![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
In Tokyo, it really felt like vacation more than relocation. I got off the plane at Narita and they shipped us by bus to the hotel, except now it wasn't just the 150 folks from Chicago, but everyone from the English speaking countries, so I sat next to a girl from Jamaica and nothing was consistent anymore. It was kind of sad to be leaving the people I'd finally gotten familiar with, but also kind of a relief because it meant a new start.
The Keio Plaza Hotel had some fancy folks in it, though we all came in sweaty and casual and tired. They handed us a ton of materials and a room key and I went to my room to go be bewildered for a while. The room itself had all these “eco-friendly tips,” along with a radio that played elevator music, slippers, and a yukata.
I squeezed in a shower (I think it was magically Sunday night at this point, via international dateline crossing) and my roommate arrived. I was glad at first because she'd sat in my row on the plane and I figured that'd be more familiar, but then she started talking and didn't stop until we checked out. She was on a bit of a glory trip because she'd studied in Japan 4 years ago...That got kind of old.
That night, we went out for Ramen and errands with a group others who'd come with us from Chicago - though I got reprieve from my roommate because she threw a fit about eating ramen and left us. Some Celts joined our group, so I had a good time talking to them about dialects while we waited for our cohorts to scale an 8 story electronics buildings in Shinjuku. The ramen was awesome, we paid via vending machine instead of via waitstaff. The stores were all really close together, open, and fancy. It kind of looked ike some kind of Bangkok hybrid. After all this, we came back and I completely passed out.
My roommate reappeared and talked until 5 minutes after I fell asleep (I woke up and she was still talking to me even though she knew I was sleeping, and then I heard her talking again at 1 AM with the lights out, but whether it was sleep-talking or wake-talking I'll never know).
The whole process kind of upsets me though, I don't understand nearly as much as I hoped I would. I find myself a little afraid to use broken Japanese, though I'm going to make a goal of getting over that today, since I know I HAVE to use it. That's how you learn. I was pretty good at reading signs on the highway, even in kanji, but at the restaurant it was like “WHOA.” Granted I was tired, so I couldn't even think in English, but I'm going to have to study hard. My Japanese just isn't good and I don't know enough. And now I have Jet lag, so I guess I'll take a shower and wander the hotel looking for the skype kiosk before the morning's festivities begin!
And I still want to see the giant gundam and the fish market before I leave Tokyo!
The Keio Plaza Hotel had some fancy folks in it, though we all came in sweaty and casual and tired. They handed us a ton of materials and a room key and I went to my room to go be bewildered for a while. The room itself had all these “eco-friendly tips,” along with a radio that played elevator music, slippers, and a yukata.
I squeezed in a shower (I think it was magically Sunday night at this point, via international dateline crossing) and my roommate arrived. I was glad at first because she'd sat in my row on the plane and I figured that'd be more familiar, but then she started talking and didn't stop until we checked out. She was on a bit of a glory trip because she'd studied in Japan 4 years ago...That got kind of old.
That night, we went out for Ramen and errands with a group others who'd come with us from Chicago - though I got reprieve from my roommate because she threw a fit about eating ramen and left us. Some Celts joined our group, so I had a good time talking to them about dialects while we waited for our cohorts to scale an 8 story electronics buildings in Shinjuku. The ramen was awesome, we paid via vending machine instead of via waitstaff. The stores were all really close together, open, and fancy. It kind of looked ike some kind of Bangkok hybrid. After all this, we came back and I completely passed out.
My roommate reappeared and talked until 5 minutes after I fell asleep (I woke up and she was still talking to me even though she knew I was sleeping, and then I heard her talking again at 1 AM with the lights out, but whether it was sleep-talking or wake-talking I'll never know).
The whole process kind of upsets me though, I don't understand nearly as much as I hoped I would. I find myself a little afraid to use broken Japanese, though I'm going to make a goal of getting over that today, since I know I HAVE to use it. That's how you learn. I was pretty good at reading signs on the highway, even in kanji, but at the restaurant it was like “WHOA.” Granted I was tired, so I couldn't even think in English, but I'm going to have to study hard. My Japanese just isn't good and I don't know enough. And now I have Jet lag, so I guess I'll take a shower and wander the hotel looking for the skype kiosk before the morning's festivities begin!
And I still want to see the giant gundam and the fish market before I leave Tokyo!
