First Steps

The first time I set foot on Japanese soil, I was excited but exhausted; I ended up working much harder on luggage transport than necessary and making a complete fool of myself before I made it to my place & into bed.

This time, thankfully, was different.

I had the privilege of finding a new friend in my seatmate: Kohei, from a town near Tokyo, who had just finished his own study-abroad adventure.  We talked about Japanese dramas, sports and economic development for a good portion of the flight.  Between talking and enjoying said dramas from the plane's well-stocked movie collection, I only needed a few winks of sleep.

After the plane touched down, I prayed in the airport with seven friends & fellow interns, grateful to God that He finally allowed us to go--with no visa trouble this time!  (We're still waiting for the final member of our team, but confident that she'll join us very soon.)

A familiar staff face welcomed us to Japan and let me play a geography game on his iPad while heading to our apartments.  We took a minivan taxi, barely fitting all nine of us in the tinier seats, and I must compliment the driver on his superb Tetris skills--he managed to fit all of our bags and didn't even charge us extra!

After the ride and unloading, I used my Japanese to work out payment of our fare with the driver; we needed smaller bills in change so all of us could pay evenly.  Between the suddenly obvious time lag, general travel fatigue and long-unused vocabulary of payment I felt really tired.  The high humidity didn't help, but also didn't keep me from crashing asleep a few hours later.

Long, yes, but blessedly hassle-free.  Thank you, taxi driver.  Your efficiency and professionalism was wonderful.

Sneak preview: life in a palace

Putting Life Together

Packing isn’t fun for me.  In fact, it has historically been the most annoying and stress-inducing part of my international travels.  I have consequently developed the unhelpful habit of delaying it as much as possible and cramming it into the evening before departure.

This time, however, I was able to break with that unfortunate tradition.  From the beginning of the summer I made a small stack of essentials: Bible, passport, description of how best to bike to a good soba [buckwheat noodle] restaurant.  I then commenced packing my clothes, selected with an eye toward a cold Japanese winter and Euro-style Tokyo fashion tastes, on the Friday before my Monday morning departure.

My sister and I had much more fun than I imagined picking out several fun new wardrobe updates, and for the first time as a grown man I went beyond tolerating or shrugging my shoulders at the thought of trying on clothes.  Some of the styles were simply fun to laugh at together (salmon colored shorts…for men?) and others fit me surprisingly well.  Very glad I had an objective eye with me in the store—thanks, T.

I know that Tokyo boasts a lot of options, particularly with regard to books and entertainment, and so the only real essentials were: clothes that fit me (sadly rare); fewer than 5 English books (an exercise in self-restraint + a spur to reading more Japanese); and basic starting toiletries, which I could safely replenish once in country.

I was able to fit all these desired belongings into two large luggage containers, with my computer, books and two card games in my single carry-on.  Oh yeah, and my “special item” under new airport regulations: a fine, soft-case-protected ukulele!

Overall, I’m grateful that packing let me bond with my sister & family and was not a huge source of stress for anyone involved.  Rather, it will not only relieve some of my in-country needs before I feel them—no need to hunt around desperately for more long-sleeve shirts after the chill sets in—but also helped me get excited for life in Tokyo again.  The Lord has finally allowed me back, and I get to get ready for it.

My packing night’s theme song: the evocative “Ships on the Ocean Floor” by The Autumn Film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wONgIBYbA70)