tunnels

so the other day, i was in a taxi on my way home when random chit-chat led into a conversation about tunnels in tsushima. now, one thing you must understand about tsushima is that it's super mountainous, hence the windy roads and me always getting carsick. during that car ride home, i pointed at some construction on the side of the road, and inquired what it was for. my driver explained that they're in the process of building a new tunnel and a road that leads from the main road to the town of Uchiyama (where my school just closed... *sniffle*).

it order to get to Uchiyama, you have to climb this really obnoxious mountain, only to decend it and enter the valley where Uchiyama lies. the thing is, it can get really foggy in the mornings, and during rainy season, it gets really slippery and dangerous. this is why they're building the new tunnel and road: because of the fog and rain.

this led to my driver explaining that there are currently 50 tunnels in tsushima in use. at first, i thought, "wth?! there's that many?" but in retrospect, there are a lot of tunnels.... there are tons of tunnels on off roads i've never been on, so 50 is definitely a reasonable number (not to mention all the tunnels not in use anymore that aren't included in that number).

then he got on the subject of tunnels currently in construction (all over the island really), and how all tunnels and roads always have a reason for being made. but in terms of tunnels that would affect my commute, there's the one i mentioned before and one more out in Are, one of my furthest schools (if not my furthest... *shrug*). Are is so far from me and there are so many mountains between my home and it that it's easier to go through the neighboring town of Mitsushima to get to it (it'd take longer to go through the windy roads in my town). all the kids that go to that school eventually go to Sasu Junior High School, which is about a 10 minute drive down a very windy road.

anyway, they're building a new road between those two places (Are and Sasu), and what's the reason for that road?

"Kodomo ga yoimasu." (The children get carsick)

i quietly laughed to myself as he went on to explain how parents kept placing complaints, and eventually, word gets back to the prefecture, and the prefecture okays the project.

as odd as this sounds, and as annoying as construction can be to traffic (and harsh on tires), seeing constuction makes me really happy here. with the declining population on the island and the number of mom and pop shops closing down, unemployment has also been on the rise. but when there's a big project like digging out the side of a mountain or paving new road, it means someone's parents have a job and at least for the next year or so, that family is pretty set.

in other news, yesterday i went sea kayaking with all the guys (literally... aaron, jayne, master lees, rob, and oliver), in addition to finally going back to badminton last thursday. i hadn't gone to badminton practice since february, but i did surprisingly okay. still lost my matches, but not by as much as usual (^ ^)v needless to say though, these sudden bouts of activity left my right arm in sh*t shape. *sigh*

time to watch shawshank redemption... yay $1 DVDs from china!

apartment done!

3 weeks later, my apartment is finally complete! my shower room walls have magically transformed from prison cell grime to blinding white. for once, the shower room is well lit, and at night when the light is on, the room is ultra bright. i love it!

many thanks to aaron, who stuck it out with me for 5 hours painting and repainting the walls and ceiling. it's not the most professional thing you'd ever seen, but if you saw what was there before, you'd realize just how dramatic the difference is. (pictures coming as soon as i upload them to my comp)

can i just say, i LOVE my apartment. there are so many things i love about it, including:
- it's all on one floor, so no climbing stairs to grab stuff or going downstairs to pee
- it's concrete, which means less bugs
- huge closet
- better bathtub. my old one was marred by memories of cockroaches on my first night, so i never used it. this one though, no bad memories, and it also has a function to keep the bath water warm
- water heater over the sink, so i have HOT WATER to wash dishes
- more shelves to store dishes, cups, pots and pans
- a second sink (in the shower room), so i have a sink especially for brushing my teeth
- the kitchen is next to the tatami bedroom, which means i can cook and enjoy my tv at the same time
- my balcony has an overhang, which means less clothing getting soaked by the rain (my former one has no such covering)
- i'm on the second floor, which also means less bugs
- a SHOE CLOSET!!! ridiculous!
- did i mention i'm saving like $400 a month?

there are, however, a few downfalls...
- it's half the size of my old place
- i have to pass through the shower room to get to my toilet
- my toilet spits out an insane amount of water (environmentally unfriendly), even on the "small" setting (as opposed to "big" setting)
- everything i do now takes place in my bedroom/tatami room, which means more frequent cleanings
- everything at the moment jusssst fits in my place... if i gain too many things to take home, it's going to become an issue with space
- it's on a semi-steep hill, which equates to my huffing and puffing everytime i walk home from "downtown"
- at the moment, it still reeks of paint in the shower room

all in all, a very good move. thank you to everyone for your advice, and sorry it took me so long to decide.

not much else is new except that this coming weekend i plan on going sea kayaking for a second time. if it's as awesome as the first time i went, i'm highly excited about it. my first time going was less than a week after my arrival in tsushima. till this day, i still have not felt more perfect water than that day at sea. you seriously couldn't tell if you hand was in the air or in the water. the water was a perfect temperature and it was a beautifully clear and sunny, which just the slightly breeze. this time around, it'll be 7 of us: the northern trio (ollie, master lees, and rob), the southern trio (me, aaron, jayne), and sujin, my new next door neighbor and korean CIR friend.

the following weekend is going to be busy, but a blast. after 2 years, i will make my triumphant return to kansai! saturday i'll be visiting my host family, sunday will be a ***HANSHIN TIGERS*** game at KOSHIEN Stadium, and mon thru wed will be a JET conference for all ALTs recontracting for a second year in Kobe. it's going to be soooo sweet. my host sister is pregnant [again], and it's going to be weird seeing her daughter, Ayasa. Ayasa was born while i was staying with my host family, and to have my host sister (Sayoko) pregnant again, except this time with a little girl running around the house, is going to be a blast of deja vu mixed with confusion. i am truly saddened though that i won't be greeted by Baru-kun, my host family's [former] dog, who passed away a month and a half after i moved out to tokyo. he was a truly awesome dog.

work fatigue has caught up with me.... many of my elementary schools have decided to up the number of classes i have (making my first month back at school very frustrating and angering). 8 elementary school classes in 2 days is not my idea of fun, despite all the ADORABLE children i teach. my vocal chords are without a doubt taking a beating these two years during my stay. i fear i'm going to sound like chain smoker by the time i get back with all the talking/yelling over a full house of kids i have to do every week. we'll see.

that's all for now. tah tah!

almost settled in

after a very busy Golden Week, i think my new home is almost complete.

Golden Week, for those who dont know, is a bunch of public holidays that occurs at the beginning of May every year. there are 4 official days of holidays, but many people tend to take time off from work/school for the remaining days for travel, rest, etc. Golden Week is also an extremely popular time for Japanese people to travel within the country.

for me, i kept it really simple. this is how my golden week went:

Fri (4/27): move into my new apartment
Sat (4/28): clean new apartment
Sun (4/29): clean new apartment
Mon (4/30): clean new aparment
(you think i lie, but i literally spent 3.5 days just CLEANING the recently moved out of apartment.... stupid middle aged single men.... arrrg)
Tues (5/1): school
Wed (5/2): my most hated school
Thurs (5/3): left Tsushima for Fukuoka. drove all day to Omura in Nagasaki Pref.
Fri (5/4): Went to Arita in Saga Pref, famous for its pottery and blowout sale during Golden Week. I, of course, went nuts and bought a lot of china. Ended the evening in Fukuoka
Sat (5/5): Saw Dazaifu in Fukuoka, and the new museum in Fukuoka (for those of you who care, it was the 九州国立博物館. i rather liked it.. it was huge). was back in tsushima by evening.
Sun (5/6): read my manga all day because i was bored to tears.

all of the guys were in tibet from the day before i moved till this past tuesday, 2 days after i had been back at work. it was kinda lonely, but i kept myself busy. i read 2 volumes of my manga in 4 days. that's a personal best for me. that was the longest i've NOT been around a native english speaker since i got to tsushima, and it was weird going days without using a complete english sentence.

so, in the process of moving in/cleaning/unpacking, i have unwittingly learned to overcome a few fears, namely:

- cleaning a toilet that i've never used
- cleaning the hair out of a drain of a shower that i've never used
- scrubbing metal shelves that were caked in rust until i could see my reflection in them (took me 2 hours with the combined power of a cream cleanser and steel wool. can i just say, steel wool is my best friend)
- using a vacuum cleaner to remove spider webs lacing my concrete walls
- wrapping my hands around a grease and oil laden fan cover, which looked like it hadn't been cleaned once in the 30 years of its existence (i dont know how old this building is, but i'd easily put money down saying it's at least 30 years old, and that that fan has not been cleaned). needless to say, my hands still felt sticky 3 washes later.
- using a sponge-on-a-pole contraption to wash away the years of grime and dirt on my shower room walls (it was quite disgusting). note: my walls remain brown even after this initial wash.

all i feel i really have left to do is paint the walls to my shower, which will theoretically happen tomorrow. wish me luck!