Welcome to my Crib ;)

All right, so here is the long-awaited post! Now you get to see where I be living at!!!

Yamaguchi is located on the western-most tip of Honshu, the main island of Japan. You see that little island off the east coast of Yamaguchi? The one that looks like a goldfish? That's Suo-oshima island...my island home :) I live on the base of the "tail" of the goldfish. The island is connected to mainland Yamaguchi by a land-bridge (thank goodness! I get super seasick!) It's about a 30 min drive from my house to the bridge. I usually drive to Yanai city, which is another 10-15 min drive west towards Tokuyama. Just up past Iwakuni, more up north, is Hiroshima...so I'm actually pretty close!

Suo-oshima is a merger of 4 towns (Oshima, Kuka, Tachibana, and Towa) as of October 2004. I live in Towa! There are a lot of old people on the island...lots. But they are all really friendly. When I go running, they will acknowledge me by bowing and yell out "Gambatte!" which means "Do your best!". So cute :) As of 2008 there was an estimated 20,163 people living on the island. Towa, where I live, used to hold the Guiness Book of World Records title for most old people living together. Yeah, my town sure knows how to party!!! :)

The island is known for its production of oranges and sashimi. It also has a bunch of cool stuff including a Jamaican restaurant, hand gliding center, Hawaii Visitors Center (lots of people immigrated from Suo-oshima to Hawaii to work in the sugarcane fields), Ryuzaki onsen, and good camping grounds and beaches. Haven't gotten to explore all of it yet, but I am definitely going to try out that hand gliding! There are 2 supermarkets (that close at 7pm I think...), 3 7-11s (the closest one to me is a 10 min drive!), and 1 little store for shopping (it's really small!). 

Me and Erin at the Jamaican 'rhasta'raunt! (The jerk chicken was excellent)

So now, onto the crib...

My apartment is pretty nice, thanks to the countless female JETs who preceded me. I was happy to find lots of blankets, towels, soap, toilet paper, pads, etc. in the closet. I was also provided a printer, TV, washing machine, iron, hair dryer, and heater, and nabe table (!!!) which was excellent. I only pay $150 per month for rent, so that's not too shabby either! I'm on the 2nd floor which is great because I hear there are a lot of centipedes on the ground floor! EEK! I also have a BED! Some of the other JETs that have let me crash don't have beds, they have to sleep on the tatami floors. I'm still looking for a super soft comforter and pillow (Japanese pillows are made of ROCKS I tell you!) but I have a couple more months before it starts getting super cold.

So yeah, take a look at my place...hope you enjoy!

This is my living room! Notice the new speakers on my desk? Hehe, yeah, that was a gift from me to me :)

My bedroom...yup, my stuffed animals are there too! A spider lives in the closet by the mirror there on the right, but we have an agreement: If he stays in the closet, then he gets to eat all the bugs and I won't kill him.

This is my mini hallway. Once you enter the apartment, take a left, and this is what you will see! The shower is straight ahead, while the toilet room is on the right, as well as the sink room. Why are they separate anyway?

Oh yeah, TOP CHEF baby! So no oven, but I do have a mini toaster-type thing sitting on top of my microwave on the right side of the picture. Tiny fridge (which I accidentally unplugged one night and had to buy everything all over again!), gas stove, sink...yup, this is where I make my masterpieces!

And this is my toilet room. It's one of those super cool Japanese toilets! There's a little electronic box above the toilet paper that controls it. It can spray your butt with water, blow dry it, massage it, and of course...flush the toilet, all at the touch of a button! I love technology :)

Can't forget the Japanese-style bathtub. It's tiny, but at least there's hot water!

And lastly, onto the wheels...

This is Koji, my 1997 Suzuki Alto. He may be old...and not too fast...but he's super small and cute. The muffler light goes on and off occasionally and the CD deck is always on repeat and only plays when it wants to, but the AC works and I get to wear one of those cool JDM driver stickers :P Yeah, I top off at 80 km/h...sweet? I know ;) I got him for $1100 and had to pay an extra $700 for insurance (2x year). Gas up here is around $6.36 per gallon. We'll save my driving adventures for another post!

This is Koji. I named him after this really cute little boy from English camp. Koji was smaller than all the other boys there, but he was one of the coolest and had a big heart. Good comparison eh?

Yeah, I'm all JDM out...I know ;)

This place may seem small and in the middle of no where, but the sunsets are to die for. I love to just drive towards the setting sun on my way to Yanai and admire the beautiful scenery and beautiful people of Suo-oshima. I am happy with my placement here! :) 

Oshima Camp!!!

The staff and kids of Oshima English Camp 2009!!!

So I was given an incredible privilege to help out at a summer English camp from Sunday, Aug 23 - Tuesday, Aug 25 at Tachibana Wind Park. 13 students from middle and high schools all across Suo-oshima Island (where I live!) came for a time of fun, games, food, beach, and...English! The purpose of the camp was to immerse the kids with English conversation. A whole bunch of other ALTs came too, making the camp lots of fun!

Sunday, Aug 23, 2009

We got to meet all the kids and played a whole bunch of fun games. There was a scavenger hunt game, as well as an obstacle course game. We also broke up into "families" to prepare a skit that would be performed on the last day of camp. The theme was centered around Disney stories. My family was awesome! Except we only had one kid...Keiju! He's the best! Poor thing though...I'm sure he wanted to be with his friends. We also had this kinda creepy Japanese English teacher, Makoto, but I guess he was ok. Heh.

Me, Keiju, Kota, and Yuki

Monday, Aug 24, 2009

The next day was awesome! We made posters about different questions that the kids had to ask each other in English. We also had to give speeches (kids in English, staff in Japanese) to the other campers. My speech partner was Ibuki, a super smart and sweet girl from Kuka Jr. High School. She was so great, and her English is super good! We talked about all kinds of stuff and she taught me some cool games and Japanese phrases.

Ibuki was by far the coolest kid EVER!!!!

We also played a whole bunch of rounds of DODGEBALL. Odd, no one here calls it 'shambattle'. Isn't that strange??

For lunch we all worked together to cook some grilled chicken enchiladas...or were they quesadillas? A real Mexican treat for the kids, complete with guacamole and tortilla chips. Delicious. Hehe, some of the kids didn't even touch the guacamole. I don't blame them...if someone offered me green Japanese mush, I'd probably pass as well ;)

We then headed for the BEACH! It was so much fun! The water was nice and clear and there was a wall that you could jump off of. Only junk thing was that you had to use the rope to climb back up...and the wall was full of sharp barnacles. So worth it though ;)

Mitsuko, Al, Yumi, Me, and Ibuki hanging out at the beach

Me getting ready to launch myself off the wall! (Thanks Cyndi for the awesome pic!)

For dinner we had Korean style BBQ...yakiniku! That was my most favorite meal! There was chicken, beef, pumpkin, cabbage, hot dog (it was actually fish though...weird stuff), and so much more! For dessert, we made smores with the smallest marshmallows in the world...and ritz crackers as a substitute for graham crackers (which was freaking DELICIOUS by the way!)

Our camp "family"...Makoto, Me, Al (Well, Al wasn't in our family...he wanted to be w/us though..hehe), Isaac, Keiju, and Kris

We worked on our skits for the rest of the night before going to sleep. We also got a chance to write letters to the kids of our families and game groups. So cute!

Tuesday, Aug 25, 2009

We had fish for breakfast...but it actually tasted pretty good! Then we went about exchanging our letters. 4 kids wrote to me! Awww I felt so special! I was only suppose to get 1...from Keiju! After, each group performed their skit. Ours was about Aladdin (played by Keiju) trying to get away from Jasmine (played by Isaac) by asking the Genie (played by Makoto) to send him to different places around the world, including Indiana, Hawaii, and Japan. Jasmine follows him everywhere...but Aladdin is over her because she just let herself go after the real movie. Aladdin ends up staying in Japan since Jasmine is scared of "mukade," which is Japanese for centipedes. (I played the centipede..hehe) Kris was the narrator. We did an awesome job! Too bad we didn't get 1st place :(

After, we played...you guessed it...MORE DODGEBALL! Some of the kids were really good! I was impressed :) Then there was a closing ceremony with the vice principal of Oshima High School. They also handed out prizes to the different groups that won certain challenges. Our group won the relay race prize! Whoo hoo Elmo bandaids rock! Then it was the end of the camp :( So much fun...to bad it ended so soon. The kids were the greatest EVER. I really hope I get to see and work with them again!

Kayo (a Japanese English teacher) and Me at campfire

Shrimp HO!!!!!

So I was able to experience something very different and unique here in Japan...the 19th Annual World Shrimp Catching Championships at Chudo Beach in Aio of Yamaguchi!

The whole team ready to catch some SHRIMP!

On Sat, Aug 22, 2009 a whole group of us went down to an amazing beach just south of Yamaguchi City to participate. It's an amazing event with hundreds of shrimp-catching enthusiasts lining the beach, ready to catch as many shrimp as possible within 30 minutes.

First, everyone lines up and helps carry crates full of shrimp to the ocean, which is netted off so that the little guys can't escape.

It's a team effort getting all 100,000+ shrimp into the water

Then, everyone makes a line and gets ready for the fun! When the alarm sounds, everyone does a mad dash to the ocean! 

Whoever catches the most shrimp wins! The average person can catch 7-10 shrimp. If you catch 60+ shrimp, you're advised to count them all so that you can enter in for a chance to win some SWEET prizes. The record is around 118 or so I believe.

Me and Daryl looking for shrimp in the murkiest of waters!

These little critters are HUGE! At least 6 inches long. And they have a little horn sticking out from their head...like a unicorn shrimp :) Apparently, they use this horn to burrow under the sand. All you have to do is run your hand through the bottom of the sand bed and pull 'em out (kinda like weeds!) and place them in your bag. We got plastic bags, bandanas, and gloves for the event. Some people had snorkel masks, nets...all kinds of stuff!

It was such an amazing experience! AND we got interviewed by TV crews! So cool! Didn't see the segment air but I'm sure it was excellent. 

So how many did I end up catching? 10? 50? ...lOl, no, I just caught one. And here he is!

I named him Willy...but sadly, I did not free him...he was delicious tho :)

And they said we could eat whatever we caught. So yup, I got to eat...one :) Delicious though! They just washed 'em and hopped 'em on the grill! It was soooo much fun! I definitely want to do it again! So glad I went! :)

Gloves...check...bandanas...check...plastic bag...check...LET'S GO!

live from japan...it's WEDNESDAY NIGHT!!! (Lame? Maybe just a bit...)

ALOHA FROM YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN!!!

Me, Erin, and Isaac goofing off at karaoke

It has been one crazy month here in Japan! I just recently got internet, so now I can tell you all about it! And I have the pictures and videos to prove it! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to see the world and get in touch with my "Japanese" side...heh.

TOKYO ORIENTATION

Aug 2 - Aug 5, 2009

Matt, Me, and Travis snacking outside of Lawsons     

The Hawaii JETs at breakfast at Keio Plaza

The greatest roommates EVER!!! Nicole, Robyn, and Me :)

My airplane buddy Jenna and Me snacking before our tiny Keio dinner

The JET Orientation in Shinjuku, Tokyo was INCREDIBLE! I got to meet people from all over the world. The Keio Plaza where we stayed was beautiful and surrounded by incredible restaurants and shops. We went to various workshops and lectures designed to help us with our transition to life in Japan. We were given the option of choosing which workshops we attended to personalize the orientation to our own needs. I attended workshops like 'Driving in Japan', 'Independent Japanese Study', 'JETs Teaching at Multiple Schools', 'Elementary School Visits for ALTs', and 'Travel as a JET'. Some were great...some were...uh...zzzzzzz.

I met so many great people there! I had the greatest roommates EVER! Both Robyn and Nicole are from Hawaii. I also met a whole bunch of other JETs from Hawaii, Canada, the States, 

England, Antigua, New Zealand, ...everywhere really! Did you know England is on an island?! Yeah...so did I...yeeeeah.

 

The workshops ended by 8pm, so we were free to do whatever we wanted after. On the 1st night, I went with my roommate Robyn and some friends to eat dinner at this cool joint where you put your order in a machine and wait like 4 min before they bring out your food. It was EXCELLENT! Plus, no tip to worry about!

Robyn and Me eating our $5 donburi!!!

The greatest prefecture EVER!! LOL...this is us sober before the haunted house event.

(L to R front: Me, Monica, and Rachel)

(L to R back: Michael, Isaac, Amy, Daryl, Chris, and Sarah)

On the 2nd night, I got to hang out with the people who would be living in Yamaguchi...with me! They are incredible people with diverse backgrounds! We went to a "haunted house" themed bar/lounge. There's this thing called "nomihodai" which is pretty much all you can eat/drink for $40. Every hour or so, the lights will turn off and people dressed up as monsters come in and try to scare you. The drinks were served in test tubes, medicine bottles, beakers, ...a scientists dream come true! It was corny but lots of fun. The service was a tad bit slow...but again, it was lots of fun!

Test tube shots!!! :)

Rachel, Me, and Daryl at the haunted house bar/lounge

The last night I went out with my roommates and a friend from the Yamaguchi prefecture, as well as his roommate. We walked around looking for places to shop and eat. It was lots of fun! I wish we could have stayed in Tokyo longer! Guess I just have to go back when everyone comes to visit me from Hawaii *wink*

Alejandro, Robyn, and Nicole pausing for a picture

Me and Sunny having a chopstick battle (we got kicked out of the restaurant for doing this btw...j/k! No but seriously...)

WELCOME TO THE GUCH!

Aug 5, 2009

We left for Haneda airport SUPER early in the morning...like at 7:30am I think. We flew from Haneda airport to Ube airport in Yamaguchi. It was like an hour plane ride, not too bad. My supervisor, Okamura-sensei, picked me up from the airport and drove me 2.5 hours to my island home...Suo-oshima! (I'll have another post about my home later!)

Okamura-sensei and Me at the airport! Our 1st meeting! How special!!

YAMAGUCHI JETS ARE THE GREATEST BUNCH OF KIDS EVER

Aug 6 - Aug 7, 2009

I only had one day to settle in before I was rushed back to the main Yamaguchi City for Yamaguchi JET Orientation, geared specifically toward living and working in Yamaguchi. It was a 2 day, 1 night event. A lot of what was covered in Tokyo was covered again here. I got to meet a lot of the repeating JETs living in Yamaguchi. That night, we all went to a nomihodai event and then on to KARAOKE! Lots of fun...lots of drinks...good times ;)

Dustin, Daryl, and Sherese...some of the coolest JETs out there representing 3 different countries (Canada, England, and Antigua!)

The Suo-Oshima team: Whitney and Me! Whit does high school and I do elem/middle school

Christina, Rachel, and Me...y'know how some ppl just click when they meet? Exactly so.

Group B representing!!! I love my group :)

The following day, I got to hang out with some of the repeating JETs. Whitney, another JET living on "the Island" picked me up and we all road tripped it to Iwakuni...about a 30 min drive from the island's bridge. We went to a castle in Iwakuni, had curry flavored ice cream, and skipped rocks along the river tops. It was a great day and the water was beautiful.

Skipping rocks and having a blast

Me, Whit, and Zile posing in front of a very historic bridge

SHIMONOSEKI VS MOJI...ROUND 1!

Aug 13, 2009

The following week a bunch of us met up in Shimonoseki to watch the big fireworks show (one of the biggest in Japan I hear!) Every year apparently Shimonoseki competes with Moji (in Fukuoka on the other side of the waterway) to see who has the bigger, better fireworks show. I think Shimonoseki won ;) 

Zile, Amy, and Me w/our authentic yukatas. Amy ties bows very well (u just can't see it in this pic tho)

The whole Yamaguchi JET gang at the Shimonoseki Fireworks Festival

We went to a karaoke place afterwards and then a bunch of us slept over a fellow JET's (Dustin's) house. The next day, a couple of us took the train to Hakata, Fukuoka for a day of udon, shopping, and temples. We took the Shinkansen back home...it was SOOOO FAST! A 3 hour ride easily turned into a 30 min ride. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It really is like riding an airplane...except it's on the ground.

Erin and Me outside of a very historic temple in Fukuoka...we hungry in this pic...and HOT!

Me and Alejandro riding the SHINKANSEN!! I wanna go fast! :)

Stay tuned for more of Tiff's incredible Japanese adventures! I'll have a post about my island and the Aido Beach Shrimp Catching Festival real soon.

Challenge: The average person catches around 7-10 shrimp. Guess how much Tiff caught! The answer when we return! :)