I moved into my apartment yesterday. It was a very eventful day. We rode a bus, ate lunch, met with our supervisors, then departed to our respective locations. I we to Maesho, which is the high school in Maebashi I will mainly be working. My belongings were there but I was not able to retreive them because there was no room in her car. We went to the bank to set up a bank account however we needed to register my resident status so we had to go to the city hall to do that. It was basically like the DMV were you draw a number and wait while they haphazzardly call out numbers. By the time that was finished the bank had already closed. It sounds like it would be late, but it's not. The banks close early here.
We went to my apartment, did an initial walk through, then met with the landlords to go over the leasing and rental insurance agreements. It was difficult to understand but very reminicient of American procedures so I did alright. We went back to my apartment and the gas guy was there getting my gas set up. The landlord showed me how to work the various electronics in the home. Except the washer/dryer. All 3 of us stood there staring at it not having a clue of what to do lol. My supervisor told me he would print out an english manuel and give it to me later. The gas guy showed me how to use the stove and water. Its pretty amazing actually. I can enter in the exact temperature that I want and it will do it for me. It will also heat the water again if it has gotten cold. We arranged my furnature a bit, and by that time it was about 6pm. I met my new neighbor's predecessor and she invited me out to show me around town a little bit and took me to dinner with 3 other people. I bought some food for my house but it still feels like there is much that needs to get done. I should start making a list. Detergent is number one thus far. I am waiting for my supervisor to pick me up so we can get an account, and phone. The cable guy is supposed to come today. They apparently don't have free television like we have. The weather hasn't been bothering me too much. The humidity is swimmingly thinck, but I will aclimate eventually. At least I am not from Ireland where the hottest it gets is 75 degrees! The poor Irish guy was just suffering. Maebashi is similar in layout to Phoenix. There are mountains surounding the flat valley. It's very neat I think. Anyway, this is my quick update of life so far.
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I am currently at the LAX waiting for our flight to begin boarding! This entire experience has been....eventful to say the least.
My predecessor I guess has bitterness about not being a part of JET any longer or something cuz she has been rude to me. She hasn't been answering any of my questions and has been giving me the cold shoulder on so much. She has not been in Japan since March do to a severe back injury. She keeps trying to claim to me that she hasn't been responding to any of my questions because she has been trying to recover from back procedures but then on Facebook, she talks about working at some anime con or interviewing people for her company. She also mentions being so bored that she would read or draw. Yeah, she is ignoring me on purpose. My supervisors are being very helpful and nice about everything. The flight to LA was absolutely terrible. It was not a good thing to be dealing with right after an emotional last skate at Oceanside. The flight was delayed for 2 hours. Then we get on the plane, and they just sat there for 45 minutes trying to arrange all the luggage, then they didn't even offer refreshments. The landing was awful too. It was very bumpy and he swirved the entire time. I almost had a panic attack. We get to the baggage claim area and about half the JETs don't have their luggage, including me. the bag missing, happened to be holding my figure skates. We notify the counter and most of the bags never made it out of Phoenix. Thankfully, mine and one other persons did. They told us the bags were on a US Airways plane. So we had to lug our stuffd and walk to the next terminal and ask them. They tthen tell us they don't have it and it was another airline again. We had to walk another 3 terminals! The bags werent there. So we went to the counter and asked and they knew immediately where our stuff was. Thank goodness. We had to walk to the bus stop then finally I got to the hotel. It was 230pm at this point. I hadn't eaten anything since 430am. I had a snack at the airport around 9am but it was not sufficient enough. I ordered room service for fish tacos. It was the best fish tacos I ever had. Well worth the amount of money I paid. Then I had a meeting and at the meeting, I got information that I was denied permission to bring in my prescriptions because of an incomplete application back in June 2nd. Why didn't anyone tell me anything back in June? I got no email or any phone call from my coordinator. I was angry. She called Japan and said they would approve a one month supply of my presciption and 2 month supply of my contacts. I open my bags to get the extra boxes of contacts to send home, and the security at PHX confiscated them so I guess I have to get them in Japan from now on. It was just a really bad day. I made it easily to the airport now, and am just waiting for boarding so I can tell them I need a vegetarian meal and window seat. Otherwise there will be a panick attack going down in this plane. Wish me luck! I have been packing non stop for this move to Japan. I keep packing and unpacking my luggage. Once I get everything in the suitcase just perfectly, and under the weight, I realize that I have forgotten something, like my shoes for example. I feel like all I am taking with me is clothing and nothing personal from home. No pictures, nothing. It's like my house has caught on fire, and I need to repurchase everything. They don't tell you this when you prepare for moving countries. So, in light of all this frustrating packing, I would like to compile my list of things they don't tell you when moving to another country/Japan.
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AuthorJeny B Archives
August 2021
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