こんにちは, muffins!
Today shall be about the prefecture that has had the misfortune of being chosen as the new home for this ALT-to-be (<(￣︶￣)>): Gunma-ken!
(Hopefully they won't want to send me home in a month, I truly am looking forward to meeting everyone. o(；△；)o)
Okay, you could know all of this by googling it or looking it up on Wikipedia. BUT! Not everyone seems to be familiar with these endless sources of information, so for the sake of laziness, I bring forth to you this wonderful summary. You are very welcome！
Gunma (群馬県) is a prefecture of approximately 2 million wonderful 日本人 located north of Tokyo in the Kantô region on Honshû, Japan's largest, crescent-shaped island. For the most part, it is comprised of mountains, but also plains, and surrounded by Niigata and Fukushima to the north, Nagano to the west, Saitama to the south and Tochigi to the East. It is home to three mountains and volcanoes, Mount Akagi, Mount Haruna and Mount Myôgi, which were (and still are to this day if my memory is correct) worshiped as 神 (かみ kami), Japanese deities.
Gunma is land-locked, which means that it has no direct access to the surrounding waters. While this means there are no beaches in sight, the ocean is never really far when you're in Japan, wherever you are. On the other hand, this means less earthquakes and also a much lower risk of tsunami. (And if you're really missing the water, there are more than enough hot springs to satisfy your needs.)
Some of you might have seen the mid-90's street racing anime Initial D which takes place in real-life Gunma, and which I have promised myself to watch in the very near future. (〜￣▽￣)〜 For all of you gamers and otaku (don't hide! I know most of my Facebook friends are at least one of those!), I just found out that Mt. Moon from Pokémon is based off Mt. Akagi. Also, Pewter City can be likened to Maebashi, the capital of Gunma prefecture. Which is totally awesome!
Something else, and this you guys know for sure: I am a complete food-lover who is a little (not always) too obsessed with healthy eating, and well, turns out Gunma will be paradise for me in that aspect!
よしゃあ！
Many delicious fruits and vegetables grow in Gunma, where the water is said to be very pure (gotta thank the mountains for that!), although in Japan the former is usually a lot more expensive than the latter. You can even go fruit picking! Cabbage, in particular, is one of Gunma's specialties. (U-Know what time it is? It's KIMCHI time! Ba dum tss! Only a select few will get this. The chosen onesssss. Yesssssss.) It is also responsible for a great portion of Japan's wheat production (and that means more delicious food for me, like soba and udon).
Since the Japanese usually buy their produce when they are in season, and because the water with which they are grown is of such quality, I can only imagine how fresh and yummy they must be. (*￣０￣)●ゞ
Gunma was not one of my placement requests. In fact, like many (I believe), I knew nothing of its existence until I received notification of my appointment. That being said, I am convinced that I will have a great time there. It isn't that far from the prefectures I had in mind (Shizuoka, Aichi and Chiba), and pretty close to Tokyo and the big city life. However, what I was looking for was a place where I could live well. The busy and more touristy areas, I can always visit!
What I want is to delve into the local community, and become a part of it if it will take me in, and learn about more traditional aspects of Japanese culture (not to brag, but I know quite a bit about its pop culture (^__~)). From what I'm told, Gunma people are warm and welcoming, hard-working yet somewhat laid-back.
Living in the countryside, I believe, will make interaction that much easier. I can't wait to meet everyone!
Omg I rambled so much ;; Désolée, les amis! 미안합니다!
ステフ
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