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Short Stories

The Japanese Sagas
by Kristin K. Trompeter, living and teaching ESL in Aizu, Japan

Kristin Trompeter, who holds a master's degree in English, has been teaching English in both Granada and Madrid, Spain for several years. She recently relocated to Aizuwakamatsu, Japan to continue her teaching. Kristin is a gifted writer and has submitted a collection of delightful "Japanese Sagas" which Boulder City Magazine will be publishing periodically. Enjoy!

Well, I’ve only been here two days, but it’s all been an adventure from the beginning: the suitcase was too heavy, the airport had no change for yen available; I took so long waiting for the yen to be brought over that the plane was waiting for me, and the flight attendant wanted to kill me for causing the delay (it would have been justified, but there was no real delay).

I arrived in Tokyo and it was horribly hot since I was wearing my winter coat. But later, in Aizu, it was snowing and my coat was all the rage. I was very happy until I realized that my apartment has no central heat! I’m afraid I’ll burn my bottom with grill marks like I did in Madrid when I snuggled too close to a heater in order to stay warm. In this case I’ll burn my body slowly as I rotate in front of the heater unit like a rotisserie pig on the bar-be-cue!

The apartment is ok. It has two levels. The first level has a very small entryway (where you are supposed to take off your shoes or take your chances offending people, even if you are in your own place!), a bathroom, and a bedroom. The second level has the kitchen with enough room to have a small breakfast table and the living space. The apartment is good for a single person since it is spacious enough as to not feel claustrophobic but not too big to make me feel lonely. But yes, I feel I’m outside my own world.

Yesterday, I spent all afternoon cleaning up the place, as it was very dirty. YUCK! But the toughest thing (since everything else I could take care of with water and soap) is my ignorance of life here. When I arrived, there was no furniture visible. Later, I noticed that the table is as low as the floor with cushions with wood backs as chairs. Well! But then, I hadn’t the slightest idea of what or where was the bed. At this point I was very sleepy due to the jet lag, but I had no idea of where I could sleep! On the floor?! That’s too much! In the end, my brain started to work and I realized that a bunch of sticks were to be assembled as a futon and this huge cushion was to be the mattress for my bed. Then I located another cushion and a few sheets which I used to assemble the bed. Salvation! I was able to sleep comfortably!

Then this morning a gentleman arrived to, I thought, read the gas meter to record what the previous tenant had used in order to close that account and open mine. My office manager, Akemi, notified me of this yesterday.

Unfortunately, the man showed up at 10 instead of 11, as Akemi had informed me. As usual, I was a little off schedule, considering the time change and all, and the man woke me up. So then, imagine if you please, I open the door with my morning face and in PJs to find this stranger who speaks not a word of English and me who speaks not a word of Japanese. So the words I do know, arigato (thank you) and biru o kudasai (beer, please), did not help me at all with this man.

He called his office to speak with someone, but no one could help. We tried calling my office afterwards, but no one answered the phone. What a disaster! The man, with frustration coming out of his pores, but always with a smile on his face, showed me some Japanese writing which looked to me as the most beautiful pen and paper artwork, but did not facilitate the communication between us at all. So then, we kept looking at each other, trying to figure out a way to communicate, but there wasn't one. This was a very frustrating moment for both of us. Finally he left, since there was no way around it.

I showered and immediately another person from the same company showed up, the power company and not gas as I had thought. She knew a few words in English. We phoned my teaching supervisor Chad, who spoke to her until Akemi (the office manager) showed up and took control of the situation. Luckily, since, suddenly, the power company guy, the water company and I don’t know who else showed up. Within a half hour a circus of people where taking their shoes off at my front door and coming in to do their respective tasks.

I went to work today and observed people teaching class, so I can see how they do things here. It doesn’t look that different from what I’ve done before, except they are more informal here than in Spain. It is strange to me because I expected the opposite. But this is good, less pressure.

The food is very interesting. I haven’t the slightest idea of what the majority of the food on the shelves of the grocery stores is. I always buy food that is boxed up in clear plastic and ready to eat, such a sushi, tempura, etc. On Saturday I hope I can buy things I know how to prepare.

This past night I went to drink some beers with my work peers. It was to celebrate my initiation (the other new guy went home straight from work) and the farewell of the two other professors leaving. We spent time with professors from other academies; our competition. We were a total of 9. I’ve seen some other gaijin – foreigners - but I don’t think there are many more.

In the end, Aizu-Wakamatsu is a town, not a city as I had thought. People say it is called a city, but the truth is that it is small enough to be a town. Population is 120,000. We have our own castle inside the “city” called Tsugurajo (the "jo" in Tsugurajo means castle in Japanese). It’s situated directly in front of my apartment, just 5 blocks away. Not that bad!

Other things of interest are the museum of artisans which is inside the castle and the Fukushima museum of history of the province, where you can try on a samurai’s garment. Nearby is a medicinal herb garden with a tea shop (Japanesse style of course) which has a lotus pond. There are some sake museums and sake factories and there is also a samurai’s house fully restored. Also there are memorials to the Byakkotai, a group of young warriors (17 to 19 years!) who committed suicide in seppuku fashion when they saw smoke and they thought the castle had been lost to the enemy and their reign had ended. They were a bit premature in their assumptions, but they never knew that!




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