Having returned from our year abroad in Japan, Mr. Potato Head and I are on the road to graduation, and hopefully back to Japan for a job in teaching English.
First, I just want to thank my best friend for the new Potato Head parts. Seriously, I have awesome friends.
So, I actually wanted to update much earlier this week, but this week turned out to be part one of The Hell Week. It also marked the return of that evil witch: thesis.
So, where to begin? Well, my week started out alright with the Super Bowl. I ate lots of yummy food and slept wonderfully.....
Then it was Monday.
Monday's are actually my new Wednesday, in terms of classes. I have no afternoon classes and no evening commitments, so it's a very nice situation. However, I got some bad news on Monday: I didn't get into a certain program I applied for.
At the time, I was very distressed. I was able to have my episode and tried to give myself as much "me time" as I wanted. Reflecting days later, I feel 95% better about everything, but there is little fun in being rejected. Surely we all know that feeling.
The rest of this week was just emotionally draining. If your week starts out with a .2 pound weight gain and being rejected from something, it's very easy to just mark off the week with bad choices and be like "Oh well, there's always next week!" Also, you then realize "Oh wait, the paper that decides whether I graduate or not is due next week. WELL FU-". However, nothing really good comes out of that. My cures for a bad week: Ben Folds, Harry Potter audiobooks, sleep, and deleting your facebook.
So, despite having the most important paper of my life due, an interview to prepare for, and a science test which I am NOT prepared for, there is some silver lining to this coming Hell Week.
1) Being done with thesis.
2) Having my test done early.
3) Lots and lots of coffee
I will probably try to avoid any kind of blogging (not that that's a surprise, amirite?) until Friday at 4 pm when I turn in my thesis. After that, I will probably be a much happier person with much happier blogs.
It has been a very sad few weeks here at Earlham. As some of you may or may not know, three students were involved in a train accident a few weeks ago. Sadly, one student lost her life at the scene, while the two others remained in critical condition. Just this week, one of the other victims passed away. While it is a blessing that the third person is out of the hospital (to my knowledge), the loss of two students is very sad. I did not know either person except by face, but I do think it is very sad, and my thoughts are with the families and friends of all the victims.
I've been very emotional with these events despite not knowing any involved very well. Why? Well, I have had a lot of loss in my life. As I joke with my friends, I've been to more funerals than birthday parties. However, it doesn't matter how many times it happens:
Losing someone is never easy.
Just in my time at Earlham, along with seven Earlham students, I've lost family members and my high school room mate/friend. I think losing my Aunt was very hard, but the hardest recently had been my room mate. While we were not like, super super best friends, we were close friends. We had an experience together, and I am so glad we got to have that experience together. It's never easy losing someone your own age... it makes you realize just how mortal you are, and how quick life can go by.
So, without being super depressed, I really wanted to write this about the service I went to this evening for one of the victims. I felt almost like an intruding presence, because I was not friends with the victim. However, the reflection and silent service really helped me think about my time at Earlham, my friends, and the community I have at this school. I love this school. I love these people. I love the connections I've made with friends and teachers. I will miss it all terribly.
In closing, if you have experienced loss recently, I am very sorry for your loss. However, while you cry, there are words which I think have stuck with me for awhile, especially since coming to college
"Don't pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, all those who live without love."
- Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Thankfully, all those who passed away, and those in my life now are full of love, and I could not be happier to cherish my time with them. I hope you all do the same with your loved ones.
So, I suppose I could just use this shot over and over until December 6th, but that would be redundant.
So on top of my thesis, I also have to write a science Lit paper, which is only 5 pages. Normally, I'd be like "meh, that's nothing." However, I am terrible at writing (hence why I am doing terrible on thesis), and I am also not very good at reading science papers.... lots and lots of math.
In good news, today I went to an information meeting about graduate schools in Japanese Studies (aka my major). I'm really stuck on what I want to do. I know first I want to get some work experience, but after that, I know I have to go to graduate school... I am just afraid because I am having a terrible time writing "just" a 30-page thesis.. how am I going to write a like, 100 - 200 page paper?
I've been trying to take my friend's / teacher's advice when it comes to both jobs and academics. My teacher probably gave me some of the best advice: work like a solider, deal with that is right in front of you. Yes, there may be all kinds of other worries about, but if you deal with that is in front of you. As for jobs, I've been told to really work for what makes you happy, and the money will come later. I'm thinking I really want to work in study abroad. I love Japan, and while I would prefer to work for a school with a large East Asian / japanese Studies department and several East Asian/Japan study abroad programs, I think if I can even just get into something involving students and study abroad, I would be pretty happy. As much as I may have complained about my experience (for examples, see this blog), I loved my experience in Japan. I would not give it up for anything in the world, and I want to go back to Japan so badly, whether to promote study abroad, teach English, or fieldwork.
I am thinking for graduate schools either Canada or the United States. One of my favorite teachers went to school / lived in Canada, and said graduate schools there were interesting. I love America, but I also think I'd really like to try and live in Canada.... and no, not because of my boyfriend who happens to be Canadian. He's in western Canada, and I'm leaning more towards eastern Canada, although apparently Alberta has a big East Asian studies program. Plus, the price of school in Canada is much smaller than schooling the USA.
So my readers (if any of you exist still): What advice to you have for careers / post-graduate activities? Also, what do you want me to write about / see Mr. Potato Head do? Just leave me comment!
Mr. Potato Head and I are back in America, and back at my home school for my senior year. I am currently writing my thesis (which happens to be due in about < 2 weeks), and stressing out over classes.
I recently got back from Thanksgiving break. As much as I love Japan, it was wonderful having a real Thanksgiving with family, and black Friday shopping in person. I am so happy I able to be with my loved ones this year.
Anyway, I was able to get a new Christmas tree, which I love. I'm saving my smaller Christmas tree from my mother until next year, when I am hopefully back in Japan.
As we speak, I am applying to a few programs where I can be abroad. Along with JET, I am applying for my school's program where you also assistant teach English in Japan. As soon as I graduate, I plan on applying to the Teach America program, so I can at least have some kind of job. I suppose the worst thing that happens is that I am not accepted anywhere... I really don't want that to happen, but we'll see.
Anyway, so I am hoping to update this more. While Mr. P and I are no longer in Japan, we still try to have adventures. If you all have questions or things you want me to discuss regarding my time in Japan, or my current adventures, please feel free to ask. I will gladly answer!
So today, my resort that I work at had an event about 雪中酒, which is basically where you take wine, bury it in the snow in February, then took months later it is totally fermented!
First, we went to a factory and say people make the rice meal for the sake, then we returned back to the resort. Then, we put a bunch of crates in rows, covered them with snow, then did a blessing to make the wine delicious in spring.
Afterwards was the best part: taste testing! We tried two kinds of sake, made last year with the snow method. It was VERY delicious. Honestly, I don't like straight alcohol...I need mixtures/flavour. However, Japanese sake is a more-delicious vodka, minus the burning sensation.
Then, my friend Alice and I went to the other event at our resort: snow bar! The other workers made an outdoor bar in the snow, with candles and everything! It was gorgeous. Also, we got to star gaze, since it was a clear NIGHT... I have to say, the prettiest night sky has to be from Nagano prefecture. Tokyo can suck it!
Tomorrow we move back to the cabin. うれしーい！ [Im so happy!]
So first, I should probability explain this "special room". Last year, two of my friends did the same internship I'm doing right now. During their time here, they stayed on the second floor of what the staff calls the garage, and I call "the shack". The room is about the size of my room in my apartment at Tokyo, except it is tatami-matted.
It's "specialness"is more sarcastic than anything,
But it's really not TOOO bad...[knock on wood]
On Saturday nights, when guests use our cabin, we stay in this room. No bath, no sink, no toliet... it's like a step between motel/tent camping.
However, as much as it seems I am complaining, I'm honestly the second happiest I've been in Japan [the first waz a retreat to Karuizawa, also in Nagano Prefecture].
I've learned I don't like Tokyo people. AT. ALL. The people in the country are SO MUCH friendlier, and don't stare at me constantly like Tokoyo people. Sure, I work my butt off for 8 hours a day, and it's super cold, but I could honestly not be happier....
As a native Hooiser, I thought it was bad enough when we had a foot of snow. That is NOTHING compared to Iiyama.
The past two days it rained, so that got rid of a lot of snow. For next two days, though it is supposed to KEEP SNOWING.
For reference, we shoveled snow from the 玄関 [entrance] three times today, in a course of five hours, because it kept getting too hard for the guests to enter. Also, on the way to clean a cabin, I fell into a pile of snow which came up to my hips... I'm 5'5.5" aka that's about 2.5 feet of snow in less than a day.
However, I got to eat Au Gratin style food today for the first time, not just potatoes. SUPER YUMMY!!! I'm do thankful for the cooking here. It's nice to have a home cooked meal after a hard morning's work.
Off to make dinner and pack. Tomorrow we move to the "special room"for the next two nights which my friends who did this practicum last year stayed the whole time.
Hello from Iiyama! Mr. PH and I are currently staying in Iiyama City in Nagano Prefecture. For one month, we are working at a cabin resort called 森の家 or "Forest's home". My friend and I, everyday do things like shovel snow, make tea, clean cabins, and various snow activities. According to the staff here, Nagano is the snowiest part of Japan.. which I find hard to believe but as Ill post another time, it's not impossible!
During this month I can only blog through my smart phone, so dont expect long blogs, but expect more!!
So far, I've been speaking Japanese 87% of the time, went snow shoeing, made a house of snow, and shoved snow off of two-storie roofs. I even went to a 新年会 [New Years Party]!
Needless to say, Ill take mountain life over Tokyo people anyday!
So in my two-month hiatus, I did actually take other pics with Mr. PH, so now I shall post them with a little bit of commentary, mostly because I am too lazy to go back and write like, six extra blogs. Enjoy!
Halloween!
So Halloween is a slowly-getting-bigger holiday in Japan. However, there is NO such thing as Trick-or-Treating in Japan, at least in Tokyo. The weekend before Halloween, my program went on a retreat out to the country in Nagano Prefecture. I wore my cow 着ぐるみ (Kigurumi, which is like a whole suit of a cow, kind of like footsie PJs). We had a big party, and then all laid outside underneath the stars and star-gazed. We also got lots of candy! The middle picture is with my good friend Katie, when we did purikura together on Halloween day.
Sunshine City Aquarium
Little known fact: Until 11th grade, I wanted to be either a marine biologist or an ichthyologist. However, I then took (and almost failed) chemistry, so I gave up on that dream and switched to Japanese. However, I have still always LOVED aquariums and anything related to the oceans, especially since my favorite animals are sharks. A group of friends and I went to an aquarium in Ikebukuro, in a giant building called 'Sunshine City'. It was all the way on the ninth and tenth floors, at the top of the building.
Compared to most zoos, it was actually kind of depressing. The animals were REALLY cramped, and some were in the most random places (why a ring-tailed lemur was in a tiny plot of land with ducks is a mystery to me). However, the best place was the giant tank, which had all kinds of rays and fish:
It was so pretty. I could have sat into front of the tank for hours and just watch all the animals swim. I really feel happiest near the water.
My21st Birthday
So in Japan, the big-important birthday is 20. That's about it. Being an American, one's 21st birthday is a HUGE deal, in my opinion. You can pretty much do anything at that point (except rent a car, but I don't like driving much anyway). I was sad I wasn't able to have a real 21st birthday party, but I managed to put together a dinner party at a Mexican restaurant called Zest Cantina in Shibuya, mostly because Mexican food is the fountain of youth in Japan aka IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. Sadly, the service / price was pretty shoddy, but I was so happy to have a lot of people around, and get a margarita for the first time. I even had buffalo wings!
This is my first Christmas away from home, and my first Christmas without any family. That is probably one of the hardest things about being abroad: no holidays with the family. Even though I have lived away from home almost five years now (Since junior year of HS), I have never been far away enough that I couldn't go home. This is a big change for me. However, my family was kind enough to send me gifts and even a Christmas tree for my room! I was very happy.
My friend Shaun and her sister kindly invited me to spend Christmas with them. First, we did karaoke.
They even had Christmas songs! They didn't have my favorite song ('Christmas Wrapping' by The Waitresses), but they did have the song about Christmas in Africa by Band-Aid. Next, we went to an お好み焼き食べ放題 (All-You-Can-Eat Okonomiyaki).
It was actually a pretty sweet deal. We got a drink, six sides to share, and got to make about six okonomiyaki all together! Okonomiyaki is probably my favorite food in Japan. It's base is usually cabbage, egg, and some kind of dough. From there, you can add just about anything! My favorite is pork and mochi together. However, sometimes it has squid =/
Next, we went to do プリクラ (Purikura), which is pretty much like photobooths in America, except more expensive and much more fun. They make you look MUCH prettier, and you can do all kinds of Photoshop-like things to them. They usually got about 400 yen (So about 5$), and you can get all sizes and styles of photos. This photo was taken outside of one of the arcades where you can do Purikura. The giant figure is Rilakuma, which means 'Lazy Bear'. He is a character like Hello Kitty or Doraemon.
One: White Russian
Two: Black Russian
Three: Banana Chocoffee
After saying goodnight, I decided to head home. However, by the station is a bar which is owned by the person who runs the apartment building I am staying in. It is mostly for international guests, so I decided to stop by, mostly because I had a free drink ticket. It was actually a very nice atmosphere. It was almost deserted since it was Christmas, but the bartender and everyone was pretty welcoming. Two of the people (including the bartender) was French, and another guest was a Japanese man from Osaka. All of them spoke French, so I wasn't too involved in the conversation. The drinks were yummy, and it was a pretty good end to the day.
So, even though it is a little late, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays! <3
So I haven't posted in awhile. In one post, I will try to explain everything going on since now.
So, things with my host people didn't work out so much. They weren't talking, I wasn't talking, and honestly, I finally talked to someone to start moving out. I got recommended a certain host family which I think would fit my needs more (a single parent), but the problem was whether the woman would accept or not (there is some back story, but that's not mine to tell, sorry).
Waiting for about two weeks, there finally came a time I was just DONE with the current host people. First of all, they wouldn't give me a key. Their own daughter didn't have a key, why I have no idea. So, I pretty much had to base my schedule on whether someone would be home or not. Also, they restricted my laundry/shower times, which made me even more aggrevated. The final straw came when I went out for a walk, saying I'd be back in like, 2 hours of so because I had to run errands. I went to send my Christmas letters and get some lunch (Chaashuu ramen is like my crack now, but that's another story). Anywho, I came back a little earlier, and in that time, the mom already left to do grocery shopping. (Also, these people ate at like, 5 pm. SUPER FREAKIN' EARLY IMO). So I just sat there, outside the gate, and realized I was done. I sent an email inquiring about the single parent host family and said if there was anyway for me to move out now for cheap, I'd take it.
It turns out the single parent accepted, but they would not be available until March. After going through my many options (the people in charge of my program are saints, I am so thankful for them), I decided to move into an apartment until March, and then move in with the new host parent. The next hardest part: moving out.
So in about less than 24 hours, I packed up all of my stuff, cleaned the ENTIRE ROOM from floor to ceiling, moving furniture to find lost items and clean up tons of dust (honestly, I cleaned the room every week, and you'd think from the look of it, I never did.. SO MUCH DUST). My Host-Family director called the host mom and told her I was moving out the afternoon of the next day. From that morning to the moment I left, the mother spoke to me maybe a total of three times, most through text message. Her tone was a lot shorter, and when I left, she didn't say a word and just walked away, so I didn't even get to thank her.
So we took a taxi to my new apartment/guest house place, where I have a tiny room, but honestly: I couldn't be happier. I get to cook my own food, take showers and do laundry pretty much whenever I want, and stay out as early/late as I want. I suppose the bed is a little uncomfy, but honestly: small price to pay to get OUT of that place.
Anywho, now that
My internet is much better / reliable
It's Winter Break
I'm in a better mood
I will be updating more often!!!! I'm going to TRY (keyword: TRY) to update everyday, but honestly, I hope you all won't hold it against me.
So this past Sunday was actually probably one of my best days in Tokyo, along with visiting the giant Buddha.
Ever since I was a child, I have loved Pokemon. I collected the cards and played the games. Even now, I still play the games and stuff. So naturally, one of the first places I wanted to go to was the Pokemon Center. Sadly, because I am like, 14 years older than the audience for Pokemon, most of the Pokemon they had were from the new generation. However, I was able to get some cute phone charms, and a picture with Pikachu!
Afterwards, we went to a really pretty park. I am not sure of the name, but it was pretty big. It had a large pond /lake, and lots of land around it. One surprising thing about Tokyo is the amount of parks and trees. It is very nice to take a break from all the busy street life and concrete and actually enjoy nature...
and feed the occasional turtle.
Soon my group is going to Nagano, which is a bit more out of the country. I am just ready to get away from my "host family" for awhile.
SO I will say this out front: The drinking age in Japan is twenty years old. Therefore, according to Japanese law, I am not doing anything illegal. This blog does not condone drinking, and therefore any actions spoken about just happen to happen. That is all.
So, I recently joined a circle/club at Waseda. It's called Niji no Kai, which is pretty much a international group which is focused on people making friends from all around the world. It's a HUGE group (according to the page, over 350 members for this year).
In case you didn't know, drinking is a BIG part of Japanese culture. Whether it is businessmen going out for drinks after work, or just hanging out, or club meetings, there is usually drinking involved during or after things. So naturally, this was the first nomikai (drinking party) of the year. A nomikai is pretty much translated as 'drink and conversation.' This nomikai was a nomihodai, which means unlimited drinks for a period of time (usually about two hours). For about 2500 yen, you get unlimited drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. If you consider that, it is honestly a VERY good deal, even though it is STILL super expensive、IMO.
Since our group was HUGE, our pitchers just got refilled every time we finished a drink off. However, the annoying thing is that the glasses are so small. Glasses in general seem to be tiny in Japan, which is really annoying for someone who drinks 43889247882374232 glasses of water a day, or tries to, anyway.
Otherwise, nomi kai / hodais are pretty fun. Sadly, I really wasn't in the best of moods so I didn't want to socialize that much (I had spent the entire day carrying around my laundry because no one was home / had to do laundry cause my host family is ugh).
There is another nomikai at the same place this Friday. I might go, but honestly, I'd rather be like this*
If there is one thing I cannot say enough: TOKYO IS SUPER, SUPER EXPENSIVE.
How much did it cost me to do 2 loads of laundry, along with drying them for 30 minutes each?
1200 yen.. which is about 15.50$. I wish I was kidding.
So why am I paying an arm and a leg to do laundry? I'm pretty sure you figured out already:
Yupp, my host family.
They do laundry... every. single. day. Like, two loads, EVERY DAY. NO ONE NEEDS TO DO THAT MUCH LAUNDRY. Before someone says "but washing machines are smaller in Japan." NOT my families. It's actually pretty big. Whenever I try and ask to do laundry, they're all like 'ummmmm,' or pretty much saying 'No.'.. If I was at Earlham, I could give two craps less about wearing dirty clothes over again. But here, when I have no socks/underwear left, and no one lets me do laundry, I get pissy. REALLY pissy (even though I've been pissed about all this for like.. weeks now.)
I suppose if I have any "good news,"I did talk to someone yesterday about my family and how frustrated I am with them. Honestly, as much as I bitch about these people, I'd rather be miserable in this house and actually try to make it work than living in a dorm. I know if I lived in a dorm...
My Japanese will not improve. at all.
It's money I don't want to spend
I would probably lose my awesome commute
Pretty sure I'd have to pay for laundry ALL THE TIME there
Even though with this place, I'd at least have my own key. That is one of the most ANNOYING things about my family. I'm pretty sure that the family is REQUIRED to give us a key to use, and yet mine SOMETIMES let me use the kitchen key, which is another trial of fire to do.
Point is: I am getting to the point that I am sick of bitching. I am not longer afraid of being the "obnoxious American." I AM American, and I am sick of playing the passive aggressive game with my family. If they don't deal with the SIMPLE thing I want (a laundry schedule), I will not just sit there and deal with it.
In good news: First club meeting tonight for Niji no Kai, a circle I joined at Waseda. I will probably blog about it tomorrow. Hopefully it's not a total disaster.
Here's a little song I kept thinking about while doing laundry today:
I only wish I saw someone cute enough to actually feel this song.
I actually wanted to do this blog post yesterday, but because my internet sucks at my host family's house (one of the things we are fed up with), it was just a pain. So now I'm forced to do it at school. My apologies in advanced.
So honestly, I am enjoying a lot of things about Japan, such as:
Conbinis
Making friends
Classes
The walking (which is great for health)
However, there are PLENTY of things which I am just annoyed with, number one being my "host" family. Let me be clear: they are civil people. They are NOT mean, NOT hurtful, and not-outright rude or anything. I'm sure they are just a typical family. HOWEVER, I feel like I am jack shit to them.
My family has hosted about 9 families before me. Honestly, if you had told me that before, I would have had no clue. They make me food.
That's it.
They have done some nice things, such as they bought me house slippers. My mother also took me to the city ward office in the tsunami, which was very nice of here. However, I feel like I could just disappear tomorrow, and the only thing they would care about is if I remembered to close the curtains before it got dark.
I feel like most of my sadness / depression in Japan relates to the fact that I am not having any kind of connection to my host family. At home, I didn't do much with my family, but even small things like eating together (which I don't seem to get to do with my host family) or watching TV was nice.
Instead, I'm just in my room... all day... watching trashy reality TV from America on my laptop.. when I have wireless.
So I have no idea if my laptop hates me, or just my wireless does. I'm pretty sure it is the wireless. Otherwise, I have no idea. Then, I'm forced to watch re-runs of Secret Life via YT.
I'm honestly depressed... and the only thing that would help cure it right now is probably frozen cookie dough. But the chance of charlie seen hitting me with a solid gold tuna on a vespa is more likely to happen than me finding premade frozen cookie dough in Japan.
I would totally kill for some of this right now.
I'm hoping to go to the Pokemon Center this weekend, so I'm hoping to get some great heads of Mr. PH while there. I'm sorry my photos have been lacking lately. Hopefully things brighten up soon.
So anyway, lately I have seen more strange stuff in Japan, and Mr. Potato Head and I have done so together. First, in case you didn't know, Japan has a lot of themed restaurants. There are maid cafes, butler cafes, horror-themed restaurants, etc. Usually, these places charge just to sit down. The place we went was no exception.
The name of the themed restaurant we went to was "Alcatraz ER." It's noted for being one of the original theme restaurants in Japan. Bizarre Food's host even went there (go to about 4 minutes in). It's a mental hospital/Monster-themed restaurant.
After seeing this video before head, I got really excited. We got to Shibuya, which is where the 'Hachiko' statute is. More or less, Hachiko was a dog who would everyday, go to the station with his master, go home, and return at the time the master would get back to the station. One day, the man died at work, and never came home. Nonetheless, the dog would still everyday go and wait for his master to come home. They made a statute for the dog:
So we made our way to Alcatraz ER. The restaurant was on the second floor of a building... upon entrance, you push a button that has your blood type (Blood types are a really big thing in Japan, kind of like astrological signs). We got put in a cell room, with seats on the floor. Thankfully, we could fit everyone at one time. To get the waiters/waitresses to come (who are all dressed like doctors and nurses), you have to cling on the bars with a chain.
Now, themed-restaurants means themed food and drinks. Well, the drinks were certainly... appropriate. I suppose these will speak for themselves:
The first one was called "discharge of the brain," and featured the drink... inside of a head. It tasted kind of like grape. The second one was called "Japanese TinnTinn" or something like that. It was basically a banana yogurt drink, with a banana shaped like a penis in it.... rather gross looking. The last one... was part of a drink called "hitori asobi," which means "Fun by yourself."
Pretty sure you get it by now. You mixed the drink with the... vibrator.
The food was also themed. While we weren't actually eating things like brains, tongues, or hearts, but it's shaped like that. After that, all the lights went out... and these people in monster costumes came out. I was WANTING to be scared, so I screamed. A lot. It was actually pretty funny. However, the scariest thing about the restaurant: the price.
Most themed restaurants, as far as I know, have a sitting fee of usually 200 - 700 yen. That's right: You have to pay JUST TO SIT DOWN AT THE PLACE. As an American, that's seem crazy to me. However, you don't really tip in Japan, so it's not terrible, but still... wow.
Total cost for a discharge of the brain, a slice of pizza, some noodles and sitting /service fee:
1900 yen. That's like, 20$. Trust me: not worth it.
After that, we just hung around Shibuya. It was nothing really special, but WOW SO MANY PEOPLE!!! Seriously, you know those screen shots of people walking all in a square in Japan, with lots of bright lights? It's just like that.
However, perhaps my favorite find of the day:
Colonel Sanders statute!!!
Back in high school, I saw a video on KFC in Japan. One of the big features was that each KFC had a Sanders statute outside the front. After seeing many KFC restaurants in Japan, I hadn't seen one til now, so I had to get a picture with it!
Another strange thing I saw was when I was walking home, late at night to my house. I know people say all the time "Oh, Tokyo is super safe. No need to worry (much) about being in danger." This may be, but honestly:walking anywhere in the world, in the dark, alone, on a not-super-well-lit street is terrifying, except maybe Earlham (IMO).
I was walking and all the sudden, this girl was walking my way. She was wearing nothing but a uniform jacket, a bra and panties. No. Joke. Needless to say, I pretty much walked as fast as I could without jogging to get home.
At first, I kind of freaked. Looking back, now I'm just curious WHY the girl was like that. I'm hoping it was just a costume thing... not a like "she got mugged" thing.
My next blog is probably not going to be super happy, just BTW. I have a LOT to rant about, so just to warn y'all.
So I apologize. While I feel like my fan base isn't huge, I think I do have some awesome followers who look forward to this to bring a smile to them daily. To those people, I apologize.
So yesterday was actually a REALLY awesome day. We went to Ueno Park, which had the Ueno zoo. Size wise, it's smaller than the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. However, this zoo is most famous for...
Pandas.
Now, most people know this, but for those who I don't: I don't like pandas. I've decided NOT to hate them.. but I really, really REALLY don't like pandas. I think they're useless, wasteful, pointless animals. Like.. WHY DO WE KEEP SAVING THEM?? I feel like nature is just TRYING to get rid of them, and we're stopping it.
..but that's a WHOLE 'nother story.
So anyway, I DID actually see pandas. The line to see them was HUGEEEEEEEE. Thankfully, we didn't have small children, so we could zoom through. Honestly, pandas look a LOT different from what I expected. First of all, they move pretty fast. Second, they were yellow and black (from how dirty they were). I'm still not a huge fan of them. However, after seeing that they can actually MOVE, I'm .08% more impressed by them than I was.
As much as I loved Ueno Zoo, some of it was really depressing.. the animals (like the hippos) had TINY, TINY areas... mostly concrete. The water for the sea lions was super green and bleh. However, perhaps one of the most impressive areas was for the gorillas. They had TONS of space.. and grass.. and stuff to do. But I mean, what can you expect having a zoo in a super urban area?
So afterwards we went to food at this ramen shop. I had some SUPER SPICY ramen, which made me super happy. Then, we explored the streets of Ueno, which had this awesome stand for 1000 yen, you get tons of chocolate and snacks. We had an impromptu picnic in Ueno... which I noticed the number of homeless people. I kept staring at this homeless guy... since then, I've noticed a lot of homeless people... kind of curious.
So, on a sort of happier note CLASSES STARTED TODAY!! On bad news, WOW I suck at Japanese! I'm currently at Level 4 Intensive Japanese, and while I can understand 80% of the writing, I cannot understand the woman's speaking... AT ALL. Besides, I'd rather have an easier time and bored than harder and wanting to kill myself from too much work.
My Urban Studies class sounds like it is going to be awesome. The entire class is based off of my midterm and the final... which is kind of awesome. The teacher is from Israel, and his accent is super cool.
Then, we went to Ginza. Even though it is by FAR the most expensive place in Japan so far, I loved it. It reminded me of the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, with all the designer stores and fashion and everything.. I wanted it all (though the price is BADDDDDDD). We also went to Abercrombie & Fitch, which made me feel right at home, since it's just like it is in America: Dark, smelly, and full of white people! Seriously.. tons of foreigners. Also, even though they're paid to, the people who worked there were super nice to our faces!
Even better: pretty sure one dude's job was just to stand there. Shirtless.... not that I minded. Now I know where the actually HOT, manly Asians are in Japan... even if they're totally toolboxes.
So, speaking of postcards: If you would like a postcard from me in Japan, please email me your address (xxpiroxxx@gmail.com) and I will try and get one to you!
I am once again part of the technology world of cell phones! As stupid as this sounds, things seem 1000x better now that I have a cell phone. I've realized just how important they are to my life.
So today started with ordering our cell phones and doing the paperwork... in Japanese. ALL in Japanese. Keep in mind, cell phone contracts are hard enough in English... not being sure exactly WHAT I was doing and signing was pretty scary.. I'm hoping it doesn't come back to bite me. Thankfully, we had the Waseda students to help us out.
Afterwards, we went out to "Curry and Naan" for lunch.. I'm pretty sure I've eaten more Indian food in my two weeks here than I have in my entire life.. it's so delicious, though.
Then we had our opening ceremony... it was a lot different than most ceremonies I've been to. There was a lot of introductions, and also a WIDE variety of Japanese natives speaking with an interesting accent when speaking english. German-accent on a Japanese guy? Chou weird.
THEN I GOT MY PHONE!!!!!!!!!! I love it so much.. I even went and bought a cute white, plush case for it already. I also got apps and everything. Seriously, it feels SO NICE to have a phone again. One of the coolest features of the phone is the sending between phones via infra red.. aka you put your phones back to back, and you can send all kinds of info.. saves a LOT of time when exchanging contacts. Also, probably the best part of my phone?
