*ahem* To not bore you further with le introductions, I shall now carry on to the first topic of JAPAN~
~ EXPERIENCE ~
( Intro )
My journey to the Land of the Rising Sun was most memorable. Enrolling into a youth exchange program under American-Field Service ( AFS ), I admit that Japan wasn't my first choice. The young me was reluctant to go overseas at the thought of being alone, struggling to be independent while being away from home and coping with stuff like cross-culture experiences. Out of my batch, my case was the most awkward one. My first choice which was Australia ( chosen because it was near ) never came about as..believe or not, no one wanted to host me = =. Seriously, Australia alone is bigger than the entire Europe combined but no one wants to host me? Somehow that kinda let me down. But no matter, I moved on to my second choice >> The land known for its sheep, New Zealand... erm.. well, that didn't work out as well so in the end, I was given my third choice, Japan. Feeling somehow disappointed about the initial 2 choices, I didn't hope much for someone to take me in, but amazing enough, just within 2 DAYS, they found me a nice and friendly host family.
The journey begins ---
Being 1 month behind schedule, I was finally secured a flight on the 8th of April. Every step I took towards that immigration check point felt like eternity. It's one of those moments when time slows down as flashbacks start to roll. A part of you inside turns emotional and those that aren't mentally prepared would cry. Bidding farewell to my family, it would be 1 year later that I will be able to see them again. Walking only forward, I started to shed manly tears as the images of my family was finally covered by the crowd behind. From here on, I would be alone.
Arriving ---
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| First sight of land C : |
I pretty much slept through the whole flight. Occasionally looking out of the window only to see clouds, I was still trying to get over my the feelings I couldn't leave behind. After 6 hours or so, the first sight of Japanese land came to view. After another 30 mins or so, we finally landed and immediately, you could tell the difference between our countries as I was greeted by the chilly spring winds of April.
I was greeted by one of the representatives of AFS Japan who was supposed to be my guide. After some simple introductions, he gave me my shinkansen ( bullet train ) ticket and we were off to Nagoya City. Note: I was very shocked with the ticket price... 4000 yen ( RM 143 ) for a one way ticket.
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| Some Cherry Blossoms on the way to the office C = |
Getting off the shinkansen wasn't easy with a 20kg luggage and several other hand carries. Lucky for me, as soon as I arrived, another representative came to help out. Mr. Oyama ( if my memory serves me right ) was one of the few representatives along the journey that gave me great motivation and help to understand Japanese better. In fact, I had my first lunch with him in a traditional Japanese restaurant. I stayed at the office for another hour or 2 after lunch. That's when I met my liaison person ( adviser / agent ), Harada-san. We had a brief discussion about the Do's & Don'ts, cleared some documents and a small introduction to basic Japanese. At around 6pm, they then escorted me to my soon-to-be new family.
My first day experience at my host family's~
I'm pretty sure everyone starts off very shy and reserved when getting to know someone new. I wasn't an exception. Pretty lucky though, that my host family is one of the most awesome, energetic, and friendly bunch of people I know to date. As soon as I arrived at their doorstep, I was greeted by my host, preferably called - Aa-chan, with a warm hug, lots of words I didn't understand at first, and 3 little mischievous kids of the family. She gave me a tour around the house. From the kitchen to the living room, the rooms up stairs, my new room, and the garden. Just when you think that's all to it, she then proceeds to the other 2 houses, owned by her daughters ( yes, she is the *ahem* grandma ) and their respective husbands. Their house was special : all 3 were connected by access bridges and the center being a large area for family activities, such as their monthly barbecue sessions or when it's not in use, it's their place to hang the laundry.
After we've got over the important notes, my liaison person left as it was already 8pm. A moment of silence then came between me and Aa-chan as neither of us knew where to start. Then with a broken English accent, she told me that dinner will be ready in half an hour ( she said it very simply " dinner, tharti minits raidi!! " ) and that's when I felt more comfortable since I knew some English would be able to get me through. Alas, dinner came faster than I thought and I was in another awkward situation >. >'' The first dinner was with Aa-chan. A simple enough dinner, but with the authentic taste of Japanese vegetable, spice and everything nice. We continued our conversation from earlier, using mostly gestures than spoken language. The only words I knew in Japanese at that time was " kawaii ", " sugoi " and " betsu ni ". Had I knew Japan would be my destination, I would have prepped.
It was rather late when we finished dinner and our chat ( due to difficulty understanding, 1 sentence took much longer to be conveyed than it normally would ). Electronic dictionaries helped out quite a lot as I could key in the words and show her instead of showing off my weird sign languages. As the minute needle passed 10, she gestured me to go ahead and take a bath. Japanese people like jacuzzis. It's a part of their everyday life. Apart from showering, they would always immerse themselves in a tub of hot water for about 20 mins. On a note... the water they use... is recycled = ='' meaning the same tub of water is used until the last person is done. So a family of 4 would mean the 4th person is using the tub previously used by 3 people. Kinda gross, but heck, it's their culture. One strike for culture shock there.
As I returned to my room, there were some things that I concluded on that very day -
1) one shouldn't worry too much about what has yet to come.
2) entering one's country requires one to learn their language even the most basic one.
3) the world is bigger than one thinks.
With that, I prepared for bed feeling anxious yet excited for the days to come.
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