Day 107 - A Very Meguro Christmas

So I spent Christmas day working at the pub and it was nice to be somewhere festive. It was so strange catching the train in the morning and then popping into Starbucks for a coffee on a day where the streets are normally dead back home.  I opened my presents in the morning via skype with the family and after a little teary I headed off to work.  Quite a good day, it was booked out for both sessions.  But their was not enough xmas plates for staff so we ate curry from next door, but it was tasty! I finished up at about midnight and sat around debriefing, eating cheese and drinking beer, so it was good day all round.  

Had to teach on Sunday and then on Sunday night we had our xmas party at a tiny gyoza house in the middle of a market in Sangen-Jaya.  It is run by the ex manager of Meguro Tavern Kuni, and he makes the most delicious Gyoza in town.  I want to go back for his delicious chocolate gyoza. Mmmm, oishi!.  So after drinking in the middle of a closed market until 3am (maybe 4am), Edith, Kei and I head back to Meguro and ended up at Johnathons family restaurant for one final beer.  I got home a bit before 7am and then had to teach at 5 lessons at gaba and then at 5pm at the pub.  By the time I finished at the pub, I had the biggest bags under my eyes but it was all worth it, great couple of days celebrating Christmas with meguro family! 

Now my schedule is free for a whole entire week and I am getting out of Tokyo for the first time ever (unless Yokohama counts) I am off to meet Bridge, Jules and the Ongs in Kyoto for NYE, I am so super excited! xoxo

Day 101 - Bonenkai + All you can eat and drink = Fun

So it was our Gaba Akabane end of year party (bonenkai)  last night and we went to an izekaiya (japanese style bar) for nomihaido  (all you can eat) for 3000yen.  Including drinks.  Great night, way too much food.  Don't think I will eat today.  At all.

We went to a place called Amanato and it's near the west exit of Ikebukuro.  The food was not amazing but it was plentiful and we even 'longu pizza'.

http://www.hotpepper.jp/A_11100/smd0_svcSA11_macY050_grcG001_grf1.html

Feeling pretty indulgent today but I suppose it is the Christmas season!  

xoxo

Day 97 - Katajikennai

 

 

 

So I thought I had best report on the events of my birthday.  My first day off since I started working in Nippon back on September 22nd.  So I began the day at the doctor, never much fun, but it was straight across the road from Tokyo Tower so that was a bonus.  They were nice doctors at www.tmsc.jp/index.html  so I would recommend them if you need to go.  But it did cost me an arm and a leg.  I will claim it on travel insurance later. 

Anyways so after that i decided to treat myself and hit an onsen recommended by Marieluise.  It was amazing www.niwanoyu.jp.  I could have easily spent all day there and felt so relaxed after 3 hours.  I felt quite anxious being the only foreigner there and then the whole being naked thing.  But at this onsen it is separate male and female so its not a big deal at all.  They have a large hydrotherapy bath in the centre where you can wear your togs and it only cost 2250Yen to get get in.  This includes being able to sit upstairs and look out over the garden, have a sleep in the massive lazeboys in the nap room and read magazines.  They also have a restaurant, cafe and massage facilities which I will definately get next time.  And , its only a 12 minute ride from my house, sooo excited.

After that I went home for a nap and had arranged to meet Eloise for a drink in Shimokitazawa.  I love that area.  We went to two super cute tiny bars, kind of reminded me of Melbourne!  So after I headed to the meguro tavern to meet all work friends and we were going to a little bar across the road for drinks once they all finished.  I was such an amazing night.  They totally spoiled me.  At the bar we ate delicious snacks and drank beer and they had organised  cake with my name on it and bubbly wine.  They got me the most thoughtful gifts and I felt a bit teary that having only known these people for 3 months and they made such an effort to make my birthday special.  We sat and chatted and drank all night.  Literally all night.  I went to the bathroom and all of a sudden the sun was up and it was 7am! I had to start teaching 12 classes at 10am.  So I jumped  on the Yamanote line home, had a quick shower and then headed out to Akabane.  I was surprisingly feeling OK.  Primed myself with a coffee and a BLT and was ready to go.  It was actually OK.  Though my collegue did say that he could not see my eyes.  By 8:30pm on Saturday I was a mess.  I managed to make it through all my classes without yawning or spewing...Maybe this is bad positive reinforcement, because I will probably do it again!  We have already planned to go out on Christmas night after working at the pub!

So I just wanted to thank Edith, Mitchiko, Kei and Takeshi from the bottom of my heart for making my birthday so super special and one that I won't forget, katajikennai.
xoxo

Day 92 - Searching for a new diary....

So its been a while since I wrote about any daily life stuff and today I posted home Chrissie presents so the next thing consuming me is  the search for the perfect 2011 diary.  It has begun and being in Tokyo I am spoilt for choice.   Maybe too much choice.  I can't make a decision. 

I went shopping with Sophia the other day and we went to Loft in Shibuya.  There was four aisles of diaries, in different formats,  colors, sizes, shapes and fabrics.  We spent almost an hour looking at them.  I found one (nice format, weekly with notes) but it was a ittle too big.

It's such an important thing, probably the one thing that I will buy that I have to look at everyday of the year.  In the past I have always gone for moleskins, and I should just do the same this year.  They have got it right, a little tie to hold it together, simple colors, hardcover, little ribbon thing, weekly with notes.  But this year I want to be different, I don't know why, maybe its because I am inTokyo and I have choice. I was talking to a guy last night about this dilemma and he goes for moleskins (one red diary, one black notebook)  because they are good and reliable, why try something different?  But you know me and I have to at least search to see if there is something else out there...

So, then I went to Parco and I think I have almost decided on one, well at least I am down to two. It seems quite trendy this year for 'german, 1950's bookish style diaries' and given that I will be teaching next year, something like that seems fitting.  But I am afraid on me it will just look dorky and not some kind of hipster cool.

Anyways, I will let you know when I make a decision, I have two weeks.

Oh, and the guy I was talking about, he likes moleskins, scando design, and speaks English, French and Japanese, and he is super funny (in that dry English way).  He also has a 'back-up present drawer'.

I have asked him out.  I will keep you updated on that one too.

xoxo

Day 90 - Ninety Days in Nippon

For only 1,260en, you too can have the 'Diet Finger Cream'.  Fot that special day when he puts the ring on your finger....

I have fat fingers and was hoping that the tester diet finger cream would work...I am still waiting to see results.  Happy Anniversary for 90 days in Nippon. xoxo

Day 88 - Omiya, Omino

This is Omiya (pronounced O-me-ya).  They have these 'walkways' from the station to massive shopping centres and underneath is the bus terminal.  Who designed this stuff?
It reminds me of a transformer.  All the steps and extra walkways should fold up and be tucked away neatly.  They don't.

Day 81 - What a Way to Wake Up

Last night I went to the Marc Jocobs after party at Le Baron de Paris.  Cute Bar.  Very dark.  Free Drinks. 
This was the view I woke up to today.  Nice.  Shame I had a massive hangover to go with it.

Day 79 - Finally, A Bit of Beauty

photo courtesy of:  http://harajuku.saiten-report.com/

Well most of you know that I have a pretty bad track record with hairdressers.  Hair being lit on fire, being blond for all of 20 minutes (thanks god their is no photographic evidence) and then returning form Amsterdam with a pretty decent mullet that I have been trying to grow out.

So with my first pay packet, I decided to splurge and get my hair done.  I was tempted by the 1000Yen hair salons around town, but given my track record and my total non-ability to speak the language beyond yummy and good, I think it was a better idea to splurge and I am so glad I did.

I finally feel like i have found a hairdresser I love and its a shame I am not staying so long.  He was amazing - His name is Keizo and he is from Sozo in Harajuku.  First I arrived and had a chat and then one of the girls put a treatment on my hair using a machine.  It was more like a steam iron that you see in clothing stores.  It was a small machine with a hose and brush on the end, she ran it through my hair and then got me set up for the color.  Glad wrap on my neck, towel, bigger towel , cape/coat, blanket for my knees and then, wait for it...shower caps for my ears.  So super Japanese cute!

Then color, and I enjoyed reading some trashy magazines in english and then hit the tub for a wash and head massage. Amazing. I almost feel asleep in the chair.  Then back to the chair and I got a neck and shoulder massage and I am a mess at the moment so it was a real treat.

Anyways, it makes me want to go back every week just for a wash and blow dry.

Nothing drastic with the style, just a trim and a bit darker. the color is good and the selling point for going to this salon is the fact they use Western style color.  Japanese haid dyes can be very rough on your hair because its a different texture, so this was winner.

Really if you need a trim, cut, color or just want a blow wave then go to keizo at sozo.  Thanks to Sophia (fashimi.com) and Eloise (catkinandteasel.com) for letting me know about this place. 

It's changed me.

http://www.sozo-hairmake.com/index.html

Day 74 - Hot Hot Hot...water bottle

Its getting cold here now and I love a hot water bottle but for the life of me I could not find a western style one.  In Japan they are called 'yutanpo' and it is traditionally a metal 'pot' with a lid that you heat on the stove and then put into your bed.  A little clunky for my liking, I just wanted a hottie that could mould to my feet and warm the sheets before I crawled in at the end of a long day... not quite it, but this is what I found.....

Day 72 - Hankies are Pretty, Practical and Post-able

Who does not love a good hankie?  A bit old fashioned, a bit granny.  But definitely a necessity now that its coming into winter in Japan.  The Japanese do this well and dedicate whole stores to this one small piece of fabric if not whole sections of department stores.  In fact, maybe they are used more in summer here, to wipe your brow on a humid day rather than blow your nose.  I am not sure, but students often bring a hankie into my class.

Anyways, I could not help myself...check out these cute Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren and for dad...Burberry and Calvin Klein. I brought these ones on Sunday when I was in Omiya teaching in 'BF nowhere'.  They even come in a nice little envelope for a gift.  I can't show you because they are for dad's birthday but hrmmm, Christmas is around the corner...They are pretty, practical and light to post....hankies for everyone.

Day 65 - Road Map

I love a consitina.  I love a road trip.   I love maps.

I found this winner across the road from Gaba Akabane in a little second hand shop, 100Yen. Bargain!  I love the little ladies in the onsen and the crazy out of scale birds and fish.

I just need to figure out where it is...

Day 59 - Oh yeah...

Sometimes I forget I live in Tokyo.  People call me cassie-san.  Today I could see Mt Fuji from my building.  FYI, this is not Mt. Fuji, this is Shinjuku, I took this photo on my way to work.

xoxo

Day 57 - Monday to Fryday

I really like this.  I think we should rename it to Fryday.  Traditionally we all eat fish and chips anyways so it kinda works...Also note the 25:00. Its a very common closing time here, sometimes even 26:00. Who knew there were so many hours in the day?  
Anyways, here are some more photos from my hood Nakano...

Day 56 - Tokyo Design Week

So last Tuesday (Day 50) I decided to make my way over to Tokyo Design Week at Meiji Jingu Gaien for a little sticky beak on what this country has to offer, the theme was 'Environment'...

I think the ideas were good, they had a container exhibition, displays from each university with student work (the best part of the day was meeting cute japanese designers who were very shy to show off their work!) a 'Cool Japan Conference' tent, and then inside the large tent was basically a retail store or trade show.  Lots of green walls, laser cut jewellery and bikes for sale.  I was a little disappointed....

Day 49 - Typhoon, Treats and Tricks

 I just wrote an epic post and lost it, so this will now be short and sweet...

Day 44 - My Two Wheels in TYO

 

This is my new (but second hand) bike.  It is from Muji and I brought it for an absolute bargain.  2500Yen ($30AUD) from this french guy who is leaving town.  Downside was that I had to ride 10km home and Japanese ride on the footpath so it was mostly a bumpy and slow ride home.  I cracked it halfway and got on the road and that was much faster...So I am looking forward to exploring the city on my new bike.  

SEGOUII (good)

ps. Not a fan that it is white but hey, I guess it matches my ugly phone!

Day 42 - Drinking, Donki and Doner

So after teaching 10 classes on Saturday, I was planning on meeting Eloise and Sophia out for a few drinks and a bit of a dance at Micro Cosmos in Shibuya.  We met at Hachiko Wall at 10:30pm and on a bit of a budget, (still got to wait another month for my first pay from Gaba) we hit the nearest 270Bar.  Everything is 270, gold. Well the idea is gold, until you see the beers and they are half froth, but still, beers are anywhere from 600-1000 out, so 270Yen is a steal....

Day 38 - Sensing Nature

Well it was about time that I got to the 'Sensing Nature' exhibition at the Mori Art Museum...I think everyone has been there but me!  It closes on 7th November and if you get a chance to go, it is a winner.  For 1500Yen, I left feeling inspired.  Sensing Nature - Mori Arts Museum 

The following works is from Yoshioka Tokujin (he did a version of this for Issey Miyake back in 1997, but this one is bigger (and better) I think...

Day 36 - Burnt Eggs

Note to self.  I should not bother cooking. Almost burnt down my kitchen when I was boiling eggs... Forgot about it, boiled dry, pot on fire, smelly.
I am wondering if this even beats the chocolate pavlova frisbee saga...

Day 35 - My New Kokeshi Doll

I am in love with my new antique kokeshi doll.  I found her at this crazy shop down the road from my house, for $12 I think she was a bargain, they had bigger ones too but i think she is cute...
She just needs a name now...

Day 35 - Hamburgers and Halloween

Saturday was my market research hamburger day.  3 burgers in 2 hours at 10;30am, Ouch. I really felt like I should have had a big night out before I came to this. So get there and seven other Australians are sitting around the table.  The company could not tell us why they were doing this market research but there was plenty of speculation... first burger with fries and ice tea down, we went up to the corporate offices for a discussion on what was good and bad about taste, price and presentation.  Same thing with two more burgers. What a great way to spend two hours, sitting around a table chatting eating burgers getting paid $130 to do it.  Pretty much my ideal Saturday morning.  One of the burgers was not really a burger though.  Where there is meant to be bun...it was rice.  Crazy Japanese.   We were all laughing when it came out but it was surprisingly good.  The meat in the middle was kebab style with a teryaki sauce.  Tasty.  About halfway though the 'burger'  it started to fall apart a bit, I lost some down my top.  The company businessmen watching us with a translator were in stitches, as I tried to grab a chunk of rice off my chest in some sort of lady like manner.  Anyways, easy money, hopefully the company that organised it will ask me to do something like that again...

Day 31 - Happy One Month Anniversary

So today was my 1 month anniversary in TYO.  It was going to be a good night when my last student was a no show and I got to finish work early (10pm).  I had planned to head into Shibuya to meet up with Eloise (fashion designer form sydney, has the nice blog called catkin and teasel), So I meet them at the Family Mart convenience store in Shibuya where Eloise and her friends were sipping on Asahi from the convenience store.  We were going to a bar called the 'Trump Room' (pictured) where some DJ was playing. FYI, the girls in this picture are Camille (French) and Sophia (Sydney). 1000 Yen got us entry and 500 Yen beers was a plus.  There was many cameras out that night, mine was not one of them but I remember (vaguely) taking and posing in many photos, who knows who's camera it was.  Anyway, this photo was taken on Sophia's camera and I have saved it from her facebook, I hope that's OK by her...She also has a blog and it is super cute.  Check out www.fashimi.com   All about food and fashion in Japan.  Meanwhile, who doesn't have a blog these days? 

So beers and lots of dancing, Eloise loves a dance so I was very excited to have a buddy on the 'DF', (thanks for the term Eloise, love it).  So I pretty much danced the night away.  No stories, but danced with lots of boys.  The crowd was uber cool, but met some really nice people including an Australian couple that I can't remember their names.  Anyways, it must have been about 4am and feeling pretty wasted, Camille, Sophia and I decided to leave.  Food was first on the agenda.  We went to domo domo for something to eat and kind of decided to wait for the first train home at 5:15am.  So I got the train to Shinjuku but my subway line was not starting till 6am so I wandered home along the canal, and got in a little after 6am, I think the walk was good for me, I was much more wasted than I thought (as per usual).  Anyways, thank goodness I did not have to teach today because my head was still throbbing at 8pm.  Laid around in bed till about 2pm and had to go and pay my rent before I went to work at the pub, (struggled through work) and now after an ice cream, I seem to have perked up for the day.  

So all in all and big celebration for a Wednesday night and a great way to spend my 1st month anniversary meeting new people, dancing and drinking!

xoxo

Day 30 - Where I live

On my way from work the other day I saw these beautiful ladies, I tried to get a sneaky shot but....anyways, so here are some pics of my room and how/where I live, I will add more along the way...

Day 27 - Family dinner box for One

So I know that this looks like I ordered the family dinner box, but this is one set of packaging for a medium cheeseburger meal to take away.  For a country that has such a complex waste system (five bins at my house) then why is there so much packaging?  
I got one bag for cheesy and fries.  
One bag for my drink.  
Then those two bags were put into a carry bag....Wow.

Meanwhile this was my first cheesy in over a month.  Well deserved on my walk home from shinjuku station after a few beers with one of my two friends in shimo-kitazawa (super cute suburb)

xoxo

Day 24 - Working 9 till 5

Well, I am not really working 9 till 5, more like 4 till 11, but you get the sentiment that Dolly is making.  I am working everyday at the moment and yes, I start late in the day which gives me oodles of hours in the morning where I can go out and see Tokyo. That is, if I can be motivated enough to get going...Between the pub and teaching, that is pretty much my life at the moment although there are some things to look forward too, buying a bike (today), tokyo design week coming up, sensing nature exhibition which Lisa and Aiden told me about and pay day!! 

Plus teaching has picked up, I am getting more classes now and the students seem to like me (most of the time).  They have a rating system of 1-5 where the students rate your class.  Out of my 22 lessons that I have taught so far, I have received 11 evaluations.  I was disappointed when I got a 2, but on the bright side I have got six 5's, three 4's and one 3.  So I suppose I have to be happy with the ratio that 9 students out of 11 are happy/more than happy with their classes.

After teaching last night I also got home to discover a one-off job proposal.  About two weeks ago when I was applying for every job in sight, I emailed about the possibility of being a 'Taste-tester' for a new hamburger.  We had to answer questions about what types of burgers we like and from which shop etc...  Anyways, I had totally forgotten about it, but then had an email yesterday saying that I had been selected! So for two hours in a couple of saturdays I will become part of a team to test a new burger, getting paid $125 to do it!  Super curious about which company it is for, but something different to try anyways....

Look at:  My friend Eloise that I met at teacher training has a blog.  She is a fashion designer from sydney and take beautiful photos, check out her blog at:

http://catkinandteasel.blogspot.com/

Day 16 - First Day at Gaba and the Imperial Palace

So yesterday was my induction at Gaba where I had to finish off a couple of modules and met everyone.  It was not until 5:30pm so I had a bit of time to kill and looked at my map and thought that I have not even been into the cit yet, or to the Imperial Palace.  It was not raining (YAY) so jumped on the metro that takes me straight to Tokyo station.  When I popped out the other side, I feel like I was transported to a city/country that was not Tokyo, let alone Japan.  I was in Europe,  tree lined boulevards, stone roman columns, and blue stone paved the streets next to the likes of  Major bank corporations and designer stores.  I don't know what I expecting but that was not it.  Anyways, it was easy to find the imperial palace, look for A) the hoards of tourists and B) the massive stone wall around the edge.  The Imperial Family still live there so you can only access the east garden (which is free).  Maybe it was a bad time to go, I was getting a little hungry and was thinking 'yeah, yeah Japanese garden' despite the fact that it is, oh, how many years old...well the palace was reconstructed in 1968 (I don't feel so bad now) but the family has lived in this area since 1600.  

Headed back home to prepare for my induction (prepare = iron clothes) so I can head out to Akabane.  So I get out there just on time ( I missed the rapid train) and it is only a 16min train ride form shinjuku so I think this location for work will be fine.  I met the leader, got a tour of the studio and we get stuck into the other modules (need to complete four in your first week).  They are pretty basic, taking about 20 mins each, read the text, take notes and a mini quiz at the end.  By now it is about 7:30pm and my leader says 'how about we open up a lesson for you at 8:30pm, and if someone takes it great, if not, you can start tomorrow'.  After a minor panic attack, someone books the class and I have my first student.  Talk about being thrown in the deep end, but it actually went ok.  Not great, mind you, but not a disaster either.  It was good to get it over and done with.  The leader gave me great feedback, I have to speak louder, and stop saying 'yeah'.  But other than that, he thought it went well for a first lesson.  He said I was quite nervous at the beginning but settled into it, so he thinks I will be fine.  He has opened up my schedule, so fingers crossed I get some bookings.  Eventually, he said you want to be getting all 'blue bookings', that means that the student requested you.  In the beginning I won't have many unless the students want to meet me, but he said after a month or two, my schedule should be fully booked with mostly blues.  Fingers and toes.  The first month is always quiet, I just want to break even with my living costs which means I have to teach 16 classes a week at 40mins each.  (Hopefully I get more than that).

One thing I am tossing up about at the moment is about the pub job.  Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest teaching, and he has opened me up for 9 classes this Saturday, but I have to work at pub on Sunday.   If I could get 9 classes teaching that is 13500Y versus  5700Y for 6hours at the pub.  Pub might have to go I think, unless I can switch a shift.  Maybe I will try that first and if it doesn't work, then I will just have to be super tight until Nov 25th when I get paid by Gaba, and try and teach as much as possible.

xoxo

Day 1-15 - I Like Stairs

 Loving the tile action (experts) and stairs on the outside....Collection over the last couple of weeks, Shinjuku, Asakusa and Nakano...

 

Day Six - (Retro-fit post) Shinjuku

 

I really should have put this stuff up on day six, but I have been bit slack with photos. (I don't really like the photos I have been taking BUT...Text is boring), so here are a few pics from my day out in Shinjuku, shopping, picnic lunch at Shinjuku Gyoen Nation Gardens and the best robot tree I have ever seen...

Day 15 - It's raining, its pouring, its an earthquake

Umm, so day 15 here in TYO and it has not stopped pissing down.  I worked last night at the Meguro Tavern from 5-11 and it was dead from 5-8, it picked up and was at a peak at about 10 so the shift ended up going quite quickly, but from 5-8, I was doing my head in.  Has really good fish and chips for tea (hope I won't get fat working there) and meet some other staff.  thinking it could be an ok job for 2 days a week.

So, the plan was to be productive today, my list of things to see and do keeps getting longer, but it has not stopped raining since Iwoke up, and it is big fat rain too, also copped a bit of a storm and looking like it is not holding off.  I wanted to go to the mori museum today to see a 'nature' exhibition but I will see if I can get motivated this afternoon....I know at some point, I will have to get over the rain, but right at this moment I am enjoying watching 'United states of Tara'....

So, to the earthquake...it was about 3am and I fet a kind of rumble coming up from the floor, it maybe lasted 10 secs, but it felt like forever.  To begin with I got super scared and froze (similar to the experience where the hairdresser lit my hair on fire) but then a trillion thoughts started to rush into my head about what I should do if it gets bigger and if I should grab my passport, do I get under stairs, under a table...

It was over quite quickly, and it did not get any bigger, but I still got a fright. So I googled what to do and got this very helpful booklet form the Tokyo government....

http://www.seikatubunka.metro.tokyo.jp/index3files/survivalmanual.pdf

Earthquake hints: open a door to secure an exit and get under a table 

Good to know, even if the earthquake was only measured at 1!

Day Thirteen - One Job + Two = Three Jobs

Well I finished my three day GABA training on Friday and was exhausted afterwards.  I was pretty disappointed with my feedback.  For our practice classes we were rated out of 5 for each of the,  I got 3 x 3/5 and 2 x 4/5.  Everyone else in the class got at least one 5/5....so I was a bit gutted being the dud.  We went out for a drink afterwards in a fun area called Shimo but my heart was not really in it.  So I bailed.

After the feedback, I was thinking 'is this for me?' and was planning to go to the JAWHM agency on Monday to see if they had any work.  So when got back home on Friday night, I checked their website for their hours (they were shut last Saturday when I went to go). All this time I was thinking, its OK, once I go to the agency, they can hook me up with something, it will be OK.  But when I got home and had another look at their website...THEY HAVE CLOSED DOWN.  In June.  Not enough funding.

So then I went into a bit of a panic and started searching 'jobsinjapan.com, craigslist, metropolis, and gaijinpot.com' and pretty much applied for every job that I could.

I had a rotten sleep feeling anxious about it all and woke up at sparrows fart to check my email and had two emails about prospective jobs!  One was about designing a website for a guy (I am meeting him tomorrow) and the other was a waitress job in an English pub in meguro (www.themegurotavern.com). So I called the pub guy, had an interview yesterday afternoon and started today.  It is really crappy money but I do get a meal and two drinks (which some staff choose to drink on the job?), and they pay my transportation costs so that helps. 

I worked today 11-5pm and they do a 'all you can eat carvery lunch' on Sundays so at least I had a roast for lunch (and ate some veges for the first time this week) so thinking that will be good.  It was a bit slow for my liking, but they did say it was quiet, so hopefully it picks up next week.  At this stage I am just working Sunday lunches and Monday nights.  So then I can still do teaching the other days.  I have an induction at my 'learning studio' on Wednesday so I should be able to start teaching on Thursday.  The pub pays once a month on the 10th so at least I will have some cash coming in, then I think I can relax a bit with the money stuff. (GABA does not pay until the following month, say I work October, I don't get paid until the end of November, shitballs) so I was feeling quite anxious that I would literally be down to my last dollar by the end of November.  Soooo, shitty pub job it is, until I get sorted...

Other than that, I made it over to Roppongi on Saturday afternoon to watch 'the game'.  Drinking VB in an Irish pub 'Paddy Foleys', in Tokyo seemed little crazy/wrong but it was a good chance to meet some other foreigners who are teaching here as well.  After a few beers and very little to eat, feeling quite tipsy and decided to head home  (it was all of 7pm at this stage) and get an early night for the pub job....

Next time: I will get some more photos up, I know text is BORING!

Day Nine - Praise Sandwich

Yep you heard it.  

We have got to remember the 'Praise Sandwich' = Praise - Mistake correction/constructive criticism - Praise. 

Now remember, it is not an open-faced sandwich....

What have I got myself into?  First day at training and it was brutal.  Lots of information to take in and loads of jargon/corporate craps.  All quite difficult when at the end of the day, we had to do a practice lesson with the person sitting beside us.  That was difficult, keeping a lesson running smoothly for 40 mins, trying to remember all the key points.  I forgot loads of the main points but figure it can only get easier from here.  The bad part is that being a one-on-one class, you can't really hide anything.  Although I think I was this nervous when I was at RMIT teaching my first class of 20 students just staring at you.  And after the first 3-4 lessons, when you get to know them and the content, I think it should be heaps easier.

I am placed at a studio 30mins train ride which I am a bit disappointed at, I was hoping to get something closer so that I could ride my bike (when I get one)...especially to keep a bit fit and save some cash on PT which is where I am spending the most money at the moment.  According to the train website it is 13.5km's so I suppose that is still rideable (maybe not in winter).  I asked if it was possible that I could transfer now before I have started but they said not really...this was where people are needed and if I want to establish a 'good client base'...it is better to stick to where they have placed me...

I will wait and see.  If I miss the rapid train, it can be up to an hour each way and that makes me mad.  I would not do that at home so why would I do it here....I think I will try and talk to the leader tomorrow or Friday and see if we can change it....or at least see if they will pay my transportation costs ...I am looking at 740 Yen per day in train travel so that cuts into a huge part of my budget...

Hopefully day two will be better...not feeling so convinced now...

The best part of the day is that across the road there is a shrine and they are having a 3-4 day festival to encourage the god to come out and grant their wishes, or something like that.  It is basically a big carnival with loads of food stalls and games and little kids in kimono's...so super cute.  will def take my camera tomoz and get some pics....

Holding my breath for day two and more classics like the praise sandwich.

Oh yeah, and the picture is the view from my bedroom window.  Pretty nice to come home to.

xoxo

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