I have finally heard from my Contracting Organization (hereafter known as, CO) in Japan. There was about a week where they thought I was ignoring them because I hadn't replied to their email, but in fact that email had been sent to an older email address and shuffled off into the junk mail folder without my permission. But that's all in the past now...my predecessor, Anna, my supervisor, and I are all on the same page (and email address) now.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE.
I'm living in Akita City, Akita. It's the biggest city in the prefecture, but is considered rural by most of Japan. It's about 300,000 people. I have a relatively large apartment on the fourth floor of a government subsidised apartment building. Which means, it's outrageously cheap, especially considering what other JET's in urban areas pay. I am very excited about it! Anna, who lives there now, really likes it, and it sounds just wonderful. (However, I admit I may have some romantic expectations tied to this place...but that doesn't make it seem any less magical).
It has a balcony. 'Nough said.
I'm working with four high schools in the area. They all sound fairly different, so I should get to work with students from different backgrounds and with different expectations for using their English. I think I'm either running, or volunteering to run, a couple English clubs at some of these high schools, which will also allow me to get to know some of my students better. I'm really excited about all of this as well.
I'm still getting details about my position and situation, but thus far it all seems just about as close to perfect for me as I could have hoped. Google Akita City...it's gorgeous. When I get there, Anna will still be in the apartment, so I will get to meet her, and she can show me around a little. But that does mean I have to stay in a hotel for almost a week...which is also okay. In the end, it's way more convenient and cheaper than any of my other options. And I got no problem with hotels.
Anyway, that's where the Japan situation is. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll be finding out more and more as my countdown to leaving shortens. Cheers!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Over the Ocean, Through the Woods
I leave for Japan in twenty-five days. I'm moving to Akita province, pretty much as northerly and westerly as you can get. Still waiting on the details of my placement, aka, where exactly in this relatively large, yet unpopulated, province I am moving to, what age I'm teaching, what my apartment is like, whether I need to get an International Driver's permit, etc.
Right now, I'm in the process of preparing for my leaving as much as I can without really knowing too much about where I'm going. This includes getting rid of stuff that I won't be taking with me...which is actually quite a bit of stuff. It's amazing how much I can get rid of when I look at it and think, will this be relevant to my life in the next one to three years? If the answer is yes, it gets put back. If the answer is no, it goes away. I only need to emotionally let go of an item once before I can say goodbye for good. Once it goes in the get-rid-of pile, I pretty much forget about it. A sign that things are highly disposable to me? Probably.
Although I'm disposing of piles and piles of clothes, I have only been able to part with a handful of books, maybe ten, and some of those were because I had two copies of the same thing. Two copies of all of Shakespeare's sonnets? Not necessary. So one went away. This whole process is making me realize how much stuff I have, how much stuff I utilize on a daily basis. It's a lot. And a lot of it is just that disposable. I either don't really need it, or it can be easily replaced by something just like it. There is a lack of truly unique stuff in my possession. I have more blank notebooks than filled ones, I have more CD's I don't listen to than ones I do. It's materialism at its finest, partially because I am a marketer's ideal prey. I buy things with cool names and flashy advertising because I can, because I do things that make me feel good about doing them.
But things are disposable. I forget what I have more than I remember. And now I'm weeding through things in stages, parting with things in waves, piles at a time. Because I have twenty-fives days left before my entire life gets packed into two suitcases and a matching duffel bag. Stuff takes up space, sometimes more space than life does. I'm trying to reverse that.
Right now, I'm in the process of preparing for my leaving as much as I can without really knowing too much about where I'm going. This includes getting rid of stuff that I won't be taking with me...which is actually quite a bit of stuff. It's amazing how much I can get rid of when I look at it and think, will this be relevant to my life in the next one to three years? If the answer is yes, it gets put back. If the answer is no, it goes away. I only need to emotionally let go of an item once before I can say goodbye for good. Once it goes in the get-rid-of pile, I pretty much forget about it. A sign that things are highly disposable to me? Probably.
Although I'm disposing of piles and piles of clothes, I have only been able to part with a handful of books, maybe ten, and some of those were because I had two copies of the same thing. Two copies of all of Shakespeare's sonnets? Not necessary. So one went away. This whole process is making me realize how much stuff I have, how much stuff I utilize on a daily basis. It's a lot. And a lot of it is just that disposable. I either don't really need it, or it can be easily replaced by something just like it. There is a lack of truly unique stuff in my possession. I have more blank notebooks than filled ones, I have more CD's I don't listen to than ones I do. It's materialism at its finest, partially because I am a marketer's ideal prey. I buy things with cool names and flashy advertising because I can, because I do things that make me feel good about doing them.
But things are disposable. I forget what I have more than I remember. And now I'm weeding through things in stages, parting with things in waves, piles at a time. Because I have twenty-fives days left before my entire life gets packed into two suitcases and a matching duffel bag. Stuff takes up space, sometimes more space than life does. I'm trying to reverse that.
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