Oh god, jet lag...

oh. my. god. TOKYO!!!!

I'm here! Yay! It's my second day in the big city, and though I'm reeeeaaaalllly tired and jet-lagged (and it's only 8:45am), I'm really excited to wander around today and explore. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The flight over was really nice. Whoever was supposed to sit next to me didn't show up, so I had the entire row to myself; I got to watch free movies that haven't come out yet on DVD; and the food was better than expected.

But it was Narita airport that really took the cake! Everything is handled so smoothly and efficiently, the luggage carts are free and much more manuverable than at US airports, and there is always a uniformed employee nearby ready to assist you. I usually find traveling to be very stressful for me, so I was very impressed by Narita.

I got to my dorm without incident and the landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Kato, gave me the grand tour and told me the dorm rules. It's all pretty common sense, expect for the trash. There are about 10 different categories of trash, and you have to throw them away in the correct bins or it's a big problem. I'm not relishing the idea of having to sort through my garbage by hand all the time, but if I take care of it every morning, it shouldn't be too bad.

The first floor is largely taken up by the lobby, which is currently filled with piles and piles of items left behind by the previous students. It's like having a free WalMart downstairs! I ended up getting a lot of items I thought I'd have to hunt down and buy: clothes hangers, laundry detergent, a pot and skillet, glasses and utensils, etc. And when it's time for me to leave, I, too, shall bequeath my leftovers to future residents.

I'm especially grateful to the past residents because the grocery store is very intimidating and difficult to navigate. There are so few food items I recognize, and the ones I do (such as fruit) are ridiculously expensive. So far all the foodstuffs I've bought are edamame and red bean buns. Now I understand why Americans always lose weight when they go to Japan: they don't know what to eat!

It's also very difficult to identify household items I need. Some things, like paper towels, are easily recognizable, but I couldn't figure out if a bottle was lotion or face wash; all the face, hair, and body products were sitting next to each other, so I couldn't tell what it was for sure.

Luckily, I have a couple of weeks before school starts to demistify the grocery store. I'm going to need them.

I'm super tired, so I'm gonna sign off. I'll include a video and pics of my room in my next update. Stay tuned!