Accepted!

This is just a quick update. I received an official acceptance email from ECC! They say that I could get a job offer in January or as soon as December. I will have two months notice, regardless, so I can get the paperwork ready for my visa. Most of the offers are going to be in January because that is when the company starts training for the new school year in March/April.

Here is how the system works. There is a list of accepted employees waiting for placement. I was told I was near the top of the list because of when I interviewed. As soon as a spot opens up, because a teacher is leaving, we are given an offer. We can accept the offer or hold out for one that we want more. In my case, I do not want to go to Tokyo so I would hold out for a different city.

I am very excited! I'm looking at the available cities and trying to guess where I want to go if offered. The three main cities are Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. I expressed interest in going to an outlying city. I would prefer a smaller city but I wouldn't mind Osaka, or even Nagoya. The options for outlying cities are Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Miyazaki, Okayama, Tsu, Yokkaichi, Shizuoka, Ishibashi, Utsunomiya and Noda. The suburbs of Tokyo (Ishibashi, Utsunomiya and Noda) don't look bad. They are near the beautiful city of Nikko.

A picture of the Sacred Bridge in Nikko
http://www.wallpapersdesign.net/wallpaper/sacred-bridge-nikko-japan/

I have been to the Osaka area before for study abroad. I went to Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku (Kansai Gaidai) for my senior year. I was an amazing experience and I can't wait to learn more about the culture and language of Japan. (Those who want to know more about Kansai Gaidai or those planning on going there feel free to ask me anything!) I was in a rural-esque suburb of Osaka called Hirakata. It was the perfect size and location for me. I was close to the big city of Osaka and the historical city of Kyoto. If I could go back to Kyoto I would not complain! (The Osaka offer includes the area Kyoto is in too.)

A river by the city of Hirakata

If you want you can vote for your guess on where I will go or where you want me to go! Just leave a comment. I'll update you when I get my first offer.