Getting Started

I know, I know, I know, I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry. First I had to find an adapter for my computer since the the cord has three prongs and Japanese outlets only have two holes. And it turns out I have a TON of paperwork to do before I can even think about getting any kind of internet. And of course today is a national holiday so I'm writing to you from my host family's computer.

The morning I left for the airport was quite stressful. There was a thunderstorm and so my plane was delayed by about a little over an hour. In consequence I had to RUN to the international terminal once I got off the plane in San Francisco. I barely made the flight, but I wasn't the last one on. It was my first time on a 747, though. I didn't realize that they were double-decker planes. I was on the first floor. They showed us movies like Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, Georgia Rule (which was a really messed up movie), Ocean's Thirteen, and Surf's Up. They fed us a lot on that flight, so I didn't need to eat a whole lot at dinner.

The flight to San Francisco was about 3 hours long and the flight to Narita Airport was a little under 10 hours long. I was dozing off once I got on the 747, but as soon as we started to take off I woke up and didn't go back to sleep. My advice to anybody who takes that long of a flight+ get up and walk around AT LEAST once an hour. I got some minor cramps in my thighs from sitting so long. But we got to Tokyo a bit early, around 2:00 PM, 9/11 Japan time and about 12:00 AM, 9/11 Texas time. Customs was surprisingly breezy and there was a girl from the unversity there to "pick me up." In actuality she showed me where to exchange currency and then handed me a bus schedule.

It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I got on the bus with a guy that was going to the same university as myself, and who also was enrolled at UT. So we got on the bus and it took us to a hotel called Garden Narita. Once we got there, there was an administrator from the university program to give us a packet with our schedule and room key. Each of us had a roommate for the one night we stayed at the hotel. But my roommate didn't arrive when I did, so I went up to my room and the key card didn't work. Luckily a lady had helped me with my bags, so she went to get me a new key while I settled in. The beds were actually futons on bed frames. It was pretty comfy, though. And the window had shoji screens instead of curtains. Once I got in, I decided to call my parents since they told me they would wait up for me to call them once I arrived in Japan. So I spent 15 minutes talking to them (and they sounded pretty tired) and when we checked out I had to pay about $10 for that call. But the university paid for the room as well as dinner and breakfast at the hotel's buffet restaurant.

I met some people at dinner that are pretty cool. Apparently there are about 10 people who came frmo a certain university in Hawaii. So they tend to hang out together exclusively. However, I met this really nice guy who goes to school in Hawaii, but he's from Ohio; his name is Kyle. I also met another guy who is from Denmark. His English is really, really good and his Japanese isn't bad, either. He's half Danish, half Japanese and he looks like one of my cousins.

We had to bring our luggage down to a conference room for the university to arrange transportation at about 8:45 PM, 9/11 Japan time. So, by the time I got to sleep I had been awake for about 28 hours. I had set my alarm for the next morning, but I woke up before it went off, but I guess I'm just not used to getting more than 9 hours of sleep. So I went down to breakfast and ate with some of those people from Hawaii. Then I went upstairs to get my overnight bags and then we took a bus from the hotel to the university which took about 3 hours.

Once we got there we went through some orientation stuff. They fed us lunch and we went for more orientation stuff. Then it was time to go t our apartment or homestay, whatever we signed up for. I signed up for the homestay, so we were taken into another room and then we were told that our "parents" were in the next room. So everybody got really nervous and then they started calling us out one by one. Of course, I was the first to go. So I was led into a room full of Japanese homestay parents. One man in the front had two small kids with him. My host mom stood up and we were introduced in front of everybody.

So I've been living with them for a couple of days now. I'll update some more later on.