I didn’t have internet at the time, so I wrote this on my laptop and posted it once I finally got internet. Sorry for the extreme delay! My apartment building was the last of all school housing to get internet. So frustrating!! Anywho, I’m posting an extremely long post to make up for it haha!
I've been writing since I arrived and saving everything on my flash drive. I can finally begin to post everything. I'll warn you, it's a lot of reading haha!
First Few Days in Japan
Today is Sunday September 12th, my third whole day in Japan. I arrived on the 9th, but I’m not really counting it since all I did was get to Kyoto and unpack everything in my apartment. So far, I’ve really enjoyed Japan, although it is quite hot in the afternoons still. I’ll take it though since apparently August was miserably and insufferably hot all day long. Now, the evenings are cool and there’s a nice breeze. I’ve made a lot of new friends, and together we’ve figured out most of what we need to do before the placement exam on Monday. I’m very thankful for all my new friends. Without them, my first few days in Kyoto would’ve been very lonely, and I probably wouldn’t be quite so optimistic now. I’ll just give a run through of everything so far.
Around 4:30pm on the 9th, I arrived at Kansai International Airport and then went through customs. I cleared customs and got all my baggage with no problems. Thank God! I then went out to the lobby to meet up with Leah, who also got the Boren Scholarship and will attend Doshisha University as well. Our planes arrived 30 minutes apart so we arranged a meeting place in the lobby before we left the States. I’m so glad that we rode the train to Kyoto together because it was great to get to share the experience together and compare our horribly long and boring plane ride experiences. We both survived and are glad that the super long plane ride is over. That’s about it regarding the plane. Maybe it would’ve been more fun if the people sitting next to me would’ve been willing to talk. The guy next to me pretty much ignored me when I tried to talk to him. Oh well, I watched a few movies and slept a little.
After meeting up, I exchanged some money into Yen, which was painful because the exchange rate is horrible right now. The Yen is at a 15 or 20 year high right now…Anyway, we bought our tickets and then tried to locate the platform to catch the Haruka Express to Kyoto. We had to ask a few employees of the airport where the platform was. One of the men kindly helped me with my massive amount of luggage. Everyone was shocked that one person could have so much luggage. I started to regret it at first because it really was awful hauling around 2 checked bags and a carry-on bag on the train, the subway, and up the stairs to my apartment, but I’m glad I brought everything I did because it was soooooooooo much cheaper in the States. It’ll save me a lot of money in the long run. Now that I’m settled in, I’m glad I brought everything that I did.
The train ride to Kyoto went smoothly, a little over an hour long. Leah and I watched the scenery of Osaka and the country side on our way to Kyoto as we talked about various things and giggled a little at an elderly man who got up and put a second pair of pants on over the pants he was already wearing. That was quite unexpected and amusing. After reaching Kyoto Station, we met up with our volunteer helpers. My helper’s name is Hina. She studied abroad in Seattle for a year and her English is very good. She was great at explaining things when I didn’t understand the Japanese. I can’t thank her enough for all her help!
We all rode the subway, but then Hina and I got off at the next stop while Leah and her helper kept going. Leah and I ended up parting without making plans to meet up again. I was disheartened at that, but at least I still had Hina to help me. I knew I’d see Leah again at Orientation a few days later in the least. Hina waved down a taxi and we rode to my apartment, which was very close by to be honest. However, it was too difficult to haul around all my suitcases. The taxi driver was also surprised by my 2 checked bags and carry-on, but he was very kind and helpful. He made sure we were in the right place and went out of his way to make things easier for me. He was really nice and I appreciate his kindness.
Hina and I went into Doshisha Maison Iwakuni, the name of my apartment building, and went up to my room. Getting my luggage up the stairs was not an easy task, but together we managed to do it. I hope the elevator will be fixed by the time I leave next year! Or maybe I’ll ship some things home…I’ll have to think about it.
Hina helped me fill out some paperwork for Doshisha, get bed sheets, told me where I need to pay rent and how to get internet, and gave me a lot of other useful information and tips. I believe she would have helped me accomplish all of those tasks if I had arrived earlier in the day, but since I arrived late in the evening, she could only tell me what to do. Hina gave me her contact information and then had to leave since it was getting late, after 10pm. Instead of dwelling on the realization that I had no way to contact her, or anyone for that matter, and that I now had no one I could talk to, I decided to completely unpack my bags and arrange my apartment to make it feel like home before going to bed. I finally went to bed around midnight, unsure of what I could expect the next day.
I woke up around 6, but made myself sleep until my alarm at 9:30. I believe this helped me to completely avoid jet lag. I got up, took a shower, cleaned a little more, and decided to venture out to see what I could find. On my way down to the lobby, I heard a guy say, “Hello,” from behind me. I turned around and met Jeff from Hawaii. He told me that he and two girls from Australia, Stacey and Tiyanah, were going to go to the Kuyakusho (Ward Office), Post Office, and a few other places I needed to go. I readily joined them. We went together and got our alien registration cards and Japanese National Health Care (Kenkou hoken) papers. Thankfully Jeff had gone the day before with his helper so we had a basic idea of what to do. Somehow I ended up doing the majority of the talking. I guess it's since I’ve studied Japanese the longest among us. I was able to handle the situation pretty well, and I was surprised because I understood the majority of what the employees said. I’ve heard some people say that many people in Kyoto can speak English, but I’ve not had that experience yet. The majority of my encounters with Japanese people so far have been entirely in Japanese. Maybe it’s because I made the effort to use Japanese first; I’m not really certain though. That day, we also went to Bic Camera to get plug converters, the Post Office to pay rent for September, and then we went to Kyoto Station to look around and find somewhere to eat late lunch. We looked at the prices and all the fake food displays and chose an Udon (type of thick, Japanese noodle soup) shop. We all got one of the 500 Yen udon bowls, and it was delicious! Even the broth was good!
Since it was steaming hot, we decided to return to our apartments for a few hours and then go back out again that evening. I went downstairs to check my mail and saw a girl from England named Fran standing near the mailboxes. I offered to help her fill out all the forms and tell her where she could go to get everything done. Apparently her helper didn’t speak much English so they had a hard time understanding each other. That evening, Fran joined our group and we met Colin from the U.S. and Rakan from Australia on our way out of the apartment complex as we went out to get groceries and necessary household items. We made plans to meet the next morning and go to Doshisha together to turn in some paperwork. While talking to Stacey in the hallway, we met Steven from Canada and Jeremy from France. They decided to go with us the next morning. I also took them to the nearest grocery store so they could buy groceries. Apparently, there’s a 100 yen Lawson’s nearby, and if that’s true, I’ll be going there instead of the grocery store.
We all met at 9:30 the next morning and made our way to Doshisha. I guess it’s actually a 30 minute bike ride away, but much faster if you take the subway. I’ll look into getting a commuter pass, but I’m still planning on getting a bicycle as well. (Correction, the commuter pass is about $200 for 3 months, so I'm going to use my bike as much as possible!) We found out that the school'soffice is closed on Saturdays…guess we should’ve checked before going, but we couldn’t really since it wasn’t anywhere on our papers and none of us had internet access or phones. We all decided to go to the library to see if we could use the computers there. The problem is we don’t have Doshisha ID cards yet, so we can’t use the computers there. We thought about going in as visitors, just to take a look around, when I noticed the name above mine, Leah. Leah was at the library, too! She came down the stairs not long after, and we all decided to go to an Internet Café (It's basically a shop with computers inside and you pay a certain amount of money to use the computers with internet in that shop. There are also magazines to read. You can even order food and drinks while you are there, which is why it's a cafe I guess.) so we could all send emails to our friends and families. Leah told us about a secondhand bike shop and we agreed to go there next. Stacey and I decided to save our money and wait until later to use the internet. I also didn’t want to bother the poor employee any further. He seemed pretty stressed out since he had to deal with such a large group of foreigners at once. We managed to get everyone set up and registered in the internet café, but still, it was slightly chaotic.
It was well into the afternoon by the time everyone finished at the café so we split up to go for lunch. Our group was a little large to eat in one restaurant; we couldn’t decide on one thing anyway. My group went to a cheap Gyudon (beef and onion over rice) shop called Matsuya. It was 250 yen for a beef bowl and miso soup. It was pretty good and kept me full for the majority of the day. The guys in the shop stared at us a bit, probably because there were about 5 of us eating together (also because mainly guys eat there). It was amusing. We met back up after lunch and headed toward the bike shop. Steven, Jeremy, and I decided to wait to buy bicycles, but everyone else bought a bike. The cheapest used bike was around 60,000 yen (around $70). It would pay for itself quickly since it’s 250 yen one way to the university (although I’m sure it’ll be a better deal with the commuter pass).
On the way back, Leah, Jeremy, Steven, and I somehow got separated from the rest of the group. We stopped at a river and soaked our feet in the water for quite a while. The water was nice and cool! Also, strange tiny fish would come up and nibble on our toes and feet. It tickled! We sat and talked, and watched all the families at the river. There were quite a few children playing in the river. Some of them were carrying around nets and trying to catch the little fish. A group of children nearby caught a little gold fish. I was surprised to find a goldfish swimming around in the river! I wonder how it got there...
Leah went back to her apartment after a nice Japanese guy tried to help us figure out the map (I guess we looked really lost haha!), and the rest of us went back to Iwakuni. We ran into everyone else on the way back and went to Stacey’s room to hang out. Tiyanah met Maia from New Zealand. She came to Stacey’s room to join our little party as well. Maia has been here since March and she said she can help us out. She might even have a bike I can buy from her! Around 10, I went back to my room and to bed. Today, I’m planning to study all day since the placement exam is tomorrow morning! Eek. 0.0 I hope I do alright!!
All in all, it’s been a great experience and I thank God for all the amazing people I’ve met so far. Also, Japan is really expensive so budget wisely and keep track of how much you spend each day!
Random notes:
-The sun sets really early in Japan. It sets around 6:30-7:00pm right now, but it rises very early in the morning, 6 or earlier.
-Japan is a cash society so be sure to bring plenty of cash with you since credit and debit cards aren’t readily accepted everywhere.
-When you first arrive, don’t just stay in your apartment, go out and meet people. We’re all foreigners and just moving in so don’t be afraid to be the one to start the conversation.
-Don’t rely on English and don’t be afraid to ask for help, if you came to study abroad then do your best and don’t be afraid to speak Japanese. In my experience, everyone I’ve met has been kind and helpful so far.
-Everything closes early in Japan, even in bigger cities in tourist areas. Most shops close around 6-8pm (8 being less common for the majority of clothing, shoes, etc. shops). They might be open until 8:30 on weekends, but that's only in big city areas (even then it's more commonly around 8 pm from what I've seen so far). Be sure to check the common closing times of the shops where you want to travel and plan accordingly! Unlike America, the shop owners in Japan will (politely) kick you out promptly on the hour of closing unless you managed to get in line just before the official closing time. Restaurants are generally open a little later than stores, but still, check times before going to be safe.
If you have a specific question, feel free to post it in the comments section and I’ll respond as quickly as I can! :)
Next entry:
September 12, 2010
I forgot to mention in my last post that I live across the street from a temple! I can’t see it from my window or door (all I see is a wall), but you can see it from some of the other apartments. Anyway, as I was drying my hair this morning, I heard shouting on the road behind my apartment. I thought it was a protest or something at first, and I was shocked because people generally don’t do public protests or anything like that since it disturbs the peace and causes an inconvenience for other people. I ran outside, wet hair and all, to see what was going on. On the street just behind my front door, there was a parade for a matsuri (festival)! People were all dressed up in traditional clothes and festival clothing (blue and white jackets with 祭 “festival” written on the back and tied with red ties). Also, there were many people following the procession and taking pictures. At the end of the parade, a large group of men went by carrying two Omikoshi (お神輿portable shrine) down the street! One was slightly larger than the other, but they were both balanced on large wooden beams and were carried by many men. Both shrines were elaborately decorated and had decorations in what appeared to be gold. It was unexpected and amazing!! Sadly, I didn’t have my camera with me at the moment, so I don’t have any photos or pictures of this event. Sorry!
In the evening, I hung out with Stacey and we went to eat curry at a restaurant called Nakau. It was cheap (390 yen) and really good! It was a bit awkward when we had to pay the bill since we didn’t know what we were supposed to do. We talked and drank tea as we secretly watched how everyone else at the shop paid. We figured out that the waiter would come when it looked like we were finished and wanted to leave. Then, we would give the money to him and exit the shop. That’s something I’m slowly getting better at, watching other people around me to see how things are done, and then do the same. Otherwise, I just ask someone what I should do and that solves the problem completely. So in short, be observant and don’t be afraid to ask.
Next entry:
September 19th, 2010
So, I still don’t have internet and probably won’t have it until the 24
th. I arrived in
Japan on the 9
th and applied for the internet on the 10
th. The company claims they process and install quickly, within 3 days. Well, obviously that is not the case haha. It really frustrates me since all the other student housing locations had internet upon arrival.
Anyway, this week was busy with orientation. There was something almost on a daily basis! The good thing is, I now know what level I’m in, and I’m nearly done with paperwork! Finally!
At Doshisha, there are 8 levels of Japanese, ranging from beginner to high-advanced. I made it into level 6 which is the pre-advanced level! That means I’m able to take courses in Japanese! I can even take regular classes in the university. I decided to save that until next semester though since I’ve already picked out 18 credits worth of classes I want to take haha. It seems it doesn’t matter where I am; I always work myself to death. This semester will be intense, but hopefully I’ll learn a lot from it and really improve my Japanese. All of my courses are taught in Japanese with the exception of a course that is taught in Spanish.
I’m taking 10 credits worth of Japanese language (this is required and it focuses on reading, writing, grammar, speaking, and review). I’m also taking 2 credits worth of language seminars: one is speaking practice (
総合演習) and the other is intermediate-level grammar review (only 1 of these 2 is required to meet course requirements). Finally I’m taking 6 credits worth of Japanese/International lecture courses (Only 1 is required, but I found a few more I want to take.): Education in Tokugawa
Japan (in Japanese), What Characterizes Japanese People (in Japanese), Latin American Art and Architecture (in Spanish). You can take up to 20 credits, and I'm taking 18...I think these courses will keep me really busy. Thankfully they meet only once a week!
Now on to what’s happened this past week.
On September 13th, I took the placement exam, which was fill in the blank and focused on grammar, particles, and picking the best option to finish the sentence. If you have more specific questions about the exam, just ask me.
After the exam was the beginning of the slew of orientations. First of all, there was new student orientation followed immediately by housing orientation. Basically, we got a bunch of papers that we had to fill out and turn into the
日文センター事務室 (the main office for the language program) as well as our student ID cards. I’ll have to go to that office everyday once classes start to check my mailbox and sign in for attendance so that I won’t be counted absent. I think it’d be so much easier if they just did role call during class… Anyway, we also received a CD with the school song and some books with information on Doshisha and life in
Kyoto. One of the books is called
“NO, Absolutely NO! to drug abuse!. I’m sure they had good intention when they wrote this book, but the illustrations and translations (which aren’t horrible to be honest) are hilarious! It’s like a book for children that was given to college students. I find it quite amusing!
After the introductory orientation, a group of us went to the cafeteria for lunch. The food in the cafeteria (食堂) is pretty good and not too expensive. My meal usually costs less than 300 yen. The nice thing about the food in the cafeteria is that almost everything can be ordered in small, medium, or large (and sometimes extra small), so if you’re not too hungry, you’re not too hungry, you can just get a small size which is cheaper anyway. I’ll warn you though, the Japanese large is very different from American large. All in all, I think it’s still a nice sized portion.
Since the times of placement exam interviews weren’t announced until 5:00, we had to entertain ourselves for a few hours. I went to Family Mart, a conbini (convenience store) with Stacey, Marius, and a few others to eat ice cream and chat. I believe that’s where we met Owen. He’s from
Tennessee. Once 5:00 finally arrived, we went to the main office and looked up our interview times. Mine was at 10:20 the next morning on campus. Before leaving, I met a nice Japanese guy named Tomo who had studied English in
L.A. I didn’t get to talk to him long though since everyone wanted to get home to get dinner.
That evening, we went back to Iwakuni (my apartment building) for a while before going to Aeon Mall. I went with Jeff, Jeremy, and Steven. I made them all practice Japanese for a bit on the way, but with little success haha. We went to Daiso (a huge 100 yen store, equivalent to Dollar General only much bigger and nicer). I bought a bunch of cleaning supplies and other miscellaneous household items as did everyone else. We explored the mall a little more and then ate dinner there. I got Japanese curry which was quite cheap and delicious, too!
On September 14
th, I got up early in the morning and prepared for the interview, but I had no idea what to expect to be honest. It made me anxious, but at the same time, I just wanted to get it over with. I met Steven on my way out of the apartment so we went to school together. I was relieved I didn't have to go alone! The interviews were running late so the hallways were filled with people. We found Colin and sat next to him. I practiced Japanese with some nice girls from
Taiwan. I’ve seen them around on campus, but I haven’t had time to talk with them more yet. Anyway, the interview mainly consisted of 3 teachers asking me questions one at a time. Thankfully I understood all of their questions. They mainly asked about what books I used to study and how my classes were structured, how my previous teachers taught, etc. Apparently some other people were asked to read kanji that were written on the board, but I didn’t have anything like that happen. The interview lasted only about 5 or so minutes and wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.
After the interview, Colin and I decided to go buy used bicycles. I picked out a light yellow bike with an orange tint to it while Colin chose a solid black bike. Each bike has a bell for when the sidewalks are really crowded so you can warn people you are coming (since most people seem to ride their bikes on the sidewalk). Bikes also have lights for once it gets dark. It’s too dangerous if your bike doesn’t have a light because it gets dark early and people can’t see the bike in the dark. I’ve heard it’s illegal if you don’t have a light.
It took me a while to adjust to riding a bike again. It’s been at least a good 6 or more years since I rode a bike. I was really nervous that I’d hit people so I was a bit shaky at first. I’ve seen people texting, talking on the phone, or holding umbrellas while riding their bikes. It’s crazy! I tried and nearly ran into a wall so I doubt I’ll be doing that again.
Colin and I went back to school and got stickers for our bikes so we can park them on campus during school. Then we went to the cafeteria to get lunch. We had another orientation session at 1:00. This time it was a session where we were paired with Japanese volunteer students to take us around and help us fill out necessary paperwork, get the Alien Registration Card (tourokusho) and health care insurance (kenkou hoken), starting a bank account, etc. Since we had done everything accept getting a bank account, it was mainly a quick campus tour which didn’t last long since campus isn’t near as big as IU. Also, we weren’t able to start a bank account since we won’t receive our official Alien Registration Cards until next month. I at least paid my futon rent bill though. Our guides were nice, but since they couldn’t speak any English, it was a little difficult for quite a few of the people in the group to understand what was going on. I wasn’t entirely certain all the time either, especially when we were at the bank. I’ve never learned any of that vocabulary. I know some now. To start with, 銀行口座 (ginkou kouza) is a bank account.
After the tour that had all the best intentions, but was halfway helpful at best, we decided to go back home. We ran into another tour group that was lead by Tomo on the way home. They were going to see about buying cell phones so I joined that group since I needed to get a phone still (hauling my bike around all along). Tomo was very helpful and did a good job of explaining the cell phone terms to me when I didn’t understand what the clerk said. Since it would take 2 hours to set up the phones and everyone was hungry, we decided to get our phones the next day.
We went to a covered street called Shinkyogoku to eat dinner. There were various restaurants and shops on this street. Tomo took us to a nice restaurant that had a variety of food, although I didn’t catch the name of the restaurant. I got
Yokohama donburi. It was basically seasoned hamburger meat, onions, and pickled ginger on top of rice. I really liked it! I also got a bubble tea at a nearby bubble tea shop. So yummy!!
On the way home, Rakan, Fran, and I saw a Japanese fire truck! They’re so much smaller than the fire trucks back home. The firemen’s uniforms are also quite different. I don’t think I got a good picture of them though. I hope the fire wasn’t too serious and that it got put out quickly!
Before returning home, the three of us went to Bic Camera. Rakan and Fran each got a small fridge while I got a rice cooker (炊飯器). I got a fridge just the other day as well, on Saturday, but it won’t be delivered until the 25th. Boo. :(
The morning of September 15th, we had orientation at Iwakuni. It lasted about 10 minutes and wasn’t very helpful to be honest. It was basically some of the people from school came and told us things that were written everywhere on signs or that we had already figured out in the first few days of living in the apartment. The lady that lead orientation spoke very quickly and quietly in Japanese so not many people were even able to hear or understand what she said. People didn’t seem to pay much attention since she said specifically not to park bikes in front of the garbage cans, but people did (and still do) anyway. Also, there are definitely more bikes than people in the apartments so it’s quite difficult to find a place to park your bike. About 44 people live in this building, but I counted 54 bikes this afternoon! On top of that, the RA (residential assistant) is still on vacation so mail is just piled up on a counter in front and we have to dig through it ourselves. You’d think the RA would be there when everyone moves in since we might need help or have questions. By the time the RA returns, we’ll have everything figured out on our own. From what I can tell, as long as you are quiet, don’t bother other people, and properly throw away your trash, they don’t really seem to care what you do here. That can be both good and bad.
We left Iwakuni around 10:15 to go to Doshisha for library orientation/guidance. I’m not sure what way Stacey and Tiyanah took, but we arrived just in time for orientation at 11:00. It was good exercise in the least! The orientation lasted about 30 minutes. A guide showed us around the library and explained how to use everything. This time, we had a translator there to make sure we understood. Then we ate lunch before going to the school Entrance Ceremony.
The Entrance Ceremony was held at Kanbaikan which is near Imadegawa campus, about a 3 minute bike ride. I went with Leah, Rakan, and Marius. We parked our bikes (although it was really crowded!) and went inside. The building is really nice! There are lounges and even a place with couches where you can take a nap if you like. I’ve heard that building is usually quieter so I’ll probably study there once school starts.
We had to sign in before entering the auditorium. As we walked in, we were given a book about the history of
Doshisha University as well as a schedule of the ceremony. The teachers and heads of the school filed in to a very solemn song. It reminded me of a funeral since they were all wearing black and the music was in a minor key. Some of the heads of the school gave speeches. One of them spoke extremely slowly so that it’d be easier to understand. I understood the majority of the speeches so I was pretty happy! They read a scripture or two from the Bible and said a prayer during the ceremony. I didn’t really understand the prayer though. I need to study more! Also, the glee club (men’s choir) sang the school song. They sounded so good! Maybe I’ll join choir club, if they’ll take me that is haha.
A group of us decided to get our phones that evening. The people staying for half a year got prepaid phones while I got a plan with Soft Bank. It’ll probably end up being around the same price once I have to pay the cancellation fees and everything though. The good thing about my plan is I can call people of the same company for free! I got a bright pink phone which cost a little more, but I thought why not since I’m in
Japan. I can always use it again if I come back to
Japan since I have to buy the phone. Phones are so expensive in
Japan though! The cheapest is around 10,000 yen (over $100)! Everything is so expensive in
Japan. 0.0
Anyway, I managed to go through the long process of signing up for the phone. It took longer though since it rejected my debit card which surprised me. I had to use my credit card which I really didn’t want to do. I guess the bank back home wasn’t notified that I’ll be in
Japan for a year so they thought it was fraud. I’m glad they did that and all, but it’s been a few days and I still can’t use my debit card. I’ve had to borrow money from friends until I can get the problem solved. It’s so frustrating! I could’ve sworn I told them I’d be in
Japan even. I pray Mom and Dad can get it worked out soon, but it’s hard to check my email since I still don’t have internet at home and school is 30 minutes away. 0.0
Since it took so long to get everything processed for the phone, I had plenty of time to talk with the guy who was selling working at Soft Bank. His name is Watanabe and he’s close to my age. Stacey and I talked to him for a quite a while and got in a lot of Japanese practice! We exchanged numbers in the end, but I doubt he’ll come hang out with us haha. Everyone else left before I finished since it took so long to process everything for my phone. Thankfully Stacey stayed with me until the end. Thank you!!
On the way home, it was raining like a waterfall, but we had to ride our bikes home while trying to keep all our paperwork and phones dry. We stopped at a Seven Eleven and bought rain ponchos. They kept the upper half of me dry as well as my purse and phone, but my pants were soaked. We made it back though. I changed into different pants and then everyone met up to go to Lawson’s (another convenience store) to get dinner and dessert. I had a veggie and shrimp spring roll as well as pudding and a cream puff for dessert. I overdid it on sweets, but I figured I earned it after riding my bike through the rain. I felt pretty accomplished at least.
The 16
th was an orientation filled day. We had 4 orientations that day alone. At 9:00, they announced our levels (level 6 for me). We had to go to a classroom for each level by 9:30 for an introduction to that level and learn how to register for classes. Since I’m in level 6, everything was done in Japanese alone. Apparently, in levels 1-3 they do everything in Japanese, then English, then Chinese so it takes longer. Oh, Steven is in my class, and I met a girl named Jannika from
Finland! Orientation ended around 11:10, but was followed by another orientation: exchange orientation where new students meet Japanese students and other international students. We played a quick scavenger hunt and learned that Taiwanese, Chinese, and Korean students have their own clubs. Tough luck for everyone else I guess haha.
We finally got to eat lunch a little after 12:30, but we had class registration orientation at 1:30. I think a lot of people skipped this orientation, but Jeff, Steven, and I went anyway. It was basically the teachers reading the packet we were given in Japanese, English, and Chinese. In the least, I picked out my classes, filled out all the papers, and finished the other paperwork for school. After turning in all the papers, I realized that everyone who rode bikes had already gone home. That’s fine, but I wasn’t entirely certain how to get home since I’d followed my friends and gone a different way each day. Jeff and Steven would’ve helped me, but they’d already purchased subway passes (20,000 yen for 3 months). I decided to figure it out on my own. I mean, it’s only about 2 turns and going straight down the street the majority of the way. How could I possibly mess up such simple directions?
Well, I some how got lost, really lost. A 25 minute bike ride home turned into a 2 hour bike excursion through
Kyoto. I didn’t see any famous sights or anything, just back roads that you wouldn’t see on any type of tour. I didn’t stop to take pictures because I was so upset with myself for getting so lost, not to mention I was a bit scared. I even stopped for directions at convenience stores a few times! Anyway, I got in a ton of exercise and finally made it back after around 2 hours. To make things even better, my phone battery died near the beginning of getting lost so I couldn’t even call anyone for help.
I ran inside and plugged my phone in to charge it since I was supposed to meet my friend Mariko from IU that evening since she was in town (She’s studying abroad in
Okinawa right now.). Thankfully, it wasn’t too late and we were able to meet up! We ate at a delicious Italian restaurant in the basement of Kyoto Station (which is about a 5 minute bike ride from my apartment). The name of the restaurant was Capprichoza, or something like that. I mainly remember how it was written in Japanese. She got pizza while I got mushroom spaghetti with tomato cream sauce. We shared and both dishes were so delicious! After dinner, we went up to the Cube which is another part of Kyoto Station. Sometimes there are concerts and such there. It’s really high up so it gives a good view of
Kyoto. We went to Mister Donut for some dessert after exploring and enjoying the sights. My doughnut was mango cream and mouth-wateringly delectable! Since it was getting late (meaning around 9 haha) and all the shops were closed, Mariko and I parted ways. Hopefully I can go visit her in
Okinawa during Spring Vacation (which is all of February and March). That’d be pretty much awesome!
On the 17th, I went to Doshisha even though I didn’t have orientation because I needed to use the internet to see if the debit card problem had been solved yet, which it hadn’t. It still hasn’t been fixed and I’m not sure how I can call the bank. I’m sure I’ll get it worked out soon though! (It has been resolved thankfully!!)
That afternoon, we ran into Tomo and his friend Mami. We decided to hang out at
Kamo River for a while since it was a nice day. It was a pretty large group of foreigners plus two Japanese people so we got stared at a bit. I didn’t really mind it though. The sun was a little intense, but the breeze from the river felt really nice. I had fun talking to Mami. She’s from
Osaka and definitely speaks Kansai dialect. She even taught me a little bit. We’re planning to eat lunch together sometimes so hopefully I can practice Japanese with her a lot! Oh! At the river there were a group of guys making some crazy film. There was a guy dressed up as a girl and a few other guys wearing spandex. It was kind of awkward and yet hilarious at the same time. I have no idea what it was for though.
As evening drew closer, Mami had to go home since she lives 1 ½ hours away, but the rest of us decided to go to Karaoke!
We went to Teramachi Street, which is an even larger covered street than the one I went to the day before! We met two people from
France while searching for a karaoke place so they joined our group which brought the total count up to 10 people! We found a karaoke place that charged 1,560 per person for 2 hours of karaoke plus all you can drink and all you can eat ice cream. They charged 300 yen for every 30 minutes you stayed over. That’s really not too bad for
Japan. It was a lot of fun! However, the two people from France as well as Tomo and his friend, Kazuta, smoked like chimneys so I had to hold a cloth up to my nose almost the whole time as well as frequently leave to get fresh air so I wouldn’t pass out. It was pretty miserable to be honest. I already knew that’s common in
Japan, smoking indoors in public places (There are some places that are smoke-free or a closed room for smoking only, but it's taking much longer to catch on here I guess.) .It still surprises me though. You’d think that a country that cares so much about health and appearances as well as other people’s opinions and avoiding trouble for others might care quite a bit about the health of others, but I guess that’s not the case when it comes to smoking for some reason.
When they stopped smoking, it was so much more enjoyable! Oh, but the all you can drink wasn’t just soda, coffee, and tea, it was beer as well so everyone except Colin and I drank tons of beer. A few of them got really drunk. I don’t see how that’s enjoyable, but I guess they enjoy it for some strange reason. All it did was make me extremely nervous that they’d hurt themselves or others on the bike ride home. All in all, I really did enjoy karaoke, but I definitely miss the alcohol and smoke-free karaoke back home in
Bloomington. Too bad I can’t carry Ann, Amye, and Ashley around in my pocket or teleport them here when I want to go to karaoke haha!
The next day I didn’t feel too well after being confined to such a small room with so much smoke and alcohol, but I made myself finally get up around 11:30 in the morning. Stacey and I made a run to Bic Camera so she could buy a rice cooker and I could buy a mini fridge. Then we went to Aeon Mall to go grocery shopping. That evening everyone went on a Pub Crawl or something, but it was expensive and didn’t quite interest me, not too mention I’m pretty sure I had a fever. I stayed home and went to bed early. I think I slept well over 10 hours. I feel much better today. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have to be in a small room where the smell of alcohol is so strong and the smoke is so thick again. I think my body is even less tolerant of it than I thought. I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s fun, but if I feel that ill again, I think I’ll have to ask them to cut back at least.
I’m finally caught up to today! This morning I woke up, made myself breakfast, and started typing this massive entry. I stopped for an ice cream run with Stacy followed by going to the mall with Rakan, Tiyanah, Jeremy, Stacey, and Tomo for a while. I crack up every time I see tall Rakan ride Stacey’s bike with little Tiyanah reaching up to grab his shoulders while riding on the back. It’s comical and yet so cute at the same time! We’ve given Tiyanah the nickname Chibi-chan. Chibi means little one or short person and chan is what you add to the end of a girl’s name among friends. It’s really girly and could be probably degrading depedning on the context I suppose, so don’t use it for guys; they would probably get offended, or maybe laugh, not sure which. Anyway, at the mall, we found an international food store. They have ingredients to make Mexican food! I’m so excited!! But the 3 Australians were even more excited since they found vegemite. Tomo had to leave for work, but the rest of us made ramen together. Rakan is quite a good cook!
Tiyanah, Stacey, and Rakan made me try vegemite. They put it on toast with cheese on top. It was ok when I got a bite with only a tiny bit. When I got a bite with more vegemite, it was a little too potent for me. I guess I can only take it in very small amounts haha.
Oh, I forgot to mention when we went to the mall there was a fashion show going on! I didn’t watch for long, but I did take a few quick pictures. The fashion is kind of cute, but quite different here in my opinion. Girls cover up as much of their skin as possible so that they won’t get tan (Although you do still see girls wearing short shorts or super mini skirts as well.). Even on scorching hot days you’ll find many girls wearing long sleeved shirts or jackets and long pants or leggings. Pretty much their entire bodies are covered even if they are pouring out sweat. I can understand using a parasol to protect yourself from the sun because the heat and rays from the sun are really strong. I might even get a parasol soon myself since it’s still so hot and the sun is crazy intense, but is it really that important to be so pale that you’d make yourself miserable and sweat to death? Are appearances really that important here? My observation thus far is yes, apparently they are, but I much prefer my quick, laid back style hahahaha.
After eating dinner with my friends, I decided to go back to my room to finish this massive post. Now that I’m finally caught up, I’m going to study until I go to bed! J
Next entry:
September 22nd, 2010
September 20th was a holiday in Japan, 敬老の日, Day for the Elderly, or something like that. Tomo said that it’s a day when you would go to visit your grandparents, and Watanabe-san told me that people usually go out to eat delicious food, go shopping, etc.
School was closed so we had no orientation that day. A group of us decided to go walk around the
Imperial Gardens. We couldn’t go inside the palace since that’s apparently by appointment only, but we did enjoy walking around the gardens! Since it was a holiday, there were many people visiting the palace! Japanese people kept taking pictures of Stacey and me haha! Then we turned around and did the same. :) There were also many stray cats throughout the park so Fran had a great time photographing them.
In the gardens, there was a large pond with coy fish and turtles. A man was feeding the turtles bread with chopsticks. I realized why once I looked at the turtles, once of them was a すっぽん, snapping turtle. It was really fun to watch! The coy fish swarmed if you threw food into the water for them. It was creepy and breath-taking at the same time!
Near the lake were two women and a cute little boy. I tried talking to the little boy, but he was just barely two years old and apparently was in no mood to talk. He was more interested in his toy haha. I did get to talk to his mom and her friend though. They were both
Doshisha University alumni! They thought we were tourists at first and then surprised once they found out that all of us were foreign exchange students. We talked for a while and then took some photos. I’ll have to get those from Stacey.
As we continued our jaunt through the gardens, we ran into a group of women dressed in kimono. We walked up to them and asked if we could take pictures with them. They happily agreed and asked us questions about where we came from, why we are in
Japan, etc. I called Tiyanah Chibi-chan and they giggled at her cute nickname. I think they were quite fond of Tiyanah since one of the ladies gave her fan to Tiyanah! They were really nice!
We all were quite hungry after walking through the gardens so we went to a cheap gyudon (beef bowl) shop near campus. I got gyudon and miso soup for 250 yen! It was pretty good. The cold water was the best though since I was quite dehydrated at that point. (Actually that restaurant was Matsuya, the same one from before.)
Fran, Chibi-chan, Stacey, and I decided to go to Kyoto Station to get some maps and explore all the stores there. It’s such a huge Station that I still haven’t been through all of it! On the way to Kyoto Station, we rode our bikes past the East Hongan-ji Temple.
We all went to bed early that night since we had the health exam for girls at university early in the morning.
We met in the lobby around 8 and rode our bikes to school. The health exam lasted about 3 minutes. Basically, they took an x-ray of our chest and that was it. We made sure to get there early because the line builds up quickly since you go in one by one. We were some of the first and we had to wait for a while, so I can only imagine what it would’ve been like if we’d gone later. To be honest, I’m not sure what the point of that health check was. They didn’t ask any questions regarding our health, only a chest x-ray. Definitely the shortest and strangest health check I’ve ever had to say the least.
After the “health exam,” we decided to go to a big market that was going on that day at a temple a little south of our apartment building. I think it was
Toji Temple. Anyway, the market was huge! There were so many things to buy and so much food to try as well! I decided not to buy anything since I’ve spent so much money this month getting settled in, but it was amazing just to walk around and look at the shops.
I ate taiyaki, a pancake-like dessert shaped like a fish with filling in the middle. You could pick anko (sweet red bean paste), green tea cream, caramel, chocolate, custard, or a few other flavors. I chose green tea and Stacey chose anko. They were delicious!
Marius and Tiyanah got kakikoori, shaved ice with flavoring on top. Marius got mango while Tiyanah got what tasted like cotton candy. She wasn’t sure what flavor since she just pointed and asked for pink and blue haha.
Fran and I got takoyaki (breaded balls with octopus inside and sauce on top) a little later. It was really good, but the tako (octopus) was a little chewier than normal. We started talking to one of the girls working the takoyaki stand. Her name is Misuzu and she’s a break dancer and dance instructor! She invited us to a Halloween costume party since she’s having a dancing showcase there next month. I think a group of us will get together and go (assuming we can find the place haha)! Anyway, it was really fun talking to Misuzu and her little sister. One of the other shop owners came over and gave some pickled vegetables to Misuzu and her family. She gave us an umeboshi (pickled Japanese plumb) to try. It looked like it would be sweet, but when I took a bite it was extremely salty and sour! I managed to swallow my bite, but I doubt I’ll ever eat that again. That officially goes on my list of Japanese foods I’d really rather never eat again during my lifetime, along with natto. Blek. It was definitely a unique experience though! It was worth it to see Marius’ reaction when he took a bite. Priceless!
Misuzu is supposed to message me on Facebook so we can hang out soon. I really hope she does. She seems like a really fun person!
Oh! At the market a film crew came through. I guess someone famous was with them since the Japanese people whipped out their cell phones and started taking pictures. I took a picture of the crew since I found it amusing, but I have no idea who that guy was. I did find it amusing to watch everyone scurrying around trying to get his picture though! I heard a lady asking if she could take a picture with him and the crew kept trying to lead her away. Interesting.
That evening, Fran, Chibi-chan, Rakan, Stacey, and I went to a cultural exchange at the Japanese inn behind our building. It was about tsukimi, the moon viewing festival. We got to make tsukimi dango (a sweet rice ball dessert) and eat tsukimi udon. It was really fun!
After making the tsukimi dango, a man told us about the shakuhachi (Japanese flute made of bamboo) and played for us. He explained that the shakuhachi can sound very similar to the Native American Indian flutes. I realized that they really do sound alike after he mentioned that. One of the ladies who works at the inn played a shamisen covered in snake skin for us. She sang a song while she played as well! Her voice was lovely. She told us that she played music and instruments from
Okinawa. It was really interesting!
We ate the tsukimi udon after the flute and shamisen performance. I was really hungry after walking around and being in the sun so much that day that the food tasted extra good!
Everyone ate quickly. The meal was followed by a Buddhist monk telling us Japanese folk tales on a kamishibai, kind of like a story book. He told us a story of how god came down from the skies to test the kindness of the animals by disguising himself as a man in need of food. All the animals gathered together to get food for the old man. Everyone accept the rabbit found food to give the man. The rabbit went to the man and told him to strike two rocks over wood to start a fire. The rabbit told the man that since he couldn’t find any food for him, the man should eat the rabbit instead. Then the rabbit jumped into the fire and died. The man was so moved by the rabbit’s sacrifice that he revealed himself, took the rabbit up into the sky, and placed the rabbit on the moon. There’s more to the story, but those are the basics.
The monk also told a story about chopsticks that are 3 meters long. There was a lazy man who laid around and never did work. One day, god came down to him and basically reminded him that good, hard-working people will go to heaven while bad people will go to hell. The man figured that it would be the same either way so god showed him the difference. First they went to hell. In hell, there were restaurants and people were lined up to get food. After getting their food, they would sit down to eat, but they had to feed themselves with chopsticks that were 3 meters long. There were demons around making sure that no one ate with their hands. The people tried and tried to eat, but the chopsticks were too long and in the end, they had to leave without eating a single bite.
Then, god took the man to heaven. It was similar to hell, but the scenery was beautiful and the people were dressed in nice clothes. At meal time, the people in heaven had to eat with the same 3 meter chopsticks, but instead of feeding themselves, they fed each other. That way, everyone was happy and left with a full stomach. The man returned to earth and changed his ways. He found a wife whom he treated well, had a child, and fed his wife since she was busy taking care of the baby.
The stories were very interesting. They remind me of folk tales and fables in the States. The story always has a moral at the end.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the monk told us about himself and why he started telling stories at the beginning. At one point, he was hospitalized for quite a while. He really wanted someone to talk to, but the nurses and doctors were really busy so they didn’t have time to talk to him. He decided to start making these picture books to tell stories. Now, he travels all around
Japan telling stories at hospitals and cultural events.
I really enjoyed the cultural event at Sakura Kaede Inn. I think I learned a little more about Japanese culture, and affirmed the fact that Japanese really love food haha. I believe they are having an event next month as well and I hope I can participate again! Oh, two other girls from our apartment went to the event as well. Their names are Kay and Jen. They’re from
Hong Kong and they’re really nice! Jen lives two doors down from me. Kay is in level 7 at Doshisha! Her Japanese must be amazing! I think we might go to Osaka this Friday, and they might join us!
After the event, we made a quick snack run to Lawson’s. Fran found a tsukimi manjuu (dessert bun with bean paste inside) that had a rabbit on top. We understood since we had just heard that story haha! We all gathered in Fran’s room to watch Spirited Away in Japanese before calling it a night.
Today, I’ve just been resting in my apartment. The sun is a little intense today so I’m going to hang around and rest inside until evening.
That’s it for now. I should be getting internet soon. Finally!! J
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Since those entries, I've done a little more sight seeing and all that good stuff (Shimogamo Lunar Festival, Osaka, Arashiyama, etc.)! Although, classes start on Monday, so my traveling will be reduced to the weekends after that. I'm looking forward to classes to be honest. I want to start reviewing and getting better at Japanese! I really enjoy all the free time, but I haven't had any classes since early May haha! I bet I won't be so eager once classes actually start though...
I've taken a ton of pictures, but they are being stubborn and not uploading, so I'll go ahead and post this massive entry. I'll edit and put in videos and photos as soon as I can figure out and solve the problem.
It's super late and I'm getting up early tomorrow to go to a church with Leah tomorrow! I wonder how much I'll be able to understand...
That's it for now!
I'll try to update and add photos/videos soon! :)
