An Intro to Everything

Yes, this is "just another person-going-to-Japan" blog.  Does the world really need another one?  Probably not.  However, when preparing to move halfway around the world, one starts thinking about keeping in touch with family and friends, as well as sharing inane stories with random strangers on the internet.  So one (and by that, I mean me) has decided to start another blog.  I'll be keeping light track of my preparations for leaving for Japan, and hopefully start posting more once I actually get there.

Though currently living in the states, I have recently accepted a job teaching at a private kindergarten in Koriyama-shi, Fukushima--forty miles away from the nuclear power plant.  That's ten miles inside of the U.S.-advised evacuation zone.  Yes, it may seem unwise, but I've done my research.  I've discussed everything with family.  I continue to defend my choice to myself by repeating the same things over and over:

1. There have been no restrictions placed on Koriyama by the Japanese government.
2. The school has been tested by the government, and the radiation was at a low enough level that it would cause no long-term effects for the children, let alone for the giant gaijin teacher about to show up.
3. I've never been that much of an outdoorsy person, anyways.
4. I would rather be 40 miles away from the power plant with a strong school support system than be an Interac ALT, dumped into the wilderness 50 miles away from the power plant with no school support.
5. I am leaving in two months. If things take a turn for the worse, I can always just not go.

Item #4 is probably the most convincing one, for me.  I would not want to be fending more myself, so to speak, in a completely rural area.  Here, I will have a foreigner support system (four other foreign teachers); the owner of the school is living and teaching in the same building, so if things get truly dangerous, she'll be departing.  Also, my mother has told me that if things get bad, she can make a donation to the "radioactive daughter fund" and I can come back to the states and live at home for a bit.  Huzzah for family, no?