Elle's Adventures

Today, I make a quick return to my old Japan blog. I have begun upon another adventure to Japan. This time I am documenting my efforts in finding a teaching English job in Japan. For the past few months I have been applying like mad to many different kinds of eikaiwa, or English language schools. Up until a few weeks ago, I was not successful in the least. It has been rather disheartening, but it may also be attributed to the fact that most organisations hire around April and September. However, a few weeks ago I decided to apply to Gaba Corporation. In the past I had avoided them because of their lack of benefits that most other English teaching jobs can offer. Now that we (my boyfriend and I) were getting desperate to find a job for June this year, we decided to apply. I received a reply within a few days, which was surprising. We received word that they were interested, and should complete a longer application for them to review. We did so, and once again, within a coupl...

Thought I should put up some of the photos that others have added of me on Facebook: I think I look about 10 years old in this one! Terrible photo of me! I never realised my hair colour was so light Welcoming Party...oh yes I love photos. Especially when they stand there for ages and I know it's about to happen. You're bound to get a lovely photo out of it. Pfft. The colour of my skin looks weird, and something is not quite right with my face! It's weird, I can't work it out... On a side note, 売買, pronounced baibai means buying and selling. Easy as! I'll have no trouble forgetting that one! Okay, back to study :D

Sometimes I am really embarrassed to be labelled as gaijin 外人 or gaikokujin 外国人, which in English is literally 'outsider' or 'outside country person'...obviously foreigner. In fact, you really notice that you are a foreigner in Japan; people stare, and not in a friendly way either. But the time I hate being non-Japanese the most is when other non-Japanese are here and don't respect the culture and customs; I do my best. For example, I was just watching a tv program on how foreigners (it's too easy to label ourselves and others with that term) disrespect geisha 芸者 and maiko 舞子. Most people are familiar with geisha (entertainers in traditional Japanese arts), but usually confuse them with maiko. Maiko are in fact apprentice geisha, and dress in more colourful, flambouyant kimono. Neither of the two are prostitutes, no matter how they have been portrayed over the last 100 years. This show was set in Kyoto, where the majority of geisha and maiko work. T...

On Friday, 1st May, I got to University, and realised I had left my shinkansen (bullet train) tickets at the dormitory. I was already feeling not so happy...in fact Nasu-san approached me before class began to ask whether I was okay; my reaction showed I was not. She listened to my problems, and made me feel a lot better :) After class she even gave me a really, really lovely card, saying that we could talk any time I would like. She's a very lovely person. Anyway, I went back to the dorm by bus, got my tickets, then caught the subway back to Uni to pick up my bags, then Natalia and I went together to Nagoya station, which is about 15 - 20 minutes by subway. We parted, as she was going to Osaka by bus. And so my adventure began!! My tummy was full of butterflies as I had never done anything like this before; especially in a country that speaks an entirely different language! Nevertheless, I found the platform and received a very lovely phone call from Dede, how lucky! ...

Today was Showa Day; a day to commemorate Emperor Showa`s birthday, who reigned before, during, and after World War Two. So this day also doubles as a day to recognise the war and how bad it was, etc, or something like that. So for us exchange students, it`s a great excuse for a day trip! Me, Go, Tei, Natalia and Shannon first set out for Kakuozan to see Nittaiji Temple, as Nasu-san had suggested a few days ago to Shannon and I. Kakuozan turned out to be a really, really nice neighbourhood. The street was lined with lovely little stores built in traditional Japanese style, and private houses that looked modern, large and very lovely. I thought I`d include the photos I took in the morning to see whether my clothes looked okay. And because you all said for me to stay crazy. It`s annoying more than ever to not have a full length mirror! Every morning turns into such a chore. At the time I thought my shoes looked okay. But now...not so much... The top left photo is of tomb st...

Yesterday I went to the Sugiyama Jogakuen travel agent to book tickets to Kyoto in Golden Week. I`m going to stay with my good friend Fumi, who was an exchange student at Utas, Semester One last year. I understood pretty much everything the lady said, made my own enquiries about the difference between the bus and shikansen...ended up going by shinkansen because it`s a lot less hassle than having ten different bus changes. It`s going to be expensive though! I was so proud of myself; I can actually do things on my own - and in another language too! And then there were some not so nice things that happened soon after... For now, let`s just enjoy these random photos: Sugiyama`s CIEP toilets. They aren`t so interesting to me anymore, as I experienced them three years ago, but for those that have never seen them... Some photos I took after going to the post office, buying stamps (yay, I used new grammar...then I didn`t understand the lady. I`ve noticed when I don`t understa...

...it was not a `party`. Today was rainy :( I still haven`t bought myself an umbrella. So when we left, I took one out of the stand. I hoped that whoever owned it wouldn`t be wanting to go out. I`ve noticed Japanese rain is remarkably different to when it rains in Tasmania. In Tasmania, the winds blow, so it`s impossible to use an umbrella anyway. It Japan there is very little, so the rain falls straight down. I actually prefer Tasmanian rain. You`ll hear why later. Sugiyama`s Sunday bus...I guess they don`t expect many people to be going to University. I couldn`t believe how much space there was! So, at 9.20am we arrived at Sugiyama, and I jumped immediately onto the computers. Still no news. There has been no news for a few days now, which is extremely disappointing. When there`s no news, it makes me feel isolated. Once inside CIEP (Center for International Exchange Programs) we became aware that today was going to begin on a formal note. In one of the classroom...