Thursday, December 20, 2007

The wonders of Japan.......This is worth the read i promise

Where do i start....... well the other day i was on the bus and an American lady got on with a stroller. But when i looked in there, NO BABY!!!!! It was full of ferrets. I dont even know if that is how you spell it cause i have never used the word before in my 25 years. Anyway, she used to carry them around on her back but then she got two more and wanted them to be able to move around when she took them out. And so she got the stroller. It is so strange. Now i know she was American but i dont know anywhere else in the world where you cant talk on your mobile phone on the bus but you can bring a stroller of ferrets on there. One of the many interesting lessons/experiences i have each day here in Japan.


Today was just as brilliant. We had a fire drill. And the first years (grade 10)learn how to use the fire extinguishers. One student per class (there are 10 classes) has to put out a fire on the sports field while the others watch.


The second years (grade 11) had to learn how to go down the escape slide. YES, ESCAPE SLIDE. There was one on the balconey of the 4th and 5th floors. The one on the 5th floor was so long. Anyway, it is all enclosed and you have to slide down it to get away from the fire. Like the ones they have on airplanes but enclosed and only big enough for one skinny person. Thus many of the overweight people in western countries would not fit. Anyway, I was going to try the shorter one on the 4th floor but at the last minute decided to try the one on the fifth floor. My heart jumped abit when i first sat down at the top but once i left go it was fine. It was so fun. I wanted to have another go. Even some of the tough boys didnt try the long one.


And finally the third years (yr 12) had to go into a room full of smoke and escape safely. Which was hard cause there was this step that almost all the girls fell down when i was in there. I only didnt fall cause i saw them falling. LOL.....




How amazing is that. We also did the normal drill stuff like escaping when the alarm goes off and lining up on the sports field. But the highlight was really the slide. I have never seen anything like that in Australia. Imagine the kids in Oz going down the slide. It looks really scary but its not. I will include some photos for you to have a look at.

Monday, November 26, 2007

By the way...........

One of my mates in Alice said that she couldnt look at some of photos because of the link. So i have reposted them. And i would suggest you use the newer posts to look at the photos. Please let me know if you can get into any of the folders.

Cheers,
Laura/Tubby

November In Japan

Well, I actually started Nov in Australia. Or should i say MOVEMBER......... Now i am back in Japan. It was very hard to leave Oz again but i am starting to feel at home here again. Probably helped by the fact that i havent stopped since i have been back. I went to my first ever Thanksgiving Dinner with a bunch of American last thursday night. There was even roast turkey.....this is amazing cause most of us dont have ovens. My friend Kim made pumpkin pie for the first time ever and it was awesome. Then the next day Kim and I explored one of the stations near my house. And we found and saw some really crazy stuff. I will post those photos later.

Saturday the 24th of Nov will be now always be known to me as crazy Aussie day. The day when a big group of foreigners disrupted the streets of Roppongi on their way to vote in the Federal election. There was even a blow up Kangaroo.

Sunday, i went to see a close family friend and went to a seminar day with her. There was koto (Japanese Harp) playing and traditional Japanese dancing. Keiko also made me get up and do Kareoke. Luckily, the whole table got up and helped me. I am an awful singer and they take it seriously here in Japan.

And now today i am at school for the morning. And then i have ameeting elsewhere in the arvo.

Here is the link to the first of the November photos. More later when the month is actually over.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30382&l=f05b1&id=684506290

September in Japan - photo links

School Festival
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17324&l=ec9b7&id=684506290

Hiroshima and Miyajima
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23583&l=473b5&id=684506290

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23594&l=05fc7&id=684506290

September in Japan
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23595&l=e21b8&id=684506290

Sports Day at my school
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24960&l=8318e&id=684506290

July and August in Japan - photo links

July - August 2007

Arriving in Japan
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16307&l=41d5a&id=684506290

My first festival
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16883&l=c147c&id=684506290

Cool things i have found in Japan
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17567&l=4e8b1&id=684506290

My apartment complex
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16882&l=ebd39&id=684506290

Food in Japan
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17561&l=db250&id=684506290

25th bday
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18450&l=51c1a&id=684506290

Mt Fuji in August
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21555&l=eab72&id=684506290

August in Japan - Folder 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17325&l=fa3f3&id=684506290

August in Japan - Folder 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21551&l=c1217&id=684506290

October in Japan...........

Nothing too special to report. The most interesting things i did was going home for my Nan`s funeral and my sister`s wedding. It was so awesome being back in OZ. I gained back 2-3kg of the 4 that i lost in my first three months in Japan. I love roast chicken by the way. It is so great. They dont have it in Japan and i dont have an oven.

Here are the links for my photos of October and the wedding.

October in Japan
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24959&l=13ab9&id=684506290

Anna`s wedding
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29179&l=be17d&id=684506290

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29210&l=dc993&id=684506290

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29176&l=2155c&id=684506290

Family photos from my trip
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10100&l=5dfd7&id=684506290

Friends photos from my trip
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10102&l=a2f01&id=684506290

Travelling back to Alice and some Alice Springs shots
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=30272&l=31748&id=684506290

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=7266&l=8920d&id=684506290

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Link to photos from September in Japan, 2007

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23595&l=e21b8&id=684506290

School Sport Day - so fun!!!!!!!!!!

What an awesome day. It was nothing like the ones we have at St Philips. It was much more fun. The students practice in gym/PE class and then the students who are the fastests in each class are in the only running races of the day. Then it is all very fun races.

The first thing that was done after the races was tug of war. There were five teams. Red, white, green, yellow and blue. Each team had to play the other one. And each team was allowed 60 kids. It was really great.

Then we had the relay. It was awesome as well. First they had to jump in a potato sack. It looked really hard cause they had to jump on this mat thing. Then the next leg was going under and over the hurdles. The third leg was jumping ova a gymnastics horse and then crawling under a net held down by other students. And then the last part was finding a marshmallow with your mouth in flour and then running to the finish line. It was really funny but they all took it serious enough to compete.

Then they had centipede races. So many fell over and other were really good at it. It was great.

Then the white rabbit race which involved one student running along the backs of other students along the field. It looked really great.

There were many other races too but these ones were the ones that stood out.

But one race was special to me because i got to go in it. It was a sled relay and a teacher got to be on the sled last. There were four rounds and I was in the first one. It was so fun. I was so scared beforehand but it was so fun. I loved it.

I have put photos of this onto facebook. Here is a link to my photos.

Sports Day
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24960&l=8318e&id=684506290

Saturday, September 29, 2007

My October Schedule

1st - 2nd school
3rd - school and then tea ceremony lesson
4th - 5th school

7th - Visiting Aussie school arrives
8th - National Holiday for Health and Sports Day
9th - Party for the Aussie school
10th - Visiting Aussie school come to see my school + Board of Education Party
12th - Farewell Banquet for the Aussie school

16th - 19th Auntie Kathy, Miriam and Meredith in Tokyo

29th - Day off school to celebrate schools foundation day
31st - JET seminar

Then on the 1st of November JET seminar again and i leave for Australia that night.
YEAH!!!!!!!!!

School Festival - what an awesome couple of days.

Each senior high school has a festival once a year. It was awesome. The students spent the Thursday preparing for the festival. The main features are that each class comes up with a theme or games and decorate their classroom accordingly. There are ten classes in each year level and there are over 300 students in each year level. The third years (yr12) tend to have the better displays cause they have had more practice and are more mature and motivated.

Then Friday is the day when staff and students can experience the festival before opening it to the public on Saturday. I didn't enjoy this day as much as the Saturday. I think it was because the students went abit crazy. They were so excited and they were just going mad. Plus when they get excited I cant understand their Japanese or English cause it is so fast.

The Saturday was awesome. I really enjoyed it. There were many flea markets in the classrooms with lots of cute disney stuff. And many different types of food. Class 3-10 sold Onigiri, which are rice balls with filling in them. My favourite was the tuna one. I bought a whole bunch to try and that was good cause now when i have the option to buy them again I will know which ones i like and which i dont.

There was also a couple ice cream shops. One had the strangest ice cream in the world. It was little tiny balls of ice cream all together in a package. I mean tiny balls, just a little bigger than a mustard seed. I enjoyed it so much i had two of them throughout the day.

One of my English club girls, Mami spent the day with me, helping me by translating the really complicated game rules. Plus it was just fun to hang out with her and she spoke English all day whice made me very proud. Her English is really good and I was very grateful to have her with me. We went through two mazes. Which was hard work. We both had skirts on. Mine was much longer than hers but we had to go under desks and over desks and slip through small areas. It was very funny and very hot. I think we were both glad to be out of them. On one I just gave up and we left half way through.

One of the games i liked the most was done by one of the third year classes. You had to catch the person/s who killed one of the teachers. So you had to get five or six stickers from anyone wearing a purple shirt. But you had to get four circles, a love heart and a star. And some purple people had already given them away to others playing the game so it was a challenge to find the right people. I really enjoyed it. It was so simple but so fun. And interactive. You had to go through the room and look at the photos of the WANTED students and then go and find them. It was great.

I also went to the tea ceremony room and got to watch some of the students who are learning to do the tea ceremony. It was really good. Although i still dont like green tea and the sweets that you get in a tea ceremony.

I took lots of awesome photos. So here is the link so that you can all have a look.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17324&l=ec9b7&id=684506290

Cheers,
Tubby

Earthquake AGAIN..............

So i was lying on my futon last night about 11pm and all of a sudden the building started to shake. Not as big as the last one. I thought it was just a car going past or something. As ill-informed and earthquake innocent, as I am. It stopped and then began again and the lights in the room were swinging. I actually think that it was an aftershock from the earthquake that occurred at 8:30pm in the prefecture right near mine called Chiba. Have a look at the maps that are on this link to check out where the earthquakes were. The first one shows the earthquake in Chiba at 8:30pm and the second shows the ones all over Japan and you can see the one that i felt. I look at this website everyday to see where the earthquakes are. It is really interesting to see how many they have here.

Chiba Earthquake - http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/3/27203400391.html

Small earthquakes around Japan - http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/28224900391.html

This website is really good for tracking typhoons that might be coming to Japan. In case any of you are interested. I think all of this is very interesting because in Alice Springs we dont have any of these things.

On a really positive point, it is finally starting to cool down. I am so glad. And it is almost october so that means much cooler weather here in Japan.
Cheers,
Laura

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Hiroshima and Miyajima

Over the long weekend, I went to to Hiroshima and Miyajima. I took the shinkansen (bullet train) to Hiroshima at 6am in the morning. I left from Tokyo and that meant leaving my local station at 4:45am. Needless to say, once we went past Mt Fuji, I was fast asleep. The train was not full at all so that was great. Once i arrived in Hiroshima, I went and got the local cable car to my hotel. My hotel was actually right near the Peace Memorial Park. I could see the A-Bomb Dome (the shell of a building left from the nuclear bombing) from my room window. I could also see the Peace Memorial Museum.

So i checked in and then headed off to the Peace Memorial Park. I first went to the museum. It was interesting. The most disturbing thing that was in the museum was the human skin and nails that was all that one family found. It was really gross. I also saw the step that has a shadow on it from when someone was sitting there when the bomb dropped. Also saw the Sadako cranes. Sadako is the little girl who made the 1000 cranes in hope that she would get better. She made some really small ones.

Then i headed to the other parts of the park. I took some great photos of the children's memorial. Which has Sadako on the top of it holding a golden crane.

Then i went to the A-bomb dome. I got some great shots of it. It is amazing that it is still standing. It is the only structure still standing today that was around during the bombing.

It then started to pour with rain. So i took a taxi to the Hiroshima Castle. Which was interesting cause the taxi driver didn't understand what i meant. But got there and learned a new word. The castle was awesome. I loved it. It was so beautiful.

Then it was back to the hotel for a nap and then a really nice italian dinner. I couldn't get into the hotel resturant so i had to venture out. I found this great italian resturant and had lobster for 2000 yen or $20.00 AU. It was awesome. Ate lots of garlic bread too.

The next day i went to take some more photos and make sure that I didn't miss anything. I went to take a photo of the burial mound which is huge and contain ashes of many of the people who died. Also went to ring the peace bell. You can also ring the bell at the children's memorial.

Then i headed to Miyajima. Which is an island off the coast of the city of Hiroshima. The famous thing about Miyajima is the shrine that is there and the huge red torii gate. Oh and the tame deer that will eat anything they can get. I will post some photos soon. The torii gate is one of the three most famous sights in Japan. Anyway, I stayed on the island for the night and just cruised around. I ate lots of Oysters. Cause Miyajima is famous for its oysters and its spicy eel dish. My hotel was really nice but was along way from the tourist stuff. I dont think i would stay there again because it was so far away. Anyway, so i wandered around the island did all the sightseeing. I thought the torii date was great. The shrine near it was not as awesome but still interesting.

I was patting this deer and then it tried to eat my shirt. It was crazy. I had to pull it out of its mouth. They really will eat anything they can find. Someone dropped a handkerchief and a deer was eating that.

On the last day of the long weekend i sat and watched the tide coming in. It was really awesome to be out of the city and to smell the sea.

Then took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

Link for my photos of Hiroshima and Miyajima:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23583&l=473b5&id=684506290

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23594&l=05fc7&id=684506290

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The biggest bee I have ever seen in my life.....

Now, normally I am not scared of bugs....but this was the biggest bee I have ever seen. It also happened to be the most deadly in Japan. One of the male teachers was trying to get it out the window and he said that if it stung me I would have to go to hospital straight away.

It is called Suzumebaki.

Suzume means sparrow
Baki means bee

Which basically means that it can kill sparrows it is so dangerous. I thought it was because it was so big they called it a sparrow bee. I was wrong but if you had seen it you would have freaked out too. It was bigger than an Australian wasp. It is actually an Asian Hornet but in Japan they called it a sparrowbee.

I will post a photo later.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

My school - Kawaguchi Ichiritsu

My school is a high school and is called Kawaguchi Ichiritsu. It has about 1000 students. I had to give a speech at the first assembly and there were so many faces looking up at me. The school is a senior school so it goes from year 10 - 12.
They call the classes by 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year. 3rd year being yr 12. It an old school but still very nice. The students are friendly and i cant walk down the hall without them yelling hello to me and waving. And then as I walk away, I hear 'Kawaii' which means cute. It is very strange being called cute. They also stare at me alot. I guess cause i am new and foreign but i feel very aware of all the eyes that follow me. It is very weird.

I have just finished teaching all of the 2nd year classes about Australia. They are reading a chapter on a lady who walked across the desert with her camels. I was getting sick of doing the same thing and then i had a break for a couple days and taught 3rd years. I made most of the 2nd years try vegemite so i am pretty sure many of them dont like me anymore. Just joking. They hated vegemite. Only two out of 300 students liked it. It was very funny watching their faces. I will post some photos later.

The classes here are very different to the ones in Australia. Some of them are so quiet and shy. I had one class that didnt speak or answer any questions the whole time i was in there. And then I have classes that are more like the ones in Australia. But you only have to ask once for them to be quiet and they are. It is very good.

I am starting to get involved in the extra curricular activities. I have an English conversation club on Tuesdays that is open to anyone. And on Thursdays, I have an English help class for Year 12 students who are taking the English Exam to get into uni. I also have a group of student who come and have lunch with me twice a week and we talk about new topics each time. We also read the English newspaper I buy. They get very excited when they see news about Japan in English.

This weekend, the school has its festival. Each school has a festival. Kinda like a fair and we are preparing for that tomorrow. It is going to be really great.

What's koala in English? HUH!!!!!!!!!!!!

So school has started and all is going well. I was abit bored to start with but am now teaching lots and enjoying myself. Today I had a lesson with the year 11 students. I asked one boy what Koala is in Japanese and it ended in laughter. Here is how it went.....

Laura: What is Koala in Japanese
Student: Koala
Laura: What is Koala in English
Student : I dont know (said in Japanese)

I have never laughed so hard in my life. The whole class just lost it. It was very very funny.

Then I was talking about the Kookaburra and one student was confused and said cucumber.

The really funny thing is that the students were serious about what they said. All the rest of us laughed and it was a good icebreaker.

It was so funny.

A good day.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

My schedule for September

10th - 12th regular days at school

13th - All day festival preparation at school
14th - School Festival (Bunkasai)
15th - School Festival (Bunkasai), My welcome party at school

16th - Hiroshma
17th - Hiroshima (national holiday)
18th - Hiroshima (replacement day off for going to school on the saturday for festival)

19th - School
20th - School
21st - School
22nd - Sumo Tournament in Tokyo (so excited to see this in person)
23rd -
24th - National Holiday

25th - 27th Regular School days
28th - Judging English Speech contest all day.

29th - Soccer Tournament in Nagano (that's right I am gonna play soccer)
30th - Soccer Tournament in Nagano

Links to my photos from July and August.....

Mt Fuji
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21555&l=eab72&id=684506290

August in Japan (folder 1 & 2)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17325&l=fa3f3&id=684506290

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21551&l=c1217&id=684506290

My Bday
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18450&l=51c1a&id=684506290

Travelling to Japan plus Tokyo Orientation
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16307&l=41d5a&id=684506290

Friday, September 7, 2007

My first Typhoon.....not such a big deal.

So I got to work on Wednesday and one of my teachers told me about a typhoon that was coming. I rarely watch Japanese TV because it is so strange and I cant understand it. Anyway, the typhoon was meant to hit my area yesterday at 6am. That much i got off the Japanese news. But by Thursday morning, it was sunny again. So I checked again and the internet said that it would be here at 6pm. 6pm came around and still nothing that huge. I imagined that there would be really strong winds that would rattle my windows and lots and lots of rain. Anyway, then the weather bureau changed it to midnight. I must have slept through the whole thing. The windows rattled a little bit last night but not much.

I am actually a little disappointed. Cause I thought it was gonna be a really huge storm that was spectacular. Today, it is windy but not like i would have imagined. Guess we are lucky here because we are inland. The TV footage showed really strong winds. The reporter guy was blown over and almost ended up in the ocean.

The only good thing about the typhoon, is that we got the morning off school. Not sure why. It was worse yesterday arvo. Not that i am complaining.

Yeah for the morning off. Thanks typhoon no.9

Monday, September 3, 2007

Harajuku with Beth Moyses

On Saturday night, I met up with a girl i knew in Alice Springs. She is just visiting for a week or so. Anyway, after being a half hour late because i couldnt find the west exit of the Shinjuku station. Man, that station is huge. Anyway, after Beth had phoned my mobile 5 times, i finally found my way. Then we headed off to Harajuku to see the kids all dressed up in costumes and goth etc. Got some really good photos of the girls but theboys were abit shy. Then we walked to this really nice shrine. And i mean walked. It was a long way. Once we got there it was nice because there were two weddings having photos taken. The women looked really beautiful. Then we headed back to have some dinner. We had pasta in a French resturant and people watched. Then Beth came back to have a look at my place.

She is now staying with me until her grandad arrives on Wed.

Visiting Keiko

Keiko spent one year living with my grandparents in Pt Pirie. So she calls them mum and dad.

I went to see Keiko in late August. We met up and then went to a really nice Japanese BBQ resturant. Her mother was also there. We sat in this cute little booth and it was a fun experience.

Then we headed to her mums house and there we had afternoon tea. We visited Keikos uncles cake shop to get some arvo tea and also they bought me some omeyage (gifts). While at her mums house, I met Keikos brother and her sister Masako. It was a really lovely afternoon.

Then Keiko and i headed back to her house in Fujioka. I was not in the city anymore. It was great. So quiet and I loved all of the rice fields. I had a nice dinner with her family and then we headed upstairs to watch the Osaka Athletics. I met her husband and children last year around this time and boy had they grown. I enjoyed spending time with her daughter Akio especially. She wouldnt even talk to me the last time we met so it was great to get to know her abit more.

The next morning, Keiko cooked a huge meal of both Japanese and Western food. It was really nice. Then i headed back home on the train. But not before i had a ride in their Hybrid car. It was really cool.

Tokyo Tour

Firstly, Happy Bday to my dad.

In late August i went on a tour of Tokyo. We started by going to Tokyo Tower. Which looks like the Eiffel Tower only it is orange and white. The view was quite good that day and my guide walked around and showed me all of the landmark buildings etc. Couldnt see Mt Fuji though. There are also places with a glass floor that you can stand on. It was abit scary though.

I might add that i was the only one who was on the tour that day so it was a personal tour of Tokyo.

Then we headed to the Imperial Palace. Where we were ushered back because the new ambassador of Costa Rica was driving in to meet the Emperor. Very nice area. I liked the old bridges and really pretty buildings.

Next we went on a Tokyo Bay cruise. This was a buffet lunch and also a tour of the bay. It was really nice. Tokyo Bay is very industrial but still very nice to look at.

Our next stop was Asakusa Temple. Where i learned that you have to wash your hands and rinse your mouth before you go into the temple. Also there is a place where you can light insense and then you make the smoke come over to you and guide it to the place you need help with.

My guide also organised for me to go inside on another day to see a Buddhist ceremony.

Our last stop was a calligraphy museum which was interesting. We stopped for some afternoon tea. And then it was time to head home.

One of the best things about the whole day was that i made a friend - the tour guide who I have been in contact with since the tour.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Mt Fuji weekend trip

This past weekend I went to visit Mt Fuji. I went with four other JETs. On saturday morning, we boarded a bus at Hamamatsucho train station. Then drove through Tokyo and out towards Mt Fuji. It is only meant to be an hour and a half drive but we drove for over three hours. Turns out that we were travelling with many Japanese who were out enjoying the last weekend before school goes back. Anyway, we finally made it to lunch. Which was at a hotel across from an amusement park. The view was really awesome. Behind the huge and i mean huge roller coaster was Mt Fuji. We couldnt see the summit all the time because there were clouds covering it. Our Japanese lunch was really good and just what we needed after so long in the bus.

4th Station of Mt Fuji

The first thing that we did was to drive in the bus up to the 4th station of Mt Fuji. There are 10 stations in total but the last one you can drive to is the 5th one. Then you have to climb. The best time to climb is overnight so you can see the famous fuji sunrise. The air was so nice and cool here and after the weather in Tokyo was very refreshing. It was really beautiful with the clouds and mist all around us. We couldn't see anything down below because we were up in the clouds.


Hakone Ropeway

Next we took a 20 min ride on the ropeway, also called a gondola ride. Bascially, a ride in a fairly big capsule. The view was really great. We couldn't see Mt Fuji but had a great view of Lake Ashi (one of the five fuji lakes) and the town of Hakone. Once at the top we could see many cracks in the mountain with steam coming out of them. And a place where they mine sulphur to put in the Onsen (hot spring/open air baths).

Boat Cruise on Lake Ashi

This was only a short cruise but it was really beautiful. The wind was blowing and was actually cool. We went past a red torii gate in the water that shows the entrance to a Shinto shrine. The mountains were surrounding the lake and it was a really relaxing time.

Saturday night

After that we were dropped off at our hotel and left to our own devices. Our hotel was nice and our room was right near the open air bath. We went out to dinner at a Japanese resturant in the shopping plaza in Hakone. We were definately in the country. Everything was basically closed which was nice because it was very quiet and peaceful. Just like in Alice Springs when everything slows at night. Where i live nothing slows down because we are so close to Tokyo. Also one of the nicest things about the whole trip was how quiet Hakone was at night. No noisy bugs other than some crickets. There are millions of ciacadas where i live which i am now used to but didn't realise how nice the quiet was. For dinner, I had a Japanese set dinner with grilled prawns, fish and scallops, rice, miso soup, veges and a salad. For dessert there was rockmelon/cantelope. It was a huge meal but very yummy.

Then we headed back to the hotel to go to the open air bath. I thought it was gonna be weird to be naked in front of strangers and my friends. But Megan, Kara and I went in giggling and then felt bad because these ladies looked at us funny. We stripped off and then went to wash our bodies. You have to wash yourself really well before going into an Onsen (hot spring/bath) or open air bath. Basically, you sit on a little stool in front of a shower head attached to a hose and wash yourself. There is body wash and shampoo/conditioner provided for you. I think we were supossed to bring a big towel from our room and use the little (hand towel size) towel to cover yourself. Cause all the other women had bigger towels. Then we also realised that we should have woren our yukata (summer kimono/robe) because it was yucky to put our sweaty clothes back on afterwards.

Kara, Megan and I got into the hot open air bath and it was wonderful. I almost forgot that i was naked. It was actually a really nice experience.


Sunday

I got up earlier than the others to have a good look around the hotel grounds. I went down to the private dock and had a look around and a feel of the water. It was humid already but at least abit cooler than here in Tokyo. Then I went and had a nice breaky in the hotel and then headed off to explore Hakone.

Komagatake Ropeway

This was the ropeway right near our hotel. I went up and found that there was a Shinto shrine up there with a torii gate. I also met a man and his parents who were visiting from the next prefecture over. He is a teacher as well and so is his mum. So they offered to show me around their town and he is going to take me on a hike up in the hills near Nikko. It was a short walk to the shrine but i am glad that i went. The walk is a loop which goes from the ropeway station to the shrine and then past the original ropeway station and then along the ridge. Couldnt see Mt Fuji but the view was really great. I could see Lake Ashi and the surrounding mountains. Then i headed back down the mountain.

Aquarium

Here i got to see lots of really great tropical fish. One of the areas had a huge ship in it that looked like a sunken pirate ship. The fish and rays etc all swan around it. There was a shark tank which was really cool. There was an area with Penguins and i mean big ones. Like the ones that they have on Antarctica. There there was a seal tank and one type looked really weird. There were also pirahna and an electric eel.

Rest of the arvo

I went and had a nice curry lunch then to a great craft place to make somethings. Can't say what they are because they are presents. And then i went to the Onsen at the other end of the hotel complex. This one was also open air but there was a great view of Lake Ashi and the mountains. Very relaxing. You also have to wash before you go in etc etc. There are lockers to put your stuff into and once you get out there are face washing lotions etc and hairdryers etc so that you can look good when you leave. I also had a really good massage. All i remember is thinking focus on the music and then the next thing was the lady saying that we were done. I fell asleep which was so good and my back and shoulders felt much better afterwards.

We took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo and then headed home.


Friday, August 24, 2007

Finally registered as an Alien in Japan.....and got a Keitai (mobile)

On the 21st, Mario and I went to meet our supervisor at city hall to collect our Gaijin card (alien rego). Then we headed to the bank to get an account and then to get a mobile. Gee, these things are really complicated in Japan. If your name isn't written in Katakana and English then you have to refill in the form at the bank. Also if your name isn't written EXACTLY the same as on your gaijin card or passport then you have to write it again. And i mean exactly, as in Tubbenhauer Laura Louise is what it says on my passport. And i wrote Laura Louise Tubbenhauer. NEW FORM!!!!!!!!!!

However, one interesting thing i did learn at the bank is that you have to write your bday in Japanese years. So i was born on the 15/8/1982 but in Japan i was born on the 15/8/57. I am so old. lol.

The mobiles took forever...we sat there for about one hour as Morita sensei talked in really fast Japanese to the sales lady. I had a sore head afterwards. Finally, we got all the forms signed and then we had to wait an hour for them to register the phones. So we went to get our internet worked out. Then to Starbucks to have a coffee.

Once Mario and i got our mobiles we couldn't stop opening them. So exciting.

Interestingly, they don't have sms here in Japan. We each have an email address on our mobile and that is how you message each other.

Australia makes the front of the Japanese newspaper.

I woke up on Thursday and went to my door to collect my newspapers and boy was i surprised to see that the main headline was "For Aborigines, law feels like a violation". It is all about the new laws that Federal Parliament passed a couple days ago. There is a photo of Papunya on the front and one of the 9 Aborgines that walked out of the desert in 1934 and saw white people for the first time.

It is actually a really good article. Good coverage of both sides and article isn't written for political gain. When i was talking to mum on Thursday, she said that the article was really up-to-date because some of the info in it was only made public on Thurs morning.

The photo made me abit homesick because of the beautiful hills in the background of the photo and the red dirt.

Anyone who wants a copy please let me know and i will photocopy it for you.

Kamakura Walking Tour - stupid idea in August in Japan (way way way hot and humid)

On the 20th i went on a walking tour through one of the companies in Tokyo. The day didn't start out too well as i was late getting to my pick up point and missed my pick up. Luckily here in Japan, there are Koban or police boxes everywhere and so i went there and asked them to ring the company. I didn't have my Keitai (mobile) by then so i explained that to the police officer. But i obviously didnt do a very good job because he thought i meant my keitai and gaijin (alien rego) card were stolen on a tour yesterday. Anyway, with some broken English and Japanese we worked it out. I then had to take a $30 taxi ride to the next pick up place. Which i didn't mind because it was nice to be back in a car again. Strange how that feels different even though i have only been here just under a month.

The tour started when we boarded a train to Kamakura. We had to change a couple times but the longest ride was 50 mins. It was really nice to be around English speakers again. Once we got to Kamakura we went to Hase Kannon Temple. I learnt today that Temples are for Buddhism and Shrines are got Shintoism.

Hase Kannon Temple
There was a huge Kannon statue (9.18m) with one big head and eleven smaller ones. The Kannon is the goddess of Mercy in Buddhism. The eleven smaller ones have different facial experessions. These eleven heads signiy that the deity listens to the wishes of all different types of people and at all times of the year. There is a smaller statue at the bottom of it because before electricity was invented they lit candles around the smaller one so that worshippers who visited at night could see what the Kannon looks like. I also got a view of the Pacific Ocean. The first time i have seen the horizen since I arrived in Japan. Was standing out on my balcony the other day and thinking about the horizon and how i missed it. Never really thought about it in Alice Springs.

A good website for more info is

http://www.hasedera.jp/words/english/e1-kannon-dou.htm


Next we walked to



Kotokuin Temple and the Big Buddha.
The temple is actually not there anymore because a tsunami washed it away in 1498. The statue was made in around 1252. It weighes around 93 tons. It is 13.35m tall. You can go inside the statue. There are stairs inside it leading almost all the way up to the head. When i was there you can only go up as high as the belly and it only costs 20 yen (so basically 20 cents AU). It was the middle of the day by this time so it was really hot walking around the Buddha but it was really great. I didn't think it was that big when i looked at it from a distance but once i was standing right in front of the statue, it looked huge.


Next we went to lunch, which was a traditional Japanese set lunch. There was a bowl of rice with a dumpling on it, some really nice marinated chicken pieces, Japanese veges and a soba noodle soup. It was really nice. I especially liked the Japanese veges. It is hard to describe how they prepare them. There was a slice of carrot, a mushroom and i think it must have been tofu (awful). They are cold and must be steamed or boiled in a broth. They are so good.


After lunch we headed back to the local train station and took a train back to the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.


Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine


To reach the Shrine you walk down an elevated avenue down the middle of the main street called Wakamiya-oji or Young Prince Avenue. Dankazura is the name for the approach to the shrine. It is lined with Cherry trees which blossom in March and April. The avenue was commissioned by the first Shogun of Kamakura. He and his wife had two daughters and this meant that there wasn't any one to become Shogun after the present one died. Until the Shogun's wife became pregnant again. The baby was a boy and the avenue was made in his honour. There are also three red torii gates. There were also examples of the huge sake barrels at this temple, a whole wall of them. Also, there are actually 61 steps up to the shrine so i opted to stay and just look around the grounds. The others on the tour were only here for a couple days so they were enthusiastic about seeing ANOTHER shrine or temple. I am getting abit shrined and templed out. Plus it was too hot. I am gonna go back when it is cooler. Perhaps with my parents in winter.


Then we walked back through the shopping street. No one wanted to shop though because we were tired and hot and just wanted to go home.


It was a really good tour but i think i would recommend it in cooler weather. Sunrise tours is a really great company and i have actually booked a couple other tours with them too. Our guide spoke very good English and was very helpful. It was really a nice day.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

My Bday

My bday started off kinda dull and i was abit depressed. No presents to unwrap or close family and friends to spend it with. Then my friend Mario came over and gave me the cutest panda toy. Then Kara arrived and we all headed to the Ueno Zoo. The main point of going to the zoo was so that i wasn't at home dwelling on being away from family and friends. AND also to see the Pandas and Polar Bears. We got there about three thirty....so missed the Panda feeding and i guess it was abit too stressful for the little guy (actually he was not so little) cause by the time we got there he was fast asleep. I am going to go back when it is cooler and see if i can see him awake.

The Polar Bears were awesome. Although i felt bad for them because unlike in Queensland they are in the open air. So it must have been really hot for them. The ones in Queensland are behind glass so that the area stays nice and cool for them. Here in Japan, it wasn't cooler at all near the Polar Bears and all they seemed to do was pace. The zoo does shoot ice cubes out of the walls for them though.

Then we went on to see a range of animals, including Kangaroos, Saltwater Crocs and Gorillas. After that we headed to TGI Fridays (Thank god its Friday), an American resturant. I had the yummiest Fajitas and then i was surprised by a huge sundae with sparklers on it. I was just thinking that they were taking a long time to clear the table and bring the dessert menu. The whole section of the resturant sang happy bday to me. It was a really nice night. Plus they come back and take a polariod of you and your friends. Then put it into a special card and one of the attendents drew me and wrote happy bday.

All in all my 25th was a good bday.

Friday, August 17, 2007

What is with this country and natural disasters and conditions.........

So yesterday was the hottest day in Gifu and Saitama (where i live, right near Tokyo) in 74 years.

Temperature max was 40.9 (plus humidity - which i think is what is driving me crazy)


When Kara and i left to go to orientation (2 train stops away) we walked outside to the hottest day i have ever felt in my life. And i'm from the desert. The newspaper reported that the temperature was 36.9 by 7am. In my prefecture alone, eight people died just yesterday from the heat. One was a 13yr old boy at basketball practice.

My first Earthquake...........

At 4:16am on the 16th of August, I woke up cause everything was shaking. I stupidly opened my eyes and watched as the whole building shook. It was actually quite scary. I didn't think it would be such a big deal but it was. I kinda felt like my house had been invaded...not sure why but thats just how i felt. I didn't sleep well for the rest of the night because i felt quite unsettled.

My friend Kara was staying with me at the time and was on a futon on the floor. She said that when she started shaking, she was mad cause she thought it was me trying to wake up. Then i said to her that it was an earthquake and she was amazed cause she had only been talking about being in an earthquake about 6 hours before.

They have about 10 earthquakes a month here so i guess i will have to get used to them. And this one was only really an aftershock from the earthquake in the next prefecture.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

My schedule for the rest of the August.....and start of September

15th - my bday, Ueno Zoo to see Pandas and Polar Bears

16th Saitama Orientation
17th Siatama Orientation

18th Festival in the Danchi (apartment block)
19th Festival in the Danchi

20th Going to Kamakura Day Tour - Great Buddha, lake and rainforest

21st Work at home - BOE to collect Alien Registration card and get Mobile phone

22nd Tokyo Tour - Tokyo Bay cruise, Imperial Palace, Asakusa Temple, Tokyo Tower

23rd Work at home
24th Work at home

25th Mt Fuji trip
26th Mt Fuji trip

27th Meet our school supervisors

28th Work at home

29th Helping students with their speeches for the English speaking contest

30th Work at home
31st Work at home

September
1st Nikko Tour
3rd School starts

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

I love beef and potatoes

Isn't it strange how when you don't have access to certain things...that is all you crave.....I just cooked the nicest curry with beef and potatoes. In Australia, i was not really a big beef eater. But the other day at the supermarket i found Australian beef and even though it was hugely expensive i just had to get it. And i finally got around to cooking it. It was like heaven on a plate. Don't get me wrong, I like Japanese food. Just not all the time. Plus i can't read most of the stuff in the supermarket so it is hard to know what it is. Mostly it has Kanji on it which is the writing that originated in China and uses one symbols for full words. You need over 10,000 of them to read the newspaper here. Anyway, I have been trying all sorts of different things. But today was just awesome.

Another Jet in my area has been eating all the Japanese food he can fit in since we arrived. But yesterday we had a discussion about how we long for some western food. He said that this sounds about right. We have been here for about two weeks and the newness is starting to wear off. Still really enjoying Japan, just craving some comfort food. Like strawberries....can't seem to find them anywhere.....maybe they are only a winter fruit...i can't remember.

I have asked mum to send me a care package from home with some food in it. Can't wait to get it.

Well hope this hasn't bored you too much

Laura

More links to photos....My first festival....

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16883&l=c147c&id=684506290

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Links to photos......

Hi all,

If you have a facebook account then you can access these by looking at my profile. However, if not..... here is a public link to my photos of life in Japan. Once you have clicked on the link, a photo album will appear. You can click on the photos to enlarge them and see the comments i have made about them.


Food in Japan:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17561&l=db250&id=684506290

My apartment (The Danchi)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16882&l=ebd39&id=684506290

Cool things I've found in Japan
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17567&l=4e8b1&id=684506290

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Kawaguchi Tour






What does Kawaguchi mean you ask?



This photo is in Green Park, one the places we visited on our Kawaguchi tour. The Kanji behind me means Kawaguchi (which is the city i live in). Literally, it means river mouth. The first symbol means river and the second means mouth. This was done using flowers, pretty isn't it.

This week in Japan, I got up to the following things.




Where to start.....well i already wrote to you about the 3 hours on the train. It wasn't too bad actually cause now i know how to get to Kara's place and got to know the train system abit better. Plus her place is so different to mine. It is smaller but in a nice way. She has a nice bathroom compared to mine. BUt the biggest difference is she has one tatami room and then her bedroom is a little loft above that room. So she uses the tatami room as her lounge room and then climbs the ladder up to bed. It is really cosy and i liked it alot. It is really nice to have all of the room that i have (two tatami rooms plus a big kitchen) but one person really doesn't need this much space. I will post some photos of my place and Kara's place on facebook.

Kara and I have planned a visit to Mt Fuji on the 25th and 26th of August. We will be going on a cruise of Lake Ashi and up in the cable car to see the view. THere are 8 levels that you can go up to on Fuji. We will be going up to the 5th. Then we are staying in a hotel with onsen (hot springs). It is going to be awesome.

I also booked a day tour to see a sumo match in September. Which is going to be really great. This weekend Kara and I are going into Tokyo. We are going to go up Tokyo Tower. Something alot of people won't be able to do in a couple of years because they are tearing it down. And then building an even bigger one. Then i think we are going to go to Asakusa Kannon Temple. Then hopefully we can find a capsule hotel to stay in.

Today, I had my employment ceremony at the Kawaguchi Board of Education. We were given our special employment certificates. Which you have to take from the superintendent by putting your left hand on the sheet first and then your right. Then bow while you both hold the certificate and then he lets go and you bow again. Very formal. He gave a speech and then we had to each give a speech about ourselves. I was very nervous but it went really well and even got a few laughs. They liked when i told them about our two dogs and that Alice Springs is near Uluru.

Then we went and saw the Mayor of Kawaguchi. Had a short ceremony in his board room and he asked questions about Australia. Like what sports are the most popular. I told him Cricket and Aussie Rules. The BOE superintendent suggested that rugby was one too. And then the mayor asked me the difference between Aussie Rules and Rugby. I had no idea how to tell him but tried anyway.

Then Morita Sensei (my supervisor at BOE) took Mario and me on a tour of Kawaguchi. She took up to Skip City, which is where the Science Museum and Visual Arts Gallery are. We had the best Ra-men for lunch. Mine was called Barikimen. Which was only 600 yen ($5.50 approximately in AU$) The name of my dish basically translates to Power of horse. So the point of it is that you get lots of energy from it and become strong so you can work hard.

Then we went to Green Park. This is a really nice park. Here we went into the greenhouse and had some photos taken. BUt it was too hot to stay too long. Morita Sensei said it is a good place to come and see the Cherry Blossoms in April.

And then we went to the oldest house in Kawaguchi. Morita Sensei had to get a special permit to show us the house. It was made at the end of the Edo period and there was lots of hand carving. There was also a beautiful traditional Japanese garden.

Mishaps of the day: Morita Sensei hit a metal pole with the car and almost ripped the bumper off the car. AND Mario hit his head in the old house cause he is so much taller than Morita Sensei and me.

Now i am just enjoying the cool inside my house. I won't venture out again till it gets dark and cools down. Today was only 34 degress but it is so still here so there is no air movement. Plus it is really humid.

Cheers,
Tubby

What did you do yesterday Laura? I rode the trains for 3 hours......

At Tokyo orientation i met Kara who is from the USA. She came over to stay and spend some girly time together. She had to take three different train lines to get here and it took nearly 1 and half hours. Then we went to Diamond City for dinner and just to have a look around. Then we came back for a break from the hot weather. So the next morning, i took the train with her back to her house. So i basically rode the train for three hours. Not something i would do in Alice.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

General stuff on Japan...having a great time....

Firstly, Happy Bday to my mum for the 6th. I am sitting here in my apartment with the fan on the highest setting. It is so humid here. I can totally understand why the people here wait till night time to do stuff. The shops are mostly open till 9 or 10pm.

Well how to start....so much has happened since we landed on the 29th of July. Firstly, we went to Shinjuku for Orientation. It was really great. I stayed in a room with a girl from Adelaide, Natalia. Alot of the sessions were either really boring or really useful. Like life i guess. I admit my first meal in Japan was actually italian because that was the first place we found. But then the Adelaide group went to a really nice noddle place. I had tenpura and udon noodles. It was very nice.

FYI - Shinjuku is the busiest station in Japan....trying to cross from one track to another is really hard cause there are so many people to get through.

Then all the participants who are going to Saitama Prefecture got on a bus and we went to the meet our supervisors. This was on Wednesday last week. My supervisor is really nice. Her name is Morita Sensei. She took us out to lunch and then we went to our apartments. There is an American guy who is here in the same area as me. His name is Mario and he is from Texas. It is nice to have another person here to talk to.

On our first night in the Danchi (apartment block) Mario and I went shopping. We had to take the trolleys cause we bought so much stuff. Anyway, we returned them later but people kept giving us strange looks. Turns out you are supossed to ask to take them home with you.

Then the next couple of days were spent doing admin stuff. We went with Morita Sensei to get our Alien Registration cards. Only to find out that it takes two weeks to get it. And that means we have to wait that long to get our mobile phones and internet.

There is one other ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) here in the Danchi. He is called George and he is from Canada but is married to a Japanese girl. He took us to Diamond City to get some essentials. He has been really good about sorting things out for Mario and me.

On Friday, I went to the festival. Then on Saturday night i went back to Diamond City and did some more shopping. I got lots of stuff from Laura Ashley for my apartment. It is so cheap here. I decided to have dinner there so i went and ordered a meal of udon noodles and seafood. It was only $6 aussie. And it was so good. Not sure what all the seafood was but guess what this is all about.

Then today i spent relaxing and reading my newspaper. For lunch Mario and I went to a resturant near Warabi station (our closest one). What you do is pick a meal on the vending machine and put your money in. Then it prints out a ticket and you go inside and collect your meal. I guess it cuts down on lines etc. They are all about efficiency here in this country. I had the curry rice and it comes with soba noodles. It was very nice. Although, you have to carry your tray upstairs and they are so cramped. I nearly dropped my meal....it was funny at the time.

Other interesting things that i have found include a glue stick that is used to stick your socks to your legs. So that your socks don't come down. A face massager I think and a neck one as well. But they aren't like anything i have ever seen before. You can buy a huge sticker to stick on your window so that it looks like you have a blue sky and clouds all day long. Umbrella vending machines are also something new that i saw.

They have treats that are in the shape of a hamburger. The bun is made out of biscuit and the pattie is made out of chocolate. They also have chocolate mushrooms. I liked the hamburgers but not the mushrooms. Oh and did i mention that they are both mini sized.

Well i think that is about it. I am catching up with a girl from the states tomorrow. Her name is Kara and it will be nice to have some female company.

Love me

Friday, August 3, 2007

My first festival in Japan

I just had to come and write about this straight away. Right near my home there is a festival on from the 3rd to 6th of August. It was so awesome. It is friday night here and also the school holidays. So it was packed. There are stalls lining the streets and loads of decorations hanging from the lights and outside shops. I had an interesting dinner of these octupus balls....no not what you are thinking. There were bits of octupus inside this soft layer of kinda like wet bread. Sounds awful but it wasnt. Then I had a sweet toffee thing that wasnt so nice. Some of the activites that the kids were doing were catching little goldfish with these nets that break if you arent careful. It is a game. Many of the kids were dressed up in Jinbay (the shorts and top set) and many kids and adults were in yukata (summer kimono). Even men were wearing jinbay and yukata. It was really great. I took lots of photos and will post them on facebook later.

I was the only westerner there as far as I could see. When I got to the end of the street, I saw two western guys but that was it.

It was really awesome. Am going to go again tomorrow night and try some different food this time. Not sure when there is a parade but there is one near my work so i think i will go to that one tomorrow.

All very exciting.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

7000 people living in my apartment building........


Hi all,

Thought i would put a title that gets your attention. It is actually the truth. I got an email from Melissa, a JET who is living in Kawaguchi. She comes home and I am her replacement. Anyway, in the building that i will be living in there are 7000 people also living there. It has its own supermarket, post office, bank and chemist. Plus a few other small shops. And the best bit is that the building has its own post code. How cool is that. Kawaguchi has a population of 500,000 so it is going to be a huge change from Alice Springs. I can't wait.

I just can't believe that there are that many people living in one building. And its own post code????? WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also found out that I am going to be working in a Senior High School.

I am really starting to get excited now.

Love me

JET Orientation and communication from Japan

Hi all,
JET stands for Japan Exchange Teaching (JET) Program. Anyway, I arrived back from Adelaide today. Paid alot of money to fly down for 4 hours of orientation. But I am so glad that I did. I was starting to think that no information was coming, but they answered most of my questions. We got to talk to past JETs which was good.

I also got an email from an Australian girl who is living and working where I am. She is also a JET. She gave me lots of info on what my apartment will be like and what work will be like.

Love me.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Placement in Japan

Hi all,

I recieved my placement for my time in Japan. I will be in Saitama-Ken. Which is a prefecture, kinda like a province or state. The place I will be in is Kawaguchi. It is right next to Saitama City, which is where I was last year in July. So I will be North of Tokyo. Tokyo is only a short train ride from where I will be. The other Japanese teacher at my school here in Alice is from Saitama City so I will get to see her when she comes for a holiday. I am really excited about going now because i get to go back to an area that I know.

Also starting to get abit sad about leaving my friends and students. My family are already planning trips to see me. And hopefully some of my friends will come see me too.

Love Tubby

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Anzac Day


Hi all,

I hope that everyone had a good Anzac Day. Today, I marched with students and teachers from St Philip's College in the Anzac Day march. I have always wanted to march with my great-grandad's medals on. The most special of which is his medal for fighting at Gallipoli. So that is what I did today. I realised that I was running out of time to do this as I am leaving the country in the middle of the year. Who knows how long I will be overseas. The sacrifice that our servicemen and women make has never meant so much to me. I am really glad that I marched.

Still no news on where I will be stationed in Japan. But now I can cross marching on Anzac Day off my list of things to do.

I will post a photo later.

Love me.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

A job in Japan

Hi all,

Well early last week I was offered a position in the JET (Japan Exchange Teacher) Program for the second half of this year. So I am about to start my last term at St Philip's College in Alice Springs.

The application process started in October last year as I collected references and filled in lots and lots and lots of forms. Then I sent the application to the Consulate in Sydney in December. In early January, I received a letter saying that I had made it through to the interview stage. So in early Feb, I flew to Sydney and attended an interview. I came out of it feeling that it could go either way. I actually thought it had not gone well. Then in April, my acceptance letter arrived.

I had to go and have a health check and it turns out that I am in really good shape. Always a good thing to know. Anyway, I have sent my acceptance letter to the JET people and now I just wait to find out where I will be posted. This letter should arrive in late May so I will keep you posted.

Please feel free to leave me a comment when you read this. And as of July 29th I will be writing from somewhere in Japan.

Love, me