It's Official

January 28

Today's major event was the dorm check-in. Up until this point, everyone living in the dorms was there based off of the school's goodwill towards those students who did not have their accommodations prepared. Having had ample time to pay fees, move into host family houses, and decide whether to stay in the dorms or get an apartment, the dormitory students now had to report to their caretaker that they wish to remain in their housing unit. Of course, this process produced more than just a simple check mark on a sheet of paper. Those who were successful in completing the registraion also received a key for thier room, their kitchen box, and the side gate to the dorm. The next step was to return to your room with a paper that would allow you to check your personal items and room for damages so they would not count against you if they were already damaged. After a very thorough inspection, I found a few marks and scuffs around the room, as well as a few objects missing from the picture of the room (that were obviously not supposed to be there considering that they were power outlets and such) that I reported accordingly. Naturally, my roommate was no where near as thorough and simply passed everything off. After returning the form, I was given new sheets for my bed.

Later today, the caretaker came up bearing gifts. It was at this time that our kitchen became more populated by an influx of pots, pans, and other cooking devices that most schools wouldn't care to purchase for the students. From there, I and my roommate Einar, one of the not crazy ones, proceeded to sort and put away all of the items for later use.

After a fair amount of time passed by, I decided that I needed to venture outside at least once today. I decided to locate the grocery store since I had not been there before. Fortunately, the simplistic directions to get to the store turned out to be as simple as they were spoken. It was at the grocery store that I discovered that Japanese food stores sell food - and nothing else. In America, it is common to find several hygenic items in a grocery store as well as some other various items, but in Japan, if you can't eat it, you can't buy it there. Despite still not being able to locate things like hand soap and laundry detergent, I looked at my possibilites available at the store. Usually, I am able to cook anything that has instructions. Being in Japan, the necessary parameter of being able to actually read the instructions proved unattainable. I didn't want to leave with just my normal slew of ramen and goodies, so I got a pack of frozen rice with shrimp.

Fortunately, I did not have to be able to read the instructions in order to pan heat the frozen rice. I did find that the quantity of food within the pack was somewhat disappointing though. After dinner, the evening consisted of two of my roommates getting drunk and putting on a somewhat disturbing show for the rest of us. I was able to retire to my room to sleep before anything wild happened.