2.5 months in Japan

Welcome to my blog. Over the coming months, I am going to try and post pictures and thoughts here, so that you can pop in at any time and check out what I've been up two. It saves the whole group email business, which nobody likes anyway.

As the title suggests, I've now been in the land of the rising sun for 2 and a half months... so its time for a little relfection me thinks.

First off, arriving in Tokyo - it's just like in the films, a city of neon hustle and bustle, sky scapers as far as the eye can see, hot, humid and packed with people. Making friends with people you're never going to see again, exchanging email address' in vain. Conferences all day, hitting the streets of shinjuku at night. Karoke booths, bars, electronic shops and vending machines everywhere. Everybody is jetlagged, but the excitement of being in JAPAN keeps you going. That and the caffienated, nicotinated "harder than redbull " genki drinks available in the numerous vending machines.

Then, before you know it, bus load by bus load, you are wisked away to your little corner of the country which will be your home for the next year or so. A couple more days in another smaller hotel in your respective prefectural captial, and then you're finally shipped to your appartment by your English speaking (if you're lucky) supervisor.

After a week of being surrounded by hundreds of English speakers, you're suddenly all alone in your new appartment with no phone, no Japanese, and no mates. This is when it dawns on you that things might be a little trickier than you thought.

Next comes the highs and lows of everyday life. You don't have to start school for a month, so you've got time to settle in, check out your surroundings etc. This was a period of great amusement, as well as extreme frustration. For example, trying to do a simple thing like calling home from a pay phone turned into a 2 day mission. Finding the correct combination of phone card and phone box was not easy, and I came close to vandalising several phones.

On the flipside - the novelty of wandering round a supermarket is great! Just feasting your eyes on all the strange unidentifiable products, wondering what the hell they are, and realising that there really are a lot of different fish in the sea.

Some things get a little easier, with a phrase book as your new best friend, you go about your daily life with difficulty, and a lot slower than normal. Many things you'll never understand. Reading a magazine ain't gonna happen - but you can always look at the pictures.

Anyway - I will update this now and again, and put up any intresting photos for you perusal.

Enjoy.