Athens, but not in Greece

Athens: カタカナ表記は アセンズ です。出張中の9週間、この町が拠点になります。

Athens, TN. It's a small city on the east of Tennessee map. About 1hr drive from Knoxville. Walking around downtown, hoping to find a cafe but the last one had just closed its business. A line from the movie "What's eating Gilbert Grape" constantly ringing my head, "Endora..."
ダウンタウンは人通りもなく、天候も曇っていたせいか、街並みが淋しくみえた。

Someone spotted me and said "Is that a camera?" An old guy smoking just outside of United Wholesale Discount. "Take a picture." It's funny but it was not the first time someone asked me to take his photo. Never happened in Japan but did in Australia. And all of them looked same...

Follow me. ... Really?

アメリカに着いてあっという間に10日ほどが経ちました。前半は時差ぼけ、後半は職場で大流行している原因不明の高熱に苦しめられて・・・。

It is already my 10th day in the US. Jet lag didn’t get me until day 3 or 4. When I was about getting over the jet lag, I started having this fever which almost half of my colleagues are suffering.

 

 

人生初のアメリカ合衆国はデトロイト空港でした。この日、2月14日はアメリカ北部で記録的な寒さ。乗り継ぎの国内線で飛行機が前の空港を予定通り離陸できず、2時間ほど遅れて出発。ノックスビル空港に着いて、レンタカーに乗り、アセンズのホテルに着いたのは夜中の1時過ぎ。

My very first US experience started from Detroit Airport. We had 2hrs delay on connecting flight due to the record cold weather. By the time I got to my hotel room in Athens, it was already past 1:00am.

 

 

ノックスビル空港で迎えてくれた受け入れ企業の方に「私についてきてください」と言われて、アメリカに着いていきなり車の運転。道路が凍結してなくて本当に良かった。

Having been in America for the very first time, I was giving a car and had to follow the Japanese guy who came to meet me at the Knoxville Airport. Driving in the US right after landing… interesting experience.