this weekend, in a last ditch effort to get stuff i'd like/need before school starts up again, aaron and i decided to take a trip to Fukuoka, the closest mainland city to us. i've lost track now, but this is probably my 4th or so trip to Fukuoka, and just as i feared, history repeated itself yet again.
it is officially, for me at least, the Money Pit.
every time i've made a trip out there, i've consistently gone there with the intention of buying a thing or two, but it ALWAYS comes out to be a $500 trip, blown in one weekend to say the least. for me, going to fukuoka requires at the bare minimum, roundtrip tickets on a ferry, jetfoil, or plane, so that's at least $80 you're locked into. then you have the at least one nights stay in a hostel or hotel, and that's generally $40-70. so right off the bat, you're down, say, $150 (on the conservative end).
so where does the remaining $350 go? i don't know. really -- i dont know. times before, it's been a Costco run (which i did this time too).... a badminton racket, speakers, clothes, used manga... food.... i'd like to think that my frugality would naturally limit my spending, but somehow, fukuoka always magically takes all my money away.
but this time, i know exactly why i got back to the island with as little change as i did. i did it folks -- i turned to the dark side. i bought a DS Lite.
**blush**
as random as it may sound, and i'm not much of a gamer if you know me well, i've actually been eyeing DSes for a while now, with the sole intention of obtaining these kanji games (yes, i know, i'm a nerd). with the test i plan on taking in december, i figured a DS would be a more enjoyable environment to drill those kanji into my head.
as fate would have it, aaron bought a DS since they didn't have dvd-burners that would work with his computer. watching him play made me realize how much i wanted one too (yes, i'm a biter), so i too gave in.
since he got the kanji game i wanted, i instead got this game training you in [japanese] common knowledge. so far, it's proved to be long-winded for me, mainly because i have to stop every few seconds to look up kanji in both questions and multiple choice answers. regardless, i have managed to learn quite a bit from it, and that's enough for me to justify my purchase o(^ ^)o
however, i quickly realized how straining it can be to only have games that are more focused on studying than mindless play. so yesterday, i gave into temptation yet again, and got Mario Kart. it's quite fun and i'd highly recommend it to people who like racing games (like me!).
i can't believe how fast my summer went by.... but at the same time, i feel like it's been pretty eventful. went home home, came back, got my license, got to know some of the newbies, went to fukuoka, got some volumes of my current manga obsession read.... productive indeed =)
oh, and one last thing: if you're into psychotically HOT food, especially indian food, and are passing through Fukuoka anytime, i'd HIGHLY recommend a place called Shakti. it's an indian restaurant that aaron and i stumbled upon on the restaurant floor of Yodobashi Camera, which is right next to Hakata Station.
first of all, this is the first place i've heard of a spicy scale that goes over 10. instead, they go from 0-50. but this being japan and japanese people not really doing the spicy thing, indian restaurants tend to be a crapshoot in that you never know if the spicy scale is the TRUE spicy scale (like what americans are used to), or the pansy scale (ie. what japanese people consider hot).
being daring, i went for a 30 while aaron went for a 40. can i just say, OW.
i drank so much water to mitigate the burning that by the end of dinner, most of the curry dish was still there, and i wasn't full so much as full of water. i barely ate anything because my tongue couldnt touch anything without extreme pain. never have i experienced food burning my tongue when it was in my mouth, burning my esophagus when it went was passing through, and burn the lining of my stomach as it was being digested. i dont know what was in that curry, but it had some atomic power.
so bottom line: if you dare to eat hot food, i dare you to go to Shakti =P
Monday, August 27, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
getting my drivers license... all over again
wow, has it been ages since i've updated this thing. to highlight what's happened in the last month and a half:
- went back to America
- met my nephew
- saw my family and friends
- came back to Tsushima (after a solid 24 hours in transit)... puked on the plane as it landed in Fukuoka (my 2nd plane back)... you now know someone who's used a barf bag! my final mode of transportation was a ferry, which you'd think sounds like a bad idea just after throwing up on a plane, but i passed out so hard it didn't even matter (the ferry took off at midnight and docked at 5am)
- left Tsushima a week later to go to Nagasaki-city where i tragically had to take my driver's license test.... details which i will divulge now.
so some of you have asked me, wait, haven't you been driving for the last year in japan? why do you suddenly now need to take a licensing test? so there's this rule that if you have what's called an International Driver's Permit (IDP), which you BUY, not EARN by taking some test, you can carry the IDP along with your home country's license for one year and be a valid driver in Japan.
so relax! i've been a legal driver for the last year. however, once your IDP expires (which is only good for a year), you have to get a Japanese license to drive here. which is why i had to go to to the mainland to a city called Omura in my prefecture.
i've been driving for about 4 years now. you'd think that makes me a pretty decent driver, right? WRONG. let me now describe to you the pain of obtaining a license in this country.
first off, before you make any phone calls for an appointment at the japanese DMV, you need to send a copy of your home country license to a separate agency to translate it into Japanese. of course, you have to pay for this translation. after it's mailed to you (which they're luckily very quick about), THEN you can make your appointment at this place in Omura.
lucky for me, this is prime foreigner-trying-to-transfer-licenses-time, so under panic, i decided to get all this crap done before i left for the States. between talking to my office and Toyota-san, i sent in my request for a translation, booked an appointment at the DMV, and booked a plane off the island for the morning of my appointment all in the day before i left for home. not bad, eh?
then came the hard part. after getting back to japan, it started to sink in that i was going to take this test. i have 3 free vacation days this month (a special thing through my prefecture), and since i can't use it any other time, i figured i'd use these 3 days to get my license. after that, my vacation days would start coming out of my 20 days of vacation in the year (everyone holds onto vacation days like gold coins here).
after a lot of prepping from Aaron and reading up on a couple of sites, i think i had the main idea of what i needed to do. just go give you an idea of what they're looking for, you need to:
- constantly look over your shoulders for bicyclists and moped drivers
- constantly bear to the left part of your lane, even though you have the whole lane to drive in
- look twice over your shoulder for bicyclists when trying to make a turn, and pull waaay into the bicyclists and mopedists way so they dont try to pull up beside you and you eventually hit them as you turn
- constantly look into ALL your mirrors for other drivers
- did i mention the test takes place on a course?
- hug the curb TIGHTLY whenever turning
- constantly have your signal on well in advance
- adjust your seat, put on your seatbelt, and adjust your mirrors IN THAT ORDER
- brake fully BEFORE entering a bend in the road, as opposed to the American thought that says brake as entering the bend
- successfully drive through an S-Curve and what they call the "Crank"
- the S-Curve is shaped like an S, but is outlined by sidewalks on both sides. think of a parking spot. take that width and stretch it out into an S. yup. THAT tight.
- the Crank is shaped like one line of a swatstika... so you pull into the Crank, then you're looking at a right angled turn to the right, then an immediate right angled turn to the left. painful. again, sidewalk/curb on both sides, parking spot width, and also these hanging yellow bars that flank the turns that will move and jingle if you hit them.
so to summarize, during the test you're constantly looking everywhere EXCEPT directly in front of you, your signal's constantly clicking, and you're sweating bullets through these 2 near-impossible turns designed to be impossible. awesome, no?
so monday, i arrive in Omura, and 10 minutes after landing, i'm at the DMV. i check in, except i'm "too early" because foreigner drivers can't check in until 10:30am. i look at the clock and it's 10:10. *rolling eyes*. so as i sat and waited, i saw on one of their marquees that foreinger check in is everyday from 10:30-11am. talk about a tight timeframe.
finally, it's 10:30, and they take all my documents (including my current and former California license, passport, and Alien Registration Card), essentially holding my identity hostage. after a bit, they come out, and tell me that it's time to take the written test.
their written test is a joke. it's 10 questions, true or false, complete with pictures and poor english. seriously, you'd have to be a retard to not score at least 8/10 on that test. i mean seriously. one of the questions were:
- went back to America
- met my nephew
- saw my family and friends
- came back to Tsushima (after a solid 24 hours in transit)... puked on the plane as it landed in Fukuoka (my 2nd plane back)... you now know someone who's used a barf bag! my final mode of transportation was a ferry, which you'd think sounds like a bad idea just after throwing up on a plane, but i passed out so hard it didn't even matter (the ferry took off at midnight and docked at 5am)
- left Tsushima a week later to go to Nagasaki-city where i tragically had to take my driver's license test.... details which i will divulge now.
so some of you have asked me, wait, haven't you been driving for the last year in japan? why do you suddenly now need to take a licensing test? so there's this rule that if you have what's called an International Driver's Permit (IDP), which you BUY, not EARN by taking some test, you can carry the IDP along with your home country's license for one year and be a valid driver in Japan.
so relax! i've been a legal driver for the last year. however, once your IDP expires (which is only good for a year), you have to get a Japanese license to drive here. which is why i had to go to to the mainland to a city called Omura in my prefecture.
i've been driving for about 4 years now. you'd think that makes me a pretty decent driver, right? WRONG. let me now describe to you the pain of obtaining a license in this country.
first off, before you make any phone calls for an appointment at the japanese DMV, you need to send a copy of your home country license to a separate agency to translate it into Japanese. of course, you have to pay for this translation. after it's mailed to you (which they're luckily very quick about), THEN you can make your appointment at this place in Omura.
lucky for me, this is prime foreigner-trying-to-transfer-licenses-time, so under panic, i decided to get all this crap done before i left for the States. between talking to my office and Toyota-san, i sent in my request for a translation, booked an appointment at the DMV, and booked a plane off the island for the morning of my appointment all in the day before i left for home. not bad, eh?
then came the hard part. after getting back to japan, it started to sink in that i was going to take this test. i have 3 free vacation days this month (a special thing through my prefecture), and since i can't use it any other time, i figured i'd use these 3 days to get my license. after that, my vacation days would start coming out of my 20 days of vacation in the year (everyone holds onto vacation days like gold coins here).
after a lot of prepping from Aaron and reading up on a couple of sites, i think i had the main idea of what i needed to do. just go give you an idea of what they're looking for, you need to:
- constantly look over your shoulders for bicyclists and moped drivers
- constantly bear to the left part of your lane, even though you have the whole lane to drive in
- look twice over your shoulder for bicyclists when trying to make a turn, and pull waaay into the bicyclists and mopedists way so they dont try to pull up beside you and you eventually hit them as you turn
- constantly look into ALL your mirrors for other drivers
- did i mention the test takes place on a course?
- hug the curb TIGHTLY whenever turning
- constantly have your signal on well in advance
- adjust your seat, put on your seatbelt, and adjust your mirrors IN THAT ORDER
- brake fully BEFORE entering a bend in the road, as opposed to the American thought that says brake as entering the bend
- successfully drive through an S-Curve and what they call the "Crank"
- the S-Curve is shaped like an S, but is outlined by sidewalks on both sides. think of a parking spot. take that width and stretch it out into an S. yup. THAT tight.
- the Crank is shaped like one line of a swatstika... so you pull into the Crank, then you're looking at a right angled turn to the right, then an immediate right angled turn to the left. painful. again, sidewalk/curb on both sides, parking spot width, and also these hanging yellow bars that flank the turns that will move and jingle if you hit them.
so to summarize, during the test you're constantly looking everywhere EXCEPT directly in front of you, your signal's constantly clicking, and you're sweating bullets through these 2 near-impossible turns designed to be impossible. awesome, no?
so monday, i arrive in Omura, and 10 minutes after landing, i'm at the DMV. i check in, except i'm "too early" because foreigner drivers can't check in until 10:30am. i look at the clock and it's 10:10. *rolling eyes*. so as i sat and waited, i saw on one of their marquees that foreinger check in is everyday from 10:30-11am. talk about a tight timeframe.
finally, it's 10:30, and they take all my documents (including my current and former California license, passport, and Alien Registration Card), essentially holding my identity hostage. after a bit, they come out, and tell me that it's time to take the written test.
their written test is a joke. it's 10 questions, true or false, complete with pictures and poor english. seriously, you'd have to be a retard to not score at least 8/10 on that test. i mean seriously. one of the questions were:
"I hear the sirens of an ambulance behind me as i'm approaching an intersection, but i hurry up and speed along ahead anyway."
another brilliant one was:
"I'm about to turn right through an intersection, but because there's a car approaching the intersection from the other direction and going straight, and yet another car in the opposite direction about to turn left at that corner, i can't turn yet because i'll disrupt the flow of their traffic."
it really isn't brain surgery, folks. anyway, i passed my test with a perfect score. but that was the easy part. by the time i'm done with this , it's 11:30, i'm starving, and i need to check in for my practical at 1:00.
so i walked down the street to a convenience store, bought some lunch, walked back, ate it, and headed over to the course. the nice thing about their system, i have to say, is that they at least let you walk the course before your test. you're also given a map of the course, so you should be at least able to remember in part where you're going and what challenges are up ahead. i walked it twice, and after being thoroughly soaked in sweat from humidity and dragging my overnight bag around with me, i finally decide to sit in the waiting room and await my test time.
finally, i'm up, and i'm the first one to go in my car. usually, they let the next person sit in back when it's your turn so they get a feel for what the course looks like. mind you, there's 3 foreingers that day taking the test, and i'm the only one taking it for the first time, and yet, they STILL make me go first.
i thought everything was going well... that is, until i ran over a curb. you know, i really can't remember ever running over a curb, except maybe the first few times i parked or parallel parked, but definitely never as i was turning onto the road. it was just after getting through the S-curve, and of all things, i had to run over the curb coming OUT of it. not getting IN, not DURING, but coming OUT. arrrgh. i got through the Crank fine too (granted i had to back up, but it was better than running over the curb again).
but here's the messed up part. the S curve was at the beginning of my test, and right after i ran over it, the proctor told me i failed. i know, because i understand japanese, that the proctors were giving all the japanese people taking the test for the first time that you need at least 70/100 points to pass your test. you're telling me that running that ONE curb cost me 30 points? that's such crap.
this is where my conspiracy theory comes in. the more times foreigners fail, the more everyone benefits (except the foreigner). people like me, who aren't from the mainland, and instead are waaay out on an island, are forced to stay an extra day, so there's at least 1 nights lodging. everyone in the DMV will ask you, "did you take a practice test? did you go to the driving school across the street and try to practice? it's hard to pass on the first try without practicing..." and each time you take the test, you have to pay for the test again (about $20). the more people taking the test, the more money the DMV gets, and the more job security all the proctors are given. makes me sick.
anyway, day 1: failure. to cheer myself up, i explore the area, and stumble upon a Best Denki, kinda like a Best Buy. in the back, there's a big screen section, which faces a massage chair section. what else better do i have to do than score a free 15 minute full body massage from a $2,500 chair? =D
day 2: i spot a white girl, who i know instantly is a fellow JET. but from the ungodly hour that she arrived, i know she was a first timer. i eventually befriended her, and together, we vowed to not spend anymore vacation days on this bs.
turns out we were the only 2 foreigners taking the test that day. since we're only transferring our license and not learning to drive for the first time, we go before all the japanese people. the proctor who's testing us comes up to us, gives us some advice, and then we were off. he didn't signal who to go first, so i insisted that she go first.
in my opinion, she did a fantastic job. nothing major she could have been dinged for. then it was my turn. rather than tell her what she did wrong before my test, he tells us to switch, so i start my test as she waits in the backseat.
i go through my test, doing every anal thing i've been told to do, hit no curbs, and think to myself, i had to have passed. i MUST.
my test is finally over, and he starts to tell me what i did wrong. takes my sheet, and starts docking points all over the page. then he tells her what she did wrong. docks points all over the place. he adds up her points.... and she passes. then he adds up my points (mind you the jerk knocked off more points for me than her because my test was fresher in his mind).... and i passed! thank god i didn't have to stay there one more day.... i think i would have started to slaughter proctors.
anyway, we both graciously thank him a billion times, then walk back elated to the DMV building to obtain our licenses. after ensuring i had a spot on the last plane back to the island, we sat around waiting for them to call our names. by 3:30, i was an unproud holder of a japanese drivers license.
unproud you say? granted i worked my ass for it, but at the same time breaking all the driving logic i've ever known. my proctor on day 1 even said to me that i was "good at driving", as in staying on the road, not turning the car as i look over my shoulder, stopping appropriately and stuff.... but like i said before, this test isn't about skill. rather, it's about conforming to their dumb little "driving dance". if anyone actually drove the way you're supposed to during this test, i guarantee you, this country would see a lot more accidents caused by rearing-ending the person in front of you.
i now kinda understand the whole bad asian woman driver stereotype. if half the asian women out there drive like how japanese people are SUPPOSED to drive, then i too would fear for my life. no worries, i plan on promptly forgetting all the japanese driving habits i've picked up this week, and return to driving like a sane, logical driver.
it really isn't brain surgery, folks. anyway, i passed my test with a perfect score. but that was the easy part. by the time i'm done with this , it's 11:30, i'm starving, and i need to check in for my practical at 1:00.
so i walked down the street to a convenience store, bought some lunch, walked back, ate it, and headed over to the course. the nice thing about their system, i have to say, is that they at least let you walk the course before your test. you're also given a map of the course, so you should be at least able to remember in part where you're going and what challenges are up ahead. i walked it twice, and after being thoroughly soaked in sweat from humidity and dragging my overnight bag around with me, i finally decide to sit in the waiting room and await my test time.
finally, i'm up, and i'm the first one to go in my car. usually, they let the next person sit in back when it's your turn so they get a feel for what the course looks like. mind you, there's 3 foreingers that day taking the test, and i'm the only one taking it for the first time, and yet, they STILL make me go first.
i thought everything was going well... that is, until i ran over a curb. you know, i really can't remember ever running over a curb, except maybe the first few times i parked or parallel parked, but definitely never as i was turning onto the road. it was just after getting through the S-curve, and of all things, i had to run over the curb coming OUT of it. not getting IN, not DURING, but coming OUT. arrrgh. i got through the Crank fine too (granted i had to back up, but it was better than running over the curb again).
but here's the messed up part. the S curve was at the beginning of my test, and right after i ran over it, the proctor told me i failed. i know, because i understand japanese, that the proctors were giving all the japanese people taking the test for the first time that you need at least 70/100 points to pass your test. you're telling me that running that ONE curb cost me 30 points? that's such crap.
this is where my conspiracy theory comes in. the more times foreigners fail, the more everyone benefits (except the foreigner). people like me, who aren't from the mainland, and instead are waaay out on an island, are forced to stay an extra day, so there's at least 1 nights lodging. everyone in the DMV will ask you, "did you take a practice test? did you go to the driving school across the street and try to practice? it's hard to pass on the first try without practicing..." and each time you take the test, you have to pay for the test again (about $20). the more people taking the test, the more money the DMV gets, and the more job security all the proctors are given. makes me sick.
anyway, day 1: failure. to cheer myself up, i explore the area, and stumble upon a Best Denki, kinda like a Best Buy. in the back, there's a big screen section, which faces a massage chair section. what else better do i have to do than score a free 15 minute full body massage from a $2,500 chair? =D
day 2: i spot a white girl, who i know instantly is a fellow JET. but from the ungodly hour that she arrived, i know she was a first timer. i eventually befriended her, and together, we vowed to not spend anymore vacation days on this bs.
turns out we were the only 2 foreigners taking the test that day. since we're only transferring our license and not learning to drive for the first time, we go before all the japanese people. the proctor who's testing us comes up to us, gives us some advice, and then we were off. he didn't signal who to go first, so i insisted that she go first.
in my opinion, she did a fantastic job. nothing major she could have been dinged for. then it was my turn. rather than tell her what she did wrong before my test, he tells us to switch, so i start my test as she waits in the backseat.
i go through my test, doing every anal thing i've been told to do, hit no curbs, and think to myself, i had to have passed. i MUST.
my test is finally over, and he starts to tell me what i did wrong. takes my sheet, and starts docking points all over the page. then he tells her what she did wrong. docks points all over the place. he adds up her points.... and she passes. then he adds up my points (mind you the jerk knocked off more points for me than her because my test was fresher in his mind).... and i passed! thank god i didn't have to stay there one more day.... i think i would have started to slaughter proctors.
anyway, we both graciously thank him a billion times, then walk back elated to the DMV building to obtain our licenses. after ensuring i had a spot on the last plane back to the island, we sat around waiting for them to call our names. by 3:30, i was an unproud holder of a japanese drivers license.
unproud you say? granted i worked my ass for it, but at the same time breaking all the driving logic i've ever known. my proctor on day 1 even said to me that i was "good at driving", as in staying on the road, not turning the car as i look over my shoulder, stopping appropriately and stuff.... but like i said before, this test isn't about skill. rather, it's about conforming to their dumb little "driving dance". if anyone actually drove the way you're supposed to during this test, i guarantee you, this country would see a lot more accidents caused by rearing-ending the person in front of you.
i now kinda understand the whole bad asian woman driver stereotype. if half the asian women out there drive like how japanese people are SUPPOSED to drive, then i too would fear for my life. no worries, i plan on promptly forgetting all the japanese driving habits i've picked up this week, and return to driving like a sane, logical driver.
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