Awakening

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

So, last night I totally skipped out of my Nomikai (drinking party). I am so over being tired all the time and now amount of alcohol is going to help that! Instead, I went to bed and woke up completely rested and surprisingly I was able to get over most of my jet lag.

It was like walking out of the mist. I wanted to conquer the world! And would have if it weren't for all the meetings I was in all day. Talk about a buzz kill. I said last time that it's probably really important to go to all the meetings but after attending every last one of them, I am not eating my words. (typo: I meant to say 'I am now eating my words')

I originally wanted to go to Akihabara which is a short train ride away from here and is supposedly the electronic capital of the world where everything is half price just for giggles.

Despite my great mood this morning, it slowly dissipated as the day went on. I slowly realized that I wasn't seeing anyone I knew and since I don't have a cell phone I can't very well call them and time was running out to make plans for the evening. Everyone that I did see or meet for the first time already had plans and that meant that I was probably going to have to go to Akihabara alone. I was totally dreading that. I've never done anything alone. Yes, yes, I know I'm going to have to get used to it, but I have the options now so I'm going to make full use of them! Or something like that.

I ended up seeing Robert M. who advised me not to go because "it's so big" like that's an important factor. I wasn't afraid of getting lost. I was afraid of getting lost alone. It's not all that hard to get directions and find my way back to the train station. This is Tokyo, most everyone knows a bit of English and I know enough Japanese to fill the gaps.

As it turned out, I never did get to go to Akihabara. I was so desperate and depressed by the end of the afternoon that I called a friend who was luckily in her room at the time and I tagged along with her. She had a Japanese friend who lives in Tokyo who was meeting her for dinner. It was the most fun I've had yet!

We went to a very traditional Japanese restaurant and tried everything! I drank only half my sake and we ate everything from Udon to real sushi to roast pork. It was all delicious and I'm so glad I tagged along.

Tomorrow, I have to be up by 6am so I can get ready to board my flight to Kochi. I'll be seeing lots of familiar faces and I can't wait! Tokyo has been less than pleasurable and I'm glad to go!

Forgot Pictures

Monday, August 7, 2006

My down comforter and yukata in an air tight bag for packing. I can't believe how flat it is.


Me, with my luggage. It looks small but the two largest pieces are 68lbs. I can't lift them and they got the "heavy seal of approval" from American Airlines. That means that it gets a cute little tag that says it's so heavy that no one should lift it alone.


Center: The very cute Mr. Mitsutoushi from the Japanese Consulate in Miami. To his left is a man who interviewed me and to the right is our travel agent. Very good people, just can't remember their names...


That's right, this is Robert Menefe (sp) whom I went to high school with. He graduated in 2001 and was in 21st Century. He's lost quite a bit of weight since I last saw him but he's still the same guy.


Of course the first picture I would take in Tokyo would be of someones Hummer. They must have imported it because the steering wheel was on the left side and I doubt it would fit on normal roads. They can only drive it in Tokyo I bet. Jerks.

Tokyo Orientation (Day 1)

I find it a grand accomplishment that I slept the entire night through. I went to bed around 8 and woke up at 6am. The sun was up around 5ish I think. I'm just happy that I was able to get a whole nights sleep without having jet lag problems.

Speaking of jet lag, it happens to be my biggest problem at the moment. I can't function correctly which sucks. I talk to people and think to myself how boring they are and how pointless this conversation is, but I bet you the truth of the matter is that I'm so tired that the horrible conversation is probably my lack of involvement. I've never been so untalkative in my life. Though right after lunch I had a sudden burst of energy and suddenly people were interesting again!

And they really are too. There are people here from all over the world (mostly America) and they all have completely different stories. The only thing that any of us have in common is that we all went to college and we all are going to live in Japan. No one has the same reason for coming or the same history. Everyone has a completely unique story. But there are so many of them that I've gotten to a point that I just don't want to talk to anyone anymore. I don't want to tell my abridged story to anyone else unless they are of some importance. Will I see them again? Will they even be in my city? Is this information 'need to know'? etc etc

I've heard a lot of stories about how the Tokyo Orientation is so overwhelming and how I might as well skip out of half of it and they just give you so many different booklets and papers that your just going to throw away anyway. Well, only half of that is true. Yes, they give you a crap load of things that are going to really weigh me down but a lot of it is really useful and interesting. A lot of thought went into these booklets. It can be a bit overwhelming at times but I blame it on jet lag. If I were up to par, I would be able to handle all of this, no sweat.

I wouldn't recommend skipping out on anything really...except that in about an hour I have a prefectural meeting to go to that I think I'm going to sleep through. It's not mandatory and it's just a time to go out drinking to get to know one another. I (a) don't want to drink because if I do, I'll fall asleep instantly and (b) will see these people later, like when we actually get to Kochi.

I'm in Shinjuku, where everything is awesome! But I wouldn't know because I haven't gone more than a block outside of the hotel. I don't care much either. My free time in my sleep time.

I Have Arrived

I'm here in Tokyo at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. Everyone says strange things about Shinjuku (even Gwen Stephani) but I don't see it. It's a bunch of business buildings to me. Though I haven't done any walking really, outside of going around the block to get "dinner". I wasn't really hungry last nice, so I just picked up a rice ball and ate so I wouldn't wake up at 1am and be hungry and not tired.

So, here's how it went:

I woke up at 4am Florida time on Saturday and was on a plane to Dallas by 8:45. I then got to Dallas at 11:30 (still Florida time) and boarded the next plane a little less than an hour later. So much for a good layover. I was looking forward to it so that I could get some walking in before the long haul. I then boarded the next flight which was a 777 and continued to sit in the same seat for 13 hours. It really sucked. But I could tell that it was better than the last times I had done this because I didn't hate it as much as the people who were doing it for the first time and I also had some good company around me for interesting conversation...most of the time...more on that later.

I'll post pictures later. I'm too lazy right now.

The way the plane was set up was 2,4, 2. What crap is that?!?! So the people on the sides only had two seats and the people in the middle had to deal with 4!!! I was sitting in seat D so I was in a middle middle seat. The guy that was sitting next to the isle looked like a 16 year old Japanese guy with bleached orange hair and he slept the entire time. If he wasn't sleeping, he was eating .That's it. I wish I had brought my Uno cards, but I packed them. It would have been nice to play a game or something. It was so boring!! And this morning, my butt hurts so bad!

So on the plane I had some interesting conversation. I ended up talking to an Otaku (anime fanatic) which there are a few of but not as many as I expected. Anyway, I kept up with the conversation and contributed for my part and when it was over, he said "you know, it's really nice to be able to talk to a fellow otaku" I promptly corrected him. I was an otaku, but I have renounced my ways and I'm really not anymore. But that got me thinking, why do I hate being called otaku? It used to be a social status that I was kinda proud of, but then again, I have been known to think stupidly. I think I don't like it because it has bad connotations with it. First of all, I bathe and keep myself looking good (hot really). Next, I don't spend all my time reading or watching Anime. It's a hobby, but not much more than that. Finally, and most importantly, I think that people will think that I'm here because I'm otaku. Because I'm a total Japanophile and because I just want to be in the center of my anime obesssion. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here because I want to do my job and I want to do it well and I want to learn and immerse myself in the culture. It has nothing to do with anime and manga. I'm better than that!

Anyway, so after we get off the plane, it was about 2am Florida time and 3pm Japan time. yea. There were JETs everywhere and most of them were not coming off a plane. They were all former JETs here for the orientation and they were all really nice and really helpful. I'm looking forward to meeting them.

I also ran into this guy, and because I don't know his name, all I could do was point at him and say "Hey, I read your blog!" and he was totally floored. I was so out of it at the time that I couldn't think of how I knew him or what blog he had that I would actually read it, but he was very impressed that I knew him. I read a lot of blogs but then again, a lot of people have blogs so it's hard to pick one out of the pile and say it's special I guess. His is not a blog that I check regularly, his sisters is, that's how I found his in the first place though. Whatever the deal is, I know that at least one person is here who's blog I read and it is my personal goal to actually meet here...MWUAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA I'll take pictures if I do. (And I'll try to be as not creepy as possible, if that is possible)

Guess in the end I can't really renounce being an Otaku after all.

For now, it's about 6:30am and I need to ghetto rig an iron and take a full shower. I have meetings starting at 10am and those are going to last all day. Let's hope I do too.

I'm Losing Sleep

Thursday, August 3, 2006

Last night was the worst sleep of my life. I kept waking up thinking about things I needed to do. I was so tired last night that I thought for sure I would hit the pillow and be out but I was completely wrong.

Yesterday, I had plans to see Erin to say goodbye but she didn't tell me that she was coming over at 10:30am!!! I was surprised and she ended up actually packing all my things. I was a bit overwhelmed and was packing very sporadically. It made her annoyed so she just did it for me. It was much appreciated :)

I ended up with a lot of stuff that needs to be shipped separately. I guess it was unavoidable, but it's going to be so expensive!

Also, after today I lose a couple of things that I am going to miss dearly. I'll be leaving my cell phone here in the states as it will be completely useless in Japan. No worries, I'll get a cute keitai once I'm there, it'll just take a lot more time to figure out how to use it. I'll also be losing Internet. I don't know if I'll have wireless where ever I go, but we'll see. I think I'll keep writing posts and then put them up when I do get Internet, but we'll see. Something tells me that everything is going to get very hectic very fast and even if I do have time to write anything, I won't feel up to it.

It's All Easier Said Than Done

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Right now, I'm avoiding packing. I don't enjoy doing it. I am a tiny bit ahead of schedule, but I expect something to distract me so maybe this time around I'll be on time instead of late...but I doubt that.

My room is a total mess and I can't see my bed anymore. I'm completely exhausted as well. No amount of rest really seems to revive me either. Again, I have thrown out a bunch of my things that I don't need and will never use or can't pack. I hate moving. I was not raised to be a nomad!

I planned to start packing tomorrow but with all of my cleaning, I need a place to put all of my displaced items so I've started packing...or...starting thinking about packing. This second suitcase is turning out to be a pain in my ass because it has all the miscalleneous stuff in it. Not a whole lot of clothes but mostly boxes and presents and toiletries and games and other things that I didn't think about packing into the first bag. I just stare at the mess on the floor for a few minutes before I give up and come back later just to do it all over again.

As interesting as this all may seem to you, I'm sure I could be talking about more interesting things....

V for Vendetta came out today!!!! WHEEEEEEE

.....I'm guessing what you're all thinking. If Nina is only leaving for a year, why is she throwing out all of her things?

Well, that's a good question with a lot of good answers. First is that I don't have a whole lot that is of any value and I don't want my crap sitting around a house that has too much crap in it to begin with. If I'm not going to use it in the next year then I probably won't need it for the rest of my life. I'm keeping my movies and books but old school notebooks that I kept around for nostalgic value has gotta go. And finally, I'm going to be accumulating a lot of stuff while I'm in Japan that I'm probably going to want to take home with me. Gotta clear room for them ;)

Besides, I haven't decided if I want to stay 1, 2, or 3 years yet. I might end up hating it. But I doubt that.

Anxiety

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

As to be expected, I am feeling quite anxious. It feels mostly like indigestion which makes it impossible to eat or sleep. Which is unfortunate because my parents are at my complete whim when it comes to food. Anything I ask for, they will make for me because these will be my last days eating in America. I really appreciate it but I unfortunately can not take advantage of it as much as I would like to. Besides not having an appetite, I actually don't know what food I'm going to miss most. I know I'm going to miss a lot of things here, I just have no idea what.

Two days to go.

Tomorrow is going to be my most difficult day, I think. It is a day that will be devoted to cleaning. Everything that I'm not taking has finally got to go. My room has to turn back into the guest room and my car has to be cleaned out. And I have to do it all in one day. Lord knows what I'm going to do with the things I want to keep but not actually take with me like all my books and DVDs. Sure they would be nice to take, but highly unnecessary.

I've thrown out so much of my things as it is!!! What more can I do! (throw out more)

Wednesday will be devoted to laundry and final packing. Then Thursday, I'm off to Miami!!!

For now, I'm going back to involuntarily starving myself.

Excitement is Building!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Judy told me that it's probably going to be a lot harder for the people staying than it is for me to leave. I think she's right. I get to leave and start a new life where as everyone that I care about and that cares about me is still here in their respective lives but now there is something missing from it. I won't have anything missing, those people won't be there to begin with. But I'm leaving a hole in some peoples lives. Mostly my family and kinda Christina. Sure, Christina and I have been living happily together (as roommates!) for the past 4 years and having a great time too! But we both knew that it would end after the 4th year so...regardless of my leaving for Japan, I guess that part couldn't be helped.

Regardless of sentimentality, I'm freakin' EXCITED!!! finally

I woke up today and sat in bed for a little while thinking about all the things I needed to do to continue to get ready. I'm half asleep still when I realize that this is the last Saturday morning that I get to sleep in, in this house, in America. sweet.

That got me really excited, I'm totally ready too. I've been ready for years and now my bags are packed and I'm waiting for the time to pass. I can't leave fast enough!

I said goodbye to Jessica last night and Christina today. All that's left is Erin on Tuesday. As I said goodbye to Christina, there were no tears or sadness. It was more of "see ya" because I know that's she's coming to visit, which we are both very excited about, and also because we know that it's not the last time that we are seeing each other. Sure, we don't get to see each other everyday and the phone regardless of how much a webcam helps is still not the same as hanging out (or even living together!) But that's life and I am personally so over it. I'm tired of saying goodbyes, I've already made my peace with it. Now I wanna go!!!

In other news, I finally FINALLY FINALLY!!!! got my tax form in the mail from the IRS. Remember that thing that I waited too long to send in like a dumb ass? Allow me to refresh your memory (It's at the end). Well, I sent it in and never got any confirmation that it had been received, like I had expected, but I was getting a little nervous so I called them the other day, (very nice hold music) and they said that they didn't have any information about me but that only meant that my information hadn't been processed yet, not that they hadn't gotten anything. Crud. So I waited and thought that I might as well forget about it until I get to Japan because it won't show up before that. That would be too convenient and mean that I actually did something right. Welp, who knew? I actually did something right. And it's not even that big of a deal paper! I got a letter from them saying that they reviewed my information and whoopy for me I don't have to pay dual taxes. The end. That's it! Just a piece of a paper on IRS letter head ooooooo. It's actually very pretty ;)

5 days!!!!!

Suddenly Seven

Thursday, July 27, 2006

One week. Where did the time go? I was counting down the days, 12, 11, 10...7? What happened to the last few days?!

I haven't made any progress with packing. I miss a few of the things that I've already packed away but I don't need them so badly that I'll dig through my suitcase to get them. The stuff I have left over, I can't very well pack away because they are all still in use. I probably won't pack them until the day before or even the day of.

More news from Japan before I even get there, I've been commissioned for an Enkaiwa class already. This is an English Conversation Class that a few people in the area would like me to teach. I have no idea what I'm going to do but I've already agreed. I figure that I like talking enough that I can babble on for a few sessions to get my barrings before I come up with some interesting class activities. It's every Wednesday night and they wanted me to start on the 9th. Funny this is, I arrive in Tosayamada on the 9th. I agreed to start the following Wednesday. I assume that I'll be tired from all the doings of my first day in town and getting settled into my apartment that I will probably be too tired to really be of any use as a teacher. On the other hand, I might get really bored and lonely at my apartment all by myself with not a whole lot there besides a few pieces a furniture and no knowledge of the surrounding area...but I doubt that.

Chrissy came to visit from Orlando and we had lot's of fun prancing around Bush Gardens and swimming in my pool. It was very sad to say goodbye and a few tears were shed but nothing compared to the flood gates I expect to open once I begin boarding the plane...or the night before while I'm sitting awake in the hotel bed (in Miami, aka hell)

Finally, I have a few predictions of how I will change as a person when I am in Japan:

1. I think that I will become much more conscious of my appearance for a number of reasons. People will stare at me more because I stand out. Also I think that I'm a hairy beast compared to the average Japanese girl. The girls have a tendency of really taking the time to look nice and have pretty nails and hair and clothes, etc. So, I think I'm going to be quite conscious of what I look like.

2. I know that my body language is going to change completely. I will start bowing way more and covering my mouth when I giggle and looking away when I feel shy (when ever is that?) and getting excited over dumb stuff.

3. Aside from body language, my hand gestures will change as well. I my arm movements won't be as wide because I know that I'll either smack someone in the face or I'll knock something over and break it. In America, I have room enough for boisterous hand movements but in Japan, things are much more cramped.

4. I expect my manners to change greatly. I think I'll become more timid in my verbage and less blunt. Mostly, I think I'm going to lose my sarcastic flare. I'll miss it much but I have faith that I won't lose it very quickly and I'll easily get it back once I return to the states.

I keep thinking that I'm going to do things so differently in Japan that I'll become a different person. But I think the truth of the matter is, is that I'll always be me, I'll just be in Japan. I'll still have the same personality I'll just dress a little differently and I'll move differently and I learn new things, but I'll still be me with the same past and the same good and bad habits. I'll just be in a different location.

I have no doubts, however, that I will adapt to my new surroundings to the point that I will seem completely different to my friends and family when I finally get to see them again :)

Just About 12 Days

Sunday, July 23, 2006

12 days until I leave for Miami. I don't leave for Japan until the morning of the 5th but I have to have everything completely packed and ready to go so I count only 12 days and not 14.

I'm realizing just how much time I don't have left. It's crazy. I can't make time go by fast enough and now I wish I had more...that's not true. I still can't make time go fast enough but I just need to get on the ball and finish what I started so that I don't have any loose ends lying around.

I have to finish up the home movies that I'm making into DVDs which is taking WAAAAAY too long (story of my life...one of them) and I also wanted to copy all my DVDs so that I can just take a CD spool with me instead of all the boxes and then worry about shipping them back home when I'm done and making sure they don't get scratched or broken. If I make copies, I can just leave them in Japan and not worry about them. I've also heard that it's harder to ship things back here from Japan than it is to ship things to Japan. Or so I've been told.

I packed one of my suitcases. You should see them, their huge!!! Will post pictures when packing is complete. Right now it just looks like a mess. I have two suitcases, one aqua and one pink. This way, I'll never had to look very hard to find my luggage among the black bags on the conveyor belt. The aqua one is 28" and the pink one is 26". I can only hold 70lbs each and after packing the larger of the two already, it ended up being 74lbs. Damn. I might be a small person, but it's still difficult to pack my life into 140lbs!!! I'm going to have to ship things via Sea Mail which is going to get pricey really quickly. It's no longer a matter of space but an issue of weight. It didn't even need to sit on my suitcase to get it to close and it's almost too heavy to lift! Besides, I don't trust my scale. I have it down to 67lbs now but I really hope that's the truth! I don't want to get to the airport and have it refused.

I also haven't gotten as many pictures of American things as I would have liked. I never did make it to Old Navy to pick up the July 4th sale stuff and I still haven't gotten my web cam to work, not because it's broken but because I haven't taken the time to figure it all out!!! I'm sure it's not that difficult.

Lastly, as emotions go, I'm not feeling the way that I've been expecting to feel. If I think really hard about it, I'll probably get sad over leaving everyone but it's not the first thing on my mind right now. I'm not excited either. I am to an extent but I'm not losing sleep like I thought I would be. I mean, I've only been waiting for this for...what...4 years?! I've lost sleep over it before and now, nothing. Before important trips, I usually have dreams about leaving suddenly without having packed properly and being completely off guard. They aren't the pleasantest of dreams but their actually normal and I've even dreamt about leaving to go to Japan before because it was such a large focus for me but now, I don't dream about any of it! As if it's suddenly something I'm not worried about. And I'm not! I have no worries about leaving things here that are important and that's crazy! I guarantee you that I'll forget something super important, I always do! Besides, you don't get a more important trip than this one.

Though I'm not reacting the way that I normally do, I'm still expecting this calm to crash down on me in the last week that I'm here (next week...) Right now, I'm just in work mode. I need to get things done. I have projects that need to be finished and loose ends that need to be tied up, like my bank accounts. I have a savings account that needs to be closed and moved to my checking so I have emergency money that is accessible to me in Japan. I don't expect to need it, but you never know. Better to have it than not.

Again, this is just the calm before the storm.

Toilet Shenanigans

Monday, July 17, 2006

I'm having a wonderful time in Key West! I am here with Christina, Chrissy and Darcy. Yesterday, Christina and I drove up to Orlando from Tampa and stayed the night with Chrissy. We then left at 7:30am this morning to finally make it to Key West by 4ish this afternoon. It was a pleasant, if uneventful ride. Chrissy, however, did stub her toe while attempting to frighted some birds away while we ate lunch. She was left with a bloody scratch and the birds returned only seconds later.

So we got into the hotel which is quite nice for being free. Hell, it's nice regardless. Chrissy's mother apparently goes on a bunch of business trips and is given vouchers for staying at different hotels which, for whatever reason, she never uses. So she let us have them in celebration of Chrissy's recent birthday. We were put in a very nice Marriott Hotel room that goes for about $200 a night.

On with the point!

So the first thing we do is relax and Christina goes to the bathroom. I then go right after her and I feel that because I have gone so quickly (I've been known to top Olympic pee speeds) I figure that I couldn't flush the toilet yet because it was still reloading from the last round. Whatever, we abruptly left to have a night on the town and flirt with gay men. We didn't get back until around 10:20. The pool closes at 11 so we rushed to get our bathing suits on when we realized that the toilet was still trying to reload (fill the tank).

We then called maintenance and didn't have to wait very long for the house elf/pool boy/Micheal to come and fix the toilet. He walked straight into the bathroom, flushed the toilet once and it worked like magic. Magic!

We then went swimming. We walk back in at about 11:30 and realized that the toilet is again not working correctly. What? It's hot outside! We were drinking lot's of water!!

So we call maintainer again. The girl at the front desk was very nice while I apologized about being such a nuisance. The toilet actually has a note on it saying that it's a very environmentally savy toilet (complete with a comic of a toilet saying all of this) and how it may need to be flushed twice. Whatever.

Again, Michael doesn't take long to come in and take a look at the toilet. This time he spent a little longer to figure it out when he comes out and says that we should jiggle the handle to get it to work properly. At this exact moment, Darcy and I are debating just how cute this guy is. We remember that the first time he came in he seemed thin and tall but nothing special. This time we took a good look and realized that he not only has a gorgeous face but he has some foreign and exotic accent that is untraceable. I have no idea where he's from. Hotland most likely.

So he leaves and we continue with our business.

I'm settling into bed and everyone but Darcy has taken a shower and I'm ready to fall asleep when I heard Darcy from the bathroom calmly yelling that the toilet is going to overflow. "Jiggle the handle Darcy, it's not that hard!" Chrissy and I both say.

I am reminded of all the clogged toilets I have ever come across in my life. I have never actually seen one overflow before. I've seen them come close but it really seems like something that only happens in the movies. Don't they have a catch mechanism like a bathtub and sink to prevent that? They should. Because there is a first for everything.

Darcy keeps yelling and so I finally get up off my ass and go in to see what's wrong. The toilet appears to be about to overflow but I know in my mind that that is completely impossible. So I jiggle the handle. Nothing. I then ask Darcy if she held down the handle before she started jiggling it. She says, no. By this time, I hear Chrissy on the phone with the front desk telling them that our toilet is not working yet again.

The water is now up to the rim of the bowl and it's starting to go down. See, I think, it can't possibly overflow. So I hold down the handle to hopefully fix the problem and suddenly, the water starts rising and I start screaming. The water actually fell over the rim of the bowl and starting splashing to the floor just like in the movies!! I then continue screaming and start running around the room with my arms above my head to help the situation. I completely fly off the handle.

Chrissy is still on the phone with the front desk girl. The girl is in disbelief while she listens to me screaming in the background. She asks Chrissy if we would perhaps like a new room and Chrissy replies that yes, that would be very nice but that won't fix the toilet from continuing to spill pee-pee water on the floor.

The next few minutes were a blur to me. I eventually calmed down and we all began to pack up our things which is when we realize just how much crap we have brought. We had just gotten comfortable and moved things where we needed them most. When Michael and the front desk girl walk in to try and fix the problem.

I am so damn embarrassed for being caught screaming and losing control that I start giggling incessantly and I just can't get over it, my face was completely red, I'm sure. The front desk girl was pretty close to our age and she started joking with us which really made me feel better. She accused us of having done this on purpose and I commented back that I had, in fact, shoved a towel down the toilet just so that Michael would have to keep coming back. (We all have a sneaky suspicion that she likes him. Who wouldn't?!)

We finish packing up our things and she begins escorting us to our new room. As she's telling us that it is a little bigger than the one that we have just left, I hear Micheal in his cool accent saying that someone has left a soaking bikini bathing suit in the bathroom. Thank you Michael, I would have been lost without it. (and I blush some more)

When we walked into our new room we were floored. Sure, it was a little bigger than our last one. It had gone from $200 a night to $1200 a night. Which is still all free to us. It now has a sink, refrigerator, microwave, double beds and a fold out couch, two rooms, balcony, shower and jacuzzi tub. We died laughing and I am now blogging from heaven where we shall all reside until the end of our vacation (Tuesday).

For now, I'm going to finally go to bed.

Potty Training

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

No, not for Emily. She's still only 2 months old as of yesterday!

Instead, here is a video that I received via email from my Kochi JET Yahoo! Group



Here is what I have roughly translated: (and please, don't quote me on this. I am getting the basic gist of what they are saying. I'm not translating directly)

Going to the Toilet
Pants Man

Boy: something about my tummy....my toilet!!!!
Mom: somethingsomethingsomething

Toilet: somethingsomething sit on me!

Mom and Dad: We'll do our best together!

Some song about peeing

Boy: YAH!!! I peed!!! Bye bye pee-boy!

Boy: There's something wrong in my butt! I need to use the toilet!

Toilet: Do your best!

Some song about pooing

Boy: I pooed!

Mom and Dad: Yeah, you did it!
Dad: probably talking about wiping.

Boy: Bye bye poo-boy!
Yeah I did it. Dad, I pooed in the toilet!

The pants feel so good!!!!

I can't translate what the kid is saying beyond "I'm pushing the button" and "Poo! Poo!"

After this, I have learned that Unchi means poo... \(^u^)/

And please don't make fun of my poor translations. It's been a while since I've studied and I never learned how to understand Japanese singing in conversational speech, and Poo and Pee were conveniently left off my vocabulary list ;)

I Hear Strange Noises When No One Is Home

Monday, July 10, 2006

Well things are going down hill from where I see it. Again, I'm starting to get more lethargic everyday. It's gotten to the point that my body isn't bothered by not getting any exercise, just as long as I get 10 hours of sleep I'm satisfied. That's total crap!!! But I just don't have the motivation to get out and ride my bike. It's too damn HOT!

I'll be going to Key West next weekend, so I'm looking forward to the change in pace. That should hold me over until I leave. 26 days until I'm in Miami. 28 until I'm in Japan.

As for my doings, I've recently picked up the hobby of converting all the home movies on VHS tapes into DVD's. You would think this is an easy process but you'd be wrong. For whatever reason, if I want to get decent quality on these crappy VHS tapes, 2 hours turns into 23gigs. 23GIGS!!!!! That's outrageous!!! And I can't put them on my external hard drive because that only holds a max of 4gig files. It's FAT32 and not NTFS but if I remember correctly, FAT32 is way better than NTFS. I've never heard of this 4 gig crap. Whatever, I'm just cutting up the video files and then pasting them back together in Nero. I'll post some of the funnier moments of me ;) later when I get them. At the rate I'm going, I won't be done by the weekend. We have about 15 or so videos. (and they're probably all 2 hours!!!)

I also went out shopping (some more) and got a decent "little black dress" for all my semi-formal needs. As my mom suggested, a little black dress can be changed by it's accessories and you don't have to buy a whole new dress for every occasion. The dress was more than $100 and that's WAY more than I like to spend on clothing. I still need shoes for it too (T0T) But now, I at least have something to wear for the orientation and banquet in Miami the day before we ship out.

That's all for now. Sorry for the boring post. Welcome to my life.

Nina Got A Web Cam

Thursday, July 6, 2006

For all her cross continent communication needs












Just keep in mind that I can video chat with these things moving right along with me ;) That is, if I can figure out how to connect to a video chat in the first place *sigh*

The contest is coming along nicely...meaning that I've gotten a few good pictures. I've had a few people tell me that they are interested and are planning to participate but the clock is ticking and I don't see anything!!!

But ya know what, I would really be happy to have anyone's pictures, even late ones. Anyone can send them via Internet whether I'm in Florida or Japan. And I'm sure my students would love to see all of them :) (but that doesn't mean that I don't want them before I go! I want them so that I'll have something to show them on the first day)

I'm going to keep adding photos as I get them. If it doesn't say that I got them from anyone else, then they've been taken by me. As of right now, that's all of them.

Yo Ho A Pirates Life For ME

Monday, July 3, 2006

I went to Orlando yesterday for a Pirate Party at Matt's place in celebration for the Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out. It was great to be back in Orlando and see all my friends. It feels like I've been gone for a much longer time than I really have. I keep in touch with everyone through aim and email but it's really not the same as seeing everyone. When 1:30am rolled around, I was having such a good time that I didn't want to go but all good things must come to an end I suppose.

I didn't bring my camera because I forgot it at Chrissy's house where I stayed the night. I'll be requesting everyone else's pictures and post them as I get them. I was too busy working on my outfit to remember it! Everyone looked fantastic too. Adam's shirt (right) was home made! Woo hoo for talented Adam! (don't miss the bird in my hat either. He doesn't stand out too much but was he cute!)

In the end, it was a huge reminder of how much I'll miss everyone. I know, I know, I'm going to have a great time in Japan. But common, you can not downplay the loss of loved ones. Nothing and no one can ever replace a single one of my friends. Yes, I may see some (but not all) of them again and I will keep in touch and I'll even make new friends and love them just as dearly but I will miss everyone and it gives me a horrible pain in my chest just thinking about it.


*sigh*

Just wait until about 2 days before I actually leave. Then the floodgates of loss will really break wide open. Be prepared. You have been warned.

Nina's a Geek

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Or is she?

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 97% Iron Man 85% Wonder Woman 82% Superman 75% Robin 70% Spider-Man 70% Green Lantern 70% Catwoman 65% The Flash 45% Batman 45% Hulk 20%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...





I went to the movies to see X-men III last night. We got there too late to see the next 6 flags commerical. I was really looking forward to it.

But something interesting happened in the movie that I actually couldn't control laughing outloud. There was only one other group of people in the audiance and the guy kept clearning his throat so it's not like I was bother him or anything.

Anyway, if you look back through my posts, there was one where I put a bunch of funny flash movies and videos and someone commented and told me the Juggernaut video was hilarious. I watched it for about 2 minutes before I turned it off. It was so dumb.



Then, I saw this in the movie and died laughing!!!

Meeting in Tampa

Monday, June 26, 2006

So I finally got to go to the Q&A meeting in Tampa.

First of all, I'd like to say that I was a little scared. I've been known to miss very important meetings and even a few finals. Now, this meeting was originally set for Saturday the 24th (yesterday) but it was changed a few weeks ago and we were all given strict information that it was to be today and NOT SATURDAY. But, because of my past history of misreading memos and such, I was afraid that maybe I read the email wrong and it was really yesterday and I missed it. To console myself, I had to keep rereading the email every few hours just to make sure that I was correct. In the end, I was totally right and I got there on time and everything was perfect.

I met about 15 people who are all ALTs and are of course leaving from Miami on the same plane I am. Hopefully, they will prove to be good conversation for the 15 hour flight. I met a few people that I knew right off the bat would annoy me to no end and others that I think I could be friends with. No one really struck my fancy as being bff-forever sort of people, but then again none of them were stationed anywhere close to Kochi so I won't be seeing much of any of them. That is unless I want to do a Tatami Swap which doesn't sound like a bad idea...but I digress.

I also found out that the majority of them had not ever been to Japan and had studied close to nothing of the language or the culture. They are going to be in for a huge surprise and I wish the best of luck to them. Japan is so different from anywhere else I've ever been to that I can't imagine choosing to live there for at least one year without first checking out the place. I really hope they have a good time. Hell, the first time I went to Japan I didn't know any of the language and I enjoyed myself immensely!! But I was only there for two weeks...

As for the questions, most of them I either already knew the answers to or they weren't really that important but good to know for fyi. For example, I knew about the dress code and the weather and how to deal with the weather. Everyone's been giving me the same info for that (Heat one room in the apartment/house and stay there until you absolutely have to move somewhere else. I did hear that one person made a little fort out of her Kotatsu and spent many a night underneath it! hahahha...I might do that)

I learned that Japanese men are fun to date but not that great for long relationships. I'll tuck that piece of information away in my mind for a later date when it becomes relevant.

I learned that some good omiyage are old navy shirts which go on sale the day after the 4th of July (American shirts) Apparently everyone loved them.

I learned close to nothing about lesson plans. That was something that I really wanted to know about and most people didn't seem to care. All the topics were on what happens when you get there and how to survive. Nothing was devoted to actual job performance. I know that JET isn't known for it's great teachers or anything like that but a few general ideas would be nice. I finally asked one of the former ALTs about it. She was a 4th grade teacher here in the states and said that it's not actually teaching (duh). She said that it was mostly game playing and nothing more. It was nothing that you had to have any skill for or any real training. I, on the other hand want to do a really good job. I'm not saying she didn't do her job well. I'm not saying that at all! I think she probably did a fantastic job! The thing is that I want to do a good job and that means I want to be prepared for it. I want to bring things from America I want to be ready for whatever tasks they throw at me and I want them to remember me and actually learn something!

*sigh*

Lastly, and most importantly, I found out that I had forgotten to fill out my tax form here in the US so I can take it with me to Japan all filled out and certified. It takes about 30 days to do and since I have about 40 days, I think I better get cracking. I actually started freaking out about it, like I do whenever I realize there's something I've forgotten (AGAIN!) but I realized it's a simple thing and being a little late on the paperwork is not bad per se, it's just very very inconvenient. Hopefully, I'll have it faxed and on it's way by tomorrow morning. Good luck to Nina, she totally needs it (^_^;)

I leave you with a funny video. I recently saw the Lake House with Christina and I loved it. But during the previews, there was a commercial for 6 flags. It was the funniest and most random thing I have ever seen. This isn't it, but it's close. If I ever find the commercial I'm thinking of, I'll be sure to post it :) for now, Enjoy.

BP Gas Station

Sunday, June 25, 2006

I received this email from my mom the other day and I thought I would pass it on...and perhaps after reading this you will understand just where I get it from. :D

BEGIN EMAIL:

One day when I was driving to work, I got stuck at that light at Tampa Road and Forest Lakes. You know the one...it's the one with the BP Gas station on the corner.

Well, while I was waiting FOREVER for the light to change, all of a sudden, a whole swarm of about ten thousand bees covered the whole area! They were slamming into the windows of the car and it was really pretty scary! It was like watching The Birds (that Alfred Hitchcock movie).

I looked over at the gas station to see if anyone was outside pumping gas, but no one was. Thank goodness! I was SO THANKFUL that I was in the car with the windows up! I looked around to see what everyone else who was stopped at the light was doing, but they all seemed as amazed as I was.

When the light finally changed, the swarm seemed to dissipate - maybe the moving cars broke up their party. Whatever! I was so glad to get out of there!

When I got to work a few minutes later and parked the car, I noticed that there were tons of little yellow spots all over my car. BEE PEE!!! That's what I thought. Must've been the gas station - those bees thought that's where they were supposed to be!

I know you think I'm making this up, but I'm really not. I really happened that way and that's really what I thought!

Love,

Mom

Six Weeks To Go

Friday, June 23, 2006

Welp, the contest is going well so far. I have all of myself and my two good friends in the area helping me out with it. Yeah for competition!

In other news....

One week ago:

Today at after my bad around 1pm:


It was a three year old phone that just yesterday I was raving about how great and reliable of a phone it was. I suppose I dropped it one too many times though. Now, I have to find a phone to hold me over until August. That's six weeks. I'm not spending $150 for a new phone just for six weeks!!! I'd rather go without....which I won't. I'll find a replacement, I swear!

In other other news, I'm not even at the school yet and I'm already in the school newspaper.

新しいALTのご紹介！日本大好き！高知大好き！土佐山田大好き！のニーナさんが先生として山田高校に帰ってきてくれます！出身はアメリカ・フロリダ州。2年前にラーゴ高校生と共に山田高校を訪問された経験があります。

ニーナ先生から皆さんへのメッセージです。

"Hello everyone! My name is Nina Maran and I am excited to be teaching English at Yamada High School. I will do my best to teach you English. Please help me with my Japanese! I look forward to meeting everyone in the Fall!!" 「みなさん、こんにちは！ニーナ･メイランです。山田高校で英語を教えることになって本当にワクワクしています。英語を教えること、日本語を学ぶこと、共にベストを尽くしたいと思っています。どうぞよろしくお願いしますね。2学期、皆さんにお会いできることを楽しみにしています！！ I roughly translated the first part to mean: "This is the new ALT's introduction! 'I love Japan! I love Kochi! I love Tosayamada!' Nina is returning to Yamada high school as a teacher! She is from Florida, America. Two years ago, she visited here with the Largo Exchange program. This is Nina-Sensei's message to everyone!" And I wrote out my little spiel and she translated it into Japanese. It's short and a little embarrassing but I wasn't sure exactly what to say. I think it came out well. Also, the first part about loving Japan and Kochi and Tosayamada surprised me because it seemed to come out of nowhere. But to tell you the truth, I think I wrote that two years ago. When I was leaving the school last time, they had everyone write out what they enjoyed the most about being in Japan. I think that's what I said...in Japanese... huh. I can't believe she kept that! But then again, I kept that little paper that my supervisor messed up on too. HA

Contest

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

I have created a scavenger hunt contest! The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate (for where? Life...or your choice. Whichever comes first) I will be participating in this as well so you have some stiff competition! The judge of the scavenger hunt will be my mother so there isn't any bias in the winner ;)

Ok, the rules!

The scavenger hunt is pictures. I want pictures!!! But not just any pictures, no no. I'm looking for pictures that I can take with me to Japan that show what life is like in America. I'm looking for normal but interesting things. I'm also looking for things that Japan has but is different. I've compiled a list of things that I am looking for:

Street signs (lot's of English. Street signs that show the names of streets (Japan doesn't have street signs. Weird I know) and also signs that show exists or construction zones or anything interesting but I also need to be able to explain them so nothing that's very complicated or weird)
RR X-ing signs
Gas station/pumping gas
Pedestrian crossing sign White man walking and Orange hand stopping (separate points for each)
Beach things (people, shops, sunset, etc)
Grocery shopping (carts, products, check out, etc)
Cars
Hospital
Ambulance
Library
Play ground
Fire station
Firetruck
Post office
Mail car
Post office mail box
Police station
Police car
Garbage truck
School bus
School classroom
American flag
American propaganda
Florida flag
Americanized Japanese things (the sign for Arigatos Steak House. I'm not looking for nitty gritty, I don't care to see how some restaurant made sushi and/or sukiyaki incorrectly. I want obvious things)
Anything else that you can think of that represents American life. Cooking a meal? Dinner with the family? Typical house? Extra points for creativity!!

Extra points for American Sized items
Example:
Grocery store - find the biggest stores such as Sams/Cosco. Then, find the biggest items in them
Car - Hummer limo
Flag - car dealership sized flag
Biggest meal, hamburger, burrito, etc.

Extra points go to action shots.

Frame pictures in such a way that the subjects are easily recognized. Try to prove how large an object is by measuring it to a standard sized item such as yourself.

I need pictures that I can show to my students so keep them clean and slightly professional. Happy people in my pictures are always a plus. I'm really looking for mostly action shots so bring a friend and have a good time!!! I know I will :)

For now, I leave you with an example:

BEAT THE HUMMER LIMO!!!!!!!

Actually, if you can get a better shot, that would be sweet. If I have duplicate pictures, points go to the best shot!!

If you're going to participate or if you have any questions email me or leave a comment or surprise me!!

Thanks and have fun!