tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28979204589549694752024-03-12T23:25:19.376-07:00Doin' the Nihon-Go-GoJeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-11810291576210376462012-10-25T02:08:00.002-07:002012-10-25T02:08:47.381-07:00Not Seen In Shirakawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayy3fNQTMpLyZN_Dw49VxQ9X34AUNLomMY4ptx1q4mWGgAlcHsWVQ-R_FzNbqzF3mtAzrz9li18vJ4ASsYKTONSbfOx7Bny0Y43OaHGKKTaVpIh9y6obTBYz_H77-jCK1NG0zbfTv1IPY/s1600/IMG_0296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhayy3fNQTMpLyZN_Dw49VxQ9X34AUNLomMY4ptx1q4mWGgAlcHsWVQ-R_FzNbqzF3mtAzrz9li18vJ4ASsYKTONSbfOx7Bny0Y43OaHGKKTaVpIh9y6obTBYz_H77-jCK1NG0zbfTv1IPY/s640/IMG_0296.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A seaside torii in Iwaki.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-77359411285505027292012-10-18T04:26:00.000-07:002012-10-18T04:26:18.657-07:00International Remittance, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Ordering an International Remittance and Ordered an International Remittance. . . Only to Learn Why I Was So Worried in the First Place
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Before I began work in Shirakawa I was told that, in
addition to the usual team-teaching work at junior high, I would be acting as
“main teacher” at an elementary school. My first thought upon seeing those
words was something along the lines of “I did NOT sign up for this shit.” The JET program, as I
understood it at the time, entailed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">assistant</i>
teaching to mainly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">junior high</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">high school</i> students. Even if I were
to work at elementary, it would still be in the role of an assistant, and not,
you know, the person responsible for designing entire lessons in a subject I’ve
never taught before to a kind of audience I’ve never taught before in a
language that I’ve barely even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">spoken</i>,
let alone used for giving detailed instructions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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God, listen to me whine. I needn’t have worried. My elementary school has actually
proven to be nicer than my junior high school. The staff is friendlier, the
students are more enthusiastic (which is saying something, since my JHS
students can be pretty damn enthused, at least in the lower grades). . . hell,
even the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">building</i> is nicer, which is
to say it appears to have been built in this century, as opposed to sometime
during the Allied occupation. Yes, my work at elementary is far more involved,
but that’s largely a good thing. I have more freedom to experiment and have
fun, and because I teach all the grade five and six sections at my school on a
single day, I never end up sitting around the office waiting for something to
do, like in junior high.</div>
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<br /></div>
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That is, except on days like today. Occasionally, there are
days in which I’ll end up not teaching any classes at all, because of teachers
meetings, school trips, and the like. Since my elementary school is generally
nicer than my junior high, these days basically amount to being in-office
holidays. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can sit back, study
Japanese, prep for the next weeks classes or Eikaiwa (more on that another
time), catch up a bit on my favorite blogs. . . hell, I can even write a blog
post of my own for once!</div>
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<br /></div>
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I can also <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">finally</i>
go the damn post office during banking hours! Which leads to the main topic of
this particular post. . .</div>
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<br /></div>
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Even though I’ve now been in Japan for over two months, I
haven’t sent any money home until today. Part of the reason for this is my
reluctance to use Japanese for, well, <i>anything</i> really. But another part of it
is, like I said, the damn postal bank hours: 9 AM – 4 PM (I’m usually at work
by 7:45 AM, and leave work at 4:30 PM).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fortunately, today I had a basically free day and a vice principal cool
enough to let me leave work for a while. So, at long long last, I drove down to the post
office and ordered my first international remittance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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And then I remembered why I put these damn things off all the time.</div>
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First, I stopped at the 7/11 and took out 80,000 yen from
the ATM. Then, I went to the nearby post office or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yuubin kyoku</i> (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">郵便局</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">) and </span>requested a direct remittance
to a bank account, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kouza ate soukin</i> (<span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">口座あて送金</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">). The first hint that I’m a complete idiot who can’t do anything in this
country came when the clerk, or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tennin,</i>
asked if I wanted to deposit to a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yuubin</i>
or post office bank account—not only had I failed to specify that I wanted to
make an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">international</i> remittance or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gaikoku soukin</i> (</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">外国送金</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">),
but I also failed to recognize the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yuubin</i>
(though, in my sort of defense, I heard <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yuuchin</i>,
which is not an actual Japanese word according to my dictionary). After the
clerk saw that I had written <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gaikoku</i>
in my notebook and realized what I wanted, he directed me over to the banking
section. There, I took a numbered ticket and waited for my number to be called,
as is the norm in Japanese banks. After five minutes, I was called up, and
after a bit more confusion, I was finally given an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">international payment application and declaration form for payment to
an account</b>, or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kokusai-soukin-seikyuusho-kenkokuchisho(kouza-ate-soukin-you</i>)(</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">国際送金請求書兼告知書</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">(</span><span lang="JA" style="font-family: "MS 明朝","serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">口座あて小送金用</span><span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">))—note that I’m not 100% sure about that
transliteration. I also had to present <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">photo
identification</b>; I used my residence card, but a passport works too. I then
took a few minutes to fill out the form:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7uR-PPDcQqeNCMnDCMor8CCRSEZR_-RItlnzRcO21MyQDxGXE6laAsOgU6ZxmrJCNUmhP6a7zkK-fURt2lzAPUAUtLfE5ZT9mRPsk3h1LW8q3HX6zE9NTaU2FCOxAy21BoZVkg7NP1hP/s1600/IMG_0249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7uR-PPDcQqeNCMnDCMor8CCRSEZR_-RItlnzRcO21MyQDxGXE6laAsOgU6ZxmrJCNUmhP6a7zkK-fURt2lzAPUAUtLfE5ZT9mRPsk3h1LW8q3HX6zE9NTaU2FCOxAy21BoZVkg7NP1hP/s640/IMG_0249.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sample remittance form.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;"> </span>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">I then handed the form
back to the clerk, along with the 80000 yen I wanted to send back to Canada
plus a 2500 yen service charge. That’s when the fun began.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">After waiting for
about twenty minutes, I was called up to the desk and asked about the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">bank code</b> I had entered. I had done
some research online on how to perform international remittances, and I found
out that one of the pieces of info needed for direct-to-bank account transfer
was the bank’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">international routing
number</i>. I asked my mom to talk to my bank (Royal Bank of Canada) about
this, and they gave her Royal Bank’s so-called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">swift code</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">this is not what the post office is asking
for</b>. In the section marked <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">account
number</b>, I had written down the three digit <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">branch/institution number</b>, followed by the five digit <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">transit number</b>, and finally followed by
the seven digit <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">account number</b>—this
was how I had always done it in Canada (note that different banks and countries may have different
numbering systems). In the section marked <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bank
Code</b> I had written the swift code. As it turns out, I only needed to write
down <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the account number in the account
number section</b> (I know, who’d have guessed?). The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Branch Number</b> followed the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Transit
Number</b> is what goes in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bank Code</b>
section. The <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">swift code</span> is not needed
<i>anywhere</i> in the form.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">Fucking swift code. . .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">So, after making the
necessary corrections and stamping them all with my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hanko </i>(which is basically a stamp which acts as a personal signature for
official documents in Japan), I waited for another fifteen minutes before being
called up again to hanko some other corrections I had made on the form (this
was made even more tedious by the fact that I had to stamp <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all four copies</i> of the damn form everywhere a correction was made).
Then I sat down, waited for five more minutes, and was then asked to come up
and stamp a few <i>more </i>places that I had missed the first time. Fifteen or so minutes
later, I was called up again and informed that Royal Bank would charge me 10
dollars for the international remittance. Alright, fine. Another ten minutes, and I was called
up to enter the equivalent amount of Canadian funds (~$970) into which my 80000
yen would be converted, along with appropriate <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Currency Code</b> (CAD for Canadian dollars). Ten minutes later, the
clerk (who, to be clear, was really nice through this whole process) finally
gave me copy of the remittance form along with my residence card. Plus, as a
final gift, and to remove any doubt in my mind as to whether everyone at the
post office thought I was a complete fucking moron, I was provided with Japan
Post’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Guide to International Remittances</i>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrzwLhhGdvS_FLgkJUTfJ9ZZLr5Nssc-bLfQwkp2j5n7ZW_qxr5Zhrs2-9szikjNjYUzy2PDBhfBT7_Gt8jWlY1R9lv0N0q025VQGOSAXWZpIPaCWiy64Fv8VnEQdhvLr6XIzXRvsje4t/s1600/IMG_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrzwLhhGdvS_FLgkJUTfJ9ZZLr5Nssc-bLfQwkp2j5n7ZW_qxr5Zhrs2-9szikjNjYUzy2PDBhfBT7_Gt8jWlY1R9lv0N0q025VQGOSAXWZpIPaCWiy64Fv8VnEQdhvLr6XIzXRvsje4t/s640/IMG_0248.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And just to drive the point home, they made me roll this into a cone and wear it on my head as I left. True story!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;"> </span>
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<span style="mso-fareast-language: JA;">The remittance will
take 4-6 business days to clear, so I should know by Friday of next week if my
money has made it safely home. I'm sure— I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope</i>—
there will be no problems with the transfer between now and then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-54034960710187445512012-10-14T06:38:00.002-07:002012-10-14T06:38:52.943-07:00Seen in Shirakawa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuw5fFMCJD1wJxepi7npJDg4PiP6rqo2YkxtItFp5idSMTugepot3gheVvDtRd_1ivkJ3-zW0N2QRW-_DzJumU6NndETw9A7B6OnwLEwHDZ7JnJIQahbiy10feMom-hfehKB4BgMqeJQe/s1600/IMG_0244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuw5fFMCJD1wJxepi7npJDg4PiP6rqo2YkxtItFp5idSMTugepot3gheVvDtRd_1ivkJ3-zW0N2QRW-_DzJumU6NndETw9A7B6OnwLEwHDZ7JnJIQahbiy10feMom-hfehKB4BgMqeJQe/s640/IMG_0244.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
A car buried in vegetation, near the train tracks.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-71129111048417540822012-09-28T05:10:00.001-07:002012-09-28T05:10:41.938-07:00So. . . my gas was cut today.Fall has arrived in Shirakawa, and with it come both typhoons (there's one scheduled to hit Fukushima this weekend) and plummeting temperatures. So what could be better than waking up after a long, cold night to find that there's no hot water coming out of your shower?<br />
<br />
Things like this are an annoyance in one's home country. In a foreign country, they're terrifying. Not only did I have no clue what was happening-- was my bill somehow not drawn out from the bank? Was there something wrong with the apartment building itself?-- I had no real way of even directly finding out what was wrong; it's not like I could pick up the phone, call the utility, and have any hope of either getting my message across or understanding them in return. I had no choice but to send an email to my supervisor, who (as I would learn later) just happened to be on holiday. Wee.<br />
<br />
I spent all morning in a state of near panic waiting for a reply from my supervisor, but none came. I was so messed up today that not only was I late for one of my classes (which. . . bad), but I actually cut off one of my JTE's while I was driving to work! Fortunately, it was two of my JTE's who ended up helping me out of this mess. They talked to the board of education, and they in turn managed to get my gas reconnected. It was the weirdest thing; the gas company, no doubt after seeing the continuous consumption of hot water from room 201 of Castle Eight, reached the obvious conclusion that there's no-one currently occupying room 201 of Castle Eight, and shut off the gas.<br />
<br />
In any event, I've got hot water again. But now I'm worried that other utilities have made the same mistake as the gas company, and that I'm going to wake up on Monday morning with the power cut off.<br />
<br />
Japan. It's a gas. Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-18503491660755669842012-09-25T05:12:00.001-07:002012-09-25T05:12:13.081-07:00Man, I suck at this.
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Sorry for taking so long between posts. I honestly just
haven’t had that much to write about – or rather, what I did have to write
about I didn’t want to right then, if only because I didn’t want to think
about it right then. </div>
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Anyway, you know how I was saying in my last post that I
didn’t want my blog to devolve into just a catalogue of cool stuff I’ve been
doing? Well. . . forget that, at least for this post. Here are <a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.422119287845796.97772.100001431858698&type=3">photos</a> of my
rainy weekend trip to the Aizu Wakamatsu samurai festival. It’s not much, but
it’s something for now. I hope to go on more trips as I get more comfortable
with, well, everything, and I’ll also start doing posts on various aspects of
life in Japan, like driving, the typical school day, etc. Stay tuned.</div>
Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-91667948930938852932012-09-04T05:58:00.001-07:002012-09-04T05:58:30.974-07:00Look at me! I'm a narcissist!I was originally going to write a post about writing a travel blog whilst maintaining emotional and thematic depth, and not merely descending into a list of "things I did", a la the Newfoundland posts (which I still haven't finished for precisely that reason). I still intend on writing that post.<br />
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But for now, fuck that.<br />
<br />
'Cause food.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UGwFobnbXiXfzVRi6FDtzM4WR0a84qs7kTaAebSNgjwA46YPZNhQXZgRjf8YgjgQ7hFiEcPniWzDRygRBE62cI94Us4KTNG4rgSrHGIbdmuABoN2m1eU_IvoZ9enMG53p-cha19MPA_6/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UGwFobnbXiXfzVRi6FDtzM4WR0a84qs7kTaAebSNgjwA46YPZNhQXZgRjf8YgjgQ7hFiEcPniWzDRygRBE62cI94Us4KTNG4rgSrHGIbdmuABoN2m1eU_IvoZ9enMG53p-cha19MPA_6/s640/IMG_0002.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Specifically, I'll be talking about the food that I've cooked or otherwise prepared at home, and not restaurant food or pre-packaged combini food. Since I have been in Japan for nearly a month, I'm sure you'll find it no shock that I've prepared a full <i>three</i> distinct dishes at home. The first, shown above, is my typical breakfast: a bowl of cereal with milk, yogurt, and fruit. I did pull one variation on this formula: once, when I forgot to buy milk, I went to a nearby vending machine and bought chilled cafe au lait ('cause you can do that here) and used it as my milk substitute. I leave it up to you to decide how it went.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqNDrtVnR40puygNaNqFymxOmPLBY6t-cG3bNcyba0QAY-nj1IGSg-3Gv9Xsm79GCF8zMo6JmeCI-fGJtRg4HO1vFRy5QGproOaiPsbQwe-KmFGzY78Bfqr8fHSMhegySrl6J5w7Ghma2/s1600/IMG_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqNDrtVnR40puygNaNqFymxOmPLBY6t-cG3bNcyba0QAY-nj1IGSg-3Gv9Xsm79GCF8zMo6JmeCI-fGJtRg4HO1vFRy5QGproOaiPsbQwe-KmFGzY78Bfqr8fHSMhegySrl6J5w7Ghma2/s640/IMG_0070.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Next, of course, is spaghetti and meat sauce, here shown in the process of becoming awesome. It took a shockingly long time for me to even buy cokware, let alone start cooking. Part of the problem was that my apartment came furnished with and induction stove. The principle behind these stoves is pretty interesting, at least for people with a physics background. Basically, the stove consists of a wire coil, through which flows a very rapidly oscillating current. This current, in turn, creates an oscillating magnetic field. This oscillating magnetic field, in turn, creates rapid vibrations in any magnetic object, like a pan or pot, placed above the coil. These vibrations then cause said magnetic object to heat up. The result is that the cooking vessel itself if heated without any heating of the stove surface.<br />
<br />
Which is all well and good until you try to use it on a non-magnetic pan. Then it's fucking garbage.<br />
<br />
Yes, <i>of course</i>, I bought the wrong pan. But not before I bought a whole bunch of meat to cook on that pan. And <i>of course</i>, I only realize its the wrong pan <i>after</i> I lose the damn receipt! Which is not to say that I'd wanna try returning a product with my Japanese as it is. . .<br />
<br />
Anyway, it all got fixed, I have a ferromagnetic pot and pan, and now I'm cooking. . . occasionally. This lovely dish consists of a Neapolitan sauce with minced beef, fried onions, and few drops of extra virgin olive oil, 7-Eleven brand parmesan (I know. . .), served atop spaghetti noodles. For my next attempt, I'll try adding eggplant and garlic, assuming I can even <i>find</i> garlic in this backward godforsaken--<br />
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Ooh! Bacon!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnv4NYt9Y8meYqzc89_IUouSpD1laeYnFKXnQDudg_YkDC-0dQKdNi1-JtAmVrfMkzjyG3rKKXbH1NRKGBLBnvPPwKxEGhYlmagQU2SnXyAmetyQs-l9RTaoHJph7zjgTztOboFazT-Bx_/s1600/IMG_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnv4NYt9Y8meYqzc89_IUouSpD1laeYnFKXnQDudg_YkDC-0dQKdNi1-JtAmVrfMkzjyG3rKKXbH1NRKGBLBnvPPwKxEGhYlmagQU2SnXyAmetyQs-l9RTaoHJph7zjgTztOboFazT-Bx_/s640/IMG_0072.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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That's right! Two slightly overcooked land-of-the-rising-sunny-side up eggs with three slices of bacon and Hokkaido-buttered toast. And the best part? I cooked this an hour ago! Now breakfast's for dinner!<br />
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(I now calmly await the arrival of a brutish man, brandishing his own belt as a weapon, who will sternly inform me that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd4PI1kbINI">breakfast is, in fact, <i>not</i> for dinner</a>). Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-43352832971549164002012-08-28T04:59:00.002-07:002012-08-28T04:59:58.848-07:00Ooh! Earthquake!You know what? I'm really starting to like earthquakes!<br />
<br />
I've experienced three so far in Japan (one in Aizuwakamatsu, two in Shirakawa-- one just a couple of seconds ago) all at night, and all (obviously) of minor intensity. Of course I'll be singing a different tune when a magnitude 6 quake hits, but for now, I'm enjoying the little quakes I've felt so far. It starts off with what sounds like a gust of wind, or like someone slammed a door. Then the apartment starts to gently rock, almost like a cradle. Since I'm typically in bed when the quake happens, this is quite welcome.<br />
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On a completely unrelated note, after 2-3 weeks of working with a trio of kids from my junior high school on English speech practice, we finally went to the district speech contest. All the students won prizes, and one got first prize in her category. Another student was doing brilliantly until a cognitive slip-up resulted in him basically repeating a whole paragraph. I was actually really pissed off-- not at him, but at the fact that all his hard work was basically fucked up by an accident followed by a moment of panic. Anyway, he still managed to get sixth place (out of 21 in his category) which shows just how well he did.<br />
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Congratulations to all three! Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-3407181489265112382012-08-22T16:12:00.001-07:002012-08-22T16:12:55.577-07:00I'm Back! But I Gotta Go!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzMvAbfgj7HG8naWYHYHXStj-MDiZQMFbmflEBJxOjrnzxr3rZm4QtNpHugN4D6Bafgzg8x17ZlxJZxaCElXFiwxKwvzWh8gy-9CqdEpFwRGNu5ftLJbIwvhtos-2JEbtxFzBRZr03gPd/s1600/IMG_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzMvAbfgj7HG8naWYHYHXStj-MDiZQMFbmflEBJxOjrnzxr3rZm4QtNpHugN4D6Bafgzg8x17ZlxJZxaCElXFiwxKwvzWh8gy-9CqdEpFwRGNu5ftLJbIwvhtos-2JEbtxFzBRZr03gPd/s640/IMG_0032.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mountains to the west of Shirakawa.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hi Everyone,<br />
<br />
After two weeks in Shirakawa, I finally have access to the internet. Granted, it's a bit limited; I can only access the internet through my Windows OS until I get a wireless router. In any event, before I head off to Aizuwakamatsu for what I think my seventy-fourth orientation, I just wanted to let you know that I haven't given up on you! I haven't abandoned you!<br />
Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-55081570481799245102012-08-07T05:26:00.001-07:002012-08-07T05:26:19.516-07:00遅いIt's means "slow" or "late", and it's pronounced "osoi". So don't send me e-mails asking about it.<br />
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In fact, don't expect any internet contact for a least a little while. I'm in Tokyo, having just finished up orientation. From what I hear, it will take a little while to get my internet set up at my apartment. So if you're wondering why I'm not posting lots of updates now that I'm here, that's why. I may be able to send out e-mails from the board of education, but that's about it.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-23521025305068509572012-07-31T17:11:00.000-07:002012-07-31T17:11:30.943-07:00Yeah, I got ink done. . .<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJ3dIiBJfrPoOq7Ap6dFAPjPww2w7PFLcBmABfx6_7SWJeTkafKXky3lu02JX7kRkmiZ8SrOl6ssoAbRyEheYgfpzFXpC0BG-YxokBFOui1pFaTv-WO4L_BoFiCUXGEAwROJ8X_epcFXY/s1600/Killa+Tats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJ3dIiBJfrPoOq7Ap6dFAPjPww2w7PFLcBmABfx6_7SWJeTkafKXky3lu02JX7kRkmiZ8SrOl6ssoAbRyEheYgfpzFXpC0BG-YxokBFOui1pFaTv-WO4L_BoFiCUXGEAwROJ8X_epcFXY/s640/Killa+Tats.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well. . . not so much ink per se as patterned adhesive polymer. But yeah. These my dawgs, yo. We tight.</td></tr>
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I spent my last Friday in Canada with my Japanese language partner Chinami. It was her last day in Canada as well and so, with the help of her host family, we made a day out of it.<br />
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First, since Chinami had recently seen <i>The Dark Knight</i>, we went to the theatre to see <i>The Dark Knight Rises</i>. The good news was that the show we went to was far less crowded than normal-- even a full week after release, Nolan Bat-film showings have usually been packed. The bad news. . . well, without going into a full review, I'll say that Christopher Nolan's habit of writing every other line of dialogue like a bloody graduate-level thesis statement was even more irritating than usual, since it made it that much harder for Chinami to understand what was going on (and I won't even go into Bane 'n' Bale's voices). Still, she liked it, though she said she'll have to watch it again in Japan. <br />
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Next, after a trip to the dollar store to buy Chinami a passport holder, we went over to Chinami's host family's house for movies and nachos. Now, my mom likes her some nachos, so I thought I was prepared for what I was getting into.<br />
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I was not.<br />
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For one, I was not expecting <i>diced chicken</i> in my nachos. I didn't even know that was <i>allowed</i>; I thought it would give protein poisoning or something. And <i>homemade guacamole!?</i> That is quite simply an upending of the natural order, my friends. Avocados are not native to central British Columbia; our frosty, windy climate would kill an Avocado tree before it ever had the chance to bear fruit. And yet we live in a world where Prince Georgians can not only access the Avocado fruit, but can do so in sufficient quantities and with sufficient quality to produce guacamole on a weekly basis. <i> </i><br />
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The nachos were good is what I'm saying.<br />
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Also, the family's oldest child, Maddy, gave me this, my new official Facebook profile image:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFMb0SIm1SZzqY9S9spPYrdaNLIsCSwy4lWIDpBh0YRAeWCg8fdWRRfp9pAl45ovyIfwpTCl3EdKpi6SodJjZd6-n4HnN2tkDjy0o0aFNjEBU88TP8wxqpq2ecVRqyoNvQXyPSsIVYqk9/s1600/Jeremy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFMb0SIm1SZzqY9S9spPYrdaNLIsCSwy4lWIDpBh0YRAeWCg8fdWRRfp9pAl45ovyIfwpTCl3EdKpi6SodJjZd6-n4HnN2tkDjy0o0aFNjEBU88TP8wxqpq2ecVRqyoNvQXyPSsIVYqk9/s640/Jeremy.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actually, this is a police sketch. I've still got a warrant out in the Tri-State Area over some bogus <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raging_Bully">illegal thumb-wrestling betting</a> charges. </td></tr>
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There are still lots of things to do in Canada, including among <i>many</i> other things finishing off the last part of my St. John's series. Expect mineshafts and icebergs in the days to come.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-35285741040648230942012-07-15T17:04:00.000-07:002012-07-15T17:04:22.725-07:00It's a bird! It's a plane! It's -- no it was just a plane.It was madness. Dozens, if not twos of dozens of cars were lined along the edge of old Highway 97. Eager, likely easily impressed hordes of locals (including yours truly, just so it's clear that I'm nothing special either) cameras in hand, hearts a-flutter from anticipation and probably also heat stroke, stood at the ready along the airport fence, awaiting the momentous arrival of a . . . big airplane:<br />
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This constitutes an event in Prince George. This town, as a collective unit, needs to get out more.<br />
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I can't wait until I'm in Shirakawa. <i>That's</i> where shit be happening', I just know it!Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-1444297577190182032012-07-06T10:25:00.003-07:002012-07-06T10:25:44.738-07:00I'm not a PC, I just play one on TV...I've finally begun to switch over from my old Dell Brick™ to a new MacBook Pro. I'm even writing this post on my new computer.<br />
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. . .so, whaddaya think? Does the blog feel more, like, user-friendly now? It damn well better.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-25512150031548686032012-07-04T14:08:00.002-07:002012-07-04T14:08:26.810-07:00Doin' the New-fun-go-go: Part #3<b>Day #3</b><br />
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The <a href="http://thenihongogo.blogspot.ca/2012/07/doin-new-fun-go-go-part-2.html">previous installment</a> of "Doin' the New-fun-go-go" was posted on July 1st. For most Canadians, July 1st is simply Canada Day, the holiday commemorating the signing of the British North America act and hence the birth of Canada as a more-or-less independent country. For Newfoundlanders, it's a bit more complicated. On July 1st, 1916-- nearly thirty-three years before Newfoundland joined Canada-- the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Regiment">Royal Newfoundland Regiment</a> was all but wiped out during the initial thrust of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme">Battle of the Somme</a>. In memory of this loss, July 1st was declared an official holiday in Newfoundland, called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day_%28Newfoundland_and_Labrador%29">Memorial Day</a>. Following Newfoundland's entry into Canada, Canada Day and Memorial Day were celebrated concurrently, with Memorial Day functions observed in the morning and Canada Day celebrated in the afternoon and evening.<br />
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Today, the U.S. celebrates Independence Day, which as it turns out could also have been a very interesting day for Newfoundland. In 1934, Newfoundland, which up until then had been an essentially independent Dominion like Canada, temporarily reverted to being a colony of Great Britain following a severe debt crisis. After the debt crisis was resolved in the 1940's, Newfoundland's future status was in doubt. Some in Newfoundland called for a return to Dominion status; others, including future Newfoundland premier Joey Smallwood, called for confederation with Canada. Then there was the unofficial third option: <a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/gallery/RedrawingNewEngland?pg=5">joining the U.S. as the 49th state</a>. This was a actually a pretty popular idea among Newfoundlanders, with 80% of the population wanting to join the union in a 1947 survey. It was not to be, though; Canada really, really wanted Newfoundland, and the U.S. really, really didn't.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Anyhoo. . . Whales! <br />
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Sorry for the shitty video quality. Here are some better quality photos to make up for it:<br />
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This was part of a boat tour that my sister and I took, and was the highlight of Day #3, for obvious reasons. I'm pretty sure that I did other stuff that day, but at this point the trip is becoming kind of a blur, so I'm just gonna skip to my fourth and final day in St. John's, which will be coming up in Part #4.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-54253854311597706032012-07-01T20:31:00.000-07:002012-07-01T20:32:34.540-07:00Doin' the New-fun-go-go: Part #2<b>Day #2: Oh Hai Benny!</b><br />
It's weird; I'd known for years that there was this weird little movie called "The Room," yet I never got around to actually seeing it until I came to St. John's. And yes, it really was because I went to a museum called "The Rooms." Ha ha ha, what a tool am I.<br />
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Anyway, I got up a little earlier on Day #2, but not much earlier. Fortunately, there's a restaurant in downtown St. John's called Nautical Nellies that offers delicious brunches, including smoked salmon Eggs Benedict ("Oh Hai Cheap Title Pun!"). <i>All served with a side of Newfoundland charac</i>-- and there goes the blood vessel in my brain as I realize I was about to write that.<br />
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Next, we went to St. Johns' most famous landmark: Signal Hill, the site of Marconi's historic transatlantic radio transmission, the final battleground of the Seven Year's War, the home of Cabot tower. . .<br />
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Yeah, there was a big dog:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And me, I guess. Look at that stupid smile.</td></tr>
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Next stop was Quidi Vidi, a small inlet just north of St. Johns' main harbor. First, we went for a tour of the Quidi Vidi Brewery, which, like everything in St. John's, is famous: <br />
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I'm not really a booze kind of guy, so I can't say with any authority whether or not Quidi Vidi's beer was truly great or not, but I liked the samples I tried. I do, however, know an eye-catching ad campaign when I see one:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hope this doesn't get me into copyright trouble. Or any other kind.</td></tr>
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After fooling around on the rocks for an hour or so, we went to the Inn of Olde pub for the main event of the evening: my screech in. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Screech">Screeching in</a> is the official welcoming ceremony to which newcomers to Newfoundland are subjected. It's actually fairly hard to describe. One thing I can say for sure that it's something you should try once, if not less.<br />
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There are two people involved in a screech in: master of ceremonies (here, the 4'7" owner/operator of Inn of Olde) and the victim (in this case, 6'7" me). First, both the victim and the MC don funny looking women's hats, because. . .<br />
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Then, the victim eats a whole smoked capelin, save for the tail, which the victim places in his back pocket. This, you see, is the only piece of tail the victim will get whilst in Newfoundland.<br />
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Next comes the oath, or the pledge, or the thingy the victim is supposed to say. Here, the MC quotes the oath and victim repeats it. Which sounds simple until you realize that the oath isn't in English; it's in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqLuIXwsLDw">Newfoundland English</a>, b'y. Oh, and the MC has a big wooden spoon ready to smack the victim on the cheek every time he makes a mistake.<br />
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After about fifteen minutes of this. . . oh, just look: <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I thought the fish was the only piece of tail I was getting in Newfoundland!</td></tr>
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The victim kisses a stuffed bird in the ass.<br />
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At last, the ceremony ends with the victim taking a shot of Newfoundland's <a href="http://www.refinedvices.com/famous-newfoundland-screech-rum">notoriously delicious</a> Screech rum. The victim and the MC then fill out an official document attesting the victim's status as a new citizen of Newfoundland. Unfortunately, I think I left mine on the dash of my sister's car. I'm actually really pissed off about that. All that work, all that suffering, and I leave the official proof in my sister's car.<br />
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Okay, I've been a little uncharitable in my description of screeching. Here's to show that there's no hard feelings:<br />
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Next time-- Day #3: Whales!Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-20789013593138212822012-06-26T12:24:00.001-07:002012-06-26T12:25:04.867-07:00Doin' the New-fun-go-go: Part #1Now begins the somewhat abridged summary of my trip to St. John's, Newfoundland<b>. </b><br />
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<b>Day #1: </b><br />
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I arrived at St. John's near midnight local time. After some delicious homemade chicken paprikash, I went to bed. I woke up at about noon-ish, still feeling a little groggy from the flight. This gave me my first chance to see my sister Naomi's house in the daylight:<br />
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To begin my first real full day in the city, Naomi and her boyfriend Josh took me out for lunch at the Keg (where he works), followed by a walk in St. Johns' downtown and harbor area:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown in St. John's</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMCS St. John's. And it's <i>in St. John's!</i> Ironic, no?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have a rule: publicly funded art should not remind me of the movie <i>Prometheus</i>. </td></tr>
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Next, Naomi's friend Ryano joined she and I at "The Rooms", St. Johns' museum of history, art and squid:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately, neither live nor giant.</td></tr>
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Of course, knowing that there was a place called "The Rooms" made me think of this:<br />
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Our next stop was Fort Amherst, near the mouth of St. John's harbor. Up until the end of World War II, St. John's was a fairly strategically important area, and the cliffs surrounding the harbor were lined with cannons and bunkers. Unfortunately, some of these sites have fallen into disrepair:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a found footage horror movie waiting to happen. . . </td></tr>
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Ft. Amherst also has a good view of Cape Spear, Canada's eastern-most point: <br />
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That's where we went next. Like Ft. Amherst, Cape Spear was lined with cannons and dilapidated bunkers: <br />
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Cape Spear is also home to the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador:<br />
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Afterward, we headed back to St. John's and I got to hang out with members of The Bloomsbury Group, a local band that Naomi plays in<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2897920458954969475#1" name="top1"><sup>1</sup></a>. I didn't take any pictures, as people talking to with one another in a dark house does not exactly make for striking photography. However, after a few hours of cribbage games and me turning down booze, we did end up going out for falafels, which allowed me to get this shot of St. John's at night:<br />
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Next time, Day #2.
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2897920458954969475" name="1"><b>1 </b></a>Oh, I did <i>not</i> just end that sentence with a fucking preposition!<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2897920458954969475#top1"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
</span>Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-69802472716196660832012-06-19T07:07:00.001-07:002012-06-19T07:08:11.749-07:00Dis is what we do up in Airport HeightsMy apologies for the delay. I've spent the last five days visiting my sister in St. John's, Newfoundland ("and Labrador," I guess. . .) and am now sitting in Ottawa airport on a four hour layover, eagerly awaiting my forty minute flight to Montreal and yet another four hour layover.<br />
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I'll be updating the blog with travel stories, pictures, and whatnot soon enough. For now, though, I'll just be uploading pics to my Facebook. But to give you preview of my adventures in North America's Oldest White-person City, I'll direct you to this: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Screech">Screeching in.</a><br />
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I did that.Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-42714908982706647942012-06-10T19:01:00.003-07:002012-06-14T18:04:41.121-07:00Things I still need to find out, part #1 of one assumes severalWhen I started this blog, I set myself the goal of publishing something new every one or two days. I figure that if I want to be any kind of professional writer, I'd better learn to meet a deadline, even if its self-imposed. Part of the problem with this is that sometimes I just feel like I don't have anything all that interesting to write about; other times, I have ideas that turn out to be too big for a single blog post, or that can't be properly developed in a single twenty-or-so-minute burst of typing. My hope is that I can learn to pace myself well enough so that I can have a regular stream of properly developed "big posts" with a few relatively smaller posts to keep things on moving.<br />
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With that in mind, here's quick list I wrote up today of things I still have to find out about living in Japan. <br />
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<b>1) How should I go about getting a mobile phone? </b><br />
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I want to get an iPhone 4s, to go along with the MacBook Pro I'm hoping to buy sometime this summer. From what I know, the only telecomm company in Japan that carries iPhones is SoftBank. Can I buy a unit here in Canada and bring it Japan, or will I have to buy the phone in Japan from SoftBank? Will I need to go to a big city like Koriyama to get an iPhone, or can I get one in Shirakawa? (if these questions seem a little naive, it's probably because I've never been on a smartphone plan before. . .)<br />
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<b>2) How do I get around in Shirakawa? </b> <br />
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What's public transit like in Shirakawa? Can I get a bike in Japan which will support a 6'7" frame? Will I need to drive to get around the district?<br />
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<i>Answer:</i> It looks like I'll need to buy a car. I've been told that the Shirakawa Board of Education might help me out with finding a car to purchase. This will be pretty cool, since driving in Japan is itself an new and alien experience.<br />
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They drive on the <i>left side. </i><br />
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It's a completely different kind of driving!<br />
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<b>3) Student Loans</b><br />
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How will I arrange for my student loans to keep getting paid? I probably find out more about this once I get my bank account set up, but it might not hurt to ask if anyone in JET paid their student loans while in Japan. I might also have to talk to the Canada student loan office.<br />
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<b>4) <i>Science!</i>™ ?</b><br />
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I know that many ALTs take part in volunteer activities not directly connected with their duties as English teachers. Are there any science-related activities, like science fairs, science/physics clubs, etc. that I could take part in? Are there any other JETs with scientific background?<br />
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I'll try asking these questions to some of the JET folks who've contacted me. Then, maybe, I'll post the answers I get, either in this post or a new one.<br />
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Also, if anyone here has answers, feel free to comment!Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-85569363446461793472012-06-08T13:13:00.000-07:002012-06-08T13:14:22.180-07:00I didn't know just how good JET would be for my social life. . .In the past two or three days I've received about a dozen friend requests and a handful of welcome messages from ALT's living in Fukushima. I've been invited to two Facebook groups, one for Fukushima prefecture ALTs, and a more exclusive group for ALTs in my part of Fukushima. It's like I've joined some kind of supportive community of something.<br />
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I'm starting to think this Zuckerberg fellow was on to something. . .Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-21397210729184842542012-06-06T17:36:00.004-07:002012-06-07T09:56:14.310-07:00The Narrow, Cracked Road to the NorthAs you may know (or should, if you read this blog's inaugural post) I've been placed in the "City of Shirakawa" in Fukushima prefecture to work as a JET ALT. Naturally, I've been poking around the Googles to learn a bit more about my future hometown.<br />
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There's actually not a sizable of info on Shirakawa.<a href="#1" name="top1"><sup>1</sup></a> This isn't too surprising, given that Shirakawa has a population of roughly sixty-six thousand (Prince George, by comparison, has a population of around seventy-seven thousand). So far, I've found a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirakawa,_Fukushima">page on Wikipedia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirakawa,_Fukushima">another page on Wikitravel</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/catpochi">a Youtube channel</a> belonging to a Shirakawa local, a couple of videos highlighting earthquake damage (see below), and a few scattered images of Komine castle, which I'll get to later.<a href="#2" name="top2"><sup>2</sup></a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eFN284ZGttc" width="560"></iframe>
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What's weirder is that info on Fukushima prefecture as a whole also appears to be pretty sparse-- besides the glowing green elephant in the room, I mean. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_prefecture">The Wikipedia page</a> has a few fairly brief sections on history, geography, culture, and tourism in Fukushima, along with the obligatory sections dedicated to the Tohoku Earthquake and its aftermath, but otherwise it's mostly just padded out with boring old lists of cities, rail-lines, and universities. Almost makes me wonder what Wikipedia's page on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Oblast">Kiev Province</a> looks like. . . <br />
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But again, the information available in Japanese probably vastly outweighs that which is available in English, so just I'll just chalk it up to laziness on my part. <br />
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Anyway, here's what I've found out about Shirakawa so far:<br />
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<b>The "City" of Shirakawa</b> <br />
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"County" or "District" would probably be a better word. From what I can tell from Google Earth and a couple of other sources, the region known as Shirakawa is a collection of small-to-medium sized towns, with large patches of countryside. It looks to be quite pretty in the summertime, from what I've seen so far.<br />
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<b>Komine Castle</b><br />
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Shirakawa's only landmark, if Google Images is to be trusted. Meaning "small peak castle," it was originally built in 1340, was destroyed in 1868, and rebuilt between 1991 and 1994.<br />
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<b>Ramen</b> <br />
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Shirakawa is famous for it's Ramen noodles. I am so there.<br />
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<b>Basho</b><br />
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The famous Japanese poet Basho wrote about his travels through Shirakawa as part of his classic poem <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oku_no_Hosomichi"><i>The Narrow Road to the North</i></a>. <b> </b><br />
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<b>Daruma</b><br />
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Dolls. That's all I know. They're dolls. I guess I'll learn more once I'm there.<br />
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<b>Radiation</b><br />
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Based on information provided by my Japanese teacher, the highest radiation levels in Shirakawa are just a little higher than that found on a high-altitude flight, so I'm not too worried.<br />
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So, yeah. That's what I know of Shirakawa thus far. Not much. Buy hey, suspense!<br />
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Until next time. <b> </b><br />
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<a name="1"><b>1 </b></a>In English, anyway. What, you expect me to <i>read Japanese?</i> Pssh.<a href="#top1"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<a name="2"><b>2 </b></a>I also found a blog called <a href="http://stephanie-japan.blogspot.ca/">Stephanie's Adventures in Japan</a> which, disturbingly, was last updated in February of 2011. . .<a href="top2"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<br />Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2897920458954969475.post-14480410815174632262012-06-04T17:32:00.000-07:002012-06-04T17:32:07.840-07:00Yookoso!Welcome to <i>Doin' the Nihon-Go-Go</i>, my new blog about Life, Japan, and everything that happens when those two things collide. Expect a new post every one or two days, because damn it, this time I'm gonna keep up.<br />
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If you're interested, you can visit my old blog, <a href="http://kyletookabulletforme.blogspot.ca/">Kyle Took a Bullet for Me</a>. <br />
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Also, Japanese!<br />
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こんにちは!僕の新しいブログにようこそ!それが「Doin' the Nihon-Go-Go」と言います。そのブログに日本の生活に書きます。そして、僕は日本語を練習するつもりです。Jeremy K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15670299563051946971noreply@blogger.com1