"Wow, it's like I'm in a foreign country"

Let me begin with a story.
When I first got off my 12-hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo, I was dead. It had been 24 hours since I had last slept, and the fact that I had a long layover and yet another flight was just soul crushing. As I walked around the airport, looking for a place to sit, I had the most stupid thought: "Wow, it's like I'm in a foreign country or something."
Yup.
Then, "You idiot, you ARE in a foreign country."

(The view from my hotel.)

Lack of sleep makes idiots of us all, and I am no exception. In fact, I'm an idiot even when I'm not tired. However, I wanted to begin with this story because I thought it was a good illustration of what I've been going through the past couple of days. A full-on realization that I really am in a foreign country, and that I don't understand anything. It's exciting and humbling and scary and fun all at once, and it's hard to describe unless you've experienced it yourself. I feel really stupid most of the time- when someone speaks to me in Japanese, I suddenly forget all knowledge of the language. Even when I try to speak, I worry that I've said the wrong thing. I'm trying not to let that get to me too much. It's super hard to relax and let go of my inhibitions, but it's better than being a nervous wreck, so I try anyways. I'm hoping that it will get better- that I won't be afraid to make a fool of myself and that I'll start to pick up the language. I've only been here for two days- I'm bound to improve, right?

Despite the language barrier, I've loved being in Japan. It's so different from the U.S., especially little old Ephraim Utah. The houses are really close together, there are vending machines literally EVERYWHERE, and the toilets are amazing. Seriously. You've gotta try em.

The streets are narrow, tons of people ride bikes, and probably about every other person on the street is wearing a face mask. I think I'll go to the store and buy some sometime today. Oh, and some toilet paper, because I accidentally bought paper towels instead. I thought I was buying an 8-pack of toilet paper- nope. Instead it was a 4-pack of paper towels. They're the exact same size as the toilet paper rolls, but when I opened up the package I realized that they were paper towel length. Oh well. I guess that's what the store is for. Luckily, there's a supermarket right across the street from my apartment.

Speaking of my apartment, here's a little tour.

(I really hate being on camera- well, I guess I was behind the camera, but I was doing all the talking and it made me nervous. I'm usually not this awkward, I promise!!) 

(I bought some chopsticks!! They have cute little bunnies on them.)

I love being somewhere new, and even just walking around town is fun. I can't wait to start school- orientation is on Monday, and I have today and Sunday to relax and get used to my dorm. I'm so excited to meet new people and make new friends, but I'm so glad I have this weekend to recharge a little bit- jet lag is a killer.