1st post post 23rd birthday.

Well, I suppose it has come to this, if I want to keep in touch with everyone I knew back in the States, I need to clue them in on my life through a blog. Better than getting disconnected.

I've been in Japan for 2 weeks now, I'm finally settled in my apartment in the middle of the Ikata countryside. 2 bedroom apartment, nicely sized livingroom, kitchen, washing machine...pretty sweet. While the "middle of nowhere" aspect of it will take some getting used to, I could not have asked for a better location. You see Ikata-cho is a town on the Ehime-ken peninsula so the Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean is a short drive away. Kinda reminds me of my days in San Francisco when all I had to do was take a joy ride along Sloat Blvd to get to Great Highway, the cliffhouse and the foggy Pacific Ocean. My apartment is right behind my base junior high school so going to work takes about 1 minute by foot, the gym is right next door to the school so that's about 2 minutes away and the convenient store (Lawsons) is 3 minutes away. Perfect.

The People. They've been fantastic. My supervisor, Mr. Shiga, has done everything humanly possible to make me feel at home by running all sorts of errands with me: from helping me get internet and my alien registration card to going to the 100 yen store and helping me get a new toaster & microwave. He can't speak a word of English so it has been a challenge understanding all the big words he uses (he's a member of the board of the education so I guess he uses alot of professional language?). No matter, I get the gest of what he's saying. Jessamine, my neighbor and the CIR in the area, lives right above me. Talk about good location again. She's been very helpful as she's helped interpret everything, taken me around to firework displays and summer festivals, and helped me adjust to Japan by watching The Office and The Lord of the Rings with me. Nice way to cope with culture shock.

Everyone at the school have been hospitable too. People are always shocked when I can speak Japanese as "fluently" as I do as they always recognize a hint of my Osaka-ben (dialect). Honnma? Over the summer it is always a challenge to find things to do in the teacher's office. You see, while school does not start until September, we're still obligated to go to school to prepare lessons and what not. Unfortunately, as an ALT, I have very little to do. Some newbies opt to learn Japanese (to curry favor from fellow teachers) while others surf the net at the dismay of colleagues. I decided to help coach the middle school basketball team. In Japan teachers are obliged to participate as coaches for all the student's sports, even if they had never played it themselves. Coaching has been fun as it has helped me build a rapport with my soon to be English students. I've taught them alot: knock out, around the world, Cat & Mouse drills, passing drills (bounce and chest), rebounding (box out). It has been VERY difficult because I have had to do it all in Japanese. Maybe I should start using English...you know, that whole "killing two birds with one stone" saying, is it too cliche? I admit, I did get frustrated the other day...I don't know if it was because of the lack of hustle at the end of practice or just my own frustrations with my inability to convey my full thoughts to my kids. I want them to play the game right but it's hard when you can't even talk properly to your players. No matter, it's a two way street, I'll have to be a good student of Japanese if I wanna be better.

I love my middle schoolers but practice everyday wears on the body and mind. I needed to make some friends my own age. The answer: basketball with an adult team. Every wednesday at 7:30 there's an adult team that practices at the gym. I ran with them this past wednesday and I'd like to think I made some friends. The ages range as there are high schoolers and then there are men in their early 30s. Everyone plays hard, though, they run the court very well, cutting nicely to well timed passess. I can get used to this style of play. The captain, Yoshito, is pretty good as he uses his atheticism to penetrate the basket and hit mid range jumpers. Motoyama, a bigger fellow, has a distinct Osaka-ben accent. They both offered me to have beer after the game but I had to refuse...People in Japan drink ALOT, they seem to want to celebrate any occasion with a beer...it's crazy. You think you drink alot in college, no, Japanese people will out do you. And we're not talking young people, I'm talking about 40 year old Salarymen...they'll down 5 beers in a blink of an eye. Talk about the Kobiyashis of alcohol.

For my final thought I'll share with you all a project I'm trying to start up. I'm trying to arrange a Pen Pal with my old elementary school, Clarendon. What better way to foster cross-cultural understanding for the younger generation? I got a hold of my 5th grade teacher and he seems very excited about the project. As my school was a Japanese Bilingual school, the children will be able to write both in Japanese and English. In addition to letters, I will have them send pictures and little presents to each other. This project will be special for me as it'll let me share with my students what it was like to grow up in my CITY, my home. And I think it'll be important for the American students to understand a Japan that is not all about anime, high-tech devices and pokemon. Granted, this is part of their culture but letters to the countryside should allow them to understand a different type of Japan. My hope is that the students will keep in touch with each other and build a network amongst themselves.

Well, that's all from Ikata-cho, hope to hear from you all soon. Sayonara