Spring Break Blues

So quite a while since my last post. It is now March and near the end of the school year. If time allows I'll aim to post once a month on my experiences.
But what has happened so far in the 7 months since I arrived in Japan...

I have bought plenty for my apartment and will buy plenty more (probably) to feel more comfortable here. It wasn't until just after New Years I feel that I had felt a true sense of home in my apartment. I have travelled a lot, met heaps of new people and made new friends.
The third years graduated this week and I'm ready to meet the new first years who will be rolling in in April.
My Japanese is slowly but surely improving, it is hard to get along with all the teachers however. I feel going to the enkais (drinking parties) are the best way to get to know my colleagues and to practice my Japanese (booze helps every situation).
With a lot of spare time on my hands I have been coming up with new and different ways to keep myself occupied.
For example, I have joined a calligraphy class with one of my students which I go to once a week. My name recently appeared in the monthly publication for calligraphy pieces that have been graded. However, my teacher spelt my name wrong so it's written out as ジュリエット・ココ (Juliette Coco) instead of クック (Cooke). Hilarious.

Also once a month on Wednesdays I join an English speaking society made up of English teachers and people just interested in English to discuss articles and issues in society. I admit I quite enjoy these, makes me long to be back studying at uni even more.

I recently met a long time resident of Hikari city, Alison, whose daughter is a student at my school. We have gone out a couple of times and are thinking of joining an exercise class of some sort at the local community centre. I have begun stretching in the mornings and working out in the afternoons to pass time and increase my activity as I practically sit at a desk all day!
7 months have passed and I've only just worked out it's faster and cheaper for me to walk home from my base school than it is to take the bus and train! I am saving about 500 yen ($6) each day!

I am studying Japanese cooking vocabulary and have borrowed some recipe books from the library to try my hand at Japanese cooking and making the most of the ingredients available at supermarkets. I'm sure my shopping bill would decrease if I stop buying the expensive, western foods I know how to cook and start buying common Japanese vegetables and foods used in cooking. It seems quite easy but is hard when you're not used to the flavours and textures here.

As for travelling, I have done a fair bit around the 'Guch and Hiroshima, and visited my favourite, Onomichi, and my not so favourite, Kyoto, when my sister visited in December. Just after Christmas I spent a few days in Beppu with friends, reminiscent of Rotorua with a lot of thermal pools. In just a few weeks I'll be on the sunny shores of Okinawa, hopefully drinking cocktails and soaking in much needed sun for a week with Roxy. I have come to the conclusion that winter in December is a horrible idea, Christmas and New Years aren't half as enjoyable in shitty weather. I have plans to return to New Zealand in December this year, I can't handle miserable weather at a time when you need your family and friends the most.

I have a fairly good relationship with my students at all schools and it's my goal this year to become more actively involved. I feel arriving in August is a terrible time as the school year is already in full swing and there isn't much instruction in what is expected of the ALT.

My plans are to learn the names of all my teachers in the teachers room (shocking I don't know them already, I know!) and to learn all my new first years' names when they have been selected. Students will know in less than a month before school starts whether they'll be going to the high schools they applied for or not!! I would like there to be more direction with English club, a goal or project of some sort that we can work together to achieve for the culture festival. I want to start an English (or language) newspaper or subscription for students and set up an English box for any students that have questions that I can hopefully answer.
Reading some of my students essays and stories, or funny, creative sentences they make in class remind me how rewarding this job is. I didn't believe it could be as rewarding as it truly feels.

I have been catching up on a lot of reading, too, of English and linguistics blogs, other JETs' experiences and tips, and articles about Japan in general. This is a time when I have a lot of time on my hands and I often feel bad for not being busy when everyone else always appears to be so! (I say "appears" because it's common knowledge that it's more important to look like you're doing something than nothing at all!)

That is my update for now! Maybe when I'm less self-conscious about everyone watching me (I know they aren't but it always feels like it) I'll post up some photos too.

I am alive!

I was hoping to start this blog once my internet was set up, no the modem has not arrived yet, I'm typing this at school as I have 3 hours to kill and this will hopefully keep me relatively sane. 

For all my friends and family, you already know who I am, but for all those randoms that happen to come across this blog and for some reason are lingering long enough to read this far, I'm Juliette Cooke, hailing from Auckland, New Zealand.

This is my first year as a JET participant in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, quite literally the ass of Honshu. Probably also why previous JETs have nicknamed this special place with a special name, the Guch. So welcome to the Guch, known for countryside, countryside and more countryside as well as the dangerous puffer fish (if eaten) 'fugu'. 

I have been here for about 2 and a half weeks now. I was lucky enough to have my residence card, bank account and cell phone and internet plan sorted within the first couple of days, I know others aren't so lucky. My apartment is huge (for Japan) but lacking in furniture and basics. My mission is to make several trips to the Daiso (100 yen shop) and Juntendo (furniture store) to make my apartment more homey, and because I can only carry so much home. I am based at Hikari Senior High School, and will be visiting 2 other schools, Kumageminami and Kumagekita Senior High. All 3 are based as far as possible away from my apartment. 

Coming into 35 degree heat summer I caught a cold and cough which is still lingering, but at least I have regained my voice. So far since arriving I have gone to all 3 schools, gone to a Goldfish Lantern Festival in Yanai, swum at Nijigahama beach and checked out Kudamatsu (next "city" over) malls but was too poor to buy anything. Tomorrow I must travel to Yamaguchi city for a full day meeting, hopefully followed by dinner and karaoke. 

In the same apartment block lives an American second year JET Roxy. We have hung out a lot so far, and I'm very grateful as those first few days and nights here were especially lonely. We are already planning a trip to Okinawa next month over Silver week, about 5 days off. We are both hanging out for payday, which is tomorrow, and honestly couldn't come sooner. 

The time is now 1.11pm, let's see if I can't keep this going until I have to leave at 4.15...

So I live in Hikari city which would like to think it's a city but is more a town with a lot of rice fields. Public transport is still on time but times are few and far between and looking up buses is nigh impossible! There are 2 beaches, Nijigahama and the other one (I forget). Unfortunately Nijigahama is littered with rubbish, apparently the current sweeps it all in from China, it's pretty nasty. Some local JETs and I are thinking of planning a clean up day, maybe this weekend as next weekend JETs from all over Yamaguchi are coming to Nijigahama for a beach party.

Next month, one weekend, I plan to visit my host family in Hiroshima. I'll probably stay the night with them and maybe catch up with a few friends from Misuzugaoka School. My friend Midori came down last weekend to visit. My Japanese has seriously deteriorated however, I seriously need to up my game! I plan to take N2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I failed it last year and it was crazy hard, hopefully actually living here now will give me more motivation.  

I will be teaching first years at Hikari High, but all 3 years at my other schools. I will mainly work at Hikari, on Mondays, Wednesdays and every second Tuesday. There are roughly 450 students this year. I have my own desk and laptop (which of course is better than my own) and heaps of resources. Yesterday I taught my first lesson to Junior High School Students thinking of coming to Hikari next year. And the day before I met the members of my English Club, I can tell it's gonna be great fun working with them already! 
I went to Kumagekita this morning which has roughly 280 students and is the smallest of my schools. They are mainly female students as the school focuses on home economics, but there are boys too. I will go there every Thursday almost and have pretty much been given free reign on what to teach! No textbooks, but I'll prepare activities and games for the students. I think because it is not a very academic school they don't mind so much. 
At Kumageminami all the teachers seem lovely. There are over 300 students, I will be there on Fridays and every second Tuesday. 

I have started fitting out my apartment by buying photo frames, kitchen wear and tablecloths etc. I will slowly start buying souvenirs so I can decorate the place. It's so big and empty, I sleep in the living room and close off all the doors cause it can get a bit freaky being alone. I can honestly say I'm not a fan of it and can't wait for Sophia to come visit. No one should have to live alone in a 3 bedroom apartment. At least the rent is cheap, about $230 a month! But then there's gas, water, electricity and internet bills, and tax. I should get around $3000 a month after tax, and will budget from there. 
I'm going to check out Amazon (they deliver to your door!) for chairs, tables and cupboards etc. I also have to buy a hot water zip for the kitchen which will cost about $300 :s.
Time to put my budgeting skills to the test!!

So that's me in a nutshell for the time being. I shall post photos up in my next post!