Conveyor sushi

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. Things have been going pretty well and I'm settling down into more of a routine.

I learned yesterday that many people in Japan believe that clothes dried in the sun are healthier to wear versus machine-dried clothes. Good thing, too, given that space is always at a premium and consumer goods are generally expensive here. Growing up, we had a clothesline that we used about half the time, and I've used one on and off through college. Here, we dry our clothes exclusively on a line and I think I'll continue that practice when I return home. I was thinking about all the lifestyle changes I've had to make here and it made me feel good. That's part of the whole reason why I came here: to see how other people do it and try it myself.

Last night, Alisha and some of our friends went to a conveyor sushi restuarant (a first for the two of us). For those of you who don't know what conveyor restaurants are: you come in an queue for a table just like any other seated restaurant. Within the restaurant are booth style tables with all the little stuff like chopsticks, free green tea*, etc. Once sitting, at about shoulder height, there is a conveyor belt that snakes around every table in the place. On the conveyor belts are individual plates of sushi or other small items (like a hunk of sweet potato cake last night). When an item passes by, you simply grab it and eat it. When you're done, you're left with a pile of plates which will determine your bill. Every item is the same price (dessert was a little more last night), so you know what you're paying and you can eat right up to your level of hunger and/or finances in a fairly precise manner. You're also not constrained by having a large portion of one thing, so it's a snap to try new things, nor are you limited by any linear progression of courses. If you're still hungry after dessert then it's not a problem for anyone. When you're done you just hit a button/ring a bell and they tally your expenses right there. I've greatly enjoyed group dining in Japan so far because (in my limited experience) it's normal for everyone to pay individually.

On Friday we had another little welcoming party. This time, it was to introduce the ryuugakusei to the tutors that will be assigned to help us with anything from homework to translating the electric bill. It was a pretty low-key event with good food and we all did oral introductions which is a little stressful for everyone. I think everyone had a good time.

At the end, we all got together for a group picture. The manager of the international center here, who we discovered is a huge Star Wars/Harry Potter/you name it nerd, got everyone to smile by pulling a Harry Potter wand from his jacket pocket and waving it while saying "Wingardium Leviosa!" I got a good laugh out of realizing that he'd been carrying it around all day.

I also just recently learned how to express varying probability that an action or event will occur. Thanks again to Haruka for helping me out so much. Before coming here, I only knew how to express absolutely that something would or would not happen. Right after I arrived, I picked up たぶん(tabun, "probably") but I still found a need to express a low probability. Things are moving right along.

Not much else to report. The weather here has been on-and-off beautiful and miserable. I'm just waiting for the punishingly humid summer that everyone has warned me about.

*Green tea is the free beverage of choice here. If a restaurant doesn't have free water, they will have free green tea.