Japanese Me

I wasn’t always a morning person.  In high school I stayed up late studying and would sleepwalk to the shower each morning.  During college mom knew not to call before noon or else hear the mumbles of a freshly awoken daughter. Then came San Francisco, Starbucks.  I opened a couple of times and ended up [...]

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I teach English in Japanese elementary schools but I’m not directly hired by the schools.  I actually work for a contracting company that takes care of things like schedules, communication with the school boards, visas, and the like.  They also provide training and observe one of my classes once a year.  That was this week. [...]

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I just felt my first Japanese earthquake.  It took a year, which is kind of unbelievable if you think about it.   Nothing major, thankfully–I felt a little sick, kinda motion sick, then looked at my closet to see a couple of shirts swaying back and forth.  I called out to Ken, “Hey, I think it’s [...]

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So I was trying to figure out why I’ve been waking up so early.  Like ungodly, 5 am early.  I went to the new, “ooo shiny” Wolfram Alpha and remembered something. I live in a country that doesn’t follow daylight savings.

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I was trying to explain to my mom how the lunch I make every day is quite different from the lunch she made me every day.  I figured a picture was the way to go.  Today’s lunch: Rice, grilled salmon, apples with a rabbit slice (with a boo boo), kinpira.

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It was a great night and I was lucky enough to have a great photographer attend.  Michael T. Halligan took all of these shots (follow the link to his flickr page). The party itself was at Frjtz in Hayes Valley, San Francisco.  You get a whole bunch of fries with all sorts of crazy, wonderful [...]

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I have my alien registration card.  I have a bank account.  And most importantly, I have a cell phone. I ended up going with black… as Ken pointed out, the maroon/gold combo looked too much like something a お金持ちおばさん (okanemochi obasan, rich/snooty lady) would have.  I ended up catching a great sale–by paying roughly $55 [...]

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“The” with a long e. Tomorrow I’ll get my 外国人登録証明書 (gaikokujin tourokushoumeisho) or Certificate of Alien Registration.  It’s an ID card with my photo that I’ll always have with me.  Don’t leave the house without it! What has me most excited is that I’ll finally be able to get a bank account and cell phone.  [...]

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On my third day here I found a mook (a cross between a magazine and a book) filled with basic Japanese recipes that you can do in one pan.  It has great pictures and simple versions of recipes everyone should know.  I decided to start with one of the most basic: Fried rice.  This is [...]

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Not much time to gab–my suitcases await.  The packing has been going pretty well so far but it look like my large suitcase will be a little overweight. Last time I went to Japan I got 70 pounds in one suitcase and I think 50 pounds in the other.  This time I only get 50 [...]

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