We are very busy at the moment and I haven't had much luck using Fumi's Japanese language PC so I can't post the photo's. In a few weeks, however, we should get our nice 100MB connection and you won't be able to stop us from bombarding you with hundreds of pictures of Japanese toilets.
Just in case anyone wondered what "fake beer" is... It's a drink called happoshu. It was invented to avoid a tax on malt and so it is full of flavourings and chemicals to make it taste 'real'. It is half the price of real beer so it is quite popular. A lot of them taste pretty foul but after a few real beers it can be quite difficult to tell the difference.
We both have mobile phones now (we are trying to fit in!) and they are gizmo-tastic. Mine has TV which might be really useful if I understood anything that they say...
We have been treated so well by Fumi's friends and family. We have been taken to shinto temples and shrines, taken for meals and concerts and yesterday we were taken on a big shopping trip for our new place. Women quite commonly walk around in kimonos which was quite a surprise. It seems a little out of place in such a modern country but it seems to fit with Japanese culture - a blend of old and new.
The myth that Japan is an expensive place to live hasn't seemed to be at all true. It is an expensive place to drink with a normal beer (probably three quarters of a pint) costing between two and four pounds. We are planning on getting most of our stuff from the hyaku-en shop. I have already bought a few shirts (each costing about 2pounds50). It is like a pound stretcher shop but almost everything costs about 50p. The cheap prices in the hyaku-en shop help to balance our spending against Sarah's unstoppable Hello Kitty addiction. ;)
Fruit is really expensive here but it seems worth it. The grapes are almost the size of plums and the nashi pears are amazing. I can't get over the price of melons though... I have already seen a melon that costs over 30 pounds! WHY!? I really don't know!
We have had real problems getting cash here! ATM's close!! It is amazing that in a country where you can find baths that fill themselves and tell you that they are finished, that you can't get money out after 10pm (and you have to pay a late charge after 6pm!).
We are both in the middle of training at Berlitz(squishing an 8 day course into 3days) and will start teaching on Wednesday. The style is quite different from the course but it should be fun....
Keep those comments coming! (cheers D and O)
D
Monday, September 19, 2005
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1 comment:
Dear me, Dave-o, if this were not on the web, I would be scrawling my green pen over all those misplaced apostrophes. However, as I'm sad enough to be sat at home reading what is actually very interesting news, I shall let them slide. Do let us know how you're getting on with the teaching ... I've got my last Windsor lesson on Monday. Hurrah. And Helena graduates on Friday, when I'll be teaching too. Double hurrah. Well, that's quite long enough for one comment.
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