tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80993766049866834982024-03-13T03:34:28.707-07:00日本RMy adventures preparing for, and living in, Japan.... <br>
AGAIN!Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-26618127378729471662010-03-29T05:10:00.001-07:002010-03-29T05:10:59.593-07:00So, um.I'm not going to Otsuchi. More information to follow.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-50081986679843027672010-03-08T00:24:00.000-08:002010-03-08T20:05:28.814-08:00"I'll be here, but I'm going to think of products I might like to purchase."So, I'm trying to think of things I'll need once I get to Japan. Since money has suddenly become an even bigger issue than I thought it would be a few weeks ago, I'm trying to carefully budget. Thus, I am going to create a list of things I need/want to buy. Some of them will be purchased as soon as I arrive, some not for months. Some I might not even purchase at all. A few might even, if I'm <i>very very</i> lucky, come with the apartment. But here's a list of some of the things I'm considering:<div><br /></div><div><a href="http://item.rakuten.co.jp/emoor/ss-rococo3/">A futon.</a> About $75. Where I'll sleep.</div><div>A fan. Though I'll be further north, I'm sure it gets plenty warm in the summer.</div><div><a href="http://en.item.rakuten.com/o/b-l/756286/756288/734304/#b-l:695942">Iron</a>/<a href="http://en.item.rakuten.com/parkridge/10509/">Ironing board.</a> $35.</div><div>A lamp or other light fixture.</div><div><a href="http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=4935508020525">A television.</a> $300.</div><div><a href="http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=2919122411497">A washing machine. $200.</a> Don't want to stink!</div><div><a href="http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=2919122411497">A refrigerator. $200.</a> The whole food thing.</div><div><a href="http://item.rakuten.co.jp/angers/116751/">A clothes rack for drying. </a> $15.</div><div><a href="http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=2919032311832">A combination Heater/AC</a>. $500.</div><div>A mirror.</div><div><a href="http://item.rakuten.co.jp/rack-kan/431704/">A colored box or two.</a> $10.</div><div>A cutting board. </div><div>Some dishes.</div><div>A frying pan.</div><div>A kitchen knife.</div><div>A table/chairs.</div><div>A water heater.</div><div>A Vacuum. $70.</div><div><a href="http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/catalog/detail.jsp?JAN_CODE=4974019631660">A combination microwave/convection oven.</a> $200.</div><div><a href="http://item.rakuten.co.jp/citygas/ea03-0059/">A gas cooktop</a>. $200.</div><div>Or, alternately, an electric cooktop. </div><div>A rice cooker.</div><div>Utensils.</div><div>A Kitchen scale. $10.</div><div>A Computer monitor.</div><div>Storage boxes. </div><div>Curtains.</div><div>A bath basket.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the following consumables: Toilet paper, paper towels, bath towels, umbrellas, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, hand soap, mouthwash, flouride toothpaste, American deodorant, dish detergent, sponges, kitchen cleanser, a water purifier, trash bags, a mop, and a broom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also keep in mind that I can save on some of this stuff by buying it locally/buying it used.</div><div>Am I forgetting anything?</div>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-34065667841795741402010-03-08T00:23:00.000-08:002010-03-09T11:25:14.842-08:00Yes, I have a placement.I'm going to be living in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Otsuchi&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=41.089062,91.494141&ie=UTF8&hq=Otsuchi&hnear=&radius=15000&ll=39.362042,141.906452&spn=0.078571,0.178699&z=13">Otsuchi</a>, <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Map_of_Japan_with_highlight_on_03_Iwate_prefecture.svg">Iwate.</a><div><br /></div><div>No, I'd never heard of it either. Apparently, it has all of 15,000 people. </div><div>The next largest town is Kamaishi, which is 10 km from Otsuchi. </div><div><br /></div><div>The town, like everything else and their cat these days, has a <a href="http://www.town.otsuchi.iwate.jp/">website.</a> They even have a section in <a href="http://www.town.otsuchi.iwate.jp/gaiyo/main2.html">English</a>!</div><div>It does have a shopping center called <a href="http://www.st-mast.co.jp/">MAST</a>, which is 10 minutes from the station. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As I get more information on the area, I'll edit this post. </div>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-81212609974538116322010-03-01T06:34:00.000-08:002010-03-01T06:42:11.077-08:00No, no, I'm not -quite- dead yet.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am, however, in a fairly regular state of panic. (Also New York.) Things just haven't been coming together the way I anticipated, and so progress on Japan-related things hasn't been nearly as smooth nor as quick as I anticipated.<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The biggest problems have been mostly unexpected, seemingly minor ones that have snowballed. I'm still hoping to straighten things out, but at the moment I'm worrying quite a bit about various things. Anyone wanna buy a $700 pencil, slightly used?</div>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-25273678312133719742010-02-10T11:38:00.000-08:002010-02-10T15:35:18.667-08:00CoE ゲット!Today, my Certificate of Eligibility arrived in the mail.<br /><br />"A Certificate of Eligibility is issued before a visa application by a regional immigration authority under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice [...] as evidence that the applicant fulfills various conditions of the Immigration Control Act, including those certifying that the activity in which the foreigner wishes to engage in Japan is valid and comes under a status of residence (excluding Temporary Visitor Status).<br /><p> <strong>The Certificate of Eligibility has the advantage of reducing the time required to obtain a visa and complete immigration procedures</strong>, since a foreigner in possession of such a certificate can probably acquire a visa at an embassy or consulate without any inquiries being made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, by showing the certificate to the immigration officer, obtain landing permission more easily."</p><p>So, one step closer to going to Japan!<br /></p>Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-39343066000215548182010-02-08T19:35:00.000-08:002010-02-08T19:37:07.794-08:00Graaah!The waiting! The waiting! It's driving me batty! So I wrote a song about it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/file/noditniqeny/The%20Waiting%20Game%20%28draft%202%29.mp3">The Waiting Game.</a> It's just a draft.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-83466075578914424092010-02-06T22:51:00.000-08:002010-02-06T22:52:22.512-08:00As an aside....I took the photo in the top banner there. It's some random town along the Tokaido-sen that I took a picture of as I was travelling from Tokyo to Nagoya over Winter Break in 2008.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-17992326249707357272010-02-06T18:15:00.000-08:002010-02-06T19:28:11.786-08:00Please allow myself to introduce...myself.I'm twenty-seven years old (yeah, I can scarcely believe it myself) and I hail from the lovely land of Buffalo, New York. If you'd like to visit, I can tell you what wide swaths of the city to avoid at all costs (that's not a joke.)<br /> In 2004 I applied to the University of Colorado - Boulder as a music major (composition). I failed the audition. So, I switched my major to Japanese and enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences. Since I had studied Japanese independently here and there, I was able to progress fairly rapidly, and since I took almost all the classes I needed to graduate within 3 years, I was invited to apply for the combined B.A./M.A. program in Japanese. However, I also needed to improve my Japanese language skills, particularly my lacking speaking ability. I had originally planned on studying at the University of Tsukuba during my junior year, but during the signup period during my sophomore year, the University of Colorado canceled their exchange program with Tsukuba.<br /> So, I ended up attending the one-year CIEE program at Sophia University in Tokyo. Though expensive (equal to the out-of-state tuition I was paying at CU) I had the opportunity to live not in one, but two separate homestays, as well as to live independently during the two-month winter break.<br /> Once I came back, I found that the economy was in very bad shape, and that on top of that I didn't have the financial resources to house myself during my final year of school. Furthermore, due to a strange quirk in the way my financial aid was set up, I had to remain a full-time undergraduate student...while taking graduate courses. Therefore I found myself taking four graduate courses each semester during my final year.<br /> However, I was able to pass all my courses and secure my M.A. in Japanese. I had only applied to one PhD program (at the University of Toronto) though, and unfortunately I was not accepted. Looking back, I believe that my research interests were too esoteric to be of interest to their Japanese Language and Literature professors.<br /> So now, my goal is to once again return to Japan, to improve my Japanese, and to learn more about Japanese culture. In return, I hope to be of use to Japanese society by teaching English, and, ideally, by presenting my viewpoint to the Japanese people I meet in a non-confrontational way, helping to bring the world closer together. Or maybe I'll just be the weird guy (again...)Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8099376604986683498.post-3133964773039029462010-02-05T17:47:00.001-08:002010-02-05T17:47:59.061-08:00I'm going to Japan...again!So, it turns out I'm going to Japan again. More information on this shortly.Philiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774277532085796555noreply@blogger.com2