Arrival

I am here. Finally. It is about midnight and what I really need to do is shower and head off to bed but I will keep you posted on how everything is going so far. Here it is in a nutshell:

*The plane ride was long...10 hours from LA to Tokyo
*I question whether I belong here when the toilet and bathroom door are smarter than me
*I know NO Japanese and that is very scary...thank god for good new friends who are helping and teaching!
*Bowing is important...there are three types of bows...know when each is important, but no matter what, just bow whenever you say anything
*Tokyo is way to busy...I would never want to live here in the city
*Business clothing in Japan means something very different than business clothing in America
*Orientation is alright, however, I am getting tired of sitting all day
*Karaoke in Japan in amazing

I am sure there is more...but it is late.

I will post pictures later

mata ne (see you later)

there's no place like home.

I just got the email this week about my placement and I am oh so excited. My welcome letter came complete with maps, a contract and tons of information. I will be working for the Niigata Municipal Board of Education. The best part is that the office is about a 15 minute walk away from my apartment. I will be on a rotation between the 5 local junior high schools. The average winter temperature is -1 to 7* C and the summers are described as tropical. The average snowfall is only one meter! I am very excited to move somewhere with less snow than here.

If you care to write to me...I would love it. Here is my address:
Kitaku-Toei-cho 3-6-2 Ribate haitu 201
Niigata-shi
Niigata-ken, JAPAN 950-3323

Niigata-shi

Today I found out where I will be living. In 65 days I will be moving to Niigata-shi in the Niigata-ken prefecture. At first I was disappointed (mostly because I thought my number was different and I was actually by Osaka where I requested to be) but Niigata is growing on me. Niigata-shi is the capital of the Niigata-ken prefecture (at least as I understand it) and is a city of about 800,000. It is located on the Sea of Japan, north and west of Tokyo. It is a mountain filled area, famous for the ski resorts. As I read on, I am starting to become more and more excited, especially with the sake festival that happens there yearly!