Through My Eyes

So since this is supposed to be a photograph-heavy blog, I suppose it's about time I actually post some evidence that I really have been in Japan for a month. You know the saying: "pics or it didn't happen."

Shinkansen from Tokyo to Morioka!

Back in March when our journey began, it began with a shinkansen.

      

  

 

Morioka: complete with boy koi and karaoke

Morioka-shi itself is pretty cool: a mix of historic and trendy! 

Shrine touring with Allie in Morioka

During our one free day during training, Allie and I put on our "fun jeans" and did some walking. Stumbled upon a wedding in progress, here!

Every shrine and temple has a little covered fountain

Towards the end of our time in Morioka, banners for boy's day were already hanging along the main street. Some are very ornate!

First onsen experience with Patrick and Limor!

A couple weeks into settling in our respective towns, team Iwate had another training session in Morioka. The following day, Patrick, Limor and I decided an onsen was in order.

Yum.

Lunchtime at said onsen

 And now for something completely different...Kitakami!

Sorry, Mom: Japan beat me to "Paint Bunnies"

Japanese pastries. Oh. My. Glob.

Make a call...the oni dare you!

 There's a none-too-shabby bakery in the Sakurano Twin Mall Plaza where I picked up this little bundle of oishii. It's like a custardy dumpling in a pie crust with glazed fruit. So good!

 

The poetry park has a shrine and monuments

In the Contemporary Poetry Museum Park, I found out there is a sisterhood between Kitakami-shi and Concord City! 

There are a few monuments around the park celebrating the sister cities.

It's a beautiful park and museum. I look forward to spending a lot of time jogging around the park, reading under the trees or drinking coffee in the cafe!

Contemporary Poetry Museum...just around the corner!

Beautiful statue in poetry park

Well, I think that should suffice for now! Every week will feature a new photo page!

New World, New Name

I love names. I love learning what they mean. And in Japan it’s especially fun because a name’s meaning can change depending on how it’s written.

My given name is a cognate of Martha which has Aramaic roots that mean “mistress” or “lady.” I’ve always liked that. However, in Japan, “Marta” is difficult to pronounce for some, and is often pronounced as “Maruta.” Long story short, it’s sort of derogatory and means “log.” For the most part, I permit the students to call me “Ms. Ma-ta” or “Ma-ta Sensei” depending on formality of the school and students’ abilities. The teachers usually can pronounce “Marta” but for familiarity’s sake and the sake of the blog, I’ll be referring to myself as “Redhii:” the Japanese pronunciation of “Lady.”

For my stateside friends and family, “Redhii” and “Lady” rhyme.

Kitakami Home

Successfully, I have lived in Japan for almost 3 weeks and I figured it was time to get started with this blog…you know, since I haven’t been evicted from my apartment or kicked out of the country altogether! This is how I define success.

Living in Japan is amazing! It’s hard to know where to begin, so let’s start with the vital statistics:

Kitakami city bird and flower

Location: Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture. It’s just one prefecture south of topmost Honshu (the main island). I’m about 50 minutes south of the capital, Morioka, and just about two hours north of Tokyo, so it’s a great deal! 

Living Situation: I live in an apartment in downtown Kitakami near a great shopping plaza, a poetry museum and park and not too far from the train station, eki. It’s a great place for a single gal: lots of storage and closet space, a desk, table, tv, fridge, stove, microwave, washer/dryer and standard bathroom. The neighborhood is quiet and safe (yes, Mom, it’s safe). I have a lot of shopping to do before the place feels like “home,” but so far, I’m enjoying having my own place!

Morioka City and mountain

Job Description: My official title is Native Speaker. I work with four junior high schools in the area teaching English as a second language. This last Monday, I went to each school and met the principals and English teachers. It was a terrifying and exhilarating day: each school encouraged me to “gambatte,” try my best. I nodded, did my best to mumble some courteous Japanese, sipped my tea and pretended every muscle in my body wasn’t inverting itself from tension. I’m very excited to work at the schools and a few of the principals already asked me to help with a few student activities including supervising after school cleaning, the soccer team and an upcoming English speaking competition! The competitions are a big deal in Japan, but more on that at a later date.

So, first impressions: living in Japan is exciting, but I have a lot to learn. At times, it’s simply overwhelming. The culture shock comes from all sides: they drive on the left, I can barely read anything, I stick out like a blemish because I’m such an obvious foreigner…I anticipated this feeling, but you can’t understand it until you’re entrenched in a strange new world. But for every uncomfortable moment or clumsy mistake, the sun breaks through and there’s a little victory to enjoy: communicating successfully with a local, finding my way through downtown, being smiled at instead of stared at in fear or confusion. And these  little victories that I cling to, the Mitch Hedberg limes that keep me afloat, these little bursts of light in an otherwise murky and disorienting cultural fog bank: they are my salvation.

I also owe a lot to my new friend Fujita Harue: she helped me and a fellow NS, James, move into Kitakami and when I say “help,” of course I mean she pretty much shepherded us poor little lambs through the arduous process of registering and becoming citizens of Kitakami. But she went so far above the call of duty, spending the whole day with us crazies and then showing us a great okonomiyaki place a block from my apartment!

Kitakami: beautiful in any light

For those first few days, due to a mishap, I was without a car. I spent two days exploring Kitakami by foot: I found some cool cafes, that beautiful poetry park and a shrine. Now that I do have a car, I have a ton of exploring to do outside of the city including going to the heritage village, Kitakami city museum and cherry trees across Kitakami River! Lots to do and I’m off to a good start.

I’ll be introduced to my schools in meetings and ceremonies starting on 15^th April,* then I’ll start teaching.

*Yeah, I have to write the date like that now: not because it’s how the date is written in Japan but because I’m endlessly harassed by peers if I don’t.