The first week was both very noteworthy and not at all. By that I mean a lot happened, but much of it was figuring out the logistics of actually living in Japan for a year. In the first week I:
1) Lost maybe 5 lbs (ish) because the food is so low in fat, i walked so much, and portions are smaller than my american diet has allowed me to get used to
2) Bought a bike simply with the single phrase "kore wa ikura desuka?" - "how much is this?"
3) Been as close to a typhoon as I've ever been in my life; not very close
4) Had my name spelled incorrectly by my school/dorm, i am known as "Eric Levng" here
5) Learned how to write my name in Katakana for city papers
6) Received a scholarship for 88,000 Yen /month, which translates to about an extra $10-$11K for the year, pretty amazing considering I had forgotten even signing up for this in the first place and all i had to do to accept it was sign a paper and open a bank account
7) Opened a bank account
8) Spent 4 hours getting a cell phone, apparently it's a very complicated process
9) Tried pachinko... i still don't get it
10) Traversed the public transportation system of Fukuoka with only foreigners to get to our project site by train, bus and foot.
But the really good stories start after I've started my new life. So here goes...
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