Greetings from Japan. First of all, sorry about this mass e-mail. I know it's impersonal, etc, but I thought for starting out this would be the best way to go. And some of you receiving this have also been guilty of mass e-mails in the past (you know who you are).
And, a word about the randomness of the recipients. I have some free time now, and I'm by a computer, so I thought I'd just send this e-mail out. So, I didn't bring my e-mail address list with me, and I just went and clicked on the names that were already in my address book, and then added those of you who have easy to remember e-mail addresses. So, if someone could forward this to the people I forgot about, I'd appreciate it. (Sigh, no one is going to do it. I know you guys too well. Seriously, if someone can take the time and do that for me, I'd appreciate it.)
And one more word of business before I get started on the message. I realize this might be of minimal interest for those on the chimes listserve who don't know me very well. Just hit the delete key and no whining.
I am in Ajimu-Machi now, arriving here yesterday afternoon. I've never been to Japan before, but it is everything I pictured a small Japanese town to look like. Very scenic too, right up in the mountains.
Japan is kind of like a bad science fiction movie. The kind of movie that you watch and think to yourself, "This is so fake. If they have the technology for laser guns and hoover crafts, why are they still living in caves?" Okay, so the analogy is a bit of a stretch, but it's interesting here. Lots of their little gadgets and gizmos are much more advanced than the stuff available in the US, but the big things like central heating, insulation and decent roads are all very primitive.
I arrived in Tokyo on Sunday night, and had two days of orientation. Unfortunately, we were so busy during orientation I didn't get a chance to see much of the city, but we went out a little bit at night (while fighting jet lag).
The rest of the JETs are from all over the world. Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, and even some places I didn't expect like Singapore and Germany. I know this is old hat to all you international travelers, but it is a new experience for me, and I like meeting a lot of cool people with weird sounding accents. I met a guy from Liverpool (with an accent so thick I could barely understand him) and I said, "Ah, Liverpool, where the Beatles are from right?" And he said, "I'm so sick of everyone saying that." Similarly, I've discovered people from Australia don't like it when you bring up Crocodile Dundee. The British Embassy had a night where they hosted all the British people. I didn't go (naturally) but it was funny to hear the Brits talk about it. Apparently the ambassador was saying things like, "Jolly good that you're here lads, now go out there and have a bloody good time." And someone complained to me, "This is the last thing we need. That's why everyone thinks we Brits are such tarts, isn't it?" (By the way, I've discovered that Brits use "isn't it" or "wasn't it" in the same way Canadians use "eh.")
Hope to hear from you all (I'm still easing my way into the office here, so I'm hesitant about using e-mail. I only use this machine when I'm offered, but I think as I get settled in I'll be able to write longer and more frequently. We'll see how things go on a day by day basis)
Note:
This post was originally an email that I sent. I didn't actually start this blog until October 14, 2003. But in order to preserve a complete record of my travels, I have added in some of my old emails from my Japan days, and backdated them to the date that I originally sent them.
No comments:
Post a Comment