I have heard all shops would be closed on Christmas day, so I went to check them.
Wow! All shops are closed. No one came to this shopping mall today.
Movie theatres are closed. There are no buses, no trams, either.
Even the train station is closed.
It shows no train service today, a greeting message instead.
This looks delicious, doesn’t it? I opened this and tried eating the pop corn. My friend was surprised and stopped me eating it. Yes, it tasted like soap….
A man came to the supermarket where I work. He told me he needed some change for buying petrol. He told me he was a delivery person for the shop and came to everyday. I didn’t have the right to give him money from the till at the shop. However, he said he would return it tomorrow and left his name and phone number. He just asked for 3 pounds (660yen). I put his name and phone number next to the till and handed him 3 pounds. At that time, there were no others at the shop. I left message to my boss about him.
On my way back from work, I got a call from my boss. He arrived at the shop 10 minutes before my leaving. He told me “did you use YOUR 3 pounds for the petrol?” I said “he told me he was a delivery person for the shop. So, I handed him 3 pounds from the till.” My boss told me I was cheated. CHEATED? Just for 3 pounds? He handed the phone to his partner and she told me “You NEVER EVER NEVER give any money to anyone.” She continued, “Do you give money if people ask you for 10 pounds for buying drugs?” “Buying petrol or drugs, they are the same. He will never come back.” She kept yelling with her hysteric voice. After she finished complaining, my boss was on the phone again, “Next time he comes back to the shop, he will ask you for 100 pounds.” Finally, he told me, “I’m disappointed in you.” After this long yelling, blaming, and complaining, my boss said, “I’m sorry, but this is your fault and I ask you to pay three pounds.” At that time, I told him “OK, I will. I’m sorry.” However, I AM disappointed in him from the bottom of my heart.
Is it really all my responsibility? I couldn’t imagine that people could cheat a person for 3 pounds. In Japan, the boss tells me what to do. If I didn’t know about appropriate procedures and if it’s the first time, the boss would cover the mistake which I made. This is why the boss gets better wages. The person who has authority also has to have responsibility. What my boss was doing was leaving his responsibility and letting me down.
I couldn’t keep my emotion to myself and I called my friend. She said “it’s out of order.” “Did he yell at you and make you pay three pounds? What a small person he is!”
On the next day, unfortunately it was my working day and my boss smiled at me and said “Good morning”. It was 12 noon. He may have wanted me to say, “It’s good afternoon.” Or anything other than just a greeting, however, I didn’t want to speak with him and just said “Hello.” After my leaving he asked my friend, “How was Eriko?” She pretended she didn’t hear about this story from me and just told him, “I don’t know why, but she doesn’t look herself.” My boss started to explain the story. Still he told my friend “If Eriko used her own money, it would have been OK.” We knew he was stingy, but we couldn’t even imagine this much. And he would never notice he lost a priceless thing just for three pounds.
On the following day, thanks to my small boss, everybody knew that I was cheated. Surprisingly, nobody blamed my boss. Everybody except my Japanese colleagues said I should pay for it. One of my colleagues spoke face-to-face with me “I can’t believe anyone would pay money from the till.” The other one followed up, “I could understand Eriko’s feeling. It’s difficult to distinguish who says the right thing or lies to you,” and he told some of his stories about being cheated before. After the story, the former guy told him, “It’s your money. Whether you’re cheated or not it’s your responsibility. You are working and three pounds is small money. But in this case, Eriko used money from the till.” I said, “So, I paid it back.” The guy said, “Of course you should pay it back.” I got a huge shock from his words. Maybe I was spoiled in Japan.
This is the reality here. Even if I worked a part time job I should have taken responsibility for what I did.
When I walk with a local friend, a charity person or an Insurance company person speaks to us. My friend knows what it’s like, so he says “no thank you” before they start to explain.
This happens when I walk with my American friend, Belle. A lady comes to us and says “I’m not selling anything to you. Please just let me know your age”. It’s a strange question. Belle answers her age, but I don’t. Then the lady asked me “are you a student?” I just tell her “I’m not a student” and leave her. I’m usually ignored by them when I walk alone. So it’s easy for me not answering her question and leaving there.
After 3minutes, another guy speaks to us. He is a charity person. He tries to interrupt our conversation. He may think he should say something interesting. He says “Are you sisters?” Belle enjoys his question and answers “Yes, we are.” He says “yes, I can tell you two look alike.” Ha haha, ridiculous. Belle continues “I tipped you last week. Do you remember?” He says “Of course I remember you.”
All my experience speaking with these people on the road is awful.
I try not to ignore people who speak to me on the road. At first a lady recommends that I buy a special package for my hair. Once I pay 45 pounds (around 10,000yen) I can get any hair arrangement, including a hair cut, perm and massages for three months. She says “you can have your hair done every weekend!” I’m not interested in the package, however, I’m not good at saying “No, thank you” so it took a long time to escape from her.
Next, the second guy speaks to me very gently. He invites me to come to his church. Sorry but I’m not religious person.
The third case is terrible. Two ladies ask me to give them some change. After half an hour, I see them again by chance and they are choosing from a menu at a restaurant.
Gradually I feel it’s a better choice for me to ignore people who speak to me on the road.
There is a newcomer at my work place. Her name is Eri. When I’m with her, a Philippine colleague calls “Erika” to us. So, we say “We are Eri and Eriko”. Then she says, “OK, girls”.
My Yoga teacher at the fitness club likes Japanese food. She sometimes comes to my work place for shopping. She is a very nice person and tries to remember everybody’s name. At first she recognized my name as Erika. I don’t care how people call me, but if she asked me, “your name is Erika?” I answer “My name is Eriko.” Even if I don’t care, it’s stupid to say “you can call me Erika, but my name is Eriko.” I can’t tell a lie about my name. She calls me “Eri” when she is not sure. Good choice!
A few weeks later, she suddenly recognizes my name as Eriko and now she always calls me Eriko.
Since I arrived in Manchester, I have been thinking about becoming a Japanese-language teacher. I’m a native Japanese, however I have no idea how to teach Japanese. There is a correspondence course and I can take it here.
One day a Japanese lady came to my shop. She was a Japanese-language teacher in Bolton. I heard her story with interest. Some Japanese companies had their factories in Bolton and Japanese-language was a compulsory subject in schools. I thought that was wonderful however, she had to teach Japanese for students who weren’t interested in Japan. I could easily imagine it being hard. Learning other languages was just like learning their cultures. If they weren’t interested in Japan, it would be difficult to keep up their will for studying. After one year of the compulsory subject, they could choose continuation of the Japanese-language study. Just a few students chose it. It’s disappointing.
One day a lady came to the supermarket where I work for some shopping. She was wandering in front of the rice shelf. So, I asked her whether she was looking for something or not. She told me, “I’m fine, thank you.” However, my boss told her, “If you have any questions, please ring the bell.” Then she told him “I actually have some questions.”
WHY?
Did she dislike Japanese people? If so, why did she come to a Japanese supermarket? Did she dislike me? What did I do to her?
I talked about this story to a local friend. He asked me what I said to her when she was wandering. I said in broken English, “Do you look for something?” My friend said, “Oh, that’s the reason she didn’t talk with you. She thought you didn’t understand English.” Huh? What’s wrong with “Do you look for something?” It’s grammatically no problem. He told me, “I can’t explain why, but it’s wrong. We don’t use the phrase in that situation.” I should have said, “Are you looking for something?”
Today I had English class and asked my teacher about this question. He told me, “Sometimes there’s no reason, but you just need to remember the correct phrase.”
On my way home from the class, I talked with my Chinese classmate. We don’t feel improvement of our English after taking this class.
Everybody started Christmas shopping here. A big Santa Claus appeared on the top of main entrance of the City Hall.
Manchester Christmas Market was held and many shops came from European countries.
There were many food shops, gift shops and even a Bonsai shop. Bonsai is Japanese however this Bonsai doesn’t seem like traditional Japanese one.
An ice skate rink was ready at Piccadilly Garden.
It happened on my way go Germany this summer.
My departure time from Manchester airport was 6:55am. This summer, the security check at the airport in England was very strict and recommended time to arrive at the airport was two hours in advance. So I was planning to get on the 4:30am train and arrive there before 5:00am. It takes 15 minutes from the train station near my place to the airport.
In the morning, I checked the platform number at the station for the train to the Manchester airport and went to that platform. There were some other customers who were carrying huge luggage. We were typical passengers going to the airport. I saw the sign at the platform again and it said “Manchester airport”. I was 100% sure the train would take me to the airport.
In the train, a conductor came and checked my ticket. On the ticket destination “Manchester airport” was printed. He checked it with his pen and told me “very well”. He moved to other passengers in the compartment. They spoke with the conductor seriously. However, I didn’t care about it much. I was sleepy and fell asleep for a while. The train should have arrived at the airport in 15 minutes. My watch told me 4:50am. I thought there was a delay. However, the train didn’t arrive at the destination by 5:00am. I started worrying about it and waited to arrive at the destination. Finally the train stopped at the station at 5:10am. It was LIVERPOOL!
OH MY GOD!
I had to get on an airplane from MANCHESTER airport at 6:55am. I should have been there at 6:00am. There was no direct train from Liverpool to Manchester airport. If I used the train, I would have to return the same way first and get on the right train to Manchester airport. On my return it took 40munutes to go back to the 1st station and to go to the airport would take 15minutes. The train doesn’t run every two or three minutes. So, I had to wait 15minutes each for transfers. It was impossible to catch my airplane.
I told a station employee about my situation, but he could do nothing for me. Yes, I knew it. I had no time to complain there. I should have been calm and found the solution. My last chance was using a taxi. Manchester airport and Liverpool are not in the opposite direction of one another. So, I thought it might not be so far by taxi. I found a taxi outside of the Liverpool station. At first I asked the driver how long it takes from here to MANCHESTER airport. It was already 5:30am. He told me it would take approximately 40minutes. Well it might work, I thought. I also asked about the fee. He said 60pounds (13,800yen). Wow expensive! But I had no time to negotiate about a discount. Anyway I had 60pounds cash so I got on the taxi.
After leaving Liverpool, I started to worry about time. In Japan, if a taxi driver told me approximately 40minutes, it usually means 30minutes or 35minutes. It should be shorter than 40 minutes. However now I’m in England. I don’t know their way of estimating time. All my experience in England kept me disappointed about time. I didn’t know what would happen if I missed my airplane. On my way going to the airport, I checked miles signs to the airport and estimated the remaining times and miles. It was really stressful. Although I was optimistic I could easily guess I wouldn’t be at the airport in 40minutes. The worse thing is my taxi was a very old one and couldn’t run fast. Many other new taxies went past my taxi. I couldn’t ask for speeding up because the car could be broken. I told nothing and just prayed in the taxi.
After 40minutes, I was still in the taxi. I wanted to run in the taxi although I knew it wouldn’t work.
Finally I arrived at the airport at 6:25am. It was 30minutes before my departure. My flight was with Lufthansa airlines. There was a long queue in front of the Lufthansa counter. I knew I had no time for waiting in the queue. I found a man who worked for Lufthansa and explained my situation. He told me “wait for a second” and left me. I REALLY didn’t have time for waiting. However, he came back and took me to the ticket counter.
OH MY GOODNESS! Thanks for Lufthansa!!
Yes, I could get on the airplane.
After returning from Germany, I sent a complaint by email to the rail company. I got a reply from them after a month. It said:
“Thank you for your correspondence which I recently received.
I was sorry to learn of the delay to your journey from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport on the 24th August 2007. Please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience this must have caused.
When boarding, alighting or changing trains it is the passenger’s responsibility to ensure they join the correct service.
Although I appreciate that this must be frustrating, we are not liable for any expenses or financial losses that are caused by delays to our services. I sympathise with your difficult situation, but unfortunately, I must decline your request for repayment of your taxi fare. This is explained fully in the National Conditions of Carriage.
Thank you again for taking the trouble to contact me. I sincerely hope that future journeys with us are more satisfactory.
Yours sincerely”
It was not my complaint that I spent extra money. I wanted them to know that if they showed the correct information on the sign at Manchester Piccadilly station no one would be in trouble. This reply email was very polite, but they would do nothing to avoid this situation in the future. I am sure they will leave customers “holding the sack”.
It’s been 5 month since I arrived here. I’d already been asked for directions more than seven times by passersby. It’s obvious that I’m not a local person. I don’t know why people ask me for the directions. Although I’m bad at directions, I do my best.
One day, a man asked me the direction to Piccadilly station. I pointed in the direction. It was obvious to me however he told me that I was wrong. He said, “No”.
WHAT??
He asked me the direction and I answered him. Why did he tell me NO? If he knew the direction already, he didn’t need to ask me, right?
He said it should be close to the City tower. “Oh I see,” I said. He wanted Piccadilly garden where there is a big bus terminal.
Yesterday, on my way home from my work, I was asked for directions by two women. After showing them the directions, they said “Thank you” to me. I automatically said “See you”.
Oops!
Once I was in New York on Halloween day. It was really exciting. Many people wore strange costumes. Even business men wore devil costumes and went to work as usual. Some dogs also wore wings or extra tails. It’s an event for kids and also adults.
My image of Halloween in England is just like my American one. However, it’s just an event for kids. I had English class on that day. My teacher taught us the history of Halloween and how to react if kids visit our places. This is educational rather than fun. On my way back home, I went to a big supermarket (TESCO). Some sales assistants wore Halloween costumes, but they were wearing it as their duty and it wasn’t exciting.
I’ve never had a hair cut in a foreign country. I heard that Asian hair is more difficult to cut than other people’s hair. I tried to find a fair price and average quality. It’s more difficult than I thought. I checked web sites. Some people recommend the hair salon, but some other said “you shouldn’t go there.” I couldn’t find a good one. One of my Japanese friends got her hair cut in London by a Japanese hair stylist. Yes, I thought it was nice, but pricy. My other Japanese friend got her hair cut in Manchester China town. But she doesn’t recommend it. I’ve searched for four months. Finally I got information that there is a Japanese woman who is studying to become a hairdresser. I sent an email to her and she arranged to cut my hair. It’s wonderful.
On Sunday, I usually wake up at 9am and go to Tai-chi（太極拳） class. I woke up this morning as usual, had breakfast and checked email on my PC. Then I noticed the clock on my PC was an hour early. I completely forgot that it was the day when the summer time is finished. I used this extra hour to read “Harry Potter and the deathly hallows”. Every time Harry potter is published, I tried to finish reading it in English before the Japanese edition is published. I’ve never succeeded. This is the last chance. I would like to make it this time.
I was not coming Manchester for part-time job. So, I take a day off on every Wednesday and go to an English class. There are 20 students and I am the only Japanese in the class. I look forward to improving my English and having international friends there. My classmates are from China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Spain, Chile, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
I also started going to fitness club. I join Tai-chi, Yoga and Pilates classes. One instructor teaches these three classes. She isn’t a European or Asian. She is a Brazilian. When I waited for Tai-chi class, some people asked me “are you Tai-chi teacher?” It’s interesting that an Asian learns Tai-chi from a Brazilian in UK.
My boss at work went to business trip to USA last week. So I could enjoy conversation with customers without a sales talk. They are interested in Japan. Some of them are looking for Japanese language exchange mates. Why not me? I will start language exchange with two people. One is from America. She had three years experience in Japan. The other is originally from Iran. He has a plan to work in Japan next year. I look forward to sharing learning languages and cultures with them.
Now I start enjoying my life as an international person in Manchester.
Since I started my part time job, I go to work almost every weekday. Do I enjoy working? Well, there are many good things and also bad things.
I describe good things first. My working shift is from noon to 6pm. This is nice because I have free time in the morning. I can go shopping, bank, post office or dentist before work. I usually don’t have time to have lunch before work, but I have lunch break at 3pm. The supermarket where I work is located at the basement and there is a restaurant at the ground level. People working at the restaurant prepare lunch for me. Sometimes I can eat the same menu served at the restaurant and sometimes they prepare special meal for workers. I like eating meal with people. After coming to Manchester, I was so lonely when I have lunch at home alone. I missed my lunch time with friends in Japan. Now I feel better to have lunch time with my colleagues. I have no complaint about the taste because it’s free!
My work is not difficult. I usually start my work with cleaning the shop and check items. I prepare some translation tag in English for Japanese items. If a customer needs some translation or explanation of items, I would tell it to the customer in English. Sometimes I can enjoy talking with customers. No customers complain about any unsatisfactory situation. Sometimes I keep customer to wait because the machine for cash card or debit card doesn’t work well. Sometimes we don’t have the product customers wish to buy. In any cases, they are not complaint. I saw a guy who was interested in “language exchange”, teaching mother tongues to each other. So we met at a coffee shop at a weekend and had nice talk about England and Japan.
Some Japanese customers were also glad to know that I was Japanese. There aren’t many Japanese here, so some Japanese students enjoy talking at shop.
You would think I really enjoy working here. However, there are bad things as many as good things. It’s my boss. If I asked something, he said “think by yourself.” If I did something without asking him, he said “ask me anything when you are not sure”. WELL what should I do? No one working at the shop can communicate with him. He also loves to say “your responsibility”. Anyway he is a British and understands neither Japanese nor Chinese. My Chinese colleague told me how to say a curse word in Chinese. We sometimes say the word together....
As scheduled, I went to the dentist on 25 September. Fortunately, my tooth wasn’t hurt till my treatment date. So, it wasn’t scary for me to go there. All I need is to have my filling fixed. In Japan, the filling is made by metal after making a plaster cast of teeth, so the treatment isn’t finished in one day. A dentist took the form of a tooth and ordered a metal crown for it. Usually after one week, the crown is ready and the dentist puts it on my tooth. I thought the procedure was the same here. However it wasn’t the same.
At first I explained that I had all my teeth checked in Japan before my coming to Manchester. Then my dentist told me he didn’t do any extra check for my teeth and just put a new filling where the previous one ripped off. He told me it’s easy and will finish immediately.
He didn’t use metal, but something white and special filling. He didn’t make a cast of teeth, so I was happy that my treatment was finished one day, but I wasn’t 100% happy with this treatment. It’s not solid like metal, and the problem is that the filling is smaller than the previous one. It covers the top of the tooth, but the size is the required minimum. Every time I eat food, something is stuck between the teeth. It’s uncomfortable.
This treatment fee was 55 pounds (about 12,650yen). I can afford this without a insurance. The current insurance costs 30 pounds (about 6,900 yen) per month for two persons, and they cover just 75% of payment of the treatment. So, if my teeth are fine for more than one month from now, it’s cheaper to pay 100% treatment fee and cancel my insurance for teeth. However, my teeth may be in a bad condition again soon.
In the meantime, I joined International women’s gathering meeting at International Society. It’s a society by some of universities in Manchester. They gave us information about NHS, medical insurance and TV licence or anything we ask. I asked about insurance for teeth. They said there are some dentists who accept NHS (free medical insurance) registration. If I could register a dentist with NHS, I can cancel my private insurance. So, I went another dentist for NHS registration. They said, however, I have to be in a queue for NHS registration. They will call me as soon as possible.
“How long does it usually take?” I asked.
“Three months.” was the reply.
What a great “ASAP” in England!
OK I will pay my private insurance at least three months.
In a rainy day, there are few customers at the supermarket I am working. So, the British owner gave me a lecture how to do “customer service” in England. From my point of view, customers asked me questions if they have an interest in something. So, I usually wait to be asked by them. However, he told me I should speak to them first. He says, “they are your friends and don’t be afraid to speak out.”
Actually when I shop at a department store, usually people working there come and give me detailed information about items. I thought it’s just they like talking, but my boss says that is the English way of customer service and it would be worth for me to learn. When in Manchester do as the Manc do :) My boss and I did role play and I practiced explaining items.
At first I was afraid to pick up phone calls, but now I am ok with it. So, I hope it would be OK to speak to customers soon.
It’s sometimes difficult to explain Japanese foods in English. Now I work at Japanese super market and sell Japanese foods. The majority of customers are not Japanese but international people, especially university students. The location is close to some universities, and also the shop offers discount to the students. Many people who are interested in Japan visit the shop. Some of them bow to me when they enter the shop. Usually bowing persons speak some Japanese.
This is an interesting place for me to work. I need to answer questions about Japanese foods. Sometimes it’s like a quiz. When a customer asked “seven different kinds of spice”, I thought a little and showed “七味”, it was bingo. Some people asked me my recommendation about the selection of instant ramen. The shop have five types of it, i.e.しょうゆ、みそ、塩、カレー and とんこつ. I can translate them into English, such as soy sauce, miso (need no translation), salt, curry. But TONKOTSU....., how could I describe this? If anyone has good idea to explain Tonkotsu, please let me know.
People also ask how Natto tastes like. Well, it is quite difficult to explain the taste to people who have never eaten the food. Also I was asked how to prepare dip for Tempura. I think one could use Udon or Soba soup (mentsuyu) for Tempura, however, I don’t know whether the standard one (tentsuyu) is available in U.K. I have to learn how to cook standard Japanese dishes with stuff available here.
I bought my traveller's insurance before coming to Manchester. However it doesn’t cover dental treatment. So, I went to dentist before I left Japan and checked all my teeth. It should be fine in two years according to my Japanese dentist.
Suddenly, one of my stuff of covering the treated tooth was ripped off. It doesn’t hurt now, but it could hurt soon. In England, if I stay here longer than 6 months, I can join NHS. It’s free medical insurance. I searched a dentist which accepts NHS and visited there. They said “we don’t accept NHS at moment.” They only accept a person who has private insurance. There is private insurance specialized to dental care. It costs 30 pounds (about 6,900 yen) per month for two persons. I had no choice. I bought it and went to the dentist again. They said, “Even with your private insurance, you need to pay 45 pounds (about 10,350 yen) for registration and a doctor will tell you about treatment fee when you talk with him”. 45 pounds just for registration, it costs a lot!
Moreover, the insurance doesn’t cover 100% of treatment fee. As a procedure, I need to pay 100% for treatment fee and then claim to the insurance company and they pay me back 75% of treatment fee. However the insurance company sets some maximum limit to cover, so I am not sure how much I need to pay for my tooth treatment. My appointment is on 25 September. I will see how it goes.
Starting something is very exciting. I finished my first training day for my new job. After finishing two days training, I will start my work without support.
My work starts with cleaning the shop. It’s not a busy shop, so if customers come I do cashier work. Other times I display goods for sale, put price tags and check the items. Customers are people who are interested in Japan. So, I can enjoy communicating with them. The shop sells Korean items, too. I was asked about the taste of Korean drink however, I had no clue about it because all explanation was written in Hangeul. I should taste it for next time people ask me. The shop sells rice, miso, green tea, tofu, frozen natto, Asahi beer, Sake, Japanese sweets and many more. An interesting item is a frozen Unagi (eel). My colleague told me it’s tasty. OK I will buy it when I get my first salary;)
Many of Japanese colleagues are university students in Manchester. They are very nice persons. Although I am a new comer they use Keigo (respectful form of Japanese) to me. They also speak beautiful English. I am wishing I could make progress in speaking English.
I started job hunting since July. It’s rather difficult than I imagined. The procedures are not complicated. As the first step, I get job information from newspaper. There are many job offers on Thursday paper. I found some interesting works and sent application forms, but there were no reply. If I didn’t receive a reply from them, it means I didn’t make it.
The reason I would like to get a job is not only for earning foreign currency. I would like to belong to a society in Manchester.
There are many kinds of works and some works are graded. Grade 1 is less required skill and less paid work. However, it doesn’t mean easier to get a position. More people apply for less required skill work and it causes more competition. I have to find some strong point of mine and apply the job I could do better than others.
I found “International Office social and Welfare Assistant”. It says: This role would ideally suit someone with an energetic and empathic nature who has previously deal with people from a wide range of cultural background. It sounds ideal to me. OK, I apply this one. This is my fifth trial. I couldn’t make previous four applications. For getting their interest, I should appeal myself on the application form. This time, I took four hours to fill out the form and sent it. I described everything what I did and what I can do. If I couldn’t get reply with this application form, I would give up getting a job in Manchester.
The closing date of this application form was 16 August, and I haven’t got any reply yet. It seems that I can’t get a job here. I think this is because I have no background in England. All of my education and job experience were in Japan.
A piece of good fortune, I got a text message from Japanese super market. I sent them my job application form a couple of months before. In a message, they asked whether I still have interest to work there or not. Of course I called them back and went to job interview.
Finally I got a part-time job! I start working soon. I am not sure whether this job is what I really want to do, but I am sure this is the first step to get involved in Manchester.
Day1 in Munich
I saw Thomas. I haven’t seen him for 8 years! During his stay in Japan, he told me how beautiful the places in Munich are. He also told me whenever I visit Munich, he will welcome me. Finally I could visit and see him again. It’s impressive that he welcomes me after 8 years.
Christina and Thomas cooked dinner for me. The fish was from Isar river. Since I left Japan, I haven’t eaten tasty fish, so this is very special for me. It’s very tasty!
Day 2 in Munich
We went to the Neuschwanstein castle. It’s so beautiful. We joined a guide tour but it’s not allowed to take a photo inside.
Day 3 in Munich
Breakfast: Yes, I kept eating from morning till night.... I miss all tasty foods in Germany.
We went to hiking. We could enjoy the wonderful view from top of the mountain.
On our way down, we enjoyed riding a wheeled bobsled.
Day 4 from Munich to Karlsruhe
I saw Martin in Karlsruhe. He arranged tickets from Munich to Karlsruhe and place to stay in Karlsruhe. He also arranged to see his charming wife, Benjamin and Kai at dinner. It was a wonderful reunion!
Day 5 trip to France
Martin took us to Strasbourg. I had my passport with me, but no one check my passport when I cross border between Germany and France. Neither German nor French I understand, I just recognise people speak French there by the sound. Martin spoke French and he arranged everything for us again.
In the evening, we got on a night train to our final destination, Dresden.
Day 6 in Dresden
I wanted to see this painting. This is why I visited Dresden.
Day 7
Now I am back to Manchester and my lost in translation in Manchester will be continued.
I sometimes wonder where I am now. Of course, it’s obvious that I’m not in Japan, but I still don’t feel the reality of my life in Manchester. Maybe because I don’t belong to any society here.
Today I met my friends from Japan in Manchester. It’s amazing. It’s like my former life in Japan suddenly jumped into my current unreality life. It’s wonderful to have conversation as I was in Japan. On my daily life, I can easily get information from Internet, TV and newspapers. However the reality is added after sharing it with people. I could speak about my life in Manchester with my friends today and now I recognise that I really live in Manchester and I will enjoy staying here.
And of course after I ate this yummy cake, I realise I have gained extra weight. I can’t refuse to face the reality even when I didn’t feel it.
It’s been two months since I arrived in Manchester. It was terrible weather in June. I thought it was usual in England. If it is so cool during summer, what will happen in winter? I was sad. However, one day a newspaper said: “Mopping up wettest June for 76 years: It has been the wettest June in Greater Manchester for more than three quarters of a century – and there’s more rain to come.” This is not a usual weather even in England.
In August, the weather is really nice. Many sunny days and never humid. Now I understand why European people in Japan are suffering from Japanese summer.
One of my favourite services here is free newspaper. It’s free every weekday. It’s handed near a station, shopping mall and anywhere people come. Sometimes I can’t say “no thank you” and got two copies of the same paper in a day. However, it costs 38p on Saturday, probably because it carries TV listings for both Saturday and Sunday. I didn’t know about it and I was almost being a robber.
Something is at my window...
Wow, it’s a tough work to wash the window of the second floor from the ground using a brush with a long pole. I’m impressed with their efforts, but I can’t see any difference before and after washing....
Finally my goods to be moved have arrived! For your information, I describe how I chose a moving company.
First of all, I asked my friends who have experience of moving out of Japan. Their recommendation was Nittsu. The service and price of Nittsu is nice, however, they said it depends on the destination, so I needed to check whether Nittsu was good for moving to England or not. I compared the price on the web sites. Nittsu and Kuroneko Yamato provide the same kind of service with the same range of price. OK, I will take my friends recommendation and called Nittsu. HOWEVER, my destination is not London but Manchester. If on the web site they say England, it means London. I have to pay extra fee to send goods from London to Manchester. Nittsu requires about additional 70% fee compared with the price for London. It’s almost double. Then, I called Kuroneko for comparison. Kuroneko requires just about 20% extra. The standard cost to London is the same, but to Manchester, Kuroneko is much cheaper. So, I chose Kuroneko.
Their service was very good! At first I planned to send my goods on the day before my departure, but I couldn’t finish packing so I changed the date of their coming. I also asked them to pick up my goods as late as possible. They didn’t complain at all and kindly accepted my order. I could also postpone telling them the address where I would receive my goods until I settle in Manchester. Before delivery they sent me an email and noticed the delivery date and time. On the delivery day, they called me beforehand and arrived on time as arranged.
Of course I need to open the gate for them. Yes, this is very inconvenient.
Three guys came and carried all boxes into my place. The best thing for me, they took off their shoes when they entered my place while I didn’t have to say anything. I like this custom very much! Japanese customer service is wonderful. Now I am surrounded by carton boxes printed with black cats (Kuro-neko).
Ring-ring:
Telephone is ringing at 8:00am this morning. Last week, I answered a telephone call at 9:00am and it was wrong number. I sigh, AGAIN?
The call last week was very funny. I picked up the phone and the person said something. I couldn’t catch his word so I just said:
Eriko: “Yes?”
Person: “I’m coming to your place at 8am tomorrow.”
E: “Tomorrow?”
P: “Yes.”
E: “Why are you coming?”
P: “Minor treatment.”
E: “I didn’t ask any repair in my place.”
P: “I need minor surgery.”
E: “Surgery? I think you must have a wrong number. My number is........ ”
P: “Yes, I called the same number. Please pass my message to.....”
E: “I don’t know who I could pass your message to.”
P: “Isn’t it the eye surgery office?”
E: “No.”
He apologised and hung up the phone. Anyway, my number may have been used in an eye surgery.... If so, there’s another problem.
Back to the today’s call:
E: “Hello?”
P: “............coming..........”
I couldn’t catch almost any words. However, from my experience last week, I thought this must be the same kind of the wrong number call.
I said:
E: “I think you must have a wrong number.”
P: “I call .......”
E: “Yes, it’s my telephone number. I don’t know where you got it.”
P: “Your apartment number is 44?”
E: “Yes.”
P: “I deliver your parcel but I can’t get in the gate. Would you come and open the gate?”
I SEE. It’s not the wrong number this time. Why doesn’t the delivery person have a key for the entrance gate? It’s inconvenient to go out just to open the gate for a delivery..... Anyway, there’s no choice.
The parcel is Japanese foods sent from my brother!! This is a surprise present.
Someone knocked a door. The door to my room and the neighbour’s one are next to each other. Every time someone knocks the next door, I’m surprised at the sound. But today, someone kept knocking the door, not the next door. I went to the door and peeped out through the spyglass. At first I didn’t see anyone, so I left, then someone knocked the door again. I peeped out again and saw someone stood in front of my door. WHO??
I opened the door and the guy said, “I live next to you.” This is the first time to see my neighbour. In Japan, we have a custom to say hello when we move in, but I don’t know if there is a similar custom in England. Anyway, this is not for greeting. He just asked the condition of my TV. He said his TV didn’t work well. He wanted to make sure the problem is either at only his room or the whole apartment. My TV worked without a problem, so I answered to him. He thanked me and went back his room. We didn’t even exchange our names. Anyway, it’s nice to knowｓ who lives next to me.
There is no door knob on the door. It’s closed automatically. I live in the second floor (i.e. the third floor in Japan), but the room number doesn’t refer to the floor number; the tenth digit is 4, not 2. It’s strange to me.
My efforts for having friends:
Since I came here, I’ve tried to have friends. It seems easy, but it’s difficult in fact. It’s not only because of the language barrier. Even in Seika-cho, it took time for me to have friends. The main difference from Seika-cho and here, I can’t go to visit my friends easily. Even I didn’t have friends in Seika-cho, I could go to see my old friends. I’m a Kansai-jin, so I have many friends in Kansai area.
I have to do something for finding friends. The easiest way may be to find Japanese friends here. The second one is to utilise my Japanese and join the society here. If I were in London, it would be easier. Here there’re not so many Japanese as in London.
For a starter, I applied for a volunteer Japanese teacher for the International society. I received their reply email and the society asked me to come and arrange the Japanese class. I was half anxious because I had no experience to teach Japanese before, but the other half was very excited. I borrowed Japanese conversation text books at library and went to the society. However, the person in charge was absent because of illness. I know his illness isn’t his fault. What I am disappointed with is that he didn’t tell about the appointment with me to anyone of his colleagues, though I received my appointment email on the day before my coming. His colleague apologised to me for him and told me if I could come again, it’s better to call him before my coming. The next day, I sent an email to him and asked his health condition, and if he could arrange another appointment I would come. However, he didn’t reply. I should have called him, but I held back. Maybe I didn’t have enough confidence as a Japanese teacher.
“We are planning to interview you soon. Now our Internet doesn’t work well. So, we will call you.”
Since then, I’ve not received any call from the store. I may have needed to email or call them again, but I didn’t. I gave up using my Japanese and started to apply a job from newspaper.
I posted three positions. The first one is a receptionist at a hospital. As I described before, the customer service at the surgery was not good. I thought I could do it better than native speakers so I applied it. However, I was not asked to come to interview.
The second one is International Marketing Officer. “International” sounds a good chance for non-native speakers, doesn’t it? The last one is a nursery assistant. My friend told me I am suited to a nursery. The latter two, I posted application forms and am now waiting the replies.
In case I can’t get a job, I have searched something I can do.
There’s a language exchange program. If I can find a partner who is wishing to learn Japanese, I can learn English in exchange. However, I’m not brave enough to post my information to the web site, so I’m waiting someone’s posting for searching a Japanese.
Also I check some courses to learn here. I looked at the course “Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults”. The course from August and September has already been full. If I will take this course, I need to wait till November.
I also check local community information. I’ve got most of information from netsurfing. I will try not to be swallowed in information. I am wishing to have friends soon.
