Elucidating Questions

Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc.

My first day in Japan

Hopped off the flight, 16 hours later,

Ready to take on Japan with my knowledge of Japanese

Get to Tokyo station,

Immediately I was a small town human in the biggest city I have ever been in

Realised, I had not prepared myself for not having a cell phone in Japan

Beg some ladies at a coffee shop to use their phone

Broken ass Japanese because I’d apparently forgotten almost 10 years of study

Call the support at my school like

How the fuck do I get there?

With less profanity and a lot of humility

Overwhelmed by newness

Overwhelmed by all the sounds being Japanese

Buy an ice coffee as apology for using their phone

It has no sugar because you’re supposed to add that yourself and I didn’t know yet

I have little memory of getting from the coffee shop to the Shinkansen

But I must have because I got to Morioka

Slept on the train because even in all my overwhelmed anxiety I could feel I was somewhere safe

The Sun was setting over Tokyo as I arrived and night had fallen by the time I left

I got to Morioka and the support lady picked me up

I remember being so confused by everything

The route

I know that place so well now

It was so late when I arrived but we went to the convenience store because I hadn’t eaten in hours

Handling myself at the till without any trouble now that I’d had a few hours to calm down

I remember thinking

I did it

I got to Japan

And that was the beginning of so much

It was so worth it