Carrying the Banner

arigato-san
Fuchu, Bubai(gawara)
Ego? Gagin. Hi!

Last train is first sleep
T-shirts with funny English
I too can create

my own language
a series of adventures
spun into words, here.

ps

...and by 'don't have it', I mean have it only once

Deep Thoughts...

A friend and I decided tonight that 11:11 is very zen. So it's too bad the Japanese don't have it - they have 23:11. But they do have 0:00, which is the next best thing.

Thoughts on Tokyo

When I first arrived I was very surprised because Tokyo – a world renowned city – had not made an impression on me. The area certainly felt foreign when I first arrived, but aside from surface details I couldn’t pinpoint the vibe. When I visited Shinjuku for the first time I started to understand what really makes Tokyo different. For starters, the lack of sidewalks makes everything feel more immediate, more intimate, and more cramped. You’re practically walking in the street with the cars, and you’re also walking right in front of shops whose doors you can’t see, whose goods are right there with you on the non-existent sidewalk. The buildings are small, but their verticality is very present. Even the short buildings, of which there are many, seem to have very present vertical elements. Shinjuku, which is what most people think of when they think Tokyo, has big buildings and bright lights, which was the Japan I was expecting, but it still didn’t make an impression on me – it was just what I was expecting.

I started wondering if the city failed to impress its character upon me because I couldn’t fully participate. Not only can I not understand Japanese, I can’t read it. I can’t sound it out. I can in no way, shape or form comprehend it. So when I walk around, I’m strictly observing. I cannot interact with people; I cannot process information; I cannot see or hear what every other person around me sees or hears. That creates a really isolated experience – it isolates me from other people, but also from what the city has to offer. It was a sobering idea, one I truly came to understand in Harujuku.

There are many joys to Harujuku – easily the best fashion or shopping district in the world. One reason is the sheer number of stores. There are so many options! You can find stores outfitting every trend or permutation of personal style. Another joy is the variety of stores – cheap fashion storefronts, thoughtful trendy boutiques, the ubiquitous American big box of fashion – the Gap, and the big players – Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dior, etc.

But, what I found to be the most compelling reason for Harujuku being the best shopping district in the world could also be the key to Tokyo’s character. Every corner offers a new surprise. And there are so many corners! The concept of a grid system essentially does not exist. One small street can split into two narrow streets. Some roads appear parallel and some curve as if they were rivers carving into a mountain. Streets split off into whatever size, at whatever interval, in whichever angle as there are geometrical possibilities. While quite maze-like, the upshot of this is that there is always something to discover! And Harujuku does not disappoint. But what makes these discoveries so cool is that they were relevant to me. It’s not as if I was walking and just looking at storefronts, I was discovering things relevant to me and my experience. How did I know they were relevant? I was able to process the information presented to me. I could read names, look at prices, see clothes. So it made me wonder – what if I understood the signs that I pass under every day? What if I felt like I could connect with at least one person? How much more would the city open itself up to me? I can tell there are secrets waiting to be discovered, I can see it when I look down the narrow lanes. I see it where there are no sidewalks. I see it in the paper lanterns hung across roofs on winding streets. I know Tokyo has secrets. Those secrets are the key to the city, and I want to uncover them.

Attack of the Show!

For my first and only Sunday off one of my roommates suggested that I visit a park near the Harujuku district. She said something about there being drums, lots of people and cool things going on so I decided to check it out. Either I forgot or my roommate just didn't mention, but Sunday is when the famed vibrantly dressed Harujuku girls gather, hang out, and are admired by passers-by both domestic and foreign. It was quite a sight to see - think Halloween on Franklin Street or at UW-Madison, times 100, minus all the fratasticity. So the equation looks something like this: Harujuku (Sunday) = H³ x 100 - frat boys. Minus H³ points if you have wrinkles. Bonus points for looking like a toy that will come alive and murder you in your sleep.

But that was only the beginning of the afternoon. There was an American film crew doing a segment for a G4 TV (network) show called Attack of the Show. At first I couldn’t help joining the small crowd (of mostly Japanese, actually) that had gathered to ogle the action. I mean, they were speaking English! American English! After watching for a couple of minutes I decided that I was losing some amount of dignity, so I moved on. I was gone for about 5 or 10 minutes when I thought to myself – Adelle, those people are American. They have TV cameras. You need to do SOMETHING! So I went back and trailed the group for a few minutes as they got different shots among the Harujuku girls. Finally, I scrounged up some courage and asked the nearest crew person – ‘Excuse me, is this for American TV?’ It was.

Apparently Attack of the Show is usually live, but they’re filming in Japan all week for a special segment. The guy I was talking to was keeping his eye on the script during filming, but we were able to chat between a few of the takes. I wasn’t sure if I should try to sell myself to him as someone who could be useful to the show or just as a fellow American awash in Japanese culture and yearning for compatriots fresh from the States. I went with the former. ‘(uh) Do you need any help with the filming or anything? I have some experience with fashion…’ Thankfully Jim (Tim? Pretty sure it was Jim) picked up on the latter and vaguely invited me out to go drinking with the group. ‘Do you have a mobile number?’ ‘(uh) No, do you have internet?’ Forgetting that I could potentially call him from a pay phone, I gave him my email address and left it at that. Well, that and a ‘(uh) I hope to hear from you soon!’

After that I walked a few meters and I was at the entrance to the Meiji Shrine, a very famous Japanese landmark. The Shrine itself was very impressive, just being in its presence almost gave me shivers. As I was walking away a group of Asian tourists came up to me with cameras, and I was quite happy to take their pictures in front of the Shrine. Except – that’s not what they wanted. They wanted to take pictures with me! So each individual in the group – about 4 or 5 people – came up one-by-one and stood next to me, facing the Shrine – while a friend took the picture!

I never made it to the park. The Harujuku girls, Attack of the Show, Shrine, and impromptu photo shoot were enough excitement for a few hours. Plus, the mist that formed in the early afternoon had progressively grown heavier and I was without an umbrella, so I went home.

Jetlagged...

It's almost 7am and I can't get back to sleep. Last night I was completely out of it by 9:30. I'm eating my Honey Nut Chex right now, and absolutely CRAVING chocolate milk. I could really go for some right now!!!

It is really interesting getting to know the other teachers. First, the Canadians really throw me for a loop. Except when they say out, about, or house, they look and sound exactly like Americans. When we're talking about not being Japanese (or something to that effect) I have to be careful to refer to us as North Americans or foreigners, although referring to the whole group as 'Americans' has slipped out once or twice.

It is also interesting to observe what we talk about. When a bunch of strangers are thrown together into a common experience, they inevitably find and hone in on a few experiences or pieces of information that are common among the group. For Nova teachers it seems to be traveling. I don't think this is the first time abroad for any of the teachers, and from what I can remember, most of the teachers speak a second language. I think a lot of people are used to being special in that respect - having experience living abroad or with foreign languages - so its interesting for that to be the common trait among us.

But there is also a balance in talking about that - or in anything that is a common experience. Especially when its something people are used to being special about them, there is a tendency to try to match people 1 for 1 in stories about the other countries they've seen, or to just keep talking about it, after we've all established that everybody here has visited other countries.

I'm excited to meet more teachers. I've met a few others who live in our building, and during orientation on Monday I'll meet a lot more. Yesterday both of my roommates had the day off, so we went out for dinner together in the evening. Earlier in the day the American roommate showed me and another new person in the building around the area, and helped us take care of our alien registration cards. Today (after I go back to sleep) I'm going to walk around the neighborhood a bit more and maybe even try to orient myself by getting lost. I also want to figure out the train system by trial and error, and figure out how long it will take to get to work.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

9/12, 12.43pm, Detroit (DTW)

Listening to Cat Stevens – Leaving on a Jet Plane… Japan is becoming much more real to me now. There is only one flight, one more leg, between me and my new life, new adventures in Japan. I’m excited, and nervous. I’m also kind of speechless… On to Tokyo!

This, my last day in America

9/12, 7:56am, RDU
(This is the last packing blog, I swear! But there is more too… read on)

I didn’t sleep last night. At first I thought I might get a couple of hours, but around 3:30 I was still going strong (thanks to two espresso shots in my Driade shake), and didn’t envision a nap happening before leaving the house at 6:15. That’s when I basically finished packing. As of last night I thought I would have to ship a small box by airmail in addition to paying an extra fee to pack two bags up to 70lbs but I worked some magic last night, and the result is NO box to send over airmail, one suitcase at 53lbs that I wasn’t charged for, and one suitcase at 60lbs that I was charged for.

At one point I went through the staging area (my sister’s room) like a tornado! I had my friends’ words of advice – or rather their leading questions of disbelief – in my ears. ‘Adelle, do you not think you’re going to buy stuff while you’re over there? You don’t need to bring all that stuff!’ ‘It’s taking you this long to pack? You need to get it together!’ I went through stacks of clothes, and if I didn’t love it at that moment it was out!

So now that this daunting task is over, I can focus on more exciting things… like the fact that I’m moving to Japan!? A lot of people keep asking me – are you excited? I must say, I’m not not excited, but I’m not excited either. Let’s just say, I’m easily distracted. For the past 6 months there have always been issues more immediate, more pressing… and certainly easier to wrap my mind around.

Like right now. I didn’t sleep last night, and I’m about to spend 15 hours in the air – 2 between RDU and Detroit, 3.5 hours on the ground, and then 13 hours straight from Detroit to Tokyo. I leave Raleigh at 9am Tuesday, and I arrive in Tokyo at 4:40pm on Wednesday. All this is to say, I wonder when I’ll get the next good night’s sleep. I’m not too broken up about arriving in Tokyo tired. I don’t think it matters how well rested a person is when arriving in a foreign country for the first time, its always a bit discombobulating. That’s a fun word. I hope my flight boards soon, I can’t wait to go to sleep!!!

Look at the Trees

I'm in the final 48 hours of life in the United States, in the Western hemisphere, in Western civilization! And I'm so not ready to go. Today was supposed to be the day that I got all my bags, and maybe a box packed. Out of 2 large bags, 1 small bag, and at least 1 box, there are 3 hours left in the day, and I have completed 1 suitcase. This is one of those days/things where you plug away steadily and at the end of the day you look bag and say, 'is that all that I've done?!' One of the hard things about this is the scope of the task - I have to include everything I use both in daily life, and when I'm traveling - which can be two different sets of items. The daily life aspect wouldn't be a problem if I could ship boxes at-will, but I'm basically limited to 125 pounds. Its amazing how quickly that fills up. And knowing it is enough to induce paralysis.

Also, the scale of the task makes it hard to focus on; as I realized after talking with a friend today, I need to look at the trees and NOT the forest, which is counter to conventional wisdom (can't see the forest for the trees). So, I'm just going to look at the tree that I just tripped over. Next I'm going to look at the tree whose branch got stuck in my hair. After that I'll look at another tree. When I finally pass through all the trees, I'll look back and admire the forest.

Yeah, you lost me

Last night Laura and I rented Lost in Translation. I was really excited to watch it because every other person who hears I'm going to Japan tells me I should see it. Also, the whole thing was filmed in Japan/most in Tokyo so I was excited to see a little bit of where I'm going.

Well, I'm 0 for 2 in picking movies for Laura and I to watch (Aristocrats was NOT a success), because this movie was incredibly boring! At one point I thought to myself - do I want to fight to stay awake, or just let myself go? After an hour or so, I realized that the pace and direction of the movie probably wasn't going to change, and we turned it off. It was still really cool to see scenes of kareoke and flower arranging, because those are activities I've read about in books about Japanese culture.

In other news, I'm still not packed, and I'm leaving in 2 days... Time to git 'er done! ;)

Pack it up, pack it in

I always get really apprehensive about packing. Whether it's to move or just for a trip it always becomes a big deal. Packing to live in Japan for a year is certainly no exception! This is the hugest task yet - its somewhere between taking a long trip (like study abroad) and all-out moving. I don't get the benefit of a larger scale event (boxes upon boxes) like I would with moving, but I still have to fit a year's worth of stuff - at the very least conceptualize how much I'll need/want for a year - in the same amount of space that I would use to go away for 3 months. I'm going for 12. So I can check two 50lb bags and have a carry-on. Knowing that right there is enough to make my head swim, because I know it won't all fit! But that's ok... because I've resigned myself to the fact that I will have to ship boxes 2 months in advance of when I'll need them, and I'll need to take measures to make sure my items don't grow mold as they are shipped, literally, overseas. Even so, am I supposed to pack up a year's worth of clothes and whatever else I may need into boxes now? That's the logical conclusion, but it seems like such an extreme action. I'm imagining an empty closet, and a row of boxes all packed up and labeled: 'winter', 'spring', 'summer'; all ready to be shipped, with the dessicant inside and everything. That requires a lot of foresight though, to go through everything I own and cull all the items that I'll want in a given year.

This is all compounded by the fact that I am very attached to a lot of what I own. Every item - be it a sweater, bag, or pair of shoes, has a specific function. I can look at something and know under what circumstance, what kind of day, I would wear it. The problem this creates is twofold: I don't know what circumstances I'll encounter in life in Tokyo. I look at a bag and I picture the situation in which I'm carrying it. I can't picture any situations in Japan, so how do I know what to bring? This is not just a new country - its a new lifestyle. This is my first time not being a full time student, and I have no clue what that is like. Second, when each bag has a specific assignment it's hard to imagine it doing something else. Sure, instead of bringing 10 different bags with 10 different uses, I could probably take only 4... but that means that some situations won't be accounted for. Unless I reassign uses, which is something I know is logical, but still somehow doesn't make 100% sense to me. Why would I use this bag for a,b,and c when I have other bags for b and c?

I was telling all of this to a friend on the phone tonight, and he suggested that I just take favorites - advice I'm going to try to follow. I do have a lot of favorites... but its a good way to try to be decisive. It's kind of like how I shop. Is something calling to me? Yes, ok then we're going home together. No? Well then, you're cute but thats not good enough. On the flip side, most of what I own has spoken to me; maybe now some things will be shouting louder than others.

In an attempt to counter the confusion that tends to materialize when there is a suitcase in my presence, I donned my halloween hat and one or two other festive items. If someone came to the door they would probably think I'm crazy, but they wouldn't know... red fedoras can cure a lot of ills.

i decided to revive my blog. yay!