Day one at a new job. It’s always going to be a stressful and exciting time with a learning curve ranging from steep to WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?!
The Inbound Tourism and International Relations Section is on the 3rd floor in the old Nagano City Hall building. It’s about a 15-minute walk from my apartment to the office, and even at 7:45 in the morning it is HOT outside. HOT and HUMID. By the time I get to the office, it’s like I’ve just been in a shower.
My day began bright and early at 8:15 in the office by introducing myself to everyone in our Inbound Tourism and International Relations Section. Every day, each department has a quick morning meeting to discuss any issues, happenings, or events going on that day. The section heads announce who is taking leave that day, and after the quick meeting a day of work can begin.
A lot of the first day (read: week) was spent trying to get a feel for the office culture, and learning who is who around the department. We’re on the third floor in the old City Hall building,
I spent the whole day in a bit of an anxious blur, so when we walked to the mayor’s reception room to prepare for the official meeting, I wasn’t feeling much more nervous than I had been the rest of the day. That quickly changed once I saw how official the set-up was, and met the journalist and photographer who would be writing and publishing an article about the meeting.
When the mayor came in, I did my best to deliver a polite self-introduction, telling everyone where I’m from, why I’m in Japan, and what I plan and hope to do in my role as a Coordinator for International Relations. When it came time to take a commemorative picture, I felt like my face was stuck in a fake half smile from attempting to put on a persona of amiability.
For the rest of the first day, I was carted around the office and the city to meet with everyone I might be working with in the year(s) to come. I actually find this courtesy call (挨拶回り) aspect of Japanese work interesting and quite valuable. When you meet the people you will be working with face-to-face, it’s easier to create a positive first impression, and to build a working relationship from there.
Of course I did countless meishi koukan (名刺交換) or business-card-exchanges throughout these meetings, which seems like it should be a simple act of handing one’s card over to an associate. In Japan, however, meishi koukan is a choreographed act of presenting the card as a representation of one’s self, and accepting the other person’s card with great respect and putting it safely in a card holder or wallet. It’s actually quite a fascinating practice, and even native Japanese speakers take business manner classes where they learn how to do this exchange.
Throughout the first couple days at work, it really felt like I was just along for the ride. Which was alright with me, walking around like a zombie in my JET-lagged state anyway.
Next time, I’ll tell you how I happened to meet/dance with two super celebs from a dance group called “Exile.”
Stay tuned! 楽しみにしてね！
またね～
Xan in Japan 