As you may have guessed, I am now in Japan, where I have been since last Sunday. These past few days have been amazing, but my time here didn't start off so wonderful.....
When I first arrived in Japan, I was an absolute mess. Jet lag hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt physically and emotionally worn out. I wasn't sleeping right, I couldn't eat without feeling nauseous and I was very dehydrated. Tokyo Orientation was all a blur and I had to skip multiple panels just to go lay in my room and sleep. I would lay down and it would feel like everything was spinning. I got to explore Shinjuku a little bit, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. I was just too exhausted to be adventurous. I don't know if I had ever felt so strange before in my life...
However, once I arrived in Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken, my new home, and got settled into my apartment, I slowly started feeling more like myself again. Now, I am feeling great and have gotten my appetite back. I'm really loving exploring my neighborhood and trying all the different foods, especially the pastries :) There are a few shops very close to me that have a large variety of things. I bought a nice new bike that I've been taking everywhere and I'm in love with it.
I can't say anything about the job yet, as I don't begin teaching until September, but right now it's really easy and kind of boring. I have to report to the City Hall every weekday from 8:30 to 4:30, but we get a full hour for lunch, and all we have to do is sit at a desk and we occasionally are asked to help with minor tasks. Mostly, though, us 4 municipal Suzuka ALTs just talk amongst ourselves and this awesome Japanese guy who loves to hang out with us. It's pretty laid back, but I know it won't stay this way. In just a few weeks, work will become a lot more hectic, as I get used to a completely different schedule and a much more demanding work load.
So far, so good! Stay tuned!
