Hi George,
I'm having an amazing time in Japan! I'm in Kyoto visiting a lot of interesting places. I'm staying in a ryokan. It's a traditional Japanese hotel. It's really interesting. The hotel is part of a man and woman's home. Their names are Mr. and Mrs. Ito. I have breakfast by myself at the ryokan, and I eat lunch in the city, but I have dinner with the family in their part of the house. And their daughter brings me tea in the evening before I go to bed! (I feel like a very important person!)
I'm learning a lot of about life in japan, but I'm also doing some embarrassing things by mistake! In the ryokan, you take off your shoes before you go in the house so that the floor doesn't get dirty. You leave your shoes outside the door. On my first day, I took off my shoes, but I did it in my bedroom. I walked through the house first, and I got the floor dirty. How embarrassing! I hope Mr. and Mrs. Ito weren't disgusted with me. But they are nice and very friendly, and now I remember to take off my shoes before I come in the house.
I was also embarrassed while I was traveling around the city yesterday. I don't speak Japanese, but I speak Spanish. When I asked for directions, no one understood me! I was pronouncing the street names like Spanish words. They're very difficult to say! But it's easy to get around in Kyoto. The buses and trains are extremely modern and clean. Tomorrow I'm going to an art museum. I'm going to practice pronouncing the museum name and the street name in Japanese tonight!
It's really fun here. I don't want to go back home!
Your friend,
Angela