Touch Down in the Land of the Rising Sun

So I made it. To Japan. Alive. A bit worn, overwhelmed, and shaking with nerves. Strung tight with every emotion I can think of. And so, shockingly, I couldn't sleep on the plane from Chicago. I watched nearly five movies; Bounty Hunter, How to Train Your Dragon, The Book of Eli, My Darling is a Foreigner and lastly and cut off to soon, Saru Lock. I was stuck in between two people, shedding my skin like crazy and laughing too loudly during 'night time' at the movies.

There were only a couple of JETs on flight, the last of the alphabet got shoved onto the JAL flight. Which was rumored to have free alcohol (it did in the VIP lounge we waited in and I took a shot of Kaluha before I went on the flight) but I didn't take up on that offer. I really didn't want to get sick for Tokyo. I did however eat all the Oreos I could find. And some Cheetos.


This is in the plane---see where I am and see where I am going! Brilliant.


We land. We are herded like cattle to the buses. These are two girls from the JET welcome party at Narita. I told you girls I was putting you up on my blog!


We got into Tokyo--which was about a two hours by bus from the airport. The JET hotel was Keio Plaza in Shinjuku and it was seriously plush. I grabbed my roommate, and went to meet my friend from KU for dinner. We ran into the Aussie group and went out for ramen. It didn't take long before I started to crash hardcore. I went to bed around 8. And woke up at 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30 and when, for the millionth time that I strained to see the time on my watch and read 5:42, I just got up. My roommates were in the same boat as me so we were all up that early. So for my first full day in Japan I went to panels. And sat through lectures. And read gobs of paperwork. And filled out information packets. And wore my name tag-everywhere. I had to dress super nice to boot.
Look at how nice I look! Oh and this is my awesome new friend Alex! She is also placed in Hokkaido, so we hung out a ton. She was staying in Mori for a while so she knows a lot about my town.

So to sum up Tokyo, I met old friends, I make new friends and I got even more freaked out for my trip to Hokkaido. I thought my nice roommate was going to shoot me if I asked her if my outfit was ok or not one more time. So two days in Tokyo passed very quickly. I regret only eating the hotel eggs. They took out a whole night of fun. Eggs!! Why!!! Anyway, I had fun, learned a lot and boarded the plane to Hokkaido with a tummy rumbly with nerves and the remains of the freaky pudding hotel eggs.

-Pause-
Ok, that was my first leg of my journey, I am in Mori now, and I will update further tomorrow. Things really got exciting when I got here. Right now at this minute I am watching ARASHI on my TV. It is an utter delight!!!!!!
LOOK AT IT!!!! AHHHH!!!!!


OH MY GOD ITS NINO. Dreams can come true!!!

A Day of Changes

I had no idea that today would be such a momentous day. I had three great things happen; two of the three things marked another step in getting closer to the big day; the day I leave home for Japan.

First, it my last day at my job (I shall not be a coffee wench anymore!) and it was with great sadness that I left my last shift. I even lingered at the door, half wanting to run back inside and tell my manager it had all been a mistake to please put me back on the schedule. But the moment passed and I let go of the door handle and walked out to my car. I was lucky in that I really enjoyed my job and loved my co-workers. Its a rare combination in the retail world. So it marked an end of an era; hopefully I won't work in retail for quite a while. The only income I will have from here on out is from selling things and babysitting.

Another reason today was so important in taking steps to Japan was that I submitted all remaining paperwork to the JET Program. I sent off my Visa, passport, FBI check and IRS forms today. I am watching their progress closely. If any of the items don't get there it could potentially keep me from leaving; all of the documents take forever and a day to run through processing and I don't have the time now to redo any of them. I have, nearly to the day, a month left. I leave on the 23rd for Chicago. Its down to the wire and I am very nervous about getting all my ducks lined up in a row.

On a lighter note, another reason today was so great was that I had one of the best lunches in the city. One of my top favorite restaurants in the city, Andres off the plaza, has traditional Swiss lunches and super yummy deserts.
http://andreschocolates.com/
Go there and drool over the chocolate video! Today I had Croute Appenzell, which is a French bread topped with pears, melted cheeses, bacon & walnuts. It was accompanied by a salad and sliced tomatoes. For desert I had the limited edition vanilla cream mound, with slices of chocolate on top. It was like a quivering pile of sheer vanilla delight with a hint of white chocolate.

Welcome! My first post!

Thanks for dropping by! I am starting my blog about my adventures as a JET in Mori, Japan!

I studied aborad in Japan before, at Okayama University. One of my favorite places I went to was Kyoto. This picutre was when I visited Kyoto for the first time and was able to dress up as a Gesha!