Ok, Ok, I apologize to those who’ve been whining that I haven’t written. There’s just so much, I don’t know where to start. I guess I’ll start with the pictures. This is my apartment…like I said, about as small as a dorm room, but very cute, and the floor-to ceiling windows in my bedroom are amazing, not to mention I have a great view of a mountain through them. The picture of the building is at Segewa Jr. High School. Yes, I finally started working. This is what you see from the baseball field, and the building is the school itself. It’s very small, only about 75 students for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade, but I’m glad for this, because hopefully I’ll get to know all of the students. I will be at a different school on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Funehiki Junior High, which is absolutely huge, so it will be nice to have some variety. So, maybe I’ll just go in chronological order from this point. Last Monday we did our rounds through the town and met the “most important” people for us to know. First we met the mayor (logical). He told us to come and visit if we got homesick…the exact place I’m sure I’d run if I missed my mom = )…just one example of saying something that’s not exactly true to be polite. Next, we met the policemen of the city (all 5 of them)...not quite AS logical, but I guess still important, then we went to the train station to meet the manager (getting weirder) and then finally to the post office to officially (bows and all) be introduced to everyone there (yes, we're officially out of Kansas, Toto). It was really nice to feel cared for by Mr. Maki, our boss, though. He's the cutest (and very well-respected) old man I've ever seen. He's about as tall as me and his whole face smiles. I'm glad to be working for such a cheery person. Tuesday we continued our introductions, this time to our new school principles and the board of education (insert scary music here). We all donned our best suits and were driven by bus to this huge fancy building. We bowed, and bowed, and bowed, and when we heard our names called out amidst a slew of Japanese words we didn’t understand, we bowed again. The scene, without understanding the politeness and emphasis on respect in the Japanese culture, would have been quite comical. We met the chairman of the board of education in a separate room—which turned out to be a kids’ play room, tumble toys on the floor and everything. Since it had carpet, we had to take off our shoes, which was interesting because I had a huge hole and run in my stockings. So, we all lined up and said our “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu”s (I humbly place myself in your care) in unison—over, and over, and over again. Occasionally we got a chuckle as they were introducing Nate as the “co-di-na-to”, probably because he’s “co-di-na-ting” 10 girls. Maybe it’s good we didn’t understand everything… Anyway, after our tiny tot room intros were done, we headed to a huge room that looked like it was used for some sort of performances or something—the floors and walls were all wood, and there were contraptions on the ceiling that looked like they were used for accousitcs. We met all of the principles and the teachers we’d be working with, after, of course, the 1 ½ hour introductions in Japanese. (Again, we obediently bowed whenever we heard the Japlish versions of our names called out). The best part of the afternoon, however, came toward the end of this hyper-formal meeting when—in the middle of the bowing and the “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu”s, everything went completely black. (Too many Americans in one room, the system couldn’t handle it?) It was, of course, fixed in a hurried and efficient way, but it was nice to have something to lighten the mood. Ok, must sum up at this point. Wednesday I started at Segewa Jr. High. I’m working with one teacher there (the only person in the building who speaks fluent English) named Tamaki sensei. She’s a really sweet lady who just turned 30. She’s already asked me to go to dinner with her sometime, so I’m excited. My first days at Segewa are, honestly a blur…so many new things, but to be remembered are: the best question I was asked and the dumbest mistake I made. Best question: Can you drink Japanese water? Dumbest mistake: After work you’re supposed to say gokoro sama deshita (thank you for your hard work), well, I mixed it up with, and decided to tell Tamaki sensei “Gochiso sama deshita” (Thank you for the feast you just served me). She was a little confused…. And then there was Tokyo. This weekend we went to Tokyo to see sumo wrestling and “experience the city.” I was surprised how seriously they take this sport, but they definitely do. It was interesting to see how much of the culture could be observed just from sitting in the arena. Sunday we went to church (much different, very small) in Tokyo in a dual-language service, then went to Ueno Eki (park) to the Tokyo Museum of art. It was really interesting, but exhausting. We got home just in time for the last train from Koriama to Funahiki…..whooo! This week I started school at Funehiki Jr. High. It’s huge. The kids are great, though, and Tammy and I (she works there every day), had many chances to make the kids laugh including saying my name….apparently “Holly” when pronounced with a Japanese accent sounds an awful lot like “Harry” which in turn leads to “Harry Potter! Harry Potter!” Well….I figured out a costume for when we teach Halloween. And then there was today. Today was a national holiday (what it was, I do not know), and we went to Aizu, a nearby city, to watch a samurai parade. It was amazing. We also went to a memorial place/ burial ground where several young boys committed mass suicide (an honorable thing in the culture…see The Last Samurai to understand better) when they thought the castle was on fire. Apparently it wasn’t, so it was a huge tragedy. Either way, young boys committing suicide in my eyes is a tragedy in itself. There is so much about the culture I will never understand. Well, my head is swimming from so much in one day. The thing about being in a new culture is that you never stop thinking. Even simple tasks like taking a shower are arduous (such as reading the Japanese to figure out which one’s shampoo and which one’s conditioner!) I have managed to learn Hiragana and Katakana, the two phonetic alphabets in Japanese (Hiragana is added to Kanji—modified Chinese characters—and Katakana is used for adaptations of foreign words, such as sha-nm-pu). This has proven extremely helpful. The Kanji will take longer. But, day by day, I have to remember to be patient. Being misunderstood and not understanding is ok. Life will always be a learning process, no matter which country you’re in. You’re just more aware of it away from home. Sorry this is so long….I’ll update more often, I promise!