And so it begins.

After an unforgettable week in China, I have safely landed in Tokyo for part two of my Asian adventures! Mom's friend Rika picked me up at the airport and we had a fantastic evening and the following day she showed me some sights around town! It was amazing to get a feel for a city like Tokyo from a local.

A personal tour, and public transportation guidance, from Auntie Rika!

I've been in Japan for nearly two days and so far it has been go-go-go. I love being busy going from place to place, and taking in as much as I can of the lovely city of Tokyo. I always jump at the opportunity to go somewhere new and I could not be more excited about this adventure.

Not going to lie, the transition from China to Japan is a bit harder than I thought it was going to be, I know that my group here in Japan is full of wonderful, incredible people. but the same goes for my dear friends in China. It almost feels like culture shock coming from China, rather than America. Everything that I am experiencing here in Japan feels so heightened, but at the same time I am missing the friendships I made in China, as well as my family and friends state side. It's safe to say that I am elated to be here in Tokyo, and I am looking forward to learning as much as possible from this trip. Culture shock has a tendency to be described by the U-model, starting at a high point when first being exposed to a new culture (exhilaration stage), then adjusting, getting a better idea of what is going on, which can lead to you loosing that heightened feeling of where you are and cause homesickness (disenchantment stage), then going back up to the effective functioning stage, where you appreciate the new culture in addition to your own. I tend to think of myself as an open-minded person, but I think it is safe to say culture shock has been hitting pretty hard so far. Maybe it is because I went from one adventure directly into another, but normally I experience reverse culture shock, rather than culture shock on the front end. It also feels like I’m jumping between stages, but I know this is an incredible opportunity and I am lucky to be a part of it!

In the past two days while I was venturing around the city, I also saw the prominence of dominant culture. In the U.S. we are lucky to be exposed to other cultures, and here it is very clear to see the dominant culture, and what is considered normal. I remember the first time experiencing the subway and JR line, and it was really cool to see how systematic the process was. Some places in the U.S. try to implement the stand on the left, walk on the right policy, but here it is almost an unspoken rule. I really enjoy picking up on these little cultural ticks, I feel I get more out of my experience that way.

I also feel like stereotypes and generalizations are more prevalent here that destinations I have been lucky to travel to in the past. The States is sometimes referred to as a melting pot, or salad bowl, looking to incorporate different cultures into their own. In the past I have been exposed to a variety of different cultures, and being on a university campus with amazing international students has helped me learn a little bit more about cultures different from my own. A popular stereotype that I hear on campus a lot is “All Asians are bad drivers, but after experiencing Beijing traffic and now seeing the rules of the road in Tokyo, things makes more sense. Merging into other lanes is extremely common, and their traffic laws are different to account for the sheer amount of people driving to work, school, etc. at the same time. To us it may seem crazy, but to them, that’s what is normal. It really put a lot of cultural aspects into perspective and it was a really cool experience to make those connections.

The part I was most nervous about for this adventure was the food. I have never been big on seafood, and I was nervous that when I got here I would have trouble finding food to soothe my stomach if I ate something I was not familiar with. I am learning to just roll with it, and try new things because that is the best way to get the most out of this remarkable adventure!