One more day...

Today is my last full day in Canada. Knowing this, my brain said, "Hey! it's5:30 am! It's daylight out!! Why are you still sleeping?!" to which the rest of my body replied, "Feck off!". However, by about 6:30 the SkyTrain said, "VROOM-WHOOSH-SMASH-SMASH-THUMPTHUMP-SMASH-WHOOSH" and repeatedly exclaimed this every 5-7 minutes until I got up.

So today not only marks my last full day in Canada, it also marks the earliest I've been out of bed (in this time zone) since the Christmas of '98. (Well, that's not entirely true, but it's certainly how it feels.)

Today is my last predeparture orientation, followed by a reception at the Consulate General of Japan's residence. I hope to be able to have some nice photos to update with tomorrow.

(Left: all my belongings!) (Right: Dad and I infront of his house)

Last Tuesday I spent the afternoon with my Dad and Mike, visiting and going for a walk and a coffee. It was a very beautiful day, but rather hot at times. I'm glad I got to spend time with them together before I leave. I was doing pretty good, holding my composure when saying goodbye, but I got pretty teary in the car on the drive home. Sadly, I didn't get to see Georgia that day. (So Georgia, if you're reading this, I'm sorry I missed you!!)

I took a bunch of photos that day, but I think this one is my favourite of us together.

As always, click to view the photos in a larger size! (though I'm not sure anyone cares to see my luggage in more detail haha)

..And we're off!

Well, the time is finally here! I've headed off to Vancouver! I wont update about it now, because I have loads of pictures to upload and post still. So here's a teaser picture! taken by mike via his iPhone at the BC ferry terminal today!

Sorry I'm so glaringly white, but it was a very sunny day!

Final Count Down; Bucket List

Well it's now 5 days until I ferry over to Vancouver and set off on my new adventure. I'm not really sure how I'm feeling about it. In a few words I would say apprehensive and anxious. I'm excited but at the same time I feel like the reality of the situation is crashing down and I can only hope that I'm still standing when it all settles in. I know that sounds quite over dramatic, but I know the next few weeks are going to simply rush past me while I hang on. Will I make it? Certainly. The feeling reminds me of my first semester at University. Truly, if you were to ask me what happened in my first semester, I'm not sure I could tell you. It was stressful for a little while anyways.

To try and inspire some more Japanese adventurism in myself I've been rereading books that inspired me in the first place. One of these is the book, "Lost Japan" by Alex Kerr. This was a book my dad gave me for Christmas last year, and I can say I've now read it twice, almost three times. I really enjoy this book. I'm a big reader, as many of you know, but I don't normally reread books, unless I find I didn't quite take everything away from it the first time. The first time I read it the book through, I felt disheartened and put off from modern Japan. It seemed to me that the author, Alex Kerr, had no room for modernized Japan in his life and it really left that feeling with the reader. Now, rereading it again, I can see other points, that he is adapting to modern Japan, but not to modernization that is only hindering Japan. I think that it is in this questioning of the motives behind revolutionizing modern Japan that he simply becomes a lover of Japan, instead of a worshipper. Lost Japan is incredibly well researched and written with a good mix of knowledge, whit, and common sense.

From the book:

A friend of mine studied the art of bonkei: she learned how to place curiously shaped rocks and bonsai plants on a tray spread with sand to create a miniature landscape.

But as she slowly worked her way up the hierarchy of bonkei technique, the final secret eluded her: no matter what she did, her sand never held together in the perfect waves and ripples of the master's precisely arranged grains. Finally, after many years and payment of a high fee to obtain her license as a bonkei professional, she was to be told the answer. She bowed at the feet of the master, and he spoke. 'Use glue,' he said.

I highly recommend reading this book. I can say I've learned quite a bit from it. In fact, I recommend reading it twice, and with a note pad and highlighter if possible.

On a completely different note: I've started working on my Japanese bucket list. These are things I'd like to accomplish or work towards while in Japan.
I'd like to try calligraphy again. I think this would be a great goal for me, not only to raise my self awareness and arrive at a place where I am content, but to simply enjoy it. What I mean about my self awareness is that I know I'm not a perfectionist, but once some thing's finished, if it's not perfect, it bothers me. Because calligraphy is something that is created only once and cannot be "touched up", I think it will help me accept when things aren't perfect, while working towards a goal which can be seen through progression. Plus, I'm not exactly inspired by "traditional" calligraphy works that represent zen studies of tranquility, peace, or whathaveyou. I'd like to work on a scroll that was meant to be hung in the bathroom that reads, "Does a bear shit in the woods?" That's some deep thought if you ask me, and would probably keep me entertained for a while.

I'd also like to explore the Japanese love for empty spaces. I can't explain this one very well, so perhaps when I understand it better I'll come back to this. That's why it's on the bucket list, right?

Otherwise, there are the old standby things to do. I'd like to visit as many Onsens as possible, I'd like to climb Mt. Fuji (but only a fool climbs it twice), I'd like to be able to have conversations in Japanese and increase my kanji. I'm sure I'll be adding to this list often, but in the mean time, this will do.

Recent weather in Kure

I heard today that Kure's been having some pretty crazy rain this past week. At first I heard that the Board of Education has been closed for the past three days because of rain, but then I learned it was because floods caused by the rain! From what I've heard so far, this is very very very unusual weather for Kure.. (as always, click to view larger!)



Photos Courtesy of Lindsey Gradolph, a current Kure JET!

Welcome to Kure, Hiroshima!

(Update: you can now click on the pictures to view them in a larger size! Horray!)

On May 25th, 2010, I recieved my placement! We're off to Kure (pronounced koo-ray) in the Hiroshima prefecture!

Kure is a large and prosperous city-run region on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture. Over 216,000 people live in Kure which makes it the third largest city in Hiroshima Prefecture. Kure is composed of many amalgamated towns and cities of which Kure City is the largest and original city.

The area around Kure City is extremely mountainous and any flat land is utilized for buildings, farms or someone's parking spot. Kure is most famous for being the location where the Yamato, the largest battleship ever, was built. Today, Kure City is a major international supplier of large cargo ships. Kure City's most famous product besides ships these days is the sake made by Sempuku. This locally produced rice wine is sold throughout Japan. Sempuku's main factory is located off Hondori Street in the northern part of the city. (Not far from our apartment!)



Hagamine Mountain is the tallest of the mountains which enclose Kure City. It is a popular hiking destination for people living in Kure City. There is a paved road to the observation platform at the top as well. It is no longer the tallest mountain in Kure since Kawajiri (with Mount Noro) was amalgamated in 2003.
(Right: Kure city, as seen looking east from Mt.Hagamine, towards Mt. Noro)


The street in front of City Hall is occupied every evening by a row of fourteen yatai food stalls accompanied by lit red lanterns. These stalls serve ramen noodles, oden, Italian dishes, and Southeast Asian cuisine and are popular among the younger diners.
(Left: Yatai-dori in Kure)




Niko Gorge is northwest of central Kure and on the way from Kure to Yakeyama. It is bit far but can easily found by walking past the baseball stadium and up the left side of the river you come to. The park there is considered the best place in Kure to view cherry blossoms. There is also a hiking trail up the gorge.

The red spiral bridge to Ondo on Kurahashi Island south of Kure City is a famous throughout the Hiroshima region. During Golden Week, there is almost as many people coming to look at the flowers planted in the spirals as there are people wanting to cross the bridge. Buses to Ondo regularly leave from Kure Station.


Irifuneyama still preserves a view of natural woods, although it is located in the city center. It is the site of the Memorial Museum, which was the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Kure Naval Base. A lot of material related to the former Japanese Navy is preserved and exhibited in the museum. A clock tower of the former Naval Arsenal, the Kure City Memorial Museum, and the Ancient Document Museum may also be visited in the Park. (Left:Irifuneyama Park & Kure City Art Museum)









Hiroshima prefecture in Japan. As you can see, we're quite south...








This central park in Kure. In the northeast corner is the city hall and to the west is Kure's Deo Deo.
Deo Deo is one of the largest consumer electronics retailer chains in Hiroshima. This is about maybe 5-7 minute walk away from our apartment.



To the left is Kenmin no Hama and
Koi Wan. Citizens beach and
Lover's bay it's called. To the right is Katsuragahama Beach.
I plan to visit both of these places often!






Thank you everyone for tuning into this very long post! I hope I've helped you picture what Kure city will be like. I'll post more pictures and links when I find them. Stay tuned!


(information courtesy of Wikipedia and various websites...)

Preparation seminar, June 26th and 27th, 2010

Two weeks ago I attended the semi-voluntary Pre-Pre departure Orientation in Vancouver. The orientation lasted two days, with the first day being seminars on how to adjust to living and working in Japan, paying your taxes and managing your Japanese money, what to do from now until we arrive in Tokyo and your first month in Japan, what to do when you come back from Japan, and finally a Q and A session with JET Alumni.

The first day was held at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in downtown Vancouver. I was silly and forgot my camera at home the first day so I don't have any pictures. There were about 100 people there, not including the other JET alumni and speakers. Courtesy of the Internet, this is the ballroom where it took place



The above picture is actually a poor representation of the size of this room. What's shown here is really only maaaaybe half of the room.
Plus, the layout was of course quite different. It was massive.

Having an active presence on the JET forums answered many of the questions I could have had coming to this preparation seminar. However, they were able to directly answer or confirm my answers to some of my other questions, such as, am I allowed to smile in my Alien registration card photo? And so on. It also made me think of loads of questions that I should ask my Supervisor, Kawahara sensei, or my pred, Melody.

I think the best seminars for me were the Culture Shock and Managing your Money/Taxes. I now have a much better grasp on what to do when these come up, which are both a bit inevitable.

After the first day, they held a bit of a reception down the road, at a pub where they served many appies. It was nice to relax after the long day and get to talk one on one with some of the JET Alumni. I met both my interviewers again :)

The second day of the seminar was held at BCIT in one of their downtown campuses. There were only about 30 people here this day. The seminar was held solely on working in Japan in Japanese classrooms. I liked this seminar, but I felt with my teaching background a lot of it was common sense for me already. I think there could be a little bit more emphasis on what to expect when you create a lesson plan and it just bombs, and how to handle situations like that.

So all in all, I took a lot of useful information away from the seminar, and got to connect with a lot of great people! It was worth the trip!

My JET Interview March 3rd, 2010.

It's been a few months since I had my interview, but I'll talk about some of the questions that I was asked. I wont really go over the general questions that they asked, because there are 100s of lists out there that have these questions on them.

Over all I didn't think I had a great interview, perhaps only a B performance, but I think I gave it my best.

I had prepared extensively for my interview, reading, studying, doing everything possible. I had prepared answers to some of the most commonly asked questions. However, the way they were asked, made my prepared answers nonsensical.
Some questions were (paraphrased of course):
What would you like to learn about Japanese Culture?
Give us an example of a time when you were in a difficult or awkward situation and how you dealt with it.
How would you teach about Canada and internationalism and what materials would you use?
How would I deal with being a foreigner in a small town or village where there is very little privacy and everyone knows you and your daily life?
Why would you like to join JET?
Why do you want to go to Japan?

Because I'm a bit of a lazy but, here's a post I made in my other Journal just after my interview:

"Had my JET interview yesterday. While initially I felt good about how it went, the more I think about it, the more I kick myself thinking, shit. I really should have answered with this ____ . Some of the questions they asked me I guess I had thought about prior to going in, but hadn't really given the correct type of thought were about Japanese Culture. They asked me a few times about what I'd like to learn about Japanese culture and at the time I blaanked. T_T. I think I ended up spewing some mumbojumbo about Japanese sociolinguistics. Instead of "I'm very interested in ALL THIS JAPANESE STUFF THAT I'M LEGITIMATELY INTERESTED IN." So not feeling the love on those questions. The one thing I think I answered well on was when they asked me to introduce myself in Japanese, and I whipped out my pre-prepared Keigo introduction. They looked impressed, so that's good. But then at the end they said that my level of Japanese doesn't actually matter.

My interview went on for a while, really into overtime. (probably about 30-35 minutes) They didn't ask me to teach them anything, (though they did ask me about what kind of things I would use to teach about Canada, and what kind of methods. This is one of the questions where I'm kicking myself stupid over.) but I think that's because they asked so many other questions.

Gosh, they asked me so much stuff that I'm having trouble remembering it all.

I think it went fine, but if I think it went fine too much, I'll start thinking they thought it was fine, which maybe they didn't. I guess I'm just trying not to get my hopes up, when I seriously think I screwed the pooch on some key elements they were looking for."

After about 15 minutes in my interview, they wrapped things up and asked if I had any questions, which I did. I asked them how new JETs get ushered into Japanese school systems in August, and how that can affect the English Class rooms. I also asked them about why certain prefectures did not request any JET teachers. After this it seemed to have prompted them to ask a few more questions. They asked me some questions about Mike, and I mentioned about how we're financially independant of each other and how he really wouldn't be a burden on my job there. They asked a lot of questions and ended up going on for another 15 minutes or so. I think this was something good in my favour haha.

So luckily for me, I got in!
This past weekend at our Pre-pre-departure orientation I met two of my three interviewers, one happened to be Steve, the JET programme Coordinator, and Christopher Baily, the Senior Advisor of the JET Alumni Association. TENSO. I'm glad I didn't know this at my interview. I would have been much more nervous.

I think I could talk about this forever :) But I'll end here for tonight! next time on JET channel, the Pre-predeparture Orientation!