Training, Okayama, and Karaoke
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The first two days in Japan were great. Everyone in my training group was really nice. Since there were only 6 people, I got to know everyone.
The first two days were just for settling into Japan and exploring Okayama. It's strange not knowing what you’re getting yourself into, but having people around you who are in the same situation makes things a lot more bearable. We had a lot of fun before training. We had adventures searching for a wi-fi hot spot, exploring Okayama Castle, walking around town trying to find places, trying to comprehend the expensive prices for things, and living in ignorance of how different the training days would be.
Everyone seemed restless finding a wi-fi spot because they wanted to contact their families and tell them that they were okay. They should really just have wi-fi at the training facilities, but we found a coffee place with an unsecured network that everyone could use. When you’re abroad, you really begin to appreciate the awesomeness of skype.
Having our internet cravings satisfied, we all decided to travel around Okayama looking for a grocery store. Why were we looking for one? Well after noticing the expensive prices everywhere, we decided that cooking would be cheaper in the long run. We walked, got lost, had an old man help us, and finally found the store. Luckily there was a Japanese major amongst us so we didn't have to wander completely ignorant of all the signs and maps.
We ended up walking to Okayama Castle. It was quite beautiful. We had lunch in the shade under some trees and then explored the castle.
Okayama castle was pretty interesting. From the top of the castle you can see the whole city. The castle seemed to be surrounded by an endless sea of buildings, an island of antiquated beauty in a bustling modern city. There was an exhibit that gave us the opportunity to wear traditional Japanese clothing. It seemed very hot and made me sorry for anyone who had to wear those clothes during the hot and humid Japan summers.
Second day, everyone pretty much did their own thing. I went with two other people; we ended up renting bikes and rode around the castles garden. It was beautiful and we were able to see the sakura in bloom.
Our last night before training was pretty crazy. It consisted of drinking, karaoke, drinking w/ random Japanese people, and more karaoke. It was an amazing ending to our first two days before training.
Training... I can't say much because not much happened and it's in our contract not to mention anything about what happened. All I can say is that it was hard, stressful, and each day after training we had to prepare for the next day’s training. This was our true introduction to the Japan we would be facing, 5 days a week.
Click Picture to See Album
The first two days were just for settling into Japan and exploring Okayama. It's strange not knowing what you’re getting yourself into, but having people around you who are in the same situation makes things a lot more bearable. We had a lot of fun before training. We had adventures searching for a wi-fi hot spot, exploring Okayama Castle, walking around town trying to find places, trying to comprehend the expensive prices for things, and living in ignorance of how different the training days would be.
Everyone seemed restless finding a wi-fi spot because they wanted to contact their families and tell them that they were okay. They should really just have wi-fi at the training facilities, but we found a coffee place with an unsecured network that everyone could use. When you’re abroad, you really begin to appreciate the awesomeness of skype.
Having our internet cravings satisfied, we all decided to travel around Okayama looking for a grocery store. Why were we looking for one? Well after noticing the expensive prices everywhere, we decided that cooking would be cheaper in the long run. We walked, got lost, had an old man help us, and finally found the store. Luckily there was a Japanese major amongst us so we didn't have to wander completely ignorant of all the signs and maps.
We ended up walking to Okayama Castle. It was quite beautiful. We had lunch in the shade under some trees and then explored the castle.
Okayama castle was pretty interesting. From the top of the castle you can see the whole city. The castle seemed to be surrounded by an endless sea of buildings, an island of antiquated beauty in a bustling modern city. There was an exhibit that gave us the opportunity to wear traditional Japanese clothing. It seemed very hot and made me sorry for anyone who had to wear those clothes during the hot and humid Japan summers.
Second day, everyone pretty much did their own thing. I went with two other people; we ended up renting bikes and rode around the castles garden. It was beautiful and we were able to see the sakura in bloom.
Our last night before training was pretty crazy. It consisted of drinking, karaoke, drinking w/ random Japanese people, and more karaoke. It was an amazing ending to our first two days before training.
Training... I can't say much because not much happened and it's in our contract not to mention anything about what happened. All I can say is that it was hard, stressful, and each day after training we had to prepare for the next day’s training. This was our true introduction to the Japan we would be facing, 5 days a week.
Click Picture to See Album
