First Two Weeks In Japan

It's been about two weeks since my arrival in Japan and since that time, I've been very busy.

The day I left New Mexico was different than the last two times I left for Japan. It was hard saying goodbye to many of my family members as we are very close, because I knew that this time I would be away for a much longer time than I had been gone before.

Still, in the times I said goodbye to family and friends, I already missed them. Still though, part of me was tired of thinking about preparing for Japan and I just wanted to move to be over with, which brings me to my point: I'm here! :)

On the first day of arrival, with an  aching body from sitting for 15+ hours on the flight, I made it to Tokyo. After exiting the airport the first thing I realized was: my body was not ready for the heat. I am not joking. I had almost forgotten how bad summer heat in Japan is, and as it happens, this year Japan is having a massive heat wave. I was pouring sweat within about a minute of walking out of the airport. I wasn't the only one however. Many other foreigners with me were also like some foul sea monster that just stepped out of a swamp. But it was ok, because we were in good hands.

 Surprisingly, the JET program was very organized in Tokyo and from the point of stepping off the plane, clearing customs and getting my 在留カード, or resident card, the staff quickly ushered us to the buses, took our luggage and we were off to the Keio Plaza hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo. We did not have orientation that night and we were allowed to just rest for that night, in preparation for orientation the next morning.

That first I did my best to stay up as late ass possible to reset my internal clock, and my staying up very late, I of course mean 8:30 pm. I only slept about 4 hours and I lay wide awake by 12:30 am, just staring at the ceiling. I couldn't fall back asleep, and because I had 2 roommates sharing a room, I couldn't do much but lie there.

The next morning I was groggy but excited. I used the portable steamer I brought along with me to steam out the wrinkels in my business clothes (which worked like a charm), and was happy that I was able to avoid the hordes of people in the ironing room. I quickly donned my suit and like a sweaty, groggy slug, I made my way to breakfast, and then to orientation. Overall, orientation was fun and informative, but some of the panels were tiring and boring. The whole day went from 8:30 am to about 7:30pm. By the time the day was winding down, the panelists could tell that we were exhausted by the lifeless gaze of  the 1000+ people in the orientation room. Finally we were free at the end of the day. Some people wanted to go out and eat/drink/party, while I just wanted to eat then sleep. My study time in Tokyo last year was enough of the city that I wanted to see and I wasn't about to walk the surface of the sun in Tokyo's largest and busiest station and surrounding area. I think it's great that people love Tokyo, but I'm over it and I was excited to get out to my small town.

The second day was pretty much a repeat of the first day, but with different panels. At the end of the day however, they held a meet and greet party for us. We went to a large room with various small tables and bottles of champagne on the tables, with signs of our designated prefectures. At my table I finally got to meet the people that I would be working with for the next few years. Many of the people are very nice and come from America, Canada, and Jamaica.

On the third day, everyone was leaving for their prefectures at different times depending where they were placed. I woke up at about five am and put on my suit. When we arrived in our prefectures (like a state in the US), we were to be picked up by our predecessors and our bosses. The flight was only about an hour and fifteen minutes, but it was probably the bumpiest flight I'd ever been on. By the time we landed I felt airsick and nauseous, but a lot of that was probably because of exhaustion and nerves. When I stepped out of the baggage claim, my predecessor, another English Teacher and my boss were waiting for me with a hand made sign that said in Japanese, " Welcome to Kagoshima Daniel!"  I must say I wasn't expecting such a welcome and I was moved and very happy to finally meet them. All three of them turned out to be really kind people, so I am thankful, however as of now, my predecessor has already moved away, and the other English Teacher leaves soon. I sat up front with my boss and we headed about one and a half hours to Kanoya City, in Kagoshima Prefecture. Basically, I'm a few hours from the southern tip of Japan. The scenery here is beautiful. Lots of mountains surround the city. It is very green. When I'm not dying of heat stroke I like to just take in all of the scenery. It's really nice. But I digress.

I'd like to say that my boss and the others dropped me off at home and I slept happily with dreams of sushi and ramen, but no, oooooh no, I had a full day of work ahead of me!

After arriving at City Hall--where I'll be working until school begins in September-- I had do do self introductions to the City Hall president, the 3 section chiefs, and my entire team of about 20 teachers. I did it all in Japanese. It's weird, it all just came without much thought or preparation and I'm sure it wasn't the best speech, but I wasn't afraid and I think it went well. After that I walked, or sloshed rather, to a tiny nearby restaurant to eat with my boss and the two that picked me up at the airport. After that, I was dropped off at my apartment and slept. JUST KIDDING!

After that I was shown my desk at City Hall and then I was taken shopping for house hold items that I didn't have at my apartment. This took a few hours. Finally I was taken to my apartment where my luggage was waiting for me. Overall I like the apartment except for one thing: the ventilation is pretty bad. As I type this, I have the windows open and two fans going all day, and it's still hot in  here. Luckily, it's only for about another month until it cools down in September.

The next day I was taken to get a cell phone and let me just say..... I was not expecting to pay what I did for a cell phone. Sure, I didn't HAVE to get an iphone 6, but I was told in advance by many people that it would be much much cheaper than it actually was. They were wrong. My wallet still has nightmares of that day. Apparently, cell phone companies have a new rule where people have to pay full price for cellphones if they have no proof of an established resident history. I guess they were saying that some people would sign the 2 year contracts and get discounts on the phone, and then leave the country after one year, leaving the company high and dry. So it makes sense from their end and I understand it, but daaaaaang. lol I had to get a smart phone simply because I need the internet. I wasn't sure if my apartment had internet (which it didn't), so I needed a smartphone. A clamshell flip phone was not going to cut it. The other smart phones were almost as expensive as the iphone 6 anyway, so I took the plunge, much to dismay of my failing heart. For my family that reads this: S.O.S!!! I'm starving over here!! JK. Luckily my job before leaving payed well and with the help of my family, it meant that I still have a fair amount of money and am surviving fine, even after purchasing a car and phone. I'm doing ok everyone!  :)

I know I keep promising pictures, but they will have to wait or just be posted to my Facebook because transferring from the phone to this blog is a pain. Also, I don't go out during the day except for errands. I don't do sightseeing or exploring until the sun is setting and it cools down, because it's really not fun sweating every time I go out. Not to mention the heat is draining. But I'll eventually get the pictures. I still have some other things to post about, like the summer festival I went to, but I think this is it for now. 

The plan right now is to *try* to post every other week. Though, to avoid the blog becoming a chore, I'll probably refrain from full play-by-plays like this post, and go with more generalized updates and thoughts.

And with that, I'm off to my car because the sun is setting. :)  Yes, the heat and humidity really is THAT BAD. Can't wait for autumn.