This is still a dream, right? No town could possibly sound so perfect... JET Update 9

A welcome letter from my supervisor:

Dear --,

Welcome to Kuroshio Town. Everyone is looking forward to you coming from the bottom of their hearts. My name is --, and I will be your supervisor. I am looking forward to meeting you and working together. I think you will find the children in Kuroshio very energetic and enthusiastic, although, of course, there will be a few unenthusiastic children too. The children are really cute and can’t wait for you to come. In kuroshio Town there is lots of beautiful nature: pine forests, mountains, oceans and beaches. I think you will find the people in Kuroshio very warm, but sometimes a little shy. In Kuroshio we have lots of events and activities, which we would love for you to join (if you want to). I hope you will make many friends and come to experience Kuroshio life. We will be doing our best to make your transition from Canada to Kuroshio go as smoothly as possible...

HOW MANY MORE DAYS???? FORTY????!!!! AHHHH!!!!

JET Update 8

Here is an excerpt from the e-mail from my predecessor (spelling errors are his):

"Congratulations

Greetings --,

Welcome from Kuroshio Town! Everyone is excited to have you come. You will find Kuroshio a warm and friendly town full of down to earth people. It is a fishing and farming community, surrounded by beautiful vistas and gorgeous mountains and beaches. As for work, you will be based at the town board of education (5 mins bike ride from your modern apartment). It’s a typical Japanese office, so everyone is very busy, but they are always willing to help you. You will be teaching at 5 schools: 4 elementary schools and 1 Junior high school and average about 16 lessons a week. Your role will be a mixture of teaching English, culture and getting involved in town events. Everyone is super friendly, so you will be greeted everywhere you go by the students, parents and locals who might have heard of you. I’m sure you will come to love Kuroshio Cho as much as I have.

...

You will be located in Kuroshio Cho (Town), Kochi Ken (Prefecture), which is in the island of Shikoku. Kuroshio, until 3 years ago, was two distinct towns called Saga and Ogata, but they were amalgamated to cut costs. While the official name is Kuroshio, everyone still uses Ogata and Saga. You will be living in an area called Irino, which is the ‘central hub’ of Ogata. There is another ALT who lives in Saga, --, who is really friendly and will be able to help you out all year long.

Kuroshio is a small beach town, famous for surfing, whale watching and its katsuo no tataki (a fish dish). It’s also really close to the Shimanto River, reputedly ‘the most beautiful river in Japan’. As it is right next to Shimanto City, the conveniences of a big city are close at hand, but you still get to experience small town community. Everyone in town is super friendly and laidback, the scenery is beautiful and the food is best (no where in Japan has fresher fish).

Kuroshio has a population of about 14,000, most of which falls into Ogata. Kuroshio actually covers a fairly large territory but it’s primarily on the coast, so it’s full of beaches. It has also has beautiful mountains, great for cycling. In the town there lots of Izakayas and other small restaurants, as well as one nice hotel called NEST that serves western food. There’s a supermarket, a convenience store and lots of little fruit and vegetable shops. There’s also a dollar store and a huge hardware store (near your apartment). There are lots of other stores, pharmacies and hair salons as well. In short, the bulk of your needs can be met in the town itself. The town is also home to Tosa-Irino, a major train stop on the Kuroshio-Line.

Nakamura (Shimanto City) is a 15 minute drive away. It’s the biggest city in western Kochi with a population of about 50,000. There are tons of bars, restaurants, stores and pretty much everything you will need. Any needs that can’t be met in Ogata, can easily be done there.　Its also the home the beautiful Shimanto river, which is great for walks, canoeing and other activities. Between Nakamura and Ogata, you can do just about any Japanese activity you want. You can do kendo, karate, pottery, calligraphy, tea ceremony, Japanese archery as well as outdoor pursuits: biking, kayaking, fishing, surfing, body boarding, running, tennis, soccer, swimming, walking. There is also a gym in Nakamura; it’s pretty run down, but very cheap at 50$ for 6 months.

Ogata is about 2-2.5 hours drive (or about 2 hours by train) from Kochi city. The closest airport is in Kochi, as well movie theatres (but you can rent tons of DVDs from Tsutaya, a 15 min drive from your apartment). The downside to Ogata is that it can be a bit quiet and you might find it a bit lonely at times. Additionally Kochi is one of the most remote prefectures in Japan so travel is a bit difficult. That being said, I never got lonely, in large part because the KOCHI JETS have a really close knit community, especially in and around Nakamura. Additionally because Ogata is the home of 7km stretch of white beach called Irino Beach, lots of jets come to visit..."

47 days left!

How Many Days? JET Update 7

I leave for Japan in 57 days!  That's less than two months folks!

The person who I will be taking over for has kindly contacted me so that I can ask questions, and so I now have some new information.

I've found out that I'll be teaching at 4 elementary schools, and one junior high school- so basically a different school for every day of the week.  It sounds like I might be the only JET participant in town- especially since the town is so small.

My apartment is considered big and new by Japanese standards.  It has a separated bedroom, living room, kitchen/dining area, and a bathroom with a clothes washer.  Apparently it's so hot in Kuroshio-cho that everyone just air dries their clothes.

I have the option of being called by my English first name, or my Japanese middle name.  I decided to stick with my first name, just so that there isn't any confusion on my level of fluency in Japanese.

The town atmosphere is "pretty casual" and is "predominatly a surfer town" which sounds awesome.

I'm off to work right now (no 4:15am for me today!  WOOOO!) so this is as much as I can post!

JET Update 6 and a General Update on Life

Hey everyone!  It's been a long time since my last update, and I apologise.

I've had some news from JET, as you've gathered from the title... I know the city I'll be posted in!  Hehe...it was formerly two fishing villages that combined into one so that they could be called a town...  That should give you a hint about what it'll be like living with just under 14, 000 people on the Pacific side of Shikoku.  Kuroshio-cho, Kochi-ken, on Shikoku.  Kuroshio is the town name, Kochi is the prefecture, and Shikoku is the island.

When I got the news, first thing I did was load Google Earth and searched for it (you need to remove the 'cho' and 'ken' in order for Google Earth to recognise it).  As that was loading, I Googled it, and lo and behold, one of the first two entries that popped up was talking about a SURFING SCHOOL (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) that was located in my town!  WOOOO!  As many of you know, I've wanted to surf for a long time, and not just once or twice, but really learn to surf.  This is perfect.

Then, I started researching the local art traditions, and wouldn't you know it, but that matches my interests too!  Apparently this prefecture is well-known for it's washi, the paper making that results in the paper lanterns, kites, origami paper, etc.  Excellent.  I have been interested in paper making and the like for  a while, especially since my grandmother uses the Japanese paper to make special birthday cards for me and my sister.  I hope that I'll be able to learn part of this traditional art...

The prefecture is beautiful.  The mountains in the area lead right into the Pacific, in a very similar fashion to my current home (although there is no island sheltering me from crazy wind and waves...).  There are gorgeous beaches, and it looks so lush and green.  It reminds me of some of the landscape that is featured in the movie "My Neighbour Totoro" which would be awesome!!!!

The next thing to pray about is finding a church there.  I'm worried that there may not be one in the town at all.  I wouldn't mind travelling to another town or city, but I really don't want to have to take a six-hour train ride to get there, yeah?  Please pray for this, and begin praying for my supervisors, teachers, students, and neighbours that I will have there.

Other than that, my life is pretty much as per the usual.  My sister is currently gadding about Europe, and will return exactly one month before I depart to Japan.  I'm still working at both of my jobs, and am looking forward to my convocation ceremony from University with my B.Arts.

Warmer spring weather is upon us, and I've been playing beach volleyball at a local park with some friends a couple of times a week.

Life is pretty darn good right now.