Hajimarimashita!

Entire row to me for the long flight!

So my first official week in Japan has finally come to a close.  I arrived at 8:45pm on Sept 13th (Japan time, so 6:45am on Sept 13th Wisconsin time).  A lot has happened in just a week which makes me feel like I have actually been here for a couple months now.  Even my room looks like I've been here for a month (that means it needs a little TLC...!)

Dinner on my flight

Japan is great.  I'm having an amazing time and I absolutely love being here even though my initial landing was a bit chaotic.  When I initially landed in Japan, everything was mayhem.

First of all, it was hot and humid walking off the plane.  So much so that it was like walking into a wall of moisture.  Then I had to get my luggage and figure out how to go from Narita Airport to my hotel which was in Narita city nearby.  A lady at an information desk at the airport was kind enough to give me directions via the train.  Great.  I had to go downstairs to the train area with nearly 100 pounds of luggage (If I remember correctly...one was 47 pounds and the other 48!)  I managed to charge up my train pass so I could go through but then my two large luggages prevented me from going through the gates.  Not only was it hot, humid, and my suitcases weighed a lot, there were also people passing by me so quickly.  At that time I proobably looked like a typical hot, sweaty foreigner with loads of luggage.  Luckily, I will probably never see them again.

Once I finally made it on the train and in to Narita City, that's where a bit of panic occurred.  The information desk lady from the airport said that my hotel is right outside the exit of Narita station.  Simple enough, right?  Not so much!  I asked a couple people on my way out of the station where the hotel was but lucky me, none of those people are from the area.  I exit the station and see some taxis and figure I can just taxi to the hotel since it's better than me wandering around at 10pm in a city I've never been in.  When the taxi driver asked where I wanted to go, I said the hotel name and he told me to just take the stairs down and it should be right over there.  Was he kidding?  Stairs with 100 pounds of luggage..great.  But since he made it seem like it was so close I thought I could manage a flight or two of stairs.  And man, was luck NOT on my side that evening.  "Just down the stairs" was actually down about 100 steps to the bottom.  After a couple minutes of attempting the stairs with a suitcase in each hand a nice older man offered to carry one of my suitcases down to the bottom.  FINALLY after the steps and exiting the station yet again, I saw the hotel and I don't think I can remember many times when I was sooo happy.

First breakfast in Japan!

Since my first night in Japan, everything has been mostly smooth sailing.  I took a bus from Narita the following morning to my university and a student from my university picked me up from the station and took me to my apartment which was one stop on the train to Yatsuka and then about a five minute walk from Yatsuka station.  I was able to get hooked up with a cell phone right away so that I could contact my friends and relatives whom I saw that weekend.

My uncle (mom's older brother), aunt, and cousin

Sun starting to set in Tomobe

Seeing my relatives was probably the number one thing I was most nervous about, especially seeing my grandmother.  My grandmother speaks basically zero English so Japanese is the only way to communicate with her.  She picked me up from the train station and to my pleasant surprise, I could actually understand a lot of what she spoke to me.  I could not speak a lot back in return but I managed to get out the main words so that she could finish my sentences for me :)  I have always admired my grandmother for who she is and what she has overcame through her lifetime but spending a few days with her reaffirmed that feeling.  She is this short, stout, old lady but she is funny, hardworking, and enjoys her good food and watching sumo wrestling!  Never did I think I would watch sumo with my grandmother but apparently, she really really likes it and would like to buy tickets for us to go watch a match someday!!  She also told me some stories about my aunt, uncle, and mother from when they were children and even sang this song that she taught them whilst walking home from school.  My initial anxiety of being with my grandmother went away and now I look forward to seeing her again - and of course, going to a real sumo match with her during my holiday breaks :)

My grandmother and a good ol' traditional, Japanese breakfast

After a few days with my relatives, I made it back to my apartment in Yatsuka so that I could settle in a bit more prior to my school orientation.  My apartment is quite nice and convenient for its location and amenities.  I have two other apartment mates but each of us have our own room so we share the kitchen, living/dining room, and bathroom.  I have one roommate from South Korea, Won, who is very, very good in Japanese and my the other, Nora, is from Germany who is also quite good in Japanese and also speaks perfect English!  Having a roommate who speaks English is nice and even a bit comforting but it has been much too tempting to speak only English with her.  Luckily, Won does not speak much English so we when are all together we are forced to use Japanese!


Since the start of orientation (Wednesday the 19th) and the end of it (Friday the 21st) I have already made some good friends.  Many of my fellow classmates are German but there are a few South Koreans, English, and another American.  Basically EVERYONE speaks perfect English so getting to know each other is quite easy but improving our Japanese will pose to be a challenge for all of us!

It's weird to think that just a couple days ago we were all strangers to each other but now we are friends like we've known each other for months already.  We talk and joke around like I would with my friends back home whom I've known for years.  It's such an interesting phenomena that when you put a bunch of strangers together in the same boat you connect and makes friends with one another right away.  We're all in this stage where we are trying to figure out which of our classmates we connect with because no one wants to be left out and have no friends!

As much as love being here there are a couple things I miss already.  First - buying fruits and vegetables here is outrageous compared to the states!  100 grams of grapes go for about 300 yen (about $3.50~$4).  I also miss the cool Wisconsin autumn weather.  It's been hot and humid since I've arrived and I'm just WAITING for that cooler autumn weather to come my way...However, missing a couple things is worth my time here in Japan.  I know that my listening skills are improving immensely within just a week and once classes start (Monday!) I know my reading and writing will too.