The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. My last couple of days in Tokyo were spent attending various seminars on teaching English with a co-teacher, surviving an isolated placement (comparatively, I'm not as isolated as i had thought, given that some are stationed on islands further from the mainland than myself. One guy has either a 17 hr ferry trip or a $300 plane ride) and dealing with the various forms wildlife that find themselves into the house, Japanese etiquette including proper angles at which to bow without offending people, and the various support options available to JETS. Though it sounds boring, I really had a great time, mostly in meeting so many people in similar situations as myself. The roomates I had for those few days were also from Canada and were to be placed in the south, however, both on the island of kyushu (my second choice). The evenings were spent exploring downtown Tokyo. Though I wasn't able to get there, we were only a few blocks from the famous subway station where the city employs white gloved attendants to push people into the train until there is room only for a few oxygen molecules. I would hook up with a few people I had met and by the time we ventured out onto the street, often the group would have grown to ten or more. There are so many unique places to go out to eat, each with its own unique atmosphere. I ate sushi almost every night. My favourite was this quaint little place with a conveyor on which the chefs, who work their magic from the center of the circular conveyor, place a wide variety of cooked and raw fish onto plates, which are colour coded by price. When it comes time to pay, the waitor counts the plates stacked in front of you and yells the tally to the cashier. It should be mentioned that the staff is constantly shouting things to one another from across the establishment in a language that is almost unintelligable to me. There are spouts in front of each place setting on the outside of the conveyor that dispense hot water for tea. No one in the group spoke Japanes except for a few useless phrases for this context. You can imagine how difficult it must be to enquire as to how one orders food (before we figured out that one simply takes from the conveyor) by saying 'thank you very much,' and 'good morning.' I have never tasted better sushi, and it was cheaper than any I have had in Vancouver. I paid the equivalent of $1.30 for each plate consisting of two large pieces. My friend and I had stacked 7 or 8 empty plates each before when we were, regrettably, full.

On our last night, Kiri, myself, and some other Canadian JETs we knew met up at the Canadian embassy to chat in the back of the room about our experiences to date, while some important officials gave speaches, likely pertaining to the grave responsibility that had been bestowed upon us as representatives of our country. After taking the subway back to our hotel, we ventured across the street to the government buildings: twin towers that offered an amazing view of the city. I found that the excitement of the night was getting to me. Luckily a vending machine at the top of the tower offered a cure in a can of beverage called "Deepresso." Once I was back to a normal state of mellencholie, I felt free to leave the previously mezmerizing view to return to the street.