JET, Japan, Culture Shock, Humid

August 3, 2008

Hi Everybody!
So although this is marked as the 3rd of August, it was most likely posted online at a different date. So believe THIS date, not the one the website says I posted it on… Also, this was technically written on what you’d consider Saturday, August 02, 2008. :P

So I’ve had one week in Japan. And so far I think I’m adapting pretty well. Sure there are things that are very different (such as their showers and toilets. No I haven’t tried the squat toilet yet) but it’s not that bad to get used to. My first days in Japan were spent at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku (Tokyo area). I spent most of the day within the hotel going to meetings for JET. At night though, I was free to explore. The first night I got in (Sunday), I went out with some new friends I just made and we went out to eat sushi. Yum yum. Interestingly though…their wasabi was not as strong…
The next night, I went out with my prefecture (Fukuoka). Because our group was small, we joined the Oita prefecture (and 2 guys from Miyazaki and one guy from Aomori also joined). We took the JR line (subway/metro) to Shibuya and did karaoke! It was a very interesting place. The floors were themed by princesses (though they looked more like warriors…). They had Kaguyahime, Cinderella, Alice, Shirayukihime…yea…I’ll post some of the pictures if I can… We were on the mermaid level. It was a lot of fun. I was part of the drinking group and when our TOA (Tokyo Orientation Assistant) called to order 17 beers, the workers said they’re bringing us a keg. ;P I chose and sang 3 songs but sang along to many other songs. :]
The last night there, I wanted to meet up with Brad because he was in the area. But unfortunately, our only method of communication was facebook and we didn’t get to meet.
; _ ;
Funny how you think you can do alright without a cell phone…until situations like these pop up…
So I went out with Celeste and we went walking and exploring about Shinjuku. We were doing alright until it started to rain. So we decided to head back (so it was a short trip). Afterward though, I heard it rained heavily! And a couple JETs walked in that rain…
Then Wednesday morning came by. I had breakfast at the 42 or 43 floor with a really nice view! And then I checked out and exchanged some money (only to find more American money hidden in my wallet later…). I met up with my prefecture and we took a bus to Haneda airport. Luckily the flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka was only about an hour and a half (or so). The flight from LAX to Tokyo Narita airport was about 11 hours. And that’s us arriving about an hour early…
Anyhoo, once we arrived at Haneda and picked up our luggage, we all headed off in our designated locations. So we all met either our supervisor, predecessor, or both. I met both. :] We went for lunch and then to the school, where I was introduced to the principal.
I was very nervous.
But he seems like such a nice laidback guy. Later my supervisor told me that he regularly asked about me and whether or not I’m doing fine, ate breakfast and stuff like that. :P He apparently has a daughter near my age (though she’s older) and so he’s sort of doing the dad thing and is looking after me.
Oh, because my predecessor is still around, my first couple nights were spent in a hotel. It was alright. Very simple. Just yesterday, I moved into the house of one of the school’s workers (she may have been a teacher…). It was overwhelmingly flattering that there were two older women pretty much fighting for me to go live with them.
ehehe *^^;
So I’ve spent one day already in Shibata-san’s house. She lives with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and 3 grand children (who are very cute). So basically I get the home-stay experience and get to live with a big family again! Yatta!
Yesterday was the Natsumatsuri (Summer Festival). And Shibata-san was going to lend me a yukata to wear but unfortunately, I was too tall for it (apparently it was too small…though I personally didn’t think so…then again, I don’t know how exactly it’s supposed to look like on…) So Shibata-san, her friend Shioya-san and me went off to YouMe Town (pronounced “Yoomei”) where they bought me a yukata. *^^; Again, a little overwhelming. So now I want to get them something awesome from the states…hmm…
So yea, they dressed me up in a yukata (and they also bought me the special sort of bag that goes along with yukatas) and we went off to the Natsumatsuri. I took tons of pictures! And I used the video option for the first time. I recorded some of the taiko performances. And I got to try it as well. :D It was so much fun. Oh…haha…I also participated (at the insistence of Shioya-san) a biiru hayainomi…a beer drinking contest. We drank Asahi beer out of a can through a straw…I got second place. ;P
Oh! And on Friday night, there was a Hanabi festival (fireworks festival). So my predecessor picked me up and we met other JETs at the Nishitetsu station (metro). By a weird coincidence, I saw a fellow JET who is also in Fukuoka. So I went over and said hi (though it took him a second or two to remember me) and he joined us to the Hanabi festival. There were many many people. And some were wearing yukatas and jinbo! ^^
So, there have been a lot of crazy adventures already going on in my first week in Japan and first couple days in Chikushino-shi. After about a week of living with Shibata-san, I may be able to move into my apartment. More on that to come later!
If there’s something specifically you’d like to know about, just ask me! ^^
・シーラ