Progress Report

One month in Japan today.

I feel a little less lost.  The streets of Kyoto are beginning to make sense.
I can operate the washing machine.
I know which days the "combustible" garbage goes out, and which days the "non-combustible" garbage goes out.  Further, I know how to separate the garbage into these two groups correctly.
Purchasing train and subway tickets is no problem, though getting the fare correct sometimes still is.
I almost never know exactly what I'm ordering when I'm out to eat.  But I know how to tell the waiter or waitress the meal was delicious.
I have a Japanese mobile phone, though I have yet to make or receive a call.
Packaged udon broth is something that is always in my refrigerator.
I know what the bamboo ladle in the fountain outside the temples is for, and I know how to wash my hands properly before entering.

There is still much to learn.  Patience, Grasshopper.  Patience.