I have never been the type of person to journal or blog, but I decided a big life change (such as moving to the other side of the world) merited an attempt at recording my thoughts and experiences for myself and friends. I named my blog the Wandering Sensei for two reasons. 1) I love the quote from J.R.R Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring that reads: "Not all who wander are lost." I am at a place in my life that is full of new experiences, the opportunity to travel, and a sense of uncertainty for the future. Sometimes I don't like not knowing what the future will bring, but I know that God is in control and my wandering does not mean I am lost. 2) I am in Japan to be an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT). The Japanese word for "teacher" is Sensei.
On August 3rd I arrived in Tokyo for 2 full days of orientation with all of the other Group B JETs. I was so exhausted from jet lag, lack of sleep, and the orientation that I did not get a chance to explore Tokyo, except for one trip to the top of the MET Building. I plan to return to Tokyo sometime in the near future.
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| View of Tokyo from the top of the MET Building - The sheer size of the city is mind blowing |
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| Another view from the MET Building |
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| I thought oddly shaped building was interesting |
My favorite part of orientation was making new friends who will be placed all over Japan. I love to travel, and being able to visit friends makes it even more fun. Plus, travel is more affordable when you have a friend to stay with.
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| Some awesome orientation friends |
After orientation I took a bus, Shinkansen (bullet train), another bus, and a car to reach my new home: Ono City in Hyogo Prefecture. I was immediately taken to the Board of Education (BOE) to meet the Superintendent. He had Google Maps on his computer and wanted me to show him my house and neighborhood in Westerville, Ohio.
The past 2 weeks have been fairly quiet. I have cleaned my apartment, unpacked, gone shopping numerous times, various errands, and binge-watched Angel during a typhoon (ZenMate addition for Chrome lets me use Netflix in Japan. Woohoo!! Also, not very happy with Joss Whedon right now). Some fun stuff I have done was travelling to Osaka and Kobe, and going to Ono Matsuri (Ono Festival). I purchased a yukata (summer kimono) in Kobe to wear to Ono Matsuri, but I decided not to wear it in light of the rain and mud. It has been raining a lot since I got here. The other new ALT in Ono and I found a good, reasonably priced Vietnamese restaurant near the Sannomiya station in Kobe. This is really exciting for me because Vietnamese is my favorite food in the world.
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| The lake in Ono with flags and lanterns for Ono Matsuri |
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| The fireworks for Ono Matsuri were incredible! They even had shapes like hearts, smiley faces, and animals! |
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| Osaka |
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| Osaka Castle on a drain cover in Osaka |
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| Sannomiya in Kobe |
My biggest struggles adjusting to life in Japan are what I suspected they would be. 1) Sub-tropical weather with no central air conditioning and poor insulation. 2) Missing my family, including my 3 dogs. It will take adjustment, but I think life in Japan will suit me well. More updates soon [hopefully]!
~Roz
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