Welcome to Japan!
Trip Start
May 16, 2006
1
3
10
Trip End
Aug 26, 2006
Tome,
Japan
Friday, July 21, 2006
****
Konnichiwa (Hello/Good afternoon)...or rather, oyasumi nasai (good night), as I had written this journal entry at night and not the afternoon.
After a 13 hour flight, we the Southlake sister city student ambassadors and chaperones arrived around 1 PM. Then there was several hours of waiting and travelling to get from the Narita airport to the Tome city hall. Just some background info: Tome is conglomeration of several cities, including Toyoma (Southlake's original sister city)
a view of a room
. It's in the Miyagi district and is about an hour and a half (?) from Sendai.I can't say that Japan was exactly like what I pictured in my head since much of it is influenced by anime, dramas, and movies. For example, I imagined the train ride to be like the manga/anime/movie NANA about 2 girls with the same name who meet up on the train. The train looked similar to the one in the movie but bigger. On the other hand, it wasn't a very exciting experience. Anyway, I enjoy the overall atmosphere, minus the frantic rush at the train station. I had expected the sea of rushing people, but it was still overwhelming. So many people moving so quickly! However, I love how everything is so clean here and everyone is so polite and reserved. I'm already feeling bold in comparison, which could be a good or a bad thing. I still feel like this is a dream that I will wake-up from tomorrow and that once I wake, I'll be in Taiwan. Some of Japan, like the buildings and trains, resembles Taiwan, and some of it doesn't, like the cleanliness and the lack of mopeds.
I'm staying at a traditional Japanese house (i.e. one with tatami floors and sliding doors) in the country. The toilet is Western-style (i.e. you don't have to squat), but you have to use a hose to flush. Emi is the resident English speaker. There are 9 people in the household: Emi, her husband Noh, Noh's parents and grandparents, and the 3 children--Takemaru (8), Tsukuru (5), and Mizuki (2 months). It's quite a crowd, but our group of 14 teenagers and 2 adult chaperones are 10 times as loud...some more than others.
We were told that Japan was supposed to be hot and humid, but I'm actually feeling cold. I'm glad I brought a jacket. Anyway, I'm sleepy so ja ne! (see ya later)
