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