Fukushima, 1

Tonight we are in Fukushima City. A fairly small area, it was really nice to get a chance to walk around and just explore in such a much quieter place. I like Tokyo, but it is SO big and busy. I like this a lot more.

The group leader is pretty awesome, and when we went out to dinner, she found an incredibly cheap, very good restaurant not too far from the hotel. The sashimi was awesome. Group dynamics are... well, interesting. I'm so lucky to be on this trip, but it is really tough to spend so much time as a group. I've noticed that I've been pretty short tempered the past couple of days, partly because I'm tired, partly because I've somehow managed to jack up my knees a little with all the walking and running. I'm also blaming my shoes. They are Earth Shoes, which are supposed to be good for walking/standing a lot, but I think that since they angle down at the heel, my knees are getting presure in a different way and they are not happy. My range of motion has been somewhat limited, so since I've been walking a lot, I've added additional walks and I haven't run for the past few days. I miss it.

But other than that, things have been going pretty well, overall. I'm tired, but in a good, experiencing things kind of way, I think. I've been spending time trying to imagine how I will react and handle situations when I have even fewer English cues, and can only imagine how long really basic things like going to the grocery store will take in a few months. It also is a reminder of how hard it must be to survive if you are illiterate or don't speak English.

I found out that the random ball of yarn I bought yesterday is 10% cashmere, 90% wool. Score. Not bad for a guess.