New Apartment and Starting Work, Also My Awesome Boss

November 13, 2011

Sunday

6:53PM JST

This is my 2^nd entry for my blog since arriving in Japan. I am writing this entry in Microsoft Word because I don’t have access to the internet at my apartment yet and I don’t have enough time to write everything out at work since I’m, well, working when I’m at the office.

Here is the rundown of what has happened since my last post. I finished up training last Wednesday and I moved here, to Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday via Shinkansen. One of my supervisors (at least I think he is…) brought my baggage with him via his car later in the day. So basically I arrived first then had to wait for him to get here. I also paid for the Shinkansen and connecting trains with my own money, though I did get quickly reimbursed thanks to my super kind manager. Anyways as soon as I arrived at the Sendai (Train) Station the manager picked me up. We went to the office and talked and I did some work (which I need to finish when I have the time) reorganizing some vocabulary cards that had been disorganized by the previous teacher who was fired for not, well, teaching.

Later that night (Thursday) my manager, the manager of the ALTs and the supervisor from Tochigi Prefecture who brought my luggage all went out to eat at an Izakaya. OMG. OMG. OH. MY. GOSH. I cannot describe how absolutely DELICIOUS the food was there. The first person who visits me is going straight there after I pick you up from the airport or the train station, depending on how you get here. Of course since I 1) have no money and 2) will start work the next day (Friday) my coworkers paid for all of it J. Also, before that the manager took me to a 100 yen shop and bought me like $30 worth of stuff for my apartment… little did I know that he was going to actually be the one paying for it! I was planning to buy all the stuff myself but then when we get to the register he takes out his wallet and buys it for me!!!!

My manager is awesome! He also set up everything for me, my apartment, my futon (floor bed), my refrigerator, my washing machine and then my mini oven/stove and the kotatsu (table with blankets and a heater underneath it, for not, you know, freezing to death in the winter). Now, I’m renting the futon, fridge and the washing machine for about $13 a month!! They’re also ALL new! My manager gave me his kotatsu that he can no longer use because he’s living in the office (I don’t know why…). He also got me the mini stove/oven and I think that’s probably going to come out of my paycheck too (I don’t know if I’m renting it…). Oh and he got curtains too.

With my own money (reimbursement and advance on my paycheck) + ~$100 the manager gave me (I did not ask! But by now I’ve thanked him at least 15 times), I went and bought some dishes, some food, a calendar, a towel, forks, knives, etc. The only things I really need now are zabutons (floor pillows) and more containers to organize my stuff.

In other news, I love my apartment!! I have a great view of the mountains in the distant AND my 1 bedroom, 1 kitchen (no dining room, the kotatsu is the dining table in my bedroom) has a tatami floor in the bedroom!! Not only that but I’m also within walking distance to all sorts of places to shop and eat. I don’t need a car at all here. I’m only about 20 minutes walking distance from my job and I don’t start work until noon or later. So happy!

That’s all for now!