Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen!
It has been brought to my attention by a fair number of people (maybe 3 or 4?) that I have done a terrible job of informing people about my life in Japan. Due to minimal demand and my laziness of not wanting to rewrite a similar message to multiple people - Memoirs of a Ginger is back!
To catch some of you up to speed, I am now living and teaching English in Himeji, Japan. I arrived nearly 2 months ago - and just recently, I finally met some other people who have been here a shorter amount of time than me. Does this mean I can cast off the "fresh off the boat" title? Probably not.
Himeji has roughly 500,000 people and is located about 1 hour west of Osaka. Japanese people often describe Himeji as "countryside." At first this seemed to be a rather amusing description, but I'm slowly beginning to understand what is meant by countryside. Sure, it's no Dallas, OR but I do seem to run into people I know with a higher frequency than I would expect for a city with this population. Most places close by 9 PM and there are only a handful of bars and restaurants that remain open (at least from what I have discovered) past this time.
The feeling is nice though. It makes me feel like I've fallen into a particular niche. I'm not completely "lost" in a sea of people, nor am I in a tiny village where I might not be able to find the hair clippers I recently bought to cut my hair by myself. (I only had one mirror so I'm sure the evenness in the back is something entertaining for my students whenever I write something on the board). I've started to recognize the same people on my way to work. I've made it my goal to become friends with a man I regularly pass. He works at a parking garage. So far he has withstood my charming head "nods" and occasional "good day" comments. I'm starting to suspect it may not be worth it...but a part of me still likes to imagine that one day I can walk to work and I'll say "hey Joe! What's kickin?!" We would exchange pleasantries for 30 seconds or so and, of course, always end in a high-five - "see ya tomorrow champ!" My lack of language abilities aside, I suspect trying to make friends with this man who works at the parking garage isn't something that is culturally common. Of course, I'm weird like that. It probably isn't even very normal in the U.S. either.
Humble pie comes in many flavors in Japan, especially at the grocery store. I can read 2 of the 3 alphabets, but it doesn't do me a whole lot of good without the 3rd one (Kanji - aka Chinese Characters). Milk? Well this has a picture of a cow on it...it's white....seems like Milk to me! Low fat, whole milk? Irrelevant. At that point the price does the talking. Breakfast - check. Other meals? I have a cookbook that instructs me on which ingredients to get. 9 times out of 10 when I finally give up trying to find it on my own, the person I trouble asking kindly points to the item directly in front of me. Of course. Haha, I suppose it's nice to know that I didn't trouble them too much. Then, the 1 in 10 times I am able to find something on my own....there's 30 different kinds of whatever it is I want. Our grocery stores are equally complex, but at least I can read the BS and "try" and make an informed decision. Shaving cream for sensitive skin? For hydrating purposes? gel? regular? Menthol? I think toothpaste always made me the most crazy. Extreme clean, advanced, whitening, and regular. Given the options...what does regular really have to offer, and what does advanced actually mean? Anyway, I digress. The point is, when I find something it doesn't mean I have found what I need. Sometimes I ask people for help, other times I roll the dice. "These things can't be that different, can they?" Soup stocks can be bought in a concentrated form, and not. I learned the hard way.
After going to the grocery store, the next most common challenge is figuring out what to do with the unused food. Does it have to be stored in the fridge? Does it expire quickly? Can I keep it on a shelf? Will it transform over night like a Chia pet? Little decisions that used to be second nature now take moments to minutes of consideration. Using the rice cooker is one thing, but setting the timer to have the rice ready for when you get home from work - now that's something! (I'm fairly proud that I got that one worked out - thanks to my co-workers of course) Washer? Beyond "power" and "start" I haven't made too much headway on that front. Different size load, warm, cold? Those other buttons have to do something! Using the heater once it gets cold enough is a looming cloud on the horizon.
Even ironing has required a certain learning curve. Admittedly, before coming to Japan I probably ironed as many times as the number of fingers I have (still being generous). I did do it enough to know that there is a big difference between trying to iron something that has been hung to dry versus something that you put in the dryer. It is pathetic to admit that the first time I ironed a shirt here.... it took me 40 mins. Only an idiot doesn't know that it's better to shake and straighten out the shirt as much as possible before you hang it up. It's obvious now, but everything is 20/20 hindsight. What other simple life tasks have I not figured out yet? Scary to think about.
What else? Well, many things. Too many. But let's end things here for the time being. Even though the language is extremely difficult, and basic tasks of life have required much trial and error - everyday gets better. My job is incredible, the people and friends I've met so far are incredible. I came here knowing that life would be a challenge. With great challenges comes great rewards - I'm beginning to feel these rewards and looking back on some of these "lessons" is a point of amusement for me. While this post may seem a bit negative in nature, I hope you can see the positive side to it. If it really was a point of contention for me, I wouldn't be able to laugh about it. Don't worry though - more challenges and rewards to come. : )
It has been brought to my attention by a fair number of people (maybe 3 or 4?) that I have done a terrible job of informing people about my life in Japan. Due to minimal demand and my laziness of not wanting to rewrite a similar message to multiple people - Memoirs of a Ginger is back!
To catch some of you up to speed, I am now living and teaching English in Himeji, Japan. I arrived nearly 2 months ago - and just recently, I finally met some other people who have been here a shorter amount of time than me. Does this mean I can cast off the "fresh off the boat" title? Probably not.
Himeji has roughly 500,000 people and is located about 1 hour west of Osaka. Japanese people often describe Himeji as "countryside." At first this seemed to be a rather amusing description, but I'm slowly beginning to understand what is meant by countryside. Sure, it's no Dallas, OR but I do seem to run into people I know with a higher frequency than I would expect for a city with this population. Most places close by 9 PM and there are only a handful of bars and restaurants that remain open (at least from what I have discovered) past this time.
The feeling is nice though. It makes me feel like I've fallen into a particular niche. I'm not completely "lost" in a sea of people, nor am I in a tiny village where I might not be able to find the hair clippers I recently bought to cut my hair by myself. (I only had one mirror so I'm sure the evenness in the back is something entertaining for my students whenever I write something on the board). I've started to recognize the same people on my way to work. I've made it my goal to become friends with a man I regularly pass. He works at a parking garage. So far he has withstood my charming head "nods" and occasional "good day" comments. I'm starting to suspect it may not be worth it...but a part of me still likes to imagine that one day I can walk to work and I'll say "hey Joe! What's kickin?!" We would exchange pleasantries for 30 seconds or so and, of course, always end in a high-five - "see ya tomorrow champ!" My lack of language abilities aside, I suspect trying to make friends with this man who works at the parking garage isn't something that is culturally common. Of course, I'm weird like that. It probably isn't even very normal in the U.S. either.
Humble pie comes in many flavors in Japan, especially at the grocery store. I can read 2 of the 3 alphabets, but it doesn't do me a whole lot of good without the 3rd one (Kanji - aka Chinese Characters). Milk? Well this has a picture of a cow on it...it's white....seems like Milk to me! Low fat, whole milk? Irrelevant. At that point the price does the talking. Breakfast - check. Other meals? I have a cookbook that instructs me on which ingredients to get. 9 times out of 10 when I finally give up trying to find it on my own, the person I trouble asking kindly points to the item directly in front of me. Of course. Haha, I suppose it's nice to know that I didn't trouble them too much. Then, the 1 in 10 times I am able to find something on my own....there's 30 different kinds of whatever it is I want. Our grocery stores are equally complex, but at least I can read the BS and "try" and make an informed decision. Shaving cream for sensitive skin? For hydrating purposes? gel? regular? Menthol? I think toothpaste always made me the most crazy. Extreme clean, advanced, whitening, and regular. Given the options...what does regular really have to offer, and what does advanced actually mean? Anyway, I digress. The point is, when I find something it doesn't mean I have found what I need. Sometimes I ask people for help, other times I roll the dice. "These things can't be that different, can they?" Soup stocks can be bought in a concentrated form, and not. I learned the hard way.
After going to the grocery store, the next most common challenge is figuring out what to do with the unused food. Does it have to be stored in the fridge? Does it expire quickly? Can I keep it on a shelf? Will it transform over night like a Chia pet? Little decisions that used to be second nature now take moments to minutes of consideration. Using the rice cooker is one thing, but setting the timer to have the rice ready for when you get home from work - now that's something! (I'm fairly proud that I got that one worked out - thanks to my co-workers of course) Washer? Beyond "power" and "start" I haven't made too much headway on that front. Different size load, warm, cold? Those other buttons have to do something! Using the heater once it gets cold enough is a looming cloud on the horizon.
Even ironing has required a certain learning curve. Admittedly, before coming to Japan I probably ironed as many times as the number of fingers I have (still being generous). I did do it enough to know that there is a big difference between trying to iron something that has been hung to dry versus something that you put in the dryer. It is pathetic to admit that the first time I ironed a shirt here.... it took me 40 mins. Only an idiot doesn't know that it's better to shake and straighten out the shirt as much as possible before you hang it up. It's obvious now, but everything is 20/20 hindsight. What other simple life tasks have I not figured out yet? Scary to think about.
What else? Well, many things. Too many. But let's end things here for the time being. Even though the language is extremely difficult, and basic tasks of life have required much trial and error - everyday gets better. My job is incredible, the people and friends I've met so far are incredible. I came here knowing that life would be a challenge. With great challenges comes great rewards - I'm beginning to feel these rewards and looking back on some of these "lessons" is a point of amusement for me. While this post may seem a bit negative in nature, I hope you can see the positive side to it. If it really was a point of contention for me, I wouldn't be able to laugh about it. Don't worry though - more challenges and rewards to come. : )
