First Day of Work, Mukade Attacks

First Day of Work; Mukade Attacks

[Hollaaaaa~ it's my apartment complex. Mine's the 2nd on the right, and straight on until doorbell.]

I woke up at 7am with some very strange birds (or perhaps more Jurassic insects) singing to each other. I also noticed the small river in the back of my house. The peaceful sounds made it hard to get up. I didn’t bother to put away my futon. Again, I don’t know how to put it together so I figured putting it back would be even more useless (for all I know I'm sleeping on top of a comforter and underneath the mattress).

I had my Frosties breakfast in my tiny bowl and shooed away a daddy long leg that had been hanging out in my shower. I still haven't unpacked so I rooted through my things to find toothpaste and a face towel so I could get ready. I grabbed my purse and keys at the door and put on my shoes. I’m really bad at the shoe-changing thing. I keep forgetting to take my indoor sandals off on the tatami, it seems like a waste of time. But the Japanese are really quick at it so its just embarrassing for me. I went out to the front of the building to meet my boss, who works at the board of education in Ine.

While I was waiting for him, I saw Umezaki-san again and said good morning, we made small talk (or I insulted his family, I'll never know which). I went to put away my key and ended up seeing something that made me throw my purse on the ground and scream. It was an 8 inch long centipede. Not something I am accustomed to seeing... in my purse. It was kind of big too, and wiggly, which is why I screamed. I'm not scared of centipedes, per se, but I didn’t know it wanted to come with me to work. Umezaki san shouted in Japanese and DESTROYED Mr. Centipede with one quick motion of his sneaker. I felt kind of bad. But at the same time... I didn’t want to see it again. I found out its name; Mukade. ew. It means "100 legs" in Japanese.

Notably, Mukade is always said with great disgust. MUKade. and then followed with an upset face. Umezaki-san apologized and asked if I had found it upstairs or down. I said I found it in my purse! I don’t know! He looked confused and upset at the fact that their brand new foreigner had bugs. I was still confused.

Then the ride to the BOE... My boss is incomprehensible with the thickest Ine accent I’ve ever heard. I can't understand him at all. If he said something, I have to think about it to make sure my response is good. In the time I pause, he begins to explain himself further, in very quick Japanese. This confuses me further. He probably thinks I am retarded. He’s not far off.

The board of education is small and warm, but I have my own desk and computer (Windows 98, what a dream!). Nishihara-san and my boss went through my contract with me but when they got into billing and pension, I was lost. My predecessor says that life in Ine is mostly like this, but they won't generally let us make huge mistakes... I suppose its their job to figure everything out for us - such as bills and contract matters. I spent most of the day at a desk with a computer, not quite knowing what I was supposed to be doing. So, I wrote some of my own answers to an interview that the boss had shown me. His had been all in Japanese, which seemed extremely daunting, but I found Tamar’s original interview in English in a folder on the computer. I copied the questions, and translated my answers in rough Japanese. I’ll have someone look over it later. I also wrote an introduction about myself; where I’ve lived, where I studied, and how long (or short) a time I studied Japanese.

[Hey it's my car! Its name is Rouge, because that is what's painted on it.] ----->

The best part of the day, by far, was learning to drive my new car! Its no bigger than a bumper car... two doors, four wheels, and it moves if you shift your body in it. Its white with pink interior. The blinker is on the right side, which threw me off. The gear change is on the left, which was also strange. It was fun trying not to tumble into a ditch as I drove for the first time on the left side of the road. It was a bit frustrating because Nishihara-san was giving me pointers in Japanese, but of course, I didn't understand them. I think I kept stopping in the middle of the road and running stop lights on her orders. Her favourite phrases include "okay okay okay okay" and "stoppu stoppu stoppu" and the best one, "kochi kochi kochi". I have NO idea what that one means. I learned the 15 minute drive to and from my house. A lot of it is around a mountain and the roads are all very narrow, so its hard to go over 40 km ... I don’t know what that is in mph. Slow, though. It’s going to be a nightmare once it snows.

On the way back to the board of education, I noticed something in the road and slowed. It was a monkey, or saru. I yelled out, forgetting my Japanese, "sora sora sora!" which means "sky". I was abruptly corrected, and then we coo'd at the cute monkey. Awww.... kawaii saru neeeee... maaaaa. or "cute monkey!" Then there were more! 2, 4, 7, 10! Some were babies, kosaru, and one of them was riding on his mama! The others were running around and climbing trees. We rolled up the windows so they wouldn't try to climb in (aw). Then Nishihara-san told me not to look them in the eye otherwise 'PANMU!', which I assume means "WHACK" they beat you up. So don't look the saru in the eye. After work, the BOE gave me a bunch of the food that the summer camp didn't need. From that haul, I received a lot of mystery sauces and salad dressings, noodles, and vegetables! What will I do with four heads of lettuce? Lots of salad, I guess. Maybe they're trying to tell me something.

For dinner I made some noodles with dumplings and broccoli. It wasn't half bad, considering I cooked it. Then I smashed some bugs, hopped in the shower, and watched Batman Begins until I was sleepy.

My futon is too damn comfy. Its hard to wake up in the morning.