I'M HERE!
I am now in Japan! It has been a week since I left and I am acclimating myself pretty well, though I don't speak much Japanese...in fact, I only know a handful of phrases. Japanese is a hard language to learn compared to the Latin based languages. It's frustrating, but I am determined to improve and be able to communicate decently before I leave. Before I go forward, let me back up and fill you in from the beginning:
After staying up all night cleaning and packing, I finally finished packing around 7am. The Super Shuttle picked me up at 7:30am, but they forgot to inform the driver that I would be bringing 4 bags instead of the customary 2. After moving the other passengers around to accommodate my bags, we headed to the airport. Let me tell you, hauling around 4 70lb bags, plus a carry-on and my laptop, is not easy (my shoulders are still sore!)! I finally made it up to my gate, exhausted yet relieved, with 2 hours to spare. At boarding time, I line up to get on the plane. The ticket agent stops me when my ticket >beeps< and I think it is because I changed to an exit row seat...but no, I've been UPGRADED to Business Class - YEE-HAW! What a great and wonderful surprise! I slept most of the L O N G flight. I arrived in Narita/Tokyo in the early evening. Thank goodness they have carts! The airport is very clean and there is a 2' perimeter around the baggage carousels where no carts are allowed - most people stayed out as well. It was really nice because I had a clear view of all the luggage going by. After that, I met my contact, who seemed very surprised by the amount of luggage I had (Why? Doesn't everyone who relocates for an exended amount of time bring a lot? Disney even arranges for the extra....whatever). Since I am the only one from my cast on the flight, I board a minivan shuttle for E-Village (where I am housed) by myself.
I arrive around 7pm, meet with E-Village management, get the basic lowdown, get my room key and trudge to my room. My room number is the day before my birthday (618) which makes it easy to remember. I am told there will be an E-Village orientation at 10 pm (!), when the rest of the cast arrives. I set about unpacking.
My place is very nice - kind of Ikea looking. I have TONS of closet space, a microwave/toaster/mini-oven (all in one), a little fridge, built in desk, bed, "dining" table, night stand, and lots of shelves. Oh, and a huge window that faces the East - so I get lots of sun in the morning. Within 2 minutes walking distance are 2 grocery/clothing/furniture stores and an electronics store (a la Best Buy). We are a 15 minute walk from the train station and 2 big malls. My favorite store so far is the 100 Yen store ($1 Store)....lol
I am going to fast forward now - my place is decorated. The cast is great. We have 2 Aussies, 1 Canadian, and 3 of us Americans. One of the guys is extending. We just started rehearsals on Monday, and I see we open our lunch show February 8th!. The lunch show is completely new. It's really cute. I will go into more detail another time. We will also start rehearsing the dinner show later this month, and I believe that opens the middle/end of February.
Everyone here is very nice. The Japanese are so polite - I really like that! Our cast is close, we seem to do everything together..lol! Speaking of which, it's time for the group trip to Costco..........
After staying up all night cleaning and packing, I finally finished packing around 7am. The Super Shuttle picked me up at 7:30am, but they forgot to inform the driver that I would be bringing 4 bags instead of the customary 2. After moving the other passengers around to accommodate my bags, we headed to the airport. Let me tell you, hauling around 4 70lb bags, plus a carry-on and my laptop, is not easy (my shoulders are still sore!)! I finally made it up to my gate, exhausted yet relieved, with 2 hours to spare. At boarding time, I line up to get on the plane. The ticket agent stops me when my ticket >beeps< and I think it is because I changed to an exit row seat...but no, I've been UPGRADED to Business Class - YEE-HAW! What a great and wonderful surprise! I slept most of the L O N G flight. I arrived in Narita/Tokyo in the early evening. Thank goodness they have carts! The airport is very clean and there is a 2' perimeter around the baggage carousels where no carts are allowed - most people stayed out as well. It was really nice because I had a clear view of all the luggage going by. After that, I met my contact, who seemed very surprised by the amount of luggage I had (Why? Doesn't everyone who relocates for an exended amount of time bring a lot? Disney even arranges for the extra....whatever). Since I am the only one from my cast on the flight, I board a minivan shuttle for E-Village (where I am housed) by myself.
I arrive around 7pm, meet with E-Village management, get the basic lowdown, get my room key and trudge to my room. My room number is the day before my birthday (618) which makes it easy to remember. I am told there will be an E-Village orientation at 10 pm (!), when the rest of the cast arrives. I set about unpacking.
My place is very nice - kind of Ikea looking. I have TONS of closet space, a microwave/toaster/mini-oven (all in one), a little fridge, built in desk, bed, "dining" table, night stand, and lots of shelves. Oh, and a huge window that faces the East - so I get lots of sun in the morning. Within 2 minutes walking distance are 2 grocery/clothing/furniture stores and an electronics store (a la Best Buy). We are a 15 minute walk from the train station and 2 big malls. My favorite store so far is the 100 Yen store ($1 Store)....lol
I am going to fast forward now - my place is decorated. The cast is great. We have 2 Aussies, 1 Canadian, and 3 of us Americans. One of the guys is extending. We just started rehearsals on Monday, and I see we open our lunch show February 8th!. The lunch show is completely new. It's really cute. I will go into more detail another time. We will also start rehearsing the dinner show later this month, and I believe that opens the middle/end of February.
Everyone here is very nice. The Japanese are so polite - I really like that! Our cast is close, we seem to do everything together..lol! Speaking of which, it's time for the group trip to Costco..........
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