There's no place like home

After about 16 hours of travel and living through Thursday, June 29 twice....

I AM HOME!

Eva is sitting on my lap as I type this and Eli is trying to climb on the bed.

Daddy-san is pretty happy.

Sayonara

This is actually one of the first pictures I took in Japan, all of us waiting at Narita airport to board our busses. It seems like such a short time ago, but my life has changed dramatically since then! It will take me a long time to process all that I have experienced. Taking my first trip out of the country has been amazing! To visit a culture so different from ours only to find so many similarities... what an experience.
For now, I will just thank those of you who have been reading and sending me messages. Other than one phone call, this has been my "link" to home! I really appreciated all of the communication you sent by email and comments.
Tomorrow, I can "look forward" to all of that airport/airplane stuff. A lot of waiting and wishing I could stretch my legs and get comfortable! But at the end of it all is my family that I have missed so much!
I will continue to use this blog to help record my experiences as I move into the next phase of the JFMF experience, the follow-on plan. Now my task is to take my experiences and translate them into my classroom and my community. I think the biggest impact will just be in my personal worldview. The world has gotten much bigger, and yet much smaller to me all at the same time.
This will be my last blog post from Japan. Sayonara!

(I fly out about 24 hours from now. Then, due to all the time change weirdness. I will arrive in St. Louis two hours later.) 

.... the rest of the story

Tim-san did a much better job of recounting the last couple of days than I did. Plus, he tells the heart-rending tale of my Happy Cat tragedy. Read all about it at his blog.

Ka ra o ke!!!!

Yes, my friends, our return to the Akasaka Prince Hotel was heralded with a bit of Karaoke! (Make you you pronounce it the Japanese way: Kah-rah-oh-kay) Tim, Pam, Maria, and I rented our little karaoke room and sang our little hearts out. As you can see, the Happy Cats also got in on the action. There were maracas to shake and tambourines to jangle, and two microphones to share all in our own little private Karaoke paradise. Sadly, though, there was no "Sweet Caroline" on the playlist. They did, however, have a respectable listing of Tom Jones. A good time was had by all. Probably the most fun four sober Americans have ever had in that place! 

"Mt. Fuji so shy"

100_1143
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

This quote from our group coordinator, Moko-san, proved to be true. Mt. Fuji hid behind the clouds on the two days that we could have seen it. However, we did spend a lot of time driving up, down, and around some other mountains that were equally impressive. We also visited Lake Hakone, which you can view in the flickr photos.

These mountains, valleys, and lakes are all the result of Japan's volcanic past!

Room Service

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Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Shortly after we checked in, this lady appeared in our room to make me and Tim-san some hot green tea. Yummy!

Later, another young lady came in to make sure we had our yukatas. I tried mine on, and then she began talking very animatedly about "three L, three L" which I soon gathered was the size she wanted to go get me. She returned with it shortly.

Later, when I was dressed in my yukata, I passed her in the hall. She smiled, clapped and said "Awwww.... Buddha! Buddha!"

I'm not making this up.

Ready for our meal

100_1212
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Here's me and Pam-san about to... ummm.... enjoy our ryokan dinner. The yukatas were provided, and I think that the over-things are hapi coats? Not sure, I'll have to look it up. Anyway, we all looked pretty spiffy in them.

Pam and I were adventurous eaters together... I think we both surprised ourselves. But, as she and I have been saying: "It's a new adventure!"

(Brooke, notice the lights?)

PS - Hello to Pam's family if you're still reading the blog!

Under the Sea

100_1252
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

I named this little guy "Sebastian" much to the amusement of my dinner-mates. He tasted a little bit like meaty popcorn. Can you believe I ate it?

(Sorry, Sebastian!)

Fear Factor: Tokyo

100_1261
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

I commented before this meal that I had not yet eaten anything in Japan that was raw. Well, I crossed that hurdle during the meal. One of my other rules was that I wouldn't eat anything that was looking at me. As you can see, Mr. Fish here was very life-like in appearance. I turned him over so he wouldn't see me trying him out. You can check my flickr photos for proof that I actually ate most of his mid-body.

Ryokan

100_1286
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

This picture was taken outside our ryokan, which is a Japanese hot spring resort. You know how in meditation they ask you to picture a serene place? Well I am all stocked up on my imagery now for the rest of my life. This place was incredible. I must say that I enjoyed the hot springs not once but THREE times. So relaxing.

Plus, the surroundings of this place were just incredible. We were in the mountains, which were draped in this hazy fog. So picturesque!

Prayer

100_1300
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Today I did something that I'd been wanting to do since my first temple visit: I left a prayer at a temple. I'm not even sure what these are called, but they are little decorative pieces of wood that people write their prayers and wishes on. Many are left by students hoping to do well on their entrace exams.

I liked the idea of leaving something behind here in Japan. So I purchased a plate and wrote my prayer: "Health and happiness for the Clubbs and Hildebrand families." I signed it "Peace from USA." I don't know how long they stay up, but I can only hope it stays for a long while.

My wonderful host family

My wonderful host family
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

I really couldn't have had a nicer homestay family. They were so good to me!

From left: Taichi (23), Hitoshi, Noriko, and Kana (19).

They were so generous and friendly. I'll never forget that wonderful experience of trying all that delicious Japanese food! You all would have been so proud of me. There was nothing that I didn't like, with the exception of the tofu. Some of the things I could have had second helpings of.

Today, Kana recommended that we eat at Mos Burger, since she found out that I am fond of burgers. It's her favorite chain in Japan. I had a delicious teriyaki buger. One of their combo options was a little fries & onion rings together. Why hasn't this caught on in the US?

Tokyo Bay was beautiful at night. Make sure you check out the photo of me with the mini-Statue of Liberty.

I really had a great time with them. Tomorrow we see an exhibition at the city hall and then we'll have a discussion with the PTA. Then it's off to Hakone and our visit to the ryokan. We'll stay overnight there for one last night as a small group. Then it's back to Tokyo where all 200 of us JFMFers will be convening again. Tuesday night we'll have some free time (which I'm sure will include much final souvenir shopping). I must do karaoke at some point before I leave! It will happen, people! (Hopefully they have Neil Diamond songs here... or maybe some Tom Jones, perhaps?)

I'm just sitting here basking in what an amazing experience it has been. It's truly a life-changing kind of thing, I think. My big goal is to try to "give back" now that I have been blessed with this gift from the people of Japan. I'm thinking an exchange student is definitely in our future some time, Brooke. What do you think?

It's going to be so hard not to be "Mr. Japan Expert" when I get home. I was discussing this with my host family. I have to remember not to make so many generalizations about things, since essentially I have only visited Tokyo and a suburb, and three schools. I haven't seen it all. But I have so many positive impressions of Japan. I'm just so grateful for the opporunity that I've had.

Precious sleep!

Wow. I guess I needed some rest. I slept until noon at my homestay! Luckily, the family slept in too so they weren:t just sitting around waking for me to wake up. I think they sort of take it easy on Sundays. More tonight. Love to all!

Homestay

My homestay has been great so far. It:s bedtime here and they had a full day planned for me. It started with lunch... salad and spaghetti followed by a cherry pie... very comforting and sweet of them! Then we drove into Tokyo to visit the Meiji temple. We had a dinner reservation at an awesome restaraunt... I got to try so many new things and there was only one that I didn:t like (tofu). Then we went down to the Tokyo Bay area, which was beautiful! I:m having a very good time. The only drawback is that I forgot to take my camera when we went out! They took some pictures with their camera phone though and will send them to me. OK, I:ll check in again tomorrow night when I get back to the hotel. Then Monday it:s off to the ryokan!

Junior High Visit / Final Phase

JH Show & Tell
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

We made our final school visit yesterday at the Junior High.

The day started with a welcome assembly and continued with classroom visits all day. I admire the way they just let 20 Americans just roam freely around their school. What a distraction we must be. We're a classroom management nightmare!

I enjoyed interacting with the kids, and gave out some more homemade Jackson postcards. My "homeroom" class that I started the day with and ate lunch with also made cards for me to take back. They are so cool!

Our visit was followed by an evening of exploring some new streets with Tim, Pam, and Maria. We had to laugh at how difficult it was to try to explain how Maria wanted french fries instead of a baked potato, but she eventually got her desire! Another trip to visit my new friend Mister Donut rounded out the evening.

I retired early, since I was pretty exhausted! I kept wondering why I was tired, but then realized that I'd walked around a school for 8 hours and then around Itabashi for 3 hours.

Now, we are entering the final phase of the trip. Today (Saturday) we check out of this hotel and spend the night with our host family. We'll return to this hotel for Sunday night, which we have free. Then on Monday, we leave here headed for our stay at the ryokan (hot springs resort). Our is in Hakone, which I've been told is in a valley near Mt. Fuji. Oh, how I am hoping to see Fuji-san! We stay there Monday night, and then it's back to the Prince hotel on Tuesday. Wednesday we have our final presentations and sayonara buffet. Thursday I fly out for San Francisco, and eventually.... home!

It's amazing how much we've fit into this time, but it does seem to have gone by quickly. I'm not going to think about how sad I will be to leave or how happy I will be to get home, because I might get emotional about both!

This might be my last post until Sunday night, since I probably won't blog at my host family's. So everybody take care and thanks so much for those comments and emails.

Lost in Translation

Oh, one other funny thing and then I'm going to bed:

At lunch, when I was talking to the young lady, I was showing her all of the things on the Jackson postcard. One of them is Rocky Holler and there's a picture of a trailer with hay because they do hay rides.

Now try to think about explaining "hay ride" to someone who doesn't speak much English. Gestures can't really help you there.

I asked Toshie, your interpreter, to come over and help.

When the translation was done, they girl spoke. Toshie translated her puzzled response back:

"This is fun for you?"

My Speech

Well, it turns out that I delivered my "speech" over the intercom this morning. On the one hand, that made me much less nervous. However, that would have been a really awesome photo op. I'm still really glad I got to do it. Here's what I ended up saying:

Students and staff of Kitazono High School:

On behalf of my fellow teachers, thank you for opening your school to us. Since arriving in your country nine days ago, we have been overwhelmed by the kindess and generosity shown to us.

We come here today and wish you peace and happiness on behalf of our families, our communities, and our country.

When we arrived in Itabashi, your mayor presented us with a gift of calligraphy which read, "Learning is a life long process." While we are in Japan, we hope to live up to this, larning as much as we can about your country and your culture. We are fascinated by things are large as your government and education system and as small as your supermarkets and pachinko parlors.

Today during our visit, we want you to feel free to talk to us. Ask us questions that you might have about the United States. We will do our best to teach you what we can. And as we interact with you today, observing your everyday activities at school, you will certainly be teaching us as well.

Today, we are all teachers. (Kiyowa menaga sensei des.)

Thank you very much.

Drama Club

Drama club kids
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

At the high school, there are many after school club activities that take place every day. I was amazed at how many of the kids participate, how long they stay, and how little they are supervised. I asked around until I found the drama club. They were so similar to my kids: some all "drama queeny" and some kind of shy and awkward but wanting to try. They started out with tounge twisters (very fun to listen to in Japanese... all Japanese sounds like that to me) and then moved on to some improvs. Here, they are basically playing "props." They just gathered up crap from the room and used it in a scene. After each scene and activity, they would kneel on the floor and receive comments from their colleagues in the audience. It was very cool to watch. Again, very universal. I watched them for probably an hour and there was never a teacher in the room. We were able to talk a little bit and when I told them they were "very funny" they acted like I had given them each a thousand bucks. So cute!

My lunch buddy

My lunch buddy
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

At Kitazono High School, the kids were much more reserved than at the Elementary in terms of how they dealt with us. They did not really seek us out. Instead, they sort of avoided us. But at lunch, we did manage to strike up some conversations.

The scrapbook that Brooke made for me helped a lot. This young lady though my kids were "so cuuuuuuute." Her other impression was "WOW! BIG house!" When I showed her the kids' rooms, she was also impressed that they got "own room." She was excited to tell me that she's going to see Mission Impossible on Sunday.

The instruction at the high school level was a bit more of what I expected to see: teacher the front of the room lecturing, with students in rows taking notes. The biggest difference between us and them is the class size! Some had as many as 40 students in one class, with the norm seeming to be about 36. Wow. Guess I shouldn't complain any more.

Postcards from Jackson

Worth the trip by itself
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Delivering the postcards made by students from Jackson to the kids at Kanazawa Elementary School was so much fun. They kids were just absolutely delighted and it was so touching to see them trying their best to read the cards and enjoy the pictures. But they all acted like they were precious material! They immediately began giving me presents back! Making that connection bewtween Jackson and Itabashi was so cool. Again and again, I am drawn more to our similarities than our differences. These kids are really no different from our kids. Same with the teachers and the education system. Sure, there might be some differences here or there, but the stereotype that we have of the Japanese and "how they do things" in their schools is just absolutely not true. Walking down the halls of their schools looks and sounds just like ours. It's really amazing.

My calligraphy lesson

My calligraphy lesson
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

I wasn't very good, but hey... you've gotta start somewhere.

Serving lunch in the classroom

Serving lunch in the classroom
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

In Japanese elementary schools, the cafeteria workers cook the food and then bring each classroom a cart with the food, dishes, and serving utensils... and then they promptly leave! The students then suit up and serve one another lunch. They did this with almost no prompting or supervision from the teacher. The amount of responsibility that the kids have and how well they carry out their tasks was very impressive. Lunch time was an absolute delight! After lunch, the kids all take care of their own dishes and then clean up the classroom, right down to getting on their hands and knees with little brooms to sweep. It was all very impressive.

Peace

Too cute
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

This is my first real "group photo" shot that I took of Japanese kids. You have to love the looks on each of their faces. They were wonderful kids, so full of energy and ready to try to talk to me. They all wanted to say "My name is _____. Nice to meet you." You could tell they had practiced so hard, just like I had practiced "Watashi wa Missouri no Bob Clubbs desu."

I wish we could give these kids a world of peace. They deserve it.

My favorite photo from Japan

One of my favorite photos from Japan
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

OK, I know this is really sad, but this is my favorite picture from Japan so far. It makes me laugh until I cry every time I see it. I was all excited to try Mister Donut, so Pam-san was kind enough to be my photographer. Well the exact instant the camera flashed, this lady came flying out of the Mister Donut and tried to duck down. The look of fear on her face is so priceless. She is trying with every ounce of her being to get out of the shot, but it is too late. Ahhhh, good times. Good times.

(If you have a fast connection, I believe it is worth the time to see the picture in its larger version.)

Seriously, though, it does illustrate how hard the Japanese try to be polite. They are wonderful that way.

My Japanese buddy

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Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Bobby-san

Sorry I didn't blog last night... I turned in around 9:30 and the computer was being really slow. So I just dumped all my photos into flickr and went to bed.

I'm just going to write a bit before I get ready this morning.

Our elementary school visit was yesterday. I must write in greater detail soon, but the experience was great. My favorite repeated experience was when the kids would sound out my name by reading the Japanese characters on my name tag: "Bah-bu.... Cruh-bu-zz."

Then there was the 4th grade class that I had lunch with in their classroom. They took such good care of me. There was one boy in particular at my table who took it upon himself to by my "helper." Shuhei made sure that I knew what was going on. They were all so cute.

We Americans spent a lot of time signing our autograph! It seemed like some of the kids were trying to "collect all 19!"

Well, I must go get ready for another day. Today's the high school visit, where I am to give the opening speech! Wish me luck!

Another night is over / Another day is dawning

Name that tune? Anyone? Anyone? That's right, it's "Memory" from Cats. You all get 50 points. Well done.

I see the comments starting to come in as you all start your day with a dose of my blog. Thanks! That makes me feel great. You might be saying "Wow, he has a lot of time on his hands tonight" or "Wow, he's up kind of late." The answer my friends: laundry. It is like the Impossible Dream or something. It washed up just fine but the dryers are taking FOR.EVER. Brooke, it's like the old days at the apartments in Macomb. Yeah, it's that bad. So I keep feeding them 100 yen and they just keep going. So I blog while I wait.

I am really overwhelmed at the end of this day. I have seen so many beautiful things, both physical and emotional. After all of our cool activities of the day, we had a meeting in the lobby of our hotel. A young Japanese woman was there dressed in a yukata, and I was suprised to see it was someone I recognized. Fellow Itabashi-ite Tetyana had befriended her before and during our flight. Tetyana was sitting next to her in the airport and asked to see her Japanese passport just to compare the appearance. While they were talking and Tetyana revealed that she would be visiting Itabashi, Katsue said that was her hometown! The two spent the free Saturday together having a great time.

Tonight, Katsue visited us. She lives in San Fransisco now, and she said she was impressed by how kind people are to her in America. She was also moved by her new friendship with Tetyana. So, to show her goodwill towards us and towards America, she gave every single one of us yukatas (for the ladies) and jinbei (for the men) as well as a bag full of candy and toys for children.

Every member of my group was deeply touched. We are simply amazed at the kindness and respect shown to us here in Japan. It will be impossible to leave here without being forever changed, both in our outlook toward the Japanese people and just in general, I think. It's really a life-altering experience. It'll probably take me a while to process all of this, and I'm beginning to be glad that I have all those hours of flight time on the way home just to reflect. (I say that now, wait until I get back on that plane.... It'll be a different story.)

I am so blessed, honored, and privileged to be on this trip. I thank everybody back home for supporting me and of course I thank all of those who are making it possible here in Japan.

I am running out of words to try to capture how I feel. One can only say "amazing, wonderful, beautiful, incredible, etc." so many times.

How much is that bansai in the window?

Me and the 10,000,000 Yen bansai
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

After visiting the temple and having lunch, we visiting the Itabashi Art Museum and the Itabashi History Museum. I was especially interested in the history museum, which focused on the artisans of Itabshi and their specialties. Paper lanterns, tortoise shell work, brushes, wood carving, and fabric dying are some of the trades that have been passed down from father to son through many generations. Examples of each were on display.

We were then served tea again at the history museum, this time on the tatami mat floor of a 150 year old house! It had the paper screen sliding doors and everything. It was 100% authentic!

We then visited the home/workplace of a family of bansai artists. There are three generations of artists practicing their remarkable craft here. I am pictured here with a bansai that is over 80 years old, and which would sell for 10,000,000 yen. That's roughly a hundred thousand dollars. Talk about impressive!

Devil's Tongue "Before"

Devil's Tongue "Before"
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

I am making up for years of picky eating on this trip. I'll try just about anything ethey put in front of me. (I'm even getting better at using chopsticks... I use them whenever they're offered.)

This particular dish is called Devil's Tongue and somehow is made of potato, except it had a consistency more like old jello or something.

Devil's Tongue "After"

Devil's Tongue "After"
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

How many words is a picture worth?

I'll not be eating that again.

Me and my "peeps"

Tea and cokies at the temple
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

This is Tim, Pam, and I enjoying our tea at the temple. These two are great, they are always cracking me up. I had to feature them here, since I'm usually somewhere within the vicinity of one, if not both, of these two.

Temple at Tokyo-Daibutsu Jyorenji

Temple at Tokyo-Daibutsu Jyorenji
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

The temples are absolutely magnificent. It's easy to understand why a few in my group (ahem, Tim and Pam) have become what I call "temple junkies." There is a really cool thing that you can do which is buy a temple book that is then signed in calligraphy by priests or monks at each temple. Each temple has its own unique design, and the design is also personalized with the date and something about you. I did buy a "one-sheet" version of this at the temple today, just because it was such a great experience.

After visiting deep inside this temple, we were invited to have tea and cookies in one of the rooms on the tatami mats (no shoes, please). The room has a gorgeous view, as you can see on the flickr site.

Tokyo-Daibutsu Jyorenji

Tokyo-Daibutsu Jyorenji
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

After an interesting discussion with the Superintendent of the Board of Education of Itabashi City, it was time for some sight-seeing! Our first sight was impressive indeed. Itabashi is home to the 3rd largest Buddha statue in Japan. The temple grounds were beautiful and filled with many wonderful statues, a pond, and then of course the temple itself. (I have many, many pictures in today's album, be sure to check!)

But since it was a very visual day, I'm going to let most of my pictures do the talking.

Tokyo Area Shaken by Magniture 4.8 Earthquake; No Tsunami Alert

June 20 (Bloomberg) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 jolted Tokyo and surrounding areas of eastern Japan at 6:47 this morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

No tsunami warning was issued.

The tremor was centered 80 kilometers (50 miles) underground in Chiba, east of Tokyo. It registered 3 on the Japanese agency's seismic intensity scale, the agency reported on its Web site.

(This is not a joke)

This would be right as I was brushing my teeth this morning in my tiny little bathroom compartment here in the hotel. Yep, I felt it. Yep, I was a little freaked out by it! A lot of folkls felt it, but some did not. I would just prefer that it be that LAST of its kind while I am here!

Host Family Members

Host Family Members
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

This is Hitoshi Kohiyama and his daughter Kana. Other members of my host family include Nohiko, his wife, and their son Taichi.

They were extremely nice and easy to talk to. One reason is that their English is flawless. They have spent a lot of time in the US. In fact, both Kana and Taichi attend universities in America. I'm pretty sure they've seen more of the US than I have.

I will spend Saturday afternoon and evening with them, as well as part of Sunday. I'm looking forward to it!

Comment replies

Ryan: Time has no meaning for me anymore. I have no idea what time it is at home, etc. I'm losing tack of what "Day" it is for my flickr pictures. I'm pretty sure it's Day Eight, but I could be wrong.

Dar: There is a little green guy on the billboards here that reminds me of Mr. Sparkle. I'm not sure what he advertises. I'll try to get a pic and ask my host family.

Amy: Hi, thanks for commenting.
Greg: Hi, even though you won't comment. :)

Deb: Thanks for the link, I'll check that. (I was told tonight that my speech will not be translated into Japanese for the HS students. I should just "speak slowly and clearly. I wonder what they'll make of my bootheel dialect?)

Krista: That beautiful clear umbrella is the only thing making me fit in with the Japanese. They all have them. I got mine at 7-11 because I failed to pack one.

Calligraphy from Mayor-san

Calligraphy from Mayor-san
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

It says, "When you learn, there is no end. Learning is a life-long process."

See below for details. Wow!

Itabashi Welcome

Mayor of Itabshi City and me
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

We have arrived in our host city of Itabashi. Our reception was incredible. We walked to the city hall for our "courtesy visit" with the Mayor of Itabashi, Teruo Ishizuka. When we arrived, the city staff was on the sidewalk and all inside the building, all lined up and applauding for us as we entered. It was overwhelming!

We visited with the mayor and city officials for about an hour, with a chance to ask questions. Then, at the conclusion of the meeting, we were all suprised to receive a personal gift from the mayor. He presented us with calligraphy, which I believe he made himself. It was gift-wrapped with our named written on the front, also in calligraphy. What an incredible honor!

In 20 minutes, we will leave four our welcome reception. We will meet our host families there. I guess this is the part of the trip where we start feeling like celebrities. What an amazing welcome.

Contact

Ohio gozaimasu!

I'm about to head off for my day at the University and then we'll check in to the hotel before our Itabashi welcome.

I just wanted to say again how much I am enjoying hearing from folks back home. Please, please take a moment to comment if you are reading! This website is also part of my "homework" for the trip and it will help me to document how many are reading. Thanks!

I'd like to thank my most faithful commenters, kmom and Dar! They are not even blood related and they're doing a great job. :)

Also a big shout out to DEB! So glad you are here. Great to hear from you.

OK, I'm about to load up so I will post again tonight.

Research Dept.

Oh! One more thing.... I volunteered to be our group's spokesperson when we visit the high school, so I give a little speech on our behalf. It'll probably be for an assembly.

Can you all help me brainstorm some quotations that I might use? I want to focus on how "we are all one" and bringing our best wishes from our families and communities, etc.

I am supposed to keep the remarks very brief, so I want every word to count. Any ideas?

National Museum & Supermarket fun

National Museum
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Day Seven
We said "Sayonara" to the Akasaka Prince... as we left on the bus a little phalanx of hotel staff stood outside in a line, waving to us.

We stopped for lunch at a nice place that prepared a buffet for us, and then it was on to our hotel. It's tough to compare to the Prince, but the rooms are quite small. I expect our hotel in Itabashi will be quite similar. It's comfortable and adequate, though. However, I miss having CNN International on the TV. There are only Japanese-language channels on the TV here. They have so many crazy game shows!

We stayed long anough to drop off our luggage in our rooms, and then folks started heading out. I went with 5 other folks out to Ueono park where the National Museum is. There were some cool masks that I really enjoyed looking at. We tried to fit in the zoo as well, but it had closed.

The big experience of the day was the supermarket. Here, they are located in the basement level of department stores. It was very fun going there! Quite a cultural experience. We had lots of little "Sam's Club" type samples as we wandered through, gathering our supper from among the aisles. I got some yummy stuff. See the flickr page from some more detailed shots and comments about the supermarket.

Well now I am beat! It's only 9:30, but I think I will indulge in a hot bath and go to bed early. Then I'll be ready for my week in Itabashi. I'm really looking forward to this "Phase Two" of the JFMF Experience!

Misadventures of Mr. Clubbs

Is it Day Seven? I think so. I am losing track.

I need to finish telling you about yesterday, though. Sorry about that! When I got back to my room my internet connection had expired, and I didn't want to pay for another day since we were leaving out in the morning. So let me start with that.

You know that I saw the Lion King, but now you need.... the REST of the story, as Paul Harvey would say.

So you may have noticed that I was kind of keeping my options open for my free day. I was just kind of playing it footloose and fancy free. There were many good options, including an offer to go to Nikko (Thanks, Tim.) Even though I am essentially not leaving Tokyo during my trip, I just decided I didn't want to use up any part of the day traveling. That's kind of funny, considering how much of the day I ended up spending walking around.

So here's the tale: I had seen an ad for the Lion King on the subway. I looked it up online, and sure enough it's playing in Tokyo. So Saturday morning I went down to the travel desk and they called the theatre for me. Have I mentioned the travel desk? It was so awesome to have our own personal travel agents in the lobby of the hotel. Those girls were so nice. They made many phone calls on my behalf last week. Anyway, she found out that you had to go down to the theatre and get your tickets yourself. There were shows at 1:00 and at 5:30. So I decided to head on down there.

On my way down, I accidentally got on the wrong subway train. I had the right line, but I just went in the wrong direction. I wanted "Shimbashi" but got on "Shibuya." I guess I must've just looked at the first three letters. So I got off and thought I'd switch. Now usally the 2 trains leave from the same platform, but for some reason when I got out it wasn't the case. I had to go all the way out of the station and come back in. This was the first in a series of mis-steps that I can't even recount all of them. I know that at other parts of the day I: went through the wrong entrace gate in the subway and had to get a refund on my unused ticket, had to pay extra fare on a ticket that I wasn't sure how to do, make a transfer to a different train run by a different company, etc.

When I had to make that transfer, I learned a magic word in Tokyo: "Sumimasen." This means, "Excuse me." I already knew it, but I hadn't quite harnessed its power. At the ticket machine for the new train, I approached a nice looking young lady and said "Sumimasen" and showed her my map for where I wanted to go. She spoke English pretty well and helped me buy my ticket and showed me to my gate. She was so nice! She was just the first in a series of people that helped me along my way yesterday.

So once I finally got to the area where the theatre was, I walked to the theatre. I got there about 15 minutes oo late for the 1:00 show, so I bought my ticket for the 5:30 show. Then I got out my little Tokyo guide map and looked for interesting stuff in the area of the theatre. When I went back over to the box office and showed her my map, saying "Sumimasen... Tokyo Tower?" She looked on my map and then told me to go down this street, turn right and keep going. "You will see Tower," she said. So I did as she said, and sure enough I did see tower. It just turns out that I didn't see Tower. Let me explain:

The Tokyo ower is a large orange metal tower in the shape of the Eiffel tower. Well, it turns out that there are broadcasting towers on the top of lots of buildings that are also orange. And when lots of tall buildings are blocking your view and you can't see below the organge part, so from a distance they look vey much like the Tokyo tower. So I chased not one, but TWO "faux" Tokyo Towers. Yeah. After the first one turned out to be a fake, I saw a second one in the distance and went to that. But it wasn't real either. So I just started asking people about every 5 or 6 blocks or so and eventually they kept pointing me in the right direction until I saw what was REALLY the Tokyo tower.

There was a very cool temple right in front of it that I visited first, and then it was on the Tower and its observatory. I think it's funny that I went in the Tokyo Tower but I've never been in the Gateway Arch. I really should do that sometime...

But as I wrote yesterday, I don't regret anything. I got to take in lots of sights, sounds, and smells and I got to talk to a lot of nice folks in Tokyo. Absolutely everybody that I asked was very glad to help me, even if they didn't speak English. Such nice people in such a huge city.

Guess what I saw today?

That's right! My free day ended with a production of The Lion King. Yes, it was in Japanese. Much like the Kabuki-za performance, it was like a theatrically religious experience for me. Both of these productions have resonated so much with me, reinforcing and celebrating why I love theatre. And this production was perfect to be brought into another language and another culture. God bless Julie Taymor! The created something so universal in this production. I was really amazing, and I'm sure it will rank in the top theatre experiences of my life time. I'm so very glad I went. I loved how they infused just touches of their culture into the production, such as the way Mufasa and Scar were very Kabuki-esque both in their makeup and in their physical/vocal characterization choices. Very cool. Also the way the characters would bow was vaguely Japanese.

The most unusual thing about the performance (other than the fact that I was BROILING in there... Come on, people, let's cut on the AC) was the curtain call. The intensity of the applause never changed. It didn't build as the more important characters came out. It didn't build when the entire cast bowed. Any of the EIGHT times they bowed. People kept clapping, and they kept opening the curtain for another curtain call. But the volume of the applause stayed contstant, and I only saw three people stand down in the orchestra level where I was. (Oh yeah, it cost a lot... but hey, it's The Lion King).

Now how I GOT to this performance and the rest of my free day is an entirely different story. I'm going to run my bag down to the bell captain (we get to leave our souvenir bag here in Tokyo and not lug it to Itabashi). If my internet connection for the day doesn't expire while I'm gone, I'll try to fill you in on my other MISadventures. Oh, man...

Shopping!

Day Five ended with a trip out to Harajuku for shopping. We went to Chicago, which is a "vintage thrift store." It was cool to see all the trendy Tokyo youth shopping there. Then it was off to Oriental Bazar, where one can find touristy stuff at good prices. They even carry bigger sizes. Cool! Then I went to my first 100 Yen Shop, which is basically a big Dollar Store. I bought way too much stuff there and in Oriental Bazar. That's what happens when you are MISSING YOUR KIDS. Dinner at Wolfgang Puck's and then back to the hotel.
Who knows what I will do tomorrow? I still don't know. Stay tuned!

Day Four and half of Day Five

Ok, so let me try to recap Day Four, which was pretty darn cool for the most part.

Our day started with a bus trip over to the Diet building. Now, I know all of you are thinking these horror stories about how the skinny Japanese have founded up all us folks of ample carriage and are going to whip us into shape. However, that is not the case. The Diet is the parliament of Japan. They have a governmental system which is very much like that of the United Kingdom, which two houses of Parliament and a Prime Minister.

I must say that our visit to the building was a bit frustrating and underwhelming. Essentially, we just got to see one of the houses for such a brief little bit. When we got there, there were janitors cleaning up. :) We didn't get to stay long at all. So, while it was cool, it was just a bit of a let down, I guess.

The highlight of that trip was seeing Japanese students on field trips. There were at least two different groups there and they were absolutely adorable. One set of kids were in uniforms and one was not. Both were so fun and excited to see us. Of course, about 150 American cameras came out and we started taking pictures of them. Their smiles and giggles just made me day. Of course, they made the "peace" sign when we took their picture. The girls especially started to get a little uncomfortable with all of the attention. It makes me look forward even more to our school visits. I'm be happy when I have permission to interact with the kids. Should be fun.

Then we loaded our bus again and went off to Asakusa. This was just a neat place. It was our first vist to a Buddhist temple. (I've leanred that shrines are Shinto and temples are Buddhist. I didn't know that!) Our tour guide was very helpful in giving us a little crash course in everything. I made sure that I stayed close to hear to hear her pointing things out. She showed us how people purify themselves with both water and incense before entering the shrine. They wash their hands and lips with water that they ladle out of a fountain, and then waft the incense onto themselves from a large space where it's burning. I did the incense, but not the water. The temple itself was very attractive. Our guide told us the story of how two fishermen found a little golden buddha in a river, and that they built the shrine around that statue. It is believed that the little buddha is enclosed in the big buddha in the shrine. People put donations of coins in a large box and then go to the temple to pray. Of course, since it is a big tourist attraction, it did not especially lend itself to an atmosphere of serenity. Right past the gate to the large temple, there was a little garden with statues inside, and when I walked pas that I was very fortune to notice an elderly Japanese couple praying at one of the statues. It was very moving to see their devotion in the midst of all the hustle and bustle.

We passed through this long gauntlet of shopping kiosks, but we had to pass all the way through them to get to our restaraunt. We sort of rushed there for our first "real" Japanese eating experience. It started with removing our shoes, putting them in plastic bags and storing them on shelves. We went went into the room where we all sat on the floor on pillows, where our food was already waiting for us on our tables. It was tough, butI ate my meal with only chopsticks even though they did start offering forks. It was tempura, which made me happy to see some good old deep-fried stuff. It was shrimp and other stuff, including vegetables. We dipped it in the soup, which we had added ginger and turnips to. There was also rice and miso soup. All in all, it was pretty yummy.

After the meal, I made my way back into the shopping area, since our meeting point was back by the temple where we started. It was so busy and had so many different types of things to buy, ranging from your typical souvenir fare to food and drink, also purses and belts... even wigs and hair pieces! I started in buying things for folks back home, and spent every bit of money that I had with me! It's a good thing I haven't exchanged my traveler's checks yet!
Back at the hotel, we had two consecutive sessions. The first was on government, and featured two members of parliament from opposite parties. My observation is that partisan politics is just as thriving in Japan as it is in America.

Then came the economics lecture, which lasted for an hour and a half. That's all I have to say about that.

After that, I went with Tim (an art teacher from Texas) to the Kabuki-za theatre. After an afternoon of economics and politcs, these two artsy-fartsy types were ready for some culture! What an amazing experience it was. I'm not ashamed to say that during the show, I had tears in my eyes more than once. I was just touched by the universality of theatre. Here I was in Tokyo watching this traditional theatre and enjoying it so much (with the help of English interpretation on headphones.) It was an adaptation of a kyogen story, and it was very funny. It had so many similarities to Shakespearean comedy or commedia dell'arte. In two words: good times.

After that, we decided to subway back to our hotel area. Oh! I didn't mention the subway! This was the subway debut for Tim and I. I'm proud to say that we got through with no trouble. It was actually pretty easy to figure out.

Back in our area, we walked around trying to decide where to eat. When Tim said that he was tired of Japanese food, we hesitantly come to the decision to eat at McDonald's. I think that we were both kind of embarrassed to admit that it's what we really wanted. Even though it's only been a few days, that meal tasted so good! It was just what I needed.

Then it was back to the hotel where I promptly crashed. My "peeps" were going to the fish market in the morning and I planned to go, but I went ahead and told Tim not to wait for me if I didn't show up, which I didn't. I sort of just decided that if I woke up on my own like I usually have been, I would go. I slept in today, all the way up until my wake up call. I feel refreshed and ready to go!

Since I have a few minutes, I will go ahead and begin recounting today, which is Day Five!
Both of the sessions today have been phenomenal. This morning, my session was on Peace Education. I was honored to hear a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Ikeda-san is 89 now, and he told us in English about his experience. His tale was haunting and I'm sure it will be with me for a long time. The thing that struck me the most is that he was holding his 20 day-old son in his arms at the time the bomb exploded. I just can't imagine trying to protect a baby that young during such a terrifying time. A couple of things he said that I wrote down in my notebook:
"I thought it must be hell, but no."
"There is no remedy for the Atomic Bomb."

The detail of his story impacted me greatly. We also heard from two children of survivors who
have since passed away. At the conclusion of her presentation, the daughter of a survivor read her father's favorite prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . . hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . . joy
O, Divine Master,Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled . . . as to console
To be understood . . . as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . . that we receive,I
t is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . . that we are born to eternal life.

I don't think there was a dry eye in the room.

After lunch, I am now at my second session for the day, which is completely different. It's an art education seminar, and Hiroshi-san is having us do a hands-on activity. The problem is, there are about 150 people in the room. And they're teachers. And you know how civilization breaks down so easily among teachers. They love to be sooooo confused and talk about how confused they are. I thought it was pretty refreshing to get to do something artistic. Lots of fun.

After this session, everyone is left to their own devices until Sunday morning. It's fun hear all of the different things that people have planned. Some are going far away, and some aren't. I still haven't totally decided what I'm going to do on my own and only totally free day. I know that I will either stay in Tokyo or go to Kamakura, which would take about an hour. There is of course plenty to see and do in Tokyo, so right now that's where I'm leaing. There is Ueno park, which sounds very much like Forest Park in St. Louis. There are many museums there and a zoo, including pandas. Nearby are several shrines and temples. I think I will probably start my day there and then move on to another area of Tokyo... maybe Tokyo Disney? I heard someone saw that in the last part of the day the tickets turn to 1/2 price. I might just have to check it out. Hey, if some folks can go to a baseball game, I can go to Disney.

I tried to get a ticket to Noh theatre for tonight, but when I had the travel desk call the theatre, there were only 3 tickets left. You have to go there personally and get the ticket, and I didn't have enough time before the art session to go out there and back. I might try to get one for tomorrow night, and go to Disney if that doesn't work out. You'll just have to stay tuned to find out what I nd up doing.

Some various observations:

We had our first experience with getting crowded in an elevator. A whole bunch of us Americans were already on the elevator, when we came to a floor where several Japanese were waiting. To us, the elevator seemed full, but here they came! I guess in Tokyo they just have a completely different sense of personal space. It is a pretty crowded place! The subway seemed to still be at a "rush hour" at after 8 last night on the way back from Kabuki.

I love the bowing. The hotel staff is constantly bowing to us every time we pass them. I know that they are trained to do that, to show respect to the patrons of the hotel. But I always bow back. I just love it. I'm always greeting them or thanking them, probably because it's the only Japanese that I know.

Even though it is very crowded, Tokyo is surprisingly quiet. I think it's mostly due to the fact
that they drive much smaller cars over here. No loud trucks or SUVs, etc. It is also clean EVERYWHERE. I even saw a man with this big broom-type thing sweeping leaves off the pavement in a park that we passed on the bus. I have only seen one piece of litter, a plastic drink bottle, the whole time I've been here. It was so surprising that I picked it up and threw it away!

The smells coming out of all the restaraunts on the streets are so unfamiliar and rich. I love walking along and just taking them in. I doesn't make me all that hungry for the food, though. :)

We are well fed. It seems like there are only a few hours between the buffets that we are ushered to. Tim pointed out that it's almost like being on a cruise. There is just always so much food, and so many different kinds. They are still serving both Japanese and American.
OK, I think I have written everything that I should have written earlier. Sorry I was out of touch there for a bit. I've also updated the pictures, so check those out at well, ok?

Tonight I think we are going out to Harajuku for some shopping and eating, and I think a temple. I think there might also be some.... ka ra oke! Stay tuned! Keep those emails and comments coming! Even if I don't get a chance to reply to each one, I am loving hearing from folks. It's nice to know that folks back home are reading.

Sumimasen

I must apologize for not blogging last night, but that's when I finally crashed. I was exhausted and just needed to sleep. It was an awesome day, though including a trip to the Kabuki-za theatre, which was an amazing experience.

For now, I'll just give you this highlight:

What's a poor American boy to do when he's feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed in Tokyo and he needs little comfort?

Why, he goes to McDonald's, of course! Ah, the universal healing touch of the Big Mac.

Arigato gozaimasu!

My fellow Americans...

Japan is awesome!

Here's a rundown of my second day in Tokyo:

I woke up on my own at 5 AM, even though I had set my wake-up call for 6. I decided to just stay up and do some organizing and iron. I got my iron from housekeeping and after I figured out how to use it (you have to charge it up first) I was on my way to a wardrobe fore the day.

Then, I decided to venture out for an early-morning walk. I discovered a little park with a pond and fish, then turned around and went the other way and passed many shops and restaraunts. Many were just opening, and some even had workers out in front of the stores mopping the sidewalks. Not just sweeping, but mopping.

I came back for breakfast and then it was time for our keynote speech from Tsutomu Kimura, President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees. His speech on trends in Japanese education was very interesting, and immediately put to rest some stereotypes of Japanese education. I expected this trip to focus on the positives of Japanese education and kind of a "look how well we do it over here" attitude. His speech got rid of that notion. He talked about how Japan is starting to slip when compared to other countries. He highlighted a rise in school violence, drop out rates, and declining attitudes among students about school and academics. Essentially, they are facing many of the same problems that we do.

After lunch, I high-tailed it back to the presentation room to wait for them to open the doors. I wanted a front row seat for the Traditional Japanese Theatre discussion and demonstration. Absolutely fascinating and entertaining stuff! Two Americans performed a Kyogen (comic interlude) piece for us in English. They used the highly stylized movement and voice, but we could understand the words. Then the presenter, Don Kenny, told us about the specifics of Kyogen and showed us the five masks that are used.

Then it was time for the Kabuki demonstration and lecture by Mark Oshima. I felt like I was back in school, because I was taking all sorts of notes. We had the honor of watching a woman put on the kabuki makeup and costume. While women are not allowed to perform in Kabuki, this woman is a teacher of traditional Japanese dance, which is used in Kabuki. In less than 45 minutes her transformation was complete. It was very cool!

A brief rest, and then it was off to our welcome reception. There were brief speeches from many Japanese dignataries and it was impossible not to feel very honored.
Today I made plans to visit the Kabuki-za Theatre tomorrow night to see two Kabuki performances. This will also entail my first subway ride, so wish me luck. I don't have to transfer or anything, so it should be OK.

After everything was over, I went for another walk on my own. I went down the same street that I did this morning to witness its evening transformation. While going down the street, I went into an arcade. It was definitely different to see businessmen in suits playing video games. Then, I came upon what I thought was another arcade, but when I went inside I was overwhelmed by the noise. Turns out it was a panchinko parlor, and I immediately remembered that I had seen this before. Yancy used to have one of those in his room back in the day. Of course, it wasn't all lighted up and complete with little video screens like these were. I saw a vending machine and I put in some yen so that I could get a card to insert into the machines and play. I really had no idea what I was doing. Eventually, I figured out that turning this knob launched the metal balls, and they bounced around. Some of them came back out and some of them didn't. One of the young workers came around and when he could tell I didn't know what the heck I was doing, he pointed to these two little spinners that you try to hit, and showed me this spot where I was supposed to be trying to get the balls into. He also showed me that the way you turned the knob impacteeptd the way the balls were launched. All this was done with no words. I just smiled and gave him a big "thumbs up" when he was done, and he smiled and laughed. Eventually, I lost. Ah well. It sure was fun.

I kept on walking,and eventually I heard this drum beat and some chanting. I walked in its direction until I saw this shrine-like entrace. I went to it and walked up a LOT of stairs until I came into this park. All sorts of people were there, many of the ladies in kimonos and many of the men in robes. They were under a tent, which had two platforms. The top platform had people playing a drum and chanting/singing while everybody else was dancing. I have no idea what it was, but it all looked like a more elegant version of the electric slide. It just stood there with this big goofy smile on my face, clapping along as they danced. There were all ages: senior citizens to toddlers, all dancing and seemingly having a great time. Food vendors had their carts out and some people were enjoying food and drink. Whatever kind of festival it was, I was VERY happy to have fun into it.

This sort of confirms my notion of not trying to over-plan this trip and to make plenty of time to just explore on my own. It was such a great feeling.

I capped off my evening at a 7 Eleven. I knew I wanted to try some candy, so I got a Kit Kat (white chocolate) and milk. I also got an umbrella, since there's a chance of rain tomorrow.

What a great day! I still can't believe I have been blessed with this incredible honor.

( I went in and made links to flickr of all the things I talked about in this post, but blogger was having issues so I lost them. But please do check my photos for visuals of all this stuff.)

Photos

While you're reading the blog, don't forget to check all my photos at my flickr site. I am doing some "notes" on the pictures so look under the picture to see if there are any notes. If there are, click on the picture for a larger version to read them.

The badge on the left of my blog shows only my few latest pictures.

Arigato

Home Stay Family

This morning I woke up to find an email from my host family!

Hello Bob,We are very grad to be able to contact with you before the reception onMonday, because we were told that not to contact to you until you got ourinformation in case to avoid a shock from getting unknown persons' mai.

Oh your have such a busy schedule in Japan!Please find something interesting.

I can't wait for seeing you next Monday.

And if you have a favorite food, let me know that will really help me tocook, dislike food too.Have a nice experience in Japan.

Just one night stay though, you are our part of my family.

Hitoshi and Noriko



That put such a smile on my face!

Ready for my chopsticks debut

Ready for my chopsticks debut
Originally uploaded by Bob Clubbs.

Here I am enjoying my first meal out in Japan.

Day Two (and Three)

First, let me say that I don't know for sure how long I've been up. Changing time zones on the first day was hard enough, but the whole International Date Line thing today was absolutely disorienting.

With that out of the way, I am honored to announce that I AM IN JAPAN! Can I get a "Woo-Hoo?" It's completely amazing, to say the least. I feel a long, long way from Malden and Jackson.

It has been quite a day... or two days. Let me paste in some blogging that I typed earlier:

9:34 AM (San Francisco) After a good night's sleep, the day started with a breakfast buffet in the hotel. Everyone is pretty bright-eyed and excited this morning. They're bringing us over in groups to the airport, and I was on the first bus this morning at 8:00 AM. Last night at orientation they explained again the importance of punctuality, telling us that 8:00 means the bus LEAVES at 8:00 and to be there early. This will be a bit of an adjustment from "Clubbs Time" that I usually operate on. But then again, maybe "Clubbs Time" has something to do with toting around 2 kids. There will be about a 2 hour wait before our plane leaves. It's hard to find anything to do in the airport that doesn't involve spending money! Why am I so tempted to spend money on San Francisco souvenirs when I didn't even really see or do anything here? Crazy.

The flight was smooth, as far as that goes. But no amount of movies, beverages, or meals can make a 9 1/2 hour flight really enjoyable. To adapt the late Chris Farley, I kept feeling like "fat guy in a little seat..." Man, oh man.

Our in-flight movies included Hoodwinked, King Kong, and Wimbledon. King Kong is ridiculous, by the way. The scene of King Kong VS not just one but THREE T-Rexes? No.

When movies weren't playing, I kept watching the little screen display of an airplane icon representing out current location on a map. As it crept along, I kept thinking of that little mountain climber guy on The Price is Right. I never wanted something to go faster in all my life.

When the plane finally landed, some of us applauded. The sound of that landing gear hitting the runway was marvelous. We had arrived in Japan!

Some first impressions: things are a lot greener than I expected. It's also not quite as hectic and crowded as I imagined. Of course, I haven't seen much yet. People have been very friendly. I should walk on the left side of the sidewalk. Things are so clean indoors and out! However, driving on the highway there was some of the usual urban blight.

Our hotel is pretty remarkable. I will post pictures of it and my room tomorrow. I "lived" in my room too quickly tonight and it doesn't look as immaculate as it did at first. I'll also have to put up some pictures of my high-tech toilet.

We met up with some Japanese volunteers who took us to dinner. I joined 4 ladies as we went out with Kiyoshi Tajima. Tajima-san took us to a restaurant called Royal Host (not very Japanese sounding, I realize) and helped describe the menu to us. We just looked at the pictures and asked him to clarify. I ordered some spicy beef over rice, which came with a salad and some miso soup (traditonal Japanese soybean soup). I realized that I should have practiced eating with chopsticks before I came here, but I think I did honorably. After all, I was wearing a white shirt, and it's still white!

After that, I returned to my room. I am exhausted, but still very excited and anxious to do more. I saw so little tonight, so I'm ready for more. And speaking of more, I'll have that for you tomorrow!

Konbanwa!

(PS - If you're in the central time zone, just add an hour to your time, switch AM to PM, and that's my time. Example: it's 9:46 PM on Tuesday as I post this, and it's 8:46 AM. I'm 13 hours ahead.)

If You're Going to San Francisco...

After my two flights, I arrived in lovely San Francisco. See my flickr photos for more sights.
We had orientation meetings, followed by a dinner. We were seated with our host city group, which I am already enjoying. There are some great folks on my "team."
Tomorrow, it's off to Tokyo! I can't believe that at the end of the day... well actually, at the end of Tuesday (darn International Date Line) I'll be in Japan!
It's finally here!

Hello From the Friendly Skies

Day One! Here we go!
It's my first in-flight blog post! True, I don't have internet access here aboard United Airlines Flight 893, but I can save and post later.
After a much-too-early morning today, I am on my second flight of the day. Rising at 3, we arrived at the airport around 5 or so. My first flight was from St. Louis to Denver at 6:30 AM. It was a smooth flight, with the only disappointment being that I didn't get too see out the windows very much. I did catch a cool glimpse of the Rocky Mountains as we descended into Denver. We were there for about two hours and then boarded this flight, which was delayed a bit on the runway because of some "flow problems" around San Francisco. We're told that the weather has cleared up and we should have a smooth landing.
Three of us from MO found each other on the flight, but it turns out that there were two more FMFers on the plane. Once in Denver, the crowd grew. Everybody is pleasant and excited! When we arrive in San Francisco, we'll head right to the hotel to begin our orientation. We'll be given lunch and dinner there, so I won't be leaving the hotel.
Tomorrow it's off to Tokyo! It'll be weird to "lose a day" due to the international date line, but I'll get that back on the return.
I'll try to write more tonight after the orientation.

Final Mailing

I got my final mailing from the program today, which includes my flight itinerary and other cool stuff, including this:It's my program nametag. Now that's got to be about the coolest nametag ever. I think I'll be keeping that one. I'll be curious to find out how they translate names. I really have no clue. (As is the case with so many things about Japanese culture.) Hopefully by the end of the month, that'll all change!

My flights are OK, though I must admit I could do without starting this whole journey at 6:30 AM. With getting to the airport the recommended 2 hours early, that is going to make for one long day. Then I get to prepare for the fact that I leave San Francisco on Monday and arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday. That is going to mess up whatever internal clock I have big time!

Sadly, there was no information about my host family included in the mailing. I could find out more about them when I arrive in San Fransisco, or I might have to wait until I'm in Tokyo. Some of the other participants are posting on the email listserv that they know the ages of the folks in their host families. I would have liked to personalize my gift to them a bit more for each family member, but that'll be OK.

I feel like I still have so much to do before I go, but in actuality the list isn't that long. I think I'm more worried about forgetting to do/bring something. The excitement is definitely building each day as I get closer and closer to leaving.