JET Placement News

A momentous day! I received my placement letter, informing me of the general region in which I will be placed in Japan.

SO, drumroll, please. Trumpets commence!

Dun dun dun, ba ba ba baaaaaaaaaaaa…

私は静岡県に行くよ~! I’m going to Shizuoka Prefecture! It’s near the coast, two hours south of Tokyo. I know nothing about it – I’ve joined the official Facebook page, and googled it, but I’ve never even heard of the place before. In the past half hour, I’ve learned that there are nice views of Mount Fuji, it’s got great tea, and the surfing is pretty ace, too. Bring it on, say I!

I knew it would be a good day – I woke up after a particularly good night of sleep, slowly got up, and got ready to journey down to London. It was sunny, the UK is slowly waking up to the idea of spring, and the weather is begrudgingly accepting occasional flashes of non-rainy, non-grey skies, although it compensates by being as windy as possible. Well, today, it was breezy, but not Scottish, and the sun beamed genially down on me. The second I stepped out of my flat, I spotted the first ducklings of the season! I have to admit, I may have squealed involuntarily. They were so. Incredibly. Cute. Their mother ushered them all away as I strolled past, but I couldn’t help but edge closer, trying to catch them on my phone’s camera.

I caught the bus just as it pulled up to the stop – it’s one of the great moments in life when you have timed your trip perfectly. The journey down to London was uneventful; I slept the hour’s journey to London, mouth stylishly agape. It’s very attractive, I assure you. Anyone who has travelled with me and has seen me fall asleep will testify, especially since it inevitably leads to someone taking a photo of my beauteous self and displaying it to as many of our peers as possible! I suppose I’m lucky I didn’t dribble.

The Body Shop at Euston train station has been refurbished and reopened. Oddly enough, they sent me an email informing me of that very fact as the Virgin Pendelino sped smoothly to a halt. So, I made a stop to see what had changed in there (it’s lovely, bright and more open, if you really want to know), and picked up a few bits and bobs that I needed. By some crazy combination of vouchers and sales, I managed to get about nine items for just over eleven pounds! My bank account sent me a kiss. This is rare, considering I often have to consider: books, or food? 

I went to Greenwich for lunch with Mama Laulet, one of our favourite destinations. Greenwich is my home borough, or kampong, as the Malaysian in me would say. It’s a fantastically historic area, with the Cutty Sark newly rebuilt, Greenwich Naval College, Greenwich Park (where I volunteered last year as an Olympic and Paralympic Games Maker), and loads of things to see and do. I love introducing friends to this area because there’s a lot to discover outside Central London, and Greenwich is a brilliant place to start. I'll try and do a proper tour with pictures and must-see parts before I leave for 日本。

Greenwich Market does excellent food – I always have the roast beef with melted cheese, a stall just on the left of the main entrance. Sometimes the beef is a little dry, but it’s usually spot on. The churros, if you like the sweet things in life, are well worth it, and the Thai food is excellent, too. Greenwich Market is a charming mix of genuine, handcrafted shops with jewellery, clothing and artwork, too, with a hidden gem of a coffee truck in the corner, and some great shops on the side as well. I sound like a Visit Greenwich advert, but I do think it’s well worth a visit. The full market is there Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and there are different things throughout the week, and of course the surrounding park and museum are open all week days. This time, whilst we were there, a nice young gent was handing out the Oyster Card holders you see above in with my Body Shop swag, with a voucher for some amount of money off, should we choose to purchase any clothing. We didn’t go in, but he gifted us the card holder anyway!

My love for charity shop books was indulged as well – the Oxfam Books and Music store in Greenwich is another of my secret corners where I love to discover new novels. I picked up an interesting mix of things. At the end are two Zadie Smith books (having recently read and enjoyed the books so much that I wanted my own copies), my favourite being white teeth. She’s a contemporary London writer who usually deals with postcolonial London experience from various ethnic angles. Then, I have a new Jean-Paul Sartre book, a French philosopher who was concerned with existentialism. His most famous book is La Nausee, known in English as Nausea. It changed my life when I read it – I had a ‘moment’ the same way that the protagonist in La Nausee did, unable to move.

Chuck Palahniuk, whose surname is the most difficult of all to spell. Another contemporary writer, but an American, one who works in rather interesting fictional directions. The film Fight Club was based on his novel of the same name. Very minimalist, very unusual. David Lodge – I’ve not read his works before, though I have heard of him. I picked this up, it looked pretty, the blurb caught my attention. I think it’s difficult to write about life in a university setting without boring the reader, so I’ll be interested to see how it pans out. Angela Carter – an apt person to be reading since I’ll soon be heading to Japan, where she spent a few years. It really influenced her writing, and she’s one of my favourite feminist writers. Finally, I went for some sci-fi, classic Isaac Asimov. My reading tastes, as you may have gathered, are pretty diverse.

Feeling fully sated and intellectually stimulated, Mama Laulet returned home, accompanied by some gluten-free cupcakes and donuts from Ruby Tuesday’s stall. My brother, too, Lad Lau, returned from uni with a friend, so we’ve got a full house. This weekend is looking pretty snazzy, wouldn’t you say?