Livin' in the Inaka

My first update from Japan! I'm watching Japanese drama in my hotel room at the Keio Plaza. I feel like I've already been here for a week instead of one day. When I arrived in Chicago for the pre departure orientation they didn't have our rooms ready yet- something to do with the O'Hare airport shutting down because of the heat on Thurs and flooding all the hotel rooms w/ people. So the 300+ of us had to sit around the lobby for a few hours and change into our suits in the bathroom before going to the presentations. That part sucked but I got to know a lot of people in the process. I was surprised to find a lot of people who had studied in Tokyo at the same time as me, some even from the same program. By the time the reception started we were all half-starved,most of us having gone without food since 7am. My roommate and I ended up going to a restaurant next door afterwards where I had my last American meal: a turkey club, *brown* clam chowder, and fries. Sat morning th...

This will be my blog while I'm teaching in Japan with JET. Here you'll also find links to my most recent photo galleries (assuming I ever get around to fixing my poor camera). My placement is Toyama Prefecture (prefectures are similar to US counties) in the town of Fukumitsu, which is one of eight towns that make up Nanto City. On the right side under the link to my photos there's a small map of Japan with a general marker of where Toyama is. To see a more detailed map of the cities of Toyama, go here And for an even more detailed map of the towns and cities in relation to each other, go here You'll see Nanto and Fukumitsu on the lower right side of the map. I'm in contact with my predecessor now so I have all the details on my new life in Toyama. Here are the things you may find most interesting (or not): 1. I'll be living in the inaka (rural Japan), or more specifically Nanto City of Toyama Prefecture. So lots of old houses, lots of old people, and rice pattie...