No More 3×5’s

Yesterday I went to the post office for the very first time!! Okay, maybe it sounds a little lame that it’s taken me nearly eight months to visit the post office, but it’s been for good reason. Our post office doesn’t speak English at all, and I don’t speak Japanese, so I was a bit scared to go there. Maybe mailing letters is no big deal, but trying to send a package can be a nightmare when you’re not sure if it’s going to get there, and you have no idea what you’re doing or how much it’ll cost. I mean, I have enough problems at the post office state-side and I stinkin speak English! But, as I told a friend, I put on my brave pants, which were actually just my jeans, and went to the post office!

I went in, took a ticket, and waited just like everyone else. Turns out I was actually waiting for the bank. Yes, in Japan, the post office is also a bank, a pretty good one, so I’ve heard. I was directed over to the post office lady, and she looked just as nervous as I did when she saw me coming. But I gave her letters to mail, and I think she felt relieved because that’s no language required except for the price. And fortunately, I know Japanese numbers. But then I asked for a small box. Again no problem, same deal as before. But then I tried to communicate that I wanted to send the small box right then. At that point, she got nervous and before I knew it, there was a another lady with her, taking over for her. I just said “to America” in Japanese, and somehow it all worked itself out. She tried to give me some choices on forms, but I just looked at her blankly and asked, “to America?” and then she just chose one for me. After that, there were no more choices. She weighed my package while I filled out my address form, and then the original lady told me the price. I paid, and tried to ask when it would arrive in America. I think the answer was one week, but who knows. But I did it and it all seemed legit!!

So, today, I was feeling confident, so I went back to the post office, this time to mail the package that I made for my parents and brother about four months ago. The same lady was working, but she didn’t seem so flustered today. I told her to America again, but this time, my “to” was correct. Yesterday, I was using the wrong preposition. She just handed me the form, told me the price and away I went. And she even gave me an extra address form that I could fill out at home.

Next, I went to the dry cleaners, another first. On Tuesday, dry erase marker ink exploded on my khaki dress pants, so I thought, why not at least try the dry cleaners. The lady didn’t speak English, I told her I couldn’t speak Japanese. She apologized, told me good luck, and then we tried to work out the pants situation. After a lot of explaining in Japanese that I didn’t understand, and me looking at her with a blank expression. We finally worked out that she didn’t really think that the stain would come out, but they could give it a try for 520 yen. I said okay, and I think that I’m supposed to pick up my pants tomorrow after one. It was all in Japanese, but I’m pretty sure what it all boiled down to. But this lady was so nice! And when I left she told me good luck in speaking Japanese! How great is that!

So, all of this has been a typical day in the adventures of Rachael in Japan. But thank goodness I’m starting Japanese lessons next week. Then you’ll get to hear all the crazy stories about how I said the completely wrong thing in Japanese and ended up embarrassing myself!

Maybe I’ve mentioned this, but I’m going to tell you again. June is the rainy season in Japan. Officially, June is called the rainy season. March-May is spring and July-September is summer. June is the rainy season. And it has merited its name. Check out the ten-day weather forecast for Nagoya. Every day is rain. Unfortunately for us here in Japan, the rainy season decided to come a little early. So, even though it’s still May, the rain has started. I definitely need to buy a heavy-duty raincoat because, for the most part, this isn’t going to be some light drizzle kind of a month. It’s going to be actual rain. And I have to trounce around in it in a suit no less! Oh well, bring on the rain!

And my awesome best friend Lindsey sent me a sweet umbrella in the mail, so at least I’ll look super cute for the rainy season! Yay for the Vera Bradley show!

Last week when I went to teach at my kindergarten, the train was 7 minutes late. Today, it was 6 minutes late. And this was a completely different train. I can only imagine what time the stinkin’ train will come next Tuesday. On a day where I have to be on the train super early in the morning, I want it to be on time, because every minute that it’s late, that one more minute that I could’ve been sleeping!

This morning, Jen and Rachael both had to leave the house early for work and working out. Jen left slightly before Rachael, so imagine Rachael’s surprise when she discovered Jen still standing in the bike parking area in their apartment. They had the following conversation:

Jen: Hmm…

Rachael: Where’s your bike? Where’s my bike??

Jen and Rachael: At the station…stupid station.

Jen and Rachael realized that they had left their bikes at the station over the weekend, and then had gotten a ride home on Sunday night, thus leaving their bikes in the station’s bike garage. And what’s worse is that both of them were on a bit of a schedule and had counted on the speed that their bikes provided. So, they made the completely unexpected, unplanned, fifteen minute walk to the station and the while complaining about the stupid bike garage at the station, even though they both secretly knew that it was their own faults for forgetting that they had left their bikes there in the first place.

I was awakened this morning at 6:45 by the sound of my phone ringing, or rather, vibrating since my phone is rarely off silent mode. Before I could fully register that it was 6:45 and that it was my roommate calling, I answered with a sleepy hello, and got this response: “I found a kitten.”

After I woke up enough to sort out our conversation, I realized that Jen had found a homeless baby kitten on her run in the park, and wondered whether or not she should bring it home. I agreed, and by that point I was completely awake. So, while I waited for Jen, I had a cup of coffee and washed the dishes.

Then I got an email saying that everyone was telling her not to take the kitty. I was confused by this, because who else would she have called that early in the morning, so she decided to continue on her run, and if the kitten was still at the park when she finished, she would bring it home. So, by that point, it was 7:05, and my alarm wasn’t due to go off until 8:30, so I tried to go back to sleep.

But the activities and the coffee had fully woken me up, so ironic. So, I just spent the morning relaxing and doing some things around the house, until Jen came home, with no cat. The kitty was nowhere to be found in the park upon her return. So, for about 30 minutes this morning, Jen and I were pet owners. Needless to say, I am now very tired, and it’s only 9 PM. It looks like an early night for me and Jen both.

A few weeks ago, I went to a concert for a band called Audacious. Audacious’s style is definitely that mosh pit rock style, and the main singer had so much energy. I was seriously impressed at her ability to get the crowd energized and crazy throughout the concert.

But it made me think that rockstars are actually extremely good actors. I mean, this band had just flown over from England like the day before, and having experienced cross-world jetlag, I can tell you that it’s not a pretty thing. It would be extremely difficult to put on that kind of show so soon afterwards. Thus, I had a magical revelation that rockstars aren’t always that into their music or the show. Of course, they love their music, but they don’t have an endless supply of genuine energy.

And this led to my second revelation- that being an ECC teacher is just like being a rockstar, but on a much smaller scale and without all the singing. Although, I do sing in almost every class. But I walk into my classes, and no matter how I’m personally feeling, I need to get people’s energy and excitement levels up, especially in my kids classes. The more over the top and crazy I am there, the more the kids respond. Even with my adults, there’s no downtime. I’m always upbeat-laughing and smiling as though my life depended on it.

First step- ECC teacher… Then- Rockstar Supreme!

Now, I just need to get me a band…

So, the quality isn’t the best ever, but the camera on my phone isn’t the best ever either. But enjoy the pictures and captions!

Well, my Tuesday started off horribly but ended well. Let me tell you the story.

Background: I teach at a kindergarten in Tajimi on Tuesdays and I have to be there at 9:55, which means that I literally have to be walking out the door at 8:45 to guarantee that I catch my train and subsequently my bus to the kindergarten. Then in the afternoon, I work at ECC Tajimi school.

Story: I set my alarm for 7:30 this morning, thinking that I would have ample time to wake up, relax, and get ready before I had to leave for work. As usual, I snoozed my alarm, and the next time I woke up, I had a bad feeling. I looked at the time, and shot out of bed when I realized that it was 8:44!! For Real!! Of course, I start freaking out! That was the fastest I’ve ever gotten ready in my life. I was out the door by 8:50. I raced to the station, only to see my 8:59 train pulling away as I exited the bike garage. Stinkin long line to get into the garage. I seriously need to get a monthly pass so that I can bypass the time it takes to buy a ticket everyday.

So, I got into the station and proceeded to wait…and wait…and wait. In between Kasugai and Tajimi, there’s another major station, and a lot of the trains on my line only run to that station- Kozoji. So, I had to watch two trains pass through until I could get on my train at 9:23. Now, if I had known that the train schedule was that messed up, I totally would’ve taken longer at home getting ready. So, 9:23 rolled around and I was mentally mapping out my run from the train station to my bus, because I would just just just make the right bus so that I could get to my kindy just in time. But while I was doing my mental run-through, I realized that my train was late. And that just annoyed me to no end! The trains are always on time in Japan, but of course, the one time, I really cut it down to the wire, my train’s late. And we’re not talking one minute or anything, it was 7 stinkin minutes late!! Are you kidding me?! So, as soon as I got on the train, I knew that I would not make my bus.

I get to Tajimi station and head toward the taxi stand. My bus only runs every twenty minutes, so the next bus was due until 10:00, and it was 9:45. I get in the taxi, and manage to stammer out where I needed to go in very bad Japanese, and called work to tell them that I would be late. Well, the taxi driver takes me where I requested, but since it was only my second time going there, first time all by myself, I didn’t recognize anything. So the very nice taxi driver calls in and requests specific directions to my school. I felt so bad because I definitely couldn’t communicate what I needed to say, and we were both more than a little confused.

So, I finally get to my kindy, and it was great! I have two 30-minute classes, and they’re just so cute! I saw a little 3 year old running around with no pants on, and right before I left, a little boy had a slight problem with the sink, and water exploded all over the hallway! The only downside is that the teachers there don’t speak English, only a little bit. I felt a lot better after teaching, and I even made it back to the bus stop with no directional problems. But I had to wait a long time for the bus because once again, I just missed it.

I got back to Tajimi station around 12:10, but had some time to kill before my train. So, I grabbed some convenience store lunch, decided that I didn’t want to go all the way back to Kasugai for an hour and a half and then back to Tajimi, so I decided to go on an adventure to Jokoji, a small local-only stop on the train line. It’s just this baby stop in between two mountain tunnels in the middle of the country, but every time the train stops there, I can see the most beautiful river with huge rocks in it and a big waterfall. So, I thought I’d hang out there and eat my lunch.

Jokoji was everything I expected and more!! The river is so beautiful and I found a really nice hiking trail nearby. I didn’t actually go hiking, but I sat next to a stream and read my book for about an hour. It was so relaxing! Just what I needed after such a horrible morning. I also took a walk along the big river and just got to appreciate nature. I saw a big wading bird, and several butterflies. It was so peaceful and just wonderful. Maybe I’ll make it a weekly thing.

Finally, I got back on the train and headed to Tajimi for work. I have two kids classes, three free time lessons, and one long adult lesson. I got there, and my boss informed me that all three of my free time lessons were vacant due to last minute cancellations. So, I basically had three hours of my own free time. But in both of my kids classes today, I have a shy boy in each, and the staff and I were worried about them ever participating in the class, and maybe even dropping out. But in a miraculous occurrence, both boys participated in class and left with big smiles on their faces, saying that their class was really fun!!! I felt like such an awesome teacher today!!! Then I had my big 3-hour break, where I just talked to my boss and did random helpful things around the office. The time went by very quickly and it ended well with my adults. They’re all really talkative and funny, so it makes me happy to teach them.

Then I got on the train and made my way home and here I sit telling you how a day with such a horrible beginning ended so wonderfully!! It sounds unbelievable, but welcome to my life!

Oh Japan…

Japan is the global ruler of anything and everything cutesy cute and here is yet another example of that fact. Click on the link above and read how Hello Kitty is now the face of tourism for Japan. First, she’s doing Softbank ads, and now she’s a global representative. They just grow up so fast!

I was feeling reminiscent today, so I am currently watching “The Sound of Music,” one of my all-time childhood favorites. And of course, it still ranks in my top ten favorites. I mean, you just can’t find movies of that quality anymore. And unfortunately, I know from y own experience that children aren’t so cute and innocent anymore. They would simply not be won over by a song during a rainstorm. I try singing to my kids in class, and they tend to look at me as though I’m completely insane.

But in watching the movie through adult eyes, I can’t help but think of the movie in a different way. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the movie is great, but I see it in shades of gray rather than black and white. And my views have mostly changed concerning the characters.

Baroness Schraeder- I remember thinking that she was completely horrible for scaring Maria back to the Abbey and then pretending that she had no idea why Maria left. But for real, you can’t blame the woman. She’s practically engaged to the Captain, he has called her his savior, for goodness’s sake. Then up out of nowhere, this governess seems to be capturing the captain’s heart right out from under her nose. And to top all of it, said governess is quite oblivious to the effect that she’s been having on the Captain, so the Baroness can’t play by normal women’s rules. She was just trying to keep her man. Somehow, you can’t really make her into a bad guy, especially when the Captain proposes to her. And she does redeem herself completely in the end by cluing the Captain in to how he himself is feeling about Maria.

Rolf- I can’t help but pity Rolf. Sure, he wooed Liesel, and then dumped her when he got a confidence boost from being in the Nazi army. But, he was young and impressionable, and I’m sure that Hitler didn’t seem completely crazy when things first started out. He was only 17, just looking for somewhere to belong, and perhaps starting out with the intention of being impressive enough for the Captain to approve of.

Max- Dude, he’s totally the equivalent of the gay best friend in today’s times!!

Reverend Mother- Man, she’s really sneaky. She knew that Maria wasn’t cut it to be a nun, and she definitely manipulated Maria into going to the Von Trapp’s on two different occasions, no matter how much Maria pleaded.