I'm Here!

I have arrived.
After a 13 hour flight I arrived at Narita Airport and got through customs without any problems. Kaori had me paged and I met her near the information desk. I ended up checking both suitcases and carrying two bags. I have a lot of stuff! It was rather difficult lugging all that stuff through one train station after another. We took the train from Narita to Tokyo (well greater Tokyo, very big city) which took a while (I don't know how long because I have been using my cell phone to tell time and I left that at home). I think I was having a kind of disconnected from reality from of exhaustion because I was rather enchanted by the late evening light between the houses on the way in (the sun sets really early here, we were probably home around 5:30 or 6 and it was dark, no daylight savings. It makes me appreciate daylight savings. The sun comes up at about 4am!). It reminded me of the way the fields look in Kansas on the way back in from Prayer meeting. The houses, which are very close together, looked enchantingly Japanese in the light(Of course, being Japanese really helps them look Japanese, too). But everything looks beautiful in that light. I was feeling nostalgic. I kept thinking "I'm really here!" Then we took three (I think) other lines until we got to our station, where Kaori had mercy on me and we got a cab the rest of the way home. They live in walking distance from the station, but it would have been torture to have to drag all of my luggage there. I didn't feel to tired, and Jet-lag had not yet set in so I had a nice time talking with Kaori. I am immensity grateful that Kaori has such good English. Kyle got home at around 8 and we had curry for dinner. We had a good time talking and I got to bed around 10ish. I slept on a Japanese style futon.
I woke up around 7am. Kaori provided me with some cereal, and I looked up the places that I wanted to see in Tokyo. First we took another four rail lines to get to Gaihinkan (being translated as Japanese Folk Art museum). It was in a very traditional Japanese type building. As a student it only cost me 500Y.

There was this guy in the 1930's who wanted to preserve the traditional handy crafts as art who started this place. He collected hand dyed cloth, traditional clothing made from said cloth, wall hangings, hand made paper, glass, wood and metal objects, and most importantly (form my perspective) pottery. I got some pictures before being informed that that wasn't acceptable by one of the employees.

There were many beautiful pieces. Kaori and I really enjoyed the building. I think she may bring her mom and dad to see it later.
It was about noon and we decided to eat near Tokyo station, but first we wanted to get some money from the ATM at a post office. We first tried a place that was on the map, but it was closed due to construction. So we had to wander back and forth up one street and down another asking people where is the post office? Their Post Offices' are rather more numerous than the ones in America, so we eventually found one. I got out 30000Y (about $300), and we went to eat. We did some more wandering, until we found a Thai noodle place that was cheaper than the other places we had seen. It was very hot and humid outside and we were very thirsty. I felt rather American drinking copious amounts of water while eating, but I was very thirsty.
After that we went to the ticket office and I bought a shinkansen ticket to Kyoto for Saterday. It cost me about 13900Y, which was more than I would have liked, but that's the way it goes.
We then went to Asakusa which is "Traditional Tokyo"  tourist trap. They have the oldest temple in Tokyo, and many shops selling traditional Japanese souvenirs. I liked many of the shops, but mostly for looking. They weren't all for tourists. The entry to the shopping street had this great huge vermilion gate.

    There was also the temple, where many people offered coins and made there prayers. There were many foreigners there as well as the ever present masses of Japanese.

We wandered around there until about 4ish. It was very hot. We took the train home, and I was very tired. When we got home I was pretty much wiped out, and I developed a head ache and I took some Tylenol then my stomach acted up. I think that Jet-lag caught up with me along with maybe dehydration and exhaustion. I went to bed without supper around 7. But I woke up this morning feeling fine, so I think that I might cut back today.
Thanks for all of your prayers.  

japan

Packing

Tomorrow I will fly out of Wichita to Dallas and then to Narita, Japan, Lord willing. I have been gathering together all of my clothes and things. Last Tuesday I had a cavity filled. After looking at Garage Sales in vain, I still had not found a large suitcase. I thought that I could go to TJ Max to get one at half the going price, at $60-$70. So after returning home from Hillsboro mom, dad, and I all got into the car to go to Wichita. Mom had a load of things that she wanted to drop off at the Goodwill, so we had to go in of course. I went to go look for shirts to take with me. She came looking for me in great excitement, and led me towards the other side of the store. Now I was rather skeptical as to what kind of suitcase she could find at a thrift store, and I like to have quality things even when I have to pay more for them. I had, up to this point, rejected all of the inferior pieces of luggage presented to me. So as I approached the wondrous finds that mom was to show me I was, to be honest, not expecting much. She showed me two upright wheeled suitcases of the type that I had requested her to look for. They were both decent finds, if not up to TJ Max's level. One was somewhat superior and I was uncertain as to if I wanted either one. Mom was especially excited about the price. I always have trouble deciding on things immediately, so to sooth her I took the nicer of the two and returned to shopping for clothes. By the time I got back to the clothes I had pretty much decided that this suitcase would do. I got my suitcase for $5.

   When I got home I found that it was the same brand as my carry-on, which I rather like. I have spent the week between the purchase on the suitcase and my departure packing. There has been a lot of weighing and moving things around so that I can keep the weight under 50 lbs. I have yet to succeed, and will probably have to put some more effort into it. As of my last weighing I am at 51 lbs. My carry on is almost 40 lbs, and I might have to go through that again too. I have put almost all of the heavy things in there.

The books are the heaviest things, and shoes are no better. Maybe I should take fewer shirts? I still have a way to go before I fly out at 7:25am tomorrow morning.

Today I went to my bank and added my dad as power of attorney to my account so he can access it if there are any problems. I also had to wire 320000Y to Japan for Homestay fees. Since the exchange rate about now is something like 85Y to the US dollar that was something like $3,700. Ouch! and the fee for the wire was an additional $40, double Ouch! I got my money from the school on Friday, somewhere around $6000. I had to take out a Direct Loan of $5,500. I hope that I will be able to budget the remaining $2000 for the next four months. The Lord is exhorting me to trust Him to provide for all my needs and not to worry. I'm used to living on a very small income, but there I will have no income, only a fixed amount.I do not know what expenses I will incur. Please pray for me that I will spend my money wisely, and that I will trust only in the Lord for my needs and not worry about what I will eat or wear, but only to seek first His Kingdom. Also Pray for a safe Journey and on time flights. Thank you all for your prayers for me. I thank Him for you. I also thank Him for $5 suitcases.

Preparation

(The passport on the left and the visa on the right with the Certificate or Eligability folded on top.)

So, when you I started the process they gave me a list of things to do. One of them was to get a passport. I already had a passport from the last time I went to Japan so that was one less things that I had to pay for.Which is nice because I am not exactly flush with money.  I think the cost has gone up since I  got mine, but mom and dad have the new one and they look a lot cooler than mine with pictures every where in the background.
Another thing that I had to get was a visa. On my budget they set aside $300 to get a visa, but after calling the consulate they said that it would cost me nothing. Hooray! If you are going to stay in Japan for up to three months you don't even have to get a visa, which is nice. As my stay is going to be for four months I will need to get a student visa. You can find a lot of info about this at http://www.chicago.us.emb-japan.go.jp/ .The  Chicago Embassy is the one you will use if you are in the center of the US. Before you get a visa you have to have a Certificate of Eligibility from the Japanese government. In my case I had to get it from Kansai Gaidai who got it from their local government. KG are the ones hosting me. It has to come to me within three months

of my arrival in Japan or it is not valid. So I had to get KG all of my info in a timely manner so that I could get both the Certificate of Eligibility and my visa. So I finally got my CoE about the middle of July, and I was very excited. 

  I filled out my visa application and mailed it to the consulate. Then I got a call about three days late when they informed me that I had forgotten to sign my application! OOps! They said that I could fill out another application and send it to them, but I didn't need to worry about my passport info or a photo, which was nice. I sent it out that Saturday and waited with great anticipation for about two weeks until it finally came. I am very proud on my visa. Nobody else seems to understand my excitement about it though.

  I got my ticket for about $1200, and I will fly out on the 24th of Aug. I am planning on visiting some friends in Tokyo before taking the Shinkansen up to Kyoto then to Kansai Gaidai for orientation. 

  Only two weeks left. I still need to find a suitable suitcase. Mom is encouraging me to try to get me one at a garage sale which would be a lot cheaper, but they tend to be a bit junky. I have the urge to start packing now but I need the suitcase and really I still have to wear the clothes.     

Pre-Japan

So...
   This is the first post to my first blog.
 I am an undergraduate studying for my bachelors degree in Fine Arts at Kansas State University. This will be my final semester before I graduate. My emphasis is in Ceramics(aka pottery).

 For some time I have been interested in Japan. I am drawn both to it's ceramic traditions as well as it's rich cultural tradition and history. I visited Japan in 2005 on a missions trip with the Navigators for two months, and have had a heart for the Japanese people. I really enjoyed my stay and left with the intention of returning.

I have been studying at K-State for three years. I came to K-State partially because it offered Japanese language courses. Even at the beginning of my studies at K-State I wanted to study in Japan. My sister, Michaela, had just returned from a study abroad trip to China which she had really enjoyed. This spring I began the process of applying to study abroad in Japan. It was a very long process and should not be put off to the last moment. I had to apply to both my school and Kansai Gaidai(the Japanese University). I applied for scholarships through my Study Abroad Office at my university as well as some outside. The school gave me two scholarships, one of which I had to do a project involving informing others about the opportunities that are available. If you have any inclination to see other countries this is a great way to do it. As a collage student we have relatively few commitments, and there are people out there who will give you money to do it. It will also broaden your horizons.