hibernation complete!

From December to March, the temperature barely falls below freezing, which isn’t anything to complain about. However, inside is comparable to igloos, if not colder due to the complete lack of insulation and central heating. Luckily, my walls aren’t paper thin (one of my friends in the countryside has interior walls of literally framed paper) but it seems pretty close. Like in summer when the window is open, I can hear my neighbors’ every sonorous testament to their lives- cooking, crying, flicking light switches. It’s my most intimate Japanese relationship, and I’ve never even met them! It would probably be quite awkward, if I ever do...

So anyways, I was too cheap to heat much, especially as warmth dissipated quickly. So I spent most of my time working late with students and then going home to lay prone with a mini heater on my face, under the electric blanket, and with my laptop. Needless to say, the novelty of living that Japanese lifestyle wore off fast.