It's October Already!

All I can say is that time has gone by very quickly and I have been very busy!

I have really been enjoying my job as librarian. There is a lot to do but I enjoy it so very much. I am the co-chair of a committee on resource development, have signed on to share running the spelling bee, co-ordinating the book fair, running the science club and oh yes, teaching! All this combined with moving to my apartment and just settling in has made it impossible to blog. All I want to do when I come home is have my dinner, wash up, read a bit then go to bed!!! It is already getting dark at 5 and by the time my train exits a short tunnel from Shinjuku station, it's already dark! Plus, there is no daylight savings time here so everybody at home will now be 14 hours behind me.

I am enjoying life in Tokyo very much. Apart from 2 nasty typhoons (one which I had to actually go through--I have never felt such wind!), and 3 tremors registering over 5 (the last one being on the night of the typhoon) life is just very, very busy. I am really enjoying the food here but as yet still need to be more adventurous when it comes to eating fish. So far, I've only had it at Carrie and Akihiro Ito's (and once when I thought I was getting chicken!) Not a lot of meat so I have been missing that a bit but I do eat yogurt and cheese to get some of my protein. The best thing has got to be the sweets, especially the bread which for those of you who know me has always been my weakness. Add a nice cup of coffee and I'm in foodie heaven! Not to mention the noodles and curry buns--oh I wish I could bring home some curry buns for you to try!

Well, Saturday morning and my laundry is out and hanging on the balcony drying, I've cleaned up somewhat and plan on spending the afternoon doing some grocery shopping and browsing in Senagawa, next station over where there is a really nice pedestrian shopping mall. In the meantime, here are some photos of my apartment. 'Til next time, Sayonara from Tokyo!

Shower Room

Hall/Entrance Bedroom
Living/Dining Room
Kitchen

Finally!

I have been looking everywhere for examples of Japanese "Engrish" (not me being smart--it is an official language here in Japan!) It's been there all the time waiting for me to do a load of wash :)

Brief Post

Sorry I haven't posted or put up pictures recently. I've started work and it's been very busy and I'm usually exhausted by the time I get home.

I've been getting familiar with the areas where I live and around the school. The school is in an especially nice area with lots of new shops and food places. Yesterday I shopped at a beautiful grocery store so I hope to maybe take some pictures (although that is probably considered quite rude by the Japanese!) I also hurt my lower back which makes sitting and typing on a computer pretty uncomfortable!!

Quick piece of trivia: Did you know that smoking while walking outside is an arrestable offense? Also, eating while walking will get you quite a few stares as if to say "Uncouth Foreigner, eating and walking--really!"

Will be back soon, promise :)

Shopping Foray

I made 2 visits to a little grocery store up the street from where I'm staying. Wanting to see what else was available, I took a lengthy (and sweaty!) walk up the street that I believe is called Meiji Dori. After about 15 minutes, I spied another grocery store called Santoku. Walking in, I hear one of Vivaldi's Four Seasons play and crossed my fingers that it wouldn't be too pricey.

You don't have to speak the language when thankfully, pictures are on the products! I don't want to make a habit of eating out all the time. I especially wanted to have some items on hand for breakfast. So, for 1587 Yen (approx. $21) this is what I picked up:

Salad for lunch, ham, cheese, English muffins, yogurt, what I'm hoping is margerine or butter!, sugar sticks and of course my Blendy stick, aka coffee :)

I'm Here!

Bathroom
Bed
Kitchen area

I arrived in Tokyo at approximately 6 pm Tokyo time on Sunday, August, 21. Everything went without a hitch (apart from a brief stint with immigration trying to clarify an error I made in filling out my form!)

After picking up my luggage, I went onto a bus that took me to my hotel for the night. Very nice with excellent service! I had a good night's sleep and in the morning was picked up by personnel from the school. There was another teacher who had also arrived and was staying at the same place as myself.

We arrived at our monthly "mansion" which is pretty much like a hotel room. I do believe that I may look into getting an apartment for myself as I don't think I could live here long term.

I've been walking around the area with my teacher friend just getting familiar with the streets, where the train station is,etc. There is certainly no shortage of places to eat and the shops have many of the same products as we carry at home.

Talk to you soon!

Too Fast!

I cannot believe that tomorrow I'll be flying to Tokyo! The time has flown by, preparations have been non-stop. I know that I'll experience major culture shock but I'm not stressing out about that as much as I am about finally beginning my career as a librarian! I've got lots of information running through my head and it will be awesome to finally be given the opportunity of implementing what I've learned into real life.

I leave tomorrow from Detroit at 3:45 and although I'm a bit early, these lyrics popped into my head:

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated
Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated
Just get me to the airport and put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain
Oh no no no no no

"See" you in Tokyo!

Couldn't Resist!

My sister and brother-in-law were here last weekend with my almost 5 month old niece. She is just the cutest thing as she has been cooing and making sounds for the last month, smiling--a lot!, and now reaching for her cute little feet :)

The funniest was when she finally managed to put the left one right into her mouth! Too funny. I am so going to miss this baby and can't wait for my return over the Christmas holidays.

10 days until I'm in Tokyo!