EARTHQUAKE!!!!!111oneoneeleven!!!11

About 2 minutes ago I experienced my first earthquake or tremor or whatever it was. At first I thought someone slammed a door real hard, then I thought a truck crashed into our building. Someone described experiencing small earthquakes or tremors in Japan as akin to sitting on a washing machine. This is definitely true. I was sitting on my bed and after I realized what was happening, it intensified and it felt like my bed was being juked around clockwise. It was like a washing machine, a really powerful washing machine. It wasn't too bad though and lasted 10 - 15 seconds. I was kinda scared though because I really though a truck or car hit the dorm, lol. In reflection, it was pretty neat. It was different then the quarry blast tremors I experienced when I was a kid in grade school (and I sometimes feel them at home today); those just shook everything for about a split second or too. During this Tokyo tremor, I actually felt the earth moving back and forth, lol. So don't worry, this is normal. I glad I wasn't on a train or subway...the trains automatically stop when they feel movement within the earth.

In other news, we had a big dorm meeting last night. Some people were upset with the living conditions here. Apparently there are cockroaches everywhere. And apparently this is normal for Tokyo. They have a cockroach problem in this city, the semi-tropical climate being very helpful in promoting them. It's a problem in every major city I think, where the climate can support them and Tokyo's climate is well suited for cockroaches. Nevertheless, the students here demanded an exterminator, but for spiders I think. I haven't seen spiders. If I did, maybe 1. For me no big deal. I'm used to bugs, see them all the time at home, lol (country living). Also, people were upset with the state of trash in our building. Tokyo has made throwing out trash very complicated. I think a lot of things are recycled. I have a trash can in my room. When I have to empty it, I have to sort it in about 5 or 6 cans according to what it is. Everywhere in Tokyo is like this, trash cans are all labeled according to what must and mustn't be put in them. Us Americans aren't used to this and so people were angry that they had to go thru the bins and re-sort some trash; they proceeded to teach us to read the bins and sort accordingly. I believe Japan encourages recycling because they have realistically no natural resources.

In other news, I am on the never ending search for a (affordable) bicycle, rice cooker and good food. The food I have been eating is not good. All instant and microwavable. I did eat at a real Japanese restaurant Saturday, but that wasn't very good, for me at least. The Japanese have an obsession with soy. I am not that thrilled when I have to eat things with soy, although I do tolerate it and have it occasionally. I got chicken and it was bathing in a bowl of soy sauce and other things. I think a whole bottle of soy sauce was in that bowl. I eat rice at home in America a lot, but I don't put soy sauce on it...if you know me very well, you know what I put on my rice. The other day I had McDonalds; there is one 5 minutes walking from my dorm. It tasted so good. I hate McDonalds. I hate fast food. But the stuff I've been eating lately is just so bad, cheap and poorly made that even McDonalds taste amazing in comparison. I want my rice cooker now. I also need to find a good supermarket. Then I can start preparing my own food in the kitchen here and I can forget about 7-11 microwavable russian roulette meals. I never ever know what I'm picking up at those stores when I grab a meal. Whatever it is, I usually eat it though. Tomorrow is search for rice cooker/good supermarket day. I know where to find many things that I eat cheaply, like juice and fruit. But meat, I don't know where to get that in large quatities and at affordable prices. Japan is a seafood eating country. I do not eat seafood and once again you wonder why I am in Japan. *shrugh*

I am also searching still for a bike. Tokyo is a shoppers paradise. They have incredible stores full of things you thought people did not sell. But he prices are not cheap. People here are always shopping. Huge amounts of people, all the time, no matter what day or time. Tokyo is the ultimate consumer society. They can buy so much and the number of different things they can buy are amazing. Department stores are like high class Walmarts. There like a Macy's or Lord and Taylor, etc. except they have gourmet supermarkets, hardware, lumber, toilet showrooms, whatever. You can't miss them either because there all right outside of every major train station.

One last thing. Japanese fashion. To quote someone else, it's cutting edge. People in Tokyo are super fashion conscious. That might explain why they shop so much. They stores are full of really high class expensive stuff and every one is wearing it. A lot of people have here are just very fashionable, more so then the average American. Many westerners here stand out not just because of how they look racially, but how they dress. Western tourists and travellers look horrible in comparison to Tokyoites. That was one thing I was definitely not expecting when I got here. Their way of dressing is very western actually and they are very good at it. Lots of expensive European clothing. Another thing that caught be off guard are all these ghetto people. There are a good number of ghetto dressing people in this city...huge pants, big shirts, straight brim hats, ghetto facial hair, bling. I did not know hip hop culture had any effect on Japan. Apparently it has a big effect. I passed a number of hip hop stores today in Shibuya, a major shopping area. These stores blare rap stuff, sell gangsta clothing and have even imported Africans to promote, work and add "authenticity" to the stores.