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Hey guys, I thought I would update the world on my move to Japan that I have already blogged about. It has been a bumpy road. A few weeks back I was told that there wouldn't be employment for me after I had been waiting for months and months. This was a huge blow since I had been feeling that the whole opportunity was representative of my luck changing, of my being on the rise after a rough couple of years. So basically I was crushed, but only remained so for a couple of days before I got good news again. The honest plea I decided to send instead of bile-filled communique I wanted to send elicited an offer to work as an alternate, going to Japan and waiting for something to come up. Since they offered to pay me even though there was not concrete offer this seemed pretty cool. Then everything got even better. I got a real placement that ended up being much better than anticipated.
So I'm flying to Hiroshima tomorrow. I'll be teaching Jr. High for at least 7 months and making 265,000 yen/month. I was under the impression for quite some time that positions in urban areas were much more competitive so I was resigned to working in the country. Living in Iowa for college taught me that I do better in bigger communities so my location is a pleasant surprise. I also feel that the salary is fairly good for someone with little experience in the ESL field. It seems like a great first time position and I'm very happy to have it.
I am very excited for the move. If anyone has any advice about living in Japan/Hiroshima I'd love to hear it. If anyone lives in Hiroshima and would like to meet up I'd be ecstatic. In any case, I will certainly post some blogs to share my adventures.
Wish me luck!
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Congrats on the job. Hiroshima is a lovely city, but I've been told that there is still a stigma in parts of a city against Americans.
I've only visited Hiroshima for about three days, so I can't comment too much on local culture. However, Osaka is just a few hours away iirc (maybe three by train), so you'll definitely have some opportunities to experience the much sought-after Japanese city life. I personally love Hiroshima food, I'd kill for a Hiroshima style okonomiyaki right now.
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Instead of posting a whole new blog with not a lot in it I'll just bump this baby.
I'm in Hiroshima and so far it has been amazing. Last night I didn't have any opportunity to see the city what with arriving 36 hours after I left without seeing the sun go down. I ended up drinking some vending machine beers, which are basically the best thing ever, with hostelmates and passing out. Today I climbed a steep hill into the park where the museum of contemporary art is. I decided to save the museum for another date since I really like modern art and I'm going to be living here for a while, but there were views of the city, strange plants and insects, and the rad sculpture gardens. Then I got super lost because I wandered too far off of my map and ended up in an area full of restaurants and unidentifiable (to me) buildings that were all closed because it was Sunday.
The place is hot. Not just hot but really humid. I have never lived near the sea and it's going to take some getting used to. It's not so bad in a park with shade and stuff to absorb heat or near a river where there's a big breeze channel, but in the concrete jungle the weather is like the metaphor.
Being in a city is going to be great. I knew it would be dense but it's crazy. There are all these tiny canyon roads between teetering towers with strange facets, patterns, and rusting scaffolds of airconditioners. The other big upside to the city is that I won't need to drive for my job. It seems scary.
Oh, and I'll be able to watch broodwar without staying up too late.
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tho!
I had no idea you were out of here so soon! I wish we'd had a chance to chill before you headed out. I hope your adventure is amazing!
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Yeah man, it was more sudden than I imagined it would be. I got the call about placement only 2 weeks ago pretty much. Come visit me homie ;p
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Just going to update again to avoid logging another blog tonight.
I'm living outside Hiroshima now. It's technically part of the city but I'm really in the boonies outside. I can't complain because there are single story buildings (!) and lovely vegetable gardens all over the place. I'm also only a 15-20 minute walk from some mountains I can hike in so I can hardly complain.
My train ride into the city is about 25 minutes and costs around 3 dollars. Sounds expensive but the city is worth every bit. I visited the Peace Museum today, a memorial to the atomic holocaust that destroyed the city so many years ago. The museum depressed and disgusted me, left me feeling terrible but somehow very glad that I visited it. If you are ever in Japan you ought to see that museum. Yesterday I checked out the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was small but well appointed. If you aren't into modern art I wouldn't recommend it, but at around 4 bucks for a ticket you can't really go wrong.
The downtown bar scene here is amazing but too nuanced for a blog post. If anyone ever visits Hiroshima, just send me a PM and I will point out some hotspots.
One thing that is easy to explain is how dope our local brand of okonomiyaki is. If you don't know about these "Japanese pankakes", they are basically sprouts, peanuts, scallions, noodles, bacon, perhaps other stuff, and whatever additional ingredients you order sandwiched between a thin layer of egg and a thin layer of batter and cooked on a griddle. The Hiroshima variation differs from ordinary okonomiyaki in that it is layered instead of mixed. There is an awesome place to get the stuff in the covered arcade-encrusted entertainment district. It's a 5 story building with nothing inside but dozens of tiny okonomiyaki places. Oishii!
I'm loving it here. If anyone is visiting Japan or has any questions about it, don't hesitate to ask.
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EPT
