Precursor to the Epic

My apologies to anyone who somehow happened upon this site before my first post. I've been wanting to keep a blog ever since I arrived in Ariake four months ago, but several complications and delays had me put it off until now. What's that you ask? Where is Ariake? Well, for those who do happen to stumble upon this page, I suppose an introduction of sorts is in order.

Greetings! I am the Ariake Aggie, a somewhat recent graduate of Texas A&M who decided his BA in English would be best served teaching the children of Japan the wonders of America. Accepted into the JET Program (on my second attempt mind you), I now spend my days traveling between 5 different schools teaching English. My fiancee is also a member of JET and works on the nearby island of Goshoura. While not teaching, I enjoy improving my Japanese, reading manga, and playing games on one of my five gaming systems. Yes, truth be told, one of the things that first interested me about Japan was my exposure to it's popular culture. I am very much a child of the media age and enjoy movies, music, games and books. I am particularly fond of manga and anime.

And really, that's kinda what this blog will be about. Another average Joe's look into the weird and wonderful adventure that is living abroad in Japan. What's the same? What's different? What's going on in my life? And most importantly why do I feel these experiences are something worth sharing? I never want to post something that I feel serves no other purpose than to hear myself talk (or...watch myself type, I guess). I don't want to, but I'd be lying if I said that it will never happen. Keep in mind this blog is also meant to serve as one of my connections to home, a place where my family back in Texas can keep track of me.

To my family, I'd like to start of by saying I'm fine and have settled in quite well. To my friends, thanks for visiting my site. And I promise to everyone that the next entry will be up shortly.

Thanks and gig 'em,
Ariake Aggie