Happy Erika

I got a job!
Went to 2 interviews, one on Wednesday and one yesterday, and got offered both positions. I could pick! So next week I'm moving to Chino in Nagano prefecture to work as an ALT (assistant language teacher).
Have already seen the apartment I get to live in for an extremely cheap rent, and it's quite nice, not too new but not too old, and in a Japanese kind of style with tatami-floors and built in closets. Will post pics =)
I'll also have to buy a car, very exciting! It will be my first car ever, I'm a bit excited =) I'll be living in an area with ski slopes nearby, so next winter I'll be able to chuck my board in my car and go snowboarding! Nice, huh? =)
And I'll have 2 rooms, so if anybody wants to visit, you'll get your own room =)

Guess who we found?

I forgot to mention that Spongebob and I ran into an old friend at the Anime Fair...At first he was huge, then he shrunk to a convenient size for me to put in my handbag, and now he is hanging out here at home with us, happy to be back! Spongebob and die maus got along fantastically right from the beginning, look how happy they are!
Missed you mausy, glad to have you back!
(though how the hell did you make it from Gothenburg to Tokyo????)

Tokyo Anime Fair

Spongebob and I went to Odaiba (an artificial island) and Tokyo Big Sight to visit the Tokyo Anime Fair today, an annual thing I think so we couldn't not go. Quite an interesting experience, got a lot of junk that they handed out, saw some "live" anime characters and saw bands performing various anime songs. I know I had fun! I think Spongebob appreciated the hommage to him as well!

Spongebob's adventures!

Spongebob has of course been traveling around Tokyo as well. Here are a few snapshots of him having a great time! Check out the gravity defying hair of the rockabilly dude behind him in one of the photos. Quite impressive!

More pictures!

Here are some pictures from Harajuku and Yoyogi Park.
They were taken on a Sunday, which is important to remember, as this is the day of the week when people come to hang out in the park, play music, dance etc. As I mentioned before, I loved the dancing rockabillies! There are also some photos of cosu purei (cosplay) girls hanging out in Harajuku, seemingly to have people take photos of them. Very random, but so much fun to watch! Bet they have fun too! =)

Some pictures

I can finally post some pictures of what I've seen so far! Of course I have like a thousand more, but still!

Here are a few from Ueno, Ueno park and Ueno Zoo (but in opposite order..):

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I just got an email from the guy at the school where I was supposed to work saying that my certificate is ready! Great news! He also said that the person he had to hire instead of me was not giving a good impression (he told me already when I spoke to him last Friday that he'd prefer not having to hire him) and that he would PROBABLY have to withdraw the job offer, leaving an open spot for me again. Probably???
I wrote back saying I sort of need a more definite offer, as I actually had some replies on the applications I sent out yesterday, one very promising one in Nagoya. We'll see what he says...
At least, this is good news, now I just don't know whether it will be Saitama or Nagoya next week, not just not knowing whether there will be anything at all...
Things are looking up!

applications applications applications

I just sent out 27 applications to various language schools here in Japan...Phew...Hope that I get some good responses!

rockabillies!

I have been kind of lazy lately, sorry...The thing is, I haven't even been that busy...Ah well...

I met up with the British guy, who I found through couchsurfing.com, and spent the evening in a British pub (or was it Irish?) with him and his friend. We then went back to his place (near Shinjuku) where I had persuaded him to let me use his spare room for 2 nights. Next day we were supposed to meet up at Shinjuku station at 5 pm, but due to the facts that the station is huuuuuge, the directions in Japanese, and my sense of direction is slightly off, I showed up at the meeting place at 5.45 pm...Even though I was actually at the station on time...Damn, that was frustrating! Of course I couldn't call and say I was late, since my phone doesn't work here (at all, don't try to call or text my Norwegian or Swedish numbers, there is no point) and I had not been able to get a Japanese phone yet...In the end, I saw a guy that looked like he was a gaijin and belonged in Tokyo, so I ran up to him and made him let me borrow his phone. He was American I think, and quite nice about the whole phone thing. The result of the phone call was that a new meeting time was scheduled, at the same place. This meant I was too afraid to stray too far from it, I didn't exactly want to get lost again...

We eventually met up and went to a party at the apartment of a friend of a Norwegian guy I met in the bar or that French guy's friend (complicated...). It was fun, everybody got seriously drunk (well I didn't, as you may know, I don't like getting totally pissed, happy is more my thing) and we ended up running around in different parts of Tokyo all night after leaving the Norwegian's friend's apartment (he was Swedish btw). Next day (Sunday) was spent watching Japanese guys with huge hair and total Grease T-birds looks dancing in the park. Got some pictures, it was really cool and looked like soooo much fun =)

Am now staying in the British guy's apartment for 2 weeks while I look for a job, so that turned out nice!

See you!

Am in an internet cafe in Ikebukoro trying to spend some time. I am meeting up with a British guy tonight at 8pm (in 3 hours) in Shinjuku, but until then I really have nothing to do and Im too tired to walk around any more. Went to Tokorozawa and the language school today, was nice to get a face on the person Ive been emailing with so much. My papers still havent arrived, but he promised hes let me know when they do so I can come and pick them up. He also said that maybe he could wait to hire another person until next week, so if it arrives before then...But I doubt it will...

Yesterday I spent the evening with a Japanese girl named Maki who was staying in the same room as me in the hotel. She was in Tokyo for a job interview. It was really good to have somebody around who speaks Japanese =) We went out for sushi and then met up with the same guys as the night before. Last night I got home a bit earlier though, at 3 am hehe...

This internet cafe, btw, is really cool. You get your own little booth and a drink, and can sit in private to check your email, read manga (they have looots of it here, but all in Japanese of course) or watch movies. Its japanese style, so you site on the floor which is padded, and then you have a thing you can move around to rest your back against. Its awesome! Was only planning on staying an hour, but will stay for at least 2 ^^

Late night out!

Yesterday after spening the afternoon in the park I went out for dinner at some sushi place. Then after dinner I decided to check out this international bar/pub somebody at the hotel was talking about, so I headed over there. Ended up chatting to a French guy, also travelling alone, and after a while we started chatting to 2 Japanese girls, and then most of the people in the bar =) The Japanese girls kept trying to persuade us to go to Disneyland with them, might actually be fun, I like rollercoasters!
Turned out the French guy had a friend who has a bar in Asakusa-bashi, so we decided to go and visit him, however when we got to the bar (around 2 am) he had just gone home. We stayed chatting to the bartender and then after he closed the bar he came with us back to the international bar we had been to before. Apparently he was friends with the guys working there. After that (around 4 am) we realized we were hungry and went out for some "dinner" at Dennys (the French guy, the bartender and I) which was really nice. In the end, I got back to the hotel at 6.30 am. It is now 2pm, and I have only just managed to get ready and go down to the computers hehe.

Tomorrow I am going to visit the school I would have worked at had I had all my paperwork ready. Should be fun to meet them! Maybe they can give me some good advice =)

Now, its time to go get some lunch!

Weird burger

Woke up all rested this morning, and decided to go out exploring the area. Went to the Ueno Park and visited the zoo. I took way too many pictures, hehe, but it was nice. There were all these school kids everywhere, in matching school uniforms. Some even had matching hats and bags. They were so cute! And so small...There were kids that at the same size in Sweden wouldnt even be able to walk yet, but here they were TALKING! They must have been 3 or something...Im having a really hard time estimating the age of not only the kids here, but the adults as well. I guess Ill get used to it eventually...

After the park visit I ran around in what appeared to be a shopping area, at least there were lots of people and shops. Couldnt quite figure out what most of them sold though...I tried to find a shop to buy adapters, but I couldnt find it. I had a map and everything! Next time...

I just got back from a little trip trying to find something to eat. I was too excited to have breakfast this morning, and then I sort of forgot about the whole thing, and lunch as well, so by half past four I realized I was kind of hungry and had to run outside to find something quickly. Once I realized I was hungry I was REALLY hungry hehe. Because I was desperate, I ended up in some kind of Japanese burger restaurant, I figured if they had veggie burgers Id get the food quickly. So I asked if they did, and the girl (who was very polite) said yes, and I sat down (with a glass of water I never asked for, very nice) and a few minutes later I got a burger that really didnt look like it was vegetarian. So I asked just to be sure and it turned out it wasnt a veggie burger at all, just something that might have sounded like vegetarian in Japanese, who knows. Anyway, it turned out they did have veggie burgers...Sort of...I got rice shaped as buns, and in between there were some vegetables in some kind of sause, and some sea weed. It was like a sushi burger! Strangest burger Ive ever had, but it was really yummy =)

In Tokyo!

So, I have finally arrived at the hotel, and have had a shower (much needed), but I´m sooooooooooooo tired! =) Might have to go take a little nap before I start exploring...
The flight went well, believe it or not! But of course I had forgotten to book special food, so I had to run around Heathrow looking for something I could bring onto the plane so I wouldn´t starve...Ended up buying some hommus wraps from Starbucks, they were ok =)
Still no eligibility papers, so I am now jobless again...Will have to start running around Tokyo at the big agencies I think. This of course might mean that I will end up somewhere completely different in Japan than I thought, very exciting!
I don´t have any pictures since I am using a hotel computer, will try to upload some once I get my computer hooked up to the inet. Speaking of my computer, the guys in the security check at Heathrow apparently wanted my computer dead, as they were a little late in warning me I shouldn´t put it where I did while trying to open the bag to but it back after the x-ray. The warning came AFTER it hit the floor...Thanks...I did a quick check though, and it seems to be ok...I hope! =)

...'Twas the night before...

So, 7 am tomorrow my flight leaves for London, where I will hang around for a few hours before boarding the plane to Tokyo. FINALLY! Can't believe it's actually time to leave...It's been a long time coming! ^^ To get into the mood, I've decided to watch a bit of Lost in Translation before sleeping a few hours =) Will try to take a few pics from the trip...

The last few days I've spent hanging out with my brother and the Gaston. I've also taken Cleo out for loooong walks. She's funny, she doesn't care about other dogs, or people or anything when she's out walking, she's completely focused on her tennisball. Don't even want to think about what she'd do if another dog tried to take it from her ;)

Here she is fetching her beloved ball from up a tree (she's a monkey!):

The Gaston is quite big for a 1.5 year old, and a very compact little thing. I think carrying him around could be defined as a work out; weightlifting! ;) I feel stronger for sure! I'll totally miss him, he's been so cuddly and sweet (of course, he's also a tornado, a rascal and a hooligan) and earlier today he just wanted to hug and kiss for ages. Aw... I have a new nickname for him, the Hobbit! Today, he had 2 breakfasts, and when I pointed out to him that he was just like a hobbit, he grinned and nodded and apparently thought that the comparison was spot on.

Here he is brushing his teeth (if auntie Erika brushes her teeth, of course the Gaston wants to do the same), and playing with foam in the bath tub (I know he likes me, but I could never compete with the bath tub!):

On Friday I went to visit a friend of mine from Falköping who has moved to Stockholm. We made burritos and ate way to much potato crisps (BBQ flavour, yum yum) and watch Sense and Sensibility. You can't really go wrong with crisps and Austen...=) The cat of the , Xerxes, was really sweet and purred very loudly. He was also the most persistent crisp beggar I've ever seen. He really wanted those crisps!

Anyway...What else...We've had dinner with my brother's neighbours, they were really nice, the girl had Japanese parents and gave me some good tips on what to do and see in Japan. They had a really cute son, same age as the Gaston, but way smaller, it was like he didn't weigh anything compared to the little hobbit.

We've also had time to "fika" (have coffee/tea/cookies/cake) with my brother's mom and stepdad which was fun, I don't meet them that often but I really like them! The Gaston was extatic about meeting his grandma and grandpa =)

So, that's it for now. Time for some Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson and then some sleep! Will update as soon as I can get connected again! Oyazumi nasai!

Sorry for being lazy and not updating...

...but I've been busy busy ^^

Went out for dinner with mom and Melek on Saturday, which was quite nice. I love how easy it is to get something I actually eat in Turkey. I don't think Japan is quite as accomodating to us poor vegans hehe =). Spent part of Sunday baking more banana and chocolate cookies, needed to leave a bag for Melek as she fell in love with them (of course, who doesn't?) and also make a few to bring in my bag for the flights on the Monday. Added a crazy amount of cinnamon, very nice =)

I noticed when I packed my (new) bags on Sunday that I had managed to shop a whole lot of stuff! I had a full bag! Will have to see how much of my stuff will fit in my bagss when I leave on Monday. I mean, I also have some stuff in boxes I sent from Norway to Stockholm before I left.

The flights to Istanbul and Stockholm were very uneventful. I had more than 5 hours at the airport in Istanbul, and they didn't open the check in until 2 hours before the plane left. That meant I had almost 4 hours to spend hanging around in the check in area, that is, NO taxfree shopping. Sat around in a café for 1.5 hours watching people, the coffee was really yummy. Mmmm, hazelnut!

I arrived in Stockholm quite late, but luckily the Gaston was still awake when we got home to my brother's house. He was almost about to fall asleep, but when we walked in he decided being awake was more fun than sleeping, and stayed up for another 1.5 hours. He totally recognized me (and he should, it was only a bit more than 3 weeks since I was here last), and was happy to see his auntie Erika =)

Went out for a coffee with one of my cousins on Tuesday. We don't see each other that much, since I don't live in Sweden, and he has spent the last 6 months in Berlin, so we had a lot to catch up on. Kinda wish I'd get to see my cousins more often, I always love spending time with them.

Today, Cleo and I went out for a long walk, this is her chilling out on the bed afterwards.

She's one of the best things about staying with my brother, I like playing dog mommy every once in a while =)

After the walk, I took the bus to pick up the very BEST thing about staying at my brother's place, the Gaston. He had just had a little nap when I showed up, and wasn't quite up for leaving kindergarten. Took him about 5 minutes to get entirely convinced going home was better than hanging out with the other kids (but he wasn't crying!). One of the little girls said to one of the teachers as I left: "That was my mommy!". Hehe! I love when kids realize they can lie!

Here is the Gaston, still sleepy, waiting for the bus home.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to the city to try to find replacements for the Japanese books that were stolen. I definitely have to replace the little Lonely Planet phrasebook Christopher gave me before I left. Don't think I can go to Japan without being able to say things like "But ton de masu!" :D

Until then!