This time, I'll try and be a bit more detailed, as I've been in Japan almost a whole week. So, I've had a lot of experiences since then. Well, let's start with orientation. It was a nightmare...not hard, mind, just really annoying and tedious. Lots of paperwork, plenty of bills, and speeches, and...gah! Anyway, my week started off simply enough. A little welcome tour, a bit of cafeteria food(which in Japan is surprisingly good) and meeting my speaking partner, Jayoon, in person. She's very fun and energetic, but has an attention span problem at times. Hard to get it hard to keep it. Still, I like her. Sorry, but no picture just yet.
My next few days were not so pleasant...the heat made me go through my whole wardrobe by weeks end, but far worse than that was the placement test for my Spoken Japanese language class. Registering for the class was easy. The test though...good lord...I've never felt more stupid or clueless on the Japanese language. And this is after almost three solid days of speaking it off and on with my dorm mates, speaking partners, and any store owners I shopped at. I even studied! Hard! But it made me realize how different it is from being able to get by and being able to speak it fluently. Granted, I did well enough. Didn't get busted down to elementary level Japanese. I'm in spoken level three, which is slightly better than what I ended my last semester at Elon with. And then I got to meet NACCHAN!
Later on in the week I spent some time exploring with Matilda, a dorm mate of mine. She's a bit quirky and claims to be a misanthrope, but I'm very comfortable around her and...well, I can't speak for her. She at least tolerates my presence. She's British and very intelligent, with a tongue almost as sharp as her wit. Still, she's one of the dorm mates I may try to keep in contact with after I leave Japan. She's been here so much it's almost like a second home to her...though from her stories of a countryside home, I'd love to see her normal home too. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. We walked for a long ways and I'm getting used to the heat. We found the Midori, which is a huge mall type store and Mattie(as I have taken to calling her) went shopping for a camera...to take pictures of bugs with. Like I said, she's quirky, but very fun. I marveled at the assorted electronics on display and, gasp, model kits! I was big into gundam model kits as a kid and they were here...they were cheap...and they were awesome. Probably going to be one of the many souvenirs I take home with me. It was an enjoyable trip and I hope to do more exploring with my dorm mates down the line. Sorry folks, but no pictures of Mattie yet...not sure she'd appreciate it anyway, so we'll see if I put one up down the line.
What else did I do this week...I bought a bike...yes, that might sound odd to some of you, but I really bought a bike for about $70. It's more of a loaner, as I have to register it and then sell it back to the bike shop for some of my money back before I head home. Still, they will service it for free and I have a bike. While I did walk to school the first few days and when I was out with Mattie, biking is the only way to go at Kansai. It cuts travel time down by almost 70%, making hour long walks less than fifteen minutes, give or take traffic. It's essential for surviving the heat and to avoid getting blistered feet. I was a bit unsteady at first, but it's all come back to me by now. I have to do MORE paperwork to get the bike registered with Kansai, but a small sacrifice, I suppose.
With my new bike I can head out to the conbeni's much easier. Those are basically convenience stores, but I've really been shopping at grocery stores more and more. The food there is startlingly fresh, even the premade meals. Mattie advised me to always eat premade meals on the day I buy them. Shame to waste such high quality materials. Tried lots of new fish, vegetables, and juices since discovering the local stores(I love strawberry milk.) Still no Calipco soda though...huh...maybe it's Chinese? I dunno.
Anyway, let's talk cash. I'm broke. I brought more than Kansai advised me to bring for my first month and still, broke. My parents have sent me money, so I'm fine, but bills bills bills! Anyone thinking of going to Japan, be ready. Food is not just an everyday purchase, and a somewhat pricy one at that, but sundry items like dishes, towels, fans, things needed to survive the heat, are also necessary. But what took up most of my money was the college. I had to pay so many bills for deposits, liability insurance, and the like...and let's not forget my bike. It was depressing. I even had to buy a mobile(don't get too excited mom and dad it only works in Japan) to keep up with my speaking partners, as it texts and they receive texts easier than emails. My advice to anyone thinking of coming to Japan? Bring plenty of Yen or, like me, have your debit card handy. You WILL need more money than you bring. That is certain.
So far, I like staying in Japan. I've been having to get used to the noise of a dorm, the slow speed of my internet, and the lack of familiarity, but it's been pretty cool and people like Mattie, Tamaki, Eriko, and my other dorm mates have made adjusting easier, though I still don't have anyone I can really "talk" to yet, outside of basic "Hi, howya doin?" The food is good, the architecture is cool, and the weather has taken a nice turn. We have a typhoon heading our way, hehe...I hate the heat, but the rain I love and it rains a great deal in Japan, three times in this week alone. Was annoying when I put my clothes out to dry, but otherwise, very enjoyable. Freak weather, either super hot, or super rainy, is what to expect here.
For those I know are curious, my classes for this semester are Spoken Japanese, Shinto, Sumie brush painting, and Anime: Method and Meaning. I got all I wanted.
Before I wrap up, I do need to comment on Dorm life. I've only lived here a week, but I've noticed basically four types of people who live in the dorms. This may be me being tired or a little upset, but just go with it. There are the people who are rowdy, love to make noise, play loud games, watch movies...they'd probably drink too if alcohol wasn't banned in the seminar houses. They can be fun, if a bit tiresome when you're trying to sleep or work, since the walls are pretty thing. Next, are the know it alls. I detest these people. They think they have all the answers, be it to Japanese, how to live, what to do in terms of jobs...people so sure of having IV league material or being lawyers or whatever. I find them insufferable because they seem to think they know all the answers and all the shortcuts, all the ways to cheat your way into a perfect life. Ugh...I hate spending time with them and avoid it when possible. Then, there are the people who are BOTH. These people, I try to avoid. They can be fun, like I said I sometimes play cards with the rowdy crowd and it's enjoyable enough but...they talk politics or argue idiotic stuffs they're dead certain of VERY LOUDLY far too often. It gets me down.
Then, there are the people who fit into neither of these categories. I'm one of them and so are the people I prefer to spend time with. Granted, they may socialize with the others, but these are the people with quirks, with interesting ideas, very easy going. They make the trip worthwhile. Perhaps I'm not being clear, but they have something, a certain, I don't know what, that makes them good people, even if they might not think they are.
These are the people I hope to keep in contact with even after I leave Japan. Most of them still have an extra semester here. And, god willing, I might be able to see them if I ever go back to Japan or travel abroad, as a few of them are foreigners.
I enjoy my time here in Seminar house 1, mostly. Granted, there are annoyances like the LOUD people, but it's part of living as a community. Orientation week was a nightmare, but I'm hoping that classes will be easier...though my schedule seems a bit cramped right now. Only time will tell.
Till then, later
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