Sorry for the late post! It's been a hectic few days, what with training, me moving into my new place, and exploring Japan. Training in Mito for a whole two days was a pretty tiring process. The first night I arrived, I couldn't find my way out of the station. It's harder than it sounds! There were staircases leading up and over, down into a shopping center, and up into balcony shops. I mean, I knew where to go, but I had no idea how to get to the street I wanted. You couldn't simply cross the street because there was no sidewalk and no staircase descended directly into it. So finally, I just got into a taxi cab and sucked it up.
The next day was training. It was a pretty long 8 hours and at the end of it none of the trainees (all 10 of us) left at the same time. We'd moved to a different location from our starting point, so I wasn't exactly sure where I was supposed to go. I started heading out in the right direction but got confused at the intersection so I stepped into the 7 11 (which btw, does not sell slurpees...) and asked for directions. The guy points to his right and says, just go straight and you'll see it. So, in my heels, I take off in the direction he points for half an hour. I knew I was walking a little slower because my feet hurt so much which is why I walked for so long. In the end, I asked someone else where the hotel was and they said, you're headed in the wrong direction. So fantastic. I walk back the way I've just come, shedding my shoes along the way because I'd formed rather bad blisters by that point. And find that the hotel was a mere block away from the 7 11 where I'd started. Sadness, got lost again.
Anywho, here's a pic of the training group! Everyone was really awesome and yes, the guy on the left is a giant. I'm quite literally half his height.
Oh yes, here is the most awesome thing that I've seen so far in Japan. And it is allll over. Talk about parking efficiency. Anywho, you drive your car onto one of these circles. (Pretend you've just driven your car from the left side of the picture, and the parking garage is to your left). The circle will then rotate your car 90 degrees to the left so that you're facing the garage
Ok, here comes the awesome part. I mean, aside from the fact that the circle has just moved you. After that, all you have to do is move your car forward into the garage and get out. After that, an attendant will rotate the CONVEYER BELT you have just parked your car on so that an empty space awaits the next car. The picture below shows the conveyer belt in midswing. Your can see the car on the right side and the empty spot on the left. Pretty cool right! And they're everywhere! haha
After I left Mito finally, I headed to my city. This is the first site I saw after I left Matsudo Station:
Oh yes! So I live in Matsudo. It's about 10 miles from Tokyo and 40 minutes away from the city I'll be working in (Narashino city). The train station's about 10 minutes from my place. I'll take more pictures of that when I have more time. On September 1st I'll start my first day of work. I'm working at 4 elementary schools: Saginuma, Fujisaki, Yatsuminami, and Okubo. Can't wait! Oh yes, and my new place! It's a little on the small side... Probably more so than the hotel room, the bathroom's down the hall, and the shower's downstairs... But now that all the bad stuff's outta the way, everyone's very nice. I've already made pretty good friends with the 2 other people living in the same guesthouse who also work for Heart. The third is really quiet and keeps to himself.... yaaa... weirdo (jk). Most people here speak English which is pretty nice and everything I need is just within walking distance. Kinda like LA in a way. Anndddd, there's a sauna in the mini gym we have. A sauna. I've never been in one, but I guess I should try since it's part of the whole package. But like I said, I'll take more pictures after I've moved myself in, it's still kinda packed in my room cuz I keep buying stuff from my favorite store: the 100 yen store yay.
So, my first day in Matsudo, I meet the manager (who is very nice) and drag my stuff up to my room only to leave immediately to visit my first school: Saginuma. Nothing too exciting there, just met the Board of Education who were two very kind gentleman and the head teacher and principal from the school. We chatted a little, the head teacher made sure that I knew I was to work very hard (intensseee) and my coordinator from Heart and I made our way back to Matsudo. On the way back we didnt' realize we'd taken the wrong train for about 20 minutes... Great, so we change trains and finally get back to Matsudo. Lost again... (3rd time lol) After that, my coordinator takes me to Matsudo City Hall so I can register for my alien registration card, but he has to leave in the middle and I'm left to find my way back. I think you can see a pattern now. Damn Japanese streets lol, why can't they be straightforward. In order to get back to my apartment, I couldn't take city level streets. I had to take the stairs up to Matsudo Station, go through the station itself, then descend the stairs to find my way back. Wasn't lost for too long though, just an hour.... So, to sum this post up, out of the 4 days I had spent in Japan by that point. I had gotten lost on 4 separate occassions. Wheeeee, blisters galore lol. But! I've gotten a break since then and I'm feeling much better. Look forward to the next post!
