Sado

I’ve finally made it to Sado! So far everything has been going well. The people are very friendly. Both the administrators at the Board of Education and my fellow JETs are glad to see me. I believe the program has been in disarray somewhat on account of the travel restrictions stemming from Covid 19 and the other JETs have had to scramble to make up for people leaving, so I think my arrival comes as a relief to them.

My apartment is modest but quite cozy. I found out some of the administrators came out and cleaned it themselves ahead of my arrival, as the unit was sitting vacant for over a year. The bedroom has a tatami mat floor and I have a futon for sleeping. All the door ways are sliding fusuma. I also got my rental car today. I am now driving a Toyota Pixis Space. This car is known as a type of kei car in Japan. Kei cars are a class of very small cars that are exempt from certain taxes due to their diminutive stature and small engines. They seem to be very popular and can be distinguished by their yellow license plates. Most of the cars on Sado seem to be kei cars.

I start teaching next week, so during these past few days I’ve been pretty busy getting things like my phone, internet, bank account etc sorted. Tomorrow, Friday, and the weekend, however I have no errands scheduled. I’m thinking of taking this time to explore the island and check out some of the touristy sites. After all, I am not sure how much free time I will have once I start work in earnest. They have told me to be ready to work hard! I am very relieved to finally be here.