kampai!
After last night�s breakdown I slept like a rock. Part of it was the �scenic death march� that was yesterday and part of it was maybe just that the air conditioning was finally turned on. Since we�ve arrived, it�s been probably 85 degrees out with� god, I don�t know, 150% humidity? UGH. Ugh Ugh Ugh. Today it rained and a typhoon is coming in� so that means more rain and more cool temperatures.

Today we had another orientation and found out about our host families. It was like a Host Family trading card session!! I have a 51 year-old host mother and host father. The host mother is an elementary school worker and the host father is a local government worker. They seem pretty liberal as they both work and may come home late. They�ve given me no curfew, which is a bit of a catch-22 as the bus line I have to take to and from campus only runs until maybe 11PM. Not that I WANT to stay out late, but eh, whatever. In my family, there is also a 28 year old daughter who works part time and plays piano/ sings and a 26 year-old son who is a doctor and may or may not live at home. They have a small dog that Sato-san was very concerned about me NOT liking. I told her I don�t really care all that much. Tomorrow we meet and go home with our families. Shortly thereafter I should have phone and internet access.

After orientation we ate lunch with the Waseda students and purchased out commuter passes. Thankfully, the university refunded some of the huge amount of money we�ve spent in the last two days on food and beverage. For out �thank you� dinner to the Waseda International Club, we ate at what was possibly the WEIRDEST Italian restaurant I�ve ever been at. Uhh� yeah. I�ll just stick to Japanese food when in Japan although I do have a hard time with eating in tatami rooms and attempting to keep the correct position, I�ve learned. It hurts my knees terribly. I like food where I can feel my legs.

Funnily enough, I can feel my English �regressing� while being here. I�m not sure why, but after speaking broken Japanese, the fractured grammar and pictoral/ hand signs are carrying over into my English. I feel like a stupid, small child.

Tonight I�ve managed to stay up past 11PM easily, even after downing two shots of whisky and a fuzzy navel at the �English Pub� next to our hotel. OMFG, the Japanese like to drink.

I was also thinking about how I�m afraid of losing the affection I have for familiar faces at home and I�ve decided that this is a silly fear. If I�ve maintained my close feelings for Alex over all these years, I can certainly carry that over into my other friendships and close relationships without any problem. Needless to say, I miss you all terribly and this place is friggin� WEIRD. I�ll get used to it though� I already know my way around this general area but that in no way pertains to the rest of this crazy Tokyo place.