the dangerous thing

One of my grocery store purchases that I didn't mention is probably one of my favorites.  Single servings of real DRIP coffee.  These genius little packages pop open and suspend themselves across your mug while you pour hot water through the filter and make a single, delicious cup of coffee.  So good.  This has proven to be a breakfast staple for me every day.  I'm also really only a fan of coffee with cream and sugar so my whole milk and real sugar that I picked up from the grocery are also really nice to have.  

The first morning in my apartment, I woke up at 5am.  Thirty minutes later than the previous day.  My bed is pretty much a wooden platform with a thin mat and down comforter.  So far (I'm speaking from one week in), I've slept really really well.  Maybe because I'm so tired.  Maybe because sleeping on a wooden platform is a lot better than you'd think.  Not sure.

My breakfasts for the first few days were about as American as you can imagine.  English muffin with a fried egg and cup of coffee.  I'm still pretty surprised at the fact that I found English muffins in the grocery store.  A few days later, I even found whole wheat ones!  My little two burner stove gets really hot, really fast.  So it's great for making hot water in the morning for my coffee.  Waking up at 5am also gave me lots of time to gchat and Skype with friends from home (hi Hannah and Jonathan!) and just generally relax.  A slow morning with real breakfast and coffee is probably one of my favorite things.

Considering I'd worn a dress and open toed shoes for my first day in the office, I had slightly misjudged what I'd need to wear everyday to work.  I learned that I would need to wear close toed shoes, casual cotton pants (non-melting) and a jacket made of flame retardant materials (our product!).  My dress and flats combination was pretty much as wrong as I could have gotten it, so for my second day I put on the best thing I had- cotton capris (not so safe) and my Toms.  Plus a tee shirt from Target.  Ha!

I think it goes without saying that I'll need to do a little shopping if I want to fit comfortable into dress code.  And we all know that those pants from yesterday were not exactly helping me out.

My office is less than a ten minute walk from my apartment.  I love this.  Not enough to make me want to live in a huge city where I can walk to work.  Because Ibaraki has a small town feel and I pass a few other people headed to work during my short walk.  The weather has also been gorgeous- in the 70's and sunny everyday.  Great commute.  Even with a few stares at my very American getup.  Maybe it's the big movie star sunglasses?

Lunchtime came quickly and I picked out a dish that looked like beef stirfry with some mushrooms on the side.  Each day, the cafeteria staff set out a few prepared dishes of the days menu just outside of the entrance.  Everyone kind of stands around the display table and checks out the days offerings.  Sometimes I can guess what I'm looking at and other days not.  But in general, I love vegetables and can eat most anything so it's not that difficult.  There are also other prepared sides like small salads, vegetables, soup and always always rice.  And green tea.  Always.  For free.

The little number chips are laid out beside each dish.  You pick one up for every dish that you choose and it correlates to the price.  At the end of the meal, you count up your chips and pay for your meal at the "casher" station.  Nice, efficient system.  This meal was around 300 yen so maybe $4.

 At some point in the afternoon, one of my colleagues (the one that helped me set up my tv and pick out shampoo) took me downstairs to the ladies locker room.  She had arranged for me to have my own locker to store my uniform jacket and anything else that I needed for getting dressed.  My locker didn't have a nametag yet so she put this little Tigger magnet on it so that I would know which was mine.  Later she came back and added my name.  I'm keeping the Tigger magnet.

After work, one of my colleagues accompanied me to the Ibaraki central train station and consequently taught me how to use the bus system near my apartment.  It costs 210 yen to get from the stop near my apartment to the train station.  He also helped me buy tickets for the highspeed Shinkansen train that I'd need the following week when I traveled to Tokyo by myself.  

I love the bus and train system here.  I've used it so much more than I expected and it's such an easy way to get around quickly.  Things are generally really quiet on the bus as people are not allowed to talk on cell phones or eat and drink.

 After my colleague left for Tokyo and instructed me on getting back to my apartment by bus, I spent a little time looking around the train station area.  I walked and walked but had a hard time telling what everything was.  I could see a lot of hair salons and convenience stores, but so many shops just have Japanese signs and no context clues as to what they hold inside.  Ibaraki is a pretty busy place but not too huge or crowded.

Back at home (and after successfully navigating the bus system alone) I cooked up my Japanese sweet potato and made a bowl of instant miso soup.  Easy and delicious.  Back at home, I'm used to roasting most of the vegetables that I eat.  But since here I only have a stove, I'm tending to cook most vegetables by pan frying or a mixture of steaming and boiling.  I'd like to get a bamboo steam basket during my next trip to the grocery so I can steam a little more effectively.

Interesting sight:  A bus that said "Apple English School" on the side.  Maybe a local English school or language exchange program?  Will have to look into that.

New goals:  Get a haircut at a local salon.  Get a bicycle for getting around town.  EVERYONE has one.

New words:  Good morning, ohayo gozaimasu!

Exciting moments:  Saying good morning to the office security guard and him understanding and saying it back!  My coworker riding by me as I walked into work and yelling hello out the window to me.  Such a nice feeling.

Coworker bonding moment:  Coworker showing me her phone background of a photo of Robert Pattinson and saying "Twilight!  So SEXY!"  What else could I do but agree?

Best English translation:  According to the printout of my lab safety training, the number one rule is "Do not do the dangerous thing."  I've yet to find out what the dangerous thing is.  I'm not asking, either.