- AET: Assistant English Teacher (what the people in Iiyama say instead of ALT)
- AJET: Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching
- ALT: Assistant Language Teacher
- BoE: Board of Education
- CIR: Coordinator of International Relations (also, someone fluent in both Japanese and English)
- CLAIR: Council of Local Authorities for International Relations
- CO: Contracting Organization
- ESID: Each Situation is Different. The JET Program's favorite answer to participant questions.
- GIH: General Information Handbook
- JET: Japan Exchange and Teaching
- JETAA: Japan Exchange and Teaching Alumni Association
- JTE: Japanese Teacher of English
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Acronyms
Acronyms, just in case
Monday, May 10, 2010
And then I went to America
Yep! For any blog followers out there who missed me, I was in America! (sorry if you did miss me and might have wanted to see me)
Anyway, just a quick post to cover the wonderful things I did in America:
ate
saw friends
saw family
ate
saw friends
went shopping
got a haircut
went to a wedding
ate
went to the doctor and dentist
That is it!
I will admit that I strongly considered leaving the post like that, but I think there would have been some shouts of protest, which I would have been able to hear all the way in Japan. Here is the elaboration, which will turn the short post into a long post! (things may not be in the correct order... my brain no longer works correctly)
ate: I ate lots of good things! My first meal after the flight was a delightful sandwich from Firehouse subs. If you have never been to one, please go. For the NoVA folks, there is one in Fairfax Towne center. Delicious toasted subs, on what I consider to be good bread. And they have fountain cherry coke. Dinner that night was sushi! YUM. Haha, I can hear what you are thinking. "Elissa, you live in Japan, and you came to America to eat sushi?" Well, yes, because sushi in Japan and sushi in the US are two completely different things for the most part. There is some overlap, but all those fancy rolls you all know and love (California roll, dragon roll, spicy tuna roll, Philadelphia roll...) do not exist in Japan. But they are sure delicious! On Sunday, I ate many more delicious things including MEXICAN! Oh, and a dark chocolate milkshake from Maggie Moos! Delicious!
saw friends: pretty self-explanatory here. Not sure if people want their names mentioned, so I will just say YAY Glad I got to see you! And that we got to eat delicious food together!
saw family: Yep! This includes a quick trip to Ohio where I got to see my newest cousins! Twins! Born on April 20, and I was in Ohio on the 26, so I got to see very very very small, cute baby girls. It was a wonderful time! I have never seen babies that small, and I am SO glad I got to meet them because the next time I see them, they will probably be over 1 year old. Craziness, right? I also saw Grandma and had lunch with her, saw my other cousins, and got to spend some quality time with Brad (though it was short). One other notable thing from Ohio... PUPPIES. Or, dogs rather. I got to meet (and pet and give some love to) a chocolate lab who looks and acts exactly like Cocoa. She is a girl dog, so slightly smaller, but all other qualities were there. I love labs. If you are unaware, my family now has only turtles as both dogs and both cats have been put to sleep since august. :( Hence, I was VERY happy to get to play with a dog. In VA, I got to see my mom and Kevin, of course, and I got to eat lunch with my godparents before I flew back, which was wonderful.
ate: yep, still eating! Bagels, a trip to Ruby Tuesday, another bagel (salmon cream cheese), other cheeses, eggs benedict (YUM), Dairy Queen, Coastal Flats...
saw friends: same as above! Still really happy I got to see everyone! Keep in touch!
went shopping: got some more shirts for summer in Japan and a new pair of black flats (2, actually) BIG news, unrelated to shopping, my doc martens made it to Japan! I have had them since 8th grade, and they have been on most of my trips, but had to get left behind last august due to weight issues. But they're here now and ready to be worn for some walking adventures!
got a haircut: there aren't too many pictures floating around yet, but I donated my hair. I think it was about 12 inches which I mailed to Locks of Love before I came back to Japan. I now have a cute haircut, or I think it's cute, though short. My head feels a lot lighter though (insert witty comment about my lack of brain equaling a lighter head, rather than being related to hair length), and I don't need as much shampoo or conditioner when I shower. Positives all around!
went to a wedding: YEP! It was so fun! Congratulations to the newly-wed couple. I am glad the timing worked out so I could be in the US and go to their wedding. I probably would have made the trip no matter what because of the Japanese holidays, but it worked out perfectly that their wedding fell in those dates. yay! congrats again, if you are reading.
ate: home-made (mom-made) lamb and lamb potatoes and chili! more cheese (we found basket cheese!!!), another bagel, Melting Pot for Kev's birthday, M&M McFlurry (they don't have that flavor here), another Mexican meal (Cactus Cantina)...
went to the doctor and dentist: no explanation necessary. no cavities! and I have now lost weight on the record. yay.
Ok, so ends my elaboration of my trip to America! I am sure things were forgotten. Let me know if I missed something major.
Anyway, just a quick post to cover the wonderful things I did in America:
ate
saw friends
saw family
ate
saw friends
went shopping
got a haircut
went to a wedding
ate
went to the doctor and dentist
That is it!
I will admit that I strongly considered leaving the post like that, but I think there would have been some shouts of protest, which I would have been able to hear all the way in Japan. Here is the elaboration, which will turn the short post into a long post! (things may not be in the correct order... my brain no longer works correctly)
ate: I ate lots of good things! My first meal after the flight was a delightful sandwich from Firehouse subs. If you have never been to one, please go. For the NoVA folks, there is one in Fairfax Towne center. Delicious toasted subs, on what I consider to be good bread. And they have fountain cherry coke. Dinner that night was sushi! YUM. Haha, I can hear what you are thinking. "Elissa, you live in Japan, and you came to America to eat sushi?" Well, yes, because sushi in Japan and sushi in the US are two completely different things for the most part. There is some overlap, but all those fancy rolls you all know and love (California roll, dragon roll, spicy tuna roll, Philadelphia roll...) do not exist in Japan. But they are sure delicious! On Sunday, I ate many more delicious things including MEXICAN! Oh, and a dark chocolate milkshake from Maggie Moos! Delicious!
saw friends: pretty self-explanatory here. Not sure if people want their names mentioned, so I will just say YAY Glad I got to see you! And that we got to eat delicious food together!
saw family: Yep! This includes a quick trip to Ohio where I got to see my newest cousins! Twins! Born on April 20, and I was in Ohio on the 26, so I got to see very very very small, cute baby girls. It was a wonderful time! I have never seen babies that small, and I am SO glad I got to meet them because the next time I see them, they will probably be over 1 year old. Craziness, right? I also saw Grandma and had lunch with her, saw my other cousins, and got to spend some quality time with Brad (though it was short). One other notable thing from Ohio... PUPPIES. Or, dogs rather. I got to meet (and pet and give some love to) a chocolate lab who looks and acts exactly like Cocoa. She is a girl dog, so slightly smaller, but all other qualities were there. I love labs. If you are unaware, my family now has only turtles as both dogs and both cats have been put to sleep since august. :( Hence, I was VERY happy to get to play with a dog. In VA, I got to see my mom and Kevin, of course, and I got to eat lunch with my godparents before I flew back, which was wonderful.
ate: yep, still eating! Bagels, a trip to Ruby Tuesday, another bagel (salmon cream cheese), other cheeses, eggs benedict (YUM), Dairy Queen, Coastal Flats...
saw friends: same as above! Still really happy I got to see everyone! Keep in touch!
went shopping: got some more shirts for summer in Japan and a new pair of black flats (2, actually) BIG news, unrelated to shopping, my doc martens made it to Japan! I have had them since 8th grade, and they have been on most of my trips, but had to get left behind last august due to weight issues. But they're here now and ready to be worn for some walking adventures!
got a haircut: there aren't too many pictures floating around yet, but I donated my hair. I think it was about 12 inches which I mailed to Locks of Love before I came back to Japan. I now have a cute haircut, or I think it's cute, though short. My head feels a lot lighter though (insert witty comment about my lack of brain equaling a lighter head, rather than being related to hair length), and I don't need as much shampoo or conditioner when I shower. Positives all around!
went to a wedding: YEP! It was so fun! Congratulations to the newly-wed couple. I am glad the timing worked out so I could be in the US and go to their wedding. I probably would have made the trip no matter what because of the Japanese holidays, but it worked out perfectly that their wedding fell in those dates. yay! congrats again, if you are reading.
ate: home-made (mom-made) lamb and lamb potatoes and chili! more cheese (we found basket cheese!!!), another bagel, Melting Pot for Kev's birthday, M&M McFlurry (they don't have that flavor here), another Mexican meal (Cactus Cantina)...
went to the doctor and dentist: no explanation necessary. no cavities! and I have now lost weight on the record. yay.
Ok, so ends my elaboration of my trip to America! I am sure things were forgotten. Let me know if I missed something major.
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