Japan or Bust!

Post...I lost count!

2011-08-29T08:23:00.000-05:00

I went to a lovely small tea shop/restaurant last saturday with my friend Samantha. We had a nice early dinner of the house special, called "wagamama curry". Some of you might have heard the word wagamama, since there is a chain of restaurants in the US called wagamama. It means selfishness, self-indulgence, etc. I think that, at least for the curry that we ordered, it is a play on words, waga

Day ??- I am so tired...

2011-08-25T07:52:00.000-05:00

...I have been getting home at 9 pm these past few nights! I guess this is what it's like to be 社会人 (shakaijin-a working, "full-fledged" member of society). Enjoy pretty pictures! Had a lovely dinner at Nutmeg! Green curry with eggplant and bamboo. It was spicy, creamy and generally delicious. And, I got a free show because Ossan's band was practicing! This place is like my second home and

Day 9 and 10-Stress! Busy!

2011-08-23T07:35:00.000-05:00

I am so busy! Who would have thought that having a 8-4 job and a part-time English conversation job would keep me so busy? I'm behind on posting and I'm going to cheat!! THIS IS TWO POSTS THAT I OWE! Yesterday I gave my speech in front of THE WHOLE SCHOOL! Otobe JHS was around 290 students. No big deal, right? Right. Mirumae JHS is OVER 500 STUDENTS! What a big difference those extra 200 kids

Day 8-Sunday Sansa Festival!

2011-08-22T04:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday I went to my first Junior High School to watch their Sansa Dance Festival. My school is pretty well known for this in Morioka. Go Otobe Chuu! I was only there for a few hours but I got to watch four dances! I also saw a bit of their sports festival which happened before the dances started. It was good times. One of my new co-workers said they saw some Otobe students perform their

Day 7-I discovered fashion!

2011-08-21T16:17:00.000-05:00

This is my post for Saturday, August 20th! Friday I bought two skirst and a shirt at a second-hand clothes store (古着屋 or furugiya) and I wore one Saturday a.m. It's a really cute black and white striped skirt! I wore it with a white button-up and a brown belt. Then in the afternoon, my friend and I went to a different furugiya and got a shirt that would go with it, but be a bit more casual. This

Day 6-Not much to say...

2011-08-19T08:55:00.000-05:00

I have a feeling that this is going to be my downfall...Not much to say! I went to work at my new JHS again today! Basically the same as yesterday, minus the tour (although, I could definitely use another tour!). Finished the information for "Miss Lydia's English Board" which I hope will be interesting...I color coded it, so it at least should catch student's eyes...I guess I should post a

Day 5-New School! New Food!

2011-08-18T07:27:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day at my new JHS, Mirumae! It is much bigger than my last JHS. Otobe has around 290 students, and Mirumae has over 500! WOW! That's a lot of students! There are 5 classes in each grade, Otobe only had 3 per grade...So, that's 15 classes versus 9! I'm going to be teaching a LOT more than I did last year. Mixed blessings, I think. I *would* rather complain about working too much

Day 4-Where did day 3 go?

2011-08-17T04:06:00.001-05:00

As long as I write 30 posts in 30 days, it's ok. Right? Can I re-write the rules to this game? Challenge? Is this cheating? Post comments below. Bye!xoxo I kid! I kid! Did you think I would just leave it at that? Of course I'm going to post something. This is the next post of the rest of my life! I'm not going to mess around with that sort of thing. Who here knows about gacha machines? It's ガチャ

Day 2.5--I'm confused. (Let's just call this day 3 ^_^)

2011-08-15T19:07:00.003-05:00

Why did they make this? Who drinks it? Suntory All-Free. I question the point of this...No calories, no"sugariness; saccharinity"(whatever that means) and no alcohol! Triple whammy! I guess it's for older salary men who quit drinking, younger men who are on a diet and stil l want to look masculine, and women who overly concerned with calorie counting. Oh, and supposidly it STILL tastes

Day 2-Attempting to update from my cell phone.

2011-08-15T10:58:00.004-05:00

(without spell check*gasp*) Today I had a day trip in Tono City. It is famous for kappa, uber cute water demons. If you have read Harry Potter, they are mentioned in one of the first three books in the DADA class...with Lupin? Ugh, I don't remember...Anyway, one of the pictures I posted shows me as a kappa. Uber cute, right? Me as a kappa! Being carried away by a *not* perfect boy! I

お久しぶり

2011-08-14T09:17:00.001-05:00

お久しぶりーlong time no see Today I'm challenging myself. It's a 30-day challenge. I have obviously been extremely under-motivated to write in this blog, and I wanted to try and challenge myself to change that. My lovely twin sister told me recently that if you try to do something for 30days, really try, it will become habit. Or, you will change your habits. I'm not really sure. I've also heard the

School Lunch

2010-09-13T06:43:00.000-05:00

So, most of my peers (the other Assistant Language Teachers in Morioka) bring lunch to school, but I have opted for school lunch. It's called 'kyuushoku' and we get ours from a company which prepares lunch for many of the schools in my area. Interestingly enough, when I went to teach at an elementary school two weeks ago, it had the exact same lunch that was scheduled for my middle school. This

Morioka

2010-08-24T06:42:00.000-05:00

Morioka! It's really a nice place. I love that I get to see mountains every time I go to work. So, let me give an update on the basics of my life 1. School My school is very far south. I get up before work between 5:30 and 6am, depending on how ambitious I am. I make myself some coffee with my wonderful, wonderful aero press, eat breakfast, get dressed and spend 5-10 minutes on facebook chat

First Post! (In Morioka...)

2010-08-15T09:39:00.003-05:00

The first part of this post is from the night of the 28th, when we first arrived at Morioka:--I have reached my [almost] final destination for the next two years of my life: Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The impression that I get from Morioka is that it is similar to Tokyo, just a lot smaller. Like how Chicago and Kansas City are similar....They're in the same country. HAH! Our hotel

Back to Japan--

2010-04-10T15:03:00.002-05:00

--not as a student, but as an assistant teacher.I will be re-starting my blog later this summer. At the end of July, I will be going to Morioka Prefecture, one of the Northern prefectures on the main island, to be an assistant teacher of English. I know some people are saying. "Oh, the JET Program?" No, It is through my school's program called M-ALT (Morioka Assistant English Language Teacher). I

Golden Weekend, Day 2: Kimono Festival

2009-05-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

So, in a room (partially) filled with Japanese women, there stands alone one foreign girl. That girl...me. We arrived at the community center where I rent a kimono, and my host mom drops a bomb on me."Did you bring money"she asks. I give a confused'whaa...' and we move on to get the kimono and try it on.Which brings us to the room where I am ignored for a good ten minutes before my host mom

Golden weekend, Day 1

2009-05-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

Cell phone post, sorry if the format is weird.I am visiting Tsunan Machi(津南町) in Niigata-prefecture (新潟県)with my host parents. We are staying in some relative's house (host-father's brother's family).The great thing about the country side is that it's not Tokyo. There's lots of nature (I caught a frog!), it's clean, and I can see mountains, fields and rivers. I always learn to love Tokyo by

2009-05-01T09:35:00.001-05:00

Test of blogging with Japanese cell phone.

Baseball and then some...

2009-05-01T08:52:00.004-05:00

I went to a baseball game last Sunday, with my host brother and a couple of his co-workers. Let me preface this post by saying the men and women in the Japanese police...what a bunch of crazy characters! The game was the Tokyo Giants vs I don't know where-Dragons. We sat in...on the right side of out-field? I am obviously not that into baseball, or else I would know the correct terms, sorry!

Spring is in the Air!!

2009-04-19T08:32:00.010-05:00

Hey All! So I’ve been super lazy these past few weeks, and I am terribly sorry! But the good news is I have plenty to tell you! (I will be making two or three posts over the next week, I hope. Mostly with stories of my life, and not too much interesting cultural observations...sorry!) So, my second semester at Waseda started two weeks ago! Yay for new classes! Here’s the lineup: -Japanese 4a -

Hey Look at ME!

2009-04-03T05:41:00.003-05:00

Quick Post!I did puri-cura with my friend Cory and his friend Hiromi (now my friend, too! ^__^)As you can see, Romi (Hiromi) is wearing a Pikachu 'kigurumi' and I'm wearing a Rerakuma 'Kigurumi'.We are super cool!Cory and I hope to take these costumes to Harajuku (or anywhere, really) and have a 'high five' contest. I'm going to wear sunglasses and a face-mask on that day.

April Fool's Day!

2009-04-01T06:08:00.011-05:00

Happy April Fool's Day! Want to know what I did today? I passed out fliers for the club I'm in (the Waseda Donuts) at Waseda's main campus. It was CRAZY! Today was the entrance ceremony, so all [most of?] the Freshmen of Waseda's various schools were at Okuma Auditorium at some point. Let me give you a quick run down: I arrive at 10 am, meet my club-mates at the Student Meeting Hall We walk to

Have You Seen This Man?

2009-03-27T06:32:00.007-05:00

note: I'm going to be writing things you may or may not agree with. They are not scathing or offending things, just my assertions based on loose knowledge of (for example) Doi Takeo's works. If there are any inaccuracies or points that are disagreed with...leave a comment! I'm a student and I'm always learning new things! Have you seen this man? He walks around the streets of Tokyo, a

Another Month, gone!

2009-03-23T08:02:00.008-05:00

Well, my parents were in Japan from the 13th to the 22nd! It was a blast!(Mom and Dad at Ueno Park)We went to Kyoto, Osaka, Minakami and (of course) Tokyo. Here's a smidgen of photos, you can find the rest on my facebook page (as soon as I load them ^_^)Our second night in Tokyo, we enjoyed fine Japanese cuisine at a bar in Asakusa.And by that, I mean we had fried chiken, oya-ko don, and some

Minakami: Memories

2009-03-01T22:37:00.017-06:00

blogger's apology: I am deeply sorry for that typo in the previous post...it makes me sound like a pervert! haha... My typos are usually more harmless than that! -- This post will have a lot of pictures :) So, I'm counting down my last days in Minakami, so I will share with you some of my best memories. Oddly enough, the majority of them take place outside of the pension (NOTE: Apparently a '

To Bathe or not to Bathe...

2009-02-18T06:59:00.005-06:00

...sorry for the cliche title!So, in honor of my parents coming to Japan (mid-March, woo!) I am going to write about the appropriate way to bathe in a Japanese style bath, be it a public bath, an onsen or a private bath at home. I don’t know much about the history of Japanese bathing (okay, so I don’t know anything about the history of Japanese bathing), but it’s a wonderful everyday ritual that

Minakami 1

2009-02-07T22:27:00.006-06:00

This post is the first of (I hope many) about my "spring practicum". This is a month-long even that the Japan Study Program (the program I am in for my year abroad ^_^) sends it's students on. The purpose is for us to 'experience Japan', under the theory that Tokyo is not Japan (It's the same idea that New York City is the United States...it's not). We are being dispersed all around Japan, but

I'm a little off today...

2009-02-03T19:19:00.006-06:00

Hey Gang!Here's a quick post. I am a little upset right now, because I cannot log into my Earlham email. Was I hacked?! Who would do that, and why? I am convinced I remember my password (I mean, it's been the same one for the past few months...), so I cannot think of any other reason to why. I hope I am just overreacting...Moving on! Sunday morning around 7am, I was lying in my bed trying to

Haircut :)

2009-01-23T18:46:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I got my second haircut in Japan. Many foreigners, like myself, find this a daunting task; there are lots of worrisome variables that go into it. How do we convey the cut we want? Will the hairstylist be able to adapt to our hair (it’s thicker/thinner than the average customer). How do we make a reservation?Okay, maybe everyone doesn’t have these worries, but I do. My advice for those

明けましておめでとう！

2009-01-07T05:58:00.006-06:00

“Akemashite Omedetoh” That means ‘Happy New Year’. And what a happy new year it will be, eh? Let’s hear it for the year of the cow! Moo! A little culture lesson: Around the start of the new year, stores in Japan like to sell fukubukuro. The kanji is 福袋, and a direct translation is “lucky fortune bag”, but a more descriptive translation might be “bag of mystery”, which is just something I made

A little bit of culture

2008-12-17T05:59:00.004-06:00

Today is SUBWAY culture:First we start with an anecdote. Well, more like a series of short observations.For some reason, some people have a hard time finishing their primping in the house. You would be surprised by the number of females I have seen put on their make-up in the train, morning, noon and night. Sure, when the train is super crowded, there’s no way to manage this, but around 9:30 am,

I have many memories...

2008-11-30T06:00:00.008-06:00

...but a limited attention span! First, I would like to apologize. I have been slacking (two weeks or so, yes?). I think what started it was my poor job interview, which only fueled my lack of motivation. After that, the days just sort of blur together, so I’ll just apologize one last time for being lazy. I would like to start by telling you about a local festival called ‘Tori no Ichi’. As

My hand hurts!

2008-11-10T06:46:00.005-06:00

Why does my hand hurt? Well, because I have spent the last two hours working on my resume (which you'll get a nice picture of, NEXT entry) and writing post cards! Some of you lucky devils might receive one...in a month or so!Well, last Friday I saw an AMAZING Kabuki play. I can safely say that I love Kabuki. It was So. Funny! The Kabuki play I saw is called"Sumidagawa Gonichi No Omokage". And it

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T18:36:00.005-06:00

So, Friday was Halloween. Did everyone have fun?I had an interesting Halloween. I dressed up as a 'zombie maid', but I didn't have any fake blood, so I just looked kinda like a maid with bad makeup. Not to mention, the costume was a little too small for me (Japanese girls are tiny!!). Whatever...just look at the picture and see for yourself:I went to a club with some friends. It was interesting.

Hisashiburi!

2008-10-27T05:58:00.005-05:00

久し振り(hisashiburi) "It's been a while/ long time, no see!" Sorry that I'm pretty lazy with this! Here comes another entry! Last Wednesday, I went to a play with my mother. It was called "Mori no Ishimatsu" (森の石松) which is the main character's name. It was really funny! I did not understand it at all, it was a Yakuza period drama (maybe Edo period...), so the men spoke with an old-fashioned AND

And so it goes...

2008-10-21T07:54:00.004-05:00

Today was a no-school holiday celebrating the founding of Waseda. And, on that note, I shall tell you a little of Waseda's history!Waseda was founded by Okuma Shigenobu in 1882 and, in case you forget this fact, there are statues of him everywhere around Waseda Campus. In fact, his main statue is a common meeting place for students so, even if you do not know his name, you know his face. Anyway,

Culture Shock

2008-10-19T06:24:00.010-05:00

Culture Shock #1 Instead of writing about boogers, mystical Japanese remedies or plastic surgery (all very interesting subjects) I am going to write about the strange, passive-aggressive/aggressive side of Japan I never actually knew about. Then I'll give you a more interesting 'culture shock'. I have two anecdotes I wish to relay onto you, my dear readers. The first concerns my Japanese

2008-10-15T17:18:00.003-05:00

I want to write a little piece called 'culture shock', but I really want the reader's opinion so...Mom, Dad, please leave your comments (hahaaaa). But seriously, anything you guys and gals want to know about? Anything you've heard you want me to confirm or any myth you want me to....BUST? (I <3 Mythbusters).If you all have no opinions, I'm going to start 'culture shock' with my breakfasts

Another Week...Gone

2008-10-13T09:20:00.008-05:00

Hey! I'm doing it! I'm making another post :)Again, school the week went by and I do not have much to say on that. It's a little odd, how little I to say on that subject. Right now, my biggest complaint is my [in]ability to do my reading homework. For some reason, my Art History teacher does not give us a syllabus, but expects us to go online and search for it (okay, maybe that sounds a little

I`ve been a bad girl...

2008-10-09T21:42:00.003-05:00

Hey people who read this!Sorry, by now most of you realize how lazy I am. I have a hard time updating a blog once a week. I hope people actually are checking it, because I made it for you guys! Yay! *insert happy face*I`m just going to do a quick update, I am at school right now.Last weekend went down like this:Thursday: Checked out `The Hub` after school. At night, it is basically only Waseda

First Day of School

2008-09-29T04:37:00.008-05:00

As my title suggest, today was my first day at Waseda University's School of Liberal Studies, aka SILS. It was a rough first day, since I had classes from 9 until 4, with only a 50 minute lunch break. What made it worse, was all the rain. I guess there is typhoon weather that has been sending us rain. Anyway, without further ado, I give you...my SCHEDULE! Japanese 3a (Mon, Tues, Thurs 9-12:10)

Home Sweet, Foreign, Home.

2008-09-24T02:21:00.008-05:00

Hajimemashite. Atashi wa Rideia (Lydia) desu. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. How are you. I am Lydia. Nice to meet you. (lit This is our first time [meeting]. I am Lydia. Please take care of me) Here I am. I have moved into my new home and met my family. They are super nice and, because they have hosted so many students in the past (15, my host mother said), they seem more open and playful than

I`m finally here...

2008-09-20T17:52:00.002-05:00

...so why has it taken so long for me to write?Friends,Today I experienced my first earthquake. Around 7:25, the morning of September 21st, I was in my bed and I was a little confused, but after realizing what it was, I was naturally excited. "Wow! This is pretty cool!" are pretty much the words I said. Hopefully, experiencing earthquakes remains a new and exciting experience, otherwise, well...

First Post

2008-08-31T17:54:00.001-05:00

So. Here it is. THE blog.It's one of the many preparations I make before I ship off to Japan.Yes...It's one of those blogs. A student in Japan. Cultural tidbits of Japan, from the eyes of a foreigner. Strange things of Japan. An insiders guide.Well...maybe not the last one. Either way, it's a cliched topic, but I have to do it. I need some way to communicate to friends, family and maybe even