Tuesday, July 7, 2009
♥ The apartment pictures
I promise a legit entry soon, I've just been so busy trying to get everything together that I haven't had the time to just sit down and blabber about everything. On the plus side, this means I've gotten most of the "freak out" out of my system, so you don't have to listen to me whine. Anywho, I will be doing a video soon too... well a few, since I have a lot to catch up on. However I will take this chance to plug a fellow NYC JETs vlog, the lovely Alexis.
In this video she's talking about all the paperwork and such we got. It's pretty much the same, though I didn't get a contract... I assume thye just trust me? Haha.
Anywho, that is not why you're here, you are here to see pictures of my apartment in Nishi Yaizu! (aka West Yaizu... basically Yaizu...) Here I present my adorable Japanese apartment (which is quite large) plus the lovely red bike that shall be mine as well... once I get over my fear of riding said bike. Click on the picture to see a bigger version.
The outside and entrance (I forget the actual name at the moment *shame*) to my apartment. The shoes and bits and pieces you see are my predecessor's naturally. As you see I have two floors, and for Japan that's rather rare, especially for a single occupant apartment. You always point your shoes towards the outside after you take them off.
My kitchen and living room (which is longer and has a TV and such at the other end). I enjoy that couch... a lot... I look forward to that couch. The kitchen is rather typical of Japan, if not a bit bigger. I love cooking Asian food, even if I'm not the best at it, so I hope I can actually sharpen my skills over there and be a fabtastic Asian chef by the ime I get back, whenever that may be. Haha. Here's hoping. The odd flooring you see, if you don't already know, is tatami. Tatamis are rice straw mats that are traditionally used in Japanese homes not only as flooring but as a system of measurement. We may use square footage, but they use tatami... so you could have a four and a half tatami room instead of a fifty square foot room. These obviously aren't equivalent, but you get what I mean. You are supposed to walk barefoot or socks only on tatamis... no slippers or shoes of any kind.
Ah the bathroom. Yes, I have a western toliet... thank god. Most people do nowadays. You can obviously see some differences. For instance, the shower and tub are seperate and you're not supposed to actually bathe in the tub, though since its your home you can. Just make sure Japanese Big Brother is not watching you desecrate their tradition. You're supposed to shower outside of the tub (see the drain in the floor?) and be comptlely clean, and then just soak in the tub. You may notice how it's deeper than ours and not as long. I think this tub is slightly more western, but I can't tell from the picture. Toliet is just eco friendly, makes me giggle... in a good way.
And that is my apartment! Wheee! Exciting no?
I promise to put more stuff up soon!!
12:53 PM
Please comment! ♥