new life

畳

たたみ

tatami

straw floor covering

Last night was my first night in my new house. I have basically no furniture yet—only the standard fittings in the kitchen so far, plus a washing machine and a bed. And by bed, I mean a futon mattress. In case you don't know what a futon is (if you're American, you probably don't), it isn't a couch that folds down into a bed. No, a futon has no frame whatsoever. It is simply a pad that you lay on the floor and sleep on. It sounds very uncomfortable, but there's another piece of the equation that the average American (i.e. me 6 days ago) isn't aware of.

arrival in tokyo

I'm going to try to write as much as I can before I succumb to jet lag and forget everything tomorrow morning.

Yesterday may have begun with some bittersweet goodbyes, but today ended with some wonderful new friendships. Despite being the longest part of the journey so far, I have very little to say about the plane ride. I've done long plane rides before. No, they aren't fun, but they aren't necessarily that intolerable. I spent most of my time trying to fall asleep, hoping to offset the time jump; I figured I only needed a few hours to keep me awake until bedtime in Tokyo. Considering it's 9:30pm now and I'm still awake (but dragging pretty heavy), I did as well as I could have.