Adventures in Foreignland

Listening to: Valerie by Amy Winehouse
Currently drinking: nothing but I did have a beautiful Hotto Mocha Ratte this morning at Yeast Paradise :)

Some things just take getting used to in Japan. Today was a day full of adventures and new experiences. Not the romanticized, exciting experiences one thinks about when traveling to a foreign country, but the day to day activities that one just expects to be the same anywhere you go. To give you an example, I have had this cold for the past couple of weeks, and have put off finding medicine out of fear of buying something completely wrong/harmful. I finally built up the courage (with the help of the lovely Catherine) to step past the threshold of the daunting Japanese pharmacist, and found that everything, although in a different language, was relatively easy to navigate. I went up to the clerk and asked her, in very sketchy Japanese, whether or not the box was meant for sore throats and colds. She gave me the nod, so I felt reasonably secure in the investment. Another scary purchase I had to make was of the feminine hygiene sort. If you're squeamish or don't like hearing about female problems, you should probably stop reading at this point. Here is something I learned: Japan has very few options for tampon purchases. Before heading out, I tried to do a little research (aka asking one of the sempai's about said products), and found, to my utter horror, that tampons are pretty much as rare as gold here. Thankfully, the same drugstore that had the insane cough medicine that I bought, also had a small selection of beautifully convenient tampons.

Both of these purchases added up to about $20.00...eek!

I got home and tried the cold medicine, it tasted nasty and you had to gargle it before you swallowed, but my cough has gotten slightly better. You are supposed to take it three times a day, so I will keep you posted on how the medicine works. Aside from daily conveniences, I've also been trying lots of new foods. I told you about how I recently tried barbecued eel, and today I got my hands on some typical Japanese sushi.

Waiting for our food

I tried salmon, be proud of me!!

Some of our plates (they were stacked a lot higher
when we finished)

It really is a strange phenomenon feeling proud of yourself for buying the right cough medicine, or finding tampons at your local convenience store. Small things have started to become very satisfying and self-fulfilling (I actually got on Skype and bragged to Captain about my purchases). Being here has made me feel a melting pot of emotions, both wonderful and depressing, but things, for now, have really started to take a turn for the positive. I must credit Miss Wood with her wonderful, positive attitude, and her helpful stories about former times abroad. I also absolutely have to thank my parents who have been my solid ground these past couple of weeks, they are truly amazing people, and have helped me to make so many important decisions in my life.

Goodnight and lattes of love :)