Fish, Fish, Fish

The entrance to my new apartment...more pictures will be coming soon! :)

The "scramble" crossing at Shibyua...TONS of people!

Me and Carole

Things have remained quite busy here, and I feel like I am finally settling in, especially since I was able to move into my apartment on Friday!  After school, I was brought to my apartment and it almost felt like Christmas-I arrived home to an apartment full of furniture and boxes that had just appeared while I was at school!  I began opening them up to see what sort of surprises were inside, however, I didn't want to spend that much time unpacking since my friend from Lux, Carole, had just arrived the night before, and I wanted to take her to my favorite area of Tokyo, Shibyua.  It's famous for its "scramble" crossing,which literally has crosswalks going every which way with hundreds of people crossing each time there is a green "walk" sign!  I think I could people watch there all day long and never get bored! 

Death Row for fish!

Me and Carole woke up bright and early on Saturday morning...5:30AM to be precise, to experience the Tsjkiji Fish Market, the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world!  I have to say, it was the quite the experience!  Words can't really describe what I saw - there were lots of Tuna fish the size of a 3yr child, being seared and sold, live fish waiting their death call (some in water, some out of the water and flapping about), and even live eels being beheaded, among other things!  There was blood and guts everywhere, but it was the freshest fish I've ever seen.  There was not any smell of fish, a clear indication of the quality of it!  Wandering through the fish stalls, I had to be quite careful not to get run over by one of the many small trucks, driven by standing individuals, weaving in and out of people.  I could have ordered fresh sushi on the spot at one of the outer market stalls, but it was too early in the morning for it, not to mention I had a queasy stomach from watching it all!

Look at the size of the tuna!

Yummy!

One of the many performances

If you can believe it, I stumbled upon another festival here in Tokyo!  We went to Yoyogi Park Sunday morning, and upon arrival, there was a massive stage and people in different costumes everywhere.  We stayed to watch, and there seemed to be performance after performance by a variety of groups.  My personal favorite were these older Japanese women dressed up as cats!  We then headed to the Meiji Shrine, which is in the park, and stumbled upon a traditional Shinto wedding.  The culture here is really rich and considering its completely different from anything I know, I try to capture it with my camera and just snap away.  In fact, I've come to the conclusion that it makes sense why the Asians take so many pictures...because I do the same when I'm in their territory! 

Traditional Shinto Wedding

Me and Carole at the Shrine

Cats!

Traditional Japanes Garden

I had many other highlights this weekend, especially the gourmet food hall at Takashimaya.  It reminded me of the food hall at Harrods for those of you who have been there.  The selection and presentation was incredible...and I'm sure I'll find myself going back there!  We each found something to bring as a picnic lunch to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, a stunning place with a beautiful Japanese traditional garden.  There was yet another festival going on there, but I guess in a city with over 8 million people, that's necessary! :)

Me and Carole at the Shinjuku Gyoen

Oh yeah, much to your dismay, I do also have a job here in Tokyo!  School is well underway and the girls are great, much like the students at ISL.  They all love PE class, so it makes my job much easier.  I did have the challenge of making cuts for the middle school volleyball team, not an easy job, but nonetheless, necessary.  The sports here are a little more intense than in Luxembourg: practice 5 days a week, mid-week games since much of our competition is close by, along with Saturday games too. The staff has also been very welcoming and I'm enjoying my new colleagues.  Besides the heat and the fact that the gym is the ONLY place in the school without air conditioning, work is good! :)  I'm just glad my office has AC so I can cool down on my planning periods!  Much love to everyone!

Organized Chaos!

A few Japanese girls in their Kimonos

Tarps marking someone's terriority!

Japan continues to amaze me...I went to two different festivals this past weekend, and have come to the conclusion that Japan has the most organized chaos I have ever seen!  The highlight was attending an hour long fireworks show along the river with 350,000 people, many dressed in kimonos or yukatas, traditional Japanese outfits.  The fireworks are such a big event that people headed to the river early in the day to put a tarp down to hold their spot!  Luckily, I was with a group who had secured a spot at 10AM so our view of the fireworks was great.  The show itself was pretty spectacular, with incredible fireworks in different shapes such as Hello Kitty, smiley faces, hearts, etc.  There was even a little replica of Mt. Fugi lit up with fireworks exploding out of it!  The fireworks were impressive and non-stop for the full hour, and the Japanese sure like to do a lot of oohing and ahhing. :)  It definitely made for a fun atmosphere!  

Takoyaki being made

Me and two elementary teachers from school

Food booths everywhere!

Okonomiyaki being made

Besides the fireworks, the food booths were amazing, with such a selection of Japanese food.  I tried a couple of different things,  Takoyaki (fried octopus in dumpling batter) and Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake with cabbage, bacon, egg) and have yet to be       disappointed by Japanese food!  The booths were everywhere and I was continually amazed at how the Japanese politely form lines; they simply find the back of the line and wait their turn.  The thing that makes it work though, is that EVERYONE does it, there are no pushers or shovers to make people get aggressive and that's the beauty of this culture.  These lines go everywhere, wrapping around things this way and that, but they even form lines like this at the metro and the porta potty!  Leaving the fireworks was an adventure in itself because there were thousands of people trying to leave.  They plan in advance for these types of things and have roads blocked to traffic, security guards everywhere directing people, and as I said, is such organized chaos!  Luckily for me, the fireworks were within walking distance of my hotel so I was able to have a nice leisurely walk back, with my towel of course, to catch the dripping sweat from the heat and humidity!  

People everywhere!

Festival #2!

On Sunday there was another festival, with traditional Japanese dancing and more Japanese food.  :) I was out with the Irish girls and just happened to come across the festival...it seems like there is ALWAYS something going on here!  I liked the bright colorful kimonos, and the Japanese music with the live drummer!  

View of drummer

Today was my first official day of school with kids and the girls are GREAT!  I'm teaching at a Catholic all-girls international IB school for those of you who didn't know, and am enjoying my experience so far.  The girls are from all over the world, much the same to the school in Lux, but there is definitely more of an Asian influence here.  I will be coaching the middle school volleyball team here, and start try-outs bright and early at 6:45AM tomorrow!

Michelle, me, Nadine

I'm in the process of packing up my hotel luggage and can't wait for my moving day...FRIDAY!  I'll be at school when the keys are available, so thankfully someone from school is taking care of it for me.  Even better, is the fact that the maintenance men from school will be moving all of the furniture I bought from departing staff AND my bags from the hotel to my apartment while I'm teaching! Hopefully by the time school finishes, all of my stuff will be in my new apartment and then unpacking will begin!  I'm thankful that one of my best friends from Luxembourg is arriving here in Tokyo on Thursday to visit, so she will be able to help me decorate and get things settled while experiencing Tokyo and the Japanese culture!

GOAL!!!

Game Time!

What a whirlwind of a week its been!  I've successfully found an apartment even though I don't get to move in until Friday,  had my first few days at school (kids don't come until this Wednesday), and even had the opportunity to attend a professional soccer game!  It was a top J-League game and I was quite impressed with the level of play, along with the die-hard fans cheering!  It reminded me a lot of a European soccer game with the fans going crazy and just that soccer field atmosphere.  Between the two teams that were playing, there were seven players playing who represented the Japanese national team during the World Cup!  In going to the game with people who had been before, a very unique thing that I discovered was the fact that you can buy food and drinks outside of the stadium and are freely able to bring them in.  We stopped at a grocery store to pick up some food and a drink or two on the way and then headed to the match.  The team I was cheering for won and it almost made me feel like I was back in Europe for the evening with the soccer fever atmosphere.  :)

The guys I went to the game with-the guy next to me teaches at my school and the others all play ultimate frisbee, a game I might just have to try!

The opposing team fans, relentlessly cheering

The heat here in Tokyo has been pretty intense-temperatures have been climbing up to 100 degrees (38-39 C for those Europeans out there) and with all of the humidity, it seems like you can never stay dry.  I've been impressed with the Japanese way of dealing with it...they simply carry a towel with them wherever they go.  If you can imagine almost like a washcloth that you carry with you to wipe away the sweat when you need it, you've just about got it!  The Japanese are constantly using the towels and its almost as if you are abnormal if you don't have one.  I was given one as a gift upon my arrival and since I'm doing my best to blend in despite being western and tall, you better believe mine is being used all the time :)

Me and Rei!

I had the privilege of meeting up with one of my former students from the International School of Luxembourg today for lunch!  She is Japanese and moved to the US for a Japanese-American boarding school, when her parents moved back to Tokyo.  I had coached her and taught her for two years at ISL and hadn't seen her in three years!  She happened to be home in Tokyo for the summer before her last year of high school so it was perfect to meet up.  She took me to a very Japanese restaurant and then we had some fun taking pictures in the Japanese photo booths!  It was great reconnecting and just  hearing what she has been up to the past few years.  She loved hearing what I thought about Japan and I took it as quite a compliment that she told me I was good with my chopsticks! :)

My hotel toilet seat

The toilet seats here are quite impressive!  You can heat them if you want, have them make noises in a public bathroom if you don't want people to hear you doing your business, and then they even have these buttons that shoot water out with the water pressure of your choice to rinse you off if you desire that!  I have played around with them a little but haven't been too adventurous yet!  Maybe I'll get brave and give it a try one of these days! 

The staff at school are great and very welcoming, and I hear the kids are just the same.  So many people have reached out to me and offered to help with anything I need, which has been amazing!  I'm slowly learning names and am excited for the students to show up and get the school year started!  I have been invited to various social outings and the athletic director had all of the coaches over to dinner at her place on Friday.  She cooked a nice American meal, complete with cheesy potatoes so it felt a little like home!  I'm planning to try out a different church tomorrow and eventually find a community that suits me.  Hope you all are well-its been great hearing from so many of you!

Ohayo Gozaimasu, Konnichiwa, and Arigatou!

First view of Tokyo-Rainbow Bridge

Tempura over rice, soba soup, and salad

 Those three words (good morning, good afternoon, thank you) more or less sum up my Japanese language skills as of now...and luckily enough, after being in the country just under a week, I'm surviving!  I've decided to give this "blog" thing a try in an attempt to share my experiences with the Japanese culture, along with teaching and coaching at an international school. 

Slippers waiting for us

I arrived in Tokyo last Wednesday evening and was thrown into the culture immediately when my colleague who picked me up asked me what I wanted to eat for dinner.  Me, wanting to soak up the culture as soon as possible exclaimed, "Japanese food, of course!"  So off we went to a Japanese restaurant near my hotel and upon our arrival, before being seated, we were asked to take off our shoes.  We then were led up a few steps to the platform we were going to be seated on, with cushions on top and even a place below the table for your feet!  I'm pretty sure that in all of my travel thus far, I have yet to encounter this...and have come to learn that in seeing over 20 apartments, as soon as you enter, your shoes come off, and slippers put on.  Now in most restaurants you aren't required to take off your shoes, but I definitely felt like it was a great introduction to the culture!  I've been trying as much Japanese food as possible, and have loved everything, so no complaints there!

Shibyua at night...filled with people!

There are about 10 or so new staff members at my school and its been fun getting to know them and go through similar experiences together.  I have hung out quite a bit with two other single Irish girls in their mid-twenties that will be kindergarten teachers so that's been an added bonus to adjust with.  We headed into town this past weekend for an adventure with only a metro map, nothing else.  We were pretty certain we would end up lost, but as expected the Japanese were so kind and always willing to help, even if the communication was purely gestures due to the language barrier!  We sat down in an Irish pub for a drink and wanted to find an English book shop, so figured people there spoke English and it would be possible to figure it out.  Our server told us where Tower Records was located, however, we had not a clue on how to get there.  He told us, "One moment, one moment," and next thing you know, he had gone to the back, printed off a map from google maps and had marked where were located and where Tower Records was.  It was such a kind gesture, and completely unexpected!

Me and the two Irish girls, Michelle and Nadine

I could go on and on about the adventure of grocery shopping, the massive amount of people, the heat and towels that the Japanese carry with them, my school and the kids I've met, but I'll save that for another time.  Until then, I'd appreciate your prayers about the offer I put out on an apartment today and continued adjustment to life here!

Sushi on a belt!

Japanese pose at the Meiji Jingu Shrine