Still goin'
Well, yesterday I moved into my dorm room here. I can't really say I'm a fan of the dorm I've been assigned. It's mostly full of high-school students and younger trade-school type students, so mostly around the ages of 18-19. Because of this, the dorm manager is more strict about rules so that we don't wind up corrupting the young'uns. Not that I was planning on staying out late partying, really. But, while alcohol is not forbidden, I have to be very careful to be quiet about my drinking (which I usually am), but more annoyingly, have to figure out a way to dispose of the resultant bottles such that they're not obvious in the trash/recycling. Also, there are no private showers, just the public-ish ones with the o-furo. I haven't tried them yet, but I probably should tomorrow either morning or evening (as it's locked between 9 AM and 6 PM and after midnight).
Also, while it was funny to joke about being head and shoulders above everybody else, the downside is that the ceilings here are 8', and the doorways around 6'. So I have to duck to go through most doors, including the one to my own room. The room's tiny, but I was expecting that, and have no problem with it. The real killer is the no-visitors-of-the-opposite-gender. Which, while understandable, is very difficult for me, considering my propensity for generally only having female friends. Which is already starting to be the case with my fellow CIEE students.
All that complaining might make it sound like I really hate it here. This isn't really the case; I just wanted to get it off my chest. I'm pretty much enjoying myself. Especially now that my internet is working. Did I mention that my internet didn't work? Yeah. We signed a contract on Friday afternoon and according to it, service was supposed to start that day at 5:00. I had no internet until this (Saturday) afternoon, and only noticed because iTunes suddenly started displaying somebody else's music. I think that the lack of internet service really added to my general sense of complete isolation and loneliness last night and this morning, but I'm feeling a lot better now. Plus I managed to get out and negotiate the public transit system on my own. It probably took half again as long as necessary, but I managed to get from my dorm to the station by Sophia, grab some food at the noodle shop where I've gotten lunch for the last few days, hop a quick train to Shinjuku station just so I could see how large and crowded it was (very), and then get back to the station by my dorm. And then stop by the local 100-yen shop (like dollar stores, but with much better quality goods; they're cheaper too, given the exchange rate).
Alright, jetlag currently has my system crashing at about 9-10. Which would be now. So I'm going to go to bed. Good night, all.
Also, while it was funny to joke about being head and shoulders above everybody else, the downside is that the ceilings here are 8', and the doorways around 6'. So I have to duck to go through most doors, including the one to my own room. The room's tiny, but I was expecting that, and have no problem with it. The real killer is the no-visitors-of-the-opposite-gender. Which, while understandable, is very difficult for me, considering my propensity for generally only having female friends. Which is already starting to be the case with my fellow CIEE students.
All that complaining might make it sound like I really hate it here. This isn't really the case; I just wanted to get it off my chest. I'm pretty much enjoying myself. Especially now that my internet is working. Did I mention that my internet didn't work? Yeah. We signed a contract on Friday afternoon and according to it, service was supposed to start that day at 5:00. I had no internet until this (Saturday) afternoon, and only noticed because iTunes suddenly started displaying somebody else's music. I think that the lack of internet service really added to my general sense of complete isolation and loneliness last night and this morning, but I'm feeling a lot better now. Plus I managed to get out and negotiate the public transit system on my own. It probably took half again as long as necessary, but I managed to get from my dorm to the station by Sophia, grab some food at the noodle shop where I've gotten lunch for the last few days, hop a quick train to Shinjuku station just so I could see how large and crowded it was (very), and then get back to the station by my dorm. And then stop by the local 100-yen shop (like dollar stores, but with much better quality goods; they're cheaper too, given the exchange rate).
Alright, jetlag currently has my system crashing at about 9-10. Which would be now. So I'm going to go to bed. Good night, all.