AT LAST!!

At long last, I am finally back on the internet!!! To paraphrase Brad Paisley, I'm much cooler if I can get online! That was my biggest hurdle and frustration so far. I can even manage to buy furniture without a car (especially if a nice lady offers me a ride home!), but I can't live without an easy, economical connection to everyone back home and information! Now that I'm online, I must briefly brag that my connection is 100 Mbps fiber optic. And only around $62/month.

Until today, if I wanted to contact someone, I had to walk to the train station (4 blocks) and use a pay phone. It's not fun to set up anything that way. The conversation usually includes:

"So, how can I get back to you? Phone? Email?"
"You can't"
"Um....huh?"

My life here so far has not been bad, except for the internet hurdle, which I considered to be of Himalayan proportions. I walk 15-20 minutes uphill to work each day. The post office is only 2 blocks away. School lunches are good. I get called "Miss Jennifer" when I see students -- both in school and out and around.

There is a very friendly cat that lives a few doors away. I had called him Frank, because of his beautiful blue eyes, but now I call him Miko, because that's his name.

My apartment is 1 room that functions as a living room and a bedroom. There is a galley kitchen with 2 gas burners, a sink and mini-frig. There is a toilet room and a shower/bath room. The bathtub is nice and deep -- great for soaking. I have to turn on the water heater before getting hot water, but there is no bubble wrap feature that tells me I can't have scalding hot water if I want it. But I already know that 40C is about 104F.

I am learning metric. Not how to convert from centimeters to meters, but is 190 cm tall? If I set my thermostat at 16 degrees, will it be warm or chilly? Will a skirt that is 73 cm at the waist fit me? How big are my hips in centimeters, anyway? (I like inches -- the numbers are smaller!) The answers are: Yes, chilly, yes and none of your business.


The nearest grocery store is closed for remodeling but should be open again this week. I love to get something from the deli: gyoza, croquettes, sushi, yakitori (chicken on a stick), and either reheat it at home or eat it as is. The second nearest grocery store is a bike ride away. But it is like a Walmart -- it also has clothes and household items. I bought a low table and legless chair there. It isn't open 24/7 though -- I think it's 10-8.

Some odd things I've noticed shopping:

• Like in Europe, eggs are not refrigerated. They are refrigerated in the US because the FDA insists they be washed. This takes off a layer that keeps air out (and freshness in!). They don't wash this off the eggs here, so they can sit on the counter.
  

• 12 half slices of bacon can set you back $3.

• It used to be hard for me to find clothes that are small enough. Now it's even harder to find things that are big enough. I did go to a mall in Utsunomiya last weekend and found a skirt that fit. I'm scared to look for jeans.

• I never had a real problem with shoes, but I think the largest I've seen in women's shoes here is a 24.5, which is about a size 7. I take 7 1/2.

• Hot lemonade is really good.

• There is a much larger variety of Japanese beer than Pick'n'Save would have us believe. Like most things, it's not cheap. But for about $1.25 a can, you can have Asahi's version of Leinie's.

Other things:

• A post office that stays open until 7 at night is a great thing. When I get a package in the mail, it doesn't have to sit outside my door until I get home, and I can still get it when I do get home.

• Al-Qaeda is keeping me from getting a cellphone. I need to get my Alien Registration Card before I can get a cellphone. It's an ID card for foreigners and it takes about 2 weeks (I should get mine on Friday if I can run to City Hall after work) after you apply for it. Before 9-11, I was able to buy a pre-paid phone from the local convenience store, no questions asked.