quick update from osaka

tody is saturday, and i've finally had some time to sit down and have a quick post.

things have been crazy since i arrived just 4 days ago on the afternoon of the 6th.. i've had seminars on the 7th and 8th from morning to late afternoon, and between going to work - that's what the seminars are - getting to know the other people in my apartment complex (Sagisu) as well as the other osaka city JETs and trying to get my apartment sorted, i havent had much time for sleep much less anything else :S

the weather here is quite bad even though it's around 34degress and not that much hotter than singapore.. the humidity is about the same as it is back home - boo to all those pple who told me that japan is less humid - which makes it quite terrible. first afternoon in my apartment, the air was so heavy and dense i couldnt not turn on the aircon even though everyone has told me that it's really expensive. you really cant live without it here. you walk out to throw the rubbish and you perspire. urgh.

my apartment is not too bad. i've taken a few pictures but frankly those are the only pics i've taken of osaka. seriously. i really havent had time to even do that! i have a really big kitchen which is nice, and when you add that to the room which is 6 tatami mats (each is about 180 X 90cm) in area it's a pretty big space for 1 person to live in. unfortunately even though my predecessor is apparently a clean freak, it was still rather dusty when i came, and i think that's partly because dust collects rather fast here.

nontheless, i wiped the floor yesterday, and from the look of things, it seems like he'd never wiped the floor in his time here or that the last time he wiped it was quite long ago. haha. really dusty floor! i reached home at 12 yesterday - the whole bunch of us went drinking and karaoke-ing and i'd actually left earlier than most of the rest with another guy who's in sagisu too - and stayed up to wipe the floor cos i couldnt stand it. haha. it feels much better now.

hmmm.. what else could i talk about. i met the mayor of osaka city on the 7th.. he was formerly a newscaster before becoming mayor, and i think he looks rather distinguished and good looking.. haha. the trains here are so super crowded - i'll take some pictures when i go to work on monday - at rush hour, but yet everything is so civilised and sane. the subway lines take a while to figure out, so it's just a warning to anyone who wants to come over on their own.. there're a thousand and one exits from the stations, and it gets confusing sometimes.

OH. my predecessor left me 3 bikes, and biking is what everyone here does. and i actually followed the rest to the supermarket etc on a bike on the 6th and 7th, and wah it's madness. i really cant cycle all that well, but i'm actually on the pavements and trying to avoid crashing into people or the railing and stuff. it's nicer to cycle here than in sg though, as the pavements are much wider. i'm still alive and havent suffered major damage, but cycling still makes me extremely nervous and it's a high-stress activity.

i realise that i've been speaking so much standard english that i'm actually blogging effortlessly in it too. what's happening???!?????? my 7th day in japan and my 4th day without talking to any singaporeans and i start to blog naturally in standard english. you pple had better visit me more often so that i can speak singlish every now and then. there's no way i'll forget singlish - i'm way better than jardar in that regard - but still.

that's it for now i guess. i havent had much sleep since i left singapore, and hence not doing too well in that aspect. kinda sucks as i'm really tired but that's the way it is. and my apartment isnt complete yet, and i'll have to do something about that.