Universal Fun and Life With “Gaij” Rides

Life with “gaij” or “gaijin” rides (also known as bicycles) is so much better. This lovely little term was coined by our friends Colin and Laura and basically sums up how fabulous it is to have a bike in this country. Scott and I also concluded this fact today after purchasing some sweet, sweet used bikes from a shop just a short walk from our nearest subway station. After some incredible misfortunes with trying to get our hands on a bike, we were thrilled to finally have them! Let me elaborate...(or should I say, go off on a tangent...?)

When English teachers leave Japan, they usually post “Sayonara Sale” posters in the schools to let other teachers know what they’re selling. Items usually include furniture, microwaves, bicycles, and other random stuff. One day at work, Scott spotted a flyer and noticed that a dude was selling two bikes for 8000 yen. Perfect, we thought. So I emailed the guy that night (let’s give him the pseudonym “Brad”) and told him we wanted the bikes. Shortly after, Brad emailed me back and confirmed that both bikes were still available, but wouldn’t be ready for pick-up until the third week of November because he still needed to get around. I wrote Brad back and told him to email me when he wanted us to come get them. He agreed. With the fabulous deal he was offering, we decided we’d wait it out instead of going to buy bikes. Just a little side note...the first email correspondence happened in late October.

So lo and behold, when the third week in November rolled around, I still hadn’t heard from him. Scott and I were both getting a little nervous. We decided to wait a few more days before contacting him. After all, moving can be a hassle, right? In the meantime, I had received another full shift at a school and as luck would have it, I was going to be taking Brad’s shift. What could be more perfect? I could actually see him in person and ask when we could pick up the bikes. This shift happened on Saturday. I met Brad at the school, watched all his classes, witnessed what a horrible teacher he was, and received absolutely no guidance about his students. He was a complete space cadet. Later on, when there was some down-time I mentioned that I had emailed him about the bikes. He seemed to know what I was talking about and then proceeded to say, “Uhhhh ya, I think we still have the bikes.” I just couldn’t get a concrete answer out of him it seemed and I had a feeling he didn't have them anymore. As I was leaving at the end of the day, I said goodbye and told him I’d email him about when to pick up the bikes.

The minute after I got home, I sent a short little email to him. The next day, I got an email back saying he didn't have the bikes.

I don’t know what frustrated me more—the fact that he didn’t tell me he didn’t have both bikes, like he originally said (when I could obviously tell there was something up at work) or that fact that Scott and I could have had bikes three weeks ago! Anyway, Scott drafted an email and sent it to him. Let’s just say, we didn’t buy any of his bikes after all that kafuffle!

So, as you can see, our bike search started off on a rather depressing note, but in the end it all worked out! Our new rides are seriously granny bikes, complete with large baskets, bells, and curved handlebars. On our way home from purchasing our “gaij” rides today, Scott couldn’t help ringing his bell at every passing pedestrian. In our life before “gaij” rides, Scott and I were always angered by the squeaky brakes and how often riders would ring their bells if they wanted you to clear the sidewalk. Let’s just say, we had a lot of fun in our new role as bikers and will inevitably continue to do so! Having a bikes means we can explore the city and be able to get home late at night after the subways stop running. A bike would have been handy for our late-night/early-morning karaoke adventure on Thursday.

Since this Friday was a national holiday, a bunch of us went out on Thursday night after work to a karaoke bar. An all-you-can-drink karaoke bar. We had an awesome time, sang some classic tunes, drank too many “momo fizzes” (peach fizzes) and “birus” (beers) and, as always, exchanged funny stories from work. Speaking of which, I had a private lesson with a fairly advanced student at work recently and we were just chatting about food so I asked him what he ate for breakfast. He told me he ate toast and coffee. I asked him if he put anything on his toast, like butter or jam, and he said that he ate it dry. Here’s the kicker...when I told him to try butter on his toast, he said that he likes it, but can’t buy it because his wife will eat it and get fat! He proceeded to gesture getting fat with his hands, which confirmed he wasn’t joking. Anyway, it was pretty funny, especially because a lot of the women here are so tiny and overly-conscious about what they eat.

Anyway, because we stayed up so late, Scott and I ended up catching the first train home...at 5 am. We went to bed immediately after and decided that Universal Studios was a no-go since we’d have to leave the house at 8 am anyway. Surprisingly, we didn’t sleep in too much on Friday. We decided to venture to the city of Kobe, which is 30 minutes west of Osaka. It’s a beautiful city and many of you might be familiar with the name from the devastating earthquake that occurred in 1995, also known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Scott had visited Kobe the week before with Colin, Laura, Naomi, and some other new teachers on his day off, but loved it so much that he wanted to go back and play tour-guide for me. Although we arrived in Kobe in the late afternoon, we still had plenty of time to walk the streets, see the Chinatown district, explore Kobe’s harbour and much more.

At the harbour, we decided to go up the big port tower to get a view of the city at night fall and it was absolutely breathtaking. At the port, we also walked around the earthquake memorial. Several granite stones were arranged in a pattern to emulate the re-construction of the city. The stones also had pictures from the aftermath of the earthquake and captions (in English—yay!) There was also a preserved area from the devastating effects of the earthquake where viewers could see tilted streetlights and cracked concrete stones that had once been part of a park partially submerged underwater. Although the earthquake only lasted for about 20 seconds, it took over 6,000 lives and cost over $200 billion USD in damages. Scott and I both thought it was a wonderful tribute to the people who lost their lives, their loved ones, and for the whole country to remember that fateful day that went down in history.

On Sunday, Scott and I went to Universal Studios Japan, which is about 20 minutes from our place by subway. In retrospect, we were glad we waited to go on Sunday because the weather was fabulous and the park wasn’t as busy because it wasn’t a national holiday. As soon as I saw the front gates, it immediately reminded me of Disney World. The whole park was decked out for Christmas and thousands of people sported Elmo, Hello Kitty, or Snoopy ears and were trying to sing along with the English Christmas carols. The park was much smaller than we had anticipated, but there were still lots of things to do, including some excellent rides!

The first ride we went on was Spiderman 3D—I bet you can guess who chose it! We waited in line for about 90 minutes and finally got to the front of the line. The rush of excitement from dropping several storeys of a building was well-worth the wait. Spiderman speaking in Japanese; however, was not so cool. Even though most of the rides were in Japanese, we got the gist of what was going on. After our first ride, Scott and I decided to make the splurge and get Express Pass Booklets for 4500 yen each. The booklets are basically coupons that allow you to go to the front of the line on the seven most popular rides and attractions. We both thought it was worth the money because we got through all the rides in the park in about four or five hours. Originally, we thought we would have to come back to go on the rides we missed (and have to pay the 5800 admission fee again), but the Express Passes let us do them all in a day! Naturally, our favourite ride of the whole day was a roller coaster called Hollywood Dream: The Ride. It was sweet because the seats had headphones built into them and you could choose your own background music, which made the experience that much cooler. We loved this ride so much that we went on it twice—once during the day and once at night! Before heading home, we grabbed some good old fashioned North American grease at the Hard Rock Cafe.

In other news, Scott and I are on some company websites. Check out this, this, and this to see our smiling, yet extremely cheesy faces!

When I showed Scott my picture on the last link listed above, he asked me why I looked so bitter. Guess who I was in the picture with? Brad—the blondie with the shaggy hair on the left. Haha. Even though things didn’t work out with Brad’s bikes, it’s all good because we finally have some great "gaij" rides of our own!

We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a note or comment on our blog (hint, hint)!

Hope your lives are exciting, but also relaxing too! We miss you!
xoxo

Jo & Scott

Where Old Meets New

One of the most fascinating things about Japan for me thus far has been the fusion of both old and new elements of culture. Here, wearing a traditional kimono on a subway while simultaneously listening to an iPod and eating a Big Mac is considered far from a cultural contradiction. In Japan, the land of contradictions, it's quite normal. Before arriving in the Land of the Rising Sun, I had thought that such opposite aspects of culture would be more like oil and water—completely ceasing to mix. As each day passes here, parts of Japan's old and new culture (such as this photo I took of a woman in formal dress on a subway—yes, I know I'm creepy) continually flash in front of me and I have only come to realize that this intricate balance is what makes Japan's culture so unique. Instead of seeing the country's old and new culture as oil and water, I now see it as spilled gas on wet pavement—it's a rainbow and the beauty can only be appreciated if it’s seen at a precise angle.

After a long debate about what to do on our day off (a trip to the hot springs in Wakayama or a historic castle tour), Scott and I decided to make the trek to the famous Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture. About an hour west of Osaka by train, the castle, also known as "The White Heron" because of its pristine and white exterior, is nestled in the small city of Himeji and gets billions of visitors each year. If you've seen "The Last Samurai," you probably recognize the castle from the movie. Portions of the movie were actually shot on location using artificial snow (and I only know this because of Wikipedia). It's also the most famous castle in Japan!

The elaborate plans for Himeji's constructed date back to 1331 whereas the actual construction began in 1333-46. During the Battle of Sekigahara, the structure was completely demolished and was rebuilt in 1580. In 1601, the castle went through an elaborate nine-year expansion because it had been badly demolished in various wars of the Muromachi period. When the expansion was complete, Himeji included eighty-two wooden buildings and was the size it is today. Good old Wikipedia also informed me that the castle was bombed during the Second World War and while the surrounding area was burnt to a crisp, the castle remained untouched. I kind of feel like I'm back in university writing a history paper or something...so I'll stop rambling with the boring stuff!

It took me and Scott about two hours to walk through the entire castle and it was quite the labyrinth, but very beautiful and kept in tip-top shape nonetheless. We later found out that it was purposefully constructed this way to confuse attackers—makes sense! You would have never guessed the wooden floors were as ancient as they were because there wasn't a scratch in sight. As you may already know, the Japanese take their shoes off when entering certain buildings. We had to remove our footwear and carry our shoes around in plastic bags while we toured the castle. Most of you know I hate wearing socks, but I just happened to be wearing them that day (probably a good thing)! Lots of artefacts were displayed throughout the interior including warrior apparel, weapons, and even ancient flip-flops! They looked just like a pair that I had a couple of summers ago (remember our beat-up straw flip-flops that we refused to throw away, Kristin?) When we were finished going through the interior, we had to put our shoes back on and return the plastic bags to a bin. The staff promptly re-folded them and placed them in a neat pile, ready for the next visitors.

While I was at the castle, I didn't really feel like I was in Japan. I kept telling Scott "I feel like I'm in Greece or something" because the white exterior reminded me of stucco and ornate details on the roof reminded me of something else un-Japanese. Anyway, we got lots of pictures to share, so enjoy!

We're pretty excited about our upcoming adventures. This Friday is a national holiday so we're going to Universal Studios Japan with two of our friends and are really looking forward to it. Some good theme park action is just what I need. Every Thursday, I pass a theme park on my way to work. I always look out the train window and the endless string of roller coasters and rides seem to be coaxing me to get off a stop early and buy an admission pass instead of going to work. A nice thought, isn’t it? This week, I’ll hopefully get my fill of thrill at Universal Studios! We've also been talking about a weekend trip to Tokyo in January and a six-day trip to Thailand in February. We'll keep you posted!

Hope all is well. We miss you!

xoxo

Jo & Scott

Pizza Hut, Shopping, Shopping, and More Shopping!

Hey Everyone!

Today is a joyous occasion for us—it's pay day! This is the first time we've seen money appear in our newly-opened Japanese bank accounts since we've arrived and is undoubtedly a reason to celebrate!

We officially started our celebration a little prematurely. On Saturday night after a long week of work, we invited our training group to our house and ordered Pizza Hut with the last bit of cash we had. It was worth every penny! One of our friends found out that we could get a plain cheese pizza for only 1000 yen and 200 yen for each extra topping. In addition to that great news, we got 400 yen off each pizza for going to pick it up. Usually it's about 3000 yen (about $30) for a large pizza to be delivered here—absolutely ludicrous! The types of pizzas they have here are even more far-fetched with names like "Mayo King" (imagine a pizza covered in cheese, mayonnaise, seaweed and last but not least, a raw egg to top it all off...yum!). Luckily, we decided to order what we knew we liked and it was so fabulous to have a taste of home, even if it was just for a night. It was great to spend some time with friends, play cards, have some drinks, and celebrate together.

On Sunday, Scott and I decided to do something fun (well, for me at least). I was ecstatic when Scott agreed to come shopping with me. Last week, one of my students was telling me about a great outlet mall near the airport, called Rinku Premium Outlets. We left in the early afternoon and six long hours later, Scott was complaining that he was sick of shopping. The outlet mall was absolutely unreal, with stores like Banana Republic (Jess...you would go crazzzzzy!), Gap, Coach, Juicy Couture, Furla, and over 150 others. The deals were just as amazing as the selection of stores and I ended up getting some really nice work clothes for 70 per cent off. Scott also had some shopping success. Everyone here is so fashionable. Rumour has it that Japan is one of the trendiest countries. The women here are ALWAYS decked out to the nines and ALWAYS wear heels. I swear to God, they would even climb a mountain in heels. Our credit cards were pretty worn out at the end of the day, but our little adventure was well worth all the money we spent! At least we actually have a paycheque in our bank accounts to make us feel less guilty. We also had a nice dinner at an American-style restaurant before we left to go back home.

On Saturday, I also met with another private student for the first time and I was absolutely shocked at his English ability. After I got home, I kept telling Scott that it was like talking to one of my friends! He works for a news company and hopes to become a foreign correspondent someday, but he wants to improve his listening ability first. What’s even cooler is that he has a British accent! When I heard him speak I told him that he had a British accent and he replied, “I aspire to be like John Lennon.” So cute!

Work is going well, although we find the classes a little menial at times. Even though this opinion is based largely on how good the students are and how willing they are to learn, the Free Time Lessons (FTLS), which I think Scott already touched on a bit, are what drive us crazy. These lessons focus on rote vocabulary, repetitive dialogue practise, and anything else that involves drilling or repeating. So you can imagine how boring it would be to do six forty-minute classes a day. Although a straight FTL shift is somewhat rare, I ended up with one last Monday and today as well. Last week Scott even caught me talking in my sleep. I was teaching an FTL...haha.

Don’t get us wrong, we do enjoy work, but like every job, there are the inevitable ups and downs!

Write us! We’d love to hear from you. Miss you all!

Jo & Scott

On Feeling the Ground Shake...

First I want to warn everyone that everything's okay. Yesterday morning, Scott and I felt out first earthquake here in Osaka for about 20 seconds and it was pretty scary. We weren't sure what to do and just hoped that it would stop. Luckily, it did. Apparently, these minor tremors happen quite frequently and can be felt somewhere throughout Japan almost every day. The city of Osaka is also very prepared and has extensive evacuation plans for more severe earthquakes.
We were a little shaken, but we're okay now. We're very thankful to live in Canada where we don't have to worry about these unexpected occurences on a daily basis!

We miss you all! xoxo

Dirty Deer and Even Dirtier Students

Hello to Everyone!

So, it's been a fairly eventful week! Saturday was Culture Day here, so we (FINALLY) had a full weekend to enjoy! Plus, since I have Friday off I did a 'lil OT to make some extra coin! My day consisted of working for a total of 2.5 hours, and the rest of it was folding papers (definitely using my degree there!!!) and getting pictures taken for the school's website. If you want to check it out, here's the link: http://www.ecc.jp/school/kinki_area/kishiwada/kishiwada.php

Saturday was quite lovely! We went to Nara for the day, which is home to the Todaiji Temple. It has the world's largest Buddha and a few of his friends. It was really quite the beautiful site to see. Nara's also the home of thousands of deer... small, tame deer that roam the steps up to the Todaiji Temple and surrounding areas. However, these aren't your ordinary deer, these deer are dirty and smelly... and for some reason Japanese people, the same people who are ridiculously anal about cleanliness and the whatnot LOVE these deer. They seemed to love petting them, feeding them and getting right in there with them! There were some cute ones, though and we got some pics with them (of course!)

Sunday was really fun too. Jo's students from the summer at Queen's School of English invited us to their University Festival. So we hopped on a train and went to a nice little town in between Osaka and Kobe where the University was. The campus was gorgeous and very... uniform. The buildings were all made of a stucco type material (think Mediterranean architecture). The festival consisted of all the different groups and clubs from the school having little food stands with many different Asian cuisine options. Jo and I opted for a fried rice dish, which was absolutely fantastic, ice cream (obviously Jo made that decision), and a Japanese "cookie" which was a flat rice pancake thing, coated in a brown sauce, tempura batter that looked like Rice Krispies, all topped with mayonnaise... I was pretty upset that we asked what it was to tell the truth.

I was given another weekly shift this past week, so I know where I'm going three days of the week. Yay! My first day at the school, I was in the elevator with this woman... heavy makeup, terrible teeth and you could see every bone in her body... anyways, she realizes I'm white, therefore must be going to ECC and starts (trying to) talk to me... and of course it gets weird pretty fast, door opens at my floor and lo and behold, she gets off too.
It turned out she was an ex-Nova student and was here to look into French and English classes, so she disappeared for about an hour to do her French testing stuff and the staff start making smart-aleck comments like "So your girlfriend from the elevator is a hotty!" and "Woah, I thought her makeup was a Halloween costume... she scared me!" Anyways, we laughed about her pretty much all day (which was when I knew I had to work with these people, I fit right in!) Later in the day, I had to do a placement test for her English courses, where she was hitting on me... I was a little scared for myself. Thankfully though she left and I thought I was rid of the scariest student I've had yet.

Unfortunately I was wrong. A few days later I was back at the school and guess who walks in? Yup, in all her glory and makeup! Apparently she wasn't very happy with the fact that I placed her in level three of five. So after some talking and schedule flipping, she re-did the test with another teacher. Of course this concluded with her being placed in the exact same level and, like an episode of Harvey Birdman, everyone standing around laughing at the end... except for her, since that wouldn't have been very nice. (I really miss Harvey Birdman).

So yeah, those are the tales of Japan from the week. We miss everyone and think about you daily!

Cheers,

Scott & Jo