Advertisement
Published: February 12th 2006
TRAVELBLOG ENTRY #3
January 23-February 7, 2006
Hey everyone (from Larry),
I had my orientation and first week of OJT-'On The Job Training'. I had to venture into Shinjuku for my Nova orientation at the corporate office. Shinjuku is called the 'Times Square' of Tokyo, and their train station is one of the busiest in the world. I finally navigated my way to the corporate office 'what a beautiful building' and I was able to see Mt. Fuji from the floor we were on. Orientation was pretty boring, but I was able to meet a few other instructors and hopefully we'll all being going to the Sumo Tournament on February 3rd. Anyway, after our orientation we decided to go out for a few drinks at this Victorian Pub called 'Rose & Crown' and talked about where everyone lived and which office they'd be working at. After putting back a few beers we decided to go eat some sushi and we wanted to find a place that the sushi comes to you on a conveyer belt and you take what you want. After walking around Shinjuku in what seemed to be “Electronics Town“, we found one. So I sat down
and started to eat and eat....thinking every thing is about $2-$5 a piece (that’s what I was told anyway). Unfortunately I had to grab the king crab...it was only after I ate a couple did I realize that depending on which plate the food was on...also determined the price. Long story short, I paid about $40 for a couple pieces of sushi.
No onto training, I've been training in a city called Chiba about an hour southeast of where I live. I was very nervous at first because on the first day they make us teach the first part of a class. I will be teaching all ages and levels, each class can have from 1-4 students and are 40 minutes long. All students know and speak English, I am helping them to speak properly and like a native speaker, me. So training has been fun and all the students are eager to learn, so far I think I am really going to enjoy this. I have lesson plans to help guide me through the class but there is still a lot I have to do to prepare for each class, I'm sure once I become familiar with the
layout it will get easier. I finished training yesterday and went out with my trainer, Greg, for some wine and an extremely thin crust pizza. On the way to the restaurant a Japanese girl asked me to join her at a 'Host Bar', I declined of course.
Today I decided to walk from Melanie's apartment in Shin-Urayasu, to mine, in Minami-Gyotoku, to see how far it was and what the towns looked like. It took about an hour and I didn't get lost, but I did see a couple of Police Men running up to people on bicycles. Apparently when a bicycle is reported stolen, the police will stop all bicycles in that area with the same color and since you have to register your bicycle (like a car), they can see if the bike belongs to you. After relaxing at my place for awhile I walked back to Melanie’s, being that I knew exactly where to go, I made it back in about 30 minutes. So we live pretty close. J
I had my first day as a Nova Instructor, after doing a Superman change of clothes in the bathroom (I'll explain if you really need to
know) I walked 20 minutes to my new school. I am working at a Nova school called 'Atre Shin-Urayasu', which is a 6-month old branch. The school is very small, only 2-3 instructors on any given day. But, it is one of the fastest growing schools, so they may be adding instructors soon. The Japanese staff is very friendly and interested in talking English to me. My branch manager, Barnaby, was extremely nice and welcoming, I’m sure I will enjoy working there. After a few minutes, it felt like I've been there for months. The students were very polite and extremely interested in the lessons. It is really amazing to help these students understand English, in the beginning of the lesson they are sometimes very confused and by the end they understand the subject that was being taught, or at least they pretend to. I was supposed to actually be located at a school called 'Park Square-Shin Urayasu' but that school is not in a very accessible location so they will transfer the students to my school and make that just a kids school. Next week I learn to teach kids(K-4) and also 'ChibaKids' 1-3 years old. I think it
should be a lot of fun. My manager took me out for some good Japanese Ramin food, not too sure what it was but it tasted good....so I had it again for dinner...the number 4 instead of the 6 this time. I've been eating a lot of fast food, but have been gradually adventuring into trying new foods. It's not that I don’t want to try new things, I just don’t know what the hell I'm eating half the times. So I just stopped worrying about it and just decided to try it. So I have had some very good meals but I don’t know what they were. My second day of teaching was just as exciting, the students I get to teach are really great. They are all so diverse and all bring unique attributes to the classroom, so every lesson is different and challenging.
Melanie and I had another day off together, but the weather was horrible. Melanie being as sore as she was, from rehearsals, still ventured out with me. We decided to go to Ebisu Garden Place which is an old district that has become chic only in the last few years. Ebisu is the
name given to one of the seven gods of good fortune, but the name of the district derives from the popular Yebisu beer. We chose to go here on a rainy day because it is essentially an large covered shopping/entertainment complex. They have these very long horizontal escalators that take you about 3-4city blocks to the complex from the train station. When we finally arrived we found a great café that had some American style sandwiches, the first we had since being in Japan. After roaming around for a bit, not really being able to appreciate the scenery, we decided to head home and got caught in the rush hour traffic and the trains are twice as jammed than New York.
I finally joined a gym here in Japan, and luckily I have no tattoos. Because if I did, I would not be permitted to use the facilities. Tattoos are considered offensive and for gangsters only. But the
gym is beautiful and very, very clean like the rest of Japan. The shoes I wear outside I have to put in a locker before I enter the main part of the training facility. The showers are very different as well,
you sit on a plastic bucket wet yourself, then lather up, and finally rinse yourself off. You are also doing this next to 6 other men…no privacy. But after a long workout you can relax in a massage chair…its almost as good as a real massage.
I walked around on my day off to get a feel for Melanie’s area and to look for a golf driving range, and after a couple of hours I finally found one. Not sure how I was going to practice, because I didn’t bring any clubs, but then I found a pile of clubs the range was discarding. After looking through a few I found a complete set!! I’m sure they’re not the best, but now I can practice and I need the practice. After a few more days of teaching I feel I am getting the hang of things and my lesson planning is becoming easier. Therefore, I can pay more focus on the students and how they interact and participate in the lesson. After work tonight, Melanie surprised me and we decided to go to “The Hub, “ a bar in this very nice hotel called the Oriental Hotel. I had
a mango beer, not too bad…I think it was just tap beer and a mango puree. We also had the most amazing, delicious crepes at a place called Dapper Dan’s…right near Melanie’s apt.
Two firsts--I tried some sashimi. I am not too sure what I had but I think it was Tuna, Salmon, Eel, Mackerel, Fish Eggs, Shrimp, Cod, and some crab. I liked everything except for the fish eggs…yuk. We have both been trying to stay away from the American food, because most American food here is fast food. So we definitely have to acquire some new tastes, but it’s been fun thus far. Another first was an earthquake…it scared the sh** out of us. We were laying on the bed watching t.v. and we each thought the other was shaking the bed, then we looked into the kitchen and the wine in the glass was about to spill out and a closet door was swaying back and forth. We both kind of froze and didn’t know what to do, luckily it ended rather quickly.
That’s it for now, I am having a great time, but I do miss you all....oh yeah I got a cell phone
but I cant put the number on this travel blog.
Hi all (from Melanie),
Well, Larry seemed to sum almost everything up that we’ve been up to lately, so I’ll just make mine short this time. Rehearsals are still going well, but for some reason do not seem to be getting any easier like I would have imagined. Everyday we are learning more and more of the show, and finally in a week or so, we will be putting all of the pieces together in our first run-through over at the theatre (I believe on the 22nd). We have already learned all of the basic choreography, but unfortunately I still have quite a few pages of Japanese lines to learn, not to mention we’ve been working on the “whirlpool” lately…..which is pretty difficult. Basically, the “whirlpool” is a part of the show where Ursula (the Sea Witch, for those of you who don’t know ‘The Little Mermaid’) gets mad at Ariel and sends her flying into a crazy spinning motion at the top of the theatre. Well, in order to do this, you must quickly do a back flip into a flat back position, staring straight up
at the top of the theatre….and then prepare for the spinning. At this time, the trolley starts spinning like crazy, and if you lose your balance or don’t push your ribcage and legs in the opposite positions at just the right times, the trolley will get ahead of you and the wires attaching your harness will cross….and then, wind you up really tightly! There is a lot of pressure on us in this situation because if we cross the wires at any time in our show, the show stops where it is, and the audience is told that the show cannot go on due to “technical difficulties” or something like that. Apparently a lot of girls have had this happen to them on their first day of performing the show…which is also kind of scary. It’s also challenging because if you don’t “spot” the top of the theatre while you are spinning, you can get really dizzy and/or sick!!
But on the bright side, I guess I will have ABS OF STEEL by the time we come home! My rehearsals are on average about 6 to 8 hours/day now, and we undergo a lot of very good strength training/conditioning
at just about every practice. So, although I’ve been pretty sore and whiney lately, I do feel like I am once again in amazing physical shape. (So Dad, make sure you call all of our relatives and tell them that, ok?)
Another experience Larry and I have had lately, was go out for some “real” Japanese cuisine with some of Larry’s NOVA coworkers. We went to a place where we had to take our shoes off and sit on the floor around the table…just like in the movies! J Luckily, there was space underneath the table for us to put our legs….so you felt like you were sitting on a chair at a table, only really uncomfortable and a little challenging for Larry’s big, long legs!! Fortunately for us, we were dining that night with many Japanese speakers, because the entire menu was only in Japanese….and there were no pictures! We just told everyone to order a bunch of dishes to pass, and that we would trust their decisions. In the end, most of what we ate was very good, although neither one of us could tell you what 99% of it was!!! One thing we had to eat,
which was served like an appetizer to everyone at the table, seemed to be some sort of seaweed and mushroom concoction - not one of our favorites! However, we were told by some of our friends that night that most restaurants here in Japan will serve a similar sort of appetizer (even though no one orders it), and then you are charged on average between $3-$5 for each one….sort of like a “table charge”. So far from our experiences, we are not fans of these “unordered appetizers,” but I guess since we are not expected to tip on our meals here, it’s not so bad.
Well, I’m exhausted and need to get some rest. I have the day off tomorrow, but unfortunately I have a lot of studying to do…..GEEZ, and I thought I graduated already!!! Talk to you all soon!
Love, Larry & Melanie
nihongo wa hanasemasu ka---can you speak Japanese?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.021s; cc: 12; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0276s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Erin
non-member comment
Wow!
I miss you guys so much! I have a lot of news, so I'll have to email you, MelWal! =) I am officially sucking at my diet...still have only lost 10lbs, but on the bright side, I do have a wonderful boyfriend (although Amy may beg to differ). More on that soon. Keep the amazing stories coming. You two certainly are brave on the food front...