atsugi-ni imasu = i am in atsugi.
just wanted to let you know that now, atsugi-ni imasu.
at the airport ayun, around 1120 or 1130 na siguro ako dumating sa airport,
ang haba na ng pila papuntang check-in! pagdating sa timbangan, 35 kilos
ang maleta ko! tapos yun, may dalawang hand carry pa ako pero mukhang
maliit lang kasi back-pack and laptop bag lang. so pinapila ako sa
check-in counter for excess baggage... walang pila! tapos sabi sa akin,
"sir, 35 kilos ho ang baggage niyo." sabi ko "oo nga e." tapos tinanong
ako kung ano hand carry ko e di ipinakita ko din... tapos yung check-in
counter attendant, may tinanungan siguro superior niya tapos... ok
na! binigyan na ako ng boarding pass! shempre hindi ko na tinanong kung
bakit. ang bilis, naunahan ko pa ang mga hindi excess
baggage. hehehe. ...siguro tumalab ang porma ko? (ang init init, pero
suot ko ang coat).
ang init the whole time sa eroplano! (PAL pa rin ako!) the food was just
okay. tsaka, ewan ko kung sobrang babaho lang ng mga gumagamit ng
lavatories, pero ang lakas kumalat! i was thinking pangit yung circulation
ng air... and then i dunno kung ganon lang talaga pero ang baho ng hininga
ng katabi ko, naaamoy ko bad breath niya basta nakaharap siya sa akin at
kahit hindi ako nakaharap sa kanya! (window seat ako) again, parang hindi
tama yung circulation ng hangin doon sa loob ng eroplano.
the JAL flight got delayed nga by 50 minutes pero the arrival was delayed
by around 20 minutes lang. delayed daw due to "mechanical
problems." parang hindi maganda pakinggan. anyway, baka mabigat ang load
ng eroplano (e.g., dahil sa maleta ko) and then kelangan nilang magmadali
dahil delayed na ang flight (nauna pang nag-land yung PAL), kaya siguro
mahina ang aircon.
napansin ko pala, ang daming young filipinas (mga nasa 20's) traveling by
themselves to japan! sa customs naman, e di tinanong-tanong ako ng customs
officer. sabi ko i am doing this and that blah blah blah at tokyo
polytechnic university, or tokyo kougei daigaku. sabi sakin ng customs
officer: "ok professor, you may go." haha. sa kanya siguro tumalab ang
porma ko.
ang bilis lang ng procedure sa narita. ang natagalan lang talaga ay yung
baggage claim.
then i took a bus to shinjuku from narita, and then an express train to
hon-atsugi.
unfortunately dahil delayed yung flight, i was not able to reach the direct
bus from narita to sagami-ono (which is a few stations away from
atsugi). an airport limousine bus "assistant" met with me, and she called
the university secretary (with whom i was exchanging correspondence prior
to my departure) to let me know i was there already. the secretary,
sachiko koizumi, talked to me and welcomed me to japan. the assistant
instructed me to take the next bus (leaving in 5 minutes) to shinjuku
instead as the next train for shinjuku was leaving after 30 minutes
pa. sachiko meanwhile instructed me to call her when i am at shinjuku to
tell her which train i will take so that she will know what time my arrival
will be at the hon-atsugi eki (station).
walang escalator from the street down to the shinjuku station so i dragged
the big maleta down! got a little lost at shinjuku, asked around na
lang. dahil medyo naligaw ako, hindi ko na natawagan si sachiko (or sachi
for short) dahil paalis na ang train. (so medyo nag-alala siya)
i got on an express train that is actually "express" only until
sagami-ono. and then a nihonjin (japanese) voluntarily helped me by
telling me (in english) that i don't have to go down at sagami-ono, that
the train we were on would just become a "local" train, meaning it will
stop at every station from then on.
upon arriving at hon-atsugi, patay na, naligaw na naman ng konti pero
fortunately, nakahanap ako ng phone. naghulog ako ng 10 yen, at natawagan
ko naman si sachi, pero naputol din kaagad. i was trying to call her again
pero ayun, buti na lang at nahanap niya ako. ako lang naman ang hindi
mukhang hapon doon na may dalang malaking maleta kaya niya siguro nahulaan
na ako na yon.
so nagpadaan muna ako sa 7-eleven dahil gutom ako sobra, 5pm japan time pa
ang last meal ko (sa airplane, kaunti pa), e it was around 12mn local time na!
ganda ng apartment pala, maliit siya pero malaki na for one
person. ...hmmmm, parang bachelor's pad ang dating. kukunan ko ng
pictures and hopefully ma-upload ko. my apartment address is: 1-1-18, Oji,
Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan 243-0817. the address at the university is: 1583
Iiyama, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan 243-0297, c/o The 21st COE Program, Tokyo
Polytechnic University.
hindi pala masyadong malamig nung pagdating ko, parang aircon lang. okay!
i went to sleep at 2:20am local time na. medyo nag-try to unpack ako but i
was too tired to unpack everything... hindi na din muna ako naligo...
jaa mata! (see you again!)
No comments:
Post a Comment