New House

I arrived at my house yesterday afternoon (read 7 months ago). I had already visited once before, albeit very briefly. After I put away the modest amount of groceries I had bought on the way there (hadn’t discovered Jusco yet), I went with my tantosha (a coworker whose responsibilities include watching after me) to introduce myself to the neighbors. We started by travelling to a small shop at the end of my street (the guy who runs it is awesome). My tantosha introduced me as the new ALT and gave my name, after which I gave a courteous bow before heading to the next house over (um…there is no “next house over,” I have no idea where we went next actually). Unfortunately, only one of my neighbors was home at the time. A small girl was also sitting in front of her house. I had said hello to her earlier, but we were curious as to the whereabouts of her parents. Apparently, both were still at work and the girl didn’t have a key to her house. Another house looked uninhabited as there was no furniture visible through the windows and a number of papers shoved into the front door. After our rounds were finished, my tantosha checked to make sure I was alright and left me to settle in my new house, telling me to relax and letting me know she would be by in the morning to take me to work.

I resolved rather quickly to forego unpacking all my clothes the first night (or indeed the first month), took out a change of clothes for the next day, and set about organizing the rest of my luggage. I quickly compiled a table’s worth of items and divided them between personal items, such as manga and trading cards, and business or professional items, such as a copy of my worker’s contract and driver’s permit. I set aside my game system and DVDs and placed all the computer related items on the desk behind my couch.

While going through a few bags of gifts from Amanda which had been left from my first visit, I was a little startled to discover a small spider had managed to find its way inside. I had been warned about the possibility of giant spiders (more commonly referred to as hand spiders due to their size) but this one was rather small and easy to dispatch, having essentially trapped itself in my bag.

My item arranging complete, I set about making the house seem more like my own (it barely resembles what it once was). I built the One Piece figures I received for my birthday and placed them on the top of the TV (there still there, but they’ve multiplied). I also set up my Wii and a Japanese PS2 we received from a departing ALT. While doing so, I removed a box labeled WOWOW whose function was unknown to me (turns out it’s a cable provider of sorts. I actually really want to get it working again). I placed my manga on the bookshelf near the TV and moved some books and movies into the closet to make some more room (it wouldn’t be long before I required a whole new bookshelf).

So, a many adventurous first day drew to a close. Still haven’t run into any mukade, though I suppose that’s just a matter of time (it was!).

トイレ Troubles

Alright, my house`s internet is for the moment, so I will be updating with a short entry I was saving as a supplement to a larger one. My apologies in advance for the bizarre nature of this post.

I`d like to talk about Japanese bathrooms for a moment. I`m sure those who have travelled to or are familiar with Japan already know about the squat toilets but, though they are a bit strange, that`s not what I`m going to be talking about. Instead, I`d like you to think of any public bathroom in America. With few exceptions, it has been my experience that public bathrooms in the states are designed with privacy in mind and incorporate some manner of turn or wall just inside the door to prevent passerbys from glancing in. It`s like an unwritten law that all bathrooms be built this way (or perhaps a written law, for what do I know about building construction). However, such is not the case with some Japanese restrooms. Indeed, the restroom at the branch office that I go to once a week not only has a line of sight from the door to the urinals, but the door remains open all the time. And imagine the unease I felt when I discovered that no less than three of my schools have clear windows that look into the restrooms from the outside. I don`t remember covering this at any orientation, but I feel it only fair to warn those thinking of life in Japan of this phenomenon, minor though it may seem.

Precursor to the Epic

My apologies to anyone who somehow happened upon this site before my first post. I've been wanting to keep a blog ever since I arrived in Ariake four months ago, but several complications and delays had me put it off until now. What's that you ask? Where is Ariake? Well, for those who do happen to stumble upon this page, I suppose an introduction of sorts is in order.

Greetings! I am the Ariake Aggie, a somewhat recent graduate of Texas A&M who decided his BA in English would be best served teaching the children of Japan the wonders of America. Accepted into the JET Program (on my second attempt mind you), I now spend my days traveling between 5 different schools teaching English. My fiancee is also a member of JET and works on the nearby island of Goshoura. While not teaching, I enjoy improving my Japanese, reading manga, and playing games on one of my five gaming systems. Yes, truth be told, one of the things that first interested me about Japan was my exposure to it's popular culture. I am very much a child of the media age and enjoy movies, music, games and books. I am particularly fond of manga and anime.

And really, that's kinda what this blog will be about. Another average Joe's look into the weird and wonderful adventure that is living abroad in Japan. What's the same? What's different? What's going on in my life? And most importantly why do I feel these experiences are something worth sharing? I never want to post something that I feel serves no other purpose than to hear myself talk (or...watch myself type, I guess). I don't want to, but I'd be lying if I said that it will never happen. Keep in mind this blog is also meant to serve as one of my connections to home, a place where my family back in Texas can keep track of me.

To my family, I'd like to start of by saying I'm fine and have settled in quite well. To my friends, thanks for visiting my site. And I promise to everyone that the next entry will be up shortly.

Thanks and gig 'em,
Ariake Aggie