Differences

Ahhh I just saw that my blog was featured on http://www.afsblog.org !!
That's a bit nerve-wracking... But I'm glad.
I've been following a number of blogs by AFS students for a while, and at some point I started to notice what I like in a blog. So I was going to try to create a blog with traits that I looked for in a blog. Well, that has become challenging because I don't get much of a chance to add pictures and I usually don't have the chance to go online.
Oh, and I realize that of the pictures I've posted, most of them are of people and not so much of Japan. I'm sorry... I'll try to work on it.

I haven't mentioned this yet, but my name is Anastasia, and it's pronounced ah-nah-sta-see-ah (not anna-stay-sha). Since my name is kind of long, my host family calls me アナちゃん (Ana-chan; "-chan" is less formal than "-san", and is usually used for girls).

Anyway, I'll try to focus more on some differences between Japan and the U.S.
They were much more apparent when I first arrived, but here are a few.
First of all, many of the toilets are different. Either they have more buttons than seems necessary or they don't look much like a toilet at all, because it's in the ground. Yes, I'm talking about washlets (with bidet things) and the traditional Japanese toilet, which you squat over. Also, please note that paper towels aren't very common, so it's useful to carry around tissues or a little towel.
Trash cans can be hard to find as well, by the way.

Then there are cars. In Japan you drive on the left, which is opposite from the U.S. Even though it is forbidden for AFS students to drive, I've had trouble getting used to the cars driving on the left. It seems fairly confusing to me, and I can't help but wonder how the drivers know where to turn or where to go. Also, streets tend to be very narrow in some places (like residential areas, from what I've seen).
The cars themselves can appear different too. Many (or most) of them have a different kind of design, or style, or something. I guess the best way to explain it is to say that they are more square and compact. I didn't know that cars could look different in such a way.

Another thing is laundry. Since it's summer it seems like everyone hangs their laundry outside to dry. If you go by large apartment buildings you can really see a lot of laundry drying out on the balconies. Therefore there are all kinds of plastic hangers and clips to fasten the laundry with.

Well, that's all I can come up with for now. I hope that was mildly interesting.
(I've been planning on making a whole entry on food, so I may get to that next week)

おやすみなさい