The greatest trick culture shock ever played...

was convincing the world it didn't exist, to butcher the old adage.

I'll be fine, I thought - I've been there before, I've done the work thing, it'll be easy as pie. Which seemed a bit silly when I was curled up in the bathtub on the 2nd night with my head resting against the cold of the wall.

Unfortunately moving to another country is never easy and you don't realise until you actually do it. It's the little things that get you. It's that your brain is in constant use, busily filtering everything into a useable form. It's trying to remember the word for "number" when you're standing in front of a big group of Japanese teachers smiling encouragingly at you. The smells, the sounds, trying to reactivate your walking muscles, being sick of weearing a bloody suit. It's culture shock I guess, and it's what's had me yoyoing up and down between endless excitement and bottomless misery for what seems like a month now (has it only been 3 days?!). It'll pass, I know. I'm just going to have to hold on to the horse until then.

On a less melodramatic note, I'm currently sitting at my desk in Kobe High School having just been shown around by the principal. Everyone is lovely and supportive and I think that will help me get settled in. The school is amazing too, it's 113 years old or something and everywhere you look is full of plaques, championship flags and stories of famous people who graduated X years ago. They have a vault of "school treasures"! I think a heist may be in order.

I went to my other school (Kita Suma High School) yesterday afternoon, having finished the last of my official chores (getting a mobile, setting up a bank account etc.). I also bought my hanko (official stamp used to sign your name) and put it in a self inking, futuristic-looking holder that makes it look like the leg of a Gundam. When I was stamping the attendance book for the day I found it very hard not to say "bam". They seem to be not sure what to do with me, but they're being awfully nice about it. Once they work it out on Monday I'm sure things will be fine. Until then I'm quite happy to fade into the background and look busy doing some internetting.

Our apartment is a mixed bag in some respects, but thankfully there are way more Maltesers than rabbit droppings. It's a big 3 roomer (plus kitchen, bathroom and toilet) with tatami mats which means we can have several people come to stay without hanging them out the window. Far from storage worries, we're actually thinking about buying MORE suitcases to fill the cupboards (no we're not). We also have a fridge, microwave, TV etc and even a couch. Thanks to Lisa's efforts yesterday, we now have curtains as well. Disgustingly decadent, really. It's high up on a mountain which means the view of Kobe city is incredible, but unfortunately that also means a vertical walk home. Of course, you can almost fall to the train station which is nice. We're 4 stops from Sannomiya (the centre of Kobe) and it costs about 2 bucks to get there, which is lovely. The aforementioned bath is a bit "rustic", seemingly powered by one of the first steam engines ever created. I'm thinking of just joining a gym and showering there, so that the bathroom can be roped off and turned into a museum exhibit.

So... yeah. We're getting there. Most of the irritations can be fixed fairly quickly and the other ones we can dull down considerably. The rent is $107 a month so if all else fails, I can dry my tears with handfuls of hundred dollar notes.

I'll try to get some photos soon, once I can find my camera under the piles of undies and lolly wrappers. I should be able to upload them on the sly and then you'll be able to see what I'm talking about. I don't know what I'm complaining about really - everything is stunningly beautiful even in winter and I'd like you to see it. Come have a beer some time, we'll take off our coats, smile wistfully and talk about the price of cigarettes.

Speak to you all soon, and leave some comments (or else). I'll keep you updated re: photos.