How You When You've Finally Recovered From JET LAG

Depending on where you travel to, JET LAG can be pretty intense. I have been in Japan for a little over three weeks, now and i must say it took me a while to adjust. I remember the night that we arrived, we were told that we had to get up at 7 am. OMG i had been up for a whole 24hrs and then they wanted me to get up at 7am JAPAN TIME. It was crazy. If you read my previous post LOST IN TRANSLATION, you'll a gist of why it was so overwhelming. When you finally do adjust you'll kinda wish u never did. You'll always be tired no matter what, There is so much to see in Tokyo and as a study abroad student you have no choice but to walk or or bike every where you go. If you weren't fit when you came to Tokyo, you definitely be fit by the time you leave.  

So to answer my Post Title question, you know that you are over jet lag when your body adjust to the Japan's timezone. I'll say it took me about 2 and half weeks. I never changed the time of my ipod or computer to Japan's timezone. WHY??? Well because it just helps me  think about what i would be doing around that time if I was home. There is a major 14 hour difference. It also helps me keep track of when it would be a good time to call family and friends.  In all, Jet Lag is not that bad when your abroad. In my eyes, it comes with the experience.

Project Proposal

At this moment I not quite sure what exactly I want to do. I have Three basic interests that drew me to Japan that I would want to further investigate. These interest include fashion, street racing and ninjas. If i had to narrow it down to two it would probably be NINJAS and STREET RACING. Regardless of which one i choose, i will most likely use a combination of film, audio and still imagery. In the midst of doing this project, I definatley would like to immerse myself in it, where as i would be able to walk away with an authentic experience for myself.  

Beautiful!

I was just happened to catch the sun go down.

Back to the FUTURE

I have traveled thousand and thousands plus miles into a new time zone, just so I can live your future and you can live my past. Excuse me one second, Yea, Ill take a 7&7 please, light on the 7up, heavy on the you know. Now, as i was saying i came along way not just to the island of Japan, but in life in general.

Lets dip into the past, shall we?

Everyone knew the shy, humble, soft spoken girl. The girl that a lot of people secretly admired. The girl that didn't even know herself, How ironic. The girl who had a lot to say but never quite spoke her mind when the time was right. The girl who had nothing to hide but herself from the rest of the world. So creative and endowed with her abilities. Only a few people knew, but that was enough to push her to stop day dreaming and make a reality of it. That girl was weak. I hate to say it but she was. Many knew her name but she couldn't hold her own. Let's face it she was a little girl at heart if she had heart at all. I don't affiliate myself with the weak cus that's wack.

Now back to the future

Old news behind me left that in 08 with shigurl. Shyt Im even in a new land, breathing in new air, walking in my new shoes. Taking pictures of this new world, perceiving things with this new mindset. Brand-new to some and I'll take that L anyday. If i must say i aint never been a threat to my own self as i am now. TERRORIST! MURDERER! Yes i killed her. I got the best lawyer in the world, my savior. Guess what im stronger than i ever was. Who is LuLu Bichon? That's a good question you'll never figure that out. Okay Ill give you a hint, LuLu Bichon is nothing more than a strong astronomical force to the world with out. The world with in is already taken care of. This Real World today got me in Tokyo for the moment, blogging to the rest of the world who wont get to see it till tomorrow. Im no better than you by any means. I just make better choices, that's better for my well being.

The Evening Rush

Have  you ever seen an baby elephant being stuffed into one of  your local subway train cars? No???!! Well neither have I, but perhaps if you have ever been on one of the subway lines in the heart of Tokyo then maybe you can relate. It literally feels like you and the other 60-80 people hoarding over you are that poor baby elephant. I have never in my life experienced this level of discomfort.

 Imagine this: 

You've had a very very long day. You are extremely tired and you are thinking about what you plan on eating for dinner tonight. You look down at your watch and it is approximately 6:05 p.m.. You manage to board the train just as it is about to leave. The train is already kind of full. There are no seats left so you have no choice but to stand. You find a pulley and hold on for dear life as the train suddenly jets off. You look around and see people playing on their the cellphones or reading their books. It is awfully quiet except for the obnoxious americans to the far right of you, who fail to realize that the locals rarely converse on the trains. You look to the left and see that some men and women are wearing white masks that cover their noses and mouths.DON'T BE ALARMED it is not the bird flu or anything like that. The train slowly comes to a halt. At the next stop, the platform is flooded with locals eager to get home just as badly as you want to.  "Okay its not that bad, there's still some room," That's what the locals think but in your mind you saying, "There is no way in hell all these people are going to fit on this train!" The doors open and about 15 people exit and that was only to let the people get out who actually have to stop here. Next thing you know, a swarm of people board the train. What you were thinking earlier was clearly false. Next thing you know you have purses and briefcases poking you in the back, a man or woman a little to close for comfort and a poor old lady who really needed that priority seating. Talk about uncomfortable! The doors finally close and of course the train jets off again sending the weight of everyone your way. In the midst of the all the chaos people are still reading their books fiddling with their cellphones and playing with their Nintendo DS. YOU on the other hand, are trying to maintain your balance hoping you don't crush the poor little girl beside you. Not to mention when the swarm of people finally  get off the train, you'll be turning and spinning in every direction. But don't worry, you'll finally get a seat and you'll make it home just in time to grab something from McDonald's. 

SneaK PEEK!

                                      

Lost in translation

Jan 8, 2009 I landed in Tokyo at Narita Airport at approximately 3:35pm with my visa and passport in hand. This 14 hour flight was exhausting but I made my way through immigration, customs and the money exchange with out any problems. I go to make a phone call to call a friend of mine who had landed previously to my arrival. I look to my cellphone to only see ROAMING roll across the screen. NO SERVICE, NO CALLS, I thought to myself,  "How am I gona call my friend, I will be lost with out him." Indeed I was. I couldn't even call my parents to let them know that I had made it there safely.  I run over to the pay phones to make a call. I couldn't quite grasp the concept of the yen and its worth. So I stood by the payphones clueless.

 After about a hour of fumbling with my bags and trying to find my friend. I get a phone call. RING RING. "Who could it be," I thought to myself. It was my bff from home. I was so excited to hear from her. It was about 2 something in the morning in America, I begged her to call my dad to let him know I arrived here safely. After talking to them and I spent the next 45 minutes trying to find my way to ONTAKESEAN station. I went to several counters looking for a answer, 3000 yen, 2000 yen and a cab cost 10000 to 20000 yen. I was so confused! I just wanted to get to my destination and catch some zzzz's. My final result was the train. I pulled out a paper that was about only means of me communicating with someone about directions to get to Ontakesean. On it, wad a list of routes of how to get to the school from Ontakesean. 

I made my way down to the train station with my huge gynormous bags. OMG so HEAVY. I approach the man behind the counter he spoke no english and I of course spoke no japanese. So I found myself pointing to my destionation. The man pulls out a book and flips through several pagaes until he found my destination. Then he highlighted each stop i needed to go to. I purchased my ticket it was 1500 hundered yen. i gave him way too much and he kindly handed back my money and my change. Well i finally had my ticktet it was a small pink ticket, very easy to loose might i add. I put it in and carried myself and luggage throught the gates. You know how they say there's no turing back, well I found that not to be turn. After standing on the platform for a couple minutes I was hesitant and made my way back up the stairs with my luggage. There was a lady who worked there, who happened to know english. She had realized what I just did and helped me get back on the right track literally.

So I was back on the platform, as i looked around i became overwhelmed. It had really hit me that i was in TOKYO, JAPAN. I felt so lost. All the students were suppose to arrive in at the dorm by 5 and it was already goin on 6 30.  I had let a couple trains pass me by before i boarded and when i finally did i was even more overwhelmed. I struggled to get my bags on the train. Everyone looked me up down, staring at me and all my luggage. I managed to grab a seat and as looked around I saw no english anywhere. I began to cry and second guess my decision to come here and the first place. I tried to hold in my tears though as best as I could I felt like i was in people's way with all my bags, this one lady wanted to sit down but i couldnt move my bags their were just to heavy.

I looked down at my paper with the highlighted stops and stared for a good 5 minutes. "You understand, You know where you going". I look to my right and see a man elderly man Japanese man. He saved my life. He drew a map for me so i could better understand . He even rode with me till the last train i needed to take. We had to  transfer numerous of times each time we had to carry my bags up a couple flight of stairs. Talk about tired. He asked people questions for me, called my dorm manager and then some. He didn't know a lot of english but just enough to get me home. Come to find out he was a world professional boxer trainer. He trained Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Lewis, and Muhammed Ali. He had the pictures to prove it. My Lost in translation moment turned out to be not that bad. I finally made it home safely, I was one of the last to get there but I made it there safe.

Visual Expression (2nd day in Tokyo)

Off to the Airport.

January 7, 2009 was my last morning in DC for four months. I woke up early that day. My family and I said a prayer and I was OFF TO THE AIRPORT. My flight was leaving Reagan National Airport at 9:23 am. It was pouring down raining. I was hoping that my flight wouldn't get delayed. Of course it did, just by 20 minutes though. I had a connector flight to Detroit. From there was Tokyo. I was anxious. I knew I was going to miss my family and friends. I really couldn't fathom the amount of time I was going to be in the air but, eventually I got over it.

Previous to the 7th, I had a moment where it had finally hit me that I was actually leaving for Tokyo in a few days. As much as I talked about me going, it always seemed far fetched in the back of my mind. January had come so fast. I couldn't believe that it was here. All types of thoughts were rushing through my head. They were mostly thoughts of fear, but I talked to a special person who cheered me up. I love my cousin. She reminded me of all the reasons I wanted to go and how so many people were proud of me. I WAS GOING TO STUDY ABROAD IN TOKYO, JAPAN. I had a scholarship and everything. I realize that fear keeps a lot of people from doing things that they really want to do, and I wasn't going to let it stop me. Although I was fearful for that moment, I was appreciative of the fact that I had an opportunity to explore and see the world for myself. I LOVE TOKYO!