First Week in Japan Recap

Ohayo and greetings from Japan!

Ryan and I hit the ground running, or sleeping I guess, in the land of the rising sun.  We arrived at Haneda airport a bit delayed, landing around 11:30 pm on July 31st.  We stood in the well-signed immigration line for about 20 minutes.  Already we were loving the efficiency.  Right at immigration, we were issued our alien cards (residency permits) which act as our Japanese ID cards.  

We only had a short way to walk to baggage claim where Maddie was waiting with her own gate agent for us next to the conveyor belt.  She made it safe and sound but was certainly a bit frightened.  Loading up our two luggage trolleys, we headed over to the customs import desk to have Maddie checked over and her import permit issued.  My last name was spelled incorrectly on the permit but the customs agent seemed to think that wouldn't be a big deal.  He didn't speak much English and we don't speak any Japanese so I am speculating here.  Luckily, everything was in order and Maddie just needed her microchip read.

Maddie's cat hotel room

We were greeted by Matt and Mimi (our orientation coordinators) from school at arrivals and they generously drove us to the cat hotel in Yokohama.  By the time we arrived, it was about 1:15 am.  Mimi, who speaks Japanese, helped us communicate with the owner of the cat hotel who is certainly a cat lover.  You could easily see the level of care Maddie would receive from the very extensive intake form for us to fill out.  It was the equivalent of a human's patient history form you would complete at the doctor's office.  We got Maddie settled into her room, which had a cat tower, chair, and scratching post, along with her own window.  It was very hard to leave her there after the long flight but we came back about 8 hours later to visit her.

We have visited her almost every day so far, using the Google Translate app to communicate with the owner.  She is wonderful and will often have a report typed up for us that she has translated.  Not all the translations make sense, but they are a good laugh.  The owner affectionately calls her Maddie-chan which is used for children and loved ones.  Fun fact: The Japanese will continue speaking to you in their language no matter if you understand or not.  This will be good practice in the future I think, but can be awkward at times now.

Contents of our YIS Welcome Bag!

We had all day on August 1st to explore Tokyo neighborhoods to get a feel for where we might look for apartments.  It was like being express tourists for one day.  We are staying in Yokohama so taking the train into Tokyo takes about 35-45 minutes and has been pretty easy to navigate.  The next day began a marathon of apartment hunting.  After a quick introduction from the head of school, we were given floor plans, and off to Tokyo to meet with a broker.  

Within the hour, we found out that Miyu our agent went to Missouri State for an English Language immersion program.  What a small world it is.  Like any apartment search there have been highs and lows but by the end of day 3, we had found two apartments we were very interested in.  With the help of the school, we have been navigating the housing process and hope to have an apartment soon.  Then comes the fun part of furniture shopping.  We have looked in some stores already and have taken tons of photos of our adventures.  Check out my Instagram story for quirky details.  Language is certainly a barrier, but one we are willing to tackle, and thank goodness for Mimi and technology.  We both look forward to learning Japanese but in the meantime, our phones are our best friends.

There are 10 newbies hired at Yokohama International School this year and we have had some fun activities so far.  Last night was an optional karaoke night which was so much fun.  We are currently in the middle of our first typhoon, nothing bad just rain or mist, but the wind was picking up last night.  We have seen many umbrellas lose the battle.  There is a baseball game we are going to in a couple of weeks that Ryan is extra excited about.  Go Yokohama Baystars!

I begin formal school orientation this Friday and returning teachers are back on Tuesday.  Luckily I had some time yesterday to work in my classroom.  The space is nice and there is a whole wall of windows which really brightens up the room.  However, there are only 6 small baskets of books in my classroom library.  I am working hard to get over this shock and already planning out in my head how I can improve this.  Fair warning, if you are visiting Tokyo I will most like ask for you to bring some classroom books over with you.  And if you have great 4th-grade level books that you want to donate to me please hang on to them.  I will find a way to get them here.

Our first impressions of Japan:  We LOVE it!  So many things just make sense here which is the exact opposite of Doha.  While efficiency is high, there are certain weird cultural rules that are just funny.  Of course, we will make mistakes, like handing money to the cashier, not putting it in the provided tray, but those are the things about a new country that is fun to learn!  Everyone has been tolerant and understanding of our western ways and the YIS community has been so welcoming.