Arrival/Settling in/What?

After a long, long time of traveling, I finally arrived in Osaka. My first thought upon arrival was "Osaka is so...not Las Vegas." Of course, this is obvious, but when you've been living in a desert city for so many years, it's hard not to be struck by how grassy and ocean-y Osaka is. Anyway, it is freaking gorgeous.

View from the plane, so green!

Landing

The first day was super tiring because of how much luggage I have (I may or may not have overpacked because I wanted every outfit on fleek). Going from about 16 hours of traveling to going through customs to going on two buses just to get to the hotel, all while carrying over 100 pounds of luggage, was exhausting. Another thing that I noticed upon arrival was that everyone seemed to expect me to speak Japanese because I'm Asian, but in reality, my Japanese sucks. So that was also difficult to get used to.

My room for the night

The hotel room was very small but cozy. When I got the hotel, it finally hit me - I'm in Japan. I was sitting on my bed thinking, "What? I'm in a different continent now? I can't speak English? What?" So, everything in my life just got weird.

Advanced toilet technology

Another thing that definitely needs to be addressed is the toilet technology here. Every toilet I've seen has warmed seats and a bidet. Some of them even have dryers. This is something that needs to happen in America ASAP.
After my initial amazement at everything, some people who are also studying abroad with me in the group decided to get together and go get dinner.

Vending machine in the hotel lobby - everything is so cute!

Streets of Osaka

Streets of Osaka pt. 2 featuring Christian

Getting dinner was both hilarious and difficult. None of us were very good at Japanese, and even those that are were sort of uncomfortable and shy about actually having a conversation with a native Japanese speaker. So all of us stumbled across our words trying to order a simple meal. In the end, I ended up with this

My first meal in Japan! Katsu-don and udon

It was delicious, and we were all proud of ourselves for getting through our first meal in Japan.

The next day, it was time to move into our housing. I chose to stay with a host family because I wanted a more cultural experience as well as more opportunities to practice Japanese.

My humble abode for the next 4 months

The house is really nice - it's a 3 story house! It also has the wooden, traditional Japanese feel. My room is really cute. My host family speaks English but not fluently, and being here really made me realize how much Japanese I don't know. I have a lot to work on for the next 4 months. I feel pretty awkward trying to talk to them because I'm trying not to just speak in English all the time, but it's hard not to go back to the comfort of speaking English. Also, my Japanese is not good either, so I don't know how to say most things I want to say without speaking English. Side note - their toilet is really advanced as well. It even automatically flushes, which is something I've never seen for a toilet in someone's home.

So far, everything has been really cool and exciting, but I'm also really homesick! It's crazy that I'm gonna be here for so long, away from the comfort of familiarity and away from everyone that I know. I especially miss being able to see my boyfriend everyday and being able to spend time with friends and family. I hope the homesickness will subside a little bit as I get more used to life in Osaka, but I don't think I can ever get used to being away from everyone back home!...simp moment.

Anyway, that's it for now - I'll continue to write more as I get to explore more things in Japan.