After a long but uneventful flight from Vancouver to Osaka, 5 hour layover in Osaka, and 2 hour flight to Sapporo, I arrived late Saturday evening. I stayed at the Airport Hotel, and the next day the driver came to pick me up, as arranged by the school, to take me to my accommodation.
However, when I got there I was told that the school had sent me the wrong information, and that I was actually staying at another share-house owned by the same company. By this time the driver had left, so the staff took me by taxi to the other place. When I saw where I was staying, it was a disappointment compared to the place I was expecting: the building was old, paint peeling everywhere, not as clean, and the common area was small and not as welcoming. My room had just a cot, and the window was rusted shut. You get the idea. Although this kind of spoiled my mood for a while, I should say that it turned out ok. I was eventually able to pry open the rusted window, and this share-house has the advantages of being quite quiet and being closer to town.
Sapporo is sweltering hot right now. Well over 30 degrees C and very humid. Even the locals are complaining about the heat and everywhere you see people fanning themselves and mopping their faces.
I spent the rest of the day walking around, taking the train, finding the school, and just getting my bearings. There is a long linear park that run east-west through the center of the city, called Odori Park, and it is the site of many of the festivals that happen throughout the year. Right now there is a beer festival, and every block of the park is converted into a massive beer tent - one block for each brewing company.
However, when I got there I was told that the school had sent me the wrong information, and that I was actually staying at another share-house owned by the same company. By this time the driver had left, so the staff took me by taxi to the other place. When I saw where I was staying, it was a disappointment compared to the place I was expecting: the building was old, paint peeling everywhere, not as clean, and the common area was small and not as welcoming. My room had just a cot, and the window was rusted shut. You get the idea. Although this kind of spoiled my mood for a while, I should say that it turned out ok. I was eventually able to pry open the rusted window, and this share-house has the advantages of being quite quiet and being closer to town.
Sapporo is sweltering hot right now. Well over 30 degrees C and very humid. Even the locals are complaining about the heat and everywhere you see people fanning themselves and mopping their faces.
I spent the rest of the day walking around, taking the train, finding the school, and just getting my bearings. There is a long linear park that run east-west through the center of the city, called Odori Park, and it is the site of many of the festivals that happen throughout the year. Right now there is a beer festival, and every block of the park is converted into a massive beer tent - one block for each brewing company.
I stopped at a couple and had something to eat, and beer, of course.
Yesterday was Monday and the first day of classes. There was a brief orientation for the new studendts, and everyone seems pretty friendly. There is a 3-hour class every morning. The classes are small, mine has only 5 students. The biggest change for me in terms of learning Japanese is that now nothing can be in English since the students come from everywhere. So all the explanation of grammar or vocabulary has to be in Japanese which you have to try follow. The pace is reasonably fast, so a fair amount of material was covered in just the first day. Definitely going to learn a lot.
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