Day 9

May 11, 2008
Church today was way good. I enjoyed it a lot. Mostly thanks to the help of Reina and Jon. First we get there via the high priest group leader. Really nice guy, but he doesn’t speak any English. Lol, so when he picked me up he already had Reina and Jon with him. We get to church and the stunned missionaries greet us at the door. It was funny, they weren’t sure what language to greet us in. Then this dude, I’m still not sure who he was, came and shook our hands and slipped us some candy. Perhaps he’s the Brother Norris of the ward, lol. We went up some stairs and were greeted by the bishop. He actually was able to say hello to me in English and “Welcome”. It was cool. We eventually made it to the chapel. There are no pews, just folding chairs that are way more comfy than ours. A couple of people came to say hello to us before church actually started. Mostly just Jon and Reina talked to them, I was just introduced. When church started the bishop conducted. It was cool, because he had some callings and like, when he asked if anyone was opposed he actually checked the whole room, even behind him. Jon and I were impressed. Then he introduced us to the ward, saying we were there for 3 months as teachers and asking, kinda, if we could bare our testimony next Sunday or the Sunday after. Jon responded and said yes to him then told me what he said. Then the bishop said that I only speak English, so he encouraged the members to come say hello to me in English. It was funny. (he really did this over the pulpit...lol!) Singing was cool as well. I’m actually really glad I know most of the hymns by heart. Listening to them sing in Japanese was a very cool experience. I’m sure Jon (my brother) knows what I mean when I say hearing the hymns in another language yet they fit to the tune is really neat. Knowing the English for them helped as I listened to the songs as I was able to think of the words they were singing. Jon (the intern) says they usually translate the hymns pretty well. He’s seen some that aren’t at all close to the English ones, but for the most part they do alright. I guess they don’t have as many hymns either. And like, the page numbers are different. We sang “The Spirit of God” and it was hymn #3. Anyway, the little kids came up and sang a mother’s day song, and that was way cute. Then the young men had the program. Even though I was getting the speakers information through Jon, I really enjoyed the first talk. It was a young man, he said he just turned 14, and he just started doing home teaching. He said that usually he is really very shy and he was worried about going to people’s homes. But he said that he found that when he was home teaching he was able to relax and not worry so much. He said he knew it was the spirit telling him that home teaching was the right thing to do. What a great message. Jon kept apologizing because he said it sounded so much better in Japanese, but I told him I enjoyed it anyway. The next few speakers talked about missionary work mostly. They would stop between each speaker and let the boys sing a song. It was a really cool program. After sacrament meeting they closed off the front of the room with the podium and we had Sunday school. It was building to Abeneadi. Jon had a hard time getting the scriptures right, but it was ok. Then it was off to relief society. We stopped by the bathrooms real quick and this lady talked to me in English. She had spent some time in Seattle, I guess, so she thought it was cool I was from there. In relief society we all sat in a circle and they introduced us and wrote our names on the board. They have a really hard time saying Dempsey, it was cute hearing them try, lol. This one lady talked to me before hand and said that she doesn’t speak English and knows I don’t speak Japanese but she hoped that we could speak through our hearts. I loved that, how sweet. Reina translated for me in relief society, and she did a good job. It was about Joseph first translating the plates and how at one point he had to resolve an issue he had with Emma before he could continue. (They actually found me an English manual so I could follow along, it was really nice) I guess this story really impressed our teacher, as she hadn’t ever heard of that happening. The ladies were interesting because they brought up how Emma left the church after Joseph died. But the way they put it was very good, and I’ll have to remember it. They said she was blessed with a lot of gifts of the spirit while she was with Joseph. But she lost them when she chose to fall away from the church. They said that we too are given gifts of the spirit but we can lose them, as Emma did, if we aren’t faithful. I liked that. It was very true. It lead them to another part of the lesson, which talked about gifts we get from the spirit. The teacher asked if anyone had any spiritual gifts they wanted to share. One lady talked about her love of music and how she was able to help others enjoy music as much as she did. The other lady said she feels like she is in tune with the spirit when it comes to knowing how to comfort people. They asked Reina and I what we felt ours were, and I said I think that mine is my ability to understand the scriptures like I do, and Reina said it was her ability to communicate in different languages. She speaks French, English, and Japanese. Then the teacher said that she knows that everyone in the room has spiritual gifts and ended with her testimony. It was a good lesson. After, this lady we met earlier that lives in Hawaii came up to Reina and said it was a hard lesson and she was impressed that Reina did so well translating. Reina felt bad because she said she mostly just gave me the general idea of what people said. She and Jon just didn’t understand how much I appreciated knowing what was going on at all. Even general ideas were more than what I’d get just sitting there without them. After relief society we went to find Jon and ended up chatting to the missionaries. One is from Sacramento and the other is from Ogden. Both are pretty new, as one has only been out for 10 months and the other only 5. They said they enjoyed the ward though, and thought we’d like it too. They said that they have been impressed with how many people in the ward speak some English. They said that the first counselor in the bishopric’s son had just moved, but he actually spoke very good English. I guess he married a Chinese lady and they only could speak English together. One of the missionaries said his friend just got back from Argentina. He said his friend actually majored in Japanese before he left on his mission, and he really wanted to go to Japan, but he was sent to Argentina instead, lol. But he said he loved it there, and really ended up enjoying his time.
After church our ride took us home. He took this really super long way home, but he took Reina home first then Jon then me. I rushed in my apartment to change super fast then ran out the door and down the street. I tried the payphone at 7-11 but I think someone bashed it so It didn't work. I rushed further down the street to the supermarket (their Safeway) and got the payphone to work there. I got all sorts of looks though, it was funny. But I enjoyed our conversation. After talking I went back to my apartment and decided to read. I've been really grateful that I brought my books. I have needed them while my internet is off. Jon really thinks we'll get it tomorrow, but we'll see. I ate some cookies that I bought, and they weren't bad. I also busted into my Pringles, lol. That ended up being my lunch. For dinner I ate a banana and tried my milk. It's no bueno, but eh, I still have juice. You can't go wrong with fruit juice. It's sooo yummy here. Anyway, that was my night. Oh, I videoed my apartment so you could see, but I'll do it again when I have my table and stuff. I can already hear dad when he sees my room on the video. Lol. Well, I should go. I have to get up at like 7am tomorrow for work. We're meeting our area person then meeting our schools. We actually start going to them tomorrow. I really hope it's not too far... I have no bike...
2:24 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 8

May 10, 2008
Hey! I'm doing better today, kinda. Just really wanting my internet. It's super boring without it.
So, I woke up today at like 8am and was unable to fall back asleep. I think I was just super nervous that I wouldn't get my luggage. But it came at about 9:30. So that was good.
I got a call from Brandon this morning. He said he is doing home stay and living with some lady and her family. He's not too comfortable with it cuz the lady has a daughter his age, so it's kinda against BYU standards. However, he seems to love his schools. He said that one of his schools will be 3-5 grades combined so it will be a class of 100 kids. He said it will be like a Brandon assembly, lol. He said that it's really like being in California though, the attitude and such. So he likes it. Which is good. Later I heard from Jon, he was just calling to make sure I got my luggage and that I was doing ok. I might have worried him yesterday, lol. Anyway, he was talking about getting a phonecard and being all productive today even though it was pouring outside. So, after talking to him I decided I should get dressed and be productive as well.
So, I got dressed and decided to take a walk. I needed to buy an umbrella and some random things at the 100 yen shop, if I could find one. So on my walk I found one, and it's not too far from my apartment, so that's good. I got a lot of stuff, and an umbrella. I got some smelling stuff cuz my toilet room, for some reason, stinks. I think it's the weird stuff in the toilet water, cuz my toilet water is blue. I dunno, it doesn't smell good though. While I was there I got a call from Reina. She had slept through her luggage coming so she had to call them. And she had talked to Brian about possibly moving, but I think she's decided she wants to stay. It's funny, cuz none of them talk to each other. They all called me today. So I told her about Jon and Brandon.
I decided to walk home before hitting the grocery store down the other direction. So, after dropping off my stuff I went to this store called Hallows. It's kinda like a Safeway. I got more bananas and some random chips. I really wish I could read Japanese cuz some of the meat looked good but I wouldn't know what I was buying. So, I just didn't buy any. I stuck to my Pringles and I decided to try some Doritos (oddly flavored like tacos...). On my walk back I got soaked by some random car that splashed this HUGE pudmuddle all over me. We're talking head to foot drenched. Fun times, lol.
After coming back I nibbled on my Doritos and was cold so I decided to take a bath and get warm. This is a big plus about Japan, their really deep bathtubs. I took my book and just relaxed for a bit. Then I came back to my room and fell asleep. Blah, yay for an uneventful day. I was awoken by a phone call from one of our helpers from yesterday. She was calling to tell me that she bought our stuff (table and stuff) and it would be delivered Wednesday. I asked for a rice cooker, as I had told her before I didn't want one. I decided now that I should learn how to make rice cuz I'll starve otherwise, lol. First thing I want when I get back is something made of 100% beef! Nothing mixed with it, no pork or something random. :p Anyway, so then I texted Jon to ask him to get me a phonecard as well. I thought I should call on mother's day. :) He's nice like that so he's going to get me one. After hanging up with him I fell back asleep for a little while.
I woke up and decided I should eat something, and since I have nothing to cook with, I went for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yeah, couldn't get the jar open for the jelly. So, I had to go with honey. It was ok, lol. I then spent the rest of the night playing hoyle games on my computer. I just got a call from Reina saying that she heard from our Bishop. He is sending someone to come pick us up for church tomorrow at about 9am. This should be interesting as I don't speak Japanese, so church could be very interesting, lol.
Oh, hey, interesting to note; at the grocery stores, they don't bag your stuff. They give you bags and you go to a counter and bag it yourself. Interesting way of doing it.
Sorry, kinda a boring letter today. I do love my sliding doors in my apartment though. Totally reminds me of Big Bird in Japan, lol. And I'm sure tomorrow will be more interesting.
2:04 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 7

May 9, 2008

Hey, so I'm writing this from my new place here in Kurashiki. I actually have the nicest and biggest place out of the three of us. Our helpers said it's usually used for a family of 4 or 5. Lol. I don't even know what I'm going to do with 2 of the rooms. I have 3 rooms and a kitchen/eating area. :)
Well, today I got up and got all ready to go at about 7:30ish. I had been chattin with Mary til about 8:30 when I had to go meet the others at breakfast. The hotel provided a free breakfast and we had agreed last night to meet at 8:30 to eat together. Well, I was a bit late but I still beat both of them, again, lol. I didn't even eat. It was just rice balls and mizo soup. Yuck. Lol. So I got some orange juice from a vending machine. :)
Our new helper showed up at about 9 and took us to meet the board of education. That was interesting. One of them is from Canada, and I totally knew the moment he talked. He kept throwing in "eh" lol. He was nice, but they kept having convos in Japanese. I made Jon interpret for me a bit so I knew a little of what was being discussed. Seems it's the first time Kurashiki has worked with Interac and basically the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The board has some rules that interact didn't know, so we have to change schools. They said we might even change where we live. (we now know we don't but still, that was super annoying) Well, we left them after we had solved nothing, but we got more info on the area from the Canadian. :)
Next on the list was checking in at Reina's apartment. So we get there and there's no gas or lights or anything, so our helper got on the phone and told us to go explore a bit. So, we went and found circle K. Lol, I guess the Japanese call those stores "conviny"? I don't quite hear all of what Jon and Reina say so that's what it sounds like. Anyway, so we walk around the area. It sucks to be her, there's no shops or anything near her. And we started talking about Provo, so I was talking about how I liked Salt Lake but I wasn't a fan of the attitude the people have. Which Jon deiced to take offence to. (He's from Salt Lake, born and raised) Eh, his retort was saying "It's like me saying people in Seattle are all coffee addicts and are generally depressed." And I was like "well, the coffee part is true. Most Seattle people are addicted to coffee. That's why it's everywhere." That kinda ticked him off that I agreed with him, so he kinda ignored us the rest of the way back to Reina's place. Eh, he'd been mad anyway cuz we had been witness to Japanese male domination a lot today and were joking around with him about it.
Anyway, so we got back and found out that we needed to go shopping after a quick lunch. (Just fyi, I did tell Jon that I didn't mean to offend him with my talk about Salt lake. I said I thought he was a nice guy, I just had issues with some of the people I encountered both times I've lived there. He just said he was ignoring us, so he didn't care. Whatever, I tried.) So, we go shopping for a futon, curtains, toilet paper, and a little bit of food. Oh, and Jon and I didn't have lights so we needed those too. That was quite the trip we filled those poor Japanese people's cars. Lol. (Oh, we met up with our helper from yesterday so she could help us today too, lol) I kinda had a break down in the grocery store though. It hit me big time... what on Earth am I doing here? All of our apartments are about 40 minutes away from each other, (walking) and I can't even read enough Japanese to know if the milk I got is really milk or something flavored like milk. I don't cook, let alone cook Japanese food. When I lived on my own I had easy to make stuff that I could just pop in the microwave and go. They don't have stuff like that here. So, I bought myself some bread (that oddly comes thickly sliced and in a pack of 5), some weird peanut butter, some jam (I know I'll like that), some spaghetti noodles and some canned meat sauce. Oh, and some apple juice and bananas (I'm totally going to up my fruit intake in these three months, lol). I sat down in the store and almost started crying. Imagine going to Safeway and not being able to read or write. Plus, you can't understand what people are saying either. And that's just when it comes to food. What if I get lost?!? I can't read the signs, and I definitely don't know the area. I can't ask for help, because I don't know how. At least at home if/when I got lost I could either call dad or just ask someone. I can't do that here. I mean, the flippin Bishop from our ward is supposed to call me to check in with me before church. Yeah, nice idea, but I don't know Japanese so I can't really talk to him. Great convo. Add that to the fact that I'm alone. I couldn't find the other's apartments if I tried. So, there I sat contemplating what I had done when Jon comes up and asks if I'm ok. But as I'm talking to him this store worker comes and talks to him and tells him I have to not sit on the floor. Whatever, so I talk to Jon and tell him kinda how I feel. He's like "I could maybe write down some phrases for you for if you get lost? I don't know how'd you understand their responses though." See, he's nice, but this time he can't really help me. I told him thanks, but I just hope he'll help me pray I don't get lost.
So, after we buy our food we go to Jon's apartment. It's brand new. We help him get his few things in then head for my place. We get me settled then we say "see you Sunday." I guess Jon and I switched schools we're working with and Reina got a new school altogether. She wants to come live with me. She loves my place and its flippin huge. I told her she's more than welcome, and that I'd actually like to have a roomie. She really wants to, but depends on where her school is. I guess we're meeting with someone from Hiroshima on Monday then going to our schools for a visit. We actually start on Tuesday but not teaching yet. Blah, I dunno. I'm just feeling so lost and alone. I get so frustrated when I hear them speak Japanese. My brain is trying very hard to pick out the words I know, and I'm concentrating on taking in all of them when they talk.
Well, after they all left me alone here I decided I was going to get some food at the 7-11 that's close. So, I took a stroll and got some things. I bought me a kitkat and some melon soda by Fanta. Oh, and I found those candies we love so much from when we were here before. The ones from Harley Davidson. Yay! So, I got my comfort food and I'm typing this all out. At least I have one room with ac. I decided it's my bedroom. I don't think it's supposed to be, as the other room has tatami as well and it's got a lot more closet to it, but I like AC, lol. But, I get the noise of the tiny little fridge now too. Eh, I hope it will just get better...
I should go, it's been a long day and I'm super tired.
2:27 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 6


May 8, 2008


Sooo, I experienced 2 of Japan's earthquakes last night. One was at about 1 am and it didn't last very long. I had been still awake. The second hit at a little after two, and lasted almost a minute. Crazy huh? Well, we were supposed to meet in the lobby at 7 am because we needed to check our bags to be sent to our apartments. So, being responsible I am there about 5 minutes early. I wait and wait. I called Jon and Reina. No answer. So I wait some more. Brandon shows up and he's not sending his bags. So I talk to him for a moment before he decides to leave for training early. He has to fight the trains with his huge luggage. Lol, fun times. Well, it's almost 7:20 when I get a call from Jon saying that he just woke up so he'll be down soon. Then Yoshi shows up. So, I ask her to help me get my bags all ready to be sent. So, she helps fill out the forms in Japanese for me, which is super sweet. I'm kinda nervous though, cuz the dude at the hotel looked up my postal code and said the one I had was wrong. That would be no bueno if my stuff got lost...anyway, so Jon finally shows at about 7:30 and Reina like 5 minutes later. They ship their bags and off we go to training. So, we get to the train, and I keep my little carry on bag full of 2 days worth of clothes so I could send the rest to get to me by Saturday. Well, I have that and my laptop and my purse with me trying to get through the craziness of Tokyo rush hour on the train system. Lol! I get down to the train and it's super full. Reina and Yoshi push themselves in one car and Jon and I chose to get on another one. Well, the door was trying to close on me, there wasn't really enough room in the train, and Jon kept trying to help by keeping his foot in the way of the door. Well, this security guard at the train station came up real fast and pushed me and my bag in the train and the doors shut. I was literally up against the glass til the next stop. Jon and I were laughing so hard. Thankfully at the next stop some people got off so we were good the rest of the way, lol. My presentation wasn't bad, I don't think. But, I'm not a natural at it. I was, however, the only one who did my lesson slow enough though. So, that's good :D We also got to meet this head dude of the company today. He is super nice. I guess Jon served in his ward while he was on his mission. Well, the guy gave us these cool books all about Japan that are written in Japanese and English. I guess he's the PR person for the church in Tokyo. Kinda cool. He knows the president of both Idaho and Provo BYUs and is a super nice guy. I liked him. :) After that we came back and more people presented their lesson. Brandon did the best, I think. He'll do great in elementary schools. Then this guy came and talked to us. He's the head guy over training the teachers. Another super nice guy. He was trying to be frank with us about things. Like, he said that the worst time to call home is when you're homesick. He was telling us about the milk here, and how it's safer to eat raw eggs here as well. I asked him about ground beef, and he said you'll only find ground beef/pork. He said that finding a comfort food helps a lot. He also said that we'll all probably experience culture shock at some point. He said that you get that when something that usually doesn't bug you a lot suddenly gets you super mad. He said it's usually something different than what you're used to at home. But he said it's normal. We'll see :p After our meeting with him we went to lunch with Yoshi. We tried this place called Mos Burger. Kinda odd...but not bad. TONS of onions. Jon actually had me order my own burger in Japanese. He stood behind me and told me what to say. It was funny though, cuz the dude knew I was using Jon and started to talk in English. Lol. Eh, someday I'll learn enough Japanese to order something, lol. After lunch we said goodbye to everyone. That was sad. I actually got to meet 2 more interns today. Both from Canada. The one didn't have even the slightest accent. It was funny. Super nice guy though. I liked him. So, the 4 of us left with an escort to the train station. We were with Brandon and our escort until the main station in Tokyo. There we (Jon, Reina and I) got on the bullet train. That was cool. It's super quiet and wicked fast. I dunno, I was kinda expecting more though? I was impressed with how quiet it was though. :p Once at our stop, in Okayama, we were met by this other escort and her way cute daughter. The lady had great English skills. We were all impressed. She took us to our hotel and said we'd meet someone else tomorrow at about 9am. Now, our hotel room was SO much better than the one in Tokyo. This one had a huge bed, a separate desk...it was like a hotel in America, almost. The only weird thing was you had to stick your key in the entry way light thing to get the light in the room to work. It was weird, but whatever. Super nice room. And the elevator was totally off of the movie "The Grudge¨. I video taped it, cuz it was that cool, lol. Well, for dinner that night we walked around Okayama and decided to just eat at one of those places you order your food from a vending machine type thing then give the people a ticket with your order on it. I decided to try this thinly sliced beef and onion thing on rice. It was actually good! I enjoyed it. It came with mizo soup, and I usually give it to Jon to eat, but I was like "I don¡¦t know how you two eat that stuff. It smells awful.¨ Then Jon asked if I'd ever tried it. I admitted I hadn't. So, Jon looked at me and said "I'm not going to eat it unless you try it. You'll just have to waste the food.¨ I was like "Eh, I MIGHT try it if I had a spoon, but all I have are chopsticks and I suck at using them, so too bad.¨ Well..Jon got up and found a spoon. Seriously, I was like..wow. So, I had to try it. I'll admit, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't like it, but it wasn't awful. Then we went to this cool electronics store. We needed to find alarm clocks. So, we all got the same ones. It was funny, cuz we were playing with this electric trumpet, which is a pimp idea then the cool rhythem clocks (I found my new favorite one) when this worker came and said the store closed 15 minutes ago. So, we hurried and bought our alarm clocks and had the whole store bowing to us as we left. Lol, never would that happen in America. After dinner we all met in Jon's room to watch a movie. Now, funny story. Jon sent his bags to be delivered on Saturday to his apartment. It's Thursday. Jon didn't pack any clothes in his backpack that he brought with him. Ok, so he's stuck in a suit for 2 days as well as using the same undies. I laughed so hard when I heard that. So, for being in his pjs to watch the movie he used this flippin huge sleep shirt that the hotel provides. It was so funny. Lol, anyway. We watched Hot Rod. Kinda funny, mostly dumb movie. But, eh, it was fun. Well, I should go. Super late and I'm way tired.
2:45 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 5


May 7, 2008


Hey hey! So, today has left me feeling like "what am I doing here¨ lol. That and I'm wondering how they thing these Pringles could possibly taste anything like swiss cheese...So, I got up today at my usual time, 8am. I try to get up early so I can take my shower, get dressed and ready then turn on my compy and read my e-mails. I'm usually reading them at like 8:30 or so. Well, at like 8:45 my cell phone rings and it's Jon. He's like "so, everything ok?¨ I'm like, "yeah, why, what's up?¨ And he's like "we were meeting at 8:30 this morning...oh you wouldn't have known that, my bad.¨ Lol, so then I was like "oh! Is everyone waiting for me?¨ He's like, "nope, I'm the only one down here.¨ He asks me to call Reina real quick, so I do and she wasn't even up yet. Then I hear a knock at my door and it's Jon offering to get me some breakfast while I finish getting ready. I told him that I have some of my apple juice so I'll be good. So we all meet downstairs in the am/pm. Yoshi and Kevin went ahead and so we hurried off so we hopefully wouldn't be late. We get there right on time, but I guess in Japan land that's like being 5 minutes late. Blah, it's training. Lol. And Yoshi and Kevin weren't even there yet. But, a new student was. She was only with us for the day, but she was cool. She was from Spain but had lived for the last 5 years in California. I'm meeting so many people from everywhere, lol. Well, I guess Kevin and Yoshi got lost but eventually found themselves and we started class. We learned about middle school and what level their English should be at. Then he showed us the text books they use....and wow, yeah. Thank you America. The stories in them were awful! Like, one story he read us was about this tree during WWII and after we dropped the bomb. It talked about how this mother sat with her son while he died then she died too...then this other story was about a photographer who took a pic of a vulture next to a starving and dying africian boy. By the time the photographer got back from putting his camera away the vulture was eating the child. GROSS!! And they let 12 year olds read this stuff! Awful! I was like "um, that would be super akward to read that Hiroshima storybeing as I'm an American¨ and he said that they usually wouldn't make Americans read that story cuz they'd understand..but still...wow. Thank you morbid Japanese. Lol. So we learned more games and stuff today, and we went out to lunch at that curry place. That was quite the experience. So, there I am..at lunch and unable to read the menu. Jon's at another table and so I ask Yoshi to order for me. It was interesting food, they give you this huge piece of bread that's call nam and you dip it in this bowl of curry. I got mine 2 peppers hot and it wasn't hot at all. I liked the bread, it was rather yummy, but I wasn't a big fan of the curry. It's not bad, but it's not good either, lol. And Brandon ordered us all these drinks that were like yogert and water and sugar. It was grossly sweet and not my style at all. Ok, so after we ate we were given an assignment to work on tonight. We have to prepare part of a lesson. Now comes the "What have I done¨ Yeah, wow. Jon and I sat there and were like "um...K....¨ Lol, yeah. Our teacher did help me a little, so I think I'll do alright. Cross your fingers for me. So, we left class and on the way back Yoshi wanted to stop and shop. We were close enough that I could walk back to the hotel so I started off. Reina and Brandon joined Yoshi but Jon came with me. So, back at the hotel I quickly change cuz I wanted to hit the shops real quick before they close and I wouldn't get a chance to shop again before we leave. I call Jon, cuz I thought he might want to join me, but he says he wants to pack but if I get lost at all I can call him. So I go. Sadly as I get there people are closing, and one of the closed shops is that paper umbrella place. :( But I hurry in one and find 2 of the things I've wanted. Yay for the very little Japanese I know, cuz I was able to ask the lady for a box for my little doll I bought! So it was a good trip. Back at the hotel Jon calls me and asks if I want to join them for dinner. I didn't hear my phone, so I didn't get the message til they were gone, so I just decided to not call them back. I'm not in the mood...and I actually, just now got a phone call from Jon again cuz they are going to Karaoke again. I told him that I'm feeling poor and not up for spending 25 bucks like that again. I said that he should have fun though and he was like "eh, ok.¨ lol, poor guy. I don't think he'd go either, lol. So, I just went down to the am/pm and got me some spaghetti and this really kinda good sparkling peach juice stuff. I love Japanese juices. Can't go wrong, lol. And the spaghetti isn't good, but it's not bad and can't beat 3 bucks for the whole thing. (the juice and noodles) so, I did good I think! Wow, that was long, lol. I'll let you get back to life.


ps.


So, after I wrote this I got another call from Jon. They found a cheaper karaoke place and really wanted me to join them. It was only Yoshi, Reina, Brandon, Jon and I who went. It turned out being a ton of fun. I'm super glad I went. :p
2:26 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 4


May 6, 2008


Hey hey! So, I've decided I won't starve here, lol. Because: 1- they have mcdonalds/wendy's/denny's. (though I hear denny's is gross, and to avoid it) 2- they have Pringles (although in odd flavors, one can never starve when there's Pringles around) and 3- I had forgotten how amazingly wonderful the apple juice is here. Wow, yeah. I'm drinking this stuff all the time, lol. Oh, and I have a new favorite soda, it's just called Melon soda. It's green and rather yummy. But anyway, like, right now..I'm munching on my Pringles (oddly flavored Italian pizza) and sippin my fab able juice (called clear apple). Wonderful life, lol. Anyway, lol. So, my day today started off the same. We met at 9 in the lobby to head for training. Only, no escort this time. We were supposed to escort the 2 new people. Well, one was there. Her name is Yoshi and she's full Japanese but lives in Australia. Blah, I'm auto yuck to anything aussie, but she's nice enough. Well, we wait til 9:30 and then call cuz the other dude cuz he is a no show. We find out that he actually went ahead and was already there, lol. So, we all head off. Yeah, so add another to the "I can speak and read Japanese" pack, lol. Yoshi and Reina get along really well, and chatted it up the whole train ride. The ride was A LOT smoother than yesterday-no getting lost and no weird formations anyone wanted us to stand in on the train, lol. K, anyway, so we get to training and the other dude is from Jamaica. So that's cool. He's lived in Japan for 5 years, so another for the Japanese team, lol. Today's lesson was SO much better than yesterday. We actually learned about teaching. Although it was mostly how to teach elementary kids, I found it very interesting. Lots and lots of info. He showed us a lot of games we can play with the kids and the way we should teach the language. This teacher is from South Africa, and seems so full of energy that it's hard to not catch some of it. We broke for an hour for lunch (I had bought some fresh fruit at am/pm and some apple juice and some odd bread type thing for lunch. Yummy fruit, the apple juice tasted like liquid applesauce, and the bread was kinda sticky...) When we were done with the lesson it was about 5pm so we decided to stop and get some food in Akihabara. We just went someplace easy and it worked the same as the place last night. You pick your food, pay for it and give them a ticket while you sit at a bar type place. Brandon met up with one of his old mission pals and we all ate dinner together. I actually tried some seasoned beef and pork thing. I think the two were mixed, as the meat was in this gravy style stuff with an overeasy egg on the top. It was interesting, but not bad, lol. We left Brandon and his friend and Kevin decided he didn't want to join us for dinner. So that left Jon, Reina, Yoshi, and I. We started to head back to the hotel when Yoshi said she wanted to stop at the big 100 yen shop. I was not really up for it, but I'm super scared of getting lost on the trains so I stick with the group, lol. We got inside and Jon said he really would just rather go back to the hotel for a bit, as we were all up so late last night. Yay, so I left with Jon. It was interesting to talk to him. He's kinda funny. He's pretty hung up on getting married, though. As we were walking to the train we found a small 100 yen shop and he decided he wanted to look at the ties real quick. He picked one out and it was this awful peach color. He held it up and was all proud of himself cuz he thought it brought out the blue in his suit. I looked at it and at first wasn't going to say anything, but he was like "what do you think?" so I actually told him that the orange was no bueno for him. Lol. So he had me help him pick 2 different ties, lol. When we left there he was laughing because we had walked too far for our train and that's why we found the shop, and he said it was inspiration cuz his eternal companion would come talk to him about his tie and it would all be because we were guided there. Lol, yeah, wow. This dude belongs in BYU. It made me laugh. He's interesting to talk to, I think he and I will be good friends. He's always trying to make sure everyone is included and stuff. So yeah, I'm kinda glad he's with us for the 3 months. Well, we got back to the hotel, eventually, as we got kinda turned around and kept finding cool shops to poke into. (also, he actually didn't know where to go but I found a great landmark [thanks dad] so I was able to tell him, lol) When we got back I found that I have a huge flippin blister on my foot. So, I decided I didn't want to go out tonight with them. They're only going to the Ginza and I've been there. It costs like 3 bucks for the train and they didn't leave til about nine. Made for a good excuse, lol. Plus, they were calling Jack and Reina's cousin again. I'm not really up for not understanding the conversation, lol. So, I decided to stay and write this and update my pics on facebook instead. Jon offered to do anything for me if I need and Reina says she has some blister stuff for shoes, so they're nice about it. I might take Reina up on that tomorrow for walking to work. Dumb shoes, lol. So, yeah, I went next door to am/pm-got me a carton of apple juice and some Pringles and relaxed. Nice night. Well, I should go. More training tomorrow, but this time middle school stuff. Also, our teacher (the same guy) is taking us out for curry and yumi? Dunno about that last word. It's like a bread thing I guess. They all raved about how wonderful it is, so we'll see. I'm not big into curry, but I guess it's Indian style at this place. I'll try it. Besides, he's getting the company to subsidize it, so that works. :p
2:07 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 3


May 5, 2008


So, we started training today. We met in the lobby at 9am to be escorted to the training place. The dude who met us was named Brian. He seems nice, but a little...lol, I'm not sure how to describe it. You'll see... maybe. Anyway, so he was supposed to show us how to get there so we could do it on our own the next few days. Well, he got lost. Yeah, real nice guide, lol. We had to ask a police man where to go, lol. Well, we found it eventually and after 1 transfer we got to our destination. He was odd because he kept making random comments that really wouldn't help us at all. Things that would confuse me if it were just me. Mostly, I didn't pay much attention. I have 3 people with me who speak and read the language just fine. I'll be good, lol. Oh, before we got there he showed us this stand that sells bento boxes for 250 yen. So like 2 and a half dollars. I got some yakisoba for 150 yen. Yay lunch. It has all sorts of gross stuff on it, but I can deal, lol. And Brian took us to an AMPM so I got some Pringles to help. :P So, class was super boring. He gave us this blue folder full of all sorts of information. Like, we can't wear perfume and guys can't wear cologne in the classroom, and no touching the kids at all. Crazy info that is like need to know, but it really should have only taken like maybe an hour or two to go over...but he made it take from 10 am to about 3:30. Yeah boring. And turns out our British dude misinformed us about the business casual dress. Yeah, Brandon showed up in kaki shorts and a t-shirt and that was fine. Blah. After class we all decided we needed to go out because it was Jon's birthday. But first we wanted to hit up something camera in Akihabara. (that's a store name) It's this huge new building that has every possible electronic item you can think of. We all needed converters for our 3 pronged electronics to 2 pronged ones. We found it there, and Jon decided he wanted a 'cool¨ lan cable like mine that retracts so he got it there as well, lol. After we got our electronics we headed back to the hotel to change our clothes. We wanted to go eat then do some karaoke for Jon's birthday. While we were back I actually caught both Mary and Jina on-line at the same time. It was cool to say hi to both of them real fast. So, after changing we met back up and headed to this big city area..that I have no idea what it's called but it's part of Tokyo, lol. Anyway, Reina called her cousin to come hang out with us, so we met up with her as well. It's crazy cuz Brandon has super blond hair so he's our great landmark, lol. Anyway, we met up with her and went to eat. This place was crazy cuz you buy your food outside and push a button next to what you want. It prints a ticket and you take it inside and they fix it for you. Yeah, absolutely nothing sounded or looked good..so I went with a bowl of rice. Adding soy made it not so bad. Lol. But, it made me have a convo with Brandon and Jon about my issues with Japanese food. They both think they can find some things that I'll like. We'll see, lol. Jon actually had me try some of his ¡pot stickers and they weren't too bad. Reminded me of those things we get free from the place at home. They're eatable. Not my fav, but it works. After dinner we headed to the karaoke. Now, the way this works is you buy a certain amount of time in a room. The room has lights, a karaoke machine, and nice electronic equipment to help you pick your songs. I totally thought of Rachel. She would have loved it. You get 2 mics and you just sing along with your friends in a room. No one but you and them can hear you. You can order drinks and food or whatever while you're in the room. But, it's fun! They had several English songs, but the backgrounds for them sucked, lol. The Japanese songs had the real music videos going in the background. Most of them knew Japanese songs so we sang them too. Reina's cousin doesn't speak English so that's all she sung. Later her friend, who called himself Jack, showed up. He loved singing English songs, lol. My only complaint was that both the cousin and Jack smoked, in that small room that got rather hot and had no vents. Not my fav idea. But, you have to deal sometimes. After we sang (we ended up staying for 2.5 hours) we went to this place to get some pics taken. It is huge in Japan I guess. It's like a photo booth only you get to like edit it and stuff. I dunno, everyone made it sound so much cooler than it ended up being. It was kinda awkward being the only non-Japanese speaking person as well. I would just follow them around and not have a clue what was going on because they'd all be talking in Japanese. Sometimes I'd ask someone so I'd kinda know, but it kinda wasn't fun for me in that way. I didn't let it ruin my time, it just didn't really make me want to hang out like that again. Imagine being like a major 6th wheel. Lol, and having to have them explain things to me. Anyway, so we started back to the hotel at like 11:30. Brandon and I were like super tired. And..the trains stop..so we were kinda freaking out that we might not get back to the hotel. But we made it on the very last train. We got back to the hotel at about 12, so it wasn't bad. We're meeting 2 more interns tomorrow though, so we'll see how that goes...
2:07 AM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 2




May 4, 2008

Well, I spent the day with Shoko (our family friend) and her family. It was so fun. I met them at about 11 am and we went for a walk in the area. There's this big Japanese lantern that is the biggest in all of Japan that's just down the street. We went there and walked around. It's Golden Week this week so it was extremely crowded. I've never seen so many people like that. Hopefully some of my pics and video can help paint the picture. Shoko said her kids had never been there before either, so she was excited to walk around. We decided to walk around the shops they have in the area as well. They have some wicked cool stuff in those shops. I'm going to have to go back before I leave here and get some stuff. They have my paper umbrellas and some mini geisha dolls. Two things I've really wanted from Japan. Shoko said that when it's not a holiday it's not as busy. So, hopefully it won't be as bad when I go back. Because, I'm talking super crowded. People were constantly bumping into me, pushing between me and the person in front of me, yeah. If I thought it was bad, and I like black Friday stuff, than it was crazy.
After walking around, Shoko wanted to get some gifts for the family for me to bring home. She's so sweet, she kept making sure the things won't weigh too much so I can take them back alright. Well, after that we ate some lunch at an Italian place. She remembered that it was my favorite, lol. I tried some cheese pizza this time. It wasn't bad! It had too much mozzarella but otherwise It was ok. Then we said goodbye to Shoko and Saiyuki for a bit.
Minoru, Bob and I went for a walk, and as we were walking we saw these dudes that carry people around in a cart type thing. Minoru said he'd take us on a ride, so we all got on one of them. The dude who pulled us around spoke some English so that was great. It was a tour of the area, and he told me some really cool stuff. Sometimes I had to focus really hard on what he was saying and figure out he was talking English, lol, because he'd slip from English right back into Japanese. I really enjoyed the tour and I think Minoru thought it was cool too.
After that we walked to this small amusement park. Again, this place was super crowded. I was so afraid I'd lose Minoru. He saw this balloon type ride that lifts you way up in the air and thought it would be great for the view. So we went on that ride. As we were in line the people in front of us were eating Dippin Dots ice cream. I told Minoru that it was from America and he said he'd never even heard of it before. He had a hard time even saying the name. So, I offered to buy them some. Its way cheaper here than at home. Only 350 yen for a bowl, and they had bought so much for me. So I took Bob and we went and got some. They both really liked it. Minoru thought that's how all ice cream is in America and I tried to explain that Dippin Dots was unique. I'm not sure if he understood, lol. The ride was cool, and I got some cool pics and video from it. (the line for the ride took us 1 hour to get through) After the ride we played some video games then started to head back toward my hotel. On the way back Minoru saw these guys dressed up like a geisha and 2 samurais. He literally ran up to them so I could get a pic with them, lol. The one dressed as a geisha was totally a dude. It was funny. Minoru kept laughing about it. Lol. Well, then we ended up at this random restaurant, and I thought it was just for some ice cream. So we all ordered ice cream but Shoko and Sayuki showed up and we ended up eating dinner as well. We spent a lot of time talking about America and what everyone is up to. Shoko even asked about Grandma and Grandad. I gave her kids some American money and they really thought it was cool. They couldn't get over how small a dime is. Especially when compared to a nickel. It was funny. Oooh, and at dinner I had a club sandwich. Kinda weird, but eatable. Lol.
After we ate and talked for a bit we came back to the hotel. I gave them my address in Japan and they said that if I have freetime when I get back to Tokyo before I leave to let them know. They'¡¦d love to see me again. They also loved the gifts. Shoko was thrilled at the Pringles thing. It was funny. And I think Minoru liked the jerky. They all liked the whistle and bell though. It was hard to say goodbye and Shoko kept saying 'come again to japan' it was cute. She also told me that she wants me to meet a Japanese guy and marry him and live with him in Japan, lol. She's so cute.
After I left them I came up to my room for a bit to write this, but then Jon came and asked if I'd eaten. I had so he went to get some food then we met to go for a walk. I showed him some of the stuff I saw on my tour and he thought it was cool. After walking around a bit we decided we wanted a view of the city, and we saw this super tall hotel. Jon was like "I wonder if we could just go up there and take pictures" So, we walked to the hotel. It was so funny. Jon kept saying "Don't look at anyone, just act like you belong here." And like, this hotel is super fancy. So yeah, it was funny. We got a little confused in the elevator but we got up to the 20th floor. We got pics and I took a short video. So that was an adventure, lol.
That was basically my day, yay for keeping busy :p
10:28 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Day 1


*Author's Note*
I'm posting this for my own reference. This is also here incase anyone is courious how it was for me in Japan. These letters/journals were written to my Mom, which kinda explains the format.
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May 3, 2008

So, it has been a super crazy day. My dumb plane from Seattle to San Fran was 2 hours delayed which caused me to run super late to my flight to Japan. I was so lost until the other intern recognized me from facebook. The gate is two stories, and I thought I'd check out both stories real quick. So, after that I went back up the stairs and talked to Jon (the other intern). Boy was I glad I found him. I told him I was super nervous about getting lost and that I hoped he'd stick with me to find out where we needed to go once we got there. He agreed and we talked until they boarded the plane. He only sat like 2 rows up from me, so that worked out.
The flight itself was uneventful. The tv system thing kept breaking, but it ended up working in the end. I'd almost say I like ANA better than JAL. The flight attendants were super nice. Oh, and I was the lone white chick on the whole plane, lol. I ended up eating the chicken thing for the first meal and some weird Alfredo tortellini for the second. I say weird cuz it had all sorts of weird things in the sauce and tons of seaweed piled on it. I just picked the tortellini out and ate that, lol. Oh, and we got like this thing of vanilla ice-cream. That rocked :P
Ok, so we land and Jon waits for me so we can get off the plane together. He's super stoked to be here, and kept singing "This is so fun" lol. He says it's from a song, but I'm not sure, lol. Anyway, so we are kinda slow off the plane and by the time we get to the bags they had them all off the carousel. So, we hurried up to the dudes and said they were ours. They got us these cool carts and loaded them up for us, which was super nice. So, we make our way to customs. I get up to the thing and do the finger print thing and the picture. Then the chick says she needs a form and calls some guy who asks me to follow him. Well, Jon is also at an agent and doesn't see me. So, I follow this dude who leads me to this waiting area and asks me to stay there for a moment. Well, I'm freaking out cuz I'm afraid I'm going to miss Jon and he'll not be sure where I am, so I keep trying to get his attention. Well, like 10 minutes later I'm like "This dude took my passport and is gone. No bueno." I dunno where he went.So, I'm just about to say something to someone when he appears and hands me back my passport and has me go through customs this other way. Thankfully Jon waited for me on the stairs so we left that area together. Well, then we slowly leave the area and watch for our names or something and we don't see it. So we decide to chill and wait cuz our flight got in early. So, we wait and talk. like 40 minutes later Brandon shows up. I guess he went through Dallas cuz he's staying longer than the rest of us so he had to find his own way. The company paid him back, but he had to find the flight. So, anyway, we find him and continue to chill. About an hour later we hear Jon and my name over the intercom and we find our dude that way. He'd been waiting for us, but he was on the other side and we had missed him, lol. He's British and was totally ok with it, he was just worried we had missed our flight or something. So, we still had to wait for Reina. She's not in for another hour and a half. Now, at this point Jon and I are dying. They've been having a lot of rain here so it's SUPER humid. Like, awful. So, we're both sticky and my hair is all sweaty, eww. At least it's curly, lol. Well, we end up spending like the whole day at the airport. Our plane landed at 2:50 and we didn't leave the airport til about 6. Fun times, lol.
So we finally leave and head for the hotel. That trip was uneventful, except that the other three kept talking about things they remember and want to try again along with people and places. I just sit there and nod, lol. They all seem real nice though, always wanting to stay busy which is good. Also, found out that Reina and I are not going to me roomies, like..ever. Her address is different than mine, funny huh?
Anyway, 2 train rides and several stairs later we get to the hotel. It's kinda crazy how small the rooms are. I had to video tape it cuz a pic wouldn't do it justice. It's smaller than your walk in closet, lol. And they have these fake flowers that they have next to the door. Our British dude said they show that the room has been cleaned and that tomorrow they'll be a different color. I took a pic so I can show you what I'm talking about. I just get inside my room when my phone rings. Shoko called me! Yay! I'm meeting her tomorrow at 11 am. She's coming to the hotel. She's so cute, I'm so excited to see her again :) Well, after a quick conversation with her we decide that we are hungry and so we go out to eat at this Italian place. I got their spaghetti with meatsauce. Yummy. I guess I could just live off of ramen and spaghetti here, lol. So, here I am, after the random meal I guess is dinner. I should go to sleep, but it's like only 10 pm. The dude who picked us up said they have Internet cafes around here, so I might have to go find one tomorrow. We'll see.
Well, that was my day. It's crazy to not just pick up the phone and tell you all this. I'm going to miss that. That, and I keep thinking that if I get lost I can't call dad to help me, lol. The British dude said that being in a middle school and in the area I'm in that I'm going to pick up a lot of the language rather fast. I kinda hope so, lol. I feel kinda left out of conversations cuz all these guys know Japanese people they just talk to in Japanese. Needless to say I feel like a retard standing at the register and the cashier is saying something that I have no idea what it means, lol.
I guess it's supposed to be hotter tomorrow, but less rain. I just hope I'll not die of heat issues, lol.
10:13 PM | Category: | 0 comments