First days

These past two days were a whirlwind--a happy whirlwind--but a whirlwind nonetheless. Where to start, where to start...I have a feeling this is going to be a monster post.

After checking out from my hotel room, I met up with the rest of the Sun Academy students in the lobby, where we met up with the teachers. Our school building was a short train ride away. We immediately got down to business and took our placement tests, which wasn't that bad, nothing to stress out about. I'll be in the 3rd year class with three other students, a nice and small class.

We got to meet our buddies after that. Each of us are paired with a local university student. I was a little nervous because meeting someone for the first time is awkward enough without the language barrier. But I really had nothing to worry about. My buddy Remi-san is a first-year student at Keio University, which is one of Japan's top schools. We have a lot in common actually: we're both studying political science, we both dance, and we both love Harry Potter. I think ハリー・ポターが好きですか (= Do you like Harry Potter?) will be my go-to phrase from now on.

After we exchanged numbers, we had yet another orientation for our homestays. Then, we got to meet our host families. My host mom, Jun-san, came to pick me up. The Shibanos' condo (which is ironically called a mansion in Japanese) is in Edogawa-ku, about a 40 minute commute from the school. The area is really convenient; not only is the train station right across the street, but there's a 7-11 in front of the condo, and a supermarket down the street.

Jun-san and I were talking and drinking when my host father, Hide-san, came home. For some reason, I expected him to a be one of those stereotypical salaryman,

(haha, I'm so bad)

but he seems far from it. He's really nice and laidback. Jun-san is too. They're so cute. Ai, Hide-san's daughter, came over for dinner with her boyfriend Maa, and her 8-year-old daughter Ren-chan. All in all, they're a cute family and have a great dynamic.. We ate and drank so much that I was surprised when I realized we had been talking for 6 hours. I was really tired, yet I was enjoying myself. An internal tug of war, between finally retiring to bed and accepting more beer, ensued.

I awoke to find my other suitcase delivered, safe and sound. So relieved! We--
Hide-san, Ai, Maa, Ren-chan, and I (Jun-san had to go to work)--all went out after having breakfast First we went to the electronics store, where I bought an electronic dictionary and a converter. After that, we went to Asakusa to visit the Senso-ji Temple.

Ai, a jetlagged me, Hide-san, and Ren-chan

They say if you'll become smarter if you waft the smoke onto your head. I did it in the hope of getting better at Japanese.

Here, you get a fortune by inserting 100 yen, shaking a metal thing until a stick with a number comes out, opening the drawer with the corresponding number, and taking out your fortune. If it's bad, you tie it onto the little rack thingy.

Unfortunately, both Ren-chan and I got bad fortunes T_T

On the way home, we passed by Tokyo Sky Tree, which is currently under construction. It's on track to becoming the tallest tower in the world.

sugoiii!

Once Jun-san got back home from work, we all went out to Sushiro, a sushi place for dinner. Mind you, it wasn't just any sushi place: it was one of the restaurants where the sushi goes around on a conveyor belt. You can order through a little touchscreen at your table in addition to picking up anything that goes around that strikes your fancy.

I could sit here for hours and eat...

Gaaah it's late! Tomorrow marks the first day of classes, which means the first time Ruu-chan gets to navigate the Tokyo train system by herself, which could end in disaster or success. I'm hoping for the latter. Wish me luck!