Finally! Update #1
Finally, I have decent computer access for the day, so I can update this journal. I apologize to everyone for the long wait (and for my poor english...you'd be amazed what one can forget when constantly using another language).
What an amazing experience. After only 1 week, this was already the experience of a lifetime. You can imagine how I feel now that a month and a few weeks have passed.
The trip began extremely slow. Imagine sitting in a small chair, cramped in between two other people, in a room with no open windows, for a whole day. This is a fairly close approximation to my 15 hour flight. After this extremely long flight, however, I had finally arrived. I felt quite rushed, as the other exchange students had all already gotten off the plane. I was about the last one off ot the plane, and all alone, I had no idea where I was supposed to go next. To make matters worse, my carry-on was about as heavy as it could possibly be. I attempted to follow the one other individual who was exiting the plane, but this only brought me to a restricted area. I was fortunate enough, however, to bump into the pilots and stewardesses of the plane a few minutes later, and they informed me as to where to go. Next was a confusing trip through immigration (and though all of the Japanese attendants complimented my Japanese, did I ever wish that it was better! I was completely confused during most of the process), Finally, quite a while later, I caught up to the other exchange students. I severely needed to go to the bathroom, but everyone else wanted to continue on. We all went through customs unchecked, and we were surprisingly soon outside. I was met by my host father, 2 other Rotary Members, and three Rotex (past Japanese Rotary Youth Exchange Students). Many handshakes and bows followed, then business card exchanges. My head was racing as I tried my hardest to recall the little Japanese I knew, as well as remember how low I was supposed to bow, who I was supposed to greet first, how I was supposed to present and receive a business card, etc. My head hurt. I was so excited, tired, anxious, curious, everything! all at the same time. Though most things were the same, I couldn't help but notice the little differences everywhere. I left the airport with my host father and the Chairman of the Rotary Club, and was fascinated with the signs; the small, boxy cars; the horizontal streetlights, the traffic traveling on the opposite side, the strangely different antennas on the cars; the DVD/TV/Radio/Navigation system in just about every car. It was truly a sensory overload; an overload which continued for weeks, and though it is much more slight now, it still exists today, over a month after arriving.
The cool air outside surprised me for a summer's day, but after all, I was in Japan. The car's air conditioning was even cooler, but I didn't notice for a while. I was too busy answering questions about my life, my family, and everything else that could be imagined. I was so incredibly tired, but still on an adrenaline high, like I had just downed 15 coffees to keep myself awake. I was happy to ask and answer questions, but I was a little frustrated that I could not explain myself better in Japanese. My host father spoke to me about half of the time in English. Though it was nice to be able to communicate, I wanted to be speaking in Japanese. I only hoped that we would be speaking Japanese in the home. Eventually, after what felt like hours of questions, my host father and the chairman began talking to each other in Japanese. I strained to understand, but had little luck. I began to phase out. Instead I took in the sights of Tokyo. The Narita Airport was somewhere around an hour away from my home, but the stop-and-go traffic made the trip a bit longer. Still, with as far away as the airport was from my home, I could still see much of Tokyo. Tokyo is quite big. It was night, and the highway railings were quite high. I was able to see the tops of many tall buildings, and there were millions of neon and strobing lights to accent the dark night sky. All of a sudden I realized that I never did go to the bathroom. This was not a welcomed thought, as we still had at least 45 minutes of travel remaining. I began to crash and eventually fell asleep...occasionally waking up to my eager bladder.
Finally, we arrived, and I stepped out of the car in front of a tall building. We entered, and my father had me run my bags up to the third floor. The stairway was quite narrow, and carrying bags as heavy as mine were was extremely tiring. I was shown my "room," which was more like an apartment than just a room. I had been expecting a small room and futon in the cramped center of Tokyo, and I ended up with a bedroom, living room/kitchen, studyroom, and bathroom. Not bad. I quickly realized, however, that this apartment was completely separate from that of the rest of the family, who lived one floor higher. While I had hoped (really, assumed) that I would be living with them, I ended up quite separate. I was shown around my room, and began unpacking, as my host father was trying to figure out how to use the shower and bath, so that he could teach me. Quite a while later, he had figured it out, and made me practice quite a few times. At the time this seemed a little bit odd, especially as the directions (though written in Japanese, so I couldn't read them) were written right on the heating unit itself. Later, I was to find out that my father does not work well with technology, as he feels it is complicating our lives and is a nuisance. At the moment he is constantly debating with his son and co-workers as to if he should purchase a cellphone or not.
The next day I was to go to my Japanese language camp. I was a bit surprised by that morning's breakfast. While I had been expecting miso soup, fish, and rice (the typical Japanese breakfast), I received toast, sausage, an egg, chinese noodles, and a large, cakey dumpling. Because this host family is Chinese (and owns many Chinese restaurants in Japan), it turns out that my food for the first few months was to be a little bit different than traditional Japanese cooking. After breakfast I headed out with my father to find the language school. Finally I was able to see Tokyo during the daytime. It was so busy, and yet...incredibly clean. This was one of the first things that I noticed. Everywhere was immaculately clean. Another easily noticeable difference was the vending machines. They are absolutely everywhere! Soda, coffee, milk, water, tea...whatever you want you can easily find on a street corner. And from one vending machine I can look around and see at least three more. They truly are everywhere.
We went to the train station, which is conveniently 2 minutes away from my house. After a short train ride we arrived in Shinjuku, one of the busiest places in Japan (though just about everywhere is incredibly busy). Eventually we found the correct building and room, but we were quite early, so no one else had arrived yet. Soon the teacher and my classmates filed in. I had been so anxious. How good was the other student's Japanese? Would I be behind or ahead? After all, I had already missed two classes, and some of the other students had already been in Japan for weeks! It wasn't until later in my stay that I learned to never compare myself with other exchange students. I tried my best to introduce myself in Japanese to the other students. I received many blank looks, and soon learned that almost no one had previously learned Japanese. Everyone, however, was fairly fluent in English, however (as it is apparently a prerequisite to becoming a Rotary Exchange Student). Though many students were apparently intimidated by my initial Japanese, it was not long until we all became good friends. The Japanese lessons were quite basic, but still enjoyable, and of course a welcomed review.
We had a long lunch break, and the many Japanese Rotex who were at the lessons brought us to McDonald's for lunch. Though many of the other exchange students were happy to eat something so familiar, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to taste some real Japanese food, not American food in Japan. At my home there already was a certain lack of Japanese food. Of course, if this is what Japanese kids tend to eat, than this is what I want to eat. Still, I had hoped for something different. Much to my relief, McDonald's in Japan is not the same in Japan as it is America. Of course it's not...what was I thinking? I felt a little silly....hooray for ignorance! Regardless, I was quite happy after eating a Teriyaki Burger. I was also a bit surprised, forgetting that Japanese sizes are not quite the same as in America. A Japanese Large is roughly the size of an American small. The price, however, was no different. Whoopie. I could instantly tell that this trip could easily become an expensive one.
We returned to class, only to leave again for a Japanese photography exhibit. Apparently we take a trip everyday. I had already missed the trip to BicCamera, the famous electronics store over here, but was happy to go on this trip to see the photography and science exibit. The next day we went to the Kinokunia Bookstore, which was also quite interesting.
Well...I am absolutely exhausted now...so I will take a break. I hope this at least satiates some of your curiosity. And hopefully it won't take as long for me to make my next update....right? haha. I hope you are all doing well. -Todd
Oh, and everyone in Rotary, thank you all so much for all you have given me. I will never forget this experience!
What an amazing experience. After only 1 week, this was already the experience of a lifetime. You can imagine how I feel now that a month and a few weeks have passed.
The trip began extremely slow. Imagine sitting in a small chair, cramped in between two other people, in a room with no open windows, for a whole day. This is a fairly close approximation to my 15 hour flight. After this extremely long flight, however, I had finally arrived. I felt quite rushed, as the other exchange students had all already gotten off the plane. I was about the last one off ot the plane, and all alone, I had no idea where I was supposed to go next. To make matters worse, my carry-on was about as heavy as it could possibly be. I attempted to follow the one other individual who was exiting the plane, but this only brought me to a restricted area. I was fortunate enough, however, to bump into the pilots and stewardesses of the plane a few minutes later, and they informed me as to where to go. Next was a confusing trip through immigration (and though all of the Japanese attendants complimented my Japanese, did I ever wish that it was better! I was completely confused during most of the process), Finally, quite a while later, I caught up to the other exchange students. I severely needed to go to the bathroom, but everyone else wanted to continue on. We all went through customs unchecked, and we were surprisingly soon outside. I was met by my host father, 2 other Rotary Members, and three Rotex (past Japanese Rotary Youth Exchange Students). Many handshakes and bows followed, then business card exchanges. My head was racing as I tried my hardest to recall the little Japanese I knew, as well as remember how low I was supposed to bow, who I was supposed to greet first, how I was supposed to present and receive a business card, etc. My head hurt. I was so excited, tired, anxious, curious, everything! all at the same time. Though most things were the same, I couldn't help but notice the little differences everywhere. I left the airport with my host father and the Chairman of the Rotary Club, and was fascinated with the signs; the small, boxy cars; the horizontal streetlights, the traffic traveling on the opposite side, the strangely different antennas on the cars; the DVD/TV/Radio/Navigation system in just about every car. It was truly a sensory overload; an overload which continued for weeks, and though it is much more slight now, it still exists today, over a month after arriving.
The cool air outside surprised me for a summer's day, but after all, I was in Japan. The car's air conditioning was even cooler, but I didn't notice for a while. I was too busy answering questions about my life, my family, and everything else that could be imagined. I was so incredibly tired, but still on an adrenaline high, like I had just downed 15 coffees to keep myself awake. I was happy to ask and answer questions, but I was a little frustrated that I could not explain myself better in Japanese. My host father spoke to me about half of the time in English. Though it was nice to be able to communicate, I wanted to be speaking in Japanese. I only hoped that we would be speaking Japanese in the home. Eventually, after what felt like hours of questions, my host father and the chairman began talking to each other in Japanese. I strained to understand, but had little luck. I began to phase out. Instead I took in the sights of Tokyo. The Narita Airport was somewhere around an hour away from my home, but the stop-and-go traffic made the trip a bit longer. Still, with as far away as the airport was from my home, I could still see much of Tokyo. Tokyo is quite big. It was night, and the highway railings were quite high. I was able to see the tops of many tall buildings, and there were millions of neon and strobing lights to accent the dark night sky. All of a sudden I realized that I never did go to the bathroom. This was not a welcomed thought, as we still had at least 45 minutes of travel remaining. I began to crash and eventually fell asleep...occasionally waking up to my eager bladder.
Finally, we arrived, and I stepped out of the car in front of a tall building. We entered, and my father had me run my bags up to the third floor. The stairway was quite narrow, and carrying bags as heavy as mine were was extremely tiring. I was shown my "room," which was more like an apartment than just a room. I had been expecting a small room and futon in the cramped center of Tokyo, and I ended up with a bedroom, living room/kitchen, studyroom, and bathroom. Not bad. I quickly realized, however, that this apartment was completely separate from that of the rest of the family, who lived one floor higher. While I had hoped (really, assumed) that I would be living with them, I ended up quite separate. I was shown around my room, and began unpacking, as my host father was trying to figure out how to use the shower and bath, so that he could teach me. Quite a while later, he had figured it out, and made me practice quite a few times. At the time this seemed a little bit odd, especially as the directions (though written in Japanese, so I couldn't read them) were written right on the heating unit itself. Later, I was to find out that my father does not work well with technology, as he feels it is complicating our lives and is a nuisance. At the moment he is constantly debating with his son and co-workers as to if he should purchase a cellphone or not.
The next day I was to go to my Japanese language camp. I was a bit surprised by that morning's breakfast. While I had been expecting miso soup, fish, and rice (the typical Japanese breakfast), I received toast, sausage, an egg, chinese noodles, and a large, cakey dumpling. Because this host family is Chinese (and owns many Chinese restaurants in Japan), it turns out that my food for the first few months was to be a little bit different than traditional Japanese cooking. After breakfast I headed out with my father to find the language school. Finally I was able to see Tokyo during the daytime. It was so busy, and yet...incredibly clean. This was one of the first things that I noticed. Everywhere was immaculately clean. Another easily noticeable difference was the vending machines. They are absolutely everywhere! Soda, coffee, milk, water, tea...whatever you want you can easily find on a street corner. And from one vending machine I can look around and see at least three more. They truly are everywhere.
We went to the train station, which is conveniently 2 minutes away from my house. After a short train ride we arrived in Shinjuku, one of the busiest places in Japan (though just about everywhere is incredibly busy). Eventually we found the correct building and room, but we were quite early, so no one else had arrived yet. Soon the teacher and my classmates filed in. I had been so anxious. How good was the other student's Japanese? Would I be behind or ahead? After all, I had already missed two classes, and some of the other students had already been in Japan for weeks! It wasn't until later in my stay that I learned to never compare myself with other exchange students. I tried my best to introduce myself in Japanese to the other students. I received many blank looks, and soon learned that almost no one had previously learned Japanese. Everyone, however, was fairly fluent in English, however (as it is apparently a prerequisite to becoming a Rotary Exchange Student). Though many students were apparently intimidated by my initial Japanese, it was not long until we all became good friends. The Japanese lessons were quite basic, but still enjoyable, and of course a welcomed review.
We had a long lunch break, and the many Japanese Rotex who were at the lessons brought us to McDonald's for lunch. Though many of the other exchange students were happy to eat something so familiar, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to taste some real Japanese food, not American food in Japan. At my home there already was a certain lack of Japanese food. Of course, if this is what Japanese kids tend to eat, than this is what I want to eat. Still, I had hoped for something different. Much to my relief, McDonald's in Japan is not the same in Japan as it is America. Of course it's not...what was I thinking? I felt a little silly....hooray for ignorance! Regardless, I was quite happy after eating a Teriyaki Burger. I was also a bit surprised, forgetting that Japanese sizes are not quite the same as in America. A Japanese Large is roughly the size of an American small. The price, however, was no different. Whoopie. I could instantly tell that this trip could easily become an expensive one.
We returned to class, only to leave again for a Japanese photography exhibit. Apparently we take a trip everyday. I had already missed the trip to BicCamera, the famous electronics store over here, but was happy to go on this trip to see the photography and science exibit. The next day we went to the Kinokunia Bookstore, which was also quite interesting.
Well...I am absolutely exhausted now...so I will take a break. I hope this at least satiates some of your curiosity. And hopefully it won't take as long for me to make my next update....right? haha. I hope you are all doing well. -Todd
Oh, and everyone in Rotary, thank you all so much for all you have given me. I will never forget this experience!