So it turns out I can't actually use the gym in the hotel--there are too many JETs here, so we're banned from the gym and the pool. I went back to the hotel room pretty disappointed, but I did a few small exercises like sit-ups and whatnot, then got up and started organizing my luggage. Sara woke up after a while, and then I showered and got ready while I Skyped Mom. I also made some green tea with the hot water heater we have in our room--god I love Japan. Sara and I were out of the room by 7, and went and had breakfast. We met up with some other Denver JETs who arrived in the room the same time as we did. Then Justine, Sara and I went on a walk around Shinjuku since we had some time to kill before the prefectural meetings and opening ceremonies at 9, and Sara and I went back to our room after the short stroll. I organized my luggage, and then we went down to the big ballroom where our first sessions were. We were seated according to prefecture and we had an hour to just talk with everyone, so we got to meet some of the other Yamagata JETs. I found out there's another JET from Ireland who's placed in Shinjo along with Ben and I, which is cool. There are five Irish JETs in Yamagata and even an Australian, Tom.
Anyway, the sessions today weren't anything remarkable. We had the prefectural meetings, then the opening ceremony, then a keynote speech, which was rather good, and then lunch, which was spaghetti and some weird soup. I had a couple bites of spaghetti--I wasn't very hungry--and then went back up to the room to drop some stuff off before coming back down for the afternoon sessions. We were able to choose our own, so I went to one about food/cooking/eating on special diets in Japan, then to one about finances and budgeting, and then to one about "making the most of my time as a JET." I was exhausted by the time the third one rolled around.
After that I checked out the Association of JET's involvement fair thing, got some info on cool volunteer opportunities, and went out to try and get ready for the welcome reception at 6:30. The lines for the elevators were insane, but Tom and I ran into each other and decided to go get some tea in one of the downstairs cafes. We chatted for a bit--and by chatted for a bit I mean he asked me a few questions about Japan and JET (he had thought I was one of the organizers/TOAs because in the morning I turned into a right little Hermione about JET and all things Japan) and me talking about how in love I am with Japanese culture, food, people, and all things Japan-related. Then we had to go and get ready for the welcoming reception, so I went back upstairs to drop off everything but my camera. The wait for the elevators was awful, so me and a group of people took the stairs down--from the 23rd floor to the 5th. Thank god we were going down and not up.
We were late to the reception, which was fine because we weren't the only ones and everyone was standing around tables anyway, so we weren't really being that rude. We arrived just at the end of the speeches and in time for the kanpai, so that was fine. Then I had a couple bites of food from the buffet line (nothing was really that good and my stomach was super upset), and I wandered around with Sara trying to figure out plans for going out after the reception. She, Tiffany, Jenn, Justine and I ended up going shopping out in Shinjuku, where I bought three pairs of Harry Potter chopsticks. Each set is fashioned to look like Harry, Ron, and Hermione's wands--which I thought were pretty spiffy so of course I bought them. Jenn bought a new hair dryer and Justine and Tiffany bought three to two-prong adapters for the outlets.
Then we did purikura and went back to the hotel, where I tried to scan the purikura into Jenn's flash drive before we cut them apart, but since it was all in Japanese I couldn't quite figure out how to work it. We decided to figure it out in the morning since we were all exhausted by this point, so I still have them in my wallet until we can either scan them or just cut and divvy them up.
Then I Skyped Mom to say good morning/good night, and now I'm going to go get my PJs on, brush my teeth and go to bed--and hopefully wake up no earlier than 6 this time.
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