That's all for now... But its Golden Week, which is a week long holiday. So there will be a big update of my escapades during this week sometime next week... lol
Friday, April 30, 2010
Picture Time!!! - Part 4
So since all I have been doing really is going to school... I don't have much of anything to say. Here are a few pictures of random adventures after class and what not.
No one has class on wednesday afternoons, so one week we went to asakusa, and pretended to be tourists!
This is my main group of friends at DKH and Sophia... (from left to right: Kerry, Meghann, Mary, Yong). They are kind of amazing.
This is me waiting for a friend at Hachiko. Its a very iconic spot in a very busy location. Here is the story of hachiko, incase you aren't familer.
Samantha Thavasa is a popular Japanese brand... so my name is everywhere!
Lions pride all the way in Japan!!!
Apparently I had to go all the way to Japan to have more than one black friend in a group at once... This is me with my son and law and long lost sister. Also, I may be really short with them... but in Japan, I am average height!
That's all for now... But its Golden Week, which is a week long holiday. So there will be a big update of my escapades during this week sometime next week... lol
That's all for now... But its Golden Week, which is a week long holiday. So there will be a big update of my escapades during this week sometime next week... lol
Friday, April 23, 2010
Culture Shock
So here is a list of things that I have learned/experienced/struggled with since coming to Japan that is just so completely different from anything that I have ever known...
Shoes
Firstly, shoes. You don't wear them indoors... Now I am used to coming home and taking my shoes off as soon as I get in, or doing the same when I go to a friends house or some such. But here there is a certain area just inside the door where you remove your shoes and then actually step up into the home. DKH has a bunch of little compartments for us to keep our shoes, and it reeks of feet. I still get tripped up sometimes and grab my shoes and put them on before going over to the designated shoe area. Then its like this awkward stuck in place thing, when I take my shoes off and walk 8ft just to put them back on on a different part of the floor. But everyone isn't walking around barefoot, we all just have house shoes. Its a cultural must. And those can never go outside. AND you have to wear shoes in the bathroom, your house shoes are okay though. And this isn't just in the home, schools (not college) and even some restaurants do it too! And while I am talking about shoes... Japanese women wear heels all day, all the time. Jeans and a t-shirt and heels. A business suit and heels. Long dress and heels. How are their feet not dying?!
Choir
I joined the african american gospel choir at Sophia called the SAfro FAmily (SAFA). I absolutely love it! They are really good, and its great to be singing again. But it is SO weird seeing all these Japanese people singing and dancing and trying to act black. Surrealism aside though, they are super legit. Another strange thing is how they pronounce the words. They try so hard... but if you listen closely, its just not right. Jeeze does not equal Jesus, and you can't just live the final t and d off of words... lol.
Suicide
A tragedy anywhere else is just an annoying inconvenience here. The train that I take had someone jump in front of it earlier this week (an almost daily occurrence on some line or another in Tokyo), and the line was backed up from the platform, up the stairs, past the ticket gates. It was insane. When I finally got on to a train, I was squeezed in so unbelievably tight that I literally couldn't breath properly, and my arm was pressed up to a pole in such a way that I was sure it was gonna break if I got jolted in the wrong direction. Suicide is almost... blase here. Back in the day, Samurai would perform ritual suicide to avoid disgrace. Now office workers just turn into emotionless drones, and some can't take it. But remember to take your shoes off first, its the polite thing to do...
Bathrooms
No paper towel, no towels, no nothing to dry your hands. Its just not economically efficient. If you are lucky you have an automated air blower. Speaking of automated, automated toilets are amazing! Warmed seats... A in-toilet bide (sp?) that you can adjust the temp, placement, and strength of the water, and (my favorite thing) a sound system that fakes a flushing sound while you are going to the bathroom so as to avoid any embarrassment. You either get all that... or a porcelain hole in the ground that you squat over, and it flushes sideways... I actually like those ones too, super easy and hygienic!
Customer Service
Everyone is super nice to you in the stores! They run to go get things for you. Everyone greets you as you walk into a shop, well... that part is actually really annoying. They go out of their way to please you, and its all just because they can! They aren't working for tips or commission, these things don't exist. Its simply because they should since its their job. Brilliant!
Personal Space
Doesn't exist in Japan. You cannot be the salmon swimming upstream unless you have a serious sense of determination. You go with the flow, packed in with the rest all the time. Hold tight to your bag, not cuz someone might pick pocket you, but because it might get pulled off of your arm and lost in the crowd. However, if you happen to be in a place with plenty of space, do NOT stand closely to someone else... If you don't like crowds and/or are claustrophobic, NEVER go to Tokyo... end of story.
Religion
There is a weird mix of Buddhism and Shinto (the ancient Japanese religion) here. Often a Buddhist temple can be found right next to a Shinto shrine. I honestly can't tell the difference between the two most of the time. But there are a few factors that help. Basic cultural things pertaining to the temples and shrines exist in daily culture... and yet no one apparently really claims to belong to a religion... Its a weird concept from the western perspective, but the melding of religions is completely normal here. Born buddhist, marry christian, and die Shinto...
Trash
Japan is a series of four relatively small islands. And its already overpopulated... They don't really have a space for landfills. So trash here separated diligently. There are like... 8 different trashcans outside DKH that we are supposed to put our trash into. The main ones are plastic bottles (pet), anything else plastic, and everything burnable. Trash cans in public places (few and far between in existence) have these three distinctions... it was annoying at first. But now I've really gotten the hang of it, and its pretty handy!
Basically, I am starting to miss the little things from America that I always took for granted... I ordered dominos pizza for dinner last night and got the american special (pepperoni). It was amazing. Now I'm off to the international market to buy some hot sauce and mexican food, lol.
Ja! Matta, ne!
Shoes
Firstly, shoes. You don't wear them indoors... Now I am used to coming home and taking my shoes off as soon as I get in, or doing the same when I go to a friends house or some such. But here there is a certain area just inside the door where you remove your shoes and then actually step up into the home. DKH has a bunch of little compartments for us to keep our shoes, and it reeks of feet. I still get tripped up sometimes and grab my shoes and put them on before going over to the designated shoe area. Then its like this awkward stuck in place thing, when I take my shoes off and walk 8ft just to put them back on on a different part of the floor. But everyone isn't walking around barefoot, we all just have house shoes. Its a cultural must. And those can never go outside. AND you have to wear shoes in the bathroom, your house shoes are okay though. And this isn't just in the home, schools (not college) and even some restaurants do it too! And while I am talking about shoes... Japanese women wear heels all day, all the time. Jeans and a t-shirt and heels. A business suit and heels. Long dress and heels. How are their feet not dying?!
Choir
I joined the african american gospel choir at Sophia called the SAfro FAmily (SAFA). I absolutely love it! They are really good, and its great to be singing again. But it is SO weird seeing all these Japanese people singing and dancing and trying to act black. Surrealism aside though, they are super legit. Another strange thing is how they pronounce the words. They try so hard... but if you listen closely, its just not right. Jeeze does not equal Jesus, and you can't just live the final t and d off of words... lol.
Suicide
A tragedy anywhere else is just an annoying inconvenience here. The train that I take had someone jump in front of it earlier this week (an almost daily occurrence on some line or another in Tokyo), and the line was backed up from the platform, up the stairs, past the ticket gates. It was insane. When I finally got on to a train, I was squeezed in so unbelievably tight that I literally couldn't breath properly, and my arm was pressed up to a pole in such a way that I was sure it was gonna break if I got jolted in the wrong direction. Suicide is almost... blase here. Back in the day, Samurai would perform ritual suicide to avoid disgrace. Now office workers just turn into emotionless drones, and some can't take it. But remember to take your shoes off first, its the polite thing to do...
Bathrooms
No paper towel, no towels, no nothing to dry your hands. Its just not economically efficient. If you are lucky you have an automated air blower. Speaking of automated, automated toilets are amazing! Warmed seats... A in-toilet bide (sp?) that you can adjust the temp, placement, and strength of the water, and (my favorite thing) a sound system that fakes a flushing sound while you are going to the bathroom so as to avoid any embarrassment. You either get all that... or a porcelain hole in the ground that you squat over, and it flushes sideways... I actually like those ones too, super easy and hygienic!
Customer Service
Everyone is super nice to you in the stores! They run to go get things for you. Everyone greets you as you walk into a shop, well... that part is actually really annoying. They go out of their way to please you, and its all just because they can! They aren't working for tips or commission, these things don't exist. Its simply because they should since its their job. Brilliant!
Personal Space
Doesn't exist in Japan. You cannot be the salmon swimming upstream unless you have a serious sense of determination. You go with the flow, packed in with the rest all the time. Hold tight to your bag, not cuz someone might pick pocket you, but because it might get pulled off of your arm and lost in the crowd. However, if you happen to be in a place with plenty of space, do NOT stand closely to someone else... If you don't like crowds and/or are claustrophobic, NEVER go to Tokyo... end of story.
Religion
There is a weird mix of Buddhism and Shinto (the ancient Japanese religion) here. Often a Buddhist temple can be found right next to a Shinto shrine. I honestly can't tell the difference between the two most of the time. But there are a few factors that help. Basic cultural things pertaining to the temples and shrines exist in daily culture... and yet no one apparently really claims to belong to a religion... Its a weird concept from the western perspective, but the melding of religions is completely normal here. Born buddhist, marry christian, and die Shinto...
Trash
Japan is a series of four relatively small islands. And its already overpopulated... They don't really have a space for landfills. So trash here separated diligently. There are like... 8 different trashcans outside DKH that we are supposed to put our trash into. The main ones are plastic bottles (pet), anything else plastic, and everything burnable. Trash cans in public places (few and far between in existence) have these three distinctions... it was annoying at first. But now I've really gotten the hang of it, and its pretty handy!
Basically, I am starting to miss the little things from America that I always took for granted... I ordered dominos pizza for dinner last night and got the american special (pepperoni). It was amazing. Now I'm off to the international market to buy some hot sauce and mexican food, lol.
Ja! Matta, ne!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
First Week of School
My class schedule is awesome.
Monday and Thursday I have:
Japanese M1 (wayyyyy too slow/easy)
Christianity and Japanese Culture (very interesting!)
Lunch
Modern Japanese Fiction (fiction about post-war Japan, WWII from the Japanese perspective)
Indian Thought and Culture (best class ever)
I start at 9:15 and end at 4:45.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday I only have Japanese... then I am free for the rest of the day! Its kinda awesome, and I am really happy with it. The only class I have an issue with is Japanese, but it could be worse.
Sophia University is small but mighty. Its one of the top five universities in Japan. I am in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, which means its full of exchange students from around the world, and the classes are taught in English. Not that many Japanese students take these classes (unless they are REALLY good with English). So to meet more nihon jin (Japanese people) I have joined two clubs!
One is a social club that meets at lunch every Friday. Lunch was a bit awkward, but we all went out to dinner that night and then for coffee. That was a lot of fun. There was definitely a language barrier, but we all did what we could to get our points across. There was a lot of mixing of languages. Despite all that however, we had really interesting and culturally profound discussions and really got to know one another.
I am also planning on joining the Gospel Choir at Sophia. They seem to be pretty hard-core, so I am really looking forward to getting back into singing. I have really missed it this past year and a half or so since I quit...
Other than that, not much going on this week. But I am enjoying getting to know my new friends and finding my routine here at school. Life is good...
... except for the trains. Words cannot express the sardine hell that I go through every morning during my hour to hour and a half long commute during rush hour every morning. I've tried to take pictures but it doesn't quite work... Below are a few links to youTube videos that might get the point across. I literally have to deal with this every morning and sometimes in the evening (but only right before last train, and I don't stay out late enough for that on school nights). Make sure you watch the videos to the end, see just how PACKED they really get!
this is the train line that I take from my home station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCbdD8aGHRg&feature=related
this is the 2nd (out of three) train that I take during my commute to school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_qgpfmx0a4
this is the last train that I take to get to my school station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A9-oUoMug
Thats all for now! ja! Matta!
Monday and Thursday I have:
Japanese M1 (wayyyyy too slow/easy)
Christianity and Japanese Culture (very interesting!)
Lunch
Modern Japanese Fiction (fiction about post-war Japan, WWII from the Japanese perspective)
Indian Thought and Culture (best class ever)
I start at 9:15 and end at 4:45.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday I only have Japanese... then I am free for the rest of the day! Its kinda awesome, and I am really happy with it. The only class I have an issue with is Japanese, but it could be worse.
Sophia University is small but mighty. Its one of the top five universities in Japan. I am in the Faculty of Liberal Arts, which means its full of exchange students from around the world, and the classes are taught in English. Not that many Japanese students take these classes (unless they are REALLY good with English). So to meet more nihon jin (Japanese people) I have joined two clubs!
One is a social club that meets at lunch every Friday. Lunch was a bit awkward, but we all went out to dinner that night and then for coffee. That was a lot of fun. There was definitely a language barrier, but we all did what we could to get our points across. There was a lot of mixing of languages. Despite all that however, we had really interesting and culturally profound discussions and really got to know one another.
I am also planning on joining the Gospel Choir at Sophia. They seem to be pretty hard-core, so I am really looking forward to getting back into singing. I have really missed it this past year and a half or so since I quit...
Other than that, not much going on this week. But I am enjoying getting to know my new friends and finding my routine here at school. Life is good...
... except for the trains. Words cannot express the sardine hell that I go through every morning during my hour to hour and a half long commute during rush hour every morning. I've tried to take pictures but it doesn't quite work... Below are a few links to youTube videos that might get the point across. I literally have to deal with this every morning and sometimes in the evening (but only right before last train, and I don't stay out late enough for that on school nights). Make sure you watch the videos to the end, see just how PACKED they really get!
this is the train line that I take from my home station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCbdD8aGHRg&feature=related
this is the 2nd (out of three) train that I take during my commute to school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_qgpfmx0a4
this is the last train that I take to get to my school station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A9-oUoMug
Thats all for now! ja! Matta!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Picture Time!!! - Part 3
Yesterday I gave it my all. A Last hurrah before classes start tomorrow. So I left DKH around 1pm and went to a hanami in shinjuku. It was really fun, I met a lot of new and interesting people! After that we (the girls: Kerry, Mary, and Meghann) just kinda hung around in shinjuku a while waiting for Yong, Bryce, and Kat. When that gang got there, the girls left and I went out with Yong and co. We got dinner then went for nomi hodai (which is basically an all you can drink bar). That was super fun! Then we hit the club. Danced all night in a REALLY crowded club. It was a fun mix of Japanese and foreigners. The music was a little out dated, but they tried. Once Kat and I's feet were killing us from dancing in heels for three hours we left the club and wandered around the nichome district for a while just taking in the sites and laughing at drunk people. We ate at a little diner, and then took the first train home. That was at 5:03. When we finally got back to our train station, the sun was up, and people were out walking their dogs. That was strange. Also, my bed never felt so comfortable...
And now for some pictures!
Went to Harajuku like 4 times in an attempt to get our phones. Here is the train station. I have no idea why it looks like it belongs in europe...
A popular landmark store in harajuku is Condomania...
Ramen in japan is REAL and DELICIOUS
One day we wandered around town and found Square Enix, the place where the Final Fantasy games are made (or a least their showcase store)
I went out to dinner on Friday night with Asuka and her family. They took me for tempura, my fav!
^^^ Tempura Ice Cream
I found grass at a hanami!!!!
All the coolest people are hanami wear sunglasses
Thats all for now! matta ne!
And now for some pictures!
Went to Harajuku like 4 times in an attempt to get our phones. Here is the train station. I have no idea why it looks like it belongs in europe...
A popular landmark store in harajuku is Condomania...
Ramen in japan is REAL and DELICIOUS
One day we wandered around town and found Square Enix, the place where the Final Fantasy games are made (or a least their showcase store)
I went out to dinner on Friday night with Asuka and her family. They took me for tempura, my fav!
I found grass at a hanami!!!!
All the coolest people are hanami wear sunglasses
Thats all for now! matta ne!
Friday, April 9, 2010
VBlog of my week...
Vblog - Part 1
I will eventually figure out how to embed these into my blog... but for not that link will take you to youtube!
How to contact me
cell number: 080-3570-8154
cell e-mail: ChillinVillin502@softbank.ne.jp
Address:
DK House Warabi
2-32-5 Room 236
Minami cho
warabi shi
saitama ken
335-0003
Japan
I will eventually figure out how to embed these into my blog... but for not that link will take you to youtube!
How to contact me
cell number: 080-3570-8154
cell e-mail: ChillinVillin502@softbank.ne.jp
Address:
DK House Warabi
2-32-5 Room 236
Minami cho
warabi shi
saitama ken
335-0003
Japan
Just The Facts
- I miss grass...
- Japan is a money sucking black hole...
- Sakura trees are everywhere and they blow heavily in the wind just like in anime
- Japanese cars in Japan look a lot different than Japanese cars in America
- My listening comprehension and speaking abilities are a lot worse than I thought they were
- Being in Japan is really helping me speak better Japanese (duh)
- Being in Japan is really helping me loose weight
- none of the sites I normally watch TV on work outside of the states (no lost, glee, modern family, or drag race)
- The Japanese are the kindest people I have ever met
- I like not having to pay sales tax or having to leave a tip
- Japan's universal health care does not include braces, so many Japanese people have messed up teeth
- One Piece (of all things) is currently the popular anime in Japan. Go figure...
- Japanese phones have infrared capabilities which allow them to exchange phone book info with one another instantly and painlessly
- with the exception of disposing of trash, Japan is the essence of convenience
- the Japanese diligently sort their trash, and recycle EVERYTHING
- this place is a strange mix of ancient Japanese culture, super modern technology and eclectic foreign (western) cultures all rolled together.
- Public transportation this good is amazing
- Rush hour on the trains is not fun any more
- Old Japanese women are the most hard core people ever
- all Japanese women are pretty and young looking until they hit a certain age and become the tiny and wrinkled hardcore women
- everything is sensory overload
- everything is adorable
- pointing and gesturing can get a lot more of your point across than I originally thought
- not eating fish is easier here than I though it would be
- I feel the urge to drive... that's not going to be for a while
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Picture Time!!! - Part 2
Noel with Asuka and me with Yulia at our mini hanami. Plus the tako yaki we ate (octopus balls!)
Enjoying some Ramen at the station... the REAL ramen, not top ramen that you add boiling water to...
The gang from my 21st birthday party...
Me with my first legally bought drink and my birthday cake (read: donut)
The bar we went to, called the HUB
There isn't a taiko team at Sophia... so I have to settle for this:
And finally I tried to capture what rush hour is like on the trains here... but the fact that I was able to get my camera out and my arm up to take pictures shows that it wasn't even that crowded...
yeah... now that I look at these, not crowded at all... I'll try again later...
that's all for now! bye!
Enjoying some Ramen at the station... the REAL ramen, not top ramen that you add boiling water to...
The gang from my 21st birthday party...
Me with my first legally bought drink and my birthday cake (read: donut)
The bar we went to, called the HUB
There isn't a taiko team at Sophia... so I have to settle for this:
And finally I tried to capture what rush hour is like on the trains here... but the fact that I was able to get my camera out and my arm up to take pictures shows that it wasn't even that crowded...
yeah... now that I look at these, not crowded at all... I'll try again later...
that's all for now! bye!
Monday, April 5, 2010
My Birthday Weekend
Oh where to begin...
Saturday morning I was up early for my housing orientation. The Manager Billy Ross and his wife went over our contracts, alien registration, and house rules. This house has a LOT of rules. Most of which are simple, common courtesy, no brainers. The most annoying one is no visitors after 7pm. I mean, what IS that? SMH. But Billy (a Scottish guy with an amazing accent) and his wife (a cute Japanese woman) are really cool, they are super helpful and really nice. Living here is not going to be half bad...
I finally unpacked and got settled in after that. Then I went to Don Quixote with Yong and Bryce. I posted a picture of it last update... Its wal-mart on crack (a term coined by me, and picked up by the rest of the DK House people). Picture wal-mart. Now make it a quarter of the size, but put all electronics and clothes on the 3rd floor, food and groceries and the like on the 2nd floor, and everything else on the first. Got it? Okay now cut the size in half and squish everything together. Now you have Don Quixote! The Japanese a SUPER space efficient. It comes with have half the population of the US in a country roughly the size of California...
After that we came back to the DK House for the hanami, or flower festival. Sakura, or cherry blossom trees are extremely popular in Japan (they have their own holiday) and are beautiful. The last post is full of them in bloom. The light pink flowers covering the trees. This past weekend was the sakura festival. So everyone picnics under sakura trees. That's what those pictures are from the last post.
After the DK House (DKM from now on) hanami, Yong, Bryce, and I traveled over to yotsuya (where my school is) to meet up with Kaitrin. Then the four of us traveled to Roppongi. Roppongi is infamous for being the crazy night life area of Japan for tourists. Its supposed to be a tourist trap where they take your money and sell you drugs. But we were going to a school sponsored event (the school that Kaitrin attended when she was here last summer) and didn't go anywhere else. It was a fashion show/concert type deal with a bar and a live DJ. It was a lot of fun! First night out in Japan, check!
Sunday I had a lazy morning. Then I grabbed my neighbor Garlim for lunch. We made a quick grocery run, then tried out the communal kitchen for the first time. That was a lot of fun, and I made something pretty delicious. I really enjoy cooking for myself, and I am going to have to be careful not to spend too much money on cooking things that I will end up wasting when my time here is done...
Sunday afternoon I met up with Asuka for anther hanami. We met up with a friend of hers Noel and my DKH mate Yulia (from russia) and went to oedo park for a picnic. It was really fun and pretty. Everyone around us was drunk, so that was entertaining. But it got really cold after a while and we decided to leave.
Then came Monday (my birthday!). I got up really early (read: 8am) to go to city hall with a group of friends to get our alien registration. Its a legal document that we have to get to stay her legally longer then 90 days. I also need it to get my cell phone and bank account. So... hella important. We head out in the cold and rain armed with nothing but a map. And not that good of a map either. We were headed in generally the correct direction when we come to another group from DKH headed in the opposite... awk-ward. my group of five tried to tell thier group of 6 that they were headed in the wrong direction, but they were trying to convince us of the same thing, haha. So we decided to ask for help. Five people went across the street to ask the pizza delivery guys for directions. While the other half (my half) huddled under umbrellas and tried to figure it out for ourselves.
This is when random Japanese man (RJM) came to save the day. He pulls over and approaches me point and the map and saying what I could make out to mean (I can take you to the train station). I told him that we didn't want to go to the station and pointed to the city hall on the map saying that we want to go there. He does a head count and says that he will take us. Stunned, we motion to the other half of our group and tell him that there are 11 of us in total. He doesn't skip a beat, since he had a mini van he would just take us in two groups and all would be well. We cross the street and RJM tells the delivery boys that he's got it. I explain to the rest of the group that RJM wants to take us to city hall and asks if everyone is comfortable with that.
Disclaimer to my mom and aunties who I know are probably freaking out right now. First of all, Japan is an extremely polite and safe country. Secondly, we are in the suburbs, not in the city. Third, we were in a large group, half of which was male. Fourth, it was cold and raining and we were lost!
Everyone agreed, some a bit hesitantly, but we needed to stay together as a group. So my original group got in the van and were taken to the city hall. RJM went back for the others and brought them too. (Side note: my group was the one headed in the correct direction). The poor guy who had to file our paperwork was so overwhelmed. He had a basic understanding of English, to our basic Japanese, and was being flooded with people. There were groups going all day, ours was just the first. He did very well though, and got to practice his English! Once all that was said and done, my group left and walked back in decidedly less rainy conditions. We got back pretty easily, only asking for directions once.
As soon as we got back to DK House we left for the train station to meet up with Asuka. She took us to go get our commuter passes, so that we can stop wasting money on train tickets. We also tried to get cell phones, but couldnt find a place, and Asuka had to go. So then I went to Sophia (my school) while everyone else went back to DKH and Asuka went... wherever she had to go. At Sophia I met up with Yulia and we went to go ask about getting bank accounts for our scholarship and getting part-time jobs. Then we tried to go to the bank, but of course it closed 20min before we got there.
Once back at school I got ready to go out and met up with Kat, Mary, Karey, and Megann, and we went out to shinjuku for my birthday. There we met up with Kaitrin and her friend, Chris. Apparently Yong and Bryce also came, but we were unable to find them. Shinjuku station is like a city under the city. It spans several blocks, has many restaurants and department stores, and vendors, and even a grocery store in it. It was insane! And pretty darn awesome. We finally found our way out and wandered into a random restaurant where we had dinner. That is where I ordered and drank my first legal drink! Technically the legal drinking age in Japan is 20. But I decided to hold out for the five days on principle. Your 21st birthday is supposed to be special!
After dinner I wanted to get cake. We couldn't find a cake place. Ice cream at baskin robbins was too expensive (and American) so we went to Mister Donut ( a popular Japanese donut shop). I got a chocolate donut that kinda looked like a cake. They all sang to me and we ate donuts! Then we went to a bar. It was British/Irish pub. I liked it because I knew what the drinks where and could order my favorites. Three drinks later (totaling 4 with dinner). I was felling happy (but not drunk, I promised my mom) and my wallet was feeling empty, so we headed home. Evening rush hour in japan isnt at 5 when work lets out, its at 11 when everyone is trying to catch the last trains home. When you are tipsy and hot, being shoved into a train is not fun. Finally getting to our home station we took the main rode back to DKH.
When I go there I wasn't feeling tired and I had a note from Yong saying "sorry I missed you!" so I went down to his room and we hung out till the wee hours of the morning. Now here I am after a good nights rest.
The plan for today is to finally get my phone and my bank account, then all I have to worry about is registering for classes at Sophia, and at LMU and possibly getting a part time job and doing all the immigration paperwork that comes with that... sigh.
ja, matta! (later!)
~Sam
Saturday morning I was up early for my housing orientation. The Manager Billy Ross and his wife went over our contracts, alien registration, and house rules. This house has a LOT of rules. Most of which are simple, common courtesy, no brainers. The most annoying one is no visitors after 7pm. I mean, what IS that? SMH. But Billy (a Scottish guy with an amazing accent) and his wife (a cute Japanese woman) are really cool, they are super helpful and really nice. Living here is not going to be half bad...
I finally unpacked and got settled in after that. Then I went to Don Quixote with Yong and Bryce. I posted a picture of it last update... Its wal-mart on crack (a term coined by me, and picked up by the rest of the DK House people). Picture wal-mart. Now make it a quarter of the size, but put all electronics and clothes on the 3rd floor, food and groceries and the like on the 2nd floor, and everything else on the first. Got it? Okay now cut the size in half and squish everything together. Now you have Don Quixote! The Japanese a SUPER space efficient. It comes with have half the population of the US in a country roughly the size of California...
After that we came back to the DK House for the hanami, or flower festival. Sakura, or cherry blossom trees are extremely popular in Japan (they have their own holiday) and are beautiful. The last post is full of them in bloom. The light pink flowers covering the trees. This past weekend was the sakura festival. So everyone picnics under sakura trees. That's what those pictures are from the last post.
After the DK House (DKM from now on) hanami, Yong, Bryce, and I traveled over to yotsuya (where my school is) to meet up with Kaitrin. Then the four of us traveled to Roppongi. Roppongi is infamous for being the crazy night life area of Japan for tourists. Its supposed to be a tourist trap where they take your money and sell you drugs. But we were going to a school sponsored event (the school that Kaitrin attended when she was here last summer) and didn't go anywhere else. It was a fashion show/concert type deal with a bar and a live DJ. It was a lot of fun! First night out in Japan, check!
Sunday I had a lazy morning. Then I grabbed my neighbor Garlim for lunch. We made a quick grocery run, then tried out the communal kitchen for the first time. That was a lot of fun, and I made something pretty delicious. I really enjoy cooking for myself, and I am going to have to be careful not to spend too much money on cooking things that I will end up wasting when my time here is done...
Sunday afternoon I met up with Asuka for anther hanami. We met up with a friend of hers Noel and my DKH mate Yulia (from russia) and went to oedo park for a picnic. It was really fun and pretty. Everyone around us was drunk, so that was entertaining. But it got really cold after a while and we decided to leave.
Then came Monday (my birthday!). I got up really early (read: 8am) to go to city hall with a group of friends to get our alien registration. Its a legal document that we have to get to stay her legally longer then 90 days. I also need it to get my cell phone and bank account. So... hella important. We head out in the cold and rain armed with nothing but a map. And not that good of a map either. We were headed in generally the correct direction when we come to another group from DKH headed in the opposite... awk-ward. my group of five tried to tell thier group of 6 that they were headed in the wrong direction, but they were trying to convince us of the same thing, haha. So we decided to ask for help. Five people went across the street to ask the pizza delivery guys for directions. While the other half (my half) huddled under umbrellas and tried to figure it out for ourselves.
This is when random Japanese man (RJM) came to save the day. He pulls over and approaches me point and the map and saying what I could make out to mean (I can take you to the train station). I told him that we didn't want to go to the station and pointed to the city hall on the map saying that we want to go there. He does a head count and says that he will take us. Stunned, we motion to the other half of our group and tell him that there are 11 of us in total. He doesn't skip a beat, since he had a mini van he would just take us in two groups and all would be well. We cross the street and RJM tells the delivery boys that he's got it. I explain to the rest of the group that RJM wants to take us to city hall and asks if everyone is comfortable with that.
Disclaimer to my mom and aunties who I know are probably freaking out right now. First of all, Japan is an extremely polite and safe country. Secondly, we are in the suburbs, not in the city. Third, we were in a large group, half of which was male. Fourth, it was cold and raining and we were lost!
Everyone agreed, some a bit hesitantly, but we needed to stay together as a group. So my original group got in the van and were taken to the city hall. RJM went back for the others and brought them too. (Side note: my group was the one headed in the correct direction). The poor guy who had to file our paperwork was so overwhelmed. He had a basic understanding of English, to our basic Japanese, and was being flooded with people. There were groups going all day, ours was just the first. He did very well though, and got to practice his English! Once all that was said and done, my group left and walked back in decidedly less rainy conditions. We got back pretty easily, only asking for directions once.
As soon as we got back to DK House we left for the train station to meet up with Asuka. She took us to go get our commuter passes, so that we can stop wasting money on train tickets. We also tried to get cell phones, but couldnt find a place, and Asuka had to go. So then I went to Sophia (my school) while everyone else went back to DKH and Asuka went... wherever she had to go. At Sophia I met up with Yulia and we went to go ask about getting bank accounts for our scholarship and getting part-time jobs. Then we tried to go to the bank, but of course it closed 20min before we got there.
Once back at school I got ready to go out and met up with Kat, Mary, Karey, and Megann, and we went out to shinjuku for my birthday. There we met up with Kaitrin and her friend, Chris. Apparently Yong and Bryce also came, but we were unable to find them. Shinjuku station is like a city under the city. It spans several blocks, has many restaurants and department stores, and vendors, and even a grocery store in it. It was insane! And pretty darn awesome. We finally found our way out and wandered into a random restaurant where we had dinner. That is where I ordered and drank my first legal drink! Technically the legal drinking age in Japan is 20. But I decided to hold out for the five days on principle. Your 21st birthday is supposed to be special!
After dinner I wanted to get cake. We couldn't find a cake place. Ice cream at baskin robbins was too expensive (and American) so we went to Mister Donut ( a popular Japanese donut shop). I got a chocolate donut that kinda looked like a cake. They all sang to me and we ate donuts! Then we went to a bar. It was British/Irish pub. I liked it because I knew what the drinks where and could order my favorites. Three drinks later (totaling 4 with dinner). I was felling happy (but not drunk, I promised my mom) and my wallet was feeling empty, so we headed home. Evening rush hour in japan isnt at 5 when work lets out, its at 11 when everyone is trying to catch the last trains home. When you are tipsy and hot, being shoved into a train is not fun. Finally getting to our home station we took the main rode back to DKH.
When I go there I wasn't feeling tired and I had a note from Yong saying "sorry I missed you!" so I went down to his room and we hung out till the wee hours of the morning. Now here I am after a good nights rest.
The plan for today is to finally get my phone and my bank account, then all I have to worry about is registering for classes at Sophia, and at LMU and possibly getting a part time job and doing all the immigration paperwork that comes with that... sigh.
ja, matta! (later!)
~Sam
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Picture Time!!! - Part 1
So I didn't do anything particularly interesting, so I think its time for some pictures, yeah?
This is a picture of my school from the train station
This is me with Asuka, my ambassador and the first person I met in Japan!
Walking through my town you will see stuff like this:
Then I went to Don Quixote for some supplies... its like a wal-mart on crack
This weekend is hanami matsuri which is the festival of the cherry blossoms. There was a lot of picnicing and vendors, here are some pics:
And finally here is a back and front view of the DK House Warabi, my home in Japan!
More pictures will be up on facebook! After my birthday I will make a full post about my weekend.
~Sam
This is a picture of my school from the train station
This is me with Asuka, my ambassador and the first person I met in Japan!
Walking through my town you will see stuff like this:
Then I went to Don Quixote for some supplies... its like a wal-mart on crack
And finally here is a back and front view of the DK House Warabi, my home in Japan!
More pictures will be up on facebook! After my birthday I will make a full post about my weekend.
~Sam
Friday, April 2, 2010
OMG WTF
Orientation today!
That was no joke... They threw SO much information at us, in such a short period of time... my mind was reeling. I made a list... I have a plan of attack. I think i've got this? It basically means saying good bye to a lot of my money... sad days. On the plus side I got the JASSO scholarship! That means a monthly stipend. Thank GOD. But arranging to get the money is just another thing on my list...
So what I have been up to today... Rode the trains through rush hour. Not the worst part of it, but we were still being pushed into the trains and packed like sardines. If i could have gotten my camera out, I would have taken a picture to prove it... But words cannot express how tightly we really were packed in there. Wow... But the trip to my school was relatively painless, and now I know how to get there and back!
Orientation was crazy... like I said. Then I met up with my student mentor, Mami. She is a student at Sophia who is supposed to help out with any questions we may have. So me and a few other students had lunch and talked about all the things that we had to do. Yay for making friends!!!
After lunch was the Japanese Placement Exam. Omg, that was impossible! The kanji section (Chinese characters) was the first part and I guess for pretty much all of it. Then they had the grammar section, which I did relatively well on, and I got pretty far (the test got progressively harder until you gave up/ran out of time). Then a short composition about what I do on weekends, and I was outta there!
The entire day I was freezing my ass off because I didn't have a jacket (being as I threw up on mine the day before, and my bags were delivered while I was at school). So we tried to go find me a cafe. Instead we ended up hitting up the convenience store for copies of our passports and the computer lab to set up our school passwords and e-mail. Then we went to a welcome party for the exchange students. They had a shamisen and karate demonstration which were pretty cool. And some finger food. Otherwise, it was pretty lame. I got to see my ambassador, Asuka (I remember her name now!) again and we made arrangements to hang out on Sunday.
I then left with a group of people and we figured out our way back to Nishi-Kawaguchi (where my dorm is located). A new friend of mine, Young, and I grabbed some dinner and then hit up the dollar store on the way back. When I got there I was glad to see my bags waiting for me! Lugged those bad boys up the stairs then went to the grocery store with some friends. Got enough groceries to get me by for the next 3 weeks or so (hopefully) for roughly $25.
Then it was back to my room to prepare for a much needed shower. I awkwardly wandered around in my robe for a bit before I located it, but I got there! The showers aren't bad except for two things. 1) Its on the first floor on the opposite wing where my room is (on the 2nd floor). B) The water stays on for about 30sec and then you have to press the button again. I think the latter is the most annoying... that will take some getting used to.
Now I am all unpacked (save my clothes) and ready for sleep. I even figured out my heater! And by figured out I mean it was explained to me. Now I have to get a good nights rest so that I can go to the Dorm Orientation at 9am... lame.
Till next time! (I promise my updates won't be daily for ever, there is just so much new and interesting things going on right now!)
~Sam
That was no joke... They threw SO much information at us, in such a short period of time... my mind was reeling. I made a list... I have a plan of attack. I think i've got this? It basically means saying good bye to a lot of my money... sad days. On the plus side I got the JASSO scholarship! That means a monthly stipend. Thank GOD. But arranging to get the money is just another thing on my list...
So what I have been up to today... Rode the trains through rush hour. Not the worst part of it, but we were still being pushed into the trains and packed like sardines. If i could have gotten my camera out, I would have taken a picture to prove it... But words cannot express how tightly we really were packed in there. Wow... But the trip to my school was relatively painless, and now I know how to get there and back!
Orientation was crazy... like I said. Then I met up with my student mentor, Mami. She is a student at Sophia who is supposed to help out with any questions we may have. So me and a few other students had lunch and talked about all the things that we had to do. Yay for making friends!!!
After lunch was the Japanese Placement Exam. Omg, that was impossible! The kanji section (Chinese characters) was the first part and I guess for pretty much all of it. Then they had the grammar section, which I did relatively well on, and I got pretty far (the test got progressively harder until you gave up/ran out of time). Then a short composition about what I do on weekends, and I was outta there!
The entire day I was freezing my ass off because I didn't have a jacket (being as I threw up on mine the day before, and my bags were delivered while I was at school). So we tried to go find me a cafe. Instead we ended up hitting up the convenience store for copies of our passports and the computer lab to set up our school passwords and e-mail. Then we went to a welcome party for the exchange students. They had a shamisen and karate demonstration which were pretty cool. And some finger food. Otherwise, it was pretty lame. I got to see my ambassador, Asuka (I remember her name now!) again and we made arrangements to hang out on Sunday.
I then left with a group of people and we figured out our way back to Nishi-Kawaguchi (where my dorm is located). A new friend of mine, Young, and I grabbed some dinner and then hit up the dollar store on the way back. When I got there I was glad to see my bags waiting for me! Lugged those bad boys up the stairs then went to the grocery store with some friends. Got enough groceries to get me by for the next 3 weeks or so (hopefully) for roughly $25.
Then it was back to my room to prepare for a much needed shower. I awkwardly wandered around in my robe for a bit before I located it, but I got there! The showers aren't bad except for two things. 1) Its on the first floor on the opposite wing where my room is (on the 2nd floor). B) The water stays on for about 30sec and then you have to press the button again. I think the latter is the most annoying... that will take some getting used to.
Now I am all unpacked (save my clothes) and ready for sleep. I even figured out my heater! And by figured out I mean it was explained to me. Now I have to get a good nights rest so that I can go to the Dorm Orientation at 9am... lame.
Till next time! (I promise my updates won't be daily for ever, there is just so much new and interesting things going on right now!)
~Sam
Thursday, April 1, 2010
I'm finally here!
I woke up this morning (technically yesterday morning) around 7am. This is after a failed attempt at an all-nighter where we pathetically decided to sleep at 3am. I laid in bed, worrying about everything for about an hour and a half until Spencer's alarm went off. Quick shower and change of clothes later it was time to hit the road!
The airport was boring. Got there two hours early so as to not have to worry about long lines, etc. I guess Korean air is not like southwest... there were no lines anywhere. I pretty much walked right up to the baggage check counter, and then right through security. I've seen longer lines at KCI (the airport in KS)! I sat waiting at the gate for like... an hour and a half. With no food. I went to buy some, but of course I didn't have cash and the vendor was cash only... *face palm*
The plane itself was amazing. I was towards the very back, in the middle of the middle (kudos to you if that makes sense). I have to give mad props to Korean Air for being down right amazing and kudos to my mom for picking them. The seats were comfortable. The two meals were delicious, the help was impeccable, I could go on and on. I got on the plane and as soon as it took off I went to sleep. I woke up about 2-3 hours in (mad that I was only 2-3 hours in) to find that I had missed the first meal. So I called for it, ate, and went back to sleep. I woke up about 5 hours after that just in time for the second meal.
After all that sleep, I was wide awake. So I decided to watch whatever lame B movies they had on the plane. To my surprise, they didn't have any. Everything was Oscar nominated and relatively new! I finally got to see The Men Who Stare at Goats and A Serious Man and I really enjoyed both of them. Watching those two movies took me right up to the end of the flight...
Oh man, the end of the flight. If you have been in a long car ride with me, you know that I get car sick pretty easily. It sucks. Well Narita airport decided that it wanted to have lots of gusty winds all around it. The plane started to make its decent only to shake (a lot) and drop several times (several hundred feet, I reckon). It was unpleasant, there was screaming (not me), the plane shot back up above the cloud line. I sat in my seat, eyes slammed shut, massaging my temples and breathing deep, willing myself to keep my stomach settled. About 20 min later they tried again. It was pretty much the same thing, but the pilots decided to push through. I on the other hand, ended up throwing up into the blanket on my lap. I knew it was coming, despite my best efforts, so I gathered the blanket there and pulled my hair back. The guy on my left did nothing, the woman on my right called for the attendants. I got water, wet wipes, napkins, and the dripping blanket was thrown away. Unfortunately I ended up getting a little on my new dress (sorry Kristen!) and my jacket. But we were on the ground and people were leaving!
I cleaned myself up best I could, and grabbed my stuff and exited the plane, fighting back tears (embarrased mostly, with a little scared peppered in). Got through customs all right, and grabbed my bags (thank god for free carts at the baggage claim) I changed my clothes at the point and then met up with my Sophia ambassador (who's name I cannot remember for the life of me right now). She helped me to get my bigger bags shipped to my apartment (they should arrive tomorrow) and get through the train station.
I was pretty much wide-eyed- staring at everything the entire time. Talk about sensory overload! Also, I don't know if I was tired, or if I was intimidated or what, but my Japanese totally flew the coop today. I was pretty much Japanese retarded. I said things that I knew were wrong, but said them anyway just to get corrected so I would know the right way. Mostly, I stuck to simplified English. Anyways, we took the train for a good 2 hours to get to Warabi City. I left the airport around 6pm, so it was coming close to 8pm when we got here.
She had never been to Warabi before (and neither had I, obviously). So we followed this little map she had through the town. We met up with another American and her ambassador on the way, so we helped each other find the place.
I am now all checked in, unpacked (of what little I have on me) and sitting pretty in my room. I am really cold though... but my jacket smells like barf, so there is no way I am putting that on... My room is small, but nice. The only problem I seem to have is that there are only two outlets in the entire room. With all my electronics that is not gonna fly. I brought an extension cord and a power strip, but of course the two outlets are 2-pronged, and the cord/strip need 3... (>_<) I will have to ask someone about it tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, I have orientation at my school at 10am. I am going to give myself about an hour and a half to get there though, so I can get lost (hopefully not), get a rail pass, and explore the campus a bit. Luckily most of the people here are Sohpia students. So I wont be on my own heading out... I still need to go out and make friends though.
So on that note, I will end my first post! I am going to go explore my new home and try and make friends. Hopefully its warmer out in the hallways?
<3 Sam
The airport was boring. Got there two hours early so as to not have to worry about long lines, etc. I guess Korean air is not like southwest... there were no lines anywhere. I pretty much walked right up to the baggage check counter, and then right through security. I've seen longer lines at KCI (the airport in KS)! I sat waiting at the gate for like... an hour and a half. With no food. I went to buy some, but of course I didn't have cash and the vendor was cash only... *face palm*
The plane itself was amazing. I was towards the very back, in the middle of the middle (kudos to you if that makes sense). I have to give mad props to Korean Air for being down right amazing and kudos to my mom for picking them. The seats were comfortable. The two meals were delicious, the help was impeccable, I could go on and on. I got on the plane and as soon as it took off I went to sleep. I woke up about 2-3 hours in (mad that I was only 2-3 hours in) to find that I had missed the first meal. So I called for it, ate, and went back to sleep. I woke up about 5 hours after that just in time for the second meal.
After all that sleep, I was wide awake. So I decided to watch whatever lame B movies they had on the plane. To my surprise, they didn't have any. Everything was Oscar nominated and relatively new! I finally got to see The Men Who Stare at Goats and A Serious Man and I really enjoyed both of them. Watching those two movies took me right up to the end of the flight...
Oh man, the end of the flight. If you have been in a long car ride with me, you know that I get car sick pretty easily. It sucks. Well Narita airport decided that it wanted to have lots of gusty winds all around it. The plane started to make its decent only to shake (a lot) and drop several times (several hundred feet, I reckon). It was unpleasant, there was screaming (not me), the plane shot back up above the cloud line. I sat in my seat, eyes slammed shut, massaging my temples and breathing deep, willing myself to keep my stomach settled. About 20 min later they tried again. It was pretty much the same thing, but the pilots decided to push through. I on the other hand, ended up throwing up into the blanket on my lap. I knew it was coming, despite my best efforts, so I gathered the blanket there and pulled my hair back. The guy on my left did nothing, the woman on my right called for the attendants. I got water, wet wipes, napkins, and the dripping blanket was thrown away. Unfortunately I ended up getting a little on my new dress (sorry Kristen!) and my jacket. But we were on the ground and people were leaving!
I cleaned myself up best I could, and grabbed my stuff and exited the plane, fighting back tears (embarrased mostly, with a little scared peppered in). Got through customs all right, and grabbed my bags (thank god for free carts at the baggage claim) I changed my clothes at the point and then met up with my Sophia ambassador (who's name I cannot remember for the life of me right now). She helped me to get my bigger bags shipped to my apartment (they should arrive tomorrow) and get through the train station.
I was pretty much wide-eyed- staring at everything the entire time. Talk about sensory overload! Also, I don't know if I was tired, or if I was intimidated or what, but my Japanese totally flew the coop today. I was pretty much Japanese retarded. I said things that I knew were wrong, but said them anyway just to get corrected so I would know the right way. Mostly, I stuck to simplified English. Anyways, we took the train for a good 2 hours to get to Warabi City. I left the airport around 6pm, so it was coming close to 8pm when we got here.
She had never been to Warabi before (and neither had I, obviously). So we followed this little map she had through the town. We met up with another American and her ambassador on the way, so we helped each other find the place.
I am now all checked in, unpacked (of what little I have on me) and sitting pretty in my room. I am really cold though... but my jacket smells like barf, so there is no way I am putting that on... My room is small, but nice. The only problem I seem to have is that there are only two outlets in the entire room. With all my electronics that is not gonna fly. I brought an extension cord and a power strip, but of course the two outlets are 2-pronged, and the cord/strip need 3... (>_<) I will have to ask someone about it tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, I have orientation at my school at 10am. I am going to give myself about an hour and a half to get there though, so I can get lost (hopefully not), get a rail pass, and explore the campus a bit. Luckily most of the people here are Sohpia students. So I wont be on my own heading out... I still need to go out and make friends though.
So on that note, I will end my first post! I am going to go explore my new home and try and make friends. Hopefully its warmer out in the hallways?
<3 Sam
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
