Everything in its right place

The ship has landed. After roughly 14 hours and a connection in Minneapolis, I’ve made it to Japan.

I’m currently in my hotel room, and it’s 2:41 AM local time. That means it’s 1:41 PM in my mind and body. I am typing in a dark room. Drew, one of my two roommates, is also typing. He is in the same room, so it is also dark for him. Our other roommate, Cody, is sleeping. About ten minutes ago, Cody said he couldn’t sleep. I have not known Cody for long, but it seems he is a liar.

As I previously posted about a slew of lasts, I will now mention some fabulous firsts.

First album played in Japan while on the bus from Narita Airport to Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo: Radiohead’s Kid A. “Yesterday, I woke up sucking a lemon,” Thom Yorke sang to me. Hey, Thom. You’re right, if you are somehow subtly suggesting that leaving America had a certain sour taste to it. But I’m OK, Thom. Dad was there. The Snows were there. I’ve made it to Japan. I drank 7-UP on the plane.

First meal in Japan: Udon noodles. A small group of Atlantans wandered around the pleasantly small streets near the hotel to find food. There were neon lights and neoner lights. There was severe trepidation in deciding on a spot to eat, which does not bode well for our collective, near futures as teachers. Following the crowd, it turned out, just led to long lines comprised of other future teachers. At last, we found a restaurant with a name I’ll never know, and we ordered by putting money into a vending machine. There are pictures of the food outside each restaurant, and you get a ticket to hand to the cook when you’ve decided what to eat. It felt nice to slide a 1,000 yen (≈10 dollar) bill into the slot, and the machine did not spit the bill out the way it has happened countless times in America. I do not know if this is some marvel of Japanese technology. It’s possible I just had a crisp bill.

First acquaintances: Here’s a quick run-down of the major movers and shakers.

Matt: I sat next to him on the flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis, and the conversation quickly picked up when we discovered a shared interest in indie rock. He's quite a fan of Magnet, so we obviously, inevitably dissected the greatness of NMH’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. He went to UNC, and he’s considering starting a Mates of States-esque band with his girlfriend when he returns from Japan. I later saw him in the lobby of the hotel, and he was surrounded by four Japanese women, who all seemed quite taken with him. I decided not to say hi at that point.

Cody: I lied earlier when I said I hadn’t known him for that long. In fact, I knew him intimately for 12 hours straight since we were seated next to each other from Minneapolis to Narita. I liked him immediately after he said he was a light sleeper and could not sleep on airplanes or trains. I, too, have this problem. Between the two of us, we got about 1.5 hours of sleep on the plane.

Anna: I met her way back in June at the Atlanta Q & A session. She speaks Japanese, so she acted as our impromptu tour guide on our quest for food. I felt bad that everyone was relying on her, but she appeared to enjoy being helpful. Anna is a small-town girl from Missoura.

After dinner, a few of us went to a convenience store to buy celebratory beer to bring back to the hotel. It was 8:30 PM local time, meaning we essentially wanted booze at 7:30 AM. Hey, when in Japan. A few girls bought Sapporo, I bought Asahi. The clerk asked if I wanted a bag, but I did not understand him. Fortunately, he gestured by pointing at the bag in question. At this point, even saying simple words such as arigato is awkward, but I am certain that will pass.

There is so much more to say, but I suppose that is always the case.