Change of Plans

Sorry for the delay in blog entries, but the past couple of months have been a whirlwind! After 3 weeks in Hofu, I decided that the job and life there was not exactly for me. I hated to make the decision to leave, but after looking back on the events over the past 2 months…..it seems as though it was a pretty good decision after all. While contemplating leaving Hofu, I began to look online for jobs in Okinawa. Because I have been looking for jobs in Okinawa for the past few years and sort of knew the types of jobs that were normally posted. You can imagine my excitement when I saw a job posting for the University of Phoenix that provided SOFA status (Status of Forces Agreement---a visa status that says you are with the military and legally allowed to live here). I have actually never seen a SOFA status job listed for someone without any specific skill set…..and believe me, I’ve been looking for a long time! I contacted The University of Phoenix right away and they said they would be finishing up interviews on March 19th. At this point I had already purchased a ticket to Okinawa for March 18th to visit my friends before returning back to the US. I got into Okinawa on the night of 18th and was interviewing for the position 14 hrs later :))))) I found out 3 days later that I got the job and so here I am..... living in my very own Japanese style apartment, studying Japanese on my own and once again soaking in the Okinawan sunshine!

長い　きゅうけい　すみません。防府に住んだ事が　３週間　だけ　でした。せつめいしにくい　ですけど　生活は　良くなかった。３月に　沖縄まで　ひこうきの　きっぷを　買いました。あの時に　沖縄で　めずらしい　仕事が　あきに　なりました。めんせつ　できました！　さいよう　しました！　４月から　沖縄に　はたらいて　住めます！　ついさいきんは　私のアパートに　引っ越しまして　車を　買いました。新しい　生活です。沖縄が　大好きですから　とても　うれしい　です。むかしいは　私の夢：沖縄に　住んで　はたらいて　日本語を　勉強する。今、それは　夢じゃない。。。。しんじられない　です！！！！私は　とても　LUCKY　です.

HOFU CITY, YAMAGUCHI PREFECTURE, JAPAN

Hello everyone! Now that I’m back in Japan, I thought I would pick up posting to my blog again. So here goes…. I just arrived yesterday in HOFU CITY, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. I am going to be here for 1 year to teach English. It took almost 30 hours to get here, so it’s nice finally have a place to lay down! I had a little bit of an issue after arriving in Tokyo’s Narita Airport (International). After flying through both immigration and customs I had to check –in my bags again for my flight to Hiroshima. It turns out that the plane was a smaller plane (50 passengers) and my bags were too big and heavy to go with me. The woman at the desk was very helpful and suggested that I travel to Tokyo’s domestic airport (Haneda) to catch the 5:05pm plane to Hiroshima because that plane was much bigger. The woman pushed my 140lbs of suitcases out to the bus and purchased my bus ticket. I arrived at Haneda airport at 4:48pm. I went right to the worker who was helping people in line and explained that I had come from Narita and asked if I will still be able to make the 5:05 flight. She brought me to the next agent, they did a bunch of walkie-talkie-ing and before I knew it I was running with 2 Japanese women in high heels with my 140lb bags through the never-ending terminal to try and make the flight. The gate workers were waiting for us there. They checked my bags and as soon as I got on the plane, they shut the door. Whew! After that last flight I had to take a bus to Hiroshima Station so I could take the bullet train to a station near Hofu City. I even had a nice Japanese gentleman help me carry my bags down 2 flights of stairs. The look on his face was priceless when actually felt the weight of the one he picked up!! Haha! I thanked him for being so kind and then met my new bosses, Alan and Hisako right outside the gate. Their car was tiny, but with a bit of maneuvering , we got all of my bags to fit. Even with all of the bag issues I had during the entire trip, not once did I pay a baggage fee! Yay!
This is a picture of my house in Hofu City! We are surrounded by mountains on one side and a gorgeous bay on the other. The house is in a quiet neighborhood, but there are plenty of stores within a 5-10 minute walk. Earlier today I got to chat with Gretchen, the other teacher at the school where I’ll be teaching. We’ll be sharing a huge house and a mini car. Gretchen took me to the supermarket today and I stocked up on some food for the week. I also noticed that my favorite Japanese fast food place is within walking distance from the house! Tomorrow will be my first day on the job! I’m sure I’ll have more to write after a few days of learning how to teach English!!! Stay tuned….
昨日　防府市に　引っ越しました！　今から、　ブログを　します。　防府市に　英語先生に　なりに　来ました。　明日から　新しい　仕事を　はじめます。　防府市と　山口市に　仕事を　します。　昨日　東京の　ナリタくうこうに　つきました。　広島までの　ひこうきが　ちさすぎましたから　私の　荷物を　もってこられませんでした。ANA は　バスで　ハネダに　行ってください　と　言いました。　ハネダから　広島まで　大きいな　ひこうき　でした。しゅっぱつじこくは　１７：０５だったね。　エミリは　１６：４８に　くうこうに　つきました。　問題かなと　おもいました。　ANAな人と　たくさん　で　おもい　な　にもつをもって来ながら　ひこうきまで　はしました！　ぎりぎり　だった！　しんかんせんの駅に　Hiraoka　English Academyな人と　会いました。それから、私の新しい　家に　来ました。この家は　大きい　ですね。ほかの　英語先生も　この家に　住んでいますね。彼女は　先月に　防府に　来ました。彼女と　話して　とても　しんせつな人だ　と　思います。　今日は　グレっチンさん「ほかの　先生」と　スーパに　食べ物を買いに行きました。　そのあと、防府の　しやくしょに　外人カードをしに　行きました。　明日、新しい仕事を　はじめますね！　がんばります！！！　　　

SHU UEMURA

A couple of weeks ago, a friend who gets lots of free hair products, passed this bottle my way. It's part of the Japanese hair product line "SHU UEMURA". I am of course falling in love with it and now need to explore their other products. The only problem is.... this stuff is expensive!!! Mayble I'll just have to move back to Japan.....lol.

友だちのお姉さんは　モデル　で　Ｎｅｗ　Ｙｏｒｋ　Ｃｉｔｙ人　です。よく　たくさん　ヘアスタイルングものを　いただきますね。　彼女から　この　すばらしい　サテンデザイン　ホワイトティー　ポリッシング　ミルクを　もらいました!!!　いい　ですね?　でも、もんだい　ですかな???　好き　ですけど　ＳＨＵ　ＵＥＭＵＲが　高い　です!　じゃあああ、日本に　買いに　帰ります。いい　かいけつ　ですか?　アハハハ！

Gift from OKINAWA!!!

A package from Okinawa got delivered yesterday!!!!

Chika-san didn't know it, well....at least I don't think she did, but I wanted one of these purses when I lived there. I never did get one before I left and when I took it out of the package yesterday I nearly jumped off my seat! These (purse, change purse and cell phone holder) were all made on a loom like the one I got to make my coaster on last year. I absolutely LOVE this stuff!!! This reminds me of something I forgot to explain when I wrote about making the coasters in Okinawa. It's about the blocks of 4 and 5 on that center area.... one of the words for 4 in Japanese is YOtsu and 5 is ITSUtsu.... the phrase "ITSU no YO" means eternally or forever. Hence the use of symbols "4 * 5". Make sense??? Back in the day, a woman would have this put on her obi (what wraps the kimono) (I think this symbol was just used in Okinawa, but it could be mainland too, not sure (story was told to me by an Okinawan)). The obi was then given to the man on the wedding day. Nowadays it decorates many of the items that are made with the loom in Okinawa. The card from Chika-san and Mattarah-san ended, as do most of their emails.... "itsumademo nakayoshi"....or "we are forever the best of friends"..... a lyric in Hisano-san's song about our friendship. What a perfect gift!

沖縄から　つつみを　うけとりました!　チカさんと　マッタラさんから　誕生日のプレゼントを　もらいました! かわいい　かばん　セットを　もらいました!!　沖縄に　住んだ時に　この　かばんの　スタイルを　買いたかった！「沖縄のミンサーおり　です」　プレゼントを　あけたの時　私のママは　　「すごい　ですよ、借りたい　です。。。。」と　言っていました。おもしろかった。。。アハハハ。　じゃああ、ＯＫ　ママ、時々　かばんを　借りるの事が　いい　ですよ。。。。アハハハ！　チカマタへ　誕生日のギフト　ありがとう　ございます!!!

Hmmm....

I got this back as change the other day. Although I appreciate someone trying transmit their message to the many people who would eventually come into contact with this 5 dollar bill, I find it interesting that the person telling people to "do the right thing" is actually breaking the law by writing on US currency. hmmm....

SALSA SHOES!!!!

My first pair of Salsa shoes arrived a few days ago....Now that I have the shoes.....there's no "turning" back.

サルサのくつを　買いました！来月　沖縄に　帰って　この　くつを　持って来ます。サルサのダンスを　ならうの事を　つづくつもり　です。おどりましょう!!!

Dance Lessons

Last month I began taking dance lessons again. This time, however I decided to try something different....Ballroom Dancing and Salsa! I wasn't sure if I was going to like dancing with a partner but as it "turns out", when you dance with someone who can lead, dancing with a partner is actually more fun than dancing by yourself! I think I'm hooked for life!

先月に　ダンスのクラスを　はじまりました！しゃこうダンスと　サルサダンス　です!　先月まで　一人で　おどりました。　上手な男の人と　おどるの時に　楽しくて　うれしくなりますね。私の生活で　今から　おどりたいです。サルサ　＝　幸せ。。。。。。（＾０＾）

What is this? 何ですか？

This blog entry is mostly for my Japanese friends, but anyone that has travelled abroad might get a kick out of this as you may have come across some wild spellings to common English words overseas. I was in a NJ cafe the other day with my Japanese friend when we both noticed that they put up a new food menu. The first food listed is a pretty typical Japanese dish---Yakitori ("Yaki" means grilled and "tori" means bird/chicken). I have yet to figure out what Yak-A-tori is, but judging from the discription underneath I'm positive they meant to write Yak-I-tori. We both giggled and chatted in Japanese about the "cute mistake"--much like I did about "cute English mistakes" when I lived in Japan.

これは　何ですか？　昨日は　ヒデミと　私の　好きな　きっさてんに　行って　新しい　メニューを　見ました。良かったね。。。。新しい　食べものの　メニュー　ですね。でも、　＃１は　何ですか？やかとりは　何ですか?　おいしい　かな?　アハハハ！まちがい　ですね。ヒデミと　わらっていて　日本語で　しゃべりました。　かわいい　まちがい　ですね。