Let's do its best together happily!

As I headed to Katashina with my supervisor I couldn't help but think... what the hell did I get myself into. We spoke only through my Japanese dictionary and hand gestures and drove further and further away from the city. He showed me my room- a small apartment, already filled with the stuff and clutter from the previous JETs. On the table was a paper saying, "Let's do its best together happily! Than all the Board of Education". We went back to the main office to have an "opening ceremony" (they have ceremonies for absolutely EVERYTHING) and then out to dinner with my supervisor, principal, superintendent and an English teacher (who spoke little English and kept telling me that he was fat). Where do we go to dinner my first night in my Japanese village? The local Italian restaurant. It was a silly dinner- the superintendent telling me facts about Ben Franklin and asking me to sing an American song, the English professor telling me he was fat and later on that he was drunk, and all of then bending over backwards to impress the superintendent. Only afterwards did I find out that these were some of the most important people in the village (which means I probably offended them continually and drank too much beer in front of them). I crashed early, bewildered, overwhelmed, confused, jet lagged and, yes, extremely homesick.

morning walk.. flowers everywhere!
my roooom
bathroom.. sweet bathtub
tatami room and my bed/futon
view from my balcony.. mountain village