"There's a world where I can go and tell my secrets to...in my room...in my room..." -The Beach Boys
I thought maybe it'd be fun to do an entry about my room, and if I have the time, the rest of my house too. So here's my attempt at a description. My room is a relatively large room for Japan, and a relatively small one for America. I like it though - it's more than enough space for me. Firstly, it's on the 3rd floor of my host parent's place. Once you're up the second flight of stairs, my room is immediately on the left hand side. Right now I've got a new sign system implemented - because knocking is not necessarily in the Japanese etiquette banks. Basically, I have 3 signs that I switch out depending on the situation. They say, "I'm here, please come in," "I'm wearing headphones, so I can't hear, but please come in," and "I'm asleep right now." Normally, when I'm gone, I just leave the door open to my room. Anyhoo...
So Waseda asks each host family to provide the basics for each student; a desk, a bed, a chair, and a dresser. My host family, being the amazingly cool family that they are, provided me with: a bed, a desk, a chair, 2 dressers, a bookshelf, a closet, some storage space, my own air conditioning unit, a space heater, wireless internet, and extension cords. Do they win the prize or what? Yes, of course they do.
Ok, I've finally updated this entry with a collection of pics from the inside of the rest of my house. You can see the living room, kitchen, and toilet room. I'd like to make a cultural annotation here, for the sake of understanding. These pictures may look "cramped, cluttered, dirty, knick-knack filled, etc." to your eyes, but I assure you - this is normal. In Japan most every place serves more than one purpose, and as a result, things tend to be closely packed, with tons of odds and ends around. For instance, you'll see things on the computer desk and in the entertainment center of the living room that fulfill their utilitarian...