JET orientation and random news

last Saturday i attended an orientation in Boston. it was hours upon hours of listening from a chair in a big room @ the children's museum. i consider it really helpful for finding out practical information, getting familiar with some faces i might see again someday (@ tokyo orientation perhaps?), and feeling overall more confident as i prepare to pack. one of the BEST parts was sitting inside the japanese house that they moved to the U.S. and put together in the museum. a former JET told us about all the furniture, some basics on caring for that furniture, the politeness of removing our shoes upon entry, all that good stuff.

other basic highlights for me:

1. it is custom to have what we would consider bathroom slippers, which you put on before entering the bathroom, and take off immediately after leaving it. there's quite a detailed routine for this whole system- too much shoe switching for my tastes [but maybe that's just b/c i change kids' shoes about 12 times a day in my current job :)]

2. i made a friend, named Sarah, who will be a JET in Toyama city. we sat together during a bunch of the orientation and we could comment under our breath as we learned new information. we added each other on facebook, so keeping in touch should be a breeze.

3. i'm so excited to have a place of my own; japenese living is obviously WAY different from what i'm used to... but still, it's fun to plan for having my own kitchen where i can learn to cook and living area to relax and keep in touch with everyone. i'm brainstorming things to pack that can help liven up my space; pictures are SURE to be the main attraction. :)

chicago... not quite japan...

this past weekend i went on an awesome road trip to chicago. while there i met a young woman named megumi who is taking classes at wheaton college. SHE lives in japan and is visiting the states for 2 years... we got to spend a bunch of time talking about culture, what to expect, how to get connected, good/ bad ideas about teaching. [when megumi was in high school she had JETs at her school who were really bad!! i got the lowdown on how to avoid that situation for myself!!!] she is absolutely lovely and i'm so blessed to have been able to connect with her!

below are some chicago road trip pics. enjoy :)

latest developments...

i've gotten tons of information lately about my placement in Himi!! apparently i'll be traveling to a different school every day- there are lots of small junior high and elementary schools & i'll have taught in each of them by the end of the school year.

... a few random tidbits i've learned this week:
- Himi is right on the water (sea of Japan) & my apartment has a great view!!
-it's going to get REALLY cold in the winter, and probably will snow significantly as well.
- i have my own living space [probably incredibly tiny], but there will be at least 4 other JETS in my apartment building so i can have easy access to native english speakers.
- sometimes i'll be asked to do a cultural or travel activity on weekends, but i get what seems to be a day of compensation later in the week-- there are rarely more than 35 hours of work.
- Himi is only a few hours by plane from Seoul, Korea; Shanghai, China; and part of Russia! perhaps i'll do some traveling outside the country as well as around Japan :)
- the kids in these schools are just as cute as the students i've taught in america-- how fun!!