CEREMONIES

23rd Aug 2006

This morning I misplaced my keys just before I was leaving the house and I really freaked out! Prayed very hard that God will help me find it‚… Plus I was running late‚… In the end, found it on top of the fridge! Aiya! So silly‚… I put it there coz I had originally wanted to put out my non-combustible rubbish last night but eventually abandoned the idea as it started to rain‚… Aiyo, as a result, I rushed out of house & scratched my brand new black dress shoes‚… Then after I left my apartment, I suddenly remembered I need to pack in another omiyage (present ) for the Superintendent for our greeting visit later.. So I went back, grabbed the small gifts, then rushed to the office.

My base school‚’s English teacher, Ms Hosoyama, came to BOE today & I was being introduced to her. She seems v nice coz she chatted quite freely with me. She told me what to expect tomorrow when I go for Hokuryo‚’s school opening ceremony. Yeah am quite excited abt tomorrow!

In the afternoon after lunch, we went to the city office to greet the Mayor & Superintendant. Had to do a whole series of Japanese introductions to various people. Only ended up giving the small omiyage superintendent. The Mayor was too busy‚…But everybody is polite & nice. The radio station BeFm, wanted to interview us so Mr Murakami chose Wade & I to be the interviewees. I keep fumbling over my Japanese words‚….So paiseh‚…

After that we went back to the office & we were all presented with our official contract. Soon it was knock-off time! Yeah! Home sweet home!

24^th Aug 2006

For some reason or another, I kept waking up. Once at 5am, then at 630am & then 7am‚… I had a nightmare‚… I dreamt that I lost my way when I was traveling to Hokuryo‚…so I was really desperate‚… Used a public phone to call Murakami sensei for help‚… What a horrible dream! Finally woke up at 715am, washed up, changed, put on my make-up & ate breakfast. Decided to leave the house five min earlier to wait for the taxi. Realised the taxi was already waiting for me downstairs! Wow! Great! Chatted with the friendly taxi-driver a bit along the way‚…

Reached Hokuryo at abt 815am. That‚’s fast! Entered & changed into my indoor shoes & went up the staircase.. Saw the entrance of the teacher‚’s room when I went up one flight of staircase but alas, I forgot the name of the teacher that I met yesterday! Was searching for the piece of paper that bears the teacher‚’s name when someone saw me & said “Ohaiyo gozaimasu”. Oh no, I‚’ve been noticed so I had no choice but to go fwd & intro myself. Luckily, the teacher came to the door and she promptly introduced me to the staff. After which I did a self intro in Japanese. Then I was shown to my seat, complete with a desktop.

After some time, I had a meeting with the principal. He is a humorous guy and is oh-so-friendly! He brought me to the gymnasium where school assembly is held. The opening school ceremony started and the principal gave a speech. Later he introduced me & I was invited up on stage to give a speech in English. I was really nervous because I spoke in front of the whole school. But it turned out well! After that I went back to the staff room & a few students took the initiative to come to the staff room especially to say 'Hello' to me in English. I’m soooo amazed that they are so friendly! Then the teacher explained today’s lessons plan to me. I’ll be visiting two 3^rd grade classes today.

At both classes I did the same thing. Greetings, my self inro with posters, then students in groups of 4 or 5 showed me various rooms in the school & explained them in English‚…It was hilarious! Many of them had difficulty trying to explain in English what kind of room it is for‚…but they are all pretty genki (lively) so it was fun. One group was showing me a rock-statue right outside entrance. No matter how much I ask them abt the symbolism of the rock & what does it say etc, the student only replied

“Stone‚… ". Haha so cute!

Then after the second lesson, the teacher & I went back to the second class to have school lunch with the students. Chatted a bit with the students. Before I can finish my food, it was time to pack up. Wow, the students can really eat fast! The two participants who are going to take part in the speech contest came to look for me. So I helped them with their pronunciation in their speeches.

I left Hokuryo via taxi to the city office as I had to collect my Alien Registration card, together with Russell & Maeta san. She helped us with the procedures & brought us to open a bank account at Aomori Bank. Ha, I got my Snoopy bank book finally! Then we returned to the office. Seems like everyone else had a good time in their school ceremonies.

25^th Aug 2006

I went to Shimamori JHS today. We were all sooo nice to me. I was pleasantly surprised that I was allocated a personalised shoe locker that bore my name. Wow! The teacher, Ms Nakamura was v friendly. I did self-introductions & played a Q&A games with the students. It was really fun! It is a very small school. For each grade, there's only one class but the students were so responsive & eager to learn. After that they held a welcome reception for me in the school library. It was actually a formal reception with the principal giving a speech! I also had to give a simple speech and they presented me with a a bouquet of flowers! So touched...

AOMORI ORIENTATION

16^th Aug 2006

Reached BOE at 815am. We were all whisked off to Aomori City by BOE’s bus. I like this bus coz there’s a lot of leg space. Chatted with Murakami sensei along the way… Most of the time, I understand what he is saying but I don't how to react with the proper Japanese words. Plus I’ll somehow forget all the set expressions when I need them most.. So my most common line is “sou desu ne”… Hope I can improve my japanese soon!

When we reached Aomori Grand Hotel, I was pleasantly welcome by Felicia! She was waiting for me to have lunch together. I was even more pleased when I found out that we are given individual rooms! Wow! My room is pretty neat… Felicia, Crystal & I ate at a Jap family restaurant near the hotel. An auntie there was exceptionally helpful when she realised we are foreigners. After lunch, the whole series of workshops began… Since I slept so little last night, I really couldn’t keep awake during the first session… Kept dozing off... zzzzzz….

Had dinner at an izakaya with Alaine (posted to Nanbu), Crystal & Felicia. The service there was really bad. There were not customer-friendly and worse still, they served our food very late & even forgot to serve one dish. Black-listed! Wasn’t very full too so Felicia, Crystal & I decided to walk ard to search for dessert. No shops were opened though.. so we went back to the hotel.

17^th Aug 2006

What a comfortable night! Wished I could have slept in… Ate breakfast at 715am, went back to sleep for a while, then went for the workshop. We had a formal lunch reception at a ballroom today. We had to line up according to our city names & shake hands with one of the big-shots. Then we were taken to the immigration dept to apply for our re-entry permit. After that, Felicia & I went shopping! Ha, I ended up buying something I never expected I will buy. A pair of Pappilio sandals for S$111!!! We also went to some 100yen shops.

Then we ate dinner at a very small dingy-looking ramen shop. Woohhh, the food is not bad though.. We both had a bowl of Hotate ramen (scallop-Aomori’s speciality!) & we shared a gyoza. We went back after dinner & started to pack out bags to get ready for check-out tmr.

18^th Aug 2006

Workshops again… Had lunch at a nearby modern-looking Jap restaurant which offers “choose 9 dishes you like” bento lunches (includes a cup of coffee at the end of the emal) for 700yen. Very worth it for family style Jap food! Think this is the most 'worth it' meal during my 3 days here!

Mr Murakami came to the hotel to pick us up when the orientation ended, but this time we were not going home by the comfy bus! How sad! We all had to take a train back to Hachinohe… so we all lugged our bags to the train station, boarded an express train, changed train at Hachinohe station before we arrived at Konakano station. Thank goodness I live near Konakano station!

Used my rice-cooker for the first time… and I’m amazed that it will play a melody when it starts cooking the rice and another melody when the rice is done! HAha, so cute! I call it my singing rice cooker!

SETTLING IN

10^th Aug 2006

Kathryn was supposed to meet me at 830am at my house to accompany me to work coz today is my first official day of work. But she was late. Thank God somehow we managed to reach office at abt 910am so it’s ok!

In the afternoon, Mr Murakami drove both Russell & me to Hachinohe City office to apply for our Alien Registration card. Then we went to the Post Office to check the mail left in my postbox. Cheh, it’s just a NTT TV registration letter… Went back to office & Mr Murakami briefed Russell & me on our job scope & types of leave we can take.

Went to Lapia to do more grocery shopping and I couldn’t resist checking out the 100yen shop. Oh it’s Daiso! How familiar! Bought some stuff for the house. Used a KDDI calling card that I bought at Family Mart to call home… What a rip-off, for 1000yen I only get about like 9mins or so… Never gonna buy it again!

11^th Aug 2006

I felt better today. Not so depressed like the first day. Came prepared with some books that we got from the Tokyo Orientation today so that I’ll have things to do.. A radio station Be Fm, came to interview us as we are the new foreigners in Hachinohe… Well I fumbled over some words coz I was a little nervous but nvm, listeners will concentrate on Kathryn’s Japanese translation than on what I said in English! Had a late lunch coz of the interview. Ate at Universe with Ricky, Kathryn & Russell.

Some lady is gonna treat us to dinner tonight so yippe…no need to worry abt dinner! Met at Universe’s main entrance at 630pm. Q, Veronica & I shared to buy a few slices of cake as a gift. Then we met Mr Takahashi, Mrs Takahashi Kaoru & Mrs Ito Yumiko outside Universe. Took Q’s car to Mrs Takashi’s house. She was a really hospitable lady… Kept serving us food non-stop… She's also very chatty & humourous Oh, Mrs Ito is even funnier… She really likes to crack jokes and at the age of nearly forty, she even likes heavy metal music!

12^th Aug 2006

Promised to bring Russell to Lapia so I met Ricky, Joel, Veronica & him outside Universe. Then we went shopping in Lapia. Went to the Daiso again. Somehow there always something to buy there… We left Lapia with many bags… Saw a pair of seemingly comfy & nice-looking shoes for 1900yen. Hmm the price is considered reasonable … But I'll see how first…I think I better not anyhow spend money…

In the evening, I rode Dahlia’s bicycle to the BOE for the first time. I'm supposed to meet the other ALTs there to celebrate Wade’s birthday. Boy was it hard to ride on the sidewalks, plus I couldn’t control my steering very well…Almost ran over a few plants… God, please help me master riding on a bike here… In the end, we are going Downtown Hachinohe… So I had to park my bike back home since we are walking there. A wasted trip on my bike…

Reached Downtown & met up with a whole lot of others fr various towns/cities in Aomori. We went to an Izayaka and drank & ate. The party dragged on till abt 1am & they were going to another club for a nijikai (second party). Oh I cannot make it… Gotta go home so I left & walked back home alone. Luckily I have Dahlia’s map with me so I didn't get lost. Was also extra alert coz this is the first time I walked home alone so late at night. Got home at 130am.

13^th Aug 2006

Was woken up by the ringing of my phone at 9+am…. Darn, it rang twice & both times, before I can reach the phone via my ladder, the ringing stopped. Well, I might as well wake up then. Russell, Veronica & I went to Yamada Denki in the afternoon. Boy was it hot today! The sun was scorching! On our way there, guess what we chanced upon? A really big Daiso!!! Heh, of course we went in to shop. I tried to restrain myself from buying useless things but I couldn’t resist buying 3 small stamps bearing cute Sanrio characters with encouraging jap words like “Ganbaroo”, “Onegaishimasu” and the English word “Good”. Hey it’s not exactly useless coz I can give my school kids stamps on their work! Hee

Finally decided to leave Daiso, then we went into Home Center Sunday to see what’s inside. There’s an iron selling for 2980yen odd.. Hmm, looks pretty cheap compared to the rest… Well better go Yamada Denki to compare prices. Well true enough, Yamada is much cheaper! A decent iron is selling for 1280yen! Wow, that’s cheap! I bought an ironing board as well… In total I paid 2060yen! Great buy! Russel bought the iron as well. Rice-cookers are expensive though but Russell said he can sell me his rice cooker coz he doesn’t want it.

Managed to meet my neighbour finally. She doesn’t seem very friendly though… The first time I rang the bell, she didn’t come to the door so I left the present (with a hand-wriiten note) at her door. Some time later I opened my door to check if the present is still there. Ah it’s gone means she took it! But she didn’t come & say thanks or “Hello”.. Strange… If she took the present, shouldn’t she come over to check on me? Plus all while I was in the kitchen preparing my dinner. I’m sure she can deduce that I’m at home coz of my lights & noises… Well anyway, I went over, rang the doorbell again & she finally opened the door. I introduced myself & she appeared civil…Nothing much to say though so we ended the conversation. Well I‘ve done my part.. Hope she’ll open up to me… It’ll be good to make friends with neighbours...

After that I watched one of the videos Dahlia left me. “Bend it like Beckham”. It’s a funny show. I ironed my clothes while watching it. Reminded me so much abt Dear since this movie is abt soccer..

14^th Aug 2006

Rode my bike to work today.. managed to reach safe & sound… Decided to study Japanese in the office… In the afternoon, I just grabbed a bento fr Family Mart and a small tiramisu and wandered around near the BOE, looking for a place to sit down & eat. Couldn’t find anywhere so I stood by the roadside, borrowing some shade fr a house & gobbled down my tiramisu. But as I walked further, I was pleasantly surprised to find a small park near the office so I had the rest of my lunch there. Thank you God! Wow, You really provide!

Rode my bike home, or rather pushed my bike home, coz I found it harder to ride in the afternoon. There are more cars on the road now.. I get more nervous… and somehow I cannot control the steering as well as I did in the morning…Plus I had the hanger thing (that Russell gave me since he wanted to get rid of it) strapped behind my seat. He also brought the rice cooker to office but I decided to bring it home tomorrow instead.

Kathryn told us one of her friends invited all of us to BBQ dinner tonight. Yeah no need to cook again! So we met up at Kathryn’s house at 630pm. We spilt into 2 groups: Wade, Ricky & Joel in one taxi; Kathryn, Veronica & me on another. We alighted at Cino in downtown & walked to Kathryn’s friend’s place.

Her house is considered huge compared to the average size of Japanese homes… Had a good dinner at her place.. She was such a hospitable host! She plays really awesome jazz music too! It was a CD by "Eldissa". Must find this CD one day!

Heard fr Q that my neighbour is not v friendly. She refused to open the door when Dahlia tried to present her with a gift. Just peeped through the door hole & backed away. Hmmm, I should be thankful that she actually opened the door for me & spoke a few words.

15^th Aug 2006

Walked to office today coz I will need to bring the rice-cooker home … Don't wanna risk smashing it if I crash my bike….Spent my day studying Japanese.. Needed to occupy myself so that I would not fall asleep… Researched on churches in Hachinohe… Realised there are actually a few… I asked Murakami sensei for directions to church & he was very helpful. Learnt how to create a poster that will be sent to all the schools that we will visit …We were allowed to leave at 3 plus pm to prepare for our orientaion trip in Aomori City tomorrow.

Carried my rice-cooker home… and packed my bags for the next 3 days…Boy it’s really hot today, even in the evening! Met Russell at 515pm at the 'spicy' post office (Kosei san calls everything spicy!) then we walked downtown to meet our Big sister, Yumiko. Checked out 2 Mini-stops & 1 Circle K that I saw along the way to Downtown but none of them sell the supposedly cheap international calling card, called "brastel". Oh too bad then... We went to an okonomiyaki family restaurant right outside downtown. The food was great and the price was very reasonable. Had a great dinner!

1st FEW DAYS

6^th Aug 2006

Arrived at the airport at 330am… It's too early!!! Only managed to sleep a bit. Ann, Roslynn, Waiyue & Lynn came to send both Teresa & me off.. Was really surprised to see them! Mama cried when I was about to go in… No wonder she was awfully quiet… Comforted her & told her I’ll be fine… Hugged Mama, Papa, Ei & my Dear… Then I waved goodbye to Singapore….

When I was on the plane, I suddenly felt very sad… Teared a bit when I thought abt Dear… Well I shall just sleep off my sadness…

Reached Narita Airport at 245pm. We were all led to a bus that brought us to Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. Oh, I’m sharing room with the Christian gal, Felicia. Yeah!

Had dinner at an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) with Hiroe, Shimin’s Japanese friend and a few other Singaporeans. Then I called my family & Dear via a phonebooth outside the hotel.

7^th Aug 2006

A whole day of workshops. A formal dinner reception was provided at Conrad Ballroom. Food was good but it was so crowded!

8^th Aug 2006

Even more workshops today…. Feeling the effects of information overload... ZZZZzzzzzZZZ

Embassy dinner at a really authentic-looking restaurant.. Yummy & the best thing is….. it’s FOC!

9^th Aug 2006

Singapore, Happy National Day! It was raining when we left Keio Plaza… Look at how dark the sky is...

The typhoon is expected to hit central Japan today. Hopefully it will not affect my flight… Hopped on the bus with all my barang-barang and sat beside Felicia. Was initially checking out the scenery, but I felt too tired so I closed my eyes and

rested. Soon we reached Aomori Airport. Alas, our flight was delayed, but only by half an hour. Plus they gave us a compensatory 500 yen voucher! Yeah, can do some shopping! I bought a “Flying Dorayaki”, which is essentially a huge red-bean cake with a smiley face. I decided to get it coz its wide grin cheers me up. Besides it’s only 400 yen so it's just right to make full use of the free voucher.

Boarded the plane & I sat beside Crystal who was so nice & chatty. Too bad she’s quite faraway from me, at Rokunohe … Managed to sleep a bit on the plane. After 1 hr 50min, I finally reached Hachinohe! My supervisor, Mr Murakami was at Aomori Airport to pick both Russell and me up. Russell is a Filippino-Canadian. Just got to know him at the Prefectural meeting yesterday. Nice guy…

The other 7 ALTs were also at the airport. Claire from Scotland, Veronica from USA, Joel from USA, Wade from USA, Ricky from USA, Q from South Africa and Kathryn from United Kingdom.

We are boarded a bus and made our way to Hachinohe Board of Education (BOE). Along the way, we had lunch at an authentic Sobaya where Mr Murakami treated us to a super refreshing & yummy zaru soba! Now that out stomachs are filled, we continued our way. Then we stopped at Shichinohe for a toilet break & for anybody who wants to buy groceries. Once we arrived at the BOE, Russell and I were introduced to the rest of the staff in the office. Then I was brought to my apartment.

It was wonderful! Very neat, homely and clean. It wasn’t what I expected but I like it. Dahlia, my predecessor kept this house so neat! I have a loft bedroom…. Means I must climb up a ladder to reach my room. How cool! http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g254/yenlingmah/?action=view&current=P8090079.flv

Mr Murakami taught me how to use the gas for the stove and the shower. After that, Kathryn & Mr Murakami brought me to the nearest supermarket to do some grocery shopping for tonight’s dinner & tomorrow’s breakfast.

After that, they sent me back to my apartment & there I was all alone in my new house… Felt weird having dinner alone in a totally foreign place... Started to feel sad. Suddenly I feel like going home… Sniff... After wiping my tears, I unpacked a little, but couldn’t get to sleep till 3am…

FINALLY! やっと

Yes, I have finally created a blog after 2 mths in Hachinohe (the ALTs here say Hach for short)! Main reason is that I didn't get my internet set-up at home till 2 weeks ago! Oh well, now I'll start to re-cap everything that happened in the past 2 mths here in squid town（that's what my predecessor called Hach).. :P Luckily I kept a diary!