Arrival in Japan in 2015

So, Saturday morning, August 1st, I got on a plane to Tokyo. It was a long flight, and mostly not too bad. I got an aisle seat in the center back of a 747, to the right hand side of the central seating portion. I watched some tv shows, and I think I actually may have napped a bit, but I’m unsure. It’s really hard to remember whether or not you slept when you’re super sleepy. Then, Sunday afternoon, local time, I arrived at Tokyo Narita. I shipped a bag to Kagoshima and got on a long bus ride to the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. At least, I think that’s where it was. It didn’t really matter, in the end, because I didn’t leave the hotel the whole time I was there. After arriving, I ended up sharing a room with two other JETs. One was a pretty okay guy, and one was one of a mere two people I’d met at orientation that made me want to go on a murderous cackling rampage. He ended up being kind of alright, but I think a lot of that was just due to barely seeing him. That night, I think I probably scarfed down some food from the convenience store at the bottom of the hotel and passed out.
The next morning, Monday, we had a big breakfast and a bigger opening ceremony. It was all quite super fancy. Lots of additional meetings ensued. We were told all about how important we were, and how important what we were doing was, and all that stuff that’s been drilled into you rather thoroughly by this point in time. It probably would have/could have/should have been moving, but we were all jet lagged, and it was hot, and we were all in suits. For the most part, poorly tailored ones. Oh those poor bastards. Anyway, many meetings later, we finished with a nice dinner party. Drinking ensued, joyously. If memory serves, it was then that I ended up having the wonderful whiskey driven (though not too much whiskey, sadly) conversations with the trio of Kagoshima Brits I’d befriended. Lots of talk on science and philosophy (mostly the philosophy of science). Then, bed around 11? If that was in fact Monday. I think it was. The whole process seemed to take forever, and to have been over in an instant. It’s hard to explain. Sleep deprivation and its impact on time dilation. There’s a dissertation for you.
Tuesday we had a nice big breakfast, and then went to meetings all day where we learned about teaching for the most part. It was useless for the most part. Very little of it would have helped even if I didn’t have nearly four years English teaching behind me. Which I do have. So there. Anyway, we did have a few decent lessons, but they were after lunch and I don’t remember what was so effective. (On a side note, I need to remember to buy a red glove, and a pink glove with white fingers. A cool Japanese “Learn English” style show used them to show tongue placement, and I LOVE it!) Well, I then had to get my carry on and suitcase consolidated for the trip to Kagoshima. I could have shipped two bags, that had been my intent, but I was informed that it would likely take five days for them to reach Satsuma. So, I brought one. Had to pay for it on the plane because, of course, Japanese domestic flight baggage allowances are smaller than international ones. Still, the fee was not bad, all things considered. Well, having done this, I raced to make a meeting held by the embassy. It was just about useless as well. A lot of questions I’d googled the answer to years ago, and a lot of advice that was only useful if you’d not even skimmed your JET reading materials. Went back to the room, angry, and crashed.
As a side note, I should probably point out that by saying things like “crashing” or “went to bed”, I’m not really implying a lot of sleep happened. I’d fall asleep, go steadily for an hour or three then . . . just . . . not. Not the best of times, I assure you.
Wednesday, and I was up well before my already horribly early alarm. Showered, dressed, suited up (wore the same suit, with different shirts three days in a row), and got on the bus. Thankfully, we were on our way to Haneda airport, so we didn’t have an hour and a half drive. We got through everything nicely, and I sped through security and went to the gate. To find a mere three others there. Apparently the group had been told not to go through security post bag check, but we’d evidently missed that memo somehow. Well, we spent the next three quarters of an hour or so fretting and worrying horribly that we’d made some horrible mistake. Well, we hadn’t. It all worked out in the end. For once. Thank goodness.
After a long flight, we were met at the airport by Hirayama Sensei, holding a sign with Sam any my names (Sam is my coworker here, from Memphis Tennessee, also 29, with a degree in Japanese Psychology). He reminds me a bit of a kinder version of Aizawa Sensei from JCMU, but personality wise, they’re very different. Well, the scenery was beautiful. Sam said it looked like Hawaii. I don’t know as I’ve never been there, but the bright blue sky, the achingly white clouds, the green mountains, and the dragon flies beyond number seemed about right. Well, we went to a nearby buffet and had lunch. After that, we drove to Satsuma. We dropped our things off at our apartments, and then set about the bloody business of the day. Namely meeting the local VIPs. The Chairman of the Board of Education (possibly president, or superintendent, or something like that). The Mayor, and the Deputy Mayor. We have a picture with those two! Well, we also met our coworkers and got a little tour of the town.
Thursday was largely spent doing setup related errands. It all kind of blurs together in my mind, so I can’t really go into too much detail. Friday, though, we got our cars and cell phones and made the trip to Satsuma Sendai to change Sam’s money, so that comes to mind. Today, I’ve been taking it easy. Playing games for a bit, walking a bit, reading a bit, typing a bit, cleaning a bit, just doing a little bit of everything. It’s refreshing to have a relaxing day. I hope I get more soon. Though, only after I get to the fun part of all of this: Work.

Things I’ve learned in Japan so far:

1. Vices are hard to quit.
   So, I’ve vaped pretty much constantly for the last ten months. I decided to give it up partly because I should, partly because I should have the several times I decided to, but especially because it’s not possible in Japan. They just don’t have the stuff. Well, turns out that it’s harder than I’d thought. I don’t think it’s the nicotine, probably. A lot of it is just loving to have something to do while I do something else. I loved vaping while reading, vaping while gaming, vaping while everything. I see how people get to be compulsive eaters at the computer: it’s just better when you’re keeping yourself occupied.
   Cold turkey off of sleeping pills too, which is rough. They weren’t going to be allowed into the country, though. I think the jet lag is making their absence a bit less noticeable because my sleep schedule is just so messed up anyway.
   I also miss the occasional Xanax.

2. Life is still hard
   Being in Japan wasn’t going to fix everything. I knew that. Very consciously I knew that. Yet somehow, I still found myself annoyingly disappointed that I got here and suddenly I wasn’t perfect yet. I’m still battling with myself to clean. I still want to eat too much. I don’t want to exercise. I don’t want to write. I don’t want to do a lot of things. But, hey, guess what? I’ve got to. I think that with this realization, the blank slate I’ve got in Japan, and a yet-to-be-created support system, I should be okay. But, like I’ve often said: Japan won’t fix anything. I’ve got to. I just thought it’d be easier in Japan. And, you know, it is. But not because it’s Japan.

3. Actual life is hard
   Setting up utilities, negotiating a phone plan, setting up a bank account . . . all of this sounds super confusing in another language, and you’d think that I’d have realized that. However, in China, I always had fluent bilinguals to baby me. It was great! In Japan, I’m not so blessed. I understand what Jose said to me: there’s no need to study. You’re going to LIVE it. Well, I still think I need to study, but MAN . . . again, I realized that the language barrier would be a thing, and a difficult one. I was not prepared for what it would actually feel like in person. In China, I could always call for help. In Japan . . . my coworker’s Japanese is nominally better than mine. Actual life is hard.

And, finally, Japan hardship of the now:
My house is rapidly filling up with garbage because I can’t figure out how to use the complicated Japanese garbage system.