Small Successes

Well...the last couple of days were more or less uneventful in Tokyo. We had a LOT of meetings and seminars, so we didn't do much fun stuff, but we did get the chance to explore Tokyo a few more times. It really is a beautiful place at night. During the day it's a bit dingy and impersonal, but at night the lights really make it come to life.

One of my roommates in Tokyo, Erik, and Tori's roommate, Lauren came together from the States. They'll be living in Miyazaki City in Miyazaki Prefecture just south of Oita...and it looks like we'll definitely be hanging out with them more in the future. Everyone we've met so far has been nice...and fairly interesting, but we've really felt like we connected with these two more than anyone else. They're just really down to earth...and funny to boot! Guess we lucked out on the roommate situation.


We also had a few exciting firsts over the last few days. We went out and (without any assistance from Japanese people) bought a few things from the convenience store. That was exciting. Then...this is the REALLY exciting bit...Tori actually asked a policeman for directions to the post office...and we understood him! I know it seems like nothing, but it was probably our first successful exchange in Japanese. We'd done the whole "konnichiwa" thing a few times, but nothing where we were actually trying to get information from someone. It really does make me want to study more. A few more firsts: we withdrew money from our US accounts from an ATM in Japan (they gave us a great exchange rate, by the way...we should have just done it all here), paid the phone bills for our hotel rooms, used a vending machine, ordered lunch on our own, and saw human poo smeared on a sidewalk! Don't worry, Mom, that last part really did happen, but we hear it's not common, even in Tokyo.

While in Tokyo, we also got to see a few things that I hadn't really heard much about in my studies. First, aparently there is a proper escalator code of conduct. Tori found out somewhere that you're supposed to stand on the left, walk on the right. In America, I instinctively go to the right of the escalator, friends fill in anywhere they like, and if someone wants through, they'll ask, right? Not in Japan...we got to test it out yesterday at the airport. I was standing on the left and Tori filled in the right side so that we could tak...but a Japanese man was standing behind us...didn't look like he was in a hurry or anything...wasn't even crowding us at all. But after about 30 seconds, Tori moved over to the left side and the guy just bolted by. So...we learned our lesson. Definitely standing on the left from now on...just in case. We also got to see some homeless folks while in Tokyo. It's something that we've talked to TIUA students about in the past, but they all have tried to tell us that homelessness really doesn't exist iin Japan. Aparently that's not true in the big cities. One night we decided to walk through the central park of Shinjuku (our section of Tokyo) and it was amazing how many homeless people had set up little make-shift homes on the periphery. There were a lot of blue tarps on cardboard boxes...umbrellas hanging from the sides, ready for the rainy season. One guy had what looked like an outhouse of a shelter...still made of cardboard, but with a working door and everything. Don't get me wrong...they're not living in deluxe suites or anything, but they definitely aren't clearing out spots in dumpsters either. The ones that look like they move around more have wheels on their belongings, but everything is stacked neatly. I even saw one guy with a towel rack hanging from the side of his 6-foot pile of belongings. Those without much at all at least have a cardboard perimeter to mark their sleeping area and hide them from the eyes of passers-by. Although they're homeless, they're not sprawled out and sloppy...they're packed into a neat, little spot all their own. But then I guess...how could you expect anything less in the land of sushi and origami?

Alright...enough ranting. Sorry...I woke up at 5:45 and decided to write this, so if it wanders or isn't so cohesive...you know why.

Yesterday afternoon, we all broke up into our prefectural groups and took off for our new homes. There was a group of 13 going to Oita and 7 of them were greeted at the airport by their direct supervisors and/or their coworkers. The other 6 of us (who got to dress casually for the flight...HA!) work for the Prefectural Board of Education, so we got put up in a hotel for the night. After we got settled into our hotel rooms, Tori and I took a little walk around Oita City. We went to a local um...for lack of a better word...mall (which is friggin HUGE!) and bought me a pair of sandals to wear around town. I don't know if I've mentioned this, but...it's hot here. And humid. I mean really hot. And really humid. And I neglected to bring flip-flops...or tennis shoes for fear of my luggage being overweight, so...I've been wearing pants and dress shoes for the last few days. But no fear! Now I can wear shorts again. So, with that straightened out, we were ready for a night out on the town with some current JETs and a few of the newbies that came last week. They all seem really cool...and they all love Oita, so I think we definitely lucked out with our placement. My buddy Phil from Willamette even showed up to welcome us, which was very cool. It was good to see him again...he's living a few hours west of us in Hita, Oita, but I'm definitely planning on making regular trips out to see him. One of my other favorite people of the night was a snappy brit named Tom...I can tell he's going to be a hoot. So...we ate, we drank, we karaoke-ed our asses off...and this morning, I find myself with a sore throat and a raspy voice. Hopefully that will fix itself over the next few hours, though, as I have to meet a ton of people today...including my supervisor and my English teachers. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.




Left: Phil, Tom, and Myself


Right: Oita Prefecture