My Tiny Universe

It is really nice having my own place for the first time in my life. My 'apaato' is quite small, but very comfortable for one person. I am very happy with My Tiny Universe, everything is clean and everything works, not like in Turkey where we often took cold showers or ran out of water!

Please allow me to give you the grand tour of the facilities.

When you first enter, you take off your shoes (much like in Turkey) at the entrance before stepping in. This is so that you don't drag dirt and crap into your place and onto your tatami mats. Unfortunately, I have no tatami, which actually makes cleaning a lot easier! Anyways, you will see at your immediate right is my tiny kitchen. It has a tiny fridge, a tiny counter top, and a tiny one-burner flame.



Directly opposite the kitchen is the bathroom. It has one toilet, one tiny sink, and a small bath tub. If you look closely you will see the sink and the bath share the same plumbing - you simply turn a plastic knob to change the water from the sink to the shower!



This is my sparse living room. It has penguins on the curtains (not my choice, my boss gave them to me!), a big sliding glass door to a small balcony to hang laundry, and a 'kotatsu' or hot table. You will notice that in Japan, as in Turkey, you sit on the floor either on a carpet or a mat or cushion, and the table is low to the ground. It must be making my back stronger, getting up and down from the ground over and over again. Also you will notice my beautiful, wonderful, brilliant Macbook.



And finally, my bedroom is a loft up a small ladder. It is nice sleeping up there, and in the winter it is a lot warmer up there than downstairs. But it makes answering the phone a bitch, because I have to scramble down the ladder to get the phone which is downstairs!



I sleep on a futon, which is pretty much a number of small, flat mattresses piled on top of each other, on the floor. When I first started sleeping on a futon - as opposed to my massive cushy double bed that I had at home in Trinidad - I woke up every day with neck and back pain. But now, it is extremely comfortable, and I sleep like a baby.

So, that's about it! The grand tour is now finished. If anyone is planning to come visit me, don't worry, it may look small but there is always room for a friend!