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Learned Trivia

I am approaching my three week mark in Japan.  While it still amazes me that I am here, sometimes I forget I am in a foreign country.  In the first few weeks here are a few facts by which I have been pleasantly shocked:
  • They drive on the left side of the road
  • There is no wi-fi, anywhere.  The choices are 3G or an Ethernet cord.  Guess which one I have!!
  • There is no sign of English.  While the people directly surrounding me speak wonderful, fluent English, the labels at the grocery store show no sign of anyone speaking anything other than Japanese.
  • Everyone rides bikes [with built in locks.]
  • Things are not as expensive as I had anticipated.  While taking the bus from town to town is not as cheap as traveling SE Asia (nothing is, I assume), I have learned I will not spend my time in Japan starving and dressed in rags in order to see the sites.  I look forward to my three day weekends and several school breaks to start exploring the country.
  • There is more than just "trash" and "recycling" here. There are seven different categories in which any given piece of trash can fall and the requirements for each category vary from city to city. 
  • The people here are nicer than I could have ever imagined and I feel so welcome and at home.   
This is going to be  good  year!

Conforming to the wonderful world of biking!

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