Japan loves Sarah Jessica Parker. Don't ask me why. Soda cans, posters, commercials, plastic fans--her image is plastered over all of them. She appears to be seen as the consummate American beauty, which is strange, considering the fact that I've never met someone who thinks she is attractive. Okay, I lied. Bryce does. But that doesn't make it any less weird to me.
Last week, I had a conference in Matsuyama. It had nothing to do with Sarah Jessica Parker, which is good. I took the ferry to Imabari, after which I had my first solo train ride. I understood the symbols for both my departure and arrival cities, so I had an idea of what I needed to buy. When I got to the ticket machine, there were three kinds of tickets that I could buy, so I wasn't quite sure where to start. The three options: non-reserved express ticket, standard ticket, and both tickets. I wasn't sure if there wouldn't be room for me on the express train, so I just bought the standard ticket. The express ticket was actually cheaper than the standard ticket. When the standard train arrived, the conductor stood by a window next to the entrance. I walked up to the door, but it didn't open. The conductor pointed to a button, which I pressed to open the train door. For the next hour-and-a-half, I rode the train through the coastal countryside to Matsuyama. It turns out that my 90 minute train ride would have been a 30 minute trip had I bought the express ticket. You buy both tickets if you want to ride the express train. They sell the express tickets separately in case you already have a standard ticket and want to upgrade. I saved about $5 and got some nice views, so I don't regret taking the slow train.
I wandered around Matsuyama and explored some of its many electronics shops. There's a store called Hard Off, which causes me to chuckle every time I see it. I found my hotel and checked in. When I got up to my room, I opened the door to a dark room. I frisked the wall for some kind of light switch, but nothing I did turned on the lights. I opened up the curtains, which were actually much closer than I had anticipated--the room was not much bigger than the bed it housed. The room had a remote-controlled air conditioner, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to turn it on. I sat and watched TV in the blazing heat, but eventually grew tired of making sweat angels in my bedsheets. As I searched for some way to turn on the AC, I found a mysterious little slot near the front door that contained no instructions. I stuck my card in the slot, and the lights in the room magically turned on. I was finally able to turn the AC unit on as well, though I didn't quite understand it. After accidentally turning the heater on for a minute or so, I figured out how to get it to blow cold air. Finally comfortable with my room controls, I changed my clothes and set out for a bite to eat.
I found a McDonald's restaurant in one of the long, covered shopping centers in Matsuyama. I ordered my food in Japanese and took it up to the second of three floors. Some teenage girls sat in kimonos, eating fries and texting their friends. As excited as I was to try McDonald's in Japan, I found that it still is just McDonald's. It wasn't nearly as good as I had anticipated.
The girls were dressed up in kimonos because of the continuing celebration of Bon. In Matsuyama, the shopping centers (long covered streets with shops on both sides--like outdoor strip malls) were roped off on the sides, while hundreds of groups of youth paraded in the middle, performing elaborate dance routines behind slowly-moving, amplifier-toting trucks. Thousands of people came out to see the festivities.
I checked out some more shops. I eventually found a book store with a small selection of English-language books. I bought all four Frog and Toad books in English for under twenty bucks. It'll be nice to have these when Kelsey gets old enough to really appreciate them. After checking out the shops, I went back to the hotel and watched some TV before going to bed. Has anyone else ever noticed the striking resemblance shared by Billy Ray Cyrus and George Michael (the singer/songwriter, not the Bluth)? It's uncanny.
I also ate at a little bakery in Matsuyama, as well as a little joint called Freshness Burger. Both places' offerings were pretty tasty. I saw a Baskin Robbins, and can confirm that they still sell the Daiquiri Ice flavor here.
Friday Morning, I skipped out on the second day of the orientation to pick the girls up from the airport in Tokyo. I left on a bus at 7AM, and flew from Matsuyama airport at 9:30. The plane took me to Haneda, the airport that's in the middle of the Tokyo metropolis. Stepping out of the airport terminal, I saw buses ready to take me anywhere I wanted. The bus to Narita airport (where Stef and Kelsey were arriving) was directly in front of me, about ten feet away. An hour and a half later, when I arrived at the airport, I rushed around the airport looking for all the places we'd need to go before switching planes. I found the baggage shipping service, the check-in counter, and the arrival lobby. I grabbed a drink and waited at the arrival lobby for my girls to come through. In my mind, I played and replayed the scenario of Stef and Kelsey walking out the door, seeing me, and us running to meet each other with big bear hugs. I looked at the arrival screen to see if their plane was on time, and to my surprise, it was about an hour early. They would be coming out those doors within the next 15-30 minutes. 15 minutes passed. 30. 45. I asked one of the American-looking people if they were coming from San Francisco, and she confirmed my hunch. After having waited an hour, there was still no sign of Stef and Kelsey.
I began to ask myself if they'd missed their flight, and if they had, how I would possibly know. I thought about going to an information desk to ask if they could check flight records to confirm that they made it on the plane. She wouldn't know how to contact me, and I had no way of contacting her. Suddenly, I heard my name over the public address system, and began walking around looking for the information desk to which I was being summoned. As my eyes scanned the room, they passed a pair they recognized: Stef's. They were filled with tears, showing the stress of being in a foreign place, unable to find her husband who should have been waiting for her. She had apparently come out another door that was completely unmarked, separate from the "arrivals" door where everybody awaited their loved ones.
From the moment she got her luggage off the baggage carousel, she had to push a cart full of suitcases, push Kelsey in the stroller, and pull a suitcase, car seat, and a bunch of carry-ons (basically, the luggage capacity for two adults, with a baby and a car seat to boot)--all by herself. Poor Stef. I gave her a big hug and kiss. Kelsey looked up from her car seat at me, and stuck her arms out toward me. I picked her up, and she wouldn't let me put her down, even though I had a lot to take care of. We took the luggage over to the shipping service and shipped all but a couple things. We then checked in for our next flight and waited a couple hours to board the plane. Though layovers are usually annoying, it was nice to finally spend time with Stef and Kelsey. We really missed each other. After some good conversation, we finally boarded the plane to Hiroshima.
A family from Mexico city was on the same plane. Chatting with the dad, I found out that they have lived in Hiroshima for the past 5 years. They have a few kids, ranging from 7 to 16 years of age. We talked briefly about the Spanish language, after which I told him of my desire to learn Japanese. He thought that Japanese was easier to learn than Spanish. As an English-speaker, I have to disagree. I understand a lot of what is said out here, but I took 3 semesters of intense Japanese courses. My 3 years of high school Spanish don't even equal one semester of university Japanese. Still, my Japanese is pretty rough. I feel like I could transcribe what people were saying, but that I don't know what the words mean. I hear each syllable and pick out phrases and grammatical structures, but I just don't have the vocabulary I need. I guess I shouldn't expect to after only 3 weeks.
The flight landed in Hiroshima and we took a taxi to the hotel. We were famished. There weren't any restaurants around, so we had food brought up to our room. It was expensive, but worth it (since Stef was so exhausted). Kelsey somehow managed to be hyper and spry, even though she hadn't slept much and it was 4AM to her (we went to bed at 8PM or so). We set up her portable crib and put her in it, and she fell asleep pretty quickly.
The next morning, we had the hotel's delicious breakfast buffet and set out for Uoshima. From 9AM until about 2PM, we rode the buses, admiring the beautiful green landscapes along the way (when Kelsey let us). After our last bus stop, we went grocery shopping and then waited for the ferry to Uoshima. We caught the 3:30PM ferry and arrived in Uoshima at about 4:30. Exhausted from all the travel, we went home to rest. Stef and Kelsey were asleep by about 6PM.
The next morning, we got up at 5 to get ready for church. Four more hours of travel. As exhausting as it was, it was really nice to go with the whole family. They made us get up in front of the congregation for ten minutes and share self introductions and our testimonies. The Japanese have a "thing" for impromptu speeches. Everywhere I go, I find myself having to do a formal introduction. I'll have to get used to it.
We're back on Uoshima now. Today's our first real day here. We'll keep everybody posted with all the details. I'd love to take some time to really describe our new home.
Last week, I had a conference in Matsuyama. It had nothing to do with Sarah Jessica Parker, which is good. I took the ferry to Imabari, after which I had my first solo train ride. I understood the symbols for both my departure and arrival cities, so I had an idea of what I needed to buy. When I got to the ticket machine, there were three kinds of tickets that I could buy, so I wasn't quite sure where to start. The three options: non-reserved express ticket, standard ticket, and both tickets. I wasn't sure if there wouldn't be room for me on the express train, so I just bought the standard ticket. The express ticket was actually cheaper than the standard ticket. When the standard train arrived, the conductor stood by a window next to the entrance. I walked up to the door, but it didn't open. The conductor pointed to a button, which I pressed to open the train door. For the next hour-and-a-half, I rode the train through the coastal countryside to Matsuyama. It turns out that my 90 minute train ride would have been a 30 minute trip had I bought the express ticket. You buy both tickets if you want to ride the express train. They sell the express tickets separately in case you already have a standard ticket and want to upgrade. I saved about $5 and got some nice views, so I don't regret taking the slow train.
I wandered around Matsuyama and explored some of its many electronics shops. There's a store called Hard Off, which causes me to chuckle every time I see it. I found my hotel and checked in. When I got up to my room, I opened the door to a dark room. I frisked the wall for some kind of light switch, but nothing I did turned on the lights. I opened up the curtains, which were actually much closer than I had anticipated--the room was not much bigger than the bed it housed. The room had a remote-controlled air conditioner, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to turn it on. I sat and watched TV in the blazing heat, but eventually grew tired of making sweat angels in my bedsheets. As I searched for some way to turn on the AC, I found a mysterious little slot near the front door that contained no instructions. I stuck my card in the slot, and the lights in the room magically turned on. I was finally able to turn the AC unit on as well, though I didn't quite understand it. After accidentally turning the heater on for a minute or so, I figured out how to get it to blow cold air. Finally comfortable with my room controls, I changed my clothes and set out for a bite to eat.
I found a McDonald's restaurant in one of the long, covered shopping centers in Matsuyama. I ordered my food in Japanese and took it up to the second of three floors. Some teenage girls sat in kimonos, eating fries and texting their friends. As excited as I was to try McDonald's in Japan, I found that it still is just McDonald's. It wasn't nearly as good as I had anticipated.
The girls were dressed up in kimonos because of the continuing celebration of Bon. In Matsuyama, the shopping centers (long covered streets with shops on both sides--like outdoor strip malls) were roped off on the sides, while hundreds of groups of youth paraded in the middle, performing elaborate dance routines behind slowly-moving, amplifier-toting trucks. Thousands of people came out to see the festivities.
I checked out some more shops. I eventually found a book store with a small selection of English-language books. I bought all four Frog and Toad books in English for under twenty bucks. It'll be nice to have these when Kelsey gets old enough to really appreciate them. After checking out the shops, I went back to the hotel and watched some TV before going to bed. Has anyone else ever noticed the striking resemblance shared by Billy Ray Cyrus and George Michael (the singer/songwriter, not the Bluth)? It's uncanny.
I also ate at a little bakery in Matsuyama, as well as a little joint called Freshness Burger. Both places' offerings were pretty tasty. I saw a Baskin Robbins, and can confirm that they still sell the Daiquiri Ice flavor here.
Friday Morning, I skipped out on the second day of the orientation to pick the girls up from the airport in Tokyo. I left on a bus at 7AM, and flew from Matsuyama airport at 9:30. The plane took me to Haneda, the airport that's in the middle of the Tokyo metropolis. Stepping out of the airport terminal, I saw buses ready to take me anywhere I wanted. The bus to Narita airport (where Stef and Kelsey were arriving) was directly in front of me, about ten feet away. An hour and a half later, when I arrived at the airport, I rushed around the airport looking for all the places we'd need to go before switching planes. I found the baggage shipping service, the check-in counter, and the arrival lobby. I grabbed a drink and waited at the arrival lobby for my girls to come through. In my mind, I played and replayed the scenario of Stef and Kelsey walking out the door, seeing me, and us running to meet each other with big bear hugs. I looked at the arrival screen to see if their plane was on time, and to my surprise, it was about an hour early. They would be coming out those doors within the next 15-30 minutes. 15 minutes passed. 30. 45. I asked one of the American-looking people if they were coming from San Francisco, and she confirmed my hunch. After having waited an hour, there was still no sign of Stef and Kelsey.
I began to ask myself if they'd missed their flight, and if they had, how I would possibly know. I thought about going to an information desk to ask if they could check flight records to confirm that they made it on the plane. She wouldn't know how to contact me, and I had no way of contacting her. Suddenly, I heard my name over the public address system, and began walking around looking for the information desk to which I was being summoned. As my eyes scanned the room, they passed a pair they recognized: Stef's. They were filled with tears, showing the stress of being in a foreign place, unable to find her husband who should have been waiting for her. She had apparently come out another door that was completely unmarked, separate from the "arrivals" door where everybody awaited their loved ones.
From the moment she got her luggage off the baggage carousel, she had to push a cart full of suitcases, push Kelsey in the stroller, and pull a suitcase, car seat, and a bunch of carry-ons (basically, the luggage capacity for two adults, with a baby and a car seat to boot)--all by herself. Poor Stef. I gave her a big hug and kiss. Kelsey looked up from her car seat at me, and stuck her arms out toward me. I picked her up, and she wouldn't let me put her down, even though I had a lot to take care of. We took the luggage over to the shipping service and shipped all but a couple things. We then checked in for our next flight and waited a couple hours to board the plane. Though layovers are usually annoying, it was nice to finally spend time with Stef and Kelsey. We really missed each other. After some good conversation, we finally boarded the plane to Hiroshima.
A family from Mexico city was on the same plane. Chatting with the dad, I found out that they have lived in Hiroshima for the past 5 years. They have a few kids, ranging from 7 to 16 years of age. We talked briefly about the Spanish language, after which I told him of my desire to learn Japanese. He thought that Japanese was easier to learn than Spanish. As an English-speaker, I have to disagree. I understand a lot of what is said out here, but I took 3 semesters of intense Japanese courses. My 3 years of high school Spanish don't even equal one semester of university Japanese. Still, my Japanese is pretty rough. I feel like I could transcribe what people were saying, but that I don't know what the words mean. I hear each syllable and pick out phrases and grammatical structures, but I just don't have the vocabulary I need. I guess I shouldn't expect to after only 3 weeks.
The flight landed in Hiroshima and we took a taxi to the hotel. We were famished. There weren't any restaurants around, so we had food brought up to our room. It was expensive, but worth it (since Stef was so exhausted). Kelsey somehow managed to be hyper and spry, even though she hadn't slept much and it was 4AM to her (we went to bed at 8PM or so). We set up her portable crib and put her in it, and she fell asleep pretty quickly.
The next morning, we had the hotel's delicious breakfast buffet and set out for Uoshima. From 9AM until about 2PM, we rode the buses, admiring the beautiful green landscapes along the way (when Kelsey let us). After our last bus stop, we went grocery shopping and then waited for the ferry to Uoshima. We caught the 3:30PM ferry and arrived in Uoshima at about 4:30. Exhausted from all the travel, we went home to rest. Stef and Kelsey were asleep by about 6PM.
The next morning, we got up at 5 to get ready for church. Four more hours of travel. As exhausting as it was, it was really nice to go with the whole family. They made us get up in front of the congregation for ten minutes and share self introductions and our testimonies. The Japanese have a "thing" for impromptu speeches. Everywhere I go, I find myself having to do a formal introduction. I'll have to get used to it.
We're back on Uoshima now. Today's our first real day here. We'll keep everybody posted with all the details. I'd love to take some time to really describe our new home.
1 comment:
I didn't know you had a blog!!! I love it! And I must say I love your writing, it's hilarious and engaging. I like how you clarified that you weren't talking about George Michael Bluth. HA HA! We miss you tons!
Erin
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