 Literary Gypsy - teecha_nikky | All Comments |
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| 4th April 2009 teecha_nikky | Errm... - From: Buntu, Bumpy Water and Balancing Acts : Adventurism I don't think so... We've been lazing around in Phuket but it's getting to me. I feel like i've seen all i can of this area and at the same time, I don't want to go to any trouble, thus defeating the purpose of having a holiday. Any ideas for local(ish) things to do...day trips etc? I'm torn between wanting to see things around here, and not wanting to be a package tourist! ^_^ |
| 4th April 2009 Jo Trouble | - From: Buntu, Bumpy Water and Balancing Acts : Adventurism Hi Nikky, I went to Thailand for Golden Week last year (kinda hard to believe it was a year ago), and loved it!! Are you going up to Chiang Mai? |
| 13th March 2009 Kathy | - From: Leaving it all behind You're right - whatever decision you make you'll have regrets. You just have to learn to live with them I guess. I don't know what it would of been like if I had lived in Japan alone, sans boyfriend/husband...would I have been able to stay ten years or just one or two? |
| 30th September 2008 dAb | - From: Half a year away, and half a lifetime lived Great blog, Nix! Writing skills on the up & up. A few typos but you still remember some Engrish! dAb |
| 27th September 2008 dAb | neat pik, Nix! - From: Half a year away, and half a lifetime lived looks seamless to me, Nix...can't see any joins at all did you do that on a PC or did you do it in the D90 itself? dAb |
| 27th September 2008 Kathy | - From: Ferris wheels, whale sharks, love hotels and castles So glad you got to experience a love hotel chica! That's another thing you can cross off your 'to do' list...but not sure if you can really...seeing that you didn't end up 'doing it' in the hotel v(^v^)v |
| 1st September 2008 teecha_nikky | Nooo... - From: Sleeping in a Giant Doorless Microwave With no Door or Heat Controls I was partying with randoms a whole 1 km away from the glico man thankyou very much. ^_^ I did have a short conversation with another random under the lights of the glico man though....how did you guess? |
| 28th August 2008 anonymous | - From: Sleeping in a Giant Doorless Microwave With no Door or Heat Controls Are you now partying with randoms under the lights of the glico man?? Lol you crack me up! |
| 22nd July 2008 anonymous | - From: Gion Matsuri I've got a Hokke in my freezer that I bought from the Japanese fish monger here in Perth- I'm saving it for a special occasion. Don't you just love the taste? k |
| 22nd July 2008 anonymous | - From: Nikky's Birthday - the saga continues What a gorgeous yukata chica! I'm jealous! Swap my blue one for your purple one?? Na-n chatte! Hehehehehe. k |
| 17th July 2008 Joculator | - From: Thankyou everyone out there! Better late than never, and maybe you may like to remember the good bits of that day again. Happy (belated) birthday wishes from the UK. Does this mean I get the first UK flag on your blog map? Will drop by again or will see you on the Pratchett USB. |
| 16th July 2008 dAb | loved this brog! - From: Osaka Birthday! hi nix, this one REALLY had me in stitches! (Barbie & Ken-ji) dunno why...but your turn of phrase hit my funny-bone! look at it this way...it got you out of the apt, din-it? really sounds like you're having a ROMPN' good time in Japan! LUj...dAb |
| 10th July 2008 teecha_nikky | I know! - From: Thankyou everyone out there! When i played it back I was like "who is that?!"...... but i left it because it's the message that's important and not how wierd i look with the top of my head missing, or that i have a spot on my head or that i sound like a south african/american woman speaking for the hearing impaired... I was tempted to do a reshoot with a really 'truye-bluye ozzie accent yu noye? That wood'v bin bonzer ay!' |
| 10th July 2008 Kathy | - From: Thankyou everyone out there! Hehehehehe...I can hear that all the exposure to 'American' accents has worn off on you chica! Lol...You've also got that speaking really slowly and clearly thing happening...but I've been there so I won't take the piss out of you too much. xx |
| 5th July 2008 Kathy | - From: Osaka Birthday! Tanjoubi omedetou chica! I'm sure you'll have a great one in Osaka- just watch out for those crazy kinki people ;) xx |
| 30th June 2008 anonymous | - From: 5 hours of Japanese and a Sore Bum I mean...quite frankly...thinking back to Sharon-uber-bitch...curriculum council...thank god you were there to entertain me! Quite frankly, she sucked *insert annoying manical laughter* xx |
| 28th June 2008 teecha_nikky | Had to add... - From: 5 hours of Japanese and a Sore Bum What was that phrase she always used K? "quite frankly...""quite frankly"..."curriculum council"..."quite frankly" Honestly they were like bingo FREE spaces... |
| 28th June 2008 teecha_nikky | You know... - From: 5 hours of Japanese and a Sore Bum There could be money in this. Run a little workshop with ideas on how to keep yourself entertained while someone is droning on, in English or not. I like that the Japanese openly show how they're feeling in that way, sleeping or looking disaffected and bored....it's a more honest approach than trying NOT to look how EVERYBODY in the room knows you feel... |
| 28th June 2008 Kathy | - From: 5 hours of Japanese and a Sore Bum Awww chica! ULB just takes me back to Sharon-bitch-face's class and how much fun we used to have...all provided by ourselves that is! xx |
| 28th June 2008 Brendan | - From: Showa No Hi 1975 is Showa year 50, so you can use that to work out which year you were born in. |
| 28th June 2008 Brendan | Japanese language torture - From: 5 hours of Japanese and a Sore Bum You really are getting the Japan experience, and still, be thankful - you're not getting the worst of it. A week or so after I arrived in my region in Japan, all the local ALTs went to a welcoming event at a local school. It really was fascinating, and the amazingly modern sounding (almost techno) music the little koto club played for us was just amazing. Anyway, all was going well until the final part of the day - a speech by someone significant. It turned out he was a Belgian educator who'd been in Japan for 30 years or so. He spoke perfect Japanese, obviously, as well as perfect English. He was to give the speech to a room of newly arrived ALTs, none of whom spoke Japanese. The other participants were Japanese teachers of English. ie. the common language of the room was... frickin' English. Needless to say, Belgian twat went on for 2 hours in Japanese. Us poor bloody foreigners were still naive enough to hold on to our own customs, such as thinking it rude to not look like we were paying attention. So all of us are stifling yawns, struggling to sit up straight, trying not to let the tears in our eyes show - while the Japanese teachers, to a man, are sitting with arms folded, head back, eyes closed, mouth open and at least 3 of them were gently snoring. They did this to us JETs in that area 3 more times in the time I was there. Every time, the speaker spoke beautiful English - but the speech was given in Japanese. By the last time I'd had enough. Even though I could speak Japanese by that time, I did as the Japanese teachers and went to sleep on the desk. An annoying Yank girl poked me painfully in the ribs suddenly at one point and hissed, "He's asking you a question". I drearily stood up and said, "Je suis desole que j'ecoutais pas, mais vous voyez, comme tous les etrangers ici, je parle pas bien japonais et ca m'agace que la langue commune ici et l'anglais mais on a du subir deux heures de japonais". The speaker looked confused and said to me, in English, "I'm sorry I don't understand what you just said". My reply was, "Well now you know how half of room which are foreigners has felt for the last 2 hours". I'm surprised the teacher from my school accompanying me didn't commit suicide out of shame on the spot. But I think my point was valid. |
| 28th June 2008 Re-Keisha | I'll Be tryin' JSB ! - From: 5 hours of Japanese and a Sore Bum hey nickie. had to comment on this blog. this is quite interesting. i had to attend a lesson observation also, but as the meeting was in japanese, i couldn't understand why they needed me there. but hey, i wish i'd known about JSB b4, as i sure would have made use of it !! kawaii :D |
| 25th June 2008 teecha_nikky | Correction...WAS lovely weather - From: Showa No Hi We're currently getting a lot of rain with the onset of rainy season...but that's a good thing because it combats the extreme heat. I'm used to VISITING this kind of westher, not LIVING in it...so it's taking some getting used to. A while back I knew which year I was born in - Japanese style. Will have to look into that once again. I hope the weather picks up in Oz. I keep hearing about rain rain rain....and puddle jumping. |
| 25th June 2008 Brendan Abrams | - From: Showa No Hi Japan's currently in the reign of the Heisei emperor, it's year 20. The Heian period was from 794-1185. It's all so damn confusing isn't it. Traditional depictions of tanuki (Raccoon dog) emphasis their enormous testicles. Read all about it at wiki/Tanuki. Great pics, looks like lovely weather. |
| 25th June 2008 teecha_nikky | I will have to remember that... - From: Bent like a rice stalk in the wind... I will tuck that notelet away for future reference Bren... along with all the stuff i've read about reverse culture shock - it's still a long way off...then again it's been 3 months now eep! >_< |
| 24th June 2008 Brendan | Directions - From: From drag queens to river randoms - Another Kyoto adventure The job of postman in Japan used to be hereditary, because the task of finding addresses in Japan has always been so difficult. That's why Japan was the first country to have GPS on mobile phones. In other countries, it's a gimmick. In Japan it's really, really useful. |
| 24th June 2008 Brendan | Knock Knees - From: Tea Ceremony A decidedly odd Japanese lecturer I had at uni insisted that Japanese used to be renowned for being giants until they adopted the tatami culture and gravitated (!) towards the floor. All that sitting on the knees resulted in Japanese becoming a rather short people, so he said. |
| 24th June 2008 Brendan | Excessive Politeness Kills. - From: Bent like a rice stalk in the wind... I kid you not, National Hwy 2 runs through the city I used to live it. Now it's a 'proper' dual carriageway with room for a car in each lane, but it used to be so narrow that the front doors of people's houses would sometimes be clipped by passing traffic. The traffic politeness you mention is a cool feature of Japan. It means more than road rules, but because of the state of the roads that's probably a good thing. Be very careful when you come back to Australia. I nearly got taken out when I expected oncoming cars to slow down for me as a matter of course when I was turning right in front of them. In Japan it would have been polite and conducive to traffic flow. In Australia it will get you killed. |
| 21st June 2008 Mike | Hi Toots..... - From: Procrastination isn't the problem, It's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off! - E.D. er...should I comment now or wait 'til tomorrow? Ummmmm...okay...tomorrow! Great blog....actually quite hilarious in parts....more pleeez! Sounds like you're settling in fine - just hope the testing & marking doesn't become a slog. Sorry to hear about the head-whack!!! What's that in Japanese? also - Do they have some good #$%$^&% expletives? xoxo - dAb |
| 18th June 2008 teecha_nikky | Discombobulation Negation - From: Bent like a rice stalk in the wind... I felt out of my depth when i arrived in my city, being now separated from all of the other foreigners I had made bonds with, and had to survive alone on my own two feet. To be sure I felt discombobulated then....new language, new foods, new sights and smells...but that has since worn off, along with, i fear, some of that novelty factor. I find it has been all to easy to slide into that sense of the mundane, doing only necessary tasks and not really seeing too much of the city i live in. That was what prompted me to take my detour. I was sick of seeing the same buildings on the way to the same apartment... I'm looking for cost effective ways to enjoy myself... seeing as the novelty of being a bill payer is wearing off as well. Love from some Barrett DNA ^_^ |
| 18th June 2008 Caroline Barrett | great writing AND great pics... - From: Bent like a rice stalk in the wind... your writing creates pictures and your pictures...hmmm beautiful stuff!! I'm really intrigued by the incredible 360 degrees of difference in landscape, cityscape, edibles...do you perhaps feel a little discombobulated? The way you record and interpret leaves no doubt that you will be a published writer my dear!! love Aunt Caroline |
| 16th June 2008 teecha_nikky | Umm...well.... - From: Procrastination isn't the problem, It's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off! - E.D. Hey hun! Yes, settling in ok, and I only stay at work as long as there is work that needs doing. Usually home by 5.30 or 6, but there have been 7, 8 and almost 9pm finishes - thankfully not too many though. As for the other matter...It was a 3 in one hit. 1. Computer froze and I had to restart - always a pain. 2. While waiting for computer, realised my clothes were being rained on outside. 3. While collecting clothes, I picked up my laundry basket, turned around - as i was standing up- and hit my forehead on the bit that conveniently juts out of the drainpipe. Funny now...but oh so not funny last night. No sharp edges, no bleeding, no concussion....just some cussing :D xx |
| 16th June 2008 kathy | - From: Procrastination isn't the problem, It's the solution. So procrastinate now, don't put it off! - E.D. Glad to hear you're settling in well chica (^v^) I always hated having to look busy...and waiting for other people to leave work so you can leave etc. But can I ask, how did you manage to smack your head into your drain pipe? xx |
| 6th June 2008 teecha_nikky | As a matter of fact, I'm yawning now... - From: Ho hum...life as usual - in Japan! Yep, I've got the yawning with my mouth closed thing down pat...and the looking busy thing - although most of the time it's because I actually am busy. I have to test the 3rd years all through this month. 18 students per lesson, 2 and a half minutes each for a speaking test....coming up with questions and ideas is a bit of a challenge, but some actual ideas may be nearing formation soon.....perhaps after a cruisy weekend and a good night's sleep. I'm off to karaoke tonight! and going to eat yakiniku! |
| 24th May 2008 Kathy | - From: Ho hum...life as usual - in Japan! Just to prove your existence chica....hehehehehe. I always thought it was amazing how the seasons changed like..boom!...one day spring, next day summer! At the end of summer there'll also be a day with amazingly strong winds and then it will be autumn just like that. I ended up being very good at looking busy by the time I left Japan. In fact, I could also yawn without opening my mouth. I'm sure it won't be long before you start doing it too! It's good that you're taking pleasure in little things now. Just beware of the three month super deep depression period and try to remember those things that you used to think, 'Wow!' about. xx miss you |
| 21st April 2008 Kathy | - From: I think i'm in Japan... Sounds like you're settling in fine chica! Along with drums, the garbage truck and kerosene-selling-truck melodies are some of my least favourable sounds to wake up to. Did I mention I used to live right by a temple that had amazingly loud bells that rang at 6am, 12pm and 6pm? And then on New Year's Eve you'd get a special treat of 108 bell chimes for the 108 sins of man. All in all I think one of my strongest feelings about Japan is that it is NOISY!! P.S Once the American spelling takes hold, then comes the American pronunciation...have fun!! xx k |
| 12th April 2008 Kathy | - From: Kyoto Fiasco If I remember correctly, you can't call international from every pay phone and definitely not the green ones. You might find it better to get an international calling card (can buy them from kombini) as it's a lot cheaper. Ask the guy at the counter for a kokusaidenwa kaado (sometimes they just give you a print out with an access number and not an actual card. You might need to put in 10 yen or so into the phone to get a dial tone before you can call. xxx k Hang in there chica! |
| 12th April 2008 Kathy | - From: Asparsement continued… Ahhh...Japan...the country of paradoxes. Yes...it is a very backward country in the sense of 'quality of life'. Your apartment sounds exactly like my first apartment- scary hot water heater (make sure you remember to turn off the gas at the knob after you use it- you never know when an earthquake will hit) etc...Aren't you glad you didn't get sent into snow country??? k P.S Yes, I am going to comment on every one of these blogs...lol. |
| 12th April 2008 Kathy | - From: OH. My. God. I actually LIVE in Japan. A’sparse’ment madness. Mmmm...Seiyu. Another good trick to try when penny-pinching is to go to Seiyu about 1 hr- 1/2 hr before they close. They will mark down most of the remaining bentou and osouzai (pre-cooked dishes) to at least half price. I always used to buy stuff on the way home from work and often followed the guy around with those magical discount stickers! |
| 12th April 2008 Kathy | - From: Work! and students and minor freak out... Yay! The totoro song- aren't you glad I introduced you to it before you went??? Sounds like you did well during your first days, chica. Ganbatta ne! |
| 31st March 2008 teecha_nikky | Thankyou! - From: 2 week madness Wow! I didn;t even know I had a comment - still new to this site. I've arrived in Japan now, and i'm loving every second... I have to make my Japanese better though aaah! Keep me updated on your goings on too Laura... You inspire me! xxx Nikky |
| 24th March 2008 Laura | what an adventure! - From: 2 week madness I'm so excited for you, Nikky! Thanks for linking to this in your last e-mail. I'll be reading regularly to catch your tidbits and insights, thanks to the incredibly connective tissues of the Internet. Not to sound horribly cheesy or anything, but... you go, girl! To Japan! Wow! Enjoy every second! much love from your cousin Laura xooxox |
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