Hello from Miyagi Japan!
Hi guys, as promised, I have an update. It's been three weeks and a lot of things and nothing have happened all at the same time, so this round should be relatively short.
First I arrived Tokyo after 13 or so hours, missed a day and had to deal with immigration. I never want that job. Tokyo was interesting but because I was in training for most of it, I only got to see the walk between my hotel and the office. I plan to see it during summer vacation. See the picture below of my three legged good luck pig at my hotel window, that thing in the background besides the garden is the Tokyo Dome.
Now, originally I was supposed to be in Hokkaido. I was fascinated with the whole idea and had lots of research. Then, when I arrived, they said sorry, no Hokkaido, but Furukawa, Miyagi instead. Which puts me about an hour away or so from Fukushima. Mom, I have been told, was not happy. Neither am I but for the reasons above instead. So all of my beatiful dreams of gorgeous Japan are out the window, so I will have to visit there during the summer too.
As for the town, it's ok. It serves the surrounding rice farming communities. I was told that most people get to make the rounds to 5 or so elementary schools. I lucked out and got one Junior High, and one with a reputation for high performance, so the lowest level of of English I have to teach is intermediate.
So besides the fact that I walk around town communicating with nothing but hand gestures and some very basic yes or no answers in Japanese, the most eventful things so far has been the week long struggle I had with the internet (the router setup was super easy, but I couldn't find the apartment user ID, and had to translate the "forgot ID and password" form from Japanese, only to find my new smart phone had that function, when I was trying to use my tablet the whole time, so yes that was my first world drama) and the day we had to meet the parents and show we have been teaching them well. My kids can pronounce the letter V very well thank you very much. I have mostly figured out the buttons on my washing machine. I live in a very small apartment. I had to fill out a million forms that I didn't understand to register as a foreign national, get a bank account, set up gas, electrity etc...Luckily my company provided an interpreter for all that.
I also hang out with a group of people that is made up of fellow Western English teachers and Japanese locals who are learning English. It's led by a guy who works for the G7 summit that will be held in Japan this year as an interpreter, and he even gave me the details to join, so that is cool. I found about them on my second day of being in town, when I went to check out the Japanese lessons at the community center. I am too far behind but I am glad I went.
So right now, all I do is wander about town, trying to learn the layout and plot my travels around Japan. Tokyo, Hokkaido, Hiroshima for the Peace festival on August 6th, Osaka and Kyoto are all on the list. I will let you know.
Picture time! I will have more as I do more.
The temple across the street from the post office, and for a town this size, there are a good amount of shrines and temples.
Also, these websites have helped out a ton!
http://www.japanesecooking101.com
http://thejapanguy.com
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/japan this is an amazing site
First I arrived Tokyo after 13 or so hours, missed a day and had to deal with immigration. I never want that job. Tokyo was interesting but because I was in training for most of it, I only got to see the walk between my hotel and the office. I plan to see it during summer vacation. See the picture below of my three legged good luck pig at my hotel window, that thing in the background besides the garden is the Tokyo Dome.
Now, originally I was supposed to be in Hokkaido. I was fascinated with the whole idea and had lots of research. Then, when I arrived, they said sorry, no Hokkaido, but Furukawa, Miyagi instead. Which puts me about an hour away or so from Fukushima. Mom, I have been told, was not happy. Neither am I but for the reasons above instead. So all of my beatiful dreams of gorgeous Japan are out the window, so I will have to visit there during the summer too.
As for the town, it's ok. It serves the surrounding rice farming communities. I was told that most people get to make the rounds to 5 or so elementary schools. I lucked out and got one Junior High, and one with a reputation for high performance, so the lowest level of of English I have to teach is intermediate.
So besides the fact that I walk around town communicating with nothing but hand gestures and some very basic yes or no answers in Japanese, the most eventful things so far has been the week long struggle I had with the internet (the router setup was super easy, but I couldn't find the apartment user ID, and had to translate the "forgot ID and password" form from Japanese, only to find my new smart phone had that function, when I was trying to use my tablet the whole time, so yes that was my first world drama) and the day we had to meet the parents and show we have been teaching them well. My kids can pronounce the letter V very well thank you very much. I have mostly figured out the buttons on my washing machine. I live in a very small apartment. I had to fill out a million forms that I didn't understand to register as a foreign national, get a bank account, set up gas, electrity etc...Luckily my company provided an interpreter for all that.
I also hang out with a group of people that is made up of fellow Western English teachers and Japanese locals who are learning English. It's led by a guy who works for the G7 summit that will be held in Japan this year as an interpreter, and he even gave me the details to join, so that is cool. I found about them on my second day of being in town, when I went to check out the Japanese lessons at the community center. I am too far behind but I am glad I went.
So right now, all I do is wander about town, trying to learn the layout and plot my travels around Japan. Tokyo, Hokkaido, Hiroshima for the Peace festival on August 6th, Osaka and Kyoto are all on the list. I will let you know.
Picture time! I will have more as I do more.
The temple across the street from the post office, and for a town this size, there are a good amount of shrines and temples.
Also, these websites have helped out a ton!
http://www.japanesecooking101.com
http://thejapanguy.com
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/japan this is an amazing site