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Konnichiwa!!!<br />FINALLY!!! I have started my blog like I promised!!! Now instead of me writing the same thing 100 times or sending out a mass email (because I know everyone loves those impersonal things), I have this blog where I can update everyone on what is going on in Japan. I have been here officially for a month. It seems like forever and yet not so long at the same time. I start teaching this week. All of August the students are on break, yet I still have to go to school and sit there...doing nothing. I have also had many orientations on living in Japan (ie how to avoid cockroaches and tatami bugs) and I got to connect with many of th 130 JETs in Hiroshima Ken. There have also been some interesting differences in food, traditions, and getting lost here and there. It has been a physical and mental roller coaster the past month. In general I am FINALLY settling in and really enjoying my time. It is starting to feel a little like home. So, I will do a brief recap of what has happened.<br />

Leaving on a JET Plane

Casey Lary
2006-02-20 15:44:34

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out. It was a crazy night. So this concludes Tokyo. I wish I had more time to explore Tokyo because it is an AWESOME city. I do not know if I will make it back. It is pretty far from Hiroshima...we will see what the next year brings.

HIROSHIMA
So Tokyo was a blast. The true test was when we all split up to our prefectures, then even further to our respective cities, towns, villages, inaka (inaka is japanese for countryside). Tokyo was easy, peace of cake! The moment we all stepped off that plane in Hiroshima and saw all our supervisors waiting for us....it was a little different to say the least.

I arrived at Kabe Senior High School to a huge welcome sign. EVERYTHING said Cathleen. Guess they did not get the memo i go by Casey. My name is actually pronounced "Keishi Rari" in Katakana. My supervisor Yumi and Sensei Nishida picked me up. It was the hottest day of my life. I moved into my aparment which is huge (I think, but compared to Pi Phi anything is big) and well located next to

Lots of beer and lots of foodschool, a department store, the bus stop and a 15 minute walk from the train station. This is the first time I have lived alone and the most space I have ever had YIKES.

Kabe in a nutshell

Population: 22,000
Location: North of Hiroshima City.
Gaijin: Was 3, now down to 2
Italian Restaurants: 1
McDonalds: 1
Kaiten Sushi: 1

Everyone has been soooo incredibly nice. My supervisor is sooo essential to me because she translates everything for me. Without her I would be soooo lost and more confused than I already am. As I said, it has been a rollercoaster of emotions the past month. I have excited to be in a new country, exploring a new culture, and trying new things. Frustrated because I can't speak the language and get around by myself when I am used to being independent. Lonely: You try living in in a country where you can't speak to anyone and did not know how to use the phone or anyone else's numbers! Confused: I hate not being able to read Kanji...i mean, everyone should be able to read the 5,000 characters, right? :-). And basically every other emotion at one point or another.

This is the beginning of my blog. When I Pete and I singing our hearts out!have time tomorrow I will post more. Look forward to Atomic Bomb Memorial, Island hopping in Miyajima and Etajima, hitchikingin Japan, friends and the cool people I have met....it is going to be a crazy year!!!