Update #2 from Japan.
Freaking Japanese computers dont have apostrophes. I will just have to refrain from using contractions and possessives. No quotation marks, either!! Argh!! I will have to convert to the Japanese way and use these brackets.
Moving on to the actual update. The Tokyo Orientation was a whirlwind of seminars, workshops, info sessions, prefectural meetings, wild karaoke-ing, and receptions. I was only one of 1,300 JETs taking over over the fabulous Keio Plaza Hotel in the Shinjuku region of Tokyo. We had some time in the evenings to wander the streets of Tokyo and I can sum up the discoveries of my wanderings in six words:
I WANT COOL JAPANESE ELECTRONIC GADJETS.
All cell phones have built-in cameras and some even have real-time video conferencing options. The laptops here look like they belong in the not-too-distant future. I never really had any interest in owning an mp3 player before, but lets(apostrophe)s just say that they make the iPod look not too special. All I need now is my first paycheck and then I can feed into my newfound obsession with cool Japanese electronic gadgets.
I arrived in Mie-ken yesterday and I moved into my apartment late in the afternoon. I am on my own until the other JETs in my apartment complex get back from vacation sometime in late August. Getting to work today was intereseting. I had to take the train to work (it was a 40 minute commute) and it was a scary scary trip. I have never taking the train here before and I can safely say that my Japanese reading skills--thanks to the overwhelming numbers of kanji being used--are crappy at best. I had to take three different trains involving two transfers. I just guessed, hopped on the train, asked for directions twice (in JAPANESE! wahoo!), and I actuallly made it to work on time. Now there is that little problem of how to get back...
My apartment is pretty nice. It was a lot bigger than I expected, anyway. My predecessor has left me notes warning me of cockroaches coming up through the sink drains into my apartment and giant red biting centipedes. I am a little worried and I hope that I do not come across any of these many-legged creepy-crawlies. There will be no one to hear my screams. Oh, and I was misinformed about my city. Kuwana is hardly rural. It has the biggest shopping center in all of Mie.
I was feeling really really lonely last night, but I think that I may be OK now. I had trouble sleeping and I was not able to eat anything. And it is certainly not helping that I have no phone and no internet back at my place. I am actually using a coworker(apostrophe)s computer. But in any case, I think I am going to head back home now. A nap sounds good.
So yeah, I just wanted to let you all know what I am almost settled in my new place. I will try to update this blog as often as possible and once I get cable or DSL in my apartment, I will include photos, too. EMAIL ME!So I will say bye for now and unless some giant red biting centipede comes and attacks me during the night, I will try my best to respond to emails and such.
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