Oh, Hokkaido!

So I found out my placement about a week ago, but I haven't had a chance to tell you all because my computer was all, well, dead until recently, plus I was busy graduating college! Good news though, it's back now and all my finals and graduating are out of the way. When I got the e-mail from the Consulate General of Japan entitled, "Placement Information", I must admit, I was afraid to open it!! Jakob insisted on reading it first and then telling me what it said, but I had waited too long for this and had to check it out!! I opened the e-mail and it told me I would be placed in Hokkaido! I've only been placed at the prefectural level so far, so I don't know the city yet, but another friend in the program, Spencer, tells me this may mean I'll be in an urban area. I'm not really sure why that would be, but that's exciting news for me since I've never lived in a big city! I'd take anything, but whenever someone asked me where I wanted to be placed in Japan I always said, "Anywhere except Hokkaido!! It's too cold!!" well... we can't always get what we want, can we? Like I said before, I'm not complaining, just trying to come up with a survival strategy!! Here are some things I learned about Hokkaido when surfing the internet:

"An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck near the island on 2003-09-25 at 19:50:07 (UTC). In 1993, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 generated a tsunami which devastated Okushiri. On November 15, 2006, an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 generated a tsunami alert. On January 13, 2007, an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 caused minor tsunami."

"Hokkaidō is known for its cool summers and icy winters. The average August temperature is around 22°C (72°F), while the average January temperature ranges from −12°C to −4°C (10°F to 25°F) depending on elevation and latitude.

"Hokkaido has the highest rate of motor vehicle accidents in Japan"

"Hokkaido has the highest rate of depopulation in Japan." (Hmmmm, wonder why..)

I called Masaki to tell him where I was placed, and he seriously couldn't stop laughing for about 2 solid minutes. Masaki's response was best, "Oh my God Heather, it's gonna be so cold!" "Yeah Masa, I understand." "No no no! It's gonna be REALLY REALLY COLD! Even in the summer it's gonna be cold. You're gonna be cold all the time! Oh my God, hahahahaha." Great. I recently e-mailed my old roommate, Elena, in Russia and told her how close I'll be to Kamchatka, haha. Not that it matters since she lives in Moscow, but she had a good laugh at my expense too.

No, all jokes aside, I'm still very serious about this trip! If other people can live there in those conditions, so can I. Tomoko tells me that the food is the best in Japan, and Akira tells me that they're famous for crab, which is my FAVORITE food in the WORLD. They are a popular ski resort destination, and I know nothing about that, but I'd love to learn! I'm really good at iceskating, so maybe I can do that too! It's also supposed to be really beautiful, and I love the outdoors so that will be nice. They have a famous ice sculpture festival in the winter too! And certain regions are famous for sake and for melons. They're known for lavender fields in the spring and summer. Local cuisine is different than the rest of Japan with lots and lots of seafood, and anyone that knows me knows that that makes me happy. Dr. Boldon tells me that there's an indigenous group that lives in Hokkaido called Ainu (another friend mentioned them too!) worth looking into too, so that could be really interesting! My grandfather was stationed in Hokkaido, and according to my grandmother, he really enjoyed his time there as well. Oh yeah, and, I get to LIVE IN JAPAN! That part is exciting no matter what, no matter where they put me! Country or city, cold climate or warm climate, I'm ready for something new! I've been doing this school thing for long enough and it's time to try something else and challenge myself. I'll keep you all updated as soon as I find out more, and maybe try to post on things I learn about Hokkaido as I go along!

Also, once I get my mailing address in Japan, I'll make sure to let everyone know so they can e-mail me if they'd like to know what it is!

Thanks for your interest and your support!
Heather
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Mini-Update on Hokkaido!

A recent MSN conversation with my friend Shu (often introduced by pointing at his foot, "Shu! Like shoe!") lead to some important insight on Hokkaido (this is almost as good as Masa cracking up):

shu says:
but hokkaido. its super cold.
shu says:
super hyper ultra cold

Yes... yes it is :) Anyway, I'll adapt, and I'm excited!!!

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