In Japan, after you finish paying at the grocery store, you carry your groceries over to a little table and bag your own groceries. Not very different from the states but a bit. Also, one of these times I want to take some pictures, but there are pieces of octopus available for purchase at the store that look pretty fresh as well as various other sea critters, many of which I have never seen before.
I am still getting used to walking on the left side but my natural reaction when I am about to run into someone is to step to the left... so that can be quite confusing at times.
I am on the lookout for a Japanese teacher to help me understand the language. Some of the women that I work with have offered to help teach me but our schedules do not work out.
Japanese karaoke is amazing. A little costly, but amazing. For three of us to rent out a room, it was about $15 a piece for an hour and a half. But, as part of the deal you had to buy a drink. Joel got a small beer -$6. I got a mixed drink and think it was around $7. But, we had a good time. Next time, before we go out anywhere, I am going to have a few drinks at my place to save on the alcohol expense. I do not know if I mentioned this before but a bottle of SKY Vodka is around $10. The liquor or spirits as the English like to call them are cheap, or at least I think so.
The job is moving right along and with each day, it gets a little easier. There are still times when I think I over prepare for a lesson because you just never know where the conversation will go. Today, I talked to an older man for 20 minutes about a National holiday to honor ancestors. People from villages light symbols on the mountain side and the dead rise through the flames back to heaven after hanging out in their hometown for a day. Sounded pretty interesting.
Our apartment now costs $600 a month which is extremely pricey compared to other places and that is a piece for three people. One woman at work has a single place for $450 a month. So, Taka, our good friend in the other picture is going to "seek" an apartment for us to live in. Hopefully, we will be able to save an extra $200 a month or so for the same set up.
Lots of new news with NOVA. I guess the company is closing a lot of branches and some people around here are freaking out that the whole company is going to shut down. However, I have no idea how they can close all 800 branches. Furthermore, there are rumors that the Japanese government will step in and help the company before it lets it shut down due to the fact that English is such an important language. So, needless to say, I am not worried. Worst case scenario, I will move in with a friend for a bit and try to find a job at another English school, as a private teacher, or as a cook somewhere. But, its too soon to come home.
Finally, I want to give a shout-out to all my black brethren back in the states. I spoke with Stephon for a bit today and he asked if he could make it into the blog. Otherwise, not a whole lot is new with me. Still traveling and taking pictures whenever I get the chance. There are a ton of good restaurants around and I am attempting to learn how to cook as well. The ingredients are very different from those at home so it is going to take some time to get used to it. Hope everyone is doing well, miss you guys, and I hope you are happy.
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