I'm a year older!

I had my birthday yesterday. Though, in the states it is still august 20th. It was a nice birthday. I spent the day with my husband. We bought some pieces of cake, chocolate, strawberry, and melon flavored. I took pictures of them, because they were so small and cute, which I will post at a later time. I just wanted to say a quick hello to everyone. Getting internet here is a very big hassle. In America you would just call the company and the very next day they could come out and flip a switch or something and "ta da!" Internet! Here, it takes about a month...and you most prove, as a non-Japanese, that you are legally allowed in the country, by sending a copy of your Alien Registration card...which takes at least 2 weeks to get. Sigh. So I hope that help explains why it seems so long between posts. My internet access is quite limited. I hope everyone is doing well. I am sooo happy now that my husband is with me. I think he will be jet lagged for a while, but he is doing well, though possibly a bit overwhelmed by the fact that we are two fairly intelligent people who are now considered illiterate. =P

Spending more time in Japan

I went to the capital city of my prefecture this week, Kofu, for another orientation. There were some helpful workshops and it was fun getting to spend more time with other new assistant language teachers(ALTs). In total, for the prefecture, there are 36 new ALTs.
Here are some pictures and explanations of what has been going on here in Japan. =]

Here is a VEGETARIAN bento (boxed lunch) that a Japanese restaurant prepared for all 8 of us odd balls who don't eat meat. Apparently, when you say you are a vegetarian, restaurants will try to feed you fish...why do people think fish is a fruit, vegetable, or grain...I always thought it was an animal. =P so thankfully, those in charge of our orientation made extra sure that fish was not included in this cute little bento.

On the second day of the orientation we took a trip to a very large temple. Actually this temple had several, HUGE, temples on the property. this is just the entrance to the stairs...the evil, evil stairs. I couldn't even get the entire entryway in my picture, it was HUGE!

On to the evil stairs. There are two ways to get to the top of this hill/mountain where the temples were located. The first, drive up to the parking lot higher up on the mountain. The second, go up the steepest, most uneven, stair case EVER. Needless to say, for the "fun" of it, our group went up the stairs. I say they are evil, because each of the 287 steps is actually the height of 2 or 3 normal steps. You have to push yourself up to the next step, its not exactly easy. I was among the group of about 10 girls who finished last. =P I don't believe this picture can really capture how impressive those stairs were. I was extremely proud of myself for not giving up. I don't believe you can actually see the bottom of the stair case in the picture; it just kept on going!

This is how I felt once I reached the top. hee hee. I was completely worn out.

My time at the temple did improve though. I took some pretty pictures and I saw ridiculous amounts of gold leafing on EVERYTHING inside the temples...which we weren't allowed to photograph.

This was one of the gardens among the temples.

Once I got back to my town...I am actually calling it home now =)... I went to my JHS's festival and met my predecessor.

This is a view of some of the mountains that surround Takane JHS. I say some of the mountains, because the area is completely surrounded with beautiful and very large mountains. Because it is the season for the Obon festival in Japan, there were these paper lanterns all over the place.

On the sports field at the jr. high school there were vendors and a stage and lots of people. AND...that's right America...the Power Rangers are still going strong in Japan. I saw the red, green, black and blue rangers kicking evil butt in front of a group of 3-6 year olds....so adorable!

Before I left, I was able to watch the JHS students perform a few songs on Taiko drums. It was pretty good, and fun to watch.

That is all for now. I hope you all are doing well! =]

It's okay...I'm still alive

I know it's been a few days since I have blogged, but honestly, there hasn't been much to blog about. I have been cleaning my new home, and learning how to cook on a gas stove.
Because I am feeling pretty lazy, I am just going to throw up some pictures I have taken and talk briefly about them.


Last night I went to one of the revolving sushi places and had some fried tofu wrapped around rice, along with some cucumber rolls, which were delicious.


Here is a view from my bedroom window. There is a preschool behind my apartment, which is uber cute. What you are seeing here is the baseball field next to my place. It was pretty comforting to hear baseball teams practicing over the weekend. It was strange as well, because in addition to the familiar sounds of baseball I would hear the less familiar sounds of guys yelling in Japanese. =)

Last, but not least, I did laundry!! I took a pic of my first attempt at drying my laundry. I have a washing machine but there isn't a dryer. Most homes in Japan lack a dryer, everyone hangs their clothes up to dry....like me!

Hey everyone! I am finally in my new hometown and I finally have access to the internet!! Sadly, I am only borrowing internet, I yet to have it in my own apartment, but my neighbor, another American teaching English here, is being very generous and helpful. Yesterday I signed up for a bank account and got my Japanese cell phone! It has been a crazy few days. I am honestly exhausted, and its only 8am here. Thankfully today I do not have anywhere i need to be. I am just going to clean my new home, and make it feel more like a home.
But first, I would like to share a few pics with you all of things I have experienced since I have been here:

this is a display promoting a festival nearby in the Tokyo hotel lobby...its huge and pretty I think.


This is a pic of the opening ceremonies (ceremonies are VERY important in Japanese society) for all the new English teachers through the JET program. More accurately, this is for Group A, Group B&C will be flying in over the next two weeks for their own orientation and cermonies. Needless to say, this is a very large program. It was a nice expereince however, because everyone was so friendly and willing to meet new people and were pretty positive despite the jet lag.

In a shopping area I saw this cute display of a kid in traditional grab...which was for sell, because the Japanese still dress in these sort of clothes for some occasions.

I some how found myself on the 43rd floor of the hotel and found a huge window and amazing views of Tokyo...it appears to go on forever.

Finally home!! The 2nd closet apartment is mine. It smells a bit funny to be honest...I have bought cleaning supplies which I hope to begin using in the next hour or so to make my apartment more like home. =)

Hope you all are doing well!!

I am in Japan!!

This will be a quick post because i am using a shared computer. I am in Japan. The flight was only 12 hours long and it honestly was not that bad. I splet through most of it which i think helped a lot. I got to the Keio Plaza Hotel in downtown Tokyo around 7pm japan time..or 6am eastern US time...keep in mind I left at 4am saturday and got here at 6am the next day crazy!!
Apparently the sun rises at 3am...which I learned the hard way since my roommate and I failed to close the blinds in our 36th floor hotel room. I have been up since 4 and I just know I will pass out due to Jet lag eventually.
Being without my husband and mom during this whole experience really stinks. I miss them both very much, but I love how the internet is able to keep us much more connected.
And now I will show you the pics I have taken since I got here..which is not much since I forgot to take pics for a while.


Other JETs I flew over with. Funny enough there were four or five of us from the Asheville area. apparently, Allie, with the long blonde hair, had calc2 with me a few years ago. Small world!!


One of the many JET helpers at the airport...which was soooooooooo humind..I have never experienced such intense humidity!!!


Traffic going into Tokyo.


Veiw from my hotel room...it looks better in person. =)

well that is all for now. I have workshops and meetings all day today and tomorrow. Then I am off to my new home!!

Packing and Leaving

All I have been doing for the last 3 days is packing a freaking out about going to Japan. The only reason I didn't have a mental break down is that my mom and husband are the best, most supportive people ever. I love them so much.
This morning I woke up at 5am and could not go back to sleep. The moment I woke up I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep, my mind was not going to stop turning over all that needed to get done or what was about to happen.
Right now I am a ball of nerves. I am getting pretty emotional also, especially about my family and kitty! My mom made me a photo album all with pictures of my cat. I love that silly cat.



Well, I still have some packing to do...not to mention I am going to attempt to get a hair cut this morning! Ahhhh!

crazy few days

So much has happened in the past few days. Lots of big changes, that I had hoped I could go into some detail about on this blog. However, time has just been flying by and I haven't really had the time or energy to really get into how I have been feeling or what I have been experiencing. I can tell you this, Thursday was my last day at the Chamber, my first job out of college. I really will miss the people I worked with.
Friday Matt and I ran around doing last minuet errands and just enjoying the last little bit of time we had in Asheville.
I love Asheville. It really is a great place. If Matt could get a good job in the Asheville area in a few years we would definitely move back there...but the biggest hurdle to going back is, sadly, the job market for those in math or science fields. However, we have seriously thought of the possibility of moving back to Asheville at some point.
Friday night we saw the BEST Batman movie. Heath Ledger was amazing as the joker, and two face freaked me out as well... I can honestly say that movie gave me nightmares. =[ but it was soooo great.
Saturday consisted of moving...lots and lots of moving...then lots and lots more of moving...sigh. We were all exhausted by the end of the day.
Sunday and Monday Matt, kitty, and I have been in Morganton getting our cat used to her new home. I AM GOING TO MISS HER!!! Thinking about leaving her makes me want to cry. But she is doing okay and I know Matt's parents will take good care of her.
We are going to Charlotte soon so I can finally PACK!! I know I am crazy to put it off to the last second, but I really haven't had the time or all my stuff in one place to be able to pack.
So that is a quick summary of what is happening, not complete, but the main thing is exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed with so many life changes happening at once.
Sigh... I think after the next three weeks things will be a lot better. For one I will be over the jet lag and my husband will be with me again! My life is always better when I am with my husband.