May 23, 2003

I feel like my head is underwater. My fellow teachers and I hit the local pub to celebrate our last day of training. Sake, beer, and plum wine, dancing in my head. It was a good time, but this morning does not feel great. I need to get my butt to Shinjuku to start exchanging my travelers checks. So far, my budget is working and I've been living quite nicely. There are a lot of cheap places to eat if you look for them. I really enjoy going to the markets here to get my food. All of the markets are beautiful, the one nearest me has an amazing selection of fine meats, tempura'd thingies, sandwiches, and little bun things. There's also the Mister Donut right outside that serves coffee and my new favorite, the cruller object filled with chocolate and covered in yogurt. Hoo-ha! In the mornings I find myself eating all sorts of anti-breakfast foods. I'll get one of those big sushi triangles, or salad. I'm having too good a time trying everything, cereal for breakfast just doesn't cut it anymore, especially with all these options!

May 22, 2003
I finished my training, but I still feel like I need more. Our trainer was very nice and assured us that even he is still learning new techniques. I think I'm going to really enjoy this, contrary to what many websites and individuals claim, this job is pretty fun. I've met so many nice people, from Australia, The U.K., New Zealand, Scotland, and Ireland! Everyone has been so kind to me, I'm learning so much about these other countries, and obviously, Japan.

May 18, 2003

Harajuku and Shibuya. Today I take the JR line and start my adventure in Harajuku. Today is Sunday, apparently the perfect day for such an outting. In Harajuku, on Sundays, all the punks, goth kids, and costumed folk come out to play. I walked out of the station, and was immediately greeted by a swarm of youths. It was an amazing day. I decided to try everything. I had a crepe thing rolled up with bananas and icecream(it seemed to be super popular, everyone was easting those things). I checked out all of the shops, and had a great time. I bought nothing, only looked. There's no way I'm going to fit into a size extra small. After spending most of the day there, I jumped back on the JR, and was off to Shibuya. When I got to Shibuya, I couldn't find my way out of the train station! I had to ask someone for directions. Once out, it was just a sensory overload. I made my way through the crowd towards this massive anime shop. Floors underground, this place contained a massive collection of anime and action figures. I could spend days in there. I wasn't allowed to take photos in there, so you only get to see the entrance. I want to write more, but tomorrow is my first day on the job.

May 16, 2003

I woke up earlier than I expected, and walked to the city hall to get my gaijin card. After I completed that task, I decided it was as good a day as any to get myself to Shinjuku and get intentionally lost. I love losing myself in new places, it's not hard for me, I barely have any sense of direction as it is. So here's my tale of Shinjuku, and Chofu. I jump on the Keio, riding towards Shinjuku station, and having little clue which stop to look for, I ask a student whether we're close to Shinjuku or not. He gets excited and points out the window, "Shinjuku!" Shinjuku!" The doors open, he keeps pointing, and I get off. I should have known better, I got off at Chofu, not Shinjuku. Chofu was nice though, what clued me in to realizing it wasn't Shinjuku was it's size, not even a fraction the size of Shinjuku. I walked back to the Keio line and went another stop to Shinjuku. I felt pretty stupid, it's hard to miss Shinjuku, it's absolutely huge.

John, the first place I went to was this giant Apple store. Three floors of Apple hardware and software along with isles crazy miscelaneous stuff products. I stayed there for a while, drooling over the tiny new jet-black, 5 megapixel Sony camera. After I got my computer fix, I made my way down this massive main street loaded to the brim with people. It's incredible there. I'm so happy I have so much time to explore this place, I'm going to enjoy every minute of this. For those of you who know me well, there are little bakeries and pastry shops everywhere. You know what kind of danger that poses. I'll be signing up with the local gym in no time. I had dinner at a yakitori(?) place. It was decent, a beer and a plate of grilled pork for 800Yen, they even gave me some pickles. That place looked authentic in a skeezy way. There's a photo of it in the food gallery. I decided not to stay too late, as I did not want to go over my budget for the day. The ride home was nice and easy. I got to call a few of you with the phone card which was good. It's tough to make calls right now, as the only phone booth which accepts calling cards is by the firestation which is a ten minute walk(at 3:00AM for me mind you if you want me calling you at a decent time!). I'll have internet access soon. I plan to look for an internet cafe tomorrow, back in Shinjuku.

May 15th, 2003 (evening Tokyo, Japan)

I live in this beautiful place called Tama, it's quiet here, and the air smells great. I have two roomates, and they're pretty chill, one showed me around and took me to the local shopping center. There's a fairly large shopping center just a few blocks away with a big market and department store. The market was easily the nicest market I've ever been to. In fact, just about everything I've seen today has been the nicest I've ever encountered. Everything is very clean, EVERYTHING. The convenience stores were spotless, each with several employees working hard to keep it that way. Very few people speak English here, but it seems like many of them have a general understanding of what I say(my roomates insist that many people can speak English, but are too shy to do so). Everyone is very friendly. Moments after exiting my flight, I'm already having a conversation with someone. All of the store clerks are friendly and some even try hard to recommend things to me with what little English they know (at the convenience store, one fellow tried explaining the rice cakes to me, it was very helpful!). I'm still amazed that I'm actually here. I have never encountered ANYTHING like this before. My situation is ideal though. I was greeted with a new bed, a clean room(thanks to my roomates who kick ass), and a decent size living space. I'm about 30 minutes from Shinjuku, and the school I work for is only one stop away. So far, it's been wonderful.

May 15th, 2003 (2:35PM Tokyo, Japan)


I made it, and with the help of a very considerate Japanese woman, was able to figure out just what to do at the airport. So here I am, waiting for my train, the Narita Express, to take me to Shinjuku.

May 15th, 2003 (9:49AM Tokyo, Japan / 8:35PM your time)
Get me off this thing, my head feels like it's turning into a bowl of oatmeal. They keep playing movies, and even though you need headphones to listen, the video is distracting. I got hungry so I started fishing around in my pockets for food. Marta, I should have listened to you and brought a powerbar or two for the ride. I just ate an apple candy that I found in my pocket, I think it was old, it definately wasn't what my stomache was looking for. I've been walking around a bit, but obviously there's not much to see or people to visit on the airplane. I smell ramen noodles. I wonder if that's our lunch(?), or our dinner(?), or breakfast(?). I have no clue what meal we're on, it's been daylight the entire way, I'm guessing it's the evening for you guys on the East Coast.

May 15th, 2003 (7:25AM Tokyo, Japan)
My ass is definately asleep. I'm still on the flying boat, and the windows are all shut so we're not roasted by the sun. So far, I've managed to maintain my status as super geek throughout this trip. I worked on my website for a few hours, played gameboy, then took a few photos with my digital camera of my surroundings. It's a good thing I brought a book to read, I still have several hours to go and who knows how long these batteries will last me. They've been walking around offering us hot green tea. I've been enjoying the flask though, between the airline meals, thanks Ryan(ya, I was able to get it on, with what was left inside!)! This ride isn't as long and tedious as I thought it would be. In fact, we were told it would take only 13 hours to get to Japan, as opposed to the 15 hours my travel agency quoted me.

May 14th, 2003 (1:33PM U.S. East Coast time)

On the plane and I've already made my first round of ignorant mistakes. Lunch(?) consisted of soba noodles, lasagna, lemon pudding, and little side goodies. After eating the soba noodles as messily as possible(with a fork...), I realized chopsticks were hidden under the plate, along with soy sauce and some tasty looking garnish. Alas, my discovery arrived too late, for my cold noodle dish was finished. I need to pay more attention to airline food in the future, all sorts of things were hidden on my plate...

May 13th, 2003
I'm spending the day with my mother, as I promised her I'd take one day to help her at the elementary school(where she works) in my hometown. My flight leaves at 6:00AM this Wednesday from Logan in Boston. I'm more excited than nervous. I enjoy long plane rides, it gives me time to relax and think. My first challenge will be Narita airport. No one is meeting me there, so I have to figure out how to navigate the terminals, bullet train, and subway system on my own. Wish me luck!

May 12th, 2003
I spent the day with my friends, the greater portion with Ryan, traveling around the city finding a place to exchange my cash for yen. We decided that evening to enjoy a Bartleys burger as my going-away American meal. Man, I feel like I'll be carrying that burger for a while(what a heavy meal...)...

May 10th, 2003

Going away party photos will be uploaded soon. Yes, I got very drunk, yes, Erika pinned me down and drew a Captain Morgan mustache and goatee on my face. Georg and Andrew made excellent hotdogs, with grape jelly.