A New Beginning : in the country of the rising Sun

Yesterday, 02 October, local time around 8:30 I arrived in Japan at Kansai Osaka Airport.

After terribly exhausting couple of days, after almost no sleep and rest I begin something completely new in my life.

On the 1st of October I left my hometown boarding an incredibly early flight at 6:20, for which I had to get up 3:45 and practically (since I was packing until 1 AM) didn't even manage to get much sleep. I changed flights at Frankfurt airport, but since there was 7 hours waiting for the transfer flight, I felt more and more exhausted with time. The flight from Frankfurt to Osaka took over 11 hours. I hardly slept a few minutes. Just watched movies.

Meanwhile, before leaving for Japan, on Tuesday there was a cocktail party at the Japanese embassy in my hometown. I was invited to make a short 'thank you' speech. During the cocktail several people approached me and we talked. I chatted quite a long time with the ambassador, a tall, lean and aristocratic man with reported Imperial lineage...It was interesting.

At the reception I also met the students which were going to travel with the same flight to Osaka on a Japanese government scholarship for one year. So during the Frankfurt airport stay and formalities yesterday and today morning we shared company. Today after I arrived at the dormitory at Uji I met some of the new arrivals of foreign students which also will live in my dorm at Ohbaku...We did the formalities for residence together. Actually after spending time with so many new people I felt somewhat lonely and tired listening and talking with people with whom I have very very little in common, but more importantly seemingly very little to want to share with and little I can learn from.
It has been such a long time since anyone has managed to impress and move me emotionally.
Almost immediately after arriving at the dorm we were asked to start doing formalities, and go with one dorm suppervisor (walk for 10 min, take the train for one stop, walk some more) to go to the City Hall. It was raining, and at times even pouring. Feeling extremely tired with no time to even refresh myself it was very exhausting.
Yesterday afternoon/evening, after spending more than 3 hours at Uji City Hall where we applied for foreigner certificate, health insurance, etc. I came back to the dorm finally with the chance to take a shower and start arranging the room.
My new room (in which I can stay for the remaining 6 months)is much smaller than my Beijing dorm room, but it is much better, cleaner and has a balcony. It has a bed, a desk, a small bookshelf, a small fridge, a wardrobe, a kitchen corner with stove, cupboard and sink. MOST importantly I have my own bathroom with shower and toilet! And that is a very important improvement in my living conditions.

Last evening while being busy with taking out things from the huge and heavy parcels I sent to myself from Beijing and trying to (at least start) with finding place for them, someone called my dorm room (it was an elderly Japanese man who is the night shift dorm supervisor). He could speak very little English, but I understood he contacted me to give me the things left for me by a Chinese student I knew by email who has lived at the dorm. I went down (my room is on the 3rd floor of the 5 storey building of the dorm).Meanwhile I discovered the Internet connection in the room doesn't work so I told him, he said he will see to it and after maybe an hour he came to my room bringing a new modem set. He was very kind because it was obvious he wanted me to be able to use Internet immediately so as to contact my parents at home and tell them I arrived safely. (My gsm mobile phone doesn't work here).With half-Japanese and broken English he made me feel his kindness.

The dormitory is too far from the railway. There are hardly any stores and shops around. It is a residential area which so far doesn't promise much. Apparently I'll be preparing my food at the dorm. The eat out options are minimal, if not zero.The good thing is that I will have the conditions to be able to do so. There is a small fridge, stove, a sink and suitable cupboards in the room. Luckily I send a lot of things from Beijing such as I will need daily. Yesterday night I started unpacking and arranging things. Today and tomorrow I will go on doing this, so as my new room gets the feeling of a home.
By the way the parcels I send from Beijing before I left China meanwhile have arrived and where put in my room waiting for me. A Chinese student (the one mentioned above,which was introduced to me by the kind Japanese professor who is my advisor at Kyoto univ.), who has just left the dorm has kindly left me some things, such as a TV set, etc.

The remaining couple of days I intend to go on with arranging the things from my luggage and parcels from China and trying to make the room tidy and homey.
On Monday I'll be going to the main campus of Kyoto University - Yoshida campus, for doing the registration procedures. My classes begin on Friday, 9th Oct.
So the week ahead is going to be for settling in, registration, formalities, etc.
It feels strange, after the 8 years spend in China to begin a new life here.
It feels exciting (and a bit scary) to have many unknown things waiting to happen.

I wish I can somehow take off the burden that I'm carrying from China, but this is more easily said than done...I still feel very sad and lonely.

If not anything else Kyoto is a much better city than Beijing. Much more beautiful, much more cleaner and more pleasant.
And there are the Buddhist temples and Zen gardens that can give me energy and strength.
There is a new language to learn. Actually being in Japan in a sense is a dream come true. Even though it's an old dream. Even though I feel somewhat lost and confused at this point of my life.

It's a new beginning. At a new place.