Konnichiwa( hello) from Japan!!

Here I am sitting in Tokyo, one of richest cities of the world. The place where people study, work, and spend like crazy. That is right....one can spend a few thousand dolars in just minutes and not know where they went. Here is a small budget for the arrival to Tokyo on a morning to Narita Airport. Firtst, you get there and spend $10 dollars for a train ticket from the airport to anywhere in Tokyo...then another $10 dollars for a small breakfast, then another $10 dollars to get to your hotel, then another $10 dollars for lunch, then $15 for dinner plus a beer. Now you are set to check into the hostel and that will cost you a good $60dollars just for the night so this comes to a whopping $115 dollars for a basic day. This is so basic that it hurts my brains that I have to do this for about 30 days. I really need to cut down on the spending or just stay home and not come out-that is impossible however. You always meet some traveler who invites you to go this place or that pace. Anyway..that is just the spending and that is not the hardest part about being in Japan. What I have found to be really difficult is the actual atmophere here in Japan. To begin with somethign simple, you cannot stare into peoples eyes because it is not common to do so. You barely see people smiling and never, ever, ever do you see people hugging or kissing at all. I find this somewhat depressing since I am more affectionate. I am not trying to say that my way is better all I am trying to express is my shock to it. I once again feel very foreing because the language barrier is quite big. I am lucky to have taken some Japanese lessons in high schoo, else I don`t know what I would have done.　Anyway, back to life style. I find the Japanese lifestyle very interesting. Contrary to Latin american culture where individuals go out to the streets to merely socialice, Japanese individuals seem to take off to the streets to escape the reality of the small world that surrounds them. i.e their samall appartmets. Staying at home may feel crowded and thus people go out to the large oppen spaces in the city or take off to the tall building where space is ample. Life here is both interesting and challenging, I have not completely been able to engage in a conversation with any japanese people and my learning here will be merely my interpretation of what I think they are doing. I will not be able to really ask why they do things, but even if I did speak the language, I am not sure they would want toanswer. Anyway....here it goes nothing I am really tired to write this and soon a couple of Indian friends will be comming to join me so I better stop the rumbble. I am sure the next entry will be a bit more complete. Now, all I can do is try to adjust to the system and try to go with it.