Tokyo PLS Training

Sorry I haven't been posting, I lost the internet connection I was "borrowing" and have been unable to connect until now. My supervisor set up an appointment for me to get internet but it could take up to two weeks, so anyway, after today, don't expect another post for a while.

I am doing really well considering I have been on my feet all day every day since arriving. :P Wednesday and Thursday were training all day in Matsumoto, then Friday (yesterday for me) I had orientation in the morning, then had to travel with 4 other new teachers (my new buddies, I'll talk about them in a minute) to Nagano city to get my visa. I am officially a Japanese resident!! :D Then in the evening we returned to Matsumoto for a welcome party (which in Japanese = drinking party). Everyone was shocked I don't drink but no one gave me a bad time or anything. I had fun meeting a lot of people, so I'm glad I went, even if it's normally an atmosphere I try to avoid.

About the other four new teachers, they are Eric, Max, Jazz, and Brendan. The latter lives in my apartment building, so we have been biking/walking/riding the train, etc. together a lot since it's easier on both of us that way. In any case, the five of us new teachers have gotten to know each other really well over the last few days and I feel sooo much better than when I first arrived. They are all so funny and nice that I haven't felt weird being surrounded by guys (although it is kind of hilarious when going places, because most of them are super tall).

Tomorrow is the second and last day of training in Tokyo with the curriculum I will be using, and we return to Shimosuwa in the evening. Long day ahead... Thankfully, Monday is a totally free day!! ...Except that Brendan and I need to go to city hall, open bank accounts, and get cell phones. Lol. Ah well, those will be a piece of cake compared to all this training! Just for those wondering, actual teaching doesn't begin until around the 8th of April. Well, goodbye for hopefully not too long! Thanks for all the prayers!!

My great bike which is supposedly used but looks new!

Yum, McGriddle (and tiny mocha)

My town's station (I'm getting pretty familiar with it)

Smallish street in Tokyo

Day 1 of Training in Matsumoto

Today was the first day of "pre-training" in Matsumoto. I got about 8 hours of pretty good sleep and woke up at six, ready to tackle the new day (and jet-lag, which does not want me to eat any meal except lunch). A couple hours later, I met up with the other new teacher, Brendan, at the bottom of the apartment building (he lives on the first floor, I on the third) and we biked to Shimosuwa train station. The train takes about 45 minutes to reach Minami-Matsumoto (South Matsumoto), then it's a ~15 min walk to the company's building where the training took place.
Training was really good and interesting. We mostly listened in the morning, then had lunch, then came back and practiced doing flash card games. A big part of the curriculum that I'm going to be using is flash cards, so I have to get good at them. There is definitely a technique! I think I did okay for being pretty tired.
There were 5 of us new teachers at the training, me being the only female. I am officially not the youngest new teacher anymore, though, as one of them, Max, is 21! They are all very nice and seem just as jet-lagged/overwhelmed as I am, so that makes me feel better. Although I am slowly getting used to everything. I guess I can't expect to feel normal after only two days, right? :)
For lunch, we walked a few minutes away from the company's building to a ramen restaurant that was quite busy. The food was amazing and they even served free iced green tea with it! I ordered "kyabe ton ramen," which is basically ramen in a pork broth with cabbage and one big slice of pork that tasted kinda similar to bacon. I wish I had taken a picture, but you'll just have to imagine it. :P
Training finished at 4 so Brendan and I took the train back to Shimosuwa. We stopped by a store called Seiyu that is kinda like a Walmart only a lot smaller. I didn't get much there, just some scissors and dish cleaning soap. Next we stopped at Daiso, which is basically a dollar store. They have EVERYTHING. I mean, EVERYTHING. The store is TWO STORIES and I will totally be going back there a ton. For now, I just picked up the few things I really needed- bath & hand towels, slippers (found some that fit my feet!!!!), pens, a couple plates, and an American-sized glass. They have 100 yen ($1) bath towels, but they seemed wimpy, so I splurged and spent $5 on each. Haha.
As if all that wasn't enough, we dropped off our items at the apartment building and then rode to a shop called Hotto Motto (Hoh-toh Moh-toh). It's a carry-out restaurant that sells fresh-made bentos (lunch boxes), curry, etc. I got beef curry which was really tasty. THEN, to end the day, we went to 7-11 and picked up ice cream. March isn't too early to start eating ice cream, right? :P
Sorry for the really long post, I had a very busy day. I didn't take many pictures because I forgot to put the SD card back in my camera. -_- Tomorrow I will remember and try to take some good pics if I can! Goodbye for now!

Fridge with microwave (& pile of trash, lol)

Rolled-up futon (on the left are the linens I haven't figured out, on the right is the pillow)

Great closet to hang my nice shirts

Slippers that fit my feet!!!!

First long day down

Today was kinda fun, to be honest, but I'm running on 5 hours of sleep and only one real meal in over 24 hours, so I'm definitely exhausted. Basically, my supervisor picked me up at my hotel in Matsumoto at 8:30 am and drove me to my apartment. I was able to take a quick look around and drop my bags off. We then stopped by the first floor where another new teacher, Brendan, joined us. The day was basically spent driving around and buying things. :P I got a bike (life-saver in Japan), microwave, curtains, futon linen set (no idea how to use it but it was suggested to buy it, lol), and a hair dryer. I thought maybe I could live without one, but I think I will use it a lot, and it wasn't too much money. The reason we spent the day shopping was because the visas for five ALTs (I'm one of them) were delayed and so we couldn't do a bunch of paperwork we were planning to do (such as opening a bank account, getting internet, cell phone, etc.). So, I and the other four ALTs have to go to Nagano (an hour and a half train ride) twice in the next week to finalize our visas. Sigh. Until then, I'm stealing someone's wi-fi. Sorry, whoever you are. XP I hope I can keep doing that anyway... lol. So much new stuff all at once is quite disconcerting. Add in the fact that I feel so unconnected and it's even more overwhelming. :/ I hope I can sleep well tonight and feel much better tomorrow. Anyway, bye for now, and enjoy these few photos of my apartment.

View from apartment

Kitchen area

Tatami room (going to be my bedroom)

Toilet (the bath is separate)

Safe in Matsumoto

Sorry I didn't post last night, it was a really long and hard day getting here. My flight was 10 hours and then it took me almost 3 hours to get onto a train heading from the airport to Tokyo. That train took an hour and a half and then I caught another train from Shinjuku (busiest station in the world, thankfully I didn't have to walk far) to Matsumoto where I finally ended up in my hotel. I'm still in it, actually. It's almost 6 am here and the sky is slightly orange over the alps. I'm too tired to take pictures now but there will be many in the days to come! Thanks everyone who prayed for me and who is still praying- I know I need it. My supervisor is coming to pick me up in about two and a half hours so I'm going to attempt to get some more rest. I don't know when I'll next have internet to post, but hopefully within a day or two.