Welcome Home Rachel

There are lots of Jets in Tottori-ken (county) but 4 of us are new Junior High Jets and have the same supervisor. Me and three Americans, they’re nice but it’s definitely a case of the American and the unAmerican. I can refer to this place as the Leitrim of Japan as much as I want and they’re not going to get it. Our first day was a long tiring nightmare of admin stuff but then it was mercifully over and I was at my apartment.

So here I am, home sweet home and yes everything you have heard about Japanese living space is true – I now live in a shoebox but it’s a pretty shoebox and its my shoebox so I’m happy. Dan the guy I took over from left me a message on the white board saying “Welcome Home Rachel” and 5 minutes here and I was comfortable. Sometimes when I set my futon out on my living room floor to go to sleep I feel like I’m sleeping on someone else’s floor but not really.

Behind my shoebox are several mountains of the popping out of the ground covered in lots of green trees variety and beyond the mountains is the sea. Now I know that sounds like I live far away from the sea but it is actually about a 15 min cycle. Half an hour takes me to a nicer beach than the one close by but I have to go up and down one of the mountains to reach it so I reserve it for special and energetic occasions.

I go to the beach quite a bit, whenever I don’t get to swim in the school pool. Yes my school which is conveniently across the road from my shoebox – I mean flat – has a 25 metre outdoor pool which has resulted in the two competing swimsuit X’s branded on my back. I have a great tan (just for Emma). To counteract this of course when I’m not swimming or taking a cold shower (I take quite a lot of these in fact I haven’t turned the hot water on at all) I’m melting – its over 30 degrees here most days with high humidity. The thermometer in my kitchen has been known to read 38º. I have an air-conditioner and I’ve fallen in love with it, his name is Sam.