Archive for September, 2007
Our Home
Sunday, September 30th, 2007This entry is all about our apartment.
First, our apartment building is right HERE. Next, here is a diagram of our apartment:
Western-type doors (ones with handles) are green with hashes, Japanese-type doors (sliding) are slim rectangles, and closets are lilac. Bookshelves are the slightly lighter brown and desks/tables are the slightly darker brown. [...]
Arriving in Sapporo and going Home
Sunday, September 30th, 2007After our trip from Tokyo to Sapporo, we are greeted in Chitose Airport by taxis. We are efficiently bundled into them and sent to our new workplace: Chieria. There, we get a whilrwind “Here’s the room where you’ll be sitting for the next few weeks while at work; here’s the staff room where [...]
Sapporo Ni Ikimas!
Sunday, September 30th, 2007The day-before-last of our time in Tokyo, us Sapporo JETs had our first meeting with one of our future supervisors, Mr. Nomoto. He had a wonderfully dramatic way of starting things. The first thing he said after we settled down was, “You are not in Japan.” What he meant was that the Keio Plaza [...]
Hokkaido!
Sunday, September 30th, 2007 Glossary:
Sempai: A senior peer. Someone who’s been in your group/club a little longer than you, but isn’t of a higher rank, is your sempai.
Enkai: Literally a dinner party, banquet, etc. Usually used to talk about an official party thrown for a group of people. The majority of enkais are for work, although the people [...]
Typhoon! Run for the hills!
Friday, September 7th, 2007 There’s a typhoon this weekend! It’s hit Tokyo already and it’s coming this way!
35 mph winds! Torrential downpours! Be careful!
If this is a Japanese typhoon, then I can definitely deal with living here.
You Are Not in Japan
Thursday, September 6th, 2007 GLOSSARY:
ALT: Assistant Language Teacher. Pretty much all of us are ALTs.
CIR: Coordinator for International Relations. Most major cities have a CIR, and a CIR must have strong Japanese language skills. CIRs are JETs but they don’t teach. They work at the BOE or town hall. Most of what they do is translate documents written [...]