Last night in Tokyo, First days in Ise

These pictures are from my last two days in Tokyo, but I'm now in Ise - my new home!! The train ride here was insane. Although I only had my small bags with me, it was still incredibly hard to ride the train here. Kristine and I were met at the train station by Emily (the girl whose place I'm taking) and my new boss, Hiramoto. They took us to the Board of Education where I had to introduce myself and say a short greeting to EVERYONE in the office, in Japanese!!!! Out of the twenty times I did it, I messed it up about 6 or 7 times, haha. Everyone was so nice and the few people who spoke a little English were eager to show us their language ability. I was then taken to my new apartment. It's pretty big by Japanese standards. I will put up some pictures after I've had a few weeks to get situated. After a quick trip to the grocery store for dinner, I was then left alone to unpack. It was a very strange, but wonderful feeling. Today I started my new bank account and got a cell phone. Emily then took us to the mall, which I of course was happy to see. We met Pamela, who is a 3rd year JET in Ise, and we had lunch. It was great to meet someone else who will be working in the area.

While doing all of these things, I was riding a bike. It was extremely scary. Not even considering that I can barely ride a bike, it was just terrifying riding with all the crazy drivers. Many streets are barely big enough for a car to fit down. I've had to step off the bike many times, but haven't fallen yet. I'm sure I will though. I just hope I don't hit too many cars!