Maya's Adventures!!

Ohayogozaimasu

This is my fourth day here, and my apartment is definately not settled...I've been too busy going shopping adn meeting up with people to get anything done! Yesterday I went shopping with Erika and we bought a couch and a bed. (well, the bed is only for me, obviously) And today I plan to go to the bank, etc. and finally get things put away in my room.

My apartment is in a very convenient location, about a 20 min walk from Shinjuku (and only 5 min from the nearest subway station). So it's right in the middle of the city, but it's tucked away in a sort of old neighborhood. I love the way that Japan often has this "old meets new" vibe. The neighborhood that I'll be living in has old shops allinging the streets, with grandmas selling vegetables and grandpas running small restaurants, and even a bath house.

But, you look off into the distance from our apartment, and you can see the Tokyo Metropolitan Government nearby.

I've been wandering around my apartment area for a few days now, and I'm getting to like the feel more and more. There are always people walking around, so I feel quite safe, yet it's very quiet so I can get good solid sleep at night

I don't have internet at my aparmtnet yet (and wont' for another month or so) so I'm updating this from Taro's. Please understand if I dont get back to emails right away.
Things here are wonderful thus far tho, and I hope that things in MN, Sendai, and everywhere else that all of you live is wonderful as well!

This will be my last entry from Sendai. These past few weeks have been a whirlwind.

I've had goodbye parties every day for the past 2 weeks. And while I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day, I realized how different the goodbye experience is here from the states.

Everyone from coworkers, to church members, to acquaintances (seriously) to friends have been throwing parties in my honor. Now, you might all think that this has to do with how awesome I am, and this is just a measure of my popularity level. And though I hate to turn down the idea that people throw parties because I'm so cool, it's really a part of Japanese culture.

One of the things that I love (and sometimes not-so-love) about this culture is the ceremonial way that they send someone off. For example, when someone is over at your house, and they leave, you don't just say "bye!" you walk them to the door, and sometimes even walk them to the station or wait in the driveway until they drive away.
When you see someone off at the train station, you often wait until they are out of sight to go back to your house. The person who is leaving might turn around a few times to wave as well. I forgot that this isn't a part of American culture, and a few years ago, I sat and watched as an American friend headed toward the bullet train. I literally watched for 10 minutes while she got her stuff and headed up to the platform, but she didn't turn around even once! Oh, cultural differences!

Anyway, yesterday was my last day of work. I worked the morning at the international center, saying my goodbye speech to them all before I headed off to lunch. Then walked to city hall, to say my goodbye to them all as well at 5pm. My coworkers at city hall even came all the way down to the entrance and saw me off until I was out of sight.
Talk about an emotional day!! But that was still not the end.

Last night was my final goodbye party. With some of my bestest friends in Sendai. It was the SIRA (international center) and Nori-chan crew. It was unbelievably fun, and I am soooooo happy that I made such wonderful friends through my work. I think its pretty rare to become this close with the people you work with, and I find myself very lucky.
I made individual cards for each of the 7 of them, and they were all really surprised. One guy was so surprised and happy when he found out I wrote something different on each of their cards
Oh! And the restaurant/bar we went to had a palm reader as part of its service, and we each had our palms read. The guy told me: "You're better off living/working in the country where you were born." Now I know, it's just palm reading, and I dont really believe in all the hoopla. But since I'm moving to Tokyo, I felt reassured

I can't say enough how surreal this is. It still hasn't hit me that I wont be here anymore. Obviously I've moved several times in my life, but it never gets any easier. Though I've been focusing on Tokyo, and not so much the "leaving" part, these parties have made me think about the leaving part, and its not fun

Since my camera cord is packed away, here's a pic from the ALT leavers party.

Speaking of focusing on Tokyo, I got an apartment! Woohoo!!!!
I'll be living with my friend Erika (her name looks English, but she's Japanese) near Shinjuku. For those of you who know Tokyo, its really close to the governmental building (Tocho) where you can go on top for free to get a view of Tokyo city. The apartment is also a decent size, with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen/dining, so if you're in the area, hit me up

The movers are coming in a few hours (hopefully soon) and I leave tomorrow morning on the bullet train for Tokyo. I fear what awaits me at the goodbye as well, as I know several people are coming to say goodbye. I sit here now, with boxes surrounding me, and my computer box open and waiting for me to put my laptop away. So I suppose I better sign off. (especially since this got so long)

So thank you Sendai, for how awesome you are. I've the BEST four years I could imagine. I'm really gonna miss you, but I look forward to seeing all the people of Sendai Soooon!
Sayonara for now! Next time, I'll be updating from Tokyo

After living and working in the same place for 4 years, you can imagine the number of people that I want to say goodbye to.

I had the ALT leavers party last Friday, which was great fun. I have been trying not to think about the "leaving" bit so much as the "going" bit. (i.e. concentrating on Tokyo and the new adventure that awaits, not the fact that I'm leaving my friends in Sendai.) This has been a very successful plan to stop myself from showing emotions. (aka crying)

Then, it all went to "crap" at my goodbye party with SIRA coworkers.
On Monday night, everyone I have ever worked with at SIRA came to the going away party. I was unbelieveably surprised and obviously very pleased to have so many people turn up for the party.

After we had a short greeting from SIRA's current director, and we all started eating, Sudo-san (my now manager) said everyone present would be required to give a greeting. The topic was one of three 1) The Maya that I know. 2) The Maya that I love. 3) other.

The first thought was "oh how nice!" and the second thought that crossed my mind was "uh-oh... we'll see how long I can keep my cool and composed posture."
As each of the 26 people present began to talk, the more and more my eyes began to well-up. Being reminded of my first days at work, as well as learning things my coworkers had thought about me (in a good way!).
Halfway thru the "speeches" Sudo-san asked me to give a greeting.

The second I stood up, I just ended up blubbering away, going on about "thank you" and "see you soon" or something like that. They all ended up laughing at one point when I took a deep breath and said the Japanese equivalent of "oh crap!" much more loudly than i had planned. (ha)
I did feel a bit better tho, when my good friend Takahira-chan cried during her speech as well. (where as Makie and Ayako pointed and laughed at me! great friends they are! haha)

Anyway, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I can't believe I'm leaving this job, and this work environment. I couldn't have asked for better or more understanding coworkers.
But, as Nori-chan says, this just gives my work-friends an excuse to come to Tokyo! So, I'll wait for them there!!

(note my red eyes...very cool)

Yesterday I had my "last lunch" with Aki. (sounds like the last supper. but neither of us are going to h-e-double hockey sticks) It was great to catch up with her. I have been incredibly lucky to have "found" her this year. After I lost all my good gaijin (foreigner) friends (namely Yoko) last year, I was sooo happy to find a connection in Aki. We've grown extremely close in the past year, and I know that we'll stay close in future years.
Especially since she'll probably be living somewhere super cool, and I'll have to visit her!

And Last night my "host" family (the zoo-keeper family) took me out for a delicious Chinese meal. We've gone there several times (in fact, it's one of the only places we go out to eat together) since their eldest Midori worked there for several years, and they (and me too) have become good friends with the owners.
It was really great to spend another evening with them, and I'm really going to miss them and the wonderful support system that they have been. But they assured me that I'll have a place to stay when I come back to Sendai to visit. (as has Nori-chan. yoroshiku! Cause I'ma be staying with you whenever I visit!!!)
The "father" (Takechi-san) gave me a beautiful kokeshi doll as a going away gift. I was overwhelmed. It was absolutely beautiful, and I was sooo pleased to get it. Unfortunately, I was way lame and didnt get a picture of us together. oh well, next time!!!!

Man, I'm gonna miss them

Well, it's (semi) official!!! (just gotta finish up the final details) but I got a job in Tokyo.

Woohoo!!!

It's for a "relocation agency" which means, they work to help expats when they move to Japan. I got the idea that the difficult part about working for this sort of company is that I have to not only keep the "user" (or expat) satisfied, but the company that hires us satisfied.

I think it should be interesting. Meeting lots of people from all over the world, while hopefully feeling somewhat useful and helpful to those whom I meet.

I absolutely loved the president of the company, and both interviews I had with her were a real treat. So I'm really looking forward to working for her. Here's hoping that working for her is just as fun as the interview process was!

In other news, my good friend Lisa got me on a blog!
CLICK HERE
apparently it's some famous gossip blog??

I don't know what it is about the smart women in my life all being obsessed with celebrity gossip (Lisa, Yoko, and Emma, for one). Maybe if I get obsessed with celebrety gossip I'll get smarter like those women? (ha)
I just realized I called my younger sister a "woman". Sigh Growing up is weird!

And just for kicks, here's a pic of Lisa, Traci, Miyuki, and me. From the last time we saw eachother. (when I was down in Tokyo a couple weeks ago for interviews.)

as the days slip by, it's finally begining to hit me that I wont be able to see these coworkers and friends (many who have become like family) on a regular basis. Unfortunately, evenings and weekends have been eaten up by work and going-away parties.
So...last Tuesday, Nori-chan and I took Tuesday off to go on a "date". It was so much fun! She picked me up at 11, and after selling some old clothes at the used clothing store (tho I made nothing cause they wouldnt buy my sweaters ) we went for Soba. It was a beautiful day, and we ate sat there having a long lunch.
Then, we did a tiny bit of shopping and then headed toward a cafe for some coffee. (yum!) And after chatting for a few hours, we headed for Noric-han's house and went for baskin robbins. They were having a "buy 2 scoops, get a 3rd one free!" sale, so we had to get that as well!

Needless to say, after all that eating, I was so full I didnt even eat dinner. haha

It was a GREAT relaxing day with one of my best friends. It was a lot of fun, but I was also reminded of how much I'm going to miss her. But as I keep telling myself, I'll hopefully be an excuse for her to visit Tokyo more often, and she said I am guaranteed a place to sleep in her new apartment whenever I come back to Sendai. Yay!

As you can see in the title, several fun (un work related) things have happened in the past few weeks. First, I helped Taro move down to Tokyo. He picked me up at 5am. (yes, that means i woke up at 4:30. I dont remember the last time I did that (or if I ever did that) tho I have gone to bed that late. haha)
Anyhow, we drove down there arrived at about 10am, and unloaded the FULL van.
Then, got right back in the car and went to the used electronics store to buy a fridge, washing machine, fan, etc. Yes, we carried a washing machine and a fridge the two of us. That was fun! haha








Here's the apartment with ALL the stuff in it.


I also had Ayumi and her roommate Mariko, and our friend Riko come and visit that weekend. We all went to the firefly festival which was great fun! Unfortunately, you cant get good pictures of fireflys, so here's a pic of the 4 of us outside enjoying them
And where did we (me and Hiroshi) take them for lunch the next day? Cow Tongue, of course!

I've translated my two hour speech that I wrote about a few posts back. I've updated the "shorter" version on SIRA's website.

If you want the "long" version, email me and I'll send it to you.

Here's the LINK!

oh, and please comment here and let me know what you think of it. (or you can email me with your opinions or whatever.)
It's a bit long, so don't feel pressure to read it, obviously. Just if you want to

Nearly a month since my last post and my mood has done a 180. (Though I don't usually tend to stay down for too long anyway, since feeling depressed just annoys me. haha)

The Art Show went off without a hitch. We had over 250 people come to the Opening Gala. And over 20 ppl participate in each workshop on Sat and Sun. (with about 40 in one of them. go Carribbean Dance!) This all added up to having over 150 ppl come on both Sat and Sun. So...grand total of over 550 ppl coming to see the show! (tho I suppose some ppl were "repeat" customers...) As you can see, I was thoroughly pleased with how it turned out, but it still felt good to be DONE! (Though I'm still working on the finances, so I'm not really "done" yet...ugh.)

During the artshow, I had to work on another project, "Sendai Orientation" for new international students. That event went off without a hitch as well! With over 250 ppl participating. It was a bit stressful, but it was great to see how well everyone worked together. (I wasn't the main one planning, just assisting my coworker)

Since then, I've been crazy busy with other various tasks such as the city-wide earthquake drill, and organizing the volunteers for the Sendai World Festa that takes place at the international center every year.
It still hasn't quite hit me that I'll be leaving Sendai and my job next year. I'll be working right up to the last minute, and as with the volunteers, many of the projects I'm working on won't even happen until I'm gone. Weird thing to think about... But luckily, I like what I'm doing!

Now the big question I'm sure you all have is "what next?" Well, I don't want to jinx myself yet...but I'm currently working on a few positions in Tokyo. I had a few interviews last week, and they went quite well. I even got 2 follow up interviews set up already. Yay! I got a great vibe from one of the companies, so we'll see how the 2nd interview pans out.
What was interesting though, was how different the interviews were. I had some in Japanese, and some in English. In Japanese, it's "normal" to be humble. So when I went from a Japanese interview to an English one (I never knew what language it would be in until I got there) the English interviewer would say for example: "so, you've lived here for a while. is it safe to say you're fluent?" and instead of the "Definately. I have perfect Japanese. You should obviously hire me!" I responded "Yes. I suppose so."
Part way through the interview, I realized this, and changed my responses to more "I ROCK! I am the GREATEST employee anyone could ever have!" type answers. haha

There was actually an earthquake in Sendai while I was in Tokyo. The magnitude of the central location was 7.2. Sendai was a bit lower, though still quite high. (my VCR was about to topple off my TV when I got home, though no broken dishes. fewf!) But the earthquake was so big that even Tokyo shook. We've been having several after shocks as well, and they counted 95 in just the first few hours after the quake. But, I'm all good. No worries :-) Though the aftershocks have been quite big and quite freaky.
Sendai has a 90% chance of there being "the big earthquake" in the next 10 years, and 99% chance within the next 30 years. Needless to say, officials have all told Sendai residents to "give up and prepare!"
Anyway, after freaking you out...I'm off to make dinner!

Not sure that I should be writing here when I'm in such a state, so be ware of negative post!

As you might guess from the title, May, 2008 has possibly been my most stressful month ever. (aybe even in my life...*gulp*) After finishing my speech last week (which went off without a hitch, yay!) I haven't gotten to rest at all because I've had to prepare for the artshow, and an international students orientation (first time ever to do this, making for a LOT of preparation) as well as writing a magazine article and an article for the web. (plus various translations coming my way)
So.....that's a few of the things I have to get done (in a nut shell). but unfortunately, I have to take work off on Friday in order to set up artwork for the show. So I can't do any work on Friday. Which means I've been working over time pretty much every day this week. (I took yesterday afternoon off for a phone interview tho, yay!) And I just got home today (8:30pm)

Today has been my 10th work day in a row, since I went into work both Saturday and Sunday, and even though I'm taking the day "off" this coming Friday, I have to do work for the artshow. And I have to work the weekend at the artshow as well as the international student orientation. (looks like 3 weeks straight of work for me! Does this make me officially Japanese?)

Needless to say, it's been stressful. When I'm not at work, or thinking about work, I'm thinking about how I'm going to find my next job (and if I'm even going to find the next job) and how I'm going to pay for my move.
Moving in Japan costs an insane amount of money. I know, moving in the states costs quite a bit as well, but here, you need rent, deposit, and "key money" which is usually 1 or 2 months rent, and you don't get it back. because it's a thankyou to the landlord for letting you rent. (yeah, wtf is that???) Plus, I need to buy a fridge, washing machine, a burner/range (for cooking) as well as furniture. Because apartments don't come equipped with that either. (No, they don't even have a burner for cooking.)
My friends/family/Taro all tell me not to worry, that I'll find a job and that it'll all work out. but until they can give me a job, I'll keep being worried (ha).

Does this much stress and business make me officially an adult? Cause if so, I'm not sure I wanna be one. (haha) There was a Grey's Anatomy episode about how little kids always wanna grow up, but once you get there, it's really not all that great. Honestly though, I don't really remember ever wishing I was a grown up. (except for when my parents were being "stupid" and not let me stay up late and watch TV.)
I think I've always been a "my age right now rocks!" type. Though maybe that'll change when I get close to being "over the hill" haha

Eventhough I'm insanely stressed, and freaking out about the future, I know I'm insanely lucky. I'm lucky that my current job trusts me so much, that they are trying to get many big projects in before I leave so that I can have input. I'm lucky that they give me so many opportunities (i.e. responsibilities) at my job. Most of all, I'm lucky that I have my fam/friends/Taro to support me through this crazy insane business.

So thankyou. All of you. I'm pretty sure I'd be bald from pulling my hair out by now if I didn't have the love and support from YOU! no matter how far away you are

Meanwhile, back to work for me! Gotta finish that magazine article! (yes...from home...*sigh*)

I finished my speech yesterday, and it went off swimmingly.
Thanks to the awesome ideas from many of you (esp Sig. that was hilarious. it was like you had penned up that stuff for 15 years or something! haha)

I was floating on air last night when I got home (i ended up working until 7pm even tho the speech was done at 12) and couldnt stop talking while on the phone with Taro. he was like dude, you must really be relieved.

I'm currently working on an article to put in our magazine about my "speech". and then hopefully get it on here, or thru email to those who are interested in reading it.

I probably won't have much time to update this coming week, as I have the Sendai Orientation for international students on Sunday, and the big artshow that I've been working on all year from Fri - Sun. (so my work isn't over yet!)

I've just got a few more weeks of insane-ness, and hopefully I'll be calm by mid June...

oh yeah, and job hunting too. gotta find some time for that...