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Published: January 29th 2006
Hey Everyone, (from Larry)
I think I may have deleted my first entry by accident. That’s alright, because I wanted this blog to be for me and Melanie anyway. So I will be repeating myself a bit so that I have some documentation of my first few days in Japan.
After my 5 hour delay in Detroit I had a pretty easy flight across the Pacific Ocean. There was plenty of food to eat and movies to watch. I also chose a spacious seat and no one sat next too me, so I was able to spread out, which is very important for the 14hour flight. After finally arriving in Japan I was met by Dan, a Nova rep., who helped me exchange my $$, set the delivery of my luggage to my new apartment and get on the correct rail system. In Japan there is two types or rail systems. They have a subway system similar to New York City (underground) and the JR Line which is above ground and serves mainly the suburbs. I live in Minami Gyotoku which is a suburb close to Tokyo. I finally reach my new home and met one of my new
roommates, Edward. After a few brief hello's we decided to go out for a few drinks. We went to this 'American" bar owned by a Canadian and talked over some 'Kirin Beer', little while later my other roommate, Dametri, showed up. On the way home Edward thought I should have some authentic food, so we stopped at this 24-hour Japanese style place. We had Ed's favorite, fried chicken with mayo and rice with a side of egg. It wouldn't have been too bad, except for the dark meat chicken (in Japan they use mostly dark meat...yuk).
The next day I had to venture out to the city office of Ichikawa to file for my alien registration. After some help from Dametri, who was on his way to Costco, I found my way on the train. It's a little hard because I am not sure in which direction the trains are going, but coming from N.Y.C. has helped. The subway rails indicate the stops in English, but the JR Lines don't. After meeting with 'Nimotokia' at the city office I was on my way back home to Minami Gyotoku to wait for my luggage, it was to arrive between 1-6pm,
kind of like the cable man. On my way to the train station I had to stop and get some real food, McDonalds. Thank god for Mickey D's and that I was able to order by number, because no one spoke English where I was. The BigMac meal was only $5 and their portion size is definately smaller, which is good for me.
After sitting in my very small apartment for 6 hours, my luggage finally arrived and I was ready for my next train adventure...trying to find my girlfriend. According to the subway maps she is only a few stops away, but I have to transfer trains at stop like 42nd street. But, a lot of people do speak English so I just asked someone how to get to the Shin-Urayasu stop. I was on the train for a total of 30minutes and was re-united with Melanie. It felt like I hadn't seen here in years and she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and kisses....I love her.
In brief, Melanie lives in a very newly developed area which is very wealthy, but I will let her explain about where she lives. We
were able to spend the night together and now I am relaxing in her apartment while she is rehearsing, also because we have about a foot of snow outside and it's not stopping anytime soon.
If anyone wants to send me some care packages, love letters or yen, I can give you my address and cell phone in a private email.
Talk to you soon,
Ai shimas (love) Larry
Japanese for the Day: donata ka ego o hanasemas ka 'does anyone speak English'
Konnichiwa (HELLO)! (from Melanie)
Hello everybody! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to contribute to our travelblog. As you can all imagine, moving and working in a new country really takes a lot out of you!
Right from the start, Disney wasted no time breaking us into our daily grind. Orientation started the very next morning after I arrived in Tokyo, and rehearsals immediately after. On average, my rehearsal days are anywhere between 6 and 10 hours long, and I get 2 days off/week...although the two days are not together for right now. Once our shows start (I debut March 7th), my schedule will hopefully be
a lot more routine and my days off will be consecutive. Larry's days off are Wednesday and Thursday, and so I'm trying to get the same!
For those who do not know, I will be playing the lead role of "Ariel" in a show called "Under the Sea" in the Tokyo DisneySea park. It is roughly a 14-minute long show and it runs at least 28 times/day. Luckily, there are 11 Ariels total so I don't have to do all 28 shows a day! I think on average I'll be doing between 3-5/day....which is more than enough when you hear about what the show entails...
In order to get the impression that the show is actually "Under the Sea," almost the entire show is performed by aerialists, so that the "flying" really looks like "swimming". For the duration of the show, I am on a harness attached to wires, which is then attached to an electronic trolley at the very top of the theater. For awhile we were getting all of our strength and aerial training in the practice facility (which is equipped with a much smaller version of the wires/trolley in the theater) to practice our flips
and dives....but a few nights ago we got to try the opening number in the theater for the first time!! I am already a little uneasy with heights as it is, but then to be hoisted up 30-something feet in the air by two scrawny wires and told to do a backflip...well, let's just say that it's going to take some getting used to, especially since I have never really done anything like this before. I must admit though, despite the fact that this is without a doubt the most challenging and physically demanding professional job I've ever had, it is a whole lot of fun too....and I know the reward when I finally get the aerial work perfected will be tremendous.
I know Larry already touched on where we live, but I'll fill you all in a little more. My apartment that Disney provides me to live in during my contract is extremely nice. It is in a nice little "westernized" area, only 1 train stop away from the Tokyo Disney parks. It is basically a studio apartment, but more spacious than I know what to do with coming from NYC! (I believe Larry has attached some pictures).
Not to mention, the main branch where he is teaching is at my train station, only about a 20 minute walk away....which makes seeing eachother very convenient. Things definitely worked out in our favor between the two of our jobs!
As far as "culture shock" goes, I must admit that it wasn't too "shocking". Surprisingly enough, a lot of people here speak English, and those who don't at least know enough to understand and communicate. (And of course, pointing and nodding at pictures - esp. when ordering food - has been seemingly working as well)! Now maybe we are just in the more Western/modern/touristy area of Tokyo, but that is what we've experienced so far.
We were also told before we left that we would stand out and look very different. Well, that isn't entirely true either. Surprisingly enough, Larry hasn't been recruited to sumo wrestle yet, and I am not the "only blonde in the country." We are also not hovering over all the "short Asians" and being sought out by modeling agencies for our tall statures. 😉 We are both pretty average in height.
If anything, I could tell you how true the rumors are
that Americans are dirty, lazy and fat! The cleanliness here would amaze anyone....taxi doors automatically open so that you don't have to touch them, toilet seats are heated so that you can sit on them, and I have never seen a piece of garbage ANYWHERE except in the trash cans. Even the subway trains have heated seats and are completely spotless! As far as exercise, we get plenty here....almost everyone walks or rides their bikes EVERYWHERE. And finally, you wouldn't BELIEVE how much smaller, yet healthier, the portion sizes are at every restaurant. The word "super size" definitely does not exist here!!
So, as you can see, my experience in Tokyo has been wonderful thus far. I'm excited for my shows to begin and look forward to a regular schedule, so that Larry and I can explore other parts of Japan together too.
Love and miss you all,
Melanie
P.S.- If anyone would like our home addresses or new cell phone numbers, please send us a private email as we do not want to publish them online. Thanks! 😊
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Brenda
non-member comment
We Love You Both So Much
Love your blog and am so interested in the culture. Very interesting about the cleanliness! I am so glad you are not overwhelmed by the culture but hope you are not overworked, Melanie! You're a star now (not that you haven't always been!) We really miss you and hope you are both happy, safe and enjoying life. We hope to visit you!