Update.. yea lol >.>

Whoa… it’s been a whirlwind of a last few days, but at the same not to bad at all. I’m in Toyama, Japan in the city of Kurobe. I’m wishing I could have written some things down before now, but with lack of internet what can you do?!

My first day after I touched down all the Toyama JETs were met with signs and banners at baggage claim with our names on them. We headed off to our separate group of people and were off towards our apartment, but not before being treated to a rather nice sushi lunch. Me, another JET who happened to be in my same apartment complex and four other board of education members ate happily and ended lunch with Mango ice-cream. After that we were brought to our apartments. T’was very exciting to have my OWN place. It was bigger than I thought which was another plus!. Didn’t get to spend long looking it over though.. since there was a Niikawa welcoming party the same night!

So I ended up going to this welcome party which was quite fun. Found out that almost everyone was just as big of a nerd as me ( Harry Potheads, DnD, Anime, Manga, Lord of the Rings, Hereos, and the list goes on!) Needless to say I was QUITE tired by the time I got home and went to bed shortly after a failed attempt to unpack all my belongings and put them away the same night.

The next two days were full with errands and official orders. During these two days I applied for my gaijin-card, received my hanko (personal stamp/seal) , opened up a bank account, applied for internet to be set up in my home, went car shopping, got a keitai (cell phone) which I was super excited about! (yay! Japanese Iphone!!!.. >.> yea I know.. splurge much, but ooo soo good!! The IPhone is one sexy beast!). Anyway.. <.< …. Yes umm, right, so let’s see what else. I’ve gone grocery shopping twice (but cost below $45 bucks so not so bad).

After those first two days the next two were rather uneventful. Just kinda spent the days in my apartment doing random things, and thinking about what I’d have to do next as far as my schedule goes. Saturday August 1st I went into Toyama city for a festival for fireworks which was quite nice. After that we all went to a new JET party and everyone I hadn’t seen since we arrived to Toyama was there. So needless to say we exchanged cell numbers and complained how retarded hot we were.

*Break away from timeline*

It’s F’in hot in Kurobe. Not so much the heat but the humidity is quite catastrophic. Perhaps it’s good for the whole “Anita lose weight” idea but I would like to keep a few electrolytes in my body. Ya know.. survival and all…

*And were back..**

So yea let’s see…after that I managed to get home and went to sleep relatively soon after. Sunday was a rather quiet day once again and right before I was going to sit down and do (or atleast attempt) to try and make lesson plans and study Katakana (cause my Japanese sucks fish hooks) another ALT stopped by and invited me out for dinner. I was happy to get out of the house so I abandoned the former for the later, and we took a nice walk to the restaurant. The restaurant is called Green Tea and the food was WONDERFUL!, and now that I know it’s there AND in walking distance I’ll more then likely with become a regular. It was fun hanging out with her (Rosaria) and we found out a lot about each other and it looks like we are going to become close. Pending travel plans have already been discussed between us, but I won’t say where. I’ll let that be a surprise!

And the 3rd was my first official working day. I went to a children’s center where the only thing I did was watch kids play and play with some kids a bit. I have noticed that the boy children are very dominant over their area. I know if it was back home the girls would have knocked a tooth loose over something like that but different cultures different rules I guess. Car purchasing will actually occur tomorrow, and from that point I need to get things ready for my workshops at summer camp in a week or two as well as try to visit and work at all my schools. I know I’m going to get SOOOO lost. If driving on the right side and on the left lane isn’t enough I have to find my way around. -____- wish me luck!

Continued… to next day….

*side note: didn’t get the car.. next week -__-

I visited the three schools I’ll be teaching and introduced myself to the staff room members at each school. It was quite nerve racking, but I got through it. One Japanese English teacher even told me she was impressed with my Japanese. I told her I knew very little, and honestly it was rather basic, but perhaps I said it with enough accuracy and fluency she was impressed. So at least I know at once school I have a good start ^_^

Random things:
Today the 4th is the first day of sun and no rain. Which was nice, and I rode my bike to a few places (exhausted) but let’s just say I almost had a few spills. It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve been on a bike. Though the forecast is looking like rain the rest of the week. It’s seriously Brittan’s bastard child here when it come to the rainy season. However it will be over soon enough.

I honestly eat everything I hate here. I eat things that still move, have never seen anything resembling a flame or contain 12 different herbs, and thus is brown from the sheer level of organic-ness. Thankfully here or there I get things that appeal to my tastes, but I figured it’s all for the best. The less I eat at meals and the healthier I eat the better it is for me.

Started a workout routine: walk about 2-3 miles 3 times a week and go to the gym once a week. I have an enthusiastic (thin ironically enough) workout buddy and it makes the process easier in general. So wish me luck on that endeavor.
For everyone’s knowledge there is like every flavor Pocky here. I’ve never been huge on pocky and I’m willing to try a few new flavors since I’m here. I am also willing to bring some home with me next year for anyone who wants an exotic flavor box of pocky. There is a picture that shows some of the kinds of pocky, and the sheer amount of it all.

That and for some reason I bought like four pairs of chopsticks at the 100yen store (a bit ridiculous I know).

Umm I think that’s it this time… there are pictures (Tokyo Orientation (one of me and Alden whom happened to wear the same colors ^_^) Welcome parties, Festivals, Rosea Pocky (in that order) and more). Enjoy!!