The Big Japan Update

Apologies for the crap typing, I hate Japanese keyboards...
So, the flight over was typically rather boring...we stayed at the Keio Plaza Hotel and did a bunch of seminars...my roommates were totally awesome. They fed us well, and I met up with my friends in Japan. What was a bit sad was seeing future-asshole-CIRs in the making, you know, the sort that look down on ALTs because ALTs don't know Japanese or are just "teachers." Don't get me wrong, most CIRs (myself included) feel that we do have a special role that was difficult and competitive to get, but that's no reason to try and tear down the Japan-newbs....we all had that squeal of excitement when we first saw a washlet. :)

This place is about as inaka (country/rural) as it gets...however, it is absolutely beautiful. I'm surrounded by mountains overgrown with thousand year old bamboo with secret temples waiting at the top of hidden pathways. There's a river that flows outside my apartment, and a mountain side less than 500 meters behind it. There's a hotsprings on the other side of the river, and I can walk/bike along a pathway that in the spring is lined with cherry trees. That being said, it's absurdly humid here and I've seen all manner of disgusting insects here. My apartment is MASSIVE. It's a 3LDK, which I thought was a typo、but is not. That means I have 3 bedrooms, a living room/dining room and a kitchen. It is bigger than an apartment I've ever lived in, bigger than any apartment I've ever seen actually...it's the size of a small Japanese house. I have 3 tatami rooms and wooden floors in the living room and hallways...it's half furnished, meaning I have everything left behind by previous CIRs (towels, futon, spoons, pots, etc) and I pay a whopping $300 US a month for it. :D So, for anyone who wants to visit me, I have more than enough room...the downside is there is NOTHING to do in my city and we need to get a car to go anywhere to do things like shop or go to bars or whatever. The weather is absolutely ass and you'll either be eaten alive by insects and melted by the heat OR you'll be buried by snow and frozen solid. The upside? Hotsprings, clean air, amazing fresh food, and the fact you'll be one of the very few people to come to this part of Japan--it's full of ancient shrines (including the oldest one in Japan and the most important one in Japan), spooky bamboo forests, and extremely friendly locals...oh and going to South Korea is a $150 roundtrip journey. LOL.

I'm a "Coordinator of International Relations", but a more appropriate title is probably consultant or assistant. I work for the International Exchange Division of the Policy Planning Department in the Unnan City Hall...I just met the Mayor. LOL...thus far I'm doing a lot of nothing, but I basically have the freedom to do whatever I want. My first job will be an english version of the website and varous translations, then I'll be doing english classes for adults and hopefully planning events like an easter egg hunt for city kids and stuff...I get paid quite well (and I have health insurance, thanks to Japan's national health care) for this being my first job. Instead of bonuses, I get vacation time. For example, if I work 2 hours overtime, I get 2 hours of vacation time...so after 8 hours, I get a day off. Weee...oh and Fridays end at 11:30. The only bad part (thus far) is that it's easily 90 degrees (no exaggeration) in this office with a humidity level of about 99%. They're trying to save the environment (after decades of lining rivers with concrete and farming the ocean free of whales) by not turning on the air conditioning until noon (and even then it's setto 28 Celcius)...

Anyways, my cellphone email is himene@t.vodafone.ne.jp so send me an email and I might send you a picture of something cool...but please god, have a little sense when you email me and don't do it at 3 am. =D [For you in the US, that means no texts from like 1pm till 8pmish] Oh, and btw, I'm 3000 xp till lvl 60 on world of warcraft, I just don't have the internet to play on it yet... =P