Konban Wa!
Jun. 10th, 2007 08:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katekatI'm here! I'm even the delux model Kate-in-Japan that now comes with internet!!! Hello America! (and to anyone else who's reading... Maggie?! Germany!)
I cannot begin to sum up the last three days in any kind of coherent style. It's been fantastic, and annoying, and wonderful, and heart wrenching, but now I'm actually here and tomorrow we get on with the business of learning japanese!
The flight over was absolutely fantastic - I went ahead and stayed awake, talked a little bit with the lovely family in the row with me, and grinned often at the dread-locked Japanese guy who was traveling home from South America beside me. I was good and didn't take any of the alcoholic options offered, but I would reccommend Singapore Air's food to anyone, even if they weren't flying with them (and they served wine with both meals, too... free wine!). Instead of wine I blissed myself out on goofy movies. First Music & Lyrics, then Fearless, then Ghost Rider, and finally managed to read my book and do a little studying and find out more about Tokyo from the people beside me.
And then I was there. There. There. In the Narita airport, wandering through customs, grabbing my luggage, using the complicated bathrooms, breezing past security. Even though they'd told me there wouldn't be anyone to pick me up at the airport and that I'd have to find my own way if I came in after six there were three of the program people waiting for me. I've never been so relieved to see three people holding a sign in my life! Our Summer Coordinator (her first name is Mami, so she says if we get homesick we can actually call her Mommie) actually rode back with me on the bus to the OVTA center in Chiba (our 2-day orientation spot).
Being the last to arrive means everybody's either out walking around or tucking themselves in when you get there. Sure I'd only gotten there around six, but jet lag takes a toll. The bedroom was so cute though! A little alarm clock above our heads, an adorable little bathroom to call our own - if only we could've stayed there the entire time! Kidding, mostly, but I'll explain why I'm not in a minute. Anyway, two days of getting to know you stuff happened after that, and nothing really dramatic or lively, except that I bought myself a tiny magnetic travel chess set, made some friends, decided I want to get a tattoo while I'm in Tokyo, and bought myself a lighter. Yep, that's right, my first significant purchase in Japan was a lighter.
Today, however, was the day that we left the orientation center and acutally GOT to our semi-perminent housing. It's FANTASTIC here! Fantastic in the sense that we're living in a park. There is forest all around us. We went to the top of a 45 story building to see a panoramic view of Tokyo today, and when you look at the complex we're housed in it's this blop of green amidst skyscrapers and apartment buildings and CITY. I feel like I'm back in Santa Cruz, that's how beautiful the campus is. And yes, pictures are forthcoming, but they're not available yet.
Why, do you ask? Our internet connection is so patchy I have to refresh yahoo three times to send an email. I'm going to wait until I'm more used to this kind of a shared network (and wait until the glow has worn off the internet thing and we're not all using it at once) to upload my pictures. They'll keep.
However, there are some not fantastic aspects of this whole dorm style living. The room really is the size of a postage stamp (although I'm one of the lucky ones that has a room more square than rectangular, so I actually have a "big" version), we don't have anywhere to unpack and put our clothes, so we will be living out of suitcases for six weeks, and the bathrooms? I kept saying, after my ... bathing...experience tonight, that I don't know if I did it right, but at least I'm pretty sure I'm clean. That's pretty par for the course. It's going to be an interesting six weeks here, really, it is.
So I haven't explored the city that much - been stuck in orientation, and am not one of those hardy souls that likes to blow off orientation, or the promise of a free meal aftewards, to run into the city. We should have a good many hours tomorrow night for play, and that's when I'm looking forward to goofing around and getting into somewhere fun (and dinner). Oh, that was the other downer - at some point they changed our program so that instead of at least 2 meals a day with the program, we are now responsible for paying for all of our meals. I don't know when they changed this policy, but it was NOT widely discussed. And I was surpirsed with that information today. On my third day. In the country.
However, no experience is perfect. And there's still a whole lot more to go, discover, and do.
And hey, I love all you guys, and I miss you terribly, so I hope you're doing fantastic too!
I cannot begin to sum up the last three days in any kind of coherent style. It's been fantastic, and annoying, and wonderful, and heart wrenching, but now I'm actually here and tomorrow we get on with the business of learning japanese!
The flight over was absolutely fantastic - I went ahead and stayed awake, talked a little bit with the lovely family in the row with me, and grinned often at the dread-locked Japanese guy who was traveling home from South America beside me. I was good and didn't take any of the alcoholic options offered, but I would reccommend Singapore Air's food to anyone, even if they weren't flying with them (and they served wine with both meals, too... free wine!). Instead of wine I blissed myself out on goofy movies. First Music & Lyrics, then Fearless, then Ghost Rider, and finally managed to read my book and do a little studying and find out more about Tokyo from the people beside me.
And then I was there. There. There. In the Narita airport, wandering through customs, grabbing my luggage, using the complicated bathrooms, breezing past security. Even though they'd told me there wouldn't be anyone to pick me up at the airport and that I'd have to find my own way if I came in after six there were three of the program people waiting for me. I've never been so relieved to see three people holding a sign in my life! Our Summer Coordinator (her first name is Mami, so she says if we get homesick we can actually call her Mommie) actually rode back with me on the bus to the OVTA center in Chiba (our 2-day orientation spot).
Being the last to arrive means everybody's either out walking around or tucking themselves in when you get there. Sure I'd only gotten there around six, but jet lag takes a toll. The bedroom was so cute though! A little alarm clock above our heads, an adorable little bathroom to call our own - if only we could've stayed there the entire time! Kidding, mostly, but I'll explain why I'm not in a minute. Anyway, two days of getting to know you stuff happened after that, and nothing really dramatic or lively, except that I bought myself a tiny magnetic travel chess set, made some friends, decided I want to get a tattoo while I'm in Tokyo, and bought myself a lighter. Yep, that's right, my first significant purchase in Japan was a lighter.
Today, however, was the day that we left the orientation center and acutally GOT to our semi-perminent housing. It's FANTASTIC here! Fantastic in the sense that we're living in a park. There is forest all around us. We went to the top of a 45 story building to see a panoramic view of Tokyo today, and when you look at the complex we're housed in it's this blop of green amidst skyscrapers and apartment buildings and CITY. I feel like I'm back in Santa Cruz, that's how beautiful the campus is. And yes, pictures are forthcoming, but they're not available yet.
Why, do you ask? Our internet connection is so patchy I have to refresh yahoo three times to send an email. I'm going to wait until I'm more used to this kind of a shared network (and wait until the glow has worn off the internet thing and we're not all using it at once) to upload my pictures. They'll keep.
However, there are some not fantastic aspects of this whole dorm style living. The room really is the size of a postage stamp (although I'm one of the lucky ones that has a room more square than rectangular, so I actually have a "big" version), we don't have anywhere to unpack and put our clothes, so we will be living out of suitcases for six weeks, and the bathrooms? I kept saying, after my ... bathing...experience tonight, that I don't know if I did it right, but at least I'm pretty sure I'm clean. That's pretty par for the course. It's going to be an interesting six weeks here, really, it is.
So I haven't explored the city that much - been stuck in orientation, and am not one of those hardy souls that likes to blow off orientation, or the promise of a free meal aftewards, to run into the city. We should have a good many hours tomorrow night for play, and that's when I'm looking forward to goofing around and getting into somewhere fun (and dinner). Oh, that was the other downer - at some point they changed our program so that instead of at least 2 meals a day with the program, we are now responsible for paying for all of our meals. I don't know when they changed this policy, but it was NOT widely discussed. And I was surpirsed with that information today. On my third day. In the country.
However, no experience is perfect. And there's still a whole lot more to go, discover, and do.
And hey, I love all you guys, and I miss you terribly, so I hope you're doing fantastic too!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:08 pm (UTC)I love that your first purchase was a lighter. I told this to my boyfriend, Mark The Smoker, who laughed. He still hasn't given up, he has given up giving up and is now back to smoking ~20/day, because he is a wussy.
Ooooh. I am SO looking forward to photos! :D
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:18 pm (UTC)Ok, my next post, for you, will be explaining in detail about the bathing. I think I will have to try to upload some pictures, though, because otherwise you will really not understand.
Oh, but you might be vastly amused to learn that our communal bathroom has a machine set in the wall whose sole purpose is to make flushing noises while you are on the toilet - it's motion sensor activated, and it spares ladies the indignity of having others hear if they are going number one or number two or just what they're doing on the pot. Apparantly. And it's QUITE loud. I would guess this is part of it's masking quality, but it's pretty frightening when the thing just turns on as you sit down.
LOL - i'm glad I could make mark laugh! this is good. I am sad that he smokes that much, since even i, who ruin my lungs at the drop of a hat, only smoke 10 on a bad day. I am actually going to try to get neil to mail me cloves since there aren't many places one can find them here.
And photos! even if i have to stay up till 3 in the morning some night to be able to get enough bandwith to upload them (this will not be happening tonight -jet lag still waits, but soonish)
(oh, and i can't believe i forgot my british mish! i'm changing my intro directly)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:24 pm (UTC)Wow, the bathrooms sound AWESOME not complicated. Flushing sounds is a good idea, a bit less obvious than switching the tap on all the way though, ha ha haa!
When I had a stop-over in Singapore airport once the bathrooms in the airport were awesome in a similar way - when you got up, the loo seat revolved and as it did, got washed and dried, so you knew that each time you sat down? CLEAN 'loo seat! How awesome is that, I put to you? VERY.
Do they 'do' Western style toilets in Japan, then? I had kinda figured they'd mostly all be Asian stylee squatting type ones. Maybe they do in your apt. complex thingie because you are all Westerners, though. They were actually quite good with that in Bangkok when I lived there, but not so much in the other areas of Thailand. Which is why I ask.
I am WAY too interesting in bathroom activities, apparently. Uhm.... er.... well... you did talk about them! I am just continuing the conversation!....uh.... crap. I mean, uh.... sh----damn.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:32 pm (UTC)*jaw drops*
That is another outstanding idea. We need more of those sorts of ideas over here, where toilets are pretty low-tech and the seats are cold!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:29 pm (UTC)I never experienced this phenomenon, growing up in hippy-CA, but having moved to Texas I do notice some women do this.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 03:26 pm (UTC)*waves*
Glad you made it! Sounds like the settling-in will be a bit fun.
:)
Enjoy, be safe!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 08:31 pm (UTC)Ohhhh yay!! It sounds like you are having such a fabulous time. It must be such an experience. Living in another country--wow! I loved your post and all the awesomeness! hehe, and the cramped quarters will probably take some getting used to. But, at least your living situation is only temporary. I'll be stuck in cramped quarters for at least 4 years in Chicago, haha. Oh, the things we do for education. :) So glad to finally see a post from you. Keep em coming!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 08:47 pm (UTC)I'll throw my hat in with the strangely curious and ask why is it you're not confident of your cleanliness.
Suck that you have to pay for your own meals -- thanks a lot for letting everybody know, guys.
Anywho, good to know you arrived safe and sound. Update us more!
-BJ
no subject
Date: 2007-06-10 10:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-11 12:40 am (UTC)♥