Two Weeks Notice

Today I put my two weeks notice in at work. I was a bit nervous about telling my bosses, but they took it much better than I had imagined they would. Now I can finally talk a bit about my new position!

For those that don't know, I got accepted to become an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) for the school board in Ashikaga, Japan (google map). I will teach English there for a year starting July 29, and it sounds like the contract is renewable for two years after that if both parties wish. I was interviewed for the position by the Sister Cities Association of Springfield as part of the relationship between the two groups. There is a bit more info on Springfield's sister cities on the city's website.

A nice little tourist map was included in the latest package that I received from my soon to be employer. In true Japanese fashion, it is covered in cartoons.

I have actually been to Ashikaga once before. It was almost 6 years ago now, I went for 10 days just to sightsee. I liked it enough that I started taking Japanese at Illinois College, and now here I am. The city itself is a bit larger than Springfield, and is situated 50 miles north of Tokyo. From what I recall, it has a fair number of worthwhile tourist attractions. A good place to visit someone you know who lives there... hint hint... There's a surprisingly good page on Ashikaga at Wikitravel, right here.

I expect the coming month to be very busy. I have a lot to prepare for!