Transitions and Food Missions

       I'm here, in Japan. I've been working toward this for 3 or 4 years and thinking about it for 15 more. I didn't feel anything was different even while on the plane. I didn't feel crazy nervous or excited, well a little excited, but not to the degree it made me feel excessive. It feels like I'm in a parallel universe, like some prankster entity pushed me into a world just beside my usual one. There's cars and buildings and things I am familiar with, but everything is shifted. Cars on the other side of the road, the writing and signs are different, but it feels similar enough that I can function. I'm here though and now it's time to share. Lots of pictures for ya's.

       I said goodbye to my family and the TSA agent even opened a little glass door so I could hug my Sister and her kids who had arrived just a few minutes late. Then I got on the plane and did a little crying and final messaging. Got to my second flight a couple hours later. Called my grandparents and got a sandwich. The airport and roads seemed pretty empty, people who don't need to travel seem to be staying in for the Covid-19. Well I've done all these first parts before, the travel and the saying goodbye for a while and the packing, but here is where new stuff started happening. I took a snapshot of the plane and noted that of the 80 or so passengers there were about 10 who didn't appear Japanese or Asian. I'd forgotten that feeling, of not having everyone else around you look like you. I had fun taking pictures of stuff on the plane for any kids who have never been on one and were curious. I'll throw those up now and then move onto all the adventures I got into after landing.

(The beast bringing me halfway around the world.)

(Plane ole waiting)

(Plane can probably hold 300 people. There were around 60.)

(The Course)

(Manhattan Skyline)

(Sports Bowl?)

(Apparently we flew over lake Ontario. This is the Canadian side.)

(Filling out customs forms and having some green tea.)

(I wanted the kids to know I was moving 565mph. Forgot to include altitude but it was at 40,000feet for some of the flight.)

(Always wanted to go to Alaska. It was cloudy so I couldn't see it though.)

(Little bit o' plane breakfast)

Watched movies and shows during the flight including; the last half of frozen 2, John Wick chapter 2,  some Rick and Morty episodes, an episode of chopped, a short show about Japan's northern island Hokaido, and Shazam, and The Dead Don't Die. Couldn't sleep, not from excitement but I have a hard time falling asleep unless comfortable.

       So I see the land for the first time and then it starts to feel real. I can see buildings and trees and it feels different from what I know, but I feel like the 'change' finally happened. I'm somewhere different doing different things. I filled in my customs sheet saying I didn't bring any swords (sadly) and headed to the money exchange counter. I picked up a free tiny origami crane at the exchange counter. Immediately after that a news camera and two people asked if I would do an interview. I didn't have any timeline other than being tired and GOSH DARNIT I CAME FOR ADVENTURE! so I said certainly. They asked what I was doing here and I said I came to teach English. Then they asked why I chose Japan. If you remember the paragraphs I wrote about why I came here you'll know there's no quick answer. So I said tea. And then..... then they asked me tons of questions about kinds of teas and stuff. Now, I had slept 4 hours before leaving, and couldn't sleep on the plane, so I've been awake like 22 hours. I answered as I could and let them know I was tired but did talk for a good 5 or so minutes. The interviewer understood English fairly well but there was also a woman with him who translated longer questions.  I had fun with it.

(This was probably 2 minutes after I first saw land. This was when the "YOU ARE IN JAPAN" feeling finally started.)

       So after the interview I asked an information dude how to get to Sendai City. He directed me to a train ticket counter where the lady set me up with ticket. I went down into the train station and saw a guy eating some onigiri so figured I should eat some too. I picked one out based purely on the picture because I don't recognize the symbols yet. It was the first thing I paid for in Japanese currency and I hadn't looked at them before so had to figure out how to make 147 yen (about $1.30 US money) with coins. It was kinda fun. The dude that had eaten an onigiri earlier and I started chatting as the train pulled up. Sounded like he was in the military but had been quarantined. As he started getting on I asked how to find my seat and apparently it listed the train car you needed to be on as well, and we were standing in front of number 9.... mine was number 4. So I had to jog down with my 45 lbs of baggage to car 4. That train ride was pretty neat though, it was my first look at Japanese houses and trees and stuff up close. I enjoyed it and took a few snapshots. Then I transferred in the biggest train station in Tokyo to my bullet train. I managed that part all by myself (quite proud)! The train ride was fun. I started getting pretty thirsty so the second time the food trolley came through I asked for a water (IN JAPANESE!) Second thing I purchased and it was neat to use Japanese. Although I almost messed that up by nearly saying 'mizu o des ka' (is it water) rather than 'mizu o kudasai' (water please).  I was also fading because at this point I'd been awake a good 26 hours and had the 4 fitful hours of sleep prior. The train arrived at Sendai Station and all I needed to do was walk a block and a half to my hotel.

 (My first purchase with yen! Cooked fish inside. Tasted awesome.)

 (Snap out the window of part of Tokyo)

(Waiting for the bullet train to take me from Tokyo to Sendai city)

(My second purchase in Japan. I asked for it in Japanese too!)

(The money! $1 is about 107 yen. So I've just been knocking off the last two zero's to approximate value. The top bill is about $100 and then a 50 and some coins)

       I arrived at the hotel and checked in easily enough. Went up to my room on the 10th floor! My hometown has a building with 3 floors and we're in awe of its great height. I flicked all the lights on and off and nothing happened so I used my phone to use the bathroom and still couldn't figure out the lights, tossed around the idea of food, being very hungry, and decided to just sleep and sort out food later. I slept from about 8pm to about 4 am and then started writing people and sorting myself out. I'll upload a picture of how the lights actually work and some neat ones from the bathroom and then I'll probably go out and wander around the city for a while.

(The puzzle my tired brain could not solve last night so I just went to bed without ever turning on the lights. It doesn't actually turn the lights on and off but makes it so the other switches in the room work)

(Desk and dirty socks) 

 (The dense bed. Does the job though.)

 (The dreaded Japanese Bathroom)

 (I don't know what any of that means, how the hell you flush this thing?)

 (Oh, that. I literally looked at all the buttons and symbols trying to figure out how to flush it. It's the silver handle for this one)

(The sink can be switched over with that valve to be the shower output.)

(View out my 10th floor hotel window)

       So the music thing Pandora apparently doesn't work in this country, so I put on a chill youtube music station while sitting and writing with the window curtains pulled back. I had a nice breakfast of rice and some pickled beets and a pickled plum and egg, sausage, and some sauteed veggies. It was delicious. I'm excited to go out and find some ramen soup for lunch. It is March 23rd and I have very little to do until March 28th. I'll be out exploring and intermittently studying Japanese and preparing the 'introducing yourself' lesson that I'll repeat a bunch of times at my school/s. Thanks for reading everybody. I'm really happy to be here and to share.