August 2nd and 3rd

August 2^nd

Rode my bike to work today and it turned out to be a fairly hectic day.  Shinmiya, Andrew, and I went to the AU store to get my cell phone.  The rates out here are unbelievable!  The phone was nearly 10,000 yen (almost $100) and the plan includes 25 minutes of talk time per month, 2 yen per text, and free e-mailing.  All that for 1,600 yen (about $16) a month.  I guess that means the Japanese people have made e-mailing their primary form of mobile phone communication.  It’s definitely different here.  Anyway, the phone is pretty cool.  It has a bar code scanner, a high quality camera/camcorder, a built in run/walk counter, and some other functions I have yet to understand.  If anything, though, the price was worth it just to see the reaction of my coworkers at the BOE.  Shinmiya was walking around pointing the RF transmitter at everyone else’s phone to send and receive contact information.  Everyone was saying, “Cool” and playing with the sliding face of the phone.  So now I have the section chief manager of Osaki Town’s number, section manager’s number, and various other high-ranking officials from the department.  I was actually surprised that he didn’t go to the mayor’s office, two doors down, and do the same thing with him.  We also went over all my car insurance, car tax, and internet information.  This is going to be an expensive month!  Thank goodness, though, I get my first paycheck on the 22^nd.  Think I might have to go and invest in a few really important things: surfboard, wetsuit, and some fishing stuffs.  Luckily, Andrew and the previous JETs left a tent, BBQ, foldable chairs, and mostly everything else I need to go camping.  Besides that, all I did was learn how to write the vowels and Ks in Hiragana.  Really, this is what I’m getting paid to do right now.

Ate some ground beef, veggies, and a popsicle tonight.  Oh! My bento lunch box today: Beef stew, pickled veggie, noodle salad, rice, miso soup, and squid in a red squid sauce.  Don’t remember if I mentioned it yesterday, but I had “Tempura Soba” which was soba noodles with shrimp tempura for lunch.  I’m not exactly ‘missing’ the food from back home yet, but I’m sure that will happen once this initial “everything is awesome” phase fades away.  Alright, off to some Japanese lessons and bed!

August 3^rd

Today was my last day with another fluent English speaker in the town.  Shinmiya, Hamaya, and I took Andrew to the airport.  We ate at a little restaurant in the airport that specialized in black pork.  I had the pork katsu with curry sauce and rice, and again…it was delicious!  We said our goodbyes to Andrew and I finally felt like the foreigner I had imagined.  On the way back to the BOE, Shinmiya and I played a sort of guessing game with plenty of hand gestures and laughs to see how much we could communicate with one another.  At the BOE, Ikoma (the section chief manager) said in broken English that I should teach them some more English words as well as learn some more Japanese.  Sounds like a good deal to me. 

One of the nice ladies, Tomomi, from the library had introduced herself to me when I first got to the BOE.  She speaks a good amount of English, so I feel a little more at ease when she’s around.  Today, she made arrangements for me to get a foam surfboard so I can go surfing with her husband on Friday morning (I think J).  She has also invited me over for dinner tonight (saying that she’s worried about my cooking) even though we’ve discussed the fact that I enjoy cooking.  I think this is one of those situations where the Japanese person is trying to hint at something they want (cooking for me) and repeatedly asking me until I figure out what’s really going on and finally accept.  I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. 

I got to drive my car home today!  The thrilling Toyota Corsa hatchback (previously known as the Toyota Tercel hatchback).  The AC blows warm air very fast, and the window roller always pops off to keep you on your feet.  I’m telling you, she’s a head turner.  Now to think of a name…this might take a while.  Please, if you have any ideas, feel free to post.  But now, I can finally get out to that surf shop I saw the other day and buy 1 or 9 boards, find a second-hand store to get a region-free dvd player, and of course buy 1 or 5 fishing poles. 

Anyway, I’ll have to get back to this after dinner or tomorrow.  I’m sticky and stinky.