Japan Week 1

While we have a cute little “k” car, which means less than 50 horse power and that the engine is only 2 cylinders, we are unable to drive until the title gets transferred, which requires us to have our gyjing cards (gyjing means “outsider”); therefore, this week will be spent attempting to give cab drivers directions in Japanese to places that we really aren’t sure of there whereabouts, buying train tickets in Japanese based on signs that are entirely in Japanese, 40 minute walks to the grocery store, and much appreciated rides from Kobayashi.

(8/7) Friday- I filed all of my paperwork for my Gyjing card and went to the KoKo (high school) with Eric and Kobayashi to meet the Principle and Vice Principle. We sat down and had Tea, and I learned how fast I need to learn the language. The principle mentioned that the Elementary school is very excited that I am here and they are trying to find the funds to contract me to work at the school ☺ (keeping our fingers crossed, but not holding our breath). While Eric was at work I did my best to unpack and get settled in and I started the laundry which is a very slow process as we have a small washer and must hang everything to dry so we can really only do one load at a time. Today was our first walk to the grocery store, although it was a little hot, and quite a long way, I really enjoyed seeing some of the town, the ocean and how green it really is here.

(8/8) Saturday- Eric and I rode the train to Goshagawara (the nearest city) to attend the Techi Nebuta Festival. (Techi means upright) People come from all over Japan to see the 6 story floats. The floats seem especially impressive because the highest buildings in the city are 3-stories tall, with the exception of the Techi Nebuta Museum which is 7 stories. We enjoyed A LOT of delicious street food and I got to meet some of Eric’s new friends, a few of which were playing in a drum core in the festival. It is quite easy to spot each other in the crowd so we ran into them often. At the end of the festival they bring the 3 largest floats into the center of town and EVERYONE rushes to see them… the crowd was unbelievable!
This coming week our little town is going to grow significantly in size for the week of Obon. It is always the 2nd week of August and during Obon people return to their hometowns to celebrate their ancestors. Because we live in a small rural fishing community it is very common for people to move away to find jobs in the cities. In Japan high school is not required and there are a series of entrance tests required to get in. Each school has their own set of requirements for entry and tuition varies. Ajigasawa high school is very cheap in comparison to neighboring towns and has only moderate requirements so remedial and less fortunate students come from neighboring towns. Many of the local students do not continue onto high school because they begin to learn their parents fishing trade, but some of the students do continue.

(8/9) Sunday- We went to a Beach BBQ with about 20 other JET’s from Aomori. (The company Eric is working for is called JET, so that is how I refer to the other American’s that are here to teach English through the JET program) Fortunately for us, Ajigasawa has the nicest beaches in Northern Japan, so it was right in our neighborhood! The ocean was beautiful, but rather cold. We grilled Brats (Kevin went shopping at the army base near by) and steak and corn on the cob, and squid and scallops. Just to clarify, I did not eat any of the squid… the act of watching people put long fat tentacles into their mouths makes me want to vomit, so I don’t imagine it is something I myself would enjoy. We also played Frisbee and Eric and I were introduced to the traditions of watermelon. I guess a fruit that costs $30.00 in most places deserves a special tradition. The set the watermelon on the floor and proceed as we would with a piñata! Everyone smacks the watermelon as hard as possible while blindfolded until it breaks open. We got through about 15 people and it still wasn’t breaking, and our cars were about to be locked inside the beach parking lot, so we had to give in and use a knife… it was a lot of fun anyway! It was so great to see that we really do have a close-knit community to support us here!

(8/10) Monday- There was A LOT of rain today! I attempted to leave to go to the grocery store 3 times as the sun came out, and every time I got my shoes on, grabbed my bag, walked down stairs got 2-3 houses down and it would start raining again. Finally after Eric came home from work the sun was out to stay (or so we thought). We decided to venture out and go out for dinner. We went to small restaurant in town that had been recommended to us. As we walked inside Eric suddenly remembered that he had been warned that the menu was only available in Kanji (the character alphabet)! So, we sat down on the floor with our low Japanese table and we successfully ordered our Ocha (tea) and Mizu (water) and I pulled out my electronic translator and asked, “what would you recommend?” and then stated “Beef please” in Japanese. Our waiter replied in very broken English – Fried Chicken. Of course they recommended Fried Chicken! The Japanese seem to think that the only thing Americans like to eat is Fried Chicken, but that’s ok because it’s a pretty safe bet. Eric and I agreed and then we sat and pondered… how much Fried Chicken did we order? Eventually out came our meal… 6 small pieces of Fried Chicken for us to share. So now we are working on our numbers and trying to figure out how to inquire about quantity. I guess now is a good time to explain Christmas in Japan as well. First off, Japan is not a Christian nation; however, the vast majority of the country takes the day off to celebrate Christmas Eve and they celebrate in a traditional American manner. They call weeks in advance to place their orders for Christmas Dinner… from KFC!! They order a bucket of chicken and strawberry shortcake for their American Christmas! Apparently I missed the memo on KFC for Christmas Dinner… but hey it sounds a lot easier than our way of doing it!

While we were in town we also took another shot at the grocery store, this time much more successful. We had gone through our Japanese cookbook and picked out some recipes we wanted to try and found the necessary ingredients. Now our main task was to look at the pictures of the ingredients and try to find them in the grocery, as NOTHING is in English in the supermarket. (Thanks again Beth and James for the cookbook it really has been a lifesaver!) Fortunately Eric was brave enough to ask for help, and I must say he was quite successful in communicating. I was very impressed. Eric also not only found pasta.. but he found SPIRAL NOODLES!! For those of you who don’t know… Glenn and Patti (Eric’s parents) bought 20 boxes of macaroni & cheese (my comfort food) for us, some to pack, and some to send a little at a time. While packing and realizing just how limited I was on weight, Barb was cleaver enough to think to open every box and pull out the cheese packets and leave the noodles behind! So I brought 20 packets of cheese sauce in my carry on luggage… it got some laughs at security in LAX! I guess 20 small foil lined pouches filled with powder neatly arranged in the middle of clothes looks suspicious on the scanner…. Who knew? So now we have our cheese sauce AND the right noodles! I am trying to hold out until next month to eat it… but we’ll see.

(8/11) Tuesday- So, earlier I had mentioned that Eric had been slaving away getting the apartment ready me… I guess I should clarify (and give him proper credit). He had been battling the disgusting mold issue. Apparently the house wasn’t closed up when the previous tenant left, and with as often as it rains, a lot of mold had developed (that is what we presume to be the issue anyway). So he tackled it one room at a time and did an amazing job. However, my first day here we decided to roll up the carpet in our bedroom and carry it outside to shake it out (our vacuum is broken). In the process of rolling it back we discovered why our allergies were distinctly worse in the bedroom, and why we both woke up with headaches. The floor (tetami) and the carpet had grown together in area about 5ft in diameter… black mold! Eek! So we moved out bedding into another room and closed off the bedroom and on Monday Eric told Kobayashi who came to check it out last night, and this morning he brought the principle over. The principle was very disgusted and apologetic. He told us they would work on getting it replaced right away but there is only one Tetami maker in town so it could be awhile. We were very happy they were going to replace it, but entirely unsure of when it would be done. Less than an hour later the principle, Kobayashi, and the Tetami specialist were knocking on the door! They told us the next day they would have new Tetami! We were confused about how it all happened so fast but super excited!

Today we tried our first recipe out of our cookbook… Cucumber Salad! While it sounds delicious, the 2nd main ingredient is dried Wakame Seaweed. I didn’t think it would be so bad but after spending 20 minutes preparing the seaweed (washing it several times in different temperature water, and squeezing it dry) I started to develop a dislike for it, the salad wasn’t terrible though, at least Eric enjoyed it!

(8/12) Wednesday- On Eric’s 2 minute walk to work he was passed by several of the staff members from the school who told him to turn around… they were coming over to clean up the floor and lend us a vacuum until they are able to buy us a new one! I love how helpful everyone is without even asking! The Tetami floor arrived and has been installed, and is blue/green (as opposed to the rest of the floor that is tan) because it is still live. The bad smell is all gone, and we can move back into the bedroom very soon!

Tonight Eric took me out to eat at the local bar along our highway (by the way- the nearest highway to our house is the 101, and the most traffic I have ever seen on it is maybe 5 or 6 cars ☺). The bar is called Bun but the sign says “cocktails” on aviation wings, which leads one to believe it would have an aviation theme, but inside it is pretty much anything American. It also was the cleanest of any facility I have seen and it has American seating, as opposed to low tables and mats to sit on. Again, we were helpless when it came to reading the menu so our waitress helped out. We had a yummy little pizza, our waitress did not understand the desire for plain cheese pizza at all, she kept recommending shrimp and egg, but they made it plain anyway, Eric ate a chicken dish that had caramelized onions and other goodies but I was not a fan of the sauce, and we had delicious (and huge) beef curry! The curry here is surprisingly amazing. We also tried 2 of their flavored beers, I was less adventurous and got lemon, but Eric was brave and got mint. They had Budweiser on tap, and added syrup… funny, but not bad. It was nice to eat out and actually get enough food to fill us up!

Some things we have learned about living in rural Japan:

Cell phones and Internet are much more expensive than Tokyo… but food is ridiculously cheaper!! A trade we are happy to make ☺
For example:
Cell phone plan in Tokyo with the iPhone 3Gs- unlimited talk time and text etc. $12/month
Cell phone plan in Aomori – only 1 company has service up here- standard phone and 125 min a month with limited text is $33/month.

However:

Steak for 1 from the grocery store in Tokyo = $40-60
Steak for 1 from the grocery store in Ajigasawa = $5-6

Watermelons in big cities = $30-35
Watermelons in Ajigasawa = $3-5 (and we have TONS of produce stands between towns)

We are also learning how limited the use of English is in the rural areas. In Tokyo they say foreigners can live for extended periods of time without learning the language; however, in Aomori it is very difficult to do much of anything without speaking the language. We are actually quite excited about this, because it will force us to really study and learn Japanese well.