To Challenge The Sun

e·clec'tic
adj.

1. Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy.
2. Made up of or combining elements from a variety of sources.

n.

One that follows an eclectic method.

[Greek eklektikos, selective, from eklektos, selected, from eklegein, to select : ek-, out; see etco- + legein, to gather.]

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...I have to admit that during the first week, which was ripe with visits to Minato Ward Office (City Hall) and Immigration to fill out myriads of forms, I was initally underwhelmed with my second trip to Tokyo. My initial housing was a true-to-life closet (I had to sit on the toilet to close the bathroom door lolz!), and I was living and going to class in a heavily residential part of town near Shirokane-Takanawa Station. That all changed when I moved closer to the action in Shibuya, which I love to call the "Times Square of Tokyo" ... I can't imagine why:


...I really lucked out on the apartment I got...I mean *really*!! It's nearly 3 times the size of my old room, it's 15 minutes away on foot from "Times Square," and it's simply more spacious and comfortable (by my adjusted travel standards ^_^) than many places I've stayed on the road up to now and on a limited budget.


...finding the place comes with an interesting story of its own: I missed the housing orientation that the school provided due to a long night of all-you-can-drink karaoke (hey, it was the first night ... I don't plan on doing much of that this trip to be honest :] ), but I called the realtor as soon as I got her number. We arranged to meet in person at a certain exit of Shibuya Station, and I told her that she would recognize me by my red and blue cap with a white "A" (the ubiquitous Atlanta Braves cap, for the win!!). I almost missed meeting her because Shibuya Station is MUCH larger than I remembered, and it has like 1000 exits (ok, more like 8, but it's confusing!). Luckily, we met, crossed that one main street (along with 1 million other people ... I love how HUGE this area is ^_^) and chatted along the way to the flat.


...for a long time I've had a dream of traveling all over the world "on business," while getting to know all kinds of people between "business" ... this came to mind immediately when the realtor and I shifted seemlessly from talking about how learning Romance, Asiatic, and Germanic languages is difficult in different ways to the specifics of the leasing process once we got to the unit ... I'd expect international business is very similar, especially in the service industry: you really get to know the other parties most of the time, and any "business" is transacted relatively quickly (although the decision process may be prolonged, especially in Asia, the sales pitch feels like a brief formality between chatting about who-knows-what) ^_^


...after seeing the unit, and being immediately interested, I walked back to Shibuya Station with the realtor, and talked / bragged more about the Olympics, Atlanta, traveling, and dining / clubbing / shopping / sightseeing in Japan. As happens often, Megumi asked me why / how I travel so much, and I explained how being a student provides many opportunities to do so, especially in law and business professional studies (and especially now that the globe is truly becoming "global").



...I had a similar conversation with the representative in the leasing office, where I went soon after the tour, so I could close the deal and move in as soon as possible. Although I know *very* little of the language, I was amused by how I was able to interact with the local culture during the trip to the realty office: after being called up to the office from the lobby, I was welcomed into the main hallway with slippers (I had already removed my shoes, for the win! ^_^). When I was seated in the back office, they brought me water, and knocked each time they entered the room. The representative reviewed each term of the lease, and we discussed the normal conditions of leases (i.e. how to get tattled on and/or/xor evicted). After signing everything she asked more about were I'd traveled (since she reviewed my passport as part of the application), and I showed her my nearly-full passport. Just this week in class we discussed how Japan was first pressured by the West to be less isolated, and here I had talked at length with two locals about Rodeo Drive, 5th Avenue, the Olympics in Atlanta and hopefully Tokyo, and going to the World Cup in South Africa ^_^


...suffice it to say, a slight change of scenery (I moved all my bags to Shibuya by taxi for around US$20 in one trip) totally flipped my impression of Tokyo: I can't wait to spend the rest of the trip here (and at times, elsewhere...), and there are 1 million things to do and see. What better way to celebrate a 28th birthday than starting out on such an adventure in such an eclectic culture! And as much as an understatement as it is, it bears repeating here: the Japanese are surely the most civilized (and clean) culture ANYWHERE!! There is such an order to things that you almost can't blame them for being so closed to the rest of the world...almost ;) More to come, fellow adventurers!

Yours,

Khamsin
[Overdrive mode: Victor]
[Charges when character wins a battle.]