Journal for first two days August 29, 2008

8/28-29

Excerpt from journal follows:

懐かしい（natsukashi）: Brings back memories.

Family names are Yoshio (dad), Kiyoko (mom), Yuka (Sister 22), Yukina (Sister 24), Fumiaki (Brother 28, lives away from home). Well, I’m here once again. Things were so easy, I shouldn’t have worried. I talked to a Japanese ojii-san (old man, lit: grandpa) on the hikouki (plane) all in Japanese, and we were really able to understand each other! He was in America on the east coast to visit his daughter who is a junior at Berklee. She works doing sporting things (or maybe selling sporting goods) for rock climbing and canoeing, etc. I explained to him my situation and where Temple is, (he knew of it) and where my homestay family lives. He laughed when I said their house must be really small. Then when I went through customs the girl was amazed and spoke to me in Japanese. One guy even thought I was airline staff and had to send me somewhere else when he saw my American passport.

When I asked for a ticket to Shinjuku and added “Hilton Tokyo Hotel” in English the gay dude at the counter (he WAS gay) corrected me on my pronunciation haughtily as if I ought to have known better. LOL. Well, 9,000 out of 10,000 roadblocks overcome, but I still have the family to meet YIKES!

(In the limousine bus)

–AAnd the rain starts. As we were coming in, all I could say to ojii-san was ‘sugoi kumo, ne…’ (amazing clouds aren’t they…)

–AAnd it’s pouring now. Man it was just dry at the airport.

–Just saw “Japaren: THE Japanese rental car service!”

大丸：(daimaru) : Big circle, also name of 300 year old Japanese company

(Next morning)

It is about 5:20 am, my first morning. Wow, I can’t believe I am living in Japan with a Japanese family. It appears that I couldn’t really sleep more than 5 hours though… That is really going to catch up with me later today. It has been a riotous night, what with it deluging rain and a HUGE thunderstorm. Naturally all the windows in my room are open because it was really hot yesterday, so the sounds of weather are up close and personal. I didn’t feel hot because I have my own electric fan (there is no AC).

I’m a little worried because my family hasn’t given me any directions – I may be on my own to find Temple today. I would be REALLY worried if I hadn’t been there already, but still, slightly worried is the name of the game. I will try and look up a map.

Also – okaasan (mom) gave me SO much info last night, I think I have already forgotton it all. Trash days, wash days, futon airing days, schedules for everyone, schedules for myself, the place for food, place for towel, place for underwear, place for poop, yada yada. I will just figure it all out as I go I guess.

Boy am I going to be tired tonight.

It is not for me to know the times and seasons that God has fixed with his own authority, but I will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on me and I will be His witness throughout all the Earth. –Personalized from Acts

時差ぼけ：（jisaboke）: Jet Lag

Well, I am here at Temple, commute was really crowded, but still easy as a peasy in a breezy kaneezy. .. but no one else seems to have made it. Sept this one random Korean girl. We are sitting here in the room by ourselves. You would think a representative would be here at the orientation start time, but NOOoooo.

(Note-they were all waiting downstairs)

Orientation was so boring and useless… Oh well. Strange things happened this evening:

1.  I went out with the sisters before parents came home. We walked their tiny miniature something dog out and around the area, and went to two pet shops looking for a doggy raincoat and doggy 靴（kutsu）: shoes for her to wear when the pavement gets hot. (Dog’s name is Midori (green)) but none small enough were to be found. Many people stopped us on the road to say how cute she was however.

2.  I mixed up my sisters. I thought that each one was actually the other one. Prolly cause I saw so little of them the first evening. Also, in Japanese you sometimes refer to yourself in the third person so when Yuka said “Yuka is studying Dutch” it is conceivable that that statement may have led me to the grave misconception that Yuka was indeed Yukina. Much to my delight, the situation was resolved painlessly thus: I brought 2 CD’s, John Mayer and Maroon 5 to give to my sisters, I didn’t care who got what. At the last minute, I decided that since Yuka was younger she would like the more active music and put her name on the Maroon 5 CD.

雷：(kaminari): Thunder(and lightning)

Then later when I still thought she was Yukina, she thanked me for the ‘Rokku no Shidi’ (Rock CD) I said ‘rokku ja nai’ (it isn’t rock) She said “the one with the 5 guys?” I said “o yeah!” then I thought “o shiiiiiii……..”

3.  A call came in shortly after, the girls freaked out some, talking about their dead grandfather, then lots of bowing and praying and bell ringing at both shrines to both sets of grandparents was commenced. Then it was over. Don’t ask me if I ever figured that whole thing out. I didn’t.

–More thunder and lightning tonight; closer though. Shaking the windows close. This is by far the worst rainstorm I have ever been in, and loudest thunderstorm. This morning, like 15 trains were closed or stopped because of flooding, landslide, or lightning strike. Worst flooding was in west Tokyo. Right now it is raining so hard, I think we may see flooding here in Shinjuku tomorrow morning…

Tonight I watched a show with sisters and mom. It was called “kukingu papa” (Cooking Papa). About a dad. Who cooks to save the situation/day. Episode ended when he feeds some mentally retarded guy some fish that is so good it brings back memories of his childhood and makes him bawl like he was still a babe.