it has only been 3 weeks?!?!

Well I cannot believe it, but it has only been a few weeks since I took the plane from Chicago to Tokyo, Japan. I have done so many things, and have had such a great time that it almost feels like I have been living here for a few years.

Where to start, where to start. Well I guess a good place to start would be the beginning. Tokyo, specifically the area of Tokyo named Shinjuku, is where my adventure began. After arriving at Narita airport, all the Jets from the Chicago flight were quickly led through a series of stages throughout the airport to drop off luggage and check it. I think that I was the first person in line, and so some of the stages were not ready, but nonetheless it went fairly quickly. The only hitch was that once we got throughout the entire process, we had to get on the bus for an one and a half. Once we got to the hotel (Keio Plaza), it was nice to finally have a bed and a shower.

During the time in Tokyo, there were a lot of meetings and introduction ceremonies to attend, which at times could be quite boring. Nonetheless, there were times where we could go out and explore the city. One day I went to Shibuya, where some 1500 people cross an intersection every five minutes. I have been there before, but it was fun going there with a couple of my new friends. Another night, all the new Nagano Jets went out to an all you can eat/drink party for a couple of hours. It was a great time to get to know the people in my area.

On our final day, which was 木曜日（Wednesday）, we got our luggage together and headed out towards Nagano Prefecture. The bus ride was nice, but it was also a littler nerve racking at times. The anticipation of going to our new homes was quite high some times. First we had to drop off a couple of people near Lake Suwa, and then we stopped at a rest stop to have lunch. After which, we went to 松本 (Matsumoto) city, where I was dropped off. To pick me up was the head of the Honjo Board of Education (BOE). He was a very nice man, but did not speak any English. Couple that with my lack of conversational Japanese, and this made for an interesting car ride. However, the ride to Honjo was nice, and it really showed me what a beautiful area I live in.

Once we got to my town, we went to the school, where most of the teachers were present. It was nice to meet them all, but at the same time I was a bit nervous. However, everyone was very nice and they put me to ease immediately. After the short meeting, I went back to my house to have things explained to me, ie how do you use the washer and stove top, etc. Finally, that first day in my house, I had the rest of the day to put things together and to relax. And, as I will be writing later, I have had a lot of time to relax my first few weeks in 日本.

Right now I am having some difficultly posting pictures, but hopefully I will be able to change this soon. Also, since this is my first installment of my adventures in Japan, another one will be coming later today or tomorrow. Until then, cheers.