Training! (back dated)

I start training this week, but unfortunately training mostly involves "getting to know each other" games and all the culture rules and how to be Japanese (but don't be too Japanese because there is supposed to be culture exchange, as well!) and never ever do this or that. Every now and then discussions about actual teaching crop up, but there was nothing about how to live in Japan until Thursday when we went over the "Life Manual" that would have been nice to have in our welcome bags from the previous Friday night when we were taken to our apartments. (You don't need to use your microwave to make food, right? Cuz we won't give you a guide to that for another week. And we hope you brought enough clothes to last until you get the washing machine guide! If not, hopefully there's a coin Laundromat nearby...) And don't get me started on how to operate the bus system here, because they never got started, either. (But make sure you have enough presents for all of your school's staff! AND WE DO MEAN ALL!)

Overall I am not terribly impressed with the way the program has been run this year, and it's probably my displeasure with this that will likely get me in trouble with the Board. If it was only a few years old, it would be one thing, but they have been at this for decades, and this year was very badly put together; even they admit that.

On Friday (the 18th) we were taken to our schools for the first time and we got to meet everyone. I was finally able to see where my school was (I'd searched for it on Sunday and never found it) and know for sure how to get there via bus and walking. I also had an enkai that night, and I ended up being late to that because I didn't know when the buses left my area at that time of day. It was a lot of fun, though. I enjoy the staff at my school very much, both sober and inebriated, and I look forward to a great year with them.