We Live Where We Are

Tatami Smells Like Vegetables

Last night, as Julianna and I were crossing the bridge to my school, we stopped for a moment to admire the Hirose river. A broad swatch of green, it cuts through the western end of Sendai proper, pushing back the towering government buildings and squatty tenements while buffering itself with an unexpected border of parkland and trees. The air was a dusky purple of a kind I've only seen here, nowhere else. And for the first time, not in the busy neon flashing of Shinjuku, nor in the mutated and monstrous Times Square that is Shibuya, I truly felt that I was in Japan.

We were returning from Ichibancho-Dori, one of the two intersecting shopping arcades that neatly divide central Sendai. Julianna was naturally excited, the prospect of unlimited shopping firing off girlish synapses in her otherwise sane and level head. I kid, I kid. Truth told, I found some shops I'll be sure to haunt, including a little place that sells screen-printed T-shirts from artists around the world (lot's of b-boy stuff, Jose).

There's so much else to say that I hardly no where to begin. We arrived in Sendai after a lickety-split six hour bus ride with the other Miyagi-ken JETs. We were promptly ushered into the local Board of Education to meet our supervisors and participate in a short, extremely organized ceremony in which we received certificates announcing our new position as assistant language teachers. Julianna and I then split up to visit our respective schools. At Sendai Niko SHS I met with the Kocho-Sensei (Principle), a kind man with beautiful English. In fact, most of the teachers I'll be working with have a great command of the language. I, of course, feel quite fortunate for this, as other JETs must contend with being the sole English speaker in their towns. My supervisor then took me to our apartment, which I'll post pictures of shortly. To Japanese standards our place is fairly large, with two tatami rooms, a western styled room (i.e. carpet) and a decent sized kitchen. It's a little noisy, as we're right above a main road, but it's really a great place. The location, in fact, is amazing, less than a 30 minute walk into downtown and super-close to our base schools. We've got a large COOP supermarket a few blocks down the street, adjoined by a bookstore, internet cafe, and Italian restaurant. It's quite strange, Julianna and I have eaten Italian in Japan more often than we ever eat it in the States!

Tomorrow there is a giant fireworks display that launches the annual Tannabata festival. We'll also meet up with a few other ALTs for an improvised tour of the city. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

In short, we're doing well, slowly allowing ourselves to adjust to our new surroundings. We'll keep you posted...