Here is an excerpt from my journal, written last week:
Pics coming soon!

August 5th

Seeing a child smile in Kazusa is the most beautiful thing in the world. I think that might be the only thing that gets me through this week, until Erich gets here. The isolation from English speakers is already starting to get to me, and I've only been here a day!

First of all, I have to try to describe this place. Imagine a rural town of about 9,000 people crammed into a shoebox. The Japanese people are not mountain people, and this area is full of mountains. So they pack themselves into the only low-level land available. The results are narrow roads and people practically living on top of each other. It's kind of cool that I live on top of a restaurant, and a store is only about 10 steps away. I never could have guessed it would be like this!

The scenery here is amazing. I have never been anywhere this beautiful – lots of lush greenery, palm trees, and butterflies surrounded by the bluest water. It almost makes the hotter-than-the deepest-pits-of-hell weather worth it. Almost. (because you all know that I hate the heat! Blech!)

Now let me talk about the food. Erase everything you know about Japanese food in the United States - it just isn't the same. Imagine noodles drowned in mayonnaise with some meat on top. I would be practically starving right now if it weren't for these yummy tofu rice balls. Provided I don't stuff my gut with too much Pocky, I might actually lose some weight here!

Now when I say that there are no English speakers here, I mean it. The only "jouzu" English speakers are my supervisor, Sumimoto-san, and my JTE, Miro-sensei. But they probably only understand 30% of what I say. I have learned that if I have a question and they don't respond and take action immediately, they didn't understand. But when they do, they are so helpful. When I got here, I asked Sumimoto-san how to hook up the Internet in my apartment (my only connection to the outside world; it's kind of important). He just kind of looked at me and nodded to indicate that he understood the word "Internet." So later, I showed him my DSL modem and then pointed to my apartment wall. It's now going to be hooked up on the 16th!

On to my apartment. Mine is big by Japanese standards – 3 tatami rooms, genkan (hallway/entrance), a kitchen, and a bath. I have 2 air conditioners which operate by remote control (I would die without this, but I’m kind of afraid of my electric bill!). It's pretty old – there are stains on the walls, and the kitchen is anything but modern. The bathroom is kind of weird – there is a room for just the toilet (oteirai), a room for the tub (which is a Japanese style heated tub) and shower (I'd die without this!). The washing machine and sink are between those two "rooms." There is a drain in the middle of this area for the washer to drain into (old school!). Yesterday, my landlord came a-knocking to tell me about trash collection, all in Japanese. Now I have to decipher the sheet he gave me. Then, after looking at my massive shoe collection in surprise, he gave me a block to put my shoes on in the genkan that says, "Studying Joy." Speaking of Engrish, my supervisor's boss was wearing a shirt yesterday that said, "Dolce Margarita." Anyway, besides the obvious lack of décor, the apartment is nice. And I haven't seen a bug yet! *knocking on a big old block of wood*

So let me talk about being the only gaijin (foreigner) in town. This town has had ALTs, but there was a one-year gap between the last ALT and me. The last one they had was an Australian girl, and she was on her second year when she had to go home due to illness. So this area hasn't seen any Americans for quite a while. Yesterday, the local paper took my picture. My JTE introduced me to some children yesterday (who, quite remarkably, are out of school for the summer, but still come here to practice music) who were ecstatic that I am American. I guess I'm living the stereotypical "celebrity" JET experience. By the way, the "Can you use chopsticks?" thing is so true!