First Official Days

As requested, here are some pictures of my new apartment that I moved into on Monday.

This is the main room of my pad. Right now, I have my futon there, since it is fairly warm and the AC unit is above it. There are sliding doors to a patio on the far wall. (Amy, please note Bruce's perch atop the TV).

This is my "kitchen" in all of it's glory. There is a toaster oven, my "pantry", and a rice cooker tucked around the corner.

This is the bathroom. It is tiny, and everything is run through the sink.

So this is where I will call home for the next year. There is also a fairly large sleeping loft that I will use once it cools down a bit. It has been hot and humid the last few days (think 90 and about to rain any minute). They tell me this is the end of the weather though.

A few quick thoughts about these last few days: 1. The staff at the school is super nice, and the students also seem very nice. 2. I just learned that I live next to the studio that created the original SpeedRacer. 3. Little kids amaze me - a few rode bikes by me this morning yelling "Hello, nice to meet you!" 4. I have cable tv included with my apt., and this may be the death of me (I forgot how tv can suck you in). :)

Hope all is well State-side!

First Week in Japan

I'm sorry I haven't posted much this week. I have been busy in training for the majority of the week. When I have had free time, I went and explored Tokyo with some of my fellow teachers. I have checked out many places, including cultural and touristy places. Here are a few pictures I took. Tomorrow, I will be moving into my apartment and meeting everyone at my school. I'm exicited. Hope you are all doing well!

-Jessica
Yes, there are fixed gear riders here (but I didn't see any MOTAB spoke cards...).

A few of us at dinner after a day of training (there are 21 of us here training together).

The other table at dinner that night.

The Meiji Jingu shrine in Harajuku (Tokyo).

Me by the moat outside of the Imperial Gardens.

The Imperial Gardens: a peaceful oasis in the middle of Tokyo.

Bruce in Transit...

Bruce carefully studies the safety instructions for the Boeing 747 we are on. Hopefully he can help in the event of an emergency!

Sorry Amy, there were too many people around the luggage carousel. Hey Bruce, do I need to fill out any customs' forms?

Safely in Omiya.

I have safely arrived at the training center in Omiya, Japan! Now I just need to complete training and kick this jet lag thing. I have been up 24+ hours, with some light dozing on the plane.

Under the watchful eye of Bruce...

... the adventure begins! Stay tuned for more kids!