Piczo

Leaving America for Japan...

Aug 15---- Newark Airport... I couldn't believe that the day had finally arrived. Actually that's an understatement. For the past few weeks as I've been thinking about my exchange, well it's just... it still hadn't quite hit me yet that I was actually going to be an exchange student in Japan. For a whole year. That's 12 months. 365 days. 525,600 minutes. Am I ready for this? At 15, am I ready to step into the world and leave everything I know for an entire year? There is inly one good enough answer for this: HECK YES! So in the morning I did a little last minute stuff. Like downloading a report which I could have done from the time it was given to me in April. The sun had yet to touch the sky when we packed in the car. I sat in the back with nothing to say. We drove thru Verona and I took some mental pictures of the place I wouldn't see for a long time. The car ride was pretty silent. No one had anything to say whatsoever. At the airport, my mom yelled at me to smile so she could remember me on a happy note. It wans't that I was sad, I was just well, not really functioning. Like I said before, the whole thing still had not sunk into me yet. We checked in, which I thought would definitely cause problems, seeing as my suit case was like twice the required limit. But the check in lady was very kind. So we walked to security. I had to say goodbye to my parents at this point. Mom, Dad, and Shannon cried pretty hard. So did I. Dad wanted me to just go thru quick. I'd never seen my mom cry so hard in my life. My sister and my dad kind of hung back while my mom gave me a long hug and told me to go. I cried all the way thru security until some big fat lady gave me a good long stare, and said "Suck it up!". Boy do I love America! But at least I stoped crying. While I walked through the small Northwest domestic terminal I started to skip and think "This is it. What I've been waiting for." And it was true I was free. I bought a blueberry muffin and then got comfortble in the terminal. So comfortbale that I almost instantly fell asleep. I had 2 hours to kill. And when they finally called ny plane I awoke with a jolt. I couldn't help but laugh and smile when I said "Goodbye New Jersey!" Then I fell back asleep and somehow managed to get to Detroit in one piece. I got off the airplane and had to walk 2 miles thru the airport to get to the Northwest Japanese terminal. There I met up with 20 other America to Japan exchange students. I barely got to the terminal when a group dressed in the Rotary blazer came to meet me. They were all so friendly and I knew then and there that the plane ride was going to be a lot fo fun. I ended up sitting with a few of them including Mary Beth, who happens to be on Shikoku, Amanda, to Saitmama who is nearly fluent in Japanese, and sooo many others. We were all pretty excited when the plane started taking off. Actually when we finally got into the air we started screamed GOODBYE FOR A YEAR AMERICA! Out of the 20 or so exchangers on the flight, we were all happy and excited, even if the majority of us could speak about 2 words in Japanese. To make a long plane ride (13 hours to be exact) short I'll just say that it was a lot of fun. We flew over Canada and Alaska and saw snow (for the last time in a year!), and annoyed the Stewardesses..haha. Yes we got yelled at ALOT. I studied Japanese for about 3 hours. I guess I'll never lose this studious streak. Amanda helped me study a good amount. It's hard to describe how awesome the plane ride was. It seems like exchange students can just get along no matter where and why we come. It's probably no body but each other can understand what's going in our lives. When we finally arrived in Tokyo, we were all a little suprised at what we saw. Aug 16- Konnichiwa! Tokyo airport= more foreigners than Japanese people. Of the twenty or so exchange students on the flights only 6 had to stay the night at the Tokyu Haneda Hotel. It was really sad saying goodbye to all of our new friends. I mean sure we had all known each other for less than 24 hours. And yet... 24 hours of being nervous, excited, scared, but all with each other. I'm telling you... exchange students just *click* So after we went our separate ways with everyone, me, Mary Beth, and a a few others payed an enormous fee to get on to a 50 minutes bus ride to Haneda Airport and the hotel. The scary thing that most of would have had no clue what we were doing. Some of the students had someone their to pick them up and explain about the bus. As for me and Mary Beth. We had no idea. We may well have slept in Narita if it hadn't been for a lucky opportunity in flying with others students. I can't say I remember much about the bus ride. I feel asleep for the majority of it. But I do remember feeling really really overheated in the Tokyo sun, looking out the window and feeling disppointed at the fact that we could very well be in California. It just looked so much like that. When we arrived and I strained to pull my enormous bags thru a place where everyone is staring at you. I seriously mean everyone. The old men smoking on woodent benches, the little babies on their fathers shoulders, the kids in school uniforms. Everyone. And it wasn't a very suddle stare. I recall a little boy tugging his grandfathers sleeve and screaming "GAIJIN!"(the word for foreigner.) Walking thru the airport, we found the hotel. We checked into the most convenient and nice hotel ever. The hotel is located inside the airport. It's definitely not a cheap place, but it is very nice. We all walked in to pay and stuff and everyone (hotel staff) bowed to us. So we bowed back and then they got offended. Okay then. First encounter with Culture Shock. We headed up to our rooms and some people complained that they were hungry so we headed down to the airport. Pretty convenient, no?Again as we walked thru everyone stareed at us. Haneda is not like Tokyo in that there are more foreigners than Japanese. Here everyone is Japanese. SOme students picked up some nasty looking fish thing. I headed back to the room and took the nicest shower of my life. Then turned on the television. We started to watch some AWFUL soap opera. Basically think about the OC times about 100. I fell asleep annoyed with the tv. Again growing very nervous over the fact that the people I would meet tommorrow would probably have the power to change my life. Aug 17- Up at 5, I trudged to get dressed and pull by bags thru Haneda. I was really tired and growing very very uneasy about going to my final destination. Me and Mary Beth had flights close in time so we went into the terminal together. I got yelled at by the Japanese weight person for having such heavy bags. But she didnt charge me because I gave her one of my homemade pins. haha. For breakfast I tempted fate and ate my first Japanses meal. I pointed to the menu, not able to read it and asked for whatever I pointed to. And just my luck I got fried fish. I can deal with fried fish. It was actually good. At 8 we went our separate ways and I boarded the plane to Kochi. Being the only person who was not Japanese, I received alot of stares. The ride was pretty nerve wrecking actually. I was studying Japanese so hard because I had just learned I would probably have to do a speech. I was so scared to mess up with Rotary. I literally could have thrown up on the seat. I had no exchange students to comfort me. When the tiny plane arrived at this little airport in the boonies, I waited in the baggage claim for my bags. The airport was about the size of my high school. I noticed a rather large group of people outside but thought nothing of it. I hauled my bags out and was met by a loud AHHHH SHES HERE! Yurie basically jumped into my arms with one eye and was like "I love you I miss you You are here." The large crowd was all for me! I tried to bow to the Rotarians but I kinda messed that one up. My poor Japanese skills didnt help. Finally my host father Kenichi Masaki and his daughter Naoko rescued me from embarrassment. They speak English very well. Rotarians herded us into a room where I was forced to give a speech. But even though I had practiced for an hour prior, the words seemed to have disappeard. Luckily it was in Yurie translated my English speech and everyone seemed very please. After at least 50,000 pictures I got to meet Kako and another exchange student going to America. Kako will be in Madison, NJ next year and she was so nice. Her english was almost as bad as my Japanese so we basically resorted to good ol' Yurie. I was then given a cell phone (which blows the silly American razor phones out of the water.) Everyone was very content with me, I think... I hope. So we then headed out. I got in to the Masaki van with Naoko and we talked in English about movies and sports. She is going to university on Kobe to be a phamacist. She is 22 and very very kind. The only problem is that she speaks such good English . Masaki-san, or Captain Jack Sparrow (a big Johnny Depp fan), is very funny. He is one of those few Japanese people with a true sense of humor for sarcasm. thank god. He too speaks very good English. When we arrived in Kochi City, 30 minutes from the airport, we drove by Tosajoshi, my high school. Kochi is truly a small city. Nothing like New York City even though it is definitely bigger than my hometown of Verona. There is a trolly train car that runs straight thru the streets and traffic jams on most corners. And I may as well complain about the weather now. IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOT! And air condition is something that you don't usually find. I got lucky though. Right now over Kyuushu there is a wicked typhoon (kind of like a hurricane) that is making the weather rainey and even more brutal. The Masaki family pharmacy is located in the middle of the city, 10 minutes away from Tosajoshi. On the 3rd floor of the large building in the Masaki `mansion` or apartment. It is a clean large place that is very open and very japanese. I have my own room which is a huge room with windows overlooking the main street. The floor is wooden but my bed is located on a bamboo substance about 6 inches about the floor. The bed also had removable walls for sleep time. Mrs. Masaki was unable to make lunch so we headed next store to a Japanese restaurant. There I had my first true Japanese meal. To tell you the honest truth, I thought it was very good. There were noodles and rice and fried fish and this jelly vegetable thing. Sure I shunned the raw fish and the shrimp. But I was still pretty full after the meal. Naoko and Otoosan said that I was really good with chopsticks. YES! After the lunch, I went into my room and slept for about 3 hours. Until i got up and bowed to Obaasan and Ojiisan, who live at the Masaki apartment during the day. I finally got to meet Mrs. Masaki, who was working at the pharmacy all day, she is short sweet woman who speak absolutely no English. She cooked the family dinner and complimented my chop stick skills.Man I must be good! After dinner we went to a food market to pick me up a pair of my own chop sticks and my own rice bowl. We met up with Naokos cousin,Misa, who was so cute trying to communicate with me. We got to drive thru the city at night and I was impressed by the lights and the noise. Back at the apartment, we watched some tv and listened to rain pour down on Kochi. I of course was really tired and took a quick shower and then got into bed. I'll admit to the fact that I was tired from jetlag and overwhelmed from all the days activities that I got a little tad bit of yearning for home. Not so much homesickness but you know what I mean.