In the Land of...Many Rice Paddies*

Japanese Lesson 1:
1) Inaka 田舎= countryside
2) Sou desu ne! そうですね！ = I see/Really!
3) Kenkyuusei 研究生　= research student
4) Conbini コンビニ = convenience store (think 7-11, but way better)
5) Keitai denwa 携帯電話 = Cell phone

Rice paddies. Lots and lots of rice paddies.

My friend Byron is in Miyazaki, Kyushu as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) for the JET program. He left for Japan in July; during a conversation, he sent me a picture of the Kyushu countryside.

Me: “Wow…its gorgeous! The grass is so green!”

Byron: “Actually, those are rice paddies.”

So, my reaction when we finally began our descent into Narita Airport at Tokyo was the following:

“Rice paddies? In Tokyo?”

Ok, so my Japanese geography isn’t that great yet. I was expecting something along the lines of what I usually see when I fly into Newark or JFK: lights. Lots and lots of lights. Instead, I got a sneak peak of the inaka.

Oh. Holy. Crap. I. Am. In. JAPAN.

Who would have thought this would have happened?

When Greeks in Astoria go to Greece for the summer, we usually fly Olympic Airways (crappy as it is) via JFK. Olympic is at Terminal 1. In 2002, while my mom, sister and I were checking our bags, I noticed across from the Olympic Airways check-in was the JAL check-in. I turn around to my mother and I tell her this:

“You see the JAL check-in? I am going to go to Japan and with that airline.”

In a entertainingly creepy (but a good form of creepy) way, it’s interesting to see how things turned out. I said that to my mom before I even started college.

Me and Ingram (aforementioned Monbusho student) began to prepare to practically bum-rush the other passengers so we can get off the plane. We had to make a connecting flight to Itami Airport in Osaka, and were worried that we wouldn't have enough time since we had to collect our baggage, go through customs and recheck our baggage.

Getting the baggage was easy. My suitcases have the buckles so that you can buckle one to the other, and then just pull one. My carry-on was hell though; I packed my laptop and it was a shoulder duffel so it put a bit of a strain.

So we get off the plane and go to baggage claim. “Go” is not the precise word for it; it was more like “run.” And we were the only two running so it must have been a hilarious sight.

Got the bags, go to customs. Some of the customs officers were actually opening suitcases, and the guy in front of us was patted down. Ingram gives the customs officer his passport, and got some sort of hesitation with the visa. Like, the customs officer really wasn’t sure what to do with him. When I gave him my passport, the customs officer actually looked at my visa and said “College student?”

I felt like I needed to correct him.

“Monbusho no kenkyuusei.”

He looks up at me, then back at Ingram. “The both of you?” he said in Japanese. “Sou desu ne!” Compared to Ingram, I was practically rushed right through.

There was a bit of turbulence on the flight to Osaka. The landing was an amazing sight – exactly what I expected, in terms of lights. From the bird’s eye view, Osaka sort of reminds me of Las Vegas – all sprawled out, but with clusters of high buildings here and there and lots of colorful lights. The best was seeing Osaka Castle. When we landed, we see that there are more kids for the Monbusho, but all different categories, and from different countries.

There was another girl my age – Elisa – and she is renting an apartment in a building for all girls. When she found out I was in the guesthouse, she offered to check with her landlord to see if she could have a roommate, namely me. Would be cool, provided that there is enough space for the both of us. I just told her that it would probably be in November, since the minimum stay in the guesthouse is a month.

Which leads me to where I am right now. I am actually not at the house, contrary to what I was told my the international students advisor at Rits. The people from JASSO did pick us up, but they took us to a hotel. Tomorrow, we go back to the airport, get on a bus and go to Kyoto Station. From there, we each go our merry way via taxi. I called Kim (the woman that runs the house) and apologized for the mix-up (not my fault, really!) and she told me to take a taxi to a corner near the house and call her mobile before I leave Kyoto Station. She will meet me at the conbini at then come into the taxi with me to direct the taxi to the house. I called Deena and reset our meeting time due to the JASSO fracas, and I told her that I have sort of drag her along while I get my Alien Registration Card, health insurance, postal bank account and register at Kyodai. Luckily, all of that can be done within a three-block radius. Then depending on how my room is in terms of storage, it’s off to the shopping area and maybe 100-yen shops to get some things to put my room in order. Given the developments in the housing situation, I don't think I will get furniture for the next month, or maybe two. To be quite honest, I need a keitai more than a desk at the moment.

This Saturday, Deena and I plan to spend the day in Osaka. Friday is the “gas lamps” lecture. I’ll explain that after the lecture. But for now, all I can say is that there is a method to my madness, as gas lamps are pretty important for my research, in terms of a broader, thematic element.

So now, I need to go back to sleep. It’s now 3am Japan time.

(*Did you really think I was going to say "Land of the Rising Sun?)