Surprise!

So I know that there might be a few family members who follow this, so I’ll write all about my excitement leading up to Christmas early, and just save the post for after I have left!

That’s right!

It is being kept from my extended family that I will be coming home for Christmas and New Year!  I leave back home in less than 2 weeks now, and will return shortly after New Year. :D  I’m so excited about it!  I can hardly wait to see the look on my little cousins’ faces when they see me there!  I know they miss me, and I miss all my family too!  It will be really nice to be able to see everyone again.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do the same next year, and if I was being 100% honest I’d kind of be interested in spending a Christmas in Japan.  I think, of course, it would be best if it was also with my family here.  I’d love to be able to take a trip though and spend Christmas here somewhere.  I say this now though, I might actually be more down than I imagine spending Christmas without my family.  I’m sure that I’d probably plan something with A-san if she were free, and some of my co-workers/friends here would most likely invite me to join them as well.  Not to mention gatherings that the other JETs here would plan.

I’ve also been trying to find small gifts to take with me for my various family members.  I think I have pretty much everyone, although at this point there are a few people that I’d like to find some small extra gifts for as well.  One of these days I may make another trip back to Izumo, (maybe even leave super early to purchase the items before my first flight) and get one or two more last minute items.  It’s not much, one of the things I was considering was replacing a phone strap I bought that is starting to get dirty and fall apart.  It still looks pretty right now, but I may save it for later.  I may also get one final set of chopsticks personalized for someone.  The difficult part of it all was actually finding the time to go and buy the gifts themselves.  One of the problems I found myself running into was the fact that the only time I really had to go would be on the weekends if they were open.  With Saturday English school, and other appointments it made it a little difficult.  But something I realized, maybe a bit late, was that when I do get out of school I actually still have time to go into town if I wanted too.  The malls don’t close until about 9 or 10, but what I risk is the hour drive home making me pretty late when I get back.  Then I have to get ready for school the next day.  I think if I really needed to I could, but I’d still rather save my trips for the weekend.

I still have the last few Christmas cards finish and mail home, and I also wanted to prepare/set up the presents I did buy already.  I thought of the idea of making little gift bags of stuff for all the many little ones we have in the family now.  I found a nice shop that sells little candies pretty cheap, so I bought a bunch and am going to give them to the kids.  Thinking about it know, there is one that I should have gotten something for, but I didn’t think about it until now.  I’ll have to go see if I can find something small before I leave.  I know that it should be fairly easy to find something, and maybe that day that I got back to Izumo.

These next few evenings are going to be pretty busy for me.  One thing I want to do before I leave is give the apartment a nice once over!  LOL I’ve got papers and various things littering all over the place.  I can’t even remember the last time my table in my room was cleared off.  It’s been filled with papers and flyers from various thing for weeks, and even after I bought some bins to sort them into, I still haven’t gotten around to it.  I also have some boxes from things I’ve bought that I need to break down as well.  I’m happy at least that the day I leave is plastic trash day (which I realize now is a kinda funny thing to be happy about…)!  That way when I come back I won’t have a super full bag of plastic trash to throw away.

It's that time of year!

It’s getting colder outside, and here in Japan we’ve already had a day of snow!  Sadly (or maybe not so much) it came and went in the same day…  I woke up that morning (thankfully a day off for me), and the ground was covered in beautiful white!  It even flurried a bit!  So with this colder weather, and the beginning of the last month of the year, comes many things.

First is to add furnishing to the apartment that will make it more winter friendly.  I’d already been using my heating blanket (a wonderful gift that makes sleeping at night pure heaven!), but I’d only wanted to use the little electric heater so much (it can be so expensive!).  One of the first things that I did recently to help make it warmer in the evenings is to purchase kerosene for my space heater (I also gave one to A-san as I had discovered on my first arrival that there was actually 2 in my apartment).  It was soooo nice that first evening that I added kerosene and turned on my heater for the first time!  I still need to figure out what some of the functions of it do (there are various lights and buttons on it, and of course like everything else it is all in kanji).  I’ll tell you this though, it sure makes my little room nice and warm!

Something that I’d found was happening though, as you learn in science heat rises.  This means that a lot of the time, my feet would be left cold.  There are a couple of remedies for this.  One would be to buy this kind of foot cushion that some stores sell that are supposed to keep your feet warm.  However, I don’t fancy keeping my feet in place like that though.  Lap blankets are nice, but as the name suggests they are usually on the small side so they don’t do much for your feet.  The other option was one that I had been toying with for a while, but was still very much on the fence about it.  As it happened (and kind of spur of the moment too), while I was in town the other day to buy a new thicker futon for winter, I found that at the same time they had some of their kotatsu items on sale as well!   The table was the lowest price I had ever seen it (even compared to Amazon!), and some of the basic and simple covers and mats were on sale for a really good price as well!  I was able to get all the items for it I wanted for under 10,000 yen! (a little under $100 at the current exchange rate)  As wonderful luck would have it, there was enough space for it in my living room, so now I keep nice and snug with my feet under the kotatsu, and the space heater warming the rest of me up!  I’m also considering buying a little hot water bottle as well.  The kind of cool thing about it, is that you can use it both to pour hot water in to keep you warm, or ice water in the winter to cool you off.  They also have some cute decorative covers for them too.  I might stop at Juntendo later to see about getting one.

This doesn’t help me much at school though…  Some of my schools are ok (seems like maybe only the smaller ones), they’ve already started using the heaters.  But the one I am typing in right now for example… not so much…  I think since it is just me and one other person (and this is one of the bigger staff rooms), it isn’t very cost affective to have the heater going.  So, I’m sitting here with my little lap blanket trying to keep warm.  I think it also doesn’t help that my desk is by the window side, so the cold radiates through it really easily.  It’s especially noticeable because the side of me facing the window is much colder than the other side…

 

The other adventure I’m in the middle of is getting Christmas preparations under way.  I’ve already bought, signed, and mailed the important Christmas cards; but I’m considering going to get a few more and possibly send them out this week.  I’ve also been looking for little Christmas presents that would be easy to send back home.  I’ve gotten quite a few done, but I’m probably still about halfway there…  I’ve only got 2 weekends left, and both of them have some events that may make going to town to shop a bit difficult.  I may have to do some late afternoon shopping this weekend to try and get most of it done.  If it wasn’t such a far drive, I’d consider going more often during the week, but by the time I’d get there, I’d have maybe an hour or so before the shops would close.  Part of the problem is trying to figure out what I’m going to be getting people.  I know that if I can decide that beforehand then it should make shopping faster.  The Daiso has been a big saver here!  One of the advantages to the 100 yen shop (Dollar Store) here is that a good portion of the items are in very good quality (way better than back home), and it allows me to get some nice trinkets for family back home.  As shipping can be a tad pricey, the other trick is to find items that won’t be that heavy or delicate to send.  There are a few cute and interesting items at the Daiso though that I think will make for some interesting gifts!

First Time at a Japanese Movie Theater!

Sorry this is from November, but I didn’t get to post it yet.  Here’s what I wrote without changes:

So, yesterday was my first time going to a movie theater here in Japan!  I invited A-san to join me, and we made a whole day of it!

The bigger movie theater is in Izumo’s mall YouMe Town ゆめタウン.  While Matsue also has one in Aeon mall, their showings of films don’t seem to be as wide of a selection as in Izumo.  The other advantage is that this bigger selection also often means that the more popular American films are offered in both dubbed Japanese, and English with Japanese subtitles. J  For our selection, we went to go see the final Hunger Games film Mockingjay Part 2!  As it is popular enough, it merited a world wide release which means we didn’t have to wait for it to come to Japan.  Now, ticket prices are much more expensive here, (unless you use a coupon or go on a special event day) you are looking at spending about ¥1800 per person!  But on the other hand, I don’t think it will be a common thing for me to go to since it is an hour drive from where I live.  It will most likely be for special occasions or a movie that I really want to go see.

When you go to buy your tickets you have to use this kiosk that is thankfully also translated into English on most of the buttons.  I did still run into one problem though…. I accidentally bought the wrong showing!  I had though the movie was going to be at 12:25, but actually the first English showing was at 3:20.  A mistake that I am sure I will not make again in the future!  If you ever go to buy tickets at a movie theater, be sure that you look at the showtimes with 字幕（じまく）which means subtitled, and NOT 吹替（ふきかえ）which means dubbed.  Thankfully an attendant was kind enough to help me change my ticket (something that might not be possible normally, but I think he has helping out a poor foreigner), and I was the only one that made the mistake, so A-san was able to purchase the right ticket from the start.  The change in time also meant that we had plenty of time before to go shopping!

We found a Starbucks in the mall (something I was grateful for in that I hadn’t had one in months!) and grabbed a coffee before we made our way around the mall.  I don’t even think we really got to see everything, but we did get to go to a good portion of the main places we wanted to go to.  I got a couple of nice sweaters and some warm shoes for winter.  I also may want to go back later and get some knee high sized socks for winter as well.  I also need to make it a point to check my waist and hip measurements for when I hope to find bottoms.  For the most part I know my measurements for the top (I’m more well-endowed on the top, which makes buying tops for me a bit difficult, but I’ve found some stores online that sell a bigger size), but I think there should be some skirts and such that I would be able to fit into.  It’s just a matter of finding the right size!  One of the things I’m looking into getting is a set of Uniqlo brand Heat Tech shirts.  I want to get a few that I can switch between in different colors, but they’re supposed to be one of the best for keeping you warm.  Hopefully there will be another good sale on them soon!  I want to get at least one or two for now, but they sometimes go down to almost half off!

We also found a really cool candy store that had all kinds of sweets for really cheap!  I might go back soon to get some more, but I managed to get a pretty good sized bag of candy for under ¥800!  My plan is to use them as my gift to the little ones, they can each grab a couple from the bag.  I might even use some of the bags mom gave me, or find some cute ones at Daiso or something, to make the little goodie bags.  A-san was able to check of some things from her list as well, one of the important ones being a new bag to use.  I’m thinking of doing something similar for my brown purse, as it is usually not big enough for weekend outings.  I will continue to be on the lookout though.

So the theater!  It was the 3^rd floor of the mall, which also had a giant sort of game area with crane games, and other video game machines.  The seats were nice, and the theater was very clean, so all in all it was a nice movie experience!  The movie itself was also pretty good, I’m a fan of the books so I was able to spot the big differences right away.  The only thing I was a little sad I didn’t experience was concessions, but there is always next time!

Before we went home we decided to make our way to the food court for dinner.  LOL of course we did get sidetracked by this cute store with stationary and other accessories, but it was hard to resist!  We made it to the food court (which had awesome food!  McDonalds for the non-Japanese food fans, and a good selection of Japanese dishes) right after.  At first I was dead set on getting an Omurice from one place, but after looking around more I found myself drawn to the Okunomiyaki one instead!  I got a green onion and mayo one that was absolutely delicious!  Perhaps I will visit the Omurice place next time!   After that it was pretty late already, so we made our way back to the car to make the hour trek back home!

LOL I Might Be in Trouble (and a few other thoughts)

So, I’ve been so busy (and sorta lazy I’ll admit) that I am nowhere near where I should be on that blanket!!  I just have this week left!!!  I’m really gonna have to buckle down and get to work this week.  It’s not that hard to connect the squares together, and I have just under 10 squares left to finish preparing to join.  I need to really work it tonight though.  Good thing I have some leftovers and instant ramen at home.  I think that’s going to be my dinner tonight!

I’ve found that I should probably be more careful with some of the things I buy at the market.  LOL I have a few items in my fridge that I haven’t used, but they’re kind of odds and ends too.  I should probably make a better attempt at planning out my meals for the week, and buying only what I need.  That and I want to find more recipes that I can use.

Right now I’m contemplating some purchases to add a few things to my apartment.  I know I need to go buy at least another set, maybe two, of bed linen.  They weren’t that expensive though so it shouldn’t be a problem.  I am also contemplating buying some new pillows for the bed as well.  The ones I have right now are kinda hard, and look very old.  I also need to buy a thicker futon for the bed (something that will hopefully help me get by in the colder months with my heating blanket on low).  If I have time this weekend, I might attempt to do so in town.  I do want to check the local Jutendo as well to see what they might have.  I know they have garden and outdoor stuff, but maybe they will also have a couple of the other things I’m looking for.  I found a sort of area rug in the closet, but the bottom is super slippery to use in my bedroom, and it’s actually a little too big for the area that I’m looking at buying it for.

Another big-ish purchase I’m looking into making is a single portable burner with all the extras!  I would need gas cans for it, an earthenware pot, serving ladle, and either a sukiyaki pot, or grill plate.  Aside from just being able to cook with it, here in the winter months it would be perfect to be able to enjoy nabe!  The first time I tried it was at one of the temples here after Saturday English class.  It was so good!  It was sooo good to eat the super-hot soup and veggies to fight of the cold of the night!  I’d imagine if I spent time cutting the extra vegetables as well, it would be a super quick dinner another night later in the week!  I’m not sure if it was just the way they served it to us, or what, but I don’t even think I’d want side dishes!  Just a nice big bowl of meatballs or salmon, vegetables, and either konyaku noodles or some other kind of noodle like udon.

The last really big item that is going to take some consideration is… a kotatsu table.  I think I have enough space for one in my living room, but there are so many things to consider as well.  The table will cost me close to ¥8000 by itself, and then there is the cover and floor mat to consider as well (almost the same price as the table together).  While I can use the table itself without the cover and such after, I only have one chair for it so a second for guests would be mismatched (although I think I have some floor cushions in the top of the closet), and then there is guest sleeping space to consider.  I think I’d still have room for it, but I’d have to move it out of the way to make room for my guest air mattress (something else I need to buy linen for).  For a lot of this stuff, I’ve been considering getting a Japanese Amazon Prime account.  It is waaaay cheaper than back home (approx. $30 instead of the near $100 it is in America), and a lot of what I’m considering buying would be able to be delivered to my door without me wasting the gas to drive all the way to Matsue or Izumo.  I know winter is fast approaching, so I’ll have to make these purchases soon.  Not to mention I’d probably want to bring my kotatsu table home if I could!  The problem would be that American outlets send out waaay more power than here in Japan.  I’d have to find some way to either get an adaptor or something that would be able to help me manage the power flow out of the outlet.  Could you imagine though?  A kotatsu in my house!  I’d get a little apartment, and instead of a coffee table, I’d have the kotatsu at the center.  Of course, I’d also want to find a way to bring the little burner too, that or I’d have to look into finding one that I could buy back home and use.

What do I do with free time?

As I mentioned before, there really isn’t all that much to do in this little town I live in.  So how to I fill my free time?

If I am home from work early enough, then I will most likely walk to the supermarket close to my apartment and pick up something to make for dinner, though one of these nights I might stop in at PicoPico (a local hamburger/pizza/pasta restaurant that is on my way to the supermarket) for dinner instead of cooking it myself.  As long as the weather stays nice (I dunno how well I’d be able to stand walking in the snow to the market lol) it’s a nice little break at the end of the day.  Again, if I get out early, and I might also take the opportunity to stop by the bank to withdraw money for the weekend.  I may not need much, but my bank’s ATM is not open on the weekend, and if I go after hours I could be charged as well even though it is my own bank’s ATM.  Not sure why, but that’s just how it goes here…

From time to time, I will also clean up the apartment.  Not a hardcore break out the sponge, bucket, gloves, and cleaner type of cleaning!  To be honest, sometimes when I get home I just kind of toss things to the floor and let them be, so every now and then I’ll pick them up and put things where they belong.  It will all just depend sometimes on how I feel when I get home.

Once dinner and dishes are done there are a few things that I consider doing.  First and foremost would be a call from family via Skype.  If someone is up (it is usually pretty early in the morning back home by this time), I might call and chat about what my day was like, how things are going, etc.  While I am eating dinner I will usually watch something on my PC Tablet (either the limited Netflix selection, or perhaps a movie from my small collection on my iTunes account), and this might carry on into the night.  In the future I might invest in a tiny TV (there is a satellite set up on the balcony left by a previous JET), but depending on how much it costs, I may or may not use it…  I also have my Nintendo 3DS that I brought with me.  I might turn on some music, and play for a bit.

More recently, I bought some yarn online and had it shipped to my apartment so that I could start work on a blanket.  It’s not really for myself for warmth, it’s for a festival that will be coming up in November.  They have this sort of craft festival, and the blanket will be my contribution.  I’m not sure exactly what the procedure for it will be (is it just going to be on display? will I be trying to sell it?) but I guess I will find out as the day gets closer.  For now I’m working on it little by little and hoping that I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew with the pattern I selected. LOL!

One thing that I have noticed, is that the chairs in my apartment can be pretty tough to sit in for an extended period of time.  I may invest in some chair cushions soon!

The last thing to consider depends on what kind of free time I have, and that is sightseeing/trips!  If it is the weekend, I may venture into town (either Matsue or Izumo) and either do some shopping for the apartment, or if I feel like it, just make the trip out to unwind and spend time with my fellow JET.  It’s nice to familiarize myself with what is close to me, and I want to be able to navigate my way around a little bit and only using the GPS as little as possible.  I know it’s going to probably take time though.  The other option here is if it is an extended holiday.  In that case, I might plan a trip to go sightsee somewhere.  There are a couple of places that I’d like to go, and I know that the other JET in town would most likely be interested in going.  A small part of me though is also a little excited at the idea of possibly going on a trip by myself.  It would certainly cost more money, but if possible I’d like to give it a shot!  I’d like to go and see what Osaka is like, and re-visit Kyoto as well.  I think there is also the Universal Studios in Japan at Osaka as well.  I know that Disneyland is in Tokyo, but I don’t know if I’d be able to ever afford to visit either.  It’d be something interesting to look into I think.

Adventures to Matsue

So, as you’d expect from most small towns, there really isn’t much here in terms of shopping.  Sure there is the necessities (supermarket, drugstore, some mom and pop businesses, and a few clothing type boutiques that I most likely wouldn’t find anything in my size anyway), but if you’re looking for a specialty item, or something bigger in terms of entertainment you need to make a trip out to one of the nearby cities.

They are equal distance apart, but depending on which direction you head, you will either end up in Izumo or Matsue.

By now I’ve visited both, but I’ve spent more time going to Matsue than Izumo.  The first time I went was with my fellow JET, supervisor, and a worker from the town office that acted as a translator.  The main purpose of the trip was for my fellow JET and me to go and buy things that we might need for furnishing our apartments.  I got to visit some various home goods stores, a cute boutique, and the Daiso (100¥ shop, their version of a Dollar Store, but better in my opinion).

The following weekend I ventured out again with my fellow JET (who had been to Matsue more than I have) to try and get practice driving to Matsue.  By then I had gone a week in my apartment, and was better able to figure out some of the things that I was still missing.  It was a fun adventure for us, as we tried looking up stores and such that we needed to go to.  We even stopped in a little café for a sort of midday snack.  With the exception of a sports store that evaded us, we were pretty much able to find what we were looking for without too much trouble.

The next few times I’ve gone have either been with my supervisor (I went to church, and she helped me find a wireless router for my apartment), and a few trips on my own to try and get the hang of driving to town.  I know it’s going to take some time, I’m already starting to get accustomed to driving around my own side of town a little, but hopefully I’ll be a fast learner.  As of right now I still rely on the Google Maps app on my phone to get me to and from town.  The way there is starting to become familiar, but it will take me a while longer to get use to driving around Matsue on my own.  One of my missions is to be able to go back to town and find that cute boutique we went to the first time!  It had a lot of cute bags, home decorations, and most importantly for me, a nice price for the socks I like to use with my work shoes.  Either that, or I need to find something that I can put on my socks to make them non slip on the heels.  It’s really annoying, but the ones from home have that annoying habit of sliding down my ankle and bunching up under my foot. 

I also went on my own the other day to attend a Speech Contest that some of my Junior High students were participating in.  I had been helping them prepare after school, and I wanted to attend in order to support them.  They worked hard, but unfortunately didn’t place.  Still, it was interesting to attend and see other students recite in English.  It was also during this trip that I was able to do a little more exploring on my own.  I was able to park and shop around the mall a little bit, and had my first taste of a McDonalds since arriving in Japan this time around (my study abroad group a few years ago also wanted to stop and see what McDonalds here in Japan is like).  It kind of made me realize how annoying it is that the window on my car’s driver’s side doesn’t work properly.  I had to get down and go into the restaurant to order. 

All in all I enjoy getting to know both my town and Matsue.  I’m determined to make it out to town completely on my own, and can’t wait to see how my next adventure in Matsue will unfold.

First Week at School

Ok, so first and foremost, there are quite a few things about Japanese schools that are way different from what you might be use to (for sure it is way different from American schools).

There are the obvious differences.  Practically every school has a school uniform that the students wear.  It kind of seems like the junior high requires them to wear it more than the elementary schools here though.  Though for the elementary schools I teach at here, some of them have a very small population, so that might have something to do with it too.  Then there is the fact that you have to take off your shoes before you step up into the building, and switch to either slippers or a pair of inside shoes (and it’s kind of cool cause some of them have cubbies with my name on them J ).  There are some major differences too.

While it generally starts at around the same time (technically a bit later since the first thing in the morning are staff and student meetings), it can get out wayyyy later depending on if you are a part of a club or not.  If you are, you can anticipate being at school for much longer!  While in America there is usually only about an hour to maybe an hour and a half for club activities, here in Japan they can easily run until about 6 or 7 in the evening.   That doesn’t even include the extra time some students have for cram school in the evening!  We have it easier by far in America in that aspect.  They also go to school year round, with a short summer vacation (about a month I believe), as well as some small breaks for national holidays and I think in between semesters.

I also found it a little interesting that here it is considered part of the child’s education to learn manners, and etiquette.  Each child is taught how to give thanks before and after the meal at lunch (they even all say it together), brush their teeth after eating, and show proper respect to their teachers in how they speak (though granted, like in America, just cause they were taught that doesn’t mean they stick with it lol).  Even lunch is interesting.  Here, everyone gets served the exact same thing.  You aren’t allowed to bring anything from home for lunch until you are in high school.  You are also expected to finish your plate (with the exception being allergies I would think, though I don’t think I’ve run into anyone with that kind of problem).  This is followed by everyone brushing their teeth together.  I really haven’t had any problems with it so far, I find it is all really good actually!  My only problem comes to the fact that at every lunch they drink milk!  Normally I would suck it up and just drink it (I’ve sort of gotten over my aversion to tomato and lightly with shrimp this way), but it is more because I can’t digest it well.  Milk always ends up making me feel sick if I drink too much of it, and I’ve apparently been this way ever since I was a baby (my parents had to get a special kind of formula for me because I would keep spitting it up).  Small amounts are ok, and if it is cooked into something (essentially any way that it is not just by itself) I am usually okay with it.  I just do feel a little bad that I can’t drink it.  That aside, I’m also not that much of a fan of the taste either.

The one thing that can get pretty tiring really quickly is the amount of times you have to introduce yourself!  This of course is a sort of case by case thing.  Some JETs (lol I think on rare occasions) will only be assigned to one or two schools.  Others will have a surprisingly large amount of schools to go to.  I myself had to give my own sort of self-introduction to 7 schools (and this was actually doubled as I had to do it once for the staff and then another for the students), and at least 3 or so departments in the Board of Education building.  There were even a few of the schools where I addressed the whole student body (in this small town that isn’t very much in each school), and then again later to the English classes.  At the junior high I actually had to do so for at least 4 different classes.  This also usually meant that for at least the first week of school I was essentially repeating the same lesson over and over with each new group of students.

While all the students are usually on the shy side (lol I think the junior high kids the most to be honest), the elementary kids are so cute and very energetic!  One of my favorite times is at one of the smaller schools (lol population of maybe 14 or so students), where a group of 2^nd graders come up to me and ask me to join them for the end of the day after my lesson.  They usually go to finish their homework in the library, and then after that they pretty much have free time to themselves.  It is a wonderful end to the day!

My First Week at Work (sort of)

I keep putting off writing a new entry every night, but I think it was understandable that at first my time here in Japan would be one big whirlwind at the start.

So here are a few brief things about my literal current situation.  In between classes (and unless you are allowed, or invited to sit in on other classes) you get to sit in the staff room at your desk.  Being an assistant, and not yet fully trusted by some of my teachers, this can be a VERY boring time.  This is what I’m doing right now.  I’ve finished giving my lesson for the day, so until lunch I have pretty much nothing else to do.  But why waste this time?  Instead, if I have the time and I can, I will be trying to write out some of my blog entries.  At least it will give me something to do and give the appearance that I am working to my co-workers.  LOL one of the advantages to being the only fluent English speaker in the office I suppose is that it will just look like I am typing something up, not many will be able to fully understand what exactly I am writing.

What I really wanted to reflect on during this post was what my first week here in Japan was like.

Since I was a late upgrade, that means I missed most of the nice long orientations in Tokyo.  After I landed and was gathered together with some other late arrival JETs we were then taken to the same hotel orientation was at, but for only two nights.  Our one day in Tokyo was for a major crash course orientation session, and then the next morning we would depart ways to our designated towns/cities.  For me that meant a bus ride to the second airport in Tokyo (Hanaeda), and then an hour and a half or so flight to Izumo, followed by an hour drive to my small town.  There was a Shimane Prefecture representative to guide me along my trip to Izumo, and then at that airport I was met by my supervisor and another worker from the town office that was kind of my translator.  I didn’t have too much time to myself at first since there was sooo much to take care of!

During the weekend I was taken on trips to the larger town of Matsue for supplies that may be missing from my apartment, set up my cellphone contract, and car insurance.  I was also shown to a local supermarket that I could buy food for the weekend at (which is actually a short walk from my apartment, so yay!) The rest of the week was also packed full of various appointments, and showing me around town a little bit.  During the week, I was officially starting work at the Board of Education Office, but through the week I had various meetings with people and traveled about town.  A couple of the days had time dedicated to my supervisor driving me around town and showing me how to get to the various schools.  This also gave me the opportunity to briefly meet the staff and give a short self-introduction to them.  It was also during this week that I had an appointment to meet with the mayor of the town!  There was a brief ceremony in his office where I was presented with my official contract for the school year (Definitely something to frame!).  This did mean though, that the rest of the day while I was in the office I had to once again make myself look busy.  This included making lists of things I needed still for the house, practicing writing my self-introduction to my future students, and whatever else I could scribble.  At least there was something to do every day to break up the long hours of “working” at my desk, and every day my supervisor took the other JET and me to eat out at these really good restaurants!  I also had to go get my bank account set up during the weekday, and I got my inkan (personal seal) officially registered.

During this first week as well (and actually even a little bit longer) I also didn’t have access to my internet connection.  It was already set up, but the PC tablet I brought with me only had USB ports, so I didn’t have anything to connect it to.  This meant that my evening activities were pretty much limited to the iTunes movies that I already had saved on my external hard drive.  Though this wasn’t always a bad thing, there were times that I was pretty tired when I got home anyway, so I was fine with it.

One of the exciting things that happened my first week being in town was that I was right on time for the next festival!  There was all kinds of yummy food booths, some that were merchant stalls with various things to buy, and the highlight was by far the beautiful fireworks display!

All in all a pretty good start to my year here I think!

More late night blogging

It's a little odd, laying here in my room for the last time.  These past couple of days I've been hit with odd fits of nervousness.  While it is not ideal, this has also led me to refrain from eating in fear I might throw it up.  I honestly wasn't expecting to feel this way until after I arrived in Japan (the same thing happened when I went study abroad for a couple of weeks one summer).  I think part of it comes from the fact that I will be living on my own and very far away from home for a significant amount of time for the first time in my life.  And then, almost as suddenly, it goes away leaving behind a slight rumble in my stomach from the lack of food.

I know that I'm going to have a blast, and adjust to my new life soon enough though.  I've wanted this kind of experience for a very long time already.  It's just slightly annoying to feel this way when in my mind I'm all ready for this adventure.  Lol I guess it's a classic case of the heart going against the brain.

Sorry that I don't have much to write about this time.  Gonna keep this one on the short side so I can try to get some sleep before my early day tomorrow.

Countdown Continues!

It's crazy to think that it's getting closer and closer to my departure date!  I just received my passport back in the mail today with my visa for Japan.  I'm now 12 days away from my flight, and I keep running through my mind a list of the different things I need to make sure I pack.

Aside from thinking of what kind of lessons I can plan, I've been having fun dreaming up all kinds of information about my new life.  Most importantly I've been dreaming up what my daily life is going to be like, and what kind of furnishings I will be getting.  I'd like to find things to make my new little apartment ready to receive guests.  I'll have to look for some linen, at least one futon, and possibly a day bed/couch that would fit in my living room.  I'm also really looking forward to finding the little furnishings as well.  Things like dishware, and other home furnishings.  Oh!  I'm also looking forward to finding a quilt to use with my kotatsu table!

I've also been getting my wardrobe together, fitting in as much as I can for both warm and cold weather.  I think I'll find little in my size as I can be bigger than most Japanese people.  LOL!  One thing that I will most likely have to find when I get there will be things like winter jackets.  I can't wait til I can explore the area and do some shopping!

Late-night Blogging

So I really should be in bed right now.... but I'm still running on my newest JET info high!

A couple of days ago I got an email with details of my assignment!  FINALLY!

Now it is a countdown clock until August 19th when I make my way to Japan.  I have been assigned the prefecture of Shimane, in a little town called Okuizumo.  It is still the main island of Japan (Honshu), on the Western side of the island.  A probably more well known landmark is that I will be a couple of hours north of Hiroshima.

I was apprehensive at first, I'll admit.  When I first did my google search to find out exactly where this place was, I was a little sad that I would be out in the country (the closest major city to me is about an hour away, and it is still nothing compared to the bigger cities).  But when I first filled out my application I was actually hoping that I would get placed in a small city.  The idea of the big hustle and bustle that comes with a major city like Tokyo and Kyoto sound more appealing to me as a visit, not a permanent living place.  And from where I am, it's actually not that far from Kyoto if I wanted to drive out there for a weekend.  I stayed for a few days during study abroad, and I love all the temples that you can visit there!

The other advantage I realized to my placement comes two-fold.  Firstly, the cost of living should be far less expensive since I will not be in a big city.  This means that I should have plenty of money to save a little nest egg for my return, and still afford to go on some fun vacations during my stay.  Secondly, being out in the country means that I get to use a car!  It's going to be different for sure, and something to get use to, but I think I'm going to love the mobility!

The last minor worry is that my apartment is going to be really small.  I only say this because I already have family making reservations to come visit me, and this means that either we will all be trying to cramp into my little apartment, or I will have to help find them a hotel to use.

Fun side note:  lol I had started this post late at night, but then forgot to publish it before I went to bed....   oh well!

One wait after another...

If I were to give anyone thinking about applying for JET right now advice it would be this: have patience!

Throughout the whole process it is nothing but one waiting period after another.  It is impossible to predict when you will be contacted after each step of the way, and if you spend the whole time worrying about it you will be miserable for months!

I'm kind of having fun imagining where I might be sent while I wait to see what the final word is.  I know that either way I will have a blast, but a small part of me is really hoping that I will at least not be on some remote island.  At this point I just have to make do with my final waiting game to find out when and where I will be going.

Also, while it seems kind of common sense to say, don't put all your eggs in one basket!  Look into other jobs, the worst that could happen would be that you would need to let them know another opportunity has come up.  If anything this would probably be the one thing I would change about my experience.  I was so obsessed about this process that I didn't look much into other job opportunities.  At the very least I kind of wish I would have taken a part time job to help set aside some extra cash.

My Adventures Begin!

Here we go!

The following blog will hopefully be a chronicle of my adventures as I navigate through my time in the JET Program!  To be honest, it still feels a little like a dream.

For what felt like an eternity I sat on the dreaded alternate list.  Each day my phone would make an alert of a new email, and with disappointment I would find yet another piece of either junk mail or some newsletter promotion.  You can then imagine the emotions I went through when I discovered that first call...

First off, I had missed a phone call from a number I didn't recognize.  It wasn't my area code, so I had no idea where it had come from.  Thinking it might be some annoying telemarketer, and wishing to add my name to the "Do Not Call" list, I called the number back to see what company wanted my attention.  To my extreme surprise I found that it was the voicemail for the Consulate-General of Japan!  There, that first spark of hope was lit.  Was I getting an upgrade?  Or did they just need to verify something on my application?  Either way the call was placed after regular office hours, so the best I could do was leave a message with my contact information and hope for the best the following morning.

As if by fate, the exact moment I was planning to pick up the phone and try again my phone rang again.  The office was calling me again since they didn't get a hold of me the day before!  At first it was verifying information on my application.  The hope was starting to fade, believing this to be nothing but routine data updates.  Then my world was thrown for a loop when I was offered to be upgraded to the short-list!  Announcements were made, and phone calls placed to let friends and family know the good news.  And after a while I got my first set of emails with info on upcoming events and forms that I need to fill and return to finalize my upgrade.

Once done I will have nothing to do but wait to find out when and where they will be sending me.  All I know as of right now is that I could be shipping out some time between the end of July and September!  It seems so fast approaching, and I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to feel like a whirlwind!