準備 (preparations)

Very soon, my journey begins and I couldn't be more excited! Tomorrow I shall depart Minnesota for the first JET orientation in Chicago. As I pack and mentally prepare for a new chapter in my life, I inevitably think of my friends and family I am leaving behind.  I strongly believe that it takes a village to raise a child and thus, I certainly owe much to the very special and wonderful people in my life who have helped me grow, shared my joys, and shared my difficulties over the years. Special shout outs go to the Jeff Posse, my brothers in SAE, all my friends and advisors at Gustavus, and, of course, my family.

Today, I went to the bank to change virtually all of money into Yen, the Japanese currency. As I learned the last time I visited the country, Japan is largely a cash-based-society, making credit and debit cards largely ineffective. A downside for me, unfortunately, is that I must purchase a car when I arrive (I am in a rural area and therefore there is little to no forms of public transportation) and put down a deposit for my rent right away. I must therefore must carry large amounts of cash with me at all times. Thus, I will be constantly fretting over my vulnerable money supply as I make my way through the airport. On the plus side, I do feel exceptionally richer being able to hold this much money. 

Gonna make it rain!

After the Chicago orientation is over on Saturday the 28th, I will take off from O'Hare airport on a no-layover flight to Tokyo! Due to the tsunami, I never had the chance to go to Tokyo and I am very excited to see this behemoth of a city. In Tokyo, JETs from all over the world will meet at a hotel for a 3-day orientation that will be hosted by the Japanese government and CLAIR, which manages the JET program. After the 3-day orientation, the other JETs placed in the Noto area and I will fly to our new home. According to my predecessor, I will be teaching at a total of 6 different schools! Three of these will be elementary schools and three will be at middle schools. 

I know I promised a little bit more about Noto in my last post, but I figure that I will post more about it when I arrive and can give a first hand account and pictures!