Here is a little bit about where I'm going to be:
I'm going to be living in Aso, a city of about 35,000 people in Kumamoto prefecture. My city is located on the southern island of Kyushu, and is famous for having one of the largest calderas in the world.
Here are some photos:
Japan National Tourism Organization - Aso
So far, I've been to an unofficial orientation as well as a ESL crash course. With my minimal Japanese skills, I've worked on an introduction that I will need to basically give to everyone I meet from my students to the city Mayor. I've also learned a great deal about cultural differences that I can expect to encounter while teaching. Clearly, I will stick out being tall, blonde, freckily, etc. but there are also differences in how I will need to interact and work effectively with my coworkers, students, and people I encounter on a day to day basis. One of the top priorities in Japanese culture is promoting harmony, so to avoid upsetting me or anyone else for that matter, I might not be told if I was performing in a way that was considered wrong! This will probably be one of the toughest aspects of the job for me, as I do much better with feedback, but hey- it will be an experience!
Another thing is that self-promoting or any form of bragging is rarely done. One person I met who had taught in Japan was asked if they were good at volleyball. She said she was pretty good, and was asked to play with her other co-workers. When she asked them if they were good, they said no so she thought she would be alright with her skills. Well, when she got there they were running plays, giving each other signals and were pretty much amazing at volleyball. Needless to say, I will not be saying I'm good at anything! I'll tell them the things I like to do, but will try to leave my skill level out!
As far as my living situation goes, I've learned that I will be living in a house and will be having a car - should be interesting to drive on the other side of the road! My house is apparantly rather large - I have three tatami mat rooms (pictures will be posted when I get settled in) and I have a washing machine and an air conditioning unit. My schools are about a 15 minute drive from where I'll be living, which my predecessor said is nice because this way the students won't live right where I am. I'll be based in a middle school and will also have four elementary schools that I will rotate between.
There are a lot of other things, but for now I'm just trying to figure out how to fit clothes for a year, teaching supplies, omiyage (small gifts for my principal, teachers, students etc. that are given upon return from a vacation or trip that basically says I was thinking of you), and things that will be difficult to find or not at all what I'm used to (ie. peanut butter, deodorant) into my two 50lb. suitcases.
I leave on August 1st, and will be emailing, checking facebook, skyping etc. so keep in touch!
