7:13 a.m. on Friday August 8th 2014

Yesterday wasn’t too eventful but it was a day that made me realize how lucky I have been so far. I went to the city hall to register my new address; opened up a Japanese bank account, and got a new cellphone! Yay!

Lucky case #1 – an iPhone for 9800 Yen = $105

I went into a mobile shop, and looked around at phones and plans. I initially wanted an android phone, but it looked like android phones and plans were more expensive than iPhones. But iPhones were still quite expensive – around $430 Canadian. Luckily, a customer service rep mentioned to me that the phone was being sold for $105, and there was only one left at the store. I hesitated a little bit because I was skeptical at how a 40,000 Yen phone can be sold for 9800 Yen. So I asked several times if the price was right, and he said yes. So without any hesitation, I bought the iPhone 5c for around 9800 Yen. Amazing!

Lucky case #2 – my apartment

I was supposed to get into an apartment in Nishijin. This apartment is located right in downtown, but its downside is that it’s very old. But in the last week before my departure, my predecessor emailed me that I couldn’t get into Nishijin anymore because of some administrative error. So other housing options opened up. Now, I am in a very new apartment that’s very close to my office and has lots of JETs already living here.

Lucky case #3 – at the airport

I was told that if my luggage was overweight, I would need to pay $100+tax. It was overweight, and a lady at the counter just let it pass without any fees.

Lucky case #4 - my placement

During the Tokyo Post Arrival orientation, I was reminded many times how lucky I am to be in my placement – Fukuoka City! It’s one of the top 10 most livable cities in the world. I am also working at Fukuoka Prefectural Government where I will be doing lots of interesting work.

Overall, I am very grateful for everything that has happened so far! Maybe it’s a sign that my time here will be amazing. J

4:41 a.m. Thursday August 7th Fukuoka

I arrived in Fukuoka yesterday at around 1 p.m. As soon as I arrived, everyone parted to get to their respective cities in Fukuoka prefecture. Up until yesterday afternoon, I was with JET participants who were in the same boat as me, but not anymore… And I already miss my Ottawa JET friends and new JET friends I met at the Tokyo Post Arrival Orientation!

After having lunch, my JET supervisor and I went to the International Relations Bureau at Fukuoka Prefectural Government. I have seen the building before on Google map so I wasn’t too surprised until I entered my office. Before I left Canada, I always told people that I didn’t know what to expect about my new placement, but I realized that I actually unconsciously had some expectations. I thought this office would be full of CIRs from different countries… I don’t know exactly where I got this idea from… But in front of my eyes, there were around 30 Japanese staff and 1 CIR from Korea. I wasn’t too surprised by the small size of my desk attached to 10 other desks because I have seen such setting in Japanese dramas before. But then, my brain unconsciously just compared my former office in Parliament to this office. I don’t think that really helped… I just remember in my head all I could think was “OMG! This is not what I expected, and will I survive the next year?” Everything was new and very different.

Wed. Aug 5 2014 4:10 a.m. - in Tokyo

Wide awake in my room at Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku at 4:10 a.m. I was up since 2:45 a.m. and so did my two American roommates. It was so hard to stay awake all day yesterday and listen to speakers after speakers at the post arrival orientation of JETs. I was in the Starlight room on the 43^rd floor all day learning about translation, interpretation, Japanese business and phone manners. These workshops were all done in Japanese. At one point, I asked myself, “How did I end up here in a room with 58 foreign nationals getting trained for my new job in Japanese?” It’s the same question I sometimes asked myself as a child when I looked around my classroom in Toronto. “How did I end up here in a classroom with students of different ethnic/racial backgrounds studying in English?” There are moments when you just wonder how did I get here because it’s so randomly different from the life you used to lead.

Despite all these questions popping in my head, I am enjoying this experience very much. This is definitely the kind of environment and people I have wanted to surround myself with - 58 CIRs of different nationalities who read, write, and speak Japanese very very very well. They definitely motivated me to study harder to improve my Japanese skills. I’ve met some very intelligent CIRs – there was a British who studied Japanese only for 4 years and passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N1; there was a kiwi who did 4 years of studies in Japanese and an American who did only high school level Japanese, and were able to pass the interviews and exams to make it this far. I was just in awe and impressed by these people all day long...

Coincidentally, the American who did only high school level Japanese and is fluent in Japanese is a Korean-American whose family is from the same small town where my parents grew up in Korea. I also lived there for 6 years while living in Korea. What a small world….

I am here in Tokyo for one more day and I am headed to Fukuoka to meet with colleagues , directors, and possibly the Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture. Hope I make a good impression using the bowing techniques and other Japanese business manners I learned yesterday.