Sunday, September 13, 2009

What happened a month ago...plus apartment impressions!

I believe last time I was mentioning an especially interesting translation project I got on my second day of work. My predecessor, Kyle, was still around, so we worked on it together. We had to take project descriptions that students had written in Japanese and "English" and translate them in proper English. I put "English" in quotes because although English words were used, English grammar and sentence structure were completely ignored. It was so bad that we just looked at the original Japanese because looking at their English just confused us even more. Granted, these are artists we're talking about-in other words, crazy people. Half the time their Japanese even lacked coherency and flow. A particularly noteworthy case was a project entitled A Device of Forests. Looking at his Japanese title, he really wanted to call it "A Forest of Devices." So he blew his 50/50 shot at correctly translating this simple possessive phrase. I knew I was in for a treat. He project involved having a diorama, along with three devices hooked up to a computer which showed the diorama. Users were to manipulate different aspects of the diorama, including distance, color, and bend (whatever the hell that is...) with the various devices. These changes would be reflected on the computer display, or as he phrased it "the world seen through the device." He proceeded to end his abstract by saying he believed that experiencing the "gap" between the real world (i.e. the actual diorama) and "the world seen through the device" that people would be able to conceptualize a new city and new environment. I swear it felt like I was translating some dude's acid trip.
That weekend a bunch of the JETs from the area met in Gifu city to grab dinner. We ate a Korean place, where the time honored Japanese tradition of ordering communal dishes and not getting enough was upheld by us foreigners. I really need to remember to eat before I head out for the night. After that the veteran JETs took us to a favorite bar of theirs called Bierhall. It was a very chill place and they served Guiness! Not that I'm a huge beer fan, but all the local Wisconsin beer has got me used to drinking beer with flavor. And in general I've found I prefer darker beers, so although exhorbitantly expensive (about 8.50 for a pint), it was a pleasant change from the lighter beers that pervade the Japanese market. I shared a pint with my friend Ozzy (he lives a couple cities west in Sekigahara, where a very siginificant battle took place, I'll spare you the history lesson, feel free to look it up yourself)and we also split an order of tacos, yes tacos! Mexican cuisine is quite hard to find in Japan, so it was great to find a place that serves something resembling it. Then we went to Karaoke, where I sang Love Shack (B-52s) and Linda Linda (a Japanese classic by The Blue Hearts) with my prefectural advisor, Paul. Sunday of this same weekend there was supposed to be a fireworks show, but alack, alas, it rained and they were postponed. So plan B was head up to the top of a tall building and check out Gifu city's skyline. After chilling there for a spell we went to a yakiniku (lit. grilled meat) restaurant. These are generally do it yourself places where you just order plates of meat and cook it up on a table at the grill. This place happened to have portable, kerosene-powered grills. As the fat cooked off, though, it caused an unusual amount of smoke and high flames to the point where it was difficult to pluck the meat from the grill. (Granted, this isn't anything the grillmaster can't handle, but still...) I eventually noticed a hissing sounds and we figured out the gas can to grill connection was faulty and allowing gas to leak out. So basically we lucky our grill didn't explode in a grand fashion. Woo hoo. Despite this, I would like to return to this restaurant and they had the flag and scarves of the local soccer team FC Gifu up for decoration. I imagine it would be a nice place to catch some of the world cup games next summer.
Kyle's last day of work was the following Monday, so everyone in the office went out to lunch together at a place called Music Journal. The interior is quaint with some random decorations and the big flat panel TV showing Disney films (I have no idea why). It is buffet style, so although they had a nice variety of stuff, it wasn't terribly fresh. I've been there once since, but probably won't frequent the place. I chatted a bit with a guy from the office, but it was a bit stilted and awkward. At this time I had been in the office all of 2 days, so I blame it partially on that. Most folks in my office are cool enough and we talk much more naturally at this point. (I'll intro my co-workers in a separate, dedicated post.) That night Kyle had to pick up his girlfriend from the airport so he left work right away. She stayed the night, and from little I talked to her, she didn't have the best grasp on the English language. They left during the day while I was at work, and so I finally had the apartment to myself!! I got to move in to the actual bedroom, which was crucial since that is where the window unit AC is located. Kyle was a decent guy (hooked me up with a PSX emulator and some classic RPG roms...Lunar, Legend of Legaia, etc.) but, how shall I put this delicately, socially inept at times. Despite the common hobby of gaming, conversations weren't terribly natural. Oh well, I was glad to be able to start properly moving my stuff in after living out of one suitcase and/or shoulder bag (the luggage logistics were quite the mess, with half my stuff being sent ahead from the airport). I got all my clothes unpacked, and crashed shortly after. The next day when I moved my empty suitcase, I was greeted by what looked like a mukade (a Japanese centipede, whose poison is not something to be messed with). I tried to kill the bugger, but he was resilient...and fast! Bugs have thankfully been a relatively minor problem since then.
And given how old my apartment is, I'm kind of surprised they aren't worse. My apartment is decent shape, but the bathroom leaves a bit to be desired. It is a squat toilet...but there is thankfully a converter that you can put on top of it so you can properly sit down as if it was a western toilet. I am, however, still slightly worried about the sewage pipe, which carries the above 3 floors worth of waste, that runs through my bathroom...and has duct tape wrapped around the joint. It looks like someone called Red Green in to come fix it. Here's to hoping that tape can hold on for a while longer. The kitchen area lacks space to cook on, and one of the burners on my stovetop (I have no actual oven compartment) doesn't work. So I have one burner on which to cook. I turn the gas on manually when using the burner, and also if I want hot water out of the faucet for doing dishes. Overall, though, my apartment is in decently shape, and I even have proper shoji (the traditional sliding rice paper doors) going out to the little balcony/laundry area. And compared to my friend Jon's apartment, which has had both flood and fire damage, I can't really complain. At 2 bedrooms and a living room, there is more than enough room for me. Plus the location is absolutely killer. I am a mere 2-3 minute walk from a massive mall, which includes stores for bedding, electronics/appliances, sports equipment, and even a dollar store. Not to mention the entertainment complex that features bowling, an arcade, a net cafe, a movie theater,karaoke, pachinko (blech!), etc. The best part, though, may be MaxValu, the 24-hour supermarket. Having that place open at all hours is incredibly convenient...plus it is fun trying to guess what pop song they are playing a MIDI instrumental version of in the background. The store staple seems to be "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky, which plays at some point almost every time I go there. That one even sports some vocals, with the occasional power chorus of "Getting strong now!" Now that's some music I can shop for groceries to! It's sad, but when I hear that as I'm shopping I think to myself
"Hell yeah, you know I AM getting strong!" and then it makes the mundane task of shopping more exciting. It's the small things in life, right? Ugh, I am still weeks behind what is actually going on, but should wrap up this sizeable post. I’m going to be so happy when I actually have internet at my place. The application is in, and in theory the ball is rolling, so, you know, maybe in another month I’ll be connected. Until next time!