Osaka Japan @ MindSay

It's Summer Vacation (finally) here in the center of the main island of Japan, and I've already started having a great time!

My sister and nephew visited me from July 22nd (my birthday, incidentally) until July 31st. We went to Arashiyama to see the monkeys and to the aquarium at Osaka Bay and a beach in Wakayama and... well, we did a lot. But two events in particular stand out, mostly because of how similar they should be but how they ended up playing out.

We attended the Tenjin festival in Tenoji Osaka and Universal Studios Japan. Now, both of these things have a similar atmosphere, festivals and amusment parks really do have a lot in common after all. However, as a general rule I hate festivals and love amusment parks. This time around was no different.

First, Universal Studios. We attended on a lovely day, hot but not too hot. We arrived about an hour after opening, planned our standing in line pretty well (there are big signs that give wait times scattered all over the park), ate well and had a ton of fun. It wasn't super crowded or anything and the day's parades and such were pretty cool, one involving the parade folks shooting water guns at the audiance.

Next, Tenjin. Huge amounts of people fitted into tiny street, no air conditioning (it was terrifically hot), fireworks hidden behind tall buildings, main attractions (boats with lanterns and people) on a small river only visible from a bridge. As usual, there were drunk, beligerent people, and many folks were angry and annoyed. Pushing through the crowd was impossible at times, and sweaty and unpleasent all the time. Taxis were un-hailable as they were all on call constantly. It reminded me why I don't like festivals.

I'd say the biggest problem was authority. At a theme park there is an entire staff to ensure saftey and fun. They are well trained specificlly for the job and they are paid well. At a festival you get a few police officers who's hands are constantly full. They would prefer be having fun but instead they have to babysit all the drunks and stupid teenagers. The overall mood at a festival is one of frustration, especially later in the night.

I have 14 weeks left in Japan, 4 of which are still vacation. I am buying my return ticket in September for the second week of November. My last day of work will be October 31st. I don't plan on telling any of my classes, although my teachers will know because my office will inform them. With a little luck I will do a fun Haloween class with my kids and silently slip out. That'll be all. I can't wait to get home. I need to update my resume and such... and I'll be home in time for Thanksgiving too!

Yup, I simply cannot wait!
-Maru!

I am fast approaching the end of the six month contract that I signed with my company, W5. I have requested that if any six month contracts are available for the next semester I would like to sign and continue working in the school system, but I have come to the conclusion that I want to go home for good after that.

I originally planned to stay in Japan to see out my original year long contract with NOVA. For reasons that are obvious, that plan isn't going to come true, so instead I now would like to work here in Japan for that same year, plus about two months to make up for the time I was working for NOVA and some time to pack and send things home.

But past that, I don't really think that I need to stay here. I would go home for good this April, except that I have a few financial obligations here and I kind of promised myself to stay out here for at least one year.

The other reasons aren't as responsible, but are equally compelling.

I want to spend a spring and summer in Japan again. I like those seasons out here and look forward to enjoying them. I also haven't made it to Universal Studios Japan yet because it was winter, and I really want to go. Lake Biwa is nearby and I plan on visiting that, as well as going to see some friends and locations in Tokyo.

There is also Okinawa to visit, the Olympics (I've always wanted to see the Olympics in another country to see what the coverage looks like), my brother and possibly my nephew visiting me... I could go home, and I would be pretty happy doing so, but I'm still not finished out here yet.

So my schedule looks a little like this:
April: My brother comes to visit early in the month, late in the month is possibly a visit to a hot spring.
May: Early in the month is Universal Studios Japan, late in the month is a hot spring and/or more Osaka exploring.
June: Best month. Lake Biwa, Osaka swimming pool, Osaka exploring, maybe nephew visiting, Nagoya and/or Nara parks.
July: Also the best month, Provided I am working at a school, I only have half a month of work, so maybe theme parks, Tokyo visit, beach.
August: All of this month is vacation. Olympics, possible Okinawa visit, lake Biwa again. There is actually too much to list. August will be the real reason I came out here, as the 28th will make one full year of living in Japan.
September: Finish up working and start to get everything in order. I may have to apply for a visa extension that will make me legal to stay for a couple of extra months.
October: This is it. I will be done with my contract and I will be using most of the month to send things home and clean up. I will also try to sell the items that I can't or don't want to bring home (my desk, TV, refrigerator, etc). If I am low on money or my visa ends here, I will go home in late October, otherwise
November: Ideally I would like to stay until the second week of November. I will then go home for the holidays and start looking for work state-side. If all went even partially as planned, I will have a fair amount of savings on the side and be okay to leisurely look for a job until 2009.

It's been an experience. I feel like I've grown a lot in the past eight months, but another six will round me out nicely. I'll try to post less pessimistic things in the future, which should be easy as not only will the weather be nice, but I have stuff figured out a lot better now then I did just two months ago.

Six months can go very fast, so I made a (very belated) New Years Resolution to enjoy the rest of my time out here, even if it kills me.

-Maru!

I finally got my visa... and my final information concerning where I will be! First, the visa part.

 

I had a Certificate of Eligibility... basically a nice form that isn't really a visa, but sure as hell speeds up the process. I traveled to my local neighborhood Japanese embassy and turned in all my paperwork and pictures. I was then told that because everything was in order and I had a COE, my visa could be assigned immediately... which in bureaucratic government terms means I was able to pick it up the next day. Now, I don't know about you folks and your foreign consulates, but the one in Chicago is a royal pain in the ass to get to any time of the day... and it keeps weird hours. Regardless, I was able to drop off my passport on Thursday and pick it up on Friday. It is now in my grimy mitts and ready for it's ultimate purpose, that being to keep me from breaking international law.

 

Next, I received my assignment. Beautiful Nara Japan will be my home for the next year or so. Nara is a pretty cool place... it's got a lot of historical sites, the kickass deer park (which I will write more about later) and is very close to both Kobe and Osaka. Nara is in the Kansai region so it's denizens speak with the awesome Kansai accent, which is roughly equivalent to a southern American accent or a... I dunnow... Manchester accent in the UK? Maybe? Whatever the case, I love the idea of studying in a place with a more localized and non-traditional dialect. Hopefully I'll pick up on it and start sounding like a native Japanese speaker in no time! Well, you know... until they actually look at me and see I'm not Asian.

 

I will specifically be teaching in a small ward of Nara called Kashihara. It's a nice looking place with a smaller population and lots of stuff around it. I'm hoping that after I arrive I will be able to get a bike or scooter... preferably a scooter. I would love to tell my kids one day that their dad scooted around Japan for a few years when he was young... -er. Even if a scooter is out of my reach most stuff in Japan is walkable, bikable or train-able anyways, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

 

I have made an effort to find out more about what it's like to actually live in Kashihara, but the main page for the ward is in Japanese (of course) and although I could probably read it with minimal help from a dictionary (well, marginal help), I'm still intimidated by that much Japanese writing even after all these years... No, wait, intimidated is the wrong word. I'm simply too lazy. But I suppose I will get around to it before I go, despite my laziness whenever I have a date that something needs to be done by I tend to get it done... albeit at the last possible minute.

 

I will have two flat-mates... one from Canada and the other America. I was honestly hoping to live with people not from my continent, but you have to take what life gives you. Besides, I'll probably have to move out when my fiancé arrives so we can live together, so again, not as bad as I thought. Anyways they might be really cool guys so I'm not going to be negative. Well, not more negative than usual.

 

Another cool thing is that I'll be arriving at Kansai International Airport (KIX). The airport itself is built in the middle (roughly) of the bay just adjacent to Osaka. It just sorta floats there... and sinks there a bit as well. I doubt I'm unlucky enough to be on the flight that actually puts the whole thing underwater, but it is a bit unnerving.

 

I’ll update again with more on Nara and those guides I was talking about before.  This is my last full week in America and I have to get all my stuff together, do shopping, exchange some monies… I had all this time on my hands and it STILL gets hectic in the home stretch. I guess that’s the way it has to be. C’est la vie.

 

-Maru!

 

I would also like to add that Mindsay suggested the tag "basically useless information" for me when I was on about the second paragraph of this update. Thanks for the bode of confidence guys!

Many African athletes are in Europe now putting finishing touches to their preparations for the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan starting in less than two weeks.

Last Sunday, Nigeria's female sprinters Franca Idoko and Christy Ekpukpon led all comers home at the DLV Gala classics in Wattenscheid, Germany. Weeks before that Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele smashes the UK's All Comers Record with 7.26.69 in the men's 3000m at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix in Sheffield.

With the World and Olympic 5000m champion, Tirunesh Dibaba already selected to double up in 5000m and 10000m in Osaka, Africa is set to challenge the rest of the world and to once again dominate the long distance races, though Aussie Craig Mottram might have something to say to that.

So what are their realistic chances of podium finishes in Osaka 2007? How many Gold medals do you think African athletes will win at the World championships?

Oh I love Japan.

 

Last night B and I met a friend in Akashi,　and went to a place you could hire a pool　table for a few hours... not only a pool table, but a complete living room... for 330yen an hour.

 

Tonight we are in Osaka. We are at an internet cafe. We have hired adjoining rooms for 2000yen for 10hours with all you can drink soft drink and icecream... we have also booked a bath in the morning.　we have enough room to stretch out and go to sleep.  200yen an hour for sleep in one of the biggest cities in the world on a night when all of the hotels are booked... priceless.

 

When Oceans 12 finishes I am　going to have a nap. (cant work out how to start it)

 

Weirdest night ever....... Thankyou, Respa.