beginning

I have now been in Japan for about a week. My visa finally came through about two weeks before I was supposed to leave and I'm finally in Japan. The experience still feels a bit surreal as if I'm not really in Japan at all, or I'm not going to be living here for a year. However, I'm enjoying this place and trying to figure out what it looks like to live here. It actually doesn't feel too different from the States aside from not being able to communicate with anyone in the community. I had never thought I could speak much Spanish if I had to use what I learned in school with actual Spanish speakers, but I can't tell you how many times I wish I new even that much Japanese. Today I learned to count in Japanese. I've also been working on one of three Japanese alphabets. I still need work on that and I need to spend some serious time learning various words in Japaneses.

During this past week I've met most of the American teachers that I will be teaching with at Grace. The other newer teachers have been hanging out a lot. They are a lot of fun and have been great sports when it comes to venturing into the area, even those that have lived here a year and know a lot about it. They are very willing to share with us newbies and give us pointers. Most of my time though has been spent with the two other new teachers. Teacher orientation doesn't start until this coming Tues so being new to the area we really don't have anything scheduled and have a lot of free time. This has resulted in walks around the neighborhood and wandering through stores trying to figure out what they sell and what the packaged items actually are, walks to the nearby river, and today my first train ride and a hike in the mountains. It's been fun exploring.

Once I know more about what the actual school year will look like I will write more. At this point I've just been trying to settle in and get to know the other staff and the area we live in. They are all great people and have quickly welcomed in us newbies. I already feel like I have friends here that I can just hangout with and chat with which is a huge blessing.