Unfortunately I somehow managed to permanently delete a post that I made as detailed as possible. Being written about the first week in my new home, it was also one of the most interesting ones I will probably have. However, I am too lazy to rewrite the entire thing, so an e-mail I sent to my family will have to suffice. Please excuse the poor writing.
"I was picked up at the airport by three of my coworkers yesterday. They took me to lunch and told me on the way to Yokohama-machi that I should prepare a speech, or jikoshoukai. That made me very nervous. Anyway they shuttled me to some government building, ushered me upstairs, and I walked into a room where there were maybe three people taking a million pictures of me. And then some man came out and started bowing at me and said some things in Japanese and everyone was all quiet and awkward. I think he was the mayor. And then I had to give my jikoshoukai. Afterwards some guy from a newspaper started asking me complicated questions in Japanese, only about half of which I could understand. I responded in very slow English and broken Japanese. After that I had to stop by my office and say my jikoshoukai to two of my coworkers. And then I saw my house, which is very spacious and fully furnished and overlooks a small river. And then I went to an enkai, or work party, where I had to give my jikoshoukai again and try to memorize 10 Japanese names, only three of which I could memorize. And had a beer and some wine because I didn't know which was more awkward, to drink or not drink so I just had a little. And everyone was trying to speak English and also taught me some Yokohama-ben. The one word I learned was wantsuka, which is Yokohama slang for sukoshi, or a little in English. Mom won't be able to understand any of my Japanese by the time I leave here. Just kidding, people have been pretty good about speaking in standard Japanese to me. I've already reviewed like 3/4 of the things I learned in college Japanese. I'm incredibly rusty, but I can understand a lot more than I can speak. After, they took me to the convenience store to get some breakfast for today. Then they gave me straight up dead squid. I mean, slimy, eyes staring at you, head and tentacles still attached, full on squid. But it was a very kind present. A lady from work is coming over tonight to help me cook it. They also gave me leftover yakisoba from the enkai. And THEN I went home and passed out. Woke up early today to unpack, shower, and now I'm at the Board of Education (BOE)."
Since then, I met the real mayor of Yokohama-machi (the first guy I met was actually second in line after the mayor). I also cooked the squid and it was absolutely delicious. I'm posting a gallery of all the pictures I took the first week. It'll be the purple-looking tentacles on a plate. Haha. But really, it was tasty. I cooked it with soy sauce and butter.
Pictures below:
First row- View of Shinjuku, Tokyo from the 53rd floor of a skyscraper; my new bedroom; a rice field behind my middle school
Second and third rows- Different views from around my town. The first picture is the view from my kitchen window. The other views of the river and opening to the bay are from a bike ride I took exploring the town. The small building at the end of the third and beginning of the second rows are the small train station of Mutsu Yokohama.
Fourth row- my train station; the cooked squid that I received as a welcoming gift (it was so delicious!); nano-hana/canola blossom donut (Yokohama is well known for their fields of yellow canola blossoms in the spring. The canola blossom flavored ice cream and donuts are remarkably delicious);
Fifith row- A picture of some of the dinners I cooked myself. The steak was specially sold for Obon, a big holiday in Japan. It was quite expensive, but a popular thing to buy during that week.
Last picture- a picture of my orientation roommate and me at JET Orientation in Tokyo
"I was picked up at the airport by three of my coworkers yesterday. They took me to lunch and told me on the way to Yokohama-machi that I should prepare a speech, or jikoshoukai. That made me very nervous. Anyway they shuttled me to some government building, ushered me upstairs, and I walked into a room where there were maybe three people taking a million pictures of me. And then some man came out and started bowing at me and said some things in Japanese and everyone was all quiet and awkward. I think he was the mayor. And then I had to give my jikoshoukai. Afterwards some guy from a newspaper started asking me complicated questions in Japanese, only about half of which I could understand. I responded in very slow English and broken Japanese. After that I had to stop by my office and say my jikoshoukai to two of my coworkers. And then I saw my house, which is very spacious and fully furnished and overlooks a small river. And then I went to an enkai, or work party, where I had to give my jikoshoukai again and try to memorize 10 Japanese names, only three of which I could memorize. And had a beer and some wine because I didn't know which was more awkward, to drink or not drink so I just had a little. And everyone was trying to speak English and also taught me some Yokohama-ben. The one word I learned was wantsuka, which is Yokohama slang for sukoshi, or a little in English. Mom won't be able to understand any of my Japanese by the time I leave here. Just kidding, people have been pretty good about speaking in standard Japanese to me. I've already reviewed like 3/4 of the things I learned in college Japanese. I'm incredibly rusty, but I can understand a lot more than I can speak. After, they took me to the convenience store to get some breakfast for today. Then they gave me straight up dead squid. I mean, slimy, eyes staring at you, head and tentacles still attached, full on squid. But it was a very kind present. A lady from work is coming over tonight to help me cook it. They also gave me leftover yakisoba from the enkai. And THEN I went home and passed out. Woke up early today to unpack, shower, and now I'm at the Board of Education (BOE)."
Since then, I met the real mayor of Yokohama-machi (the first guy I met was actually second in line after the mayor). I also cooked the squid and it was absolutely delicious. I'm posting a gallery of all the pictures I took the first week. It'll be the purple-looking tentacles on a plate. Haha. But really, it was tasty. I cooked it with soy sauce and butter.
Pictures below:
First row- View of Shinjuku, Tokyo from the 53rd floor of a skyscraper; my new bedroom; a rice field behind my middle school
Second and third rows- Different views from around my town. The first picture is the view from my kitchen window. The other views of the river and opening to the bay are from a bike ride I took exploring the town. The small building at the end of the third and beginning of the second rows are the small train station of Mutsu Yokohama.
Fourth row- my train station; the cooked squid that I received as a welcoming gift (it was so delicious!); nano-hana/canola blossom donut (Yokohama is well known for their fields of yellow canola blossoms in the spring. The canola blossom flavored ice cream and donuts are remarkably delicious);
Fifith row- A picture of some of the dinners I cooked myself. The steak was specially sold for Obon, a big holiday in Japan. It was quite expensive, but a popular thing to buy during that week.
Last picture- a picture of my orientation roommate and me at JET Orientation in Tokyo
Tokyo Orientation happened before all this, but it wasn't quite as interesting. I tacked it on here, for those who are interested.
Orientation
Who: 1/3 of the JET Program, including CIRs (Coordinators for International Relations) and ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers- that’s me). People in this program come from all over the United States as well as other English-speaking countries (New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, etc.)
What: Orientation for all of the JET Program on why we are here in Japan, what our roles are, how to teach, and Japanese etiquette.
When: Sunday, August 3rd- Wednesday, August 6th 7am-7pm everyday.
Where: Keio Plaza Hotel in the business district of Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Why: Many of you, as well as myself, wonder how the JET Program can come up with such a good deal. Free ticket to fly across the world, automatically acquire a working visa, and get to teach adorable Japanese children? AND get paid to do it?! One speech at orientation gave some stats that gleaned light on why exactly we are here. In short it’s because most Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) are not proficient in English and have a hard time with it themselves. Imagine how difficult it would be to learn Spanish from a teacher who couldn’t really speak Spanish! ALTs are a great way to learn spontaneous conversation and excite students about learning English. Check out my “cultural observations” tab if you want to read in further detail.Summary of what happened: We arrived at the hotel and were forced out of jet lag by attending meetings and interactive classes and speeches for 12 hours a day. It was miserable. The classes themselves were fine, it was just the 13 hour time difference that killed me. Walking around at night time felt like a dream. One person said “There are Japanese people everywhere and Japanese signs and Japanese food, but I feel like it’s a movie set. This isn’t real. We aren’t in Tokyo yet.” Those were exactly my feelings. I think we were all delirious from jet lag. By the time we reached the 3pm classes, we were all toast. Everyone’s heads were rolling off to the side and there were lots of gaping mouths (I was glad to see I’m not the only one who falls asleep with her mouth open).
It was fun meeting people from all over. I suspect I will be friends with some of the people I met at orientation, especially my roommates, and hope to visit them when I travel around Japan throughout my stay. I digress a little, but I must say that talking with one of my roommates made me feel more at ease about moving to the countryside of Japan. After arriving to Japan I was beginning to freak out about moving to the straight up countryside. It all seemed fine and dandy when I was applying to the Program, but now that it had become a reality, I began to anticipate some culture shock. My roommate, Jessie, was placed in Tokyo. Awesome, right? Absolutely. She will honestly have a blast. The downside is that the rent is SO expensive. Usually JETs are able to save a decent amount of money, but at least half of Tokyo JETs’ monthly pay will go to rent. They will be living on a shoestring budget, so I’m glad that I will be able to visit awesome cities like Tokyo while being able to live comfortably (albeit lonely at times, I’m sure) in the countryside.
Orientation
Who: 1/3 of the JET Program, including CIRs (Coordinators for International Relations) and ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers- that’s me). People in this program come from all over the United States as well as other English-speaking countries (New Zealand, Great Britain, Canada, etc.)
What: Orientation for all of the JET Program on why we are here in Japan, what our roles are, how to teach, and Japanese etiquette.
When: Sunday, August 3rd- Wednesday, August 6th 7am-7pm everyday.
Where: Keio Plaza Hotel in the business district of Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Why: Many of you, as well as myself, wonder how the JET Program can come up with such a good deal. Free ticket to fly across the world, automatically acquire a working visa, and get to teach adorable Japanese children? AND get paid to do it?! One speech at orientation gave some stats that gleaned light on why exactly we are here. In short it’s because most Japanese Teachers of English (JTEs) are not proficient in English and have a hard time with it themselves. Imagine how difficult it would be to learn Spanish from a teacher who couldn’t really speak Spanish! ALTs are a great way to learn spontaneous conversation and excite students about learning English. Check out my “cultural observations” tab if you want to read in further detail.Summary of what happened: We arrived at the hotel and were forced out of jet lag by attending meetings and interactive classes and speeches for 12 hours a day. It was miserable. The classes themselves were fine, it was just the 13 hour time difference that killed me. Walking around at night time felt like a dream. One person said “There are Japanese people everywhere and Japanese signs and Japanese food, but I feel like it’s a movie set. This isn’t real. We aren’t in Tokyo yet.” Those were exactly my feelings. I think we were all delirious from jet lag. By the time we reached the 3pm classes, we were all toast. Everyone’s heads were rolling off to the side and there were lots of gaping mouths (I was glad to see I’m not the only one who falls asleep with her mouth open).
It was fun meeting people from all over. I suspect I will be friends with some of the people I met at orientation, especially my roommates, and hope to visit them when I travel around Japan throughout my stay. I digress a little, but I must say that talking with one of my roommates made me feel more at ease about moving to the countryside of Japan. After arriving to Japan I was beginning to freak out about moving to the straight up countryside. It all seemed fine and dandy when I was applying to the Program, but now that it had become a reality, I began to anticipate some culture shock. My roommate, Jessie, was placed in Tokyo. Awesome, right? Absolutely. She will honestly have a blast. The downside is that the rent is SO expensive. Usually JETs are able to save a decent amount of money, but at least half of Tokyo JETs’ monthly pay will go to rent. They will be living on a shoestring budget, so I’m glad that I will be able to visit awesome cities like Tokyo while being able to live comfortably (albeit lonely at times, I’m sure) in the countryside.