I Made It!

After a 2 hour flight to Toronto, a 14 hour flight to Tokyo, and a 2 & half hour bus/train ride to the dorm, I finally made it. Too much traveling! But I managed to have a bit of fun doing it :)

Each of the flights went smoothly, a little late, but nothing too bad. I slept for most of them so that was very good - except for the jet lag I'm experiencing. I woke up promptly at 4:30 this morning after I went to bed around 1:00 am. I was able to talk to my mom though, so I'm not too bitter about it.

It has finally sunk in that I'm in Japan. I've been anticipating this moment for years and now I'm finally sitting in my single room with my plethora of Japanese dictionaries, text books, and other miscellaneous things that will assist my learning. When I look outside my window, it's so obvious I'm in Japan from the architecture of the houses, the signs, etc. There is a vending machine full of various teas, coffees, water and juices in the lobby. We have to take off our shoes when we get through the front lobby and we put them in a little locker with our room number on it. It doesn't get more Japanese than that :D

We are provided meals Monday through Saturday, breakfast and dinner. The little old ladies that serve us are sweet and made me smile a lot. There is a public bathroom on my floor (with both Japanese toilets and Western toilets...pictures up soon for those who don't know the difference) and a shower room downstairs.

The internet is being a little bit iffy (no wireless, just an ethernet cord), so, I'll try again later to put up some pictures.

A lot of things in Japan are bilingual but of course, the emphasis is on Japanese. I'm not as proficient as I hope to be but I know that will change in a positive direction very soon. I'm already getting the hang of listening to instructions and keeping up with conversation, even though it is sometimes difficult to create a response. Everyone is really nice and patient when it takes me longer than it should to convey my thoughts. A lot of it goes over my head but so far, I understand enough. It can only go uphill from here :)