The Extremes

When I arrived in Japan, I knew it would be warm, but I had no idea that it would be so warm that I'd have to jump into a cold shower as soon as I got home, and when I was done, spread myself out in front of the airconditioner set to its lowest setting. I was told that I'd appreciate Autumn with its milder temperatures, and I did, all two weeks of it. My apartment that once felt like an oven now feels like a fridge (and my fridge is now used more as a cupboard than anything else, since its hardly any colder than the kitchen). I didn't use hot water in summer, and I don't use it in winter either, because my hot water pipes have frozen shut! No idea why its only the hot water pipes that froze and not the cold ones. I have to shower at my neighbour's and boil the kettle to have a shave in the morning. I always wear a hoodie to bed and avoid moving my head around in case my face touches a freezing part of the pillow. I have watched my classes steadily thin out as the kids succumbed to flu, just before i got it myself and was laid out for two days.

Before I arrived, I thought the hardest part of this mission would be adapting to the foreign culture, but that was easy compared with having to deal with these mad temperatures!