To Begin

It’s cold. Not ridiculously freezing yet, but from what I understand about Shiga winters, I’ll soon be unable to do anything without cursing the Japanese idea of not insulating your home. But not yet. Mada, as they say. Still getting chilly, though. The nights are the chilltastic, as are the mornings. I’ve gotten to the point that I can do push-ups with my nipples. And that’s the sign.
Because it was devilishly hot when I got here. Like an ungodly amount of sweat poured from my body each day. At least enough to hydrate a baby calf that drinks only sweat. I was a sweat monster. Sure, the Japanese people complain about the heat and talk about how much they can’t stand it, all the while wearing heavy jeans, longsleeve shirts, and snow caps just for fashion’ sake. Yet they don’t sweat. Or not nearly as much as I do. And I was practically naked compared to them. But I digress.
The point is: Hot then. Cold now. It’s been a while since I got here and I haven’t written a lick. Granted, I’ve been busy. All my life I’ve said, “Oh well, I’ve been busy,” but this time I mean it. I know what busy is. I know what having a job really means, and why the majority of people hate their lives. I don’t hate my life because I don’t let the job consume me, but if I did (and I could) I would hate my life. Doing nothing but work. Boo, sir. Boo, I say.
So what have I been doing? What took me so long? What is my life like? These are all questions I intend to answer in due time. Some today, some later. Sadly, I can’t embellish on everything. The past month is past and hardly anything I did in the beginning is fresh in my mind. Sorry. I remember needing toothpaste. That’s about it. Most of what I write is going to be what’s happened recently, and less of a point by point analysis of my journey. Still, to fill in the gaps, here is a rundown of everything I did as best I can remember.

I. Plane Ride
a. I hate plane rides.
II. Tokyo Orientation
a. Seminars, which taught me mostly nothing.
III. Meeting our Bosses
a. We had to give a self-intro in Japanese. I screwed mine up.
IV. The Drive to Hikone
a. My three bosses drove me to my apartment. This was the first time I made a Japanese person laugh.
V. Meeting the Neighbors
a. My two neighbors, Katie and Nikki, introduced themselves to me. They are probably the most valuable resources in my life right now.
VI. Learning to Cook
a. I did that.
VII. Learning to Go to Bed Early
a. Not so much
VIII. Construction Paper
a. I learned my master medium.
IX. My First Day of School
a. I resolved to show everyone I was super cool. Then I fell off the stage during my speech.
X. Teaching
a. If you want to call it that.
XI. Pasukon Panch!
a. My computer breaks.
XII. Spiraling Depression
a. Without computer my life turns to crying.
XIII. Crayon Therapy
a. A lack of computer led me to seek crayon drawings as release.
XIV. Sports Day
a. More on that later.
XV. Studying Japanese
a. Turns out it’s really hard.
XVI. Finding a Church
a. It wasn’t that hard actually.
XVII. Dealing with my Children
a. I laugh to keep from crying.
XVIII. Getting into the Groove
a. Trying to enjoy work as much as possible, while maybe teaching something some English.

So there’s that. Now think how much effort I saved by not embellishing and blathering forth about every boring little topic. From now on, it will just be little updates on my life and maybe an anecdote or two. Sound boring? It will be. Just like every other, “Oh boy I’m in Japan now and everyone read about my life!” blog. So really this is for friends and family who want to keep up with my life. I can’t promise it will always be an enjoyable read, but I can promise it will always be about me, which is a good or bad thing depending on who you are.

So goodnight, and the next post will contain actual information.



This is my construction paper board I made for school. My thumb went numb cutting the construction paper.