The pin is Sakai-machi, Ibaraki. The city in the south is Tokyo!

This one has been stewing for a while. It’s a list of everything I am going to miss, and then another of things I am looking forward to. But before I get started, I have a bit of news!

For anyone who follows my twitter, Facebook, or has talked to me recently, you will know that I finally got placement! The phone call had to come on a Thursday night when I was just about to go downtown for one last girls night. We were already enjoy hard cider, but luckily, I had barely drank any of mine when a phone call from Japan came through to my cell. I guess I made a face and said a vulgar word before running off with my ringing phone. Later the girls told me that it was either something bad, or I got my placement phone call. Well, the latter was true! I’ll be living in Sakai-machi, Ibaraki. It’s a small town north of Tokyo, and it’s rural enough for me to need a car. That said, it’s exceptionally close to the big city and it’s not rural by American standards, it’s just sparsely populated for Japan. I was secretly hoping for a car, and I wanted to be close to Tokyo. Both of my wishes came true! I can’t wait! Continue reading →