Chapter 2: New Home, New School, New Experience.

Yesterday I made the move to the residence of my new host family. Due to this change I get the most thorough experience of Japanese culture because everything is very different than my last family. The only problem with this is that I feel like a newborn gaijin again!

I thought Takatsuki was a big city before(probably due to Mapleton being so small we only have 2 notable businesses) now I have moved to Osaka city. Which happens to be the 3rd largest city in Japan. I see now why Airi laughed when I noted how "big" Takatsuki was on my first day in Japan. I would have too.

Rather than my western bed in a western bedroom that I had become so accustomed to before I now reside in a traditional tatami room with a traditional futon to sleep on for the next two months.

After getting so very skilled at riding a bike on the terrifying Japan streets (or well, I didn't die every time I went out) now I must ride the bus to school and I am sure that will be an adventure in and of itself!

My new school is amazing, huge, beautiful, and "private". I thought I had a good handle on what Japanese schools were like and then I switched to a private one...hmmm. This isn't to say my new school is bad. No, in fact I will write a whole new post solely for its awesomeness. It is just, like everything else here, a bit different.

Thank you fate for giving me such a...thorough...Japanese experience. Hopefully I can come out of it alive, or at least sane.