Laundry Day in New York City: the big schlep. Apartments don’t come with washing machines in the City, so laundry must be hauled — to the basement if you’re lucky, a neighborhood laundromat if you’re not. Here’s hoping a machine is free. Measure, pour, pay. Count ceiling tiles, thumb a book, head to the corner […]
Japan
For Better, For Worse: Ways I’ve Improved Thanks to My Time in Japan
Great success – Diego has, in fact, noticed that I am the New and Improved Liv with Increased Sudsing Action! Not only did he high-five me several times on Cleaning Sunday, but I even overheard him telling his girlfriend on the phone that I am “earning [my] keep.” This pleases me greatly; I did so […]
Your 168-Word Mini Japanese Culture Lesson
“The Karate Kid” helped make it cool in America to use the Japanese honorific “san,” but Mr. Miyagi was only telling part of the story. The Japanese will often use honorifics at the end of someone’s name to designate their relation to themselves; “san” is just one such term. “San” is used for someone you […]
Toire
The internet cafe is not free. There is, apparently, a sign above the computers that says something like “Free internet when you buy 1 drink! 1 hour maximum” but, of course, this, I couldn’t read. My new neighbors, Bob and Sean, translated it for me when they bounced over to said cafe, ready to get […]
watashi wa gaijin desu
Yatta for a free internet cafe just about 10 minutes from my apartment in Sakiio!!! Free is dangerous, though, because for the past 48 sans-intanetto hours i crossed a continent and an enormous ocean while nursing a raging head cold, got settled into my teeny, tiny apato, strolled down the main street in search of […]