First week or so in Gunma.

After spending 3 hours on the bus on the 1st of August 2008 we arrived at the maebashi Kensho where we went throuh another official ceremony to meet our supervisors.

(pic not mine)

Tricia and I were then driven by our supervisors, Machida-san and Nomoto-san and Steve (Tricia'a predecessor) to Shibukawa. We signed our contracts and met the head of the Board of Education.

We were then taken grocery shopping before I was taken to my house. Machida-san gave me a low down on how stuff worked and hnded me the keys.
The firrst night was wierd cos i didn't have any idea wha I had and I was still a bit tired from Tokyo. I made up my bed, made sum supper and watched black books.
It was a very pleasant night.. admittedly i was in an airconditioned room but still pleasant.

The next day we got taken to Gunma Bank, the home affairs type thingy and Da Capo (yes phenie, Da Capo) to buy our cells and sign up for the payment contracts. Machida san took care of all the hard stuff which was awesome because having heard how slack some of the other new ALT's supers are, ours seems to be superhuman. Actually key to a good time on the Jet programme is a good supervisor.

that night we were treated to Japanese food at a restaurant (with a name i forget despite having been there a few times now).. we drank and talked and generally had a good time... Tricia has a pic which i hope she gives me sometime :p

I then had a free weekend which i used to explore my surroundings http://tamagazou.machinami.net/shibukawashigaichi.htm not my pics but thats what the city centre (5mins walk from home) is like.

Machida-san then took me to my new schools where i met my colleagues for the first time.. that was an interesting experience to be honest... but the tension slowly woree away and things seem pretty decent all things considered. Oh when exploring the school for the first time i had a lil 1st grader turn the corner, see me, then he turned and bolted for his life! that was funny. I also briefly met the staff at Kanashima elementary but didn't do much more than say hi.

The folowing week was my first week at school. I joined in sports activities and got to know the place and the people. Shibukawa-kita Chu Gakuen or Kita-chu for short is a fairly decent sized school ust at the edge of Shibukawa proper. The basebal and soccer teams are in the upper echelons of the local league and the Brass band is one of the best in Gunma (sounds like an orchestra to me) The staff is firm but easygoing and there seems to be a nice atmosphere at the school.