kobeintern

5/31. Travel to Kobe on the Shinkansen “bullet” train! I will be starting the internship in June. For the first time I’ll be riding in Nozomi!

Nozomi is so fast. With Hikari, the model I’m used to because that is only what’s allowed while using the JR Pass – the travel mode I’m most used to, you can actually make out the station names when passing through. With Nozomi, it’s just a blur.

What happens when you’re passing through a tunnel and you encounter a train going in the opposite direction only a couple of feet away moving at full speed? Absolutely nothing. The encounter lasting less than five seconds is amazingly quiet.

Today Mount Fuji was clear even though it was overcast. It’s a very interesting combination. The lady who sat next to me said there’s not much snow left because of the unusual warmth lately. Beautiful anyways!

At Shin Kobe Station I transferred to the Subway which takes me to 3 minute walk to the cathedral, and I got to the cathedral office where I’m staying in good time. I was able to settle in well before the Sunday evening prayer.

The guest rooms are on the second floor. The communal toilet (便所)is extremely small. The bath room (風呂場)on the other hand, is big enough for even a couple! Laundry washing machine available. Yay!

The kitchen/dining room is family sized and I can do well here.

There were about 15 people attending the Evening Prayer. Bishop was in attendance as well! After the service they took me out to a welcome dinner at a local’s Chinese restaurant. (街中華)

They asked a lot of questions about myself (my growing up as well as how I came to be in the seminary), the Episcopal USA churches and the diocese.

They were fun to be with and talk to. Introduction went well.

End of the first day.