Day 2 (With Photos!)

Me and my host sister, Erina!

Nezu Shrine

Vending machines are everywhere!

Ueno Park

Day 1

My luggage and I made it to Tokyo in one piece. Yesterday was one of the longest days of my life, with getting up at 5 a.m., sneaking in a little sleep on the 787, and finally going to bed at 9:30 p.m. Tokyo time--which felt like 7:30 a.m. to me! My things are unpacked. The room is way bigger than I expected, so even with four of us in it, it's not too bad.

One of my roommates is a girl named Petya, who's not from our group. She's from Bulgaria. She gave us rose perfume as a gift! I wish I would have brought her something.

The plane ride here was not as bad as I expected. Mostly because the plane was so fancy! It had 3 sets of 3 seats. I was on the aisle of the left side, and a nice man (who was going to see his friend in Manila) had the window seat, with no one in between us. They served us meals and snacks, always had a tray of cups of water out, gave us blankets, pillows, playing cards. The lights adjusted appropriately. There were tons of free movies to watch on your personal screen, plus a map where you could see how far you had gone. I had a moment of dread when I checked it after waking up to see we were only halfway. 

Bunkyo students greeted us at the airport, and they were so eager and helpful. I changed my $8 into ¥694. Then I bought a "Match" drink from the vending machine that tasted like an energy drink. Yum! There are vending machines everywhere, and I guess I will have to start liking Coke products. Coke Zero, especially. They don't really have Diet Coke, apparently. Mom -- you'd love it here!

We then took a bus from the airport (kind of on the outside of Tokyo) to Bunkyo! The drive was amazing. There was so much to see: so many tall buildings, cool bridges, crazily-colored shops... The highways are built high-up, roof-level with some buildings, so that was strange. It was so futuristic, driving up in the air between buildings! Then we got onto the lower streets and got to see people and vending machines and vehicles and tons of cool things.

Our dorm is in a residential neighborhood, but with shops nearby, including a ¥100 shop -- just like a dollar store!

Today we are touring Bunkyo University and having some opening ceremonies. We start class Tuesday.

Saionara for now!

Fear, Failure, and Fun [T - 12 days]

12 days.

It's a unique number of days. Lost in that fog between two weeks and one, muddled up in the thinning swamp of double digits.

In two weeks, I will have been in Japan for two days. How will I feel then? What will I be doing?

Dumbledore told Harry, "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." This couldn't be more true for Japan. Tokyo is one big Unknown. What do the classrooms look like? What will the habits and personalities of the people on my trip be? What's across the street from where I live? What is it like to sing karaoke? What foods are on the shelves in grocery stores? What's that strange-looking thing in my ramen?

I think fear of the unknown is closely related to fear of failure. We figure we're going to fail because, hey, it's something we've never done/seen/felt before.

But what would be a failure in Tokyo? If I get off at the wrong subway stop, is that a failure? If I think I'm buying x at the grocery store, but it turns out to be y, is that a failure? If I forget to pack something important, is that a failure? If I get sick of all my clothes, is that a failure?

We consider these things failures, when really they are just mistakes, embarrassing moments, learning opportunities, or mix-ups. They are not the end of the world. They do not ruin others' perceptions of us (at least, they shouldn't). They don't diminish all the hard work we put into each day. In fact, they are proof of that hard work. If I stayed in my dormitory for four months in Tokyo, I wouldn't experiences any "failures." I wouldn't experience anything at all.

As my swim coach told my fellow sprinter Kenzie and I when we started drowning in anxiety before our race, as my dad's first boss told him when his sales job caused him overwhelming stress:

Just go out there and have fun.

I can't speak for Kenzie, but I didn't receive that advice too willingly right away. It seemed petty and ridiculous to me. In my desperation and frustration, I said, "Screw it. Guess I'll try that stupid 'fun' thing." I dove off the blocks without caring about the race or the time. I just swam as fast as I could because it was fun to swim as fast as I could. And what do you know - we both swam close to our personal bests.

If I get on the subway or walk to class or go for a run in the park with the goal of having fun, I will be too busy seeing and hearing all the amazing things around me to worry about "failing." I'll be my happy sponge self, taking it all in, happy to be there.

次回まで.
Jikai made.