But yet it finally feels exciting and like we’re REALLY traveling. Parts of China were exciting and “exotic”, but we’re kind of spoiled owing to the fact we lived in Japan for three years (and thus could read quite a few things) and coupled with the fact some of my best friends are Asian-born Chinese (thus I was already exposed to quite a few foods, customs, etc.) We are finally in a place where we don’t understand anything going on around us. It’s overwhelming, but it’s fun.

Two delicious bowls of pho down, bring on more delicious food.

We booked at the Lucky News Classic Hotel (weird name, I know) which for the price of $50 offered free shuttle service from the airport, free breakfast, wifi, etc. When we arrived, we were surprised at how friendly the staff was and moreover, by how clean and nice the room was. It wasn’t 5-star for sure, but it was certainly nicer than some of the dens of evil we’ve stayed in around Asia before for that price. Needless to say, we spent more time than necessary wondering if we’d get charged for the soap, or for the fruit, etc. Nope, it was just a nice place to stay in transit. God, we’re newbs.

The flight was uneventful and I fell asleep before the flight took off (as usual) to wake up to a very disgusting meal, thank you very much China Eastern Airlines. After lunch I gazed out the window until I came upon this vast expanse of chocolate brown below us.

Ah, could it be a desert? I wondered, No, we’re too far east–it must be post harvest rice paddies?

Then I saw a container ship cut through what I had previously thought was earth…

No, it’s the ocean. It takes a special kind of pollution to make the ocean look brown from 20,000 feet, I must say.

Anyways, so we arrived at Shanghai, took a harrowing taxi ride into the city and arrived at my friend Jon’s father’s spare apartment located in the expat district of Shanghai. We ate lunch, bought some breakfast supplies, than had traditional Chinese massages. All in all, a very nice start to our adventures. Honestly, I’m glad we’re able to ease into the China thing…. I’ve heard plenty of scary stories (all vastly exaggerated, I’m sure). We’re heading pretty far off the typical tourist path in the next few weeks, so it’s nice to have the chance to acclimate and learn a little Chinese first.

Now I just need to learn how to say, “I don’t speak Chinese,”

So, the flight over was typically rather boring. The JET Programme has put us up at the Keio Plaza Hotel and I attended did a bunch of seminars. My roommates were totally awesome. They fed us well, and I met up with my friends in Japan. What was a bit sad was seeing future-jerk-CIRs in the making, you know, the sort that look down on ALTs because ALTs don’t know Japanese or are just “teachers.” Don’t get me wrong, most CIRs (myself included) feel that we do have a special role that was difficult and competitive to get, but that’s no reason to try and tear down people new to Japan. All of us had that first squeal of excitement/confusion when we first saw a Japanese toilet.

Shimane Prefecture is about as inaka (country/rural) as it gets; however, it is absolutely beautiful. I’m surrounded by mountains overgrown with thousand year old bamboo with secret temples waiting at the top of hidden pathways. There’s a river that flows outside my apartment, and a mountain side less than 500 meters behind it. There’s a hotsprings on the other side of the river, and I can walk/bike along a pathway that in the spring is lined with cherry trees. That being said, it’s absurdly humid here and I’ve seen all manner of disgusting insects here. My apartment is MASSIVE. It’s a 3LDK, which I thought was a typo、but is not. That means I have 3 bedrooms, a living room/dining room and a kitchen. It is bigger than an apartment I’ve ever lived in, bigger than any apartment I’ve ever seen actually. It’s the size of a small Japanese house. I have 3 tatami rooms and wooden floors in the living room and hallways…it’s half furnished, meaning I have everything left behind by previous CIRs (towels, futon, spoons, pots, etc) and I pay a whopping $300 US a month for it. So, for anyone who wants to visit me, I have more than enough room. The downside is there is NOTHING to do in my city and we need to get a car to go anywhere to do things like shop or go to bars or whatever. The weather is absolutely awful and you’ll either be eaten alive by insects and melted by the heat OR you’ll be buried by snow and frozen solid. The upside? Hotsprings, clean air, amazing fresh food, and the fact you’ll be one of the very few people to come to this part of Japan–it’s full of ancient shrines (including the oldest one in Japan and the most important one in Japan), spooky bamboo forests, and extremely friendly locals…oh and going to South Korea is a $150 roundtrip journey.

I’m a “Coordinator for International Relations”, but a more appropriate title is probably consultant or assistant. I work for the International Exchange Division of the Policy Planning Department in the Unnan City Hall. I just met the Mayor. Thus far I’m doing a lot of nothing, but I basically have the freedom to do whatever I want. My first job will be an english version of the website and varous translations, then I’ll be doing english classes for adults and hopefully planning events like an easter egg hunt for city kids and stuff…I get paid quite well (and I have health insurance, thanks to Japan’s national health care) for this being my first job. Instead of bonuses, I get vacation time. For example, if I work 2 hours overtime, I get 2 hours of vacation time…so after 8 hours, I get a day off. Weee…oh and Fridays end at 11:30.

The only bad part (thus far) is that it’s easily 90 degrees (no exaggeration) in this office with a humidity level of about 99%. They’re trying to save the environment (after decades of lining rivers with concrete and farming the ocean free of whales) by not turning on the air conditioning until noon (and even then it’s setto 28 Celcius). I complain about the weather so much, I know, but Los Angeles has made me weak.