This has been an exhausting weekend, but in a good way. We threw a HUGE going away party for my sister, who is moving to Japan in just two weeks to teach English.
The party was impressive...over 50 people throughout the course of the evening. And I wan to say it ran near 12 hours (started at 4pm, I crashed at 2am, my mom and sister crashed at 3am and there were still people there!). It was a ton of fun. Friends from middle school, high school, community college, university, and multiple jobs all showed up plus family.
We made a ton of food too! There wasn't too much left over either o.O And one of our friends was kind enough to pack up the food and straighten up the kitchen for us since we were all in bed by the time he left (although he says he had some help).
We had volleyball and bags, but sadly never got around to setting them up. We also have a slew of light-up toys (football, soccer ball, volley ball, beach ball, a million frisbees), so those came out as it got dark. There was also a fireworks display and bonfire (thankfully we live out in the country, where our neighbors are farms).
So Saturday was a TON of fun, but very tiring. And now we face the reality that in just two weeks, my sister gets on a plane for Japan. She will be living in Kushima City in Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushuu (second largest of the non-main islands, the one towards the south). The area is considered tropical, with temperatures ranging from about 40F in winter to 90F in summer. She is also in a rather rural area, the city being surrounded by race paddies and mountains. It's nice though because it looks beautiful so she will enjoy exploring the country side. Also you can walk pretty much everywhere within the city.
She also has some friends out there from her brief stint while her husband was in the navy, and she has made some new friends through the JET program.Unfortunately they are mostly on the main island...and Tokyo is a 9 hour train ride (it may make more sense for her to fly actually! long train rides get pricey). Her predecessor also has some friends that she is trying to introduce my sister too so she has some people to hang out with when she moves. This well be awesome because she gets about a month to get settled in, and now she will know people in her city and the nearby towns.
What's really neat about her replacing someone, is she has a contact to help her figure things out ahead of time. She will be moving into her predecessor's apartment, and is lucky enough to be able to buy all the furnishings so as not to worry about figuring that all out when she gets there. Her predecessor is also hooking her up with a car. On top of that my sister is getting information on custom, school policies, what her different coworkers are like and what they will expect, what there is to do in the area, what to do in her free time, etc. She also has an address already so if we need to ship stuff too it can go out whenever.
Once my sister gets to Japan, she will be teaching on a 1 year contract. After that time, she may have the opportunity to renew. It sounds like you are usually asked unless you specifically say you don't want to. After 3 years, they are expecting you to be rather fluent in the language to continue. This is an awesome opportunity, and rather perfect as she went to school to be a high school English teacher! We have also been surrounded by the Japanese culture since I was 6 (best friend since Kindergarten had moved here from Japan), so it has always had a place in our hearts.
I am super excited for my sister! But also a little jealous, and a little sad that she will be so far away for so long. Hopefully I can afford a trip to visit her n_n
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