Home Safe

NOTE!! my host mother has misplaced the password to the wifi. as such I will only be able to update every now and then when I am either on her computer, or on campus. This is an entry I typed yesterday at 6pm, 5am us time.

Today was a very long day to say the least. I passed out at like 10pm yesterday and slept hard all the way until my 8am wake up call. I think I’m almost completely recovered from jet lag already. Anyway, I headed out at 9, took a bus to the train station and began my trip. From Narita Airport, I took a train to get to Nippori station where I got off, found the JR Yamanote line, took that to Shinjuku, got on the Chuo line, took that to Musashi-sakai, where I got off, found the bus stop, got on the #93 but to ICU, found the SCJ (Summer Courses in Japanese) registration, met my host mother, and here I am.

Sounds pretty simple but the packet ICU gave me indicated that it would take about an hour to get to the bus stop at Musashi-sakai, when instead it took about 2, causing me to be about 10 minutes late to meet my host mother (we agreed on noon), but I think she came a little late too. That or she didn’t mind. She speaks very little English, while her daughter (who won’t be around as much) speaks English very well and has actually lived here for a year. Not only that but she spent some time visiting a friend who lived in Toronto and went to UB! Small world!

The trains were all very efficient and nice, when trying to find the right line once I was looking at a map on a post with a puzzled look on my face and a man with two small children asked in English it I needed help. I said I needed to go to Musashi-sakai, and good thing he helped me because I was about to get on the wrong train! I still can’t believe I made it. I remember a train pulled up and everyone was getting on and I was pretty sure it was the right one so I got on it too. Then it went in the opposite direction that I thought I needed to go in. I asked a young man not much older than me if the bus was going to Shinjuku and he said yes and pointed to the TV screen above the door that displayed in Kanji and in English what stations it would stop at. Very helpful that.

Had lunch with my host family, put my clothes away in some drawers, and I have a fan blwing on my face because it is very warm here. Apparently it’s going to get warmer because most people I saw were wearing long pants! In this heat! I’m afraid… So yeah, my posts will get shorter once everything is less new and I settle into a routine. But until then here’s pictures of my room and the view out my window. I didn’t have a chance for other photos yet, but I’ll get them later. ICU campus is gorgeous!! And the neighborhood is lovely and peaceful. Sayonara for now!

Added content:

Dinner was difficult to say the least. It was a bowl with ride on the bottom and all kinds of fish raw and just sitting there. There was one that was a bunch of tine grey-silver baby fish that looked a little like tiny tadpoles. I did my best to eat as much as I could and once my stomach told me that anymore and it might go on strike, I had to explain in broken Japanese and with significant use of the dictionary that it was very good, but I needed some time to get used to eating foods like this. I emphasized that she should continue to make what she normally eats for meals, and not cater to my taste. She seemed to understand. I found out that I'm not the first person shes hosted through ICU though I am her first girl. And the first one that knows virtually no Japanese. Sigh. Classes are now tomorrow for me, though I may have an update on what becomes of today at some point.