Hello everyone! Thanks for keeping up w/the blog. I haven't been able to write for a few days b/c I just got the internet hook up yesterday. It was pretty much the best thing to happen to me! It's been really weird to not have communication w/the outside world. I felt really isolated to not be able to have that communication, and not many people in my town speak English. Life in Japan is an adventure!!
On Wednesday, all the JETs going to Kumamoto prefecture flew out together. We landed in Kumamoto City where we were greeted by current JETs, our supervisors, host families, or some representative from the town. They had posters and signs w/our names on them. I had two people waiting on me, my supervisor and another guy that works at the junior high in Yunomae. My sign said "Welcome to Yunomae-town, Mrs. Reed Melissa." Close enough. :) We went to lunch and made our way to Yunomae, which is waaaaay up in the mountains. The town itself is in a little mountain valley, but it is surrounded by green mountains. It's BEAUTIFUL here! :) Come and visit me!
I stayed with a host family on Wednesday night b/c my house wasn't ready for me. That was an amazing experience. They were so incredibly nice to me! It was a husband, wife, three sons, and the grandparents that lived in the house. They lived on the hillside, so there was an amazing view of Yunomae! I'm not sure what the situation was, but I think they were the caretakers of the Buddhist temple beside their house. The father showed me around the temple and to the shrine in the woods. There was also this gong thing that he said they had to ring every night at 6PM and every morning at 6AM. It sounds out across the town. He actually let me ring it! It was awesome! They were all really nice to me! They gave me the one air conditioned room in the house and turned it on for me. I wanted to tell them that it really wasn't necessary, but I didn't really know how to explain that. At dinner that night, they kept forcing food on me. I guess they heard that Americans like to eat, lol! I really wasn't that hungry, but they were like, "try this," or "have this." After dinner, it was one of those times that I think I'll remember fondest in Japan. I asked them if they would like to see some pictures from home, and they were so excited! Most of my pictures were in my checked bags (and I didn't get those until those until Thursday), but I had my wedding album on me. In turn, they showed me their wedding album. It was an amazing experience. Despite the language barrier, it was amazing how much we connected through that.
On Thursday, I worked at the Board of Education (BOE). I really have no idea what to do while I'm there. haha. That day, I went through the desk drawers. I found a nursery rhyme book that might be helpful in class. My supervisor took me all around town running errands. We went to the post office to get some kind of stamp for my housing application, bank to set up an account, alien registration office to apply for my alien registration card (yep, I'm an alien now!), picked up my checked luggage that I had shipped, and the super market. It was a busy day!
The language barrier has been a bit difficult. I thought I was quite savvy w/my experiences traveling in the past, but the thing is is that when I went to places in Europe where I didn't know the language, I either a) could guess what things meant since they are mostly romance language based, AND they use the same alphabet that I know, and b) I usually had travel buddies with me. If something didn't work out, I at least had someone to confer with or complain to, lol. Here, it's nothing like that! I'm completely illiterate, which is a really weird concept for me. I have no idea how to read signs or what items at the grocery are. Thursday was a bit difficult for me. After being rush-rush, go-go all week, when I finally came home on Thursday and started unpacking, it hit me. This is home. In addition, I can't understand people or read. I started bawling. :( I know that there will be good days and bad days, and Thursday was a bad day. After my little crying spell, I was over it. People have been VERY nice, but that doesn't stop me from feeling like a big dumb-dumb, lol. It seems like people who know even a little English try to speak to me, but it's often difficult to get the message across. Life's an adventure in Japan!
I don't want to make this too long, but I have lots more to share! Stay tuned! Also, I'm probably going to post pictures later tonight or tomorrow. For now, jaa mata!
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