Japan: First Days

Wow, I'm totally buggered from my transcontinental jump and the ensuing ride through the rollicking house of fun that's the JET Arrival Orientation. Nothing says controlled chaos like several thousand people from all over the world descending on one hotel for a three day long seminar series with meal breaks and drunken night time partying. Hey, it's like a scientific conference, only with fewer boring bits!

The trek from Sydney was largely uneventful, due to a timely dose of Ativan which ensured that nine hours on the plane was lost in a haze of badly needed sleep. That being said, I'm still aching 2 days after the massive cleanup of my apartment in Sydney before we handed it back to the landlord. I daresay us remaining housemates did a really good job of cleaning up our 3-room multilevel townhouse, considering that a total of about 18 tenants have come and gone over the years, and it was left up to only 2 of us to physically cart 8 years of accumulated junk out of a place with 8 flights of stairs. I tells ya, mopping, vacuuming and vacating a house at the same time as attempting a complete move to another country (all with minimal shower opportunities) is one of those things you have to do at least once in your lifetime. C'mon, I dare ya.

Bitterness and resentment aside, it's been great here in Tokyo, our first stop before we get shipped to our respective prefectures. It really gives you the warm fuzzies sitting in a crowd of thousands while a whole boatload of officials tell you how brave you are to leave your hometown and come over to spread the international love, as it were. There were many seminars to go to, and I overheard a few newbies saying how ironic it was that they kept telling us that punctuality was a virtue, but they were quite happy to continue talking over the time limit for each seminar. Well, that's officialdom for you, innit? ^^;

Due to my continuing fatigue, I decided to skip the drinking session organized by the JETs from my prefecture, opting instead to make a quick trip to Shibuya to look for a handbag for a friend. Didn't end up finding it, but managed to score a yukata set (complete with obi and geta) for a cool hundred bucks. Bargain! Well, there goes my well thought out plan to save money and stop accumulating junk... *sigh*

More seminars tomorrow, and a reception at the Aussie embassy where we'll get a few cans of Foster's to remind us of home. How that's going to achieve the point is beyond me. I mean come on, they could at least shout us some New, am I right guys? XD

Sleepytime. My shoulder still hurts, and I miss Kitty. I wonder if he's alright.