First blog. Yay.

I finally have the long arm of the internet in my tiny, breezy apartment. I am teaching in Japan. It is my first time. I arrived in July. It is now September and many things have happened. I will write some posts about the last few months if it comes to me when writing about the present. I don't have enough breath in these fingers to write about everything.
Japan is a fascinating and frustrating and fun place. I am in Gotsu, Shimane. Shimane is a banana shaped prefecture on the Sea of Japan. I live near the ocean for the first time in my life. The landscape is lumpy and wiggly on the coast. Even the rocks that might be jagged when touched, look like something that would give with your weight if you sat on them. The sea of Japan is very salty and full of jellyfish this time of year.
Shimane is the second most rural prefecture in Japan. Foreigners are a bit more of a novelty here than in Tokyo or Osaka. I have been stared at, honked at, yelled at, bowed to, waved to, smiled at. Many aren't used to seeing a tall blond woman walking around. Sometimes the attention, especially when buying groceries on a Sunday with a hangover, can get annoying.
I am in the process of purchasing a car. When I do, I will have more to say about the area where I live. I have yet to really do my kind of exploring around here. It will happen soon.
I teach at a senior high school. It is a wonderful school where the students and teachers have a great grasp of the English language, or at least don't mind trying to communicate with me. I really like these kids. My classes are considered the fun classes because we play games and have mock conversations all the time. If I was the math teacher, maybe we wouldn't have such a good exchange.
My apartment barely holds me, but it does its job. Life is full of movies with subtitles, strange foods, confusing garbage separation, hot showers, candy, reading, measurement conversion and playing with other ALTs (JET Assistant Language Teachers).
I will write more when I have more energy. It was a productive day: internet, fund transfer, 3 classes, groceries. It may sound like nothing, but when there is a language barrier, every day activities turn into endurance challenges. It was a good day, and I wanted to get this thing up and running. So this is my first post. Huzzah.