Views from the Hotel

The last 4 are from my room, the rest were from high up in the building

Earthquakes and Jet Lag

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning during my first night thinking perhaps I had hit some crazy button on the bed side table turning on a massage function or something...then thought oh wait this is probably an earthquake.  Then I turned over and went back to bed and was asleep again before it was over. 

While the earthquake did not make me as nervous or cause problems the way I thought they might. Jet lag has been kicking my ass.  I am not at the moment on either good hours for back home or for Japan.  at about 6-8 PM here I get dead tired which I think would be about 5-7AM at home.  Either way I can't remember ever being as tired as I was during the dinner reception last night, I was super lame last night and instead of hitting the town hit the hay...at like 7:30 oops.  Tonight I am determined to do better.  But I did wake up at like 4 AM so I may once again be exhausted by dark and fail :( .   

Made it

I am now in Japan

First impression of Tokyo:  It was darker than I thought it would be.  This may have been because the famous picture(s) of the roads with copious amounts of neon lights and street signs.  Perhaps that is not actually as common as I always thought.  I have also heard it said not all the lights are being turned on anymore to conserve power since the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear reactor issues.  So it could actually be darker than normal (I cannot confirm or deny the accuracy of this statement of the credibility of it's source but that's what I heard)

I am exhausted so did little exploring I pretty much ate and walked around for like half an hour, typed this and then will pass out.  But below is my first meal in Japan, Leek Citron Udon.

First impression of Japanese food:  the broth was tasty however udon noodles are so large around for a pasta I found it tricky to eat (then again I lack skills with the C-stix)  Also I was surprised by the portion.  I got a medium having heard portions would be much smaller than back home, but it was much to large for me to finish and was very filling food.  

Anyway no more for now as I am falling asleep at the desk.

Getting Ready

Done:
Apply for a job
Get job
Graduate
Paperwork for job
IRS paperwork
National Background check
2nd National Background check when 1st fingerprints were unreadable
State Background check in case the 2nd national one doesn't show up on time
Visa Application
International Drivers Permit
Get working appropriate clothes
Set up Blog
Inform bank ill be in Japan
Research where I am going
Research high school lesson plans
Eat lots of Chipotle
Spend time with family and friends
Probably other things that I have already forgotten about

Need to do:
Pack a years worth of stuff (or more) into these 3 little bags

Get travelers checks and/or yen
Finish cleaning out my room
Power of Attorney paperwork
pick up a few odds and ends
learn Japanese
See final Harry Potter film
eat more Chipotle
Say goodbye to family and friends
Probably other things I am forgetting about

This process started about 9 months ago, now in less than I week I will be in Tokyo, and in less than two weeks I will have moved into my new apartment and started my new job

And I'm off

Heading to Japan soon. I’ll be teaching high school English there for at least a year.  This, my very creatively titled blog, is where I will share my experiences.  Hopefully, I'll do better with this than I did with sending e-mail updates from Scotland (but no promises).