Lost in Transition

I seem to have made a habit of prefacing blog posts by telling you all how tired I am. Well, today's is no different. I am completely smashed- I'm the most mentally drained I've been for about a year! Why I'm actually writing an entry is beyond me. I'm too tired to know.

Slight hyperbole aside, I had my first "real" lesson today. As was predicted, I knew most of the gramar, but my vocabulary was totally lacking. I spent the lesson scribbling at doublespeed, adding new words to my vocab list, checking their meanings on my DS dictionary, practicing Kanji strokes, desperately trying to memorize everything and, at the same time, keeping an ear out for new information from the teacher (who is very good, but speaks almost no English). It was hectic and utterly exhausting, but at least everything is withing my level.

I managed to get lost again on the way home today. My journey has one change at Ikebukuro which is the gateway from Shakuji Koen to central Tokyo and, I think, one of Japan's biggest stations.

Oddly enough I'm absolutely fine on the journey *to* the school, but on the way back I get lost without fail. I've done if four times in a row. My body is now so used to getting lost that I do it automatically. Without thinking, my legs carry me in the direction of lost and I spend half an hour looking for my platform and passing the same damned snackshop time and time again. Today, on my fourth trudge past, the girl behind the counter actually giggled at me. Considering the excessive politeness of the people in the country, that's quite an achievement.

Just I as I started thinking "I may be lost, but at least I'm making a thorough job of it", the sign to my platform popped up on the left and I caught the fast train home. It was actually slightly disappointing.