The calm

It is now less than twenty four hours before my departure for the land of the Rising Sun. Less than 24 hours before I leave my home in the United States and go on a mini-adventure in Tokyo Japan, which according to my flight manifest is about 6,000 miles away. Less than 24 hours before I immerse myself in a culture I know next to nothing about. Less than 24 hours before I begin to challenge myself by going completely outside my comfort zone.

I know you may say, 'Dimitry, you handsome devil you, something can phase you and take you outside your comfort zone?' It may be difficult to believe but your beloved Dimitry, despite my smooth talk, calm demeanor, and nearly unshakable confidence, can in fact be taken far outside my normal zone of comfortable daily operation. Lucky for me, most of you will not be able to see such an event as it will occur half way around the world.

For those of you who have not heard of my planned trip I will provide a brief synopsis. I am working in Tokyo, Japan for a recycling firm named the Shirai Group Inc. as an a sort of all purpose 'playa pimp (been hit with a few shell but I don't walk with a limp).' I will engage in both financial job functions as well as a little accounting. The other major job requirement will be to leverage my English my speaking, writing (as you can hopefully tell by now), and reading for the benefit of the company. From what I now understand I will be continuously improving the speaking skills of the Shirai Group's employees, doing a fair share of translation, and perhaps most importantly meeting with the company's clients. At this point in time, it sounds to me more like pleasure than work and I look forward to meeting my employer and fellow employees.

Lets get serious here for a minute and recognize the fact that a trip would not be a trip without doing some proper partying and traveling. For your benefit and enjoyment I will exploit all my local connections (which right now stand at 2 people) to find out more about the party scene in Tokyo as well as other cities around Japan. Furthermore, I look forward to exploring the different temples and shrines that have become famous throughout the world.

It should be noted that I plan on getting involved in the Local Community of AIESEC in Tokyo University as much as I am permitted. I wanted to thank them for they have already been gracious hosts and have been extremely helpful. Also a thank you to Ryota Nakashimi who has helped me get the job, helped me get my Visa paperwork, helped me find housing, and will meet me at the airport. One can't think of a more helpful and resourceful @er.

Perhaps most importantly, or at least what I find to be most interesting, I will attempt to reflect in this blog some worthwhile observations about culture, society, people and how they vary throughout the world. I am excited to be given such an opportunity where I will finally be on the outside looking in. Though it will be for a rather short period of time, I will do my utmost to present to you what I find to be interesting observations and on occasion original thought. As American's we tend to see the world through a very specific lens, and one that is often very narrow. In traveling to Japan I hope to not only expand my understanding of Japanese culture, but world culture. I want to know the way others see the world for what it is and how they see America as fitting into it.

I don't plan on having regularly scheduled posts, however, I think it would be fair to expect about a post a week. So either add me to your RSS feed or Google reader and prepare to have your mind blown by the sheer amount of greatness that shall grace this page. It is now about 18 hours before I leave from Newark Airport and I think I might be becoming excited.

PS-I swear to god if I get stuck at the back of the fuckin airplane again....