June 11--The Adventure Begins
Despite my anxiety, all my flights went smoothly. Several other JFMFers were on my flight from Dulles to San Francisco, so it was nice to see them. We arrived in SF at about 11:30 a.m. PDT and were at our hotel by 12:30. After a nice lunch, we had our orientation and received lots of important information.
The Consul General of Japan in San Francisco spoke to us and gave 3 pieces of advice:
1--Be prepared, not just for the weather (it's the rainy season in Japan), but also to build personal relationships with Japanese people.
2--Share your experiences with colleagues, students and community.
3--Keep in contact with the people that you meet in Japan, with your fellow participants and with alumni of the program.
Kyoko Jones, director of JFMF, spoke to us about practical matters. First of all, the nametag is
VERY important! We must wear it all the time and be sure not to lose it. Second, we all received a book which is a wealth of information. We need to keep the book with us at all times and if it is lost, it will cost $25 to replace it. Looking through the book, I could understand why it would be so important for the next 3 weeks! Each city group has a different version and it contains a detailed schedule for each day of the trip. It also has information about all of the participants, photos of the people in my city group, addresses for all the places that we would be going, insurance info, evaluation forms, and so on. This is one book that I will NOT let go of!
As for our behavior during our time in Japan, Ms. Jones told us that we should not chew gum as it is considered to be one of the most impolite things to do. Punctuality is extremely important--if the bus is leaving at 8:30 a.m., you should plan to be there by 8:20. If you arrive at 8:31, you might be waving good-bye as the bus pulls out. Another interesting piece of information is that there is no tipping in Japan, so we don't need to worry about that anywhere. I was amused to hear that we are not allowed to leave Japan during our free time--apparently someone actually did this in the past! Finally, we were reminded that this trip is not a paid vacation. We have all been chosen largely on the basis of our proposed follow-on plans and this is our opportunity to gather knowledge and materials to implement the plan.
We finally got to meet with our city group of 20. We introduced ourselves and came up with questions to ask JFMF alumni who would be speaking to us. The 3 former participants told us about their experiences, showed some pictures and gave some advice. After a break, we had a reception and dinner and then I think that nearly everyone went to bed in preparation for the flight tomorrow!
The Consul General of Japan in San Francisco spoke to us and gave 3 pieces of advice:
1--Be prepared, not just for the weather (it's the rainy season in Japan), but also to build personal relationships with Japanese people.
2--Share your experiences with colleagues, students and community.
3--Keep in contact with the people that you meet in Japan, with your fellow participants and with alumni of the program.
Kyoko Jones, director of JFMF, spoke to us about practical matters. First of all, the nametag is
VERY important! We must wear it all the time and be sure not to lose it. Second, we all received a book which is a wealth of information. We need to keep the book with us at all times and if it is lost, it will cost $25 to replace it. Looking through the book, I could understand why it would be so important for the next 3 weeks! Each city group has a different version and it contains a detailed schedule for each day of the trip. It also has information about all of the participants, photos of the people in my city group, addresses for all the places that we would be going, insurance info, evaluation forms, and so on. This is one book that I will NOT let go of!As for our behavior during our time in Japan, Ms. Jones told us that we should not chew gum as it is considered to be one of the most impolite things to do. Punctuality is extremely important--if the bus is leaving at 8:30 a.m., you should plan to be there by 8:20. If you arrive at 8:31, you might be waving good-bye as the bus pulls out. Another interesting piece of information is that there is no tipping in Japan, so we don't need to worry about that anywhere. I was amused to hear that we are not allowed to leave Japan during our free time--apparently someone actually did this in the past! Finally, we were reminded that this trip is not a paid vacation. We have all been chosen largely on the basis of our proposed follow-on plans and this is our opportunity to gather knowledge and materials to implement the plan.
We finally got to meet with our city group of 20. We introduced ourselves and came up with questions to ask JFMF alumni who would be speaking to us. The 3 former participants told us about their experiences, showed some pictures and gave some advice. After a break, we had a reception and dinner and then I think that nearly everyone went to bed in preparation for the flight tomorrow!
posted by Mlle LaSouche @ 3:09 PM
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