Funakoshizutsumi Park and all the funny signs included.

I try to spend my weekends outside my apartment and usually try to explore more about Shimizu. Today (technically yesterday by now) I went to the park that is close to my apartment. Everytime I try to say the name, I just spray spit everywhere. So be careful too.


FUJI-SAN! During the summer, it's very hazy here because we're near the mountains and by the sea. But this morning as I was running errands, I saw it! YAY!




The park is open to the public and because today turned out much cooler after a couple of nights of rain, I enjoyed leisurely strolling/hiking through the park. At this pond, people like to fish, but not to eat the fish later... but just for the pleasure of sitting outside and enjoying nature it seems.





This sign is describing a firefly growth process and designating the location of where in the park the fireflies can be found. Right now, cicadas are making a royal racket at night.






This obelisk can help you find a constellation you are looking for...






...Or you can use this place!





No, you cannot let your pets go anywhere they want, no matter how upset they look at you.






And the park has many things to entertain young children too. I thought this jungle gym was really fun so I joined in after I took the following two pictures. I couldn't help myself.




On, and this is a slide. I did it on standing up on my flipflops. And I think I squealed all the way down.




Probably the cutest thing of the whole evening.




And a view of Shimizu!





Fuji-san is back to hiding behind the clouds again. But you can see the ferris wheel in this picture! And that's very close to the harbor and the S-Pulse Dream Plaza (mall-esque).




God makes beautiful things everywhere... =)

School: Shimizu Nishi Koukou

I am the assistant language teacher (ALT) of Shimizu Nishi Koukou (Shimizu West High School). I have 14 classes a week, which amounts to 2-3 classes a day with lots of planning time integrated into the day and at least a 40 minute lunch! What luxury after the full-load I took as a Music Ed major in college! Here I am in front of my school.





And at my desk in the teachers' room. Most of the teachers are gone because it's lunch break. But one of the two vice principals is there in the background.




This is the view from the music room to the hills that surround Shimizu. Aren't they gorgeous? And they look great after a rain because the clouds just seem to cling to them... something like what I dream the "Misty Mountains" from Lord of the Rings would look like.




And the school has 3 main buildings. This is the courtyard between the first and second buildings.




During my second week, I took the time to visit a lot of clubs. I found kyudo (Japanese archery) to be very interesting and intricate. The boy in the photo below is one of my students, Wataru. I think he's a junior.




And from observation, Wataru is one of the sempai (upperclassmen leaders) in kyudo club. The boys line up and then bow together. Then they slide forward on their socks, right foot first and get into position as seen in the photo below.



They have four arrows in all but place two at their feet and keep two in their hands.




Kyudo seems to be full of beautiful, fluid motions of how the arrow is set, how the bow is held and rises straight up and then brought down in a smooth arc to have the feather rest quiveringly and the archer's cheek.


This is my vice principal, Shimizu sensei. Yes, very confusing... I live in the city of Shimizu but Shimizu is also a family name. It means "Pure Water". He was very happy to have me visit, plus, it's a good way to see how my students interact when they are not in my class.





And the chorus club. I was tickled by their exercises. It kinda reminded me of "Jazz Therapy" in music theory classes, but this looks like it hurts more.




They are a very competitive bunch. On Saturday, they went to Shizuoka City ("capitol" of the prefecture/state) for a prefecture-wide competition. And they sang in Hungarian! Whoa! Mrs. Fujiwara (not photographed), the chorus club teacher, and I have been getting along very well. Her desk is just behind mine in the teachers' workroom and we have already eaten lunch together. Her English is pretty good and she is so happy to have a former music major at the school.



Those are the pictures of my school for now!

Apartment

I thought I'd finally get around to posting some pictures! So yay!

My bedroom...
On my pillow is the 1st Harry Potter book in Japanese. I've had it for about 2 weeks and am still in the first chapter! And it only cost me 105 yen which is about 96 cents!




The other part of my bedroom, the entertainment sector.
It's quite cluttered with DVDs, TONS of Japanese-English reference books, and a growing collection of manga--Japanese comics.



This is the second bedroom, intended for a guestroom. Oh, and the guess will be sleeping on the floor, traditional Japanese style. But for now, it's my hanging closet and office space. From that window, if the weather is not hazy, I can see Mt. Fuji.



And these stairs... well... I might die on them. They are VERY steep so I take them one at a time and usually cling to the framing on the walls.




And the bottom of the stairs and to the left there is an entrance to the kitchen. It's so small! But I'm managing quite nicely. I have to do dishes everyday! BY HAND! =P






And this is the small dining area next to it. Yes, that is my fridge... it's dorm size. But it's perfect for a little thing like me and just for one person.




And through the dining area comes the living space! Sorry it's so messy.
If the guest would rather not sleep on the floor, he/she gets to sleep on the big leather couch.



It's a bit of a mess because I was getting ready for my mom's visit. And in an attempt to clear out space, I ended up putting things in piles. I'll get to them eventually.




And the bathroom. In traditional Japanese style, you wash first and then soak in the tub. The tub is short and meant to be filled to the top so the whole body can enjoy the warmth. I haven't used it yet because it's been so hot!


And that's my place!

Kiki Syndrome

For those of you that know me rather well, I am a big fan of films directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Some of his earlier works are now Disney movies. One of them is Kiki's Delivery Service.


I grew up on this movie along with My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind, and Laputa-Castle in the Sky.

In the story, Kiki is a witch. No, not like the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz. But a person with "powers" none the less. Unfortunately, the only thing she has trained herself to do is to fly on the broomstick. So now comes the time for her year-long independent training. She's always wanted to live in a large city by the sea so off she goes, leaving family and friends behind, but accompanied by her faithful, if not partially reluctant black cat, Jiji.



So with starry eyes and many dreams, Kiki sets off into the night.
Well, she finds her city by the sea, but getting settled becomes a rather difficult situation. No one there understands the witch training concept and keep asking for her parents. And no one seems to see the need for a witch with hardly any skills. But Kiki meets the bakery-owner, Mrs. Osono. This lady becomes like her mother-figure and allows Kiki to stay in the spare bedroom with no rent charges, free use of the bakery's telephone, and breakfast everyday so long as Kiki will watch the shop every once in awhile.


And so Kiki decides to use her ability to fly a broomstick towards a delivery service. Through this service and Osono-san's popular bakery, Kiki meets more people in the community, some who are nice and want to make Kiki feel welcome, and others who make Kiki still feel like the newbie in town. But her sweet and slightly provincial optimism draw the interest of a young boy her age, Tombo, and two elderly women whom she assists in a delivery.



I feel as though I can really relate to Kiki. Here I am, in Japan, the place I've wanted to live since coming back from the summer homestay experience in 2003. But I think I may be like Kiki in that I have these high ideals and starry-eyed expectations. And of course, in the story, there are some trying times. I haven't really hit those yet and I have experience in my favor because this is not the first time I've been to Japan. Everyday, I feel more comfortable in my town and the students and teachers at school have made me feel welcome. Today was a marked highlight because I ate lunch with another teacher and we laughed awhile, sat in on a chorus rehearsal, and throughout the week, I've had students stop what they are doing and bow to me and call me "sensei". It's been a real treat.

And I've been so fortunate to have a pre-existing network of people in Japan who have been so helpful. My host mother, Mrs. Sasahira, met me during Tokyo Orientation and has given me plenty of advice regarding A/C and cellphones and calling me at night to make sure I'm okay and not too lonely. My mother's friend, Yo, and HU graduate has been a great help also with the A/C and finding me an affordable and tricked-out camera. And the most marvelous of all is God's provision of a church here. Sure, it's small, only 6 members, but it's a church, a fellowship of believers. The Sagitanis have been so hospitable to invite me to lunch every Sunday after service and arrange for me to be picked up in the mornings and taken home afterwards. They are geniunely sweet people, almost like another set of grandparents. They have loaned me one of their cellphones to use until I get my own. So overall, I am well taken care of through family connections.

I want the optimism to last and I want the "euphoric" feeling of finally being in Japan to keep up my spirits even when times get tougher. But for right now, I'm so happy just to be HERE.

Cultural Tidbits

Well since I moved to another country, obviously there will be a few differences between the new and the old cultures.

1) Around 2:30pm in the teachers' room, all the faculty brush their teeth. The first teacher turns on the radio or a tape to some current J-Pop music or oldies and within a half-hour, all the teachers have brushed their teeth and gargled something disgusting in the teachers' room kitchenette.

2) Speaking of the kitchenette, green tea has replaced coffee. I like this situation since I'm not a fan of coffee. And we have our own insta-hot faucet just like at home so the waiting for tea to steep takes approximately 10 seconds for me. I don't like my green tea too strong.

3) And speaking of green tea, NEVER use another teacher's mug/cup and think you can wash it for them and everything be hunky-dory. I haven't made this mistake, but I've heard stories from other JETs so I bought my own mug.

4) So when women start to get gray hair, most American women try to match their original color or gradually transition to a new color. Japanese women somehow get away with going from gray or pearly white to dark purple or dark blue. You think that'd be a stunt for the teenagers! Seriously, on the JUSCO shuttle, I saw a woman with a magenta afro. It was stunning.

5) As for public transportation, it's impolite to talk on the cellphone on the bus or train. So people text like crazy. And of course, there is always one businessman or lonely boyfriend who hides behind his hand while pretending to scratch his nose or "reads" his newspaper severely up close and talks on the phone. Psh. As though people can't tell what they're up to.... Personally, I really like this cultural point. No one wants to hear your phone conversation anyway so just keep it to yourself by texting!

6) The teens in this generation are the oddest I've seen yet. Almost everyone who has graduated high school wants to bleach their hair! And it usually turns out horribly wrong. And this goes for American's too! For Japanese, they will NEVER be blonde, no matter how hard they try. It'll always turn an ugly shade of tarnished brass. Yuck. I tried to look at it from their point of view. In Japan, EVERYONE has black hair. Granted, they seem to come up with new hairstyles all the time, but it's not like America, the hodge-podge of every ethnicity so we get various shades of hair and skin color. So maybe bleaching is not only intended as an imitative notion but rather a desperate stunt to stand out from the sea of ebony, raven, and jet black hair.
And for all those Americans reading this, ahem, DYEING YOUR HAIR BLACK LOOKS STUPID! WE CAN ALL TELL! Your hair turns dull and full of split ends. And if you're gonna do it anyway, at least remember your eyebrows too!
But it gets better....

7) Due to strict dress code rules in high school, most girls after high school do something crazy in the field of cosmetic surgery. And in this generation, it's all about the eyes. Take a look in the mirror. Above each of your eyes, there is a thinnest of thin skin folds. I bet you have never noticed it. Well, the Japanese girls sure have. And they go crazy for it! In high school, girls will take cosmetic glue and a pitchfork-like plastic wand and make a temporary crease. In college, girls pay for cosmetic surgery to get the permanent skin fold (I believe it's called the double eyelid) and since they are there, they also get the excess skin around their eyes tucked away so they can have wider, bigger eyes. Vanity...

8) Men carry purses. Not murses or testoster-bags; purses. They are about as big as Bible-cover cases and come in all sorts of materials and colors... just like women purses. And it's totally NORMAL. At first, I thought all the men were really religious-conscious and then remembered that this isn't a western-religion based nation. The younger businessmen usually try to hide theirs inside their briefcases. Elderly men just don't bother and swing them around while walking on the street.

9) The trash/recyclable system is VERY COMPLICATED. I've got to sort my trash into compost/burnables, non-burnables, "PET" bottles, glass items, "PET" bottle caps, and metals cans. And if the trash is non-burnable, I can't simply put it in a different pile on the same trash day as the burnables. No, I have to call the waste management people, get a special and costly sticker to put on the item. And then wait until a special, random, inconsistent day of the month for the WM people to pick it up. And I missed the ONE "PET bottle" trash day of the month because I was gone to work at an English Summer Camp. So I get to wait until the third Wednesday in September for it to come again. Whee.

10) Deliveries accept C.O.D. (Cash on Delivery). This goes with the cash-based nation. I'm not really sure why Japan hasn't picked up on the convenience of credit cards. But everything is done in cash.

No Pictures???

I know... I'm terrible about posting pictures... even my pictures from China are not all up yet.

Somehow, in Nashville, a few days before I flew to Japan, my mom's camera got lost or stolen. =( And I was planning on using that for the first few weeks of my time in Japan.

So no photos of all these crazy Japanese experiences for now...

But, since my birthday is approximately a fortnight away and we have connections in Tokyo, I'm suspecting a possible digi-cam birthday present. I sure wouldn't mind! I wish I had visuals to share with everyone!

Tomorrow is Sunday and usually I can take it easy in the afternoon. If possible, I'll try to upload some more China pictures.

Crazy Errands and First Sunday (August 11)

So I have described my apartment to you...

I spent Wednesday night as my official first night on my own. Because I was unfamiliar with my surroundings but knew of a few key places, I went to U-mart, a Sexson Food equivalent but much smaller, and got a sushi platter for $4.30. Whee! I took that back to my apartment and ate while watching Ever After, a favorite.

P.S. My apartment does not have A/C or central heat. I know... Japan is supposedly one of the top countries in the world for progressive development and yet my apartment lacks central cool and heat. So it was a sweltering night with an oscillating fan.

Because Japan does not observe daylights savings, the sun rises abnormally early... 5:00am or earlier. With a combination of jet-lag, nerves, and fear of being late to my first day at work, I woke up to a sunny 5:30am. Oh well, at least I had plenty of time to get ready.

Since I didn't cook for myself the first night, I had to get a lunch from a store. U-mart does not open until 9am so I went to a FamilyMart, similar to our 7-11s where items are a little pricier. I bought my lunch of hiyaschuka: cold Chinese egg noodles with sliced sandwich meat, cucumbers, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, and pickled ginger in a vinegary-soy sauce. Yummy food on a hot summer day!

At school, just as at home, teachers and students remove their shoes and put on slippers. Because I have yet to get my own, I used the school's: bright Irish green with the school name in white. I looked like Mrs. Claus with my red top, black pants, and green slippers. Ha ha ha! My own street shoes I left in a small locker in the entrance room (genkan).

I was shown to my desk in the teacher's room. That's right: I have my own desk. My predecessor left me a few stacks of folders to go through to get ideas for lesson plans and a file of self-introduction papers from one of my future senior classes. Those kept me entertained most of the morning with statements ranging from "everyone in class calls me God" to "I live in _______ neighborhood with my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, dog, cat, and 5 rabbits. We are hoping for more." Ha ha ha! I also received my hanko, a seal/stamp that replaces my signature. This is probably good because my signature is undergoing a change from the loopy-femanine to the scratchy-feline script.

Around lunchtime, my mom and host mom arrived! They went off to a soba (noodle) shop near school and I stayed to finish my own cold noodles and inform my Supervisor of their arrival, Mrs. Muramatsu.

That afternoon was spent running around town making myself "legal". First stop was for Alien Registration at City Hall. This was easy enough except my Japanese address is backwards. I start with the postal code, then the prefecture, followed by the city, the neighborhood, and the apartment number is last. Interesting. Essentially, this will be my green card for as long as I am employed in Japan. If I get stopped by the police and do not have this card, I get a Monopoly card reading "Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200." where I will be detained for a 3 hour minimum. So it is very important that I get this card. Until then, I carry the papers that say I have registered for one and am waiting to get it.

Second stop was the bank to setup an account so that the school could auto-deposit my paycheck (the first of which is coming soon) and setup the autowithdrawal of my electric, gas, and water bill. This. took. forever. Remember that hanko? Well... Japanese banks want the signature too and the only signature I have on record is the one on my passport... from EIGHTH GRADE!!! So I had to attempt to copy my 8th grade signature so that they would believe it was me, as if my picture wasn't distinctive enough. Then I did not get my cash card right now. I have to wait to get my green card to get my ATM card to prove that the government agrees that I am who I say that I am. Whew. TE-DI-OUS!

Btw, my mom and host mom tagged along for all this too. Whee. We took a short teatime break at a beautiful pastry shop.

Last of all, I desperately wanted to get a mobile phone. Um... cellphones in Japan are redonkulous... not ridiculous... redonkulously expensive. I checked the two main companies: Docomo and Softbank and both want 2 year contracts with an activation fee of $365, the cheapest phone is $220, and then the service is only $30 a month with free call and text to other members of the same company. If I break the 2 year contract, I have to pay another $240. So I'm waiting on that one.

After school, my host mother, Mom, and I went shopping around town to stock my fridge and pantry and reorganize my kitchen to be a little more Jill-friendly. My predecessor must've been tall because she did not store much in the bottom cabinets! Ha ha! Other than U-mart, there is JUSCO on the other side of town. JUSCO is a lot like Walmart prices but with products that hav more style like IKEA or Target. I entertained myself by trying on jackets and long-sleeve tops with sleeves that fitted me perfectly and needed no adjusting. Even the shopping carts are Jill-height friendly and much more maneuverable than the HUGE U.S. ones.

Mom and I were so tired from running errands that we hardly saw any of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. I think I got as far as the people dancing on the sphere and Mom didn't even make it that far!

Saturday, Mom and I explored more of the town after a steady rain that cooled off the temperature. This is when I found Pion (pronounced Pee-own, NOT Pee-ahn), the perfect combination of Pier One and Target and maybe a splash of Ethan Allen. If I were getting married anytime soon or intending to live in Japan for an extended period of time, I would register here and ONLY here. Amazing store.

Through amazing connections (surprised?) and God's amazing planning, Mom found a CoC here in Shimizu led by a family friend who had visited us in Searcy when I was 7. One of the members picked me and Mom up from the apartment and drove us across town to church. It is so small! Leaving out my Mom and me, there are 3 other members and the preacher, Mr. Sagitani. His English is VERY GOOD and he translated the sermon from Hebrews 11 for me before preaching it again in Japanese. They sing hymns that are well-known in the CoC circle but of course, in Japanese. Thank goodness I can read a little!

After church, Mom and I had lunch with the Sagitanis. They have a VERY NICE apartment and a cat named Chako. He is the perfect resemblence of my ideal of Crookshanks from Harry Potter. There was so much food leftover that Mrs. Sagitani gave me a small cooler bag to take home and invited me back for next Sunday too.

I have not had the chance to get homesick yet since Mom has been here. I had a small spell Sunday night when I was making curry. Everytime I would make that at home, I would call my bff Haylee to come over since she liked it so much too and was there for my first curry almost-disaster. I think that's how it'll be for awhile: small things or instances will remind me of people back home and I will wish I could be with you again.

Everyday is an adventure and the more people I meet, the more I feel that God has blessed me in many ways since I have been here. Wednesday-Friday I will be gone to Prefecture Orientation and will have my first "traveling abroad alone" experience. I will tell you all about it when I get back!

More about Tokyo Orientation and My Apartment (August 8th)

What can I possibly say about the first week?

You know all about Sunday and most of Tokyo Orientation. The sense of "being in Japan" was diminished because 800+ English-speaking foreigners were dominating a 5-star hotel. First night I went for sushi with people from Nashville and a guy from Manchester, Monday night I went for coffee and sweets with my former host mother, and Tuesday night I went for yakiniku with my Japanese relatives. You'll be surprised to know there are only 4 of them compared to the 70-somethin' on my Dad's side.

Wednesday, those who are working in the same prefecture (state equivalent) as I rode a bus to Shizuoka prefecture. We stopped at a "rest stop" on the way and you would all die to have seen it. Some of the best fast food ever. The food is on display in a glass case with a number, description, and price. Then you go to the ticket vendor, pop in the coins or bills, and out pops a ticket. You then take the ticket to the respective counter (ramen, cold noodles, curry, etc) and they make it up for you fresh! ON THE SPOT! Even though it's terribly hot and humid here, I had soy sauce ramen with pork loin for less than $6. It was SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD. Upon arrival in Shizuoka, we went to the prefectural office and had a briefing before introducing ourselves in Japanese to our bosses gathered there to pick us up.

Around 4pm, I rode with two of my English teacher colleagues: Sano-sensei and Mori-sensei. They both speak English very well so it was no trouble striking up conversation on the 30 minute car ride to Shimizu, my seaside town. They took me to my school to meet my principal, Kawanishi koucho-sensei and the head of the English department, Muramatsu-sensei. Although Kawanishi koucho-sensei could not speak any English, he was pleased with my adequate Japanese and we managed through the initial introductions just fine. From there, I picked up my largest piece of luggage that was shipped from the airport and was shown to my apartment.

My apartment is very spacious by Japanese standards. Once I get a camera, I'll entertain everyone with my version of MTV's "Cribs" to be posted on my blog (see profile). I am the 4th apartment in a set of 5. My front door is pink.... Mary Kay pink... gross. The front door is heavy with a charcoal gray mail slot. Upon entering, there is a small square area to take off one's shoes and replace them with houseslippers from a cabinet on the direct left. This area of the house is called the "genkan". For those of you who have been to my parents' house in Searcy, it's basically the foyer and guestbook area but much smaller.

Stepping up on the small platform, you will almost stumble upon a set of VERY STEEP stairs. Seriously, I have to climb on all fours to keep from falling backwards. You'll have to see it to understand! Anyhow... that platform.

To the slight right is a wooden sliding door of paneling and misted glass. But we aren't going through there yet. Opposite the sliding doors is one small door that leads to the toilet room. No, not bathroom: toilet room. In Japan, the toilet is kept separate from the tub and shower for convenience. For those of us that have lived in dorms without the stall in a shared bathroom, we can relate to the frustration of having to wait to use the loo when a suitemate was taking his/her good ol' time in the bathroom.

Remember those sliding doors, well, we can go in now. Sliding the door to the left, you enter the kitchen/dining area. To the direct left is a hutch filled with dishes and to the direct right is a washing machine. Taking a step forward, you almost bump into the small square dining table with two chairs. Opposite it is a large single sink upon counters with space to put clean dishes on a drip rack. Step forward again and there is a slightly-larger-than-dorm-

size refrigerator/freezer with a microwave on top. Opposite the fridge/freezer/microwave tower is my stove... my two burner stove with a fish broiler. I can't wait to try it out!

And more sliding doors! These are actually kept open all the time to show off the spacious living room. Two beige leather sofas face one another with a low coffee table in the middle. How Japanese. Upon the left wall is a map of Shizuoka City, capital of Shizuoka prefecture and a bulletin board with some postcards of Mt. Fuji that I have yet to see because it's so hazy and a collection of pictures of HU friends. Against the opposite wall of where you're supposedly standing, is two sliding doors that lead to a small backyard that desperately needs mowing. Oh, and these sliding doors look like the traditional paper sliding doors, only the paper is actually recycled plastic. A bit tougher and easier to replace. In the top left corner is a bookshelf with a collection of random books previous ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) have left and in the top right corner is an end table with a CD/Mini-Disc player.

Let's go upstairs... on all fours!

A small landing and to the slight right and my bedroom. The floors are traditional tatami, 6 tatami mats to be exact which mom says is pretty spacious. In the top left corner is my full-size bed. It's uber soft but the pillows are another story. I get to choose between one of those odd-foam-form pillows or a traditional bean/rice pillow. Whee..... X| On the right is an "entertainment center" of what looks like papertowel tubes and plastic. I have a small collection of tapes and DVDs to use in my TV/VHS and codeless DVD player combo and Japanese reference books. Oh, and I have an itty-bitty balcony with a lovely view of my neighbor's second floor window. The houses are packed closer than River Oaks I'm telling you... Across the landing from my room is the "guest bedroom" that is currently being used as my drying-laundry space. HOWEVER, if anyone would like to visit, you can sleep traditional style (on the floor) with my spare futon mattress and bedding. The guest bedroom also has 6 tatami mats.

And that's my apartment!

In the next issue of "Jill's Awesome Life", we'll discuss my school and the crazy errands I've had to run so far.

Tokyo Orientation (August 4th)

Wow! What a day!

First of all, the flight from Detroit to Japan wasn't bad at all. It was 13 hours but I slept most of it. Upon arrival in Tokyo, I was greeted by a plethora of current JET participants in mango-colored shirts. They whisked off my luggage to be shipped to my city and the rest was loaded onto a charter bus. Narita Int'l Airport is located at least 2-3 hours outside of Tokyo by bus so I dozed on and off on the ride into Shinjuku, an area of Tokyo.

We arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel around 6:30 and after a quick freshening up session, I went with new acquaintances from the Nashville orientation and a guy from Manchester, UK for sushi-go-round. I ate A LOT for about $10.

While the room is very luxurious, the beds are as hard as they were in China, but with more cushioning... so just really... REALLY firm.

Tonight, we're all attending a welcoming reception hosted by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Relations, and of Sports, Culture, and Education. Afterward, I will meet with my host family, the Sasahiras, for coffee and sweets. I haven't seen my host father since I was last in Tokyo 6 years ago and my host mother since she visited me in 2005. It'll be a pleasant reunion for sure.

I finally met with all the other JET participants who are in the same prefecture as me and one of them, from Liverpool in the UK, is in the same city as me! Awesome accent + good looks = potential date. Ha ha ha! Three others in the same prefecture are also of Japanese decent and are hoping to "discover" more about their family heritage, as I am.

The hotel here has free internet in the room, but I'm sharing with two roommates so these updates may not be so frequent after Tokyo Orientation ends on Wednesday. It may be in the 20s before you hear from me again!