So, here we are, outside the dorms:
To the left and right is bicycle/motorcycle parking. Cars aren't allowed, though visitors do park there occasionally. Let's step inside, shall we?
This is the entryway, to the left there is a security guard (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), and from about 8a-5p M-F there is a woman who works the front desk to the right. Her name is Yuki and she's very nice. She helped me fill out my internet application. Her English is very good, so it's helpful for us dirty gaijin to have someone there to help us acclimate (or accumulate, as K says, because she's apparently more ESL than Yuki is) to Japan. Yuki's also the only person to call me Jennifer chan, which makes me giggle inside because I may very well be older than her. Well, probably not, but maybe much closer to her age than most people there are. Straight ahead is the common area, and to the left of that there's a large kitchen (which is always cleaner than the other kitchens) and a dining area.
Here's a shot of some spirited conversation that I wasn't privy to, and our vending machines. We can get coffee and cokes any time we want through the machines, so that's pretty convenient at least.
To the right is a hallway which leads to my side of the dorms, so let's head that way!
In the hallway there is a sign that says something about fire:
Let's hop in the elevator:
And head on up to the fifth floor. You could always take the stairs if you want to, but come on, do you really want to deal with these all the way up?
Here we are on the fifth floor. We have bathrooms:
Communal sinks:
The sinks' location is right in the hallway, though, so they are kind of awkward to use. I have started brushing my teeth in the shower just to avoid the sinks. PLUS the sinks have motion-sensor water taps, so you have to perpetually keep a hand in the exact right spot to keep the sink going, which is a pain when you're trying to rinse off a toothbrush or something.
We have a shower room too, with individual shower stalls complete with opaque doors and everything, but I didn't want to try to take a picture of it for fear I might be perceived as doing something inappropriate. Taking a pic of the restrooms was risky enough.
Here's our disgusting kitchen:
And our hallway, which was apparently painted by someone who is either completely colourblind or enjoys inducing seizures in others:
Ah, here's my door (room number blurred out to protect the innocent):
Well, I'm going to post this now, but I can't seem to find a picture of my actual room. So, I will take one and edit that into this post later.
I am on campus today; Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be my busy days on campus. I hope everyone is doing well, and I miss you all. Wednesdays will be freebies, it's looking like, but I'll have one class on Friday. Taking a total of 8 classes, which will amount to 18 hours - woo hoo! Wish me luck :)
Edit: here are the pics of my room. See how much tidier it is? Small spaces and me work well together, for some reason... This shot is looking in:
And this shot is from the bed:
Fantastic, isn't it? There's a bookshelf to the right that I'm actually using as drawers, and on top of that bookshelf is an air freshener I bought to try to improve the aroma... >.>
