想い出は遠くの日々

Hmm… I guess I should put down a quickie post tonight. I’ll type out my next Taihen Situation soon.

A pleasant surprise today at lunch. My parents called me at work today. That made me quite happy cause I know I’m a long way away from home for a long time. I think I’m about to enter the culture shock stage where frustration and homesickness sets in.

Here in a far away land, I am probably my worst enemy.

It’s the silent times that I spend alone where I contemplate the events, the things, and the people I left behind.

This is the only path, I have no regrets

I remind myself that I’ve put in a lot of sweat and tears to come all this way and to give it up means to admit defeat and to forget my dreams.

I will grow stronger.

But I am glad that people back home still remembers me. Plus, my parents are going to help me clear my Visa bill which is all fine and dandy.

Just for a small moment, home feels a bit closer.

Okay, a little recap of this weekend. I got a new digi camera. I bought a Casio EX-Z60 for a mere 28000 yen (280 bucks). Now that’s a steal. So that means I could take photos!

Alright, here are some photos that might be interesting to you. They are taken today while I was walking from work to the train station. Please enjoy.

Okay, it’s Friday and that marks my first week in Japan.

I’ve started work and things are great so far (for the most part). I got a trusty cell phone so now I can dial out INTERNATIONALLY without having to get a payphone.

Guess I should share the second part of my calling home story. Here is another edition of Taihen Situations:

2. The police is helpful.

From what you read from the title, I think that you already know what’s about to happen…

Okay, so after going to the 7-11 convenience store and asking the clerk about the inability of payphones to make foreign country (crap, my English is slowly deteriorating) calls, I decided that maybe other convenience stores might have a better idea on where I could make such a call.

I approached the local “AM/PM” convenience store… and began to talk retarded Japanese again…

Me: Sumimasen. Watashi wa gaikokujin desu. Watashi no nihongo wa yokunai desu. (Excuse me, I am a foreigner. My Japanese is bad.) *I’m thinking that this will be my pickup line for girls in the future*
Him: Nods.
Me: Ano nee… Gaikoku no denwa wa doko desu ka? Points to payphone outside Kono denwa to gaikoku wa yokunai desu. (uhhh… where is the foreign telephone? That phone and foreign country is bad.) *back to the same retarded phrase again*
Him: Ahh… Denwa wa Shin-Tokorozawa eki ga arimasu. (The telephone exists in Shin-Tokorozawa station) *whoa… this guy knows what I want. Cheer and dance!*
Me: Shin-Tokorozawa eki wa doko desu ka? (Where is Shin-Tokorozawa station?) *now for the other hard part… finding the location of the supposed international phone*
Him: speaks some instructions and points in a general direction *well, i guess if i walk in that direction, I will hit the tracks eventually. Maybe if I find the tracks, I can find the station*
Me: Doomo arigato gozaimasu. (Thanks!) *whew, part one is done*

After 20 minutes of searching the pointed direction, I was able to find the Shin-Tokorozawa station…

…but I discover that the phones in the station do not dial international calls, in fact, they say it clearly on the screen in English: Domestic.

Now, at this point, I was about to scream cause it’s quite demoralizing to go through so much effort but still no results.

Okay, plan B. On my way into the station, I discover that there is a police box near the entrance.

Now, let’s go through my checklist:
Sanity. Check.
Dumb foreigner look. Check.
Passport. Check. – it would be ‘tragic’ if I got arrested by the police if they thought I was an illiterate illegal alien.

With my passport ready in my pocket, I proceeded to enter the police box…

Me: Sumimasen. Watashi wa gaikokujin desu. Watashi no nihongo wa yokunai desu. (Excuse me, I am a foreigner. My Japanese is bad.) *gee, this is about the 8th time I said this phrase today*
Policeman: Nods.
Me: Gaikoku no denwa wa doko desu ka? points to local payphones Gaikoku… kono denwa… yokunai desu. (Foreign country… that phone… bad.) *I don’t have any other words to describe what I want*
Policeman: Says some Japanese fast… *jet lag + 30 hours without sleep has taken a toll on my comprehension ability*
Me: Dekimasen (not able) *ah ha… a new word learned today*

So the policeman writes down some numbers… probably operator numbers for me to dial.

Policeman: Says some Japanese… probably

Okay, I take these numbers and attempt to dial them at the payphone… and as my expectation, the freaking operating is in Japanese. I　ＧＩＶＥ UP!

I go back to the to the policeman…

Me: Dekimasen. (not able) *hmmm… if I don’t understand you much in Japanese, for hell sure that I won’t understand the operator*

So the policeman takes me to the other side of the station. And amazingly, we discover that there are phones that can dial internationally. It actually says ‘International’ in English.

So, I gave my thanks to the policeman and I was on my merry way to call home.

See, if you are in a jam, do find the police. They are helpful.

I guess this is my first post in Japan. Let me start off by saying that things here are certainly different from Canada.

Let me share some stories that I classify “Taihen Situations” (Difficult Situations):

1. Gaikoku no denwa wa doko desu ka?

This means ‘where can I find a foreign telephone?’. Now, unlike Canada, Japan has this interesting concept where only certain phones could dial international numbers. On the morning after my arrival, I really wanted to let my parents know that I have arrived safely in Japan. So, off I went to the nearest 7-11 store to find a payphone. Dropped in 100 yen and attempted to dial my home in Toronto. I do know how to dial international numbers BUT no matter how hard I tried, I can’t seem to get the phones to work. Figuring that I might not have deposited enough money into the phone, I walked into the 7-11 store in hopes that the clerk would be able to help me. Now the conversation went like this, things in brackets is what I interpreted from Japanese to English, and things with stars is what I was thinking and things in italics are actions:

Her: Irashemase! (Welcome)
Me: Uhhh… ano nee… fon kardo ga arimasu ka? (do you have phone cards?) *What have I got myself into? She’s going to ask me stuff in Japanese. Now I have no choice but to suffer splendidly*
Her: Ahh… kore. Proceeds to speak fast Japanese with me. Brings up a screen with many phone cards * I’ve figured that she’s probably asking what kind of phone card I want but in my panic, I forgot most of my Japanese. Oh shit, my cover is blown. Now I have admit that I’m a foreigner*
Me: Watashi wa gakokujin desu. Watashi no nihongo wa yokunai desu. (I’m a foreigner. My Japanese is bad.) *hopefully she will now attempt to simplify the language*
Her: Soo desu ne. Ahhh… (is that so…)
Me: Kono denwa points at payphone… gaikoku… ii desu ka? (this phone… foreign country… good?) *at this point, I resigned to the fact that I’m a retard in Japan*
Her: Looks at me confused
Me: Uhhh… Kono denwa… Kanada… ii desu ka? (this phone… Canada… good?) *let’s try again*
Her: Looks more confused. Brings her other coworker along. *hmmm… they must be thinking that this retard really needs help*
Me: Watashi wa kono denwa gaikoku o tsukerumasen. Kono fon kardo… kono denwa… ii desu ka? (me and the telephone… foreign country… don’t use. That phone card… that phone… good?) *let’s try using my 4-year-old- Japanese again*
Him: Says some Japanese that I don’t understand.*at this point, I think I’ve just lost any dignity I have left*
Me: Gaikoku Kanada… watashi no kazouko o hanashitai. Kono denwa… gaikoku ii desu ka? (foreign country Canada… I want to speak to my family… that phone… foreign country… good?)
Him: By now, he has the same confused look as the other clerk
Me: Eigo wo hanashimasu ka? (Do you speak English?) *I was really hoping that clerk would break out his wonderful English as a last resort move (like in anime, the hero always uses his most powerful attack last, but alas, no)*
Him: looks embarrassed Sumimasen. Watashi wa chotto eigo o wakarimasu. brings out a piece of paper (Sorry. I only know a little bit of English)
Me: writes down Canada in Katakana. Points to Canada word. Kono kuni, kono denwa, ii desu ka? (This country, this phone, good?)
Her: Figuring out what I really want now. Dekimasen. (not able)
Me: Huh?
Her: Makes an X with her fingers. Dekimasen. (not able) *Now I get your language… you should tell me that earlier. I’ve just spent a good 20 minutes figuring that phone won’t dial out internationally*
Me: Oh… sou desu ne. Doomo arigato gozaimasu. I bow and walk out.. (Is that so… thank you very much) *I guess I owe the clerks some sort of thanks for putting with my retardation*

More stories to come once I get a stable connection.

With less than 4 hours till my flight, many things are going past my mind. Things I’ve packed, things I’ve forgot, things I’ve left behind. Another step along the way towards my dreams…

I’ll see you guys on the other side. Mata ne Canada.

Oh, btw, I’ve posted up the pictures from Orientation week into my Coppermine gallery. There is a link on the right sidebar where you can access the gallery.

Hmm… I guess I should talk about what’s been happening since I came back from UBC…

This week… I got my Certificate of Eligability from my employers in Japan. So on Thursday, I went to the Japanese consulate in downtown Toronto to get it approved. They say that my work visa will be ready next Tuesday (and I really hope so). I also bought my ticket to Japan. I’m flying out next Thursday (18th) and that costs $1600 (good thing the company is covering that cost).

So, that’s basically my week in a nutshell. I did meet up with some old friends… and I’ll talk about that probably later on the weekend.