I didn’t have to worry about waking up on time. I woke up once in the night to pee, but otherwise slept fantastically till 6 am. I ate breakfast with one of my roommates that awoke at the same time. Our stomachs were growling. Jet lag wreaking havoc on appetite. It was very busy, apparently all the JETs woke up early with jet lag. The display of food was fantastic. Buffet style breakfast with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, potatoes, yogurt, cereal, salad, various fruit, breads and jam, and juices.

The day began with several speeches by important ministries in the Japanese government dealing with education. Our host was a German CIR! Then a long day of workshops punctuated by a pasta lunch commenced. I managed to find Nashville people around everywhere. For a small consulate, we sure were magnetically attracted. Also met plenty of new people from other consulates around the world (Canada, UK, and New Zealand). Dinner was served in a prefecture groups. We had a kanpai, but the only thing to toast with was beer, yuck. Had to take a tiny sip. Another amazing spread. Beautiful little cakes. I actually started with dessert, plus the lines were shorter! I met another ALT going to my city, K! He’s teaching at the all-boys school and I have the all-girls. I had made plans for after dinner, but instead I just went back to my room to sleep. Around 4 pm, the jet lag really started making itself known. I collapsed into bed at about 9 pm.