Japan

I'm here at last! I actually landed in Japan on Wednesday, May 13, but I've been without internet for the past few days. For those of you who don't know, I'm in Japan for an internship with Sou Fujimoto Architects until July 25th. I'm pretty excited about this opportunity but the work conditions are pretty intense. According to the associate with whom I'm corresponding, I'll be working from 10am to midnight without pay and without fringe benefits. It's alright though because this guy has done some pretty cool stuff (check House N or Final Wooden House) and just to have the chance to be in his office is pretty exciting. And no, I don't speak Japanese.

On to my journey! Grab a snack. This is a long post.

Like I said, I arrived in Japan two days ago. I left at 5am on Tuesday for the airport and spent the time before my departure with my parents and The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. Nothing really exciting happened until I got to Dulles Airport in Washington where I got bumped up to business class (this is the second time this has happened, both times because of a ticket reading error). You know that feeling when a vending machine gives you two snickers for the price of one? That's pretty much where I was at. I got a nice seat staring at a blank wall (but with more legroom and proximity to the flight attendants' area) with an elderly couple to my left. Automatic seat adjustment, personal TV, table cloth! A taste of the high life to be sure, and it tastes like snickers.

I have to say it was incredibly fortunate I got that seat not only for myself but also the elderly couple who sat next to me. A few hours in, our flight attendant (whose name is Kobayashi by the way), asked us to fill out some forms. As I was finishing up , I heard Mandarin clashing with Japanese. I looked over to see the elderly couple listening blankly to attendant Kobayashi who was becoming increasingly anxious. Lucky for them, my Mandarin is at the level of an illiterate 2nd grader so I was able to translate between the two.

After landing, it took me a billion times longer than it should have to get to my uncle's house. The entire plane was quarantined when we touched down while people in biohazard suits (comforting) went around checking people's conditions (supposedly for symptoms of N1H1). This took about 1 hr. After I got my luggage, customs stopped me and asked questions regarding my 2.5 month tourism stay (it makes more sense in terms of visas and such). 30 min. I took N.EX (Narita Express) to Shibuya. 1 hr. I got off the train and waited for a train that I later realized stopped at a different platform in the same station. 30 min.

After reaching Oyamadai Station, I got a little lost while dragging my luggage around. Now, you need to understand that Oyamadai is a quiet, residential area. It's so peaceful at night that you can hear faint laughter from within homes, the rustle of people's clothes as they pass, and sometimes, I swear, the clouds moving overhead. I happened to destroy this harmony with the roar of my luggage. The Norse almost had it right. Thunder was Thor, but it wasn't a chariot. It was his checked luggage from Asgard.

After a self examination, I finally admitted I was lost. I apolegtically stopped a passing woman and said, "Sumimasen. Nihongo wakarimasen. Todoroki-wa doko?" I had asked flight attendant Kobayashi for some useful phrases, I just didn't realize I would need to use them so soon. The woman pointed to a map I had in my hand and asked, "Kore (this or here)?" Excited that she knew where I was going, I stupidly replied, "Si! uhh.. oui! Agh! Hai!" She just smiled, pointed down the road and said, "Walk straight."

I'm sorry to make you guys read so much; I promise to keep them shorter in the future. I start work on the 18th so keep watch for short little posts throughout next week. I haven't had much time to play around with all the settings.. just let me know if there's something I should change or you think I should add. Just fyi, my comments for my photos will be in French with an English translation. This is so when I go to France I won't have to cycle through every language I have learned ("Si! uhh.. oui! Agh! Hai!") before knowing which is the correct one. Feel free to correct me.


C'est ma salle dans la maison de mon oncle. J'ai eu de peur hier soir parce que je n'ai pas pu arreter de penser du cinema The Grudge . Il y a une scene d'horreur avec une salle comme ca. Apres des heures, Je me suis endormi en ecoutant un podcast de NPR.

This is my room at my Uncle's. I was a little freaked out because I couldn't stop thinking of The Grudge. There's a scary scene with a room just like mine. After a few hours, I fell asleep listening to NPR.