I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Naha, Okinawa! It is almost 1:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon and it is about 85 degrees outside! The sun here feels much hotter than it does in the states, I would say it definitely feels like its in the nineties and very, very humid. I am staying at a hotel that is called 'The Weekly Mansion' which is quite the overstatement! It is pretty small, but it has a stove/sink/microwave so it will do until my apartment opens up.
The flight was long, I had to switch planes three times but was able to sleep quite a bit. I was also fed three meals and had a decent movie selection to choose from. I landed here Friday night around 10:00 p.m. and the administrator of the English school and his wife picked me up from the airport (Grant and Satomi). They took me straight to the school so I could call/email home, which is about five minutes from the airport in Naha and a few blocks from the hotel where I am staying. It seems that everything in Naha is very close together, there are plenty of shops, food places, gas stations nearby.....there's even a McDonald's and a beach within a 5 minute scooter ride! I rode the scooter/mo-ped for the first time on Saturday and could not stop laughing the entire time I was riding it, I guess I just never pictured myself putting around town on one of those! I will try to get a picture on here of me driving the scooter soon..
I spent all of Saturday at the school shadowing another teacher. I will work from Tuesday-Saturday, and Saturdays are the longest days. I arrived at the school around 9:00 a.m. and did not leave until 7:00 p.m.! I will be teaching three classes in the morning (they are 1 hour long), have a lunch break from 1-2, teach two more classes in the afternoon, have another break from 4-5, and then teach two evening classes. I will be able to take full advantage of the hour breaks once I move into my apartment because I will be able to just walk right upstairs and relax (my apartment is on the fourth floor of the building where the school is!).
Sundays and Mondays are my days off, and I have to be back at the school at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Ben and I were able to spend all day Sunday together, which is going to be one of the only days we will be able to see eachother, since he lives about an hour north of me and I definitely can't drive that far on my scooter!! His place overlooks the ocean and is right across the street from the beach! I can't wait to get my tan on...
Well that is about it for now, I do not have too much to say about my job because I have only been there for 1 day and I was pretty tired, so I will post again in about a week when I really know what will be expected of me at my job...hopefully I will be in my apartment by then too!!
I miss everyone from back home and would love to hear updates on what is going on in everyone's lives! Feel free to email me often at nchhokar313@gmail.com.
-Nicole
P.S. The first picture is of the slippers on my balcony. In Japanese homes, there is a small tile entryway where you are suppose to remove your shoes, and then there are usually slippers that you can put on to walk around. I also have these cute slippers on my balcony so my feet don't get diry! The other pictures are of the view from my hotel balcony.
