so i lied

okay, i haven't sent the stuff yet but i will. this weekend. i swear!
because if i keep anymore of it here, i won't have room to sleep in my room.

anyhow i've been really busy the last few days and today. so gotta go but i do love you.

you should know that by now.

i felt poetic

For Zabe

I missed you today
Not because I couldn’t see you
Not because I wanted to
But I missed you
In the way that astronomers miss the stars
Missing in the way that takes their very breath
Because they want to be there
Want to be a star
But they have two left feet and can’t glow

I missed you today
In the way that veterans miss WWII
Because they were vital then
And the world changed from what they did
But the war is gone and social security doesn’t feed your dreams

I missed you today,
In the way that hairstylists miss the fifties
Because things were simpler then, they made sense
And the world was united with hairspray
But cosmetology’s become a refined skill and I don’t have the talent

I missed you today,
Like a hunter misses his prey
Because you scampered ahead of me
But I am lost without you to follow

And miss you now,
Like a lonely girl misses her best friend
Because the world is changing
But the only person to make me grow was you

I love you.

okay that was the really good one, i think. but i mean this one just as much. so i hope you believe me when you read it.

For the mommies (Con Queso, he-do, and Odie)

Sometimes I think you’re blind
And stupid
Because sometimes when I look at you,
You shine
There’s a light in your eyes
And you’re warm and love squishes out of you
Like water from a sponge
And I’m in awe of this beautiful radiant woman
And how I could possibly be related
And feel so blessed and surpassed at the same time

So I’m sure you must be stupid,
Because there’s not a piece of you that’s not beautiful to me
There’s not one moment, not a breath,
When I see the person you see in the mirror
How can a face so vibrant worry about wrinkles?
How can a smile so intoxicating worry about her teeth?
How can a heart so pure fret over what she eats?

I’d like to call you stupid once more
But from the moment I pictured you in my mind
I’ve known it’s not true.
So I’ll settle on blind.

Haircut!

i got a hair cut, it's really cute but also short. it's hard to tell in the pictures because my hair is so dark but tell me what you think.

but i feel fine now, no sicky-sickness and i bought some new clothes (shirts in men's sizes, everything is size -4, you know, so small the people wearing them are giving cloth back to the makers)



and mom, i don't mean to take you for granted. or make you feel like you're not doing anything to help me. you've done so much already. You're amazing.

and EVERYONE!!! FYI: i am going to mail out the packages on monday morning! Sara's stuff will be in the same box as joanie and the babies. Elizabeth, i need your address. so comment it here or email it to me.

and Zabe hun, i'm so sorry i'm not there to give you a hug. you know i would blow off classes and sit at the foot of your purple bed and listen to you if i could. we'd eat pizza and drink bitch beer and whine about how hard it is to be in college and still have stupid boys to deal with. but i really do talk about you all the time and think about you when i'm silent. you're my best best. sorry for making this hard on you.

Ok, well dinner and homework calls, so g'night!
LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

always,
me

Ps. Zabe, can you tell jessy to tell the girls that i'm gonna mail their stuff soon, i've just had no time to go shopping for them yet. But everything i see up here reminds me of you, so i think i may have gone overboard. i can't wait till you get them.

Karma's a female dog and i'm her bitch

pardon the language, it's been one of those days.

just a note mom. your comments said that [you will be mailed in the box tomorrow] and [take care of one's self] the latter is less ridiculous i guess and i got the point but it made me laugh.
anyhow, i love you. i'm trying to do what's right but for some reason it feels like i keep getting punished. like yesterday with monetary stuff and today i felt really sick and i almost hurled right in my classroom. but i got out and i went and laid down in the sick room.

but i felt like i got punished because after that i didn't go to any of my classes. how did i get punished? i lost my 75 dollar train pass. oh yeah, things are going good. oh, did i mention that i borrowed someone's umbrella then left that on a train too?

i don't know if it's a cold or the stars but something is conspiring against me.
THEY just don't want me to have a good week, i guess. or something.

all i had wanted was enough time to do everything, now i have more to do, less will to do it, and the same scant amount of time and money.

but don't worry, i always come out on top. i can do this too and be stronger for it. that's what i'm choosing to believe. and it's true, someone will find my umbrella, my stuff, and my train pass and they will turn them in because they are better people than me. and i will turn it in, the next time i find anything. it's just a lesson i had to learn the hard way.

and come next wednesday, i'll be in a great mood. if there's one annoying thing(i know there's more than one so shut up) about me, it's that i am the perkiest optimist alive. that i know of. and speaking of which, i did get to have a nap today, so that was nice. and the teachers were all sweet and concerned for me, i had previously bought my personal train pass (a chargable card not the ticket pass that the school gave me, and the school pass lets me go anywhere for free for a month, my card runs out fast.) but i bought my personal one so i wasn't stuck in the station or anything.

there's always an upside i guess. remind of that later.

The little things and that Karma chick

This is the strange series of events that happened to me today. It'll make sense in the end, or not, whichever.

First i found 5000Yen on the sidewalk. i tried to do the right thing and i asked the shopkeepers in anyone had lost money so i could return it. no one had and the shop keep told me to keep it. So i was in a great mood and then i got to school and talked to mr tanaka and he told me to go to the police box and turn it in and if no one claims it then in six months, i'd get it. and i didn't. I mean c'mon, really, i'm a nice person but i'm not that nice.

so classes were average, meaning i did really weell in the morning and worse in the afternoon. But some of my classmates noticed that i was out of spirits yesterday and asked me if i was okay. and one guy told me i looked pretty. i didn't know if he was joking or what so i just said thank you and returned the compliment. I really wish i knew how to say that if you keep changing your hair color so often, your hair will fall out. he needs to hear it. i swear, everyday a new color. but he does wear the wierd colors well, i guess. a very handsome albeit arrogant korean boy named -----. i don't remember his name.

anyhow, after classes, my backpack strap broke and then i missed being able to walk home with my friends and had to walk home in the rain, oh did i mention that i lost my umbrella on a train along with the stuff i'd bought with the 5000yen. so yeah, that went fast.

totalled out i probably lost about exactly 5000yen (my umbrealla and backpack included) so i'm not sure if i was predestined to lose my stuff and break my bag and god was covering for me or if it's karma for not turning in the money.

but i ate a cake and had the most delicious dinner and am about to open my bag of pizza flavored chips while i do my homework and watch stardust. and for some reason, it might be that my spirit is coming back or something, but i am still so content.

i feel at peace and loved, you should know who's hug i'm wearing.

jah, oyasuminasai! Anatatachi wo aishiteiruyo!
Well, g'night! Love you guys!

I danced in the train station today

yes, it's true.

getting through shinjuku station is always more of a dance than a walk because hundreds of people are filing through it at the same time as you. you have to dart and weave and spin and stop randomly. Being able to shake your hips is a blessing and i was listening to my mp3 player as i plowed my way through the crowd and suddenly i started laughing.

i was moving and stepping in time to the song i was listening to and though no one could tell, i was dancing.

and something occured to me today. i've been letting little things upset me, even today when my tmj acted up and i got a massive headache, i let it get to me. and the only remedy is to be the object of someone's attention. because i am so much a people pleaser that i will ignore the pain so they think i'm enjoying talking to them and i do it to the extent that even i forget that i'm in pain at all, until a lull comes along.

so the little thing that upset me on monday was the fact that i got a 60% on my first kanji test. the LOWEST score in my class and that was the first day i started feeling sick. today i have accepted the fact that i am getting a cold. oh well, life goes on.

and this weekend, i'm trying to find a way out of a promise i made to go and visit my friend's school festival on saturday. it's not that i don't want to go but i told her i would BEFORE i knew how much the bullet train tickets cost. and now i think she expects me to stay at a hotel, i just can't afford it. and roxana and chloe are going to los cabos (the coolest little mexican-japanese cantina) on friday and suzanne is having a welcome party from her homestay family on sunday and i want to meet them and hang with her because we're both so busy we never get the time.

but, if i don't go i know my friend will be hurt because i promised her that i would go and i'll feel bad for hurting her and i won't get another chance to see her for like a month and a half. So i really don't know what to do. and still, no one has told me how to get there, they only told me about how much it will cost.

and to be completely honest, i miss her and i do want to see her but i wish there was a way i could go for a day, or half a day or next weekend but every alternative falls through.

anyhow, it's like 8:15 pm here but i feel like i'm sick so i'm going to bed now and i'll try to get up early to finish my homework and study for the test. Oh, did i mention i had another kanji test today that i probably bombed? and tomorrow in a chapter test and grammer points count so yay. that's all i have to say, yay. and can someone send me a new brain? mine's running slow, i think the software needs some updating, maybe a kanji/japanese grammer/dictionary program?

anyhow, goodnight. love you, you know i do.
me

Just a note

Yes mom i got the packages, sorry i didn't say so before. i forgot. but i got them within about seven days. and thank you!

and this is to everyone, just a note to let you know.

I took you with me when i left, kept all those last hugs for rainy days, and saved the feel of your smiles. I took them all out on the plane and admired them, showed them around my new dorm, and had them meet my friends. I wear them sometimes when i need them and hold them in my heart every time else.

I wear sara's smile when i'm happy and laughing, her hug when no one understands me, and Elizabeth's smile when i feel basically amazing. I wear mom's hug at night when i can't sleep because home seems so far away. I wear heather's hug to remind myself that i am beautiful. Joanie's hug i save for moments that i feel at peace and loved. I wear grandma's hug when i need to be wrapped up in world that's beautiful. I wear the babies hugs when i'm lonely and their smiles when i'm curious. I'm saving dad's hug for when i need to feel safe, grandpa's hug for when i need a comforting friend, and Elizabeth's hug for when some boy breaks my heart.

There are so many last laughs, hugs, kisses, smiles, touching soft baby heads, watching you think, and hearing your voice. each moment i keep with me because i know i need them. I couldn't go if i didn't have you, and wouldn't if i couldn't take you with me.

i know it seems hard, because you are more than your smiles and hugs and voice. But for now, it's what i have and i'm doing my best. but if i didn't leave enough of me behind, i'm sorry. I would give all the money in the world to be in more than one place at one time. and i know it may not make you miss me less, or make me miss you less, but i am happy.

It's more than i dreamed it would be. More like a home and less like New york. There's country-side and trees and huge birds everywhere. And beautiful people, and from the moment i came here, i have had the strangest sense of belonging. Like i'm meant to be here.

maybe not forever, maybe not even for too long, but i think right now i am where i need to be. Even if it means that i must endure the painful pieces of my heart churn from missing you. all of you. You know i love you, i know you know. so if you need a hug, call out to the wind, and one will find you again. If you need a hand, to help you along, close your eyes and take mine.

I'm here for you, always. It doesn't matter where i am and you are, i am there.
Please remember that.

Just some randomness on a sunday evening

Have you ever looked at something so much that you don't even see it anymore? like you are looking through it now, or somehow bending around it, or maybe just trancing it out of focus? I was looking at an advertisment on the train this morning and everyday i try to read the advertisments and see if i can understand them, but today i was looking at this one in particular. there was nothing special about it i guess, but the more i stared, the more i liked it. it wasn't that i gradually came to understanding it, but more the fact that i could appreciate what i didn't understand and see it from the outside. see it for the way it portrays the culture, normalacy, persuasiveness, and essence of being japanese.


i was simultaneously listening to my mp3 player and i got a brilliant idea. so here it is, if you want to know what it is you'll just have to watch.

and mommy, i am giving out the exact list of things i would like you to send to me. and i know it's not cheap to mail stuff overseas, so i'm sorry.

oh and my school sent me a bill to my email 3 days ago saying that i hadn't paid for all the neccessary items that i'm required to pay for, like health insurance and tech fee and other nonsense that i can't ever use. i tried to stay up late to call them but i never got through so finally tonight i just paid it with my card. it sucks but if i don't pay it, then they wont keep me on the books which means i'd have to start paying my loan, which means i'd have a lot more problems.

back to the list, again anyone that reads this can feel free to join in with the gifts to me.

any type of dorittos chips, or any chips in the small packs
some small sweet snacks, not chocolate, not nuts, something plain but sweet like lucky charms
drink mixes that you just drop into a water bottle and go
(i can't stand this much tea)
some noodle/rice dishes where you just add water and done
some american style dessert that is just add water and done
(cookies are a good example)
some stain remover for clothes
wrinkle out
a lint roller
granola bars/special k bars/anything i can eat on the go
and the first drawer of clothes

and i was wondering if you would terribly mind hunting out, in particular, my brown long sleeve shirt with a hot and light pink stamped pattern, the wacky blue mismatchy dress that sara gave to me, and the blue sweatpants and blue sleeveless jacket. if you can't find them it's okay but i've been really wanting to wear them.

anyhow, i really haven't done anything all day but homework, cleaning my room, and i went out to a chinese restaurant with some friends. the cleaning took most of the day since they have no dryers here. I actually do like air dried clothes though.

oh well, goodnight! love you!

For elizabeth

Like the title says, this one is for elizabeth.

So Ebeth, haha i'm too far away for you to hit me for calling you that, you wanted to know about my classmates. here goes.

The girls in my class are all really sweet, strangely dressed, tiny little people that have voices too big for their bodies. the girls that sit on either side of me are really kind and they always help me and soon i'm going to meet up with Juu-n san or Jusu san for drinks. Juu-n has an emo fashion sense with a really bubbly personality. i can talk to her more easily because her voice is really loud. Jusu on the other hand is a tiny lace-y type fashion girl with a predisposition to falling asleep randomly.

Oh, and all my classmates are korean except Akadi who is russian and Lenamarie who's from illonois. but they're across the class so i can't really ever ask them questions.

and today, a little good news, despite how i've felt i'm actually in the mid-high range of my class. a few of my classmates got told that they weren't really level 2 material but with me my teachers just want me to study more. that i can do. plus, it's nice to know that my speaking is above par for my group.

ok, back to topic, the boys here are mostly all handsome and all of them are ridiculously smart. i don't know whether it's the difference in culture or the difference genetically but i think asian boys look better. They always dress up and their hair is always perfect and they have such smooth skin (aka no freckles) and i don't know how many other reasons. but it's really really true, seeing boys in suits and styled hair is kinda nice. i didn't really think before about how little effort american boys put into their look until i got here. it's really admirable too, what with the heat and the crowds, that these boys can maintain the perfect look all day without ever getting frazzled. it's daunting. after about an hour, i look like i've been awake 3 days without showering.

anyways, i lied in the last blog. i am going out tonight. Roxanna and chloe invited me to get a few drinks with them and steve and teguu. it sounds fun but, if my family is reading this, don't worry people out there in mommy and daddy land, i'm not going to drink too much. i have culture class in the morning and the last thing i want is to get a hangover when we're going to spend the whole day on our feet.

anyhow, love you Zabe.

Your best best

Hi again

Okay, so this will be a short update because I don’t have that much time this morning and I have so much to do because I overslept. For the last couple of days I’ve been exhausted and so I haven’t written, sorry. Yesterday was an amazing day.

I felt like I looked good, everyone I knew wanted to hang around me, things kinda fell into place, I felt like I understood my class and I didn’t make a fool out of myself for the first time, and the few bad things that happened didn’t seem to stick. Yeah, it was one of those days.

But on a more academic note, I told you all before I was a trial with level 2. it turns out that to be in a certain level in KCP, all of your skills have to be equal. Speaking, kanji, grammar, reading aloud, speed, intonation, all of it. And so it turns out that I was on trial between level 1 and 2. the most beginner levels. Yesterday was the day that they decided where to put me for good. They said that I have a lot of skill but my kanji, my grammar, and the fact that I don’t think in Japanese are hindering me. So they allowed me to be in 2 on the condition that I study for an extra hour with a teacher everyday.

This morning I’m supposed to go to an English support lesson, which means that the teacher can speak English so all of my questions can be answered. But twice a week I meet with my teacher and she’s going to go over my notes to make sure they’re up to par.

I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve never studied in my life. I never had to. So this whole having to study for like 3 hours at night and all day at school and the mornings and now extra lessons. It’s killing me. Not really, I know that in the end I will be so much better because of it but it’s still frustrating.

Oh, and all of the teachers, the administrative staff, and the dorm people seem to really like me. Not a shock I guess but they keep telling me how kind I am and what a strong spirit I have and how cheerful I always am. It’s nice but at the same time kinda sad. Why should I get recognized for being a good human just because other people aren’t? shouldn’t being a good decent person be commonplace? Shouldn’t be happy and cheerful be normal?

And I tried uploading those karaoke videos last night but I swear that this site is being stubborn. It takes so much time to upload anything. Time I never have. But today is Friday so I’ll try again after school. I’m not going out tonight because I have culture class at 9am tomorrow. So there’s no point.

and i know that i haven't really emailed anyone lately, i'm really sorry. i mean i knew i'd be busy but really i always am. i rarely have enough time to write on this thing but i am trying. i know that later i'll enjoy reading these and remembering all of my struggles and triumphs. yet that doesn't make it anymore difficult.

well i really do have to go, if i wait any longer the breakfast will close and i'll have to spend more money. and most of you know how cheap i am, so bye! wish me luck in my tutoring session.

Anyhow I hope this satisfies you for now. Love you,
me

yeah...later

i know it's been a few days and i was gonna write today but i feel so tired.
i did cry today but before everyone gets all concerned, i knew i was going to feel homesick. the feeling already passed.

i just really miss elizabeth and my mommy and my friends and family and the babies and english and normal food and quiet dorms and being able to call everyone at my whim. i'll post tomorrow after school. i have videos of me and my friends doing karaoke, one is of tone singing doumo arigatou mr. roboto. hilarious.

anyhow yeah...later i guess.

i miss you guys. and i do think about you guys all the time.
love you.
me

About time, i guess...

so it has, not dawned on me, but occured to me why i have spent so much in the last few days. First, i needed things that i will only need to buy at first but not everyday. Like a trashcan, laundry soap, clothes hangers, the meal plan, tissues, pencil case, erasers, kanji notebooks, slippers (surprisingly, you need a couple pairs. i figured one would be good enough), and etc.

soon i think it'll all settle out. i still have some more things i need but soon it should be better. and i decided to just buy a box of drink mixes and sugar powder so that i'm not spending a dollar every time i'm thirsty.

the rest of my shopping list.
a pan/baking tray/or teapot
more of those cloth boxes that unfold to sit upright.
dry foods because there are no dorm meals on sundays and no lunches ever
socks that go above the ankle (my new shoes are high-tops.)
extension cord
that wrinkle-out spray that you spray and wrinkles are gone, like magic
boxes to mail stuff home (to nephews/nieclings/family/friends/and to special mommies.)
more sport tape/gauze/and any protective wraps (my feet are broken and literally bleed through everything)
and maybe a tiny little book i can write how much i'm spending in to keep better track of it

anything that you want to send to me from the above list, comment and i'll hold off buying it. except the sport tape stuff, i'll still buy more even if you send me some. but anything else, feel free to buy it for me. i will not refuse it. especially that wrinkle-out stuff, i don't think they have it here.

anyhow, the club was really fun. i felt like a complete dork dancing next to people with acutal skill and rhythm but the japanese people didn't seem to notice if i was bad or not, i was american and we were listenting to english songs, including Sexy back which is a really good song. but my friends were nice and i had a good time.

after we left the club, we walked around for a while, played some claw games(rigged here too i guess), ate a crepe-y pizza-y thing, and then went to do karaoke. it's so great here because while you're doing karaoke the drinks are all free because it's like a covercharge thing, or it could have been that we were a 9 group party and all of us paid like 25 dollars for a couple hours of singing. we sang really awesome iconic classic songs like michael jackson's black or white, Venus by bananaorama, domo arigatou mr. roboto, and such. i think the karaoke was my favorite part. we were all sitting around and laughing and singing and i really felt at home. it's like i have this community here too. and even if i am dork, they accept me and want me to hang out with them and take care of me. (don't worry mom, i didn't need taking care of. it was just an expression)

anyways, i think it's because i'm so far out of my comfort circle that i feel like even more of a dork. because in america i know the limits for acceptable dorkiness but here i'm not sure. so if i dance in my grandma style in america, i feel ok. but here, i kept having to stop because i got too paranoid about people watching me to have a good time. and literally, if you're a foreigner at all then you attract everyone's attention. i've always kinda liked attention but i have realized that there is a limit and i do want to kind of fade back in the background a little.


anyhow more picture to come and i am going shopping for a cellphone tomorrow so i should have one soon. Abu is coming with me so that i dont get fast talked or get a plan i don't understand. Then i'm going to his house and i'm going to meet his mother. He said she really wants to meet me and i want to meet ehr but i don't know what to bring. common courtesy here says that i need to bring a gift to show respect and grattitude for being invited.

oh and i met a lot of korean students. most of them speak english too and their japanese is amazing. it's kind of daunting but i'm trying my best. Well, i gotta go. i'm staying in tonight and moving my furniture around and then i'm gonna watch a movie and do homework. so goodnight, oyasumi!

love you, all my hugs and kisses.
me

Okay

Today was a great day but i did finally break down and buy new shoes here. i was lucky though and got a pair of cute durable converse shoes for only 4408yen. it's like 44 dollars but for this city i was suprised to find them so cheap.

i have been buying shoe insoles at the 100 yen store by the handful. i think now i'm set until next week, just kidding. maybe next month.

classes were a lot better today, i got to see so many of the students this morning and (this part is for elizabeth) Paddy's hair is so long! Abu told me he had a mullet but when i saw him, it wasn't a mullet, whatever it is it looks really cool in person. and sorry but i told him so.

and tomorrow in friday so me and some classmates will go out to a club. i'm excited and i'm grateful that i have more americans than just me going. oh, and great news! i can buy a really nice japanese electronic dictionary from one of my classmates. Sorry mom, the one i got was really for beginners only. but in a turn of luck, she may want to buy my dictionary from me. we're trying each other's out tonight to see if we can handle them/want them. but if we both end up wanting them, i'm going to still need to give her 150-200 dollars to make up the difference.

tokyo is way way more expensive than i thought it'd be. i thought that i'd be able to keep a reign on my pocket book but i cant. i have to buy all of my water/juice/any drinkables. and even though i have a meal plan, it's hard to go without food between breakfast and dinner and always end up buying something. and sometimes, no, everyday so far, i have been getting back to the dorm at around 8pm after leaving at about 7am. and i'm pretty much on my feet the entire time.

goodness, i have homework and my clothes should be done in the washer so i gotta go. besides i'm so sweaty, i've got to shower. japan is like a sauna all the time.

LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Pitcha time

ok, i hope this works. these are my pictures. all except today and yesterday, which i'm too tired right now to get up and go through my bag for my camera. and i know, i know, i'll try to take more pictures because this isn't very many for 3 days in japan.

there. if you can see it, i'm glad. if you can't, then comment and i can try again tomorrow.

Not all roses

i don't have time right now to write a long thing but i wanted to tell you.

it's not all roses. yesterday sucked for the most part but i am trying to remember the few little good things that happened. and i will never never never give up.

this morning, when i leave in a few minutes, i'm going to meet one of my old students for coffee. i think it'll make me feel better about yesterday and then i can put the past behind me. anyways, i know, still no pictures up.

i just have no time now cause i have to catch a train soon. and this stupid site isn't uploading my pictures at all. it'll take me time to sit down and just wait and wait and figure it out. and even though i'm sorry, i haven't had time to do it yet.


anyways, gotta go. love you

My address

Jessica Lambert
Dormitory Higashi-Fuchu #114
3-20-3 Midori-cho,
Fuchu-shi, Tokyo 183-0006
JAPAN

ok, now i have to get ready for classes.
soon, maybe this weekend or next week,
me and some friends are going to go out and buy cellphones.
but first i have to regester for my alien card.

anyhow, i'm going to school soon so i have to get ready.

mom, don't be sad even if the house is quiet, at least it's not messy.
I love everyone so much!

Day...3?

Okay, so sit down and get comfortable, this will be a long one.

on the first day, i met with my school and went to my dormitory
and tried to figure out how things worked.

day 2, i kinda figured out how everything worked, i emailed everyone,
and took my placement test (i'm level 2 japanese), and met up with
some of my students after dinner. I met so many of my students and
even though i was (and am still) exhausted, i felt like i couldn't stop smiling.

after i met with my friends, i accidentally fell asleep on the
train home and had to ride for an extra hour just to get back
to my dormitory. but i learned more about the trains and because
of my incident i now know the how-tos back to front.

oh and that morning, the train was so crowded that they literally had poeple
pushing others to fit them into the train. it was like everyone was attached
at the hip but your feet and head was free. i felt like a spring that kept
wobbling around because there was no room to even hold on to anything.
but you really didn't need to, unless it got less crowded. but as it was,
the other people around you held you up. crazy.

and finally today, i slept from 1am (when i finally got home from the incident)
until 5:30am. then i got up and ready and left for another couple hours on the
train. normally, the train takes about 30-40minutes but there was a malfunction
on the first day on the line that i ride so it took longer. so i left so early because i thought it would still take a long time. it didn't. me and my dormmates
went and had coffee before class and then we were in an oreintation meeting
from 9am to 5pm, after which my teacher took us walking around downtown
shinjuku like a tour group and we found a 1 dollar shop. i bought a lot,
including some presents for the nephews and niecelings. i don't know who i'm gonna give it to yet but since all but becca can't read well i'll put it up here.
i found a play money set for children but it's japanese money. it looks just like the real thing.

it still might take me some time to figure out how to mail stuff. but at least i
know where a fedex and a post office is. i haven't taken pictures of the food
because i found so many more things to take pictures of. but i will try because
some of these dishes are really strange but always good.

right now, my feet feel like they're going to fall off. i had a blister that was so big that the open wound covers almost my entire heel. it's very painful. but i don't let it get to me. i refuse to be anything less than content. oh, and today i was told implicitly that i might be transferred to the next level up, if i prove myself in the first week. i'm not too worried though because no matter where i end up, i will learn a lot and enjoy myself. besides, even if i don't get the level i want, next quarter if my grades have been good i will be placed in the next level and the next quarter the next.

i probably wont be writing to anyone individually for a while. i'm being run ragged.
but i will try to keep you updated on everything i'm doing. right now i'm going to go eat dinner then study some because my classes start tomorrow and i do want to prove myself, or at least try. chances are that i'll just ending sleeping with the book over my face.

good night everyone. I love you.


oh and i know i promised pictures but wait one more day. i have tried everything i know to get this stupid site to upload them but they wont. and i'm really too tired to mess with it. but i have pictures of all the three days, not as many as i maybe should have taken because it's hard to remember to take a picture rather than just be impressed.

again, i love you. oyasuminasai! Good night!

Day 1

So apparently even accessing the internet is different in a different country. After plugging in my ethernet cable and setting down to work, i noticed that all of the little buttons i take for granted are now in japanese. like logins and even this site.



anyways, i'm tired, wet (because it started raining just before i was going to walk to my dorm), and i killed a spider. but on the other hand, tokyo is beautiful, as you will see when i have the time or energy to upload pictures. as it is, i love you all. i'm going to bed now.