| | Woke up to an earthquake last week. Nothing big, but still trippy!
Visited the inaka aka countryside aka 鄉下 . YAY!! A much needed break from the city. Went to onsen in the mountains, nothing beats relaxing in natural hot springs amidst mountain scenery. Unfortunately, with nature comes... insects. GIANT cockroach in the bathroom, mukade in the living room (Japanese poisonous centipede - google it XD). The pastor's wife from my old Oita church was totally unfazed - she's almost 70, but she grabbed a shoe and nailed both of them without even blinking. Then I came back to Tokyo and there was a flying cockroach in the living room. Gahhhh!! I was like, "Cockroach, my old nemesis." <clenches fist> hahaha Back when cockroaches used to invade my Oita apartment last time I was in Japan, I would like, summon up a lot of anger and engage in prolonged battle with them (cockroach traps, extensive whack-a-mole style attacks using my flip-flops). However, in my cramped Tokyo apartment somehow I felt more vulnerable, like the cockroach had a home turf advantage since this place is so small and there are a lot of nooks and crannies and such lol I got a roommate to kill it.
My Japanese classes are in a very swank and high-tech building. The toilet lids open by automatic sensor so you don't have to touch them. I think if they could invent toilets that suspend you in the air so you don't have to touch anything period, they would. XD There is a shower in the top floor bathroom, and the shower walls became transparent if you flip a switch. (I think this is supposed to be so you can enjoy the sunlight while showering, but it is the butt of endless jokes about voyeurism ^^;;)
Some Japanese grocery stores have LED displays for prices on the store shelves instead of price stickers, and automatic change counters - clerks just dump the coins into this conveyor belt thing and the appropriate change amount comes out. Amazing!
Went to a corporate visit with a law firm. I felt very important standing at the top of a building overlooking Tokyo Tower haha Out of the 25-30 people in the room, there were only three women. I saw a lot of women on the way in, but they were all sitting behind the reception desk. Doh.
I'm all out of shame XD I went to a recruiting session with a huge investment bank just for the food, and I don't care anymore - I will squirrel away free water bottles when I can lol
Tokyo is fun for a vacation, but living here long term would be really taxing. It's unbelievable how crowded the subway cars get and how many people are constantly on the streets. The apartment I'm living in is teeny tiny and the walls are super thin. The flip side is that awesome and cheap food is easy to find.
Trash disposal in Japan requires patience, determination, and problem-solving skills. Before disposing of water bottles, one must first remove the label and the cap (which go into separate categories). Disposing of a plastic bento tray requires washing it out and putting leftover food in a separate pile (the burnable trash pile). |
| | Posted 7/7/2009 9:24 AM - 11 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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