Respectful Drunkards

Greetings, dear listeners.

What a crazy people are the Japanese! We went walking around Tokyo last night, and ventured into the seedier side of this area. Just to remind me of the insane paradoxes at every turn, we stood with a crowd watching a group of boys harass their wayy-gone drunk friend by stripping off his pants to reveal bright orange briefs! Not a pretty sight, I can assure you. There were at least 20 or 30 people watching. They pulled him around every which way before stuffing him into the trunk of a taxi. Hmmmm. Then as they left, they all approached the store owner (I assume?) who had been quietly watching, and bowed very apologetically, though they had been harassing their friend with unending relish.

Oh yeah, before that, we partook in a rather largish and extremely free banquet courtesy of the Japanese government. I swear, those guys want us to get tanked whenever possible. Part of the welcome process. I have zero complaints about that.

A Long Journey to the Orient

This is what staying up all night packing, then spending
another night drinking, then flying for 10 hours does
to you. It's not pretty, is it.



My my, what a difference a night of sleep makes. After a night of
good sleep in a comfortable bed, I had a sumptuous American breakfast,
complete with eggs and bacon, in a room with a beautiful view of
Tokyo. Afterwards, I walked around Tokyo in full business attire with
several other program participants. We looked quite the part of the
Japanese "salaryman," except for our not being Japanese.

The hotel is highly luxurious, and we have been treated like princes
thus far. I haven't really experienced much 'true' Japan yet, but I will not complain! So this hotel is pretty much the sweetest thing in the world. If you didn't tell me I was in Japan, I might not have guessed it, were it not for the Japanese people all over the place.

We just had a fantastic lunch with excellent service, and
now there are several more training sessions this afternoon before our
welcome reception tonight (i.e. more food, I hope!). After that, it
will likely be out for kara-oke.

I'm gonna go have a conversation with our electric toilet now.













My first Japanese meal, on the airplane.
The stewardesses were definitely very hot.













They were filming a Japanese television commercial.
The one guys' nose was bloody. Not knowing Japanese myself,
I had no idea how that fit into the plotline.

Packing Light

How the hell do you pack for a whole year? I'm only capable of packing for like 5-day increments, so I'm basically just taking what I would normally need and then multiplying it by 5. I feel like a prima donna with all this stuff though. Today I just bought a new pair of dress shoes, a rain slicker, and an umbrella. The savvy traveler must be prepared for all eventualities. Black-tie affair during a gale, for example.

It is only now beginning to sink in that I'm leaving for a year to go to Japan. I'm very excited, though, even though the homesickness is already beginning to sink in.