Tuesday April 6, 2010 9:00 pm JST
I am starting to feel like the boy who cried wolf, but seriously this time, I think tomorrow is the day the ball is finally going to get rolling here in Sendai. Unless something drastic happens (which my Japanese track record shows is actually quite likely), tomorrow will be my first day as an English Instructor in Miyagi First High School. Deep breath in…hold…and exhale. Here we go. :-)
I would say that tomorrow is the day that my journey here really begins, but I’ve definitely decided that my journey’s beginning has nothing to do with the start date of my official employment. I feel like my life had been leading to this point long before I even decided to come to Japan; it has all been one, intertwined and incredible experience that has made me who I am. Even though I haven’t begun what I came here to do professionally, my adventure really began a long time ago...and really, I’d say that the past couple of weeks have been pretty adventurous. ;-)
I am still crashing a storage room in Sendai, but it really has been an incredible experience. I don’t know how pessimists do it—I can’t imagine trying to focus on everything that goes wrong all the time; it’d be exhausting. I'm having a lot more fun looking at what unique opportunities my challenges are providing for me and honestly, I’m having a blast here. I am staying with the Hosoi family and they are kind, warm, and loving people. Hosoisan (adding “san” to the end of the name is the Japanese version of Mr. or Mrs.) is a wonderful woman and an excellent cook. I haven’t had a chance to be hungry yet! I am definitely going to need to start taking notes on how to cook Japanese food because it is amazing, and usually much healthier than most American-style cooking. The fact that I can’t read any labels on goods in the grocery store may be a problem though...!
I was hoping to be settled into my apartment by now, but my manager called Hosoisan the day after I got to Sendai and told her that the company wasn’t having any luck in their apartment-search for me. At this point, I really began evaluating the level of my confidence in my employer—ha ha. Thankfully, Hosoisan offered to take me apartment-hunting over the weekend! We found a couple apartments, but real estate is absolutely unreal out here and none of the options were very realistic. She has told me a few times that she would love me to stay with her in her home, but I don’t know if that is a feasible option either.
Hosoisan and her husband have three darling children: Takashi (15), Rinako (11), and Mirika (3). Also, Hosoisan has converted two rooms in her house into classrooms, where students and teachers come in the evenings as a cheaper alternative to standard private tutoring sessions rampant throughout Japan called “Juku,” or “cram school.” Juku is very expensive and so only the wealthy families can afford to send their children to the evening cram sessions of extra lessons and homework to strengthen academic performance. Needless to say, this house is very, very busy all the time and it can get pretty chaotic (hmm, sounds like my house in Bountiful :-D), but it’s a lot of fun and it’s definitely giving me a front-row seat in observing/experiencing Japanese culture.
The only downside is that I don’t have any place to call my own, so I constantly feel like a bit of a burden. Hosoisan has never implied that I am getting in the way and she has been absolutely wonderful to me, but I feel like a mooch every time I want to shower, use the Internet, or eat. If I stayed here, she would have to empty one of the classrooms and set up a space for me, so I would really be putting her out of a room in her home. Plus, she and her family share one bathroom and I don’t want to get in the way as the six of us crowd around in the mornings to get ready for work and school. Another concern I have is that her husband is very traditional-Japanese and I don’t think he is completely comfortable with a foreigner staying in his home. He has been kind to me and even mentioned to me that I could stay with them, but I wonder if I would quickly wear out my welcome. I love having such an intimate view of Japanese life and I wanted to be close to the people here…I just wonder if actually moving into Hosoisan’s home would be a little too close.
I know it will all come together soon and I’m not going to waste my night worrying about it. Tomorrow is going to be an incredible day and I want that to be my focus right now. I will concentrate on housing this weekend—right now it’s time to forget myself and go to WORK!
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