The Basics

Ye Olde Mansion


So I was writing an update email to my friend the other night and realized that I've never given the basic lowdown about life in the Inaka (country). I know, it's a cheap one-off for a blog post but hey, you're still reading aren't you?

>So here's the scoop (copied from email):

Yeah I have 18 classes a weed (~Ha! Freudian slip~) at my main chu-gakko (TatsunoHigashi-chu), and 5 classes (+1 lunch) at shogakko (elementary school) every friday (rotating b/w 3 schools). It's a buttload, but luckily I'm making lesson plans at chugakko (JHS) that I use for all the grades (this week is do and don't pictionary). I get a lot of autonomy for lesson plans, so that's cool, and the JTEs (Japanese Teacher of English) I work with are all very good.

The kids in chugakko are good - ichi nen sei (1st year) are genki, while san nen sei (3rd year) is like a graveyard. Ni nen sei are about 80% genki (lively), 20% tombstones. It's funny because it's the san nensei that love to talk outside of class (mostly about sex and sports and music - both guys and chicks). I'm still figuring the whole teaching thing out, but I do enjoy it when it goes well and am not taking it so badly when it crashes and burns. live and learn.

Housing situation is great! FREE rent, and it's probably the nicest JET apartment in the area (so I hear from the senpai JETs and my pred) - 2 tatami rooms (6 tatami each), a big kitchen (with a computer desk, small table), big bathtub/shower room, western toilet (heated seat....yesssssss), and two decks (i live on the 4th/top floor of an apartment building - "mansion"). I bought everything from my pred so when I got here I had satellite TV/dvd/vcr, every kitchen appliance imaginable, a double bed, 3 futons, pullout couch, etc. I'd hardly say i'm roughing it. The nearest train is 10 minute bikeride, and then it's a 25 min local train to Himeji.

So Tatsuno is 30km west of Himeji, in Hyogo prefecture. So that means I'm 40 minutes from Kobe, 1 hour from Osaka, and 1.5 from Kyoto (all by shinkaisoku (rapid express) train). It's about 40,000 people, and has some minor towns around it (as of Oct 1st, we just merged with 4 other towns to form a larger Tatsuno-shi, so it's even bigger now). The claim to fame here is the soy sauce factory (tatsuno famous light colored soy sauce for somen noodles), the akatombo song was written here, there is a leather factory, and a big samurai castle/merchant village/samurai village. Soccer is really popular, my boys team won the all-japan championship this year for JHS. It's like living in a suburb, but with rice fields sprinkled here and there (and here, and here, and there). It's a beautiful town, the Ibogawa river runs through the middle and the town is circled by small mountains all around. Makes for some awesome sunsets (and sunrise - when all the fishermen are in the river it's pretty cool to see).

The JETs I've met here are really cool - there's a handful of locals and then the Hyogo JETs all hang out. I've joined the JET Ultimate Frisbee team and the social-soccer team. The prefecture has sister-city/states with Perth in Australia (lots of crazy Aussies here), and Seattle in the US. As for Japanese people, they have been super kind and really cool! I hand out with a variety of local people - an old women, young people, ex-teachers, recent college grads, my hair-stylist, people from the gym, etc. Lanuage ability varies but we usually find a way to communicate.

I'm keeping busy. I've got calligraphy club on Monday and Wed, Karate on Tuesday, English Club Thursday, and Japanese tutor on Wed night. Weekends are left open for travelling and frisbee team practice, and I'm debating about adding Kendo to the mix or waiting until next term. I'm teaching yoga on occasion, and when snowboard season starts up I'll be on the slopes as much as possible (my board is shipping out at the end of this month).

I've got a momma-cherry (as the 3rd year JET in my town calls them) bike - 3 gears, big basket, a bell and a luggage rack. Pretty sweet if you ask me. I'm getting around alright without a car for now, but ask me again during the winter and my answer will probably be different then!

> So that's the basics. More funny stuff to come. Gotta hit the hay now, big day of raaaaku, paapa, shissas tomorrow. Oyasumi nasai (goodnight!).