Japanese was a lot better today. I'm so glad. But I still want to be in level 3.
Now I have a forever long break from 10-1:00. I'll probably eat lunch around 12ish. But then I have three classes in a row. Blahh...and those are gonna last until 5:20. Gross.
Um...not much to report otherwise. I didn't get drunk on ice cream or beer last night. I have the ice cream, but I have yet to eat it. I was too full after my dinner.
Um...so yeah. I guess that's all for now. Most likely I'll be updating later because I'm gonna be really bored. Actually, I could get started on my homework...good plan, Claudia.
K, byee.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I'm in definite need of some lovin today.
I guess this day was coming...my first day of homesickness/culture shock/frustration I guess. I just got back from talking with my Japanese professor...and of course I had to tell her that I've been studying Japanese for 6 years total (not good). I think I'm gonna stop saying that I took it in high school now...those four years really didn't count and it only makes me sound like I should be fluent. Anyways, she said that we'll wait until next week to decide to move me down...yes, James, I'm set on moving down. The only thing now is that I'm torn between wanting to just bomb my review test so that she has to move me down or else actually studying and seeing how I do. I know I should (and probably will) do the later, but I really don't want to. I just hate that I'm going to have so much anxiety going into Japanese class this week...mainly because I KNOW I don't belong there. She thinks that I should challenge myself (which most anyone else would do) but I can't get it through to her where my passion and my interest lies in Japan/Japanese. I miss Nakajima sensei.
Oh not good...I've noticed that every time I've written the words "I miss" today I've started to sorta tear up. I am NOT going to let myself cry at school. I just want to go back to my room and call my mom and cry...but I can't call my mom because I don't have a phone. So I'll just go home and cry.
Alex and I want to get drunk on ice cream and beer tonight (but I really can't drink tonight because I have good old Japanese at 9am). Really it's all for my sake though...she likes her Japanese class. Actually everyone else I've talked to has liked their class. Am I really the only person that was placed too high? Am I just that good on tests or something?? Something is wrong here.
My feelings of isolation from the first night are coming back. Yes I've made some friends, but I just wish there was one other person here with me that has known me for years...and knows and feels exactly the same way as I do right now. I need a Lemonjello's stress reliever and some Akiko and I'll be good to go. The closest I have here is the little caramel frappaccino type thing I got from the combini and my pick of any random Japanese person around....just not the same, ya know? Otherwise I need to just lay in the middle of the floor of my Pieters room with Abby and sing songs and cry. Or go to the beach at night and just sit in the freezingness and get away. Yes. That is exactly what I need right now.
On the other hand though, I really like my other classes that I've had so far. My society and culture class is gonna be cool, like I've said. And my cultural prisms psych class I just had today. The only bad thing about that class is that it's right after lunch so I got kinda sleepy as he lectured on. But we're going to go over a lot of sweet material, so I'm pretty pumped. I have him for my other psych class too. Yay. Those classes will hopefully balance out Japanese (this week at least).
Oh god, I don't want to hate this semester all because of one class. But I can't bring myself to bomb that review test. I won't. It's not what I do. But I just don't want to be in that class. I know I'm stuck on this right now, but it's all I can think about today...and how much I miss people at home. Oh...I said the tearing-up words...oops! *sniff*
Random: I might get to go to Kobe this weekend. I'm really hoping...because I'll get some ocean time. Well, port time at least. Haha. But I just want to sit out on the port and look at the water for a while. And of course see my favorite city. But I dunno if I'm gonna get to or not yet. I'm still figuring out how to get there from here. Can't be that hard. It's pretty close.
Lalala...I felt like there was more for me to write about...soooo many thoughts are running through my head today.
I need to see Saori. I better get a phone soon so I can call her. She'll be a little bit of a comfort as long as it's not awkward...but it won't be. We've known each other for too long. Oh! And I need to see Masako. Oh my gosh. I just remembered that my brother is in Osaka. What?! I totally forgot! Oh well...it's not like he's working very hard to contact me. I emailed him and tried to talk to him online, but he hasn't emailed back and he couldn't chat at that moment. Blahhhhhhh. Otherwise it'd be nice to see Colin or Mercedes in Tokyo...umm but that's a little far.
How long have I been here? 10 days. Wow. Well, after this week things can only get better...I'm hoping.
Most likely I'll write more later because I'm stuck here until 5:20ish so I can leave with Alex. No biggie. I should probably go buy some books.
I guess this day was coming...my first day of homesickness/culture shock/frustration I guess. I just got back from talking with my Japanese professor...and of course I had to tell her that I've been studying Japanese for 6 years total (not good). I think I'm gonna stop saying that I took it in high school now...those four years really didn't count and it only makes me sound like I should be fluent. Anyways, she said that we'll wait until next week to decide to move me down...yes, James, I'm set on moving down. The only thing now is that I'm torn between wanting to just bomb my review test so that she has to move me down or else actually studying and seeing how I do. I know I should (and probably will) do the later, but I really don't want to. I just hate that I'm going to have so much anxiety going into Japanese class this week...mainly because I KNOW I don't belong there. She thinks that I should challenge myself (which most anyone else would do) but I can't get it through to her where my passion and my interest lies in Japan/Japanese. I miss Nakajima sensei.
Oh not good...I've noticed that every time I've written the words "I miss" today I've started to sorta tear up. I am NOT going to let myself cry at school. I just want to go back to my room and call my mom and cry...but I can't call my mom because I don't have a phone. So I'll just go home and cry.
Alex and I want to get drunk on ice cream and beer tonight (but I really can't drink tonight because I have good old Japanese at 9am). Really it's all for my sake though...she likes her Japanese class. Actually everyone else I've talked to has liked their class. Am I really the only person that was placed too high? Am I just that good on tests or something?? Something is wrong here.
My feelings of isolation from the first night are coming back. Yes I've made some friends, but I just wish there was one other person here with me that has known me for years...and knows and feels exactly the same way as I do right now. I need a Lemonjello's stress reliever and some Akiko and I'll be good to go. The closest I have here is the little caramel frappaccino type thing I got from the combini and my pick of any random Japanese person around....just not the same, ya know? Otherwise I need to just lay in the middle of the floor of my Pieters room with Abby and sing songs and cry. Or go to the beach at night and just sit in the freezingness and get away. Yes. That is exactly what I need right now.
On the other hand though, I really like my other classes that I've had so far. My society and culture class is gonna be cool, like I've said. And my cultural prisms psych class I just had today. The only bad thing about that class is that it's right after lunch so I got kinda sleepy as he lectured on. But we're going to go over a lot of sweet material, so I'm pretty pumped. I have him for my other psych class too. Yay. Those classes will hopefully balance out Japanese (this week at least).
Oh god, I don't want to hate this semester all because of one class. But I can't bring myself to bomb that review test. I won't. It's not what I do. But I just don't want to be in that class. I know I'm stuck on this right now, but it's all I can think about today...and how much I miss people at home. Oh...I said the tearing-up words...oops! *sniff*
Random: I might get to go to Kobe this weekend. I'm really hoping...because I'll get some ocean time. Well, port time at least. Haha. But I just want to sit out on the port and look at the water for a while. And of course see my favorite city. But I dunno if I'm gonna get to or not yet. I'm still figuring out how to get there from here. Can't be that hard. It's pretty close.
Lalala...I felt like there was more for me to write about...soooo many thoughts are running through my head today.
I need to see Saori. I better get a phone soon so I can call her. She'll be a little bit of a comfort as long as it's not awkward...but it won't be. We've known each other for too long. Oh! And I need to see Masako. Oh my gosh. I just remembered that my brother is in Osaka. What?! I totally forgot! Oh well...it's not like he's working very hard to contact me. I emailed him and tried to talk to him online, but he hasn't emailed back and he couldn't chat at that moment. Blahhhhhhh. Otherwise it'd be nice to see Colin or Mercedes in Tokyo...umm but that's a little far.
How long have I been here? 10 days. Wow. Well, after this week things can only get better...I'm hoping.
Most likely I'll write more later because I'm stuck here until 5:20ish so I can leave with Alex. No biggie. I should probably go buy some books.
Monday, January 29, 2007
First Japanese class...
So...it's offical...my life sucks.
I do NOT belong in Japanese 4. I just got out of that class and I seriously SUCKED!!! I really want to drop down to a lower level, but now I'm too afraid to go talk to my professor because I don't know Japanese!!! But I just heard something that'll make talking to her better...talking to her about going to a lower level will be easier than taking the class. (Thanks Dan!) Oh em gee. Blahh...why did I come to Japan again? Oh yeah, because I don't like learning Japanese....? What? Ok, in all seriousness...it's because I like Japanese culture and stuff...I'm totally fine with my level of Japanese understanding at this point.
Ok, enough of that. I have a break until 12 when Alex and I are going to lunch...then I'm off to one of my psych classes. Yay! Then I'll go see my Japanese professor during office hours (once I write down pretty much everything I want to say!)...ugh.
I do NOT belong in Japanese 4. I just got out of that class and I seriously SUCKED!!! I really want to drop down to a lower level, but now I'm too afraid to go talk to my professor because I don't know Japanese!!! But I just heard something that'll make talking to her better...talking to her about going to a lower level will be easier than taking the class. (Thanks Dan!) Oh em gee. Blahh...why did I come to Japan again? Oh yeah, because I don't like learning Japanese....? What? Ok, in all seriousness...it's because I like Japanese culture and stuff...I'm totally fine with my level of Japanese understanding at this point.
Ok, enough of that. I have a break until 12 when Alex and I are going to lunch...then I'm off to one of my psych classes. Yay! Then I'll go see my Japanese professor during office hours (once I write down pretty much everything I want to say!)...ugh.
A long update!
Well, I couldn't log into my blog forever because I wasn't on my computer and I couldn't remember the site, so here's come clips from my other journal to catch you up!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1/20
I'm HEEEEEEEEEERE!
Hey guys! I have arrived! Amazing! It's still kind of strange for me...just being here all alone for once...I don't know what to do with myself. Any other time I've been with at least one other person I knew...I had that little bit of comfort. Eh. I'm not gonna spill all my guts, but so far I'm just tired, hungry, and feeling gross after the 14 hour flight. It's only 11:14 here, but it's 9a.m. at home...so my body's all confused. After this entry though I'm headed to bed.
I miss everyone a lot. Actually for the first time (ever really) I teared up when I was leaving my mom at the airport. I had already gone through security and everything and I was just sitting in the waiting area, and I teared up a little. I would have let myself really cry had I not been in the middle of a busy airport surrounded by strangers. I'm doing better now without my mom, but I do wish I had at least one other person to be chatting, laughing, and exploring with. Don't get me wrong, I've met plenty of people, but for some reason tonight I was the only person on our flight and in our shuttle group that is living in the dorm I'm in. So I got the tour and everything all by myself. My roommate has not showed up to our room yet even though she's already arrived. (I know this because all of her stuff is put away). I'm hoping it doesn't bother her that I'll probably be asleep by the time she comes in.
I need to get some yen for my travelers checks or else I'm not going to be able to eat for the next day or two. I have a total of 3000 yen (which is roughly 30 bucks...maybe a little less). My last meal was our grossy dinner (they called it breakfast) on the plane around 4:00...I'll just need to find a conbini (convience store) tomorrow and get something for breakfast/lunch. And I need to find a friend to do it all with. :)
Umm...I don't know what to say about the people here so far...except that they're pretty much how I thought they'd be. Most of them seem a little out there...and of course my roommate brought along all of her anime and a TON of manga (japanese comics). I don't even know how she could have brought all of that and still been under the weight limit with everything else. I'll find out I guess...once I actually meet her. But most of the people I've personally met so far are very nice.
Hmm...well I think that's all I've got for now.
G'night everyone!
1/21
Oh heyyyy guys!
Well, today was MUCH better than yesterday. I met a few other girls and they're soo fun! We went exploring today and ended up seeing our school, some grocery stores, a 99 cent store, and then we went to a little ramen shop. The owner of the ramen shop didn't speak any English at all so I got to speak a little. It was really good. I'm remembering things...slowly but surely! I haven't really gotten too nervous to speak yet...more with the other international students than with any Japanese people. Haha...maybe I'm more comfortable right now because I probably know more Japanese than the other girls I've been hanging out with. Who knows!
I have my Japanese placement exam on Tuesday...getting a little nervous for that. I really should study, but I don't know how much help it's going to be. I haven't really looked at any Japanese stuff since last spring semester...so yeah. I'm a little screwed. But I'm not going to focus too much on kanji because I'm just planning on taking the spoken japanese class...and not the reading/writing class. Then hopefully I get into a bunch of psych classes!
I'm not really sure what the plan is for the rest of the day, but I'm sure we'll find something super to do.
Ahh...my stomach is very thankful for food in it. Yay!
Oh! One last thing!!!! So, no one is really going to know what I'm talking about except Ann...but when I went to Japan in high school there's this tea that we drank all the time. It's a rose tea. Well...when I got back to America I looked for it everywhere...all the Japanese food stores and asian markets and everything, but I couldn't find it. I even looked online for it...I knew the brand, but not the exact name of it. Well...I never found it. Even when I was back in Japan for may term I couldn't find it. WELLL!!!!! I found it today!!!! We were at one of the convenience stores and I saw something that kinda looked like it...it was the same brand...but the label was a bit different. I bought it anyways. And it was RIGHT! :) I'm sooo happy!! hehehe...ok. Enough of that. But yay! Now I just need to find some peach qoo and i'll be set!
Hey...GO COLTS! I'm gonna totally try and watch while I'm here...it's on at 8:00am Monday morning here...yay yay yay! Me and another girl from Indiana are trying to work out a plan for watching the superbowl at 8:00am Feb 5th...unfortunately we have class that day. Boo. We'll see what happens!
P.S. I met my roommate last night...she came in right after I got in bed. She was at a concert. She was here last semester...that's why she was so settled in already. She's from Finland and her name is Marika (pronounced kinda like Milk-ah...sorta...that's how I remember it at least). So yeah. :) She's very nice...quiet, but nice.
I'm really glad I've met some cool girls here now too. They're soo freaking excited to be here so it makes me that much more excited to be here too. :) Happy day!
1/22
GO COLTS!!!!!
You all will have to fill me in on the plays and stuff...I'm going to probably watch a lot of the game online. Meaning, I'm going to sit at one of the computers in the computer lab and refresh the screen to see the score. Luckily I have a friend here, Drea, who is from Brownsburg and goes to DePaw who is obsessed too. :) She bought a Colts football for her homestay family!! She wants to keep it though. :)
So last night was really fun. After we got back from exploring we just hung out and talked about what classes we might take (if we're lucky enough to get good lottery numbers...otherwise I hear we get totally screwed!) I heard that one of the professors that I was hoping to take a lot of classes from is terrible. No one goes to his classes, he doesn't explain anything even if you ask him to ellaborate, and he gets kinda snooty if you ask. Oh well, I have to take one of them at least...and I've never really had a problem with a teacher before (minus Mr. Purdun) so I think it'll be fine.
Anyways, after we hung out, we were all hungry for dinner so we got ready and looked for a place to eat. We walked into some stores near the seminar houses (dorms) first and looked around. Even though I have like no money for food, I bought some slippers because my feet have been FREEZING in the sem house! They're really cute though. :) And surprisingly cheap for Japan! Only 580yen! I was shocked at the prices at this store! Anyways, then we walked back toward our school. The girls said that there are a couple restaurants that people had shown them the day before over there. We saw one and it had a sign up that said "We are a cheap Japanese style restaurant and have English menu" and gave some general prices for beer and a meal. So we went in. It was small inside, but soo nice. Not nice as in fancy, but nice as in the service and the food (minus the fish flakes they put on my yakisoba...not so nice). It looks like if we were with a huge group it would have been such a blast!
Anyways, we ordered our drinks first and then got food. I had this grape/yogurt flavored cocktail drink thing. It was pretty good, but this other girl, Alex, got this peach flavored drink thing and it was really sweet but better than mine! And it was pink. I took a cool picture...I'll post it once I'm able to get my pics on my computer. Drea ordered an Asahi and it was ginormous! She downed it pretty quick though.
So we got our food...I had yakisoba, Drea had yakiudon, Alex got gyoza (which i totally need to go back and get!), and Kimmy got yakitori. Yumm. It was a really good time. Yay! So we're thinking that we'll probably end up spending some more time there this semester!
When we got back we were all exhausted even though it was only like 8:30 or something. I went online and chatted with my mom and dad...and then I got ready for bed, wrote in my real journal, and fell asleep. My roommate didn't get back until late last night again. I don't even know when she got in. But I went to bed around 11:30-12 and she wasn't back. The thing is is that they lock the gate outside at 11, and during orientation we don't have keys to get in yet, so she probably had to call Okaasan or my RA or something. Oh well.
Well I guess that's all for now...I'm pretty sure I read my alarm clock wrong in my room because it's only 8:30 and I was going to get up at 9. I totally thought it said it was almost 9...but it must have been almost 8. I'll have to make sure I'm not going crazy!
1/22 (later)
Oh em gee. What I wouldn't pay to be in Indiana right now!!!!!
WAY TO GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!
WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!
So freaking excited!!!! Why am I in Japan right now?!?!?!?!
1/23
I'm so tired. And it's only 8:00pm. I even went to bed early-ish last night. I've been getting up around 8 or 9 every morning, but that's not too bad really when I'm getting to bed by 12 the latest.
Anyways, I'm kinda too tired to write much. There's sorta stuff to tell though. Umm...I had my Japanese placement exam today. Ha. That was bad. I didn't study at all. But see, I'm nervous for two reasons. One, I'm afraid they'll put me in a class that's too simple...and two, I'm afraid they'll put me in a class too advanced. I'm more afraid of number two. Also, I had marked that I wanted to be in the reading and writing class too, but I'm pretty sure I don't anymore. I just want to take psych and other social science classes...and maybe a religion one if I can't get in the others. So yeah. I'll probably do that instead. Yay!
Umm...last night I got some AMAZING okonomiyaki. Ahhh....it was sooo delicious! Did I write this already? No. Ok, umm...yeah it was soo freaking good. And then me, Kime, and Alex went back to our favorite bar...where we saw a couple of bugs crawling around. That kinda made us nervous, but eh...we were just drinking drinks mainly. Then we walked back home. My body was freezing to death but my face was a glowin' so yeah. I was just so tired after that that I went to bed after writing in my journal journal.
I've been really good about writing in my journal here...every night before bed...leaving no detail out really. I mean, I leave some details out, but I cover the basics. I've realized I'm not nearly the journaler I used to be in high school where I'd write every single detail and every single thought I had that day. I was sooo cool. I'm jealous of my past skills and motivation...haha.
So today while we were waiting for our computers to be ready (p.s. they made me download some anti-virus software onto my mac...weirdos...but it won't start working until tomorrow they said. Hmm...) me, Kime, and Alex were hanging out in the CIE (center for international education) lounge and this random Japanese boy came up to us. He was telling us about how he does "trans" dancing...like raving...with his "best friends," his glow sticks. Haha...he said he has no friends except himself in his mirror at home because he practices all the time. Haha...then he proceeded to invite us to this club in Osaka where he performs or something...and on the certain nights that he's gonna be there he can get us half off the cover or something if we contact him. Hmm...dunno about that. Later two girls came over to ask us about America (b/c they're going to LA for vacation in a couple weeks) and we asked them about the club. They said it's very popular. We figure if other people decide to go then we might go with them. Who knows. But yeah, later these girls came over and were asking us about America. They wanted to know what to do in LA. Since they were only 18 and 19 they probably can't get into clubs there...or else they obviously won't be able to drink...too bad too because they were talking in Japanese to each other but I understood them...and one girl said that she just wants to get into clubs. We told them to go shopping, go to the beach, go to Hollywood, and eat good pizza, and get some Mexican food! Then we all started getting super hungry for mexican food...yummmmm. Then they asked us to teach them some American slang...so we taught them stuff like "Sucks," "What's up?" "Shoot," "Jerk," "Yesss," "Sweet," "I'm pissed," "I'm so screwed," and stuff like that. Then we asked them to teach us some too. I wrote them all down...:) Yay! It was really fun.
Umm...then for dinner Kime and I got some stuff at the super market and made it back here. She got a ramen cup and I got a yakisoba one...unfortunately I got my weird sicky feeling and had to just stop eating when I had had like 3 bites. I had to throw it away and everything. I mean it wasn't the best I'd ever had, but it was still my dinner. :(
So now I'm dead tired...I wasted 21 mins on this...but I think it's about time I go back to my room, write in my journal, get ready for bed, and then go to bed...so early!!! Ahh!!! I'm such an old lady. Well, I guess considering the fact that we probably walked over 5 or 6 miles today it's ok that I'm a little tired. I even did way more walking than I needed to. Walked to school, then it turned out that I had to go back home to get my charger for my computer, then back to school again, then to the same bank from yesterday (where they are oh so nice...and I got to speak some Japanese...yay), then off for a wild goose chase to find this random bike shop that we ended up not finding, then back to school from there, then to the supermarket, then back home again. It seriously might have been more than 5 miles...probably. I'm thinking yes. Anyways...my feet were tired, my legs are a little sore, not too bad...I wish they were more sore (I love being sore), but my body is just exhausted now. And I have to get up and be at school by 9:30 anyways...soooooooooo yeah! With no further ado, I'm leaving.
Byeee! Peace out! (we taught them that too)
1/24
Oh my goodness! I didn't even realize I hadn't explained what okonomiyaki and yakisoba are!! Well! Okonomiyaki is really famous to this area and Hiroshima area...but it's like a pancake with cabbage and meat (I had pork) and ginger and other tastyness! It's grilled on a skillet thing and then smothered in this soooo good sauce and at this place they put mayo on it. Mayo is the Japanese people's favorite thing EVER. There's mayo on everything...seriously. It can get a little ridiculous. But on this is was delicious. :) Yay! Kime didn't really like hers, but that's just too bad...because it was amazing!! Well, minus the fact that they put this fishy powder stuff on it...but i just scraped it off and put on more delicious sauce. I'll get a pic up here soon enough...hopefully!
Next! Yakisoba!! Well, Abby, you've seen me eating it before at school. It's literal translation is "fried " (yaki) "noodles" (soba). It's fried noodles made with the same sort of sauce from the okonomiyaki...soo good. Then normally there's some meat (like beef or pork) in it, bean sprouts, and sometimes cabbage in it. It's freaking amazing...as long as it doesn't have grossy fish flakes on it...(it did my first night I had it at our favorite cute little bar thing).
So there you go! Oh! Yakiudon is the same thing as yakisoba except that udon are these really thick noodles.
Yup! That's all about the food for now!!!
But I guess I could talk about today...there's not much to say except that I picked my number for registration. There are a total of 408 people in my class...and I got number 235. Ugh. I went and talked to the psych teacher though, just to see what the difference was between his classes...and he said that his classes are never full. So I'm hoping that works out. The other class I really want to take is an anthropology class, but it's a whole lot about culture and stuff too...it just seems awesome...so I'm thinking a lot of people are going to take it...I hope not!!!!
1/27
They placed me in Japanese 4D. That means the second highest level of level 4. Level 6 is fluent....level 5 is almost fluent. And level 4 is NOT where I belong I think. We'll have to see how it goes for the first week or so, but I definitely think I guessed too well on my placement exam or something.
So I haven't written in a while. Since last time I've registered for my classes. Other than Japanese, I'm in two intercultural psych classes and two anthropology classes. One of the anthropology classes is "Youth in Japan" that I may or may not drop actually. I really should stick with it because of my hikikomori research from last semester, but the teachers really suggest not taking as many classes so that we can fully enjoy Japan. So I'll have to see how those classes go too.
Today me and a bunch of international students went to Kyoto. Of course I've been there several times, but we went to one new shrine that I'd not been to. It was such a nice day for the trip too! We had a really great group and some very nice tour guides from Kansai Gaidai. We went to Yasaka shrine and Kiyomizu temple (which I had been to before). It was such a blast. We all bonded from the fact that one of the guys actually stepped into the water at Kiyomizu temple which was a big no no. Kiyo means pure or clear and mizu means water....and umm...stepping in it is just not ok. Some people were trying to reach the water but couldn't so he thought he'd go over and try to help them out...well, turns out he couldn't reach it either without stepping in it. A guard ended up yelling at him and we all had a good laugh from it. After that we all went out the dinner down the street. It was so fun! I finally got to meet some people outside of my seminar house. It was such a great day! Plus it was Alex's half birthday, so yay!
Tomorrow there's nothing planned so we'll see what comes up. My first plan is to sleep in though! I can't wait!
Oyasumi!
1/29
Ok...
Let me begin by saying that I've been here a little over one week. It feels like it's been three weeks already! I've been so busy! But not really. Anyways, yes, one week down. And sure I've done quite a great deal of walking since I've been here...of course! But how ridiculous is it that my BRAND NEW jeans (jeans I bought 2 days before I left) are already far too big for me!!! At this rate I'm going to need my mom to send me new jeans every other week!!! I really don't know what I'm going to do...I would go buy a belt, but the belts here are waay too small for me! I'm screwed pretty much. But I'm not complaining that much...I'll take being a smaller size with a baggier clothes over the alternative anyday!
Well I had my first day of classes today. Normally I'd have Japanese everyday of the week, but for some reason they're starting that tomorrow instead. I just had one class today..."Contemporary Issues in Japanese Society and Culture." The professor seems really cool as do most people in my class. We're going to talk about a lot of interesting topics too. Today he started out with how the Japanese people are becoming extinct (true)...very very interesting stuff! Yay! Tomorrow I have Japanese (eek! so scared!) and one of my "Cultural Prisms" psych class. That should be cool too. Mainly I'm just nervous for Japanese...ick.
We finally got to start cooking last night!! My friend, Alex, and I made gyoza!! (Be jealous Abby and Ann...and really everyone!) Yummm soooo good! :) The good old family recipie. Except for the fact that my burner was burning half of them and not cooking the other half in the pan, they were delicious!!! Of course, once I get my cable cord I'll post pics! My mom said the cord was in the mail...so it's on the way!
I'm so glad we can cook now because I was spending waaaay too much money on eating out. So annoying! But now we've got free range of the kitchen...except that they don't have ovens! I don't know about that...but I guess it doesn't matter that much...I'm not planning on baking any bread or roasting a turkey or anything, so I should be good. Just no chocolate chip cookies or apple pies...darn.
So I'm freaking in LOVE with this garlic bread from Top World (a grocery store with a little mini bakery attached to it). OMG. They didn't have it all weekend and I was so sad...but today when I went in I wanted to buy out the place!! I didn't though...gotta save money like I said!! But it's so amazing! Maybe I'll put up a pic of that too...hahaha....I'm such a loser.
For a few days my left ankle was really hurting me and I almost rolled it twice now. I'm really afraid that that is going to happen and I'll be totally screwed here in Japan. I walk everywhere...I've gotten used to it. Yesterday all Alex and I did was go to the store and come home to make gyoza and we felt so lazy for only walking that little bit. A normal day MUST now consist of at least 5 miles of walking....practically....or else I feel like I've done NOTHING. But yeah, I have these visions of falling off the side of the street and into the little gutter things that run along the road (really it's this little ditch thing that is sometimes covered by a metal grate) and breaking my leg. Or I nearly get hit by a car or else almost roll my ankle. Not very good things to happen to someone in a country that's all about walking/biking. Well, I guess getting hit by a car isn't good anywhere...but yeah. You know what I mean. Haha.
OH! Can I just tell you the funniest thing that happened to me today? Ok, I'm going to. Well, I was walking to school and listening to my ipod when Queen's "Bicycle Race" comes on. Hahahahaha...it was SOOOOOOO hilarious to be listening to that song when so many people were riding their bikes around me!! It really made me want a bike...really bad. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a bike this summer if I can...and for next year at school. But yeah, I was laughing to myself the whole time! I loved it! Just a little bright spot of my day.
Hmm...well I guess that's all for now...I'm having some tonkatsu, rice, and a HOMEMADE SALAD finally!! I just miss my ranch dressing...no biggie though. :) P.S. Tonkatsu is pork cutlets that are breaded in panko breadcrumbs and then fried. Sooo good!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So that's the update up until now!!! :) Feel free to leave comments!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1/20
I'm HEEEEEEEEEERE!
Hey guys! I have arrived! Amazing! It's still kind of strange for me...just being here all alone for once...I don't know what to do with myself. Any other time I've been with at least one other person I knew...I had that little bit of comfort. Eh. I'm not gonna spill all my guts, but so far I'm just tired, hungry, and feeling gross after the 14 hour flight. It's only 11:14 here, but it's 9a.m. at home...so my body's all confused. After this entry though I'm headed to bed.
I miss everyone a lot. Actually for the first time (ever really) I teared up when I was leaving my mom at the airport. I had already gone through security and everything and I was just sitting in the waiting area, and I teared up a little. I would have let myself really cry had I not been in the middle of a busy airport surrounded by strangers. I'm doing better now without my mom, but I do wish I had at least one other person to be chatting, laughing, and exploring with. Don't get me wrong, I've met plenty of people, but for some reason tonight I was the only person on our flight and in our shuttle group that is living in the dorm I'm in. So I got the tour and everything all by myself. My roommate has not showed up to our room yet even though she's already arrived. (I know this because all of her stuff is put away). I'm hoping it doesn't bother her that I'll probably be asleep by the time she comes in.
I need to get some yen for my travelers checks or else I'm not going to be able to eat for the next day or two. I have a total of 3000 yen (which is roughly 30 bucks...maybe a little less). My last meal was our grossy dinner (they called it breakfast) on the plane around 4:00...I'll just need to find a conbini (convience store) tomorrow and get something for breakfast/lunch. And I need to find a friend to do it all with. :)
Umm...I don't know what to say about the people here so far...except that they're pretty much how I thought they'd be. Most of them seem a little out there...and of course my roommate brought along all of her anime and a TON of manga (japanese comics). I don't even know how she could have brought all of that and still been under the weight limit with everything else. I'll find out I guess...once I actually meet her. But most of the people I've personally met so far are very nice.
Hmm...well I think that's all I've got for now.
G'night everyone!
1/21
Oh heyyyy guys!
Well, today was MUCH better than yesterday. I met a few other girls and they're soo fun! We went exploring today and ended up seeing our school, some grocery stores, a 99 cent store, and then we went to a little ramen shop. The owner of the ramen shop didn't speak any English at all so I got to speak a little. It was really good. I'm remembering things...slowly but surely! I haven't really gotten too nervous to speak yet...more with the other international students than with any Japanese people. Haha...maybe I'm more comfortable right now because I probably know more Japanese than the other girls I've been hanging out with. Who knows!
I have my Japanese placement exam on Tuesday...getting a little nervous for that. I really should study, but I don't know how much help it's going to be. I haven't really looked at any Japanese stuff since last spring semester...so yeah. I'm a little screwed. But I'm not going to focus too much on kanji because I'm just planning on taking the spoken japanese class...and not the reading/writing class. Then hopefully I get into a bunch of psych classes!
I'm not really sure what the plan is for the rest of the day, but I'm sure we'll find something super to do.
Ahh...my stomach is very thankful for food in it. Yay!
Oh! One last thing!!!! So, no one is really going to know what I'm talking about except Ann...but when I went to Japan in high school there's this tea that we drank all the time. It's a rose tea. Well...when I got back to America I looked for it everywhere...all the Japanese food stores and asian markets and everything, but I couldn't find it. I even looked online for it...I knew the brand, but not the exact name of it. Well...I never found it. Even when I was back in Japan for may term I couldn't find it. WELLL!!!!! I found it today!!!! We were at one of the convenience stores and I saw something that kinda looked like it...it was the same brand...but the label was a bit different. I bought it anyways. And it was RIGHT! :) I'm sooo happy!! hehehe...ok. Enough of that. But yay! Now I just need to find some peach qoo and i'll be set!
Hey...GO COLTS! I'm gonna totally try and watch while I'm here...it's on at 8:00am Monday morning here...yay yay yay! Me and another girl from Indiana are trying to work out a plan for watching the superbowl at 8:00am Feb 5th...unfortunately we have class that day. Boo. We'll see what happens!
P.S. I met my roommate last night...she came in right after I got in bed. She was at a concert. She was here last semester...that's why she was so settled in already. She's from Finland and her name is Marika (pronounced kinda like Milk-ah...sorta...that's how I remember it at least). So yeah. :) She's very nice...quiet, but nice.
I'm really glad I've met some cool girls here now too. They're soo freaking excited to be here so it makes me that much more excited to be here too. :) Happy day!
1/22
GO COLTS!!!!!
You all will have to fill me in on the plays and stuff...I'm going to probably watch a lot of the game online. Meaning, I'm going to sit at one of the computers in the computer lab and refresh the screen to see the score. Luckily I have a friend here, Drea, who is from Brownsburg and goes to DePaw who is obsessed too. :) She bought a Colts football for her homestay family!! She wants to keep it though. :)
So last night was really fun. After we got back from exploring we just hung out and talked about what classes we might take (if we're lucky enough to get good lottery numbers...otherwise I hear we get totally screwed!) I heard that one of the professors that I was hoping to take a lot of classes from is terrible. No one goes to his classes, he doesn't explain anything even if you ask him to ellaborate, and he gets kinda snooty if you ask. Oh well, I have to take one of them at least...and I've never really had a problem with a teacher before (minus Mr. Purdun) so I think it'll be fine.
Anyways, after we hung out, we were all hungry for dinner so we got ready and looked for a place to eat. We walked into some stores near the seminar houses (dorms) first and looked around. Even though I have like no money for food, I bought some slippers because my feet have been FREEZING in the sem house! They're really cute though. :) And surprisingly cheap for Japan! Only 580yen! I was shocked at the prices at this store! Anyways, then we walked back toward our school. The girls said that there are a couple restaurants that people had shown them the day before over there. We saw one and it had a sign up that said "We are a cheap Japanese style restaurant and have English menu" and gave some general prices for beer and a meal. So we went in. It was small inside, but soo nice. Not nice as in fancy, but nice as in the service and the food (minus the fish flakes they put on my yakisoba...not so nice). It looks like if we were with a huge group it would have been such a blast!
Anyways, we ordered our drinks first and then got food. I had this grape/yogurt flavored cocktail drink thing. It was pretty good, but this other girl, Alex, got this peach flavored drink thing and it was really sweet but better than mine! And it was pink. I took a cool picture...I'll post it once I'm able to get my pics on my computer. Drea ordered an Asahi and it was ginormous! She downed it pretty quick though.
So we got our food...I had yakisoba, Drea had yakiudon, Alex got gyoza (which i totally need to go back and get!), and Kimmy got yakitori. Yumm. It was a really good time. Yay! So we're thinking that we'll probably end up spending some more time there this semester!
When we got back we were all exhausted even though it was only like 8:30 or something. I went online and chatted with my mom and dad...and then I got ready for bed, wrote in my real journal, and fell asleep. My roommate didn't get back until late last night again. I don't even know when she got in. But I went to bed around 11:30-12 and she wasn't back. The thing is is that they lock the gate outside at 11, and during orientation we don't have keys to get in yet, so she probably had to call Okaasan or my RA or something. Oh well.
Well I guess that's all for now...I'm pretty sure I read my alarm clock wrong in my room because it's only 8:30 and I was going to get up at 9. I totally thought it said it was almost 9...but it must have been almost 8. I'll have to make sure I'm not going crazy!
1/22 (later)
Oh em gee. What I wouldn't pay to be in Indiana right now!!!!!
WAY TO GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!
WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!
So freaking excited!!!! Why am I in Japan right now?!?!?!?!
1/23
I'm so tired. And it's only 8:00pm. I even went to bed early-ish last night. I've been getting up around 8 or 9 every morning, but that's not too bad really when I'm getting to bed by 12 the latest.
Anyways, I'm kinda too tired to write much. There's sorta stuff to tell though. Umm...I had my Japanese placement exam today. Ha. That was bad. I didn't study at all. But see, I'm nervous for two reasons. One, I'm afraid they'll put me in a class that's too simple...and two, I'm afraid they'll put me in a class too advanced. I'm more afraid of number two. Also, I had marked that I wanted to be in the reading and writing class too, but I'm pretty sure I don't anymore. I just want to take psych and other social science classes...and maybe a religion one if I can't get in the others. So yeah. I'll probably do that instead. Yay!
Umm...last night I got some AMAZING okonomiyaki. Ahhh....it was sooo delicious! Did I write this already? No. Ok, umm...yeah it was soo freaking good. And then me, Kime, and Alex went back to our favorite bar...where we saw a couple of bugs crawling around. That kinda made us nervous, but eh...we were just drinking drinks mainly. Then we walked back home. My body was freezing to death but my face was a glowin' so yeah. I was just so tired after that that I went to bed after writing in my journal journal.
I've been really good about writing in my journal here...every night before bed...leaving no detail out really. I mean, I leave some details out, but I cover the basics. I've realized I'm not nearly the journaler I used to be in high school where I'd write every single detail and every single thought I had that day. I was sooo cool. I'm jealous of my past skills and motivation...haha.
So today while we were waiting for our computers to be ready (p.s. they made me download some anti-virus software onto my mac...weirdos...but it won't start working until tomorrow they said. Hmm...) me, Kime, and Alex were hanging out in the CIE (center for international education) lounge and this random Japanese boy came up to us. He was telling us about how he does "trans" dancing...like raving...with his "best friends," his glow sticks. Haha...he said he has no friends except himself in his mirror at home because he practices all the time. Haha...then he proceeded to invite us to this club in Osaka where he performs or something...and on the certain nights that he's gonna be there he can get us half off the cover or something if we contact him. Hmm...dunno about that. Later two girls came over to ask us about America (b/c they're going to LA for vacation in a couple weeks) and we asked them about the club. They said it's very popular. We figure if other people decide to go then we might go with them. Who knows. But yeah, later these girls came over and were asking us about America. They wanted to know what to do in LA. Since they were only 18 and 19 they probably can't get into clubs there...or else they obviously won't be able to drink...too bad too because they were talking in Japanese to each other but I understood them...and one girl said that she just wants to get into clubs. We told them to go shopping, go to the beach, go to Hollywood, and eat good pizza, and get some Mexican food! Then we all started getting super hungry for mexican food...yummmmm. Then they asked us to teach them some American slang...so we taught them stuff like "Sucks," "What's up?" "Shoot," "Jerk," "Yesss," "Sweet," "I'm pissed," "I'm so screwed," and stuff like that. Then we asked them to teach us some too. I wrote them all down...:) Yay! It was really fun.
Umm...then for dinner Kime and I got some stuff at the super market and made it back here. She got a ramen cup and I got a yakisoba one...unfortunately I got my weird sicky feeling and had to just stop eating when I had had like 3 bites. I had to throw it away and everything. I mean it wasn't the best I'd ever had, but it was still my dinner. :(
So now I'm dead tired...I wasted 21 mins on this...but I think it's about time I go back to my room, write in my journal, get ready for bed, and then go to bed...so early!!! Ahh!!! I'm such an old lady. Well, I guess considering the fact that we probably walked over 5 or 6 miles today it's ok that I'm a little tired. I even did way more walking than I needed to. Walked to school, then it turned out that I had to go back home to get my charger for my computer, then back to school again, then to the same bank from yesterday (where they are oh so nice...and I got to speak some Japanese...yay), then off for a wild goose chase to find this random bike shop that we ended up not finding, then back to school from there, then to the supermarket, then back home again. It seriously might have been more than 5 miles...probably. I'm thinking yes. Anyways...my feet were tired, my legs are a little sore, not too bad...I wish they were more sore (I love being sore), but my body is just exhausted now. And I have to get up and be at school by 9:30 anyways...soooooooooo yeah! With no further ado, I'm leaving.
Byeee! Peace out! (we taught them that too)
1/24
Oh my goodness! I didn't even realize I hadn't explained what okonomiyaki and yakisoba are!! Well! Okonomiyaki is really famous to this area and Hiroshima area...but it's like a pancake with cabbage and meat (I had pork) and ginger and other tastyness! It's grilled on a skillet thing and then smothered in this soooo good sauce and at this place they put mayo on it. Mayo is the Japanese people's favorite thing EVER. There's mayo on everything...seriously. It can get a little ridiculous. But on this is was delicious. :) Yay! Kime didn't really like hers, but that's just too bad...because it was amazing!! Well, minus the fact that they put this fishy powder stuff on it...but i just scraped it off and put on more delicious sauce. I'll get a pic up here soon enough...hopefully!
Next! Yakisoba!! Well, Abby, you've seen me eating it before at school. It's literal translation is "fried " (yaki) "noodles" (soba). It's fried noodles made with the same sort of sauce from the okonomiyaki...soo good. Then normally there's some meat (like beef or pork) in it, bean sprouts, and sometimes cabbage in it. It's freaking amazing...as long as it doesn't have grossy fish flakes on it...(it did my first night I had it at our favorite cute little bar thing).
So there you go! Oh! Yakiudon is the same thing as yakisoba except that udon are these really thick noodles.
Yup! That's all about the food for now!!!
But I guess I could talk about today...there's not much to say except that I picked my number for registration. There are a total of 408 people in my class...and I got number 235. Ugh. I went and talked to the psych teacher though, just to see what the difference was between his classes...and he said that his classes are never full. So I'm hoping that works out. The other class I really want to take is an anthropology class, but it's a whole lot about culture and stuff too...it just seems awesome...so I'm thinking a lot of people are going to take it...I hope not!!!!
1/27
They placed me in Japanese 4D. That means the second highest level of level 4. Level 6 is fluent....level 5 is almost fluent. And level 4 is NOT where I belong I think. We'll have to see how it goes for the first week or so, but I definitely think I guessed too well on my placement exam or something.
So I haven't written in a while. Since last time I've registered for my classes. Other than Japanese, I'm in two intercultural psych classes and two anthropology classes. One of the anthropology classes is "Youth in Japan" that I may or may not drop actually. I really should stick with it because of my hikikomori research from last semester, but the teachers really suggest not taking as many classes so that we can fully enjoy Japan. So I'll have to see how those classes go too.
Today me and a bunch of international students went to Kyoto. Of course I've been there several times, but we went to one new shrine that I'd not been to. It was such a nice day for the trip too! We had a really great group and some very nice tour guides from Kansai Gaidai. We went to Yasaka shrine and Kiyomizu temple (which I had been to before). It was such a blast. We all bonded from the fact that one of the guys actually stepped into the water at Kiyomizu temple which was a big no no. Kiyo means pure or clear and mizu means water....and umm...stepping in it is just not ok. Some people were trying to reach the water but couldn't so he thought he'd go over and try to help them out...well, turns out he couldn't reach it either without stepping in it. A guard ended up yelling at him and we all had a good laugh from it. After that we all went out the dinner down the street. It was so fun! I finally got to meet some people outside of my seminar house. It was such a great day! Plus it was Alex's half birthday, so yay!
Tomorrow there's nothing planned so we'll see what comes up. My first plan is to sleep in though! I can't wait!
Oyasumi!
1/29
Ok...
Let me begin by saying that I've been here a little over one week. It feels like it's been three weeks already! I've been so busy! But not really. Anyways, yes, one week down. And sure I've done quite a great deal of walking since I've been here...of course! But how ridiculous is it that my BRAND NEW jeans (jeans I bought 2 days before I left) are already far too big for me!!! At this rate I'm going to need my mom to send me new jeans every other week!!! I really don't know what I'm going to do...I would go buy a belt, but the belts here are waay too small for me! I'm screwed pretty much. But I'm not complaining that much...I'll take being a smaller size with a baggier clothes over the alternative anyday!
Well I had my first day of classes today. Normally I'd have Japanese everyday of the week, but for some reason they're starting that tomorrow instead. I just had one class today..."Contemporary Issues in Japanese Society and Culture." The professor seems really cool as do most people in my class. We're going to talk about a lot of interesting topics too. Today he started out with how the Japanese people are becoming extinct (true)...very very interesting stuff! Yay! Tomorrow I have Japanese (eek! so scared!) and one of my "Cultural Prisms" psych class. That should be cool too. Mainly I'm just nervous for Japanese...ick.
We finally got to start cooking last night!! My friend, Alex, and I made gyoza!! (Be jealous Abby and Ann...and really everyone!) Yummm soooo good! :) The good old family recipie. Except for the fact that my burner was burning half of them and not cooking the other half in the pan, they were delicious!!! Of course, once I get my cable cord I'll post pics! My mom said the cord was in the mail...so it's on the way!
I'm so glad we can cook now because I was spending waaaay too much money on eating out. So annoying! But now we've got free range of the kitchen...except that they don't have ovens! I don't know about that...but I guess it doesn't matter that much...I'm not planning on baking any bread or roasting a turkey or anything, so I should be good. Just no chocolate chip cookies or apple pies...darn.
So I'm freaking in LOVE with this garlic bread from Top World (a grocery store with a little mini bakery attached to it). OMG. They didn't have it all weekend and I was so sad...but today when I went in I wanted to buy out the place!! I didn't though...gotta save money like I said!! But it's so amazing! Maybe I'll put up a pic of that too...hahaha....I'm such a loser.
For a few days my left ankle was really hurting me and I almost rolled it twice now. I'm really afraid that that is going to happen and I'll be totally screwed here in Japan. I walk everywhere...I've gotten used to it. Yesterday all Alex and I did was go to the store and come home to make gyoza and we felt so lazy for only walking that little bit. A normal day MUST now consist of at least 5 miles of walking....practically....or else I feel like I've done NOTHING. But yeah, I have these visions of falling off the side of the street and into the little gutter things that run along the road (really it's this little ditch thing that is sometimes covered by a metal grate) and breaking my leg. Or I nearly get hit by a car or else almost roll my ankle. Not very good things to happen to someone in a country that's all about walking/biking. Well, I guess getting hit by a car isn't good anywhere...but yeah. You know what I mean. Haha.
OH! Can I just tell you the funniest thing that happened to me today? Ok, I'm going to. Well, I was walking to school and listening to my ipod when Queen's "Bicycle Race" comes on. Hahahahaha...it was SOOOOOOO hilarious to be listening to that song when so many people were riding their bikes around me!! It really made me want a bike...really bad. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a bike this summer if I can...and for next year at school. But yeah, I was laughing to myself the whole time! I loved it! Just a little bright spot of my day.
Hmm...well I guess that's all for now...I'm having some tonkatsu, rice, and a HOMEMADE SALAD finally!! I just miss my ranch dressing...no biggie though. :) P.S. Tonkatsu is pork cutlets that are breaded in panko breadcrumbs and then fried. Sooo good!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So that's the update up until now!!! :) Feel free to leave comments!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
My last night!
I can't believe it, but I'm all done packing and it's only 10:00pm!!! Really Mom and I were done packing at 9ish. I can't even believe it! Actually I'm a little concerned that I'm done so soon...I'm afriad I'm forgetting something big. Plus! My suitcases are both pretty well under the weight limit. I'm shocked! All good omens though. :)
Well, my flight leaves tomorrow morning for Detroit at 10:05...then leaves Detriot some time around 1:00 (I should double check that....) and then I arrive in Osaka at 5:05pm on the 20th (there)...which is 3am in Indy.
I'm ready to go...physically and emotionally...it's going to be amazing! Yay!
My next post will be from the land of the rising sun!! Get excited people!!
Well, my flight leaves tomorrow morning for Detroit at 10:05...then leaves Detriot some time around 1:00 (I should double check that....) and then I arrive in Osaka at 5:05pm on the 20th (there)...which is 3am in Indy.
I'm ready to go...physically and emotionally...it's going to be amazing! Yay!
My next post will be from the land of the rising sun!! Get excited people!!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
4ish days in counting....
Well, I've decided that keeping a public online journal for my friends and family to keep up with would be a great idea while I'm in good ol' Nihon! Honestly, I got the idea from Abby, Erika, and Mercedes...this definitely will end up being a better way to keep people informed without sending a billion mass emails. :)
So I've still got a ton of packing to do...really. Mom's worried. But that's ok. At least someone is!! I need to get crackin' despite the fact that I've still got a couple more days of work at Fresh Market. That has definitely been a good job for this past break. I'm a few bucks richer...which is a good thing since I just took out pretty much all of my savings for travelers checks for Japan!
Ok, well this entry is pretty much a "HELLO BLOGSPOT" and a "get ready for some crazy times" entry. More, and better, entries to come soon!!!
So I've still got a ton of packing to do...really. Mom's worried. But that's ok. At least someone is!! I need to get crackin' despite the fact that I've still got a couple more days of work at Fresh Market. That has definitely been a good job for this past break. I'm a few bucks richer...which is a good thing since I just took out pretty much all of my savings for travelers checks for Japan!
Ok, well this entry is pretty much a "HELLO BLOGSPOT" and a "get ready for some crazy times" entry. More, and better, entries to come soon!!!