first impressions

Hi friends and family :D. I'm starting a blog because I know I probably won't be able to talk with you as often as I'd like. Hopefully, this one won't be as disheartening in content as xanga 2000.

I've made it through training and a week of work in Japan.  My initial impressions can be summed up best with the following words and phrases:

humidity. bad hair (mine only). tiny people. tiny cars! small apartments. hot. narrow roads. good food. bikes w/ baskets! lots of walking. rain. futons. 100 yen stores. good bread. fabulous convenient stores. friendly folks. compact buildings. escalators galore. no english. crunchy clothes (no dryers). no dishwashers. no garbage disposals. clotheslines. balconies. weird tv. tea. drink bars w/ ice cream. karaoke regularly. sitting on floors. cute shoes for tiny feet. izakayas. delicious, expensive fruit. bike parking garages. suits. high school uniforms-britney spears style. fried foods. temples. bike trails. lack of cereal variety. iced coffee in a can. little storage space. separated trash (burnable and non). amazing service. 

So far, I am loving it - much more than I thought I might! I feel challenged but also at peace. I can hardly understand anything that goes on around me. Maybe later on, I'll feel frustrated by this, but right now I'm intrigued because I feel like there's a greater chance that I'll eventually be able to communicate in another language. I now have a better understanding of how foreigners in America must feel. I have searched for things at the store and have not been able to find them because I don't know what the package looks like or because I don't know how to ask. My proudest moment of the week was finding and buying a bike. I found it at a "home center"- kind of like Home Depot/Wal Mart- that's about a 20 minute walk from my apartment. A cute, old man set it up for me. It came equipped with a basket, a bell, a light!, a lock attached to the bike, and a hardcore kickstand/back fender. Bikes in Japan come with a minimum of all these things. I'm not gonna lie, I am definitely having to re-learn how to ride a bike, and I feel like an idiot. An idiot in danger. I probably need to invest in a helmet and knee/elbow pads. Luckily, I'm not in Tokyo so I don't think I'll be killed :D.

I work with mostly sweet, sweet people. We karaoke'd the first night I was here, and my coworkers are planning a welcome party in a couple weeks. Teaching is a little intense, and I feel disorganized. I'm sure this will get better in time.

Sundays and Mondays are my days off. Yesterday, I ventured out into all that is Tsuchiura. Today, I did the same. I found a bike trail that goes on for 25km or something ridiculous. It goes through fields and past temple-like buildings (possibly temples?). I also found a park nearby that used to have a castle in it. Now there's a big empty spot where I assume the castle used to be. I explored the Ito Yokado (shopping center/mall) and exhausted the 100 yen and grocery stores. I don't think there's much of the city left to explore. Next, I plan to venture to Tsukuba, the neighboring and slightly larger city. I want to shop there and hike Mt. Tsukuba!!

My feet are scraped, blistered, and tired of heels and overuse. But I haven't paid a CENT for fuel! :)