Hello! 
My name is Mariko and I work at the Hakodate Campus. I wanted to share with you my first experiences in The following is an e-mail I sent to my friends and family on my 4th day here.
Once I got to Haneda Airport, it was pretty obvious that I was a foreigner. I wasn’t used to being in a country where many different cultures don’t live together. I got lost many times, so I asked for directions at every information booth I came across just to make sure I was going the right way. 
Finally I made it (somehow) to the station where I was able to meet my branch manager.
First, I made a complete dork of myself when I tried to open the doors. It turned out that you had to press somewhere on the door to open because it did not have a motion sensor. I looked like a monkey trying to open a can as I was trying everything possible to open the door.
I was quickly shown to my apartment and then left to my own devices until 9 pm when I was to meet with my new colleagues and roommate for dinner. Thai food was amazing. 
My room was really small, but I didn’t really need a large room, so I was happy with it. 
I was really tired on the first night, but I was glad I went out anyway. 
On Friday, I waited for my luggage to arrive and then I took a shower. Next I had to take the tram to the City Hall in order to get my alien registration card. I got completely lost and the place I thought was the City Hall turned out be a Post Office. 
After the manager told me about this, I became totally embarrassed and had to ask for more directions. I was so happy and felt like crying when I found it. 
It was raining
and I was soaking wet because my umbrella broke on the way. I was dripping while I was filling out the forms but I did it ! I survived ! 
In my soaking wet jeans and new sneakers, I braved the weather again and hopped back on the tram. Unfortunately I missed my stop and ended up at the end of the line. 
Walking around in painful shoes, and having to hold my pants up to keep them falling off my body was no fun at all. 
After much walking and desperation, I saw a hospital and walked in as fast as possible. 
After a lot of hand gestures and trying to speak in horribly broken Japanese and Spanish, I was able to get through that I needed a cab pronto. The cab driver got me back to Nova, thank goodness, and I was able to walk home from there. The typhoon was in full force and I hurried home without calling my parents for fear that it would get worse outside.
After getting home, the divider between both apartments ended up in pieces on our balcony floor and I started to worry about Stephanie my new roommate. She came home ok and we stayed home that night for obvious reasons.
Saturday, I made my way back on the tram and to Hakodate Station. Once on the train I was finally able to feel a little better about the whole trip. So far, I have been having major doubts and everything is too new for me. I was so emotional most of the time that I didn't know how I was going to stand being here for a whole year. It was very scary, for example, to ride the local bus and learn that you needed to take a ticket. 
Most people are nice and friendly enough to help me out.
I was finally able to tell my parents that I was ok through e-mail, and everything in general finally seems to be a little better. 
Maybe I will be alright here after all, but I’ve got to learn how to cook some Japanese food 
because toast is getting old.
Since this email, I have gotten better at asking for directions, I have fully mastered how to ride a bus, train and tram, and I can cook many delicious Japanese recipes. =)
