I finally feel settled in at work. The students are starting to chat with me more, and the staff are making more comments with me. It's interesting because the boys seem to talk to me more than the girls. I think the girls are too shy and when I try to talk to them they just squeal, "KAWAII!!!" It's amusing to say the least. So if I were hideous to look at, would they talk to me more?? They know I understand most of what they say, but beyond a question regarding the lesson, they won't really say more than "Hello." I think the pressure of always being scrutinized, however, will never go away. I don't feel this when I am at school. I feel this when I'm walking in the area before and after school, even if there are no students in the streets. I guess part of it comes from the fact that I know that Japanese housewives can be gossips and have quite the spying eyes. In addition, the PTA is highly involved at the school, of course. I won't even take my phone out to check messages while I'm walking because I think they might disapprove of that if they see me doing that. Basically, a teacher shouldn't do something the students shouldn't do, i.e. crossing the street when the crosswalk light is red, etc. And as a foreigner, I stand out in a residential area 10x more than the other teachers. So I just wait until I am A. on the bus or B. out of the area completely if I decide to walk home that day. Once I've crossed over into my own territory, I feel the scrutiny disappear almost immediately. I probably have no need to feel like I'm being watched like a hawk, but I can't shake it. Why? Because at training they basically drilled that concept into our heads: you will be noticed and observed. If the parents see something they don't like, they'll tell your JTE, who will then not say anything directly, etc. I guess I just like to play it safe in the end.
That aside, I have finally received a part-time offer from AEON Corporate! Yay! Once a week I'll be teaching business English of some sort to some people at a company not too far from my house by train. So it'll be super easy to get there after work and then back home. I'm really excited, because once that pay starts, my overall monthly salary will go back up to about 1-man yen short of my previous salary. The Corporate guys seem really cool and I actually liked teaching business English classes before. It'll be nice to have real conversations with students again. I don't know much about the actual class content yet though, and that varies by client. Either way, the offer came at a good time.
Which kind of leads into my next topic, networking. Situation 1: Recently, a university friend of mine asked me to help him out with a website gig for his boss. It wasn't paid, but I was interested in the project, and my friend knew nothing about design and very little about coding, and needed help. So we sat down, designed it, and I got the coding started for him. We were discussing his business and my work etc., which led him into the conversation of his boss wanting to open some kind of trading business with the States and here. It was quite interesting, as his boss is wanting to target foreign women and hire foreign women. That's a first for me to hear something like that in Japan to be honest. I mentioned I would like to get out of teaching at some point in the future. So my friend got to chew on that. Then a few days later he calls me up asking to find out some information on product target locations etc. for this start-up business. I tell him I'll get back to him and when I have some info I pass it along. My friend then tells me that he told his boss he should hire me when he gets this thing started. Haha. I was like, "That's awesome!" So, basically, when his boss starts his new business, I'm gonna hear more about it. Situation 2: I was offered a chance to do some freelance editing work for a really good company through a person I met last year. It's a one-time thing, but if the client likes the way I do the job, if they need an editor again (quite likely), they could basically just hire me out directly, rather than through a proofreading company. And the pay is pretty good, considering it will be a 4-day job. The point of my discussing these two situations it that networking is slowly starting to pay off here. As a foreigner, if you don't network with Japanese people, and get to know Japanese people, it is going to be much more difficult to get opportunities that could get you out of teaching, even if you are not very fluent in Japanese. I like teaching, a lot actually, but I do want to give myself a chance for some career advancement, which is not so often in teaching English. The two situations are very small and might not lead to anything, but the people will meet me, I will meet them, and have a new contact. Network, meet more locals, and small opportunities like these will probably present themselves unexpectedly. These two situations were certainly unexpected.
On a lighter note, I get to go to Kamakura on a day trip next week! I'm super excited cause this will give the kids a chance to talk to me outside of the classroom. I'll also get to talk to the staff more, and just do some sightseeing for pretty cheap. It's also getting me out of the classroom as well. Hehe. I've been to Kamakura several times, but not really as a 'tourist.' So hopefully the weather will be nice and we'll have a good time.
-Rizu
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Spring: Japan vs. Texas
I don't really have an interesting topic to discuss today. ALT work is pretty much a repetitive thing. It's not quite as repetitive as AEON was, because I do get to choose which activities I do in class and make the lesson plan, and the teachers so far have me teaching the entire 50 minutes.
I just thought I would voice my opinion about the weather compared to Texas this time of year. It's been on my mind these past few weeks. Even though I am in the beginnings of my second year here, the weather still surprises me. In central Texas, we basically have two seasons: Winter and Summer. There really isn't much of an in-between period. The weather just fluctuates hot and cold until it finally flips the switch. For example, two weeks ago it was in the 30C range and then a week later the temperature dropped down to like 10C in less than 24 hours. The fluctuations are usually pretty extreme until the cold fronts finally die out. Whereas here, the weather is just barely getting over the 20C mark. I'm still waking up to a pretty cold apartment and wearing sweaters out and about. This morning it was like 10C outside and I was pretty cold. It wasn't cold enough to bring out the coat, but a sweater wasn't enough either. It's times like these that I feel my wardrobe is completely ill-suited for spring. At home, the weather doesn't steadily stay at an in-between range long enough to warrant stocking in proper spring sweaters etc. I always feel like my clothes are either too heavy or too light. -sigh- Basically, I need to go shopping and update my closet. If money grew on trees...
Either way, I absolutely love having this actual spring weather. I don't need my AC, so my electric bill is super cheap, and I can walk outside most days without breaking a sweat. However, my Texas brain still keeps telling me, 'Why is it cold? It's May! I should be swimming at the beach by now!' I HATE summer, to be honest. I hate the heat and the humidity and the sweating, but I guess growing up with a wretched 40C every day summer kind of gets ingrained into your mind, and when the seasons don't change the way you feel they should, it surprises you.
I guess that's all I have to say today. Weather, I know right? Lame.
-Rizu
I just thought I would voice my opinion about the weather compared to Texas this time of year. It's been on my mind these past few weeks. Even though I am in the beginnings of my second year here, the weather still surprises me. In central Texas, we basically have two seasons: Winter and Summer. There really isn't much of an in-between period. The weather just fluctuates hot and cold until it finally flips the switch. For example, two weeks ago it was in the 30C range and then a week later the temperature dropped down to like 10C in less than 24 hours. The fluctuations are usually pretty extreme until the cold fronts finally die out. Whereas here, the weather is just barely getting over the 20C mark. I'm still waking up to a pretty cold apartment and wearing sweaters out and about. This morning it was like 10C outside and I was pretty cold. It wasn't cold enough to bring out the coat, but a sweater wasn't enough either. It's times like these that I feel my wardrobe is completely ill-suited for spring. At home, the weather doesn't steadily stay at an in-between range long enough to warrant stocking in proper spring sweaters etc. I always feel like my clothes are either too heavy or too light. -sigh- Basically, I need to go shopping and update my closet. If money grew on trees...
Either way, I absolutely love having this actual spring weather. I don't need my AC, so my electric bill is super cheap, and I can walk outside most days without breaking a sweat. However, my Texas brain still keeps telling me, 'Why is it cold? It's May! I should be swimming at the beach by now!' I HATE summer, to be honest. I hate the heat and the humidity and the sweating, but I guess growing up with a wretched 40C every day summer kind of gets ingrained into your mind, and when the seasons don't change the way you feel they should, it surprises you.
I guess that's all I have to say today. Weather, I know right? Lame.
-Rizu
Thursday, April 25, 2013
ALT Life So Far and Penny Pinching
Well, I've been working for about two weeks now, and so far so good everyone. I like my school, the staff, and mostly the students. I'm finding that while the teaching hours are less, I'm spending probably the same amount of energy. Mainly because my class size has jumped from 8 max to 30. When you have a bunch of 13 year olds being loud and obnoxious, you of course have to be louder than them to get their attention. I still am adjusting to doing more lesson prep. With AEON, everything is ready to go. You may have to cut some stuff out for kids, but that aside, there wasn't much actual materials preparation. Interac has lesson plans you can use as guides, which I do, but since the number of students is increased, there are more materials that need to be made. I've have made so many card decks @.@ I feel like I use a ton of paper, but the school says don't worry about it. And I'm figuring out ways to make things to where they can be reused. My JTE, whom I will refer to as T-sensei, is so sweet. She always checks if the schedule is okay before she submits it to Interac, and apologizes if I have a 5 class day. I just tell her it's nothing compared to AEON haha. I guess I'm the first ALT they've had that is there every day, so she is trying to figure out the best ways to keep the schedule balanced.
That aside, I'm learning how to penny pinch in Japan. I never really had to do this in Japan, but since I was out of work for one month, and won't get my first bigger (but not full) paycheck until the end of May, that means three months without a decent paycheck. Which is something I understood completely from the very beginning. I wasn't as careful as I probably should have been however, I mean, Japan is EXPENSIVE. So for the next five weeks, I have set a goal. My goal is to spend as little money as possible of course. I am doing this to see how much money I can save overall by setting a weekly spending limit of ¥10,000. My goal is to have a little left over each week. If I spend it all, it's okay, but if I have some left over, I set it aside. I cannot splurge with it. Luckily, my commute to school isn't outrageously expensive, so it is doable to stay within my spending range. Granted, on the weekend I donate to a shared money pool for me and Aki. I so far have been able to stay in the range and last week had some left over. This week I might not since I have to go to Sakuragicho for a meeting. I basically go to the supermarket on Sunday and buy supplies for the week. This includes lunch and dinner stuff. I go in the evening when stuff goes on clearance, and make sure I have enough for the week. I don't make anything fancy, and I go cheap. If it is something that will expire in a day or two, I cook it Sunday night and put it in the freezer. Usually that kind of stuff goes into my bento anyway. Speaking of bento, I am cooking my lunch every day. The school lunch is ¥500. I probably spend that much on the ingredients for five days of bento food. I also am grateful that winter is pretty much done and it's not too hot yet. I don't need to use the air-con. Which means cheaper electric bill. Hmm... I also don't eat conbini dinner or buy alcohol during the week.
Well, I guess that sums things up for now.
-Rizu
That aside, I'm learning how to penny pinch in Japan. I never really had to do this in Japan, but since I was out of work for one month, and won't get my first bigger (but not full) paycheck until the end of May, that means three months without a decent paycheck. Which is something I understood completely from the very beginning. I wasn't as careful as I probably should have been however, I mean, Japan is EXPENSIVE. So for the next five weeks, I have set a goal. My goal is to spend as little money as possible of course. I am doing this to see how much money I can save overall by setting a weekly spending limit of ¥10,000. My goal is to have a little left over each week. If I spend it all, it's okay, but if I have some left over, I set it aside. I cannot splurge with it. Luckily, my commute to school isn't outrageously expensive, so it is doable to stay within my spending range. Granted, on the weekend I donate to a shared money pool for me and Aki. I so far have been able to stay in the range and last week had some left over. This week I might not since I have to go to Sakuragicho for a meeting. I basically go to the supermarket on Sunday and buy supplies for the week. This includes lunch and dinner stuff. I go in the evening when stuff goes on clearance, and make sure I have enough for the week. I don't make anything fancy, and I go cheap. If it is something that will expire in a day or two, I cook it Sunday night and put it in the freezer. Usually that kind of stuff goes into my bento anyway. Speaking of bento, I am cooking my lunch every day. The school lunch is ¥500. I probably spend that much on the ingredients for five days of bento food. I also am grateful that winter is pretty much done and it's not too hot yet. I don't need to use the air-con. Which means cheaper electric bill. Hmm... I also don't eat conbini dinner or buy alcohol during the week.
Well, I guess that sums things up for now.
-Rizu
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
For Ladies: Getting a Pap in Japan
To all of my male readers, you probably do not want to read this post, so feel free to skip it.
I think it is something very important for ladies to get done annually, and something I found very nerve-wracking to get accomplished here in Japan. In addition, my mother was breathing down my neck to go get it done (she's a nurse), so I finally got around to it.
For the rest of the entry, just click the link :)
I think it is something very important for ladies to get done annually, and something I found very nerve-wracking to get accomplished here in Japan. In addition, my mother was breathing down my neck to go get it done (she's a nurse), so I finally got around to it.
For the rest of the entry, just click the link :)
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Kumon, Interac Training and Preparing for the New Job
So, back at the beginning of March, I started a correspondence Japanese course through Kumon. Some of you may have heard of Kumon, but for those who haven't, it is a cram school in Japan that became known for its math and reading learning approach (Google Kumon method if you want to know about it). Either way, now that I will be working in a more Japanese-language filled work environment, I really wanted to get serious about studying again. I wanted something I could do from home with the support of an instructor. I found Kumon offered a Japanese program for foreigners after some searching, and that they offered what I was looking for. They have a pretty straightforward worksheet system, divided by levels, all the way from pre-beginner to advanced. You can make an inquiry through their website and they will send you more information by mail. If you have zero Japanese knowledge, they of course start you from the very beginning. However, I have some knowledge, so I took a placement test based on a few questions asked on the inquiry application. They started me off with a quick review of some stuff from Level B, and some stuff from C. Now I have started Level D, which is in the mid-early high beginner range. A lot of what I'm learning is review for me, such as grammar, however, I am learning more kanji and vocabulary that I didn't know before, which is more than useful, but necessary. THIS IS NOT A CONVERSATION CLASS. If you really want to work on conversation skills, I would NOT recommend the course. It's not too pricey ¥9400 includes materials and the instructor's half of the postage and two free reading lessons on Skype per month. However, this really focuses on improving reading, writing, and grammar, which is what I really wanted. For those who are busy, don't have time to go to a school, want to improve the above areas, I would recommend it. I have improved a bit, and I find myself catching more mistakes when I speak as time goes on. We'll see how much I've improved after six months...
Moving on, last week I had my training for Interac. I did it in Yokohama with a pretty small group of people. It was mixed with fresh of the boaters (is that a word??) and domestic hires or transfers. I was quite impressed by it to be honest, and got more out of it than I expected. However, I did not know I was going to be doing a self-intro demo lesson until about the third day @.@ I found a lot of the information about school life and daily life educational, and learned more about the legalities of bike riding haha. I'm still going to be religious about getting any promises down on paper from them, but for the most part the trainers at least seemed well-intentioned and straightforward. The Interac training was much more relaxed than the AEON training in my opinion. I felt more comfortable around the trainers as they didn't speak like English-teaching-robots, and the atmosphere was on a much more casual level, but still professional. Plus, the people in the group were great and I have made new friends. Yay!!
In terms of preparing for my new job, I found out I have only one JHS and it's quite close to my house. So maybe the total commute time is about 20 minutes. Which is great. I really only wanted one school. So for the rest of the week, I am trying to whip up a good 50 minute self-intro lesson for the kids. I hope my coworkers are great and nice, but who knows. I don't have to wear full suits anymore!!! I will wear one on my first day, but then it's off to wearing business casual attire (for girls basically a blazer with nice pants, an appropriate dress, skirt, etc.). I hate suits. I think they make me look quite unshapely and they are not the most comfortable to teach in. In addition, I need to buy some basic supplies (indoor shoes, magnets, timer), but I hate spending money right now! I hope to post more ALT related posts in the future, since I'm not under a super strict no-blogging clause any more. As long as I don't reveal names and pictures, I think I'm okay.
Rizu
Moving on, last week I had my training for Interac. I did it in Yokohama with a pretty small group of people. It was mixed with fresh of the boaters (is that a word??) and domestic hires or transfers. I was quite impressed by it to be honest, and got more out of it than I expected. However, I did not know I was going to be doing a self-intro demo lesson until about the third day @.@ I found a lot of the information about school life and daily life educational, and learned more about the legalities of bike riding haha. I'm still going to be religious about getting any promises down on paper from them, but for the most part the trainers at least seemed well-intentioned and straightforward. The Interac training was much more relaxed than the AEON training in my opinion. I felt more comfortable around the trainers as they didn't speak like English-teaching-robots, and the atmosphere was on a much more casual level, but still professional. Plus, the people in the group were great and I have made new friends. Yay!!
In terms of preparing for my new job, I found out I have only one JHS and it's quite close to my house. So maybe the total commute time is about 20 minutes. Which is great. I really only wanted one school. So for the rest of the week, I am trying to whip up a good 50 minute self-intro lesson for the kids. I hope my coworkers are great and nice, but who knows. I don't have to wear full suits anymore!!! I will wear one on my first day, but then it's off to wearing business casual attire (for girls basically a blazer with nice pants, an appropriate dress, skirt, etc.). I hate suits. I think they make me look quite unshapely and they are not the most comfortable to teach in. In addition, I need to buy some basic supplies (indoor shoes, magnets, timer), but I hate spending money right now! I hope to post more ALT related posts in the future, since I'm not under a super strict no-blogging clause any more. As long as I don't reveal names and pictures, I think I'm okay.
Rizu
Monday, March 18, 2013
Hikawa Maru, Odaiba, and Magazines
I have been using my free time to go visit around some more local stuff. Aki and I both are dorks and like to visit museums and parks haha. I am sort of a history buff, and when I can go see historical artifacts, etc., I take the chance. Recently, we visited the former cruise-liner, Hikawa Maru.
This was a cruise ship that sailed along a Seattle route back in the 30s and again in the 50s after the war. We had decided to go to Yamashita Park that day since we hadn't really walked around it yet and that weekend they were doing a lot of 3/11 fundraising and commemorative things. A group of I think junior high school students had traveled down from the disaster zone and were singing and speaking about experiences and so on in front of the ship. We were sitting there listening and noticed that we could actually go onto the ship for a wonderful cheap price of ¥200. I'm not sure, but I think the day's proceeds were going to disaster relief as well. So we decided to go take a peek. It was really quite interesting. They had a video running with information on the origins of the ship (the run we saw had English subtitles. Yay!), and windows in some of the rooms so we could see them. The pictures below are of the first class nursery and dining room, as well as the engine room.
I really enjoyed the visit, and would recommend it to people who like this sort of thing.
Yesterday, I also went to Odaiba for the first time, and had a great time. We went to Miraikan, which is a museum of science and technology. It mostly is targeted towards junior high/high school students, and costs ¥600 for entry to the permanent exhibits.
These robots we freaky!! You speak into a microphone, and then the one robot says what you said, and the other three react.
After the museum, we went to Palette Town. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear Palette Town is Pokemon haha. But it has no relation to it (in the Japanese version of the game, it's not even call Palette Town). It's basically an amusement park/mall/car gallery. The picture above is inside the shopping mall. It was really quite beautiful. I also got a great shot of the Rainbow Bridge below (it may be a little fuzzy...):
Overall, a great place and we didn't even see half of the place.
Moving on, I'm thinking of compiling pictures and things I write or that others write (with their permission of course), into a kind of downloadable .pdf magazine. I really want to get back into doing design work, and no freelance work has come my way. So I thought I might as well take it upon myself to do something. The magazine would be free to download, but available in print for a small fee (idealistically). It's actually been a dream of mine to get involved in editorial design since way back when, and this would be a good way to start. I wouldn't be making much money, if any at all, from it, but it would add to my portfolio. My focus would be Japan/ex-pat related, but I'm trying to figure out which areas I should focus on. If you have any ideas, please feel free to input! And that's it for today.
-Rizu
Yesterday, I also went to Odaiba for the first time, and had a great time. We went to Miraikan, which is a museum of science and technology. It mostly is targeted towards junior high/high school students, and costs ¥600 for entry to the permanent exhibits.
Moving on, I'm thinking of compiling pictures and things I write or that others write (with their permission of course), into a kind of downloadable .pdf magazine. I really want to get back into doing design work, and no freelance work has come my way. So I thought I might as well take it upon myself to do something. The magazine would be free to download, but available in print for a small fee (idealistically). It's actually been a dream of mine to get involved in editorial design since way back when, and this would be a good way to start. I wouldn't be making much money, if any at all, from it, but it would add to my portfolio. My focus would be Japan/ex-pat related, but I'm trying to figure out which areas I should focus on. If you have any ideas, please feel free to input! And that's it for today.
-Rizu
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Switching from Shakai-Hoken to Kokumin-Hoken, and Macaroni
First off, for those who don't know what I'm talking about, Shakai-Hoken is employee health insurance that is half-covered by companies in Japan. Kokumin-Hoken is National Health Insurance that anyone can sign up for (foreigners if they are going to be there for at least a year and can prove it).
So today, I would like to talk about switching from Shakai-Hoken to Kokumin-Hoken (NHI). I had some issues switching over, and thought I should discuss it. I initially was registered in Shakai-Hoken with AEON. It was done automatically by the company, and I didn't need to do anything to register. However, on my last day, I had to turn in my company issued insurance card.
The next day, I went to the ward office in my area to register my change of address and to sign up for NHI. Before going, I checked my ward office's website to see what I needed to bring. The site said: passport or ARC, and hanko (personal stamp). So at the ward office, I first registered my change of address which was simple enough. Then the lady asked if I was still enrolled in Shakai-Hoken, and I said no and wanted to register to Kokumin (since I'm not employed at the moment). So she told me to take the copy of change of address that I had filled out over to the counter in charge of NHI in addition to the other required stuff. When it was my turn, I told guy that I wanted to register for Kokumin-Hoken, and showed me my ARC and the paper that I was given. This is where things got complicated and I got extremely confused. He kept telling me I needed some kind of paper that I didn't have. I had brought the Employment Insurance Certificate (雇用保険被保険者証) that AEON had given me and thought that was what he wanted. In the end, he pulled out a sheet of paper and circled the things I needed.
There are three things he noted. The bottom circle were the Change of Address paper, and my hanko. The FIRST option is what I had no clue about, and was never told about: 資格喪失証明書 (Shikaku Soushitsu Shoumeishou). This is basically a piece of paper that proves that you are no longer paying into the Shakai-Hoken system and you no longer qualify for it (or that was my basic understanding). The paper has your name, birthday, address, and first day you were out of the program. It also includes your Shakai-Hoken number information. It took me some time to figure out what this thing was, because it's normally retirees who get this. I suppose that when most AEON teachers leave the company, they go home, so they don't need to deal with this, OR their new companies keep them in Shakai-Hoken. Regardless, I was able to get the document through some e-mails that got to the correct person and received the document. Once I had the precious Shoumeishou, I was able to register for NHI no problem, and got my card in the mail today. I am hoping to get back into Shakai-Hoken but, I'd rather be safe than sorry, and need the insurance anyway (eye appointments, etc.). So, that was something I did not expect but am glad I know about now. I know that people don't recommend foreigners to register for NHI, but I decided, what the hell?
Also, I found an awesome recipe for Macaroni and Cheese using your rice cooker!! I did have to change it up a bit, and experiment, because my local supermarket didn't have everything. Instead of using chicken broth, I bought chicken bouillon cubes and used 1 cube in 300 ml of water. I used two cups of macaroni noodles (using the cup from my rice cooker). I couldn't get my hands on cheddar jack cheese either, so I substituted with sliced Kraft cheese that I grated using a fine grater (it ended up kind of powdery). I also estimated on the milk, instead of measuring. I just like to eye-ball it and always have. Either way, it was amazing!!! It tasted like the macaroni from Luby's at home which I kind of love. I highly recommend trying it.
Well, that's all everyone.
-rizu
So today, I would like to talk about switching from Shakai-Hoken to Kokumin-Hoken (NHI). I had some issues switching over, and thought I should discuss it. I initially was registered in Shakai-Hoken with AEON. It was done automatically by the company, and I didn't need to do anything to register. However, on my last day, I had to turn in my company issued insurance card.
The next day, I went to the ward office in my area to register my change of address and to sign up for NHI. Before going, I checked my ward office's website to see what I needed to bring. The site said: passport or ARC, and hanko (personal stamp). So at the ward office, I first registered my change of address which was simple enough. Then the lady asked if I was still enrolled in Shakai-Hoken, and I said no and wanted to register to Kokumin (since I'm not employed at the moment). So she told me to take the copy of change of address that I had filled out over to the counter in charge of NHI in addition to the other required stuff. When it was my turn, I told guy that I wanted to register for Kokumin-Hoken, and showed me my ARC and the paper that I was given. This is where things got complicated and I got extremely confused. He kept telling me I needed some kind of paper that I didn't have. I had brought the Employment Insurance Certificate (雇用保険被保険者証) that AEON had given me and thought that was what he wanted. In the end, he pulled out a sheet of paper and circled the things I needed.
Also, I found an awesome recipe for Macaroni and Cheese using your rice cooker!! I did have to change it up a bit, and experiment, because my local supermarket didn't have everything. Instead of using chicken broth, I bought chicken bouillon cubes and used 1 cube in 300 ml of water. I used two cups of macaroni noodles (using the cup from my rice cooker). I couldn't get my hands on cheddar jack cheese either, so I substituted with sliced Kraft cheese that I grated using a fine grater (it ended up kind of powdery). I also estimated on the milk, instead of measuring. I just like to eye-ball it and always have. Either way, it was amazing!!! It tasted like the macaroni from Luby's at home which I kind of love. I highly recommend trying it.
Well, that's all everyone.
-rizu
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Black Charcoal Face Products
So today, I thought I would discuss a new kind of face product I have tried. So if you're not into talking about pores and faces, then feel free to pass up this entry.
The two products above contain black charcoal. If you want more info on the stuff, Google is your friend. Nonetheless, it's not the stuff you cook with. This past winter has really done a number on my skin. My face is either too dry one day or too oily the next, and the dry weather has made my pores look like freaking craters in certain kinds of lighting (fluorescent *cough* *cough*). In an attempt to try and make my pores less obvious, and also because I haven't had a facial since I came to Japan, I turned to the internet to help me find some at home products I could use.
After browsing the net, I first came across the product pictured on the right. It is a face mask that you can buy at The Daiso (basically an all purpose ¥100 shop) for the super low price of ¥105 tax included. I read mixed reviews while looking on the net, but most of them said the stuff works. Hell, it's basically a dollar, so I figured if it sucks, no big waste. In an attempt to mix exercise in with my day, I decided to bike up to Totsuka from my house to go find the stuff at Daiso. However, I took a wrong turn on my way and ended up going a lot farther than I needed to in the wrong direction before I ended up where I wanted to be. As I was going back to where I needed to be, I came across my favorite Japanese drug store, HAC Drug. I was tired and hot (the past few days have been quite warm), so I decided to stop in and browse around. That's where I came across the black tube. It is a black charcoal based face wash/make up remover. I purchased it for no more than ¥700 (lost the receipt and forgot the exact amount, sorry). I decided to just go ahead and go home since I had been biking around for 30 minutes with hills and try the stuff out (I went to Daiso today and bought the mask, and took the train instead).
The face wash is a very dark grey and has a gritty feel to it. I used it like I do any face wash, and the first thing I noticed after washing it off, was that my skin felt tighter. Woo hoo!! Anyway, after showering, I rinsed my face with cold water and took a look in the mirror. I have to say my pores definitely looked cleaner.
Today, I also used the wash again, and my skin looks even cleaner. I am actually quite surprised by such good results in two days. Yes, two days. In addition, I tried the mask out today. I learned two things from using it: it's very effective, and I will follow the instructions to the 'T' next time. The directions said to apply it only to the nose area (yes, I know the girl in the picture has it caked all over her face), but I ignored it and put the stuff on my entire face. I let the stuff dry and then went to remove it. Basically, the areas other than my nose and forehead hurt like a b****. The stuff grips your skin real good, so the delicate areas of your face, such as cheeks, you have to kind of force the stuff off. I ended up washing it off of my cheeks with warm water instead, after peeling it from the nose and forehead area, to avoid the pain. Nose and forehead were fine, no problems there. Just DON'T PUT IT ON THE REST OF YOUR FACE. But the stuff definitely does its job. So, yes, I will use it again, maybe in two weeks, but I will only put it on my nose.
As for the face wash, I might switch to every other day after a week since the grit seems to work like an exfoliant (sp??). Either way, both products are worth it. This is the quickest I have ever seen results from any kind of store bought product. So, yay!!
-rizu
Monday, March 4, 2013
Sankeien, Snowboarding/Onsen, and Interac
Hello everyone!! So, my first week and a half of not working was very eventful! I bought some stuff for the apartment, relaxed, and did a lot of cycling around. I'm at the point where I'm getting bored, but I just have to keep reminding myself: You start working again in less than a month, ENJOY IT!! DON'T COMPLAIN!! Due to boredom, and the time of the year, I decided to try and find a park or garden with some plum blossoms in Yokohama. After a quick Google search, I discovered Sankeien. The garden is located about ten minutes by bus from Negishi Station. So, if you live on the Keihin-Tohoku line, it's a piece of cake to get to. However, I live on the Yokohama Blue Line, so I live a bit out of the way. I ended up taking a bus from Kaminagaya Station to Konandai Station (my old station!!), which took about fifteen minutes. From Konandai, about ten minutes to Negishi Station, and then another ten on the bus. You can also take a bus from Yokohama or Sakuragi-cho station, but the rides are quite long. They charge ¥500 for the entry, but it is totally worth it!!!
Not only were the blossoms nice, there are a lot of old buildings etc., that have been relocated from Kyoto to the garden. The house above used to be a home of sorts for the Tokugawa Shogun. Or something like that. It's really cool and I spent a good two hours there. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so nice. Either way, I plan to go back there again during cherry blossom season.
This past weekend, I went snowboarding in Karuizawa. I forgot my camera!!! T_T I noticed it after I had already left, unfortunately. I went with Aki, and two other college friends. We met at Tokyo Station at 7:45 which meant I was up and on a train at 6:45. From Tokyo Station, we took the shinkansen out to the resort. The train ride took about an hour, and we just had to take a quick free shuttle bus to the bottom of the mountain. Once there, we changed into our gear and then went to get our equipment. If you don't have any proper clothes, you can actually RENT coats, pants, etc. Which I thought was really neat, but can run you up to about ¥3000 depending on what you need. After we had our stuff, we went up to the slopes. I hadn't been boarding in about two years, so it took me a few runs to get back to my normal, but bad style. I am a terrible snowboarder, and don't do it properly, but I don't fall so much and I enjoy doing it the way I do it. Unfortunately, the little grip on the board where you place your foot for getting off lifts etc. what so slippery that every time I got off the lift, my foot slipped. So lifts were my big issue. I had never had so much trouble before. Either way, we had a great day just going to the different runs on the mountain. What made the trip even better, was afterwards we went to an onsen. Hoshino Onsen (link to the website!) to be exact. Aki's mom later said it's quite famous. We took a taxi to the place after we were done for the day (about ten minutes from Karuizawa Station). The bathhouse charges ¥1200 for adults, and you can also buy a towel set if you want for ¥300. Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are already inside, so you don't need to worry about that. It was actually my first public bathhouse experience, but really wasn't that big of a deal. No one cares about naked people! Either way, Aki went to the house for men, and us girls went to our area. After a day of snowboarding, an onsen was a great way to relax the muscles and unwind. There was also an outdoor section as well, and a sauna. We survived five minutes in the sauna, but chickened out of the cold water pool. After we finished getting squeaky clean and relaxed, we went back and got dressed. The place has hair dryers, face lotion/milk, and water of course, so all you would really need is a hair brush. After we met up with Aki again, we ate dinner at the restaurant next to the onsen. It was amazing. We drank some local beer and ate some awesome nabe. Hoshino Onsen is a bit on the pricey end, but it was worth the expense. We took a taxi back to the station, and headed home after that. It was quite eventful and amazing.
Also this week, I officially signed my contract with Interac with the Yokohama BOE in a JHS. I'm so happy that got taken care of. I got involved with Interac through a referral, so I didn't go through the normal application process. Basically, when you get a referral, the person gives your information directly to the branch you are applying to. Then you do the normal interview (or what I assume would be the normal interview??) at the Branch's office. This consisted of a grammar test, some information about the job (salary, hours, etc.), and then a short ten minute demo that they recorded. Luckily, the Yokohama Office is on my train line, so when I go to training, it's only about fifteen minutes from my house (well, 25 if you count my walk to the station). I do my week-long training from March 25-29, then officially start my job on April 10th where I go to the BOE. I'm kind of excited because there might be some Texas people I know at the training (unless they are training in Narita...). Hopefully it will be more information about work life than teaching so much. I'm really hoping my experience with Interac is a good one. The people I know who work for them have not had any issues, and I hope the same happens with me.
Well, I guess that's all for today. Until next time!
-rizu
This past weekend, I went snowboarding in Karuizawa. I forgot my camera!!! T_T I noticed it after I had already left, unfortunately. I went with Aki, and two other college friends. We met at Tokyo Station at 7:45 which meant I was up and on a train at 6:45. From Tokyo Station, we took the shinkansen out to the resort. The train ride took about an hour, and we just had to take a quick free shuttle bus to the bottom of the mountain. Once there, we changed into our gear and then went to get our equipment. If you don't have any proper clothes, you can actually RENT coats, pants, etc. Which I thought was really neat, but can run you up to about ¥3000 depending on what you need. After we had our stuff, we went up to the slopes. I hadn't been boarding in about two years, so it took me a few runs to get back to my normal, but bad style. I am a terrible snowboarder, and don't do it properly, but I don't fall so much and I enjoy doing it the way I do it. Unfortunately, the little grip on the board where you place your foot for getting off lifts etc. what so slippery that every time I got off the lift, my foot slipped. So lifts were my big issue. I had never had so much trouble before. Either way, we had a great day just going to the different runs on the mountain. What made the trip even better, was afterwards we went to an onsen. Hoshino Onsen (link to the website!) to be exact. Aki's mom later said it's quite famous. We took a taxi to the place after we were done for the day (about ten minutes from Karuizawa Station). The bathhouse charges ¥1200 for adults, and you can also buy a towel set if you want for ¥300. Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are already inside, so you don't need to worry about that. It was actually my first public bathhouse experience, but really wasn't that big of a deal. No one cares about naked people! Either way, Aki went to the house for men, and us girls went to our area. After a day of snowboarding, an onsen was a great way to relax the muscles and unwind. There was also an outdoor section as well, and a sauna. We survived five minutes in the sauna, but chickened out of the cold water pool. After we finished getting squeaky clean and relaxed, we went back and got dressed. The place has hair dryers, face lotion/milk, and water of course, so all you would really need is a hair brush. After we met up with Aki again, we ate dinner at the restaurant next to the onsen. It was amazing. We drank some local beer and ate some awesome nabe. Hoshino Onsen is a bit on the pricey end, but it was worth the expense. We took a taxi back to the station, and headed home after that. It was quite eventful and amazing.
Also this week, I officially signed my contract with Interac with the Yokohama BOE in a JHS. I'm so happy that got taken care of. I got involved with Interac through a referral, so I didn't go through the normal application process. Basically, when you get a referral, the person gives your information directly to the branch you are applying to. Then you do the normal interview (or what I assume would be the normal interview??) at the Branch's office. This consisted of a grammar test, some information about the job (salary, hours, etc.), and then a short ten minute demo that they recorded. Luckily, the Yokohama Office is on my train line, so when I go to training, it's only about fifteen minutes from my house (well, 25 if you count my walk to the station). I do my week-long training from March 25-29, then officially start my job on April 10th where I go to the BOE. I'm kind of excited because there might be some Texas people I know at the training (unless they are training in Narita...). Hopefully it will be more information about work life than teaching so much. I'm really hoping my experience with Interac is a good one. The people I know who work for them have not had any issues, and I hope the same happens with me.
Well, I guess that's all for today. Until next time!
-rizu
Monday, February 25, 2013
Finished Painting, Scanlations, Moving and Contract Completed
Hello everyone! It's been awhile. I have been super super busy!! First things first, I finished the digital painting I was working on. So I thought I would post the .jpg.
It took a grand total of about 15 hours give or take. I stopped keeping track of it as some point. I'm not so happy with the skin texture of her face, but this is a learning process, and hopefully my next digital painting will be better. I completed it using my WACOM and Photoshop CS6.
Next, I have decided to try out some scanlating. I chose a random comic at the book store (Akatsuki no Yona is the name) and translated Chapter 1. Then I found raw scans and used them to typeset English in (because I don't have a scanner). I unfortunately found a group is already working on the project, but I thought 'what the hell' and went ahead with it. This is more for my own practice with translation than anything else. But since I paid for my volume of the text, I don't feel bad doing it. I plan to only do volume 1 and then chose a different comic. I hope it will encourage people to go pay for the stuff. Anyway, I'm not going to publicly display the link, so if you really want to read it, comment and I can e-mail it to you (because I think this particular comic has been licensed by an English distributor).
Also, I moved apartments again!! I am officially no longer living in what many refer to as a shoebox apartment. I now live in a very spacious, newly built, apartment. The building was finished in July and I'm the first occupant. I live in a 1K with a loft. The living room is about 6 tatami in size, with the loft being about the same size. So it's more like a 2 room apartment to be honest. I also have a heated toilet! My old apartment's bathroom was freezing. I still live in Yokohama though so yay! Why did I move again, less than six months after my last move? Because my contract with AEON finished. I chose not to renew my contract back in August. I am a fully satisfied former employee. I did not renew mainly because of hours and because I want to have some time to take freelance design work (if I can get any that is). So I will actually be working for Interac in Yokohama from April (I know! I am headed to the ALT path for the next year, call me crazy). I'll have a better schedule, M-F, evenings off!! I actually will be doing some evening part-time work for AEON still, so I am not completely out of the company. Overall, I am sad to have left my branch school, but it's the best decision for me in the end. I made many friends and since I am still in the same city, it will be easy to meet up ^_^.
Well, that's all for now. Next weekend I'm going snowboarding so I will add some pictures soon. I am hoping to add more photos and Japan related things as well as my art and stuff to the blog in the future. Until next time!
-rizu
Next, I have decided to try out some scanlating. I chose a random comic at the book store (Akatsuki no Yona is the name) and translated Chapter 1. Then I found raw scans and used them to typeset English in (because I don't have a scanner). I unfortunately found a group is already working on the project, but I thought 'what the hell' and went ahead with it. This is more for my own practice with translation than anything else. But since I paid for my volume of the text, I don't feel bad doing it. I plan to only do volume 1 and then chose a different comic. I hope it will encourage people to go pay for the stuff. Anyway, I'm not going to publicly display the link, so if you really want to read it, comment and I can e-mail it to you (because I think this particular comic has been licensed by an English distributor).
Also, I moved apartments again!! I am officially no longer living in what many refer to as a shoebox apartment. I now live in a very spacious, newly built, apartment. The building was finished in July and I'm the first occupant. I live in a 1K with a loft. The living room is about 6 tatami in size, with the loft being about the same size. So it's more like a 2 room apartment to be honest. I also have a heated toilet! My old apartment's bathroom was freezing. I still live in Yokohama though so yay! Why did I move again, less than six months after my last move? Because my contract with AEON finished. I chose not to renew my contract back in August. I am a fully satisfied former employee. I did not renew mainly because of hours and because I want to have some time to take freelance design work (if I can get any that is). So I will actually be working for Interac in Yokohama from April (I know! I am headed to the ALT path for the next year, call me crazy). I'll have a better schedule, M-F, evenings off!! I actually will be doing some evening part-time work for AEON still, so I am not completely out of the company. Overall, I am sad to have left my branch school, but it's the best decision for me in the end. I made many friends and since I am still in the same city, it will be easy to meet up ^_^.
Well, that's all for now. Next weekend I'm going snowboarding so I will add some pictures soon. I am hoping to add more photos and Japan related things as well as my art and stuff to the blog in the future. Until next time!
-rizu
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