In Japan for the first time...

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I have arrived!

Wow.

First impressions: calm, friendly, clean, busy, foreign, fun, exciting, new, surreal, and fantastic!

I arrived yesterday morning and training started this morning so I had a free day to explore with some of the new (to be) teachers I have met. There are several going to my area which is reassuring, and all of the staff seem friendly and helpful (which they assured me is only a facade meant to lull us into a false sense of security).

I'm staying at a lovely hotel in Narita, and have made a few friends from all over the globe. My roommate is Jamaican, and is very friendly. We're similar in some ways (both dating men with similar names and we have names which can be shortened into similar sounding nicknames; Nikky and Riki), but different enough to be compatible and not clones (she's the quiet to my loud)...

I went to a big shrine in Narita yesterday, and it was so beautiful. There are some large grounds to walk around, and supposedly it's one of the only places you can walk underneath the cherry blossoms without falling over drunk people (Sakura season is apparently a great time to party!).

Training was full-on today. We started at 9am and finished at 6.30pm, with some of us feeling jet lag the whole time (in my case it wasn't jet lag, as Perth and Japan are in the same time zone.....but more the fact that no matter how hard I tried - and believe me i did!- I couldn't sleep for most of the 10 hour flight).

I still feel like it's just a holiday because it's only been 2 days, i'm surrounded by foreigners, living in a hotel in a high tourist traffic area. I'm sure it will feel differently once i'm set up in my own place where my sever lack of japanese language ability becomes more apparent. I can get some sentences out - it's the responses that are causing me problems! What's the point in asking a question when you can't understand the answer?!

I miss my family and friends, but i'm really too busy to feel it as keenly as I did on the flight. We've been bombarded with policy, contracts, signing of various forms (no I haven't mortgaged my life away or anything) and generally an overload of information....It will probably take about 2 months for it to really sink in.

I will upload photos shortly. I'm in an internet cafe killing time waiting for the shuttle because it's cold outside! 15 degrees in comparison to Perth's recent 35...ouch!

All in all, it has been a pleasant experience so far. Everyone (locals and gaijin) have been uber-friendly, helpful and supportive, and from what i've heard, that trend is likely to continue.

Signing off once more,

Nihon_Gypsy

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Photos

At Perth Airport
A few loved ones who came to see me off...

Me and Lunch
Beautifully presented food

Eel spines
Unagi/eel spines. Just inside, you can see a wooden table with a bit of blood and some odd looking tools...

Shrine and businesspeople
Sake soaked business people...

Odd one Out
Where's Wally, Japanese style.... see previous picture for a clue...

Purification fountain
You wash your hands and mouth out with water

Look Closer
This is the purification fountain....but if you look closely at the sign.....
hot dog?

Macdonoludu
I had to take a pic!
Actually, I did eat there tonight...I went to town a bit o late, and it was convenient. I swear there was wasabi in my burger! (^_^)