Hiroshima

The first week I started working for ECC, I got a call from personnel asking me if I'd like to substitute teach in Hiroshima for a few days. All expenses paid. Huzzah! I got to take the shinkansen (aka "the bullet train") down there, and in between shifts I did a quick tour of the city. My hotel was right next to the Peace Memorial Park, a park commemorating the victims of the atomic bomb dropped on August 6th, 1945. The bomb was dropped directly over what is now the park, a green, floral area with a sparkling river and picnickers.

But the city isn't all about its sad history. It's extremely internationally-minded, and quite bustling, with a population of nearly 1,200,000. I ate at an Argentinian restaurant two nights in a row, where the owner knew me by name and prepared me dishes without charging me. An old man who works for the city of Hiroshima and spoke almost no English insisted on buying me Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (Osaka and Hiroshima have a long-standing feud about who has the better okonomiyaki--similar to New York and Chicago's pizza debate). I loved the relaxed atmosphere of the city and the generosity and openness of the people. I was a little sad to return to the rat race that is Osaka.

See my pictures of Hiroshima here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22892&l=795bf&id=800884170

The Guch (my house)

The house I'm living in is affectionately known as The 'Guch because of its location in Moriguchi and because it's a funny name. It's legendary in that many ECC teachers have lived here at some point, or at least attended one of the many parties thrown here over the years.

It's actually two three-story houses connected, and is truly massive. It took me nearly a month to find the second kitchen as it's a bit of a maze, with doors that lead to nothing and staircases that lead to yet more staircases. I feel like I'm living in the Winchester House. There are nine bedrooms, but only five are occupied: me, Judy from Baltimore, Cat from England, Michael from New Zealand, and Masako and Tetsuru from Japan. We're all ECC teachers (except for Masako and Tetsuru) and get along quite well.

The house is not without its disadvantages, however. Japan has a cockroach problem but our house seems to be a resort for the loathsome things. No matter how clean we keep the place, these prolific little buggers keep appearing in drains or scurrying passed as a light gets flicked on.

Welcome to Japan. Leave your shoes at the door.

I've been in Japan for six days now, and the only real panic I've experienced is grocery shopping and stupidly realizing everything is written in Japanese. I wanted to buy a tube of toothpaste but couldn't be sure if what I was purchasing wasn't shaving gel or soap (it was toothpaste, thankfully, since I don't know the number for poison control). I bought what I thought were mini hamburger buns (typical American mistake) but turned out to be an pan, a delicious doughy bread, traditionally filled with azuki (sweet red beans), but in this case custard. One day in our kitchen, when I was reaching for what I thought were pink sugar packets, I peered more closely at the box and realized there was a cartoon depiction of a cockroach happily stuck in goo and that it was cockroach bait I nearly put into my tea (and anyway, the Japanese don't put sweetner in their tea). I still can't find soy milk and have spent the last four days at the supermarket standing in front of a huge display of milk cartons, pitifully trying to discern which ones might be soy. They all have pictures of cows on them, so I'm guessing none.