It's been a busy few days, packing and repacking with a few less things to get under the 23 + 7kg weight limit...needless to say I've failed. While both bags are under the prescribed weight limit they better not weigh my laptop satchel as it's crammed full of my laptop, paperwork, tablet, harddrive, kindle and iPod and it weighs almost more than the carry on bag! (And yes, over the years I've spoilt myself in the tech department, but having done so I don't want to leave it all behind and not justify the expense!) unfortunately all the tech stuff has lithium ion batteries so I couldn't pack it in my checked luggage even if I wanted to.
The good news is, me and all my stuff has made it to Wellington (ok not including the two boxes + map tube of winter gear, hiking/camping gear, NZ nick-knacks and school resources I'm shipping over...).
I managed to pack everything up AND clear out my room last night so all I had to do was get up this morning and say a very emotional goodbye to the animals before heading to the airport. I had it together until I went to cuddle my cat one last time and completely lost it. It gave Mum a bit of a fright I think.
Then at the airport it was Mum's turn...sort of. We were both a bit British about it (stiff upper lip you know) and after one last hug I shot off down the stairs to the gate before we both lost it in the terminal.
The flight was good and moderately uneventful. I chatted to the woman next to me--an HR manager from Hamilton--and sat in my seat with my eyes closed for long periods of time, singing Tenei Matou in my head and visualising the actions. I'm still getting them muddled with the old ones on occasion and want to have it right before stepping up in front of everyone at our first and last group practice this afternoon.
After a bumpy ride into Wellington from the north we disembarked and after collecting my bag I trundled out to the nearest taxi. It was just on 11 and practice was due to start at 12.
I chatted to the taxi driver on the way into town. He was from Ethiopia but didn't seem inclined to elaborate so I switched topics back to Wellington City. $33.60 later I was dropped outside the Mercure Abel Tasman Hotel. Unfortunately the room wasn't ready so I left my luggage behind the desk and used the restaurant bathroom to change into my suit. Two blocks down the road I realised I had a problem, my new shoes that had seemed so comfortable in the shop, were rubbing the tops if my toes raw. I had ten minutes so I nipped past the Embassy to the supermarket to buy lunch and a packet of socks, then headed back to the Majestic Center.
Almost everyone else was already there so I quickly donned socks and we got started. I made the mistake of approaching song and actions together first but this was quickly rectified and we went from sounding atrocious to sounding pretty darn good in record time. Most people had obviously put some effort in and it was great to see them taking so much pride in what they were doing, if shyly and nervously! I was especially impressed when, as we brought in the actions, everyone's claps all happened at the same time; I remember it took us weeks to get that right back in school Kapahaka!
Everyone gradually got into it over the course of the afternoon and we were all helped tremendously by the fact that Jasper had learned Tenei Matou on the guitar. With his backing I even managed a reasonable job of calling the song and by 5pm, after four practices sessions squeezed in between the orientation talks we'd not only managed to work in the actions, but were looking and sounding pretty darn good! It was starting to get a bit knackered toward the end, not to mention losing my voice, so was relieved when it came time to jump on the shuttle buses to the Ambassador's house for dinner.
Dinner was a delicious Japanese/western/middle eastern affair, preceded by formal speeches and followed by mine and Jordan's short speeches and finally everyone singing Tenei Matou. Unfortunately being out the front means I couldn't see how everyone did, but they sounded great and from people's comments afterwards it sounds like we did a great job. People were especially impressed we managed to pull off an action song. Considering we only brought but all together this afternoon I'm stoked! I hope my old Kapahaka teacher Tim would have been proud.
Formalities and performances over we were able to mingle some more and enjoy desert. Myself and three of the others had a chat to Minister Nakai, the Ambassador's representative. He told us all about famous dishes from different parts of Japan (apparently my prefecture is famed for its saki). Before heading off to talk to others Minister Nakai gave us each a business card. This is a very formal thing in Japan and as giving and reviewing business's cards ("meishi") requires a certain method and etiquette, the four if all were a bit careful about taking the card with both hands and studying it whilst saying thank you. I noticed mine had an extra phone number scrawled on the back and discreetly checked with Melissa that it wasn't a number the Minister might have wanted to keep. Apparently it wasn't so I got to keep my first Meishi.
Not long after desert was over it was time to go so after each collecting our things from the coat check we caught the shuttle back to town. I made a B-line for the hotel and shortly showered, made tea and crashed into bed, whilst also chatting to my roommate Liz. She's been posted not too far away from me and us keen to do some hiking whilst in Japan, so I look forward to planning a trip sometime.
So, time for bed. I'm so pleased Tenei Matou worked out do well. I'm also excited by the fact that there's to be no more formal proceedings until Minday morning in a Tokyo--our first day in Japan!
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