After a fairly rainy/cold welcome upon my return to Japan from China, Things have warmed considerably. Students are back to wearing their lighter summer uniforms after a long chilly (but not cold) winter.
I like to think of right now as the calm before the storm--the weather is bearable now; soon, when the summer hits full-bore, humidity and all, it won't be.
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Winter weather update
A week or two ago one of my co-teachers informed me that winds from China were blowing over the Sea of Japan and warming Tottori. Apparently the locals call it "Kiroi Kaze," or "yellow wind," because the warm winds come from the Gobi Desert and carry small bits of sand with it ("don't dry your clothes outside today," he informed me). It's taken to be one of the first signs of spring.
Of course, since then we've had a wee bit of snow (not enough to stick) and the temperature has plummeted back down to the single digits on and off, but we are slowly shifting towards spring here. Finally got pictures of the street sprinklers in action; see attached.
Of course, since then we've had a wee bit of snow (not enough to stick) and the temperature has plummeted back down to the single digits on and off, but we are slowly shifting towards spring here. Finally got pictures of the street sprinklers in action; see attached.
Driving in Japan
One of the more jarring/disturbing/counter-intuitive aspects of living here in the winter is the way that some roads are cleared and maintained during and after a snowfall. On many main town roads, such as the one that runs right outside of my house, there is a line of sprinklers that runs down the middle of the road. They're pretty small and unobtrusive (you can drive over them, obviously), but when there's a snowfall or freezing conditions these sprinklers spring into action, spritzing water onto the street.
"But wait," you say, "Water? On the ROAD!? When it's FREEZING?"
Yes, water. The roads are on a slight slant from the sprinklers in the middle down to drains on either side. Water is sprayed, it rolls down the sides of the road, and then it falls off. It's not terribly warm water, but perhaps my friend the Physics Ph.D./Duke Alexander B. Crew can tell you that if water is moving swiftly enough it won't freeze—and what's more, thanks to water's high heat capacity, even relatively cool water can still facilitate the melting of any snow on the road. It moves, it melts, and it's disturbing as hell to drive on—but in practice, it's a big step up from the rest of the roads.
Plowing is infrequent at best (I don't believe I've seen a plow yet, merely snow piles—evidence of their wake), and salting/sanding is unheard of, so if it's not one of the magical watery routes, it's more than a little harrowing to get around. Particularly on back country roads, normally so narrow that 2-way traffic is cautious as best; the roads might be cleared, but their new form is narrow enough with snowbanks as to make 2-way traffic all but impossible. I quickly learned this my first day back, with many a roadside pull-over to let traffic pass on the way to work.
Oh, and parking lots are similarly neglected much of the time—my usual spot, a short walk from my house, was one of the neglected, and my second day back was kicked off by 20 fruitless minutes spent trying to simply get my car out of its spot. The snow that was already underneath the wheels combined with another foot of accumulation overnight to make my itty-bitty Vivian strain and groan with no release. Eventually an unknown good Samaritan came and helped push from behind as I finally got off the snowfield and onto the street for another round of wet, slow going. At least all of the white stuff everywhere made for some pretty scenery.
"But wait," you say, "Water? On the ROAD!? When it's FREEZING?"
Yes, water. The roads are on a slight slant from the sprinklers in the middle down to drains on either side. Water is sprayed, it rolls down the sides of the road, and then it falls off. It's not terribly warm water, but perhaps my friend the Physics Ph.D./Duke Alexander B. Crew can tell you that if water is moving swiftly enough it won't freeze—and what's more, thanks to water's high heat capacity, even relatively cool water can still facilitate the melting of any snow on the road. It moves, it melts, and it's disturbing as hell to drive on—but in practice, it's a big step up from the rest of the roads.
Plowing is infrequent at best (I don't believe I've seen a plow yet, merely snow piles—evidence of their wake), and salting/sanding is unheard of, so if it's not one of the magical watery routes, it's more than a little harrowing to get around. Particularly on back country roads, normally so narrow that 2-way traffic is cautious as best; the roads might be cleared, but their new form is narrow enough with snowbanks as to make 2-way traffic all but impossible. I quickly learned this my first day back, with many a roadside pull-over to let traffic pass on the way to work.
Oh, and parking lots are similarly neglected much of the time—my usual spot, a short walk from my house, was one of the neglected, and my second day back was kicked off by 20 fruitless minutes spent trying to simply get my car out of its spot. The snow that was already underneath the wheels combined with another foot of accumulation overnight to make my itty-bitty Vivian strain and groan with no release. Eventually an unknown good Samaritan came and helped push from behind as I finally got off the snowfield and onto the street for another round of wet, slow going. At least all of the white stuff everywhere made for some pretty scenery.
How Japan Deals with Cold Weather
Let me start by saying that Japan (at least, my part of Japan) has a very poor concept of insulation, and no concept of central heating (at least, not out in the countryside, and especially not in my 40-year-old house). With that, my living arrangements have shifted from a 4-room house with a kitchen to a 2-room arrangement with a very cold kitchen, as I close off the compartments to save on heating expense.
The one upshot of the lack of central heating is the prevalence in homes of the (somewhat legendary) kotatsu. For the uninitiated, you can check Wikipedia for a full explanation. Short version: think table, with a blanket covering every side, and a heater underneath. Think warm pocket of air trapped underneath the table. Think warm legs…think of how inviting it is to slide further under and warm your body…think of how easy it is from there to drift off to blissful, toasty slumber…that's the power and beauty of kotatsu.
So, while my days in school (don't even get me started on the hallways) tend to be cold, my evenings at home are generally nothing short of wonderful. Throw in the occasional hot bath (another cultural artifact in Japan that is under appreciated in the states), and you have a recipe for warmth and happiness in the cool Tottori winter.
The winter is not all that bad, by the way—coming from the still North and hill winds of Dartmouth, Tottori is downright pleasant much of the time. With the recent uptick in temperature (up around 10 degrees Celsius), the snow has swiftly melted off and the area has again taken on more of a late-fall flavor (though I'm hoping the ski mountains maintain a chillier climate for obvious reasons). I imagine we're due for more snow and colder weather now that February has come, but I could see why people who live around here are not too driven to insulate and heat more effectively.
The one upshot of the lack of central heating is the prevalence in homes of the (somewhat legendary) kotatsu. For the uninitiated, you can check Wikipedia for a full explanation. Short version: think table, with a blanket covering every side, and a heater underneath. Think warm pocket of air trapped underneath the table. Think warm legs…think of how inviting it is to slide further under and warm your body…think of how easy it is from there to drift off to blissful, toasty slumber…that's the power and beauty of kotatsu.
So, while my days in school (don't even get me started on the hallways) tend to be cold, my evenings at home are generally nothing short of wonderful. Throw in the occasional hot bath (another cultural artifact in Japan that is under appreciated in the states), and you have a recipe for warmth and happiness in the cool Tottori winter.
The winter is not all that bad, by the way—coming from the still North and hill winds of Dartmouth, Tottori is downright pleasant much of the time. With the recent uptick in temperature (up around 10 degrees Celsius), the snow has swiftly melted off and the area has again taken on more of a late-fall flavor (though I'm hoping the ski mountains maintain a chillier climate for obvious reasons). I imagine we're due for more snow and colder weather now that February has come, but I could see why people who live around here are not too driven to insulate and heat more effectively.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Winter in Tottori
I have the great pleasure of living in one of the handful of regions of Japan that actually get snow.
This means that, while I get some GORGEOUS scenery on a daily basis (I'll take and send some pictures next time we get a good snow), ...I also have to deal with the winter.
This means getting ready to go 10-15 minutes early so I have time to scrape my car off, turn on the defroster, heat it up, etc.
This means, on days when there are lots of snow (and at least a few days following), getting ready to go another 10-15 minutes earlier because Japanese roadway management pales in comparison to the quick responses of a New York or New England (but more on efficiency later).
This means, when my first full day back in the country has followed a major snowstorm and happens to be in the midst of another, I show up to work 30 minutes late. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one.
Apparently the amount of snow we've gotten here in Tottori is an unseasonably large amount--I'd heard the first snowstorms were the largest in some five years. One day my students even got the day off, because the trains here weren't running with all the snow (and if you know how good Japan Railways is, you'll know that means there was a LOT of snow)...teachers still had to show up though. Talk about a slow day.
It hasn't all been unfortunate and inconveniencing, though. Like I said, the snow is beautiful, espcially on the mountainsides of the valley I live and work in--more evidence that I need to live somewhere with scenery and four seasons--and of course, snow means skiing! I'll be taking my first trip to Mt. Hyounosen (you'll recall that I hiked up Daisen, "Big Mountain," in the fall (which also has skiing). Hyounosen translates as "Ice Mountain") on Saturday, and couldn't be more excited.
This means that, while I get some GORGEOUS scenery on a daily basis (I'll take and send some pictures next time we get a good snow), ...I also have to deal with the winter.
This means getting ready to go 10-15 minutes early so I have time to scrape my car off, turn on the defroster, heat it up, etc.
This means, on days when there are lots of snow (and at least a few days following), getting ready to go another 10-15 minutes earlier because Japanese roadway management pales in comparison to the quick responses of a New York or New England (but more on efficiency later).
This means, when my first full day back in the country has followed a major snowstorm and happens to be in the midst of another, I show up to work 30 minutes late. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one.
Apparently the amount of snow we've gotten here in Tottori is an unseasonably large amount--I'd heard the first snowstorms were the largest in some five years. One day my students even got the day off, because the trains here weren't running with all the snow (and if you know how good Japan Railways is, you'll know that means there was a LOT of snow)...teachers still had to show up though. Talk about a slow day.
It hasn't all been unfortunate and inconveniencing, though. Like I said, the snow is beautiful, espcially on the mountainsides of the valley I live and work in--more evidence that I need to live somewhere with scenery and four seasons--and of course, snow means skiing! I'll be taking my first trip to Mt. Hyounosen (you'll recall that I hiked up Daisen, "Big Mountain," in the fall (which also has skiing). Hyounosen translates as "Ice Mountain") on Saturday, and couldn't be more excited.
Labels:
Sand Dunes,
school,
snow,
weather,
work
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Travels to the Beach
Beautiful Kozomi Beach.
Sea Urchin? But she's too far away!
Apparently you can break 'em open and eat them! How cruel. Also, it's a lot of work crushing that tough guy shell to get to the sensitive urchin interior, and there isn't much to be had for it.
I have a waterproof camera. Whee!
Labels:
beach,
Kozomi Beach,
pictures,
Tottori,
weather
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Graham Baecher Could Not Live in This Country.
Evidence to this fact (for those of you that don't him, Graham
"Bonesaw" "GBot" "Gmail" "Bonesaucy" Baecher is 6'6" tall):
-I clear the doorways in my house by about one inch
-The cars here are scaled down by about 70%. I fit ok, but my
predecessor (who's been showing me around) is maybe 6'1" and his knees
hit the steering wheel every time he gets in to drive
-Food portions are smaller. Eating for one Graham would definitely
constitute eating for two Japanese
-They don't make shoes or clothes for people above 6'0" or so
I'm sure I'll discover more reasons with time.
I'm finally starting to begin to get settled in my home--which is
spectacularly big (by Japanese and my standards): 4 rooms with a
kitchen, including two rather large tatami rooms (tatami mats are
traditional Japanese flooring: In Japan it's not at all uncommon to
remove your shoes and change into slippers or go barefoot at the
threshold to a house, and this is in an effort to preserve the
fine-woven rice stalk threads of the tatami--granted, not everywhere you
de-shoe has tatami, but tradition is tradition). I very honestly am
unlikely to use more than 1/3 of the space in this house. And to top
it off, my rent is dirt-cheap thanks to the property being owned by
the town who's contracted me. In short, I have a sweet living
situation. Feel free to come visit!
The past week has been pretty hectic. First, we had orientation in
Tokyo, which yielded full days with all sorts of Japanese talking
heads with formal information interspersed with former or returning
JETs talking much more candidly about living and working in Japan--not
bad, but we were left with a mountain of materials to bring with us
for "reference" (or, as many of us call it, "trash").
Immediately following that, we flew out to Tottori prefecture ("we"
being myself and the other 8 or so new JETs working in the prefecture
that arrived in the 2nd travel group). The flight was fairly
brief--only about an hour--and it was totally worth it. We got to see
a small bit of Tokyo during takeoff, and an aerial view of Tottori
when we were coming in, both of which were beautiful. Tottori is
particularly picturesque--I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet or
not, but Tottori is the least populated prefecture in Japan--the City
of Tottori boasts about 200,000 residents, and outside of that and
Yonago, the other big city on the Western side of the prefecture, the
prefecture is mostly Inaka (countryside) with towns dotted here and
there. What this means is that there's a good expanse of wilderness
with rolling hills and mountains, interrupted by patches of
residences. Very reminiscent of New England in Vermont and New
Hampsire, albeit with different foliage. There's apparently some
decent hiking in the central part of the prefecture (I reside in the
Eastern part), and there are plans in the works to climb one mountain
to visit a Buddhist temple there at the end of the month which I'll
definitely be taking part in.
The weather also emulates New England, though it's decidedly
hotter/more humid here in the summer and a bit warmer in the winter as
well (though they still get snow--apparently the skiing season is
fairly long here, which has me excited). I spend most of my time at
home situated in the direct line of a fan, only daring to venture
farther when I want to make myself some food (or purchase some from
the local grocery store or combini--Japanese short for "convenience,"
these little guys are ubiquitous and super-useful. Think CVS smooshed
down to 1/3 the size, plus more foodstuffs you can grab and eat
immediately, and you've got a general idea).
Once we arrived in Tottori proper, I had about a day to move in--my
supervisor, an English teacher to translate, and my co-JET out here in
Yazu, Josh, met me at the airport, and from there we ran several
errands. We stopped at the town office so I could file for my alien
registration card (which is my ticket to not being deported during my
time here--in the meantime, my passport suffices), and then they took
me by the Yazu town Board of Education, where Josh and I received our
contracts. Immediately following that, they took us out into the main
office, where, standing awkwardly in front of them, my supervisor told
us:
"Ah...please introduce yourselves."
Thank goodness I've had some Japanese before. Introductions (in
Japanese, Jikko-shokkai) are basically a rote repetition of who you
are, where you're from, and maybe a canned phrase about how you're
excited to work together with the person you're meeting, so they're
very simple, but I still feel terribly awkward starting in that
awkward, semi-expectant gap that comes when you meet somebody who
you're going to work with. Hopefully this will improve with time.
After an evening at home on Wednesday, I woke up early Thursday and my
supervisor drove me into the city (I have a car which I bought off my
predecessor, but I can't drive it until I have insurance arranged) so
I could register for a bank account.
Aside--you know how, in America, we sign our names on official
documents? In Japan, they use inkan--a small seal with your name in
it (mine is in Katakana, and reads "Ma-ki") which you can use on a
stamp pad. This strikes me as rife with counterfeit opportunity, but
then again, so is our signature system.
Thursday afternoon, Tottori orientation started, which touched upon
more work information, only more specifically geared towards Tottori.
We in Group B, the second travel group, got to meet all the JETs who
came in Group A a week before us, as well as several returners, and
most of the group seems to be very good-natured, and should be a good
network to lean on for support here.
Friday yielded more orientation in the morning, but then in the
afternoon we traveled and did some sightseeing, including the Tottori
Sand Dune(s) and sand museum. Yes, they have a sand dune, and it's
ginormous--it's the only "desert" in Japan (see attached). It also
had a wonderful view of the Sea of Japan (I do believe the Chinese
call it the Sea of China from their side) from the top (see other
attached). They also had some SPECTACULAR pear-flavored ice cream
(don't knock it 'til you've tried it) which I would attach a picture
of (along with many others), but I only have access to pictures on my
cell phone at the moment as I left my camera cord back in the States.
Yesterday also proved busy--Tottori City has an annual festival, the
Shan Shan festival, which apparently involves massive groups of
Tottorians dancing with ritual umbrellas through much of the afternoon
and evening. On top of that, I was invited to my first enkan (I'm not
sure if the best translation is "party" or "drinking
party")--basically, social gatherings of staff where, in contrast to
the uptight, formal nature of their work, people speak freely (using
alcohol as a lubricant or, in some cases, an excuse), telling people
what they really think, before going back to work the next day and
acting as though nothing ever happened. Weird, but apparently a
really good way to get to know my coworkers--and this one was a
welcome party for me (and a farewell party for my predecessor, who
I'll talk about in a second), so I kind of had to go. This one was a
fairly small gathering, with only 5 or so of the 20 workers from just
one of my middle schools (I work at two), so it wasn't particularly
raucous or exciting, just mellow chit-chat over dinner. Not a typical
enkan, according to Jimmy, my predecessor, and I actually crashed
pretty hard in the middle of dinner energy-wise, still feeling the
effect of the jetlag (which will apparently last another week--it's a
13 hour time difference here), so I didn't enjoy it perhaps as much as
I was able to.
There's a general update. Apologies for the gargantuan nature of this
update, but I'm not done yet. Some anecdotes...
1) Jimmy. My predecessor, he just arrived back here after traveling
through SE Asia. He's been really helpful, showing me around (and
continuing to show me around) and giving me the skinny on the JET
gossip. Really nice, good-natured guy, but I do worry that he's going
to talk me to death sometimes. We'll see how the next few days play
out while he crashes with me before returning to home in Kentucky on
Thursday...
2) Travel. So, a couple evenings ago the Tottori Association of JETs
(AJET) held a social function after orientation ended. I wasn't
planning on staying the night in the city, so I resolved to take the
train home...unfortunately, I missed my transfer and wound up heading
in the wrong direction on the last train for the night...but then,
fortunately, I wound up in Chizu, where one of the other JETs lived
and had returned to earlier that day. By a stroke of luck, she also
lived just a short walk away from the train station. My ass = saved.
The next day, I took the proper train back home--but, when I got to
the station where I needed to transfer, and asked about the train to
Funaoka (the district of Yazu in which I live), the conductor pointed
down the street and said I should walk, because the train wasn't due
for an hour. Resolving to make the walk (which, in retrospect, would
have been about 2 miles), an old Japanese woman interjected to tell me
that she could give me a ride (this is all happening in Japanese--the
natives being fluent, myself being very broken and hard to
understand). So she took me to my district, dropped me off in the
middle (it's a small district), and from there I walked home--stopping
at the combini for a bite, and saying hi to the neighbors on the way
as though nothing had happened and I was just out for a short jaunt
despite getting home, oh, 10 hours later than I intended. I have the
schedule straight now, though! And soon I'll be driving, so that'll
be my preferred means.
3) Driving. Cars here are ridiculously gas efficient, for a few
reasons. One, they're small--they have two calibers of cars here, one
that's somewhat comparable to American cars (and more expensive to own
and maintain), and the other, more common, which is the smaller
variety I described above. They have smaller engines and just chug
along. Two, the speed limit is lower here, about 40 or
50...kilometers per hour. That's a little over 30 miles per hour.
Life has a slower pace here, and nowhere is this more clear than on
the road.
4) Mitsuharu Ota. Apparently a big higher-up in the Japanese English
education board, he gave us a speech in our Tokyo orientation. Of the
30 minute speech, he opened with a phrase about how there was a delay
that caused him to start late, and how "time is very precious, here
and in the classroom..." and then proceeded to spend about half of his
time talking just dropping one-liners and puns in English. He didn't
have a great command of the language, either, which made it even more
hilarious. My favorite--he was talking about how he had butterflies
in his stomach, and then asked us...would we rather have butterflies
in our stomachs, like him, or "butter" flies? "yuck. not very
tasty."
5) Radio. All Japanese, all Japanese music, until..."Bringing you the
heartbeat of Tottori, with the best sounds of today--82.5,
s-s-s-st-starrrrbird!" Exactly like you'd expect for pop radio in the
states. What a wonderful country.
6) Address. See below!
Matt Mackey
Assistant Language Teacher
JET Program
519-3 Funaoka
Yazu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori-ken, Japan 680-0471
If you have an interest in receiving a postcard, let me know what your
address is and I'll do my best to get one to you at some point during
the coming year. Or write me first and I'll write you back!
Hope things are well with the rest of you. Even if you don't read the
full update, feel free to drop me an email and let me know how you're
doing!
Zya ne,
Matto-sensei
"Bonesaw" "GBot" "Gmail" "Bonesaucy" Baecher is 6'6" tall):
-I clear the doorways in my house by about one inch
-The cars here are scaled down by about 70%. I fit ok, but my
predecessor (who's been showing me around) is maybe 6'1" and his knees
hit the steering wheel every time he gets in to drive
-Food portions are smaller. Eating for one Graham would definitely
constitute eating for two Japanese
-They don't make shoes or clothes for people above 6'0" or so
I'm sure I'll discover more reasons with time.
I'm finally starting to begin to get settled in my home--which is
spectacularly big (by Japanese and my standards): 4 rooms with a
kitchen, including two rather large tatami rooms (tatami mats are
traditional Japanese flooring: In Japan it's not at all uncommon to
remove your shoes and change into slippers or go barefoot at the
threshold to a house, and this is in an effort to preserve the
fine-woven rice stalk threads of the tatami--granted, not everywhere you
de-shoe has tatami, but tradition is tradition). I very honestly am
unlikely to use more than 1/3 of the space in this house. And to top
it off, my rent is dirt-cheap thanks to the property being owned by
the town who's contracted me. In short, I have a sweet living
situation. Feel free to come visit!
The past week has been pretty hectic. First, we had orientation in
Tokyo, which yielded full days with all sorts of Japanese talking
heads with formal information interspersed with former or returning
JETs talking much more candidly about living and working in Japan--not
bad, but we were left with a mountain of materials to bring with us
for "reference" (or, as many of us call it, "trash").
Immediately following that, we flew out to Tottori prefecture ("we"
being myself and the other 8 or so new JETs working in the prefecture
that arrived in the 2nd travel group). The flight was fairly
brief--only about an hour--and it was totally worth it. We got to see
a small bit of Tokyo during takeoff, and an aerial view of Tottori
when we were coming in, both of which were beautiful. Tottori is
particularly picturesque--I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet or
not, but Tottori is the least populated prefecture in Japan--the City
of Tottori boasts about 200,000 residents, and outside of that and
Yonago, the other big city on the Western side of the prefecture, the
prefecture is mostly Inaka (countryside) with towns dotted here and
there. What this means is that there's a good expanse of wilderness
with rolling hills and mountains, interrupted by patches of
residences. Very reminiscent of New England in Vermont and New
Hampsire, albeit with different foliage. There's apparently some
decent hiking in the central part of the prefecture (I reside in the
Eastern part), and there are plans in the works to climb one mountain
to visit a Buddhist temple there at the end of the month which I'll
definitely be taking part in.
The weather also emulates New England, though it's decidedly
hotter/more humid here in the summer and a bit warmer in the winter as
well (though they still get snow--apparently the skiing season is
fairly long here, which has me excited). I spend most of my time at
home situated in the direct line of a fan, only daring to venture
farther when I want to make myself some food (or purchase some from
the local grocery store or combini--Japanese short for "convenience,"
these little guys are ubiquitous and super-useful. Think CVS smooshed
down to 1/3 the size, plus more foodstuffs you can grab and eat
immediately, and you've got a general idea).
Once we arrived in Tottori proper, I had about a day to move in--my
supervisor, an English teacher to translate, and my co-JET out here in
Yazu, Josh, met me at the airport, and from there we ran several
errands. We stopped at the town office so I could file for my alien
registration card (which is my ticket to not being deported during my
time here--in the meantime, my passport suffices), and then they took
me by the Yazu town Board of Education, where Josh and I received our
contracts. Immediately following that, they took us out into the main
office, where, standing awkwardly in front of them, my supervisor told
us:
"Ah...please introduce yourselves."
Thank goodness I've had some Japanese before. Introductions (in
Japanese, Jikko-shokkai) are basically a rote repetition of who you
are, where you're from, and maybe a canned phrase about how you're
excited to work together with the person you're meeting, so they're
very simple, but I still feel terribly awkward starting in that
awkward, semi-expectant gap that comes when you meet somebody who
you're going to work with. Hopefully this will improve with time.
After an evening at home on Wednesday, I woke up early Thursday and my
supervisor drove me into the city (I have a car which I bought off my
predecessor, but I can't drive it until I have insurance arranged) so
I could register for a bank account.
Aside--you know how, in America, we sign our names on official
documents? In Japan, they use inkan--a small seal with your name in
it (mine is in Katakana, and reads "Ma-ki") which you can use on a
stamp pad. This strikes me as rife with counterfeit opportunity, but
then again, so is our signature system.
Thursday afternoon, Tottori orientation started, which touched upon
more work information, only more specifically geared towards Tottori.
We in Group B, the second travel group, got to meet all the JETs who
came in Group A a week before us, as well as several returners, and
most of the group seems to be very good-natured, and should be a good
network to lean on for support here.
Friday yielded more orientation in the morning, but then in the
afternoon we traveled and did some sightseeing, including the Tottori
Sand Dune(s) and sand museum. Yes, they have a sand dune, and it's
ginormous--it's the only "desert" in Japan (see attached). It also
had a wonderful view of the Sea of Japan (I do believe the Chinese
call it the Sea of China from their side) from the top (see other
attached). They also had some SPECTACULAR pear-flavored ice cream
(don't knock it 'til you've tried it) which I would attach a picture
of (along with many others), but I only have access to pictures on my
cell phone at the moment as I left my camera cord back in the States.
Yesterday also proved busy--Tottori City has an annual festival, the
Shan Shan festival, which apparently involves massive groups of
Tottorians dancing with ritual umbrellas through much of the afternoon
and evening. On top of that, I was invited to my first enkan (I'm not
sure if the best translation is "party" or "drinking
party")--basically, social gatherings of staff where, in contrast to
the uptight, formal nature of their work, people speak freely (using
alcohol as a lubricant or, in some cases, an excuse), telling people
what they really think, before going back to work the next day and
acting as though nothing ever happened. Weird, but apparently a
really good way to get to know my coworkers--and this one was a
welcome party for me (and a farewell party for my predecessor, who
I'll talk about in a second), so I kind of had to go. This one was a
fairly small gathering, with only 5 or so of the 20 workers from just
one of my middle schools (I work at two), so it wasn't particularly
raucous or exciting, just mellow chit-chat over dinner. Not a typical
enkan, according to Jimmy, my predecessor, and I actually crashed
pretty hard in the middle of dinner energy-wise, still feeling the
effect of the jetlag (which will apparently last another week--it's a
13 hour time difference here), so I didn't enjoy it perhaps as much as
I was able to.
There's a general update. Apologies for the gargantuan nature of this
update, but I'm not done yet. Some anecdotes...
1) Jimmy. My predecessor, he just arrived back here after traveling
through SE Asia. He's been really helpful, showing me around (and
continuing to show me around) and giving me the skinny on the JET
gossip. Really nice, good-natured guy, but I do worry that he's going
to talk me to death sometimes. We'll see how the next few days play
out while he crashes with me before returning to home in Kentucky on
Thursday...
2) Travel. So, a couple evenings ago the Tottori Association of JETs
(AJET) held a social function after orientation ended. I wasn't
planning on staying the night in the city, so I resolved to take the
train home...unfortunately, I missed my transfer and wound up heading
in the wrong direction on the last train for the night...but then,
fortunately, I wound up in Chizu, where one of the other JETs lived
and had returned to earlier that day. By a stroke of luck, she also
lived just a short walk away from the train station. My ass = saved.
The next day, I took the proper train back home--but, when I got to
the station where I needed to transfer, and asked about the train to
Funaoka (the district of Yazu in which I live), the conductor pointed
down the street and said I should walk, because the train wasn't due
for an hour. Resolving to make the walk (which, in retrospect, would
have been about 2 miles), an old Japanese woman interjected to tell me
that she could give me a ride (this is all happening in Japanese--the
natives being fluent, myself being very broken and hard to
understand). So she took me to my district, dropped me off in the
middle (it's a small district), and from there I walked home--stopping
at the combini for a bite, and saying hi to the neighbors on the way
as though nothing had happened and I was just out for a short jaunt
despite getting home, oh, 10 hours later than I intended. I have the
schedule straight now, though! And soon I'll be driving, so that'll
be my preferred means.
3) Driving. Cars here are ridiculously gas efficient, for a few
reasons. One, they're small--they have two calibers of cars here, one
that's somewhat comparable to American cars (and more expensive to own
and maintain), and the other, more common, which is the smaller
variety I described above. They have smaller engines and just chug
along. Two, the speed limit is lower here, about 40 or
50...kilometers per hour. That's a little over 30 miles per hour.
Life has a slower pace here, and nowhere is this more clear than on
the road.
4) Mitsuharu Ota. Apparently a big higher-up in the Japanese English
education board, he gave us a speech in our Tokyo orientation. Of the
30 minute speech, he opened with a phrase about how there was a delay
that caused him to start late, and how "time is very precious, here
and in the classroom..." and then proceeded to spend about half of his
time talking just dropping one-liners and puns in English. He didn't
have a great command of the language, either, which made it even more
hilarious. My favorite--he was talking about how he had butterflies
in his stomach, and then asked us...would we rather have butterflies
in our stomachs, like him, or "butter" flies? "yuck. not very
tasty."
5) Radio. All Japanese, all Japanese music, until..."Bringing you the
heartbeat of Tottori, with the best sounds of today--82.5,
s-s-s-st-starrrrbird!" Exactly like you'd expect for pop radio in the
states. What a wonderful country.
6) Address. See below!
Matt Mackey
Assistant Language Teacher
JET Program
519-3 Funaoka
Yazu-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori-ken, Japan 680-0471
If you have an interest in receiving a postcard, let me know what your
address is and I'll do my best to get one to you at some point during
the coming year. Or write me first and I'll write you back!
Hope things are well with the rest of you. Even if you don't read the
full update, feel free to drop me an email and let me know how you're
doing!
Zya ne,
Matto-sensei
Labels:
my address,
Orientation,
Sand Dunes,
Shan shan,
Tottori,
weather
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