BYE BYE Ryan

So people are dropping like flies in Fukui. These are some pictures from Ryan`s going away party. We went to Bears Bar like usual. The days are getting much colder here. Good thing i had room to pack my winter jacket and boots.....not. So with the days getting colder, and my bank account not growing fast enough, i will have to layer like it`s my job.

The whole gang including our Japanese staff (ex-staff)

Japanese Staff. Megumi, Tomomie, and Emi

Lesley and I.

So everything is good right now. Minus the fact that it is freezing. I am still living in my Nova apartment, but we got some questionable mail. It said that we haven`t been paying our electricity bill, so they are going to turn it off soon. I hope they don`t turn it off before the end of the month because that is when i think i will move out. It is all in Japanese Kanji, and like everything else in this country i can`t read it.

Amber, one of my roommates has to go home soon. She couldn't find a job, so she finally had to make the decision to go home. It will be very sad when she leaves.

We are going to Karaoke tonight, so that should be fun. I won`t ride my bike there, i promise!

Folk Museums/ Food/ New School

Helle Helle,
So the hat and i would like to apologize for not writing enough. We will get on it.

Life in Fukui has been good. Very busy with work, but good. I have been working for about two weeks now. My hours are from 1 pm to 10 pm. But i have also been coming in earlier because there is so much work to be done. My lessons are good for the most part, but they take a long time to prepare for. Of course there are bad lessons too, where the hands of the clock don`t seem to move fast enough. The atmosphere at work is really great. Episodes of Friends are played on repeat, or jazz music is played through one of the computers. Although sometimes i hear music that i don`t like. Like that stupid song that haunts me " i`m going to miss you like a child misses a blanket", i don`t know why but it follows me around the world like a bad hangover. Damianna you would laugh still at my reaction. My boss is really nice. Last week i had a cough. He came back from the store with six different kinds of cough drops. Needless to say that none of them worked. Japanese medicine sucks! I need some Fishermans Friend, or even Halls would be better than the candy they call medicine. My boss also got me my own computer for my little classroom. Although i think it was cheap for a reason. It doesn`t work too well, but does the job for making lesson plans and using e-mail. I usually teach at the school, but once a week i go to a business and teach old men there. I am the first female teacher they have had. It is weird there, i have to where old slippers after i walk in the front door. They are nice though. I ride my bike to work everyday. Which is good except when it rains, or when it is super cold out at night.

This is the folk museum on the mountain Noriaki and i went to. It is called Osagoe Folk Village Museum. It is a collection of ancient traditional Japanese houses that apparently help us to imagine the old style of life. They all belonged to different prominent families who lived in Fukui. They have been reassembled here, and made into a little museum. It was pretty cool. We got there half an hour before closing, so we didn`t have to pay to go in.

View from inside a house.

Me in front of a water wheel.

This was some of the food at the restaurant we went to that night. We ate delicious food, and played with the cutest Japanese kid alive. He loved me. And naturally i wanted to take him home, but he didn`t fit in my purse. These shrimp look like they could crawl off the plate.
Cutest child ever!

This is the view from on top of Fukui castle walls. Fall is beautiful, but cold.

And this is my new school!!!! I think it is really cute. And about a million times better than Nova. It is a lot more work than Nova, but i have more say into the design of the lessons, which in the long run will be more rewarding, and give me a better idea if i like teaching or not. Most of students are pretty cool, and in their mid 20`s, so that makes things more fun.

My room!!!!

The whole place, minus teaching rooms that you cannot see.

This is the toilet at the school. And i mainly put it up for Cheryl because she was scared for me that there would only be squatting toilets in Japan. And now i have to squat everyday. I am mostly successful...

Other than teaching, not too much else has been going on. There have been quite a few going away parties. Last Saturday night there was a karaoke going away party at a place called Cote de Azure. It is always a bad thing when i feel the need to catch up in drinking with my friends. I got off work at ten and rode my bike to the place. We sang a lot of fun songs, and drank about a million whiskey colas, Amber, Lesley or i would order them three at a time every chance we got. Thank Buddah for Nomihodie (it means all you can drink while you are there for a set price). Or Nomiho-dizzle as we like to call it. Anyways, i ended up having to ride my bike home. I not only was lost and fell off my bike three times, but it was also raining. So needless to say, i was crying the whole way home, and will never drink as many whiskey colas again. I was all banged up the next day and my stocking were a little ripped and bloody, hahahaha, I am such a loser, i mean seriously who falls off their bike three times, you think after the first time one would get off and walk. Good news is, that the bike was okay! hahaha But my basket is a little scraped.

Until next time............

The Past Few Weeks........

Maybe So it`s been a while since i`ve updated everyone on my situation in Japan! It has been a little crazy\confusing\rocky here, I feel like i`ve been in the twilight zone for the past couple weeks, and need to give a huge update.

The company i chose to work for was probably the worst company to choose in all of ASIA! They have been having financial problems since last febuary. However my recruiter seemed to think this was not going to be a problem. I knew of the troubles before i left, but didn`t think it would ever get this bad. Well it did.............

First my school branch near the station was going to close down and i was going to have to move to another location which was going to be a lot further away AND it was going to be in a mall (hello i`m 23 and working in a mall!!).....So the teachers at my school were very upset by that news. The school was supposed to close on the 31st of October.

Second, we were not going to receive a paycheck this month (by the way i have never received a paycheck to this day) So now i was going to be 23yrs old and working in a mall for free. Sounds good hey?. The mall would also take an hour by bus to get there, and cost $250/mth in bus passes.

But before all this could happen, we got `the call`. I woke up one morning and got `the call`. All of NOVA has been shut down. Not just my school, ALL schools in Japan. The company i have been working for completely closed down every single school. They filed for bankruptcy. This puts me as one person out of 4500 foreigners without a job in Japan. Good luck me!

So needless to say it has been rough. No paycheck, and no place to go. We don`t think our rent has been paid, but we are still staying there until they physically remove us from the building. We still have electricity, but we don`t know for how much longer. Alot of people we know have had theirs turned off or been evicted.

So the day we found out was definitely a drunken one. We all got together around 1 pm and started the drinking fest. Everybody grouped all the alcohol they had in Japan together and began. It was pouring rain all day. Yeah, really added to my good mood, especially with a broken umbrella.

But i had been applying for jobs for a while. And i had a lead on a good one, but the guy hadn`t gotten back to me yet.

However the next day came, and reality set in. BUT that day was also the Halloween train. We all got dressed up and hit the train like it was our job.

Anyways............The day we found out about Nova will be known as `the day i lost my job, and also got a new one` The guy got back to me that night. It is a little English school that needed someone ASAP, so naturally i jumped on it. I signed the papers the next day. So i am officially the new teacher for `Will Be English School`. Ahahahah, that`s right Will BE.
I have been working for four days so far. It could not be cuter!!!!!!!!!! It is rustic looking with tacky decorations up everywhere. In my teaching room there is a sign that says "BEER- the only reason i get up in the afternoon". And it has a ton of other cheesy placks like that. AND it plays Full House on repeat, as well as other tv shows and movies BUT so far just Full House (the beach boy episode). I think it will be much better than Nova. And i can use the internet anytime! So there shall be many more posts!!!! I will put up pictures soon.

But the job is alot different. I basically have to make up all the lesson plans myself from scratch. This is alot different from my last job which had a million resources. But there is a computer to use. And i can use the knowledge of my last job. No money from my last job but many hours of experience.

So basically life has been extremely stressful, yet very fun at most times. I will be super busy with my new job, planning lessons and getting used to my new hours of 1-10.

I have to move apartments soon. Yes, i have to move from my beautiful big apartment into a little box apartment. I`ll put up pictures when i do. I am a little scared of being lonely because i have gotten used to roommates, but i`ll deal with it. I have made alot of friends here so far. Some are being forced to go home because of lack of money/job, but a few are staying.

Oh and my new boss bought me a bike!!!!! It is gold and sooo ugly, but i love it!!!

That`s all for now. I am alive............

Don't you become a hangover?

This is the picture taken of the night before we got the worst news possible. It was a lovely dinner at this cute Japanese place.

This is a sign i go by everyday on the bus. Don`t you try Vegetables!!! They might harm you. (it`s for a vegetable shop)

This is the large Buddha at the end of my street. I see it everyday as well.

This is the Halloween train! We are with some of our students. Kaori, and Noriaki. Amber was the hamburgler, and i was a cowgirl. I only lost one sheriff badge and one gun (that is an improvement from other halloweens)

Amber and i on the train.

All three of my roommates. Amber, me, Kellie

Halloween was a blast. It was a much needed outlet of fun for all the stress and crappiness that has been going on. We all got dressed up and headed to the local train. A group of people from the international center were putting on a halloween party on the train. The train does the three hour loop while the DJ plays music and the whole train dances. They had everything from a disco ball to scary lighting. I often felt like i was in the twilight zone. And of course it was BYOB. Amber aka the Hamburgerler was drinking straight liqure from her McDonalds bag.

After the train we headed into the train station where i proceeded to attept to break dance in front of kids breakdancing (aka. do a summer sault, and spin in a circle). Then we went to this club in the Katamache district called `Colour`. Definite good times had there.

The title of this post is a text message i got form one of my Japanese friends the next day. His english isn`t the best so by him asking me if i was hungover, came out like "Don`t you become a hangover?" hahahaha, there are many more where that came from..........

Next post i will explain why i have been MIA with my posts recently.

Home Sweet Home

This is my very first apartment in Japan. Isn`t it beautiful??? It won`t be my apartment for very much longer because Nova isn`t paying the rent, but for now we are squatters. Hopefully the electricity will stay on and we will have hot water. If not.....cold showers and candles!!! hahaha


This is our kitchen table! Notice the Bailey art on the wall. Bamboo anyone?

This is our T.V. and Amber`s room. Notice the Wii.

This is our wonderful Pleather couch that is highly highly uncomfortable.

Washing machine that i cannot read, but somehow my clothing comes out sort of clean. And there is no dryer, we hang everything outside.

This is part of my room. That is my wall of friends. I will be sad to take it down, but i will make a new home for it when i move into my new box apartment in a month.

This is my lovely bed on the floor. It is surprisingly comfortable. I have stacked about three futons under there. Since this photo i have decorated with more fans on the walls.

This concludes the tour of my home away from home. Fingers crossed we don`t get evicted.

Voitami, Birthdays

This is the night of five birthdays. We had an awsome dinner at a resturant called Viotami (i think i spelt it correct). I found my new favourite food called Nabe. It is a dish that is warmed up over a fire on your table, and it has many yummy things inside. It is kind of like soup with chunks of yumminess put in. Lesley also bought a balloon making kit for Nat, so we made many funny objects that night. Let`s just say that when a dog barks in Japan it sounds different to when a dog barks in english. So by the end of the night i was definitly saying `wong wong` alot (especially to the cab driver on the way home from the bar).

Amber, Lesley, and myself

Becs my love!
Some of our staff, Emi, and Tomomie, all with our Inu`s

Amber, because she`s Amber.....i think we scared everyone away from our table, but that`s just what we do.

We ended the night at a bar called Bears Bar singing some sad karaoke, and then went home.

Jeff Wall, Mona Hatoum, and Sofie Calle in Japan?

Life is good in Japan. Since I have last written I have been on a few more adventures, and sung a bit more karaoke.
I went to Tojinbo and the beach again, this time with Steve. We had a great day scaling rocks and eating squid on a stick. Ummmmm, and lets not forget the green tea vanilla swirl soft serve. Seriously can`t get enough of good old Tojinbo. We also had a fun night at Bears Bar again, sans wax pouring of course.

I also got my very first cell phone last week. All very exciting. It`s silver and black. Although it`s not like i have alot of people to talk to or text. Mainly my roomies, and a few people from work.
Work last week was okay. I taught some good lessons, and some bad ones. I was actually able to share my knowledge on gender politics with one of my students who is in a very high level. It was good actually talking about something important in a lesson for once, instead of what is your name and what do you do.
I had a follow up training in Takaoka on wednesday. I had to travel about two hours on the train to get there though. So i took my sleeping bag with me in the hopes that some kind soul would let me crash on their couch for the night so that i could do some sightseeing the next day. It ending up being a really fun night. It was one of the girls last night in Japan. So myself, and all the teachers from that city went out for Okinomiyaki. (it is a Japanese dish that you cook yourself at the table, it is comprised of cabbage, egg, seafood or meat, and other stuff.....it looks like a pancake). Then we went back to their apartment and went on the roof, lit some fireworks and drank some cheap wine under the stars. Then i crashed on Michael's and Zubaer`s couch. Not too comfortable, but much appreciated.
(picture)
The next day i went to a city called Kanazawa. Minus being a bit tired and hungover, the day was AMAZING! I went to a 15th century garden called Kenrokuen. Kenrokuen means `combined six`, referring to the six attributes for perfection: seclusion, spaciousness, artificiality, antiquity, abundant water, and broad views. I walked around and enjoyed the feel of being in old Japan. The waterfalls and fountains were very tranquil. I stopped to rest often.

I went from the garden right to the 21st Century art museum. Going to museums is always a surprise for me. Who knew that there would be this amazing museum so close to where i live in Japan. I went from 15th century Japan, straight to the 21st century all within minutes. The museum was extremely modern. It is a huge round building with geometric gallery spaces all throughout. The facade had a flower instillation on it. Something to do with seeds, it also connected to an instillation project within.

The permanent collection was surprisingly cool, it also had an instillation by Leandro Erlich maybe called pool?. It was a pool with only 10 cent. of water on the top and the rest hollow. You could enter the pool through the bottom and see out the top. You could also look in the top at the people on the bottom. It was in the 2004 Venice biennale, or some other year, can`t remember.

There was also a special exhibition from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in the States. It made me very happy to see some special artists who were featured. Jeff Wall from Vancouver, huge photograph of two guys cutting through a hedge. Also a crazy circular sand pit by Mona Hatoum. Rotating in the centre of it was a rake that would create a design on one side and then the other would clear the sand and make it smooth. I also saw photographs and a video piece by Laurie Simmons. There were also many other exciting artists, Sofie Calle just to name another..... Now that i have bored some of you with my passion for art, and the the museum, i will move on.

I then walked around the city. Went into the main shopping mall called Kroinbo. And to my great surprise found Tim Tams!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! At five dollars a box i could only buy two, but they are all mine and very yummy. I then bought sushi, went to another shrine to eat it in the garden. This garden felt much older than Kenrokuen, and the best part was that it was totally secluded, no one was around. I then walked to this crazy fish market that did not smell good, and people were yelling crazy things. I was dead tired by the time i made it to the train.

Today is my other day off. All i did was relax, go for a run, tan, learn some japanese, and come to the library to use the computer.

Talk soon!!!!!!!!!!!!

"It`s your dream, make it happen"