Daily Life Part 1

Alright, so I guess I'll start telling you guys about what life is like over here for me. So here is a typical Monday morning for me:

I wake up at 5:45 AM, which is later than usual, I know. But I wake up and fold up my fleece blanket and futon blanket and set them aside so I can stretch and exercise on my futon. The reason I use the futon is because our house doesn't have any carpet in it at all, let alone in my room. My room, as I think I've said before has tatami mats in it, so it's really rather hard and uncomfortable without some sort of cushioning. I usually finish up when my host parents' alarm goes off at about 6:00. So when I'm finished I fold up the futon mattress and the futon pad and put them away in my closet which is from about waist height up to the ceiling with sliding doors.

Once that's finished I pick out the clothes I want to wear that day and I proceed to pull them on. At the beginning of my time here it would take me a while because it was really hot and the buildings are not air conditioned very well, so in order to prevent myself from sweating through my clothes I had to wear Gold Bond body powder. The stuff really works, too. If you are ever in Japan in the summer or early fall, I strongly suggest that you bring Gold Bond body powder.

After that I go to the 洗面所　（senmenjo),which is the room that has the sink and washer in it, and I wash my face and put in my contacts. By that time I'm starving, so I head into the kitchen/dining/den where my host mom has set up breakfast. When I first got here we all just had toast or sweet bread, a bowl of fruit and yogurt. But my host mom had asked me once if I liked cereal, which I do, so now she buys cereal especially for me. I feel kind of bad about it, but she buys me this chocolate corn-flake cereal which is really really good.

When I first walk into the kitchen the only things on my place mat are an empty glass, a bowl, a spoon, and the bag of cereal. By the time I get in there, my host sister is usually still asleep and my host dad is usually at the computer in the other room and my mom is putting on her make-up in front of the TV in the kitchen/dining/den. So I say good morning and then go to the fridge which has the small bowl of fruit (so far I've had apple, kiwi, grapes, and pear), a small cup of sweet yogurt, the orange juice and the milk for the cereal. I take it back to my place and I eat breakfast while catching the morning news. Most of it I can actually understand because by the time I've started eating most of the news stories are actually over and they've started on the weather and the around town highlights.

It's actually quite amazing how on time everything is. Every morning without fail the around town highlights starts at exactly 6:50. They show stuff like ladies fashion (currently scarves, knee-high boots, and winter caps are in right now), cute journals, bathroom necessities (like bath salts), and lots and lots of food and candy. Then, at exactly 6:58 they start in on the horoscopes, which I found to be a bit weird. Most of it I can't understand, either, which is kind of frustrating. For example, one day about a month ago, I was supposed to have a really bad day. My horoscope told me that if I drew a picture of a せんぱい then I would be alright. Ridiculous, huh?

Then the news stories start up again at exactly 7:00. That's when I'm usually finished eating, so I wash my dishes and put away my cereal and the orange juice and milk. Then I go brush my teeth, floss, and go back to my room to make sure that I've packed everything I need for the day. I also push open the metal gate at my back door to let the sunlight in. Then I grab my bag and head for the door. I leave my slippers in the foyer (on the wood floor) and slip on my shoes that wait for me on the stone floor. Then I walk out of the front door and lock it.

When I first got here I would walk from my house to the bus stop which is about a 7 minute walk. But riding the bus to and from school everyday was costing me 400 yen a day, which is roughly $4 and is a bit too expensive for me. So lately I've just been walking to the nearest train station, which is called Fuchinobe station. If I walk quickly it's about a 35 minute walk from my host family's house to Fuchinobe. It's kind of monotonous, but dodging bikes and cars helps liven things up sometimes.

By the time I get to Fuchinobe it's about 8:00 AM. I go into the south entrance and I come out on the north side where the university that I go to has buses that run pretty much all day during the week and Saturdays. But usually the only people who ride the buses that early are middle school and high school students. My university is actually part of a 学園 (gakuen) or literally "school park" which has a middle school, high school, and university. The school bus that I ride runs from the school to Fuchinobe and back, and is free, which is rather convenient because riding the bus only takes about 7 minutes.

That's when my school day begins, but more on that next time.

By the way, I have no idea why people here do that in pictures, they just always do it. Maybe they like to do something with their hands instead of doing what I do and just leave mine hanging by my side.