likes + dislikes

things i am liking in japan:

• living alone. it's kinda nice. i think i would prefer to have my awesome roommates from past times of course, but my little apartment and i get along quite well. i like leaving a mess around if i want, i know its mine. if it's a trashy, it's my trash. when i want it clean, i clean it. i keep it at the temperature i want. i can do whatever i want, fill the whole fridge with my crap, granted my fridge is super tiny but you get the idea. so living alone, i like it.
  
• my toilet paper dispenser is plastic with two little pegs to hold the roll up. to remove the empty roll, you just pull the roll up and the pegs swivel up and allow you to just pull it out with out removing that dumb little spring loaded dealy. to put a new roll in, you just do the reverse - push the roll up under the pegs from the bottom swing up and then come down and catch it. okay, hard to explain but trust me, its awesome and i wonder why this little, simple invention is not in america yet. it's so cool.
• also in the bathroom, the sink on top of the tank of the toilet that runs water after a flush to refill the toilet bowl. genius. 
• mister donut. sugar, glaze, strawberry, angel creme. oh yeah, very nice.
• in the schools, everyone has a role, a responsibility. kids are assigned little jobs. they erase and clean the chalk boards after each lesson, one kid brings their class or table a crate of milk and another kid takes a kettle of tea. its just nice, everyone is part of the daily routine for the greater good.
• riding my bike.
• living close to the city center.
• riding the subway.
• onigiri. a lot. such a great snack.
• my bank book. i insert it into an ATM and it can access my account without a card. it then prints your transactions in the book. so i don't use online banking but this little book with all my account action on it is so cool. and if you take money out or activity happens on your account not using the book, the next time you use the book, all transactions get printed in date order. very nice.
• everyone is so genuine and caring here. if you have a problem, the japanese people at school will do anything to help. it's really nice and means a lot to me being here so far from home and my comfort zone.
• the dehumidify option on my a/c unit. a godsend. and thanks to my fellow portlander neighbor for showing me it!
• the store LOFT. i've said it before but it's truly amazing.
• all the rad japanese stationary, art supplies, gadgets, etc. love it.
• my job. i like it. the kids are mostly awesome and i am enjoying it. 
• my favorite students. i know you're not supposed choose favs but i can't help it. sometimes they're the cute ones, or the littlest ones, the friendliest ones, one kid i love cause he has a huge smile and the biggest head of fluffy, spiky hair i've ever seen, sometimes i like the dopey ones, the smart ones i can always count on to answer questions for me, the super genki (excited, energetic) ones, the kids who try hard, the ones who have a little trouble, the sleepers (sometimes i wish i was doing the same), the ones with sweet faces and of course sometimes i like the little brats, too.

a few things i could do without:

• the humidity. it's outrageous. this morning it was 91%. big uggg.
• the loud noise at my apartment from the highways and most recently the hordes of gigantic black crows at night. they congregate on the power lines of my block. lots of them, like 150 of the nasty things each night. its very eerie. and i really hate birds, crows especially. the make the ugliest squawk sounds. 
• sometimes i get a little bored and isolated feeling being the only non-japanese person i see most days.
• some of the school lunch choices are to be desired.
• the two bridges i have to cross on the way to work on my bike i kinda dread everyday. the first one is worse, it gets me every time, it's nearly impossible on the cruiser but i manage it most days. on tired days, i walk her.
• did i mention the heat. today we recorded an oral section for an exam in a teeny, tiny recording room, must have been 95 in there. it was like a little sauna.
• sweat. lately it's pretty much all day, everyday. annoying.
• the lack of certain foods i really miss. i really want a turkey sandwich, a real piece of pizza, a fat chipotle burrito, red robin, thai pod, etc. (of course, i miss the fam's home cooking too).
• my futon "bed". it's starting to become less and less comfortable. a real bed is gonna be so nice. oh, so nice!
• the 16 hour time difference between japan and home, it can make talking to home hard. 
• the lack of friends and family. they're all are so far away. i miss all of you!
• the inability to use plastic in japan. i cannot remember a time not using a credit or debit card for so long. i only use it on the rare occasion to get cash since i only have an ATM card anyway but the majority of the time i use my rad little bank book.