“Welcome to Japan-Panasonic!” I was greeted with a huge sign when I walked off of the plane. Then I had to maneuver my way to customs by way of shuttle. I just followed the crowd. I found a black lady who spoke English and asked her if I was going the right way! She was very helpful. She is from the States but has a law firm in Okinawa. She lives here permanently.
Going through customs was a trip. First I had to go through immigration to get my passport checked. The guy was trying to explain to me how to go to the courthouse and get the alien registration form and all but he had limited English. I passed there and went to get my bags. I probably looked like Miley trying to drag that huge Oboe around…except I had two! I finally got my bags and drug them over and got them on a cart. I went through the customs table and the man took pity on my and just waved me through without making me show him anything.
When I went through the customs door into the airport I was greeted by Matsayuki with a sign that read, “Amanda Lynn Daniel WELCOME!” It was fun. I took a picture of him holding the sign. We went to the train station and got our train tickets, then he had my luggage sent to the delivery service. We went to a coffee shop for some water. It was JUST like in the books that I’ve read. In the windows were plastic replicas of the food. The menus were picture menus. It was so cute! There is a lot of English everywhere too.
Every kept staring at me (again, just like in the books). They would look from Matsayuki to me. Maybe they thought I was a mail order bride or something. Haha We got on the train next. It is so cool! We are going super fast over water. It is really dark outside but all of the big buildings are lit up. From a distance it looked like the New York skyline. When I got closer and actually went passed it, it looked like city blocks like Vegas with all of the buildings. The only difference is that the buildings are not silly looking theme buildings.
There is a ton of environmental print. I want to take more pictures so that I can add them to my pictures of Italy and London environmental print. We just passed a McDonald’s and it was so funny to see it written in symbols!
The train experience was interesting. The first train was not crowded. I was able to stretch out. The next ride was full of people. We were all jammed together. I had to use the restroom. I found it in the train car in front of mine and again, like in the books, there were three: gentlemen, Japanese style, and Western style. I opted for the Western one. That train ride was very hot but fast. When we got to the station Yoko was waiting for me. She pulled me off of the train like I was going to get sucked back in. When I was safely on the platform she hugged me and took me to the car. I am nervous about the train ticket system but I am sure I’ll get it down.
When we got in the car it was fun to ride one the “wrong side of the road.” I felt like I was in New York with all of the big signs that were all lit up. It looked like Time Square on Good Morning America! She laughed at that. She drove me out of downtown and showed me all of the sights on the way to her nursery school. The first thing she wanted me to do was email Mom! She was so worried that Mom would be worried so she was getting me to the computer as fast as she could! On the way she pointed out many grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, etc. I saw my apartment building. It looked just like the picture. When we got to the school we ran across the street to where Matsumi’s house is. His wife if Yoko’s older sister. She will be taking care of me with Yoko while I am in Japan. Yoko showed me her house too. It is within walking distance to school, a bike ride from my apartment-with streamers and bell Lindsey!! (about a 3 minute drive in the car).
The school was so cute! Of course it was dark so I couldn’t see much, but what I could see I loved. We went in and took our shoes off. I am used to this from Dima’s house so it was nothing new. J I was immediately sat at the computer to email home. It was hard to get the hand of the keyboard. It is a little different than ours and it has all of the Japanese characters on it so I was having to be careful when I was typing. My internet will be hooked up in one to two weeks at my apartment so until then I will just check it at the schools every day. Please write!
After that we went to my apartment. MAN, it’s tiny! It’s like living in the common room in Bruno! No, really, it’s like the downstairs at Turtle Creek (main room and little bathroom) with a shower room about twice the size of the closet and the kitchen is about twice the size of the bar. It is cute though!! All of my stuff was here in boxes waiting for me. Yoko stayed for a little while and showed me how to lock the doors, work the security system, work my cell phone (it looks like a blue Razor), etc. They had left me food (lots of fruits) and drinks in the fridge in case I was hungry.
After she left I wanted to take a shower but I needed my stuff so I had to unpack boxes to find it. That was a disaster because I made SUCH a mess in this little place. You know how I am about unpacking too. It was like a flashback to moving into the dorms. I immediately didn’t care about the shower anymore, I wanted everything unpacked and put away BUT I was exhausted. I ended up just making a mess and then Yoko called back and told me that she was coming back over because she forgot to show me how to work the hot water.
Everything is computerized here. It is great…IF you know the language. She was reading the symbols and I was trying to understand what it all meant. I finally just said that I though I understood because I was just too tired. If I had to take a cold shower then I would! I figured that Mandy could explain it to me tomorrow.
I went to bed around midnight here. It was like being back at St. Bernard…HOT with no air. I have air but it is not like at home. I turned on a fan and went to sleep AFTER I found some cards tucked in boxes and bags. Reading those got to me. I was so tired and missed everyone so much after traveling for a full 24 hours. I hated that I couldn’t pick up the phone and call and when I read those letters I realized that I’m here and y’all are there. I was worried that I made the wrong choice. I forced myself to read them though and those words of encouragement made me remember why I chose to do this. I have the greatest family and friends who offered the greatest amount of support. I finally went to bed (after eating the rest of Casey’s treats and hanging up all of my pictures of family and friends where I could see y’all!!!). Of course I didn’t sleep but 5 hours and I am still so tired but I did get a lot unpacked this morning. And the best part is that when I woke up and saw those cards I felt so much better about being here. I feel so confident in my decision and I am so excited to start this adventure.
When you come visit (because I know you ALL will), bring an air mattress. My bed it little and not like my Tempra-pedic!
By the way, you all will get a kick out of this, but Lindsey especially. I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I said that everything it electronic…well, even the toilet. I pressed the wrong button and water started squirting out of the toilet up on the wall. You warned me!
Going through customs was a trip. First I had to go through immigration to get my passport checked. The guy was trying to explain to me how to go to the courthouse and get the alien registration form and all but he had limited English. I passed there and went to get my bags. I probably looked like Miley trying to drag that huge Oboe around…except I had two! I finally got my bags and drug them over and got them on a cart. I went through the customs table and the man took pity on my and just waved me through without making me show him anything.
When I went through the customs door into the airport I was greeted by Matsayuki with a sign that read, “Amanda Lynn Daniel WELCOME!” It was fun. I took a picture of him holding the sign. We went to the train station and got our train tickets, then he had my luggage sent to the delivery service. We went to a coffee shop for some water. It was JUST like in the books that I’ve read. In the windows were plastic replicas of the food. The menus were picture menus. It was so cute! There is a lot of English everywhere too.
Every kept staring at me (again, just like in the books). They would look from Matsayuki to me. Maybe they thought I was a mail order bride or something. Haha We got on the train next. It is so cool! We are going super fast over water. It is really dark outside but all of the big buildings are lit up. From a distance it looked like the New York skyline. When I got closer and actually went passed it, it looked like city blocks like Vegas with all of the buildings. The only difference is that the buildings are not silly looking theme buildings.
There is a ton of environmental print. I want to take more pictures so that I can add them to my pictures of Italy and London environmental print. We just passed a McDonald’s and it was so funny to see it written in symbols!
The train experience was interesting. The first train was not crowded. I was able to stretch out. The next ride was full of people. We were all jammed together. I had to use the restroom. I found it in the train car in front of mine and again, like in the books, there were three: gentlemen, Japanese style, and Western style. I opted for the Western one. That train ride was very hot but fast. When we got to the station Yoko was waiting for me. She pulled me off of the train like I was going to get sucked back in. When I was safely on the platform she hugged me and took me to the car. I am nervous about the train ticket system but I am sure I’ll get it down.
When we got in the car it was fun to ride one the “wrong side of the road.” I felt like I was in New York with all of the big signs that were all lit up. It looked like Time Square on Good Morning America! She laughed at that. She drove me out of downtown and showed me all of the sights on the way to her nursery school. The first thing she wanted me to do was email Mom! She was so worried that Mom would be worried so she was getting me to the computer as fast as she could! On the way she pointed out many grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, etc. I saw my apartment building. It looked just like the picture. When we got to the school we ran across the street to where Matsumi’s house is. His wife if Yoko’s older sister. She will be taking care of me with Yoko while I am in Japan. Yoko showed me her house too. It is within walking distance to school, a bike ride from my apartment-with streamers and bell Lindsey!! (about a 3 minute drive in the car).
The school was so cute! Of course it was dark so I couldn’t see much, but what I could see I loved. We went in and took our shoes off. I am used to this from Dima’s house so it was nothing new. J I was immediately sat at the computer to email home. It was hard to get the hand of the keyboard. It is a little different than ours and it has all of the Japanese characters on it so I was having to be careful when I was typing. My internet will be hooked up in one to two weeks at my apartment so until then I will just check it at the schools every day. Please write!
After that we went to my apartment. MAN, it’s tiny! It’s like living in the common room in Bruno! No, really, it’s like the downstairs at Turtle Creek (main room and little bathroom) with a shower room about twice the size of the closet and the kitchen is about twice the size of the bar. It is cute though!! All of my stuff was here in boxes waiting for me. Yoko stayed for a little while and showed me how to lock the doors, work the security system, work my cell phone (it looks like a blue Razor), etc. They had left me food (lots of fruits) and drinks in the fridge in case I was hungry.
After she left I wanted to take a shower but I needed my stuff so I had to unpack boxes to find it. That was a disaster because I made SUCH a mess in this little place. You know how I am about unpacking too. It was like a flashback to moving into the dorms. I immediately didn’t care about the shower anymore, I wanted everything unpacked and put away BUT I was exhausted. I ended up just making a mess and then Yoko called back and told me that she was coming back over because she forgot to show me how to work the hot water.
Everything is computerized here. It is great…IF you know the language. She was reading the symbols and I was trying to understand what it all meant. I finally just said that I though I understood because I was just too tired. If I had to take a cold shower then I would! I figured that Mandy could explain it to me tomorrow.
I went to bed around midnight here. It was like being back at St. Bernard…HOT with no air. I have air but it is not like at home. I turned on a fan and went to sleep AFTER I found some cards tucked in boxes and bags. Reading those got to me. I was so tired and missed everyone so much after traveling for a full 24 hours. I hated that I couldn’t pick up the phone and call and when I read those letters I realized that I’m here and y’all are there. I was worried that I made the wrong choice. I forced myself to read them though and those words of encouragement made me remember why I chose to do this. I have the greatest family and friends who offered the greatest amount of support. I finally went to bed (after eating the rest of Casey’s treats and hanging up all of my pictures of family and friends where I could see y’all!!!). Of course I didn’t sleep but 5 hours and I am still so tired but I did get a lot unpacked this morning. And the best part is that when I woke up and saw those cards I felt so much better about being here. I feel so confident in my decision and I am so excited to start this adventure.
When you come visit (because I know you ALL will), bring an air mattress. My bed it little and not like my Tempra-pedic!
By the way, you all will get a kick out of this, but Lindsey especially. I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I said that everything it electronic…well, even the toilet. I pressed the wrong button and water started squirting out of the toilet up on the wall. You warned me!
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