Town: Naruto, Japan is in the prefecture (like a state) Tokushima on the island Shikoku. The population is about 64,000. It is located about a half hour north of the prefecture capital, Tokushima City, and both are at the mouth of the Yoshino River. Naruto is at the same latitude as southern California and the average low in January is 40F. It'll be a nice change after living near Boston for four years. Naruto is known for the whirlpools that occur nearby. Naruto is near the water that connects the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean, so due to opposing tides, strong whirlpools are created.
Housing: I'll be living in my own 3 room apartment complete with many kitchen appliances, western bed (!), and washing machine. Rent is suuuuper cheap and utilities are reasonable. It's in a building with other teachers in my program. My neighbor is a 22 year old woman from Ottawa Canada who just graduated too.
Training: I have three days of training in Tokyo and then a week or so in Tokushima City. Part of orientation in Tokushima includes participation in the Awa Odori festival.
Job: I'll be teaching at multiple middle schools and possibly high schools as an assistant teacher. The number of schools that I'll rotate among will be determined once we all get there. It's possible that I will be asked to participate in an English club and judge English competitions outside of school. I may be asked to give lectures on specific topics related to the US in Naruto as well. My employer is the board of education in Naruto. I'll be biking to work every day instead of getting a car, but I'm getting an international driving permit just in case. None of the schools have air conditioning or heaters.
Day to day life: Garbage has to be separated into many (I've heard more than 10) piles before it can be thrown away. The area where I'll be is a cash-only place. Checks aren't used either. I'm going to have to wean myself off of my credit card and get use to carrying lots of cash with me. Guns aren't allowed in Japan, and from what many people have told me it's very safe in Naruto.
Places I want to visit while I'm in Japan: Sapporo, Hokkaido; the Toyota center in Nagoya; Mt. Fuji; Miyazaki City (a Wellesley friend was placed there); Osaka; Kyoto; Ise; Nara; Hong Kong; Singapore; and Sydney, Australia.
I leave on Saturday on a direct flight to Tokyo from Detroit!!! It'll be a 14 hour flight!
*The pictures posted were from the Tokushima Prefecture link provided in the links list on the right.
No comments:
Post a Comment