Sunday, August 21, 2005
Oh God, why am I here?
Tokyo is one hot, sweaty, humid place. Well, i guess i'm the hot and sweaty person, and Tokyo's merely humid right now. I can't wait until next month, when things are a little cooler - the heat is almost unbearable even for me. Met Tony on Friday morning, and spent over an hour navigating Ikebukuro train station, which is nearly the size of Belgium. I had sweated out nearly 16 litres by that time. The trouble is, i wasn't sure what 'anti-perspirant' was in japanese, since i could only find deodorant. And then, a massive hangover kicked in from the extraordinary level of dehydration. Ick.
My apartment has a good view of traintracks and skyscrapers. The first impressions of Japan are:
Incredibly clean. This place has Singapore licked
Nobody speaks English. Hardly any writing is in English (Roman-ji) text. This puts me in trouble
Noisy shopping experiences. Very very loud gaming machines in malls too.
Huge. Unlike London, which, despite it's size, has a clear centre and greener areas following on, with less density as you leave the city, Tokyo is ram packed everywhere.
Feeling ever so slightly homesick. Or rather missing familiarity - food shopping today was hard going, communicating with people is an underestimated task, ordering food from a restaurant is extremely intimidating. To the extent that I actually didn't want to. I can't ask for directions, I can't read roadsigns, I can't read menus. Essentially, I feel as if i have been beamed onto the planet with nothing other than a few thousand Yen. No friends, no means of communication with the people, and I am completely and utterly illiterate. Which makes me realise why I am here - to learn not to be intimidated, and to earn a degree of self assurance. A spine, noless.
- July 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- October 2009
- July 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- December 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004