Finally! I’m home~!
What a journey it’s been. Between 1 bus, 2 trains, 4 cities, 4 planes, and 5 homes, it’s good to be settled in. What feels really nice is unpacking my suitcase. I can’t stress how great the last one feels. Most of the last three days have been spent in limbo between boredom and excitement. Sunday was the official moving day, yesterday I was trapped, and today I’ve been out and about.
Sunday was an odd day. Between splitting up with all the ALTs (assistant language teachers) and getting into Koga and finally being left alone to my own devices, it was quite the emotional roller coaster. If there is one thing I’ve yet to learn in life, it’s how to enjoy being on my own. You see, I’m really a social butterfly who can’t sit still and thinks too much. Being on my own with no one to talk to for 3 days has taught me so much already. I’ve learned that I am far too restless. I’ve also learned that I sleep to pass time.
What was I talking about? Oh yes, Sunday! My local helper (IC) is Oosato-san. She’s the best! Very helpful and anxious to learn English. She also loves American dramas. I recommended a few but sadly that’s not really my cup of tea. Together, we went to get my bedding, groceries, and a whole bunch of other stuff for my house. I’m so thankful for hyaku-en shops (100yen)! If it wasn’t for those, I’d already be poor. For less then 10,000yen, I’ve been able to get almost everything I need.
Monday almost drove me mad. I didn’t have a car and I’m on the edge of town. I slept far too much and ran about 2.5 miles. That’s the extent of what I did. Well, I’ve also been studying Japanese and watching a ton of TV. The latter is very unusual for me! I try watching kids shows but they are hard to learn from, as there is a lot of play-on-words. At the end of Monday, I got my adorable car, read the driver’s handbook for Japan cover to cover, and went for a spin. It’s easier than I thought, the whole driving on the other side of the road.
Tiny KFC
Today was mostly more shopping, grabbing lunch, and getting lost a whole lot. I mean, a lot. Luckily, I have and excellent sense of direction. Also, I don’t have a dryer, so my clothes are currently hanging up outside! I feel so… accomplished! Not moving to Japan, not learning how to drive all over again, but hanging out my clothes to dry.
Last topic of conversation: I have zero counter space. There is lots of nifty places to store things, but no actual counter space. I have to by things that hang from my walls that create space.
Next post: driving! I’ll put up pictures of my car and tell you all about it 🙂
The Girl In Translation 
That high bunk bed looks dangerous, especially if you wake up and roll out of bed disoriented from a dream that convinced you that you’re back in Florida!
Way to go dude! I’ve lived in the UK four years now and STILL haven’t learned to drive.
Thanks for all these reflections. I write about Kyoto and greater Japan, so it’s nice to get some on-the-ground incites. Look forward to following your wonderful adventure.
facebook.com/V.Lee.Goodfellow
Thank you! I will certainly check our your adventures, too! Please visit again soon (^^)
The trafic rules in Japan are slightly different from those in the US. For example, you should not turn left (in the US turining right) when the signal is red even if there is no car coming. Also make sure you do not turn into a right lane when you turn right. It happened to me a few times when I was back in Japan. I sometimes turned on the wiper instead of turning on the turning signals because a Japanese car has them on the reverse sides from an American car. Good luck! Hope you will have wonderful experiences in Japan.
Thank you for the tips! I always turn my windshield wipers on when I want my turn signal on, haha. So far I’ve done well but I hope not to slip up!!
How are you liking that Japanese style bath?