A lesson on Japanese culture...

I am currently reading "The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture: Japan!" I am fascinated by what I have read so far and I wanted to share some fun facts!

1. Japan makes up 0.3% of the world's landmass
2. Mt. Fuji is 12,3888 ft. above sea level (smaller than Salkantay!) and is on the "active" list!
3. Japan straddles 4 tectonic plates!!! Yikes!
4. The commonly used phrase Ware ware nihonjin = "we Japanese," which expresses that point of view of the whole group rather than an individual perspective.
5. There is a heightened sense of the value and importance of work.
6. To "lose face" means to lose one's dignity or self-respect. "Loss of face is embarrassing; but for the Japanese it is also shameful."
7. "The Japanese are not loud or confrontational by nature. There is much that is not said but sensed."
8. Haragei - "this term refers to instinctive, gut feelings about a person, event, or proposition...It is sometimes said that the Japanese will not do business with people they sense to be the 'wrong' people, even though the proposition might be an attractive one."
9. The Japanese are very subtle and prefer the indirect approach is the best.
10. There is an intense feeling of personal and private space. "Don't express affection in public, except to small children...Avoid physical contact...The Japanese tend to keep a greater distance from each other when talking, and avoid direct eye contact."
11. The Japanese are all about teamwork and seek consensus in all aspects of decision-making, combined with the desire to avoid conflict.
12. The population in Japan is 99% Japanese. The 1% of foreigners, like myself, are called gaikokujin  which is shortened to gaijin. 
13. It is considered rude to point to things with one finger.
14. "You are never allowed to forget that you are not Japanese."

There are textured walkways for the blind EVERYWHERE!
Inside stores, on the street, at the train station, it's brilliant!

There are vending machines with hot and cold bottled drinks
on nearly every corner. Some machines you can even pay
with your Suica card (plastic card you put money on to pay for
the train and the bus, kinda like a Metrocard).

They inject their apples with honey. They are SO sweet!

This bathroom wastebasket is motion sensored so you don't
have to touch it!

If you have a small child and you need to free
your hands to use the bathroom, you can just
use the baby holder in your stall!

Shibuya!

I finally made it into the heart of Tokyo!!! Shibuya is a much sought out destination for tourists visiting Japan as well as local fashionistas, as the shopping is amazing! I went with a big group today and had a great time shopping and experiencing the crowds, Japanese fashion, and music!

Yay Shibuya!!!

When you first step out of the train station, you're welcomed by Hachiko! There is a really amazing story behind this statue! Basically the dog would see his owner off to work every morning at the Shibuya station and wait for him all day no matter the weather until he returned. One day the professor didn't come home after having a stroke. Hachiko was adopted by other families but would always sneak away to go to the station at the exact time the train arrived to wait for his owner. He did this every day for 10 years! Not only does he have a monument to commemorate him, there is also a train entrance named after him and a movie was made based on his story!
Here is the full story if you're interested: Hachiko's Story

The famous Shibuya intersection is pretty amazing in person. I've seen videos and read about it, but there is nothing like actually walking through it. Shibuya is pretty much the Times Square of Tokyo and the atmosphere is breath-taking. This day trip was the first time I really though "WOW, I'm actually in Tokyo, Japan!"

The crowd wasn't too overwhelming the first time we crossed. Probably because
it was noon on a Tuesday.

Before

After

What it normally looks like according to Tokyoezine.com

Crossing the intersection!!!

Shopping in Shibuya!!!

After a few hours of shopping and walking around, our group met up at Starbucks to go out to lunch somewhere. We ended up going to a little underground pizza place...typical Americans (and Brits and Aussies). We had our own private little room with a cool painting on the wall!

Jesus was there too! As was Michael Jackson, ALF, Darth Vader, Jack Sparrow and friends...

Funny story: one of the girls ordered a Japanese Pizza! The description included mozzarella cheese, green onions, and Japanese spices. Sounded safe and delicious. So it arrives and she has a bite and we all want to know how it is. She says it's great but the Japanese spice is a little fishy tasting, comparing it to an anchovy. So a few of us, including myself, try a (big) bite and like it but agree it's very different. Another girl at the table looks down and says "is that shredded fish?" We all start inspecting the pizza and it just looks like shredded cheese with specks of black which we assume are the "spices." The closer we look, the more we start to see that those little shreds of cheese are actually hundreds of little white fish with two black eyes. They look like little baby shrimp or even worse, long skinny maggots. So all of us were pretty grossed out, except one guy who trades pizzas with her and enjoys every last piece of the fishy surprise! The end!

That little cluster on the bottom left portion of the pizza is a good-sized chunk of fishies. Gross. Can't believe I ate them :(

Can you see them now?

The day was pretty fantastic! Finally saw downtown, shopped a little, and spent some quality time bonding over fish pizza with my cast!

It's Only Just Begun!

We finally started dancing this week! The rehearsal process is quite exhausting. There are about 60-70 people that make up the full cast including the dancers, characters, and stunt performers! So about 70% of the cast is Japanese. I'm really enjoying working with the Japanese dancers! They are so talented! In fact, my whole cast is pretty darn talented. I'm honored to be surrounded by such professional and well-trained dancers of all genres!

Taking the train to work!

So this week we learned the entire opening number! The first day we learned all of the choreography. The second day we blocked just the dancers. The third day we blocked with all of the characters. Let me remind you that everyone has 2-3 different tracks in the show. This means that in one week I will perform 3 different versions of "One Man's Dream II." So some dancers, including myself, have multiple tracks to learn in the opening number alone. I have two but one is a dancer track and the other one is very brief and the choreography and blocking is very simple. Other dancers may have 3 different dance tracks! It's so hard to explain without showing you, but learning the blocking and reversing choreography for multiple tracks in the same number is very challenging!

Anyway, it took two rehearsals to get everyone blocked into each of their tracks. I didn't even get a chance to block the first day, because we only got through 2 groups and I was in the third! It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to block each group and run the number twice. Our choreographer, director, and dance captains are very specific about how we execute the choreography and where we stand. Our stage is numbered 4-3-2-1-0-1-2-3-4 length-wise, and A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H depth-wise. So if I need to stand stage left 2.5 and C.5 this is where I would be:

So the blocking is pretty specific and we move around changing positions constantly and have to be on our numbers to keep the stage balanced and symmetrical. So you can imagine doing 3 versions of the same dance and having to remember all of the different numbers and letters! It's a physical as well as mental work out! Oh and did I mention we have to sing all of the Japanese lyrics too? In conclusion: we must know the choreography (on our own and with our partners), the blocking, and remember to sing along in Japanese! Yet that being said, I don't think I've ever felt this joyful while dancing before! There is something about the music and the choreography that just fills me with ecstasy and I can't stop smiling. The Japanese are big on performance and always rehearsing full out, and at least for this number, that is very easy for me! So as far as the show and everything work-related, I am very happy to finally be dancing and performing again!

Our rehearsals are late at night after the trains and busses
stop running, so we get our own bus that takes us straight
home from backstage! This is my entire cast riding home
after a 6pm-2am rehearsal!

The rest of my days are filled with rest and exploration! The other day a group of my cast members and I traveled to an Australian restaurant in Odaiba, which is in Tokyo but still not the tourist downtown area. The restaurant was called "Bill's" and nearly all 9 of us ordered these amazing Ricotta Honey Banana Pancakes! They were hands down the most delicious pancakes I've ever eaten in my entire life.

Odaiba!

Ricotta Honey Banana Pancakes :0

The bridge in the back is called the Rainbow Bridge. 

We asked a woman to take a photo of us and she couldn't figure out the iPhone
so she had her 4 year old take the picture instead...turned out alright though!

Yay Odaiba!

The streets of Tokyo!

That's all I'll write about for the moment.  I have a few more stories, but I'll save those for later this week! It's snowing again and it's so peaceful looking out my windows and seeing the snowflakes swirling around in the air!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Here's a fun little compilation of famous dance scenes from different movies!
Dance in the Movies

It's already been a week!

Man has this week flown by! I learned and experienced so much in such a short time! Each day I grow more and more confident in my decision to come here!

We finally had our first rehearsal the other day! We studied a few of the Disney characters by watching movie clips and discussed their personality traits and body language. It is always so fun to dive into such specific character work because these are characters I grew up watching! 

Later I learned one of my opening number tracks! I'm so excited to finally start learning choreography! It's so much fun to be dancing with all of my friends as we'll. It is such a fantastic way to get to know each other even better. During rehearsal our stage manager announced that the forecast for the next day was predicting snow so they would let us know if they decided to cancel tomorrow's rehearsals. At the end of the day they did indeed decide to postpone rehearsal until Sunday evening since we were to have Sunday off. So basically our day off was just flip flopped if that makes any sense...

So Yesterday was a snow day!!! It snowed ALL DAY LONG!!! It was so cold and windy but my friend and I just had to go outside and make a snowman! Duh. So we did and we named him Steve and he was a Japanese snowman with no arms! 

                                     

                     

It had been years since I had built a snowman and I had to much fun!!!! ^^^This is my friend Ashley from Australia! This was her first time ever building a snowman!

Yesterday was also a wonderful day because I got to FaceTime Nick, my parents, and 4 of my best friends from home. We get together for a girls night every single Friday so I was elated to have the opportunity to FaceTime then when they were all together! We watched my friend wedding video together that was just finished for her and it was so special!!!

                                        

There are 8 of us in total and our initials spell out PAKKAJES! They are all so special to me and the beauty in the middle is getting married in 5 months!!!!!!!! Miss you girls! 

Being snowed in is so cozy and just makes me want to drink tea and watch Christmas movies. I didn't actually watch any Christmas movies, but I did get together and watch "Saving Mr. Banks" with some friends and then had people over later to watch "Frozen!" I even tried making homemade Mac and cheese that didn't turn out too horribly! 

                                 

That is what it liked like outside by the end of the day! Everything was canceled at the park even "One Man's Dream II" since there was snow on the stage!!! That is a big deal when a show gets canceled!

It was a wonderful and relaxing day! There is still snow on the ground outside but it is slowly melting in the warm sun so we should still be on for rehearsal tonight. Can't wait to dance!!!

This was taken at the park yesterday by a Japanese fan!!! It's so beautiful but I wouldn't want to walk around the park in that!!!

We're not in California anymore...

I am absolutely falling in love with this country! Japanese culture is so different than American culture and I have to say, it is very refreshing. Everything seems to be done differently here!

Just a handful of things I've taken notice of thus far:

• The Japanese are honest, respectful, and trusting. For example: you can park your bike outside of the grocery store or leave your purse unattended at a restaurant while you use the restroom and it will not be stolen.
• There are several shopping malls within a mile or so of my apartment complex and though there are many stores on each floor, there are no walls to separate them. This can make it difficult to know the boundaries of each store and if I was a thief, I would be in heaven because you could literally just pick up something and walk away and no one would ever notice.
• It is against the law (or at least extremely looked down upon) to eat or drink on the bus, train, taxi, or even while you walk.
• It can be nearly impossible to find a trash can that isn't for bottle or cans. So most of the time I just carry my trash around with me.
• You don't tip anywhere! Even in taxis!
• Japanese women are gorgeous. Their skin is smooth and flawless.
• Car drive on the left side of the road like in the UK.
• The weather changes daily. For example: yesterday it snowed and today it is sunny.
• The Japanese are very conservative and private. In all bathrooms, the stalls reach all the way to the floor, and in some bathrooms, there are buttons you can press that make sounds so that other people can't hear your business.
• There are also some toilets that are holes in the floor that you just squat over.

More to come are I learn more and more!

Everyone I have encountered thus far has been so kind and welcoming. Our supervisors, stage managers, casting team, etc. have showed us an overwhelming abundance of respect and they all know us by name which is both impressive and heart-warming! The last three days we have have stacks of paperwork and tons of information thrown at us, but the company is so thorough and repetitive, that by the end of the day, I feel that I have actually absorbed everything!

Yesterday we finally got to watch the show from the audience. It was FREEZING because our stage is a covered outdoor amphitheater, but the show was amazing! The costumes, effects, and sets are so much more impressive in person than they were on youtube! The cast was incredible and so much fun to watch. Naturally, the opening number and finale made me tear up. I'm just so thankful to be here among such talented and kind performers.

The old and new cast out for dinner together!

Oh! And I learned to fly last night! Again, it was freezing on stage, but so much fun!

We have today off! I'm going to check our Costco and Ikea with some cast member! Hopefully I'll find some good food and something to brighten up my apartment!

"Do not be anxious about anything..."

I'm here. I made it. I'm safe.

The past two days have been such a whirlwind.  My day and a half of travel was exhausting but when I finally met some of my cast members I started to feel excited about being here! Not that I wasn't excited before, but I spent the whole last week dwelling on how long I'm going to be gone, the people I'm going to miss, and the things I'm going to miss out on. I've never felt that anxiety before any other contract before. I've been traveling consistently as a dancer for a few years, but I'm never worried, scared, or nervous when I leave for a job. God gives me a peace and security in my decision and I go into a new experience feeling ready. So it was concerning to me that the job I've been dreaming about for years was causing me insomnia and a heaviness in my heart.

My apartment!!!

CANNOT WAIT to brighten it up with furniture and decorations! It looks like a giant ship cabin with the cream-colored walls!

After I unpacked a little, I sat down with my AC remote and the translated manual in English and spent about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to turn on the heater. For some reason, I just felt defeated and helpless. So I made myself Cup of Noodles for dinner with a just as confusing microwave... The current and new cast was having a welcome party in one of the extendees'(current cast members who chose to extend their contract and do another season with this show.) I was so exhausted and emotional and I just wanted to go to sleep, but I forced myself to stop by the party because I knew it would lighten my spirits.

And it did! I had a great time meeting the people currently doing our show and hearing about their experience here. I know I probably say this about every contract in the beginning, but I can already tell that this is going to be a great cast: talent-wise and personality-wise! My favorite part is that almost half of my cast is Australian! I just can't get enough of their accents! The party made me feel a lot better and I went to bed feeling more peaceful than before.

I woke up really early because I was so nervous my clock wouldn't have the correct time or my alarm wouldn't go off. Also, I was probably pretty jet lagged because I am 16 hours ahead of California time.  I decided to just get up out of bed and start my day so I wouldn't feel rushed to get ready.

Today was our first day of orientation! We got our train passes, rode the train to Tokyo Disneyland Resort, learned about how to get around backstage, received a whole bunch of paperwork and information, learned about how to file our taxes next year, and then we were free for the rest of the day! A group of us went to the shopping malls on the way home and picked up some groceries or little things we needed for our apartment. It is crazy difficult to grocery shop because the label are all in Japanese and sometimes it's impossible to figure out what it is! So I bought a handful of random things that hopefully will make up a meal or two!

Passed this cute little mascot on the way home.

Other than not being able to read anything, Japan feels a lot like America. I truly thought I was going to experience insane culture shock, but I feel very comfortable with the city so far.  I mean, I still don't have any idea where I'm going most of the time, but I feel safe and if I got lost I wouldn't feel panicked!

Today put my heart and my mind at peace with me being in Japan. I finally have my clothes all unpacked and have some food to keep me fed for a few days.  I am thankful for these times of doubt because God always reminds me how safe I am when I put my trust in Him.

First home-cooked meal in my apartment!

One of my favorite verses that always pops into my head when I need it:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7