Honeymoon Stage?

We learned in orientation the other day the typical pattern of emotions a foreigner feels in a new country over time; the "honeymoon stage" should be where I'm at now, followed by frustration and despair (I sure hope not), then finally a coping/acceptance stage. I have no idea where I'm at! That's not to say I'm not having a great time though. I think I just had to learn really quickly that as crazy and fun as this place is, it is where I am LIVING for the next 4 months or so.
So for the time I've spent exploring outside of family life:
I got my Japanese cell phone (keitai) complete with infrared technology and cutesy flair hanging off it! So far I've only really spent some time in Shibuya where the famous giant crosswalk exists (ever seen Lost In Translation?) and Shinjuku where purikura machines and expensive shops thrive.


Last week I also got to meet a Japanese girl my age who is the daughter of my host mom's friend, and she's studied abroad in Mongolia and Australia, and knows almost perfect Mongolian(?) and English. We met up at the Shikjuku station, and even underground there is so much fabulous shopping places and upscale restaurants. It was kind of the first time I really had a thorough conversation with someone about the differences of our cultures. As we walked past a bunch of random Halloween crap, I asked how they celebrated it and went on to explain how we did. She had no idea why there were pumpkins with faces all over the place every Fall, but just kind of accepted it! When I explained how we try to scare people for fun and light candles inside carved up pumpkins on our doorstep, she gave me the funniest look! I'm finding it sounds so strange to try to explain the how's and why's of what we do sometimes...Today's adventures include meeting some friends in Harajuku to find crazy costumed girls and some inexpensive shopping, then we'll move onto electric town (supposedly home to inexpensive, advanced technology), and finally Shinjuku for karaoke and drinks tonight.

I have to explain this weekend's CIEE overnight trip to Nikko. We visited ancient Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and really got to experience Japanese tradition. Stepping into a shrine barefoot with the scent of incense all around me (aside from all the "Gaijin" comments) just made me feel so genuinely relaxed. We stayed at a traditional inn wearing yukatas and eating really traditional meals (including whole fish on a stick). After long deliberation and much convincing, I decided to experience the onsen with a few of the girls in the CIEE group, also known as a scalding hot communal bath tub...clothe-less. I was so nervous at first, but seriously WHY NOT if I'm given the opportunity? That's what this trip is all about, and I found myself greatly rewarded as, I swear, every muscle in me released all its tension. The Japanese know what's up! A small few of us topped off the night searching for the one and only small bar in the neighborhood, but found it to be a wonderful surprise as we sang Aladdin karaoke through the night and made "friends" with Japanese Obama fans.

School starts next Wednesday, so I'm trying to enjoy all the free time I can. I promise as I find a better Internet source I will post pictures and videos I have taken, because they're hilarious! Much love to everyone!

IN TOKYO!

I don't even know how to begin explaining this emotional roller coaster going on inside of me! The last few weeks I was feeling down, then up, and back down again... But once I gave my final hugs and goodbyes to my dad and stepmom at the airport, and wiped away my tears, I felt almost a giant relief. So much so, that I can only describe how I felt as going into "autopilot" mode. Not upset and teary, and not particularly happy either. Just kinda coasting along, watching movies on the plane, tired as hell at the end. As the plane set down onto the Narita Airport runway, I made sure I caught a glance at the Japanese style homes nestled in the countryside. I'm really here! It sounds so cliche, but I can only describe what I'm going through as surrealistic in every aspect. After being greeted by the group and sent off onto a bus towards our hotel (which is absolutely beautiful!), I met Ryan from Wisconsin. We talked and talked in excitement, from where it came we still can't figure out (it felt about midnight to us at this point) until we drifted over the bridge above the bay, dazily staring out into the giant, but gorgeous city scene, and somehow our conversation drifted off into a 5 minute nap.

When we arrived at the hotel, we received our room keys and orientation packets. To my amazing relief, it contained the information about my homestay family. The past few weeks I'd been nautiously nervous about all the unknowns (knowing NOTHING about my family until this very moment), and all that so quickly just disappeared. A family of four! A mother, father, daughter (age 19) and son (age 21). With a cat! And a dog! (And a hamster.) Most of them able to speak intermediate level English! I meet them in two days and I will have much more on that later.

My roommate in the hotel for these first 2 nights, Erin from Minnesota, is awesome and she took me to the corner 7-11 (as she'd already visited Japan) and we bought some delicious dinners with a tasty sweetbread.

Well, it's 9:37PM here in Tokyo, and I only got about an hour sleep on the plane, which means I've been awake for almost 24 hours. Goodnight!