An Unintended Absence

So, because in Japan they take a month to hook up internet/home phone service and because at my school, there are way too strict blocks on internet access, and because all internet cafes I visit in this country are equipped with the dreaded Japanese keyboard, I have been unable to update the blog lately.

I have been on many whirlwind adventures since my last post and I have so much to say about them. I'll be updating quite frequently, from my first touchdown in Tokyo to my flight to Hokkaido to my first day at school. It's gonna be a sweet tale!

In Hokkaido

Woke up early on the last day, got dressed, had breakfast, checked out, and got on the bus back to Narita. Had my first Japanese Coca Cola at the airport and the results were good. Tastes good, if not better than American Coke which is more than I can say for ANY of the European Coke I’ve tasted.

The plane ride to Hokkaido was short, about an hour or so. The wait to get luggage and meet our welcome party took forever, but finally I was introduced to Mr. Oi (supervisor) and Kyoto sensei (vice principal). They drove me directly from the airport to the school where I met much of the office staff. I have heard of people having to meet the town mayor or something ridiculous like that after stepping off the plane, so I feel a bit lucky to only have met 5 people. My shipped luggage was waiting for me at the school. When we got to my apartment a whole bevy of school workers (teachers, office staff) was there to move all of my furniture and stuff into the places I wanted them as well as put my bed together.








The apartment is pretty sweet for only 13,900 yen a month. I have three tatami bedrooms, kitchen, living room, shower, toilet, large foyer. I only use like 1/3 of the apartment. I have also received many electronic goods that I didn’t have to pay for (see earlier post).

In Tokyo

Arrival in Tokyo. Very tired. Very dirty. It’s amazing how grimy you can get just by sitting in a seat on a plane. I think the flight was about 15 hours though I may be exaggerating. I sat next to another JET and a Japanese businessman who lives in America. He was very chatty and I was glad because the flight was boring – even with a Nintendo DS and my Archos player.

NEVER EVER fly Northwest Airlines if you can help it. While the flight attendants were great, the plane was horribly cramped, the food was poor (but plentiful) and the amenities were nearly non-existent.

After getting to Narita airport, we had to go through customs which didn’t take very long. Turns out they didn’t give a crap about my bee sting medications or my prescription ibuprofen. So much for all that hassle from before.

We then shipped the majority of our bags to our homes as soon as we got out of the airport then got on a chartered bus and headed to Keio Plaza Hotel. Here I am now, tired as crap. Our handlers at CLAIR keep handing us more things – books, bags, tickets, papers…too much stuff.

No duh, everything is in Japanese (which I can’t read) but I am surprisingly not worried about it. What’s wrong with being illiterate?

I fall asleep on the way to Keio which is 1 1/2 hours away.

Keio turns out to be very, very swanky.

My first impressions of Japan: bright, foreign, busy. All in that order.

New hair color...

...for Japan!

Lots More Information

Heard even more information from my predecessor. I will not be moving into her apartment, but the new place will be furnished by her stuff. I kind of feel bad having to have them move all of her stuff to my place, but they (whoever 'they' are) seem to be very willing to do it. She even said it would be easier for me to take her stuff.

Granted, I haven't seen any of this stuff so it could all very well be crap, but I have requested pictures of the stuff she actually wants to sell me like her bed and a rice cooker. The rice cooker is only thirty bucks, so I'm not really worried about it, but her bed is 3 years old and she wants to sell it for $400.

From her description of the floor plan, the place sounds pretty big. 2 tatami rooms and a living room (which I assume also houses the kitchen) all totaling at about 94m (squared). I took a look at similar apartments available for rent in Tokyo and they are thousands of US dollars (hundreds of thousands of yen) per month! I feel lucky.

But not too lucky yet. I still haven't seen the "quality" of the place yet.

A Good, Long Time

Yup, it's been a good, long time since I updated this blog, but I have good reason.

1. I've been out of town almost every weekend except the one that just passed. Doing adventuresome things and hanging out with 1 very special and cool chick.

2. I had jury duty last week -- for the whole week (except Friday) in which I was picked for 2 serious criminal trials. (We found them both guilty). More about that later.

3. I had finals for 3 classes, two of which consisted of very in-depth, time-consuming projects. The remaining class was linear programming, of which I am unbelievably limited in my abilities.

So, all of that came to a head this week/weekend and I almost lost my mind, but now, it is finally over and I can focus on other things like learning Japanese, getting my luggage together, and writing.

I'll post on each of those earlier points separately.

Anyway, I have found out my exact placement finally and received my employment contract in the mail. Go Japan!

International Drivers License

Yesterday, went into the urgent care for the $40 paper transfer (see previous posts). Even the doctor I saw thought the idea was silly. But he certainly didn't hesitate to take my money and do no work for it. Sigh and double sigh.

I'm trying to figure out if I need to get my International Driver's License for the leap across the ocean. Apparently it's really easy to get if you already have a license, which doesn't make much sense to me. Driving rules and norms vary from country to country. What does having an American license have to do with my ability to drive on Japanese roads? They drive on the opposite side for one, not to mention that the road signs will probably be completely foreign to me. I'm sure there will be similarities such as the all-too-ubiquitous stop or yield sign, but still...

The cost is only around $15 and the cost of 2 new passport photos. What they do is translate your American driver's license information into something like 10 or 15 different languages. After using an international license in Japan for a year, you are required to register for a Japanese license.

I don't even know if I really need one. I'm planning on doing the whole bicycle/public transportation thing. But you never know what might come in handy.

Also, this morning I was awakened by Starr calling to tell me that a guy we graduated high school with was stabbed to death in his front yard at 2 AM. I don't even know what to think. I'm really tired of people I know dying violent deaths. What's the point? Sometimes I wonder, what's the point of anything anymore?

Welcome to JET

So, I have been accepted into the JET program. For those of you who don't know what it is, JET takes American citizens, usually young-fresh-out-of-college American citizens and gives them a job teaching English in Japan. The pay is better than an entry-level job. I applied to JET last year. The application process is long and difficult. I think it takes around six months from the time you turn in your application to the time you are even told you have the job.

Right now, I work at a television news station as a Marketing Producer. It's not EVEN what I want to do with my life, though there are probably people out there that think it's a dream job. It is a good, cushy job, but it's limiting. I work there so that I can afford to finish up graduate school. Now that grad school is almost complete, I don't have to be employed there. Since I'm not married, don't have a house or kids -- why not go to Japan for a year (or 2 or 3 or 4)?

This blog will chronicle my life there -- the people I meet -- the things I do. It is for my friends, my family, and anyone else who happens to stop by.

My name is T. F. McMichael. I'm smart, creative, Christian, and gay. I'm also really happy. We'll see how Japan changes my life, okay?