First Impressions

Sorry not to wright until now; its been a challenging week with a lot of newness and not a lot of free time.

I came to Nippon with a prejudice, that it was going to be awesome, and I was right. Everything is both different and the same. I live with a host family in the town of Togitsu which is about two miles from Nagasaki and my University. They are a very pleasant retired couple who have hosted students in the past. I also live with a host brother who is from France. I spent the last week mostly in a stupor from jet-lag, but now I am starting to feel accustom to the time difference.

The University that I attend is located on the top of a hill on the boarder of Nagasaki city. It is a smaller school with a population of about 300 students, 50 being international students. The program is for western students, so there are people from America, France, and Germany, but in truth, the program caters to American students. This last week was all orientation which included information about the school, city, and culture. I think school here will be very enjoyable.

It is strange to be a foreign here. Most people seem very friendly, but some older adults look at you with disdain and some younger children whisper and giggle about you. Overall thou, people are very accepting and helpful. Here is one example. Yesterday, I lost my wallet on the bus, but someone saw it and gave it to the bus driver. Then, the bus driver stopped the bus and waited for me to come back and get it.

The city of Nagasaki is nothing special, in that the western style commercial buildings are depressing and lifeless, but the few representations of true culture are beautiful. So far, I have seen a Shinto shrine and some Chinese architecture. The landscape is amazing. Mountainous hills covered with dense vegetation. The ocean never far out of view. Clouds that role in so low you think: maybe I can reach up and pluck them from the sky.

I look forward to the routine that school provides, and to life settling into a steady flow once more.

To begin

I'm not really sure how this whole blogging business is suppose to go, but I will do my best to be worth your time.

Tomorrow I begin my journey across the Pacific to the archipelago of Japan. (Better known as Nihon or Nippon to the Japanese people). I will be staying in the city of Nagasaki which is located on the island of kyushu. This is the southern most island of the four major islands that make up the country. The latitude is around that of Atlanta, Georgia so I am hoping for a little milder winter than what we see in Wisconsin. Japan is very mountainousness with sixty percent of the land covered by forest. I look forward to the beautiful land and seascapes that are sure to be abound.

The multitude of planes rides I have to take will add up to around twenty four hours of travel. I am apprehensive, as I have never traveled such a distance alone. I leave from Milwaukee and arrive in Fukuoka with layovers in Detroit and Nagoya. Once in Fukuoka, I will meet up with people from the study abroad program and be taken to Nagasaki on the morn of the twentieth. Classes start the next day.

I chose to stay with a host family because I wanted to get a better perspective on what life is really like in Japan. So far, all I know is that the family consists of three people: a husband, a wife, and a mother-in-law. He is a sixty five year old business man and she is a sixty three year old house wife. I have the feeling I might have to live like a child again, which is fine because I might feel like a child anyway.

That is all I can think to say and I have much packing to do. To anyone who reads my blog, thank you for taking this journey with me.