First Post at Kansai Gaidai

I'm writing this entry from the computer room in Seminar House 4, where I'll be staying for orientation week.

I can't believe I'm in Japan. I think I'm a lot more relaxed about it than I should be. Maybe I'm in denial? Or maybe it's because everyone here so far speaks english and most students are just as confused as I am.

The dorm is super nice. Everything is stunningly clean, and the rooms are big. The bathroom facilities are also pretty great. The shower area is really cool and, of course, there are unnecessarily high-tech toilets.
My roommates haven't arrived yet, but I suspect we'll have a major influx of students tomorrow (when the pick-up service resumes). I walked around the town today, but I have yet to be on campus. There's a campus tour tomorrow, so I'll go on that. I haven't really spoken much Japanese so far. Mostly I'm getting to know everyone at this point. Japanese will come after I have a couple contacts and friends. Speaking of friends, I've met some really nice people so far...we're trying to organize a Karaoke night.

This is my first free moment to get online. I totally forgot that Kansai Gaidai has no wireless service, so I need to buy an ethernet cable. I forgot mine at home.
Other important thing I forgot? A towel. There are no words for the foolishness I feel. I bought a little towel at the hundren yen store (think dollar store) this morning, which will make tonight's shower more bearable.
I'm also feeling a little unprepared because the weather is incredibly hot and humid. I brought mostly fall-weather clothes. I've heard that it cools down a lot mid-September, but until then, I'm going to be rotating out t-shirts with my blue jeans (ugh) and my one pair of shorts.

I feel very out of touch right now...having no personal internet and no cell phone is unnerving. The process for getting a cell phone is pretty complicated, but apparently my host family will help me with that. Unfortunately that means I have a week without a phone. But tomorrow I'm getting my ethernet cable, so I'll be able to Skype everyone then! My Skype screenname is Bluefire310 - call me!

No pictures in this post, since this is a public computer. I'll post some as soon as I get access on my laptop.

I felt so strung out, hungry, tired, and lonely last night, but things are really looking up now. Things are overwhelming, but everyone has been so helpful and friendly so far! I feel a lot better now.