もしもし？

No, don’t worry. This blog will remain predominantly in English. I only like to start out my title posts with foreign words to make myself appear more interesting than I am. But I digress…

Thanks for taking the time to read this, if you’re here. I’ll try to make it somewhat entertaining. It’s nearing the end of my second day in Japan. I’ve made it this far, safe and sound with my host family in Takarazuka. The trip leading up to it was relatively unstressful, surprising, given the fact that I’ve been an emotional train wreck for the past couple months. The hours leading up to my departure, however, were uncharacteristically…zen.  I got on the plane, watched Slumdog Millionaire, Twilight, Lost in Translation and The Changeling. So, I arrived in Tokyo. It was quickly approaching my 24th hour of conciousness. I was starting to get delirious from sleep deprivation and attempted to sleep on the plane ride to Osaka, but turbulence made that nearly impossible.

Once I landed, I was smelly, gassy and bloated. Gravity really “drags it out of me” so to speak. But I still had a long way to go. I found my way to the area in which my hotel for the night was stationed, in Osaka. So leaving KIX (Kansai International Airport, noobs!) I took the Hankyu Nankai line to Namba. I was smart and transfered from a local train to an express after only wasting half of my trip making every stop. Once I got to Namba, the cold fucking air really hit me. I felt like I was from California. All that was missing where some flip flops and a bong. I was completely underdressed for the weather but had no choice but to tough through it (and for those of you who know me, you know HOW much I can’t stand cold weather). The directions given to me seemed relatively simple, although not long after I realized how inherently Japanese in design they were. It was basically something like, “So, from the station. Go towards that theatre with the funny roof. Walk to the stop sign, turn right and walk a while. You’ll see it.” I had no fucking idea where I was. The Kansai region is new to me, although I was never really a pro at Tokyo either. 

I got to the general street area and because I don’t know the metric system, had no idea how far 100 meters was to my destination. So a dawdled a bunch. Considered taking a taxi, manned up, ask a lot of drunk foreigners for directions and got stared at by Japanese men working as hosts with Anime-style ‘dos. Eventually, as I neared my destination (unbeknownst to me) a young girl approached me and asked if I was looking for the Ishihashi Ryokan (which I was). She informed me she worked there and was walking home from work and figured I was their 11 o’clock check-in. She took me to the ryokan, I lugged nearly 70lbs of lugguage up 4 flights of stairs, showered and passed the fuck out for about 5 hours.

Which leads me to today…

Got up around 6, sore as hell. Forced myself to get on it even though I wasn’t supposed to meet my family until 11 I knew it would take a while. I headed out, took the train all the way back to Kansai airport just in time to catch the Nishinomiya Kitaguchi bus. It was perfect timing. We arrived exactly at 11 (that’s Japan for ya!) and immediately I encountered another ryugakusei (Exchange student). Her name was Andrea from Germany. We didn’t talk long before she was whisked away by her host mom. I’m sure I’ll see her in the following days. I could care less, to be honest. So I stood their awkwardly, cold and alone until someone from KGU approached me. It’s hard getting used to people calling me “Reon.” All 24 years of my life I’ve been called nothing but Nila (okay, maybe a few other choice names in times of anger) so it’s definitely an adjustment. My host family was late, which is all right because 1) at least I wasn’t, and  2) I’m used to being best friends with a Latin American and other time-challenged friends (’nuff said). It was awkward at first. I honestly haven’t tried to speak Japanese in almost a year now. So everything is rusty. I’ve compltely forgotten my kanji, I know that, and Osaka-ben is fast and strange. I’m okay at understanding most directions but fail when it comes to formulating responses. Anyway, the car ride was nice but awkward. I rode with my host father, Kiyoshi Nagotani. We talked  a bit. At first, in Japanese, then in English. My host mother and father’s English is far better than my Japanese, so out of frustration, they fall out of their Japanese and just ask me in English. I’m pretty confident this will improve in the next couple of weeks but it’s still stressful.

In Takarazuka I was shown a theatre for a famous women’s revue as well as the museum for Osamu Teszuka, the creator of Tetsuwan Atomu, known in the US as “Astroboy.”  He said he’ll take me to the museum soon. We arrived at their house and I learned that my place of residence was not the white commercial building I had starred at from Google Maps, but was in fact a normal Japanese home in the tiny street behind it. I told my host family I googled them and what I saw and they laughed. Apparently, privacy is an issue in Japan. Go figure.

I napped, woke up, got extremely homesick to the point of almost crying, but pulled myself together and forced myself to go downstairs and socialize. It’s awkward, yeah, but I figure the more I force myself the less awkward and difficult it becomes. My nerves will eventually go away, this shit is full-on immersion, I’m fucking telling you.

So I managed a few sentences, while downstairs studying my Japanese book. I asked “okonomiyaki wa osaka no ryori desu ka.” Which basically asks, “Is Okonomiyaki Osaka’s cuisine?” To which my host mother informed me that the proper term for foods such as Okonomiyaki and Udon are “軽食” (pronounced ‘keishoku’) for Japanese simple foods. I hoped I hadn’t insulted her by implying that such ’simple foods’ were the only type of cuisines Osakan’s were capable of, but she didn’t seem phased and was obliged to show me the kanji, of which I only recognized the latter half.

We sat down for dinner. It was okonomiyaki and it was delicious. I didn’t eat a lot and I hope that wasn’t rude but I’m EXTREMELY tired and sore. It sort of comes in waves. I’ll be good for a bit and then ready to pass out the next. I’m sure in a couple days it will pass but it doesn’t help my ability to concentrate on another language and uphold conversation. So we quickly switched to English. We had a great dinner. Talked about North Korea and crazy Kim J.I. (my host dad wanted to know if he could Google Map North Korea) as well as how the recession is effecting the Japanese economy. They asked about my mom and dad, extremely interested in Boeing and my dad. As well as my sister-in-law being Japanese and my brother working for the state dept. I, on the other hand, am not interesting. I laughed a lot when Okaasan told me how polite the homeless Japanese are (she laughed too, it’s okay) and how they clean up after themselves, literally sweeping the floor where they slept the next morning. She also remarked how “cool” she thought it was to see poor white people in America when her and her husband visited San Francisco on their Honeymoon nearly 40 years ago. Apparently, the term “white trash” is relatively unknown to most Japanese and they believe we all come from money. The dinner ended with Otoosan and Okasan fighting over their hometowns and which was better, they age old debate…Tokyo vs. Osaka.

Then they told me to go to bed, which I happily followed. I was informed on my way up that 1) I can sleep in as late as I want on Sundays and 2) that I have no curfew. I doubt I’ll be out late while I’m here, my focus is academics but it’s still nice to know. So far, so good. My room has this weird cement block looking wallpaper and overlooks someone’s outdoor personal gym. The cat, Fruffy and dog, Rucy, are really cute and old. They’d better not die while I’m here, I’m not prepared to handle funeral ettiquette. Both pets are from New Zealand. My host family used to work for JAL so they’re very well-traveled. I miss you all terribly, but I’ve learned it’s easier to get my mind off of things if I don’t hole myself up in a room. Tomorrow I’m going to the supermarket with okaasan to get pictures taken for my Alien Registration card, as well as anything else I may need. Apparently, this grocery store has multiple levels (a movie theatre at the top).

Ah, Japan. Goodnight Osaka, goodmorning San Francisco.