These past few days have been so busy! I am so lucky to have my Mom here to help me with everything. We have been going around getting "things" taken care of . . .
We flew from Detroit at 8:00 AM on Monday, Aug. 24. There were definitely tears shed at the airport, more on my end after I was out of sight, probably. Nevertheless, I had a mission. With a connecting flight in Chicago, the entire trip took way too long. We finally arrived at Narita Airport at 1:50 PM (Japan time) on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Unfortunately, I was stuck sitting next to an elderly gentleman who was quite the talker. He explained to me that he switched seats with another man so that man could sit next to his wife. That was really nice of him, but 15 minutes into the flight with non-stop chatter, I wished he hadn't switched seats.
Upon arriving at Narita Airport, Mom and I took the limousine bus into Yokohama City Air Terminal, which ended up being about an hour-and-a-half ride. That was where we were met by Kobayashi-san, an office worker from Ferris Girls' School, the school I will be working at. She greeted me with a name card and everything. :0) I felt pretty special. We took a taxi to my new apartment in the Green House, which took all of 15 minutes. Kobayashi-san called Nathan and Nozomi, the missionary couple who manages the Green House. They let us in and were able to make introductions as well. I received a set of keys, a brief explanation of the apartment and other things I need to know, and then Mom and I were on our way to the nearest grocery store.
I can't believe how helpful everyone is! Nathan and Nozomi, including their three sons, are so great! Nozomi was extremely thoughtful because she had juice, milk, and pastries in the fridge of my apartment for us to have for breakfast in the morning just in case we were too tired to go out that evening. Wow, talk about going out of your way! Nozomi walked with us to the grocery store to show us where it was. Nathan caught up to us to give me some more information about the apartment and life here in Yokohama.
Mom and I were exhausted that evening. We did go to the TINY grocery store as well as the 7-Eleven nearby to buy some things we needed, but all I really wanted to do was go to bed. Since we had to leave for the airport at 3 AM, I didn't go to bed that night. I watched movies and journaled during the plane ride to Japan. All in all, I went 48 hours without sleep. You can begin to understand how good a bed sounded.
I don't want to make this extremely long, so I will compose a "condensed version" of the next few days. We arrived on Tuesday, so on Wednesday, Mom and I met with Kobayashi-san so I could go to the city office and register as a new resident. Eventually I will receive the US's equivalent of an alien registration card. Right now I have to carry around a 8 x 11 certificate in my purse that I can't fold until I receive the other paperwork and card. Talk about annoying. I also opened a bank account at Bank of Yokohama. Eventually, Mom and I ended our day by shopping on Motomachi street, which is a tourist-attraction, shopping street that is VERY close to where I live. Unfortunately, though, this makes the grocery store on this street quite expensive.
On Thursday, I met the principal at Ferris, Tabei-sensei. What a nice man! I feel so comfortable being at this school knowing the excellent reputation it has and being able to meet the man-in-charge. I learned that I have a meeting with all the other English teachers on Monday. I'm so excited! Then school starts the very next day. After meeting Tabei-sensei, Mom and I went to Yokohama station for some more shopping. (Just a disclaimer: at this point, when I say shopping, I don't mean shopping for clothes, I mean shopping for necessities for my apartment. I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.) After another long day of walking everywhere, Mom and I crashed on the couches before finally making it to our beds.
Today (Friday), we went to Yokosuka Navy Base so I could go to Navy Federal Credit Union. Even though I'm in a foreign country and having LOTS OF FUN, I still have those nasty college tuition loans to pay. I am trying to figure out a way to bypass all the fees that are included with wiring money internationally to pay my loans. My only option is to make a friend on-base. It felt so nice to be on a military base again, and I realized how much I miss that lifestyle. Mom and I were both reminiscing.
Afterwards, we wet to AU (Japanese cellphone network) and I got a cellphone!! I may have made my first Japanese "friend" as well. Apparently I needed another person's phone number who is also subscribed to AU in order to start my own plan. Since I got here only a few days ago, I didn't have a number to give. The guy (whose name I later learned is Morita-san) looked concerned and was thinking of a way to help us. He explained that I really needed a number, otherwise I'd have to come back. I said I would wait until school started and ask some of the teachers if I could use their number as a sponsor. However, Morita-san offered his number as a sponsor. He said it's against the rules so it has to stay a secret, but he'd help me out. (By the way, this is all going on in Japanese and I understood the basic idea.) Once that was settled, he asked us to come back in an hour to program my phone and get it all set-up for me to use right away. Mom and I went to a coffee shop to sit and chit-chat, and once we got back, Morita-san helped me again. He said he programmed his cell phone number in my phone, explaining that he really wants to learn English. He offered to help me learn Japanese as well. :) What a good deal. Anyway...that's the story of my first, possible, Japanese "friend."
Tonight, Mom and I enjoyed a bottle of wine together as we sat and relaxed from another long day of walking almost everywhere. As of right now, she is asleep on the futon, and I am typing away.
And just to let everyone know, it's either the jet lag, or because Japan is know as "Land of the Rising Sun," but I've been waking up at 5:30 AM these past few days. I want to sleep in, but the sunshine in my room is way too bright. Sunrise is probably at 5AM!! Waking up early is NOT my usual self . . . perhaps its better this way?
