さよなら

This last week has gone by so fast. I worked at the Board of Education for a few days after getting back from Naoshima. I helped plan for English camp next week, although I obviously won't be there. In the evenings I mostly packed and cleaned my apartment. Wednesday was my last game day and that night Marc, Tanya, Juha, and Megan came over to play a new game, Dead of Winter. I lost, but it was a really fun game. We played another 3 vs. 1 game after DoW and it was really fun. I was the one person trying to complete secret missions and escape and although I barely made it out, it was a ton of fun and a great last game.

Thursday was my last day at work. Afterward, I went over to Kikumi's to watch some movies. Shinki and I went to a local fish market to get some sashimi for dinner before starting the movies and Megan came over as well to watch with us. Friday I slept in before finishing the majority of my packing and starting to really get stuff ready for the new ALT taking over the apartment. I stayed home most of the day, but went out in the evening to Riverwalk where I met up with Megan to go see the new Pokémon. We ended up getting dinner after the movie and Megan doing some last minute shopping before the stores closed.

Saturday I met up with Leah for lunch before heading home to put on my yukata and head into Tobata. The weekend before I'd missed the summer fesitval in Kokura while in Noashima, but Tobata's summer festival was this weekend and so many people came out! I saw my friend Teppei who I hadn't seen in a long time and a bunch of ALTs in Kitakyushu were there. It was a great last weekend in Japan!

Sunday I finished up my packing and cleaning and had some friends over to help out. Megan, Leah, Bec, and Chris all come over to help me finish up the cleaning. We played some games after we finished and it was really a nice day. We all parted way for dinner and I went into Konyamachi to see Kikumi and Shinki who were playing with their band. I always enjoy seeing them play and it was nice to see everyone from the band one last time.

Monday I met up with Kikumi and Shinki again to take a beach trip! All the bartenders from Konyamachi went out and there were about fifteen of us all together. We set up BBQs in the sand and had a great day! We went swimming in the ocean, ate a ton of good food, and I even played soccer (and our team won!). We stayed at the beach for hours, but I went home a bit early to be back in Kokura by dinner time. Dan, another leaving ALT, was having a party at a beer garden and I went to say goodbye. Almost all the ALTs came out and even someone from the BoE joined us. It was nice to go to the beer garden one last time. After dinner some people went home, but some of us stayed out and went to karaoke. We sang our hearts out for two hours before saying goodbye to Dan and all parting ways.

Yesterday (Tuesday, July 28th) was pretty quiet for me. I went out for lunch with some of the ALTs and Bec came over afterwords with her car to help me move my bags to Leah's where I'm staying until I leave. Leah was tired from the night before, so I went out for dinner with Megan to an okonomiya/monja restaurant. The food was delicious and after dinner we decided to find the cat cafe in Kokura that we'd both heard about, but not visited. The cafe was really cute and I'm so glad I went before leaving! I was back at Leah's pretty early and we hung out just talking and watching TV until we decided it was bed time.

Today (Wednesday, July 29th) I'm hanging at Leah's until I got meet the new ALTs in the afternoon. There are two new ALTs moving into my apartment complex and I'll help show them around the area. Juha will show the new ALTs around the other area and we'll meet up for dinner at Tetsunabe where we'll join all the Kitakyushu ALTs for a welcome dinner. Because it's also my last night, we'll go out after dinner and have some fun and there will be a lot of goodbyes.

My flight tomorrow leaves at 2:10 PM from Fukuoka airport. Leah and I have breakfast plans before she leaves for work and Kikumi and Shinki will pick me up around lunch time to drive to the aiport. My last meal in Japan will of course be a sushi lunch with them before I head back home!

Living in Japan has been one of the best experiences of my life and although I know it's time for me to move on, it's certainly bittersweet. I'm leaving behind a lot of amazing people who I will never forget. I hope to see everyone again in the future and as sad as I am to leave, I'm so excited for my next adventure in Denver!

Quilt

Hello! I'm sorry I haven't written too much in the past month, I've been very busy getting everything together and saying my goodbyes.
It's less than a week before I leave and I'm all packed minus a few clothes that I plan on wearing for the next few days. I had a great BBQ yesterday with my family and will post some pictures of it soon! As far as packing goes, I'll put up a list of what I brought with me once I get there so I can also post lists of what I wish I had brought and what I didn't need to bring as I think all three lists will be helpful together. But there is one thing I know I will be happy to have! My mom and I have been working together for the past few months to make a quilt for my bed. I'm so happy to have this quilt to remind me of home and my family. I'm super proud of is, so I thought I should post a few pictures. I hope you like it and you'll hear more from me in a little over a week when I start to get settled in my new apartment in KitaKyushu!

Front

Quilting Design

Back

お土産 (Omiyage)

お土産(omiyage) translates to “souvenir,” but it doesn’t mean quite the same thing. It is more of a mandatory gift given to your coworkers after a trip. Since you are new you don’t need to bring an omiyage, but it will make a good first impression and show that you know about Japanese culture. Once you meet your new coworkers and friends, you will have an easier time of shopping for omiyage based on their tastes. However, as it will be your first time meeting everyone, it can be a little stressful shopping for your initial omiyage to bring. Here I’m going to give you some examples and tips!

Who is omiyage for? Omiyage is mainly for your coworkers and friends. Often, omiyage is put out in a bowl on your desk. You can even put out a little sign saying way it is. When you are first arriving, this can be a great way to meet the teachers and administrators you will be working with.

Omiyage is not really for your neighbors, but when you first arrive you may want to walk around and give out some snacks and introduce yourself. It is a great ice breaker and if your neighbors know you, they will be more willing to help you out when you have questions about your apartment or neighborhood!

SNACKS: Sweets are the most common omiyage and can go to pretty much anyone. Candy is probably what you should give to your cooperating teacher and the other teachers in your school. Setting out a bowl of candy on your desk is a great way for other teachers to come up socialize with There are some things you’ll need to make sure of when you get sweets as an omiyage.

First, every candy should be individually wrapped. Fun size candy bars, small boxes of jelly beans, maple candy, and butterscotch hard candy are some popular choices. If you are having trouble finding individually wrapped candy, go to a party store. Every party store I’ve been to has bins of small candies that are between 3 and 15 for $1.00. This is a great way to get all kinds of candy in a small, individual package for really cheap! Keep in mind you will have to take whatever you buy on the airplane with you and some candy might melt. Chocolate and taffy are the two things I’ve heard often melt during the trip.

Mostly likely you will not know exactly how many omiyage you will need. I would suggest getting a little more than what you think you might need of something you like. That way you will be sure to have enough to give out and a treat for yourself when you get homesick. I don’t want to give a number because everyone’s school will be different. It also depends on how many schools you are going to be in. If you are having trouble estimating, ask your predecessor. Your predecessor may not be able to give you an exact number, but can give you a good ballpark.

As far as packing candy for the plane, I would suggest checking it and sending it directly to your placement city. You won’t need them in Tokyo orientation and you will get your bag back before you will need to give them out, probably at your initial introduction. This way you don’t have to take up space in your carry on. (And you won’t be tempted to eat them on the long flight over!)

One last thing to know is that Japanese candy is not very sweet. It is fine to bring sugary candy, but it might be good to suggest they eat it with their tea.

SPECIAL GIFT: You may want to get a few nicer gifts for the higher ups in your school. You will only need maybe five of these gifts if you decide to get them. They should still be fairly small and inexpensive. I’m going to bring a few Red Sox key chains. It does not need to be a key chain, but something to represent where you’re coming (state or country) is nice. I’m choosing a Red Sox key chain instead of a general Boston or other sport key chain because I know baseball is very popular in Japan and many of the big US team logos are known in Japan. This gift is up to your discretion, get whatever you think would make sense for where you are coming from. Getting your principle and adviser something other than the candy is not really necessary. So if you can’t think of any trinkets or just don’t want to spend the extra money, don’t worry, the same candy will be fine.

Other omiyage you can bring for your principle are soaps, coffee, regional jelly/jam/syrup, or tea.

IMPORTED ALCOHOL: This was suggested during my orientation and is not a bad idea, but it is something to be careful with. Alcohol is pretty big in Japan and imports are very expensive there, so a nip bottle of something cheap in the States can be a great gift. A nip is usually around 50 mL and I would not go much bigger than that. Be cautious, though, your principle or supervisor might not drink. Only get alcohol if you know for sure that the recipient of the gift drinks. This would be a gift you give to the higher ups and you would only need a few bottles. It would be in place of the key chain or trinket.

PENS/PENCILS: This might sound silly, but pens or pencils can be a great gift or just something good to have for a classroom. Getting a bunch of cheap pencils with the American flag (or the flag of your country if you are not coming from America) can go a long way. They are so cheap here and as a teacher you will need more pencils and pens than you realize.

DO:

• Get something edible and individually wrapped
• Bring enough for all your colleges
• Bring something representative of you, your state, and/or your country
• Be prepared to answer lots of questions about your omiyage if it is not something found in Japan
• Use your omiyage as a conversation starter!

DON'T:

• Get something inedible (unless it is a special gift for your principle and vice principle)
• Set out unwrapped snacks
• Bring less than you think you'll need
• Bring something that

Luggage

Packing has been the most prominent thing on my mind as I prepare to leave for Japan. I’m still working on getting everything I need together, but I figured I’d write something quick about the luggage itself.

How much luggage you are allowed to bring without a fee will vary depending on the airline you take to Japan. Different cities will take different airlines, you will find out your airline probably about a month and a half before you leave. You don’t really have a say in which airline you take or if your flight has any stops because it is all coordinated by JET for you, but the baggage restrictions are all fairly similar. I am flying on Japan Airlines, which is one of the best airlines to fly in my opinion. Japan Airlines allows two checked bags with a weight limit of 50 pounds each, one carry on, and one personal item. More information about Japan Airlines bag restrictions can be found here. Other airlines used by JET and their baggage restrictions are: Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines, All Nippon Airways.

Everyone starts by flying to Narita airport near Tokyo for orientation. A few days later you will head off to your placement via bus, train, or airplane. You are required to send at least one of your checked bags directly to your placement once you reach Narita airport. I plan on sending both checked bags to my apartment in KitaKyushu and living out of my carry on while in Tokyo. I would suggest this to everyone.

Narita is about a 40 minute train ride from where you will be staying in Tokyo for orientation. Do you really want to drag more bags then you have to? Not only will it hold you up to have a big checked bag, but it will make everyone’s trip to the hotel slower. You are going to feel gross from the long plane ride and the easier and faster it is to get to the hotel the better. Same thing when you leave orientation for your placement, it is much easier to travel with less luggage.

Orientation in Tokyo is only for three nights, so you don’t need many clothes in your carry on. You will, however, want to bring nice clothes. Don’t worry, orientation will start the day after you arrive; you can be super comfy on the plane ride without having to worry about dressing up on that first night. I plan on bringing three nice shirts, a blazer, a long pencil skirt, and a pair of slacks. On the plane I’m going to wear some comfy jeans and a t-shirt. There will be a 24-hour ironing room in the hotel in case your nice clothes get wrinkled in your bag. I don’t know for sure, but I’ve heard the irons are not the best there. If you need to get wrinkles out of your packed clothes, I would take a warm shower and hang your wrinkled clothes in the room to steam.

Check your airlines bag restriction, pack light for orientation, and send your checked bags directly to your placement would be my suggestions. Also, if you have more to pack than is allowed by your airline, figure out what you need most that will fit in the allowed bags. Have a friend or family member mail you the rest. There is a good chance it will be cheaper than checking an extra bag.

I will talk more about what exactly to pack once I get to Japan because I’m sure I will realized there was something else I needed once I get there.