Ginger Snaps: First Week in Japan!!

I am in Japan!

I am safely here, but because of many internet issues I have not been able to post, or email until now.

It is so wonderful to be in Japan again and here with such a great team.

There is so much to say and so this post may be very long! It has been great getting to know my teammates, and spending time with the students has been so fun and in many ways refreshing.

Friday we spend lunch time eating and hanging out with students and then Friday night we had a Karaoke night with all of BEST club. I had to sing, which was pretty hilarious, but the time of many laughs with new friends really made me go “Ah! And this is why I came back to Japan!”

So that is a summary for those of you who don’t have much time to read, but here is more detail for those who would like to know more! Pictures are at the bottom.

We got to Tokyo on Tuesday during a typhoon. We rode the train for 2 hours to get to our apartment. I am rooming with the other female teammate, Kelly from San Diego. We've had a lot of fun together! We have a very cute, small apartment (but bigger than the guy’s). We’ve enjoyed having time at our place as a team because it is a good, bigger place for us all to meet up. Japanese apartments are very small. Our kitchen has one small burner and sink and no counter space, but we are hoping to learn from some of the students how to cook!

Wednesday we had a time of orientation in the morning and then we had “Lunch Table” with the BEST club students from Chuo University. It was great to see some friends from last year as well as meet many new friends. We spent the afternoon with Keiichi, a leader in BEST club. In the evening half of our team went to Bible night and discussed the story of Zacchaeus, while the others spent time together.

Thursday, Mark Rood (BEST club leader for 11 years) gave us an orientation and we studied the book of Daniel together which was amazing and I saw things and learned things that I never had before from hearing those stories. Orientation lasted most of the day.

Friday was full day spent with the students and it really reminded me of why I came to Japan. I love Japanese people and investing in friendships with them. We went to Chuo University to meet our friends. Chuo has a four floor cafeteria and it is said that their campus has the best food in Japan. At lunch table I was able to see a good friend from last year and help her with a presentation. Then the team prepared for karaoke by choosing songs. Then we went to Shaberanaito (which is our Friday night large group event). This special event was Tokyo BEST idol (“American Idol” style). It was very intimidating because the Japanese take karaoke very seriously and have done it since elementary school, so we American’s do not compare! I told the host, our Japanese friend Jack, to not make me go first, and of course, he choose me to go first. I was voted off first round, but it meant I was able to enjoy the other rounds without fear of singing again… haha! Then we went to Saizeriya, which is an Italian restaurant near our apartment. Many students came and I enjoyed eating with and getting to know more students. They love practicing English and it is so fun getting to know what type of music they like and what activities they enjoy etc.

Saturday we slept, a lot, which was great because I needed it to recover from travel and jetlag. And then the team meet and we got Starbucks and talked more about our time here in Japan, our highlights, challenges, and hopes, so far. I feel like the whole day helped me get to know the team a lot better.

Sunday was also a great day and I feel like it was the first time that we just “hung out” in a natural and fun way. We meet a graduate student as well as a few BEST students and we all hung out for a while before going to sushi together! It was spontaneous and fun, and I enjoyed getting to know some girls better as we walked together.

It has been so great and refreshing just to hang out and spend time with students and my teammates. Loving Japan as much as ever! J Japanese people are so polite and kind and their culture is so beautiful! I loving being here! More updates coming soon!