First Post!

As the title suggests, today is my first official post.  I have been meaning to start this blog for weeks now, but had to wait for my new, ultra-tiny, sexy blue Eee laptop to arrive.  After a bit of drama revolving around said laptop and an oncoming vehicle, I am now online and ready to write!  For those of you who don't know, I have been living in Pittsburgh, Pa for the past three years.  In about three days, I leave for Japan, where I will be living and working for about three months.  Hm, it's a good thing three is my lucky number --maybe it's a sign of good things to come!  Anyway, I will be teaching English in Kanagawa prefecture, about an hour from Tokyo, at a satellite campus of Nihon University.  For the past few months, I have been preparing tirelessly for this trip, studying Japanese, reading about the culture, asking my Japanese boyfriend questions like what to do when I need to blow my nose in public (go somewhere private)... I even learned how to tell someone through signs and gestures that there underwear was showing.  Knowing full well one can never be completely ready, I think I am as ready as I can possible be, given the limits of time and sanity.  I wish I knew some kanji and I wish I had a bigger suitcase, but I think I will survive.  Here's to hoping.

So for the past couple of weeks, I have been staying with my boyfriend Koichi, since I had to move out of my old apartment.  Now before moving in with Koichi, I had an idea it was going to be a difficult adjustment in a few ways.  Koichi had no TV, no Internet, no DVD player,a radio with no volume control, he had never used his stove and his toaster said that it was "made in W. Germany."  Yes, I felt like I was moving to another century.  I have documented my "journey" through pictures and hope to recreate some of that experience for you. Unfortunatly many of my pictures were lost in the aforementioned laptop/vehicle incident, so I will have to make do with the pictures I do have and those that I was able to recreate.  More on this to come!

Well, I hope that this blog helps me stay connected with my family and friends all over the world.  I hope that they enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Stay tuned for more updates, and lots more pictures!