Well it's been a while... almost 2 weeks in fact... and a hectic 2 weeks it's been. I figured tonight's the night to break the silence - I'm feeling upbeat even though it's been a long, tiring week ...and I even just caught the last train after getting rained on ...and this morning I was fantasising about doing a runner and flying back home to Australia. But that's a pretty good summary of the time since I last did a blog (that's blog, not bog). Since arriving in Sanda there's been so much to get used to - within the same day I can be so happy about being here and then so bereft. I wax and wane between confidence and feeling plain inadequate... about living here, liking here, growing as a person and in my faith... and doing the job.

TRADING PLACES

It's a strange kind of arrangement - I've basically taken over someone else's identity - literally! The teacher I've replaced is now safely back home in Canada and I've assumed her life in many details. I've taken her apartment, her utilities, all the household goods she used (even her bedding! ...kind of weird), her job, a slice of her social life here (which is a pretty thin slice, mind you... not because she was unpopular, but because there's limited opportunity to meet people socially in this role of late-working teacher) and pretty much precisely her daily routine. Having said all that, I don't think I'll ever replace her. She took me through a hand-over week of school last week and it kind of freaked me out to put it mildly. I've never before had to keep track of so many things, so many people at once. This week was my first of teaching on my own and it's been a mixed one. But I am slowly starting to relax, which I think is the key. I think I've done some good lessons and some stinkers. The odd kid though just brightens your day. I know you shouldn't show favoritism, but you can't help feeling it. One little girl, Haruka, is just the best. She's so bright and playful it just makes you all sappy. If you know Monsters Inc, she out-cutes Boo by a mile! And there's a boy I teach one-on-one called Keisuke who's just such a good sport and always so appreciative and cheerful that I felt like grabbing him yesterday and saying "Thank you! Thank you! You've given me a reason to keep going!", but I figured that may have disturbed him and my manager... so I paid him with calories instead.

WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I?

Good question, often I'd say in the State of Confusion, but I'm slowly getting my bearings. Sanda is the name of the main city in these parts, but I'm more on the outskirts in a place called Gosha. I teach on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays one stop away in Okaba, Thursdays in the outskirts of the city of Kobe in Kita-Suzurandai and Fridays at the main school in Minami-Woodytown (yes, South Woodytown... next door is Flowertown... I kid you not!).

GOSHA

Gosha is two places, depending on how I'm feeling, which in turn depends on how much sleep I've had or how the day's classes have gone. The first place (seen through well-rested, optimistic eyes) is obscure and romantic Gosha. As I walk the path between the rice paddies and then into the tight street amongst the houses with bonsai (will post a photo soon, Benji), amazingly trained trees (you know the ones - those trees in woodblock prints and ink paintings - they stretch out and turn impossible angles) , sculpted hedges, traditional roofs and those funny little cars parked millimetres away from the walls... I think wow, I'm really in Japan. But when I trudge to work and home again bleary-eyed, weighed down with 2 or 3 books for each level I teach, plus flashcards, tapes and props; when I sit there in my apartment listening to the level crossing beep about 30 metres away and then hear the inevitable passing of the train (there's a generous 4 and a half hours hiatus a night); when I watch all the traffic whiz by on the main road and on the monstrously huge spaghetti highway flyover that dominates the sky behind Gosha station (seriously I'd estimate it's 20 storeys high)... I think no wonder they're all just passing by - I'm living in the back-end of Japan! But I think Gosha is probably a bit of both those places.

Crabs on the footpath between the paddies!
Bamboo thickets that rise storeys up to you from the stream below.
Little groups of stray cats that come out at night.
Red eyes, the smell of alcohol and smoke on the last train.
Oops, women-only carriage to stop groping hands.
The glow of vending machines at the station.
Walk past the unseen dog, gives a fright.

I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a poem. We'll pretend it is. (Imagine Japanese flute and shamisen if that makes it more credible!)

MOUNTAINS

The area generally is really mountainous. The train ride from Kobe generally just goes up and up - rising from sea level (Kobe is a port city - it's really nice) to 500+ feet in Sanda. You see houses covering the sides of hills (generally I'd say you see houses built on the flats next to the hills in Japan) and there's an enormous concrete damn at one point, rather threateningly facing the train line! You get names like Yamanomachi (literally: mountain town) and the store across the line from me, Nishiyama (west mountain) - although it might be the name of a chain of stores. When I first walked past Nishiyama at night I thought the logo looked like an enormous donut. Needless to say I was excited. The next morning I saw it was a flower - it's basically a supermarket - probably far more useful for my preservation than a donut emporium, but disappointing.

DUMP, ANYONE?

Well today I was told that Sanda gets dumps of snow in winter. I knew that Osaka gets the occasional fall, but Sanda actually gets ground cover. Hard to believe when it's only 2 or 3 months away and tonight I turned on the air con when I got home at midnight. As we learned in class tonight: "It's humid!"

MY APATO

Well, just as convenience store here is conbini (thanks for correcting me Will!), my apartment is my apato. It's pretty cool, despite the close proximity to the trains. I have a lot more room than I'd feared which is a relief, and a fast internet connection, which is for more than what I'd hoped for. I even have 4 channels of satellite TV and can buy an expensive car through it should I desire ... and should I find the necessary funds. The key is basically a thick credit card which is nifty and the bathroom is a waterproof booth which seals and allows you to shower and then soak in the tub (haven't managed that yet. Apart from finding the time, it's a bit of an adjustment to think of washing and having a bath, coming from water-restricted Australia!).
I sleep in a giant loft on a futon - the design is such that the living space has a high ceiling (yay, I've always wanted one!). The kitchenette is pretty cramped and stuck in the entrance hallway, but it does the trick I guess. Wouldn't really know - I've only cooked twice so far! haha

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT BLEARY EYES?

Well, to those who've made it this far reading, I'm touched! Many great athletes have less stamina. As you can tell from my rambling fingers it's getting REALLY late, so I shall retire lest I see the walk to Gosha station tomorrow through sullen and bleary eyes, thinking "What was I thinking? Why did they drop me into this hole of a place? How am I going to wing this class - I spent all my preparation time on that stupid blog!"etc etc

So, on that note, toodle-oo

or as we say in Japan, tuda-ru! (not really)

Will post some photos soon. Ja mata!