BLUEBERRIES!

Today I went blueberry picking with some other JETs. It was sooo nice. We went to this farm about half an hour away where you can pay about $5.00 to go in and pick/eat as many blueberries as you want for as long as you want! If you want to bring blueberries home with you, you have to pay by weight. It was really fun. They had many different kinds of blueberries with different tastes, so we went around eating from as many blueberry shrubs as we could. YUM. ^_^

There was a time when it started raining so we had to go to the blueberry "house" (which was really just a covered section) so we could pick while it rained. All of those shrubs were totally picked over, though, and it took some effort to find some tasty ones. After a bit of that, we decided to have some Blueberry Soft Cream and other blueberry flavored treats that are available at this farm. I had a blueberry smoothie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They sell a ton of stuff there: wine, blueberry pasta (whoa), jams, and whatnot.


After the rain, we were able to go back out and pick some more. I tried to fill my basket, but let's be honest, most of blueberries went straight into my mouth. ^_^

My apartment.

Hellooooo. Welcome to my little Japanese apartment! It boasts a long balcony, a bomb shelter door (for when the soviets invade???), and Japanese style floors and doors.

I spend nearly all of my time cleaning this place, and disinfecting, and killing bugs. Like, HUGE AND NASTY bugs!
I had tatami mites in my tatami floors that were biting me, and I have had 3 big roaches that fly, and 3 baby roaches... 2 huge spiders, and countless gnat-looking things. Not to mention the pigeon problem on my balcony. And the bugs here are bold. They fly straight for your face on purpose. Just last night, when I was originally making this post, a roach sauntered out from behind my curtain like he owned the place. We dueled for a good 15 minutes or more. I would spray, he would hide, I would move the curtain, he would run. His little legs made the grossest sound ever when he shuffled across the tatami!!! EW EW EW. He was writhing in misery beneath my little sofa (which I moved to the living room area) and I could hear him thrashing around...he ended up dying right next to my sofa. But he had as many false endings as The Return of the King...every time I thought it was over, he thrashed around or tried to turn over. SICK. And to think, I used to sleep on that very same floor! What if there wer roaches crawling over me in my sleep and I had no idea?! Jamie had an extra bed frame, so now I sleep in the small room with the desk. I actually moved the desk to the small room, so my apartment looks a little different than these pictures.

Besides the bugs, there is a lot of mold and grime. Jamie helped me buy a serious mold killer that works really well. And I've bought a ton of dehumidifiers and such.
Still, this place is a work in progress. It won't feel like a home until it's bug free and has some real furniture. I've been pricing sofas and curtains, but it seems like every time I find something I really like, it's expensive. Dad once said that I have champagne tastes on a beer budget, and that certainly seems like it's true. Is $600 too much for a sectional sofa? I really really really like it...... :)

SUSHI.

Fresh out of the ocean. God, I love living so near the sea.

Ha, well, closer than when I'm in Missouri, anyway. ^_^

Hanabi!

So, the city I live in, Kurume, is famous for this huge annual fireworks festival! I think I heard it's been going on for over 350 years. Whoa. You might recall a similar post I had on my last Japan blog, but that one was in Asakusa, and this one is in Kurume. Kurume's is the biggest one in western Japan, and I'm lucky enough to have it right here in town. I didn't have to travel at all. Thousands of people were there. It was incredible.
I went with Jamie and some of her friends. We ate yummy festival food, and looked at all the pretty yukata (a light-weight summer kimono style Japanese dress) that Japanese women wear to festivals. The fireworks were splendid. :)

Consider Me Fully Oriented.

After long last, I have finally gotten around to my blog! I suppose I'll recap what I've been doing so far in Japan, starting at the beginning.
After I left STL, I went to Chicago for the Chicago JET 2010 Orientation. It was fun, actually, and we learned a little bit more of what to expect in the big Tokyo Orientation. They had a lovely dinner for us afterward. The next morning, we packed up our bags and headed for Japan! ^_^ We, as a group of about 180 (I think), managed to clog up the baggage check and security lines pretty sufficiently. It took us a long time to get through, and we waited an even longer time to take off. Our plane left late, but we still got to Tokyo on time. Apparently, we had a good wind to our backs, or so said the pilot.
After a night of rest in the lovely and luxurious Keio Plaza Hotel we had two days of orientation. More and more orientation. It was little overwhelming, to say the least. In the mornings, they served us breakfast buffet style, and they tried to accommodate all the countries present at orientation (Ireland, Australia, U.S., Jamaica, France) by serving Western breakfast. Which surprisingly include french fries. I think that was aimed towards America. hahaha :)
I was severely jet lagged, so instead of going out on the town during the nights, I tried to go to bed early. I have already been to Tokyo (for 4 whole months) so while I did love it and it did make me feel nostalgic, I thought I should try to rest. I kept waking up at like 3 in the morning, though, and felt tired in the afternoons. I hate jet lag. :(

Some friends and me at Chicago Orientation

So after all that orientation, we each went to our respective prefectures. A week later we had....MORE ORIENTATION. Hahahaha Okay, by now I think I get it: Fukuoka is in the south, Japan uses different outlets, junior high school students will ask you weird questions, and culture shock is real and I have support if I need it. Whew, consider me oriented!
But in all honesty, those orientations were wonderful, and I really enjoyed getting some clarity about what to expect this fall when I actually start teaching. And it was fun to meet other JETs, especially ones in my area.

There have been some questions about what it is that I do all day, since I do actually have to go to work, even though it is summer vacation in Japan. I am a Prefectural JET, meaning that the prefecture of Fukuoka has hired me. That means that they can put in any school in the region, not just in Kurume, where I live. It also means that I go to the Board of Education office every day. I am an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), and there are 2 other ALTs in my office, Jamie and Chris. We have nothing to really do in the summer, so mostly we chat or read. We go out to lunch a lot, which is nice. Jamie and Chris have been soooo nice to me, teaching me stuff and helping me out. I would be lost without them! Just so happens that the ALTs in Kurume live in a jutaku, which is teacher housing. We all live in the same building, which is so wonderfully convenient and nice. There are other ALTs besides the ones my office living here, too. Praju and her fiance Shri live here, as well as Jason. I have yet to meet Gage, but he's here, too. Everyone has been so nice me. Praju and Shri took me around the area, showed me the grocery stores, and helped me buy a bike. I am so grateful to all the kind and helpful people that have been making my life easier. :)
I don't have much to do at the office, so I have read two books already: Life of Pi, and Big Fish. Actually I read big fish in a few hours, it's really short and fast. I am also currently rereading Memoirs of a Geisha because my predecessor left a copy in my apartment.

Well, there will be more to come, but now it's bedtime for me. <3