Flashbacks

before i even knew what a blog was, i started making an electronic diary on my computer to record my experiences in japan. here is my first entry from june 15 2005:

15.06.05

Where to start hey?

It’s now 12.30 am at home, making it about 30 hours since I left. The flight was of course terribly long. I met a lovely Malaysian man on the way to KL. He gave me his card and told me to call if I was ever staying in town…. Not too sure how to take that one. He did seem just a plain nice guy though.

Having other nervous travellers did help me a lot, some of whom had never been overseas before. We could all get excited together about things to come.

We had at least 2 more hours at Kansai airport before we were met by our guides and taken into Osaka, then put on our connecting Shinkansen to Fukuyama. Osaka is pretty ugly. Very brown and grey, but the odd splash of colour here and there –especially the rice paddies people have growing in their back yards. Or their washing and bedspreads hanging on every balcony of every apartment in a single block. A few bits of craziness too, the huge indoor baseball stadium, Osaka Dome. The many golf and baseball driving ranges dotted about the place. And the quaint little cemeteries, most only half an acre, square pillar after square pillar all squished in together. The first train we caught was late. Can you believe it? After everything I heard about the Japanese PT system!

Anyway, once on the Shinkansen, things move very fast indeed. I couldn’t give you exact speeds, but we (Michael and I) travelled over 200 km in 80 minutes, making 3 stops along the way. Once out of Osaka we headed through some hills. If that’s what you call them, they probably have a special name for us foreigners to use. Small pointy hillocks with bamboo that grows out at a direct right angle (not straight up) so they look like they have afros. In amongst these lush green hills, lie rice paddies and lots of them. Sounds ancient and marvellous yeah? Well, in amongst the rice paddies are freeways and car manufacturing plants and all things incongruous.

Stepping off the train in Fukuyama, our guide was immediately noticeable –sleeveless t-shirt, wrap around sunnies, and distinctly Gaijin. Of course he’s an Aussie, and I mean an Oz-zie. Brad from Tassie. Farm boy, ex-military and so happy to see some other Aussies who will understand him –literally. Not just slang and sense of humour, but actual speech. Apparently the Americans aren’t so good at understanding non-Americans.

Unfortunately, Brad thought it was his duty to tell us all the bad stuff first…. “Welcome to whoop whoop, forget everything you’ve been told about friendly Japanese and get used to being ignored or outright avoided.” There were lots of “forget about….” and “if you were thinking of … -don’t.” etc etc. all very disheartening. We went to visit the NOVA office, and contrary to all I was told, rocking up in our very informal wear was not a problem. I met my new house mate whose first words were –“no you're not in this office, you have to travel to Mihara. It’s about half an hour away on the train.” Bugger.

This is a small town, as soon as we left the station we ran into 2 other teachers -Louis and Erik from America. I subsequently ran into Erik two more times that day. Our first mission (after KFC and my first Japanese squat toilet) was to Michael’s place, which we had been warned was brand spanking new and the envy of all the teachers. And boy was it new. Brand new appliances, fully electric toilet (you know, automatic lid and seat lifting and flushing and buttons for bum washing -naturally!) AC in all rooms, but very, very cosy. Brad was so impressed with the size and quality, I just kept thinking ‘shit shit shit, this isn’t encouraging’. Upon leaving, we ran into Michaels land lord who was understandably nervous about his very first Gaijin tenant, and asked Brad to help him translate with Michael as he had no English and Michael no Japanese. Brad incidentally has learned Japanese at university diploma level, and still has problems communicating.

It was at this point that I was left with another teacher Cuong, to wait downstairs for Brad, and then to my apartment. This was where we ran into Erik again, and had an offer of a couple of bikes he has had spare on his balcony for the past year.

Score.

One of them had flat tyres, but I managed to bag myself the other (one of those little fold up ones), but returned to Michaels to find Brad gone and Cuong having no idea how to get to my apartment.

At this point I had been walking the streets of Fukuyama for about 2 hours with my backpack and laptop, un-showered for 30 hours in the Japanese summer sun. All I wanted was to put my shit down, wash and sleep.

Half an hour later, we confirmed at NOVA that I could get a taxi and be reimbursed (ryoshusho). I also ran into Brad, who had thought I was going to meet him elsewhere and had waited for me for 15 minutes, and offered to be my tour guide for the next day. So was sent on my merry way with a taxi driver who didn’t speak English and didn’t know where I was going, but we found it…. Sort of.

She dropped me at the building next to mine, but I was saved from trying to get into the wrong apartment by the physical lack of an apartment 204 (201, 202, 203, 205, 206). You can imagine my confusion and frustration….

I twigged eventually and when finally inside my apartment, I sat and cried.

I don’t know any Japanese. My apartment is so tiny, it seems so far away from where I have to go. I have to catch the train for half an hour to get to work in a town even smaller than this one. I have met these great people, who I won’t really get to hang with because I won’t be knocking off work with them. It’s so hot. I don’t think I like my housemate. I wish I wasn’t sick. I still feel nauseous. I'm so tired. Why the fuck am I here. Why didn’t I ask to go to a town that was used to Gaijin, and people speak English?

Shower.

Need to ring mum. No time for a sleep now, want to get to shops to try and buy a towel or find an internet café.

Thanks mum. Saying all the right things. Still very hard though. Her last words as my credit ran out were: be brave. I tried to cheer up, but then sitting at the train station waiting for Michael for 45 minutes doesn’t help that bravery. Japanese people will stare at you, not in a nice way. Younger kids will say ‘hi’ or ‘bai bai’, not in a nice way either.

Michael and I ran into Erik again and he took us to a place for dinner, where my dwindling appetite was being very fussy. I settled on a tofu salad. Why they call it a salad I don’t know. It was raw silken tofu, with a peanut dipping sauce and a garnish of lettuce (the yucky red one) and tomato, and leek? Not sure exactly, some member of the onion family. I ate some. Felt nauseated by the amount of food I watched the boys wolf down. Then realised my blocked sinuses were not going to appreciate an evening in a smoky pub nor would my stomach handle any biiru and quite frankly my body needed serious sleep.

A brief stop at Erik’s for some candy. Literally candy, you know -lollies. Not, as I immediately assumed, drugs. (Well when someone says to you: ‘we could stop off at my place. I have some candy, do you like candy?’ what would you assume? Ok, maybe not…)

Then to nova to meet up with the rest of the gang. I stayed at the pub for maybe a half hour, confirmed my meeting time and place for the next day with Brad, and headed home on my bike.

At home, Andrea was of course lovely. She is 28, has been in Japan for a year and only moved to Fukuyama a few weeks ago. She actually works outside of Fukuyama as well, but has been doing some overtime in the Fukuyama branch. We chatted while I set up my futon (I am missing the foam mattress that goes underneath), and she fixed my AC (well, got it to work, it wasn’t broken, the remote is in Kanji).

I then settled in to start writing, however by this time it was 11.30pm (12.30 at home) and my eyes just couldn’t stay open. I switched off my computer, cleaned my teeth, and hopped into bed for a very restless nights sleep. I slept on my futon base and doona, which I had to fold I half during the night as my hips and shoulder were getting bruised. I didn’t get any decent sleep until about 6 am, after resigning myself to enquiring at NOVA the next day about going home, and then was up at 8.30 with hopes of finding breakfast somewhere before meeting up with Brad.