First days

I’ve been meaning to write an update for a few days but, perhaps unsurprisingly, life’s been so busy I’ve not had a chance. I was all set to do a “first impressions” post Thursday night, but then I found out I got the Jasso scholarship and that I have to get myself a Japanese bank account in a week, and I panicked the rest of the evening (and the week) about that. Now that I'm finally writing this, I’m afraid this update might end up a bit chaotic (or at least quite full of all kinds of stuff), but in the end, that’s kind of fitting. Reflects nicely the past few days.

So, the first impressions? As I mentioned before, this is my first time in Japan. The weather has been quite lovely, but I am so happy I’m here only for the winter term. I’d die in summer. Seriously. Kyoto in the end of September is my height of heat tolerance. (29C or so. If we get numbers beginning with 3, I will melt away. End of story.)

Kyoto is a mixture of old and new, which in itself isn't that surprising, but what I found funny is that in addition to "ancient-old" old there's also all this stuff that's kind of "a-few-decades-old" old. The former is more of a Kyoto thing, I guess? The latter might be more about Japan in general. The street view with an awful lot of wires going here and there. Grade crossings and trains that look like they might come from my childhood. The use of paper money and the fact you just can’t pay with card always and everywhere. And… faxes? Those still exist?

Thursday I moved into my dorm. I got a married couple room in Shugakuin, 35m² just for myself, with a bathroom and kitchen. I have to say I really like this place.

Then I went and bought myself a bike, communicating with katakana English with the sales guy. My spoken Japanese is on an embarrassingly low level… Starting to use my new bike was a bit terrifying. I’m not used to a bike that has only handbrakes, and driving in left-hand traffic is in itself an interesting experience. There aren’t really any bikeways, but you can drive either at the left side of the street or then on the sidewalk. I prefer street. Less crowded, and at least I know how the cars behave. Seriously, you never know of pedestrians. Or other cyclists. So far I’ve survived. And I’ve become pretty good in switching from sidewalk to the street and back, depending on which path seems to be blocked. I'm

My bike.  :)

Btw, we got this leaflet with biking rules. I started a little bingo on it, crossing something when I see a Japanese (looking) person violating the rule. Didn't take long... And yes, I wear a helmet. ^__^ So far I've seen one grown-up with a helmet, an older Japanese man.

After I got my new bike I headed with it to the park of the imperial palace, figuring that really wide streets and no cars make a good place to practice driving with handbrakes. Ended up touring the palace area itself. It was a pretty fast walk-through, as I came there a bit late, but I will definitely go there some day again to take it all in more slowly.

Friday was our orientation day, which left me with huge stacks of paper and a feeling of deep disorientation. But. Maybe I’ll get through this? Other people have, before. So many things to remember. And that bank account, don’t forget it. (Hah, no danger of that…)

 Paperwork

And those couple of lines are more than enough of Friday. Today has been more accomplishing. First of all, one neighbor taught me how to use my oven. So far I’d barely managed to cook tea water on it (not boil, but warm it enough for sencha). Now I can cook! Next I have to figure out the laundry machine I've got on the balcony. I think I'll go to ask the office if there really isn't a user manual for it...

The oven's display...

Today I also biked all over the town, first to see where my ward office is. Going there Monday morning to do that notification of place of residence thing, and whatever else you were supposed to do there…  Then I ended up biking all the way to the Kyoto Tower, and from there home again. Must have biked over 20 km today. I’m beginning to get to know my bike, and I think I’ve stopped trying to brake with the pedals.

Few random photos: