利府町(Rifu Town)

Last Friday March 21st was the last day of training for me. The next day I took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Sendai. At Sendai Station I met up with my IC. An IC is a Japanese person that Interac hires to help the new ALT adjust to their new city. My IC took me to get my Apt. keys and helped me buy a futon for my room. Shopping in Japan is quite an interesting experience. In the malls they have these small shopping carts that's wheels turn 360 degrees. So if you want to drag your cart side ways while following you it's very possible in Japan. The funny thing is that nobody has respect for other people when shopping. If I'm pulling my cart sideways and your in my way you better just get out of the way or suffer being run over by my cart. I was trying my best to avoid people while my IC was plowing through them. It was quite funny. Rifu's grocery store is really interesting it's about the size of a really small publix but it has everything you want Japanese. Meat portions in Japan are very small and kind of expensive compared to American meat. Thankfully I'm living by myself and can conserve food more easily. The most interesting thing about buying anything in Japan is that after you pay for your food you have to bag your own groceries. I think it's genius because the lines can move a lot faster and this promotes the idea that you can't be lazy in Japan. Okay, let me tell you about my apartment. It's small but it's freaking awesome. There's so much storage space and it came with a heater/AC and a 22" HDTV. The sad new is the kitchen is the size of a shoe closet in America. I love cooking but in this Apartment I really have to plan everything out in order to make food quickly. The first thing I made in my Apartment is Yaki Niku which is basically cooked meat. The sauce is a kind of teriyaki with garlic chunks in it. It was quite delicious. The next meal I ate was Curry but this time my IC made it for me because she thinks I don't know how to cook. It was very nice of her but it's hard for me to refuse someone from being kind to me. Alright the bathroom is really interesting. The toilet is one of those wonderful toilets with a heated seat and bidet. On top of the toilet is a sink that only turns on when you flush the toilet. It's kind of a smart way to save water but it can get messy because water splashes everywhere in the room. Across from the toilet room there's a shower, tub, and sink. All three are separate units but the sink and tube use the same faucet, you just have to move it over like a normal kitchen sink from one sink to another. It feels good to be out of my suitcase because I can finally call this little apt my home.