A Very Special Visitor

Hello all!!!  My most sincere apologies for the long wait for this post.  I have been incredibly busy.  A lot of good, a little bad, but that's why I'm here!

Last week on Friday I had my first experience of going out to eat with my boss.  I was very excited.

After work on Friday, we left straight from work.  I took my purse to his car and we drove to about 6 minutes to a lively big restaurant.  On the side of the building was some Kanji that I didn't know.  We drove up and he was wondering why I was laughing so hard.

I was laughing because on the side of this building, in massive neon letters was written, "THE BUILDING THAT DRINKS LIQUOR"

I was so excited to go to "the building that drinks liquor".  We went in and got a table... The table was like they are all over Japan, very short and low to the ground.  I was tired of kneeling down to eat which is what I have to do at home, so I was kind of upset about that fact....  Then I realized the table was set deep in a hole and I could sit like a Westerner and eat like I did in the States!  SUCCESS!!

There was all kinds of food to be eaten.  Korean food, American food, Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food... This place had it all!!! I had my first plate of authentic Japanese Sushi here.  FANTASTIC!!

(I know it's sideways, give me a break... I was drinking...)

After that I came home having drank a bit and sat down to write my blog...  I passed out on the couch and woke up with my tie half strangling me.  Heck of a good time that night was.

The next day my girlfriend came to visit.

Now until this point, I have been living a life of solitude...  Outside from teaching and talking with my boss and my friends and family online... and making a few new friends here and there, and overall never being alone...

Ok, so my hermitage wasn't really a hermitage... but lets just say it was for the sake of being dramatic.

So to break me out of the "hermit" lifestyle, she came to visit me!

Lisa: What should we do?
Me: uuuuuh...... Go go get some food?
Lisa: Where do you shop?
Me: At Trial (You should remember this from a previous post with the map I drew)
Lisa: Ok well let's go there!
Me: Awesome!

We set off to go to Trial, I got on my bike and she got on h--

I only have one bike....

So I was walking to Trial and she was riding my bike...

Now mind you... It was HOT that day.  Lisa was wearing heels and I didn't want her to walk all the way to Trial and back, so I would take the pain.

What seemed like a walk the the Deep Sahara or a trek across a land written about in a Frank Herbert novel we arrived to Trial.

We entered and started to shop around.  I was showing her all the things that I liked so much, and what I thought was best to buy.  She showed me all the things that I should and should not buy.  I found this very helpful!

Some of the coolest things I bought were salmon, and body wash... (this might not be cool now, but just wait... I'll show tell you why this is awesome soon!)

I loaded my purse with all my groceries and began the trek home.  Now again... We are talking surface of the sun hot.. and Lisa in Riding my bike...  I have to walk again... With my purse... Now this might not sound bad, but Lisa is on A BIKE!!! She is going very fast and I am doing my best to keep up.  So on my light jog home with a heavy load, I almost passed out when I arrived.

We loaded up the groceries, and after a short rest from the run, we decided to go to the other side of town, by all the shops.

I put my walking shoes back on and headed out the door with Lisa.  We walked to a store called Apita, and looked around.  In this store, there is a place called Mosbaga.  It is here that I can finally get a fast food cheese burger!!

AMERICA!!!

We also found all kinds of shops and useful cheap stores that I could come back to.  It was a very successful trip.  On the way home, we decided to get some stuff to drink that night.  It was at this point that I found what my favorite part of Japan is...

Legal Public Drinking

That's right friends! Japan has a policy that says it is Legal to drink alcohol anywhere in public.  I can drink on the Train... I can drink on the bus..  I can drink ANYWHERE!! What a fantastic country this is.  Just when you think you are getting to know a place, it goes and surprises you like this!

Lisa and I walked home while we enjoyed out frosty beverages.  

When we arrived home, we realized that we were ready to fall asleep already... but WHY?!?!  It was only about 9:00...  Then we realized that we walked about 6 miles that day and I walked at least 2 of those miles with an extremely heavy purse!

Ok... Well I wanted to take a quick shower while she cooked dinner, and then we would go to bed.  

This is where the soap I bought gets awesome!!

When I bought this soap, I thought it looked good.  Black bottle... masculine pictures... heavy...  It should be good right?  Lisa didn't seem to mind that I picked it, so I was happy.  Everything else seemed very "girly" to me. I wanted to get manly body soap!

In the shower, I pumped in once.. A very DARK black viscus fluid came out....

Me: LISA!!!!!!

Lisa: What? (frustrated because she was cooking)

Me: WHAT IS THIS!?
Lisa: It's made from coal.

THAT'S RIGHT!  I have the most manly soap ever!  It's made from COAL!!  It literally has ground up coal in it with some other "body wash" crap and it is what I use now.  HOW AWESOME!!  People use coal to naturally filter things, and it is a natural absorbent of smells also... I love this soap

(Again, anytime I think Japan is cool, it gets cooler!)

My day would have ended wonderfully had what happened after my shower not been so painful...

When I walked up the stairs to get changed for bed, a horrid pain shot though my body..  BUTT CRAMP!!!

All the walking and carrying I had to do that day was far beyond what I have ever had to do in my life...  The pain was horrible and I whimpered pathetically when I tired to do stretches to help the pain...  This however provided Lisa with all the entertainment that she would need for the night.

I continuously walked around the house like Forrest Gump wearing leg braces.  However when I had to walk under a doorway and crouched over.  This might have been my saddest moment.  Nothing like having your girlfriend laugh at you while you walk stiff-legged though a doorway that you have to crouch under.

I looked like an 88 year old Lieutenant Dan...


I have still another entire week I want to talk about in these posts, so please stay tuned.  This weekend, I will catch up with my blogs and I will have more coming out this week on time.  I hope to not have long breaks like this again.  This post is one of a most likely 2 or 3 part series..  The second have will be coming in a few more hours.

Check back soon!!

I carry a purse.

Hello again all!

Welcome back to the trials and turmoil of living in Japan.  I have a slew of new events to talk about today.  

First off I want to say thank you to all of my readers.  I just broke 1,200 blog view tonight.  That means I have wasted people's time over 1,200 times!  I couldn't be more happy to be the cause of so much lost production.  I have received nothing but good feed back about my posts, and I appreciate all of you very much.  This is my time to feel like I am back with my family and friends.  It means a lot for everyone that leaves a comment, and I want to start responding to them as soon as I figure out how to do that.  Please comment on and share this blog to whoever you want to.  It is my please to bring my troubles to your smiles.

Anyway... Where to begin.  

After my horrid garbage experience I have not asked to get a sheet of paper that tells me what day the trash comes, and what they will be taking when they arrive.  I have this new irrational fear of throwing things away.  Every time I hold something about the trash, I think.... "Will I have to touch this again?"  I have almost 4 trash cans under my table in my kitchen now, and a few loose bags hanging on the walls.  It looks like I'm some sort of hoarder, but I'm just trying to avoid unnecessary garbage contact. or (UGC's)

So my newest mission, was to return to the grocery store that I visited on my day of arrival.  I have no idea where it is.  I came last time at midnight, before I went to bed after being awake for close to 35 hours.  So I had a better chance of getting struck by lightning after winning the lottery on a blue moon day on February 30th.  (i.e. I have no idea where it was)

TO THE INTERNET! 

Ok... Not too bad...

Now I couldn't take my computer, so I resorted to the next best thing...  A crudely drawn map on the back of a piece of crumpled paper.

(Said map)

Looking at the internet I started to try and memorize my path.  This is the longest trek that I have yet to attempt during my present stay in Japan.  Will I be alright?  Will I get lost? "Will I hit that poor unsuspecting girl as she walks to the store to feed her sick aunt? Only time and pain will tell...

As I said I start trying to look for land marks on google.  The problem is, they are written in Japanese.  I have no idea what to look for... Ok, next best thing... Memorize how many intersections there are until I have to turn...

"OK...."

"Start off going due West..." (I had no idea what that really means so lets just say 'Left'"

"ok, So start off going left"

"Next... Turn right at the place that has all the vending machinges that I always pass when I am walking to my gas stating where I buy my questionable eats"

"After that pass over the train tracks (as depicted buy this dashed line)"

"Then turn left at the next major intersection"

"After that, I want to go until the fifth major intersection...."

-----"but what about that little neighborhood thing before that?"

"hmmmm...... Maybe... I can see.... if there is a... no.... there isn't anything around there...

"ok... well just remember there is a little road area into 5 major intersections...."

"After that... turn slightly to the right and go for 4 more intersections."

"DON'T COUNT THE RIGHT TURN INTERSECTION AS ONE OF THE 4!"

-----"Should I think about 5 intersections or 4???" "I'll just do 4 but remember to not count the first one."

"After that turn left.... and go for 2 blocks and I should be able to see it on my left"

OK!!!

"go left... take a right... over the tracks... next intersections turns left, go 5 blocks but don't count the little neighborhood area, and then take a slight right turn, and go 4 blocks, DO NOT COUNT THE INTERSECTION OF THE TURN AS ONE OF THE BLOCKS, turn left, then go 2 blocks and it will be on the left"

I repeated this over and over as I prepared for the journey.  I started to sound like "rain man" as I repeated a series of numbers and overly complicated directions and amendments to said directions. (Don't count that intersection... definitely don't count that intersection...) 

Crude map--> (check)

Water bottle--> (check)

Grocery List--> (check)

Piece of paper with my address written on it in the case that I get lost and have to ask some poor unsuspecting girl who is walking to the store to feed her sick aunt to give me directions home--> (check)

Book bag--> (check)

I was finally ready for the journey! That's when it hit me....

When I go to work... I carry a bag.

When I go to the store... I carry a bag.

When I venture to new places... I carry a bag.

As a matter of fact, it is easier to count the number of times that I don't have a bag, rather that the times that I have a bag... I hate to admit it... But I carry a purse.

It might not be the picture of a purse that everyone thinks.  To some it might even look like a book bag...  But it is the bag that I must have at all times to feel safe, and to be prepared for all events... In other words... My purse.

So I loaded my purse with all of my important things.  (I packed this bag as if I am going on a mission to the Sahara dessert) and walked outside to my bike...

I forgot the keys to my door

I returned inside.

I got my keys and returned to my bike.

I forgot the keys to my bike....

I returned inside.

 

I got my bike keys and returned to my bike.

I forgot my map on the table...

I returned inside.

I was rushing to get my map and wasn't thinking and waked into the low doorway again.

GOD DAMMIT! (If you stop thinking about it for a second you will hit your head)

OK!

I got on my bike and I set sail!

Down the road, turned right, over the tracks, pass the neighborhood, count to 5, DON'T COUNT THE INTERSECTION, count to 4, turn left...

and there she was!

I arrived with no problems.  

I did almost crash into someone riding their bike which I assumed they were on the wrong side of the road... but I have no idea because I live in Japan and everything here is crazy.

I walked inside...

Aisles and aisles of wonderful food, and SOOOO cheap!  

I could buy almost anything for less than a dollar.  

I spent about 5,000 yen on food that day, and I realized that I was going to be eating like a king on the salary I make per month.  I was able to buy some important things.  I didn't know a lot of spices so I didn't buy much of that, but I did buy one spice!!

Hello flavor town!  Population... Salt!

That's right.  I have salt now. No pepper.... Just salt.

I returned home and unpacked my food.  The rest of my day followed as regular.

The next day (today) was a pain not my best day in Japan...

It started off with a shower....

Now, if you remember from the video I posted (if you haven't watched it yet, please go watch it now before reading further) you will remember the part where I left the water heater on... I didn't know this was going to come back and affect me later in the week...

Well apparently, when you leave that thing on all night, it drains the oil in it...  When there is no oil... there is no hot water...

When did I figure this out you might ask???

I figured it out as I lathered up my entire body with soap and needed to rinse it off.

Next time you are taking a shower... Please try this... completely cover yourself in soap... then turn the water all the way to cold, and wait about 30 seconds...  Now try to finish taking a shower.

That was one of the worst experiences of my life...  Taking a shower and washing myself in what could have been water from the arctic.  Had I filled my tub with it, it would have been featured as the new fishing spot for Opilio Crab on the next episode of "The Deadliest Catch Dead of Winter" series.  It was COLD!

After my short trek through the frosty waters of the shower room, I got ready for work.

I left and got to class for a rather uneventful first few classes.

At the end of my 4th of 6 classes today, I was thirsty.  I walked over to the sink of the bathroom and started to fill my water bottle.

Now before I continue I need to clarify a few things.  I work at my boss's BOSS'S house... So when I am there I am trying not to get in the way and I am trying to be very polite.  I could go into detail but basically, people in Japan do not invite people to their homes usually... and if they do, it is usually in an outlying room of the house, and never really towards the center.  My classroom in the dead middle of this house and the bathroom where I was filling my water was from the main bathroom.  (by the way the water in this area is really clean so drinking out of the sink is totally fine).... Back to the story

So I am filling up my water bottle when I hear "Dan?"  It was my boss's boss!  I looked away from my bottle for A SECOND and disaster stuck.

The bottle overfilled and started spraying water all over the place.. When I tried to pull it out I went too fast and wedged it into the sink between the drain plug and the facet...  Water was literally spraying about 2 feet into the air in this bathroom which is in the main hallway of the house of my boss's boss.  I panic and just try to yank it out as hard as I can but it won't budge...

I finally turn off the water and I un-pry it from the sink... I hear the foot steps from my boss's boss coming toward the bathroom... 

My dear lord...

There is water EVERYWHERE! This super important person is walking toward me and I don't want to be caught with all this mess and me to blame...

WHAT TO DO!? It's my 4th day!!! This is bad.. This is really, really bad...

I grab a tissue...

A TISSUE!

of course that didn't help. All it did was melt in the pool of water all over the sink that way buy the way covering it in its entirety.  The toothbrush holder, the tissue box, the hand soap (the same kind as mine), the electric lamp, the hand towels...

THAT'S IT! THE HAND TOWELS!

I picked up a towel and started brushing all the loose water toward the sink it wasn't working at all... This was a mess and her tissue box was absorbing so much water it was changing colors and swelling up huge... "I'm dead..." I thought...

But I had a quick stroke of pure genius! I quickly hid the sopping towel behind my back and pretended to act like I was JUST about to start peeing.

I hoped this would make her want to leave quickly if I appeared that I might be in decent. She turned the corner and when she saw me she did the natural thing that anyone does when they might see someone's "inappropriate area"... SHE LOOKED UP!!! 

"Hello Dan!"

"Hello Ito Sensei!"

"Your next class will start 30 minutes early today because new students want to try your class"

"Wonderful! I will start preparing now"

"If you have questions, let me know!"

"Of course!"

IT WORKED!!

She walked away having not looked down to see the horror of the mess I made on her sink.  She was gone and I had a few precious moments to fix this mistake. 

I cleaned the mess with the already soaked towel and whipped off the mirror so it didn't look wet.  I cleaned the lamp and the soap and make sure the outlets were not wet.  The only think I had to fix was the tissue box that now resembled a pile of plaster on the counter top...  I opened the cabinet and looked for a new box.  SUCCESS! I found one.  Now what to do with this mess??? I can't throw it away because that leaves evidence...  I surly can't just place the newer box on the wet pile... What to do...

MY PURSE! 

I stuffed the nastiness into my purse and went along my way teaching.  2 hours later when I returned home, the mess in my purse had somewhat dried but it was still 50 shades of unpleasant.  

I cleaned it and set it aside for my next adventure. 

I tell you my friends... I never thought I would go from feeling so embarrassed of carrying a purse, to so glad for carrying a purse in under 48 hours in my entire life.

Until next time...

Trash Troubles...

My day started like any other day in Japan...

I woke up in the early morning and tried to make another agenda for my day. I needed to take care of a few things.  I knew it was trash day today, and I have quite a bit of trash from all the groceries and equipment I needed to buy since I have been to Japan.  I was ready to get the bags out of my house.

That is one thing that is very different from America.  There does not seem to be any outdoor trash cans that I can see.  People just keep all the trash in their house until it is time to throw it away.  I also have a few bags of trash sitting in my kitchen.  These might not be what you think of as a trash bag.  The concept of the "big black bag" does not exist here.  This entire country is based on reusing what they have.  80% of Japan is not arid land.  Now everything they can reuse, they will.  So the "garbage bags" I'm talking about is nothing but a regular grocery bag filled and tied at the top.

I was just planning on taking all my bags out to the trash pick up area and leaving them there, but I heard from my boss that I need to have the correct bag to throw them away...

"The correct bag?" (this seemed to me like scheme to get me to pay more money)

"Do they have different bags?"

It was after I asked this questions that I learned just how conservative and Eco-conscious Japan really is.  The trash comes almost everyday (4 times a week) and they pick up different things every day.  One day is cans, one day is bottles of glass, one day is plastic bottles, twice a week is burnables, and once a month in non-burnables.

This dawned and entire new era of questions.  "what are they picking up today", "What do I do with the trash they don't want today?", "Where do I get the correct bags for throwing these things away?" "what is considered burnable" and so forth.  

I was told to go to the Midori home page and find out what I should do about the trash everyday.  

I went there....

http://www.city.midori.gunma.jp/

All Japanese....

I hit the translate button...

All Japanese....

"Dammit!  What do I throw away!!!???"  

I called my girlfriend.  I asked her to help me.  She was extremely tired from trying to stay up and work on job interviews all night.  She was in no mood to talk to me about garbage.  She gave me a brief summary of what I can and cannot throw out today.  Today was burnable, and for the rest of the week, I have paper on Wednesday, Cans on Thursday, and burnables again on Friday....

Why are there a burnables AND a paper???  What do they consider burnables?  This is going to be a pain...

Basically what Lisa told me, was I need to separate all my trash into different groups and throw them out on a specific day.  She also told me that I need to put my name on the bag, so if they catch someone trying to throw away something bad, they can fine you.  (Remember this, it is important!)

I needed to do a good job.  I needed to sort my trash.

"Ok! Lets sort out trash!"

"Today's mission, throw away burnables."

I open up my first bag of trash.  Now this was not so bad because I was only digging through MY trash and it was only a small grocery's bag worth of trash at a time.

"OK... what is this???  Styrofoam ... non burnables.  chop sticks... hey great, burnables!"

"what do we have here?? A beer can? That should go in cans."

"What about orange peels... Organics???"  "Let's make a separate bag for theses"

And this went on for a few minutes until I grabbed the second to last bag.  I opened the grocery bag to sort it....

NOT AGAIN!

It was the Sorcerer putty bag!   The vile goop was covering all the trash in this bag.  There was NO WAY I was going to dig thought that awful mess again.  Not a chance. Never in a million years.  Once was enough.

I remembered how I have to sign my name on the bags for insurance that I follow the rules with a threat of fine hanging above my head...

So now digging though this goop to separate the Styrofoam out, I am gagging again.  I still don't have gloves.  I still don't have any way to scoop it but with my hands.  I'm gagging and my eyes are watering yet again.  I have to sift through a bag of awful in order to get out a few pieces of Styrofoam and some organics.  

Just as I am digging out the last orange peel my phone rings.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN EVERY TIME I AM WRIST DEEP IN HORRID SORCERER PUTTY?!

It was Lisa.

Lisa: "so I read more about the trash"

Me: "oh my god, this is awful!"

Lisa: "well burnables include organic material, small pieces of paper other burnable materials and Styrofoam.."

Me: "THEY BURN STYROFOAM HERE???"

Lisa: "Yeah, most things are considered burnables.  They also burn old food" 

I just sat and looked at my phone.  

The Sorcerer in his infinite wisdom had tangled this web of tricks for me... I had to sift through that wretched (and now just sticky from partially dying) mess for a second time to separate out organics, and Styrofoam.  Both of these are considered burnables...  

DAMN YOU SORCERER!!!!!!!

I was very upset because there was no reason for me to DIG though that bag.  I should have just threw it all away.

After scrubbing the skin off my hands for a second time, I sat down for a moment.  It was not even 9:00 yet, and I already had to revisit one of the worst experiences of my life in Japan to date.  

After this my day was pretty uneventful.

I went to the store, cleaned a little bit, watered my garden, and went to work.

Now today, work was kind of interesting.  I remember when I arrived at work yesterday even though my boss provided me with a bike, I walked to work.  When I was returning home, my boss seemed upset that I walked.  I figured it was because he went through the trouble of fixing my bike for me, and I was not using it.   I felt bad when I was walking home in the pitch black non-lit streets of Midori.

Today I was going to give it a try.  I put on my suit and walked outside.  I looked at my bike....

I froze and had about 10 minutes of horrible situations that race through my head.
-Falling off my bike while wearing a suit
-Riding though a deep puddle while wearing my suit
-Having the chain catch my pants while wearing my suit
-Hitting a poor child who is walking down the street minding her own business but becaue I have never riddent a bike in Japan before, I'm not totally sure of the rules, and I would hit her, and she would fall to the ground with 6 broken bones, and I would be forced to give her CPR while trying to call out for help but I can't becasue I don't remember the word for help in Japanese but when I finally get someone they blame me and then I have to try to explain that I was only going to work and she was walking on the wrong side of the road......... in my suit.

So my basic trend if you were not following.... Is im terrified of riding a bike in Japan and I am horrified of destroying my suits... (I don't have many and they don't make cloths big enough for me here...)

I almost walked, but then I realized...  1) If I don't ride, I will upset my boss again. 2) If I do ride, and something bad happens, I will have something hilarious to write about on this blog.

So off I went on my bike.

I traveled to the school in no time at all.  Maybe 5 minutes tops.  It was great.  I had my briefcase in the basket of my bike, and I was wearing my suit.  I was so excited.

After teaching, I had to return home.  It was dark again... Very dark.  That "you open the fridge at night and the bright light blinds you, and you have to take 30 seconds to let your eyes adjust again before you can make out basic shapes", kind of dark.

I sat on my bike, thinking, "this might not be a good idea"...  But again... I'll do it for my blog....

I set out into the night.

When I started to peddle... THERE WAS A LIGHT!

My bike comes equipped with a special light that is powered by the motion of my peddling.  When I stop peddling, the light turns off; if I go slow, the light is dim; if I put it into a lower gear and peddle faster, the light gets brighter.  Japan's conservative nature strikes again!

HOW COOL IS THAT!

Tomorrow I will venture out to the main grocery store to replenish my food supply. Stay tuned for more of my Japanese Adventures.  

Teaching in my Socks...

Hello Again!

This Post came a little later than I was hoping.  I had an incredibly eventful day yesterday.

I began my day with another early rise.  5:30 A.M.and I could not fall back to sleep.  I tired my best to sleep until 7:00, but I can't lay down and waist 2 hours!  There are adventures to have! So I decided to start my day.

OK...  To do list... 

1- Laundry

2- Go buy some things for cooking

3 - go buy food

4 - Get ready to work

I began... 

I gathered all my cloths, which had just been collecting in a massive plastic bag, for I have yet to buy the proper clothes retaining receptacle... i.e. Hamper.  So I took my bag, and ventured to the laundry nook.  (I have started to refer to all of my smaller rooms as nooks now).  

OK!  

Step 1... put in the detergent... 

Step 2 put my clothes in there

Step 3 choose the.... setting.....  hmmmm......

Here we go again...

After a quick call to my girlfriend and a quick leaf through a dictionary I believed I was ready! Just to be safe from total disaster, I washed things that would be alright if they were destroyed.

I hit the button... Nothing happened... 

I hit it again... I realized it was unplugged and the 3rd push proved successful.

This baby was silent!  I thought it was not working at first but when I walked back in, I saw it was running.

FANTASTIC!

Ok... Now while that is running, lets tackle some other things on my agenda.

I decided to go out without a map.  I knew where I was, I knew what I was doing, I knew what I wanted to buy..  I don't need no stinking map.

I was planning on going to the 7/11 again, but on the way, I saw a gas station that looked really interesting.  I was planning on buying some instant food for lunch again so I went to look to see what there was to select from.  To my amazement, there was actual sushi boxes available at the GAS STATION!!!  

Dare I but this gas station sushi??? I was thinking about how long I would have to control the inevitable, uncontrollable, explosive diarrhea...   "I've got 6 hours", I thought.  "Let's give this a try!"

After that I walked across the street from my 24 hour gas station to my favorite pharmacy.  There I bought some food and some things for the noodles I bought.  I refuse to eat plain noodles if it can be avoided. So I bought my things and returned home. 

"That was easy!"

I felt like a champion among men.  I, Dan, have ventured out to buy some necessities, without a map, and I even discovered a new place to buy lunch if I am not in the mood to cook that is only 4 minutes away from my house!  As I walked everything appeared to be more beautiful than usual.  There is something about success that makes me see things more vividly.  Here was one of the places that I saw on my 4 minute walk home.

(I could hear chickens clucking somewhere close by)

I returned home and packed my groceries away.  Now my laundry was done already also! I took that upstairs and began to hang it out to dry. I tell you there is something humbling about hanging the biggest underwear in the neighborhood outside so everyone can see it...  But that is how everyone else was doing it, so who am I to question how things work here.  Also, the excuse that the dryer eats your socks is complete garbage.  I don't even have a drier, and I don't know how I managed to do this, but I already lost a sock!  I did however find a sock that didn't match any other ones I brought whit me.... HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??  I personally checked every sock for holes and matching pairs before I left.  This sorcery is beyond me, but I expect to find a sock somewhere in my near future.  The question is where...

After I hung all my clothes and sat down I got a call from my girlfriend.  

Me: "Hello!!!"

Lisa: "How are you?"

Me: "I'm having a fantastic day! (Details about my successes and etc...)"

Lisa: "Oh... I have one more thing to tell you about the laundry machine"

Me: "Go on..."

Lisa: "You have to clean the lint trap."

Me: "well of course I do, where is it?"

Lisa: "It is in a small compartment on the sides of the machine"

Me: "OK! Well I'll go find it and clean them out before my next load"

I happily walked back to the laundry nook and opened the side compartments.

OH DEAR GOD!!!

The person that lived here before me must have not known about this little chamber of The Sorcerer (I have now dubbed my laundry machine "The Sorcerer" because every time I deal with it, horrible or explainable things happen.  Please note this for the future)

In this hidden compartment of The Sorcerer, lied the most horrible substance I have ever seen.  Imagine years worth of wet pocket lint molded to the side of the netting in a washing machine. It was so vile and I didn't yet posses gloves, so I had to dive in with my bare hands and pull the wet gooey mass out of the netting.  Every time I got deeper into it, it got wetter, and started to become some sort of a putty.  Eyes watering and gagging I cleaned the vile mess out of the machine.

Just as I was pulling out the last handful (that's right, handfuls of this nasty stuff) I got a phone call again.  

WHO IN GODS NAME IS CALLING ME RIG.... (it was my boss)

(Hands still covered and stinking of Sorcerer putty, I grabbed my phone and began to talk)

Me: "Hello!"

Boss: "Can you come to the school right now?  I want to take you to lunch with my family"

Me: (mortified from the question and gagging from the smell of my hands that I had to hold right by my face I tried to give the happiest sounding response I could muster at the moment) "Of course! I'll be right over!"

After scrubbing the skin off of my hands, I left for the school.

My day started out good but had one road bump so far.

I got to the school, and I was escorted to a very close restaurant called "sakura".  I sat down and we ordered "lunch".  That's all my boss said.  "Lunch please" and a moment later, I was drinking hot tea, and served a plate of delicious food, and even given and Ice coffee after the meal.  During my dining experience, the woman that was running the restaurant started talking to me.  She was not expecting me to know Japanese and when I was able to talk with her she was amazed.  She asked me to teach her English in my free time, so I am trying to set up a meeting on the side of my work.  She also said that we can speak Japanese together also.  It looks like Dan just made his first friend in Japan!!! 

I was at one moment having the best time ever, sitting and eating really good food and talking to my new friend (who made a special dessert for me as well to say welcome to Japan), but I was at the same time horrified because I was sitting with my boss.

Lunch ended and I walked back to the school with my boss and he told me that there was a new gift he had for me.

That's right... He bought me a bike

Now I am mobile!  I can get around to farther places. I think the most hilarious thing that anyone has ever seen is watching me try to ride a bike in Japan.  The road rules are completely different and the entire time I was riding, I am constantly thinking... where is gods name on this road should I be right now?!  I think I will stick to walking everywhere until I get more comfortable with my bike riding.

Ok now back to my "to do" list.

I was planning to go buy food, but the lunch took up too much time... Time to get ready for work.  

I got all my things on and I left my house.

My new teaching outfit!

I walked to school and when I got there I had a new revelation.... I can't wear my shoes inside... I spend so much money on these new nice shoes and all I can do is walk to work in them.  So I took them off and stepped inside.

This is my classroom

I walked into this room and put my bag down.  I needed to get ready for my students.

I got the chalk set, and the chairs arraigned, and everything I might need.

LETS DO THIS!!!

Then my student arrived..  That's right... student... Singular...

My first class was with one elderly lady.  She was in her 70's and I had no idea what I was doing.  After an hour of me trying to figure out her basic English level, she left.

Now I was told I have a full class of students coming.  Now I was getting ready.  And sure enough,they flooded in.  I was expecting to have a teaching partner because that is how it usually is in Japan... but nope!

It was me and about 10 kids that didn't speak English at all... 

It was later in this class that I realized I was not wearing shoes...  I was honestly in a suit and Jacket in front of a class of students and in black Walmart socks... It was awesome!  If I didn't think Japan was awesome before, I sure did now.  Nothing like relaxing and working at the same time.  I love it here. 

Later this week I will compile a post of my most memorable moments form this first week.

Please keep checking for the posts.

After my class, I was given a break and then taught more.  On my first day I taught, adults, elementary, Junior high, high school, and middle school students.  All of them were amazing.

The teachers told me to not speak Japanese so I didn't.  I again got a list of new things that I heard in class that made me want to laugh.  I will also put them on another post later this week.  I am compiling the list of funny things the kids didn't know I understood.

With my first day done, I returned home.

I believe this was successful.  I got a lot done, but my house is a mess.  Because I had the lunch when I was not expecting to, I had so much extra to do today.

I must be going now.  I will post again tonight after my class today again.

Mission: Dinner Impossible

Hello again.  This is another great story for the books.

I have to back up for a second.  When I first arrived in Japan, my girlfriend (Lisa) was waiting for me.  It was a great feeling to see her right away.  She came with a bag of food and things I might need for living.  She has helped me so much since I have arrived and I know she will continue to help me do everything.  This food she gave me plays a role in the story I will tell now.

This my friends is the story of the quest for Olive Oil.

So since I have been here, I have not been able to cook anything yet.  The first day I was SO tired, so when I got home after buying my groceries, I just got some instant noodles to have for dinner that night and went straight to bed.

The next morning I had Lisa's rice balls for breakfast.  That was my first struggle with my language barrier.  My microwave is completely in Japanese.  I just hit buttons on it like a primate trying to work a VCR, until it started to buzz.  After a few seconds, the ball was hot and I had my breakfast.  I have since figured out about 80% of the microwave.  To be honest, even when a microwave is in English I don't always know what I am doing.  The defrost and the poultry buttons could be torn off my microwave and I would never know the difference.  So I feel I have mastered this machine.

I then needed to get a load of equipment to clean my house before I started living here.  After I finally got the internet working, I went online and found my house and looked around on googlemaps.  I found a few places and drew crude maps to figure out how to get there.  Here is one of my maps.  This is how I get to the 7/11 I will mention later.

So map in hand I set off to the store.  I bought almost everything I need to survive now, but I keep finding new things I need every time I do something new.  I walked to the store and bought a broom and trashcans and some cleaning supplies.  I could not find hand soap but I did find dish soap.  I have been washing everything with dish soap for a few days now.  I will show you one of my maps later.

So I was going to cook my pork I bought on my first night for dinner yesterday.  I went to get everything out and realized I did not have a knife to cut the meat.  I also realized the true bane of my weekend, I didn't have olive oil.  I need that stuff to cook almost everything.

That night I still had one more instant noodle box that I was able to eat for dinner.  My lunch that day consisted of some granola bars that I reluctantly packed before I left for Japan.  My mom made me pack them and I was against it at first, but now I am very happy I had them.

The goal for the next day (today) was to get knives and Olive Oil so I can finally cook my meat!  Until now, I have only had carbs to eat.  I couldn't even eat vegetables yet.

So I woke up this morning and I was ready to go get my Knives and Olive Oil and make a really good lunch today.  I decided I wanted a big lunch to try and fix my jet lag.  (I honestly don't know if this would have helped but I decided to give it a try)

This is part of my walk I have to take on my way to the store

I was up around 7:00 today so by 8:00 I left for the store.  The weather was nice and I was motivated to really get things done today.  I arrived at my store about 15 minutes after I left my house.... It was closed.  

I was very upset.  I just stood there and looked at it, thinking "why would they not be open at 8:15 am on a Sunday!?" And it was at that moment that my question answered itself.  I sulked back home to my house where I decided to wait until about 11:00 to go and try again.

I did some house work and talked to my family until about 10:45 and then I set back out. Upon arrival, I saw... IT WAS OPEN!  I was overjoyed.  I strolled into the store and bout 7,000 yen worth of things.  I was searching all the aisles now ready to find the smaller things that I still needed.  

I was looking around the beauty supplies (partially because I didn't know that is what they were, and partially because they had lots of colors.  It is interesting how I revert to an insect like behavior if I can't read something.  That being just smell everything and but they one that is the brightest color.) That is when I saw it.  I almost walked past it... but alas the bright color caught my eyes!

IT WAS HAND SOAP!!!!!!

With this success I was overjoyed that I was finally about to use the dish soap for the dishes and the hand soap for my hands.  Just another small achievement that makes me feel more like home here.

This is the entire 7,000 yen shopping trip I had today.

Now if you look closely, you will notice I have no Olive Oil.  That's right.  I still could not cook my lunch I wanted so bad.  I had to keep searching.  

I got back online and looked all around for food stores.  The only one that I could really see looked very complicated to get too.  If I needed to I would try, but I was going to exhaust all other options until that point.  I did find a 7/11 online, and I remember everyone always talking about how they always got their food from 7/11.  "I bet I can get Olive Oil here!" I thought, and I set out for the store.

Here is the map that I followed to get to 7/11

I got there in less than 10 minutes, and I was excited to see what I could get.  I looked around, and there were piles of instant foods, but no cooking supplies.  This was so disheartening.  I had spent so much time trying to get all the materials I needed to make this lunch I was hoping for, and I could not find anything to cook with.  I had to go to one store for knives, and another entire store for olive oil that was still unseen.  

Defeated, I bought yet ANOTHER cup of instant noodles.  Not that these noodles are bad, they are actually really really good, but I needed meat in my diet soon.  As I walked back I saw a store and out front there were things like water and tea.  "I have some extra time... Might as well see what is in this store"

This is the store that I decided to stop into

I walked around a bit and saw that they had a bigger selection of instant food, and a small section of cook-able food.  They had some meat that looked good and some fish that looked tasty so I felt my heart life a little...  Then.... I saw it

(Que Hallelujah Chorus)

I FOUND MY OLIVE OIL!!!! I was so happy I almost cheered in the store.  After a few private fist pumps in the aisle, I walked to the cashier and cashed out.  My Japanese is already improving a little bit because I was able to understand almost everything that she said.  I was able to respond back and it seemed like she knew what I was saying also. The best thing is this store is only 5 minutes away from my house!!!

I walked home, and I got in my house and packed away all my new goodies.

It was past 2:00 now, so I just made the instant noodles for my late lunch.  I was upset that I didn't have enough time to cook my awesome food, but I needed to eat on time.  (I felt it would be the best way to try and battle this jet lag I still have)

I ate my noodles and I started to clean my house.  I got my office almost 100% done.  I think it will take me a few more days, but I am getting closer everyday to being able to just live in my house instead of build or fix my house.

Now finally dinner came around.  I was so excited!  I had my rice, I had my pork, I had vegetables, I had Olive Oil and a knife to do all my work.  So I have a special order I need to cook all these things so it all finishes at the same time.  First I needed to start my rice!

TO THE RICE COOKER!!!

Dammit... How do I use this....

Then came problem 103 of trying to cook a dinner...  I DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THIS THING! I have no idea what the buttons mean, and I have no clue if its working or not. I just stared at it for a minute as if the answers to the world would just come on in and start cooking rice for me.  

I got on my phone and called my Girlfriend again and she tried to explain to me how to do this while I sent her pictures of the cooker.  A close up of this, a close up of that, what the inside looked like, etc...

After about 30 minutes of talking with Lisa and another very good friend of mine that lives in Japan, I got this baby working.  Now I started cooking the vegetable, and heating up the water to cook the curry. I got to use the Olive Oil and cook some of my Pork after I cut it into manageable pieces with my knew knives. And there you have it...

My first cooked meal (with meat) in Japan

I made a huge serving of Curry with Pork and vegetables.  I ate it with my beer, and I watched Futurama at the same time.  This is becoming my little ritual.  I also found little pads that I can sit on for the floor so I would not be so uncomfortable when I ate.

After dinner I sat and started to get very tired.  My jet lag makes in incredibly sleepy around 7:00 right now.  I always walk past a little vending machine that sells coffee every morning, and I was in dire need of a coffee.  After a few minutes, I walked to the machine and bought a drink.

My first cup of coffee in Japan

The coffee was chilled and tasty.  I feel much better tonight after eating some real food, and drinking some coffee.  I might even go get one more cup so I can make it until 11:00 tonight at least.  

There you have it.  The story of Dinner Impossible, The dinner that took 2 days to cook.

Everyday I live here it gets harder in the morning, and then at night it gets easier.  When I bought my coffee and was walking back to my house, I thought "I love this.  I am happy to be here."  

Tomorrow I am going to do 2 things.  I have my first day of work, and I am going to try and do laundry!

I feel both of these will be rather interesting so I hope you can check back tomorrow.  

Wish me luck!

Video Attempt #2

Well... It didn't want to post here.  In a few minutes, I will have this video uploaded to YouTube.  My page online is Drumdig2007@yahoo.com and my screen name is Danberg Seamus (I know it is really strange haha!) Please find that user on Youtube, and look through the video section.  I believe that this is the only video I have ever posted so it should be easy to find.

If you have questions leave a comment and I will respond to it with an answer.  I hope you like my video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1DK4qBpHcA&feature=youtube_gdata

Subscribe to me if you want on Youtube, That way, if I put more up, you can see them!