Yamagata City

I just came back from Yamagata City and bought a pair of new silver striped white Nikes. It's nice to have a new pair of shoes after wearing my ratty old K-Swisses for several years. I even got ￥300 for recycling the old ones. That almost paid for the hourly parking in the Nanokamachi Shopping District. I also went to the main store of Hachimonjiya, a popular book store in Yamagata Pref. There I got a copy of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test application. I'm planning on taking Level 2 this year. The levels rank from 1 thru 5, 1 being the hardest. Last year I failed 2 by about 20 pts, (you need like a 66% to pass) so I'm hoping my studying will pay off this year. I have been studying from my pink 1・2 level grammar and vocab book every day I am at the office. I've also been studying kanji (Chinese characters) from James Heisig's Remembering the Kanji and I'm hoping to finish the book (which covers the writings and readings of a little over 2000 kanji) by the end of the Fall. Though the book doesn't tell you how to pronounce the Chinese and Japanese readings of the characters, once you have the shapes down it's easy to add the sounds to it. Then the next step is to learn the vocab and remember which kanji goes in which word (and which part of the word if it's a compound). Needless to say, Japanese is not an easy language to read and write in. In some ways it might be harder to read in Japanese than Chinese as well because even though Chinese uses more characters for mundane writings, the readings are more standardized from what I've heard. The worst thing about kanji is trying to read names, I am so terrible at it. Because Japanese names were assigned characters somewhat arbitrarily there is almost no method to the madness. Because of this the character for one (一) has over two pages of readings. It can be read ichi, kazu, hito, i, etc. Place names are also a bitch too. There's been more than one time that I knew the characters for a place I wanted to go to but couldn
t remember the exact pronunciation so I couldn't look it up on my car GPS. The book store hachimonjiya for example, I thought was hachimojiya since it has the characters 八(eight)文(sentence)字(character)屋(vedor/store). But 文字 together is commonly read as "moji" and means character or symbol. So the whole "n" thrown in there through me off and it took a couple tries before I could find a route to it. There's been times I miss pronounced teacher's names because of arbitrary kanji readings. I read one teacher's name (白石）as Shiroishi when it was Shiraishi. Then thinking, "Oh well maybe as that compound it's always read that way" I stumbled across a sign driving on the highway for a place called 白石 (Shiroishi). Give me a break.

Anyways, as much as I complain about the characters, I feel they really make Japanese a beautiful language. Sometimes writing can feel like drawing a piece of art and I love that feeling. I don't think I ever enjoy writing as much as handwriting something in Japanese.

So though I'm taking level 2 this fall, I am going to start studying for level 1 as soon as I finish my pink book (which I am finishing quickly). Hopefully it will help me get a better score on level 2 and prepare me for taking level 1 next fall (if I pass 2 this year). To prepare for level 1 I bought out the whole series of textbooks for level 1 published by Unicom. I hope I can finish them all before next fall, but I don't see why that would be a problem. In the meantime, I'm trying to watch as much Japanese TV and everyday and read as many Japanese newspaper articles as possible. I am also reading a Japanese novel called 少年H or Shonen H ("The Boy Named H") written by a famous illustrator/writer about his childhood in Kobe that takes place before the end of WWII. The book is written for young adults and has plenty of furigana (phonetic script written alongside kanji) so it is really easy to read and understand even without a dictionary. I have been training myself to read 3 or 4 pages at a time without looking at a dictionary to see how much I can understand. Then after I go back and look up all the words I don't know and confirm the meaning of what I just read, making a long vocab list as I go. So far I'm at about page 35 and the book is going pretty well. The author's friend has just been arrested for being a "red" (communist) and the pace has started to pick up.




Anyways, I'd like to try and read more stuff in Japanese and do little reviews of them to spice up the blog.

My main goal for passing lvl 1 is to use it as a stepping stone to get a good job in Tokyo or some other major city in Japan. Ultimately I want a job using Japanese back in the States and I need to get some experience in a company before I apply to grad school. Lately I've been looking at the Career Forum website, a major poster of Japanese/English bilingual jobs and I've been seeing postings for some financial-related jobs that require less than native-level Japanese and only business level English that pay a few thousand more $ than my yearly salary. Of course I might be using that extra 4 grand on rent if I'm living in or near Tokyo but, I think it would still be worth it.

Discovery in Omachi!

So yesterday I was about to get in my car with all the stuff from my apartment I wanted to sell to Hard Off, a chain pawn shop in Japan and I spotted something unusual. It was a weird little cafe right near the parking lot I park in. It stood out because I thought there was nothing in the block that I live in. There's supposed to be a sushi place on the corner as there's a glass display with wax food and a sign saying 寿司 (sushi) but I have not once seen it open. Anyways, there's this place called Dungaree's and its an Asian cuisine tea/coffee shop that doubles as a jazz bar. I don't think live bands ever play there, but the guy that runs it seems to have tons of records in his collection. The food wasn't too bad (not amazing though) I ordered some "bean curry" which was apparently a recipe from India. I think he just heated it up in the microwave, but still it didn't taste too bad, so maybe someone had made it earlier in the day. The corner of the place after you enter has several shelves of jazz records and the wall opposite the entrance has all sorts of Buddhist icons, many of which look to be from central Asian countries, not Japan. After I started eating, the guy lit up a cigarette, turned off the sumo match in the background and put on a jazz record. The smoking everywhere is what is the hardest to get used to. Chain restaurants still have smoking and non-smoking sections, something that is a bit harder to find in the US now. But thee are also those places, usually which serve alcohol that are just completely smoking. The smell bothers me quite a bit, but I'm gradually learning to put up with it.

So anyways, the silence is a little awkward because I'm sitting at the bar and he's sort of staring out the window in a direction almost facing me. Then he asks me where I'm from, a frequent conversation starter used by Japanese here. When I say America, he tells me "oh, I've been to America twice. Down to Atlanta and then up to Memphis and around that area." "The other time I went to Detroit and then Colorado." Those seemed like such weird places to go to, not exactly major foreign tourist destinations, I thought. Then he talked about hearing all the country music on his trips. "Do you like that stuff?" I asked. "Well, I don't dislike it, but it's not my favorite." Then I told him how Johnny Cash was just about all the country I could stand.

"Do you travel a lot?" I asked. "Yeah, in fact last week I got back from Nepal." I asked him if he'd been to India and to the countries that the cuisines on the menu were from. "Yeah, I have been to all those places." Apparently he's been to China 9 times. "I road the train all over, one time I took it from Harbin up in the far Northeast down to Shanghai. During one part of the journey you come to this station which is the train station with the highest altitude in the world. The cars are old American ones with diesel engines since the climb is so intense. You get this terrible altitude sickness. Meanwhile the bathrooms are just holes in the floor filled to the brim with toilet paper, so it's really disgusting. I was told to use the bathroom in the other cars because mine was so stopped up. The food is awful, too just some peanuts passed out by an old lady every once in a while. China is really just an awful country." Then he told me about all the diplomatic trouble China causes internationally and how it had border disputes with Russia over some small islands in the middle of a bordering river and Russia was finally like "just take it." He said how dirty India was. "In Japan the street and store signs don't look particularly interesting but if you take a look at the road, it's really super clean, right? India and China are just so dirty though." At the same time I thought it was funny how even though he felt that way about China, he'd gone back several times. The best part was when he pulled out a map of China and Russia and showed me all the places he'd been.

He told me how he traveled to Berlin 4 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and some of the other places he'd visited in Europe. "French people and Chinese, I think are some of the most nationalistic and arrogant. More so the Chinese, though."

I think the most shocking thing about this experience was how there are really super international people here. Often times I tend to think of the people in Yamagata as "hicks" since they have never been abroad and some have never even been to Tokyo. Many people don't seem to know anything substantial about the rest of the world and stereotypes of people from other countries are the only thing many Nagai natives have to go by, it seems. In someways it is similar to rural America. But I still think the people here are nicer.

Back From Sendai!

I'm back from Sendai! I got my multiple re-entry permit (sai nyuukoku kyoka) so I can come and go from Japan as many times as I wish. I made a reservation at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) on Saturday and left around 1:45 PM from Nagai station and headed to nearby Akaya where I got the bullet train to Fukushima. I got on another bullet train in Fukushima and arrived in Sendai at about 4ish. I spent about 4500 yen on the trip there. It was expensive but worth it just to ride the bullet train (shinkansen) for the first time. For the first leg of the trip I didn't have a place to sit, so I just sat on the floor in between two cabins since I just got a "non-reserve ticket" and it was a full train. But on the second leg there was plenty of space and I got awesome views of the area. The mountains covered in gorgeous forests pelted by the summer rain is really a sight to see in Japan. Awesome cloud formations would hover over the mountains creating a really cool looking ancient effect. Everytime I get in my car and drive around Nagai or through the mountains to Yamagata City, I think how ridiculous it is I get to live in such a beautiful place, but this really was something special.

In Sendai I stayed at a youth hostel/ryokan which was super cool. It was only about 50 bucks for one night (without food) but it was fun to relax in a traditional Japanese environment. I put on a yukata and took a bath around 6:00. The water was brutally hot at first but after I soaked in it for a bit I really felt the hot water relax my whole body. Then I went out to a local jazz concert. Even though the weather was absolute shit (raining cats and dogs) it was still worth it to see everything. They also had a sweet breakdancing/funk dance competition. So I stood in the rain with hundreds of other Japanese people and ate fried octopus balls on a stick and heard amazing live funk/jazz bands for free. I got dinner at a local restaurant and made sure to eat my fill. Best Sunday night in a while! I took Monday off too since I had enough overtime hours to use as a day off in addition to my yearly 20 days of paid leave.

I realized how hard it is to find breakfast places in Japan, so I found this fast-food Japanese cuisine place where you literally just buy cold food and microwave it in the corner. Very unsatisfying and made me want to open a pancake house in Tohoku to show Japanese people how great Western breakfasts are. Afterwards I headed to the Regional Immigration Bureau using my car GPS (I just took it with me so I wouldn't need to figure out maps). As I was walking into the office, I ran into Alex, Jema, and Mel (a CIR and two ALTs from nearby Yonezawa). Apparently they had taken the day off to do the same thing I did. Alex is going to Korea next week to visit his ex-girlfriend and the three of them are taking a trip to India this winter (I so want to do that). They helped me fill out the application which was pretty easy and took about 5 minutes once I had everything. Afterwards we went for Indian food which was amazing and just talked for a long time in the restaurant. After that the three were in the mood for some shopping and even though I wanted to visit Matsushima, I was more comfortable hanging out with my friends and just thought I'd hang out with them. Maybe I should have gone...I watched them try on clothes for the longest time at Uniqlo and some high class designer places. Japanese clothes don't fit me in general, I'm way too tall and lean at the same time. I did manage to find some clothes that fit me, but it was like $300 for a pair of jeans with holes in them (Abercrombie-style). I didn't want to be rude to the store attendants, so I just told them I couldn't afford anything today and that I would come back to Sendai when I had more money. Yeah right.

I looked at some furniture at a store similar to Ikea (I need a new couch for my living room since I currently have what appears to be wooden torture chairs with fabric stretched over them.) Apparently I can order the stuff to Yamagata for only about $26. But since we have some furniture stores in the area, I thought I'd check them out first.

On the way back, I just took the bus with the two girls as Alex decided to stay in Sendai longer. It was way cheaper to take the bus (only about $19 each way) so I'll make it a point to do that from now on. Unfortunately when I got back to Yonezawa I realized that the last train for Nagai had already departed so I had to take a Taxi home. It cost about $80 and that was because the driver felt bad charging me more for a single ride so he stopped counting the meter. But he was a super nice guy and told me that he often has foreigners stay at his house (sometimes missionaries studying Japanese and sometimes students doing foreign exchanges in Japan). I can't get over how nice the people are here, even if they can be a little prone to staring at me sometimes. My students also like to rummage through my grocery basket at the supermarket as well and sometimes I wish I could just tell them to get their hands off my shit. Oh well.

Tomorrow I am at Nagai Elementary and the kids are learning about different country's flags and learning to say/ask "what country are you going to?" hopefully it will be pretty straightforward as I'm teaching all 5th graders. Anyways, I am going to make a late dinner and hit the sack!

Japan ： 日本

I am in Japan now. I can't believe my first month has already gone by here. Nagai is a beautiful town nestled in a valley of mountains in Yamagata Prefecture. Unfortunately, I live across from a creepy looking hospital and don't see the mountains when I look out the window, but if I stand on my balcony I can see them looming over to the right and left.

Work for the first few weeks has been boring, I have just been reviewing teaching materials and trying to come up with ideas for games to play with the kids in class. Since Robin, my fellow ALT in the office got back from Thailand, she has been helping me with ideas and giving me teaching tips. But Friday was my first day in the class and it was a great experience even with some of the failed games. I tried to play "fruit basket" to help the kids learn numbers. Basically, they sit around in a circle with one less chair than the number of students in the class so one can stand in the middle of the room and call out a number. Then all the students with that number run to other empty chairs in the circle. I didn't demonstrate the game properly with the students and they were confused at times as to what to do. They also would get their own numbers wrong even though we reviewed 1 through 10 several times. But I did have fun introducing myself to the kids and showed them pictures of my town, Silver Spring, pictures of Snowmageddon from the winter and me sledding. They enjoyed that picture quite a bit. Overall it was a decent first day and felt way better than sitting in the office all the time.

Some of the teachers are really young (a few are even my age) so hopefully I will make friends and we can hang out outside of work. The young ones are also more likely to use English in general it seems, though some older teachers are also really excited to teach their kids in English and avoid using Japanese in the class. Outside class, at my office at the Nagai City Board of Education, I have started to study Japanese at work. Basically as long as I look busy no one will bother me at work. When I think about it, it's amazing that I get paid so well to live in such an amazing place rent free, with a free car and just get to play with kids and study Japanese all the time.

After work I have been trying to get as much exposure to Japanese as possible and study as much as possible. I have several foreign friends in the area and as much as I like hanging out with them, I am terrified of speaking English even a few times of week and constantly worry that my Japanese will not improve significantly because of the need to use English in the classroom and with friends. Lately though, I have started to make some Japanese friends. The other day I went with Will and Jennifer, the new ALTs to the TAS hotel for dinner since I had a ￥1,000 coupon. The next day I was at the library getting a card and the waiter from the previous night introduced himself to me. It was weird because he introduced himself as the pizza I had ordered "mixed pizza!" But we have started to hang out a little bit and he seems like a decent guy, though slightly socially awkward. Turns out he is studying to be a tax official. He's also a stock trader and I asked him for some financial advice in investing in Japanese/American stock. We are hanging out again on Tuesday and are probably going to get some food at a soba place and then play some pool at a local bar.

Weekends have been so much fun, generally I drive to a nearby town and hang out with friends at concerts and do karaoke and so on. Last weekend we went to the Zao Dragon Rock Festival at Mt Zao Ski Resort. It was an all weekend rave and though my English friend Will and I only went for the last day, it was still a blast. Last night we went to neighboring Oguni with a bunch of other foreigners to see some Japanese bands at a small bar. It was an amazing night to say the least. Amazing classical guitar, soulful Japanese love songs and blues! Though the blues band guitarist sung in English he rambled so much we barely made out anything he was singing. But his guitar skills were freaking amazing and the harmonica player had been playing for 18 years even though he was only 20 and was also incredible. At the after party we just hung out with the bands and talked. I was hit on several times by 60 year old Japanese ladies and a bit molested too as they liked to run their hands up my long legs and squeeze my cheeks. One lady was like, "Oh my god you're so cuuuuute!! I can't stand it! Nooooooooooo!" Literally "iya daaa!" as she would put her hands and her cheeks and grin at me. When she asked me why I wasn't a movie star I told her I was bad at acting. We ended up exchanging numbers and will probably go on some karaoke dates. The best part is her job is sewing women's panties. We watched drunken men try and wrestle the huge judo-playing harmonica player as he defeated each one super easily. You could literally hear the table cracking as he slammed their fists down.

Speaking of judo, I got the number of a local chiropractor who is also a Judo teacher. I will call him on Monday about taking lessons. Apparently he teaches all levels from beginner to advanced. I really want to put on muscle and get in great shape and I have never met a judo player who didn't have an amazing body. Can't wait!

Tomorrow I am teaching at Nagai Southern middle school, so I am looking forward to that. Anyways, I will try and get some pictures up soon.

出発の準備：Preparing for Departure

ジェットの準備をちゃんとしようとしてるけど、西海岸への旅行の前に全部やりたい。そうだ、２０日〜２５日まで、友達のアダムとサンフランシスコにいるよ。サンフランシスコへ行ったことがないし、アダムはそことても好きだし、あいつを説得してるのは簡単だった。元に、両親と一緒に行かせたかったけど、最近忙しすぎて行けないらしい。アダムのシンセキは旅行に行ったから、現地のホステルに泊まる予定。

最近前任者のクリストファーからメールをもらった。仕事とアパートのことを手伝いするために、俺が着いてから１週間後ぐらいアパートに残るそうだ。山形にいるまでは、３週間以下で、信じられない。オフィスの人は山形で会ってくれるって言ったから多分成田から飛行機で山形空港へ行かなければならないみたい。着いたら、最初に仕事で何をするかわかんないけど。契約や保険、外国人登録書、免税のための書類をサインしなければならいだろうが、９月までは学校が休みだから最初の責任は何か分かんない。今の所、態度は８０％楽しみで２０％緊張。一番悩んでるのは、教室に入って、いい印象づけることと、格好わるく見えないってこと。確かに、前ほど人の前で話すことは恐くないし、その理由でこの仕事できるって決めたわけ。去年の夏、在米日本大使館では、K-12の生徒や大学生と大学院生であった国務所のインターンにも週に何回もプレゼンを行った。確かに恥ずかしいこともあったが、結局俺の弱みや改善する方法が見えて面白かった。しばらくしてから、皆の俺に対する意見のこと悩めないって気づいた。ただどうやって抗議の内容を伝えばいいのか、どうやって俺も皆も楽しめられるのか、心配したほうがいいと気づいた。

とりあえず、こっちにいる時間を大事にしようとしてる。一番悲しいことは、年寄りの祖父母などのこれからまた会えない人もいるってこと。彼らと離れることは、罪があるんじゃないかと思うが、祖父母は、俺が目的だったものに達して嬉しいって知ってる。ただ、皆支えたことが意味のあることと見えるように、この経験を大事にする。

ちなみに、これ新しい住所：
〒993-0083
山形県長井市大町１３−３−２０３好人荘



I've been trying to keep busy preparing for JET but I'd like to have everything done before I head out for my trip to the west coast. That's right I'm going to be in San Francisco from the 20th to the 25th with my best friend Adam. I've never really been to San Fran so I'm looking forward to going and Adam loves it, so convincing him to go with me was pretty easy. Originally I was trying to get my parents to come with but they're a bit too caught up with stuff going on with other things right now. We're staying at a hostel it turns out since Adam's relatives are going to be out of town.

I got an email from Christopher, my predecessor again. He said he's staying another week at least to help me get settled in at work and into my new apartment. It's less than 3 weeks until I am in Yamagata, I can't believe it. He mentioned that they're meeting me at the airport in Yamagata so I guess I have to take another plane from Narita to Yamagata Airport. I don't exactly know what I'm going to be doing workwise when I arrive. I understand I have to sign my contract do paperwork for my insurance, alien registration card, tax exemption, etc., but I wonder what my responsibilities are going to be right off the bat since school won't be in session until early September. I'd say I'm 80% excited and 20% nervous. What I'm scared about most is walking in the first day in front of the class, giving a good impression and not looking like a total loser. Though I've come to realize I can't be afraid of looking like a loser in the beginning at least. I certainly don't have stage freight as bad as I used to and that's one reason I thought I could do this job. At the Japanese Embassy last summer, I participated in presentations for K-12ers and even undergrad and grad student interns from the state department several times a week. Yes, I did embarrass myself multiple times, but it was also interesting to see my weaknesses and get feedback on how to improve. After awhile I realized I couldn't be afraid of what everyone thought about me; rather how to best convey the content of the lecture/lesson and to make sure everyone (including myself) had fun being there.

In the meantime I'm just trying to make the most of my time before I leave. What's the saddest is that there are some people I know I may never see again, like my elderly grandparents. I feel guilty about leaving them, but I know they're happy for me that I am following my dream. I just hope to make the experience worthwhile, so everyone who loves me can see their support pay off.

P.S. here is my future address:

〒993-0083
Yamagata-ken, Nagai-Shi
Omachi 13-3-203 Kouzinsou
(Japan)

In Japanese:

〒993-0083
山形県長井市大町１３−３−２０３好人荘

身元調査来た！ My Background Check Came!

この間うちに帰って、身元調査がコーヒーテーブルに置いてあった。心配もう要らない！最後の準備を始められる。今のところ、タンテーブルやパソコン、車などの売りたいもののリストを書いてる。つまり、両親は俺のものを処理しなくてよくて、現金もらえるように資産を全部清算するつもり。最初の月給をもらう前の時期に、携帯などの基本の消費に払えて生きられるように２０００ドルか２５００ドル必要。元にiPhoneが欲しかったけど、結局ドコモの携帯買おうと思う。アップルはソフトバンクという会社との契約あるけど、ソフトバンクは山の所為か田舎のつながりがよくないって聞いた。

まぁ、日本に行く前にたくさん運動したいから今体育館に行くぞ！


I came home from the gym tonight to find my FBI Background check laying on the coffee table. No more worries! Now I can just begin my final preparations for leaving. I'm making a list of a bunch of things I want to sell including my turntables and old desktop computer and even my car. Basically I want to liquidate all my assets so my parents don't have to deal with any of my crap and I have some extra spending money. I need about 2000 to 2500 USD to pay for basic expenses and some investments like a cell phone til my first paycheck. I wanted to get an iPhone but I think I'm going to go with a docomo phone. iPhone's contracted service company, SoftBank apparently has really bad reception in the country due to mountains and whatnot.

Well, I'm trying to get in shape a bit before I leave so I'm going to run to the gym!

39 Days Til Shuppatsu : 出発までは３９日間

イントロ

ちゃんとブログのイントロを書いた方がいいかな。名前はマイケル・ドーハーティ（２３歳）。２０１０年の７月にジェットプログラムで日本に行く予定。ということは、八つの日本の学校（小・中）で英語を教えることになった。この前は、７週間の留学プログラムに神奈川県川崎市に行った（この時以外はもう一回しか海外に行ったことがない）。最近日本語と言語学のダブルメージャーの学士を終了したが、日本語能力はまだものすごく足りない。もちろん滞在の期間はレベルアップしたい。具体的に、日本語能力試験の１級を取って帰ってきたい。ほぼ６年間日本語の勉強してるが、めっちゃ難しい。漢字や単語を調べないで意味を合わせて新聞さえちゃんと読めないし大変。でも最近ウィキペディアの記事を何も調べないで、漢字を８０パーセントぐらい読めるようになった。それにしても単語の意味全部わかるわけじゃないね。

わくわく

さて、ジェットに要求された書類をほとんど出したが、後は身元調査だけ。いや違法な活動なんか見つけられちゃうなんて悩んでない、ただ大使館に締め切りまでに出せるのかと心配してる。締め切りは７月２日でその時までに出さないといけない。今日FBIに電話して５月３日に届いたようだが、俺がもらうまで１２週間かかるみたい．．．ワシントンJETのググル・グループを読んでて、身元調査が間に合わなくても失格される可能性は低いって言われたけど、実はどうかなと悩んでる。とにかくできることないから、心配する意味ない。

先月、御陰様で長井市の前任者から連絡をもらった。仕事があるとしたら、色んな役に立つ住宅と長井市についての基本情報をもらった。今まで分かったことは、政府は俺の家賃にお金を出してる。そしてアパートは県中の最も大きいALTのアパートの一つ（ガスのストーブもあっていいね！）。それに車は消費は５００ドルぐらいのこととフォードエクスプロラーを運転することもわかった。長井は東京から４時間ぐらい離れたとこにある小さな街。人口は２万人ぐらい。写真をいくつか見てものすごく田舎っぽいのとこ。立った一つの希望は寂しくならないように友達がたくさんできるってこと。少なくとも一年間いるけど、好きだったら数年間後も滞在するかもしれない。友達と家族、素晴らしい彼女のレーチェルとの分かれは大変になるだろう。でもいい経験だったら、独立者になって面白い物語を持って帰ってくるだろう。

お休みなさい


Intro

I guess I need a proper introduction to my blog. My name is Michael Dougherty, I'm 23 years old and I am going to Japan in July 2010 (next month) with the JET Program. This means I'll be teaching English in 8 Japanese schools (elementary and middle). Previously, I have been to Japan for a 7-month study abroad program in Kawasaki, Kanagawa but that's about it (I've only been abroad one other time). I just completed a B.A. in Japanese Language and Literature with a double major in Linguistics at the University of Maryland, though my Japanese is so very far from fluent. Needless to say, I hope I can improve while I'm there. Specifically, I want to come back to the U.S. with level 1 Japanese Language Proficiency Test certification. I've been studying the language for about 6 years but it's been a challenge to say the least. I can't even read a newspaper properly without taking forever to look up the Japanese characters and vocabulary and slowly piecing together the meaning. Lately I've been noticing that I can read 70 to 80 percent of a given Japanese Wikipedia article without needing to look up meanings/readings of any characters, which is a plus, but it doesn't mean I understand what the words mean!

Pins and Needles


So I have sent in just about all my documents to the JET Office, the only one remaining, the dreaded FBI background check. No, I'm not worried that they'll find any past illegal dealings, just that I won't have everything in on time. The deadline is like July 2nd by which time I need to have sent the Japanese Embassy my ID record. I called today and they said they received it on May 3rd (so I was a little late getting it in, after hearing in early April) and it'll be 12 weeks before I get it in the mail... I have been keeping up with the DC JET Google group and have been reassured that it is unlikely I'll be disqualified for a late FBI record but there definitely is still the possibility in my mind at least. Anyways, there's really nothing I can do at this point so no need in worrying I spose.

I have been lucky enough to have been contacted by my predecessor in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture. Considering I have a job, he has given me tons of info about Nagai and my future living circumstances. What I can piece together at this point is that I'll be living rent free in one of the largest JET apartments in Yamagata (even have a coveted gas stove) and my expenses will be around 500 USD a month. There's apparently no one else that lives in the apartment so I pretty much have the building to myself. I'll be driving a 2000 Ford Explorer (hopefully with snow tires). Nagai is a small city about 4 hours north of Tokyo by car. The population is in the 20 thousands. I've seen some pictures and it looks pretty rural. I just hope I can make a lot of friends so I won't be too lonely. I'll be there for at least the next year and maybe a few more depending on how much I like life. It's going to be hard saying goodbye to my family and friends and my awesome girlfriend Rachel. But hopefully I'll be back with a lot of great stories to tell and return a more interesting, independent person overall.

Oyasumi nasai

Mai Brog

拝啓

私のブログをご覧になっていただいてどうもありがとうございます。このブログは日本語でも英語でも書くようにしておりますが、日本語をまだ勉強しておる私はミスをたくさんいたすと存じますので、お許しいただければと存じます。

今後もよろしくお願い致します。

敬具

マイク　



Dear

Thank you and have a look at the views of my brog. We have this brog to write in both English and in Japanese, I'm still learning Japanese, Nikki and I hope to write a postscript, so a lot of mistakes, I hope you will excuse me.

Thank you in the future.

Yours sincerely

Mike

(English translation courtesy Google Translate)