Advertisement
Published: September 2nd 2006
Edit Blog Post
So much has happened since I left. I can now say with experience that I hate long flights. And I have also discovered the cure for jet lag. Now, my past few days, chronologically, from Monday when I left will be described.
The flight was alright but my carry-on was really heavy in addition to the no liquids nonsense. The flight to Chicago was fine, but the plane was tiny and I wanted to strangle the small child that screamed for an hour and a half. I barely made the flight to Japan, though, because the plane from Cleveland was late. I was literally the third to last person on the plane. But I did make it. And I now envy those first class seats on American Airlines. They flipping RECLINE into a bed. A bed. The best I got was 20 degrees. Because of the fact it was only 20 degrees, I couldn't sleep on the plane at all. The movies and TV were on repeat too, so it was pretty bad. The food was ok, but I wouldn't be ordering it for fun. When I got off the plane, 2 other guys from IES found me and we
Headboard at OVTA
It looks like a Star Trek deal. got through the airport together. We picked up our luggage, went through Passport Control really quickly (there was only 1 person in front of me) and did the Duty-Free line, where our bags weren't inspected. Then we got to the meeting point where I changed over my money and sent my luggage ahead. I also met Shinkai-san and Kudo-san. Shinkai-san works with the center but I forget what he does; Kudo-san is the housing director, and she's a complete sweetheart.
The e-Pals were there too and they were really helpful. We got on the bus for 30 minutes and drove to OVTA, which is like a hotel only it's not. We checked in and I put my bag in my room then went out with about 6 other people that night into Tokyo. Above all, the thought I had was that Tokyo is a city of lights. There are so many signs, fireworks, and street lamps that it gives the whole city a vaguely exaggerated and contrived look. But there are lots of little details that are unusual - in the sidewalks, for example, there are bands of yellow with raised bars you can feel through your shoes. At
the corners, there are the same bands only with dots. These are for blind people, so they know they're going straight and when they have to stop. We got some cheap dinner and then went hardcore drinking. It's terribly expensive here so I'm glad I only had the one 1000 yen gin and tonic. We stayed out until 1 am, so I was up for about 30 hours straight. Went to bed and woke up at five am, VOILA, no jet lag. None of the people I went out with had it.
The first day orientation was really long and boring since it was on the things I had already read in the handbook. It was nothing special, so there's not much to tell. We learned about transportation, train passes, resources, communication and what to do in the event of big earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. We saw a video on it that was hilarious. The first chapter started out with "Devastating occurences," was skipped to the next section, then "Earthquakes: terrible disasters." That was skipped too but by then we were laughing too hard to hear what the first sentence was.
By this time I had met everyone
on the program, if only briefly. On Thursday, we had a tour of Kanda campus, individual academic meetings, housing meetings and placement meetings. I signed up for all my classes and my schedule is pretty light. On Thursday night, we all took a train for dinner to different places. I went to Nishi-funabashi and we went to a little place where I got sukiyaki. Our teacher person who came was Ishikawa-san, the field placement woman. She's probably my favorite person at the center. We came back and I went to sleep. The OVTA had deadly bathrooms, which were elevated a foot above the floor. You could kill yourself stumbling in the dark. The electricity was odd too, at least for me, because it was turned on with a stick on the keys.
On Friday, we had housing orientation, where we went over what was expected of us. I also had my individual meeting with Kudo-san. There's a guy named Noah who lives in Yotsukaido with me, so I'm going to see if I can finagle him into not letting me get lost on my way to the station and to Kanda. Since we're on the same line and all,
I figure two heads are better than mine.
The rest of Friday until 4:30 was free, so I read a book and talked with a girl who I'm getting to be good friends with named Liz. I also made friends with Ryan, who Liz knows from school.
Friday night, we went into Ginza for okonomiyaki together. Okonomiyaki is like a pancake with things inside. You cook them like at hibachi restaurants, right at the table. The waiters brought out lots of kinds and you ate what you wanted. I had one with cheese, one with shrimp and vegetables, one with shrimp, squid and octopus with vegetables and water to drink. At the end, my eyes were burning from the smoke so much that I had to leave with Liz and we wandered around for a bit. I got dessert in a cafe and the fruit tart was the best 400 yen I've spent. So good. We saw professional hostesses too, pointed out to us by Ishikawa-san and Kudo-san. I got back around 9:00 so I went to bed.
Today we met in the lobby at 9 to go to Makuhari Messe, where we met our host families. Miyai-san,
hereafter known as Okasan, is so cute it's sickening. She doesn't speak much English, but she can do a bit. My Japanese is going to get WAY better just being around her. She showed me to my room when we got to her house and we showed each other pictures. I also gave her my gifts. She, in return, gave me a handmade yukata that she made herself. Her house is really pretty so I'll take pictures that are better as soon as possible. We went shopping for dinner and got lots of things. For dinner there was miso soup with crab in it, salmon, potato salad, and tofu. Of course there was rice. I tried really hard to eat the tofu but I can't stomach it raw and jiggly. Oh well.
For bed, I am sleeping on a futon. It's actually quite comfortable, even though I wasn't expecting it to be. The room isn't tatami though.
That's it for now, but I've got a busy schedule in the next few weeks, so I'm sure there will be a lot to tell.
Cast of Characters
Me - Your slightly bewildered traveler
Liz - Girl on
Fruit Tart from Ginza
I loved this thing. It was so delicious, and definitely worth the 480 yen. IES. Sweetie, but much like me in personality.
Ryan - I found a gay friend after 2 days! He's actually really nice and really tall.
Noah - IES student who lives with me in Yotsukaido. We'll probably be taking the train together during the week. I also happen to think he's cute.
Kudo-san - Housing director for IES
Shin-san - Assistant Director for IES
Malik-san - Director for IES
Naito-san - Academic assistant for IES
Okasan - Miyai-san, who lives with a son I will not meet, according to her. She's had host students before, and is a widow of 5 years. Her English isn't very good, so my Japanese will probably get way better.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.112s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 9; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0514s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb