AET

Hi BigBoned. Never been up that area but would like to. I think there's a few in that area.

What time does your post arrive? It really varies with me - sometimes as early as 10am and then sometimes as late as 3pm - and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to it either. I'd like to know how they sort it all out (bored as I am this time of year!)

Using a browser like that would annoy me no end. I like everything to take up the whole screen. Page displays just fine here.

I know mine well, not that there is too much in my immediate area. Having colleagues who'll take and show you is a big help, as is a car.

Where I work they know that I will - in a very friendly manner - pick them up on stuff like this and discuss it. They may well snigger behind my back, I don't think so, but it is good to talk about these things... but not in a stressed out angry way.

"thursday and tsondaboy battle it out at the top"

Good idea that.

baibai Jason Thank the lord. What was his appeal?!

Same here yos - i was quite surprised to hear how many of the families really seem to be struggling. Of course, it doesn't help that some of them have 4 kids... thats a different topic I suppose!

Other than the southern part (Yokoteyama/Kumanoyu), all of Shiga Kogen is interlinked. You need to do a search, links above

She Sells Sanctuary "foreign tongues, in familiar places" oh dear, big goth hair (but why the white dress?)

It is an elementary school. (and they sure are eating it!)

That is nasty. Not related to snow, but a friend of mine had a car crash into him last month when he was riding his bike - broken leg. He was just about to move back to the US as well to a new job, it has really screwed up a lot of his plans.

I think it could still have a bit more in the existing buildings etc than it does now. At night it can be almost pitch black even where hotels are! Just a bit more discrete liveliness would be good up there.

Had it a bit in early April but not as bad as it has been before.

Good idea that. They do it for toilets (with those disposable cover things), why not the dirty keyboards.

OK at the school I am at now it seems that a lot of the students parents can't afford to pay for the school lunch. (Well, that's what they say anyway). As far as I can tell they send out a letter asking for them to pay and that's about as much effort that goes into getting non paying students families to cough up. After that, it's just 'shikata ga nai' and the school pays for the lunch. So I suppose taxpayers are effectively paying for it. From what a colleague tells me, over 25% of the kids aren't paying for lunch. Hardly an incentive for the others to cough up is it if they can get

Add Furano and Rusutsu to that list. Oh yeah, and some places in Fukushima.

Other things.... do they actually give you much actual choice these days, or just put preferences? Living in the inaka countryside is also considerably cheaper than in the big cities. Lots of inaka AETs traditionally find themselves much better off than the ones say in Tokyo or other big cities. If you want to be in a crowd of gaijin then cities might be the way to go. Personally when I came here I wanted countryside - didn't want to get into any gaijin-bubble.

Well at the shop near where I live next to the logo it says something like Doing Communications over the Mobile network, don't know if that has anything to do with it.

That sounds absolutely fanstastic, a must watch.

Cheers fusky I owe you a beer!

I DON'T KNOW. (THERE'S NOT NEED TO SHOUT)

Been at school as there has been a sports event. I get today and tomorrow holiday.

I have a few friends with Nova experience (before the latest stories) and they seemed pleased with their lot. A lot is going to depend on where they are, the management at the school etc. just as it is with some smaller operation - I've heard some horror stories from places like that as well. A lot of luck involved, and case by case - as they often tell you on the JET program too.