WELCOME TO NiPPON

A smiling Japanese flight attendant awakens me out of my deep sleep. Through her softly spoken voice and light American accent the only word I comprehend is "Egg". My groggy head isn't processing at full strength.

On autopilot I hear myself utter the words "Yes, please." My senses awaken one by one, the sound of the roaring engines defying gravity and keeping us at 35,000 feet. The pins and needles shooting down my right side. My stomach rumbling. Now they all bombard me at once.

I now know the true meaning of exhausted. Thirty minutes before boarding, gate number twelve filled with Asian looking travellers. From no where I was again surrounded by a sea of people. I found myself automatically putting them into categories; "Business men, families, couples..." We advertise all of this information without even blinking an eyelid.

I fell asleep the moment I sat down. No dreams, no thought process, no analysing - just complete black nothingness - for the first time in twenty four hours.

The pilots voice came over the loud speaker. I listened hard, I knew it was in my best interest to hear as much English spoken by Japanese people as possible. Our first language always invades our second. Something you learnt at three years old is hard to forget. As soon as you attempt to read a foreign language you always apply the rules you have been taught from your native tongue. Letting go of these rules is step one to becoming fluent in a second language.

I looked forward to the challenge of communicating with people without the use of words. I wanted to see how quickly I could adapt, survive, make do... I already had a head start. I understood that I would need to establish a basic vocabulary of well known English words, breaking down complex sentences to be understood. Make use of loud body language, fake smiles, pens on napkins.

I've done very little Japanese study, I know only the basics - animals, counting, colours & greetings. Truly nothing useful. Not the alphabet, I didn't even purchase a phase book. Living on the edge is what I do for kicks.

My body aches, I still feel tired. I showed the stress of sleeping 36,000 feet above sea level with 400 other people in a sardine can all breathing the same recycled oxygenated air.

But my day was only beginning. It was 8:00 am when we touched down at Narita International Airport and challenges were ahead...