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Big in Japan: a Huge Apartment

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Gifu exists as a continuous contradiction. The apartment I'm in is the largest one in which I've ever lived, with a spacious living room, balcony, amazing shower and bathtub, a room for the sink and another for the toilet, and two large bedrooms (in which the closets are amazing). However, the kitchen is tiny (on par with Boulder kitchens) and the fridge is doll-sized. As is the food, so it is fitting, though the amount of liquid required to stay alive requires more fridges than will fit in two apartments. This is because Gifu is between 90 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit at any particular moment.

Regardless of the heat, or in spite of it, I've been walking everywhere with Matt, exploring. We've successfully navigated the main two (yes, TWO) train/bus stations of Gifu, found an incredible matrix of semi-covered mall space with everything from designer clothes to fresh food markets, exchanged American money for peanuts, and visited a shrine and a Buddhist temple. There are many of both all over Gifu. Later on we plan to take a walk to our Junior High schools and see where we will be teaching. Speaking of work, we don't start for awhile, so next week we will be running around Gifu to see the sights, like climbing Mount Kinka to see Gifu Castle (which we can see from our back windows). Expect pictures along with a full account!

1. Our kitchen; 2. Our bedroom (the other one is just as big); 3. The awesome shower/tub; 4. Our entryway, traditional Japanese style; 5. One of the huge closets.

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  1. GraceAugust 27, 2010 at 6:46 PM

    Hey! I'm really enjoying your stories and pictures. I laughed out loud when I read: "Gifu is between 90 & 400 deg. F." Your apartment looks awesome! It's so nice that the two of you can familiarize yourselves with the city, sight see, figure out where you're working, adjust, before you start working. Glad you arrived safely & are settling in. Much love!

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  2. albert from SGNAugust 28, 2010 at 11:08 PM

    So glad to hear you arrived safely and are settling in wonderfully in Japan! I tracked your flight on August 20 on Delta's website, at one point I said "Matt and Abby are flying over Alaska!". I miss you guys, the smell of garlic every night in the kitchen, "Simpsons" episodes blaring next door, and your innovative Asian nachos. Please post more pics when you have time. I heart you guys!

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  3. humanjazzAugust 31, 2010 at 1:32 AM

    Hey,
    Glad to hear you've settled. Hope to see you two in Dec.!!

    ReplyDelete

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