Hello readers! I know I have been a bit MIA since my arrival in Japan; life is moving fast and adjusting to the new locale has been all-encompassing.

The last three weeks has been a whirlwind, to say the least. After several long days and sleepless nights getting over the jet lag, I am finally on a healthy sleep schedule again! I am also licensed to drive and can effectively communicate basic things, like greetings, ordering food, etc.

A lot of you have been asking me how things are going and how I am liking it here. In the spirit of being honest and real with you all, I will say that things are mostly going well and I am confident that I will like it here eventually. Not to say that I don’t like it here now, but change is tough and so is feeling incompetent, and both are pretty inescapable at the moment.

For instance, I have never in my life been so directly aware of the importance of literacy. Of course, I have always had the theoretical awareness of its importance, but experiencing it firsthand is new.
Let me just tell you: not being able to read really sucks.
I feel so bad for Lea Michelle! In all seriousness though, it is hard and google translate is not always as reliable or as fast as one would hope. For instance, most cleaning supplies translate directly to “detergent,” which isn’t specific enough to make an informed decision without further investigation. Never have I ever spent so long in the household cleaning aisle. Also, some road signs have english translation or the street name spelled out in roman characters beneath the Japanese, but not all of them. And when you are driving, google translate is useless, so if you can’t read it, that’s just it. Nevertheless, we persist!

Another example: Chase and I took a weekend trip to Hakone (more details on our trip to come!) and enjoyed a few of the many onsen while we were there. If you are unfamiliar, onsen are Japanese hot spring baths. They are public, separated for men and women, fully nude, and most of them do not allow people with tattoos to participate, some being more strict than others. Chase briefed me on best practices in the onsen, and assured me that I would most likely be fine with my little tattoos and that worst case, older people might be offended by them and I could be asked to leave. This was the extent of the information I had going in to this, so when a much older Japanese woman approached me in the locker room with what I perceived to be a stern tone, I assumed she was telling me I couldn’t go in because I have tiny tattoos. As it turns out, she was just asking where the exit was… haha.

On a positive note, I am totally delighted by the natural beauty of Japan, the welcoming spirit of the people here, the cutesy little characters/faces that adorn everything from train seats to pens to cleaning supplies, all the delicious food I have tried, and more than anything, the fact that Chase and I are in the same place at long last! Here are some photos of our recent shenanigans for your viewing pleasure:

I have been here for one month to the day, and am so happy with everything we have done and all the things I have learned in this short time. A familiar feeling is starting to creep in though, in moments of stillness when I am not distracted by weekend trips, house things, or running errands. I’ve been catching myself feeling like it’s about time to go back, even though I am well aware of the fact that I’ll be here for years and my old home isn’t waiting. It’s the same feeling you get towards the end of a vacation; I wouldn’t describe it as homesickness necessarily, because it isn’t sadness, but more my body telling me that I’ve been having fun in a new place long enough and its time to be normal again. We have been touring around every chance we get and even in the mundane every-day tasks, just about everything is new to me here, so the last four weeks has felt like a vacation in many ways. I think it will take some time to wrap my mind around the fact that this is home now.

More later! xx