first impressions

02Apr09

i suppose i overreacted. after two hours of cleaning to yo-yo ma playing piazzolla, the room looks and feels more habitable. now that i can walk barefoot without treading on gobs of dust, i am more inclined to overlook the stains i could not remove, and remember that i am, after all, being paid to study here. and the moaning neighbor is now silent, thanks be to god.

i took a long ramble around the area at noon, walking round and round ceaselessly till my body temperature returned to something more akin to that of a healthy mammal. the unseasonal cold winds made me wheeze, but i would have walked anyway – anything to escape the dust clods and disturbing neighbor.

it is a lovely area, not least because the bestest and mostest university in japan is just next door to the dorm. there are any number of schools in the area besides the university of tokyo – junior high schools, high schools, international schools… there was a nice geeky feel to the people i met on the streets – those bespectacled, serious countenances; hands thrust deep into their pockets; future nobel peace prize winners, no doubt. you can find them in the numerous cosy eateries around here as well, nodding vigorously over a bowl of steaming noodles. i peeped into several such establishments and liked very much what i saw. i foresee spending much time reading at one of the tiny cafes, looking and feeling a little pretentious, and enjoying the whole masquerade immensely.

having said that, the litle area map that the dorm so kindly provided listed several “drag stores” in the vicinity. i am still wondering if i should point that out to somebody – i cannot quite remember what the japanese people take offence at and how easily wounded their pride may be. but mistakes like these are too disturbing to let go, and surely, with all the brains that should be residing in this building, we can afford to look a little more intelligent than that?

Filed under: japan   |  3 Comments
Tags: dormitory life, meguro, tokyo