This weekend was once again full of adventure.
Upon arriving to work last Friday Kellyn received an invitation to go out with her co-workers after work that night. Since Kellyn had no plans, since it is culturally important to accept and be a part of gatherings outside of work, and since she has no friends in Japan and is looking for friends under rocks and behind bushes she was in. Later that day during a break between classes her co-workers extended an invitation to Joe and the plans were made. This sort of a gathering meets at an Izakaya. Basically, a bar of sorts where friends or co-workers get together to eat and drink... a lot. They decided the best plan of action was to find a place that had a decently priced "all you can eat and drink." Apparently, many of these bars have a chunk of time in the evening where either food or drink or both are "all you can consume." They found a place in Susukino for 2,500 yen (about 25 dollars) per person and we decided to meet at 9:00 later that night. Joe had already been to a place like this during his training in Tokyo. He was not all that impressed. But, nonetheless we were excited about the chance to hang out with people who spoke English and were closer to our age. Once the whole group arrived they turned the night into a "welcome Kellyn and Adam to Give Us English Academy" shindig (Adam started working at Give Us about a month ago). The whole night was a lot of fun. There was lots of food, some new things, some interesting things, and some delicious things. Everyone was forced to give a speech, joke were told, and Kellyn really felt like she got to know her co-workers better. What a great way to start a job!
Now for the explosion: Sometime late Sunday morning Joe went to start up the shower. Now, starting up the shower is no easy process. It involves multiple steps, many tries, and some tears from time to time. Kellyn was in a different room but could hear Joe give the shower a second or third try. Then all of a sudden KABOOM!!! Kellyn rushed to the shower to find everything intact but a very worried look on Joe's face. We are not quite sure what happened but something inside the shower heater blew up. Since it was Sunday there was nothing we could do. On Monday Joe told the proper authorities from work and they came over to the house to take a look. Within seconds they told Joe to not touch it and they would call a professional to fix the shower. Please God, let them fix the shower today! Tomorrow is a Holiday so if they can't fix it today, we're looking at either going four days without a shower or shampooing our heads in the sink. Neither are positive options.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
A Three Day Weekend
We just finished a three day weekend and boy was it fun. Although nothing drastically out of the ordinary, it was simply a great end to one week and a perfect beginning to another. We have found ourselves enjoying classic movies as of late so we took the extra time to knock out a few more. We watched Cleopatra, Psycho, and Lifeboat. All three were good, however Cleopatra was insanely long (Joe fell asleep for about an hour and a half in the middle). Joe loved Psycho and the conversation that followed the movie was worth the fright for Kellyn. Lifeboat was interesting but maybe not a movie we would run out and buy for our personal collection. The rest of the weekend was spent lounging around, sleeping in, going grocery shopping, experimenting with new foods, trying to make Kellyn's computer run better, exploring Nakajima Koen, and playing poker. The last two were the most fun.
Nakajima Koen (park) is quite near our house. In fact, when we get off the subway we are on the edge of the park. While we have walked through a small section of the park we have never fully explored it until this weekend. Within the park lies the Sapporo Concert Hall, a museum of literature, a place to rent rowboats, a Shinto shrine, a beautiful hotel, and of coarse the park itself. While walking through the park an older woman stopped us and had us take a huge handful of chestnuts from a bag. She spoke no English and either didn't care or ignored us when we said we didn't speak much Japanese. She kept talking and talking to us in Japanese and then wanted us to respond. All we could do was hold onto our chestnuts and laugh. Eventually, she gave up and we walked in the opposite direction. Thanks for the chestnust! Apparently, the park was built when the Olympics blew through Sapporo. We say, "Well done city of Sapporo. It's a beautiful park."
Now for the poker. Kellyn has never played poker before but we had a deck of cards and it was about time that we start playing with them. Joe had a basic knowledge of the game and brought up some directions for Kellyn to glace at if needed during the first few rounds. Well turns out Kellyn is a natural poker shark. The current score: 3 to 0. For our second game we decided to make it a little more interesting. We bought some of our favorite snacks and used them as our chips. Butter-Bread sticks were worth 1, white chocolate filled pretzles were worth 5, and milk chocolate covered almonds were worth 10. Kellyn won that game with a four Kings, but she shared her winnings with her teacher, husband, and greatest fan.
Nakajima Koen (park) is quite near our house. In fact, when we get off the subway we are on the edge of the park. While we have walked through a small section of the park we have never fully explored it until this weekend. Within the park lies the Sapporo Concert Hall, a museum of literature, a place to rent rowboats, a Shinto shrine, a beautiful hotel, and of coarse the park itself. While walking through the park an older woman stopped us and had us take a huge handful of chestnuts from a bag. She spoke no English and either didn't care or ignored us when we said we didn't speak much Japanese. She kept talking and talking to us in Japanese and then wanted us to respond. All we could do was hold onto our chestnuts and laugh. Eventually, she gave up and we walked in the opposite direction. Thanks for the chestnust! Apparently, the park was built when the Olympics blew through Sapporo. We say, "Well done city of Sapporo. It's a beautiful park."
Now for the poker. Kellyn has never played poker before but we had a deck of cards and it was about time that we start playing with them. Joe had a basic knowledge of the game and brought up some directions for Kellyn to glace at if needed during the first few rounds. Well turns out Kellyn is a natural poker shark. The current score: 3 to 0. For our second game we decided to make it a little more interesting. We bought some of our favorite snacks and used them as our chips. Butter-Bread sticks were worth 1, white chocolate filled pretzles were worth 5, and milk chocolate covered almonds were worth 10. Kellyn won that game with a four Kings, but she shared her winnings with her teacher, husband, and greatest fan.
Our Home
This is a video of our house. The quality is pretty bad because we had to compress the file so it would load, but you get the basic idea. Our house is old but we love it.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Kellyn's New Job!
Yes the rumors are true, Kellyn now has a job in Japan.
Around the time we first arrived Joe found a posting on a JET forum website looking for an American or Canadian native speaker, living in Sapporo, and who is preferably a female. The job was teaching English to primary school children. We immediately emailed this woman but we didn't hold our breath since the post was put on the forum last spring. Well about a week or so later we received a response, not from the woman Alison, but from the director of the school. The director explained the position was already filled but he still wanted an interview. We sent him Kellyn's resume and set up an interview. We ran out to UniQlo to buy a "profession" outfit, practiced formal Japanese greetings, and thought through how to answer all the typical job interview questions.
Well, the interview was on Wednesday at 1:30. The subway ride took about 45 minuets and right before Kellyn left thunder, lightning, and a whole lot of rain hit Sapporo like a bag of rice. Thankfully, the building was easy to find and Joe didn't take the umbrella that morning. Kellyn arrived to early to be "professionally" early for the interview so she found a quiet corner to sit and fanned herself (terribly humid that day). Then 1:15 rolled around... it was go time.
Kellyn asked around until she found the director's office. He was not back from lunch but arrived moments later. When he walked in Kellyn expected the typical Japanese formal greeting but no such greeting happened. In fact, the director simply confirmed is she was Kellyn then walked away. When he came back he ushered her into his office for the interview. They ended up chit-chatting about everything from hobbies to the differences between Seattle and Sapporo. Apparently, he lived in the States for five years and goes back every year to visit. The interview was very informal and probably shouldn't even be called an interview. After they were done chatting he jumped into wages, hours, and a small description of the job. It was at this moment Kellyn realized the job was hers if she wanted it. Once the details had been established Kellyn was informed that her training would start that day. She met with another teacher who taught her TPR (Total Physical Response) a teaching method for ESL children. Then Kellyn was handed over to another teacher who was about to teach a class that Kellyn was meant to shadow/assist with. There are about four other schools that the teachers travel between so they hopped into a van and took off for this other school.
The class had five students all around the age of 5 and they were adorable! For the most part Kellyn just copied what the two other teachers did but she was expected to hold her own when it came to TPR. In fact, the director drove over to the school (a 20 minuet drive) to observe Kellyn in the classroom. The class went well and the one of the teachers was very encouraging. The director then drove Kellyn to the nearest train stop and confirmed she could start on Monday.
Training last 7 days and if Kellyn passes she will have a secure job and one that pays well. The position is only for 16 hours a week but hopefully more hours will open up.
We are very excited and thankful this job came along. It was the first one we looked into but it sounds perfect. Thank you Lord!
Around the time we first arrived Joe found a posting on a JET forum website looking for an American or Canadian native speaker, living in Sapporo, and who is preferably a female. The job was teaching English to primary school children. We immediately emailed this woman but we didn't hold our breath since the post was put on the forum last spring. Well about a week or so later we received a response, not from the woman Alison, but from the director of the school. The director explained the position was already filled but he still wanted an interview. We sent him Kellyn's resume and set up an interview. We ran out to UniQlo to buy a "profession" outfit, practiced formal Japanese greetings, and thought through how to answer all the typical job interview questions.
Well, the interview was on Wednesday at 1:30. The subway ride took about 45 minuets and right before Kellyn left thunder, lightning, and a whole lot of rain hit Sapporo like a bag of rice. Thankfully, the building was easy to find and Joe didn't take the umbrella that morning. Kellyn arrived to early to be "professionally" early for the interview so she found a quiet corner to sit and fanned herself (terribly humid that day). Then 1:15 rolled around... it was go time.
Kellyn asked around until she found the director's office. He was not back from lunch but arrived moments later. When he walked in Kellyn expected the typical Japanese formal greeting but no such greeting happened. In fact, the director simply confirmed is she was Kellyn then walked away. When he came back he ushered her into his office for the interview. They ended up chit-chatting about everything from hobbies to the differences between Seattle and Sapporo. Apparently, he lived in the States for five years and goes back every year to visit. The interview was very informal and probably shouldn't even be called an interview. After they were done chatting he jumped into wages, hours, and a small description of the job. It was at this moment Kellyn realized the job was hers if she wanted it. Once the details had been established Kellyn was informed that her training would start that day. She met with another teacher who taught her TPR (Total Physical Response) a teaching method for ESL children. Then Kellyn was handed over to another teacher who was about to teach a class that Kellyn was meant to shadow/assist with. There are about four other schools that the teachers travel between so they hopped into a van and took off for this other school.
The class had five students all around the age of 5 and they were adorable! For the most part Kellyn just copied what the two other teachers did but she was expected to hold her own when it came to TPR. In fact, the director drove over to the school (a 20 minuet drive) to observe Kellyn in the classroom. The class went well and the one of the teachers was very encouraging. The director then drove Kellyn to the nearest train stop and confirmed she could start on Monday.
Training last 7 days and if Kellyn passes she will have a secure job and one that pays well. The position is only for 16 hours a week but hopefully more hours will open up.
We are very excited and thankful this job came along. It was the first one we looked into but it sounds perfect. Thank you Lord!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Our First Guest
A few months ago Kellyn ran into an old friend from high school at the mall. While talking they discovered they would be in Japan at the same time. They made plans for Sarah to come up to Sapporo and stay with Kellyn and Joe for a few days. 
We took Sarah through Odori Park and while we were there we noticed a camera crew from a local TV station. They had gathered a bunch of kids from the park and were getting shots of them interacting with the characters. When the crew saw us they decided to gets shots of us as well. They had the characters, Five and Finee, stand behind us while we shouted in unision "We love Hokkaido!" Only we said it in Japanese.
Sarah was with us for two days and three nights. We had such a blast. We took her through Odori park, to see the Eiffel Tower TV Tower, to Ramen Alley, all around Susukino, to the Nijo Fish Market, the Factory Mall, and around our neighborhood.
Probably the most exciting element our her time with us was completely unplanned. The first morning Sarah was here she asked if we could take her to a hospital. Sarah's throat had been sore for a while and now the left side of her neck was a little swollen and sore. Sarah had just come from Thailand where she volunteered for a month. In about a week she would meet up with a friend and they would spend the next three months traveling throughout S.E. Asia. We didn't want her condition to worsen before she left Japan so we went to the hospital that morning. Apparently, hospitals are not "open" on Sundays. They have a limited staff for emergency situations. Thankfully Sarah had travelers insurance and we were able to find a nurse that spoke decent English. In addition, while we were waiting for the doctor to arrive a couple visiting a patient walked through the lobby where we were sitting. All three of them spoke English (although the man had lived in Australia for a while and spoke English fluently). The couple went with Sarah to her appointment and translated between her and the doctor. While we waited the Japanese patient waited with us. Turns out this woman has traveled through the States and attends a Catholic church in Sapporo. She was wonderful! We enjoyed our conversation with her so much we are planning on meeting her at her church next Sunday. She gave us her phone number, directions to the church, and then bought us drinks from the vending machine. The doctor explained Sarah has a viral infection in her lymph nodes and gave her some antibiotics. We returned to the hospital the next day for a check up and the doctor ushered us not to be worried.
We enjoyed having Sarah with us so much. She was the perfect house guest, it was fun taking her around, we loved having someone to talk to, and Kellyn loved having an old friend to catch up with. It's possible we may have smothered her a little, but we were just so excited to have her.
We took Sarah through Odori Park and while we were there we noticed a camera crew from a local TV station. They had gathered a bunch of kids from the park and were getting shots of them interacting with the characters. When the crew saw us they decided to gets shots of us as well. They had the characters, Five and Finee, stand behind us while we shouted in unision "We love Hokkaido!" Only we said it in Japanese.
Sarah was with us for two days and three nights. We had such a blast. We took her through Odori park, to see the Eiffel Tower TV Tower, to Ramen Alley, all around Susukino, to the Nijo Fish Market, the Factory Mall, and around our neighborhood.
Probably the most exciting element our her time with us was completely unplanned. The first morning Sarah was here she asked if we could take her to a hospital. Sarah's throat had been sore for a while and now the left side of her neck was a little swollen and sore. Sarah had just come from Thailand where she volunteered for a month. In about a week she would meet up with a friend and they would spend the next three months traveling throughout S.E. Asia. We didn't want her condition to worsen before she left Japan so we went to the hospital that morning. Apparently, hospitals are not "open" on Sundays. They have a limited staff for emergency situations. Thankfully Sarah had travelers insurance and we were able to find a nurse that spoke decent English. In addition, while we were waiting for the doctor to arrive a couple visiting a patient walked through the lobby where we were sitting. All three of them spoke English (although the man had lived in Australia for a while and spoke English fluently). The couple went with Sarah to her appointment and translated between her and the doctor. While we waited the Japanese patient waited with us. Turns out this woman has traveled through the States and attends a Catholic church in Sapporo. She was wonderful! We enjoyed our conversation with her so much we are planning on meeting her at her church next Sunday. She gave us her phone number, directions to the church, and then bought us drinks from the vending machine. The doctor explained Sarah has a viral infection in her lymph nodes and gave her some antibiotics. We returned to the hospital the next day for a check up and the doctor ushered us not to be worried. We enjoyed having Sarah with us so much. She was the perfect house guest, it was fun taking her around, we loved having someone to talk to, and Kellyn loved having an old friend to catch up with. It's possible we may have smothered her a little, but we were just so excited to have her.
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