So once again i am neglecting this blog...i want to say that the lateness of the posting will promtly end, but lets face it thats not going to happen.

So the first weekend in November i went up to Kyoto for three days. I went with a few of the other teachers from y school. In many ways i was glad to have them there and in many ways i wish it was just me for the weekend. I arrived on Sat. night. That night we just went out for drinks and hung out. Our sightseeing started on Sunday. the first place that we went was Sanjusangendo. Its this really long temple with like 1001 Buddhas, literally there are 1001...thats a lot of Buddhas. There room was filled with them, and seemed to go on forever. They were life sized and gold leafed. though the gold was worn away a bit. It must have been quite a sight to see when it was new. the gold must have been overwhelming.

The long building with the buddha

After that we went to a temple with quite a history. The ceiling of the temple is made from an old floor that was in a nearby castle. On this floor someone committed a ritual suicide. When you look up at the ceiling you can actually see the blood stains where the body was. The rest of the day was pretty much spent wandering and shopping.

The next morning we started the day Mampukuji which is a temple complex built by a chinese monk. because of this you can see Chinese details thoughout the area. It was really pretty. While we were there we got fortunes. Mine was ok not great, not bad so i kept it.

After that we went to another temple called Byodoin. its a really famous temple, like really famous, its on the back of the ten yen coin. Its supposed to look like a phionix. you can kinda see it. There was a museum there. It was average but at one point they showed was the temple would have looked like after it was first built. The colors were amazing . I cant imagine what and awe inspiring sight it must have been.
Then we went to Fushimi-Inari. This shrine has like a million tori gates. More than i ever thought possible to see in one place. You walk through them as they wind up a mountain. After this all of the other teachers went home to Okayama.

the next day i had the whole day to galavant on my own. The first place i went to was Kinkakuji. Its the golden pavilion. Before i went i had low expectations. In the pictures it looked sooo brilliant, I didnt think it could measure up. But it really does, its just as beautiful in real life. This is my favorite pic. I have been told that i should give it to the people to use on the post cards... i really am starting to really like taking pictures.

After that i took two buses on an hour and a half trip across the city to Kiyomizu-dera. This is a temple built up the side of a mountain. It is not as good as the one in Hiroshima, but it is good. You can look out over the city and there is one place that you can drink water flowing from a natural spring.

Sept 21th

OK sooo Im currently in Hiroshima, I got here last night. It was even before i got out of the train station that i had my first adventure. I have bee here for nearly 2 months and have managed to avoid the infamous Japanese squat toilet...not anymore. There was all there was in the bathroom. It was an interesting experience. After i got out of the station i was able to find my friends. It was nice to get to see them again. the first thing we did was go in search of okonomiyaki. It was really good, really filling, but good. after that we just went back and hung out for a while to catch up.

this morning we went to to breakfast and did some shopping. We then went to the art museum. It was a nice museum, but really small. The had a few Degas' so i was happy.

Me one of my friends went ot explore the castle. Its a rebuild castle with a museum inside...it was a nice museum and i even learn a little history...lol. the grounds were really nice though. It was a good place to walk, even if it was raining.

We then went up to see this really amazing temple. It was unbelievable...the pics cannot begin to do it justice. It was such a calm kind of a place and not well known so we were the only ones there. It kind of felt like ours. It was really nice.

sept. 15th

Ok so yesterday was the Tea Ceremony / moon viewing at Kourakuen. I went with two other teachers at my school. We got there early at like 5 and just sat around and talked for a while before it started to get dark. When it was getting close to 7 i went off to find the people that i had met the first time to the garden. I finally found them and they invited us to go with them to have tea at their area. We then went and did the first tea ceremony outside. This was the same as the first one that i went to. I remember a lot of what to do, but not all...lol. We then walked and went to the tea house and did the tea ceremony inside. For this there is a lot more rule to be careful of. My one friend walked me through it and i think i got through without insulting anyone. After the ceremony she told me about this tea class that she and some of the other go to. She said i should come to class and may be start taking it. Im so excited i cant even explain. The tea ceremony was one of the things that got me interested in Japan all the way back in 7th grade. I feel like its this kind of cultural thing that i came to Japan for.

So i have been in Japan for three weeks already and away from home for a month. It seems like much longer, but in a good way not the it feels like so much longer and i want to go home way. I feel adjusted, kinda, i thought it would take me longer than this.

Last week i got to go to Osaka for 2 days for training in head office. The days were really long and we do not get paid extra for the extra hours. Plus, i didnt get to do or see anything to the trip was kinda a bust. what i did get out of the trip was an interesting thought, i want to go home. Not home to America, but home to Okayama. I realized how much i love living in this city and couldnt have asked for a better placement. Osaka is a really big city and it might be nice to visit again to do some sightseeing, but i wouldnt want to live there. So at the end of the second day i found myself saying to the other teachers, i just want to go home and get some sleep in my own bed.

It wasnt all bad though...it was nice to get to talk to the other fairly new teachers and compare war stories. I got to find out how other schools run and get some more dos and donts that we have all found out through trail and error. also i used the train system and didnt get lost!! one of the other teachers was someone i trained with so it was nice to see a familar face. Thats all i really have this week. its been kinda boring as far as major events are concerned. Today i am going to go shopping so that should be an adventure and tomorrow i need to find city hall so i can pick up my alien registration card.

so most of this was written the old fashioned way, pen and paper, while i was exploring today.

so right now i am sitting on a bench in Korakuen garden, one of japan's most famous gardens. Its really beautiful and peaceful. Im trying to get out of the sun though, its brutal. I just finished getting lost in here for nearly an hr (on purpose). I just let myself walk where ever my legs saw fit to take me. It was the most amazing thing, i felt for the first time since i got here utterly content. there was nature around me and i was free to go where ever i wished. now i sit here waiting, waiting for the sun to set and the lights to come.







it seems like everywhere i go in japan i cant help but compare a little to back home. here there and many small streams to cross so there are little bridges, i use the term loosely, because they are more like stepping stones with no rails. back home people would never allow this, someone would fall and someone would get sued. i think japan has us on this one. as i was sitting here writing this, the cutest little girl just past me in her white and hot pink yukata. it made me smile.
so thoughts on life in japan. right now i dont see vast differences. the main difference is being away from everyone and everything that i know. i know that things will get even better as soon as i find some friends of my own. the problem is other than company people its hard to meet anyone. im not a guy, cant exactly go to a bar by myself. hmmmm, ideas???

so while i was on the other side of the garden i thought i was going crazy. i thought i was hearing faint bits of english music. now that ive come to the other side i realize that im not crazy, they really are playing all english music by this stage they have set up. its so weird sitting in a japanese garden hearing random english music. its a bit of a contradiction, but i love it. The sun finally started to set, but i still have while before dark. there is going to be some sort of concert on the stage, but i have no idea what kind.
Eventually, the concert starts and i watched the first performers, but i decide to get up and explore some more. i walked to the other side of the garden and see a bunch of people lined up to go in a roped off area. i was curious so i watched what was going on from the outside. as i was watching i realized it was the tea ceremony and really wanted to go in, but there are way too many cultural mistakes to be made going by myself. so i settled for watching from the outside. i little ways away from me were three japanese ladies. there was some inching going on and eventually one of them turns to me and says Konnichiwa. i say hello and with a little help from a friend of theirs they invite my to join them in the tea ceremony...score! they take me in and show me what to do. i was sooo excited to get to do that. afterwards they introduced me to more of their friends, two of which are around my age. we all walked around the garden together some more and talked, as much as we could with very broken japanese and broken english. they invited me to come back to another tea ceremony next month. yay!!

if funny how things work out...one minute i am writing about how i need to make friends, but dont know how and the next i meet some really cool people.

sorry this entry is all over the place, it was written over the course of like 4 hours.
I just thought this was a really cool picture of the castle and the blue sky that was today!!

So i finally just broke down and looked at the weather forecast here in Okayama. All this past week i have been suffering from the heat and thinking about how much hotter it is here than back home. the weather hits about 95 degrees everyday and the humidity is about 90 percent. Who knew that those extra 10 degrees and the humidity level could make all the difference. I keep crossing my fingers and hoping that come sept the temp goes down...right now if i dont get up and go exploring at like 8 in the morning its just too hot.

Oh so i just found out a couple of days ago that my company is sending me to osaka for 2 days on the 12th...i have to get there and find my way around all by myself in just 10 days...m a little intimidated by this. I was hoping for a bit more time before undertaking such a task, but fate has decided that my first adventure should come sooner rather than later...Im kinda really excited to see what a big Japanese city is like though.

So last night one of the other teachers at my school also left. Before he did though the staff went to the river, by the castle and had a little BBQ. It was really nice. The river was beautiful and the castle in the background was surreal. We all just hung out and drank a few beers. I really have to work on my tolerance though because three drinks and i was done. Not ok. This morning i finally got out and was able to take a few picture of the city. It was really nice. There is this street with a canal running through it, it has a few really cool places on it and some artwork. Its just this really peaceful kind of place in the middle of a city. You kind of forget where you are. Here are some pics of my town.







The Daiso...aka...my new favorite place

one week!!

So i survived my first week in Japan. This week has been crazy though. It started last sat. with going out with my co-workers. Sunday i didnt do much, just moved into my apt. That night there was a party for the school...it was really nice, because i was able to meet some of my students and speak to them...It was sooo hot though. It was at a beirgarden so outside..in july. I have been refusing to look at the weather, because i dont even want to know how hot it is outside.

Monday was a really busy day. First my leaving teacher had to take me all around the city getting all of the things that i need. I had to apply for my alien regstration card and get a few things... then i went to the school so he could show me some of the things that he used during lessons... tried to pay attention, i really did and i think i got half of it...it was just so hot and i am not used to all this exercise. Then i had to go home for a quick change because even though it was my day off, i had to go to the school to observe a few of the other teachers lessons...and to top it off i hadnt slept more that a few hrs in a week. needless to say, i slept well that night.

Tuesday started my first day of classes...that day may have been the hardest day ever...most of the day i was asking myself, why did i come here and was close to tears. Each day things got better though and by the end of the week i was feeling like my old self and much more positive. even the other teachers said they can see the change in me from that first day.

I was just asking a friend of mine, if maybe they put something in the water in Japan. It seems as if i set foot here and all of the sudden 11 hr work days seem normal...thinking about spending that much time at the office doesnt seem like a big deal...I told my mother about my work day and she was like "WHY are you working that long!!". Even coming in on my day off seems like a good idea...lol. The school feels like a second home, since i spend more time there that in my apt.

Today on my official first day off, my first weekend, i did some shopping this morning. Even shopping right now is an adventure. First i went to the grocery store... it took me soo long to even buy a small amount of things...Then had to go home to put things away before going out me next adventure, daiso!!!. I cant do too much shopping at once because i am getting around on a bike with a basket. I can only buy as much as can fit in the basket. So after my big grocery store adventure i was off again in search of the famous daiso. Daiso is like a big dollar general, so 90 percent of things are a dollar, but not all. When i say big, i mean big, five floors of things for a dollar. Yeah!! And they have like everythings...i think i found my new favorite place to play =)

So thats a really quick summary of my week...now that things are leveling off (i hope) ill try to post more.

HERE!!!

So im finally here. Its really a surreal experience, i dont quite believe its real. I guess i should start at the beginning of the last two days. First, the flight was realllllly long. the only real positive thing about it was that the people from my training group were able to sit together. When i got here the person was there waiting for me to pick me up. I was worried that maybe they wouldnt be there, but they found me right away and helped me do all the things i needed to do. Those would have been way too hard for me, seeing how i dont speak Japanese yet.

After i got here some of my coworkers took me out for sashmi. Its the first time i have eaten fish in a really long time and it was raw...im kind of proud of myself. Yesterday morning i was able to move into my apt. its a lot bigger than i thought, ill have to post pictures of it. I didnt get to see that much of the city yet. Mostly ive just seen from my apt to the school. once i become more comfortable with work, then i will venture out and see more. I have met a lot of my students and everyone seems so nice. It helps calm my nerves, but only a little. I have a feeling that its going to be over a month before i am completely comfortable with the job. Today i go into the school and observe a few lessons. This is the first time that i will be seeing an actual class. after today and tomorrow, hopefully i will know a little more about how to run the class. Thats all for now, jet lag is killer.

6 days!!

So now i've finally moved past the time where i am counting my time im not months, not weeks, but days. I have less than a week left before i leave. I have both of my suitcases packed and have discovered that my basic need do not even come close to being under the weight limit, let alone all of the things that i wanted to take. everyday i am pulling more and more out of the suitcases to try to make things fit. sometimes i wish i wasn't a girl, lol, because its all of the extra things that i need. make-up, particular shampoo, heels in every color; these this add up quite quickly.

I have a feeling that the 100 yen store is going to be my new best friend when it comes to buying some of those things that im having to leave behind.

Though the packing part isnt going the smothest i still cant wait to leave. At this point i think i have all my basics packed and the only thing left for me is to say all my good-byes. I have said most of them, but there are still a few more left, and these are the hard ones, my family and close friends.

TWO WEEKS!!!!!

So today i arrived home after nine days in disney world. The trip went, as predicted, sooo fast. before i knew it, it was this morning and we were getting on the plane to fly back. Now that leaves nothing in between now and my departure for training, then Japan. This afternoon i literally took clothes out of one suitcase and put them into another. Im starting to get excited and really nervous. the last minute things are being done and all the extra things that i need are being bought. I have to run around and get all the things that i need that i cant get in japan, or arent the same. Im stocking up on shampoo, deodorant and so many other things like that, that one doesnt think about.

I found out some new information about my school. its a fairly large school with more than one native english teacher. this was a big relief for me when i found out. The simple knowledge that there is someone i can talk to daily that is going though the same experience. Not to mention trade lesson plans. Also im hoping they like to travel because it will be nice to have someone to travel with. You know, someone to hold the camera...lol. I've been looking up all of the different places i want to go while im there and figuring out how much it will cost. im hoping to travel to most of the places on my list. the far ones might be harder though, like tokyo.

For the next two weeks i figure i will be very busy. Im trying to work as much as possible to make as much extra money as i can. to add to that im trying to see as many of my friends as possible to say good bye before i go. with all this to do in just two weeks i have a feeling it will be over before i know it. Before i go to japan i have a few days of training with other teachers who are going over at the same time. this should be a good time. i feel like i really need the information that i will get then. plus one of the girls i met in my interview is training the same time. we been talking (trying to help get ready) along with some other ppl i met during the interview, but i havent been able to see any of them since then. it will be nice to hang out before we go. all of us were separated to different parts of the country so travel to see each other though possible (and planned) it is not easy, or cheap.

thoughts

So im feeling a bit idle now. Before i was looking forward to something that was going to happen in the immediate future (a couple of days or a week). Now i have my placement, my things are being processed for my visa and my plane tickets have been purchased. Now the only thing for me to do is sit and wait. Wait till it is finally my time to leave and that is still five weeks away. It seems like an eternity from where i am now. Im trying to keep busy so the time goes faster, but its not working. I know that time will fly once June 28th arrives, but till then its excruciating. I feel like im in some sort of limbo/holding pattern waiting to get started.

June 28th is the day i leave to go back to Florida. The Florida trips always seem to fly by because you are busy from the time you get up till the time you sleep. Im looking forward to that trip because its the big trip with all my cousins. In the last trip i didn't get to do as many thing cause the "grown-ups" don't do them. After i get back i only have another 2 weeks to tie up loose ends and say my good-byes to everyone before i go.

Im also having more packing crisis's. I practiced packing my clothes and found that they alone will take up a suitcase and a half, not from space but from weight. I didnt even figure it out once i add the shoes. Im going to have to put sooo much in my carry-ons that i think my arm is going to fall off.

The problem is, is that i need enough clothes for the whole year because im not sure what im am going to be able to fit in there. At 5'8 the options are going to be limited. And shoes will be impossible. Plus all the photos and other things that i want to take to make my apt feel a little more like home. Im trying to dial down the amount to things that i am taking, but at the same time i know that i need to do more shopping cause i dont have enough work clothes, quite a dilemma.


Sorry this post is a little negative and whiny...i wont make it a habit.

PLACEMENT!!!!!

So last week i was in Florida, Disney World. It was a lot of fun, i cant wait to go back next month. Everyday like clockwork i checked my email, hoping to find my placement. It was never there, although more of my friends found out theirs. I was starting to go crazy. Finally today i checked my email and they sent me my info about when i leave and flights...ok so now im officially really excited. I read the whole email...i get to the bottom. They never told me my placement..oOok. I called my mom over to read it through to make sure i didn't just mess it. nope not there. Umm not cool. I called the company then finally i found out. They just forgot to put it in the email. On July 26th i will officially be living in Japan, Okayama City, Japan. Im sooooo excited i cant even begin to explain. This makes it all seem so much more real now. Im trying to figure out how im possibly supposed to fit my whole life into two suitcases...i think this is going to be harder than the actual living in Japan. Thats all for now, im too excited to sit and write more.

GRADUATED FOR REAL!!!

So its really official, i have graduated. Now im just waiting for my transcripts to come in so i can get the visa process started. I just want this step out of the way because i cannot learn my placement until the company gets my documents. The waiting is driving me crazy. A few of the people i know who are also working for the same company are getting their placement. My one friend got a placement that is on the opposite side of the country as her requests. I hope this doesnt happen to me. I know that i will love wherever i get placed but i really want to be in central Japan. Im not even that picky on the exact location. Just somewhere central that way it is easier to travel.

On a more positive note, i leave for vacation to Disney on Sunday. With all that has been going on i havent really even been able to get as excited for that trip as i usually am. i guess after all this time it really is like going home. When you are Vacation Club people when you check in they person says welcome home. It really does start to become true. I know my way around the place better than i know my home town, its sad really. I have to try to enjoy this trip though, its going to be the last for a while. I have a feeling Tokyo disney is going to be different...lol.

Thats all for now i guess....crosses fingers....i hope i get my placement soon

No More College

Soooo, i graduated college today...or at least i had my last final. Im done, the actual graduation is not till next Friday though. Its kind of a weird feeling. Ever since i found out that i got the job in Japan i have been looking forward, past graduation, to going over and starting. Now that im actually done im starting to think that i dont want to leave college. My housemate a few weeks ago started denial about graduation. She wouldn't let anyone talk about it and called it the G-word. Now im starting to see what she was talking about. College has been without a doubt the BEST four years of my life so far.

I remember arriving at welcome week, meeting my roommate and how nervous i was. Back then i was a completely different person. That person never would have even dreamed about picking up and moving to another country, let alone doing it. I have changed so much. The majority of the change i can attribute to my sorority and my fabulous sisters. It is leaving them that brings the most regret about graduating. These girls mean the world to me and its hard to look to the future and know that they are not just down the street. Even given this though i know that they are only a very expensive phone call away. Thats whats going to get me through this i think.

After my last final today i started my getting ready for Japan regime of learning Japanese. Since i know no Japanese what so ever i feel like this is probably a good thing. I am starting easy and forcing myself to learn 20 new Japanese words a day. I have almost learned all my words for the day. This is going to be harder than i thought...hmmmm.

Im looking forward to my next two trips. In about three weeks im going to Florida...disney world to be exact. My family owns timeshare so we go alot. I go again in the first week in July for the 4th. These two trips and working all the time to save money for Japan are going to make the next couple months fly by. Before you know it, ill be writing from Japan. Right now i guess ill just have to settle for Japan in Disney World.


Im the one on the right

JOB!!!!!!!!

ok sooo this girl hasn't officially met Japan... yet. I, however, did just get a job there! I thought that i would not get one given the current job situation, but it wasn't that bad. Im so excited. Im going over around the end of July and cannot stop thinking about it. I will be an English teacher with one of the big three Eikaiwas. The hours are horrible and the pay is non-existent, but its going to be the best thing ever I can feel it. This is going to be my first real adventure. I've traveled before, but only for a few weeks at a time. This is living in a new place with only myself to depend on. I have no idea where I will be placed, but im not too worried (I requested some odd ones). I make list of the things im hoping to do like its my job. Trying to learn Japanese is probable the hardest thing i've tried to do at this point in my life. Ill get there...eventually. So as you can see there isn't really much to share at this point, i just figured i'd share the excitement. Bye for now. Hopefully soon ill be able to tell my placement!!!