Orientation in Tokyo and Arrival in Sendai

I arrived safely in Japan after a long plane ride from San Francisco. I had a worrisome moment or two just after passing through security in the Tokyo airport, because my plane got in early and the person who was supposed to meet me wasn't there yet. I didn't panic, though, and she soon showed up, at which point we had lots of time to wait for the other American students coming to Tokyo that day.

As a big group, we spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and half of Thursday at a sort of orientation at the Yoyogi Olympic center in Tokyo. We talked about a number of things, including our goals for the summer, things to watch out for in our interactions with Japanese students (not talking too fast, being patient in communication, trying to be sensitive to others' feelings and to different ways of doing things), and time management suggestions for both our time here and when we return home. We also did some team-building exercises like problem-solving, a discussion about our personality types, and creative summaries of the things we learned at orientation (my team wrote a poem and performed a short song).

The team I'm a part of consists of me, three students from North Carolina (Stephanie, Samuel, and Dustin), and three team leaders who are staying in Japan long-term. Our immediate team leader's name is Megan; here in Sendai, Stephanie and I are staying in Megan's apartment with her and her roommate, and Samuel and Dustin are staying in a house closer to the university campus. The entire team is here to help out with a club at Tohoko Gakuin University here in Sendai, so most of what we'll be doing this summer depends on club activities (including English conversation practices, meetings, shared meals, and at least one trip).

After orientation, Megan, Stephanie, Samuel, Dustin, and I took a five-hour bus ride from Tokyo to Sendai. We spent our first day here having a team meeting (to discuss plans for the summer and a little bit about our finances) and going grocery shopping. It rained off and on in a fine mist for most of the day, so I was glad for Megan's car (and her knowledge of driving in Japan). I am starting to feel pretty well settled in, which is nice. We met some students right after we got off the bus to Sendai, but we'll have a better opportunity to talk to some of them tomorrow, since we're meeting them for lunch. I'm looking forward to it; I've heard that the students are excited to meet us, and I hope they're still excited about getting to know us after we've met.