What's Under Your Oven

       So, I was cleaning the house this week - partially because I was having guests over and partially because I had essay deadlines which I was avoiding - and now I am really looking forward to having a tiny Japanese apartment. There will be so much less space to clean.

       There are so many things that I have heard about Japanese apartments and it will be interesting to see how my future apartment compares to the rumors. Apparently a standard Japanese apartment can be as small as 200-400 sq. feet (except not measured in feet) and the furnishings not included in a"fully furnished" apartment are: a bed frame, dryer, microwave full sized oven, dishwasher, couch, or chairs... but aparently you don't need those things...?

       Returning to the idea of cleaning the house, I was reminded that you never know what a day will bring. No matter what odd things happen to me in Japan it will be good to remember that odd things happened to me in America too! For example, while cleaning under the oven I met Steven, a mummified snake. I was so surprised when I found him that I just stood there panic-breathing and staring for 10 seconds. It's not that I am afraid of snakes, it's just that a snake was not exactly what I expected to pull out from under the oven with all of my cookie crumblies.

And he looks almost as surprised as I felt. 

        Something else that I learned this week is that the Japanese hold spring cleaning just before new years so that they can truly make a fresh start. It is called 大掃除 (pronounced o-souji), which literally means big 大 cleaning 掃除.