Placement

Moriya-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

100 miles southwest of Iwaki-shi, Fukushima Prefecture
35 miles northeast of Tokyo

A. Iwaki
B. Moriya
C. Tokyo

It was take it or be thrown back into the placement pool. And for fear of being placed even further from Iwaki and also because of its close proximity to Tokyo, I decided to take it. I will be teaching at at least one elementary school in Moriya-shi starting some time between April 6-8, 2013. I got very lucky as this comes before the end of my tourist Visa, which means I can change my return flight to the United States into a round trip flight to a nearby country. I can activate my work Visa in this way. Additionally, this is an opportunity for a mini vacation ;D

It was a semi-tough decision because I really wanted to be in the same town as April, but all things considered I think it works out for the best. Being so close to Tokyo will expose more engineering jobs for me, and April will even consider moving down to Moriya at some point in the future. The possibilities are endless! It also allows us both to still be independent and we can still see each other on the weekends. I think this is an important transition point in our relationship because we have never spent more than a month together (in-person) and I think this will help ease the transition into seeing each other more. We aren't your ordinary couple.

In other news, here's my placement on a bouldering wall with April at Drop-In in Iwaki:

This is an interesting sign placed on a wall at an American restaurant in Iwaki.

And here's some Natto, a traditional Japanese breakfast dish rich in protein and nutrients, placed on our cutting board in the kitchen:

I think I'm loving it here so far. The language barrier is tough, but people are nice and I'm learning. I look forward to exploring Moriya-shi and eventually... the world.