with no salesperson
behind it and look disgusted that one does not
magically materialize before you.

2. DON'T enter a store talking loudly on a cell phone
and continue to gab as you browse, all the way through
your transaction, visibly annoyed that you must pause
long enough to receive your change.

3. DON'T throw your money or merchandise on the
counter when we have our hands outstretched to receive
it.

4. DON'T treat us like your own personal shopper.
Ideally, good customer service should make you feel
like you're the only person in the store. But this is
not reality.

5. DON'T give us bills all crumpled up, or, worse,
damp.

6. DON'T wait until everything is rung up to ask if
it's on sale. We will be much more cheerful about
answering your questions if we don't have to void the
sale and re-ring things.

7. DON'T neglect to estimate the total cost of your
purchase and then freak out like it's our fault you
can't add in your head as you shop.

8. DON'T carry things around the store, decide against
buying them, and leave them laying in random places.
This makes it harder for everyone to find what they're
looking for.

9. DON'T simply ignore us when we say hello or wish
you a nice day. You may be sullen, but you should at
least be polite.

10. DON'T let your children run amok. While you may
think it's cute that they're destroying things, we do
not.

11. DON'T try to make change with pennies when there
are 8 people lined up behind you.

12. DON'T set your items on the sales counter as you
shop, taking up valuable space and confusing everyone.
Unless your purchases are extremely heavy, use a cart
or a basket.

13. DON'T think you're cute by teasing or otherwise
harrassing us -- this goes out to older men for the
most part. You are not the first one to do so, even
though we may be humoring you.

14. DON'T ask for any amount of change in quarters so
you can do your laundry or wash your car. This is
what banks are for.

15. DON'T let us ring up half your items, suddenly
announce you forgot something, and spend the next ten
minutes running around the store some more. This ties
up the register, slows down traffic, and makes us want
to shoot you. If you can put a candy bar on your
debit card, you can come back and buy that forgotten
item later.

16. DON'T make comments like "You don't look like
you're doing anything" when approaching us alone at
the till. Chances are this is one of those rare
breathers in between mobs of people.

17. DON'T assume you are entitled to all the wonderful
boxes, bags, tissue paper, etc. Wrapping your items
is a service we provide to make you happy, not your
God-given right.

18. DON'T get angry when we ask to see your ID. We
are only trying to protect you and prevent fraud.

19. DON'T yell at us when returning an item that is
defective. We do not order merchandise for the store,
we did not purposely sabotage it, we just ring things
up.

20. DON'T wander leisurely for an hour and then check
your watch repeatedly while we ring you up, as if
WE'RE making you late.

21. DON'T assume we're half-wits. Many of us serving
you have other jobs and degrees.

22. DON'T summon us with beckoning fingers or
snapping, unless your socials skills are so limited
you have no other way to ask for help. You don't have
to treat us like dirt to prove you have money

Turkey makes you dumb...

Famous words from my friend Elaine. No scientific proof that this is true, but from Elaine's non-research based observation of individuals post-turkey consumption, (no names mentioned), she has drawn this conclusion. This finding will definately not cause a mass boycott of turkey and pandemonium in searching for an alternative fowl to consume at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

However,according to her it sure is tasty even if makes you dumb. I however, will stay away from Turkey, my brain is already turning into mush without the added Turkey affect. (my body is a turkey free zone...along with other meats too, not just turkey, veg head that I am).

Yesterday we had our family thanksgiving dinner. It was the first time in 2 years that I did not have to refer to it as "Canadian Thanksgiving" and sit on the floor to eat it. The last 2 Thanksgivings being in Japan with an international flare and the traditional Thanksgiving "sushi". It was nice to share my first holiday with my family but as always it is family and with that, the debate over the preparation of foods. There was still considerable debate over whether I should add milk or chicken stock to the mash potatoes....I compromised and added both....Let's not even talk about the Turkey and how that went...yup, good to be home and cooking with a room full of females and their respective opinions.

Nonetheless, I have lots to be thankful for, being able to share holidays with my family, including my two overbearing, know-it-all sisters whom I love dearly and attribute my mental instability...er... I mean my interesting personality to.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving...gobble gobble...

Update

Yet, another exciting week of selling jewellery at the BAY. I think I am starting to develop a tan for the bright UV lights from all the displays. I do definately need to buy some of those "sturdy" comfortable walking shoes that is all the rage with the over 50 crowd. My working environment is an Ergonomic nightmare. We stand for over 4 hours a day and do not have a place to sit all. At the end of the day my feet kill and I have not figured out a way to stop it. I do however on occasion do stretches behind the counter but only when there are no customers around. I am not allowed to wear sneakers...the slave drivers...supposedly we have to dress "business casual"...can someone give me a definition of what that means.

Complain, complain, complain...yes I know.......I have nothing else better to do.....

Adventures in Retail

So, many of you have been asking about how my job is going at the BAY, well it is definately none to exciting nor challenging. I keep telling myself that it is a job and it does pay something. Next to nothing, a third of what I was making in Japan, not enough for me to live off of, but who is complaining, right?

We have sales targets we have to meet each shift but, I the retail goddess has not been doing so well with that benchmark. I was never a person to go with all the rules anyways...
I try to meet the target but I am just not aggressive enough...too laid back. I kind of let them off the hook when they say well, I will think about it. I cheerfully, say okay, no worries take your time. Mistake in retail I tell you. And let's not even talk about the requirement that I sign someone up for a BAY card every shift...no where near that target.

But lucky me on Sunday, I hit my target. So, why did I make my sales on Sunday, was it the charming personality, the smile and tilt the head combo, the dimples, or even the aggressive sales technique. Actually it was due to the couple from China who needed souvenirs for their relations in China. Thank god for the omiyage tradition in Asian countries. They bought 13 watches from me...yup 13 watches. It was a pretty easy sell. They were not designer 100$ watches that would have made it an even better day but at $25 a pop it was enough to put me over my target for the day. Yippie!! I did spend about an hour with them though and showed them almost all the watches we had. It made me feel better cause earlier that morning I let another associate have my customer who bought a 799$ tennis bracelet..I was hitting myself after that one.

So far my co-workers have been really nice to me. They have helped me out a lot with the cash training and letting me know which key goes in which display. I cannot believe how many keys they are and how many different locks they go in. You would think that someone would label some of them. User Interface nightmares here.

Most of them are young and around my age. We all laugh and chat quite a bit but not when the manager is around, I have dubbed her "Mother Hen", cause from the moment your shift starts to the moment it ends she will not stop clucking at you. "Do you know your targets for today, you need to get an instant credit today, stop chatting, circulate.....it does not stop. Little did you know that the BAY is an intense sales driven arena of showcases and watches. The bright lights and the intense clucking are enough to drive a person insane.

So, those are this weeks tales from the BAY...Next weeks tales include the story of mother hen, who is mysteriously found to have been locked in a display by a disgruntled new employee.

Today's thoughts

There are always hopes that I will wake up one day and have these great and insightful things to write about on my blog. Well, no such luck today. I believe that my mind has turned into a big pile of oatmeal-like consistancy, mush. It feels like that I have not really used my brain in ages.

Let's say that the new job consists of me smiling and acting nice and trying to get someone to purchase that lovely Bulova watch, which by the way is on sale today. Did you know that Bulova has a 3 year warranty and is one of the best brands of watches you can buy? I myself have owned a Bulova for over 4 years now and have never had any problems with it. Yada yada yada....

From experience, I now know I like working in retail even less than I like teaching. At least teaching was a challenge and it was interesting.

It seems that the last blogs since my return to Canada have not been all that happy nor very uplifting. Sorry, but I guess that is just the current state of mind that I am in. This weeks thoughts teeter on, whether I should have stayed in Japan or not?
There have been days where I think I should have, so far very few things are convincing me otherwise....

UPDATE

I am alive and well. Nothing too exciting to report. In all honesty, I have to admit that I have been the queen of the gumbies

definition: I have been sitting on my butt doing nothing all day and not even changing out of my pajamas....

I do not start working until this Friday and thus have had quite a bit of time to sit and reflect on the current state of affairs of my life. Not a pretty sight I tell you........

I did however, get to play volleyball last night and I did enjoy myself very much. Hooray for the healing powers of volleyball and the ability for it to make you just laugh at how bad you play.....

Job

Well, there were hopes of finding a job where I could something I love and get paid a whole heck of a lot of money. Well....I guess that is everyones' dream too.....
The next best thing I was hoping for was something relating to my degree in Kinesiology...Ergonomics or even working with kids. Well, it seems that I got a job working at the Bay, a dept't store. After talking to a good friend of mine who was herself working in a dep't store until she fines a better job, I thought what the heck. I am not particularly thrilled about it, but hey at least it is a job and it gets me off my butt and working. Wish me good luck in finding something more degree related.

As for other things, I have been home for over 3 weeks now and have adjusted somewhat. I still have pangs of missing Japan and wishing I were there. The adventurer in me is a little antsy staying in one. I do miss the lifestyle in Japan where everything was a new adventure and I got to travel and explore. Definately, into reverse culture shock now. Strange that I miss a place so much that I never really felt like I truly entirely fit into.

Even more strange is that I miss my little hellions. After a lot of near disasterious classes where I was over-run by my kids and would walk out in utter frustration, I actually miss them quite a bit. You never know how much an impact they have on you.

Current Mood: reflective and homesick

Today's Random Thoughts

So, I spent yet another day home doing nothing....I miss the routine and schedule of having a regular job and doing something other than veg'n all day. Yup, definately dealing with reverse culture shock. I am still grappling with the fact that at 25, I am living at home and jobless. The overachiever, independant wacky kind of girl that I am, is having issues with once again living at home and mooching off my parents. However, I must say it is nice to have someone do my laundry and cook me my favourite foods. Note: I am helping around the house and am not a big fat lazy bum...

Current mood: depressed and unmotivated.

Missing Japan

The honest truth is that I am reverse culture shocking a bit. I miss Japan. I actually miss my little kids a lot. I think about them all the time and wonder how they are treating my successor. Strange that I am not there and what kind of trouble are they getting into without me there to encourage them to behave...actually without me there to let them run wild they are probably better behaved.

Still looking for a job, applied for one yesterday...perhaps I should start thinking about starbucks....I hate this job search thing....anyone out there want to get me a job....

Waiting

I am sitting here with Ejlee, waiting for Barney. He is going to pick us up and we will drive to Manning Park to spend some time outdoors. I'm looking forward to seeing beautiful B.C nature after living in inaka Japan. I've missed being able to swim in clean water and go canoeing.

BARNEY, WHERE ARE YOU?!

Been home one week

I have now been home in Canada for one week. I am still dreaming about Japan and some days still wake up thinking it is Japan. I have now almost gotten over my cold. I am feeling much better and have decided to get off my butt next week and start looking for a job. No more of this bumming around the house, there is only so much of day time TV, I can watch.

Wish me good luck.

Illness

I was really lucky all through Nepal and India that I never got ill once. Even in Japan I think I was only ill once in 2 years. But as soon as I arrived back home I get attacked by some kind of cold bug or something. It feels like a cold but I have also somehow lost my voice too. My sisters seem to think it is SARS, I am convinced it is Malaria...all joking aside it is probably my body telling me to relax and take it easy after almost 3 months of stress with packing and travelling. Thus, I have decided to veg and sleep lots and let my mommy take care of me until I am all better.

Home sweet home

When I was in Japan, I used to dream of Vancouver and now when I am in Vancouver I dream of Japan. In an entire reversal of roles. It still has not sunk in that I am home in Vancouver, at any moment it feels like I am going to wake up on my futon in Japan. I have been home for 3 days and for the most part of the 3 days I have not ventured out too much. I am fighting a post travels bug of some sort. I jokingly tell everyone that it is either SARS or Malaria. However, it is more likely a cumulation of lack of sleep, dry air plane air, and the pollution of Delhi that has made me suspectible to a cold bug. I spent the better part of yesterday firmly ensconced on the couch being pampered and worried about by my family, something that has not happened in years and years. It was rather nice to be taken care of when I was feeling so miserable. Someone to cook me my fav. foods and someone to do my laundry.

It is still a rather strange sensation for me to be in a house with my parents. Afterall it has been 7 years since I have lived at home. It is very strange for me, nice at the moment but not sure how it will last long term. Going from being entirely on my own to sharing a house with 4 other people. The last time I lived at home was when I was in highschool.

Other than that I am adjusting well, I have not major reverse culture shock episodes, although I hope to get it over and done with soon, so I can get on with my life in Canada. I do have pangs of missing Japan and my students. I cannot help but look at the people around me and think about how different it is in Japan.

I guess I am going through a bit of post-Japan withdrawl.

Am I really in Vancouver??

I had no nose pressed up against the glass of the window as we approached Vancouver, I could not believe that I was seeing the Vancouver skyline against the mountains. After 2 years, I was finally coming home for good....well, not quite for good but for a while at least. Even at this point I am not 100% sure I am in Vancouver. I think it is a cumulation of Jet lag and disbelief that I am not in Japan. At any moment it seems like I am going to wake up from this dream and be in my apartment in Japan.

I cannot express what kind of feelings are going through my head. It is this mixed bag of being happy I am home and also of missing Japan and my kids, along with missing Nepal and the kind people I have met there. Once again, I cannot express how wonderful and attached I am to Nepal. It is definately some where to go back to. In fact, I am even now plotting about a trip next spring to Japan and Nepal. We'll see what happens.

At this point I am just going to relax and spend time with my family and friends and take it easy. Sleep is one of my first priorities.....

Adventures over


In about an hour I will be heading to the airport to fly home. My flgiht is at 12:00 am and I will have to change flights 2 times, once in Bangkok and once in Taipei. I am not looking forward to the flight but really happy that I will be heading home. I have had a great adventure in Nepal and probably decided that I will not venture back to Delhi for a long time. I am not tough enough for this country.
I cannot express how amazing my adventures have been over the last 2 years and how I am a little sad that they are coming to an end. However, I am sure that I will be happy once I have set foot on Canadian soil....reverse culture shock and all.....well, I will see how it goes. If it gets to be too bad I can always go back to Nepal.
Anyways, just wanted to write one last blog from somewhere other than Canada.

Why I hate India

Of the countries I have visited there is not one that I would say that I really do not like, that is until India.

India is nuts....let me say that again....it is nuts...when you step out of the safety of the airport it a free for all and you are swarmed by Taxi drivers. It is a really agressive society. After being in Nepal and being treated so nicely and everyone being so friendly I was in quite the shock in India, where 10 people will swarm you while you are stopped at a light and ask you to buy something or to go to their hotel.

We went to the Taj Mahal today. Which turned out to be an adventure that I do not ever want to relive. We got up at 5:00 am so we could meet downstairs for our bus for 6:00 am. Then proceed to ride a supposedly a/c bus for 8 hours only to be told that if we wanted a ride back to our hotel in Delhi (which was covered in our bus ticket) that we would probably not arrive until really late. Thus conveniently an alternate plan was made for us, we would be dropped off at a travel agent and they would take us via taxi to the Taj Mahal and other tourist sights and then be put on a train back to Delhi. Of course if we wanted to take the deluxe train we would have to pay extra. Elita and I vehmently said No...we will take the regular train. So, we see the Taj Mahal which is spectacular, then were taken to a marble factory and were told that this man is the descendent of one of the original builders of the Taj and is no in charge of taking care of it. He then told us all about marble and tried to sell us crap and kept talking about how it is free to ship, how it is like you are taking the Taj with you. My god he would not let us leave, finally we got out of their, having wasted an hour where we could have been seeing Agra. They took us back to the travel agent, where the man working there conviently owns a gem store and proceeded to take us there to look at gems. He was pushy and even suggested that we allow him to borrow our addresses in Canada so he could send some gems there and then have someone pick them up...we said no way!!! Then he proceeded to grill us about why we didn't want to do it. Finally to shut him up we bought some gems from him. Nothing too expensive...then we took a 3 hour train ride back sitting on hard wooden benches. My first experience with Indian trains and hopefully my last.

Leaving Nepal

I am sad to be leaving Nepal. I will head to Delhi tomorrow. My experience here has been wonderful all except for the random men who keep hitting on me. There are the kind ones whom I have met. These two great store owners not far from where I am staying who invite me in for tea everytime I walk past. One of them I bought some clothes from while another I had two pieces of jewelry made with. And the kind man in the bookstore, who called me his daughter and gave me a beaded bracelet.

The bad random men experience include being asked to dinner twice in one night. The first one was when we were walking down the street and this man who owns a gem stop said, "can I ask you a question?". So I stopped and we ended up going to their shop and chatting for 30 mins. They were nice and asked us for dinner the next night, we said we were busy but they insisted. Not 2 hours later, I was in a store buying a skirt....yes skirt, and was bargaining as is the habit here. The man and I finally agreed to a price and he then said I had to go out for a beer with him, cause he gave me such a good price, well I said no, then his friend grabbed my arm and said dinner then, tomorrow...I said I was busy, then the day after...they were insistant and would not let go of my arm....finally I said, sorry I am leaving Kathmandu tomorrow and cannot come to dinner....they then shook my hand for what felt like 10 mins. Man, I was glad to get out of that store.

So, last night we had our hot date with the gem boys....I called up two guys we know here in Kathmandu, one a peace corp volunteer we met while volunteering, and the other the director of the org. we volunteered with, Purna. We go to the gem shop to meet the boys and it was not pretty. The gem boys were not happy we brought two guy friends with us, and our Nepali friend was not impressed with the gem boys. So, after standing around akwardly I suggest we go for dinner. The Gem boys said they would meet us at the restaurant but they did not end up showing up. I think they were rather put off that we brought other guys with us. My friend, Purna said that they were probably hoping to pick up two "Japanese girls". It was kind of funny cause I could tell that Purna was sizing up the guys and that the gem boys were sizing him up. I could see the reactions on both their faces.

Anyways, it has been fun. Our last night in Kathmandu was spent dancing in a Nepali restaurant. It is fun to dance to music you don't know and just be free and not worry about how silly you look. I enjoyed myself a lot. At the end of the night we were given applause and comments on our dancing.

Onto Delhi now....scary....

Saying good bye,

I am now in Kathmandu and have finished my volunteeer work in the village. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit some families of students supported by the organization I volunteered with. I was amazed at the conditions they were living in. They were living in huts with very little electricity and they have only just gotten running water. Children were running around bare foot and had tattered clothing. Education is very expensive for these children and if it weren't for the NEST programme they could not go to school. Unfortunately, not every child can be given a scholarship for school as much as the director would like too. I was reminded of how much I take for granted and how blessed I am. The only way to end the cycle of poverty in Nepal is by education but without money they cannot go to school, it is a never ending cycle. The image of the village is something I will take away with me from Nepal.

I am also sick of saying good bye. This morning, I said good bye to my host family. I totally felt like a part of the family and was treated liked their sister, they even called me sisiter, didi in Nepali. I am touched by how easily I was welcomed into their home and made to feel like a part of their family. I will miss them terribly. Too many good byes in such a short time...

I was also able to dress in Nepali traditional dress and had mendhi done, which is drawing with henna on your hands as well as having henna put in my hair. It is a luxury that you do for your sister or daughter as a treat. I definately look like a nepali in the dress, with the mendi, the arm full of bangles and the yellow string around my wrist (Nepali festival yesterday). It has been an amazing time here. I definately want to come back.

Greetings from Nepal

I am doing well, although my stomach has not been too happy with me as of late, no major grumblings but just a bit of a disagreement. I will be okay though.

The camp is now over and we are planning to head back to Kathmandu in 2 days. I am looking forward to being back in the city with regular internet service.
The camp went well, it was a lot of fun and the kids were awesome. I really enjoyed myself, but now I am exhausted, it was pretty 10 hours a day of high energy. Man, if I have to hear camp songs anymore I will probably scream.

Other than that everything is well. I have adapted fairly well to Nepali life, all except for the toilets but I guess that is life. I am now wearing Nepali dress and have an arm full of glass bangles. It is interesting to be a part of the culture and live with a family. Twice a day we eat Dal baht, which is rice and veggies that you eat with your hands, no utensils. Very interesting seeing how they do not use toilet paper here either. Just have to keep in mind you eat with your right hand and wipe with your left.

I am having problems getting into my sfu account so for the time being it will have to be blogs for updates.

Okay, I will write soon again. When I get back to Kathmandu, that means riding the scary plane, it is so scary, they actually give you cotton balls to stuff in your ears during the flight.....

Nepal

I have been here in Nepal for almost a week now and our Summer Camp is going well. I cannot believe how well behaved these kids are. They blow my Japanese kids out of the proverbial water. Their English is great, I have 5 year olds speaking to me in English. Japan can learn something about English Education from Nepal. I am teaching Japanese to these kids, strange seeing how I have spent the last 2 years teaching English. The camp is great though but requires me to be always super energetic. At the end of the day I am exhausted.

Health and cleanliness is another story here. The bathroom is a scary place, every morning I take a shower with some companions of the 8 legged variety, needless to say I get in and out as fast as I can. Toilet paper has not been introduced here yet so we bring our own with us everywhere we go. I try not to use the bathroom more than twice a day and only when I really really have to go.

We are doing a homestay here and I am really happy with the family we are staying with. It is the sister and niece of the organizer of the camp. We have been welcomed into their family with open arms and we are planning to cook them dinner tomorrow night. Should be fun...hope they don't suffer from our cooking.

So far Nepalese food has been agreable with me, although I am feeling a little funny today. The diet is mainly rice and veggies that you eat with your hands. You do not use utensils.

Every morning I hope on the back of a motor bike and zoom through the countryside into town from the small village where I am staying. I love the ride, except for the occasional goat, cow, or duck that strays onto our path. This morning we nearly took out a duck on the road. Cows and goats just roam everywhere. We are in a very underdevelopped area. Their is livestock everywhere. The level of poverty is astounding. I cannot believe it somedays. What a huge difference from Japan. Talk about culture shock.

All in all I am having a good time, amazed by the kindness of the Nepali and how we have been welcomed here. Everywhere I go, I am greeted with a smile and namaste. Which means hello, good bye and almost everything else. Nepal is beautiful and more interesting than I could ever have imagined. It is an awesome country.

Okay will update in a few days.

Heart Broken

On Saturday bright and early, nursing a hangover I went to our baseball game. (it seems that I have had a boat load of farewell parties where the main objective is to get Char drunk). Even though I cheered my little heart out for my boys, we lost our baseball game and thus dashing everyone's hopes of going to the Koshien. For my gr. 12's (whom I absolutely adore), this was their final game of their baseball careers. As you can imagine, there were tears and much crying. It is strange to see some of these tough boys cry. I was absolutely heartbroken. For me, it was probably the last time I would see my baseball boys too. I was just as sad as their were.

As I wrote previously, I was given one of their warm up jerseys as a present, I wore it proudly to their game. One of my cheekier gr. 11's came up to me and said he wanted it. I told him we should trade, so we traded, I now have his jersey and he has mine. I thought it was really sweet, that he liked me enough, (perhaps too much some times) that he wanted to wear my name. I was touched when he showed the rest of the team and everyone oohed and ahhed. This is probably one of my special memories of Japan.

I cannot stress enough, how special this years kids are to me. They have been absolutely great in class and always eager to talk to me. I am sad that I cannot take them home with me. I will miss rubbing their little buzzed baseball hair cuts. They have gotten so used to me doing this, that they just stick their heads up when I walk past.

I am feeling so sad right now, teary eyed and emotional.

I also had the experience of going to a Japanese funeral, something that I did not want to experience. My vice-principal died after being sick for a long time. I was not particularly close with him but I do remember the odd times he would ask me about basketball and the Vancouver Grizzlies. He was not afraid to talk to me at all. It was refreshing. I will miss him.

Time is flying by

I am sad, one by one my friends are heading home and returning to their respective countries. It has not really hit me yet that in September I will not be able to just ride over to their houses and visit them. It feels like everyone is just going on summer vacation or something, not like they are leaving Japan for good.

You go through so much here together and your friends are the ones that make sure you do not go completely bonkers on those really bad days in Japan. Trust me, there are many of them.

Oh, I am sad that everyone is leaving and that I have to leave too.

My kiddies...as awful as some of them were in class, they never listened and never did any work....but yet I know that I will miss them a lot. They are my kids and I love some of them to death. They are what has made my time in Japan memorable.


There was a point last September when I thought my contract would never and I could not leave fast enough. I had just returned from Canada and thought that I could not possibly endure another year of being in Japan. I was homesick as soon as I stepped off the plane and really did not want to be in Japan. Well, that was 10 months ago and now I cannot believe that I will be leaving in a little more than a week. In a complete reversal of feelings, I have pangs of homesickness for Japan when I think about leaving.

The 2 years have gone by in a blink of an eye and I am having a hard time with packing and leaving. It has been a great adventure. For the first time I was living entirley on my own in a foreign country not speaking the language. I figure if I can survive Japan I can probably take on many things. Heck, I taught almost 900 hormonal teenagers in 2 years. That says something about learning to cope and survive....

Anyways, just a reflective mood I am in..............

"Take me out the the ball game"

In Japan, baseball is their third religion behind Shinto and Budhism. Summer is the peak of highschool baseball with prefectural baseball championships. Every higschool baseball player dreams of going to the Koshien (the mecca of highschool baseball), to play in the National championships.

Busloads of students are shipped to baseball stadiums where accompanied by the school band and megaphones everyone cheers their school team on.
Yesterday we had our first game of the prefectural tournament. We all loaded into the bus to go to the stadium, or band, cheerleaders, leader club (sort of pep club), along with several large drums. Once we got there, megaphones were handed out and the coordinated cheers began. First you do a cheer for the opposing team and bow to them, wishing them good luck. Each player that bats has their own cheer, song or dance. The pitcher has a cheer too. I cannot believe the utter madness of it all. My normally shy and reserved students show their true spirit. They never get to yell and scream and be normal kids unitl now. It was so much fun to be a part of the baseball madness. It is insane to see 500 people doing the same dance at the same time.

I must say that all along my baseball boys have been some of my favourite students and this is a great way to spend my last two weeks here, cheering them on and being a part of it all. You know you are in far to deep when you are just as worried as the players when you are behind, or when you yell at the umpire cause you think your player was safe. It was like it was me out there playing. You have to experience highschool baseball in Japan to know what I mean.

Last day of school

Today was the last official day of school, although the kids will be required to come to school periodically or if they are in a club then almost every day. Not much of a summer break if you ask me. I will also be required to come to school until my contract is finished which is on July 28th. Nothing but sitting around all day.

We had closing ceremonies and I had to make a speech, I was super nervous seeing how it was all in Japanese. I managed to get through all of it without too many mistakes and without any tears, although my voice did waver a bit.

I am sad to leave what I think as my second home. I have spent two years here and I must say that it has been a wonderful experience that I will probably never forget. The kids are definately what has made it wonderful.

I had lunch with some of my Gr. 12's today, then spent the better part of the afternoon talking to them. What a change from 2 years ago, when the kids were scared to even approach me. I will miss these little hellions far more than they will ever realize.

Stuff and more stuff

I seem to have a bottomless closet. I take things out of it and it seems that more things magically appear in its' place. I have been packing for over a month now and it still seems like I have to pack more. My apartment is covered with random things and big cardboard boxes. I walk into my apartment and feel like my stacks of stuff are going topple over in a clothing avalanche and bury me alive. I hate packing about as much as I hate saying good byes.

ARRGHGGH!! It is almost worth it to stay in Japan another year so I don't have to deal with the packing and good byes.

Sayonara

July has been the say good bye month for me for 3 years now. I don't like good byes and have a hard time with them.

Yesterday, we had a good bye sushi lunch with all my fellow English teachers. I was touched by the kind words spoken about me and the sense that I will be missed. I got a good bye present that I had requested with an unexpectant surprise. I wanted a bag my baseball team has. It is an "official baseball bag" with my name on it and Daiichi (my school) written on it. It is perfect and exactly what I wanted. It reminds me of my school and my baseball boys, whom I love. They are usually the best kids in the class and the ones to come talk to me. To get that bag you have to be a member of the baseball team and actually be a good player. I think that I am perhaps the only girl ever to own the Daiichi Baseball team bag.

I also received a baseball warm up jersey, with my name on it. Surprised by that one.

So sad to say good bye and to realize that I leave in two weeks. How fast time goes by.

Yukata-kai

A yukata is a light weight cotton summer Kimono.

I had been taking lessons on how to wear a Yukata and tie the belt. I had the intentions of studying how to put on a Kimono but because of lack of time and the cost of accumulating all the Kimono accessories (underwear, ties, belts, clips, in addition to the thousand dollar kimono), I decided to learn to wear the yukata.

So, I have been practicing for 3 weeks now and yesterday we had a party were everyone was dressed in Yukatas and kimonos. It was partly a demonstration too. So, we got up on stage and tied it infront of everyone. I was a bit nervous standing infront of everyone, in addition to the newspaper being there to take pictures of the silly foreigners. Because in Japan, an event instantly becomes international relations when a foreigner is present

So, I had a wonderful time. After the sit down dinner we of course piled into the cars in our yukatas and went to the mall. It is quite an interesting sight, when you have 7 people all dressed in traditional Japanese summer clothing walking through the mall. Of course we had to stop for Starbucks and take Print Club (print club is little photo stickers that are a huge hit here). Only in Japan would I be wearing a Yukata, drinking Starbucks, and taking Print Club.




It was a wonderful experience and a great way to cap off my stay in Japan.

Honoury Envoy to Toyama

Yesterday I had a ceremony whereby I was presented with plaques bestowing the honour of special honoury envoy to Toyama. Keeping in mind that this title can be revoked at any time if I have behaviour that is unbecoming of this title. Not sure what kind of behaviour that is...perhaps if I say that the water in Toyama in not Oishi or the fish not fresh.

Oshii = delicious

Honorary Envoy= Friend of Toyama

All done with my exams

Regardless if it is grading exams or if it is writing exams, the feeling of relief when you are done with them is the same regardless.

I finished grading today, over 300 exams in the span of one week. I am a machine....

Two balls....

Last Friday I was sitting on my desk, when the captain of the boys volleyball team came up to me. He said they were having a practice game on Saturday and if I was free I should come. Of course being the dedicated ALT, I would show up to school on Saturday.

So I drag my butt to school, literally dragging it seeing how I was out until 1:30 the night before.
Anyways, I was on the second floor of the gym, (we have a indoor track above the gym where you can watch from), when the captain sends one of the players up to get me so I can sit on the bench beside the coach. I walk in there and everyone bows.

So, they finish the game and everyone comes over for the aisatsu (greetings and thank you to your coach, usually the coach gives them advice or something). So it being Japan, they did it to me too. It is a sign of respect for your elders, yup I am an elder alright.
Saying something about well "your blocking was off and that the take off for the tandem play should have been the center hitter going up then the off side hitter going up, the third hit in the second play should have been from the power side and not the off side"......hmmm...yup, my days of competitive vollyeball is over.

So, I get up to walk out of the gym, when the captain says wait. So, he comes out with two volleyballs, one a practice ball that I can use to play with, the other a official "daiichi high school ball, with all their names signed on it.

I was all choked up, tears formed and I had to struggle to hold them in, my boys...I cannot believe it. It was so sweet....

Making a difference......my goal for my second year....perhaps making the difference in me....

Tired

I saw Charlie's angels last night. Good movie. Funny!

I have been on the computer all morning. No classes because of exams. So I get to sit on my ass. Should be studying Japanese or writing my farewell speeches, but currently looking for internships. Nothing so far...been on it for 2 hours....eyes are going wonky.

2010 Olympics

Vancouver got the 2010 Olympics. Yippie!!

finished

My career as an English teacher is over. I taught my last class today and it was sad for me. Got a little teary eyed. I will definately miss those little misfits.

I am filled with mixed emotions, sad that I will not get to see these kids again but terribly homesick. So homesick that it hurts....

I missed Canada Day. Did not even realize it was yesterday.....

News

Intruder

I had an intruder on Monday night, while I was brushing my teeth I feel this thing walk across my feet, I look down to discover a large cockroach the size of a bar of soap...well okay not quite that large but large enough. I jump up out of my bathroom and run for the bug spray. I proceed to use half the can of spray on him, cause he kept moving, then sucked him up in the vacuum and sprayed more spray into the vacuum. He better be dead!! I had been searching for him for a week now. I first caught site of him last week but was not quick enough to kill him. He better be the only intruder and better not have been a spy sent ahead or else I am going to move out of my apartment before I leave Japan. As you can tell, I hate bugs.

How do you talk about yourself?

I asked my supervisor for a letter of recommendation...man...was that difficult, after humming and searching, then asking the principal, I was told to write it myself....lovely...how do you write a glowing letter of recommendation without feeling guilty about being a braggart?


Changed my blog
As you can tell I changed my blog. I was having problems so I decided to change the template. Plus I have some time on my hands.

The first of My Last Classes

Well, two years have almost come and gone now. This week I had the first of my last classes. Exams start next Thurs. and thus I will not be teaching my Thurs. and Friday classes anymore after tomorrow. It was sad...the kids have been well...interesting..sometimes they make me laugh and sometimes they make me so mad that I could cry. It has been a learning experience with them. I guess, no matter how mad they made me, I will always remember them and think of them as my kids.

Well, my I-nensei's whom I know the least and probably are not most favourite kids even made me a littled choked up. At the beginning and end of class students stand, bow and greet. Well, for my final act with the kids I was asked to lead it. It is a privledge to do so and a confirmation that I am one of them. It does not seem like much but it is something. I also was told that I would be missed and had my hand shaken.

My III-nensei's, my favourites, I asked them to write a letter to me. Many of the letters were very sweet and I was touched by their sentiment and at the end I took a class picture with them. They were very kind and I was told that I will be missed.

As a side note, I got a double on a bike by one of my students. I was going to the convenience store for somethign to eat and she said she would double me. Well, what a sight that was in my skirt. Imgaine , me on the back of a bike with my skirt hiked up. Yeah, great image for a teacher.

Perhaps, they will not remember me when I leave but these little things make my stay in Japan worthwhile. My reason was that I was going to make a difference but perhaps it was not making a difference in them but in myself that was more important. I hope that I have left some kind of impression on them, cause they sure as hell have left one on me.

Man, this leaving bit is going to be tougher than I thought. I only had to deal with last classes today.

Fathers

Thank God for fathers. I do not know what I would do without mine. My dad is always the person I turn to when I need advice or need encouragement. I cannot remember how many times in university at 4 O'clock in the morning I would call my dad and fret about a final exam I was sure I was going to flunk. Well, after sending out many a cover letters and resumes, and still not hearing from anyone, I was really disappointed and ready to work at starbucks. Well, my dad being who he is, told me not to worry. He believes that something will come up and that it will work out. It is nice when someone believes in you, when you don't believe in yourself. Cheers, to Dads and the secret powers they have.

Donations

Finally, paid for my trip home this summer. I have decided to take a detour home. I will stop in Nepal and India on my way back to Vancouver. I will be participating in the NEST program in Nepal running education programs in a school 6 hours outside of Kathmandu. I will be doing English lessons along with talking about health and sanitation. My plan is to leave Japan on the 1st of Aug. and be back in Vancouver around the 24th.

I am also hoping that you can help me out with donations. The school that I am going to is really poor and they need funds for books and programs. I have been asked to help raise some funds for them. So, if you are interested in donating to a good cause and providing education to individuals in Nepal, please contact me via email. Even a few dollars in nepal can go a long way. So many times we take education and books for granted.

Update


Last Sunday I played sound table tennis. It is for the visually impaired. Inside a ping pong ball there is ball bearings that make noise. The object of the game is instead of getting it over the net, it goes under the net with essentially the same rules as ping pong. The people playing were really good, surprising at first seeing how their reaction time is based on hearing where the ball is. I got my butt kicked around.

Hmmm...what else is new....had my farewell party with my Japanese teacher. My Japanese lessons are officially over. Sad, seeing how I still feel like I have not learnt enough Japanese.

Matrix Reloaded

I finally got to see it this weekend. The verdict is 3 out of 5 stars....It was okay..the story was harder to follow this time...and less thinking involved for the viewers, and too much action.....the 30 min. car chase scene....all in all a bit disappointing...

On a much happier note, I did rent "life as a house"...great movie, I really liked it....go and rent it if you have not seen it yet....

Milan or Toyama

Last night I went to a dinner party for the Hokuriku-Canada Association. A group of Japanese people that are interested in Canada and plan a get together once a year. Being the proud Canadian that I am, of course I went, the incentive being the free food and the Labatts beer. My fellow Canadian JET's also were in attendance. Well, part way through the informal dinner 3 people walk in, one dressed very hip in a dark shirt and dark tie while another in a funky shirt and shades. I turn to my friend Elita and we both say simultaneously, Who is that? Being that we think every foreigner in this area is an English teacher and we should know each other. Jokingly, Elita said perhaps they were rock stars, seeing how they were not dressed for an occasion like that. Meaning: stuffy serious Japanese get togethers. It turns out they were the preformers for a concert that we had missed earlier that evening. They toured with Chantal Kreviazick and have an album in Europe. Not sure if they are famous but they are doing several shows in Tokyo and Toronto in a few weeks. Elita and I spent most of the time talking to them, with their cute French accents and all. At the end of the night their was an invitation to go out for a drink and see the sights of Toyama when they were finished with their dinner. Phone numbers were exchanged.

Well, while walking back from the "Canada" night, we are stopped by some men obviously lost. So, at first I thought they were Russians, but then they spoke with an Italian accent. They were here preforming La Boheme and needed directions to their hotel. So, being the kindly Canadians that we were decided to walk with them. They did not speak English or Japanese so of course, I pull out the international language of love, French. We proceeded to have a conversation in Italian, English, and French. I also acted as translator when they were looking for a good Sushi restaurant. I had no clue so of course I asked the person working in the cafe. My friends thought that we should of gotten tickets for all our hard work.

Well, the four of us ALT's who had been at the Canadian night soiree stepped into a small cafe to have coffee and chat about our respective schools, bitching and complaing more accurately describes it. Pretty soon, we were overwhelmed by Italians in the cafe. It was like we were in Italy, with the Italian free flowing and the expressos everyone had ordered. Last night it seemed like I was not in Japan but was in Italy. It was a lovely evening hanging out with my fellow Canucks and basking in the sensation of being in Italy. As I walked to the train station the last thing I heard was a "Ciao, Bella", directed at me......

Oscar the Grouch

I am unhappy to report that the rainy season has started here. Good bye sunshine, we will see you in a few weeks. It will rain for about a month here. Not Vancouver rainy weather, but hot humid sticky rain that gets into your apartment and leaves you feeling damp and sticky. Plus creating a lovely haven for mold to flourish. Lovely....

Packing Report
One box of winter clothes ready to be sent. Two boxes almost ready to be sent, upteenth more to be found and packed with stuff...aiya...

I did not get yelled at by the garbage men this morning. This is a first for me. One of the most negative feelings I have about Japan stems from dealing with sorting my garbage. Not the actual physical process but the terror I have in confronting the men who take it from me. To make a long explanation short, garbage is divided into two types, burnable and non-burnable. Well, twice a month you take your non-burnable garbage to a community gathering place and put it into its assorted piles. I dread going and thus save it all up for one trip every 2 months. When I go there, I always manage to have my garbage thoroughly searched and bags ripped apart because I have somehow not sorted it right no matter how hard I try. I read the instruction book on garbage sorting and follow it religously but alas for the most part I get yelled at by these old men who sit there eyeing me suspiciously while I try to inconspicuously put it into its respective piles.

Well this morning, with my shoulders slouched in the anticipated tongue lashing in rapid fire Japanesee, I put my bags down and then promptly eye one of the old men pounce on it. He then proceeds to say something and I automatically pavlovian style say, "sumimasen, gomenasai"...only to realise that that was not my bag of garbage. I then proudly look at him with an air of defiance and say, that is not mine. This is the first time in 2 years that they did not pull apart MY bag in front of me and make me re-sort it into the "proper" piles all the while yelling to me in Japanese....triumph over the "garbage meanies"...

Today's thoughts

It is hot and humid today. I feel gross and sweaty and it is only 10:42 AM. I am tired from the humidity and the restless kids.

I saw 8 mile last night. It was good and I liked it. I was hoping to see the Matrix Reloaded but we got there late and it had already started. Will have to wait, I guess.

I have decided to stop fretting about jobs and housing. My good friend Ejlee gave me some words of wisdom and knocked some sense into me. Thanks Ejlee...still worried, but not going to let the uncertainty of my impending return govern my life. Just going to take things in strides.

Packing Report

In anticipation of my impending departure from Japan I have been trying to pack up my stuff. I came to Japan with two suitcases, but now after 2 years I have more than two suitcases worth of stuff...where did it all come from? I have packed my winter clothes and will be sending them off via post once I find a box big enough. Next will be my books and CD's. I blame my travels to Asia for the increase in CD collection, come on who can resist $3 pirated CD's. I have to figure out what I am going to do with my tennis raquet. Oppulence...ne...

Top Five Reasons to stay in Japan

My eikaiwa students gave me a list of 5 reasons why I should stay in Japan another year. Let's say it was not all that heartwarming and it is making my impending return not very inviting...

1. Homeless...I do not know where I am going to live when I get back.
2. Jobless...No one wants to hire a kinesiologist who can only teach English
3. Single...I have no boyfriend and thus no reason to live according to everyone here
4. Poor... I have no job = no money...plus a student loan
5. Carless..I will have to walk everywhere...

Sports Day

In schools all over Japan during June or September, students don their polyester gym clothes and showcase their talents in endurance, speed, agility, strength, and the how loud they can cheer for their team, otherwise known as sports day. It is a somewhat militaristic exercise with the playing of anthems, raising of flags, and the marching, but again many of the things in Japan are throwbacks to their imperialistic days...anyways, enough sociological analyzation from me...

Yesterday my school had their Sports day. Let me describe how it works: The entire school including teachers are divided into 4 teams based on their homerooms, yellow, white, red, and blue. Once again, I was put on the "photography" team....yippie!!!. With a total of 3 members, we had to compete in the events of shooting of moving figures, capturing facial expressions, and finally rapid installation of film...tough events I tell you...As you can tell, tad bit bitter about not being put on a team, although I have been here two years and really wanted to be on a team...Anyways, I digress. The students must then participate in different events, consisting of relays, running, obstacle courses, three legged races, and so on. The event that stands out in my mind, would never be allowed because of liability and the potential lawsuits, the Chicken Fight. This is the event all my Gr. 12 boys look forward to and prepare for. One boy is put on the shoulders of two other boys, with one boy holding him there, and a teacher close by to "catch" anyone that falls.. The object is to take the ribbon tied around the head of the opposing team. It gets quite violent and I am always shocked that no kids fall off and break their necks. I told my friends that I am always surprised that no fights result from it. I know at home, that if they did that event kids would be brawling and fists would be flying. Well I guess I spoke to soon, yesterday it got a little violent and a full fight nearly occured had it not been for the big burly Phys Ed. teachers rushing. A few punches flew but not too much bloodshed occured.. It was a little scary, because boys were rushing the field.
I must say that I did enjoy myself yesterday, I think that after being here 2 years I have been accepted by the students. I was promptly invited onto a team by the kids once they found out I was not on a team. My initiation consisted of letting them go nuts with a tube of white paint to show my team loyalty. I had white paint all over my face and looked somewhat like a aftrican warrior princess with war stripes. The only low point I can think of was the full posterior moon that one of my boys thought he would proudly display for me. Not a pretty sight I tell you. I have not seen such a white ass in a long long time.....

Teen boys are teen boys no matter what country they live in. Yesterday, once again some of my boys took upon themselves to ask me my phone number...you know it was in the hitting on you kind of way and not the innocent kind of way....that along with the spontaneous winks I got from many of the baseball team, it reassures me that boys no matter what country they are in are boys...I must say that I give two thumbs up to one of my Gr. 12 boys that I saw last night at the train station. He promply defended my honour when one his friends from another school made a snide sexual comment. My Gr.12's are great and are making my last two months here worth all the initial headaches a mere memory

Wednesdays

Normally, Wednesdays are my favourite day of the week, but today I am tired and hot and dreading that it is Wednesday. In a about 20 minutes I am going to hop my bicycle, (the orange popsicle has been fixed) and ride out to kindergarten to face 25 screaming kids. I just do not have the energy today. After that off to my first of two Japanese lessons this week. Then after that an Eikaiwa...I cannot wait for this day to be over so I can crawl into bed and sleep.....and it is only noon....

Blame it on my Alarm Clock

For the first time in two years I was late for work. I was about 10 minutes late this morning, and it was not due to the snow gremlins holding me down....ask Courtney about those guys. Anyways, I woke up and looked at my alarm clock this morning and it said 6:45 so I turned over and went back to sleep. I woke up again it still said 6:45, it was actually 7:15. So I decided to sleep until 7:00 according to the clock. I got up and showered and did my usual morning stuff. I was reading the paper when I decided that I needed to find my watch. I found it and looked at it and it said 8:20. Yikes, usually I am at school by that time and firmly ensconced in front of the computer. I still had to do my hair and brush my teeth. So I quickly did that and high tailed it to school. Lucky for me I only got a few raised eyebrows when I snuck into the teachers room. Stupid Alarm Clock....

SCARY

Sometimes I am bored and I do things to keep myself entertained while I am at work to prevent me from going completely insane and off my rocker. Well, I typed my name into a search engine...come on try it one day and see what comes up....Well, this is what I found, the only one hit for "Charlene Phung" and that was it. ....Scary, not sure who Michel Agel is..cannot remember ever meeting someone called that......

It is entitled Michel Agel vs. Charlene Phung

Starbucks
Think I deserve a chai latte today. Had a rough day!!

PUNK ROCK BABES

Every other weekend here, this club opens up on Sunday afternoons and lets kids use the facilities to put on a punk rock show. Well, yesterday being super ALTs, (stalking kids even on the weekends to make sure they use English even on their down time) we went to see the concerts that some kids were playing in. It turned out to be junior high kids with the max. age there around 16...needless to say we were definately the oldest ones there. It was strange to see the kids outside of school sans uniform. They were dressed as in British 80's punk rockers, safety pins, spiked hair, dog collars, and standard issue black leather was the attire. Once I got over the initial shock of having my ear drums blown away, they turned out to be really good. I was really impressed on how well most of the bands played. Hower, my ears are still ringing today. It was fun though, it was nice to see break out of their molds and be kids, albeit a little full of rage on stage.

Spraying

I have just been informed that this weekend I will have to remove all food from my desk and take everything that might be affected by bug spray off my desk. I should cover the computer with newspaper. Seems, they are spraying for bugs in the staff room this weekend. I think they may have a cockroach problem....yuck!!! Thank god I am before those little beasties can reproduce and take up residence in my desk. In fact, my contract will be up in 2 months from today.

My kids

Last night, I needed a much needed break from life in Japan and needed to be reminded of life back home in Vancouver. Which means a trip to Starbucks for a Chai Latte. While, I was sitting there chatting away with some of my friends about students and teaching (translation=complaining about how bad my kids were yesterday), my friend points to the window and says, "hey do you guys know that girl?". I turn around and to my surprise, it is one of my students from 2 years ago, my first graduating class. She is ecstatic to see me. So I run out of starbucks, knocking a chair over on the way out and causing quite the disturbance and give her a big hug. She is a little teary eyed and very happy to see me. She looks the same but older, her hair is dyed and she is wearing make up, but still Iyumi. Iyumi hated English but loved my class. She was great to have in class because she was always genki and would try to talk to me in Japanese. It was one of my favourite classes. Part in parcel to her enthusiasm and the occasional note that the kids would pass to me, written in cute English proclaiming their dislike for English but their utmost love for me.

I was glad that she came up to me and very happy about her very obvious enthusiasm at seeing me. She left with the promise that she would come back to school to visit me before I left for Canada. It is nice to be reminded that you did leave an impression on some kid some where, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

War is on

When you teach high school students, 400, 15-18 year olds, you do whatever it takes to get their attention and hold it. I have recently noticed that in my battle against inattentive high school students, I have taken out all the stops and am using all the arsenals in my possession to win them over. This includes mimicing their speach. I have taken to using phrases that are no more than 5 words, for example.."you (point at them), tired? (make a laying head down gesture)". My mannerisms and speach now resemble those of a kindergarten student. As well, hairstyles and fashion sense, I am starting to look and dress like them. Don't worry no short high school uniforms yet. However, some the clothes they wear I now think are kind of cute, vs. hideous when I first came. I now sport a very Japanese haircut that I style every morning with hair wax. It has been razored and has become very piecey.

I think the biggest thing I do is smile at them. It seems like the kids are not used to people smiling and laughing. I mean genuine smiles and laughter. From my observations many of the teachers never smile or laugh at their kids, they just yell at them. I have pattened the tilt my head a little, flash the dimple, and smile move. Both the boys and girls seem to think I am kawaii, which is good in the land of cuteness. Cuteness wins you points and perhaps will allow me to somehow take over the world one day....ha ha ha...(evil laugh)...if not that, then perhaps will make my kids more attentive in class. So far so good, my Gr. 12's seem to have fallen for it.

Earthquake

There was an earthquake in Japan yesterday. Just off the coast of eastern Japan in Sendai. The other side of Japan from me. I felt nothing and did not know anything about it until my friend emailed me to ask if I was okay. I checked the internet today and was suprised to learn that it was a pretty big earthquake The internet was down yesterday all day...perhaps the two are linked......

Groan... Monday....

So much for the weekend...it went by in a flash. Did not get a chance to really accomplish anything...although I did plant some rice and proctor a TOEIC test. I still need a few more days off....

TGIF

Finally Friday has arrived in Japan. Yippie!!! I am glad it is Friday simply because I do not have to be at work for the next two days. No inattentive sleepy attitude-filled little gr.10's to ignore and glare at me. Yup, it has been one of those days and it is only 11:00 in the morning. Man, do I hate teaching those little brats some days.
On a different note I am sad to report the injury of the orange popsicle..(my orange mountain bike). Last night as I was riding home after having dinner with a friend, I got hit by a car. I am okay, not injured or anything, but the frame of the back wheel of my bike is slightly bent. Nothing too serious but serious enough that I cannot ride it. I was going straight across the crosswalk when this jeep was making a left turn, he did not see me and clipped my back tire. Lucky for me, I was riding fast enough that he did not hit me but just the back tire. I did let out a scream though. I was in little bit of shock and thought the bike was okay when I got off it, so I did not get his phone number or name. It was not until I started riding that I noticed that it was bent. So now the orange popsicle needs to be taken in to the shop. I think I am going to be more careful from now on when it comes to riding my bike at night.

Mad Char disease

With the recent discovery of a case of Mad Cow disease in Canada, I was wondering if somehow I got infected with it, by virtue of being Canadian. I know I have not eaten meat in almost 4 years now but I cannot help but feel that my brain is turning into mush. The longer I stay in Japan the more I feel like I am losing my mind. I try and try but it seems like I cannot get a handle on this language. Grammar points and vocabulary that I thought I had learnt, disappear when I go to retrieve it from my brain. Definately full of mush now. Aiya!!!

Wednesday's Child

I just want to say that I love Wednesdays. Why you ask? Because it is in the middle of the week or because it starts with a W? Nope....cause I have good classes on Wednesday. I teach 2 third year classes and then bike off to kindergarten to teach 27 screaming 5 year olds. It is the best day.

My third year students are fun and genki. They may still hate English but at least they pretend to enjoy my class and pay attention. They are always eager to volunteer or ask me questions. Sometimes they get a little noisy but I attribute that to their enthusiasm for English. My Kindergarten kids are always a refreshing change from high school kids, at that young age they have not been brainwashed into hating English yet....

HTML....

I have been working on my blog trying to perfect the HTML...muzukashii!!

All wacked out

I am sad to report that I will no longer be able to tell people that I am from "the Wack", on second thoughts perhaps that is a good thing. Anyways, my parents have sold our house and will be moving out to Vancouver this summer, just a few months before I come home. I will not be able to say good bye to my house where I spent my formative teenage angst years, butting heads with my siblings and parents. Bye Bye to the Wack and that means the Chilliwack Corn too...Oh...the sadness that fills my soul!!!

The truth is that I have not lived there in the last 7 years anyways, probably spent more time not living there than living there...perpetually unable to put down roots I guess...

Help Wanted

I finally finished the three cover letters and resumes that I have been perfecting for the last two days and will send it off today. I decided that I would try to create internships at organizations that I would like to work at. I thought I would go out on a limb and send them a letter letting them know that I desperately need a job and if can look past my not so stellar resume...kin related that is, they will see my sparkling personality....keep your fingers crossed for me.

Atama sugoku itai!!

Translation, my head really hurts. I have CPT syndrome along with eye strain, leading to a headache. I have been on the computer for over 3 hours now, looking for jobs and internships. Surprise, surprise, nothing out there...I am beginning to dread coming back to B.C. to open arms of homelessness and unemployment. Perhaps I should just keep travelling the world teaching English to anyone that will listen.

I have given up the futile search for today and changed my blog around. Enjoy

The Matrix is out there

I hate technology.....or perhaps technology hates me...the idea of the Matrix comes to mind, are computers taking over the world? Are they out to get me? Does the Matrix really exist.

My dislike of technology stems from the fact that I think that computers hate me. They are out to ruin my life. Yesterday, I was cleaning out my desk and had a pile of floppy disks I was sorting through and trying to figure out what was on each of them. Well, me being completely computer moronic, accidently wrote over one of my floppy disks with the contents of another floppy disks. The disk that I had wrote over, contained about 2 years worth of writing I had been doing on my thoughts and feelings on Japan, plus some other little stories and prose that I had written. (Not many of you know that I like to write prose and poems....one of my little secrets). Well, now it is gone gone gone. I cannot find it anywhere. If anyone knows how I can retrieve it, please send me an email. It is 2 years worth of writing that I will never get back unless someone out there knows how. Boo hooooooo!!!

CUTE SHOE BOY

By popular demand I thought that I would post the email that I originally sent out about the Cute Shoe Boy in February, onto my blog. Please keep in mind that it has now been well over 3 months and he still has not called. I think there is a pretty strong indication that he is not going to call. I have also not stepped into Sports Authority in a long long time...my humiliation is a strong deterent. Oh, the joys of my life..my love life that is...the trials of involuntary relationship abstinence....joy joy..

I thought that you guys would appreciate the details of my close encounter with the cute shoe boy (CSB) with the dimples at sports authority, that I
have been eyeing for over 3 months now.

So, on Sat. my friend ,who lives about an hour away decided he wanted to come visit me and visit the shopping mall, that is the first real shopping
mall with a starbucks, we have in our ken. So, I convinced my friend Howard that we needed to go to Sports Authority so we could check out the cute boy
there, that I have a silly high school crush on. Of course I had been there Friday night checking him out too. But today I actually went into the
store, I made Howard look at shoes, but Howard is not about being subtle, he gets right to the point. To say the least Howard was not about to look at
shoes simply cause I thought the guy there was cute. He asked him how old he was, 21, just a little baby. He also not so subtley kept telling me to
give him my telephone number, but alas not ballsy enough to do it. The CSB
was quite smitten with Howard, cause you see Howard is about 6''2, African American, with diamonds in both his ears. The CSB kept saying that Howards
was very cool.

Well, I decided that I wanted to try on shoes....yeah, like I need another pair of shoes...so CSB and I got to talking, with my really bad Japanese I
found out he lives in Tonami, and he knows I teach English, bonus is that he "said, please teach me English,and I replied with teach me Japanese, and
some other things..a good reason to study Japanese. Well, while I was"trying" on shoes, Howard had gone and written out my phone number. I ended
up purchasing the shoes, (which were entirely too expensive). Justifiably, shoes are super cute and I have been eyeing the shoe
boy..er..er..I mean the shoes for a while.

Anyways, while I was paying for the shoes, Howard slipped him my phone number and discretely asked him if he had a girlfriend, well he doesn't,
good news, but bad news is that he thought the phone number was Howards until he told him. I said something really lame about exchanging language
lessons in an attempt to save what little dignity I had left at this point.

In my utter embarrassment I walk out of the store after purchasing my new orange and blue shoes, when Howard turns around and smiles at my CSB,
Howards tells me that he put the number in his pocket and gave him the thumbs up sign. A good sign...perhaps???.

So, now the ball is in the CSB's court, which is bad news cause boys are weird creatures as it is, and I never will understand them...no offense
boys. In the case of Japanese boys they are doubly weird and even more
difficult to figure out. It is very rare for a Japanese guys to be interested in foreign women...foreign being from somewhere other than Japan,
not foreign as in your sis being nuts, as you might be thinking, Nan. :). So, I am not going to hold my breath, I doubt that he will call me, but here
is to hoping. So either he calls or I never go into Sports authority again.

Things are so much easier with high school students, they declare their love for you so quickly and so loudly in the halls...alas, if only all boys were
that straighforward. "I love you Sharrin, kiss me", then I could reply well I kinda like you too and then it would all be happily ever after.

It has been so long since I have been that giggly gooey eyed teenager with a hopeless crush on an entirely far fetched guy. It felt kinda good to be
young and silly.

Okay, I thought you guys would enjoy this story, weird and wacky Char antics.

Nepal

I was rather disappointed that I was not going to get to go to Tibet and China this summer due to SARS, but I have found an alternative that is almost as good. I will be going to Nepal and India this summer. I found the Prajwal School, a 6 hour bus ride from Kathmandu.., where I can volunteer to teach English. (Who knew being able to speak English would give me so many opportunities) I will be staying with a Nepalese family and be immersed in their culture. I am excited about this opportunity, but a tad bit scared, as with all new experiences.

I will then stop off in Delhi in India on my way back to Vancouver. I am looking forward to seeing parts of the world that I have only dreamed about. I am looking forward to seeing the Tal Mahal and eating authentic Samosa's. I have always been interested in Central Asia and am ecstatic that I will be able to spend time there. Keep your fingers crossed that the ceasefire in Nepal will continue and that my travel agent finds me a great fare that my school will pay for. Yippie!!!

TGIF

Yippie!!! I am so glad it is Friday. It has been a long long week, although it was a shortened work week due to the holiday on Monday. Nonetheless it is great that tomorrow is the weekend. I love Fridays...let me say it again...I love Fridays...not only cause I get to sleep in tomorrow, but on Friday nights I get to play volleyball with my kids...I promise no shaking them though...;).....and I always take Fridays off from studying Japanese...okay...a little lie...who am I kidding.....I take every day off from studying Japanese....

Yeah, yeah, yeah....Friday....

Getting Married

A friend of mine from high school, Karl, just told me that he is getting married. I want to send out a big CONGRATULATIONS to Karl and Cassandra on the engagement. I am happy for them and wish them well. It seems that we are reaching a point in our lives where people in my graduating class from high school are getting married and having kids. Strange to think that we are all getting older...it seems like yesterday we were all in Mr. Alfred's Math 12 class studying for provincials, I will forever remember "B is Best".