I'M HERE!!

Well, it's been approximately 24 hours since my arrival in Sendai, Japan and so far I love it here! I am so excited to get to know the town better and be able to survive on my own. Everywhere we have gone so far we have been taken by staff of MeySen. And thankfully they have been with us because otherwise we (me, Kelsey, and Deborah-the other girls who are coming to teach) would have been so lost! On our drive up from the airport in Tokyo, after 14+ hours flying, we got to see a lot of the Japanese countryside and other towns betweenTokyo and Sendai. We got to stop at a rest stop that was incredible. It was HUGE! There were 2 floors in the building. The bottom floor had restrooms (squatty potties...google it!), a supermarket-type place, and a restaurant. The top floor also had a restaurant, which is where we ate fried pork, sticky rice, and a broth-based soup with noodles and spinach and heard Taylor Swift and Keith Urban playing in the background. It was really comforting to hear music I knew playing while I was eating, seeing, smelling, and touching, new things. When we got to Sendai, we were able to make phone calls to our families to let them know we arrived safely. My mom was already at work, so we didn't get to talk for long. We then got dropped off at our apartments, and received a crash course on how to use the things we would need for the first few days here. I never thought I'd need someone to tell me how to use a toilet, but after using it for the first time, I sure am glad I got directions! This morning, we got to sleep in, and started all of the legalities of living in Japan. While at the office to become a legal alien, I saw many children and they opened my eyes to so much. Seeing a 4-year-old child in Japan playing with a rolled up piece of paper and making sword fighting sounds was what made me see and realize how different everything is here, but at the same time, how everything is very much the same. The people here all look different as we do in the US, children play and yell and scream in public, some people are very friendly while some are more standoffish, the red flashing lights still mean that there is an emergency...et al. I do have to say there are more bikes here though. And I will have one soon. Tomorrow involves more paperwork, interacting with numerous people I will not have the capacity to verbally communicate with, and a welcoming party for me as well as the other teachers and interns who have just arrived. Prayers, words of encouragement, and parcels are always welcome. :)