The arrival pt. 2

This was what I made for dinner tonight ^_^

Ok I have no idea where I left off on the last blog, but let's just skip to the flight itself. The flight from O'hare Airport to Narita Airport was about 14 hours, and it was perhaps one of the best flights I have ever been on. The meals were great, I think the liquor was free!?! I don't know I didn't want to get drunk, and then have to just sit still for hours. I was sitting next to the window and there was a lady sitting in my row in the aisle seat, so she monopolized the bathroom access so it was a waiting game to see who could out last the other. Seeing as how I have a bladder of steel I won every time. Let me mention that the closer I got to Japan the more afraid I became, like I was having like a small anxiety attack, I didn't know what to expect, and I was questioning what I was doing. Once I made it through customs and I was sitting outside the Airport my anxiety subsided and was overtaken by exhaustion I hadn't slept too much on the flight, and not at all the day before. Which was now like 2 days since Japan is a day ahead. That's right boys and girls I live in the future. I took a bus to my next destination and that was another 2 hour journey, when I finally arrived at the hostel I was staying at I was ready to take a hot shower and relax.

When I went upstairs to where my room was my boss was waiting for me and I immediately had to start filling out paperwork so that took like another 2 hours. After that was done they told me that I was staying in a room with 2 other people, and I was thinking back to dorm life ehh. I had trouble opening the door I forget everything is reverse here so turning the key to the right locked the door instead of unlocking it. So for the first couple of days I was afraid to leave the room because I was afraid I would look myself out. When I finally did get the door open with the help of my boss I was greeted to a cozy living space that consisted of one room with tatami mats on the floor. This was my first experience to live in a traditional Japanese style apartment, it wasn't too bad. The guys I were staying with were both from California and they were pretty nice. After talking to them I decided to see about that hot shower. After a bit of walking I discovered that the shower was like a community shower with a few shower nozzles on the wall and one big bathtub in the left corner, it was also unisex! So I slowly backed out and just went back to my room and went to sleep. Sleeping underneath the Japanese futon was a bad idea, I sweated like some fat guys ball sack after he had been walking around all day. I woke up all sticky and I was like now I really need a shower. I thought since it was early no one would be in the shower. . .WRONG! There was an entire Japanese family in there with their kids, and I didn't just want to waltz in there like "Konnichiwa bitches" with my bratwurst flopping all about. I mean my wang is like Secret antiperspirant strong enough for a man but made for a woman (yes this joke is old and lame, I know).

For the first week or so I just stayed near the hostel, not because I was afraid but rather because I was either doing training or under the watchful eye of my boss. And as anyone who has worked with me can tell you I am a very professional worker with an extremely high work ethic, so I try to carry myself in a respectable manner when I am at work or among co-workers. Unfortunately I can't say the same for my colleagues who wasted no time ad all descended on the beer vending machine in the lobby. Some people were walking in and out of the training to go and grab another beer, talk about a great first impression for your boss to receive.

I missed some of the training myself but because my boss needed me to leave to finish getting my Visa and to complete a health check up. I was somewhat surprised at the health test the doctor asked me if I was a long distance runner. I was like umm no I lift weights and that's about it, he said "You are the healthiest person I have seen in years". That was good news to hear because the last thing I want is to get sick while I am here. After the training and everything was complete I prepared for another long trip, (4 hours this time) up to Yamagata-shi （山形市）, which was where I would be living. On the way I bought some chocolate covered Almonds called Lotte, and I have been eating them ever since, in fact I just ate a box of them while I was writing this blog. Upon arrival in Yamagata-shi I was thinking of one thing and one thing only taking a shower, it had been about 4 days since I took a shower, and I was feeling like Swamp Thing. Tune in for the next installment on my apartment.