September 2007

I decided to create my own blog so I can tell about my day-to-day adventures while living in Himeji, Japan. One of the other new American Teachers (Sara) here told me about something she was going to do to document her time here. ‘12 on 12.’ You take 12 pictures on the 12th of every month to document the daily life stuff while abroad. This is my first posting of my 12 on 12...be sure to check back each month (probably not on the 12th, but shortly there after). I hope my pictures are as entertaining as Mitch's blog about our family time here in Himeji, Japan.

Often, on my way to work I hear a faint little voice calling from behind me "Goodbye Mommy, we love you!” That is Mitch and the kids on our 4th floor balcony waving goodbye to me in the morning. Sometimes I am greeted the same way upon my return from work in the afternoon.

The first intersection I approach is a very important one. It has the Taxi Stand on the left which is a great reference point to anyone is NW Himeji when trying to get directions home. It also shows how intersections here are quite different than ones back home...you see, you really don't have to have 2 lanes to make it a 2 way road. Notice the 2 cars in the top of the intersection.

Another thing I find interesting here is that kids either walk, ride their bike or take city public transportation to and from school. There are no school buses for the kids and some come from as far away as 1.5 hrs commute. While walking to school in the AM I experience a sea of bicycles coming from all directions. And the cars expect them to come from everywhere. But the scary part is the deep ditches that line the streets. On the right side of this road you can see how narrow the lane is and that there is a drop off at the end of road....I haven't seen anyone fall in it, but I am sure it has happened.

On my very first night here in Himeji, the existing ALT's took us to the local Italian Restaurant, Muche. I was so hungry and tired; I was only willing to try the pizza. It was actually very good (I have seen taken Mitch and the kids there and RJ and Sara devoured their share). The crust is VERY thin, almost like a tortilla. I walk past the restaurant everyday.

Another crazy intersection. I swear kids on bikes come out of nowhere when it comes to this intersection. I did see a man lose a bag off the front of his bike one day while trying to avoid a collision with another bicyclist, but I have yet to see an accident happen.

This 7 Eleven is where I stop everyday to buy 2 1000ml containers of milk for my growing children. Each costs me 197 yen (about $1.75). So that equates to about $25 a week I spend on milk....but at least they will have strong bones. If you look close you at the tall street sign you will see the store is called Seven i's & Holdings have no idea what it means. This is also the place where I will pay for our utilities ever month...at a convenience store...how convenient is that!

It is very hard to tell from this picture, but this is the hill I walk up everyday to get to my high school. It is very steep. Some of the kids on bikes have to stop and get off their bike and walk it up the hill that is how steep it is. I hope to be able to ride my bike up it before I leave Himeji. The walk to my school is about 15 mins and it is nice except for this hill.

This is where I spend most of my days…in the teacher’s workroom. It is the only placed with AC and heater in the entire school. I am thankful for that because some of my teacher friends don’t even have that. I teach 2 classes on Mon, 1 on Tuesday, 2 on Wed (then I go to the adult university to teach 2 classes, 1.5hrs each – that classroom has AC!), 3 on Thurs and 3 on Friday. Each class is 45 mins and 7 classes are 1st graders (Sophomores) that I only see once a week and 4 classes are 3rd graders (Seniors) (2 different classes) that I see twice in a week. I really enjoy my 3rd graders as it is an elective and I am there to encourage their expressive English skills. So back to the workroom, I spend A LOT of time at my desk or in the computer room.

This is my lunch – bento (which means boxed lunch). I get one everyday and I has a lot of similar this everyday and some new stuff. There is rice everyday with 2 pickled radishes on top, some kind of fish (fried, baked, grilled), cold salad (this day it was a mushroom salad), usually some piece of chicken, egg (1/2 hard boiled, egg salad or scrambled), tempura veggie, piece of fruit (orange slice, Japanese pear) and some spongy thing that I haven’t brought myself to actually eat. It is usually very yummy. It costs me 5000 ye which is a little less than $5. I figure it is a great way to experience real Japanese food since Mitch isn’t adjusting that well to Japanese food.

This is what the bento looks like sitting on my desk when I come back from class (the cafeteria delivers it to us in the workroom).

OK, so I have been spending a lot of time in the computer room just off the teacher’s workroom and let me tell you, all the computer time I have under my belt has really prepared me for this job (well, at least all the emailing I have been doing).

The letters are all in the same place on the keyboard but the symbols have been moved. If you have received emails from me that contain words such as don:t and can:t, take a look at the keyboard here…the ‘ is moved (it is now above the 7 key). And the backspace key is not very big so I tend to type lots of Yen signs when trying to erase my mistakes. These changes lends themselves to lots of frustration and time well wasted.

On my way home everyday, I pass this Begin Bookstore. It is large and it tends to draw in a lot of people in the afternoon. There is a traffic guy there every afternoon (see him in blue in the middle right of the picture almost in the street) stopping traffic so cars can go in and come out.

Please let me know if you have any requests for photos and stories on this blog spot. I want to share with everyone what my day to day life is like here in Himeji.