Being sick is no fun

Today was the first day of "classes." We actually didn't have any classes, we were tested and oriented. I especially enjoyed the placement test, which took me 5 seconds. I wrote my name and handed it in, as I knew no Japanese. I was then led to a room where they asked me a few questiongs (where are you from, why are you studying with us, etc), and then gave me a packet, the front page of which had every Hiragana. These are the most basic Japanese characters, as they form simple sounds instead of whole words, like Kanji. The rest of the packet was basically practice worksheets, about tracing, writing, and Identifying Hiragana. I tend to absorb stuff like this easily, so that wasn't so bad, and I finished quickly.

Later, I had orientation, which was basically a tour and all sorts of life in Japan information. Apartment dwellers like me were given large packets with information about trash, something which I was anxious to find out, as it is building quickly in my room. Trash in Japan is incredibly complicated, with seven categories of trash that you must separate everything into. And then there's recycling, which isn't picked up, you have to take it to a recycling station instead. Not to mention there are meticulous rules for how to recycle, such as cutting up and folding cardboard, milk cartons, and other various objects. This will make disposing of the cardboard boxes in my room a serious pain.

But I haven't really focused on any of that today, as I woke up with a malicious cough, and have been feeling off all day, especially after I woke up and for the last couple of hours here at night. It has drained me of energy, so that I can't really do anything but commute between my Apartment and Yamasa, and rest at either end. Ugh.

But aside from that minor detail, things are still looking good, as I am very much looking forward to jumping into the Japanese language fire, even though I am the only one of the new students who knows absolutely no Japanese. It should be exciting.

Alright I'm definitely going to bathe and sleep soon, and hopefully it will make me feel all better.