Sunday, October 31, 2004
it's a rare occation when i see a car that i recognize here! most of the names are the same, but the cars are smaller and boxier. because space is so limited i've seen some pretty fancy inovations on the parking lot. this one here works like a vending machine and another one i've seen works like a cd changer - the car in front spins on a platform while the others in the machine are on shuffle.
Saturday, October 30, 2004
why did bobby have to move..?
i couldn't sleep. why did bobby have to move.. since i had arrived in osaka, every one i had met knew about bobby. all i had to do was mention "ecc" & "okayama" and they would say, "oooohhh... you're replacing bobby!"
among ecc employees and otherwise, bobby lived in INFAMY!! EVERYONE knew about it! they had either met bobby or knew someone who had. it was incredible how popular his story was - but when i asked, all i got was vague answers and dodging behavior. no one would give me a straight answer.. why did bobby have to move?
- bobby was the ecc employee i'd been sent to replace. i had actually asked for the guy's email pre-departure and sent him an embarrassingly long list of stupid questions. he responded at equally embarrassing length - still he seemed like a nice enough guy. i was afraid bobby had left okayama because of a manager-from-hell scenario or some similarly bad situation i was about to get myself into. in his reply he told me that the school was great, that the director and the staff were great, that he loved it there! because there is only one small school in okayama, he even had the rare opportunity to get to know the students and staff really well. "this could also become a problem," he hinted. bobby was moved on a company decision - i had guessed it was the repercussion of an inappropriate relation with a student or staff member.
after hearing so much about bobby without hearing a damn thing about bobby, i wasn't so sure anymore. i now had a complex web of single sentence hints from which i was trying to triangulate a nebular region of likelihood in what could be described mathematically as bobby-space. bobby had been described as memorable, weird, really outgoing, a special case, a great guy, and a bit of a nerd. i had heard that bobby wasn't working out, that he wasn't fitting in, that he wasn't doing a great job, and that he just had to get out of there. one clue was a constant: all would be made clear when i met him.
why would i have to meet him to understand? was he a cripple-midget-rastafarian that was pressured to leave through racial tension? was he a mad beatnik revivalist? how would meeting him help me understand why he had to leave?
i couldn't sleep..
at work the next day i was a wreck and the kids training was dragging me all around the mulberry bush. i still couldn't stop thinking about bobby. at the end of the day i was asked to see personnel upstairs. i was taking over 2 of bobby's upper level classes and had to schedule some extra training. i was also taking over bobby's old apartment. who is this guy who's life i've been handed? why did he have to move? i tried one last time to pry - "and what mistake am i learning from, exactly?"
it was a collection of personnel that eventually gave it away through discrete nods to narrow and narrower questions (even that word, "discrete," having been written on a cigarette pack as a piece of good advice). bobby had indeed been involved in multiple inappropriate relationships with students. i should have just gone with my gut.
it was finally solved! i could go home and finally forget all about bobby. it was a somewhat disappointing ending to the mystery - the truth hardly seemed a story worth the infamy it had risen to. i punched out and stepped into the elevator. just as the doors were closing a tiny hobnail boot was stuffed in-between the doors. they shuddered and slowly opened to reveal a dreadlocked midget in a wheelchair wearing a diaper and a 10-gallon hat. "oh!" i said, "you must be bobby!" (that last part isn't true - sorry) -mike!
among ecc employees and otherwise, bobby lived in INFAMY!! EVERYONE knew about it! they had either met bobby or knew someone who had. it was incredible how popular his story was - but when i asked, all i got was vague answers and dodging behavior. no one would give me a straight answer.. why did bobby have to move?
- bobby was the ecc employee i'd been sent to replace. i had actually asked for the guy's email pre-departure and sent him an embarrassingly long list of stupid questions. he responded at equally embarrassing length - still he seemed like a nice enough guy. i was afraid bobby had left okayama because of a manager-from-hell scenario or some similarly bad situation i was about to get myself into. in his reply he told me that the school was great, that the director and the staff were great, that he loved it there! because there is only one small school in okayama, he even had the rare opportunity to get to know the students and staff really well. "this could also become a problem," he hinted. bobby was moved on a company decision - i had guessed it was the repercussion of an inappropriate relation with a student or staff member.
after hearing so much about bobby without hearing a damn thing about bobby, i wasn't so sure anymore. i now had a complex web of single sentence hints from which i was trying to triangulate a nebular region of likelihood in what could be described mathematically as bobby-space. bobby had been described as memorable, weird, really outgoing, a special case, a great guy, and a bit of a nerd. i had heard that bobby wasn't working out, that he wasn't fitting in, that he wasn't doing a great job, and that he just had to get out of there. one clue was a constant: all would be made clear when i met him.
why would i have to meet him to understand? was he a cripple-midget-rastafarian that was pressured to leave through racial tension? was he a mad beatnik revivalist? how would meeting him help me understand why he had to leave?
i couldn't sleep..
at work the next day i was a wreck and the kids training was dragging me all around the mulberry bush. i still couldn't stop thinking about bobby. at the end of the day i was asked to see personnel upstairs. i was taking over 2 of bobby's upper level classes and had to schedule some extra training. i was also taking over bobby's old apartment. who is this guy who's life i've been handed? why did he have to move? i tried one last time to pry - "and what mistake am i learning from, exactly?"
it was a collection of personnel that eventually gave it away through discrete nods to narrow and narrower questions (even that word, "discrete," having been written on a cigarette pack as a piece of good advice). bobby had indeed been involved in multiple inappropriate relationships with students. i should have just gone with my gut.
it was finally solved! i could go home and finally forget all about bobby. it was a somewhat disappointing ending to the mystery - the truth hardly seemed a story worth the infamy it had risen to. i punched out and stepped into the elevator. just as the doors were closing a tiny hobnail boot was stuffed in-between the doors. they shuddered and slowly opened to reveal a dreadlocked midget in a wheelchair wearing a diaper and a 10-gallon hat. "oh!" i said, "you must be bobby!" (that last part isn't true - sorry) -mike!
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
room upgrade!
my landlord is kind of a dipshit. well, he's not even my landlord - he's just the english speaking rep. for my landlord. anyway, he's a dip shit. he fucked up and rented my tiny-ass room to some other foreigner and i got bumped downstairs. i'm only there for another 1.7 weeks and i wasn't very moved in, so i didn't care all that much. i think i'll have the same landlord when i get to okayama, so doing the guy a favor couldn't hurt. but then, like i said, he's a dipshit and he really made it feel like i was doing him a favor.. i had to get up early and pack up all my shit he was more than an hour late and i had to leave a note and walk to a payphone (pictured) and call him and blah blah blah. so yeah, dipshit. anyway, when all was said and done, i was moved into a much bigger, much nicer room! check out my fab pad (pictured)!
other than that it's been lots of work and lot's of homework. we've been drilling our new teaching skills for lower level students and we gave real-time presentations on monday. the procedures are standard and the teaching skills are mostly common sense (grading our language, using prompting and gestures, etc.). i did fine, whatever. they were mostly checking to see that we were paying attention and were capable humans. my other coworkers are mostly fun and that helps!
other than that it's been lots of work and lot's of homework. we've been drilling our new teaching skills for lower level students and we gave real-time presentations on monday. the procedures are standard and the teaching skills are mostly common sense (grading our language, using prompting and gestures, etc.). i did fine, whatever. they were mostly checking to see that we were paying attention and were capable humans. my other coworkers are mostly fun and that helps!
Sunday, October 24, 2004
for now, it's home
hey, check out the pictures of my tiny room! I've been trapped in there all day practicing giving lessons for tomorrow's review. It shouldn't be too bad - the hardest part will be time management between each section. As long as i don't leave anything out, i should do fine.
I met my neighbor! he's a canadian guy who works for ecc and his room is much bigger. he's been here for a year and a half and, like damn near everyone else here, never tried to learn the language but did become quite good at meeting women (thin walls).. "to bad you don't have a bike. you could have come to this S&M show with me. these 2 chicks are gona' whip eachother!" right.. i think i'll stick to complete solitude, thanks.
my grocery store is just down the yellow brick road from my apartment building! it's so crazy! it's packed every second it's open and there's a mysterious man who shouts a constant stream off information over the loudspeaker! i don't know what he's saying, but people will sometimes frantically respond and run to a corner of the store. the seafood and the produce are beautiful but way too expensive. i did find some apples that were discounted for being less than awe inspiring (still way perfect - better than meijer, i can tell you that much). there's also a good selection of bachelor chow and pre-cooked, pre-packaged meals - for about about $4 you can get a pretty incredible dinner!
i walked all over namba last night just to dig the crazy people! japanese off all ages and wardrobes are roaming the back allys and ducking in and out of bars, barbecues, and burlesque houses! and i'm still not completely sure which is which. -mike!
I met my neighbor! he's a canadian guy who works for ecc and his room is much bigger. he's been here for a year and a half and, like damn near everyone else here, never tried to learn the language but did become quite good at meeting women (thin walls).. "to bad you don't have a bike. you could have come to this S&M show with me. these 2 chicks are gona' whip eachother!" right.. i think i'll stick to complete solitude, thanks.
my grocery store is just down the yellow brick road from my apartment building! it's so crazy! it's packed every second it's open and there's a mysterious man who shouts a constant stream off information over the loudspeaker! i don't know what he's saying, but people will sometimes frantically respond and run to a corner of the store. the seafood and the produce are beautiful but way too expensive. i did find some apples that were discounted for being less than awe inspiring (still way perfect - better than meijer, i can tell you that much). there's also a good selection of bachelor chow and pre-cooked, pre-packaged meals - for about about $4 you can get a pretty incredible dinner!
i walked all over namba last night just to dig the crazy people! japanese off all ages and wardrobes are roaming the back allys and ducking in and out of bars, barbecues, and burlesque houses! and i'm still not completely sure which is which. -mike!
Friday, October 22, 2004
interneto cafe
be very careful with the keyboard.. one false move and i'll have to get the poor guy to rescue me for a third time! it doesn't help that all the keys are in different places and the space bar is only about 2 inches long..
typhoon?
our pilot attempted to land at kansi international airport hoping to make it in before the eye of the storm passed by, closing our short window of a possible landing.. it was a real story of johna moment - i thought about volunteering for whale duty at first, but the guy next to me started vomiting and i couldn't concentrate. then all i could think about was how much it would suck to die at the END of a 15 hour flight.. the last long hours of your life are some of the worst in recent memory - that's got to somehow affect you in the after life.
we flew to narita (tokyo) and stayed at a very nice hotel! the food was amazing! i really can't complain. i'm here in osaka undergoing my first days of training and everyone here is cool. the other new recruits are friendly - 3 canadians, 2 australians, 1 brit, and me!
my apartment is SMALL!! i'll try and post pictures soon, but my internet situation is less than accommodating at the present time.. off to work - more to come! -mike!
typhoon?
our pilot attempted to land at kansi international airport hoping to make it in before the eye of the storm passed by, closing our short window of a possible landing.. it was a real story of johna moment - i thought about volunteering for whale duty at first, but the guy next to me started vomiting and i couldn't concentrate. then all i could think about was how much it would suck to die at the END of a 15 hour flight.. the last long hours of your life are some of the worst in recent memory - that's got to somehow affect you in the after life.
we flew to narita (tokyo) and stayed at a very nice hotel! the food was amazing! i really can't complain. i'm here in osaka undergoing my first days of training and everyone here is cool. the other new recruits are friendly - 3 canadians, 2 australians, 1 brit, and me!
my apartment is SMALL!! i'll try and post pictures soon, but my internet situation is less than accommodating at the present time.. off to work - more to come! -mike!
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
my last night on earth
I’m finally, finally, finally going to Japan!
These last months have felt like a slow motion bat swing; a steady acceleration and tightening of muscles set into motion by a split second decision and carrying with it massive potential for colossal success or failure. Though I’m not sure which it will be, I take pride in the fact that it will, at least, be colossal! Thank you to everyone who aided and supported me through my interim period. If you ever find yourself on my half of the planet, make sure you stop by!
Things to bring to Japan (well, if you’re me):
Laptop, digital camera, guitar, backpack, tent, sleeping bag, hiking boots, awesome new jacket (thanks mom!), work clothes, play clothes, passport w/ visa, statement of good health, many thousands of yen, language guides, travel guides, food for the plane, coffee, gifts for kind people I haven’t met yet, and a years supply of deodorant..
About the blog: telling it from the mountain
In most social situations, I’ve have the luxury of tailoring (or attenuating) the content and delivery of any given story to the appropriate goals of the listening party. But here, guests will run the gamut from girlfriends to grandmothers. To keep things interesting, I’ve decided to error on the side of awkwardly inappropriate. I’m sure you’ll all agree this decision, if not a good one, is at least true to character. Please, enjoy it! Scroll on!
These last months have felt like a slow motion bat swing; a steady acceleration and tightening of muscles set into motion by a split second decision and carrying with it massive potential for colossal success or failure. Though I’m not sure which it will be, I take pride in the fact that it will, at least, be colossal! Thank you to everyone who aided and supported me through my interim period. If you ever find yourself on my half of the planet, make sure you stop by!
Things to bring to Japan (well, if you’re me):
Laptop, digital camera, guitar, backpack, tent, sleeping bag, hiking boots, awesome new jacket (thanks mom!), work clothes, play clothes, passport w/ visa, statement of good health, many thousands of yen, language guides, travel guides, food for the plane, coffee, gifts for kind people I haven’t met yet, and a years supply of deodorant..
About the blog: telling it from the mountain
In most social situations, I’ve have the luxury of tailoring (or attenuating) the content and delivery of any given story to the appropriate goals of the listening party. But here, guests will run the gamut from girlfriends to grandmothers. To keep things interesting, I’ve decided to error on the side of awkwardly inappropriate. I’m sure you’ll all agree this decision, if not a good one, is at least true to character. Please, enjoy it! Scroll on!
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