A New Year

I'm not really into the whole New Year's resolution thing, but, seeing as how the new year does mark some sort of new beginning, I thought now would be a good time to become serious about having a blog. It just may prove to be easier than sending out mass emails about my life in Japan. Time will tell... : ) I returned to Japan last night after a very smooth flight (thankfully with no usage of the sick, aka barf, bag that I usually require during long flights). The movies weren't that great, but I guess anything is entertaining when you're stuck in a cramped space for 10 hours! Some family friend's were able to pick me up from the airport, which was a huge blessing! Riding the train for 2 and a half hours with all my luggage would not have been a warm welcome back to Japan! By the time we got back to Tateyama, I was ready to hit my bed (well, fouton...) I went to bed at 8 and didn't wake up until my alarm went off this morning- it was glorious to sleep that long! I woke up early to go to City Hall to check in with my supervisor. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to stay all day, because there really isn't any work for me to do there (and school doesn't start until next week). But other ALTs in other cities have to stay at their board of education all day, even if they have no work to do. Thankfully, all I had to do was show up, and say "Happy New Year" to my supervisor's bosses- more of a formality, really. So, after I bowed and politely said, "Happy New Year" (in Japanese, but I can't remember it anymore : )), I was able to come home! So, I basically have until next Tuesday off, which is really nice. I'm going up to Tokyo this weekend to hang out with friends and enjoy the long weekend until school starts again. For now my job is to try and stay warm. I figured out how to work the heated carpet that a friend gave me- I forgot how cold it was here when I was back in Washington!