out with a bang

So somehow before I realized it, I've become a third-year JET! (Weird...still not used to introducing myself that way at all.) I think that's mostly due to the fact that July was probably the busiest month I've had so far (or at least, it's the month in my planner that has the most writing on it).

In July, I...:
 - went and saw takarazuka for the first time ever with a friend, who happens to be a takarazuka expert! Takarazuka is a type of musical theater where all the performers are women, and the show (Rose of Versailles: Oscar Edition) was dramatic and sparkly and confusing and awesome.  :D
 - went to another Analogfish concert, but this time also with Asian Kung-Fu Generation, who is much more famous by far. Consequently I spent the first half (their half) being totally crushed in the midst of happy dancing AKFG fans, but I managed to be near the front for both them and Analogfish, so it was great. Technically I went with my friend but we didn't actually end up finding each other until after, oops.
 - had catchup/goodbye meals with friends/coworkers/predecessor
 - interpreted for a presentation/courtesy visit for the representatives of the Red Bull Air Race, which will be taking place in Chiba City. Managed to do most of the presentation interpreting on-the-fly, which was pretty cool.
 - met up with my parent's friends who were visiting Tokyo and watched them buy lots of brand name stuff (apparently it's much much cheaper in Japan)
 - interpreted for the mayor at a museum event/reception for Kiwanis International, who had their annual convention at Makuhari Messe (a big deal)
 - was the emcee for the first time at our discussion for foreign residents instead of just an interpreter (and got to tour the Chiba City Zoological Park again)
 - performed in two yosakoi events (as detailed in my last post)
 - had lots of meetings for various types of AJET

But the peak of the month was definitely at the end, when my crazy schedule went something like this:
 - Friday evening: interpreting at a dinner hosted for the mayor of our sister city, Montreux (being the only interpreter at a dinner party is always a challenge...)
 - Saturday: accompanying the mayor to the new AEON mall in Makuhari, a sushi lunch, and then the poolside BBQ Swiss National Day event hosted by the Swiss Embassy in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Switzerland, where I interpreted for the mayor, met the Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan, and saw our sister city's mayor swim in a pool shaped like Lake Geneva (which borders Montreux)
 - Sunday: yosakoi event all day
 - Monday: being a bus guide, emcee, and interpreter for a group of diplomats who came to visit Chiba City for a study tour! My group visited Kanda University of International Studies, which had a really cool campus (I would probably have loved being a student there), before going to a presentation by the Economic Affairs Bureau/lunch reception, the Institute of Radiological Sciences, and the Chiba City Museum of Art. It was a reaaally long day but I had a pretty good time telling people where we'd go, etc. on the bus and then going around the different places with them. Afterward the Ambassador of Malawi to Japan personally thanked me and asked for my business card, which was pretty awesome. And so after arriving back in Tokyo with everybody in the evening (after some intense traffic and a slight fiasco involving peanuts)...
 - ...I headed to Shinjuku to meet some fellow CIRs who were around for Tokyo Orientation (sad I couldn't be a part of it this year), but only had time for one drink before...
 - ...heading straight to the airport to head to America for a week to be a bridesmaid in my high school best friend's wedding! Since that wasn't really Japan-related I won't go into too much detail here, but it was a wonderful (almost) week of seeing my college friend/sister during layovers, meeting my friend's relatives, seeing my high school friends again, and even managing to spend a night at home with my parents. And seeing my high school best friend happily married, of course. :)

And that's how I actually spent the day of my third anniversary in Japan flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. I think my second year of JET far exceeded the standard of awesomeness set by the previous year, and even though I can't really imagine how, I can only hope that my third and probably final year will do the same!