Meeting Mori

Ok, so this is a re-post. I can't believe I had so many typos. I really must have been tired last night. O.o

You know those typical Asian scroll paintings of mountains shrouded in mist and all that mysterious, mystical stuff?
something like this perhaps?

Well, I am here to tell you the truth. Believe it or not, it is like that more often than not. It was like that the day I rolled into Mori, not that I could see much as night was falling and I was simply exhausted. And its been like that since. In fact, this is one of the best views I have of the volcano, Wannahocaluggi (seeing as I am Dori I renamed the volcano appropriately. Its real name is komatakage---I think) But, as the Japanese say, it hides its face from me. It always clears up when I don't have my camera handy. Coy, coy mountain. One day I WILL get a good picture of you. My camera doesn't help matters either.

Let's talk about my awesome town. Mori is nestled between the sea and the volcano/mountain. Which, when viewed via the Mori side, has two peaks and is shaped like a M. The weather is, for the most part, great. In fact I woke up my second night here cold. I was hugging the fridge for warm while I was waiting for my shower to heat up. But now, hah, we are in a bit of a heat wave at the moment. Which kinda is a bit of a drag because I don't have AC and neither does the office. In fact, the heat has been breaking records right and left. I went to get a fan and they were all sold out in my town.

Anyway, back on the timeline track. Sorry I get derailed easy.

The first night I was here, my pred took me to meet three other wonderful ALTs. My townmate, a neighboring JET and a JET who was leaving for home in a few days. Not only was it my welcome to Mori party but it was my townmate's birthday. We dined at my favorite restaurant in Mori, Mori No Cafe. Its run by canoe fanatics who have hand made canoes and adore taking them out on the nearby lake Onuma. Everyone was really sweet and I was very very upset to learn that all of them, including my pred, Bry, was to leave. From vacations to job changes, all of these great people were leaving. I was a little floored to realize that I would alone for a while, although my pred was staying a few more days to help me settle in and finish moving out. But was hard because we all had so much in common, from fanfiction, Star Trek, LOTR, Arashi, 100 yen shopping....actually just shopping for shiny things, that I felt even though we had just met that these girls were going be my friends for a long long time and I was sad to say good bye. It seemed that all I had been doing is saying good bye to friends both new and old and I was sick of it. It was just an emotional overload.
Mori No Cafe's sign--its right across the street from the BOE office.



I woke up to my first full day in Mori to rain and a growing sense of misplacement. It wasn't my bed, but it was, it wasn't my house, but it was. It felt a little odd being in the same house as my pred. The prevailing sense that I was replacing her (which I was) made me feel guilty. I also wanted to begin settling in and there was a lot to be done. Most of it involved cleaning. But first I needed to check in, so we showed up at the BOE (board of Education--its my office) and began taking care of the big stuff. Transferring her car, car insurance, getting my official seal made, starting the Gajin (foreigner) card paperwork. I met the mayor and the head of Mori BOE. I was very grateful that my pred was there; she helped translate for me as they had a bit of an accent which made understanding them hard.
My house, the outside of which really does look like a pink ghetto.

The view of my mountain out of my living room window. Sadly I can not see the sea, however I do see and hear often the seagulls.


Ok, I have to cut this in half. I am super tried and its past midnight! I will finish tomorrow!