Taipei trip day 1

It had at least been one month since I last met Jennifer but I know this trip would be an adventure. As usual, I was the first one to reach our destination and this time our destination being Narita International Airport. As soon as I reached the airport I decided it would be in my best interested to check in and get rid of my huge suitcase which I had lugged around from my house about a one hour train ride from Narita. As soon as I checked in I decided to walk around the airport because I had an hour to spare before Jennifer would appear. To my astonishment I found that Narita International Airport terminal 2 is actually very convenient for shopping. They have many of the famous brand shops that are in Shibuya as well as in Shinuku. Anyhow, Jennifer arrived an hour later, after helping her check we decided to head to the Mizuho bank in order for her to change money over from Yen to Taiwanese Dollars (knowing that our plane would arrive late and we wouldn’t have time to transfer money at the Taiyuan International Airport.) As soon as we exchanged our money we decided to head through security and continue with our trip. Knowing that our plane was leaving at 7;10 we only had one hour to wait until we left so he headed straight to our gate. But due to unforeseeable weather our plane was delayed an hour which made our departure time change to 8:10 in return would make our arrival about 11;00pm in Taiwan.

Knowing this I was starting to get a little nervous about the trip. For starters, I do not speak Chinese and I know by arriving late to the airport that means that there is a chance we would not be able to catch the airport bus to the city which meant that we would have to depend on a taxi to get us to our final destination. …..

Soon after landing at Taipei airport we rushed to immigration and went straight to luggage delivery and luck was on our side because our suitcases arrived fairly early. After leaving the arrivals gate we decided to head to the bus stop to see if there were any buses headed to the city and there were. So we decided to buy a ticket and this is when culture shock hit me for the first time.

Having lived in Japan for a total of almost six years I have become accustom to Japanese service. Customer service in Japan is mostly likely the best in the world, most staff even at the cheapest stores would do anything for you if you just ask. Even if they do not speak English they would try their best to convey their language to you in an easy way. However, in Taiwan it was quite the opposite. When we bought our ticket to the city which cost about 90 Taiwanese dollars the teller spoke to us in English but as soon as we finished she yelled the directions to the bus stop to us in Chinese…. Luckily for us the bus stops were located on the side of the terminal and we decided just to head out and show the ticket to the bus drivers and hopefully he or she would guide us to the right bus. We were guided to the right bus and we headed to Taipei. The bus ride was a total of one hour to get to Taipei Main Station where our hotel was located. Once we got to the station were lost because we didn’t know the area so we decided to ride a taxi to our hotel. I know the Ipad gets a bad rep but it was very useful during this trip because I just opened the Ipad and showed the taxi driver the hotels webpage and he brought us to the hotel in matter of five minutes for a fairly cheap fair of only about three American Dollars. After checking in our hotel we decided to head to the 7-11 downstairs. As many people might know, Japan is famous for convenience stores such as 7-11 because they are open 24 hours and offer cheap meals around the clock. Having not eating on the plane we decided to buy something at a 7-11 in Taiwan. Not surprising, Taiwanese convenience stores do not differ from their Japanese counterparts. However, it does lack in service and they do not provide a bag for you to carry your items home. ( Later I found out that you have to ask for a bag for an additional fee)

This trip does seem like an adventure… Like I had anticipated

Up coming trips

Hello,

Again sorry for the late update. Recently I have been keeping busy at work and with my private life. As of now I am planning two vacations overseas this coming year. The first trip will be in November. In November I will be traveling to Taipei, Taiwan. The trip will be a short one, only for two days. However, as many of my close friends might know, I have not left Japan for four years now.... So I am kinda looking forward to this brief vacation from my new home. Following my trip to Taiwan I will visit Shanghai, China in December. This will be my first time to travel to China and I am a bit nervous but I am sure I will be okay.

Anyhow

I will try to update more regularly and I will try to add some pictures next time

Recent update

Recently, I have been on a strict diet and continued to jog every day for the last two weeks. I feel that I have lost inches around my body but I haven`t really lost any weight. But I have been enjoying my runs with Tim for the last couple of weeks and I run an average of 10km per a day... I hope i can lose weight before my trip to Taiwan in November.

Diet plan and upgrade ...

Today marks the second day of my diet. I have become accustom to eating a healthy diet and I don't think it will be hard for me to keep up this lifestyle for the next couple of months.

As of today my current weight and measurements are

34 inch waist
185 pounds
5'11

I hope to get down to at least 170 by the end of this year but I will just have to wait and see how this protein diet and exercise plan works out for me.

Moreover, I have had some problems in my personal life as well... some of my friends and lovers have been kinda annoying me recently and after a three year relationship with my partner we are deciding if we want to continue with our current relationship or not...

I know more than anyone that I am not a hard person to get along with. However, if you cross me that is a whole different story..

So this leaves me to my question today,

Do you believe that love can last forever or is it just in the movies?

Stepping up my cookies

Over the last couple of months I have not been pleased with my current situation. I feel that I have become use to my everyday routine and I have the need to seek more adventure in my life. Thus, I have decided to step my cookies up, in other words work my ass off. I decided I need to get real about finding a new job and getting a stronger leaner body. So, from this month I have decided to take a little break from meeting friends and eating out with them in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle which will include me cooking all of my meals and exercising on a regular basis. I know this is going to be a hard but as long as I work hard I know I can do it.

Besides these two factors in my life I have also decided to travel more. So this December instead of returning to my hometown of Durango. I decided to take a one week trip to Cape Town, South Africa. Wish me luck.!!!!!

Confusion about my future

Hello everyone,

It has been only days since my last update but I am kinda of confused and need to get some things off of my chest. Today is June 22nd, my 25th birthday and I am trying to figure out what I should do with my life. Currently, I am working as an English teacher at a juku located near my house. It is a job that pays the bills, however, it is not what I want to do with my life. Currently, I am registered with two companies that are offering career seminars this coming weekend. Although it would be a good opportunity for me to attend these job fairs and aim for a career, I am starting to think this is not what I want for my life.

As you might know the Japanese hiring process is long and tiring and I know first hand how tough it can be. To tell the truth I don`t want to deal with all of these stress again. I feel that part of me wants to get the cooperate job. Yet, I feel that this is not the path in life I want to follow. Although I have lived in Japan for a total of five years and I know Japanese culture like the back of my hand, I don`t want to assimilate myself into a cooperate culture that is very different from my own.

Many people in my position would just attend the job seminar because it is an opportunity that should not be missed but I don`t feel that way.....

New Job

Hello everyone,

Once again I am sorry for the late update but I have been really busy recently. First of all I finally got a job in Japan. I am currently working as a Juku / English language teacher. A majority of my students are kids between the ages of six and fifteen. Although the this job does not differ much from my previous part time job. I feel that the kids at this school seem to be more diligent. Moreover, I also get to work close to my house. My new job is located only 10 minutes from my apartment which means I do not have to deal with all of the crowded trains in Tokyo.

Besides getting a new job I have also been planning on a August trip. I am currently planning on traveling to China. ( hopefully Beijing) But, I am unsure if I will be able to save up enough money by then as well as get a reasonably priced ticket. It has always been a dream of mine to travel to China and experience the diverse culture that the country offers as well as all of the interesting foods.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention I also graduated from TUJ. The ceremony was held on June 05 and it was nice to get in touch with all of my friends from University and get to celebrate this occasion with them. Soon after graduating I applied for a working visa and I was granted a three year working visa in Japan under the status of ""International Affairs".

Besides this nothing new has been going on in my life but I will be sure to update my blog on a regular basis and try to upload some pictures from my graduation ceremony.

Talk to you all later

Long time no update

Hello everyone,

I am sorry for my late update... I have been somewhat depressed these last three weeks. I have had both good and bad things happen to me. Shall I start with the good news or the bad news first...

Well, being the glass half full type of guy I am; lets start with the bad news first to get all of the bad karma out of the way. Early last month I found out that I had failed my final interview with Rakuten. I was quite crushed that I did not pass the interview because I have put months of hard work into writing all of the essays and preparing for the interviews. However, my good friends somewhat cheered me up because they said that I deserve to get a better job than a salary man. Many of my friends have also stated that if I had entered Rakuten I might have become a some what of an @$$. None the less, I feel like a realty TV star. In sense I had made to the finals only to lose... I can finally relate to all of my favorite contestants on my favorite show The Apprentice.

However, the good news is that I have finally graduated from University. I know right... about time. Moreover, I have also been offered a job from a small Juku located fifteen minutes from my house. I have also decided to jog every evening from this last week... I have recently put on some weight ... most due to my hard work looking for a job and doing class work. Currently I have jogged a total of 20 miles in a total of five days. I think this a good record for someone like me who has not exercised in ages.

Thanks again for reading my blog

My interview with a company

Hello,

Today I had an interview with a company I have been trying to enter for the last six months. Due to the earthquake and many companies closing due to this it has been over a month since my first interview with this company. As many might not know that in Japan most companies do not only have one interview like companies in the USA. In Japan many companies have a long and complicated selection process when looking for potential candidates. Similar to America the first step one has to do is send a resume to the company. If the company accepts your resume they will ask you to take a entrance exam. The exam differs from company to company however, the most used exam is the SPI exam. Most of these tests have math, English, or Japanese language components. If you pass this test you will be able to take part in the first interview with is usually a group interview with three to five candidates in the same room. If you pass this interview you might be asked to attend another group interview followed by a group discussion. If you make it to the next step you will be able to have a one on one interview with a manager from HR. If you pass this interview you will attend a final interview with an company executive.

Here are the steps again
1. Entry sheet
2. Test
3. Group interview
4. Group interview 2 " depends on company"
5. One on one Interview
6. Final interview
7. You got the job

Anyhow, back to my story. Today I had an interview with a company, it was my second interview so I was guessing that it would most likely be a group interview with other foreign students. Like always I arrived about 30 minutes early to the interview office in order to get myself situated. However, unlike the previous time the place was crowded with applicatants waiting for an interview. Upon sitting down my name was called along with three other people and we were asked to follow a man to another section of the building. Once we arrived to that section he asked us to take as seat and wait to be called on for an interview. The other two applicants who were seated with me started to chat with each other and I found my self chatting with them as well. After talking to them about the selection process I found out that this interview was our final interview. I was quite shocked to hear this because unlike them I have only had one interview prior to this one, while on the other hand they have had in the range of four to six interviews.

After 10 minutes or so I was called back for an interview. Knowing that I was an American I was given a interviewer who spoke great English. Upon entering the room I was asked to give a 2 minute long introduction about myself.

After the first 15 minutes of the interview he asked if I could do an interview in Japanese. I said it was okay; although I preferred to have the interview in English my mother tongue. The questions were the same as the English interview except for the final question which was " what does life mean to you?"

I was totally at loss for words when he asked me this question... Not only was I supposed to answer in full but I was supposed to answer it in Japanese.

To make a short story short I think I bombed this last question and it might have sabotaged my chances of entering this company but I will keep you guys updated.

Cherry Blossoms on Sunday

Today I was invited by a friend mine to join his Hanami party. This was my first time to ever attend a Hamai party in Shinjuku Gyoen. I arrived a little early in order to get some shopping done before heading to the park to reserve a spot. When I arrived in Shinjuku I was surprised that there were so many people waiting to get into the park for Hanami. After a good 20 minutes of looking my friend and I finally found a place and secured our spot. While waiting for the rest of the party we snacked on potato chips and other unhealthy snacks.

After the other two members showed up; we enjoyed chatting about politics, life in Japan and many other interesting topics.

It was a great day and it was nice to meet new people.

More Walks and Sakura

Today, I decided to go for another long walk in order to lose weight. This time Jess decided to join me again on this long journey. On our way to the final destination we ran into some nice Cherry blossom trees and took some pics.

Enjoy !!

Cherry blossom and the weightloss plan

The weather has really warmed up here in the Japan capital of Tokyo, which means it is time for me to start my walks again. Years ago I used to weight a total of 350 pounds but after returning to Japan and eating a healthier diet as well as maintaining a healthy diet I have lost a total of 170 pounds. Yet, recently I have been busy with job hunting and school which means I do not have time to eat healthy nor exercise. Which in return has led to me gaining some weight...




So today with the start of spring I decided to go back on the Lawrence diet which helped me lose all of my extra weight a couple of years back. Yesterday after my class ended I decided to walk from the Azabu Juban area to Shinjuku. My friend Jessica from school and also a native of Durango decided to join me on this two hour walk to the center of the city.

Along the way we saw many cherry blossom trees and decided to take a couple of pics.

It was a nice day with good talks, good walks and best of all good sushi :)

Clearing up

Today was my first day back at school after a long three week vacation. Today I found out that I need apply for a tourist visa as soon as I graduate and then I can apply for a job hunting visa once I get my diploma from the main campus. Soon after school ended I headed to Shibuya where I met a friend for dinner then headed to Esteban`s house to help him clean up his apartment before he left for America the next day.

It was a nice day and a bittersweet good bye

Going away party

Today, was Esteban`s going away party. Although this would most likely not be the last time I would see him it was still kinda depressing to see him go. Thephong and I had met previous to party in order to talk and catch up on what was going on the last week. Soon after meeting up with Esteban and two of his friends we headed to his favorite restaurant by the name of Otoya. After eating Otoya we headed out for a drink. When we got to the bar our mutual friends Masa, Joe, and Pat.

It was a great night of catching up with friends and eating good food. Nonetheless, I will miss hanging out with Esteban....

Walks around Tokyo

Many of my close friends know that I have worked hard to lose weight and somewhat maintain a fit figure... but recently I have gained some weight because of all of the great winter foods. However, in order for me to lose weight again I started doing my long walks around Tokyo.

Here are some pics I have taken while walking around Tokyo alone and with friends

Last years Christmas Party!!!!

Last year was a busy year for me. Not only did I go to school full time and wrote my graduation thesis. but I also was working part time every day. Since then my life has slowed down quite a bit. I quit my job and my life has slowed down because of the earthquake. However, before I quit my job I attended their annual Christmas party. Here are some pictures I took during the annual Christmas party.

A walk in Korea Town with Thephong

Last week Thephong and I went for a walk in Shinokubo. The reason being we had a lot of time to spare and we have not talked to each other in months....

It was nice catching up on old times and also trying to eat some good Korean food!!!

Long time no post and good bye my friend

Wow, I cannot believe it has been so long since my last blog. Well, a lot has happened since I last posted a blog. First, a majority of my friends have graduated from TUJ leaving me behind to fend for myself. Second, I survived an earthquake in Japan. Third, one of my closest friends in Japan for the last five years Esteban has decided to move back to the states.

Here are some pics...

I will miss him