Arrival
Welcome to Iwatsuki!
Yep, I’ve made it! I survived the whirlwind of Orientation and managed to keep my wits around me (Although I did break down and buy a cheeseburger the other day….). So far, this has been an incredibly positive experience and I’m hoping the trend continues.
First of all, Singapore Airlines, I cannot cheer loud enough for them. Their service was amazing (they gave us Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for crying out loud!), and the flight passed quickly. Tokyo Orientation also was over before I knew it. I had managed to make a couple new friends who will be living in the same prefecture as I, so that was a relief.
After going to the ward office in Saitama for a brief semi-formal ceremony, I was carted off to Iwatsuki with my supervisor, Ono-sensei, a simply wonderful woman. She speaks great English and is, essentially, a cat lady. I adore her. She has this infectious laugh that makes me smile whenever I hear it.
Everyone in Iwatsuki has been so kind and happy to see me; any previously horrible experience with the Japanese has been redeemed tenfold (some of you may know what I’m referring to…). In fact, the vice principal of my high school seemed to be very impressed that I was willing to come to Japan in spite of the disaster. I partially think this was his reason for giving one of the teachers 5,000 yen to enjoy dinner!
Ryouta has already come to visit me and remarked that my tiny tic-tac sized apartment is more comfortable than his company dormitory. The more I hear about his dorm/company the more I’m convinced he’s actually been shipped off to a sweat shop/boarding school for criminally inclined boys…
And at this point, I would showcase said tic-tac, but…I’m only halfway moved in. You see, my predecessor quit after the earthquake/tsunami/meltdown fiasco, and thus I moved into a completely new apartment. I opened the door to be greeted by: a tv, a mini fridge, a microwave, and a bed frame. No mattress in sight. So, I’ve essentially been sleeping on the floor of my apartment and will do so until Wednesday, when my mattress arrives. The crummy part is that I have to take 4 hours of “Nenkyuu” , or paid vacation, to meet the mattress people at my apartment. But, I guess that just means I’ll use the other half of it to leave early and do something cool once I figure out when I want to take my vacation (I have 20 days of it! Woohoo!)
Anyway, once that arrives, I’ll post some pictures. But, my neighborhood is quiet. There’s a large garden on the corner of my block, and I’m a 5 minute walk from a 100 yen store (the equivalent of a dollar store), the post office, a book shop, a grocery store, and a drug/toiletry store. And I’m about 10 minutes from the train station.
Iwatsuki itself is roughly 45-50 minutes from downtown Shinjuku, and 10 minutes via train is a large station with plenty of department stores and eateries. Costco is about 45 minutes away (and does deliveries! I foresee much shopping once I get my first paycheck!). Overall, it’s conveniently located and I have a healthy dose of “Inaka”, countryside, and city at my fingertips.
(cross posted from my JET/Japan blog over here )
Yep, I’ve made it! I survived the whirlwind of Orientation and managed to keep my wits around me (Although I did break down and buy a cheeseburger the other day….). So far, this has been an incredibly positive experience and I’m hoping the trend continues.
First of all, Singapore Airlines, I cannot cheer loud enough for them. Their service was amazing (they gave us Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for crying out loud!), and the flight passed quickly. Tokyo Orientation also was over before I knew it. I had managed to make a couple new friends who will be living in the same prefecture as I, so that was a relief.
After going to the ward office in Saitama for a brief semi-formal ceremony, I was carted off to Iwatsuki with my supervisor, Ono-sensei, a simply wonderful woman. She speaks great English and is, essentially, a cat lady. I adore her. She has this infectious laugh that makes me smile whenever I hear it.
Everyone in Iwatsuki has been so kind and happy to see me; any previously horrible experience with the Japanese has been redeemed tenfold (some of you may know what I’m referring to…). In fact, the vice principal of my high school seemed to be very impressed that I was willing to come to Japan in spite of the disaster. I partially think this was his reason for giving one of the teachers 5,000 yen to enjoy dinner!
Ryouta has already come to visit me and remarked that my tiny tic-tac sized apartment is more comfortable than his company dormitory. The more I hear about his dorm/company the more I’m convinced he’s actually been shipped off to a sweat shop/boarding school for criminally inclined boys…
And at this point, I would showcase said tic-tac, but…I’m only halfway moved in. You see, my predecessor quit after the earthquake/tsunami/meltdown fiasco, and thus I moved into a completely new apartment. I opened the door to be greeted by: a tv, a mini fridge, a microwave, and a bed frame. No mattress in sight. So, I’ve essentially been sleeping on the floor of my apartment and will do so until Wednesday, when my mattress arrives. The crummy part is that I have to take 4 hours of “Nenkyuu” , or paid vacation, to meet the mattress people at my apartment. But, I guess that just means I’ll use the other half of it to leave early and do something cool once I figure out when I want to take my vacation (I have 20 days of it! Woohoo!)
Anyway, once that arrives, I’ll post some pictures. But, my neighborhood is quiet. There’s a large garden on the corner of my block, and I’m a 5 minute walk from a 100 yen store (the equivalent of a dollar store), the post office, a book shop, a grocery store, and a drug/toiletry store. And I’m about 10 minutes from the train station.
Iwatsuki itself is roughly 45-50 minutes from downtown Shinjuku, and 10 minutes via train is a large station with plenty of department stores and eateries. Costco is about 45 minutes away (and does deliveries! I foresee much shopping once I get my first paycheck!). Overall, it’s conveniently located and I have a healthy dose of “Inaka”, countryside, and city at my fingertips.
(cross posted from my JET/Japan blog over here )