I love being with Katie for my birthday because she always does a great job of spoiling me. This year I had a business trip come up over my birthday so I wasn't home for number 36. Katie and the kids treated me to some early birthday surprises, and then I left here on February to fly to Japan. I don't travel internationally for work often, so the occasional adventure actually ends up being novel.
This trip was 4 days in Japan, but it takes a day of travel to each way (so the trip ended up being 6 days). I connected through Los Angeles both ways (five hours to L.A., then eleven to Tokyo). The flight was business class, so it was actually relatively comfortable (lots of movies, books, and sleep). I landed in Japan late in the afternoon of February 8, so most of my birthday was spent in the air.
I've been to Germany, Brazil, and Italy (so I wouldn't say I have a terribly diverse set of international experiences). I anticipated Japan would be a bit different, and that was definitely the case. I think the biggest adjustment was not being able to read anything - it made navigating and interacting with others more difficult. A lot of people speak English, but I had at least a few moments of uncertainty (for example, did I get on the right bus to get to the hotel). Having some gracious Japanese hosts from the company we were working with definitely helped. They didn't hold our hands the whole way, but they facilitated enough that I didn't feel much anxiety.
Of course, the strangest thing about Japan that everyone notices is the toilet. If I had anxiety about anything, this was it.
This trip was 4 days in Japan, but it takes a day of travel to each way (so the trip ended up being 6 days). I connected through Los Angeles both ways (five hours to L.A., then eleven to Tokyo). The flight was business class, so it was actually relatively comfortable (lots of movies, books, and sleep). I landed in Japan late in the afternoon of February 8, so most of my birthday was spent in the air.
I've been to Germany, Brazil, and Italy (so I wouldn't say I have a terribly diverse set of international experiences). I anticipated Japan would be a bit different, and that was definitely the case. I think the biggest adjustment was not being able to read anything - it made navigating and interacting with others more difficult. A lot of people speak English, but I had at least a few moments of uncertainty (for example, did I get on the right bus to get to the hotel). Having some gracious Japanese hosts from the company we were working with definitely helped. They didn't hold our hands the whole way, but they facilitated enough that I didn't feel much anxiety.
Of course, the strangest thing about Japan that everyone notices is the toilet. If I had anxiety about anything, this was it.
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