Predecessors

I am lucky enough to have found my predecessors via the JET forums and Facebook. Thanks to them, I have learned a lot about my town and living arrangements. I can say that I no longer have any fears about Shijonawate. Instead I am just extremely excited! Supposedly the city is big enough to feel like a suburb, but small enough that you will see your students all around town, and many people will know who you are.

There are four JETs in my town. Two of them are staying and two are leaving. I will be taking the place of one of the two who are leaving. I have been in contact with three of the JETs. Apparently, one of the JETs in my town (who is staying another year) lives on the other side of town while the other three live in the same apartment complex! The two who are leaving both live in the apartment complex which means that me, one of the JETs who is staying, and one other new JET will all live in the same building together! We are all from Midwestern U.S. states which is cool.

So here is the good news about my living situation. First, I won't need a car! That saves me a lot of stress and expense. Apparently I'm a five minute walk from the train station I mentioned in my previous post. Downtown Osaka is just a 30 minute train ride away. Also, I am in walking distance from all the schools except for one that is about a 25 minute bus ride. That brings me to my next point, there is a bus system in my town! That means, I can get around all over my town. I've been told that there are supermarkets in walking distance, an H&M downtown, and a couple Costco's on my train line...very benri (convenient)! Also, most likely I will be teaching at an elementary school and junior high school which is what I wanted :) There's only one high school in my town, but around 8 elementary schools and 4 junior highs.

As for my apartment, like I said, I will be moving in to one of two apartment rooms in the same building. I haven't found out which one yet, but I know that one is a newer one that has less stuff and less space in it while the other is old and has more space and more stuff. Both apartments have a small bathroom, kitchen, and two rooms (one living and one bedroom?). There is air conditioning, although I'm sure it's just the little units, and there are no drying machines as expected. That's just how Japan is. Rent is a little expensive along with utilities, internet, and phone, but it seems manageable ...even with my student loans. I hopefully will be able to save enough money to come home for Christmas!

This is my apartment complex (I added this picture later).