  Ok, I want to explain the title of this entry right off the bat. When we all arrived in Tokyo on Sunday night and shuffled off to our hotel rooms, my roommates and I agreed to set the alarm clock to 6:45 in order to be ready for breakfast. Then, much snoring ensued. Next thing I know, the rosy glow of dawn is diffusing in through our hotel room window. It's already pretty bright outside. I drowse around a bit and mumble, "Hey guys, our clock must be broken because it's definitely past seven.
" But Brooke corrects me...it's 4:30 am and yes, that's how 4:30 am looks in Tokyo. I had NO idea. It was quite unsettling the first morning. Now, I'm writing from another internet cafe in, this time, Iwakuni. I made it 'home' last Wednesday after another long bus ride, a plane ride, and a long car ride. A man with a high-school gym teacher's flat-top haircut and pants a couple inches too short greeted me at the airport along with the woman who was the office translator at my school board. They were both very nice and I was able to hold a decent conversation with them. They wanted to take me out for lunch and spent a long time tracking down a good soba shop after I let it slip that I loved zaru-soba (cold buckwheat noodles, eaten in summer). After he called a few people and finally found the promising place, we found out they don't serve soba at lunch.
Or they were out. Or something. All I understood was that soba wasn't available, and my hosts felt terrible about it. I assured them that it was not important and we could try again next week. Once I got home, I really got hit with a wave of insecurity and doubt. The house was absolutely sweltering. Seriously, the damn place felt like a sauna and even the floors were warm.
I had just spent the past four days with hundreds and hundreds of other foreigners (being annoyed by most of them), but now all of a sudden I was alone with no way to contact my new friends. I knew that they were out there, some only a few miles away, but I was suddenly an island. I really wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. One year like this, with the heat and the giant mosquitos and no one around to talk in my muttering, sarcastic English with? I started crying. The next morning, I woke up and rode my grandmother's bike to Chuo Food (my local grocery store). I bought some things to help me transition into my new home (like the most adorable sweat rags you'll ever lay eyes on) and some groceries to get me through a couple of days.
Surprise! I found a good avocado. I decided to make guacamole, but without any tortilla chips, I was forced to eat it on a sandwich with sliced chicken breast which I also made. Yesterday, my aunt drove me to DeoDeo (electronics store) and I bought some computer speakers and plug adapters. I nearly lost it when I couldn't find a crucial component for my monitor and was left to assume that Customs had confiscated it. Right then, I was about to shoot myself. Then, I looked under the coffee table and realized that I had kicked it there.
Never before have I been so relieved at my own stupidity . Finally, with every cord in place, I turned on my computer. It worked. It works. I am home. Now, it's time for me to go buy: an alarm clock, a bathing stool, an umbrella, a cutting board, spoons, drinking glasses (that are larger than shot glasses from Snuffer's), kitchen towels, and combustibles/non-combustibles trash bags. 
