Kanazawa Here I... Am...

On Wed., July 30th, I arrived in my new home of Kanazawa. All the JETs going to Ishikawa took a short flight from Tokyo to Komatsu Airport. (One cool thing about the plane - there must have been a camera mounted to the front because the tvs inside showed the view of the runway during takeoff and then the city and sky as we ascended. We were also able to see Mt. Fuji from the air - pretty sweet!) In Komatsu, we were greeted by experienced JETs and the supervisors from our school boards who took us to our separate towns/areas in Ishikawa.

There were seven of us headed to city hall in Kanazawa where a pile of paperwork awaited us. We had to fill out applications for bank accounts and alien registration cards and pay for our apartment deposits. Then a Japanese teacher at one of my schools whisked me away to look at my apartment (getting lost for about 20 minutes along the way). Once I'd determined what was needed, she took me shopping for apt stuff, then grocery shopping, then to the school she worked at so I'd know the route for when I started Friday, and then on to more shopping. It was all a bit overwhelming, especially as she mostly spoke Japanese, all the stores and products were different, and I couldn't read anything anywhere. She finally dropped me off at my apartment around 8pm... completely exhausted and alone... without a phone or numbers to call anyone... and not having a clue as to where I even was. I have to admit I was a bit freaked out. Luckily, I felt much better after getting some sleep (and a map)!

Here's a link to pictures of my new apartment (I hope the link works this time). It's in a great location and most importantly, it was furnished! Feel free to come visit me anytime!