I went to school all by myself for the first time yesterday

 I didn't get lost, but  I did mess up twice.  Once, in Umeda (large railway station in Osaka), where  I was supposed to be following signs to the subway line, except my signs suddenly vanished.  It took me awhile to find them again, but I knew as long as I didn't actually go outside, I should be ok.  The second time, I stayed on the subway several stops too long, which resulted in a hike of at least 20 minutes (I didn't time it exactly).

To compound the issue, I was in heels at the time.  New, not yet broken in heels.  They felt amazing when I bought them (I believe the exact words were "they're the most comfortable heels I've ever worn"), but apparently they don't stand up all that well to so much walking.

As the school, I spent time studying my predecessor's lesson plans and getting familiar with things, then a very short meeting where I and another new teacher introduced ourselves.  I was surprised at the brevity of the meeting, but apparently everyone else had a long meeting earlier and they wanted to keep this one short.

On the way home, one of my fellow teachers was going the same way as I for a bit and showed me the correct station to go to, etc.  Also, it was nice to have someone to talk to for a bit.  I got through Umeda quickly and caught the train just before it was leaving.  The problem with getting the train as it leaves at rush hour is the lack of seating, so I stood for about half of that ride, still in heels.

Unfortunatly, there was no food awaiting me at home, so I got off early and went to the organic grocery (which, by the way, is called "natural house," and not whatever I said it was before).  I accidentally gave the cashier the wrong amount of money, failing to carefully count the number of zeros on the bills I was handing her, and then had to walk another 1/2 hr  to get home.  I probably should have taken the subway, but I didn't know where the nearest station was, and I probably would have spent just as much time looking for it as I did walking home.

To top it all off, when I got home, what  I thought was miso soup turned out to be vegetable soup instead.  Not that it was bad,  I was just tired from my long day and frustrated that I couldn't do simple things like pay for my food properly or find out what kind of food I was buying.

On the plus side, I now have the makings of fried rice for supper!  Super excited about that  :)

School starts in one week, it's getting kind of close...  I'll probably go in a couple days early next week to do some lesson planning and meet the teachers that I'm actually teaching with, etc.

Local temp: 81, and apparently it's raining, but the view from my window is clear (is a bit cloudy)