Japanese TV!!!

I have to say I have never been more annoyed. I just wrote an unbelievably long spiel about Japanese TV but I somehow managed to click on a button and lost everything. At least another hour of my time wasted! I am not really in the mood to rewrite it now, sorry, but I will try to write again soon. This happened to me once before so it`s kind of my own fault for not saving it along the way!

I had written about Japanese TV and how different it was to the UK, and talked about the crazy shows we get over here. I will leave you with a picture from a TV show I saw recently and let you try to guess what is happening. I will reveal all next time.

Also, I had my hair coloured last weekend. Its more golden now than before - what do you think?



Have a good day and take care,
Kevin

Good afternoon,

I`m on my lunch break so I thought I would write a few lines and say hello. The set-up here at the university where I am working is pretty good all told - I have access to a computer during the day (as I have heard from others teahcers that they don`t), the classroom is pretty big (and has two air conditioners that will come in handy during the humid Toyko summer to come), and the students are all great. Oh, and on top of that I can drink for free (soft drinks that is!). I am working here with three other teachers - another guy from England, a guy from Wales and a guy from San Francisco. We all get on pretty well and the atmosphere is great - plus the fact that the lady who works in the administration office is also one of the students (and happy with her classes) which makes it even better.

Basically, I teach from 10:40am until 6.50pm every day from Monday to Friday with weekends off. I teach seven 40 minute classes per day and a few times a week I have free conversation classes - this is the real chance to get to know some of the students, and as I am working at a techincal university its surprising what some people can actually talk about - things that would be far beyond me even in my own language I have already had fun trying to translate the answer to "What`s your major?" with some students - usually there are complicated words like "Precision Mechanics", "Electronic and Electrical Engineering", or "Environmental Science" involved - nothing easy to say such as `Art` or `Music`!!!

To be honest, working in a university and teaching students makes me want to be a student again. If I could I really would like to hop off to university again - either here in Japan or maybe in China - probably study Asian languages and culture and go from there. It`s kind of hard for me to admit this but the job I did before in England was really not for me. It`s sometimes frustrating to have to keep thinking about this and to think that `if only` but I try to think positive - all the experience I have gained so far in my life has been worthwhile and nothing is irrelevant, however far detached it may sometimes appear. As long as aI am challenged to some degree I am motivated to try my best.

To talk about the overcrowded Tokyo subway again, yesterday morning I had the very unpleasant experience of spending around 20 minutes with someone`s elbow digging into the tender part of my back just beneath my shoulder blade on the inside. No matter how much I shuffled, wriggled and tried to turn around in order to lessen the pressure I just couldn`t seem to budge from this unbelievably awkward position I had managed to get myself into. In fact at every station the pain just seemed to intensify, probably due to more people cramming into an already vastly overcrowded train.

Upon reaching our destination I was getting off the train - no sorry I was being pushed out of the carriage - try to imagine being water that is held under pressure and when the pressure is released ....... well that`s exactly what happens when its very busy. Anyway, when I turn to look at the culprit - not someone I want to blame for my pain - I just want to see their face (honest!) - I receive a small volley of abuse and a snarled up face - and I imagine the words coming out of her mouth to be something like "Do you realise that I just had to spend 20 of the most uncomfortable minutes of my life with my left elbow digging into your back and causing you tremendous pain and how dare you cause me such inconvenience!". Needless to say I was astonished and before I had the chance to appeal she was off - skirting her way through the masses to the sanctity of the ticket barrier and beyond and a few more square inches of space. Actually, I had the last laugh as I managed to beat her through the ticket barrier.

Just to give you one last thought on this matter - imagine a sumo wrestler looking very angry - then in that same thought imagine the woman I just talked about - then maybe you can imagine my problem!

That`s all for now, I have to teach a class,

Take care,
Kevin

Good afternoon from Tokyo!

Well, first let me apologise for not writing for about a month, and second, let me tell you that I have finally moved to Tokyo. I am living in an apartment similar to the one I lived in before in a place in the north of Tokyo called Nishiarai Honcho - it takes about forty minutes (walking and trains) to get into the centre of Tokyo and to my place of work - Tokyo Denki Daigaku (this translates as Tokyo Electrical University) so all in all it is not bad.

My apartment is provided through my company as part of the contract (although I still pay the rent and utilities) but the good thing about this situation is that I don`t have to pay any deposit or what is called "key money" (another kind of deposit) which can usually mean you have to pay about five or six months rent up front before you even start living somewhere. My initial contract is for three months (finishing on July 21st) and then there is a two month break before the next three month contract (which we have the option of signing up for soon) starting on September 21st. Basically each contract allows for a ten-week long English teaching term at the university, however, the down side is that I must move out of my apartment for two months during the break. As yet, I am not sure what will happen after this contract - I am still deciding.

So maybe you want to know what Tokyo is like. Maybe you don`t, but, I will tell you anyway. The way I see it, Tokyo is a massive urban sprawl - lots of concrete, lots of buildings of varying sizes packed in so close to each other, an uncountable number of railway lines (and roads) criss-crossing in an unfathomable fashion, and many many many people. However, the way everything seems to fit seamlessly together and the way the railways, roads, cars, people and many neon lights seem to just blend together is amazing to see and almost impossible to comprehend. Also, in amongst all this, there are some beautiful parks which at times make a welcome break from the usual grey. I think to really believe and appreciate it, you really have to see it for yourself.

I had visited Tokyo many times before I actually moved here, and having lived in London for a few years before, living in a big city is not a major headache for me and I actually feel quite at home in Tokyo. Sometimes I think this maybe false acceptance because I have just lived for 16 months in a place (Gotemba) where everyday I had superb view of Mount Fuji (unless is was cloudy!) and was on the doorstep of an immense amount of beautiful nature and scenery. Maybe I will wake up one day and really want to go back to the countryside. Until then, I will try to enjoy my life as best as I can in Tokyo.

Not much else has happened to be honest during the past month. Before I left Gotemba I did an immense amount of karaoke, but its two weeks since and I actually have withdrawal symptons as I haven`t been yet in Tokyo. I also did quite a lot of walking in Gotemba as I didn`t have a bicycle or a car at that time. I guess I have to be careful not to get too out of shape here - I heard there was a gym near the next station down the line so maybe I will go and check it out later.

Actually, I did visit a new place recently. Last Saturday I took a day trip to Nikko, a very famous town which lies at the foot of Mt. Nyoho-san in the western part of Tochigi prefecture (about two hours north of Tokyo) and which has developed as the temple town for Futara-san-jinja Shrine, Toshogu Shrine and Rin-no-ji Temple. The Nikko-Suginamiki-Kaido (Nikko's Japanese- cedar-lined Road) runs through the town which has been designated as a natural monument. Also, the town forms a part of the Nikko National Park which in my opinion is definitely on a par with the Lake District in England. After a few hours of looking around temples and hiking along the river I I took my somewhat mandatory onsen bath to relax my body and relieve some stress! All in all it was a great day out and very accessible from where I live. Maybe I will visit there again soon in the near future.

OK, so I will leave it there for today. I have to do a bit of preparation for my classes tomorrow and I really ought to clean my apartment which seems to accumulate dust at an unbelievable rate.

Have a good day, whatever you are doing,

Kevin