Bento Love

A 'bento' is simply a small portion meal or lunchbox here in Japan.  I am sure that many of you have seen how 'kawaii' or cute these can be made, even if you didn't know what they were called.  Here are a few examples of the adorable ones:

As you can see...NO ONE HAS TIME FOR THAT. But it's adorable.

A much simpler bento is extremely common here in Japan, in fact finding a bento box was super easy.  I got mine at the local 100yen ($1) store along with all of the accessories needed.

 

Here is my bento (beige), disposable chopsticks with pink wrappers, and panda elastic

A bento consists of one or two compartments that are easily closed up, just like a Tupperware.  You also need an elastic to hold it together, as the pieces don't snap closed.  Without the elastic they could pull apart mid-walk to work and your lunch is ruined :(

So with my bento in hand I set off for the grocery to the pre-made food section and got several small tasty looking things to put into my bento for tomorrow's lunch at work.  Total food cost was around $6, and not all was used for this one lunch.  Photos begin...now!!

 

The two large compartments, and the small one on top...which is so small I don't know what you can even put in it besides a packet of soy sauce.

 

Another angle of the two compartments

 

What it will look like when closed and ready for transport

 

Little cupcake holders, which are actually used for bento here! You divide food with these to keep flavors from mixing

 

My array for this bento making session (not all food was used)

From top to bottom starting at upper right:

Tuna maki roll

Japanese grapes (DELICIOUS)

Yakisoba

Rice onigiri (rice ball)

Steamed veggies

Some sort of fried something (later turned out to be rice wrapped in batter and deep fried)

 

My bento for tomorrow's lunch!! I had over half of the yakisoba and veggies left over, so that will be dinner.  And only 3 grapes, so I can munch on them more tonight and tomorrow night :)

The good, the bad, and the impossible

It's been 2 weeks working in Yokohama now so time for an update on how wonderfully and horribly things are going.  I don't normally complain, but there will be some complaining...I feel it's worth mentioning though.

THE GOOD:

- I am now in a share house, so I have my own room but share the other common areas with the other apartment residents.  It's super close to 2 stations, I have a bed, and AC.  If you continue reading you'll understand why those 3 things are so important...

- Teaching is going incredibly well!! I've gotten the hang of it and my lessons go well far more than having poor ones. I've even had one request! I think I'm learning more from my students than they learn from me, but everyone seems happy at the end of the day so we're on the right track.

- I have now mastered the train situation. It seems incredibly daunting at first, but now I can get myself to work and to Tokyo no problem.

- My Japanese is slowly improving.  Still can't have a meaningful conversation, but I can get things I need, ask and answer basic questions, etc. Plus my reading is getting much quicker with all the practice!

- I had a straight perm!!! It's been a lifesaver and I'm obsessed with it. Everyone should have one!!

THE BAD:

- The house I was originally living in was hell. The 2 teachers from school who were there were amazing, such sweet girls and so glad to have them as friends.  If it wasn't for them I would have probably left the house or Japan within about 3 days.  I was living in a small room with no AC or air of any kind, the air mattress I had wouldn't hold air so I was balancing on it every night or essentially on the floor, and it was a 30-45 min walk to the stations and work.  In the 95+ heat it was unbearable.  Add that to the fact that the landladies ex-husband has video cameras on the front door and has hired private investigators to LITERALLY FOLLOW US TO WORK......I completely broke down and moved out after only 2 weeks.  And yes, people not only followed us to work to see who we were, they also came to the door and would ask us who we were and what we were doing there....that was the last straw for me.  But I'm gone forever now so yay!!

- My Japanese, while improving, is still super basic.  I can't read things that aren't in katakana/hiragana, I can't ask things/answer things...I feel very touristy most of the time.  

- I have no way of meeting people/getting out much due to the language barrier.  Now that I'm more settled I can ready start studying in earnest.

So that's all I have for now.  I am sure there is more but I've only had one nights sleep on a real bed so I'm still completely out of it. More later!

Daiso Haul!!

One of my favorite stores here in Japan so far is Daiso, the 100円 store.  It's essentially the Japanese version of the Dollar Store, except the quality is actually pretty decent, they have a HUGE selection, and everything is adorable!

I'm not much of a shopper, in fact I usually only go if I have something specific to get, but wandering in Daiso is a ton of fun and because it's so cheap I always leave with something.  So today I have my Daiso haul (small one)!!

 

Ginger Tea - 生姜茶

This has 3 powdered tea packets and you can make it hot or cold - perfect for me because ginger is my favorite thing in the world!!

 

Kaki no Tane - 柿の種

My new obsession.  They're Japanese rice crackers that are soy flavored.  I've only had them in little packets with peanuts as well, but I found this huge bag of them at Daiso and NEEDED it!!  They're salty, which makes them popular in bars, but also great when you're overheated and need some salt.

 

Word Cards

My Japanese is terrible.  I mean terrible.  So in my quest to learn I saw these and knew they would be perfect for studying on the train/work!  They're small and have a keyring to keep them together.

 

Shower Caddy

Not exciting, but I needed to get one for my apartment that I'll be moving into soon.  It's a guesthouse style apartment, so the showers are down the hall.  And as anyone who knows me will notice...there is green :)

 

Giant Hair Clip

Girls here in Japan seem to always wear their hair down, but when it's up it's often in one of these cute clips.  When I had my hair done last night the guy who did it used one of these and it held up my hair really well.  He suggested I try one, as they are supposedly less damaging than a hair tie.  Either way, it's cute and again, was only $1

ALL OF THIS came to the total of 525円!!  Not bad for a working girl trying to save where she can :)

Working Girl

I've officially had 2 days of work now so I guess it's time for an update.

Day 1 was overwhelming but seemed fairly simple.  Lots of information and lots of people to meet.  However it all seemed very straightforward and is a good system for teaching.  I observed a couple lessons and tried to orient myself with the materials available.  Once I got back to the house I was able to meet the other tenants here, including the other girl who is training with me.  Everyone I've met so far as been really kind and I've enjoyed getting to know everyone.

Day 2 (yesterday) was much tougher than the first day and was a roller coaster of 'What am I doing, I should go home' and 'THIS IS AMAZING'.  It started out fine, walked to school with my fellow trainee, and had some more training for an hour.  Then I had to teach my first lesson....which went about as well as you'd expect...which is terrible.  Thankfully the student had excellent English and I was able to keep her entertained and focused during class...but everything else was horrible.  Therefore, when it came time for my second lesson alone I completely blanked, went all 'deer in headlights', and even began to cry in front of the head teacher.  Not my proudest moment.

Thankfully he was incredibly understanding, and when I apologized to him afterwards we discussed what we could do to help get my confidence up in teaching (I'm an observer, so I'll be observing more lessons to learn).  The owner was surprisingly happy with my first (and only) lesson of the day and thought that for having no experience and only day 2 that I did fine.  The head teacher thinks some more detailed lesson planning at first will be helpful for us new trainees so we're doing 2 hrs of that for our 2 lessons today.  I'm feeling MUCH more confident about these, as I'm extremely prepared and have seen a few more lessons.

After work we were invited out for a drink with some of the other teachers and had a great time getting to know each other, eating new foods (pig intestine is not that bad!!), and encouraging one another.  In fact, the girl who evaluated my fail of a first lesson was there and was very encouraging that I can only get better with practice.

FUN STORY OF THE DAY:

While we were in the little bar having drinks and food the Japanese patrons were very curious about us and were having a good time watching us 'gaijin's.  They had our friend relay a message to Denver (fellow trainee) and I that we looked like Barbie's :):)  My blog name has been approved!!!

Lets go!!!!!

It's now my first morning, I was too tired to do anything but sleep last night so I'll write about it now.

We landed a bit earlier than I expected into Narita and had no problems getting through immigration and customs.  Just like my last time here no one asked questions about anything or checked my bags.  I then ran about the airport like a crazy woman, getting money exchanged, forwarding some of my luggage to the house, getting a bus ticket and trying to rent a phone (which I couldn't do).  Once my tasks were finished I was right on time for my bus to Yokohama!

The 2 hr long bus ride would have been a great nap but I was too excited and couldn't stop looking out of the window.  As it would turn out the station I got off at is in the plaza that one of the two schools I'll be working at is located.  The owner was waiting for me there to welcome me to Japan and get some food and tea in me before I collapsed.  We sat in a little French bakery and had a brief talk before getting in the car for a brief tour.  The school I'll mainly be teaching in is located in Tama Plaza, which is a beautiful open air shopping center.  The entire area these schools are in is upper class, BMW and Mercedes dealers everywhere and gorgeous parks. Due to a massive thunderstorm approaching we headed to the house and I was dropped off.

Unfortunately the lady who owns the house was out and everyone was still at work, so the boyfriend of one of the girls who lives here got me oriented and showed me my room.  I had been told it was small, but its larger than i expected.  plus the bathroom is right in front of my door! The house itself is massive, and very very European, as the owner is Polish.  I would be happy to stay longer if my 'bed' wasn't a pullout couch with a semi-deflated air mattress....

Today I begin training, so I'll have more to report then but I think I'll be very happy here :) especially once I get the Internet password and can talk!

On my way!!

I will admit to having quite a bit of fear and anxiety once I got to the airport.  As exciting and promising as this endeavor is, it is quite a leap of faith on my part to completely leave like this.  Fortunately I've had no troubles so far!

I've been maintaining my composure quite well through all the goodbyes, even when saying goodbye to my parents.  But once the plane began to taxi away from the gate in Columbus the emotions hit me hard.  That 50 min flight to Chicago was incredibly difficult for me, but a short nap helped recharge me.  Once in Chicago I had to file an appeal with Japan that I would be receiving a visa as soon as I could, and I'm hoping that immigration doesn't turn me away once I arrive.

The long flight has been fine, we had an in-flight dinner of CURRY so I was incredibly happy munching away at that.  A stroke of luck was that there is no one in the seat next to me and once I woke from my longer nap the man in the aisle seat is gone as well, so I've been able to stretch out back here in Economy.  Also, I'm snacking on 'Crunky' biscuits, and no that is not a misspell :) 

I believe there is about 4-5 hrs left in the flight, we just flew over Anchorage.  It's time for me to start watching movies and zoning out before we get our breakfast. 

Fun fact: I've been able to use the Japanese I've learned in the past 6 months while on the plane, much to everyone's amusement and confusion!

Will write more later, not sure when as its going to be a non-stop run once I land in Narita. じゃね！！