Thursday, 1st May 2003
Today, we have no Japanese class due to the impending Golden Week arriving here in Japan. Also, today marks the beginning of the last month that I will be here in Japan. So, that will mean that 11 months have passed now - it doesn't feel like that at all. I will have to start making arrangements for my return to the UK. Last night, I finally got round to reading some manga - I've been meaning to read it for the last 6 months! Truth be told, I attempted to read it before, but found it a little bit tough going. However, looking at it now, I can see that I have learnt a lot and I can follow ok, without having to resort to the dictionary too much. It kind of spoils your reading if you have to keep on looking stuff up. Of course, I'd love to be able to read without resorting to a dictionary, which is possible (but I won't understand some of it - especially the kanji), however, I don't think that it is possible to accomplish this feat within such a short time period. I hope to continue my Japanese studies and maybe, just maybe I can do it one day.
Friday, 2nd May 2003
This weekend will mark the beginning of Japan's 'Golden Week'. This means that we will receive a day off for Monday! It seems like it could be quite a busy weekend for me, it begins straight away as tonight I'm visiting Mika and then on Sunday I will go to play football with team Gunma! Then afterwards, there should be a little get together - which should be good fun! I'm really looking forward to everything this weekend. Looking at it though, I have realised that I won't have a free weekend until the time comes for me to leave Japan. Next weekend will be the company party, a bowling tournament, the weekend after I am going away somewhere with the company again and then the weekend after that will be the Takasaki International Festival party and then finally, I will be leaving... Well, at least we'll leave having fun!
Tuesday, 6th May 2003
As I mentioned before, I did a few things during the Golden Week holiday, in fact, Friday seems so far away that I'm struggling to remember just exactly what I did! I visited Mika on Friday evening and I met her brother, Tomoyuki-san, his wife, Masami-san and their little boy, Ryota-kun. Also, I met Mika's parents too. It was a very enjoyable affair, although my Japanese skills sometimes hampering the conversation, it was still good. I was nervous, but then again, so was everyone else, so sometimes it can be difficult. However, I understand that and it's perfectly normal to be nervous when meeting new people for the first time - especially people who don't speak your language.
The following Sunday, I met up with the Gunma JETs to do a football training session. The weather was scorching, and seeing as we were playing knockout (winner stays on the pitch of groups of 4), with our side doing rather well, I was really, really tired at the end of it. We got one hell of a workout. After that, I joined Josh, Brian and Gordon out for a few drinks. Then, even after that, we went around Jame's house (another JET) to watch Arsenal vs. Leeds at midnight! It was a long day for me... In fact I think that I woke up at about 2pm the next day. As ever, my legs are killing me again and I suppose I should really get my fitness levels up if I am to avoid it happening.
Today, while it is a Tuesday, it feels just like a Monday. The weather in Japan now has gotten really warm. In fact, it kind of feels like we have missed out on Spring and have just jumped from winter straight into the summer! Phoebe still hasn't returned from her trip and won't do for a while, so it's a bit quiet now in the office. Also today, I received a copy of the JETRO Internship report, which details all the interns' view on their time in Japan (mine included). It made for an interesting read (although they edited my piece and so it now reads a bit disjointed). I am feeling really drained today, and nothing seems to be going right at the moment, hopefully things will pick up soon. It's just a bad day at the office for me today.
Wednesday, 7th May 2003
Last night, I watched 'London Hearts' again... but this time there was a strange twist in the story. This time, it was a girl who was being tricked and it just as funny and it made the show feel a little more 'fair'. There's the saying, "All's fair in love and war", which I'm sure rings true here. In any case, the girl was more than a little bit unhappy upon discovering that she'd been tricked. Today, I feel really, really exhausted and it's a really hot day today too, I wish I wasn't here in the office.
Thursday, 8th May 2003
I've only just noticed the time and tonight as ever, I have to go to Japanese class. Therefore, I really cannot say too much, but the weather today is terrible! I'm not really looking forward to walking to class tonight...
Friday, 9th May 2003
There was a slight shortage of teachers last night at Japanese class, and so I had someone else move into my group. Yuon-san, from Korea. The class was very enjoyable as ever and it's always nice to meet new people. Actually, I now know a fair few people within the class, people of all ages and from all places! I also spoke to Lynne, the first time since she came back from Kyoto - she's always giving me a lift home, which is nice too! (Her driving in Japan seems to have improved a whole lot too! (just in case you are reading, Lynne, I'm only joking!!)).
This weekend is the Macro annual bowling tournament! I'm not sure if I am looking forward to this or not... my boss is supposed to be dead good! I'm sure that it will all be good fun and I'll play for the spirit of the game. It helps that James will be going too, but Phoebe's not, so there won't be anyone around to make me look good! (just kidding again). I'm going to be jumping straight into my weekend, for tonight I have football practice to attend, which I'm always looking forward to. Hopefully, I'll be able to recover in time for tomorrow's bowling.
Monday, 12th May 2003
The weekend passed by so quickly and today is already over, I don't even have any idea how time passed by so quickly! During the weekend, I played football, which was good as always. In fact the team that I am practising with are actually very good - in terms of technical ability. I always seem to end up on the losing side during the practice game! I do enjoy it though, although returning home isn't quite so fun when you have to cycle uphill and you are feeling tired. It's times like that that I wish that I had a car!
Also, during the weekend, we had the Macro Bowling Tournament. I can't say that I did too well, as my score over two games was only 280. This got me about 4/5th, however, it was all in the spirit of the game and everyone had fun. I don't think that James did that well either, but he wasn't bowling together with me. Other than that, today I am feeling quite good as I found out that Blackburn Rovers have made it into the UEFA cup for the next season, in the process thrashing Spurs 4-0. It's a great day! (Can you tell that I don't like Spurs much?) As it was, I was supposed to be going round Gordan's house last night to watch the games at 11:30pm! However, it didn't seem like a very sensible thing to do, what with work the next day, so I gave it a miss. I don't think that Gordan is going to be a very happy hammer today...
Tuesday, 13th May 2003
Today, Phoebe returned to work. Yup, that's about as exciting as it gets here in the office! It's actually quite good that Phoebe came back as she's brought lots of sweets and stuff back with her, which is great too. Tonight, as always is a bit of a non event. I haven't got anything in particular planned, but I might go out for a run later, the weather here in the evening now is perfect for running in.
Wednesday, 14th May 2003
I'm feeling pretty exhausted today - both mentally and physically. I noticed that I wasn't really concentrating too much and I was making a few silly errors that I wouldn't normally make. Nevermind, I think that I can just put this down to a bad day at the office.
This morning I went for a run before I went to work. No particular reason for it really. What I really like about Japan is the fact that you can probably go do anything you like and no one will pay too much attention to you. I feel quite comfortable going for a run or cycling around or whatever, but back in the UK I'm not sure that I would do anything like that. Plus, there are many other people like you doing the same thing - I saw people up early in the mornings, doing their things, both young and old. It's a great feeling to be able to do stuff like that.
Thursday, 15th May 2003
Japanese class beckons tonight. So, as usual, I've got to go early, I'll write more about it tomorrow.
Friday, 16th May 2003
Even though today is Friday, I just knew that today was going to be bad from the moment I got dressed. Sure enough, today hasn't been the best of days, but at least it is Friday. If it was a Monday, then I'm not sure what I would've done. Last night's Japanese class was good fun and there is an interesting scenario with my classmate. The thing is, his conversation skills are better than mine - but my writing and grammar skills are better than his. This isn't really so strange, as he hasn't really learnt Japanese by studying it, he's picked it up through conversation, whereas I studied it, but hardly ever spoke it! If only we could be combined! After class, I joined Phoebe and Takako to go see X-Men 2 at the cinema! I wasn't really expecting much, but X-Men 1 was recently broadcasted on TV (which I watched) I suppose it was kind of an apprpriate time for me to go. I actually thought that it was quite good and very enjoyable.
Tomorrow, Phoebe, James and I will be going on a Company Trip - I can't remember the name, but it's supposed to be our farewell party/trip type thing. It looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, after all, it will be our last trip together - I'm looking forward to it. Closer to now though (in fact in about 2 hours), I will head off to football training, even though today is pretty bad, I hope that I don't get injured or anything.
Monday, 19th May 2003
I didn't get off to the best of starts this morning - for some reason, I feel really tired and I got up late. Thankfully, James woke me up before 8am.
During the weekend, I first went off to football practise, which seems to follow the same routine every week. First we have a shooting practise session - where I always miss the target! Then afterwards, we have a practise game. I seem to fare better in the parctise session after. Last Friday, after football practise, I met a friend from practise - Yosi. It was to help him with his English as he has a presentation (entirely in English) this week sometime. In actual fact, Yosi's English is actually very good - I didn't have that much to help him with! I wish him good luck for his presentation too. During that time, I also met one of Yosi's friends, Mai. Now, she was very interesting - not at all like your typical Japanese girl, but I mean that in the nicest way possible! It's such a shame that I don't have much more time left in Japan, but I'm still making new friends all the time! Before I knew it, it was 2 o'clock in the morning and the next day I was due to go on the company trip.
To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect. Everyone from two Macro divisions came, the headquarters staff and the Business Supply staff. Of course, we knew everyone - about 15 or so people in all. First off, we headed straight to Minakami onsen to stay there for a night at a ryokan (traditional Japanese style hotel). Before that, enroute was a place to stop to have a walk around to stretch our legs. At that place, there was a rock climbing wall and Pheobe and I wanted to try it out. I managed to get about halfway and also a major wedgie - Phoebe got about 1/3rd of the way. Funnily enough, Hoshino-san was asked by the boss to have a go and he had to get at least halfway! The funny thing was, Hoshino is really scared of heights!! Despite this, he got all the way to the top - but probably found it harder to get back down!! Actually, I was very tired as it required a lot of effort as the wall was slanted towards you, like an overhang. As always, there was a schedule in place - even a continuity schedule in case of bad weather! Something that you will notice in Japan and Japanese people in general seem to plan everything with the utmost care and detail to attention. We didn't stray from the schedule at all! I have no idea how far away Minakami was because I was feeling tired and fell asleep for some parts of the journey. When we arrived at the hotel, we got settled and then it was time for onsen! Fortunately it wasn't my first time, but it was James'... However, it was the first time that I have ever been to a mixed onsen! You could say that I felt a little bit uncomfortable talking to a female member of staff in the onsen! This trip was a whole series of firsts for me - it was the first time that I have ever been to an onsen where you can also drink at the same time! So, there I was, sitting in an onsen, butt naked and with a can of beer in my hand. It could have been worse.
After the onsen, we headed to a big dinner together. everything was immaculate and very impressive. Also, everyone was dressed in very traditional Japanese style clothing in yukatas. It was very interesting to see everyone like this - although James did say that he felt a little funny. There was a Japanese lady who was kind of like a waitress, she was very nice and helped to make sure that James and I wore the yukata properly. You see, if you wear it a certain way, it represents that you are going to a funeral! The dinner was amazing - we had shabushabu, sushi/sashimi and quite possibly any other Japanese food that you could have imagined. As the dinner started, the drinks flowed freely, beer, Japanese sake and red wine. From this point on, everyone started to get very, very drunk. Not least of all me! In any case, everyone pours everyone elses' drinks - as a general rule, you do not pour your own one - not that we ever really had to, if anything it was making everyone drink faster as it seemed as if though there was a neverending amount of people wanting to fill your glass! I was drinking so much (and pouring) that I barely had much time to eat my food. In fact, I mentioned this to Phoebe and the next thing I knew - all of my food was gone! Phoebe had ate most of it (if not all)! By this time, Phoebe was absolutely hammered - she was mixing beer, red wine and Japanese sake, drinking copious amounts of each. Me, I was on the beers and the sake, although I was feeling the effects too. James, was probably the most sober out of us all. In fact, I barely remember James ever getting as legless as Phoebe or I - he tends to look after us!
Midway through the dinner, so I am told by James, as I was elsewhere or I just plain don't remember, Phoebe near enough passed out! Something along the lines of Phoebe went to the toilet and was gone for a while - then Miho went to look for her and found her someplace else - near enough unconscious! I didn't know at this point and I just carried on regardless. In fact, I don't ever remember the dinner finishing. The next thing that I remember would be walking back to my room - where I was grabbed by several of the other staff and bundled into their room! Actually, all they wanted was a chat, but I can't remember what I said or much of what they said either... I think that I said, "I must go back to my room, the others will be wondering where I am..." to which they replied, "It's ok - we've told them and besides, we've set up this room with an extra bed!!" We carried on drinking... After a while, James appeared and joined in with the conversation - James told me that they just woke him up! I had no idea about the time as I was quite drunk but I think that it was quite early - maybe abuot 10pm. Then, Shiozawa-san appeared - in just his boxer shorts! James said that it was a sight to behold! Everyone knew that Shiozawa was pretty drunk - but it was funny! He asked me if I wanted to go to the onsen - for some reason, I agreed! He said that Kano-san was already in the onsen and that it was open 24 hours. So, off I went to the onsen - but I don't remember much of it, I just remember being in the onsen and I tried to sit on the divider in the middle of the bath - but what with me being so drunk, I lost my balance and fell over backwards straight into the onsen on the other side! Luckily, it was fairly late and so not many people were there to witness my little stunt.
Once onsen was finished, the next thing I remember would be getting dressed again - I got dressed - but I forget my underwear!! I honestly have no idea what I was doing but then somehow - I ended up at a karaoke bar! (All these places were inside the hotel) I was still drinking at this point and I was extremely drunk, I can't remember how I got to the karaoke bar. Soon after though, James appeared again - poor James - he said that he got woken up again!! Anyway, James, being sober I suppose declined to sing any songs, but he chose a song for me to sing! Most of this now is going by what James has told me because I honestly cannot remember much of this. He said that rather then singing, it was more like I was 'talking' the words out... However, everyone else was so drunk anyway that they didn't seem to care or even notice!! At some point along the line, apparently, I leant over and whispered to James - "James... I've lost me pants..!" I don't know what his reaction was - you'll have to ask him! Then, after a while I wanted to drink some water, so I asked James because I was literally drunk and incapable - he passed me this glass of clear liquid - which wasn't water, but Japanese sake..!! He says that it was a genuine mistake, but I'm not so sure..! After this, I just remember waking up in the morning - really, really early (about 7am) - but the strange thing was, I didn't feel any hangover or anything - I think that I was still drunk!
The next thing to do was to have breakfast and begin the checkout process. At the breakfast hall, the same waitress was working there and so it was a little bit embaressing - also I looked like a complete mess as I'd literally just got straight out of bed! During breakfast, I saw the photos on Phoebe's camera that Miho had taken around during the night - at the dinner and karaoke. I was really surprised at some of the photos!! After breakfast, it was time to check out and go onto the next stage of our journey.
After we said our goodbyes to the staff, we headed off. The next destination was a glass maker's. He taught us to make a glass with our designs on them. It was all very interesting. Then, we had lunch and explored some of Minakami's countryside. The final stage of our destination was to a European style castle. It was called the Lockheart castle - but it wasn't just European - there was also bits of America in it too. Again, it was all very intersting and fun. What was special about this place was that next door, there was an area where you could do a bungee jump!! Of course, I wanted to do it and so did Phoebe. Imai-syunin thought it would be funny to see Hoshino to do the bungee jump and so bought him a ticket - for 3 tries!! When we got to the bungee jump place, it really wasn't that high - however, it was high enough. We all got kitted up - while Hoshino was asking the guy all sorts of questions, like, "Is this thing safe?" "Has anyone ever been injured/died from doing this?" It was very funny as he was genuinely very scared!! Nevertheless, he got kitted up too and we headed up the stairs to the top of the bungee platform. This part is where everything fell a little bit flat. The stair case was constructed entirely out of metal - in such a way that you can see the ground through the steps. Hoshino made it up to about 4 or 5 flights of steps and then got too scared!! Phoebe, Miho, Imai and I were waiting at the top. To be honest, looking down at the ground does make you think twice - even Miho was quite nervous treading out onto the platform. Hoshino couldn't do the bungee jump - he was far too scared! However, the rest of us did it! It was great - although a little unconventional as the rope was attached to your front, rather than your legs as I had previously imagined. It was still great though.
After that, there was still time for another go for Imai-syunin and Phoebe - this time - Rocket Bungee! I had no idea what it was, but it's best described as normal bungee the other way around. Basically, the rope is attached to you, while you are fixed to the ground and then the rope is pulled taught and then you are unfixed from the ground, so you get propelled upwards. It looked good, but not very scary. Finally, it was time to conclude our trip. All this time, the shatchou (boss) said that he hopes that we will never forget our time here in Japan - I don't think that I will ever forget. Macro really have been so good to all of us, in fact, maybe even too good. It was a great weekend - but now I have less than 2 weeks left in Japan. I hope that I can enjoy these 12 days while I can.
Tuesday, 20th May 2003
We've been informed today that later tonight there will be a general meeting at 7 o'clock (evening). Whilst we don't contribute all that much to the meetings, I suppose that it's good for us to be there to learn about what is going on and what will happen soon. Sometimes we will do something interesting, like have a debate, other times it will be just the boss speaks for the whole meeting type of affair. After all the excitement of the previous weekend, I just feel deflated for this week.
Wednesday, 21st May 2003
Well, the previous night's meeting was of the boss-speaks-for-the whole-meeting type of affair. Since I had nothing better to do anyway I didn't mind. Most nights I'd just watch some television, have dinner and then go to bed. Exciting, huh? Anyway, I seem to enjoy Japanese television a lot more than back in the UK. Maybe because a lot of it is very comedy based and so I find it funny. Here, the Japanese TV shows seem to be able to get away with an awful lot (all in the name of good TV). For instance, last night, I watched a program where they deliberately set someone up - they had him arrested! They let the joke go quite far - so far in fact that when the victim was informed that it was all a setup - he was completely dazed and confused and didn't know quite what to believe! Also, the previous victim was actually in tears because he believed he had deeply upset someone. I'd have probably sued for emotional distress!
Thursday, 22nd May 2003
Thursday night equates to Japanese class. I've been feeling a little spaced out this whole week and so hopefully I can get it together and relax a bit at class. It might sound a little strange to hear that, but class is actually more about meeting friends and having some fun rather than return to school type of thing. I think that's a good way to learn.
Friday, 23rd May 2003
My last weekend before I return home to the UK. It certainly won't be a relaxing weekend for me! It all kicks off from tonight, when I'm going to a (farewell) party with most of my friends. Still, it's kind of strange that it's farewell, but I will still be here! Anyhow, I'm sure that it will be great fun and if it's not, then I'll do my best to make it great! Then, on Saturday, I want to go to Tokyo for one last time, however, I have Japanese class that day, so I'm undecided about what I should do. I'll probably make a decision based on how I feel after the party tonight! Then, on Sunday, I will join up with more friends to go to the Takasaki International BBQ Event. I'm looking forward to that too. I think, after all that I will be pretty exhausted - so some rest just before returning to work should be in order!
Monday, 26th May 2003
I knew that this weekend was going to be busy - I just didn't realise how tired I would be at the end of it! On Friday evening, I joined up with several people from Japanese class for our farewell party type of thing. It was pleasant enough, unfortunately, things didn't all go quite according to plan, but at least there is still enough time to make up for it. In any case, after the party, I met up with Gordan and we went out for a few drinks... I didn't return home until about 5-6am.. The next day, my plan was to go to Tokyo - but I was feeling so tired and a little worse for wear. However, I dragged myself out of bed and made it onto the train. I must have walked into every single shop in Akihabara looking for what I wanted. I go what I needed eventually, which was quite lucky. Strangely enough, it didn't seem that busy in Tokyo, which came as a relief to me - for the first time ever, I managed to get a seat on the return journey.
As Sunday came, it arrived far too early for me, but I went to the Takasaki BBQ party with Phoebe and several of my Japanese friends and teachers including Mika, Kanemitsu, Fumino, Nicole, Saori and many, many others. Even then, I made some other friends whilst I was at the event - unfortunately, I don't quite remember their names, so I'm sorry! The event itself was great - plenty of food and more drink, coupled with a few events; it was always going to be great fun! After the event finished, some of us went to a restaurant to have some drinks and some light hearted chat. Of course, it also meant that it would quite possibly be the last time we would see each other (for the forseeable future) - and so it was a little sad. I even received a present (a farewell present), which I suppose I was taken a little aback, something I was least expecting. That doesn't mean that I'm not grateful for it though.
This week promises much too, even though it is our last here. Getting things ready is a bit of a nightmare, my luggage has increased so much! I've had to resort to sending some of my less needed stuff home by ship. Hopefully, things will place into place on their own.
Tuesday, 27th May 2003
Last night, Japan was hit by an earthquake. Thankfully, it didn't seem too serious where I was, although the house was shaking for well over 20 seconds! Apparently, the centre of the earthquake struck up north in the Sendai area. It was the second time I've experienced an earthquake and the feeling is still indescribable. Reading upon newss reports, the earthquake measured 7.0 (on the Richter scale I guess), but the core of the earthquake was very deep and slightly out at sea near Sendai. Out of interest, here in Japan, we are overdue an earthquake - the fabled 'big one', which is quite worrying. Already, disaster experts are calculating the outcomes should the earthquake arrive. I really hope that it doesn't.
On a different note, tonight we'll be meeting up with Lynne as she would like to have a farewell dinner with Phoebe, James and I. Although we don't go out a lot, on the occassions that we do, it's always great fun.
Wednesday, 28th May 2003
Dinner last night was good, although Lynne's excuse to pay for us all wasn't! Not to worry, we're still here for a little while yet, so we'll find someway of repaying her. Tonight, I'll be mainly packing my stuff, I won't have much other time to do it as tomorrow is my birthday (Yay me!), then Friday is practically my last day in Japan as I'll be leaving in the early hours of Saturday morning. Time is definetely not on my side.
Today, I had a slight run in with the hospital. Last Friday, I went in to ask for a medical certificate (for insurance purposes) and so I duly gave in all my records (receipts) at the same time. When I went to pick up my certificate, I noticed that they didn't hand me back my receipts! So, I asked for some help from Macro and in the end everything has worked out fine. This is what I like about here - there is always help available and I didn't have to worry. I'll miss it when I go home.
Thursday, 29th May 2003
Today is my birthday!! Happy Birthday to me! It's been a pretty eventful few days for me. Last night, I got invited out to an impromptu dinner, which although unexpected was very nice. Tonight as ever, I have to go to Japanese class, which should be fun as I get to meet up with all my friends there too. Afterwards, I think some of us will head out to get something to eat and have a little celebration. I'll be looking forward to that!
Friday, 30th May 2003
Last night, I had a great night out to mark my birthday. Many friends joined me for the celebrations and I duly obliged by getting a *little* tipsy! I really want to thank everyone for coming out and making my birthday so enjoyable! So, Thanks to (in no particular order) Mika, Mika (yes, two Mika's!), Chizuru-san, Masako-sensei, Lynne, Gordan, James, Sung Sil, Yoon-san and of course Phoebe. I even got a birthday cake! Everything took me by surprise and I was kind of kept in the dark about a lot of the things, but I love surprises. Even though I have work today, I stayed in the bar until the early hours of the morning (something that I will miss about Japan) and didn't go to bed until 6:30am! Then, this morning, I overslept (not surprisingly) and was greeted by Miho's voice asking me where I was! I was due ti meet her to go to the bank - a quick reschedule and things were fine, but I wasn't... I still feel a little light headed now although I'm getting better, but I still feel sleepy.
Today is my last day at work for Macro. It doesn't really feel any different, although I've had to prepare a lot of things. Tomorrow, I'll be leaving Japan in the early hours of the morning - so technically tonight I'll be leaving. Some people will come to see me off from the station, and it's nice to know that. Maybe then I will really realise how I feel about leaving Japan.
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