Having had the privilege of staying in Japan an extra two weeks, I was sure going into the trip that I was going to have one of the greatest experiences of my life. Everything about Japan was exactly the way I had imagined it, everything was large, electronic everything, cute little girls laughing in the highest pitched voices imaginable, horrible engrish everywhere, the fascination with Americans and lastly the prices. I knew Japan was expensive, but wow, it was expensive. I remember paying 6 dollars for a meal at McDonalds, that was when I realized in order to survive in Japan, you need to learn to love bread, and I did. I fell in love with Melon Pan. The two weeks after most people returned home, I stayed with Fumi, an exchange student from 2003. I stayed with her father in an apartment which costs 3000 dollars a month. Living this lifestyle of the rich in Japan was really astonishing. I remember waking up at four in the morning and walking into the living room area and there sat her father, her fathers friend and a prostitute. They were all eating ramen and speaking in Yakuza. While living in this house I picked up a new dialect of Japanese, the Yakuza dialect. The best thing about Japan was easily the friendliness of everyone. No matter where you were, someone would stop what they were doing to help you. They would walk you to where you wanted to go. Everyone was friendly beyond means and everyone's attempted English was hilarious. All three of the families I stayed with during the initial two weeks were some of the nicest people I have ever met. I plan on visiting all three when I go back to Japan this summer.