01. The First Few Steps

I'm big in Japan. Indeed. I decided to start this blog to keep people updated on what I'm doing over here. The name of the blog is taken from the eponymous song by my long time favorite musician, Tom Waits. Seemed appropriate at the time but may be subject to change.

It's my first week and I'm getting acclimated. The other JETs (JETs are also ALTs but not all ALT's are JETs) tell me I am doing well with sleeping habits, directions and speaking (had a head start on Japanese). My fellow Kishiwada ALT's (Assistant Language Teachers) are really nice and incredibly helpful. I am thankful for my placement as others were not so lucky.
My apartment is small, as expected, but the distribution of space is where the trouble is. There is plenty of space in my tatami room (which has no tatami mats in it, so I guess its just my living room) but everything else is supremely tiny. The kitchen is a small cubby in the entry hallway about the size of a normal kitchen sink in America. Yep, that's my WHOLE kitchen. I'm still figuring out where to keep my food and dishes because it seems like its either one or the other. The apartment is skinny and deep 10"x 30". I can touch one wall with my finger and the other with my toe. Becuase my predecessor left in a hurry, I inherited all his stuff for free which saved me a ton of money and time on furnishing the place. He even left me a couple bottles of hooch. Good man.
I've been organizing the place and unpacking mostly, but the other JET's have taken me out a few times since I got here.
First was my welcome party dinner. We ate Yakiniku (Literally=Grilled Beef) which included some beef that was not cooked at all. Tasted pretty good. Turns out drinking is a big part of Japanese life, and far be it from me to go against the society, so I've been getting to know my colleagues and the locals over drinks more than I had anticipated. I graced a few little watering holes including a japanese reggae/surf bar and the aptly named "Booze". Both JET favorites.

Last night was my first big adventure into Osaka-shi (Osaka City). I met many former JETs and ALTs who are here for a wedding. We went out for eats and drinks in the busy but touristy part of town (Sorta like Union Square). Then split up into groups and hit the town. I got a great tour from Nick and Hisa (an ALT and a Kishiwada local) missed my train home and slept in an armchair in a tiny cubicle [hotel]. You pay 1500 Yen ($15) and get a little chair in a cubicle in a large room for 6 hours. All the comic books you can read, tv and internet included. This place is for people with time to kill or nowhere to go after hours.

I start teaching next week sometime. I'm excited to start.

I tried to take pictures of my place, but its so small I can't get far back enough to show it properly.

So far so good. I'll end here and will be fielding questions as I go.

Today I miss people at home terribly.

# of Gaigokujin(foreigner) cliche's experienced: 3
1) Hit head on ceiling
2) Overpaid for dinner (no tips here)
3) Drunken KARAOKE after midnight!!