Catching Up is Hard!!

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  Miwa, Japan
Friday, October 6, 2006

I thought I would be able to catch up with what has happened since I got to Japan. However, this became a very difficult task because I have absolutely zero free time!! I am glad I have zero free time, but it makes it really hard to keep everyone updated on what I am up to over here. So, I decided Im just going to start from now. Maybe this will increase the number of entries. But, dont hold your breath on that one!!! Hahaha!!! I try, I try. I`ll try to give just a brief outline of what has been happening in August and September. Im not terribly good at being brief, but I`ll try. Ok. I arrived in August. As you know from my first entry I suppose. And had a marvelous three day orientation in Tokyo. However this entire time it never really felt like I was in Japan because A) all airports pretty much look the same, B) all hotels (especially the 5 star ones pretty much look the same, and C) I was surrounded by other English speaking JETS the entire time. I guess it worked out good for the bonding of JETS but as far as getting acclimated to Japan, I dont think it worked so well because there was a slight panic attack when I got swept away to my contracting organization by my Japanese supervisor and some teachers from the Junior High I would be looking at

01. Miwa Summer Festival

. And then the realization I had to figure out where everything was in my town without being able to read a thing AND how was I going to eat?!?! I had no idea what the heck anything was in the market. Thank goodness my supervisor was kind enough to go with me the first day!! On top of all this I had an entire apartment to get ready. It was like moving into someone else`s place. And that did not help with the nerves in the least bit!! But, once I got it all to my liking it has turned out to be quite the nice little retreat!! Its essential to have a place all of your own, especially in a foreign country, if you ask me. It helps. So, that was pretty much my first day in Miwa. A bit stressful, but I got settled quickly. From that point on for the month of August I worked at the Town Hall because the students were on Summer break. This gave my supervisor and I plenty of time to finish the loads of paperwork that is apparently necessary. I never knew how much paperwork it takes to live and work in a different country. Especially a country that is as bureaucratic as Japan. It is quite impressive. My supervisor and I get along really well and we took a few trips to the beach together in August. Im so glad we get along so well. That helps alot!! I also met some ladies who live in Miwa who are what I like to call. THe unofficial JET welcoming committee because they have know like the last 5 JETs who have lived in Miwa!! It`s great. It was like having 6 Japanese moms for awhile. They helped out so much in getting me settled

02. Drummin

. Now we meet for dinner once a week. Its so nice!! Ive also had a few adventures with the other JETS like a surprise trip to Osaka on no sleep to see Summer Sonic Music Festival!! IT TOTALLY ROCKED!! I got to see 5 bands that i love from America. All American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, LostProphets, My Chemical Romance, and Tool!! It was my first time seeing Tool and I couldnt have been happier!! They f-in rock! And a trip to the beach with the JET friends. Definitely an adventure!! We probably screwed up the entire bus system on the peninsula that day cause we had no idea where we were going, there was like 7 of us so it took us forever to pay and get off the buses, and we definitely made a bus wait for us as we sprinted to it!! Hahaha! It is quite possible we made the news that night! So, all in all August was a good month to get used to being in Japan and do some bonding to build a support system if any of us get crazy homesick or something!! Sometimes I cant believe this is my life. I feel so lucky. It is definitely an experience, and I love it!!

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03. Some Dancing	04. My unofficial Tour Guide	05. Beach Time	06. More Beach
07. Welcoming	08. Summer Sonic	09. Unofficial Welcoming	10. Friends!
11. The Mayor	12. Bowling	13. Toyohashi	14. Tahara Beach
15. Beaches!!

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