Did that just really happen?

**Off the bat, I apologize for the length of this entry. I’ve had a number of moments of free time and could think of nothing else to do but to write; and because so much as happened over the last little while, there is much to detail**

It's that dumbfounded, euphoric, recently nostalgic high that you feel after arriving home after a wild night out on the town, or sitting on your bed after a fantastically picturesque first date, or getting back on the plane after a week's vacation from halfway around the world. When you finally stop moving and have time to collect your thoughts to go over what just happened. And you find yourself so overwhelmed that so much happened in so small an amount of time that you think to yourself, “Did that just really happen?”

I can tell you that hundred of kilometers from where I call home, about 2,000 people did just that recently. From all walks of life and all corners of the globe, they descended upon Narita airport in Tokyo in a mass exodus of weary bodies and precariously overloaded suitcases. Some had been traveling for 10 hours. Others 15. Some even still had said their final goodbyes more than 24 hours prior and were just now getting off of their final of three or four different airplanes. And if that is not incredible enough by itself, the majority of these travelers had little more than an hour's sleep on the plane. If that. Trying to get comfortable in economy class sandwiched between two people is a feat in and of itself; needless to say that many became fast friends with a slightly ulterior motive of getting a shoulder or arm to rest on.

And it was that after countless movies and TV shows, impromptu exercise up and down the aisles and incessant restroom breaks (In my case none. Still don't know how I did it), the doors finally opened and we poured from the cramped yet cool cabin into an even more cramped and much hotter Customs line. I'm not entirely sure how the non-Japanese speaking JETs made it through without a hitch, though I hope that they figured out that displaying the JET sticker and saying, “I'm a JET” would meet with a quick “Hai, hai!” and return of the passport.

The jetlagged-exacerbated whirlwind was finally parted when we saw that first aqua shirt of a returning JET that was there to show us the way. And show us the way they did as perhaps every five meters we would see another, and another, and another, all pointing, “Welcome to Japan! This way. That way. Up there. Down there. Welcome!” We were directed all over the airport and back before finally emerging in the parking area to load busses to Tokyo.

At first, I thought to myself, “Narita's in Tokyo, but there are fields around us. Where are the building and such?” And for quite a while that was indeed the case: small buildings and fields with roads running all this way and that. But I was soon put in my place as it seemed that the metropolis that was Tokyo appeared as if out of nowhere and we soon found the bus surrounded by towering building and being winded like a snake over avenues and walkways.

I should point out that while I say, “we soon found...”, the soon was about an hour and change worth of driving, yet only for a few dozen kilometers. The speed limit on most of the highways in Japan in 90 km/h, and NO ONE seems to break it. Granted, there is the occasional car that may pass at about 97, 98 in the fast lane, but for the most part it is followed religiously. Therefore, as a native of Ontario, where you'd better be doing at least 110 lest you be honked off the road, it felt as though it was taking forever. But, I digress.

Amidst city gridlock and endless driving, we finally found ourselves in front of the lobby of our hotel with our bags in hand. We were directed to a specific room to pick up some information and our room keys, but let me tell you how my back ached just from making it through that relatively simple gauntlet. From before you even make it into the hotel, the parking attendants are bowing at you and saying, “Konnichi wa (Hello)! Irasshaimase (Welcome)!” And then there's the front desk staff that see you out of the corner of their eyes, and even though they're a good 20, 30 meters away, you can still hear their “Irasshaimase” from across the lobby with more bowing. Then you make it up the escalator to the room and there's about four or five people who seem to have the only function in life of motioning you into the room with a “Dozo, dozo! (Please, this way), and – you guessed it – more bowing. THEN you finally get into the room with about fifteen or twenty Japanese people attending tables just waiting for us to arrive. And each and every single one smiles and bows about three or four times with another “konnichi wa”. So by the time I made it to the elevator, I've felt as though I've done about 75 ab crunches, but at the same time as though I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread with all the attention.

Needless to say, for those who haven't gone through the JET orientations, I'll spare you the next two days. There was a lot of mind your P's and Q's and here's what you can/can't do, should/shouldn't do, etc. If you've ever had an orientation at work, imagine receiving a HUGE manual, then going to a three-day event replete with presentations, then flying to Tokyo for two more days of it. Then flying to your city for another day or two more. Then going to your school for another day times however many schools you have. By the time all was said and done, most of us don't want to hear the word 'orientation' for a good six to eight weeks.

So after two days of air conditioned rooms, business suits, catered meals, and endless information sessions – interspersed with free time gallivanting around Tokyo – we finally went our separate ways onto plane and train to head to our host prefectures and cities. After what seemed like a hop, skip and a jump to Haneda airport and then onto a plane finally found us descending into the city that I would be calling home for the next year. A start contrast from Tokyo, when I looked out the window, I saw fields in the place of buildings, green in place of gray. I'd like to say it was what I was expecting considering that when I searched for Tottori on Wikipedia it said that it was the least populated prefecture, but on the other hand, as is with much on this trip so far, it did take me by surprise.

I thought it a good idea to be in full business attire when I arrived so as to make a good first impression, so you can imagine my surprise when my supervisor greeted me in t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. The surprises only continued as we drove from the airport through town, to my apartment (which bears a striking resemblance to my room in residence, in size), and the people that I would meet.

Thus far the people that I have met, both Japanese and non-Japanese alike have been very friendly and tons of fun to hang with and I’m hoping for more of the same as the time goes on. I don't miss everyone back home TOO much, but I think that it's because the gravity of the situation that it'll be a year hasn't sunk in yet. It still feels like a few weeks or so that I'll be gone. However, according to the JET calendar, my longing for home will kick in in a few months, so let's wait and see how close to the mark it gets.