I awake the next morning at 7 am to the sunshine through a crack in the window curtain. I smile, "Let the games begin!" The night before I remember that the boss whose name I do not remember gave me a spare cell phone of his to borrow until I get one. It has Dan's number as well as Mr. Boss. I open the phone and just stare....uh.... I can't figure it out....this phone is older then my dinosaur phone. After a lot of playing with buttons I find the contacts. Oh good the names are in Japanese. All except for Dan's what I relief! I click on Dan's name and nothing happens....OK now I am just frustrated, how do I call or text on this thing?! I notice the time 30 min until 8. I forget about the pancakes in the fridge go to my unpacked suitcases and think, "Uh oh what should I wear today?...Oh wait a nice suit will be fantastic! After all I am meeting ALL my bosses plus the mayor!" I brush my hair take prescribed meds and leave my suitcases on the couch and bed. 7:55 I am out the door. OK where is Dan's apartment....and which car is his? Oh never mind I know he lives in these apartments and there is only 2 buildings I will just stay out in the open. I walk around the building and gasp and stand in awe! ITS SO GREEN!!! Everywhere I look the fabulous sunshine sparkles its brilliant light on the mountains and rice fields and it catches me in its beauty. I take out my tablet and snap a few pictures of what I am seeing. Japan is so beautiful!!! I look down and notice the roads. Are these really what they drive on?! Or is this a one way kind of street? I guess I will find out.
I don't feel at all tired if anything I am nervous and filled with excitement. Then I hear, "Good morning! Glad to see you up and looking fabulous! I am so glad you dressed in business clothing I forgot to mention that." I turn and see Dan coming down the stairs a big smile on his face that is easy to return. "Good morning. I was pretty sure it would not be wise to wear jeans to work. Its not in my education. I would be letting my professors and my own professional self down." He nods in approval. "OK lets head out for a busy day, shall we." He heads over towards a nice blue BMW convertible. I start bouncing in my head I'm thinking, "No way am I this lucky! Everyone is going to be so jealous!!!" I climb into the passenger seat, proud of remembering that it was on the opposite side then what I am use to." Dan asks if I have a paper and pencil. I look embarrassed, "Um no sorry I don't." He informs me that its OK but I will probably want one to make notes as he starts mentioning some important Japanese phrases that I am going to have to say immediately. "Plans have changed a little bit. We are going to see the mayor and BOE first thing this morning, then we will see what happens." First thing I was told was that we are going to the Ya Ku Ba which is the City Hall/Town Center. "Our department is on the 3rd floor." Normally it is easier to enter from the back, but since this was my first time Dan decided we would take the front so I could see everything. I am just nodding like a bobble head trying to soak all the new sights, smells and information in. When he parks his car he turns and looks at me, "OK when we go in there just follow me and try to do exactly what I do. The one important phrase you must try to say and remember right now is 'Yoroshikuonegaishimasu'. Please use this small note pad to write down any notes to remember or questions you may need to ask me later." I quickly write down, "Your row she koo own e guy she mass." and follow him out of the car. I will ask him what it means later.
We enter and he starts telling me how we will be back down to the first floor later to finish filling out my paperwork. I just bobble head. For it being 8 am there were already a lot of workers and they were already fast at work. We travel up 3 flights of stairs. As we entered the third level it was very quiet and everyone was standing at attention by their desks. I noticed that all the desks were facing each other and pushed together. It is like what teachers do in the classroom to form groups. Dan whispers in my ear, "They are about to have a morning meeting. They do this each morning so everyone knows everything that is going on." I nod and continue to follow him. They finish their meeting and sit back down, however all eyes are on Dan and especially me. I smile and look as confident as I can. Even though I was scared and nervous, "What if they don't like me? What if they don't approve? Will I have to return home and go back to searching for a job?" Dan shows me where to sit and quickly starts talking with a man I recognize!! This man came to St. George with my contract! Now I truly smile as he approaches me. He waves, "Hello Aimee, welcome to Japan. Please wait here for one moment." I smile say thank you and sit back down. 15 seconds later he was back motioning for us to follow him.
I follow behind Dan he looks back at me and mouths, "Mayors office." As we reach the door way I see every one who enters bows and says something. Dan does the same. When I enter I just bow, I feel a little foolish for not learning more Japanese before I came. I also learned that what I did learn I had been pronouncing it wrong. Ahhh focus AIMEE!!! I turn my attention back to the room of eyes that are all on me. I smile and the Mayor smiles back and motions me to sit down. I sit down and everyone follows. He starts talking in Japanese and I just smile and try to listen to how he is speaking. One day I will understand and be able to say some of this I tell myself, it will just take time. When the mayor stops, I turn to Dan who translates for me and says that the mayor is glad I am here and wishes my stay in Japan is enjoyable. He hopes that I like working in my schools and that I am happy with my place. I inform him that I am excited to be here and I cannot wait to meet my students. I also tell him I love my place it is very nice and will work well for me. He was very pleased by my response. Everyone in the room laughed and smiled which Dan said was a very good thing. Then Dan told me they were discussing when I should start working and what the plan was to get me ready to drive and get a phone. I just sat and continued to smile. I was at the mercy of their power.
After about 45 minutes or less I shook the mayors hand and bowed myself out of the door. Dan once again told me what the new plan would be. "It looks like you will be with me for the remainder of today, then you will have the next 2 days off to unpack and settle in. Thursday Mr. Somiya will pick you up and take you to be introduced to your schools." I nod. We are heading back down to the first floor. I thought we were going back out to the car but then Dan walked over to a desk, that was when I noticed the lady behind me was part of the BOE and was following us. I looked at Dan for an explanation. "Oh! We are going to fill out your registration paperwork so that you will have an address here and all that good fun government stuff." The lady next to Dan hands him a small circular package. "This is your ink on, I personally am curious to see if its in English or Japanese. It is bigger then mine." I open the package and see that my ink-on is a stamp that has my name written on it. "This is basically your official signature here in Japan. All important documents will need to be stamped with this." Then comes the paperwork. I remember having to pull out my immigration card or Gaiging card (guy jing) and Dan had to write my birthday, address, and some other things in Japanese. My birthday I learned in Japan is 1-1-17. Which is year 1 of the rein of the newest emperor, month 1, and day 17. I find this lucky since I only have to remember 1117....pretty easy.
After a lot of Japanese that I could not understand or remember, we head back upstairs to say goodbye and thank you to everyone. The head guy stands up and calls everyone to attention. This I learn is my BIG boss. I saw him while we were in the meeting with the Mayor he was also their. I could not remember anyone's name but Dan's. They all welcomed me, then Dan turned to me and says, "Say a little bit about yourself." I freeze. Nothing like being put on the spot in front of all the people who hold your fate. I take a breath and say my intro I was practicing for my students. "Hello, My name is Aimee Peterson, I am 24 from St. George. I like frogs, reading, and dancing. I am very excited to meet you and to get started working. Thank you." Everyone looks from me to Dan, who laughs then translates. They all smile and say something then bow. I can feel myself blushing as we leave. Did I do that right? When we get to the car, Dan exhales, "OK that went very well, good job you!" I smile. Then he grins, "Um one thing, when introducing yourself in a business you don't need that many details just your name and where your from will work just fine." I startle and nod. "OK off to my work we go. Looks like we will be in time for lunch. Ready to try some Japanese food?"
We get to his school and the first thing Dan does is head to the principals office. "Since its your first time coming to this school and your not going to be regularly here you must first always greet the principal. Just follow me again." Again we knock then bow at the door. Dan introduces my name and I shake hands with the principal he asks me what my impression is of Japan so far. I explain that I have not really made one since it is only day 1 for me here. He looks shocked and says something in Japanese. Dan looks back at me and asks, "Your not tired from the long flight and time change? He is impressed that you are up and coming to work." I smile and shake my head no I am not tired. Inside I think I am a bundle of nerves there is no way I can sleep with all of this emotional energy coursing through me! Next we step into the teachers office. The principal also joins us this time. Just like at the BOE everyone stands and bows to me saying what I am now sure is a greeting of welcome. This time I am not required to give a speech. Thank heavens of mercy!!! Dan shows me where I can sit and I mess around with the slipper shoes I am wearing. "Dan can I take a picture of these indoor shoes or will they get upset?" He grins, "Take all the pictures you want!" I snap a photo of the slippers making a memo to post it on Facebook. I then bring out the old old old phone and figure out the texting on it while Dan prepares for his class. I eventually get it figured out for the basics. Shrug it will have to do. By now my stomach is growling and I look at the clock to see what time it is. 12:25. WOW time has just flown so far, helps that I have so much to think about and learn. Dan has now handed me a book and is showing me that basics of Japanese. I take out my little notebook and add the words, "Kocho sensei, Kyoto sensie, Ohio go zye masu." (Principal, Vice Principal, good morning.) These are words I will hear every morning and will also need to use in my schools. Dan likes how I am writing the words how I hear them so I can pronounce them correctly. I figured I can learn to spell them later when I am not so worried about trying to speak them.
Lunch time! Since I was an unexpected guest some of the teachers run around and gather me a tray of food. I told Dan not to tell me anything about what I was eating just let me eat it and then if I ask tell me. With how much my brain already had stuffed in it I don't think I could remember the name of the food if I wanted to anyway. This is where I learned that before eating any meal everyone says a type of grace before eating. "Eetadakemasu" (eat a dock A mass) it means thank you for the food that has been placed before me. You are expected to eat whatever is given. Since everyone now knew it was my first day I was not fully required but I figured I should try since later I was going to have to do it anyway. I noticed soup and some other mixtures of food. Dan exclaimed, "Lucky we came on a good day!" I took a breath and using my chopstick began to eat one thing at a time. It was pretty good and I knew I could handle the food. As long as it didn't have mushrooms or chunks of tomatoes. This time I was lucky it did not. The one sensei (teacher) who bravely sat next to me was impressed with my use of the chopsticks. She also took time to ask me a few questions and when we were finished eating, Dan explained, "At the end of the meal we say another grace thanking the earth and everything for the meal." They taught me how to say the phrase and the sensei was impressed with how close I came to sounding like a Japanese speaker. Within minutes I forgot the phrase. (Face-palm) Guess I will have to try to learn that one again. The rest of the afternoon I was with Dan and watched how he taught his classes and how traditionally the schools in Japan worked (Another story for another day). By the time we arrived home I was tired. "I usually take a 20 minute nap at this time. Why don't we meet back here at my car at 6:30 and then go out to get some dinner?" I smiled, "Sounds great thank you."
I went inside and took a short nap. Then I changed my clothes and started unpacking my things. At 6:30 I had everything unpacked and was just starting to hook up my t.v. and surround sound. I went out and met Dan by his car. I love his car! It is so much fun to ride in. I learned that HER name is Blue and he washes and takes care of her because she is his baby. And boy oh boy it shows! We traveled down the roads and Dan quizzed me about what direction we were going in and on what road. I remembered the road was 303 which is the big main road but I could not figure out what direction we were headed!!! Ahh I felt all turned around. "That's alright it takes time and you are soaking up a lot of information, and this is just your first day. So no worries."
I had no doubt that I could easily be friends with Dan, all throughout the drive to dinner and then at dinner we talked and talked and laughed and joked it was a lot of fun. During dinner I brought up one person I met at his school who gave me an angry and bad vibe. I did not mention the vibe to Dan but I did describe and ask who she was. "Oh you met Buzz? I didn't know that I must have been gone for a bit. No worries she is usually a very pleasant person with a laughter that can feel the room! She is just having a rough time." I smiled relieved that I would get to see a more happier side. I knew she was an ALT because when she came into the teachers office she introduced herself to me and we talked for a few minutes.
After dinner it was 8 p.m. when we got home. I once again was feeling very tired from the long day and climbed into pajamas and passed out in bed. This time looking forward to having 2 days off which meant sleeping in....oh little did I know. Jet lag had started and 4 am I was awake and decided to see if the WiFi was still available and check in with everyone. That is when I started to cry. I missed everyone very much and was not use to a quiet home. I missed my dogs in bed curled up with me or the kids running up and down the stairs. The t.v. on with a show playing, dishwasher running and voices of adults downstairs. I missed not having a phone to call anyone. I laid down in my bed and let all the stress and roller coaster of emotions I had been feeling pour out of me. Eventually I was able to fall back asleep for a little longer. When I woke it was around 9 am. I finished the surround sound and t.v. then took a closer look around my house.
Next I decided to try Skyping my mom. We were able to talk for a little bit but the connection was not very good because it was a borrowed connection and through my tablet. My tablet was my main source for a computer. I missed having a good laptop to use. The rest of the day and the next day I spent exploring the area. I spent over 5 hours total walking around and took many photos with my tablet of the beautiful scenery. I feel good about my decision to be here but it was hard leaving so many people I love behind. I hate the time difference which leaves me with only a few hours each day to try and talk to everyone. Usually it is either right before bed or when one of us is working! I figured then that I may just have to try to talk during the weekends with my family. I so wanted a phone!!! At the end of my day as 8 pm came around I crawled into bed. I received a message from Mr. Boss (still can't remember his name!!!) saying that he would be there at 8 am to take me around the area and show me my schools. I set my alarm and fell asleep.
(To Be Continued...)
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