Made it...

Well I'm in Japan and it was quite the bitch getting over here. I was sick the whole flight and am still sick 5 days later. I saw California for the first time and it made me happy, I'd like to have stayed for at least a day. I spaned the US, then the pacific, it was murder. Since arriving, I've had sushi three times and kitsune Udon twice. Japanese food is healthy, cheap, and delicious! Our apartment is awesome, (aside for having no hot water for the first two days, and no heat) it really doesnt get all that cold. We got all the furnishings in the past five days and I have no money. I'm banking on my loan to come through tomorrow, and UMASS is just a bitch in general. My councellor had not done anything reguarding my apartment and Kansai Gaidai, therefore they messed up my student status and I have accomodationsin a dorm too. I've been working everything out, but it is a very slow process since there are such different time zones. Even as I write this UMASS hasn't officially started. At Kansai Gaidai all the local Japanese students are going on a two month vacation, so it kinda sucks for my learning and interactions with local students. I'll be surrounded by Gai-jin over half of my stay. My accomodations now are very conducive to my learning and speaking of Japanese, probably much better than if I was in a seminar house. Apparenty only a handful of Gaijin have done what Johnny, Maija, and I are doing, so the school kind of hates me so far. I'm very happy and I am so glad to be in Japan and not America. Also to be free from the UMASS attitude is nice, I think I'll do a lot more studying this semester than ever! I already have started. My placement test is tomorrow and I want to do well, so I'll do a lot of studying tonight. I met Johnny's girlfriend right off the bat, and she is a really fun, nice person. I am very happy for Johnny. I try to speak only Japanese to her and hardly have to use English. She is apparently very good at English too, but it feels awesome to have conversations in Japanese. We've been shopping everyday and it has been wearing me out, but still I love being mixed into a cloud of Japanese people. Especially in crosswalks, making the bird chirp sound long after the green light has stopped blinking.