Japan is my new home.

Okay, so this is my first post in my super sweet blog dedicated to my new life in Japan. I just got here today after sitting in plane for 14 hours (12 hour flight + 2 hour delay sitting on the runway waiting for a mechanical error to be fixed) and a two hour bus ride. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Oh, and my iPod broke on the plane over here. Totally...fucking...weak. But anyhoo, one of the employees from the school where I will be teaching picked me up at the bus station and took me over to the office to sign some papers and do that kinda crap. Now, I'm in a hotel for the night that the company hooked me up with. And by hooked me up, I mean they made me pay 3700 Yen (around $35) for this.



It might sound like i'm complaining, and that's because basically, I am. There are two things that made the money worth it, though. One- internet access to bring you this amazing blog. Two- the fucking bath tub. Baths in japan are one of the best characteristics of this country. They're public, so we Americans can flaunt our "big american penises," they're hot as hell, and there's really nothing better to melt away that jetlag and stress of travelling. I was going to take a picture of the bath, but as I was leaving, an old man came in. I wouldn't want to shame his family by posting a picture on the internet of his "so small" member. Another cool thing about the bath here, is that it looks out over the city (which is called Mito). Tomorrow, I move to my apartment in a town called Tsuchiura. I'll let ya'll know how it is.

And to anyone who happened to stumble on this blog (I used to google around reading blogs about foreigners in Japan, too!), here's some info about my situation. Basically, I've been into Japanese culture for a really long time. I decided I wanted to teach English in Japan, more to become immersed in the country than to just "put off reality" of a real job or whatever, though that's a plus, too. I had come to Japan when I was sixteen with my family, loved it, and returned here over this last summer to study Japanese. So, if you're interested, I have a basic grasp on the Japanese language. I'd say, I could probably understand the last page of most "Level One" Japanese textbooks.

Anyhoo, my first day starts tomorrow, so we'll see if this was a good idea or not. I think i'm gonna head out down the street for a late night ramen snack. Yum. Lates.

Okay, here's the sweet bath.


And here's my first bowl of authentic, absolutely delicious ramen. Nothing in the states compares to real Japanese ramen. I swear. This only ran me 550 Yen ($5)