Day One, Blog One

Kyoto is a lot that I expected and a lot that I didn't expect. I've been here for less than twenty four hours, but I am already overwhelmed. Osaka, which is the city I flew into, was covered with lights. A lot of the billboards were just neon light upon neon light. I was just surprised by how busy the city seems to be. The streets reminded me of different racing games, and since most video games are made in Japan, I now see where they come from. My flight was long, and at times I thought it would never be over. I spent the larger part of 13 hours attempting to find a comfortable position, a task at which I didn't have very much success. I will add details in my next blog from the written journal entries I will transfer over to my electronic journal. Today has been long and exciting. First I will tell you a little about my accomodations and then about my journey around the city. The first part is mostly for people who might worry about my ability to be happy in my environment, the second is meant to be more entertaining. I am currently sleeping on a tatami mat on the floor, which has a fouton pad on it and is relatively comfortable. I have a small, low to the ground table next to my bed which will double as a night stand and a writing/computer table. The room I am staying in came with a bedframe, but I would much rather use it for a couch, so I am hoping to find pillows or a comforter to make the conversion complete. I have a closet-like thing built into the wall which is where I am storing my clothing as well as my luggage. There is a kitchen area which has one burner, a sink, two tiny shelves over the sink, and a refridgerator. There is not much counter space, so I may try to find an inexpensive piece of furniture to use as a countertop as well as extra storage space. The room came with a television, and I have heard that Japanese TV can be very interesting and a good way to study the language and get some insight into the culture. Apparently Sumo is very intersting to watch on TV. I have not figured out what to do with everything yet, but I imagine that I will be using the floor for books and other things that don't need containment. I have an incredible amount of space, but not a lot of organizational tools. I did not bring much, but although there is plenty of room for everything, I have a lot of things left on my bed searching for a place. The bathroom is down the hall from me and the shower is outside. It is coin operated, although I am not quite sure whether it is amounts of water or time that you pay for. I am looking forward to going to the Sento, which is a Japanese bath. The way you bathe in Japan is to wash off in a shower before you get into the bath. This means that the warm tub stays clean and can be used to relax in instead of getting dirty. Even the shower outside of my "dorm" has a place for relaxing in a bath after one's shower.

My journey today started this morning, when I woke up at about 6 A.M. with the sunrise. I am not sure it is because of the sun, because of the time change, or because Matt said that I would wake up at that time, but I was up early and watched the sun come up over the city of Kyoto. The view from my window is interesting. I live in a residential area, so it is necessary for one to look over the tops of buildings to see the mountains, but they are there. There is also a mountain on the other side of the building, but it is much closer and so I am not sure exactly how big it is. The couple down the hall from me cooked me a japanese dish that is made with flour, an egg, and cabbage,and everything else you want to use from your kitchen, although they supplemented it with tofu. This was the most appetizing tofu I've ever seen. It was fresh, and probably handmade. The landlady had given it to them as a gift. She seems like a very kind lady, although we have difficulty communicating. I do not speak any Japanese yet, but I will have a crash course starting very soon. Luckily I have had a lot of help from the other students here at the center. I think my favorite thing about the center so far has been the amount of interaction I have had with the other students. There are only going to be 19 or 20 of us here this semester, and with the size of our school there is a great community feeling. Right now I am sitting in the lounge with three of the other students. I have already been fed twice. Breakfast and desert. I haven't eaten a lot today, but I bought some items like cream cheese and bread that I will be able to manage surviving on. I have to run now, because I have a lot to get done and even more to see. I will soon post my recent journal entries.

On the Way

I think it’s quite possible that I have the best friends in the world. I cried when I listened to everyone wishing me luck and love on my journey. I couldn’t have asked for a better going-away gift. I still don’t think that the truth about this trip has hit me. I am nervous and can’t eat…mostly I really want to get there and meet the other people in the program. Right now we’re flying over a very frozen North Dakota. There are a lot of ridges and gully-like areas. I think I may have seen some crop circles too. : ) Every body of water I can see is very, very frozen.

We were delayed for a few hours in Chicago, but we got to taxi over a highway, which is kind of cool. I have always been fascinated by driving under trains or over other cars. On the way to Chicago I sat next to a nice older man. I was slightly disappointed with the company, but he was nice enough. I just love it when you get to meet really interesting people on the airplane. On the way to KIX (Kansai International Airport) I have been sitting next to a nice Japanese boy. We have had conversation difficulty, but he’s been very sweet. It looks like we’re flying up into Canada, which will be interesting. It’s -74oF outside right now, but with the sun reflecting off of the ice, you’d never guess. It is so white outside it looks unlivable. I may have to reconsider whether or not I want to go to school in the Northwest, or the Northern part of the middle states. It will be interesting to see what this all looks like in the summer on the way back.

There seem to be very few houses, but where there are houses, they are surrounded by trees. But mostly it is very, very flat land with a lot of trees planted in rows. Wow. I just saw my first town out here. Talk about a huge difference in population density. Whereas most of the state has houses very far away from each other, the city is a huge blob of activity, iron, and people down below. I can’t really see the people, but I am sure they are there. The cloud cover seems to be coming back…so perhaps I should nap while there’s nothing to look at.

Later, November 29, 2005 and into the 30th as we crossed the date line

Alaska was beautiful—mountain upon mountain covered with snow. Everything was so pristine. I am honestly not sure if I saw people living there or not. I was so fascinated by the landscape, so snowy, it looked as continuous as the ocean, extending out of view in every direction. I also saw a lot of craters. I was very fascinated by them. I wonder if they are extinct volcanoes or places where meteor rocks have fallen. I know those are probably both far fetched answers, but they were my first two guesses. As we headed out over ht Pacific, we flew over an ice field. Although the coast was unfrozen, a little ways out were huge sheets of ice. I could see where large pieces had cracked apart and where smaller sheets had smacked together, creating a ridge. It was almost as if I were looking at the continents and tectonic plates. The rest of the flight consisted over bad movies, me missing Bryan, and being uncomfortable. It got exciting again as we began our descent to Osaka. The mountains looked like black velvet patches scattered along the ground in the twilight, and the towns glowed down in the valleys between mountains. I had imagined it being just like that. Yet Osaka to Kyoto was a very different trip. My first impression: lights. All of the street signs we backlit and all of the billboard ads were neon. Flashing neon was everywhere. The city must thrive off of it. I was also startled by the overwhelming majority of Toyotas and new cars. I was maybe two cars made before 1990 all night. Also, they all had halogen bulbs. Strange, since everyone’s were the same, it wasn’t as blinding. Also, the highways reminded me of the dirt track in Mario Cart, without the dirt. There were huge tall barricades and everything was lit with yellowing lighting from above and sometimes yellow and purple lighting on the sides. The only people here tonight in the dorm with me are a couple. They seem very nice, although it’s a slightly awkward dynamic. It makes me miss Bryan ridiculously. I know I can’t let that hold me back. First step, however, is sleep. More tomorrow, I’m sure.