Life on Iki

I've been in Japan for almost a week now and on Iki island for three days. So far everything is going really well. My first day or rather evening here, my supervisor(U-san), predecessor(C-san) and one of the other ALTs took me to a restaurant for a welcome dinner. So much food! Sushi, sashimi and Iki beef (the best beef in the world). After that, my supervisor dropped me off at Marina Hotel where I stayed for the night. It was still early in the night and I planned to read a little and watch some t.v. Hah! None of that happened. I passed out...with my glasses still on. -_____-

Still a little jet lagged, but I didn't wake up every hour. The first full day in Iki was cray cray! I checked out of the hotel around 10am and afterwards my supervisor drove me from place to place. I met the Board of Education(BOE) and applied for my foreigner card. Actually I felt kinda bad about that. We went to the city hall first to apply, but I didn't have any photos. We drove to the BOE, took my pictures there only to realize that the BOE didn't have a photo printer and then we drove to U-san's house where his printer wasn't working, so we had to drive to the photo store...and finally got some decent pictures. We drove back to the city hall and I filled out my application. In the midst of all that, I picked up my luggage and had this amazing beef lunch meal.

I swear the cows here are raised with love and from what I hear...lots of beer. I digress! If you want, I'll dedicate a post to Iki Island beef.

Finally, after all of that hustling around the island, I moved into my new apartment. C-san took me grocery shopping and then I went home, unpacked and passed out.

Friday and Saturday

Lunch at Cafe Wiz. Meeting more people!

I had my first driving lessons in a standard transmission. AHHHHHHHHHHH! C-san says I'm doing pretty well. Actually, I'm starting to feel more comfortable in it now. The hardest part for me is going from stop to 1st. I have to use my left foot now when I drive and my left side of body is spazing out! I'm so totally right handed.

I went to the beach for the first time on Friday. It's so amazing! The water is clear and blue with little waves. And it's clean!!! I went swimming on Saturday and I freaked out because I could see the bottom. Unheard of in California!

Later Friday night I went to a dinner with the Flamenco gals! I met a lady who speaks Spanish and another lady who speaks French. I insisted that we be language partners. We'll see how practicing three languages while teaching English goes. Eek! The food was great. The company was just wonderful. We arrived at 7pm and left around midnight. Time just flew! Before I knew it, we had to go home.

Saturday, I went to the local pharmacist's home for dinner. Schan is auhmazing! He's lived on Iki all his life and he is the ichiban (No.1) golfer here. He loves music from the 50s and 60s and has the most incredible music collection. A bunch of us gathered at his place for dinner; there was sushi, tenpura, pizza, fried chicken(Japanese style) and pasta. 50s pop played in the background and he even played the piano for us. He showed us his old family pictures. What a gem! These photos go back before the war started! He isn't that old, but he has kept all the pictures of his family. And, he tells the best stories. I asked him if he liked Ella Fitzgerald and Motown and he called me old. Bleh. But yes, he likes the Motown sound and the sweet ballads of Ms. Fitzgerald. We even did the twist at one point! It was another successful and fun night on Iki!