It was the heat of the moment

Ah, nothing quite like hot humid Japanese summers to ignite our passions and remind us of awesomely cheesy 80s songs.

I'm in Tokyo now, blogging on my laptop's battery power from my room in the Keio Plaza Hotel. It's not going to be a very long post, but I wanted to make sure I recorded at least a small snapshot of this event in my blog.

Orientation makes me feel a lot like starting off at college. They try to set a pace that stresses the seriousness of the work we're about to start, but at the same time, the volunteers (who are fellow JETs, in their 2nd or later years) give us a nice exposure to the fun side of Japanese life. A lot of people are disappointed in this, choosing to go out on their own rather than hang out with our "guides".

Personally, I'm happy going out in groups like this. It's good to know that I don't need this kind of structure, that I'm motivated enough to go out on my own. Yet at the same time, a big part of me still feels very nostalgic about my college experience, and wants to somehow make up for those awkward early years, when I might have been too shy to socialize with strangers. And so I happily join the crowd, make new friends, and recognize that this is the probably the last time that I'm going to be "taken care of" in this way. I've got the next 12 months to figure out this whole adult responsibility thing, so it's kind of cool that I get to be a college kid again one last time.

The order of things

I had the plans laid for this blog back in February, long before finding out my fate as a JET. I was inspired to start it after reading several JETs' blogs in preparation for my interview, and I realized that I could accomplish a few things by blogging. Friends and family could read about my experience at their leisure; I could document my own thoughts and feelings to look back on; and maybe it would be a valuable resource for future JET hopefuls.

After the interview, I should have started the blog, but I succumbed to laziness. Acceptance, placement, contact from my CO and predecessor - all this has happened and I haven't really blogged about these events in the moment.

I feel like I'm writing a novel instead of sharing a part of my life. I really want to share the moment with you. My big obstacle is my need to put things in proper context, to set things up in a linear fashion and then progress down a path.

I can see how that could get boring. Wouldn't it be way more fun if I just leapt right into the story, and left you guessing as to how I got there? You know, I think I'll give that a try. Blogging "in the moment" will take priority. So when I actually get to Japan, you'll hear about it. The background stuff might have to wait till later.