My first day in Japan was stressful but turned out fine. Upon arrival I stupidly forgot to turn my data roaming off on my American phone, so assuming I had connected to the internet (I was pretty tired and not thinking clearly, obviously) I used Facebook on my phone to send messages to my friend, Etsushi, who was waiting for me in the airport. One of the first text messages I got was an alert from AT&T saying I had racked up over $100 worth of phone charges. So of course I panicked and turned my phone off.
Passing immigration took over an hour of waiting in line due to other foreign flights coming in at the same time. After I made Etsushi wait about 45 minutes I finally saw him. I was speaking English to him at first and he was sort of surprised, probably because I had always insisted on speaking Japanese two years ago. Good friend that he is he made me switch to Japanese, treated me to some great curry rice in the airport, laughed at me as I struggled to remember Japanese, and helped me get to Kyobashi on the trains. I was too late to meet another friend, Ted, who organizes with my landlord and was going to hand me the key to the share house I'm renting, but he left the key for me.
Everything did turn out fine because my father saved me by purchasing a cheap international package for my phone that negated the charges, and I talked to my landlord the next day to finalize a contract and pay the rent.
I learned that being a considerate neighbor will help you a lot. My landlady discounted me rent and internet use charge, which apparently is because I was an easy neighbor before and she's happy to have me back. Ted was also kind enough to lend me a bicycle that I can use in Hirakata, and provide me with some comfortable summer bedding. So I'm all set!
Travel tips:
1. Turn your data roaming off before you arrive in a foreign country, and keep your phone in airplane mode if you're in doubt!
2. Be considerate, and people will have your back when you need them.
(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)
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