On Tuesday, I met with Professor Koike for lunch at a restaurant called Kyara-te , along with my student "supporter" from Hokkaido University, and two other student researchers. My student supporter, Ogura-san, was very nice to meet me at the International House and walk with me. Professor Koike sure can speak quickly! He seems to be such a kind professor. I hope that I will make a good impression on him this year. He is extremely busy, however. This seems to be common for professors at Japanese universities--their time is stretched thin. Because of that, it makes me all the more grateful that he met with me. After that, Ogura-san helped me to do a number of procedural things, such as register my address. First we went to the regional ward office ('kuyakusho') to register my address here in Sapporo, and to have my alien registration card ('zairyu') finally stamped. To explain a little, when you arrive in Japan and go through customs you receive a registration card, I think mostly to show that you've entered the country legally with all the correct paperwork, and that you will be staying for an extended period of time. Anyways, on the back you are required to have your Japanese address stamped at the ward office of your city before you can do anything.  Since I was in Tokyo for the first week, I needed to wait until I arrived in Sapporo to have this done--which was really frustrating for me, as the ideal place for me to have opened my Japanese bank account and bought a Japanese cell phone would have been Tokyo. But without a stamp, those procedural steps are impossible. Therefore, it was a huge relief to have this finally taken care of. Ogura-san and I both found the whole process confusing, but I think that we made it through! Next, at the same ward office, I registered for the Japanese National Health Service. Finally, we arrived at a JP Bank near Hokkaido University in order to set up a bank account. This is actually a rather funny story. The JP Bank (Japan Post Bank) that we went to is also a post office. Therefore, almost the entire time we were there, I thought that I was registering my address with the post office, and could not entirely figure out why I would be receiving a card or a bank book. Only after I walked out the door did I realize that we had just opened a bank account. I needed to do this anyways, so that is good, but that was certainly confusing! I was at last able to deposit my first stipend safely into a bank.

I bought a carton of milk at the convenience story nearby, and then Ogura-san showed me the way back to the International House. I went for a short run on the streets near the International House where I had seen runners and bikers. The weather was nice, but it already gets completely dark here at about 6PM. That definitely surprised me, and I'm none to happy about it! In Minnesota, I believe because of daylight savings, we had at least until 7:30PM (even though the days get shorter and shorter--the shortest being on my birthday in December). So to suddenly lose so much sunlight was certainly disconcerting. But I will get used to it. The sun also rises a bit earlier here, so that is good. On Wednesday, I was more or less on my own. In the morning, I attempted to use the shower in my room but could not figure out how to turn on the hot water! I took a freezing cold shower, which was no fun. I tried to explore but the very instant I got a few blocks away from the International House it began to pour! Worse yet, the whole reason I had gone out was to buy an umbrella! I was not quick enough, so I got very wet and waited under a bridge until the rain let up. It has rained the past few days, or has been overcast. Then I tried again to wander around, but crowds are very intimidating to me, even if they are much smaller crowds than in Tokyo. In particular, I think it is just the steady, unyielding stream of traffic and pedestrians who all know exactly where they're going which truly intimidates me. Hopefully I will grow accustomed to my surroundings more. I did not wander too far, knowing well that I get lost easily. For lunch I went to what I thought was a small restaurant near a subway station entrance, but which actually went back quite a ways. You take off your shoes at the step past the register, put them in a cupboard, and then the seats and tables are actually on ground level, and the square leg space is carved down into the floor. Very interesting. I ate udon, which may be one of my only main options at many restaurants that does not contain copious amounts of meat. I think that Ogura-san must have many things to catch up on, and also there was not much more for him to help me with (besides the looming cell phone situation which he admitted to knowing little about). However, I did email Professor Koike on Tuesday evening to ask for what courses he recommend I register while I am here. He responded that he would be discussing these details with another exchange student at 3PM on Wednesday in his office, and so I met with him as well. I very much enjoy hearing all of the stories that Professor Koike tells. Also, he speaks very quick Japanese with me because, like the graduate students, he has good faith in my speaking abilities. I will certainly have to keep working to meet their expectations. When the other exchange student, who is from China, arrived Professor Koike switched to English. His English is extremely good! Definitely better than my Japanese. He also said that he likes chocolates and sweets, which I love, so I will be happy to bring him some chocolates. Professor Koike said that there are two HUSTEP (Hokudai Short-term Exchange Student) courses in forestry/sciences that I should take. One starts already tomorrow afternoon, so I will be attending that, assuming I can locate it!

Today (Thursday) started off somewhat poorly. Probably as a result of my icy shower the day before, I started to feel a little sick. It may also be all of these new experiences finally catching up with my body. I am a little frustrated not to have gotten to run more--I am generally scared of going running in new places all on my own because I always get lost. Trust me, always. So I haven't been straying too far. I also don't want to get in anyone's way, so city running, even on park paths, is still a little nerve-racking for me in a new area. Especially, I've always been a very self-conscious person and so now trying to run fast at my normal pace, and also being a female foreigner ('gaijin') of a rather tall height here in Japan makes me all the more self-conscious. I managed to look up a Jogging Circle (aka club) associated with Hokkaido University and so I hope to meet with them on Saturday. Maybe that will make me more comfortable. Anyways, usually when I am running a lot, my immune system is pretty darn tough. I could feel whatever illness it is coming on Wednesday night, and sure enough on Thursday morning I was not feeling great. My usual remedies are to eat a billion oranges, drink a lot of water, and eat spoonfuls of honey. Not yet knowing just where a grocery store was, I didn't have these things. Around noon, I went to meet Ms. Tashiro from the Student Affairs Office of the Agriculture school to fill out a few more forms and to learn how to apply for classes. She has been so helpful and kind to me. Also, word has apparently spread about a foreigner named 'mozuru' who speaks Japanese. Haha. I find this funny, because I wish that I spoke as well as everyone seems to think! I wandered back to the International House, but took my camera with me to walk around and take some pictures. I am gradually increasing the area that I recognize. As I was wandering around the back of the International House who should come out of the front door but Becca and her student supporter! I was very happy to see them. I was not sure what time she would be arriving in Sapporo. They were both so nice to let me come along with them to find the grocery store, which as it turns out is almost literally right next door. I had gotten within a few blocks of it on my own excursions, but always turned back just to soon. We ate lunch (more udon!) and then I attempted to grocery shop as Becca went to the ward office with her supporter. I had forgotten my grocery list, so I only bought a few things. One unanticipated struggle was choosing brands of products. For example, I bought milk again today but unlike back in the U.S., where I know the associations and qualities of various brands, here in Japan it is all new again. I have always tried to choose things that are more environmentally friendly, or to find things like organic milk or produce, but deciphering all of that may be difficult if at all possible while here. I do hope to find a farmers market to buy vegetables from, though! I suppose I'll finally have to buy pots and pans, though, if I ever want to cook them!

Finally, this evening Becca and I bought some little things off of our lists, like garbage cans, towels, etc. Becca was very kind again to show me some places to go in Sapporo. I want to try to return in the daytime, so I can memorize landmarks. There is a whole city beneath the Sapporo streets, by the way, or stuffed into the various floors of buildings. Very interesting! Oh, and for dinner we had omuraisu, which is really yummy in my opinion. It is a combination of an omellete, with ketchup rice inside. Mine had a sauce and vegetables as well. Yum!

P.S. I finally figured out the shower, thanks to Becca and also thanks to youtube!

This morning I checked out of the hotel that has become so familiar to me in Tokyo. I was a little sad especially because I did not get to eat breakfast one last time there. The breakfasts at the Hotel Asia Center are a buffet of rice, miso, nori, various rice toppings, eggs, yogurt, fruit, bread, etc. Very tasty.  But it opens at 7AM, which did not give me enough time. I woke up at 6:30AM, and I took a taxi at 7:15AM from the hotel. The taxi driver was very nice, and also extremely attentive to make sure I was headed to the correct place. I wasn't 100% percent sure if I needed terminal 1 or terminal 2. Based on my instructions from Ms. Ito at Fulbright, I chose terminal 2.  I spoke with the driver a little bit on the ride. He asked where I was from, and he also knew of the Twins and the Timberwolves when I said Minnesota. We talked a little about baseball. He mentioned that he wants to travel to the United States in the next few years. I hope that he can. Since he was so kind, I gave him one of my 'meishi' (business cards) and said that someday if he visits Minnesota, my family and I could help show him the city. I was able to navigate through the airport successfully, I checked in, checked my luggage, went through security and arrived at Gate 55 for Sapporo. Japanese airports so far, despite being busy, seem less stressful to me than those in the U.S. Probably because the security measures here in Japan aren't so ridiculous. I enjoyed Haneda airport. From the windows at my gate I realized all of a sudden that I was looking out onto the ocean. There were large Japanese barges out at sea. My flight was at 10:15AM. The plane was not nearly as good-looking as the ANA international flight, even though this flight was also ANA. All in all, the flight was rather bumpy and there was quite a bit of turbulence and jostling preparing to land. In fact, it even made me a bit nervous!

Based on emails, Ogura-san (a graduate student at Hokudai and my student "supporter") had arranged to meet me at the airport. I retrieved my luggage and exited the gate glancing around for him. We found each other fortunately! I probably stick out quite a bit, though, so even though he had never met me I'm sure it was easy to spot me. Another graduate student from Hokudai drove a car there. We stopped for lunch at a tempura restaurant and I got to eat my first 100% safe vegetarian meal. Ahh, that was wonderful. At all of the other restaurants, there has been meat thrown in, or in the broth of foods, etc. I know that it is absolutely possible for me to be a vegetarian here if I am choosing the places to eat--the difficulty is going out to eat with others since I want to accommodate the majority and I don't want to make anyone feel bad or to be a burden on others. Eating yasai tempura (vegetable tempura) over rice was such a welcome relief. And so delicious. From there we walked to their car, and began the drive from Chitose airport to Sapporo. It took about an hour. It was fun to attempt to converse (my Japanese is rusty), try to explain my history distinction paper in Japanese, and to discuss differences between the U.S. and Japan that I have observed so far. They are both extremely nice.

As we entered the city limits of Sapporo, I found myself truly surprised at the contrast between Tokyo. In Tokyo, there are lights and buildings in every possible space. There are little shops crammed every which way, and polished business buildings. Not only that, everything appears crisp, and clean. Sapporo seems to have more of a "run down" feel, and also a similar feel to Minneapolis. I think it may be the effect of harsh winter, or snow. There are many tall apartment buildings but most look worn. Of course, I haven't seen the whole city yet. I definitely find myself missing just how many places I could go to in Tokyo, and all of the possibilities to spot a shrine here, or an imperial residence there. As a lover of history, I do miss these old places. Sapporo has nothing like that architecturally, because it only started to grow in the late 1800s as the Japanese moved north into Hokkaido, into the home of the indigenous Ainu people. If I haven't told you about this history, I can guarantee I will tell you about it later in better detail.

When we pulled up at the International Student House and the dorm complexes, I as also surprised. Based on the pictures, I was expected something completely different. I was expecting things to be more. . . neat and tidy. The dormitories definitely appear worn from the outside. The entrance and little lounge also seems worn. Ogura-san and Sakuma-san helped me to sign papers and with perfect timing the takkyubin arrived to deliver my heavy suitcases! I am very impressed by this. The graduate students helped me to get everything to my room, and the landlord showed me some of the (many) rules of the dorm as well as light switches, etc. Understanding how everything works is going to be tough at first! My room is just slightly smaller than at the hotel. To be precise, is is 12.9 sq meters. In other words, small. I will take a picture soon, but needless to say I could (were I ambitious enough to attempt it) open my fridge, type on the computer, and possibly cook on the single burner stove without moving. The view from my window is not great either. It looks down on a culdesack-like street, and the old dorms across from it. From my window I can see a number of tall apartment buildings with balconies. These seem veeeerrry tempting. I may look into their prices, although the hassle of moving may outweigh the minimal increase in space. However, the rather strict rules of the dormitory may outweigh the extremely cheap price as well. I believe it will only cost about 300yen a month, which is really cheap and could save me some money for traveling. Ah, decisions. I will wait to see what Becca's opinion is. She has lived in Sapporo before, so she will have more advice than I do. I may have also signed my life away in a contract, so that might make my decision for me!

After I unpacked (everything made it here safely, with nothing broken!!! I am so pleased!) I met Ogura-san at 6PM to go see the lab. He introduced me to a whole group of graduate students in the same lab. They all have desks in a room at the lab. And I was very surprised to learn that I have a desk too! It seems that I was able to impress everyone with my Japanese, but truly I have a lot of work to do on my speaking abilities despite what they may think. They were all very kind and I was happy to get to met them and speak with them. The only intimidating aspect is that they are virtually all men, and that will take some getting used to. I am far more comfortable interacting with other women. However, they were all extremely welcoming. I joined them for dinner in the university shokudou. They have agedashi tofu there, which I love, and a variety of selections. I enjoyed my dinner with them, and did my best to speak. I think that many of them are speaking much quicker than I am able to handle, not purposely but just because they are actually over-estimating my abilities. It is frustrating for me when I want to respond intelligently but can't get the right sentence together, or lack the vocabulary. Even worse is when I miss a whole chunk of conversation. I'll have to fix that! But I think that my Japanese will improve a lot over the year from this! I hope that I will get to know them better! Tomorrow I get to meet Professor Koike, and I am definitely excited, although of course a little nervous. I hope that he can help to find a good use for me here!

On Thursday we finished up the main part of the Fulbright orientation. Remembering back, I believe that evening afterwards we went to an "izakaya" in Roppongi (part of Tokyo). I ordered one of my favorite meals, called astuage. It is similar to fried tofu. Izakaya seem to be frequented most often by "sararimen", that is "business men," much like a small bar. It was interesting, to be sure. Afterwards, some of the others went to do karaoke. I'm not really a fan of karaoke, but I was also feeling a little overwhelmed by being in such a big city so I walked back to the hotel after dinner. I am rather proud of myself for getting home on my own. That was my very first time navigating independently here in Japan, even if it was only a short distance.

On Friday morning we had our individual meetings with Fulbright staff. I was happy to get to sit down and chat with Ms. Ito, who is my Fulbright "tantousha", meaning the one who is responsible for my Fulbright communications. I brought her a little chocolate bar, because unfortunately all of my omiyage (gifts) are packed in my big bags. I will send something more to her later. The day before, myself and Becca ordered "hanko" from a little shop near the Fulbright office. "Hanko" are seals used as a form of signature. They were ready to pick up that day. I am very happy with mine, although we found a kanji character that fits well with the pronunciation of my last name so for my official stamp/seal I may use that. The kanji is 鵙（もず/"mozu"）and means Shrike, which is a type of bird. That evening, we went out to dinner at a kaitenzushi restaurant. This means that the little sushi plates are sent around a long table on a conveyor belt, and you take what you would like. This was delicious. The other Fulbrighters, who knew much more about sushi than I, helped me to pick out vegetarian suggestions. I tried three different types, and they were all delicious, called "kampyo" (pickled squash), "inari sushi", and I think cucumber sushi. One type had quite a bit of wasabi in it, but I really enjoy wasabi so it was great. I liked them all, but the inari sushi was my favorite. It is a tofu pouch filled with rice. I was so glad that everyone was so happy to help me find sushi to eat, and I think that was my favorite meal in Tokyo. After sushi, we went to eat desserts. I better start running more miles once I get to Sapporo so I will be more hungry to eat so many scrumptious things.  Earlier that day, I went running in the same place as before. It is called the "Akasaka Imperial Resident", which must be a home owned by the imperial family. There are beautiful walls and gardens around it, as well. It takes only about 16 minutes to run around it. In fact, I was passed by a very fast pack of young men, which very much startled me. I have noticed that it is mostly men running at least at that path. I did see one other woman running, though. I like to run fast, and so it does make me a little self-conscious to pass people. I marked our hotel on a map with a red "x" and the path I ran too.

Over these past days, the other Fulbrighters have been departing one by one. I am the last one left in Tokyo, and I will fly to Sapporo in the morning. On Saturday, many of us went our separate ways. After our last breakfast with at least 6 of us, a remaining 4 of us went to Akihabara. This is a very popular toy and electronics district. There were so many interesting shops. We got tofu doughnuts, icecream cones, and went to see all the floors of a tall building, with tiny toy shops all the way up. Afterwards, the last three of us departed in different directions on the trains, and I returned to the hotel all by myself! I was so nervous to have to navigate the subway back to Tokyo and the hotel, but I did it just fine! This was a big accomplishment for me, and definitely boosted my confidence. I think that part of my initial stress over the subways was first of all that they are so crowded, and second of all I was always trying to keep together with a large group throughout all the subway transfers, escalators, and exits. Being on my own, there was much less stress than trying to stay with a group. I could stop and look at signs and direct myself more calmly. Veronica, one of the Fulbrighters, helped to encourage me a lot earlier that day when I was anxious about going by myself. It was so kind of her. Our group has nicknamed ourselves the "Fellowship" (just like the Fellowship of the Rings) sine there are nine of us, and there were nine in the Lord of the Rings. Also, we are all on an adventure. It works perfectly. Anyways, Veronica has been dubbed Legolas and I've been dubbed Gimli, so I hope we become good friends! I don't know how fitting my personality is to Gimli's, although it may be more similar than I realize, but I have always admired his character--except for the cutting down trees business!

After I arrived safely back at the hotel, it was around 5PM and so I went for a short run again. The weather was pleasantly cool, which I've heard is a treat by Tokyo weather standards. Later that night I was able to Skype with my family for the first time since I left home. I was very happy to hear from them, and they were all relieved. On Sunday, I was the only Fulbrighter left in Tokyo. When I woke up it was raining. Veronica recommended to me that I go see Meiji Jingu Shrine, which is actually very near to the hotel. By the way, Harajuku is just outside of Meiji Jingu-mae station, and I was hoping to stroll through. However, because of the rain, not many people were out in the crazy outfits associated with Harajuku. I was apprehensive about the subway trip, but after my success the evening before, I gave it a try. It worked out great! Unfortunately, because of the rain, I got all wet even with an umbrella and I didn't stay long because there was water dripping everywhere. However, I washed my hands and mouth at the "temizuya" (handwashing basin) before entering, then I tossed a coin in as an offering once inside the shrine. I tried to follow what others were doing, and to act respectfully. After tossing a coin, I clapped twice, bowed (thinking of a prayer), clapped twice, and bowed a few more times for good measure. Maybe next time I will know more of what to do. I also placed a prayer in an offeratory box, then bought an Ema (wooden prayer plaque) to write on and hang at the tree. I bought an Omamori (charm) for healthy mind and body. Even though I wish it had not been raining so that it would have been easier to look around, I am very glad that I went. The places in Tokyo that I enjoy so far are those with a long history, which are calm, and are meaningful. The hustle and bustle and stores can be enjoyable for a time, but I would much rather visit the shrines or old buildings with a much longer story.

I returned to the hotel afterwards to dry off. It rained almost all day, until the sun set. At 3PM, I embarked again to meet my friend Ryo from Mori no Ike (Concordia Japanese Language Village) where we had worked as counselors. I met him in a place called Takadanobaba, near Waseda University. I am especially proud of myself for navigating there all on my own. We ate at a small ramen shop, wandered around some interesting stores, bought macha flavored kit-kats, and then eventually headed to a matsuri that was going on outside of town. This was especially fun. I have never seen a matsuri (festival) before. There was a traditional theater play going on at a stage, and many low tents with delicious looking foods. There were also many kids running around playing festival games, and trying to catch little goldfish or win small prizes. I was surprised, because it gave me a similar feeling as a powwow. I definitely felt like a foreigner, however. I could catch many people talking about me in Japanese, or pointing me out as a "ryugakusei" (study abroad student). I was also much taller than most people there, so I stood out. All in all, I was very happy to get to see my friend, and I hope that he had fun too. He is very sweet, and I hope that he enjoys his time in Japan this year, and that I may visit him again. I can be rather shy and quiet, and so I hope that I was not too boring! I certainly enjoyed the evening.

In the morning, I head to Haneda airport and then fly to Sapporo. I am somewhat sad now to leave Tokyo, even though if you had asked me a few days ago, I couldn't wait to leave Tokyo because of how busy it is. Now that I have the confidence to navigate, and now that I know the layout of the city, there are many more things I would like to see. Heading to Sapporo means that I will have to re-learn a whole new place. However, at the same time I would like to be able to settle into a place to live, to meet the Professor Koike, who I will be working with, and to be in a calmer setting. Well, Part 2 of the adventure begins tomorrow!

On Monday (9/17) I departed from the MSP airport for a flight at 6AM to Chicago. Since I haven't had time to write much, be prepared for a looooong story! The Fri/Sat/Sun leading up to the 17th I spent packing, and packing and packing. Since I've never left the U.S. before, and since I've never traveled away from Minnesota for more than a few days, deciding what I should bring was very difficult. Time will tell if I packed wisely! That last weekend was very sad for me, because I am close to my family and have never been separated from them for long--even during college. Going to St. Olaf, which is such a short trip from Minneapolis, I was able to see my family frequently. So far what I miss the most is giving my little brother a hug.

The night before my flight I had hoped to finish packing before sunset so that I could have a peaceful last evening. Of course, that did not happen. I ended up staying up to pack until about 1AM, only to have to wake up shortly after 3AM to drive to the airport. To top it off, my flight from MSP to O'hare had apparently been canceled at some point, but I was not notified. It was only some great stroke of luck that I happened to call United Airlines that evening to check that my name was spelled correctly on the ticket. When I called--about 5 hours before my flight--the lady who answered told me that the flight was canceled due to maintenance! Gratefully, she put me on the only other flight early enough to make it to my Tokyo flight, which left at 6AM instead of the anticipated 6:45AM. When we left the house, it was dark, and rainy. I said goodbye to my little brother and let him fall back asleep--he had a bad cold to boot. Then At the MSP airport, figuring out baggage was somewhat confusing. I packed two big, heavy bags and one medium bag, plus my carry-on. Fortunately, the Fulbright program provides a luggage allowance, so even thought it was rather expensive to check all of my luggage, I am very lucky because of the generosity of Fulbright. Waiting in line through security I could still see my family sitting outside of the line, and I waved to them many times before I finally crossed to the other side. Needless to say, I was very nervous. But I made it to my gate on time, checked in, and eventually boarded the plane. Taking off, it was still dark and so I could only see the lights of Minneapolis and vaguely see the streets. I was very aware that it would be my last time seeing my home-city, my favorite place in the world. I love Minnesota so much, I will admit that I was sad to say goodbye for so long. I was also sad to leave my family. Even though I am so grateful to be a part of Fulbright, there was a part of me that kept telling me to turn around and to go home, and telling me "it's too long, it will be too hard, it's too much!"

I arrived in Chicago with plenty of time before my flight to Narita, which left at 10:45AM. Mostly I wandered around and sat at the gate. Shortly before boarding, I received a text from Becca, who is a Fulbright Fellow as well, and who will also be researching at Hokkaido University!--and got to meet her in person since we were both flying out of Chicago. I'm so happy that she was there, and for all of the help she's given me. Absolutely every step of the process of flying, of leaving the country, etc. is new to me. The plane itself was huge, with three separate rows, and many different sections. I was seated in the back of the plane, but glad to have a window seat. As we took off from Chicago, and as I felt the wheels of the plane leave the runway, it truly hurt to be disconnected from the earth that has always been my home. During the flight I slept on and off probably for the first 8 hours. Unfortunately, the flight attendants asked that all the windows be closed in order to let people sleep, otherwise I would have been glued to the landscape below. Every once and a while I would open the window a crack, and since we flew north towards the pole to get to Japan, at one point I looked down to see huge mountains in what must have been Alaska! That was spectacular! I also got a glimpse of the ocean after that!

I made sure to sleep only until what would have been morning in Japan. Then I stayed up, tried to study Japanese, or just stared ahead of me thinking! For a 14 hour flight, however, it was not bad! On the plane, two meals were served and both were Japanese style. All the flight attendants were Japanese as well, and spoke in both English and Japanese. The meals were very good! Even though I was flying Economy, the meals were large and tasted good, and refreshments were served all the time. Both meals were even served hot! The first was soba, fruit, rice, juice, and icecream. Then for breakfast/lunch there were cheese omelettes and yogurt! I was so surprised!

When we arrived in Narita, Becca was very nice to wait for me. Then we went through customs--I had to fill out a declaration and embarkment form, which was interesting. We actually waited in the wrong line for a while, until we finally got to the front and we told that we should have been in the line next to us (for people staying over 3 months). I received my residency card (if that's what it's called?), managed to meet two more Fulbrighters in the line, picked up all of my luggage with a cart (it all arrived safely!!), then went to Takkyubin with Becca. Takkyubin is a shipping service, which delivers your bags to your address. Becca and I have shipped ours to our dorms in Sapporo. It only cost about $70 total to send them all that way! That way, I did not have to lug my heavy bags around Tokyo! It was so convenient--I just hope they arrive safely to Sapporo.

From there, I took a bus into Tokyo with fellow Fulbrighters, then a taxi to the Hotel Asia Center where our reservation was. I dropped off my bags, and then Becca and Jim (another Fulbrighter) went to a small curry restaurant near the hotel to eat. Finally, I got back to my room (which is VERY tiny), settled in, showered, and fell asleep. So far, no jet lag either!

The next morning (Wednesday morning, since I lost a day flying to Japan because of the time difference) the Fulbright orientation started at 10AM. The orientation is held at the JUSEC/Fulbright office, and so we had to take a subway to get there. Tokyo lines are busy, confusing, and tangled. Thank goodness there is a group of other Fulbrighters here, so I could follow there lead. I would definitely not have navigated my way to the orientation alone, at least not on time. I will write more about the orientation later, but suffice to say I have gotten to meet all of the Fellows, they are all nice and definitely unique individuals. I am excited to get to know them. It is admittedly extremely intimidating, however, that ALL of them have been to Japan multiple times, meanwhile I have never even left the U.S. Things that are common knowledge to someone who has traveled to Japan before are brand new to me, and because everyone has traveled before, I've had to follow along rather blindly. I feel embarrassed needing to ask for help constantly--and I often have to ask things which are obvious to them, but utterly confusing to me. Because of that, it has been a little nerve racking. Fortunately, Becca has been very helpful, and well as many other Fulbrighters. I am so grateful!

After the orientation, we were given our first stipends and cashed the checks! Wow, I've never seen so much money at once!!! But I have to keep it safe, and budget things wisely as it is meant to last the next two months. The orientation for that day ended around 3PM, and then--this was the best part of the day--I got to go for a run with another Fulbrighter in Tokyo! We ran around the outside of some sort of park, with large walls around it. My legs had been hurting from sitting around so many hours over the past day, running was a HUGE relief. I spoke nostalgically about track (the best sport in the world) with her. In the evening, we attended a Fulbright dinner party at the house of the U.S. Ambassador. Everyone was dressed up, and the house was beautiful (though VERY hard to find). I spoke with a number of people and exchanged business cards. It felt far too prestigious for a little person like myself! Almost as if it were straight from a movie! Afterwards, we went into Shibuya to a bar/pub for 'Nomikai' (a drinking get-together to "break the ice"). This was something I was very apprehensive about--I do not drink, and drinking is a HUUUUUUUGE thing in Japan. So dealing with that throughout the year will be somewhat frustrating, I imagine. In any case, it was interesting to see the bustle of Shibuya, the big TV screens (think time square) and shops. However, I was always scared I would get lost or separated and I'm still scared of the subway system. Another Fulbrighter named Veronica was extremely kind to me, and that made the experience less frightening. I am so happy for her help!

After that we made it back to the hotel. Tomorrow we have the "nuts and bolts" session of the Fulbright. Hopefully I will learn more about things I am particularly nervous about, such as finding a cellphone and opening a bank account.

Here are a couple pictures--one of the view from my room and one of me shortly after taking off on the flight to Narita and also my teeny tiny hotel room. Since my connector for my camera to laptop is packed away in my bags that are being shipped, I only have my Ipod for photos at the moment.

This summer has gone by far too fast. As some of you know, I spent the past
months at home with my family--in particular hoping to spend time with my little
brother, Paul. It has been so great to see him everyday! This was the first summer since since highschool that I lived at home for the summer. Other than that, I have
also been working on a new illustration project (which I'm very excited about)
and preparing for a year in Japan.

Regarding Japan, there are a few updates. At the beginning of the summer, I did not know where I would live. I am very grateful to Hokkaido University, however, for finding me a home. I will be living in the Hokudai International House Kita 8. I have no idea what exactly the rooms are like, but if I don't like it I'm sure I could look for an apartment elsewhere after a few months. Generally, I'm just happy to have a bed to sleep in! It will be a surprise for when I arrive, I suppose. Speaking of arriving, I will fly from MPLS to Chicago, then a direct flight from Chicago to Tokyo on September 17. That's only 10 days away! The first 2 and a half days are an orientation for the Fulbright in Tokyo. Then I fly (or take the train? I can't decide) to Sapporo, where Hokkaido University is located. I sure am nervous! Its really started to hit me recently that I won't be able to play catch with my little brother or give my family members a hug for a whole year. . . I think that will be very difficult for me. But I know that I will grow from the experience of living in another country, and I am so grateful for this chance.

Well, other than preparing for Japan, I was also fortunate to take a road trip with my Dad, brother and sister. We drove from Minneapolis to San Francisco! The main goal was to see the Red Woods. We left on Sat, Aug 18th and then flew home to MPLS from San Francisco on Fri. Aug 24th. It was so amazing to see the land as we drove. The first leg was MPLS to Bozeman MT (so we drove up to Fargo, then across North Dakota). The next leg was from Bozeman MT to Glacier National Park. Glacier was my favorite. Up until this road trip, I had never seen a mountain before. Goodness, I did not want to leave them! Unfortunately, we only had time to spend a few hours there. One of my highlights was running up a mile at the top of the mountain road in Glacier while cars passed me and thought I was crazy! Next we drove from Glacier to Portland, OR. From Portland, we drove to Crater Lake (a lake formed in a volcanic crater). Then we drove to Crescent City, CA. We arrived in the evening, and drove on highway 101 which goes through Redwood stands. They are simply spectacular. We spend that Wednesday amongst the Redwoods then on Thursday drove to San Francisco--we took the back roads and part of the coast, and goodness it took forever. When we drove into San Francisco on Thursday evening, a huge fog had rolled in. I have never seen fog from the ocean like that! Unfortunately, it meant that we couldn't actually see the city or the Golden Gate Bridge. The next day, we flew home. It was a wonderful, wonderful trip, and the first road trip that I have ever taken.