Settling in.

Life has been so busy lately that it's hard to believe I've only been in Tokyo five days. And I haven't even started my "real work" yet!

They thought of everything!

The flight was good. Ludicrous amounts of in-flight entertainment made the twelve hours go really fast. Morgan and I waited in line for half an hour to get our Japan Resident cards (in the ironically named "Priority Lane"), then we sped through customs and met our contacts from the two Lutheran organizations here in Japan who very kindly bought us refreshments before driving us out to our apartments. They'd already been stocked with groceries and supplies, including such American staples as peanut butter, Snickers, and Frosted Flakes--which, I might add, are quite a bit more expensive here than in the States. And this is just a fraction of the hospitality I've been offered here. More about that in a second.

My name in Japanese... backwards.

The last few days have been a lot of administrative and literal housekeeping. I'm officially registered as a resident of my ward of Tokyo; have my own name stamp (the Japanese equivalent of a signature), bank account, and cell phone; and have successfully washed my first load of laundry without blowing anything up! And my little apartment is a little less cluttered than it used to be, though I still have to keep my clothes in my suitcases since I have no dresser. I've attended two services at a Tokyo church (one in English, one in Japanese), met my supervisors, been treated to countless delicious meals, taken a Japanese language placement test, introduced myself to the board of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, and even managed to do a little shopping.

It's been lots of fun--but in some ways unexpectedly tough. I've run full-speed into the language barrier multiple times. When I opened my bank account they found a teller who spoke English and I still messed up my application three or four times, using the Japanese alphabet when I should have used the Roman alphabet and then using lowercase when I should have used uppercase, which required me to cross it all out, correct it, and then stamp all the corrections with my name stamp. Then while doing that I managed to smudge the name stamp that served as my signature so I had to stamp it yet again. Talent.

Thankfully I've been treated with nothing but kindness and patience. Paul, the representative from the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association who's in charge of getting us acclimated to Tokyo life, has been especially amazing, doing everything from teaching me how to work my washing machine to spotting both Morgan and me the unexpectedly high up-front cost for a cell phone. (I intend to pay him back as soon as I get down to a bank!) I've been greeted with warm smiles and hot tea and pastries by Japanese churchgoers and board members. Even cashiers are accomodating with me when I hand them bills of obnoxiously large denominations or read the wrong number off the cash register display and accidentally shortchange them.

There's a million more things I want to write about my new life in Japan, but I think I need to chew on my experiences a little more. For now, some lessons that I've learned so far:

1. Peppermint tea is excellent for when you forget how spicy Korean instant ramen is but eat it anyway.
2. To get to Tokyu Hands (giant home goods store) or Kinokuniya (giant bookstore), go through the south exit of Shinjuku Station. South. Otherwise you'll be wandering around the station for an hour.
3. For a largely Shintō/Buddhist/secular country, Japan seems to love piping sacred Christmas music (complete with English lyrics) into its shops around this time of year.
4. Japanese church services are conducted much like services back home, except with a lot more bowing and a lot less "greet each other with the peace of Christ" hugs-and-handshakes time. It's just as welcoming and hospitable, though.
5. Japan is really interested in the U.S. election. Really interested. It keeps coming up on the news, and there's a whole shelf of books about Mitt Romney and President Obama in the English-language section of Kinokuniya in Shinjuku. (I've been asked who I think will win the election. I have no idea.)
6. My numerous gaijin (foreigner) failures (like when I think I might have used my name seal incorrectly or take an hour to figure out my hot water boiler because all the instructions are in Japanese) are not end-all be-all. Thank the Lord. I seem to be terrible at giving my anxieties over to him.
7. The words for "to wipe" (拭く) and "clothing" (服) are homophones (fuku). This is fertile soil for terrible and hilarious puns. (Sunday night I caught a TV show featuring some comedians from Kumamoto. Every time I got a joke--which was about three times in the whole half-hour--it was like a miracle.)
8. It really is okay to eat that raw egg on top of your katsudon. Really. The hot rice and pork under it cook it, and eggs are much fresher over here anyway.
9. The Velcro closure on my umbrella will destroy my pantyhose. Oops.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)