yamato, hikari, yamaguchi, japan 山口

Morning all (5 of you)! Jeez, I crack myself up, and it only has a little to do with the cold meds I'm hopped up on!

So today's blog post is going to be (kinda) short and sweet (I know, thank god, right? This blabbering fool never shuts up!). I have a presentation to give at a high school in Alexandria today on life and culture and school in Japan, so I have a fast and furious half-work-day before I head out there. Two thoughts, and then some pictures:

1) I don't have to take PTO to give this presentation, and I feel downright blessed (helps that I work in education). My boss was not only open-minded but encouraged me to get more involved with the program. Not to be lame, but, BOSS.

2) I totally forgot what my other thought was. Probably something about pizza.

I taught English in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching program, or, you've you guessed it, JET. As an alumni, I've wanted to give back for years, but I haven't had the flexibility in my work schedule to do so... until now. I'm presenting today through a program called JET ambassadors, an initiative of the Japanese Ambassador to the US (Fujisaki). As an ambassador, we go to high schools in the DC/MD/VA area and tell them all the dirt on Japanese school life.

Today is my first presentation, and I am PRETTY stoked about it. I'm going to wear my karate gi (haha! no, really, I am!) and I brought a yearbook from one of my schools to show them. AND, I'm going to show them a vide of me dancing with some of my students at "sports day." In summary, I'm about to make a FOOL OF MYSELF.

And I can't freaking wait.

In between all that silliness, I'll show them my home in Japan - Yamato, Hikari, Yamaguchi, Japan. (translation: rural town, nowhere, southern, Japan)

Some scenes from one of my very favorite places on the face of this earth, my home sweet home in Japan!

In the kanji (chinese characters) for "Yamaguchi"