Well, here I am in Kyoto. It's 3:oo am here, and even though I'm exhausted, jet lag is keeping me restless and awake. Thankfully, I went to bed around nine, so I'm not completely running on empty.
I would be lying if I said my trip went smoothly. Okay, on paper it did; I made my connecting flight, went through customs without a hitch, retrieved all my luggage, and managed to fumble my way through getting to my taxi.
I left my family, Josh, and Arielle at the airport this morning. Leaving all of them behind was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I had to force myself to let go of Josh's hand, and I cried most of the way through security. Going through security, I accidentally left a set of headphones and a pack of gum in my pocket during the body scanner, so I got a pat down. Yaaay.
My flight to Seattle went okay, I put my ipod in and dozed most of the time. When I got to Seattle I ran to catch my connecting flight to Osaka. I'm pretty sure I was one out of maybe four non-Asian people on the plane. It was quite jarring.
The ten hour plane ride to Osaka was pretty miserable. I forced myself to eat and drink, even though I felt like I was going to be violently ill most of the ride. (I probably would've felt better if I'd thrown up, but I didn't want to vomit on the plane and draw attention to myself.) I was tired, I couldn't get comfortable, and I felt pretty depressed. Most of the day the recurring thought that came into my mind was, "Did I just make a huge mistake? I want to go home."
(I am still SO grateful that if I happen to not adjust well, my parents promised to get me home at the end of the semester. Or whenever I seem miserable enough to rescue.)
After the plane landed, I had to go through customs. It took nearly and hour, and the room everyone was in had no air conditioning. I felt like I was going to pass out. Thankfully, once I got through the line, the process was very quick and everyone who worked at the airport was very kind to me. It probably helped that I had a lost/ill/terrified expression on my face. After fumbling around with my luggage cart (the man who helped me get my luggage off the conveyor belt neglected to tell me to push down on the handle to release the brake) and getting lost several times while searching for the taxi service, I got on the airport taxi and made my way to Kyoto.
I sat up front, which thankfully prevented me from getting any more motion sick than I already was. The taxi driver was also very kind, even though he spoke hardly any English and I spoke hardly any Japanese, we communicated well. It took about two hours to make it to the international house. When I arrived, the house managers and one of the 'house buddies' greeted me. They got me up to my room, had me fill out a form, and the house buddy showed me around. Mrs. Yoshida, one of the house managers, gave me some iced tea, apple juice, and cake because I looked so tired.
I was so exhausted and disoriented that all my Japanese was pretty much shot to hell. Honestly though, how much I thought I'd taken was nothing. The people at the house dumbed down their Japanese for me a tad, and I could understand most of what they were getting at. Speaking back was another matter. But, I'm here to learn, and I did not pretend my Japanese was better than it is; everyone is very friendly and obliging; things will improve with time, and there's no reason to set the bar too high and end up struggling later.
I'm a little nervous about meeting people at the International House; most of the students here are Korean or Chinese, and most of them seem to know much more Japanese than I do. Hopefully when orientation or class starts, I'll find a few people who are in the same boat that I can connect with.
Here are some things that I've observed about Japan so far:
People are MUCH more polite drivers there than in Memphis. There are tons of bikers and pedestrians, so everyone is very careful around them. However, traffic is still pretty heavy; despite that, everyone drives within the speed limit, and when passing through narrow streets everyone is polite and takes turns pulling to the side to let others pass.
Japanese cars have an AMAZING turning radius. >_>
Most of the buildings are not that attractive, aside from the more traditional styled houses. The streets are very narrow. However, everything is kept very tidy and I did not see a single piece of litter.
A lot of the signs are very big, bright, and colorful. Quite a change from living in Germantown.
So...that's all I have to say for now. I'm very homesick and very lonely. I hope that changes as time passes. I miss my bed, my cat, my neighborhood, my family, my friends, and Josh. As soon as I got situated in my room and hooked up the internet, I called Josh. Seeing his face and hearing his voice is such a comfort to me, but I long to just be able to hug him or hold his hand. No matter how wonderful of a time I end up having here, I'm still counting down the days to when I'll be reunited with all of the people I love.
hugs
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