I found this today. Â It is from last August…. Â I suppose I sent it out in an e-mail to people… but I might have just considered sending it out, and never actually did it. Â I have edited only the name of the town… just ’cause… you know, Japan. Â đ
…………………………………………………..
My dearest family (and my friends who are like family),
I write to you from my new home in T—, Japan. Â It is a small suburb of Tokyo, with a whopping (supposedly, anyway) 100,000 people. Â I am tasked with assisting English language teachers at two different high schools in the town, one of them an art school, with specialties in painting/drawing/arts of that sort and music, and the other school a sort of engineering-for-mechanics-esque school. Â My vagueness is purely due to the fact that no one seems to be able to explain to me about the schools. Â On that note, no one seems to be able to explain anything to me clearly. Â Guess thatâs why Iâm here in the first place – to help them with English, and to learn Japanese.
Going along with the lack of understanding point, I literally have no idea whatâs going on around me a good amount of the time.  I was sort of trapped in my apartment the night I moved into it – I had purchased a futon (Japanese version of  a mattress – not too sure if Iâm fond of it yet, âcause I miss my bed, but I think I can handle the futon alright) and toilet paper and towels, but thatâs it.  No one could give me a map of the area (and didnât think of it except for when I specifically asked for one); I didnât have a copy of my address; and I donât speak Japanese to be able to ask people for directions to get home if I went out and got lost.  Oh, and I had no phone or internet to look up where on earth to go without a paper map.
And, the best part: My predecessor told me that she had a lot of things she was giving me, so I wouldnât need to buy most things like a fridge, storage, dishes, âthat kind of stuff,â she said.  Way-to-be vague⌠đ  So I had to eat food from 7/11 until she delivered her stuff to me⌠three days later.  No way to cook anything, because she has the electric burner for me to use.  No way to keep anything cold, so I couldnât have fresh food of any kind for lunch at work (slash at all, since 7/11 isnât entirely in the category of âfresh foodâ).  No way to feel like Iâm not just possibly going to die (Yes, I realize the drama here.).
On top of it all, I was super stressed that I kept asking about going at least to get me a phone number, so that I could use the internet to function (map, translation, where to buy what, etc.), and they, unconcerned, mentioned that someone could take me some time next week âprobablyâ, but I had to know exactly what plan I wanted and from which company. Â Thanks, dude. Â And how exactly do you propose I figure out that information with no internet, no map of the town, and no Japanese skills?
How did I solve the problem? Â I went to meet another ALT (Assistant Language Teacher (Terminology for my program)) in Tokyo. Â Weâd become friends during the brief orientation in Tokyo earlier in the week, and she was up for helping my get a phone, so I didnât have to stand in the 7/11 parking lot for super slow, choppy internet anymore (which Iâd only discovered the night before). Â Plus, I just needed some love.(1)
So I spent the day in Tokyo. Â After two hours in the phone store, and using a translator (real person) on the phone, I had a new phone and a decent phone plan for the next two years. Â We then went to Starbucks for a break and free wifi (for my friend to use), and we each caught up on all of our e-mails, messages, etc. from a million different people.
We then walked around a bit, and visited the Tokyo Tower area.  I had this realization as we passed one part of a temple there, that still hasnât fully hit me.  Back home (USA), we have houses, etc., designed to look like traditional Japanese architecture, yes?  When I was looking at the temple building, my background, passive thought was the same as when I see such styles back home⌠and then I realized that this building is not made to âlook like those buildings in Japan.â  This building IS âthose buildings in Japan.â  Itâs still sinking in.
(1) I can note here that Iâd actually gone down to Tokyo that Friday night, just after discovering that I had internet in the 7/11 parking lot, which is down the street from my apartment (so I was able to find it without getting lost or anything – FYI streets donât exactly have names here). Â I was absolutely ready to cry from the stress of sitting around, waiting for people to take forever to accomplish tasks – unfortunately, my supervisor has never done this sort of thing before, so she had to have everything explained to her multiple times – and not knowing how I was even going to get dinner (I only found the 7/11 that night).
A friend who already had a phone (because he speaks Japanese, and so figured it out while weâd all been at orientation), happened to be in Tokyo for a festival with a coworker and the coworkerâs friend, and invited me to come down for the evening. Â So, I managed to access train schedules (just barely with the internet connection there), screen shotted them, and set up a rescue plan, should things not work out (i.e. I knew 7/11 had internet, so Iâd go find any 7/11, and the friend would come find me there), before rushing off to Tokyo.
I walked right into my friend when I arrived in Tokyo, and was given a nice, big hug. Â Hugs are really one of the best medicines. Â We watched the tail end of the festival (very cool with dancing performances and drums and bells all along this long street), and then all went to dinner. Â Turns out I only live a town over from the coworkerâs friend, and she and I decided to be friends. Â (Weâve been in touch ever since.)
………………………………………………..
Post-a-day 2018