One Becomes Two Part 2

Konnichiwa!

Me in Sendai!

It’s Kelsey here! I’m in Japan; can you believe it? There are still days when I wake up and need to register that I’ll be living in a foreign country for the next year!  I’ve been in Sendai for over two weeks now, but I’ve done so much in that short period of time that it feels like much longer than that.  To be honest, I don’t even know where to start with this blog post! I suppose I’ll just ramble on for a little while! J

Downtown Sendai is full of covered walkways - very nice on rainy days!

Within the first few days of arriving in Japan, it became clear to me how obvious it was that I’m a foreigner.  Although I was undoubtedly aware of it while living in Canada, coming to Japan has reminded me just how incredibly multicultural Canada truly is. Biking and walking around with Nico involves countless stares from the locals, most of them directed towards my big curly hair and our blue eyes. I have already had a number of inquiries from the locals asking if my hair is naturally curly or if I perm it; the look of disbelief that crosses their faces when I tell them it’s naturally this way never gets old to me! How can something as simple as having curly hair be so intriguing to someone?!  I guess I’ll never quite understand.

Speaking of things I'll never understand...

The language barrier between us and the locals always makes for an adventure of some kind. All of the locals here are aware that we can’t speak Japanese, yet they can’t communicate in any other language! What inevitably happens is the reliance on body language to convey a message, mostly hand gestures and pointing. I wonder what goes through the cashier’s mind as he or she speaks to me in Japanese and I simply stare at them, with zero comprehension of what they are saying. Nico and I have begun the process of getting a tutor to give us Japanese lessons once a week. Tomorrow is our first lesson, actually! We figure that if we’re here for a year we might as well learn how to order food and ask where the washroom is!

Nico has trouble finding washrooms too.

Speaking of food, I have been eating very well since I arrived. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t even had sushi since coming here! Shameful, I know. Italian food is very popular here, and since Nico and I both love Italian food (and he IS half-Italian, after all), we’ve been enjoying the comforts of home in the form of pasta, Caesar salad, and minestrone soup! Mmm! We’ve also found a quaint Thai restaurant that not only serves amazing food, but has a wonderful and homey ambiance, complete with authentic Thai décor, music, and even a video of Thailand playing in the background. While eating, you’re transported to Thailand - how awesome is that?

Delicious Thai... Mmmmm....

Canadian Crab Whiskey - just like home!
:P

Happy customers!

While there are some comforts of home that I miss already, namely garlic pickles, being able to read every menu and sign that I encounter, and having air conditioning blasted wherever I go in the summer months (did I mention how humid it is here?), I am having a wonderful time so far. I’ve already been challenged, stretched, and terrified in one way or another. Someone once told me that everyone should do one thing a day that scares them: I guess waking up in Japan covers that!

150 dollars for french fries is pretty scary.

As some of you know, I started a job last week at a place called Primary that, contrary to its name, is a private school for adults who want to improve their English. Currently, I am only a part-time worker, but I prefer it for now as I am still getting accustomed to living in Japan. So far I have taught four lessons; two private one-on-one lessons and two group lessons with three students. The evaluations from the students have been positive so far, and I’m hoping to keep that up! After all, it’s in the students’ hands whether or not I am promoted to a full-time position! When I was younger I considered the possibility of being a teacher, but that was a dream I left long ago. Although teaching is not my desired long-term career, it has been quite exciting and liberating to stand in front of a room with students and be completely in charge for an hour. This whole Japan thing is one big adventure after the next: I’m meeting the challenges head-on!

Interview Day! (I did not wear those flip flops)

That’s all I can think to write for now, especially as this is supposed to be the second half of Nico’s last blog (sorry for the delay!). There are no new pictures for this blog, but we will be writing another one tonight about our more recent adventures, complete with new pictures!

Bye for now!

             Midnight
             snacking!