Previous Journals Before I Set Up Blog

5/14
We are sitting in the Tokyo Airport and I just ate my first Japanese meal! I got dumplings and they were delicious. This is so crazy to actually be here experiencing everything. We have only been off the plane a short time and we have already experienced several cultural inconsistencies. First, we needed to take an elevator so we walked up to the elevator and pressed the button and waited right in front of the doors. As we waited I noticed there were several Japanese people standing several yards behind us. We didn’t realize you stand 15-20 feet away from the doors of the elevator while waiting!
It was crazy landing in Japan. Health officials immediately boarded the plane wearing masks and goggles and armed with infrared cameras to check people’s temperature….this swine flu thing is out of hand. It took about an hour because they…actually I have no idea why it took so long, the whole thing was ridiculous.
11:50 PM
I just got to my room and it is awesome! My toilet has a bidet and heated seat. The town of Otsu seems really cool. Everything is so neat and well-kept here. The sidewalks are very nice and so are the roads. All of the cars are so small! I am so tired after 26+ hours of traveling though so I am going to bed!

5/15
The word right now: Culture shock. I feel so out of place! I don’t know what to do and there is the language barrier as well. Today was crazy. We went to Kyoto and saw the Aoui Festival and explored the town, walking around for hours. Shannon and I stuck together throughout the day. We feel somewhat separate from the group because we are quieter in nature and feel like the group draws too much attention to itself being as loud as they are.
For lunch Shannon and I walked into a restaurant with traditional style seating. We had to take off our shoes and sit cross-legged at a table. Luckily the owner was extremely kind and seemed to enjoy that we were there. After we got done the chef asked, “How was it?” to which I responded “Oishii!” (Delicious!) and made them laugh. They did not expect me to answer in Japanese!
However, tonight was a fiasco. We planned on getting food from the grocery store but it was closed so we walked to another restaurant. We are not familiar with the restaurant process and shyly meandered in. We were then turned away by the hostess. We walked down the street to another restaurant and again we were turned away by the lady at the front! We have no idea what we are doing wrong! Then we ran into Brenda and Dr. Bisson who told us about a restaurant where they had just eaten. We headed there.
This restaurant was an experience. We felt uncomfortable and out of place from the time we walked in the door. We had to walk through a curtain, which was strange then the seating at the table was interesting as well. My seat was something I would best describe as a post. Thankfully the man at the restaurant was so nice to us. The food was very good and we got done eating and sat… and continued to sit as we waited for our server/chef to attend to us but he never did… until we asked him for a check. The check as all together and we had to get them to split our large Yen bills so we could give the correct amount of money. Then we awkwardly exited the restaurant through the curtain.
I am completely exhausted right now so I am going to sleep! Oh, and listening to Kanye west to feel a little in place!

5/16
Today it was raining and cloudy but that is ok! It is just great to be here and the rain isn’t going to bother me. We took a tour of Otsu today with our contact, Martin. It was interesting learning about some history and facts. I am observing a lot of the big differences between Japan and the US in the way that things operate.
Everything here goes vertically. To save space instead of everything being on one floor, there will be a small area on one floor, then 5 floors above. The grocery/convenience store is a good example. On the bottom level they have a grocery area. Above that they have a health floor with over the counter medicines, toiletries, etc. Above that there is a clothing store, above that school and office supplies and that was as far as I went up, it kept going! All of the floors are connected by escalators also.
The craziest thing that goes vertical: Parking garages. A parking garage is a tall, skinny building with ONE little garage door opening. You drive into the little opening, get out of your car, then it lifts up on an elevator! The cars are on a conveyor belt that goes all the way up to the top of the building!
They don’t have any big parking lots here. Parking lots in front of businesses are usually only 2-4 spots and most places don’t have them. The train and subway systems can get you anywhere. There is barely any traffic on the streets. The sidewalks are so big and all the cement on the roads and sidewalks is so fresh and well kept. There are absolutely no cracks or potholes.
As far as activities, today we went to downtown Kyoto. It was awesome. We visited the covered mall. This place was HUGE with rows upon rows of all kinds of shopping. I also really enjoyed seeing the younger crowd of Japanese, teenagers and such. Fashion here is a priority. People really care and think about what they put on! For me, that is exciting! What is really interesting is there is not a specifically set, cool way to dress. Everyone has there own taste and fashion. There is such an abundance of fashion stores giving them so many options. If you go to a mall in the states there are only a few styles to choose from.
In the covered mall area there was also a marketplace. The marketplace was AWESOME. So busy! In any country I am in I always love going to the marketplace. There are so many sights and sounds and smells and it really gives you a feel for the culture. Seafood dominates the market. Everywhere you look there are fish, shrimp, squid, octopus and you can smell it too! It is all so fresh.
We walked around the marketplace and Kyoto for several hours then came back here. I am exhausted now. I finished editing some pictures and videos and I am going to upload them to Facebook and go to bed!!