Today was my last full day in Tokyo, and tomorrow I go to Yunomae. I'm not sure what the internet situation will be there b/c it might take it a while to get it established at my house. I will probably have an internet connection at work but may not be able to use it for personal reasons. If you don't hear from me for a while, assume no news is good news.
A few new and different things happened today. First, despite my brief stay in Japan, I've already experienced two earthquakes. Don't worry, they were very minor, and it's normal. Someone said that there's at least one earthquake in Japan everyday, but most can't be felt. The Japanese know this, and their buildings are much more resistant to earthquakes than typical buildings in the USA. Apparently, one happened late last night. I say apparently b/c I slept right through it, lol. Yep, due to my severe jet lag, I can sleep through earthquakes! I noticed that one of my other JET friends posted something about an earthquake this morning on facebook before I went downstairs to breakfast but didn't really pay attention to it. At breakfast, a lot of people were saying, "Did you feel that earthquake last night?!!?" My roommate told me that it felt like someone was being rowdy in the next room b/c the walls kinda shook. Some other guy told me that the hangers in his closet were clanging back and forth. The second earthquake was soon after lunch. Since I was actually conscious, I felt that one. I went upstairs to my room to drop some things off, and the floor started shaking. It wasn't a lot but rather just enough to know that it was an earthquake. *A note to concerned family and friends: seriously, scratch this off of your "things to worry about" list. Earthquakes in Japan are normal, and for the vast majority of times are non-serious.*
I met a girl today from England. Guess what her name was? Katherine Middleton!!!!! Hahahahahaha! I'm sure she gets lots of double takes and people going on and on about her name. She introduced herself just as Katherine, but I looked down at her name tag to see that her last name was Middleton. I tried not to get too bug eyed, lol. Poor girl, she probably has to deal w/people remarking about her name on a daily basis.
I left the hotel tonight to find some supper. There's a store only a few blocks from the hotel that a lot of JETs have been going to for snacks or whatever. While walking back in the midst of taking in the sights and sounds of downtown Tokyo, I realized three things: 1) I was proud of myself for leaving the hotel and making my first actual purchase in Japan. Despite the fact that I have no idea what the cashier said to me, everything worked out fine. 2) I absolutely love hearing foreign languages being spoken. I love trying to decipher what people are saying. I love being in a foreign setting and out of my element. It's been a while since I've experienced this, and I forgot how lovely it is! 3) All of the things I said in #2 scare the crap out of me! It's very much so a double edge sword. I'm scared of going to a place where no one has any idea what I'm saying to them. I'm terrified of being out of my element and not knowing where to go/what to do/breaking customs, etc. Yet, you know what? Life's an adventure! It's all about pushing yourself and learning from your mistakes. I can't live life constantly being comfortable. Carpe diem, right? :)
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