A month in :)

So it's been about a month since I arrived in Japan, and so far it has been an experience and a half. There are so many incredible things about Japan that wouldn't happen anywhere else in the world. A week or so ago I left my phone in my bike basket outside of a supermarket and half an hour later, low and behold, it was still there. Completely untouched. Unmasked and unsecure and yet it hadn't crossed anyone's mind to take it. What an amazing sense of trust there is everywhere in Kurume. I've left bags of shopping in my bike and no one has even ventured forth to look, let alone take anything. I am sure it is different depending on which part of Japan you go to but, still. Quite incredible.

People here have also been so very kind; my supervisor is almost like a second mother, she worries as much, but she's also good fun when i'm team teaching with her, and the rest of the English department are just as nice. If I need help reading Kanji or school newsletters they are always happy to help.

There are so many things that I like about Japan. Even though it has been raining for the past few days, it still pretty fun cycling through it as its not that cold. Conbinis are absolute Godsends. The trains run on time, deliveries are efficient, people in shops are so polite and helpful. The children at school are so lovely and polite, and when one of them writes 'I am so happy you said hello to me' on an essay, it genuinely makes my day.

However, there is just something sadly nostalgic about things that remind me of home. It's not so much that I'm in Stage 2 yet (JETs will know, but for those who don't, stage 2 of culture shock); I still enjoy living in Japan, the liberation of cycling safely and freely, not bothered by the rain, the trust, the efficiency, all of it. It's just little things that remind me that I do actually love my home town. I miss the bustle of London, the lights, the sounds, the 1am trains. The ease of finding exactly the right teabag in the supermarket and the stereotypical British rendering of tea. The cramped underground, the litter, how every single public building has an amalgam of people smoking outside. The lack of any cultural or ethnic homogeny. All of it.

I miss the people too. Being able to hug someone unreservedly; my mum, my best friend, my whole family. Even my little dog.

How could you not love such a face?

It's just little pangs that get me at the worst times, little things that Japan doesn't do quite 'like England' because, of course, they wouldn't. 

Don't get me wrong, I love Japan. But I know whenever I go home, be it in a year or in two, London is the first place I am going back to. 

In Japan Update

So the last week or so has been a whirlwind. Tokyo orientation was busy and full of people who were buzzing with both excitement and nerves. It was also the last time I will really see the majority of the UK Jets until we go on trips visiting each other which I hope will happen very soon. I am missing familiar faces but am getting to grips with familiar ones here. Whilst in Tokyo I saw parts of Shinjuku, Akihabara and Harajuku which were full of both lights and convenient things. I didn't do karaoke in Shinjuku but some of the Fukuoka Jets did go to the lockup which was a funny and interesting izakaya - it was so much fun! Weird drinks, 'breakouts' and waiters dressed as convicts:

It was really good to get to know people out of a formal scenario. Then after orientation we flew straight to Fukuoka and at the airport I was met by my lovely predecessor, one of the English teachers and some very sweet members of the ESS Club. They greeted me with signs saying 'Welcome Natasha' and the high schools name. It completely dispelled any worries I might have had, even if I was boiling in my two piece suit.

I was taken to school to meet my supervisor who is a vey kind lady and she spent the best part of her evening taking me out to make my own okonomiyaki!! Which was awesome, and taking me to get some groceries. The next day at school I met the Kocho-Sensei, who took me out for the most beautiful unagi meal (ill upload the picture later).

This week has been another blurry one. On Monday there was Fukuoka orientation in a building with very little aircon. We were seriously sweating it out. We watched a video about Fukuoka and went to some workshops. There was a particularly good one about how to decipher food in Japan which eased my concerns about dietary stuff. We had a meal in the evening too which was another tabehoudai. Fun all around! :)

After all the excitement the rest of this week was a flurry of marking and working with students to practice for a speech contest reciting 'The Wizard of Oz' one of my favourite stories from childhood. I also had a meal last night with the Kamitsumachi Colony at a rakuten sushi place which was really good fun, lots of laughing and silliness . I was especially impressed when a Japanese Waitress came over to speak English to us! But these troublemakers were the main source of fun (and awesomeness)

Throughout all of this I have never had the chance to slow down a little bit, and on my first real day off today, I have has a chance to really look at my surroundings and I've come to realize that Japan really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. No where else I've been has dragonflies merrily flitting around so sleepily that you can see their colours. There is intense sunshine and greenery and some beautiful flowers. It's not tall buildings and cityscape even if they have everything around where I'm living. It's actually really calming if you just take the time to look. 

Aside from the telephone wires that is the view down my road. :) I don't know how this year is going to go but I know I'm lucky to be In Japan.

Packing Pandemonium

So the days between my Japanese adventure and I are slowly diminishing into nothing. It has been a very busy month for me and this weekend was no exception. One of my closest friends from University came down from Leeds for one day just to see me and say hello and goodbye for now. It was a very kind visit for her to make given it was probably expensive and exhausting for her but it meant the world.

She gave me my birthday present which was something very sweet. I have a pandora bracelet which over the past year my friends and family have gifted me charms for. It was important for me to have a piece of everyone very close to my heart on my wrist at all times. Now this may sound a little soppy bur it meant a lot, especially as it started on my 21st birthday.  Pandora charms are not cheap and I would never expect or ask any of my friends for charms because it costs too much. But this year my best friend gave me two of the most beautiful charms imaginable as a present and good luck going forward.  And this friend down from Leeds did the same. The charm she gave me was very symbolic of our friendship and I was so touched it nearly made me cry. She also made me a photo collage to take with me to Japan which was lovely and finally some emergency chocolate:

The amount of effort she made was astounding.  Thank you so much for it all love, you know who you are, and sorry to say the emergency chocolate is already gone!

Then, today was my little brothers' 20th birthday.  And like a mad thing he completed the triathlon (yes on his birthday) in 2 hours 55. We have been celebrating today ans scheming our last trip together which is a local theme park complete with adrenaline junkie roller coasters.

Updates on life aside,  I have really started to panic this week. Its not that im doubting my decision to leave everything behind because itll be my biggest adventure yet, but the whole process is quite overwhelming.  I have been wrestling constantly with mt suitcase over the past week or so and contemplating just how the heck I am going to fit my life into 23kgs. Im a little on the curvy side for Japanese sizing and get a bit funny about tight outfits so clothing was the priorty. Im very fair skinned so suncream and aftersun followed. Along with a miscellany of toiletries and a bag full of 'what ifs'. I almost think it would have been easier as a guy (my flatmate at uni went to spain for a year and packed virtually nothing) but I am starting to think that is more attributed to his laissez faire personality than guys in general.

Then there is the omiyage debate, the resource preparations and the endless pretravel paperwork. Tax, shipping, customs declaration. You name it, ive filled it in. And a workload awaits me at school which although I am very excited about, I am worried I wont perform to Japanese standard, although I will certainly try. 

Im sure the majority of the group B JETs are having the same panic/excitement fluctuations and the same suitcase scenario so best of luck to everyone with it all.

Now only if I could believe that myself....

9 Days to go!

Oh my goodness. When did this happen?

So it's been a long time since I've actually updated because my life seems to have gone into complete overdrive! I finally have a destination and a school as to where I'm headed, and my whole life is in upheaval in an attempt to pack! I am headed to the sunny Kurume-shi in Fukuoka-ken, Southern Kyushu. I'll be going to a Senior High School with a University focus. It couldn't be any different from the school I have just come from - North London, rough, with children more wild than I have ever seen (although admittedly 'children' is a loose term. I was teaching sixth formers and at 5"2, they were more often than not taller than me. ) Even the idea that I won't have to fight with the children tooth and nail to get them to write their names on a paper is an intriguing prospect! I will miss them though, and the teachers there too. Some of the children might have been a pain at the best of times, but most of them had hearts of gold. One of them even cried when I told her I was leaving ;( But I know they are going to make it, get to Uni and create an amazing life for themselves. Even if they were the geeky side of Ghetto.

The last month has been more than a blur - I have been cramming in so much stuff it's insane, seeing people and doing things before I go. My work leaving do was on the day before my birthday, and we all went to dirty martini to have a few drinks which was really good fun. It ended up in a really fun bar in Oxford Circus (Gem bar, anyone know it?) with a bit of silly dancing and drunkeness - great night out. My birthday itself I was blown away by; my best friend went out of her way to make it a special evening. I was sung happy birthday by the 'Master of Mischief'

He certainly looks the part!

(seriously, he even has a card to this effect) and had a truly Hollywood-esque evening, including dancing to buskers, and riding a carousel like a five year old!  

I had a blast at Pre-Orientation in London, where it was amazing to get to meet all of the UK JETs who had been on the forums and otherwise, the Embassy reception was incredible too (although I wish I'd picked up on the Champagne Ninja's earlier! They managed to refill my glass three or four times before I even noticed what was going on!) Thanks for a great time guys, it was really reassuring to see that so many people were likeminded and in the same boat about packing, travel insurance and other bits and bobs. I went on the Language Course too which was really helpful for basic conversational Japanese, and also quite a relief - perhaps I am not as terrible as I think! Although admittedly that might be a little optimistic. The fluent Japanese volunteers were really helpful, and if my skill was terrible, it was definitely useful to know that by having the right cheerful mannerisms it was easy enough to get by, even if neither party quite understood what was being said.

I've just had dinner with another of my closest friends as well (so many goodbyes!) and we had a real laugh and an overall great time. I got a little misty eyed saying goodbye to her because I'm going to miss her terribly. I am a little worried that I'm going to miss the people I'm closest with a lot, but I guess it's just one of those things you adapt to, and besides! I'm hoping to meet as many new people as possible out there! I'm sure that all the excitement will keep me occupied.

Still, 9 days to go. The fact that I've only had one real panicky moment up until this point is probably fairly good news! :) It does feel like the amount of stuff that I have to get done before I leave is mounting up into this pile of postit notes that I can only really hack at, but never get through. Insurance, electronics, converters, phone contracts out there, all sorts of different things are plaguing me, combined with the fact my body is trying to convert to Japanese time already, meaning I'm not sleeping well-.- thanks body, you are useless.

9 days. My predecessor seems lovely, my school supervisor seems very friendly and even though I am swinging between excitement and panic, it's just a new adventure ahead!

Language panic and Random Musing

So the fact that I am definitely going to Japan has sunk in, and I'm so, so excited! All the new sights and sounds, and experiences of course. The prospect of going anywhere adds that extra bit of mystery at least until I get my placement assignment.

What is becoming woefully apparent at this point is how little functional Japanese I can speak and how little time I have left to learn. I mean total immersion does have its perks but I want to be able to navigate my way around at the beginning of my placement. It makes me worry sometimes that I am a little bit in over my head and I guess in some ways I am but in a good way! I just hope that I will be ale to use Genki to brush up enough conversational Japanese in time! 

It's getting more and more exciting now that I have received small bits of documentation like Yakkan Shoumei and emails saying that placement notification will come very soon. I really do want to know where I am going but the not knowing does add a bit of allure and drama to the whole process. A the moment it is getting very stressful and negative at work so I am glad that I have this amazing opportunity to look forward to! I don't understand how people can be so unhelpful in a team wok environment but perhaps that is characteristic of England, who knows. 

Sorry today has mostly been ramblings about various different parts! I can't really say anything more concrete until I know where I am going! I hope that it is somewhere that has more sunshine than here, that's for sure! When you're almost into June and the weather is grey and cold, you know you need more sun in your life! I wonder how long on average it takes people to adjust to the different temperature climates out there...

Hopefully the next time I write, it will be with a destination in place! 

Countdown Begins

So there was a comment on one of the JET facebook groups saying that group B departure is in exactly 100 days last week, and now there are 97 days en-counting!

I'm starting to get a little nervous about the mundane things to do with going to Japan for a year like packing, clothing, haircuts and all that stuff but as I get nervous, I feel the excitement bubbling up too. I don't know what it's going to be like, or what school I'm going to be placed in, or even what part of Japan I'm going to end up in! It could be absolutely anywhere! It's almost like a surprise present - you don't know what's enclosed, but you really want to find out. I think I'll start to relax a little more when I find out where I'm going and I can start investigating where I'll be living; I don't even know what age group I'll be teaching, or what behaviour management will end up being like. One thing I know for certain is that it has to be better than the school I'm currently in! Teaching in a North London School has its perks, but one of the big drawbacks is that behaviour is absolutely terrible.

I'm also really worried about my diet and eating healthily - I cut out a lot of things to stay healthy during summer 2012, and although I don't really NEED to cut out most of those things, it certainly makes me feel a lot healthier when I stick by what I've been eating. I really hope that I'll manage to sort that out in Japan - I love trying new foods and I'm definitely not going to turn something down if it's offered but at the same time I really want to keep as healthy as I can. I'm hoping (from what I've read) that the Japanese diet will keep all of these concerns at bay. I've recently bought a really lovely book called Sushi Slim:

It's written by the daughter of a lady who ran a sushi course I attended, Makiko-san, and it's a beautiful rendering of how to make all sorts of sushi and bento boxes with traditional recipes. I'm going to try out as many as I can before I head out and hope to adapt recipes and try all sorts of new things whilst I"m out there. 

I know I've been fairly rambly so apologies for that. Even though I am worried about various bits and bobs, from the mundane to the logistics, I really can't wait. 97 days seems too much time and too little! Roll on August :D  

JET Letter to JETsetter

The week starting the school Easter holidays was pretty stressful.

I applied for the JET cycle in November with a vague hope/prayer that a programme I had dreamed about for years would grant me a chance; I had read the statistics, I knew just how competitive the programme was. I knew it was really unlikely that me, a scientist by trade, would be considered for a teaching position in Japan, but I thought that maybe if my application was the best to could possibly be, maybe the Embassy of Japan might give me a chance. Maybe I could even get to interview.

The application deadline came and went and after a month or so of waiting, just when I had lost hope, I received a letter inviting me to an interview. On the 25th January I attended - it was an intimidating, formal proceeding unlike anything I had ever experienced before, with all electronics removed and strict rules about communication with other candidates. I came out in a daze. But once the interview was over, then came the real task - the 3 month or so wait for a response! The first two and a half months passed in relatively calmly - there was a long time to wait so there was no point agonising over it, but the closer it came the more nervous I got. By the first week of April I was an absolute wreck. I would check the postbox three or four times a day until it came, charging to the door like a dog and wrenching it open, only to be disappointed that the fateful letter hadn't arrived. Then, the day after results were posted out, an ambiguous email sent me into a half hopeful, half despairing tail-spin.

The day after the email i knew subconsciously that it was time. That Friday was the day I would discover my final result: it was cold but bright outside and I spent the morning pacing in my front room, and checking the post ever hour. At around 12pm I caught a glimpse of the postman looping away from my house to the neighbours. I flew down the stairs and tore open the door to find a single brown envelope addressed to me sitting in my mailbox. Hands trembling, I ripped it open and scanned the first line for those important few words.

~Final shortlist.~

It felt like a dream come true, and it's where my adventure to Japan, a country I've loved as long as I can remember, began. The next week or so was a flurry of paperwork, I was determined to get it done as soon as possible. Finally today, April 15th I sent the final set all of the paperwork to the Embassy. Every few minutes I find myself remembering and grinning;

I'm going to Japan!