Living the viva Yonago

Flew from Tokyo to Yonago day before yesterday morning. Has it only been 2 days?

On the flight, Pam(the British girl who also lives in Yonago around the BOE building, short red hair, the proprieter of missing luggage) and Simona(philosophy major from Iowa, girl with very diaphramic voice) both commented on Cryptonomicon that led to further conversations. Who would’ve thought that reading Neal Stephenson would add increments to my social life as well?

Lunch with Honda-sensei, Tokunaga(sp?)-sensei, Amy, and Tanaka-san at some Italian restaurant. Jen from Seattle was also there at the same restaurant with her group. Decent chatter considering the language barrier.

Moved into Belletopia (pics and dscp to come) the same afternoon. Honda-sensei and Tanaka-san stayed until gas and telephone were activated. Amy and I went on a brief biking excursion/orientation.

The same night, Sarah, a 1-year ex-ALT who lived in the other building came by and invited us to Doma-Doma, a Japanese restaurant in restaurant row with English menus with pictures, apparently the key to Yonago survival. There we met Kean(sp?), an Irish guy starting/working an English conversation class, and Karyn(sp?), a neo-hippy 3rd-year ALT from Northeridge, who was obviously stoned. Wow, did not think dialated pupils come this easily in Japanese countryside. 2 beers later Sarah drove us home.

Yesterday, got oriented at the train station with Honda-sensei and Amy in the morning. It’s going to cost 1.4 mon yen every month (after commuter discount) to ride the train (480 yen each way) to school.

Went to school, met the teachers and some of the students, whose names would take months for me to remember. The school only has ~150 students, but the architecture is marvelous, comparable even to sections of Stanford campus. There will be plenty to write about the school later so I won’t do it now.

Unable to start a bank account without proof of address, Honda-sensei and I went to the sake joint owned by Hata-san, a friendly woman in her 50s. The Hata family grow their own rice (in the rice paddies across the street from the shop) and brew their own sake. The shop is right in front of the Nakayama train station, with a tea house on the second floor, so I’m sure I will be spending a lot of time hanging out there. Got passport photos and shopped at an electronic store (for a next-to-useless TV antenna) and 100yen store afterwards. Honda-sensei treated me to cake and tea before she dropped me off, as a belated birthday present of sorts, at an immaculate dessert shop appropriately called Libido.

Biked along the beach with the other Yonago JETs. Myself, Amy, Pam, Majinder, Tyler, Adam, and Courtney were led by a current JET Suzana. Caught ¼ of a sunset, saw some sea cockroaches and jellies.


View from the beach.


Tyler, Pam, and Majinder.


Possible culprit from my swollen left index (see the next entry on 7/30)

Bought a few cans and hung out at Courtney’s apartment, in the same building as Tyler. A much bigger space than mine. Very animated discussion about Bush and war ensued, which I declined to take part.


Left to right: Courtney, Amy, Corinne, and Tyler. On the floor in Courtney's oversized pad.

Corinne came by later and we all went out to a Jamaican hole-in-the-wall bar for the barternder’s birthday and drank. Scott, a guy from Indiana who’s been here for 12 years were present for the festivities also. I think I had a little bit too much oolong-hai, which is oolong tea and sho-shu (burning-wine in Kanji, which I understand to be sake on steroids, bout 40-50 proof) and tasted just like tea. Drank enough to bring out some of my patented steps.

If not for Amy I would not have made it back home on the bike. Woke up the next morning, naked and hung-over around 8am, with a mysteriously big puddle of water on the kitchen floor, in which my bag was soaked. Very strange indeed.