Firstly, London Orientation is basically short for the 2011 JET Programme pre-departure orientation course :D
It began at 9am Monday 4th July and ended on Tuesday 5th July at 4pm. It took place at Brunel University, London and included an overnight stay at the uni. (Wish they'd told us accommodation came with en suite bathrooms and a massive shared kitchen - I would have brought more food with me)
It was compulsory but I wouldn't have missed it anyway. It was awesome :P T'was the first chance for all of us British JETs to get together and meet up. Quite tricky when some live in Ireland and Scotland. It was basically a series of seminars followed by several Japanese classes for different levels of ability. Really enjoyed the seminars but was reaching for my sandwiches by 12am on the first day. No lunch until 1.15!! Seeing as most people hadn't eaten anything since they left their home at some ungodly hour in the morning, I wasn't the only one crying for lunch... or a nap.
Other than that, the two days were really productive and and good chance to mingle with your distant, future colleagues.
A reception at the Embassy of Japan at 6pm on Tuesday followed the orientation and that was a shindig to be proud of :D There were many professional and respected members of Japanese society there, headteachers, presidents of companies, the Ambassador for Japan, the JET Programme Coordinator etc. There was also lots of tasty Japanese food being served as well as a never-ending supply of chamagne, wine and orange juice :) I must say, I'm quite a fussy eater so I'm going to have to spend a lot of time trying out new things to eat. This party was a good prelude to that. Yay.
Meh, gotta keep packing, got to keep tidying, got to keep trying to sell things on eBay. Bye bye >.<
