11:00 pm on Wednesday March 30, 2010
Tonight is my last night in Tokyo and I’ve been enjoying my evening with a long soak in a hot bath, while eating ice cream and listening to Bob Marley. I treated myself to one more overpriced cup of Starbucks cocoa today, too (in honor of Tauna, Tokyo, and the goodness of chocolate!). It doesn’t get much better than this. :-D
In the morning, I move to Sendai, where I will be without Internet for at least 24 hours...wow. Here we go! It’s still kind of surreal to me that I am really in Japan. I can’t believe I’ve been here for over a week now and yet I feel like I haven’t really even gotten started—I feel like tomorrow my experience in Japan really begins because tomorrow is when I move into my apartment in the city where I’ll be living for the next year...tomorrow I settle into my new home.
I’m really excited to get situated, but I’m terrified that I’m going to freeze to death there. I heard someone joke that in Sendai they put their toothpaste in the fridge at night to keep it from freezing...!!! I do not see how this is funny...(ok, it is kind of funny, but not comforting AT ALL) I barely make it through Utah winters and that’s with ridiculous amounts of blasting heat and lots of layers...Because I thought I was going to live somewhere with a milder climate, I hardly packed any warm clothing at all--sweaters and coats took up too much room and were too heavy, so I really only packed a couple of warm things. Nicely done, Karianne.
Also, I am going to miss Tokyo. There are over 12 million people in this city and it is absolutely chaotic at all times...but it is invigorating and exciting to walk up and down the little streets and experience an incredible taste of the Japanese culture. The subways here are more complex than anywhere I could have imagined and I’ve heard they are actually the most complicated in the world. All I know is that I have gotten very lost in my attempts to navigate the underground transportation system and I have had several native Japanese residents tell me that they still get lost on the trains, even after having lived here for years. Still, just stepping out of my hotel feels like an adventure and every time I do, I am filled with child-like curiosity and excitement toward everything around me. I guess my adventure in Tokyo is drawing to a close, but I'm eager to get started in Sendai. Ok, Sendai: Ready or not, here I come!
Tonight is my last night in Tokyo and I’ve been enjoying my evening with a long soak in a hot bath, while eating ice cream and listening to Bob Marley. I treated myself to one more overpriced cup of Starbucks cocoa today, too (in honor of Tauna, Tokyo, and the goodness of chocolate!). It doesn’t get much better than this. :-D
In the morning, I move to Sendai, where I will be without Internet for at least 24 hours...wow. Here we go! It’s still kind of surreal to me that I am really in Japan. I can’t believe I’ve been here for over a week now and yet I feel like I haven’t really even gotten started—I feel like tomorrow my experience in Japan really begins because tomorrow is when I move into my apartment in the city where I’ll be living for the next year...tomorrow I settle into my new home.
I’m really excited to get situated, but I’m terrified that I’m going to freeze to death there. I heard someone joke that in Sendai they put their toothpaste in the fridge at night to keep it from freezing...!!! I do not see how this is funny...(ok, it is kind of funny, but not comforting AT ALL) I barely make it through Utah winters and that’s with ridiculous amounts of blasting heat and lots of layers...Because I thought I was going to live somewhere with a milder climate, I hardly packed any warm clothing at all--sweaters and coats took up too much room and were too heavy, so I really only packed a couple of warm things. Nicely done, Karianne.
Also, I am going to miss Tokyo. There are over 12 million people in this city and it is absolutely chaotic at all times...but it is invigorating and exciting to walk up and down the little streets and experience an incredible taste of the Japanese culture. The subways here are more complex than anywhere I could have imagined and I’ve heard they are actually the most complicated in the world. All I know is that I have gotten very lost in my attempts to navigate the underground transportation system and I have had several native Japanese residents tell me that they still get lost on the trains, even after having lived here for years. Still, just stepping out of my hotel feels like an adventure and every time I do, I am filled with child-like curiosity and excitement toward everything around me. I guess my adventure in Tokyo is drawing to a close, but I'm eager to get started in Sendai. Ok, Sendai: Ready or not, here I come!
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