From the Land of the Rising Sun--Ohayoo Gozaimasu!

Hello, everyone! I am finally able to sit down and update this blog! The last week has been one of the most hectic/overwhelming of my life, but I am doing quite well, especially now that I am relaxing and eating some delicious green tea ice cream. :)

So, since I know you are all dying to know how my experience as a JET has been thus far, I will start this long-winded post all the way back to the trip to O'Hare airport, which was a nightmare. A trip which would normally take an hour or so ended up being 3 hours of driving in a roundabout way through traffic and small lakes. This was due to the torrential rains early in the morning. For a moment I thought I would not make it to Japan. However, our van pulled through and we made it. After saying a difficult good-bye to my parents and Jenny, I wended my way through airport security and struggled to the gate with about 500 pounds of carry-on luggage alone.

I will be honest: sitting on the plane, waiting for it to take off, was terrifying. I kept second-guessing myself and thinking, "what on earth am I getting myself into?" However, I listened to Katie and Sara's mix to calm down (thanks guys, it's awesome!) and, as the plane was taking off, the Killers' song, "All These Things That I've Done" was playing. Just as Brandon Flowers crooned, "If you can hold on, If you can hold on....Hold On", the plane lifted in the air. I took this as a very good sign indeed. The rest of the flight involved me sitting in a semi-comatose state with my mouth hanging open (due to the fact that I took 4 Dramamines in the space of 6 hours), so the 14 hour flight was actually not too terrible.

Greeting me at the Narita airport in Tokyo was a very organized assembly line of smiling JETs and volunteers and the most humid conditions I have ever experienced. Seriously, I think it might be possible to cut the air here with a knife. You are not outside for two minutes and the sweat is just dripping. I could not help but think, "It's SO hot. Milk was a bad choice" as I stood in the heat. I am still getting used to this, but it beats Chicago winters any day! Also, Tokyo is HUGE. You hear about how big and crowded it is, but you really have no idea until you see it in person. Just looking at it from the bus was sensory overload. We were whisked off to the Keio Plaza hotel in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, and I fell asleep promptly, waking up the next day at 5:00 am with more energy than anyone should EVER have at that time of day. Oh, jet lag. (still not entirely over it, by the way).

I won't go into the details of the actual orientation, as it was rather boring, but one thing I did like was meeting all of my fellow Miyazaki-ans. We are from all over--United States (three from Chicago!), Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, and Great Britain. Everyone seems very nice and I am looking forward to making some good friends! Our prefectural advisors were soooo nice and welcoming, and I feel like I am part of a "family" already. :)

Ok, now for the fun stuff...the two nights I had in Tokyo! A friend that I made in Chicago, Stephanie, and I roamed around looking for adventure both nights. The first night, Stephanie suggested that we go to an area of Tokyo where she had stayed in a youth hostel. This involved taking the subway, at which we epically FAILED. The system is the most complicated I have ever seen, though my lack of Japanese ability might have something to do with it. Also, the train station in Shinjuku is ginormous. There are sooo many people everywhere walking in every possible direction. We ended up taking the subway to a random place and then back to Shinjuku, but it was fun anyway. The subways are nothing like the Chicago Transit Authority trains--here they smell GOOD. Yes, you read that correctly--the air vents expel fresh smelling air. Quite a nice change from the mingled smell of pee, body odor, and vomit. I also would not mind eating food off the floor; it seemed so clean. In Shinjuku, we found some crazy video arcades and I won an ice cream filled balloon from a claw game. Only in Japan. The second night, we went to Akihabara, which is the section of Tokyo you have probably seen in movies--bright lights everywhere and a video game/anime/manga lovers' paradise. We ended up in a five floor entertainment center which was clearly for men, due to the skeezy merchandise and lack of females, so we left that awkward situation pretty quickly. We played an odd game in another, less creepy arcade that involved strategically hitting buttons to line up food on a shish kebab, guide a schoolgirl across a river, and confuse a cat. I am not kidding. We also stopped in a Japanese Denny's--quite different from Denny's in the states! All in all, a great two nights.

OH! I also should mention that, as I am a nerd, I found out that The Killers filmed their music video for "Read My Mind" in THE SAME AREA OF TOKYO AS OUR HOTEL. I wandered over to the intersection and park in the video and was in heaven. I will put pictures up soon, but here is the link to the music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc8hbSM1zVo

That concludes my Tokyo adventures...the next morning, our Miyazaki group took a one and a half hour flight over to my new home, Miyazaki City. A cool thing about Miyazaki prefecture is that the governor is a former comedian, and everyone loves him. He has improved the economy of the prefecture (for those of you who don't know, a prefecture in Japan is like a state in the US) and made it more attractive to tourists. Thus, you can find a variety of merchandise with his smiling face on it and even take a picture with a cheesy statue of him (not that I did that or anything....) At the airport, I met my predecessor, Paul, who has been an immense help to me over the past few days. He is my translator and guide, as he is very good at speaking Japanese and knows the ins and outs of living here. I also met my supervisor, an English teacher at my high school and one other English teacher. They have also been very, very helpful in getting me settled. I feel very well taken care of. Last night, I went out for an all you can eat/drink goodbye/welcome party for me, Paul, and two other JETs. Whilst sitting cross legged on the floor and using chopsticks, I stuffed myself with delicious food--inlcuding Miyazaki's delicious specialty, chicken nanban (fried pieces of chicken with a tartar sauce like dressing) and Japanese beer and chatted with my future colleagues. It was nice to socialize in such a relaxed setting, and I felt very comfortable and welcomed.

Well, I should describe my city, future apartment, and school--
The city and surrounding area is very beautiful--palm trees line the streets, flowers bloom everywhere, and there are mountains in the distance. There are plenty of things to do in the city, yet the atmosphere is very laid back. I will put up pictures soon, I promise!

My future apartment is part of teacher housing on the west side of the city. However, this is nothing like the west side of Chicago. My apartment building is in a gorgeous neighborhood with beautiful houses and landscaping on one side and an open rice paddy and rolling hills on the other. It will be nice to retreat to nature after a work day in the downtown area. I have not seen my actual apartment yet, but I met a girl who lives in an apartment which will be similar to mine, and hers was quite nice. I can't move in until Sunday, as someone is living there now and their lease is not over yet. (Right now I am staying with Paul.) I can't wait to get settled and make my own home away from home!

Finally, my new school! The building is very different from a school in America--it is open to the elements in some places. The school is the best school for English in the prefecture and has a long and proud history. I have met some of the students who are there now for clubs or summer school and they all seem very polite and eager to learn. I CAN'T WAIT to start teaching! I will be teaching one lesson in English communication per week to 11 classes per week of 1st grade (sophomore) students and one advanced humanities course with another JET. I will have about 450 students and will work with four Japanese teachers of English. I will also be helping with the speech contest, debate team, and English camp in December, where the students can speak only in English for two days. I would also love to help with the school band and maybe set up a pen pal exchange with students at Lincoln-Way East (where I student taught)--we will see!!! I know that I will have a wonderful time and learn a LOT.

They told us at Tokyo orientation all about "culture shock," and I am waiting for this to hit me. Although I have had moments of feeling lost and overwhelmed, I am taking everything with a grain of salt and adjusting as best as I can. I have already noticed some cultural differences (though of course I am not an "expert"), which I think everyone at home will be interested in hearing about.

1. You take off your shoes before entering a house and change into slippers when entering a school. You also change into "bathroom shoes" when doing your business. Also, when you take off your shoes in someone's home, you leave them facing the door.
2. On buses, it is generally expected that you do not talk loudly (if at all), eat, or drink. When you walk, you are not supposed to smoke, talk on your phone, eat, or drink.
3. Garbage has to be separated into a number of different categories, including burnables, plastic, glass, and cans. I am still trying to figure this out.
4. At school, the students take part of the day to clean. While this occurs, happy music plays over the speakers. Happy music also plays when pedestrians cross a major street.
5. Spiders are considered lucky and you are not supposed to kill them. However, this is one thing that I will not follow--if I see a spider the size of a small child in my apartment, that thing is gonna die.
6. Women sometimes wear elbow length gloves and use umbrellas in the heat of summer to keep their skin light.
7. When you take a taxi, you do not open or shut the door--it does it automatically.
8. There is no tipping. (I like this one!)
9. As far as driving goes, everything is opposite, just like in England.
10. Toilets--Some are squat (I used one today at school and managed fairly well) and some are Western style with a number of fancy functions, such as a little spray to clean your behind and discreet music that plays to cover up any bodily noises.
11. There are vending machines EVERYWHERE. I have seen more vending machines in the last week than I have in my whole life.
12. One thing I love is how safe it is here! Today I was at a bus stop that was right next to someone's home. The garage was open and a car and bike were just sitting there. As a Chicagoan, this blew my mind.

One more thing...I found out at orientation at the Miyazaki airport that Sting endorses Miyazaki--here is an amusing video to prove it. Of course, this is EXACTLY what my experience will be like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooqgsI6j7Bc&feature=PlayList&p=91930DC9C7428EE5&playnext=1&index=14

Well, as I am exhausted and have gone on for a very long time, I think I have come to a conclusion for now. I will post again--with pictures--as soon as possible. I love and miss you all.

<3
Sandy