Check out an awesome view of Izuhara from up in the mountains:
http://www.stanford.edu/~echin/tsushima
(it's rather massive... sorry)
and that would be my friend Patrick you see at the end of the video.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
random thoughts
most of you in america probably dont know, but typhoon #10 has been wreaking havoc the last few days. it was centered around kyushu, and has slowly made its way towards tsushima. last night, there was an announcement on the town announcement system (speakers are set up EVERYWHERE.. you can even hear daily announcements and chimes in the middle of the forest. i can't remember where i read this, but i recall somewhere mentioning that you know you live in a small town in japan when your town has its own megaphone/announcement system) saying in short that Typhoon #10 was going to be in Tsushima this afternoon. rather anticlimatically, today's weather is much much much more tame than the last 2 days. the last two days have been horrifyingly strong winds and oodles and oodles of rain. the last two nights, i've been awoken frequently during the night to the sound of my windows banging (even though they're all shut), and the constant whooshing of wind slapping around the trees that surround my house. i've learned new meaning to the phrase, "when it rains, it pours." i think that could be appropriately applied to tsushima. also, i've discovered new meaning to the term, "torrential rains." enough said.
as has been the theme with my last few posts, i'm all about adjusting to my new lifestyle and everything that goes along with it. as i've walked around town, there have been a few things that struck me that don't usually cross my mind...
* The other day, i was heading towards David's house (the other ALT in Izuhara... his place is about a 15 minute brisk walk for me), when i had one of those split second epiphanies: "I'm a gaijin living in Japan." And i dont know about you, but sometimes with those epiphanies, I'll get a split second of panic. I suddenly had this onslought of thoughts racing through my head, including, "what the hell am i doing here??" "am i seriously on an island in the middle of the sea of japan??" "am i really not going to see my family anytime soon?" But rest assured, I haven't changed my mind Tsushima. I think it was more of the fact that I hadn't had time to really register that i had in fact moved to Japan that i experienced my panic attack. And by now, I'm fully aware that i'm here and not in california. i still have yet to break into a daily routine as i dont start teaching until September 4th, but until then, i guess i'll have time to get used to my environment at least.
* I was walking home pretty late at night that same day, and as the street i use to get home is lit, I didn't have that much to worry about. While they're lit, they're not exactly well lit, so there was a slight possibility of heaven forbid, something "bad" happening. But after carefully analyzing why i didnt feel entirely safe walking home, i realized it was more of my fear of a huge bug leaping out and hitting me in the face, than it was some weirdo jumping out of some bushes and mugging me.
* Never have i felt like my roof is about to fly off. That is, until i started living here. The winds have been so strong that as i lay in bed (err, futon) trying to fall back asleep, all i can think about is the movie Twister, half expecting my roof to rip apart from the rest of the house, or my windows to suddenly shatter, sending thousands upon thousands of shards of glass flying into my bedroom. Yeah, the bad ideas that Hollywood implants into my brain.
* I always find it fascinating who thinks I can and can't speak Japanese based off of what little information they have regarding me. This is going to sound weird, but bear with me. If i were white or black, i'm pretty sure everyone would assume that I can't speak Japanese, right? But since i'm asian (and according to everyone -- i look japanese), when they hear that I'm from America, it's interesting to see who assumes I'm fluent in Japanese and who assumes i dont even know how to say hello. You know when people think you dont know what they're talking about and they'll talk really quickly in a hushed voice to someone else? Yeah, i've had some weird moments like that. The other day, i was so fed up with finding roach poop everywhere that I called up Patrick, the American who loves Tsushima so much that he's been living here for 13 years now, and asked him to take me shopping for plastic boxes to store my food. We drove about 20 minutes away to the best household goods store around. After visiting several stores, we ended up going back to that store again so i could buy more boxes. Both times when i was checking out, the same guy was at the cash register. Now, living in Tsushima for 13 years, Patrick tends to know a lot of people who were formerly his students. The cash register guy was no exception. When i bought my second round of stuff, the guy at the register looked up at Patrick who was standing about 5 feet behind me, and asked him in Japanese, "Deeto desuka?" which means, "Is she your date?" To not make the register guy feel embarassed, i withheld from laughing out loud, and just looked back at Patrick, who was laughing and shaking his head. Patrick later explained, "He probably thought you were my friend from home and hence didn't know Japanese..." Yeah, i sort of figured that too. There have been a few other "you wouldn't have said that while i was standing RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU if you knew i could actually understand what you were saying" moments, but as I dont know for sure i heard them correctly, I wont repeat them here.
Tomorrow I'm headed for Nagasaki for Prefectural Orientation. Sounds incredibly boring, but hey, it's a free trip to Nagasaki and I get to see people I haven't seen since Tokyo Orientation =) Tragically, i'll have to come back Tuesday night, but I'm not complaining. I haven't really been doing much to earn my pay (monday is payday. yay!). Wednesday I'll start meeting the teachers i'll be working with, so that'll be exciting. I hope they like having ALTs... it'd be very sad if they dont want me there (which i'm half expecting because many japanese English teachers don't like their authority taken away, etc.). Well, I'll let you know what happens :)
--Evelyn
as has been the theme with my last few posts, i'm all about adjusting to my new lifestyle and everything that goes along with it. as i've walked around town, there have been a few things that struck me that don't usually cross my mind...
* The other day, i was heading towards David's house (the other ALT in Izuhara... his place is about a 15 minute brisk walk for me), when i had one of those split second epiphanies: "I'm a gaijin living in Japan." And i dont know about you, but sometimes with those epiphanies, I'll get a split second of panic. I suddenly had this onslought of thoughts racing through my head, including, "what the hell am i doing here??" "am i seriously on an island in the middle of the sea of japan??" "am i really not going to see my family anytime soon?" But rest assured, I haven't changed my mind Tsushima. I think it was more of the fact that I hadn't had time to really register that i had in fact moved to Japan that i experienced my panic attack. And by now, I'm fully aware that i'm here and not in california. i still have yet to break into a daily routine as i dont start teaching until September 4th, but until then, i guess i'll have time to get used to my environment at least.
* I was walking home pretty late at night that same day, and as the street i use to get home is lit, I didn't have that much to worry about. While they're lit, they're not exactly well lit, so there was a slight possibility of heaven forbid, something "bad" happening. But after carefully analyzing why i didnt feel entirely safe walking home, i realized it was more of my fear of a huge bug leaping out and hitting me in the face, than it was some weirdo jumping out of some bushes and mugging me.
* Never have i felt like my roof is about to fly off. That is, until i started living here. The winds have been so strong that as i lay in bed (err, futon) trying to fall back asleep, all i can think about is the movie Twister, half expecting my roof to rip apart from the rest of the house, or my windows to suddenly shatter, sending thousands upon thousands of shards of glass flying into my bedroom. Yeah, the bad ideas that Hollywood implants into my brain.
* I always find it fascinating who thinks I can and can't speak Japanese based off of what little information they have regarding me. This is going to sound weird, but bear with me. If i were white or black, i'm pretty sure everyone would assume that I can't speak Japanese, right? But since i'm asian (and according to everyone -- i look japanese), when they hear that I'm from America, it's interesting to see who assumes I'm fluent in Japanese and who assumes i dont even know how to say hello. You know when people think you dont know what they're talking about and they'll talk really quickly in a hushed voice to someone else? Yeah, i've had some weird moments like that. The other day, i was so fed up with finding roach poop everywhere that I called up Patrick, the American who loves Tsushima so much that he's been living here for 13 years now, and asked him to take me shopping for plastic boxes to store my food. We drove about 20 minutes away to the best household goods store around. After visiting several stores, we ended up going back to that store again so i could buy more boxes. Both times when i was checking out, the same guy was at the cash register. Now, living in Tsushima for 13 years, Patrick tends to know a lot of people who were formerly his students. The cash register guy was no exception. When i bought my second round of stuff, the guy at the register looked up at Patrick who was standing about 5 feet behind me, and asked him in Japanese, "Deeto desuka?" which means, "Is she your date?" To not make the register guy feel embarassed, i withheld from laughing out loud, and just looked back at Patrick, who was laughing and shaking his head. Patrick later explained, "He probably thought you were my friend from home and hence didn't know Japanese..." Yeah, i sort of figured that too. There have been a few other "you wouldn't have said that while i was standing RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU if you knew i could actually understand what you were saying" moments, but as I dont know for sure i heard them correctly, I wont repeat them here.
Tomorrow I'm headed for Nagasaki for Prefectural Orientation. Sounds incredibly boring, but hey, it's a free trip to Nagasaki and I get to see people I haven't seen since Tokyo Orientation =) Tragically, i'll have to come back Tuesday night, but I'm not complaining. I haven't really been doing much to earn my pay (monday is payday. yay!). Wednesday I'll start meeting the teachers i'll be working with, so that'll be exciting. I hope they like having ALTs... it'd be very sad if they dont want me there (which i'm half expecting because many japanese English teachers don't like their authority taken away, etc.). Well, I'll let you know what happens :)
--Evelyn
Friday, August 18, 2006
New cellphone!
I finally got a cellphone! woohoo! among multiple obstacles in my way from getting a cellphone, i finally got my gaijin card (alien registration card) today, which inspired my boss to call me at 12 today and ask me to go into work at 1. s'll good though; i haven't been doing any real work. plus, i got my card AND managed to get my cellphone all in one day. excellent!
For those of you in Japan and ever feel moved to text or call me, here's my info:
Cellphone #: 080-1766-2278
Cellphone email address: ebechan.tsushima@docomo.ne.jp
Home phone: 0920-52-0137
And unlike my prepaid phone from last year, it looks like i'll be able to receive messages from gmail. sweet! So i'm super in love with my phone because i dished out quite a bit of money to get it, but i think it's worth it to be able to return home with a phone that america probably won't see for another 5 years. Look how pretty it is here! =)
My poor boss... He's had to fill out so many applications for me that by now, he's memorized my birthday and home phone haha. We were going to open up a bank account for me this afternoon since i had my gaijin card, but alas, it being japan and rural japan for that matter, the bank had already closed (dude -- banks close everyday at 3pm. 3!! wth?!). when we talked to the bank though, they handed him a flyer that said the exceptions to making a password for withdrawing money out of the atm. it said basically no using my home address, birthday, etc. But, as my boss can't speak English for the life of him (the only english i've heard out of him has been "Thank you," but even then, it was more like "san-kyuu"), he was trying to explain this as simply as possible in japanese. So, he said, "These are numbers you can't use. For example, you can't use 1117 because that's your birthday." When he said that, i tried so hard not to laugh. I can only imagine all the bs paperwork he's had to fill out for me.
Looks like from tomorrow on out i'll begin doing real work. i have to go in early to meet 13 principals out of the 15 schools i'll be working at. *yikes* looks like i'll be getting up early to practice my self-introduction. always a fun time practicing groveling! ;D
Oyasumi!
--Evelyn
For those of you in Japan and ever feel moved to text or call me, here's my info:
Cellphone #: 080-1766-2278
Cellphone email address: ebechan.tsushima@docomo.ne.jp
Home phone: 0920-52-0137
And unlike my prepaid phone from last year, it looks like i'll be able to receive messages from gmail. sweet! So i'm super in love with my phone because i dished out quite a bit of money to get it, but i think it's worth it to be able to return home with a phone that america probably won't see for another 5 years. Look how pretty it is here! =)
My poor boss... He's had to fill out so many applications for me that by now, he's memorized my birthday and home phone haha. We were going to open up a bank account for me this afternoon since i had my gaijin card, but alas, it being japan and rural japan for that matter, the bank had already closed (dude -- banks close everyday at 3pm. 3!! wth?!). when we talked to the bank though, they handed him a flyer that said the exceptions to making a password for withdrawing money out of the atm. it said basically no using my home address, birthday, etc. But, as my boss can't speak English for the life of him (the only english i've heard out of him has been "Thank you," but even then, it was more like "san-kyuu"), he was trying to explain this as simply as possible in japanese. So, he said, "These are numbers you can't use. For example, you can't use 1117 because that's your birthday." When he said that, i tried so hard not to laugh. I can only imagine all the bs paperwork he's had to fill out for me.
Looks like from tomorrow on out i'll begin doing real work. i have to go in early to meet 13 principals out of the 15 schools i'll be working at. *yikes* looks like i'll be getting up early to practice my self-introduction. always a fun time practicing groveling! ;D
Oyasumi!
--Evelyn
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Week 1 Pictures
At the airport with my folks
Okonomiyaki dinner with Ben-kun and Kevin-kun from Japanese class in Roppongi
The last time i'm seeing Chris for a while (*hand stretched out* "Nacchan!!")
The welcoming committee at Tsushima Airport: Hosa from my Board of Education, my superivsor (Matsushima-san), me, Alicia, some guy from Alicia's BOE (?), and Alicia's supervisor (Sago-san, who i think looks like a japanese Dustin Hoffman...)
One of the many cockroaches that chose the wrong house to invade
The first Tsushima ALT get-together: me, Sylvia (Canadian and 2nd year), Aaron (2nd year), Oliver (from Ireland and a 1st year), Alicia (1st year), David (1st year), Patrick (former ALT but loved Tsushima so much that he came back and is now in his 13th year here teaching privately), and Rob (1st year). All 5 of us newbies are in this picture, but there's 2 other 2nd years who didn't make it to this event.
From one of the lookout points in Izuhara...
A statue in Ayumadoshi in Izuhara
When i find out what this is and where i was, i'll write it down here. Pretty though, no? ;DWednesday, August 16, 2006
My first week in Tsushima
So today marks a historical moment for me: the end of my first whole week in Tsushima, Japan, my new home for the next year. So much has happened already that i dont know where to begin, but a brief summary of what i've been doing: meeting a lot of important people like the mayor, slowly breaking in my boss to my eccentric personality (i'm determined to make him laugh; my boss last year was very traditional and very down to business, but i'm determined this year for my boss to see ME and my personality. i dont want to be like the typical obedient peon, yanno? well, if you've worked in japan before, you know what i'm talking about), walking around town (which i'm living in the middle of), lots of joyriding up north to other towns (mine town, Izuhara, is furthest south, but has the most stuff to do of the six towns in my city), sea-kayaking, meeting other JETs and one former JET who lives here permanently, cleaning my house like CRAZY, sweating bullets day in and day out, and killing giant cockroaches.
To say the least, life here is completely different from everything i've ever known. trees and forests everywhere, not many people crowding the streets, super super narrow one-lane seeming streets that are two-way and have "enough room" for pedestrians, cicadas chirping alllll day long, the most ginormous bugs i've seen in my life, but all in all, a very peaceful life that's down to basics, yet still has luxury, that i've never really experienced before. this year will definitely be a learning year for me, and i think it's going to be a lot, a lot of fun.
2 things so far that i'm sure of: 1) my fan is my new best friend. It's way too damn hot and unbearable without it going all day downstairs where my kitchen and "dining room" are. And 2) cockroaches are the bain of my existence. To elaborate why...
Random Story #1
On the day that i arrived in Tsushima, my supervisor and his superior picked me up from the airport and took me straight to my new house. At first look around, i thought, "Dude, my place rocks." That night, my boss's superior, a lady from my office, and my predecessor's good friend took me out to dinner nearby my house. By the time i got back, it was about 9:30, and i had yet to open a single bag to unpack. deciding that i would take a shower and worry about unpacking in the mornig, i went downstairs to where my kitchen, bathroom, shower, and dining room are. as i approached my bags sitting in the dining room, i noticed a black spot on the wall that wasn't there when i got home. upon intense staring from across the room, i realized it was none other than a gigantic cockroach. EWWW!!! I seriously stood there, frozen, for about 5 minutes trying to figure out what to do next. As i stood there and debated with myself, i decided to go on with the shower and kill that cockroach in the morning. But, as i stood there, i shifted my eyes towards my shower room, and on the inside wall, there was yet another cockroach. In horror, i realized that i couldn't get away with not doing something about the cockroaches. but as i agonized on how to kill those 2 cockroaches, i realized that there was yet another one on the door jamb to the shower. Yikes, right?
Still thinking i could deal with them in the morning, i finally stepped forward towards my bag to get my clothes, and as i stepped forward, the 3 cockroaches i had spotted suddenly scattered, and 2 more ran out from underneath the bag i was reaching for. That being the last straw, i went next door to my landlord's/neighbor's house and knocked on their door. Luckily, the wife was still awake, so she came over with a fly swatter, and helped me kill 12 cockroaches as all i could do was helplessly point at where i found a cockroach. After she left, i still had to shower (did i mention it was ridiculously humid that day? well, it was). In my shower room, though, there's a removable bathtub that takes up half of the room. Not feeling comfortable going in until every last cockroach was out of there, i hosed water around the tub for a good 30 minutes, and in the process, 3 more cockroaches floated out from underneath. So in the end, on my first night in Tsushima, my neighbor and i together killed 15 cockroaches. Did i also mention that i'd never seen a cockroach in my life until that night?...
For the most part recovered from that experience, I've since found different ways of battling the insects invading my home. The cockroach problem still stands, i had an ant problem for a day, and mosquitoes still tend to prefer my left leg. To battle the cockroaches, i've now invested in 3 techniques: 1) roach motels, 2) poison traps (i dont know what the real name is, but it has this goop that attracts the roach, the roach eats a little, and later hopefully infects its friends), and 3) lining all the major gaps on my staircase with baking powder (it theoretically expands in the roaches' stomach, causing it eventually to explode). I know i sound evil, but it's either me or them =(
And did i mention the gigantic creatures that live here? my biggest challenge so far that has kept me from totally falling in love with my new home, are the gigantic bugs that live here. seriously. THE. MOST. GIGANTIC. BUGS. OF. MY. LIFE. i can't begin to describe to you how much island bugs are changing my view of living in californian suburbia. we really dont know anything about bugs there. i scream over the occasional spider or two, but the bugs here seriously make my skin crawl. one day i was talking to my neighbors (who own a bakery that's 10 steps outside my front door, and are super duper nice), when i saw this black thing swoop down and fly by. i thought it was a black bird at first, but when i thought about it, i was like, wait a sec -- the wings look funny and it's got this random yellow color in its midsection. and after staring at it for a second, i realize, "holy crap -- it's a gigantic butterfly!!!" seriously, this thing with its wings spread out was one and a half times the size of my hand. and the cockroaches of course. never saw a cockroach in my LIFE before i got here. gokiburi, japanese for "cockroach," was sadly the first word i learned on the island. and the hawks. i have yet to see one up close, but from what my friends tell me, their wingspan is greater than mine. then theres the geckos i see climbing my windows every night, the scary centipedes that bite and WILL send you to the hospital for a visit, the mosquitoes which live about a foot from my front door, the run of the mill spiders, noisy cicadas, giant beetles, and rumored gigantic, and i mean gigantic, spiders that live outside david's (another ALT that lives in my town) apartment. my goal for this first month is to learn to make peace with insects and the like. if i plan on surviving here, i have to learn to deal with them, and not scream everytime i see one or one flies in my face (which they have). i think once i get over this paralyzing fear (seriously, PARALYZING) of giant insects, i think my home will finally feel safe, and only then can i really enjoy living on what is a truly beautiful island that has already taught me the value of preserving nature.
I can already see myself going sea-kayaking often. I went with 2 fellow ALTs and one of their brother's on Sunday to Aso Bay where there's a bunch of tiny islands between the main southern and northern islands that make up Tsushima. Many are too small to be inhabited, but since there's a ton of small islands, sea-kayaking really is a treat because you see a totally different side of Tsushima. I know many people have laughed at me for never feeling warm sea water before as northern california water is COLD and the 2 times i went to San Diego to swim the water wasn't exactly the greatest thing ever. But the water here.... soooo gorgeous. Kayaking in the bay was the first time feeling PERFECT temperature water (it's been super humid, and the cool water felt soooo awesome). Plus, the water was realllly clear. I could see straight to the bottom in many places. And i dont know if you remember my mentioning this before, but Tsushima is 89% forests and mountains. And no doubt, it is. You really see it come out from the water. Tsushima is truly beautiful, and i'm not just saying that because i'm stuck here for a year. This place is truly remarkable, and I can't wait to explore more.
One more thing i have to mention before i forget...
Random Story #2
So from Tokyo Orientation, i had to fly into Nagasaki Airport, and from there, i had to fly to Tsushima. Since Tsushima's airport is pretty small, there are only so many flights a day from and to Tsushima. All the Nagasaki Prefecture bound JETs had to fly into Nagasaki together, so Alicia (fellow Stanford grad AND Tsushima ALT) and I had to wait about 3 hours until our flight out of Nagasaki. Her supervisor met us at Nagasaki and later escorted us to Tsushima (where i met my supervisor). Since we had so much time to kill and it was only noon when we flew into Nagasaki, her supervisor (who looks like a Japanese Dustin Hoffman may I add) took us out to a sushi lunch. After lunch, we still had 2 hours to kill, so we started to look around at the various gift shops in the airport. While we were looking around, Alicia's supervisor comes up to us and says, "Would you like to see Koizumi?" Koizumi being the prime minister of Japan. When we heard that, we thought, he must mean on tv or something because he was pointing behind him. But then he said, "Ima was imasu" which means "He's here," but he said it so calmly that it took a moment for us to register it. I asked him, "What?! he's here?? NOW??" and he nodded. As i looked around, there were indeed, men with ear pieces talking into the mics not hidden in their suits, and there was definitely a crowd gathering. As i was trying to take out my camera dug deep in my backpack, Koizumi emerged. What are the chances of seeing the freaking Japanese prime minister?? Unfortunately, i dont have picture proof that i saw him, but i assure you, if you ask Alicia, she'll tell you she saw him too.
And with that, i'm going to start making dinner now. Ja ne!
--Evelyn
btw, it rocks to blend in ;D
To say the least, life here is completely different from everything i've ever known. trees and forests everywhere, not many people crowding the streets, super super narrow one-lane seeming streets that are two-way and have "enough room" for pedestrians, cicadas chirping alllll day long, the most ginormous bugs i've seen in my life, but all in all, a very peaceful life that's down to basics, yet still has luxury, that i've never really experienced before. this year will definitely be a learning year for me, and i think it's going to be a lot, a lot of fun.
2 things so far that i'm sure of: 1) my fan is my new best friend. It's way too damn hot and unbearable without it going all day downstairs where my kitchen and "dining room" are. And 2) cockroaches are the bain of my existence. To elaborate why...
Random Story #1
On the day that i arrived in Tsushima, my supervisor and his superior picked me up from the airport and took me straight to my new house. At first look around, i thought, "Dude, my place rocks." That night, my boss's superior, a lady from my office, and my predecessor's good friend took me out to dinner nearby my house. By the time i got back, it was about 9:30, and i had yet to open a single bag to unpack. deciding that i would take a shower and worry about unpacking in the mornig, i went downstairs to where my kitchen, bathroom, shower, and dining room are. as i approached my bags sitting in the dining room, i noticed a black spot on the wall that wasn't there when i got home. upon intense staring from across the room, i realized it was none other than a gigantic cockroach. EWWW!!! I seriously stood there, frozen, for about 5 minutes trying to figure out what to do next. As i stood there and debated with myself, i decided to go on with the shower and kill that cockroach in the morning. But, as i stood there, i shifted my eyes towards my shower room, and on the inside wall, there was yet another cockroach. In horror, i realized that i couldn't get away with not doing something about the cockroaches. but as i agonized on how to kill those 2 cockroaches, i realized that there was yet another one on the door jamb to the shower. Yikes, right?
Still thinking i could deal with them in the morning, i finally stepped forward towards my bag to get my clothes, and as i stepped forward, the 3 cockroaches i had spotted suddenly scattered, and 2 more ran out from underneath the bag i was reaching for. That being the last straw, i went next door to my landlord's/neighbor's house and knocked on their door. Luckily, the wife was still awake, so she came over with a fly swatter, and helped me kill 12 cockroaches as all i could do was helplessly point at where i found a cockroach. After she left, i still had to shower (did i mention it was ridiculously humid that day? well, it was). In my shower room, though, there's a removable bathtub that takes up half of the room. Not feeling comfortable going in until every last cockroach was out of there, i hosed water around the tub for a good 30 minutes, and in the process, 3 more cockroaches floated out from underneath. So in the end, on my first night in Tsushima, my neighbor and i together killed 15 cockroaches. Did i also mention that i'd never seen a cockroach in my life until that night?...
For the most part recovered from that experience, I've since found different ways of battling the insects invading my home. The cockroach problem still stands, i had an ant problem for a day, and mosquitoes still tend to prefer my left leg. To battle the cockroaches, i've now invested in 3 techniques: 1) roach motels, 2) poison traps (i dont know what the real name is, but it has this goop that attracts the roach, the roach eats a little, and later hopefully infects its friends), and 3) lining all the major gaps on my staircase with baking powder (it theoretically expands in the roaches' stomach, causing it eventually to explode). I know i sound evil, but it's either me or them =(
And did i mention the gigantic creatures that live here? my biggest challenge so far that has kept me from totally falling in love with my new home, are the gigantic bugs that live here. seriously. THE. MOST. GIGANTIC. BUGS. OF. MY. LIFE. i can't begin to describe to you how much island bugs are changing my view of living in californian suburbia. we really dont know anything about bugs there. i scream over the occasional spider or two, but the bugs here seriously make my skin crawl. one day i was talking to my neighbors (who own a bakery that's 10 steps outside my front door, and are super duper nice), when i saw this black thing swoop down and fly by. i thought it was a black bird at first, but when i thought about it, i was like, wait a sec -- the wings look funny and it's got this random yellow color in its midsection. and after staring at it for a second, i realize, "holy crap -- it's a gigantic butterfly!!!" seriously, this thing with its wings spread out was one and a half times the size of my hand. and the cockroaches of course. never saw a cockroach in my LIFE before i got here. gokiburi, japanese for "cockroach," was sadly the first word i learned on the island. and the hawks. i have yet to see one up close, but from what my friends tell me, their wingspan is greater than mine. then theres the geckos i see climbing my windows every night, the scary centipedes that bite and WILL send you to the hospital for a visit, the mosquitoes which live about a foot from my front door, the run of the mill spiders, noisy cicadas, giant beetles, and rumored gigantic, and i mean gigantic, spiders that live outside david's (another ALT that lives in my town) apartment. my goal for this first month is to learn to make peace with insects and the like. if i plan on surviving here, i have to learn to deal with them, and not scream everytime i see one or one flies in my face (which they have). i think once i get over this paralyzing fear (seriously, PARALYZING) of giant insects, i think my home will finally feel safe, and only then can i really enjoy living on what is a truly beautiful island that has already taught me the value of preserving nature.
I can already see myself going sea-kayaking often. I went with 2 fellow ALTs and one of their brother's on Sunday to Aso Bay where there's a bunch of tiny islands between the main southern and northern islands that make up Tsushima. Many are too small to be inhabited, but since there's a ton of small islands, sea-kayaking really is a treat because you see a totally different side of Tsushima. I know many people have laughed at me for never feeling warm sea water before as northern california water is COLD and the 2 times i went to San Diego to swim the water wasn't exactly the greatest thing ever. But the water here.... soooo gorgeous. Kayaking in the bay was the first time feeling PERFECT temperature water (it's been super humid, and the cool water felt soooo awesome). Plus, the water was realllly clear. I could see straight to the bottom in many places. And i dont know if you remember my mentioning this before, but Tsushima is 89% forests and mountains. And no doubt, it is. You really see it come out from the water. Tsushima is truly beautiful, and i'm not just saying that because i'm stuck here for a year. This place is truly remarkable, and I can't wait to explore more.
One more thing i have to mention before i forget...
Random Story #2
So from Tokyo Orientation, i had to fly into Nagasaki Airport, and from there, i had to fly to Tsushima. Since Tsushima's airport is pretty small, there are only so many flights a day from and to Tsushima. All the Nagasaki Prefecture bound JETs had to fly into Nagasaki together, so Alicia (fellow Stanford grad AND Tsushima ALT) and I had to wait about 3 hours until our flight out of Nagasaki. Her supervisor met us at Nagasaki and later escorted us to Tsushima (where i met my supervisor). Since we had so much time to kill and it was only noon when we flew into Nagasaki, her supervisor (who looks like a Japanese Dustin Hoffman may I add) took us out to a sushi lunch. After lunch, we still had 2 hours to kill, so we started to look around at the various gift shops in the airport. While we were looking around, Alicia's supervisor comes up to us and says, "Would you like to see Koizumi?" Koizumi being the prime minister of Japan. When we heard that, we thought, he must mean on tv or something because he was pointing behind him. But then he said, "Ima was imasu" which means "He's here," but he said it so calmly that it took a moment for us to register it. I asked him, "What?! he's here?? NOW??" and he nodded. As i looked around, there were indeed, men with ear pieces talking into the mics not hidden in their suits, and there was definitely a crowd gathering. As i was trying to take out my camera dug deep in my backpack, Koizumi emerged. What are the chances of seeing the freaking Japanese prime minister?? Unfortunately, i dont have picture proof that i saw him, but i assure you, if you ask Alicia, she'll tell you she saw him too.
And with that, i'm going to start making dinner now. Ja ne!
--Evelyn
btw, it rocks to blend in ;D
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