I arrived at my house yesterday afternoon (read 7 months ago). I had already visited once before, albeit very briefly. After I put away the modest amount of groceries I had bought on the way there (hadn’t discovered Jusco yet), I went with my tantosha (a coworker whose responsibilities include watching after me) to introduce myself to the neighbors. We started by travelling to a small shop at the end of my street (the guy who runs it is awesome). My tantosha introduced me as the new ALT and gave my name, after which I gave a courteous bow before heading to the next house over (um…there is no “next house over,” I have no idea where we went next actually). Unfortunately, only one of my neighbors was home at the time. A small girl was also sitting in front of her house. I had said hello to her earlier, but we were curious as to the whereabouts of her parents. Apparently, both were still at work and the girl didn’t have a key to her house. Another house looked uninhabited as there was no furniture visible through the windows and a number of papers shoved into the front door. After our rounds were finished, my tantosha checked to make sure I was alright and left me to settle in my new house, telling me to relax and letting me know she would be by in the morning to take me to work.
I resolved rather quickly to forego unpacking all my clothes the first night (or indeed the first month), took out a change of clothes for the next day, and set about organizing the rest of my luggage. I quickly compiled a table’s worth of items and divided them between personal items, such as manga and trading cards, and business or professional items, such as a copy of my worker’s contract and driver’s permit. I set aside my game system and DVDs and placed all the computer related items on the desk behind my couch.
While going through a few bags of gifts from Amanda which had been left from my first visit, I was a little startled to discover a small spider had managed to find its way inside. I had been warned about the possibility of giant spiders (more commonly referred to as hand spiders due to their size) but this one was rather small and easy to dispatch, having essentially trapped itself in my bag.
My item arranging complete, I set about making the house seem more like my own (it barely resembles what it once was). I built the One Piece figures I received for my birthday and placed them on the top of the TV (there still there, but they’ve multiplied). I also set up my Wii and a Japanese PS2 we received from a departing ALT. While doing so, I removed a box labeled WOWOW whose function was unknown to me (turns out it’s a cable provider of sorts. I actually really want to get it working again). I placed my manga on the bookshelf near the TV and moved some books and movies into the closet to make some more room (it wouldn’t be long before I required a whole new bookshelf).
So, a many adventurous first day drew to a close. Still haven’t run into any mukade, though I suppose that’s just a matter of time (it was!).
