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.
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.
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