Meeting Aunt Em and Uncle Henry

DOROTHY: Aunt Em! 

AUNT EM: Fifty-seven, fifty-eight -- 

DOROTHY: Just listen to what Miss Gulch did to Toto!   She -- 

AUNT EM: Dorothy, please!  We're trying to count!   Fifty-eight-- 

Hello Ozzies!

First stop in my little trip towards Oz: Brussels. All Vulcanus members went there for a one-day-long talk about some points of the program.

After a loooong working day (I really love when those bitching microprocessors don't do what they are supposed to, and instead decide to go on strike. Hmm...must be this lovely country...), I stepped on the magic train and off I went. Normally, it should have been a hurricane or a tornado, something spectacular. Unfortunately, they went on strike (pay rise, I think). anyway, Thalys is just as good (doesn't sound as cool though).

Must take a small break here: a dog has stopped in the middle of the metro rails, and we are waiting for it to leave. One of Toto's most feared enemies, I presume. Parisian subway system is just sooooo good, I don't have enough words to describe its infinite virtues! Apparently, we're dealing with Super Dog in here, because the electric current also went off. Must be really pissed off this dog. I wonder what Toto did to it... (or maybe this is why it is such a horrible enemy!).

OK, end of the break: the current has come back, everything is fine. 15 minutes to deal with a dog! (as if we where in India, and a cow had just crossed over the railway...)

Bad news! Super Dog is back, we stopped again. I hope this time it's come for blood...Muahaha! It would be much more fun to have a little bit more of action around here.

Back on track! RATP: 1 - Super Dog: 0. Maybe next time...

Where were we? Ah, yes! Vulcanus meeting in Brussels!

First thing I see when I arrive to the hotel: a couple guys from Letonia (Dainora and Michail) and another one from Hungary (Balazs). All of them looking for a bar called "Delirium Tremens" (like the beer). Seems like our journey is gonna start well...

After losing ourselves a couple of times, we managed to arrive. Very cool place, by the way. It has the largest beer menu in the world (Guiness's World of Records proved), plus nice people, plus good music. Once in there, we met the Spanish "avanzadilla": Manuel, Pepe, Jorge and David (I put the names because from now on, Vulcanus member's names will appear quite frequently,so you better get used to it!). We are something like 11 Spanish participants, so obviously, not everyone was there...One of the French guys was also with them, Clément. We were not supposed to stay there for long (tomorrow is the big day, and it starts at 8 a.m.), but guess what, we finally arrived to the hotel at around 3 a.m.

Next day, the D-day! Where everything begins. The European organiser of the program and the rest of the team present themselves and start talking about the program. Geez, they really know how to talk to people! First thing they say is that we (Vulcanus participants) have been very lucky to have been chosen. They even go as far as saying we are not the best applicants, but the ones who matched better with the companies that work with the program. Aren't they just lovely!

But it doesn't matter, because after that they start talking about some key points of the program: insurance, visa procedure, the residence, transportation,...Everything becomes so real, we are all daydreaming wiht the trip. Then, a former participant talks, and we all explose with happiness. I just couldn't have enough of what he was saying. Everything sounded perfect: where he's been, what he's seen, who we'll meet...I'm having goose bumps as I write this, just thinking about all that stuff!

Finally, the Japanese exam. Well, let's say that Ishi Sensei won't feel very proud about it if she ever knows...

To round it up, we all go out to have dinner and beers. Veeeeery funny, it seems we're all going to rock the hell out of Tokyo. We ended up in the Delirium Tremens bar (again), drinking, dancing and laughing. The Wizard of Oz told me not to be gossiping around, so...I'll only say that true colors started to come out, and they looked really cool!

Now, I'm back to work, and it feels as if everything was a pleasant dream. But we'll come back, just wait and see...

Don't miss the next episode!

Getting started (I)

DOROTHY: Aunt Em!  Aunt Em!

Hello ‘Ozzis’ (hope anyone of you is Australian)
Well, here starts a series of pretty useful posts, even though some of you may find them a bit boring… 
Toto is stressing himself a bit with the preparations for the trip to Japan. So, during the next weeks I’ll be talking about some stuff you should take into consideration before going to Japan.
Today, I’ll begin with the basics: gathering information and looking for cheap flights!
Dorothy should never have begun her journey without getting brochures about Oz…Nobody wants to finish in a creepy dungeon, with horrible witches doing weird stuff to you, isn’t it? Or maybe you do (now that I think about it, it may sound tempting…). Anyway, I’m changing of subject here!
So let’s go back to business: The first thing to do in order to prepare our trip, is to look for tourist information offices in our country, and buying some travel guides. Since the Vulcanus program takes a whole year, I decided to buy a couple of guides, one of Japan in general, and the other one about Tokyo and Kyoto. The one about Japan in general is La guide bleu de Japan, from Hachette editors (yep, it’s a French guide guys!). The one about Tokyo and Kyoto is the Guía viva, from Anaya Touring Club (and surprise, this one is Spanish! Too much time spent in different countries, I guess). I have read both of them (ok, maybe not in deep detail, but quite well!). Anyway, there are loads of good guides (Lonely Planet, Guide du routard, etc…), and it’s better to take a quick look to different ones. Depending on the kind of trip you have in mind, you may have different preferences.
Since I am also planning on communicating with the ‘natives’ (hey, people from Oz have feelings, didn’t you know that?), I thought it would be good idea to buy a small book about customs and etiquette. I know that home rules don’t apply everywhere in the world, so it’s better to be aware and not make silly mistakes. I bought the Culture Smart! Guide of Japan (Kuperard editors) (which is in English, I’m afraid…Now you know why learning different languages at school comes handy!). If you want, I can post later on something about Japanese etiquette. I think it’s better knowing than making a fool of himself later on, when not even  Glinda would be able to help you out!  As for addresses where you could gather some information, you should always consider checking the Japanese embassy in your country first. Here is a couple of places you could check out also:
·      Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO): 
o 4, rue de Ventadour, 75001, Paris
o Web address: www.jnto.go.jp
o E-mail: info@tourisme-japon.fr
·      Tokyo Metropolitan Government
o  Webs: www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp , www.yes-tokio.es
o  E-mail:taekoueda@yes-tokyo.es (Ms. Taeko Ueda in in charge of this office)
·      JTB Viajes Spain, S.A. (JJPAK)
o  C/ Principe de Vergara, 111- Duplicado, 28013 Madrid
o  Web: www.jjpak.es
o  Mail: informad@jjpak.es
I suppose there are no Wizards of Oz around you, so nobody will be planning to take a balloon to fly to Japan, is there? As with Travel Guides, there are a lot of companies which fly to Japan…but I presume here the main issue is money, not ‘your idea of the trip’. The earlier you buy your ticket, the cheaper. The best fares are always when buying like 6 months in advance (I have some friends that fly with Air France for something like 450€ i/v, which is pretty cool). If you have the chance to choose a company, I would say that it’s better to fly with Air France or Bristish Airways, since they have the best catering offers (and believe me, when you’re in a plane for something like 13 hours, THAT counts a lot!). If not, you should check in Finnair, or in Air China. They have pretty good prices if you buy your ticket 3 months in advance (I saw one from Air China for 700€ i/v). As for travel search sites, I recommend you to take a look at Atrapalo(www.atrapalo.com) or at Mon nuage (www.monnuage.fr). The normally have good offers, also.
Well, I think this is enough for today. Aunt Em is calling for supper…
Enjoy!