One week gone, and still alive!

It has now been a little over a week since I arrived in Japan, and it's definitely been a fun experience so far. There hasn't been a day when I haven't been doing something, whether it be shopping around in places like Harajuku or Shibuya, drinking with my friends in Japanese bars or just getting to know my local area.

I've gotten used to being here pretty quickly, and have managed to get through the situtations that have required me to speak Japanese with minimal embarrassment so far. I was given the "This is Japan, you must speak Japanese only" speech by the woman in charge at the International Exchange Office at Seijo University, and while with my friends obviously this has not been 100% the case (most of them are in fact native English speakers), at university it's not been going so badly. I have also managed to navigate the train system without getting completely lost, hurray!

My bank account has now been opened, I've met some Seijo university students and chatted to them a bit, been to my campus, registered as an alien (which requires too much Kanji form filling!) and other necessary stuff.

My apartment is not so far from my university (10 mins by train) and its not so bad. However, upon moving I noticed that the person who lived there last didn't much like cleaning. In fact, they seemed to think that emptying the fridge/freezer of food was unnecessary! It was disgusting. Also, there's a dodgy smell coming from the sink/pipe area in my kitchen. Thank God I can move within a few weeks. It'll be in the same apartment block, just a bigger/nicer room. While more expensive, I won't have to put up with foul odours with the added plus of a nicer view and more space! I also won't be able to use the internet in my apartment until then either.

I also haven't done anything particularly 'traditional' so far, but today that's about to change! I'm going to Yasukuni Shrine in Iidabashi with some friends of mine. Should be fun, and perhaps even educational!(?)

Well, since I'm currently in an internet cafe and my time is running out, I'll leave it at that.

More later!