In Canberra Now!!

Well, I had never expected that I could access my blog to update, but I have figured out a way! However, my access is extremely restricted, so don't go expecting that this will be updated on a frequent basis!

For those playing the game, I've been in Canberra since Feb 2nd working on the IT Graduate Program at Centrelink. Time surely goes quickly! So far the experience has far exceeded my expectations, and I am having a ball! Well, I suppose the work side of it hasn't really exceeded my expectations. What can you expect of working in the public service anyway? It's a bludge pretty much. There is some work to do and a lot to learn, but it is a very relaxed environment. It's not as hardcore as some of the other jobs I could have taken as an IT grad, so I'm quite content. It's a whole lot better than working in Japan. Of course, I enjoyed teaching the actual classes with the students and stuff, but I couldn't stand sitting in the office all day with grumpy middle aged Japanese men!!!

I'm enjoying all the other aspects of life here too. Although my apartment is quite small (especially seeing I have been given notice that I can only use my "half" of the apartment), I have plenty of friends around I can go and bug for entertainment. I'm living all the way down in Tuggeranong, also known as Nappy Valley (full of young families). It's a distance from the city, so I haven't had the opportunity to really check out the nightlife. But I'll be doing that this Friday as I think my birthday is a good enough reason to waste money on taxi drivers who shouldn't have licenses!

I've also made the decision that I'll do the Mother's Day Classic this year on 13 May. There's an opportunity to have people sponsor me for each kilometre, with proceeds going towards the National Breast Cancer Foundation. So... let me know if you want to sponsor me! I'll be doing the 8km run in Canberra. I'll have my Melbourne secretary round up people for sponsorship, so dig deep!

OK, well I'll leave it there because I don't think anyone checks the blog out anymore. I'll try and spread the word so you can keep in touch!

Last of all, you can expect me to be in Melbourne over Easter (planning to come on Thursday 5th evening and leaving on the Monday at about midday). Also going to be down again on April 18 to 22nd (to help celebrate Andrew's 22nd and the sale of the house!!!)

Suzi

From Japan to Australia

Man, I thought I wouldn't be this slack!!! Well, I have been back in Australia for 2 weeks now. Not really much to report from Australia though. I don't have a job, so I have been spending time applying for jobs and catching up with mates. So, I should try and get my blog up to date! Here are some of the things I got up to in my final weeks:

Nagoya Sumo Tournament

How could I live in Japan and not go to the sumo? On July 16th, I went with Megan and a couple of handfulls of JETs to check out the chunky guys bitch slapping each other. Like sucker gaijins, we showed up at the doors open time of 9am.... The real stuff didn't start until 3pm or so! The place didn't provide any good food either. The ticket allows you one re-entry only, so Megan and I ducked out for a few hours to Sakae to have a spot of shopping. We got caught up in a huge downpour/storm on the way back though. It made it a lot cosier at the sumo! The final few hours were excellent though. There were 15 (? I forget how many) matches for the top sumo wrestlers. Interest is maintained by betting amongst your friends, however, I didn't join that. I have bad luck.... Anyway, here are a few of the photos from the sumo. The wrestler with the white dangly bits between his legs (that sounds gross...) is the yokozuna. That means that he is the top ranked wrestler. I don't know if he maintained his title or not, but if you are interested any further, Google is your friend...

For my final weekend in Japan, Megan and I visited Kanazawa. I suppose it's like Soverign Hill or something, because the place is full of souvenirs with gold on them. Kinda tacky I suppose. However, the place was amazing. It wasn't so busy, yet it had a lot of appeal for tourists. We checked out the garden in Kanazawa (I forget the name, again, Google is your friend), which is in the top three gardens of Japan. My favourite part of the trip was seeing all of the organised tours. It's so different to back home in Australia, where people are happy to grab a map and go their own way. In Japan, they especially love tours. They have a load of photos taken of the groups. One of the best things about the group tours is that you wear a name tag, just in case you get lost. Oh yeah, before you go assuming anything, I did not join in the groups. I can read maps just fine! (Even if they are in Japanese gibberish...). The ladies gardening in the photo below were so pissed off that we took photos off them. The one in the front is giving Megan a huge greasy. I got lucky. Hehehe.

This is two days before leaving Japan! One thing I definitely didn't want to go without was going to a baseball match! Together with 5 kiwis (not the animals... the people), I checked out the Tigers against the Dragons at Nagoya Dome. They were the top two teams in the league at the time. I was going for the Tigers because my students told me to. Good thing I did because they won 7-2 (or something like that, my memory is bad). I went to the match with the intention that I just wanted to experience the atmosphere. However, the game was very interesting too. I thought it would be boring like cricket or something, but it is very well paced. I had a great time at the match, and I wish I had gone to more games. If you are living in Japan, you must go to the baseball! Okidokie. I have no more updates about Japan. The next one will have random photos of Australia and what I have been up to. Let's see how long it takes me!!!! Hmmm, I wonder if anyone reads this blog any more anyway?

Last Post From Japan

Today is a day of "lasts".... It is the last Thursdsay in Japan. I had the last class ever today. Had the last plastic bottle collection. And so on.... Also, my internet connection has been cancelled. I'm bumming wireless off someone around here.... thanks, whoever you are...

Things are all winding up now, and it's going to fast! I'm sad and happy all at the same time. So yeah, on Tuesday I'm going to head to Nagoya for my final two nights. Then on Thursday I will be flying out to arrive bright and early on Friday morning.

Can't wait to see everybody!!!!!!

Lotsaluv,

Suzi

13 Days To Go....

Hello to the two readers of my blog! Well this post is more for my personal reasons, but feel free to read it! Inspired by another JET, I have decided to list the things I will miss and the things I will not miss about Japan. Keep checking out this post because I will be adding things to it as I think of them.

Things I will miss:
- Riding a bike that has a granny basket, and not looking like a dork
- The nice old lady down the street from my school that sells yummy waffles
- The cool teachers and students
- Friends I have made here
- Chu-hi (the best lolly water alcohol, and it is so cheap)
- The opportunity to use my Japanese skills
- The funny mailman that cacks himself laughing to himself after he delivers mail to me. (He does this all the way down the stairs and I can hear him through my door)
- Engrish
- Yakiniku (where you barbecue thin slices of meat at your table)
- Dinner with Maki, Kazuki and PJ
- Megan (although she is stalking me back to Melbourne)
- The flushing noise button on the toilets (they don't like peeing sounds to be audible) - I like to push buttons
- Festivals

Things I will not miss:
- Missing my friends and family
- Snow
- Doctors and crazy prescriptions
- The concrete jungleness of Ogaki (although someone told me that Ogaki is one of the nicest cities in Japan)
- Heirarchy
- Not being able to buy clothes
- Customer service on the phone in Japanese - they talk too fast!
- Humidity

OK, that's it for now. I will definitely update later. There are soooo many things!

I'm a good Aussie!

This week our school has a Japanese teacher from New Zealand, Elin, visiting us. This is her sixth time of being in the land of the rising sun! Tomorrow I am taking a class together with her. To make it a little special for the students, we decided to make an Australian/New Zealand delicacy... Lamingtons We had planned to make them together tomorrow morning, but I read the recipe and you need to give them a rest in the fridge overnight to set. Seeing that the weather is all hot and humid, I thought it best to make them tonight. I hope Elin isn't too upset! I have some left over ingredients, so maybe we can make some for her homestay family instead. It is really expensive to make them.... you can only get 40g packs of desicated coconut, which is not really nice... but I think they will taste OK!

As for other news, I finally had a weekend with no responsibilities! On Friday night I went out with some other ALTs in the area for some drinks and food at an izakaya (Japanese style pub). I wore Australian flags in my hair, but I don't think I was as wacky as the birthday girl, Sarah (can you pick her?)

On Saturday night Megan and I went to Nagoya to the Outback Steakhouse. The atmosphere was great, although we got sick of people singing "Happy Birthday" every half hour.... (On that topic, it's Megan's 30th on Sunday -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! -- she's climbing Mt. Fuji for the special day) I had a yummy chicken ceasar salad and half of a cookie cream dessert thing (way too rich for even me to eat the whole thing!)

I had a couple of very un-Australian drinks.....

Pina Colada and a Budweiser....Last Friday I went with the third year students on a class trip to Kyoto. It was fun, although a very short visit. I mostly bought souvenirs. I think I'm going back again this Saturday with the water polo team (no, I am not playing). The only photo I took was in the rest area for busloads of tourists... It's a sign above the lovely squatter loo.... Sorry about the focus... it says "THIS REST ROOM IS FULL AUTOMATICALLY" Who knows what that means...

Please excuse my French....

That is absolute bullshit. Stupid ref.... I know next to nothing about soccer... but that was not a penalty. Dumbass. Stupid Italian sookie lalas. Well now I am a sookie lala! Absolute BS. Good luck in your exam tomorrow Andrew, I suppose it's a good thing it didn't go into extra time....

Oh yeah, and what are these "Bombers" that everyone is talking about? Go Rumbling Reasovers!

I'm so proud....

To be an Aussie! Go get 'em Socceroos and make the quarter finals! I think I will be a very very tired girl after the next match! Wooooooo!

What's going on in the life of Suzi?

Well! I cannot begin to say how relieved I am at the moment. I finished my final exam today. The exam itself wasn't so good, but at least it's behind me! "It wasn't good?" you ask eh? Well, one word... ACCOUNTING. Argh, it bores me to tears! I know that there are people in this world that really love accounting, but I am certainly not one of them! Why would any sane person decide to debit and credit a trillion different accounts when somebody purchases a packet of fruit tingles? Well, the subject certainly led me to have an appreciation for the accounting people. The only side of accounting I ever want to see again is on my paycheck! On the other hand, I am one of those people in the world that has a passion for analysis. I had my Data Analysis for Managers exam last Tuesday, and it was the most fun exam I have ever done! I love translating statistics and predictions into plain English and vice versa. I suppose you could argue that is what accounting essentially is. But it's different. Just accept it.... Hehe.

So now I have 5 weeks and a bit until I come home, and no study! I am so happy about that! Next month I'm heading to Nagoya for a sumo tournament. I'm looking forward to seeing people who have more meat on their bones than me! Today is also a good day because I found $120 in my purse that I didn't know I had. It's because my purse is loaded with receipts. In Japan, you get a receipt for everything you buy. If I buy a lollypop, the shop assistant would not hesitate to put it in a plastic bag (and then probably a cardboard box, followed by yet another plastic bag - I never let them get past the first plastic bag stage though...), and give me a receipt! So the money was hidden between all of the receipts. Lucky me.

So now I have a load of free time on my hands, I thought I would post some random pictures of my time in Japan. They are pretty much in relation to my previous blog entries, but I thought that you might like to have some variety!

Volleyball Day at school. They were dead set serious about their volleyball!The pretty cherry blossoms at school, a couple of days before I came back to Oz

My favourite car at the Toyota museum. It looks like a shoe. It was huge.In Okinawa - the kids in Japan learn the peace sign at an early age!A big bird statue thing in Okinawa. Megan saw the bird from across the peninsula thing, so we went on a crazy bird chase up and down windy narrow roads.Cleaning time at school!
Going home time! This was in winter. These girls are not the same girls in the photo above...
Where the students take off their "outdoor" shoes and put on their "indoor" slippers. There's 1000 pigeon holes!
The view from Gifu Castle
Gifu Castle
A dude with a transmittor radio at Gifu Castle. It was fun to watch him, he looked so serious.
In Kyoto, I watched funny Japanese TV. It was like Australian Idol or something, but the Japanese guys dress up as Elvis or Michael Jackson. They sing funny.

A graveyard in KyotoOne of my favourite stores... the 100 yen store! It's huge.
Doing my first calligraphy with a first year student (she's second year now). I'm painting the character for strong. Because I am...
Land of the Rising Sun? This sun is sinking....
Ogaki Train Station
"Purifying" myself at Ise Shrine with the St. George's exchange group from England.

Let's Be Patriotic!

Well.... big match tonight... my students are all pretty excited about the World Cup. They keep talking about some big Japanese player who has a mohawk. I have no idea who they are talking about. In fact, I have absolutely no idea about the soccer. All I know is that Australia is playing Japan. The Japanese have apparently gone a little crazy about it. They have even resorted to cooking kangaroo shaped pasta so they can eat the Aussies up! They're also very stressed that their team is shorter than the Australian team. Boohoo. If Australia win, I am going to play the Aussie anthem at the start of each class. If they lose, I will stay quiet. :)

Anyway, in this whole wave of patriotism, I couldn't go past the following product I picked up at the supermarket... Let me present "Thorpedo"!There was a whole stack of these drinks set up next to a big poster of him. The drink tastes like a typical Japanese sports drink. It's got a mild grapefruit flavour, but is pretty bland overall.

Anyway, I must be off to bed. Been studying most of the day and I'm pretty happy with how it is all going. That isn't to say that I won't be happy when my studies are over! I'll be soooo happy and free! Yay!

Go Aussies! (Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday to the Queen - and Selen too!)

How you doin'?

Well, I haven't updated lately! I've done nothing significant I suppose. So I thought that I would update you on my life in general!

First of all, as of today I have 55 days left in Japan. It is going soooo quickly! The past month I have been totally immersed in studying. I had four assignments which are now thankfully over. Last week was an absolute killer because I had some problems with the last two assignments. I couldn't sleep and was having about 4 hours sleep each night. By Friday, I was a zombie. I was very grateful when that week was over.

This week has been great though. I gave myself time off from studying and didn't have to teach on Thursday and Friday. I really enjoy the actual classes, it's just the time between that gets to me sometimes. Each week I correct a little more than 200 essays, and I have been encouraging the students to write more and more. In turn, this means that I have to read (and try to understand) more and more! But this week I had had enough. I decided that I would let the 2nd year students watch "Finding Nemo". I never realised how great that movie is. I have watched the first 45 minutes of it 3 times and am not sick of it.

Sometimes classes are a struggle. At times I think the students understand me more than how much some of the teachers understand me. It can get challenging... On the flip side, there are some awesome teachers. They are easy to improvise with and make the class enjoyable for both myself and the students. Sadly, one of my favourite teachers is leaving for England next Thursday! I will never see him again! There's another teacher taking his place, and I have only spoken to her once. She seems OK though, her English is good as she lived in America for a year.

As of July 24, my teaching career is finishing. I don't think I would want to teach as a career as I need more stimulation and the mundane nature in which each day is the same can be really challenging. I've been applying for a few graduate jobs back in Oz and have progressed through a few of them to the interview stage. That's where it gets sticky. One employer has told me that I will have to reapply in November so they could assess me in person. However, my number one choice is proving to be very flexible. They are going to conduct a phone interview in the near future (next week I hope), for a job that will begin a few days after I arrive back in Melbourne. That would be pretty awesome. There are a few other options open to me, most of which are located in Canberra (whoo) for one or two year contracts. I tend to think that if I could (barely) survive Japan, Canberra would be a breeze!

OK, I will leave it there. I don't want to go and bombard you with words and no pictures (sorry!). I'm heading off to dinner at a place that apparently has nice pizza (hmm, I wonder if all the pizza has mayonnaise on it...)

Engrish

Yeah, I'm slack! I've been in Japan for 10 months now, and not once have I put up any Engrish! I'm surrounded by it all the time, but I don't really seem to take much notice anymore! I'll try harder for the next couple of months. In the meantime, here are a couple..."The taste contains its own mystery. Taste it to find out".... Hmmm, my bets are on this thing having bean paste in it. But of course, it would be mysterious bean paste...This was on a door to a little cable car we went on in the earlier months of my stay in Japan. I didn't realise that your face is so important!

Yeah yeah, so it's blonde and short...

Well it took a while to build up the courage to show you what I look like now... and I have nothing else interesting to write about... What do you think? My students don't like it! Well, they don't say that, they just say that they like the brunette better... This photo is funny, I can really see a mix of Mum and Dad in it!I suppose I have some other photos to show... Last Tuesday the school has a Sports Day! We all played a tournament of volleyball! But the photos are taking an eternity to load, and I have to go and sleep. I'll try and put them up soonish!

How 'bout them melons?

Like my melons? Breast enhancement surgery would be cheaper! (for one rockmelon, you're going to have to foot $34.91!!!!!)You would certainly appreciate it! By the way, I read the Japanese written under it, and apparently they are called "Arse Melons".....

What Talent!

So I have to brag.... my friend is a cover girl! Selen Saya was in The Age today, showing off her excellent design work. If you haven't got a copy of today's Age (Sunday 7th May), go out and get one! Check out the Domain section, and Selen has stolen the show! I'm soooooo proud of her, and she is definitely going to go places!And here is the article! The portrait of Selen is so pretty! Can you take my photo?! I'm so proud! And under her picture is her cool storage thingo (They call it a storage piece). I looooove this thing soooo much. No wonder it is called a Chocolate Storage Piece! I asked Selen to make me one, and she said that it was sooo much effort and money to make that she can't! Somehow I will convince her.... and if she does make me one, it will be made out of real chocolate!And here's the part about her. She's on the cusp of international success! Did I mention that she is my friend? So I expect that when she's out designing her award winning pieces and jetsetting around, she will give me a few discounts! Hahahahaha. I'm soooo proud!So that's my big news! Oh wait, there's more..... a HUGE congratulations to Ash and Kerri who gave birth to Zack Ashley Harding on May 2nd. I wish you all of the best, and I cannot wait to see him in his cute 3rd month! It's good to hear that Zack, Kerri and Ash are all doing fine!

Oh yeah, another bit of news... I have short blonde hair now.... I gotta get used to it!

Cya!Can you pick which house is mine? Hint: There is a car out the front (I miss pumpkin!)

I got a makeover...

I have done next to nothing this week. It's Golden Week (which means three public holidays in a row right before a weekend), and I have done nothing too exciting. I must be soooo boring hey! It's been good though, I sometimes enjoy doing nothing! However, the people who read this blog must think that I have disappeared or something. So, here I am. I decided to give myself a bit of a makeover today.... (sorry, I have no interesting photos to show!)Aren't I sooooo pretty!?

Back all safe and sound!

Hey!

Well I've been back in Japan a couple of days now, and I have decided that it's not so bad! I really didn't want to leave my happy bubble in Australia again, but as soon as I got off the plane, it felt right. The weather is beautiful (although it was pretty cold last week apparently), and my apartment is still in one piece!

School is fun. There is a load of new students as the new school year started while I was in Australia. The new students are extremely happy and easy to get a laugh out of. Hopefully I can keep it that way! The second year students are a little non-responsive though. I'm sure they will improve.

Well I'll leave it there. I had a great time in Australia, and it was awesome catching up with everybody! I'm sorry that I couldn't see everyone I wanted to, but I'm sure we'll catch up when I return for good in July!

Lotsaluv,

Suzi

Okinawa Dreaming

Hi! Here's the complete post of my trip to Okinawa with Megan! One of the things I was looking forward to was driving! I haven't driven in 8 months (well, except for the test drive at Toyota), so it was bliss not to have to rely on riding a bike/catching a bus! So to start the post off, here's the car. It was a Nissan Cube. I thought it was like a lesbian tank or something. It was dark grey and very butch.We arrived at Naha airport at about 4:30 in the afternoon and headed off in our rented car to the shopping strip. I forget what it was called, but it was cool. There were great shops and restaurants. Almost all of the restaurants were steak houses. We ended up at a nice restaurant that had a guy singing. They handed out these tambourine things so we went crazy (not really...) Our hotel was beautiful! This is the sunset from the hotel on our last night. Gorgeous huh?This is the view from the hotel room balcony. It was awesome. The water was so clear and nice. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to have a swim as we had so many things to do! I wish we had a couple more nights there.So our hotel was the cheapest one offered. It was a great deal, and we slept in real beds! Yay!This is a tree that was close to the hotel. I found it amusing. If you don't know why, then ask someone...The trip was crazy, so of course I pulled some crazy moves...This is some of the castle ruins. I forget the name of the ruins. If I figure it out later on, I'll let ya know! It sooo doesn't look like Japan.It's not as good as the Big Pineapple in Queensland, but still fun! We went to the Pineapple Park which was not far from the hotel. We got to ride around in a little cart. Being curious idiots, we tried out the brakes on the cart. It stopped the cart and we had a close call with the cart behind us. It was funny! I suppose you had to be there....These are a couple of photos at the aquarium at Ocean Expo Park. The aquarium was huge! So were the fish! There was one aquarium that was two levels high. One of the most exquisite aquariums I have ever seen (also one of the most expensive!)I got eaten by an octopus made of flowers.... yes, another crazy pose photo....There was also a model Okinawan village at Ocean Expo Park, so we had fun looking around the huts.We had a gorgeous day to go and check out Cape Hedo. The next couple of photos are of the rock formations. The photos don't do it justice. It was a great sight.

This is a view of those rocks from a lookout point. My supervisor thinks it looks like where King Kong lives or Planet of the Apes or something (he likes Sci-fi)Another view from the lookout. The road was along the coast, and it reminded me of The Great Ocean Road.
This is from the final day, when we went to the Okinawa Memorial Museum. It was heart wrenching to read the eye-witness accounts of the war in Okinawa.
These photos are of the memorial at a cave which was used as a hospital during the war. Two girls schools had their students act as nurses to care for the wounded. It is horrible to think that people had to try and recover in a dark, smelly, poorly ventilated cave. Apparently after the war had finished, many people had diseases or were starving. So they commited suicide. One of the methods of committing suicide was by holding a grenade to their chest.So there's my Okinawan report! This weekend I am going to a cherry blossom viewing party, so I will try and get the photos of that up next week! I hope they are all blooming, the weather has been crazy here.