Is this Earth? one month on
Is this Earth?The thought rang through my head during my first few days in Japan. Over and over: I kept asking myself if I had just moved to another foreign country or if I had been transported to another planet.
Myself and Taryn were just about to graduate from college, and a friend (actually a Rhodes Lecturer) told us about how we could work in Japan as English teachers- all we needed was a University degree. So the process began. Application form, interview and then shortlist after shortlist. All together a grueling 10 month period. But good things come to those who wait. So we saved our money, packed our bags and hopped onto a flight bound for Hong Kong and then Narita Airport in Tokyo. Were we out of my minds?
On final approach to Narita International Airport, we looked down to find a green landscape shrouded in fog. As we got closer to the ground, we began to notice all the different colours of the tile and metal rooftops: red, blue, green... and of course the rice fields. They are everywhere.
The first hurdle we encountered was the Immigration line, divided into Japanese and non-Japanese, with the line of non-Japanese filling the room and travelling at a snail's pace. The book had said to look nice to get better treatment from the officials- our turn finally came up, he just stamped my passport and said, "Enjoy your stay." We passed through Customs and finally into the main area, where our friendly fellow JET participants were waiting eagerly to show us where to go, where to check our bags in and what to do. It was chaos. I looked over at this little mother and father saying hello to their daughter and the little brother clinging to his moms leg. I knew how he felt. Our stay in Tokyo was short lived- only three days. Not close to enough time to be adventurous and explore the city that never sleeps.
More travelling. This time to Fukuoka- our home. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our supervisors who were so happy to see us. But before we could settle down, we had to get our massive trunks that we had sent over a few weeks before. This was no easy task. We had sent over a few cans of deodorant, because alas, even though Japan being one of the most efficient countries in the world, they don’t have anti perspirant deodorant and fluoride in their toothpaste. Weird hey….Is this still Earth?
We were finally escorted to our apartment in Shime-machi where we fell in love with the place straight away. Besides the fact that the place was filthy- I mean three days worth of filthy- thanks to my predecessor, it was beautiful. We kicked off our shoes, put our slippers on. Not really accustomed to the whole taking shoes off once entering a room, but in Japan this is the main thing to do when entering a room. We put our bags down and retreated to the living room. Then somewhere around that point, my brain overloaded. I couldn't speak the language- people would talk to me and I couldn't answer. I couldn't read the signs. Everything was covered in arcane little symbols. Even the light switches. I sat there, frozen, on the tiny blue living room sofa.
A shower is what I needed. This is an ordeal in its own. Normal is just not in the Japanese vocab. In order to heat up the shower, you have to first put the gas on then turn a little lever to heat up the water. An archaic system. The Western-style toilet had two flush settings (if I used the wrong one, would the toilet overflow?). The culture didn’t hit us as hard as many other Gaejins (foreigners) because we had done a lot of research into the people and the country. The food was weird-why couldn't we get a slice of toast less than an inch thick, and why does everything smell like fish.
Our parents back home. finally got hold of us. My mom said something ill never forget ‘You're there to enjoy yourself. Now go have fun because you'll have plenty of time to get a real job when you get back!"
Well, we took her advice. We’re painting Nihon-go (Japan) red. Slowly but surely...one month and counting.
posted by Verge Das Neves @ 3:40 PM
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