Getting Settled

Yesterday I moved into my residence, where I will be staying for the next 4 months.
The hotel staff were very helpful, a gentleman working got my luggage for me as I was checking out (thank god it was delivered early! see first post) He took all of my luggage outside for me, and flagged down a cab for me, and then explained to the cab driver where i was heading
It was quite the cab ride, certainly an unforgettable one.

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He turned down roads that I was sure were sidewalks !! I was amazed that there wasn't an accident. it was a jerky ride...and dodging pedestrians/ people on bikes, can't be that easy. After surviving the ride, I was thoroughly impressed with his driving skills. My residence was pretty hard to find, so much so that the cab driver had to get out and ask for directions three times, but we made it ! I was fascinated by the way we communicated throughout the ride, he would speak to me entirely in japanese, and I would respond in english, but somehow I think we both felt as though we got our points across (or did we?). I was more just trying to awkwardly acknowledge him, in spite of the fact that I had no clue what he was saying.
When we finally arrived at my destination I met the residence management which showed me around and explained the rules to be followed, then she directed me to tables full of things one would want in their apartment and told me to take whatever I wanted...it was all FREE! all things that were left by previous students on exchange, anything they couldn't or didn't wish to take back was left for future students. (chairs, pillows, dishes, laundry detergent, baskets, stationery, soap, all sorts of food, lamps, alarm clocks, basically anything you could imagine!) I was elated, especially after thinking that these would all be things I would need to buy upon arrival.

One of the things I grabbed from the piles of free things (all neatly sorted into categories) was a canned beverage. Later, I was happy to remember that I had placed it in my refrigerator because I was parched after traveling and unpacking. I chugged it back, and took a look at the can to decode what it was that I was drinking, the only english word on the can was "lemon" so i figured it was just ice tea....but when I took a closer look...I noticed that it was 6% alcohol. hahaha...I LOVE JAPAN.

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I must admit, after staying in that tiny hotel room I didn't have any high expectations for my room in residence. However, my room is quite spacious complete with a cute little kitchen, and a personal washroom. It's like a mini apartment. (pics to come!)

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Now I must venture out of my room to begin today's mission: find an umbrella and some sushi.