Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Thursday, January 24, 3:00p -- A bit about my accommodations

Before I get started, let me first say that I spent the night without one shiver or shake, without being drenched in sweat, and without a pounding headache or body aches. Yippee, I think I am finally getting better!

Since I have spent so much time in our mini me apartment, I think I'll spend some time telling you about it. I'll add some pics at the bottom of this post.

First let me say that I didn't expect much. After all, the deal was that we were to reside in student housing for the duration of our trip. Since I had moved 2 daughters into student housing not all that long ago, I thought I knew what to expect. This is similar to the housing accommodations in the U.S. -- only much MUCH smaller! Even the doorways are shorter -- well then, I am an oversized American.

The bed consists of an ill fitting mattress on top of what is supposed to be a stand for a futon (a mismatch). The first night, I didn't mind as I was so exhausted from the travel and the fever that the bed actually felt comfortable. After spending the majority of 72 hours in it, not so much. I couldn't wait to feel well enough to sit up in a chair.

We were all supposed to have single rooms, but I ended up with a room mate, Melanie. She's awesome and so kind to put up with my sickness. I'm blessed to have been placed with her. We each have separate doors, though, with separate keys -- weird. The only thing that separates our living quarters is a curtain. I do believe that there is something about the curtain that makes some sort of "official" boundary, but I'll have to look that up.

Melanie and I also share a bathroom. There is a very unique toilet -- when you flush, water is dispensed from the top for the purposes of rinsing your hands. The shower is another separate area. If you want to soak in the tub, you must first shower, then soak. The water is blessedly hot! The air, on the other hand, is frigid as the only rooms that are heated are the ones you spend the most time in. Guess what, we spend very little time in the bathroom!

I felt well enough to do some laundry today. I had to watch a youtube video in order to figure it out (still don't know how to get anything but a standard wash with cold water, but that will do). The dryer is coin operated, so I thought I'd reserve my coins for those things that absolutely needed to be dried.

We are on the 3rd floor, and the stairs to get up to the mini me apartment are very steep and for someone like me with balance issues -- yikes! I have to take the stairs very carefully. When you enter the living quarters, there is a boundary where you do not cross with your street shoes on. This is customary Japanese. House shoes, or in my case, slippers, can be worn beyond that point. I remember when we first arrived, Melanie walked right in and our hostess just about had a heart attack. She couldn't think of the English words for "no shoes" fast enough. The funny thing is, we all knew the rules, we've been paying attention for weeks so we'd be careful not to offend, etc. We were just so tired from the flight that we forgot.

Hopefully, it doesn't sound like I'm complaining about my accommodations. If I were on vacation, I wouldn't choose this type of living, but as part of experiencing the culture, it really is awesome. I think now that I am feeling better, I'll get to see more than the inside of mini me.

I get to rejoin the group tonight for a real Japanese cultural experience. I'll write more tonight if I am not too worn down, or I'll share more tomorrow.

Pics:
1) My ill fitting mattress/futon stand bed
2) The steep stairwell
3) Mini Kitchenette
4) The interesting toilet with the water flowing from the top to rinse your hands
5) The shower and mini tub (mini but very deep)
6) No shoes zone (entry to our living quarters)
7) Washing machine



















2 comments:

  1. With your window open and the sun shining I feel compelled to inform you that "cold" is a relative term. We are getting very sick of the below zero temps here. Wouldn't dream of opening a window.
    Glad you are finally feeling better!

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    Replies
    1. You're right, cold is a relative term! I think the temperature got up to near 50 that day!

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