Hiromi Usagi!

In my head I knew I am in Japan, but I was confused when I woke up in my room. Where am I? I miss my Chicago apartment. It was a nice place. I miss my roommates. I miss my friends… A big typhoon is coming tonight and should leave tomorrow morning. It is rainning pretty hard now.

I sent 7 boxed before I left, and one of them arrived here before me. pretty fast. The others should take at least 6 weeks. I have two suitcases and one box. that is it.

I just talked to Harper through AOL messenger. It worked! There was a duration, but I am happy that I got to talk to him.

I need a cell phone, maybe use my mom’s. She hardly uses it according to my dad. I don’ t think it is a latest model, but much better than the one I had in Chicago. I have a lot to catch up here.

everything seems very fresh? to me, and everything seems smaller than what I remember. I feel like I am huge. TV is very addictive, since I didn’t know much about what is going on. I know the current political issues through the online news, but what is trend/ hip here is still mystery to me. Everyone dresses nice here. very slender and very fashionable. I miss Daily Show, but I can see it online version which is one day old. I remember that I like watching several news shows before, so I am excited about watching these shows and again. Aparently, the population here is decreasing drastically, becaue people stop having a baby. My parents were saying that people like me (not married) is a part of this problem. They were sort of joking but sort of serious. I really need to find a job and move… It is not healthy for me to stay here too long. Too much pressure for me… A number of death is larger than a number of birth, and it is getting a serious problem, because of social security, retirement plan, and tax. It seems like many problems here as well.

a good thing is that I can use my insurance! yey! I can even use it for acupuncture. My mom and I will go tomorrow. See how it goes. It should be cheap like $5 or $10. I am excited. My grandma has alzheimer’s disease. It has been a couple years since my mom started going to her house everyday. My mom is exhausted and stressed out. They don’t want to send her to a nursing home, because that is considered shame. My dad is helping to, but out of control. my grandpa is very forgettful and does crazy things too, like putting toothpaste on his rash and eating other people’s dish at the table. They don’t sometimes even remember if they ate or not, and accusing my mom not to give them any food. It is a mess. They are my mom’s parents. I read Amy Tan’s The Opposite of Fate and am rereading it now. She mentioned her mom who had a similar problem. very tough. It is a great book and encouraged me to finish my thesis and keep writing. Her life is very interesting in many different levels. Even if I am having a hard time now, she convinced me that I should stick with what I want to do. I really should have bought Margaret Chow’s DVDs. She always cheers me up. I should get it, but the region is different. oh well, I figure it out.

Yesterday, I had a yummy sushi for lunch. It was very delicious. Fish tastes so good and flavorful. everything is yummy here. My mom’s homemade pickle is great. I realized that there are so many restaurants everywhere. Japan is a food obsessed people’s heaven for sure.

Everything is opposited here…