Decide what to be and go be it. - The Avett Brothers "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise"

And so it begins. After almost 13 hours on an airplane and a long car ride from the airport, I arrived at my new home Tuesday evening. Today marks the end of my first week here and, as silly and obvious as it sounds, I have discovered that Japan really is a different world. It's been almost 10 years since I was last here and it has been difficult to tell if things seem different because I've changed, the country itself has changed, the nature of my visit is different, or any combination of these.

There is no way to completely prepare yourself for moving to the other side of the world or all the changes that await you. People drive on the opposite side of the road. You can't read the labels on your food or the instructions for your washing machine. The toilet comes with an instruction panel and plugs into the wall. The shower is tiny/I am giant. Any American television is dubbed, and consequently, hilarious. For the next several weeks, adapting is the name of the game.

While most of the work I'll be doing will be in Tokyo, my apartment is located in a suburb that is clearly unaccustomed to foreigners. Small children point and chatter excitedly to their parents and neighbors peek in open windows. Grocery store employees and shop clerks often glace at you with a brief expression of panic, upon first seeing you in the check out line. What they don't realize is that the feeling is mutual. I haven't used my Japanese in over three years now and it's amazing how much I have forgotten. While I know this will only be a temporary problem, I'm still very much in “Oh, man. I don't remember the word for that” phase. Thankfully, language classes start Monday and with any luck, things will come back pretty quickly. Until then, I'll stick to short, simple, basic phrases.

I've also been absolutely amazed by the people. It's one thing to hear that the Japanese are polite, respectful, and helpful. It's another thing to experience it, repeatedly and on a daily basis. People on the subway move over so that you can sit with the your group. Subway attendants stop to pick up trash. Anywhere you go, employees greet you and thank you for coming to their establishment. Maintenance people sweep and mop the sidewalk and porch area in front of my apartment. Cindy, the woman who has been responsible for helping us acclimate to life in Japan (and is a god-send), not only spent an 1 ½ hours with us at the bank and another almost 3 hours at the cell phone company, she also then put 3 Americans she has only known for a few days on her billing plan because the phone company and the bank couldn't agree on how to bill us.If I had been in her shoes, that thought would never have even occurred to me, yet to her it seemed like the natural solution. 

This past week has been completely surreal. It's strange to think that something I worked so hard for and wanted for so long is finally happening. At the same time it feels right, like a normal progression of events. This could not have come at a better time in my life, and while I miss family, friends and relationships, I'm looking forward to the coming months and everything they have in store. Get ready Japan. Here I come!

Lessons learned this week:

• Tokyo humidity means it takes my hair 3 hours to air dry.
• Milk = whole milk; any other kind is harder to come by
• Aloe yogurt is...different.
• Getting lost is no fun, but is better when you are lost with friends
• The subway car isn't full if you can see through any part of it from the platform.