Iwaki

We all arrived in Iwaki on the Wednesday after we got here. There was a long ceremony in a city north of Iwaki called Koriyama. I think it’s the biggest city as far as shopping and eating goes in Fukushima. Then from there we got bused down to Iwaki.

A few of us were put up in a hotel for a few days because our predecessors came in the later group, and their contract wasn’t up until a week after we arrived. After the hotel we moved into our apts though. My apt has 1 tatami room, 1 western style room, a large living/dining/kitchen room, with 3 closets, a microwave, stove, washing machine, separate toilet, and a bath/shower unit. The entire place is covered in wallpaper and linoleum floors. The walls are also thinner than tissue paper, and because there is no clothes dryer, I have to hang dry all of my clothes. The Upside though? It costs nothing to live here and its huge and new. Rent is literally a fraction of what it cost at USC. I have a two bedroom apt for the price of cruiser bike, per month. A used cruiser bike that was sold to me by the same Mexicans who stole it. Ridiculous.

I have 5 neighbors, 3 from the states and 2 from Australia. The new girl and I have really gotten a lot of help from them. They have made it really easy adjusting.

Cultural notes
1. Hotels – almost all of the hotels here are like cabins on a cruise ship. The bathroom is elevated from the rest of the room and the shower water sprayer is connected to the sink faucet.
2. Bath/shower units – The baths and showers here are normally in the same unit, but not like the ones back home. There is a standing area just for taking a shower, and then there is a sunken part for the bath. The standard here is to take a shower and rinse and clean off, then jump into the bath to hang out, just like a spa.