I’m finally in Japan! The flight was delayed for 4 hours, but there was a NOVA person at the airport waiting to pick me up.
Everything is going well. I’ve spoken to a few people in Japanese and they understood me, so that’s good.
I still think that toilets should not have that many buttons on them… It’s scary!!
I will write more when I get some more time.
Today was my last full day in the US. I spent the day buying some necessary items and packing. Packing is a horrible experience and I think next time I will pay someone to do it for me (or just never move again). And, I just packed everything and moved down to SP at the beginning of September, and now I have to pack up stuff again and move again??
Yesterday I spent the day in Santa Barbara visiting one last friend before I leave. Santa Barbara is one of the locations for the English Language Consotrium (or something like that), so there were quite a few Japanese exchange students (留学生) running around. I was able to hear some of their conversations and for the parts that I could hear completely, I was able to understand. So that made me feel good. Also, this morning I talked online with one of K-san’s friends in 東京 entirely in Japanese. She only corrected me a few times, so again that makes me feel good. I think that my brains and my dictionary (電子辞書) will make an unstoppable team!
このフリータの生活が終った。おつかあれさまでした。Time to empty my head of all the UCSC debris and begin the task of filling it with NOVA policies, praticies, and propaganda.
This week has been a good week in terms of ego building. K-san’s friends all think I’m cute, so that’s a plus. Today, after my mom mentioned I was going to Japan, women at the department store asked if I was going in the Marines; so I must look fit enough to be in the Marines. All in all, my ego is being pumped up nicely. However, I believe I have discovered the reason for this. I realized that the moment I step onto the JAL flight, the realization that I can’t speak Japanese, I can’t read/write Japanese, that I’m completely unprepared and that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing will come crashing down upon me like a ton of bricks. Without the current ego inflaction, this realization would probably kill me. I think I would suffer a heart attack and die in my seat (albeit a comfortable seat with it’s own TV screen!). But now, I think I will be able to survive.
Today I went to Borders to do some research on Fukui (福井). First off, let me say that Borders is a great place to do research. Why go to the library when you can look at all of the latest and greatest books at the book store? I have been known to go to Borders and look up kanji in the kanji dictionaries because I left my 電子事象 at my house (I was downtown reading comics which is why I was looking up kanji characters at Borders). Anyway, I stopped by Borders to read through the Japanese travel books. The big Japanese travel book did not even mention Fukui, but two smaller ones did. Their opinion of Fukui ammounts to the following: unattractive and uninteresting. One book even said that there is no reason to even stop in Fukui unless you were going some place more interesting like Kanazawa. Great. However, the tour books said that if you had to stop in Fukui, there are some cool things (3 things) to see in Fukui prefecture. Apparently, one of the worlds top Zen temples is in Fukui-ken, as well as some nice beaches. I realize that these tour books are written for tourists and not for someone about to move there, but calling the city “unattractive and uninteresting” does start me wondering… At least the place won’t be inundated with tourists.
MercuryNews.com | 09/24/2004 | Hispanics threaten California boycott over license bill veto - What part of illegal do people not understand?? I’m glad Gov. Schwarzenegger has vetoed the bill. This is a stupid bill and idea to begin with. I have no problem with allowing those people here legally to have licenses… but when you are here illegally you do not deserve a license! AHH!!!
5 days left in the US. My ticket has been issued and I should be getting it shortly. I get to fly on JAL and I’m really looking forward to that.
Today I stoped by my high school to visit my favorite teacher before I leave. It was quite nice to see him. The high school that I went to was torn down the year after I left, so the current school really isn’t my school. But luckily Mr. H’s room is in the same place (albeit in a much updated condition). I was introduced as the student that established the first computer network at SPHS… back when the newspaper was being produced on three Macintosh LCs and one LaserWriter. Boy, those were the days. I remember those late nights on Tiger, the school newspaper, when the Epson printer threw hissy fits and refused to print. We would run over to Kinko’s at 1-2AM and print out the entire paper.
Mr. H also reminded me of my senior color day costume. The school colors for SPHS are orange and black, and on Color Day all the students dress up in orange and black and we have a big rally in the gym. Well, my friends and I aren’t exactly the “school spirit” type of people, but we decided that since it was our last Color Day, we would do something. So we had shirts made… bright orange shirts with black text that said, “This is as spirited as I get” printed on it. A bunch of us wore them, as well as Mr. H. It was great.
Well, like I said, 5 days left. I’m running around buying some last minute items like shoes, an overcoat (I have to walk to work in the snow!), and more pants. Monday I will be up in Santa Barbara visiting another friend before I leave on Wednesday. It’s getting close now!
9 days left in the US. Time has gone pretty quickly. I still have a few things left to do before I leave. I need to get more clothes and little nick-nacks. But all the paperwork has been done and I’m ready to leave.
The last week was a lot of fun. K-san came down and stayed here for a few days. We went to Disneyland and did touristy things. It was a lot of fun. We started to really like each other and are now dating… Well, we did date… Right now she’s in Santa Cruz and I’m here in LA soon to be leaving for Japan. It’s almost comedic. I have a Japanese girlfriend before I go to Japan who will be staying in the US, and K-san has an American boyfriend who will be going to Japan. We’re definately going to try the long distance (5500+ miles!) thing and see what happens. K-sanが大好き 
So aside from leaving K-san at UCSC, I spent some time with A. We went up to San Francisco for the day and hit some of the sights. (Almost literally… A is still learning to drive… KIDDING! 
). Saturday night A, K-san and I went out to sushi. They made me go to a sushi boat place… those things scare me. I have such a hard time taking the sushi off of the boats. 難破が大い!! Anyway, there were no problems. Everything stayed floating.
I found out where I will be living/working for the next year!! I will be in Fukui! Where is Fukui? It’s on the west coast of Japan. Check out this webiste. Here is a map from Mapquest: Map. Also, be sure to check out this page to see how Fukui prefecture rates against other prefectures: People’s Satisfaction with Living. Looks like a nice place!
As for where I’m living, I will be living in an apartment with one flat mate, an Australian. Here is a map of the area where I will be living. The big red shape in the lower right is Fukui station. My building is up by the number 14. My work, the NOVA building, is a few blocks away from my work, so I will be walking to work every day. For those interested, here’s my address in English an Japanese.
* Fukui-ken, Fukui-shi, Oote 3
* 福井県福井市大手 3
The apartment is a two-bedroom apartment. Each bedroom has a balcony and is about 9×12′ (6 tatami). I will be sleeping on a futon. All in all, it should be a very interesting experience. I’m looking forward to it.