Til the End

One last post before I go!

New life, new job, new nails. It seemed fitting.

I will be entering the weird limbo  of no-man’s-internet-land for the next X amount of days.

I’m packed. The walls of my room are bare. My desk is clean. My bookshelves are organized. And my closet looks like it’s lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

I’m not scared, but my heart’s beating really fast. I remind myself “I’ve done this before”, but this time seems more significant. I’m finished with school; This is an actual job- not a post-college grad trip.
There is no easy way to convey the bucket of emotions I’m holding on to: excited to be back in Japan, nervous about how I’ll perform my job, and a much more profound sense of sadness this time around to be leaving my family, friends, and pets.

Sometime in the past 2 years, I grew up, but I never noticed it until now.

I think the only way to close is to say that wonderful (usually overused) Japanese phrase:
頑張ります
“I will persevere”.

Patience is the ability to count down before you take off

Five days and counting!

  The past few weeks have gone by in a blur and, sadly, I did not really accomplish many of the things I had said I was going to do before leaving.

   However, I have still managed to see most of the friends that have stood by me through thick and thin. Just tonight, I took my most amazing friend out to dinner for her birthday, and afterwards we did a little bit of shopping. When it came time for me to leave, I really didn’t want to. It’s strange, I don’t believe it’s hit me yet that I won’t just be able to call her-or any of my friends- up for a random coffee or dessert date.

   On the other hand, I’ll be able to call up my friends in Japan and go out on random coffee or dessert dates with them-finally!

   With less than a week to go, I was getting a little nervous that I had not been contacted by anyone from my Board of Education. Similar to the whole “Where have I been placed” episode, I literally received an email the next day! I will be teaching at a senior high school in Iwatsuki, which is roughly 50 minutes by train from downtown Tokyo. There are a little less than 1,000 students at the school and from I managed to gather from the website and email correspondence, it’s very oriented towards multiculturalism and internationalization. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone!

   While there is a part of me that’s disappointed I wasn’t placed elsewhere in the country- maybe even in a rural area, where I would really have the chance to improve my Japanese and become close to my future students- the bright side of living in Saitama is that I already know people, and it’s conveniently located for anyone who wants to come visit me!

   In the aforementioned email, I learned a little bit about my housing situation. It’s going to be the size of a pillbox, but I wasn’t expecting anything more than that. I am still a little wary of how I’m going to fit everything I’m bringing with me into my place (it’s pretty much dorm-sized), but maybe I’ll get some creative shelving ideas. Ikea is just around the river bend!

   Now, here’s to hoping that I can manage to stay beneath the 50 pound weight limitation on both of my bags. Although…if they are overweight, it’s just money. I know that sounds ridiculously arrogant to say when many people in the program are struggling to come up with the funds necessary for a transcontinental move, but I’m trying to find more balance in my life. I was stressed about money for so long this past year that I feel blessed I can look at my financial situation so casually. That, and another very good friend has been telling me from the get-go that "It's just money". And she's right. It sure makes things easier, but it doesn't do to hoard it and not spend it on things that will legitimately make you happy.

In the long run, I’d rather have too much stuff and be comfortable with my living situation, than regret not bringing enough to make my new apartment feel like home.

Felix Felicis

No sooner do I wring my hands about my placement than I receive word that placements are being announced!
Aaaaaaaand *drumroll* I got placed in Saitama!

I had a little squealing dance party at that moment, jumped up, ran around my house while my parents just looked at me and muttered, "Must've gotten her placement" and went back to reading the newspaper.

Just so you have a reference, behold:

Saitama is pretty much the closest you can get to Tokyo without being IN Tokyo (Aside from Yokohama...).
My first choice was Kanagawa-ken, which is where Yokohama is located. I am extremely surprised that I got this placement, but it makes me really happy!

I can actually see my boyfriend on the weekends. We'll be roughly a 2 hour train ride apart, but we can be normal; instead of this incredibly lonely long-distance relationship limbo, we can finally see each other on a regular basis, go out on dates, do normal, couple things that everyone else I know seems to take for granted.

I do feel a little bad for one of my friends who got placed in Niigata, although I'm sure she'll make the most of it. As for the JETs I met at Taco Tuesday, they got placed in Hiroshima-ken, Nagano-ken, Ishikawa-ken (to the west of Nagano-ken), and Akita-ken (one of the northernmost prefectures on Honshu). Thus far, no one is close by me, but that just gives me an excuse to go and visit these people and soak up the part of Japan that I haven't seen!

As for the game at work, one of the doctors won! I'm glad it was her, because she's quite possibly the sweetest person to grace this world. Congratulations Jenevieve!

Taco Tuesday

Yesterday evening, I went out for Taco Tuesday with a few of my fellow JETs from San Diego. We went to this little place called "Lucha Libre" in Mission Hills. It was cute- painted bright pink and decorated with Mexican fighter masks and portraits. The reviews on Yelp said it offered good food, and luckily it held up to the boasting!

My delicious Surf n Turf taco. Gotta eat as much Mexican food while I still can....

Anyway, I met 4 other JETs- Judith, Maya, Shirley and Sean, the lone guy in our mini group (but definitely not the only male JET). I'll admit, after loitering around the Forums and seeing some comments made online, I had been quite worried that I was diving headfirst into a company filled with high school maturity level, basement dwelling, cat-ear-headband-wearing, anime-reference-spouting, Japanophile Otaku...

Not quite the case! Judith has never been to Japan. Maya actually went to a women's college and took a class at Waseda (my study abroad university) the year before I went. Shirley went to Kyoto for a semester. And Sean, well, Sean's a halfie so he's been to Japan numerous times but doesn't speak Japanese.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we're all very grounded. We talked about our preferred placements, why we chose JET, what weird questions we were asked during our interviews (I won that round!) , what our non-Japan related hobbies and goals were, and a slew of other topics. Sean and Judith seem like they are adventurous and not about to let any experiences pass them by. We talked about meeting up and going snowboarding in the winter or even traveling abroad during our vacation allowances.

Here's to hoping we get our placements soon (Rumors abound that it'll be by the end of this week...), and that I'll have people I can hang out with during our Tokyo Orientation!

J-Town Bucket List

So while I may be slaving away teaching ungrateful, uninterested or disruptive kids (there are perks with every job) and dealing with feelings of inadequacy, frustration and isolation, there is definitely ample opportunity for growth and self discovery.

Studying abroad at Waseda University really was like getting a ride in the Cadillac of study abroad programs. We were extensively catered to- with group activities scheduled for every month- and did a lot of pre-organized, pre-paid traveling; our trips including: Nikko, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Okinawa and the hot spring resort area of Hakone at the base of Mt. Fuji.

As such, I feel a little set apart from a lot of other people who are clamoring with excitement to sightsee the really famous areas of Japan. Apparently, Kyoto is THE most requested area of placement.

Personally, I enjoyed Kyoto for its historical significance, the aesthetics of the city, and geisha-stalking. Otherwise, I felt it was a city meant for upper class, middle aged people, not young, wild and crazy 20-somethings. 

My personal goal while there in 2008 (Has it really been that long? Where is the time going?!) was to visit Oku-no-In cemetery. I had happened to see a brief snippet on the place in an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” and was mesmerized.

It’s the burial place of Kobo Daishi, a monk who’s famous for a lot of things, but mainly for founding the sect of Shingon Buddhism. Basically, any Buddhist worth their salt is interred in this graveyard. It’s ancient, massive, sprawling, and the older tombs are worn and covered in moss amidst huge pine trees and a quiet stream. I went there in March and it was breathtaking  simply wandering among the ruins and exploring.

Since I was able to accomplish so much the first time I was in Japan (and the subsequent trips I’ve made during the winters), I had to put on my thinking cap to come up with my “Japan Bucket List”. I’ll probably be adding to this as more ideas come to me, but here they are- in no particular order:



-Eat the dangerous Fugu (Pufferfish)
-Climb Mt. Fuji CHECK
-Go to Nagasaki. CHECK
-Try my hand at a traditional Japanese art or sport- Ikebana, Taiko, Kendo or Kyuudou. CHECK (Kendo, for a little bit)
-Learn how to cook a Japanese meal (I’m giving myself a lot of leeway here) CHECK
-See a wild macaque.CHECK
-Go snowboarding!
-Go skiing! CHECK
-See Kumamoto Castle, which will complete the trio of the best castles in Japan.
-Go to Tsuujun Bridge
-Visit the rabbits on Okunoshima
-Get my nails did! CHECK
-See the Naruto whirlpools
-Watch Sumo CHECK
-Wear hakama
-Go to the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival)CHECK
-See the Tottori Sand Dunes
-Eat Inoshishi Nabe (Wild Boar hot pot)
-Be physically present in each of the 47 prefectures in Japan
-Pass N4 of the JLPT CHECK
-Pass N3 of the JLPT CHECK
-Pass N2 of the JLPT

Guessing Game

I had a fun idea today while at work and trying to get my mind off less-than-pleasant-things: Why not make a game out of my placement notification? Everyone keeps asking me if I've gotten the word, but not yet.

So, I printed up a map of Japan with the major cities, highlighted the areas I had requested (Tokyo, Kanagawa and Fukuoka/Kyuushuu) and told people to guess.

Some of them wanted hints, thinking I already knew. Each person is allowed one guess- and "Somewhere in Japan" is not a credible answer. Whoever gets the closest to my actual location will get a prize- or prizes if 2 people are ridiculously close- mailed to them from Japan once I get there and get settled!

I thought it was a great way to get my coworkers involved. I'm going to miss them bunches. And I'm anxious to see who will be the Winner!

Waiting waiting waiting

JET seems to be nothing but a waiting game, either that or they are slowly trying to teach us the art of patience.
You have to wait to hear back for an interview.
You have to wait to hear back about your acceptance.
You have to wait to hear back about your placement.

"You'll find out in mid-May where exactly you'll be placed," they said.
Hm, the 26th is not "mid-May".
The suspense is killing me! I just want to know how far away I will be from my boyfriend and my other friends!

In truth, at least there are shinki-dink-kansens (my friend's word, not mine) and night buses, so as long as I'm not on...Okinawa per se, I can easily get around.

Now that graduation weekend is over, I need to find something else to occupy my time. Any Netflix recommendations?