Ohhh Benny Hawaii!!!

Today was pretty awesome I must say. I had to work but not too much and work isn't really like work yet anyway. I really enjoy my students so far..although I'm kind of new at the whole ESL teacher thang. The other teachers, David and Jenny, are great! We've gone out to eat a few times and they are super at helping me with the menus and such. We also got drunk on sake and sang karaoke which makes for fast friendships. I met their two Japanese friends, Hidemi and Ryuta, today and we went to a baseball game. I haven't been to a baseball game in ages because..well..I usually find baseball to be boring as hell. This was totally different. Hidemi showed me the wonders of what we call, "the Lemon girl" because she makes these lemony alcoholic drinks which are yummy and half the price of a beer. She (Hidemi) also explained how "Benny" (a ball player on the Marines team)was her favorite because he's from Hawaii and cute but kind of ugly. We made friends with the people all around us and they supplied us with snacks, balloons, and signs which made for a proper baseball experience. Everyday I am seeing new things and interacting with people like I haven't before. It's only been a week but I am really getting to like this place. Next week we'll be celebrating my 25th birthday in Tokyo and meeting up with various friends of friends. It should be a crazy night!

When in Chiba...

Well I'm here and in one piece. It's more humid than heck and the wind howls at night...I kind of like the howling. Speaking of howling...the cat I live with, Doc (short for Doc Holiday) meows constantly. If he wasn't so cute, we'd have problems.

The city of Chiba is really cool! There is anything you could want in a small city...cafes, restaurants, train station, a bay, shops, parks...but I haven't checked out the night life. I don't really have any friends yet although my boss and her sister have been very accomodating and generous.

I've been a bit of a hermit so I don't have too much to say at this time. I'll post some pictures soon and some stories too! I just wanted to let you know I'm doing fine and I miss you! Please feel free to write, I should be getting internet service soon.

Grace in Rotation

to buy my album go here

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/katesikora

to read press on the album go here

http://www.nj.com/weblogs/music/

My address in Japan

Kate Sikora c/o Motoyama
2-601 Grand Patios Nishi-no-machi
2-1-2 Utase Mihama-ku
Chiba-shi, Chiba-ken
Japan 261-0013

email: k8sikora@msn.com

It's the Final Count Down...

I've decided that the best way for me to keep my friends posted about my travels to Japan would be to start an e-journal or blog or whatever. I think this is better than forcing people to read about it by sending out giant emails. Who knows, maybe I'll send out the monstrous emails anyway. Now on to Japan...

It's Tuesday, August 16th and I'll be blasting off to Japan on Friday, August 19th..9am. I don't really know how I feel. I am certainly excited but not the jump up and down kind of excited. I think this is because I'm going to miss so many people, especially my family and my cats. I'm also afraid that I'll be interrupting the momentum I've had with the release of my album. I don't know how people are going to respond to my music in Japan and I don't know where to start with booking and promoting myself. I'm going to be teaching at a school in Chiba-ken called "Hands on English." They'll be setting me up with an apartment nearby and there is a train station within walking distance. Not that I'm so good with the geography, but Chiba is about a 30minute train ride into Tokyo. My knowledge of Japanese is embarrassing and I've soaked in as much prior knowledge about the culture as I can glean from friends who've been there and books from the library...which isn't much. I'm not good at preparing for this and I think I won't really learn what I need to until I'm there. I'm thinking it will be the equivalent of jumping into a freezing cold pool. You know it's going to be cold but you don't really know how cold until you jump in.

Tonight is my little "See you later" party. It's actually not really a party but a bonfire/gathering of close friends and people I want to see before I go. If there are pictures I will definately put some up...if only for me to look back on them when I'm feeling lonely in Japan.

See you later,

Kate