The third Monday of July is Ocean Day, and I was blessed with a long weekend. My hours had been building steadily since I’d arrived, and I was often required to work weekends – you can’t upgrade a phone or voice-mail system while people are using them. This was a rare chance to take a… Continue reading ãŠç¥ã‚Š
Summer, Music, Crime
JAPANESE SUMMER I’m writing to try and wake myself up. I refused the Korea network project because as far as I could see it required someone to be on site full time for a couple of months. I’m still settling in here so I didn’t want to spend my time traveling back and forth, or… Continue reading Summer, Music, Crime
犯罪
Japan is a safe country. Women and children walk unlit streets at night, confident that there won’t be anyone with a knife or a gun lurking. Each day, thousands of mama chari – mums’ bikes with a ladies frame and a basket on the front that are used by everyone, even sarariiman – are left… Continue reading 犯罪
Settling In
Phase 1 is over so I have a bit of time to myself – time to write to friends. I have been working on an int’l project in an area I have little experience in. I had 2 weeks to make a decision on which computer to use, and while the list of 5 was… Continue reading Settling In
家
I had mixed emotions when I moved into my apaato at the end of May. Not having a permanent address over the last couple of months, I’d learnt that a home is more than a room with a collection of possessions. It’s more even than the memories of those favourite objects gathered over the years,… Continue reading 家
転勤
From my hotel, I looked out on an extensive array of blue roofs. They weren’t a happy symbol, huddled together like a concentration camp while the meagre possessions of the occupants spilled into the alleys between. Each shack, I’d learned on a business trip the year before, housed a family who’d lost their home in… Continue reading 転勤
Negotiations
COMPENSATION My second day of looking around was much more enjoyable. I was offered a new salary, and they did more than just add 2 zeros! I’m sure I’m getting a better deal than I did in Australia, but the way they present it is so confusing that it could just be that I’ve compared… Continue reading Negotiations
Health Check
I’ve got a room right next to the lifts. Which is good if you don’t like walking far. I don’t mind (walking that is). What I notice most about this spot is the ‘pin pong’ of the lifts as they approach my floor and the ones above and below me. (Dad, every time I hear… Continue reading Health Check
Flight
I thought that it would be good to have some record of my time (however long it may be) here in Japan (and from there who knows?), but I’m not very good with diaries. I am, however, reasonable at writing letters. So why not kill two birds with one.. laptop (well, something hard and mobile… Continue reading Flight
Prologue
“So, how was it?†The first twenty times I heard it, I considered the question. Recently returned from a year of living in Japan, I was bursting to tell my friends what it was like to live with a Japanese family, to go to a Japanese school. In my head, I ran through the ensuing… Continue reading Prologue