It’s 5am here in Tokyo right now and I’ve been in Japan now for about 15 hours. I’ve spent the last 2 hours tossing and turning in bed, so I thought that I would get up and do something a bit more productive and then maybe try to get a bit more sleep before our first seminar starts at 9am.

I’ve been meaning to update the blog more during the events leading up to my departure for Japan, but it just didn’t really happen. In a nutshell, the last 10 days or so before leaving Vancouver were quite busy – at times, and overall, a bit stressfull. I’ve lived in the same house for all of the 25 – almost 26 years of my life and the longest that I’ve left for was 3 monthes when I traveled across Canada.

In the days leading up to Japan, I spent quite a bit of time seeing friends and family, packing, organizing beaurocratic odds and ends, and probably a lot more that isn’t coming to my very jet lagged brain right now. I know that I said many goodbyes – some people I would say goodbye to only to see them another half dozen times before leaving. Packing was stressful right up to the last minute where zippers were almost bursting at there seems. I’m happy to write that my baggage weight came in at about 22.7 kg for one of my bags – where the limit was 23kg.

Definitely a highlight of my last days in Vancouver was the party we threw over at Janice’s parents house. It was pretty amazing to see so many of my friends and family all gathered together to send me off. We also got my band to play a final set in the backyard despite torrential rain and thunder storms.

In this time I also managed to eat way too much of some of the best foods I’ve had in a while. I’ve probably drank too much beer and wine and fireball whiskey – or maybe not enough, I can’t quite remember. I’ve said many goodbyes. I’ve had quite a lot to laugh about. Quite a bit to cry about. I’ve been stressed and angry. I’ve been anxious. I’ve been tired and probably slept to much. I saw so much of the city, but probably not enough. I’ve packed. I’ve rearranged my place. I’ve severed ties, cancelled accounts, tried to open new ones. Tried to stay cool and calm. I studied. I was lazy. I was excited. I tried to stay real.

And now I’m here and it’s real.

I started looking into the JET Programme last August and decided to apply by the deadline last November. I finally received notice of an interview by January – and then had my interview in February. My acceptance came in April and my placement in late May/early April. Since then I’ve been doing my best to study Japanese and prepare myself for this experience. If this coming year lasts as long as the one leading up to it, I think that I will be quite happy.

I’ve been reading a bit about culture shock and how it can affect people moving to another country on the other side of the world. The first stage of culture shock is referred to as the “honeymooner’s stage,” where everything appears very new and exciting. Every experience is a novel experience. A person who experiences this stage of culture shock feels as if in a state of euphoria. Whether traveling for work or for pleasure, it feels like being on vacation all of the time.

I would say that this stage, mixed in with a bit of jet lag (which doesn’t seem as bad as when I first started writing this), is pretty well exactly what I’ve been feeling for the last 15 hours. We went out into the city last night for my first Japanese ramen noodles, which were delicious. The area we were walking in seemed a bit small, but still amazing. Everywhere I looked was eye candy. The streets were flooded from the lights of signs and fluorescent lights. We walked past arcades full of grown men attached to flashing lights. People were playing Playstation 3 in the streets. Every store seemed to have someone standing outside hawking there wares. Everything was a mesmerizing stimulus of light and sound. I wish I got more photos, but it was raining quite a bit. Hopefully I’ll get more in the next few days that we’re here.

Thanks Greg for the photos from the party.