Today the first day where I have a solution to my scratched cornea eye problem that was diagnosed yesterday.
It's Tuesday, November 12, 1991 here in Ohrawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan. I'm an assistant English teacher teaching at the seven junior high schools here in the city.
This week, I'm at Wakausa Chu Gakko (Wakausa Junior High School), an affluent school, but not that you could tell. The kids are generally bright, scrubbed and well-behaved.
I, however, am not.
Tomura-sensei (Tomura teacher) the lone Christian I know here, is the head English teacher at the school. He has always reminded me of Mr. Sulu, George Takei, of Star Trek fame. He picks me up at my place at 7:35AM as school starts at 8AM in this country.
I can tell that he's more than a little surprised at my glasses and pony-tail, but true to Japanese form, he says nothing until I quickly explain what is going on. There is no explanation for the pony-tail, except that I wanted to grow my hair. I have about a three-inch long pony tail now. Mullet head.
The kids all over the school are shocked too... but mostly over my pony tail, as they call me Shimura Ken (I suppose it's short for Kenichi) after the famous and very funny comedian I like to watch on television here.
I do my best to amuse them all by saying his catch-phrase: "Daijobu-da"... a kind of rural way of saying "No problem".
I survive my four classes today doing the same joke over and over again until I am sure it is no longer funny.
Still, one boy tells me that Nara Sports shop that sells sports clothing nearby at the TBC building, is also now selling Japanese baseball cards - a first.
I get a ride home early not thanks to this school always seemingly having teacher's meetings, but rather because I have a headache - probably due to my glasses.
At home I switch to my contact lenses - scratched cornea be damned - get some money from the local bank's ATM, go to the local video store (okay, every thing I do is local), and then head over to Nara Sports (Yes, it's in English!) and buy a carton of baseball cards.
I love collecting baseball cards. I have no idea who most of the players are, but it doesn't matter. The names are written in English on the front, but the back with the stats is all Japanese. Fortunately, except for the bio's I can easily figure everything else out.
I then go to the shops to buy some contact lens saline solution, pick up a dry-cleaned sweater and then some ready-made food I only need heat in my convection/microwave oven.
This is the life.
At home, I watch the videos and put in my eye medicine (into my scratched cornea eye) every two hours... after switching to glasses again. It feels a lot better.
I then clean up the apartment, iron my clothes for tomorrow and go to bed at 11:20, reading Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Gory, original, but hardly a horror book to me.
Oh yeah... I open up all 36 packs of baseball cards (no gum, dammitt! in keeping up with the current North American trend), and put them all in order, separating the duplicates for possible trade or gifts to students tomorrow.
Oh... I also got a birthday card in the mail from Karen Irwin and one from my friend Naoko who is currently visiting China.
Yeah, a boring day... but it's not. You know what I mean? No one calls, and no one comes over. It's quiet without the need for any introspection.
Somewhere daijobu-da,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by John Fogerty, formerly the lead singer of CCR (Credence Clearwater Revival):
It's Tuesday, November 12, 1991 here in Ohrawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan. I'm an assistant English teacher teaching at the seven junior high schools here in the city.
This week, I'm at Wakausa Chu Gakko (Wakausa Junior High School), an affluent school, but not that you could tell. The kids are generally bright, scrubbed and well-behaved.
I, however, am not.
Tomura-sensei (Tomura teacher) the lone Christian I know here, is the head English teacher at the school. He has always reminded me of Mr. Sulu, George Takei, of Star Trek fame. He picks me up at my place at 7:35AM as school starts at 8AM in this country.
I can tell that he's more than a little surprised at my glasses and pony-tail, but true to Japanese form, he says nothing until I quickly explain what is going on. There is no explanation for the pony-tail, except that I wanted to grow my hair. I have about a three-inch long pony tail now. Mullet head.
The kids all over the school are shocked too... but mostly over my pony tail, as they call me Shimura Ken (I suppose it's short for Kenichi) after the famous and very funny comedian I like to watch on television here.
I do my best to amuse them all by saying his catch-phrase: "Daijobu-da"... a kind of rural way of saying "No problem".
I survive my four classes today doing the same joke over and over again until I am sure it is no longer funny.
Still, one boy tells me that Nara Sports shop that sells sports clothing nearby at the TBC building, is also now selling Japanese baseball cards - a first.
I get a ride home early not thanks to this school always seemingly having teacher's meetings, but rather because I have a headache - probably due to my glasses.
At home I switch to my contact lenses - scratched cornea be damned - get some money from the local bank's ATM, go to the local video store (okay, every thing I do is local), and then head over to Nara Sports (Yes, it's in English!) and buy a carton of baseball cards.
I love collecting baseball cards. I have no idea who most of the players are, but it doesn't matter. The names are written in English on the front, but the back with the stats is all Japanese. Fortunately, except for the bio's I can easily figure everything else out.
I then go to the shops to buy some contact lens saline solution, pick up a dry-cleaned sweater and then some ready-made food I only need heat in my convection/microwave oven.
This is the life.
At home, I watch the videos and put in my eye medicine (into my scratched cornea eye) every two hours... after switching to glasses again. It feels a lot better.
I then clean up the apartment, iron my clothes for tomorrow and go to bed at 11:20, reading Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Gory, original, but hardly a horror book to me.
Oh yeah... I open up all 36 packs of baseball cards (no gum, dammitt! in keeping up with the current North American trend), and put them all in order, separating the duplicates for possible trade or gifts to students tomorrow.
Oh... I also got a birthday card in the mail from Karen Irwin and one from my friend Naoko who is currently visiting China.
Yeah, a boring day... but it's not. You know what I mean? No one calls, and no one comes over. It's quiet without the need for any introspection.
Somewhere daijobu-da,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by John Fogerty, formerly the lead singer of CCR (Credence Clearwater Revival):
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