So much to learn

     I've learned a lot since coming here, but I still have a long way to go....

    One of the best ways to learn is to experience things for yourself, right? So here I am, on this crazy journey of living by myself in a foreign country. Sometimes, I think I'm insane to have come here, out of my comfort zone and into the unknown. There are also times that I think applying for JET was the best decision I've ever made.

     I was hired as an assistant English teacher -- the native English speaker in the classroom. While I've been able to answer some grammatical questions my coworkers and students have asked, I don't feel like I've been very helpful in my position yet. I often feel as if I'm just in everybody's way, bumbling around aimlessly. This job is kind of a strange one, if you think about it. Here I am, trying to master a new language, adjust to a new culture, making my apartment feel like home, being away from friends and family, having a job completely different from my previous one, and learning the way each of the 14 teachers I work with want me to teach, despite having no real prior teaching experience and not being able to understand 95% of what people are trying to say to me.....

       I feel a lot more like a student than a teacher.

       There are a decent number of foreign students at my current school who have recently moved here to Japan with their families from countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, etc. Most of them can't speak Japanese very well, so they meet up every day with part-time teachers/city hall workers that can speak enough of their fluent language to answer questions they have about their homework assignments, as the instructions are usually all in Japanese. Tuesday, I talked with a few girls, in English, about effective ways to study Japanese and laughed about awkward experiences we've had adjusting to the culture. Thursday, I got to meet with a few students who were going over some Japanese grammar. I went through and did some of the Japanese study worksheets they had been doing, and they laughed as I struggled through it, not because of the questions, but because of misunderstanding the instructions.

     I feel like I bonded with those foreign students and, now they wave to me as I walk past them, with smiles on their faces because they know that, even though I'm technically a teacher, we have a lot in common. We're fighting to understand this wild, new world around us and find our places in it.

     Speaking of having a lot to learn.....here are some things I've learned so far:

               1) In the summer (and even into the fall), you must wear a tank top or some sort of layer underneath your shirt to soak up/mask sweat. Otherwise, you will get sweat stains. I didn't know it was possible to sweat this much. Don't think you are exempt from this. I thought I'd be ok, since I hardly ever sweated back home. I was wrong. It was embarrassing.
               2) Carrying around a small hand towel or some Kleenex/napkins in your pocket, purse, or backpack is always a good idea. Many public restrooms don't have paper towels and you may want to dry your hands. Some restrooms don't have toilet paper (I haven't run into that problem yet, thankfully). In the summer, you may want to wipe off some of that sweat. Some restaurants give you little to no napkins with your meal. The benefits of having a towel/napkins are endless. It is very common in the summer to see Japanese people walk around town with a towel around their neck.
              3) When you go to the grocery store, the cashiers will usually not give you any sort of bag for your groceries. At my local grocery store, you may purchase a plastic bag for 5 yen. This is obviously not something you want to have to do every single time, so investing in a reusable shopping tote, preferably something insulated, is a good idea. I usually just load up my backpack.
              4) If you leave any sort of food scraps around, especially anything with sugar or grease, there is a good chance you will visited by a cockroach. The chance is greater if you are on the ground floor of your apartment complex or if you're in a rural area.
              5) Be extremely careful when walking and/or riding your bike in Japan. Roads can be very narrow and drivers don't always look both ways. By the way, that sidewalk you're riding on is actually a road.....surprise!
             6) You can pay your bills at your local convenience store, which is very....convenient!
             7) If you are like me, and prefer white meat chicken over dark, karaage is probably not for you. Instead, go for chikin katsu (chicken cutlet). Also, KFC's crispy chicken strips are white meat. Yay!
             8) In Japan, it isn't dangerous to eat raw eggs. Japanese people do this quite often, actually. Apparently, the eggs here are good quality and are kept clean, so it's not a big deal.... I'm personally still weirded out by this, though.
              9) Ramen itself is considered a Chinese food, not a Japanese food. However, there are flavors and types of ramen that were created in Japan, such as miso ramen (and cup ramen :-P).
            10) If you put in sugar in your tea, especially green tea, you'll probably get some weird looks.
             
I'm sure there are even more things on top of this that I just can't remember right now.
Oh, Japan... <3

  I hope everyone is doing well! :) See you later.