Even though I studied abroad in Japan, I'm actually a French major, so I'm going to spend the following spring semester (2007) studying abroad in Paris, France, and I'll also keep a blog of that. In case you want to visit it, here's the link.
>> http://sarah-france.blogspot.com
Friday, December 22, 2006
Useful Links & How To Go To The Butler Cafe
So my time in Japan studying abroad is now over, which means I will also no longer post in this blog anymore. I hope it can still remain a good educational tool for anyone considering studying abroad in Tokyo/Japan, however, and that anyone reading these entries gains insight into the experience. Here I'll provide a list of helpful links and advice for anyone needing help and information about studying abroad in Japan.
Programs
- IES Tokyo (this is the one I did. There's also IES Nagoya)
- List of other study abroad programs in Japan (the first thing to do, however, is to check with your school and see what programs they offer for studying abroad in Japan. Often those will limit which program you can do)
Financial Aid/Scholarships
- Freeman Asia (I wound up getting $5,000 from them, which helped me out immensely, so it's definitely worth a shot)
- Bridging Scholarship
- IES scholarships (if your program is IES, of course. I got $500 from the Foreign Language scholarship, and $250 from the Need-Based scholarship)
- List of other study abroad in Japan scholarships
- your school's own scholarships; mine has study abroad-based scholarships
As for studying abroad, I can say wholeheartedly that it is a worthwhile experience and if you want to do it, you definitely should. Don't let financial problems get in the way, there are always scholarships you can apply for and if you're passionate about going you're likely to get them.
If you have any more questions, you can feel free to email me or leave a comment on this entry (link at the bottom). I'd be more than happy to answer whatever you want to know. :)
One more thing...
How To Go To Swallowtail Butler Cafe In Tokyo
I'm sure there are people that want to know how to do this, so I wrote this how-to to help you all out. I hope you have a more successful experience than mine (where, in the end, I didn't make the reservation right and didn't get to go, even though I found it!). :)
Making The Reservation
Basic Japanese knowledge is pretty much necessary for this step, so if you don't know any, try to ask a Japanese friend or a friend who knows Japanese to help you here. (If you don't know much, you can use Rikaichan on the pages to help you figure out what's going on.) Because Swallowtail is so popular, reservations fill up fast. You make your reservation online (HERE), and new reservations for a date exactly a month from a given day are made available at midnight, Japan time. (So if you want to reserve for December 17, be online at midnight November 16 [as it becomes the 17th].)
1. Have the window with the list of reservations open about 5 minutes before midnight, and keep refreshing (there will be several pages, with the oldest times on the first page. The newest times will show up on the last page, so be sure to click through to the end). Pretty soon a new list of times will appear. You will need to know beforehand how many people are coming (if you don't know exactly, make a larger reservation than necessary. They can't add seats) and it's best to be flexible about the time.
2. Act quick. When you find a time and a number of people that suits you, click on the link immediately (they really do go fast). Put in your email address and your number of people, and hit the button.
3. You will get sent an email asking you to confirm your reservation. Follow the instructions in the email and finalize your reservation (this is the step I missed, so it's very important. If you don't finalize it, your reservation becomes invalid).
4. Wait for a month until you can go.
It's also not necessary to reserve a month in advance if you see a date and time on the website's list of open reservations that suits you, but those are usually for weekdays and/or for small numbers of people--which is why no one wants them--and probably won't work with your schedule if you're not a tourist, which is why reserving for a month in advance is good for trying to get weekend times with larger amounts of people.
If you don't live in Tokyo and you're planning to visit either from somewhere else in Japan or from another country, you can also plan out a day to go to the butler cafe and make the reservation in advance accordingly. Be sure to look up what time Japan time midnight is where you are (Time Zone Converter). For example, midnight in Tokyo on a certain day is 9:00 a.m. U.S. central time the PRECEDING day.
Getting There
Swallowtail Butler Cafe is located in Ikebukuro, which is a major station that both Tokyo Metro and JR Yamanote stop at. You can use the website Hyperdia to help you find the fastest and cheapest route there from wherever you are. Arrange to have your party meet at the East Entrance about 30 minutes before your reservation.
(These directions are translated and adapted from the Japanese directions provided on the Butler Cafe website)
1. From the East Entrance, cross the street directly. Once you are across, begin walking right.
2. Continue walking for a couple of minutes. You will come to a fairly busy-looking street (one landmark is the Sanrio Hello Kitty store on the right side). This is Sunshine 60. Turn left onto it and begin walking down it. You should pass by a couple of movie theatres, as well as a Saizeriya and some other things (a Tokyu Hands too).
3. You will come to an overhead pass. Go straight underneath it. There should be a Libro bookstore, a Family Mart, and an am-pm on the left side of the street. You should also begin to see some billboards that will let you know you have arrived at "Otome Doori."
4. Keep walking. When you see a second Family Mart, you are there and you should be able to find it easily. The Butler Cafe is on the basement level, so there will be steps leading down to it. There will probably be a line of women going up the steps. Join the line, and wait for the butler with a clipboard to get to you. He will ask your name, and if you did everything right your reservation will be there and you can soon go in. Have fun!!
Programs
- IES Tokyo (this is the one I did. There's also IES Nagoya)
- List of other study abroad programs in Japan (the first thing to do, however, is to check with your school and see what programs they offer for studying abroad in Japan. Often those will limit which program you can do)
Financial Aid/Scholarships
- Freeman Asia (I wound up getting $5,000 from them, which helped me out immensely, so it's definitely worth a shot)
- Bridging Scholarship
- IES scholarships (if your program is IES, of course. I got $500 from the Foreign Language scholarship, and $250 from the Need-Based scholarship)
- List of other study abroad in Japan scholarships
- your school's own scholarships; mine has study abroad-based scholarships
As for studying abroad, I can say wholeheartedly that it is a worthwhile experience and if you want to do it, you definitely should. Don't let financial problems get in the way, there are always scholarships you can apply for and if you're passionate about going you're likely to get them.
If you have any more questions, you can feel free to email me or leave a comment on this entry (link at the bottom). I'd be more than happy to answer whatever you want to know. :)
One more thing...
How To Go To Swallowtail Butler Cafe In Tokyo
I'm sure there are people that want to know how to do this, so I wrote this how-to to help you all out. I hope you have a more successful experience than mine (where, in the end, I didn't make the reservation right and didn't get to go, even though I found it!). :)
Making The Reservation
Basic Japanese knowledge is pretty much necessary for this step, so if you don't know any, try to ask a Japanese friend or a friend who knows Japanese to help you here. (If you don't know much, you can use Rikaichan on the pages to help you figure out what's going on.) Because Swallowtail is so popular, reservations fill up fast. You make your reservation online (HERE), and new reservations for a date exactly a month from a given day are made available at midnight, Japan time. (So if you want to reserve for December 17, be online at midnight November 16 [as it becomes the 17th].)
1. Have the window with the list of reservations open about 5 minutes before midnight, and keep refreshing (there will be several pages, with the oldest times on the first page. The newest times will show up on the last page, so be sure to click through to the end). Pretty soon a new list of times will appear. You will need to know beforehand how many people are coming (if you don't know exactly, make a larger reservation than necessary. They can't add seats) and it's best to be flexible about the time.
2. Act quick. When you find a time and a number of people that suits you, click on the link immediately (they really do go fast). Put in your email address and your number of people, and hit the button.
3. You will get sent an email asking you to confirm your reservation. Follow the instructions in the email and finalize your reservation (this is the step I missed, so it's very important. If you don't finalize it, your reservation becomes invalid).
4. Wait for a month until you can go.
It's also not necessary to reserve a month in advance if you see a date and time on the website's list of open reservations that suits you, but those are usually for weekdays and/or for small numbers of people--which is why no one wants them--and probably won't work with your schedule if you're not a tourist, which is why reserving for a month in advance is good for trying to get weekend times with larger amounts of people.
If you don't live in Tokyo and you're planning to visit either from somewhere else in Japan or from another country, you can also plan out a day to go to the butler cafe and make the reservation in advance accordingly. Be sure to look up what time Japan time midnight is where you are (Time Zone Converter). For example, midnight in Tokyo on a certain day is 9:00 a.m. U.S. central time the PRECEDING day.
Getting There
Swallowtail Butler Cafe is located in Ikebukuro, which is a major station that both Tokyo Metro and JR Yamanote stop at. You can use the website Hyperdia to help you find the fastest and cheapest route there from wherever you are. Arrange to have your party meet at the East Entrance about 30 minutes before your reservation.
(These directions are translated and adapted from the Japanese directions provided on the Butler Cafe website)
1. From the East Entrance, cross the street directly. Once you are across, begin walking right.
2. Continue walking for a couple of minutes. You will come to a fairly busy-looking street (one landmark is the Sanrio Hello Kitty store on the right side). This is Sunshine 60. Turn left onto it and begin walking down it. You should pass by a couple of movie theatres, as well as a Saizeriya and some other things (a Tokyu Hands too).
3. You will come to an overhead pass. Go straight underneath it. There should be a Libro bookstore, a Family Mart, and an am-pm on the left side of the street. You should also begin to see some billboards that will let you know you have arrived at "Otome Doori."
4. Keep walking. When you see a second Family Mart, you are there and you should be able to find it easily. The Butler Cafe is on the basement level, so there will be steps leading down to it. There will probably be a line of women going up the steps. Join the line, and wait for the butler with a clipboard to get to you. He will ask your name, and if you did everything right your reservation will be there and you can soon go in. Have fun!!
Last Days In Japan
All right, FINALLY, here it is, my last days in Japan.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Even though we'd taken the Japanese final the previous day, we still had to come to school for one last final thing. We all recited our Japanese compositions, and my class had to do ours completely memorized. Mine was fine, whatever, and then afterwards we had a little goodbye party (with food!) in the Meikai Club restaurant just like they'd had for us at the beginning of the year. It was fine, we said goodbye to our teachers and then I left with Deborah, Yuki, Trisha, Casey, Matt, Joe Kim/Riidaa and Adam (aka my Meikai Crew--I'll really miss eating with them after class, ahh!). We sort of puttered around the Daiei outside the station before separating. I went to the 300y store in Shin-Urayasu Station one last time to pick up some more presents (it's such a good place to find good, cute presents!) and then went home.
Aly was already there, and Brette got there later, and we mostly just spent the afternoon packing. Then around 4:30 we left for the Sayonara Party, which was of course in Kaihin Makuhari--in the Sumitomo building IES is in, no less, on the 14th floor or so where the cafeteria place (to which I still have a card with 640y on it that I never used up--arrgh) normally is. The Sayonara Party was pretty nice, I ran around getting just about everyone I'm friends with to sign my yearbook and take a picture with me. Matt Farrell was in charge of the slideshow that was supposed to be all nostalgic and awesome, but of course he forgot it, being Matt, and we were deprived of that. I'm sorry, I'm a huge sucker for watching a nostalgic slideshow at the end of something, and I don't like when it gets taken away from me because people, however much my friend they are, are irresponsible. grrrrr
Friday, December 15, 2006
Even though we'd taken the Japanese final the previous day, we still had to come to school for one last final thing. We all recited our Japanese compositions, and my class had to do ours completely memorized. Mine was fine, whatever, and then afterwards we had a little goodbye party (with food!) in the Meikai Club restaurant just like they'd had for us at the beginning of the year. It was fine, we said goodbye to our teachers and then I left with Deborah, Yuki, Trisha, Casey, Matt, Joe Kim/Riidaa and Adam (aka my Meikai Crew--I'll really miss eating with them after class, ahh!). We sort of puttered around the Daiei outside the station before separating. I went to the 300y store in Shin-Urayasu Station one last time to pick up some more presents (it's such a good place to find good, cute presents!) and then went home.
Aly was already there, and Brette got there later, and we mostly just spent the afternoon packing. Then around 4:30 we left for the Sayonara Party, which was of course in Kaihin Makuhari--in the Sumitomo building IES is in, no less, on the 14th floor or so where the cafeteria place (to which I still have a card with 640y on it that I never used up--arrgh) normally is. The Sayonara Party was pretty nice, I ran around getting just about everyone I'm friends with to sign my yearbook and take a picture with me. Matt Farrell was in charge of the slideshow that was supposed to be all nostalgic and awesome, but of course he forgot it, being Matt, and we were deprived of that. I'm sorry, I'm a huge sucker for watching a nostalgic slideshow at the end of something, and I don't like when it gets taken away from me because people, however much my friend they are, are irresponsible. grrrrr
Thursday, December 14, 2006
December so far
Saturday, December 2, 2006
At 10 there was this IES thing where you could go see a kabuki performance at the kabuki theatre in Ginza. It was free, so I went, and so Lisa, Pat, Anna, Audrey, Matt, etc. It was, of course, at the Kabuki-za, the historical theatre, and there were all these people waiting in lines outside before it began. It turns out kabuki is just like sumo in that it begins in the morning and goes on all day. We, however, were only staying for one act, so we sat in the veeeeery top seats separate from all the rest for the people who are doing that.
I wasn't expecting much from the performance itself but I really liked it. It was so cool and pretty. Most of it, yes, not understood, but it was still cool, and only 1 hour long, which was just enough. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
At 10 there was this IES thing where you could go see a kabuki performance at the kabuki theatre in Ginza. It was free, so I went, and so Lisa, Pat, Anna, Audrey, Matt, etc. It was, of course, at the Kabuki-za, the historical theatre, and there were all these people waiting in lines outside before it began. It turns out kabuki is just like sumo in that it begins in the morning and goes on all day. We, however, were only staying for one act, so we sat in the veeeeery top seats separate from all the rest for the people who are doing that.
I wasn't expecting much from the performance itself but I really liked it. It was so cool and pretty. Most of it, yes, not understood, but it was still cool, and only 1 hour long, which was just enough. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Monday, November 27, 2006
The last of November
Big entry catching up on the rest of November! Nikko trip, Thanksgiving, and other things!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Same as Nagano trip, meet in Kaihin at 8:30 to get on the bus. This time we only had one bus since a lot less people went on this trip, which by the time I got on it was mostly full. I semi-unknowingly made Joe give me the seat next to him he had been saving for Chris... oh no! But he'd brought his laptop and we watched Enemy of the State for most of the way down. So intense!! I got really into it and it distracted me completely.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Same as Nagano trip, meet in Kaihin at 8:30 to get on the bus. This time we only had one bus since a lot less people went on this trip, which by the time I got on it was mostly full. I semi-unknowingly made Joe give me the seat next to him he had been saving for Chris... oh no! But he'd brought his laptop and we watched Enemy of the State for most of the way down. So intense!! I got really into it and it distracted me completely.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
DisneySea + the rest of the week
Wednesday, November 15
DisneySea report!! wooohooo. :) At 10 am I met Deborah, Matt, Casey, Joe and Adam outside Maihama Station. From there we got on the Disney Resort Line monorail train (which costs money!!! It so should not. 200 yen, what a ripoff!) and rode it to the DisneySea stop, where we got off, bought tickets, and went in!! yaaayyy :D
DisneySea report!! wooohooo. :) At 10 am I met Deborah, Matt, Casey, Joe and Adam outside Maihama Station. From there we got on the Disney Resort Line monorail train (which costs money!!! It so should not. 200 yen, what a ripoff!) and rode it to the DisneySea stop, where we got off, bought tickets, and went in!! yaaayyy :D
Saturday, November 18, 2006
So my iPod broke and I had to order a new one from the Japan site, which got here on Thursday. I really prefer my old one.... but oh well, there's no way I can use it again, so I'm just going to have to get used to this new one. At least it has a cool engraving on the back that I got for free!
Saturday this past weekend was our Ladies Night Out for the women of IES. Organized mainly by Allie and Harsha, they invited all the girls in IES, and about 18 of us showed up. We dressed up nice (everyone wore the cocktail dresses they had brought with them... why didn't I bring mine? I have one that would have been perfect... AT HOME, agh) and hung out in Shibuya. It was really fun and cool.
princess fire-dogThat's the literal meaning-translation of my first and last name, hahaha.
Saturday this past weekend was our Ladies Night Out for the women of IES. Organized mainly by Allie and Harsha, they invited all the girls in IES, and about 18 of us showed up. We dressed up nice (everyone wore the cocktail dresses they had brought with them... why didn't I bring mine? I have one that would have been perfect... AT HOME, agh) and hung out in Shibuya. It was really fun and cool.
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Nagano: A tale of public baths, apples, and MONKEYS
Naganooooo! At last.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Everyone met up at Kaihin Makuhari outside of the building IES is in at 8:30 (ahhhh early), where we had two buses ready to go. We loaded up our stuff and got on the buses. The bus I was on was totally the cool bus (hahaha), we just tended to have more fun amusing people than it seemed the other bus had (and some unsavory characters like Jakub, but you know). On the way there Lisa and I listened to the Avenue Q soundtrack (the good songs, anyway) most of which she hadn't heard, which was good times. :D We stopped twice along the way at service areas (the second time for lunch, yumm katsu curry), where we quickly discovered the awesomeness of fruit-flavored ice cream. Oh myyy, blueberry & vanilla was the first one I got, and then apple! Sooo goooooddd.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Everyone met up at Kaihin Makuhari outside of the building IES is in at 8:30 (ahhhh early), where we had two buses ready to go. We loaded up our stuff and got on the buses. The bus I was on was totally the cool bus (hahaha), we just tended to have more fun amusing people than it seemed the other bus had (and some unsavory characters like Jakub, but you know). On the way there Lisa and I listened to the Avenue Q soundtrack (the good songs, anyway) most of which she hadn't heard, which was good times. :D We stopped twice along the way at service areas (the second time for lunch, yumm katsu curry), where we quickly discovered the awesomeness of fruit-flavored ice cream. Oh myyy, blueberry & vanilla was the first one I got, and then apple! Sooo goooooddd.
Monday, November 6, 2006
(Nagano update coming very soon! really!)
mmmm, I love going to the grocery store. I just got my favorite vanilla yogurt, this really good instant pasta soup, CREAM CHEESE FOR THE BAGELS I NOW HAVE YAY BAGELS, and chocolate (yes). Oh and the bread with like a hot dog and some cheese or whatever in the middle, sounds disgusting but is GOOD.
Wednesday night after work I went over to my host family's house, mainly to give them the omiyage (souvenirs) I got in Nagano. They also had an omiyage for me, these blueberry things, but unfortunately (ahhh!) I left it at their house. wah!! They were individually wrapped so they might still be good when I see them again in a couple weeks. We're going to this... art museum thing an hour away by train, and also to the Chiba Zoo at some point in the future as well. Zoo!!! :D I also realized that I booked my ending flight date wrong, Dec. 19th when it should be the 17th, but fortunately they said I can stay with them during the extra days, which is a relief. I'm not sure how I'm going to get to the airport from their house (where I live now isn't exactly convenient for that either), but I'll figure that out later. I might have to take the limousine bus, even though it'll be expensive... the train requires like 4 transfers, and I'm gonna have all or half of my stuff with me. :/
Oh, but the thing that was noticeable about their house is that it was completely messy. Which is not an insult at all, I was really pleased. It means they left it how it normally is; they didn't try to clear away the mess for the benefit of a guest. I think that can be interpreted to mean that I'm not considered a guest; I visit often enough that they don't need to tidy up for me. This is their normal life. That makes me really happy, I'm always glad when that happens because I don't like to just visit a place, I like to live there so I can really get the feel of it, so being considered a normal part of something is just wonderful for me. :) I'm glad that I got to come back and see them again. It's really nice getting to meet up with them a couple times a month. I think I'm going to miss them a LOT when I have to go back and I won't know when I'll see them again! Because I don't know when I'll be back in Japan! I'll just have to make sure Bekah comes here to study abroad or whatever and then I have an excuse to visit. :)
The IES Halloween party was Thursday night and it was pretty fun for like the hour or so I actually attended of it. I brought along some random clothes, not really sure what I would be, but then I found someone to be: Priscilla! One of the other girls here. It really did look like something she would wear (her fashion style is a bit distinctive, short skirts and semi-gothic etc). So I just told everyone I was Priscilla, and everyone thought it was funny. It's always nice when random impromptu costumes turn out well.
Friday night I met Lisa, Allie, Matt K, Marius, Priscilla and Anna in Shibuya at Hachiko (along with half of Tokyo) for karaoke. We didn't have a specific place in mind so we let this guy on the street hustle us into one (haha!). 2000y per person for 2 hours of karaoke, that's not really too bad actually. It was, of course, lots of fun. Lots of singing of songs everyone knew so we all get into it.
This weekend has been our holiday (for Meikai people), there wasn't school on Thursday, Friday nor today. I've just spent most of that time chilling at home. I browsed through Aly and Brette's Tokyo travel guides and discovered all this cool stuff I want to do, like Ferris wheels and pretty gardens and stuff. I'm dying to see all the chrysanthemums in bloom. Aly also told me about this really fun roller coaster she went on near the Tokyo Dome in Korakuen. I want to ride it!! I dunno when I'll get to do that, corraling people is hard sometimes, but I'm gonna try!
mmmm, I love going to the grocery store. I just got my favorite vanilla yogurt, this really good instant pasta soup, CREAM CHEESE FOR THE BAGELS I NOW HAVE YAY BAGELS, and chocolate (yes). Oh and the bread with like a hot dog and some cheese or whatever in the middle, sounds disgusting but is GOOD.
Wednesday night after work I went over to my host family's house, mainly to give them the omiyage (souvenirs) I got in Nagano. They also had an omiyage for me, these blueberry things, but unfortunately (ahhh!) I left it at their house. wah!! They were individually wrapped so they might still be good when I see them again in a couple weeks. We're going to this... art museum thing an hour away by train, and also to the Chiba Zoo at some point in the future as well. Zoo!!! :D I also realized that I booked my ending flight date wrong, Dec. 19th when it should be the 17th, but fortunately they said I can stay with them during the extra days, which is a relief. I'm not sure how I'm going to get to the airport from their house (where I live now isn't exactly convenient for that either), but I'll figure that out later. I might have to take the limousine bus, even though it'll be expensive... the train requires like 4 transfers, and I'm gonna have all or half of my stuff with me. :/
Oh, but the thing that was noticeable about their house is that it was completely messy. Which is not an insult at all, I was really pleased. It means they left it how it normally is; they didn't try to clear away the mess for the benefit of a guest. I think that can be interpreted to mean that I'm not considered a guest; I visit often enough that they don't need to tidy up for me. This is their normal life. That makes me really happy, I'm always glad when that happens because I don't like to just visit a place, I like to live there so I can really get the feel of it, so being considered a normal part of something is just wonderful for me. :) I'm glad that I got to come back and see them again. It's really nice getting to meet up with them a couple times a month. I think I'm going to miss them a LOT when I have to go back and I won't know when I'll see them again! Because I don't know when I'll be back in Japan! I'll just have to make sure Bekah comes here to study abroad or whatever and then I have an excuse to visit. :)
The IES Halloween party was Thursday night and it was pretty fun for like the hour or so I actually attended of it. I brought along some random clothes, not really sure what I would be, but then I found someone to be: Priscilla! One of the other girls here. It really did look like something she would wear (her fashion style is a bit distinctive, short skirts and semi-gothic etc). So I just told everyone I was Priscilla, and everyone thought it was funny. It's always nice when random impromptu costumes turn out well.
Friday night I met Lisa, Allie, Matt K, Marius, Priscilla and Anna in Shibuya at Hachiko (along with half of Tokyo) for karaoke. We didn't have a specific place in mind so we let this guy on the street hustle us into one (haha!). 2000y per person for 2 hours of karaoke, that's not really too bad actually. It was, of course, lots of fun. Lots of singing of songs everyone knew so we all get into it.
This weekend has been our holiday (for Meikai people), there wasn't school on Thursday, Friday nor today. I've just spent most of that time chilling at home. I browsed through Aly and Brette's Tokyo travel guides and discovered all this cool stuff I want to do, like Ferris wheels and pretty gardens and stuff. I'm dying to see all the chrysanthemums in bloom. Aly also told me about this really fun roller coaster she went on near the Tokyo Dome in Korakuen. I want to ride it!! I dunno when I'll get to do that, corraling people is hard sometimes, but I'm gonna try!
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Hmm, I just go up and down about how I feel about my Japanese skills. I'll do just fine at work having things explained to me completely in Japanese, and then I'll go humilate myself at Subway by somehow not expressing that I wanted my food to go (the question I dread the most at restaurants because I still don't know the phrase or the proper replies) and so had to carry my sandwich & cookie back without a bag. Something that struck me as truly terrible and proof of an embarrassing lack of proper Japanese knowledge!!
And then I will randomly discover that I can read manga a lot better than I thought I could. In fact, I might be able to graduate to actually reading it raw, something I had previously thought was impossible for me. It's easy enough online when I can turn on Rikaichan and have kanji & unknown words automatically looked up for me, but it's different with paper of course. And as much as I procrastinate about studying the kanji we learn in class they are probably the #1 most important thing for me to be actually paying attention to. And this just opens up worlds of possibilities, I could actually buy a Japanese manga/novel and read it without needing scanlations. Just now I read the newest chapter of xxxHOLiC, and while I consulted a translation when things got a little complicated/kanji-overloaded, I could read the majority of it on my own. Amazing. Plus you pick up all these nuances and speech patterns that get lost in translation (no matter how good a translation), which is so cool. :D
"Isn't it funny how people can change the way they 'look'?"
"I'm all minstrel" (referring to her music preferences)
- Aly (both)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And here's some other cell phone pictures that I never posted.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in a random Japanese knickknack shop. crazy~
THE CHIBA MONORAIL OMG OMG OMG
It glides off into the night ABOVE THE CITY!!!
Crows for Bekah. This was as I was walking to Gyotoku Station one morning. THEY ARE HUGE AND EVIL.
Ahahahahaha, classic.
Also classic.
And then I will randomly discover that I can read manga a lot better than I thought I could. In fact, I might be able to graduate to actually reading it raw, something I had previously thought was impossible for me. It's easy enough online when I can turn on Rikaichan and have kanji & unknown words automatically looked up for me, but it's different with paper of course. And as much as I procrastinate about studying the kanji we learn in class they are probably the #1 most important thing for me to be actually paying attention to. And this just opens up worlds of possibilities, I could actually buy a Japanese manga/novel and read it without needing scanlations. Just now I read the newest chapter of xxxHOLiC, and while I consulted a translation when things got a little complicated/kanji-overloaded, I could read the majority of it on my own. Amazing. Plus you pick up all these nuances and speech patterns that get lost in translation (no matter how good a translation), which is so cool. :D
"Isn't it funny how people can change the way they 'look'?"
"I'm all minstrel" (referring to her music preferences)
- Aly (both)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And here's some other cell phone pictures that I never posted.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in a random Japanese knickknack shop. crazy~
THE CHIBA MONORAIL OMG OMG OMG
It glides off into the night ABOVE THE CITY!!!
Crows for Bekah. This was as I was walking to Gyotoku Station one morning. THEY ARE HUGE AND EVIL.
Ahahahahaha, classic.
Also classic.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Some general ruminations...
I think I'm kind of going crazy here re: trying to live in two languages, one of them foreign to me. I guess I realized what a lofty goal it was to be fluent by the time I'm out of here, and the fact that I'm pretty sure I won't reach it depresses me a lot, because I feel like I need to be a LOT more ahead on my Japanese than I am, and I don't know how to accelerate that. I no longer feel like the smartest person in my Japanese class, in fact I feel like one of the worst students in it, the kind of person one step behind everyone else in an embarrassing way, which is a very jarring sensation to me (the kick in the pants I needed, no doubt, but still very uncomfortable). Mostly in terms of kanji, but you know.
I find myself grateful that there still exists a language I can read smoothly and understand immediately whatever is written in it. In a time when it feels like all language is unraveling at the seams for me, that is a wonderful feeling. I am happy every time I read something in English and know that a dictionary will not be necessary. Especially something written by someone who plays around with language a lot, and you still get all of it. I don't think I ever realized just how fortunate I am in those cases.
I just hate having a conversation in Japanese and the other person asks something involving a word I don't know. It's so awkward to bust out the electronic dictionary and look it up. I just want to have a fluid conversation. I know how easy it is to get annoyed, despite yourself, with people who aren't native speakers of your language, who have accents and speak awkwardly. I don't want to put that burden on anyone I'm talking with. I just want to push past this and be able to speak and understand smoothly. I feel like after a certain point it all has to just CLICK and you've reached it. I'm intensely jealous of foreigners in Japan who have already reached that goal. It probably takes at least a year to reach, and that's with more immersion than I certainly have with my IES bubble of mainly English speaking friends (as cool as they are, of course!).
This experience, instead of confirming to myself that I am indeed a person who is talented with languages and capable of doing great things with that gift, has just made me realize how far behind I am and has made me question my ability every day. Who's to blame for that? Me, for not doing more independent intensive studying? AC, for having ridiculously easy Japanese classes that did not prepare me for this at all (ironic that I came there hoping to find a good foreign language department!)? I won't go so far as to question the ability itself, I have seen enough over years of language classes to know that it is very true that languages come easier to me than to many people. But it's still not an always-naturally-easy thing like I guess I was under the delusion that it was, or should be. Were my classes really just too easy...?
So many people have done so much more than me. How, how, how can I get to that point?
I find myself grateful that there still exists a language I can read smoothly and understand immediately whatever is written in it. In a time when it feels like all language is unraveling at the seams for me, that is a wonderful feeling. I am happy every time I read something in English and know that a dictionary will not be necessary. Especially something written by someone who plays around with language a lot, and you still get all of it. I don't think I ever realized just how fortunate I am in those cases.
I just hate having a conversation in Japanese and the other person asks something involving a word I don't know. It's so awkward to bust out the electronic dictionary and look it up. I just want to have a fluid conversation. I know how easy it is to get annoyed, despite yourself, with people who aren't native speakers of your language, who have accents and speak awkwardly. I don't want to put that burden on anyone I'm talking with. I just want to push past this and be able to speak and understand smoothly. I feel like after a certain point it all has to just CLICK and you've reached it. I'm intensely jealous of foreigners in Japan who have already reached that goal. It probably takes at least a year to reach, and that's with more immersion than I certainly have with my IES bubble of mainly English speaking friends (as cool as they are, of course!).
This experience, instead of confirming to myself that I am indeed a person who is talented with languages and capable of doing great things with that gift, has just made me realize how far behind I am and has made me question my ability every day. Who's to blame for that? Me, for not doing more independent intensive studying? AC, for having ridiculously easy Japanese classes that did not prepare me for this at all (ironic that I came there hoping to find a good foreign language department!)? I won't go so far as to question the ability itself, I have seen enough over years of language classes to know that it is very true that languages come easier to me than to many people. But it's still not an always-naturally-easy thing like I guess I was under the delusion that it was, or should be. Were my classes really just too easy...?
So many people have done so much more than me. How, how, how can I get to that point?
Monday, October 23, 2006
On Saturday I didn't go anywhere, just stayed in and relaxed, etc. I dunno. I hardly ever have plans for Saturday & Sunday unless I actively ask people what they're doing. I don't really know what's up with that, because on Friday when almost everyone is there we all have a lot of fun, and people will say "let's hang out more!" and then over the weekend, if people do something, I am not told. I know it's nothing personal, but it still bothers me a little. I guess I'm just not on many people's lists to call to hang out, even though they have my number and all. I don't really know how to change that, there are many people I would like to hang out with more on the weekends, but I feel weird calling/texting them...
Sunday I met Lisa in Harajuku and Betsy and Matt joined us later. I bought $35 worth of socks at my favorite sock store there, Tutuanna... WHATEVER THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL SOCKS. But I still haven't found the other things I'm looking for... vertical stripey ish semi transparent black knee-highs (like I saw this girl wearing!), black/neutral color short pleated skirt, warm-looking cold weather type skirts, tops that are not ugly. Possible cute sneakers, don't know what color yet. Maybe black boots. ohhh well. Maybe at the Shin Urayasu mall area where I got my other actually non-ugly clothes.
Sunday I met Lisa in Harajuku and Betsy and Matt joined us later. I bought $35 worth of socks at my favorite sock store there, Tutuanna... WHATEVER THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL SOCKS. But I still haven't found the other things I'm looking for... vertical stripey ish semi transparent black knee-highs (like I saw this girl wearing!), black/neutral color short pleated skirt, warm-looking cold weather type skirts, tops that are not ugly. Possible cute sneakers, don't know what color yet. Maybe black boots. ohhh well. Maybe at the Shin Urayasu mall area where I got my other actually non-ugly clothes.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Quotes from within Endo-Ryo:
"Eeee! It's Hayley Mills! She was in the Parent Trap! She's my spiritual homegirl! You know... twins!"
- Brette (amidst a squee-fit)
Me: (listening to earphones) ("Life is a Highway" comes on)
Aly: (can hear the distinctive opening sounds, laughs) Life is a highwaaayy!
Me: SHUT UP!
Secret Tokyopop fact you probably didn't know: When the company was just starting, they bought copies of their licensed books at Book-Off (aka: cheap bookstore) to save money. Hee! It just really amuses me to think of Stu and Kiyomi-san buying, like, Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth at the lowest price possible. I do hope those weren't the copies they scanned, but I also wouldn't be surprised!
On the fifth floor of the building (the floor I am never on, cause the main office is on the eighth floor) there are those original copies on a bookshelf somewhere still! At least the Sailor Moon ones... they pointed them out to me on my first day. I kind of want to go take a closer look someday, too bad I never go down there!
And yeah, it does amaze me just a tiny bit to think that I am working [if for free] for the company that published the first manga I ever bought (Sailor Moon 1, baby!). Way back in seventh grade... I lent it out to like 6 people so it's kinda beat up now, but since it's out of print I ain't never letting go of that baby. But the thing is, I have become so pessimistic about actually getting a real job there someday. Like, I was reading all the editor spotlights on the website, and everyone's backstories (which, in many cases, I had no idea about!!) are so cool, and I just felt really inadequate. Plus I've convinced myself that when I graduate there won't be an opening for me (a very real possibility), and then what will I do? Sit around until one opens? ch...
"Eeee! It's Hayley Mills! She was in the Parent Trap! She's my spiritual homegirl! You know... twins!"
- Brette (amidst a squee-fit)
Me: (listening to earphones) ("Life is a Highway" comes on)
Aly: (can hear the distinctive opening sounds, laughs) Life is a highwaaayy!
Me: SHUT UP!
Secret Tokyopop fact you probably didn't know: When the company was just starting, they bought copies of their licensed books at Book-Off (aka: cheap bookstore) to save money. Hee! It just really amuses me to think of Stu and Kiyomi-san buying, like, Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth at the lowest price possible. I do hope those weren't the copies they scanned, but I also wouldn't be surprised!
On the fifth floor of the building (the floor I am never on, cause the main office is on the eighth floor) there are those original copies on a bookshelf somewhere still! At least the Sailor Moon ones... they pointed them out to me on my first day. I kind of want to go take a closer look someday, too bad I never go down there!
And yeah, it does amaze me just a tiny bit to think that I am working [if for free] for the company that published the first manga I ever bought (Sailor Moon 1, baby!). Way back in seventh grade... I lent it out to like 6 people so it's kinda beat up now, but since it's out of print I ain't never letting go of that baby. But the thing is, I have become so pessimistic about actually getting a real job there someday. Like, I was reading all the editor spotlights on the website, and everyone's backstories (which, in many cases, I had no idea about!!) are so cool, and I just felt really inadequate. Plus I've convinced myself that when I graduate there won't be an opening for me (a very real possibility), and then what will I do? Sit around until one opens? ch...
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Disneyland! (among other things)
Catch-up time!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Japanese test (which I got a 74 on... ugh, whatever), and then the performance of our skits. Which, by the way, let me tell you that NONE of us signed up for this or even really knew what it was going to be. At the end of every class we do skits with a partner, usually memorized since they're short, and for this it was just performing some of those skits for a larger audience. We did it before after our last test, but then it was just for the other classes and our teachers. THIS time... we walked over to the Meikai main campus and into a larger room, where we had an audience of Japanese students and had to use microphones! whaaaat!
I'm just a little annoyed because it was pretty much like we were a bunch of elementary school kids, forced to perform for others so our teachers can show us off and feel proud of themselves. Except for the part where we're all, like, adults. yeaaah. Not cool.
But I will also tell you that my skit ROCKED. Seriously. It was one of the best, if not THE best, which has been confirmed by many sources (which is good, cause I went into it not expecting much). I was a wife fighting with her husband who had come home late (played by Matt). Both of us just decided, whatever, we'll get totally into it, why not, so we did, and it paid off! :D
Then we had a little party afterwards.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Japanese test (which I got a 74 on... ugh, whatever), and then the performance of our skits. Which, by the way, let me tell you that NONE of us signed up for this or even really knew what it was going to be. At the end of every class we do skits with a partner, usually memorized since they're short, and for this it was just performing some of those skits for a larger audience. We did it before after our last test, but then it was just for the other classes and our teachers. THIS time... we walked over to the Meikai main campus and into a larger room, where we had an audience of Japanese students and had to use microphones! whaaaat!
I'm just a little annoyed because it was pretty much like we were a bunch of elementary school kids, forced to perform for others so our teachers can show us off and feel proud of themselves. Except for the part where we're all, like, adults. yeaaah. Not cool.
But I will also tell you that my skit ROCKED. Seriously. It was one of the best, if not THE best, which has been confirmed by many sources (which is good, cause I went into it not expecting much). I was a wife fighting with her husband who had come home late (played by Matt). Both of us just decided, whatever, we'll get totally into it, why not, so we did, and it paid off! :D
Then we had a little party afterwards.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
ah, le sigh. Feelin' kinda down and such lately. Probably from not seeing my friends for so long. We didn't hang out Friday night like we normally do, people were split up, and I went home to sleep during the afternoon and didn't feel like joining the people that were still there at Kaihin Makuhari, even though I could have... and tomorrow there's no Kanda class, so I won't be going over there again, and it's nothing but Japanese class (which drives me crazy because of our teacher, who we STILL have even though we should have switched after the test, wtf!!) and home, where I am constantly hoping Endo-san doesn't come in, and I never feel like I can relax there, which is awful because I should, by all rights.
We figured it out, though. She went into this thinking it was like a homestay only with three people, we went into it thinking it was a dorm, and we could do what we want, less responsibility. To her the responsibility is still all there, and this apartment is still an extension of her home. Which it's not--this is dormitory housing, and we are right. So frustrating. I hate this a lot. Especially since there's no viable solution really. We're drawing up a list of complaints to show to IES staff, but I dunno if it will help.. plus she always makes sure to tell us about whatever we complain about anyway... aghhh...
We figured it out, though. She went into this thinking it was like a homestay only with three people, we went into it thinking it was a dorm, and we could do what we want, less responsibility. To her the responsibility is still all there, and this apartment is still an extension of her home. Which it's not--this is dormitory housing, and we are right. So frustrating. I hate this a lot. Especially since there's no viable solution really. We're drawing up a list of complaints to show to IES staff, but I dunno if it will help.. plus she always makes sure to tell us about whatever we complain about anyway... aghhh...
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Akihabara, etc
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Oooooh, I'm so happyyyy. I finally got to go to Akihabara and do everything I've been wanting to :D I got a new camera, an electronic dictionary, AND I went to a maid cafe. yay! Maid cafes are something very particular to Japan, found in the incredibly nerdy area of Akihabara, where all the dorks hang out and buy video game and anime stuff. They have waitresses dressed as maids, who are supposed to treat all the male visitors with the utmost respect and speak formally yet cutely to them, etc etc. I've been curious ever since I found out about them so it was really cool to finally get to go to one.
My camera is reallllly cool too. I'm incredibly satisfied. Canon IXY Digital 70, another Canon like my old one so I already know my way around it, it's all sleek and slim with a big screen, and just all around cool. My dictionary is really good too because it has a stylus so you can write in the kanji, which is VERY helpful when you don't know what the heck that kanji is and you don't feel like tediously looking it up by radical.
The maid cafe we went to is this one, Cos-Cha. All around Akihabara there were maids passing out flyers and we collected them and then this one looked cute so we went there. Fortunately as we approached the maid passing out that flyer, she was on her way back to the restaurant, so we just followed her there, which probably saved about 15 minutes of wandering around lost. It was pretty normal inside, except for the waitresses dressed as maids (and a few in vests/black pants, were they supposed to be guys? hahah) and all. I mean, there were normal groups of people just hanging out, nothing scary or anything. Everything was incredibly cute. We saw this guy get a coffee and the cream on top was SHAPED INTO A CAT'S HEAD, SO CUTE. I tried to get the same thing but mine just had a bunny face drawn into the surface of the liquid. Still adorable. woohoo, maid cafe!!
Oooooh, I'm so happyyyy. I finally got to go to Akihabara and do everything I've been wanting to :D I got a new camera, an electronic dictionary, AND I went to a maid cafe. yay! Maid cafes are something very particular to Japan, found in the incredibly nerdy area of Akihabara, where all the dorks hang out and buy video game and anime stuff. They have waitresses dressed as maids, who are supposed to treat all the male visitors with the utmost respect and speak formally yet cutely to them, etc etc. I've been curious ever since I found out about them so it was really cool to finally get to go to one.
My camera is reallllly cool too. I'm incredibly satisfied. Canon IXY Digital 70, another Canon like my old one so I already know my way around it, it's all sleek and slim with a big screen, and just all around cool. My dictionary is really good too because it has a stylus so you can write in the kanji, which is VERY helpful when you don't know what the heck that kanji is and you don't feel like tediously looking it up by radical.
The maid cafe we went to is this one, Cos-Cha. All around Akihabara there were maids passing out flyers and we collected them and then this one looked cute so we went there. Fortunately as we approached the maid passing out that flyer, she was on her way back to the restaurant, so we just followed her there, which probably saved about 15 minutes of wandering around lost. It was pretty normal inside, except for the waitresses dressed as maids (and a few in vests/black pants, were they supposed to be guys? hahah) and all. I mean, there were normal groups of people just hanging out, nothing scary or anything. Everything was incredibly cute. We saw this guy get a coffee and the cream on top was SHAPED INTO A CAT'S HEAD, SO CUTE. I tried to get the same thing but mine just had a bunny face drawn into the surface of the liquid. Still adorable. woohoo, maid cafe!!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Rant
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW.
This is the direct result of Endo-san. AAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH.
She came over about 15-30 minutes ago and seemed actually angry for the first time. Before it's just been "Oh, you should do this, okay?" trying to act all cutesy even though she's 60 years old so it doesn't work at all, but now it was just... argh. First, she's mad because of the futon thing. Here's what happened. Kudo-san (our housing director) came over this morning, apparently. We have deduced that Endo-san went immediately to the futon closet in Aly's room to show her the missing futon, which I replaced two nights ago. It was there in its place (what now, Endo-san?). Earlier this morning when I saw Kudo-san at Meikai I said to her "We didn't have any breakfast this morning" because there was nothing set out for us. There was rice, of course, and some miso soup on the stove, which apparently couldn't feed all three of us (even though Brette and I don't like it anyway, which we've told Endo-san), but not a real breakfast like any bread set out or whatever, which is what we've been having lately.
So Kudo-san tells her this, and Endo-san is very shocked and offended, because there WAS food. So of course, when she comes over we get to hear about it. After she tells me about the futon thing, and I explain and say I'm sorry (which is not good enough, apparently I should have come over to her house and apologized in person. I know you wanted me to do that, Mom, but I'm sorry, I'm not signing myself up for a long lecture if I don't have to), she starts in on the breakfast thing. She tells us like a million times how shocked she was when we said there's no food, because there WAS food, rice and miso soup, and how dare we say that. I pointed out "Brette and I don't like miso soup, and there's not enough time to eat rice always" and she says "It doesn't matter whether you like it or whether there's time, there was food there, and you said there wasn't." Whoa, WHAT? This is where WE LIVE. We PAY YOU to feed us. This has been a problem that we brought up specifically before: we can't just have rice and something else (one time we had rice and cabbage) for breakfast, there has to be more. She has been told this before.
I didn't back down. I looked right at her and I said clearly, "Awhile back, we said bread was best for breakfast because we're busy. Didn't we?" Ohhh, I was so ready for a fight. If she spoke English it would have been ON. But since I can't express all of what I'd like to say, I had to settle for that.
Then, other things. We had dishes still out from dinner, and she told us we should wash them right away. I said I was going to wash them after I finished this movie, and she said no, wash them before. Aly had left a pan out that she hadn't washed because she'd needed to catch her train (even though she'd washed all her other dishes) and Endo-san said that didn't matter, she needed to wash it right away. This has come up NUMEROUS times before. What is the big deal!? The dishes WILL get washed eventually, why do they need to be washed IMMEDIATELY?? I am SO SICK AND TIRED of her ordering us around and telling us what we need to do when WE LIVE HERE, WE ARE PAYING TO LIVE HERE, YOU ARE NOT OUR MOTHER OR GRANDMOTHER OR ANYONE WITH SUCH AUTHORITY OVER US.
Then she said that all of our rooms were dirty (how does she know? Our doors are closed, and she's not supposed to come in. We figured out that this morning with Kudo-san, they looked in all our rooms. I'm so glad they felt free to go and do that. Thanks. I don't mind Kudo-san looking in my room, but I mind Endo-san going ahead and going in when she's not supposed to, and when we're not home) and that we needed to keep them clean. You know why? Because (this is the kicker) when we leave, if she had to pay someone to clean the apartment, it'll be expensive.
OH, WHAT!??! ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME HERE?? YOU DIDN'T CLEAN BEFORE WE GOT HERE!!!!! And how does having a bunch of stuff on the floor equal PERMANENT DAMAGE THAT YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY TO REPAIR?? It does not!!!!!! And also, this is MY ROOM. I can do whatever I want with it as long as I don't leave permanent damage. WHICH I'M NOT GOING TO.
Like, I just don't know how to get across that we ARE NOT OBLIGATED to do the things she wants us to. We don't have to wash our dishes immediately after eating, as long as they do get washed. We don't have to clean our rooms every day, they are our rooms. YOU CANNOT ORDER US AROUND. I want to say this to her, but I fear the repercussions, and I know that would just mean another long conversation, and usually I just want her to leave as soon as possible so we can RELAX.
She also said (oh, this is rich) that "This is my house. This isn't a school dorm." UM, THEN WHY DID WE ALL CHOOSE THE DORM OPTION AND WIND UP WITH THIS?!?!? THIS IS A SCHOOL DORM. IT IS NO LONGER YOUR HOUSE FOR THE TIME BEING. QUIT TRYING TO BEHAVE AS IF IT STILL IS AND WE ALL HAVE TO MIND EVERY SINGLE THING YOU WANT US TO DO.
I really seriously think we're getting gypped here. I can't believe all this freaking money that I'm paying for housing and food is GOING to her. I just can't see how she's actually using all of it, even though she apparently is. We can tell she buys the food that's on sale. But there's nothing I can do! We'll talk to Kudo-san, again, and Kudo-san will call her, again, and then--of course--WE get to hear all about it, and hear her excuses for why we're mistaken, and all of the million defenses she has for why there's no possible way what we're saying could be true. I hate overly defensive people. I hate old people who are too set in their ways. I HATE THIS!!!
(Once again... I love my roommates. I love it here... when Endo-san is not around. But it's getting to be too much. She wants to be in every aspect of our lives when we're here. Everything is her business. We're used to being independent. We're basically adults. I do not like being treated like a child and told what to do! This isn't a matter of fitting in to Japanese society, this is really getting to be things that, no matter what culture, we are not obligated to do. Plus I've ceased to think of her as the epitome of Japanese culture she seems to think she is, anyway. I feel no obligation to abide by whatever she thinks is right just because I'm in Japan.)
I'm so glad I'm going to my old host family's this weekend. SO GLAD.
This is the direct result of Endo-san. AAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH.
She came over about 15-30 minutes ago and seemed actually angry for the first time. Before it's just been "Oh, you should do this, okay?" trying to act all cutesy even though she's 60 years old so it doesn't work at all, but now it was just... argh. First, she's mad because of the futon thing. Here's what happened. Kudo-san (our housing director) came over this morning, apparently. We have deduced that Endo-san went immediately to the futon closet in Aly's room to show her the missing futon, which I replaced two nights ago. It was there in its place (what now, Endo-san?). Earlier this morning when I saw Kudo-san at Meikai I said to her "We didn't have any breakfast this morning" because there was nothing set out for us. There was rice, of course, and some miso soup on the stove, which apparently couldn't feed all three of us (even though Brette and I don't like it anyway, which we've told Endo-san), but not a real breakfast like any bread set out or whatever, which is what we've been having lately.
So Kudo-san tells her this, and Endo-san is very shocked and offended, because there WAS food. So of course, when she comes over we get to hear about it. After she tells me about the futon thing, and I explain and say I'm sorry (which is not good enough, apparently I should have come over to her house and apologized in person. I know you wanted me to do that, Mom, but I'm sorry, I'm not signing myself up for a long lecture if I don't have to), she starts in on the breakfast thing. She tells us like a million times how shocked she was when we said there's no food, because there WAS food, rice and miso soup, and how dare we say that. I pointed out "Brette and I don't like miso soup, and there's not enough time to eat rice always" and she says "It doesn't matter whether you like it or whether there's time, there was food there, and you said there wasn't." Whoa, WHAT? This is where WE LIVE. We PAY YOU to feed us. This has been a problem that we brought up specifically before: we can't just have rice and something else (one time we had rice and cabbage) for breakfast, there has to be more. She has been told this before.
I didn't back down. I looked right at her and I said clearly, "Awhile back, we said bread was best for breakfast because we're busy. Didn't we?" Ohhh, I was so ready for a fight. If she spoke English it would have been ON. But since I can't express all of what I'd like to say, I had to settle for that.
Then, other things. We had dishes still out from dinner, and she told us we should wash them right away. I said I was going to wash them after I finished this movie, and she said no, wash them before. Aly had left a pan out that she hadn't washed because she'd needed to catch her train (even though she'd washed all her other dishes) and Endo-san said that didn't matter, she needed to wash it right away. This has come up NUMEROUS times before. What is the big deal!? The dishes WILL get washed eventually, why do they need to be washed IMMEDIATELY?? I am SO SICK AND TIRED of her ordering us around and telling us what we need to do when WE LIVE HERE, WE ARE PAYING TO LIVE HERE, YOU ARE NOT OUR MOTHER OR GRANDMOTHER OR ANYONE WITH SUCH AUTHORITY OVER US.
Then she said that all of our rooms were dirty (how does she know? Our doors are closed, and she's not supposed to come in. We figured out that this morning with Kudo-san, they looked in all our rooms. I'm so glad they felt free to go and do that. Thanks. I don't mind Kudo-san looking in my room, but I mind Endo-san going ahead and going in when she's not supposed to, and when we're not home) and that we needed to keep them clean. You know why? Because (this is the kicker) when we leave, if she had to pay someone to clean the apartment, it'll be expensive.
OH, WHAT!??! ARE YOU EVEN KIDDING ME HERE?? YOU DIDN'T CLEAN BEFORE WE GOT HERE!!!!! And how does having a bunch of stuff on the floor equal PERMANENT DAMAGE THAT YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY TO REPAIR?? It does not!!!!!! And also, this is MY ROOM. I can do whatever I want with it as long as I don't leave permanent damage. WHICH I'M NOT GOING TO.
Like, I just don't know how to get across that we ARE NOT OBLIGATED to do the things she wants us to. We don't have to wash our dishes immediately after eating, as long as they do get washed. We don't have to clean our rooms every day, they are our rooms. YOU CANNOT ORDER US AROUND. I want to say this to her, but I fear the repercussions, and I know that would just mean another long conversation, and usually I just want her to leave as soon as possible so we can RELAX.
She also said (oh, this is rich) that "This is my house. This isn't a school dorm." UM, THEN WHY DID WE ALL CHOOSE THE DORM OPTION AND WIND UP WITH THIS?!?!? THIS IS A SCHOOL DORM. IT IS NO LONGER YOUR HOUSE FOR THE TIME BEING. QUIT TRYING TO BEHAVE AS IF IT STILL IS AND WE ALL HAVE TO MIND EVERY SINGLE THING YOU WANT US TO DO.
I really seriously think we're getting gypped here. I can't believe all this freaking money that I'm paying for housing and food is GOING to her. I just can't see how she's actually using all of it, even though she apparently is. We can tell she buys the food that's on sale. But there's nothing I can do! We'll talk to Kudo-san, again, and Kudo-san will call her, again, and then--of course--WE get to hear all about it, and hear her excuses for why we're mistaken, and all of the million defenses she has for why there's no possible way what we're saying could be true. I hate overly defensive people. I hate old people who are too set in their ways. I HATE THIS!!!
(Once again... I love my roommates. I love it here... when Endo-san is not around. But it's getting to be too much. She wants to be in every aspect of our lives when we're here. Everything is her business. We're used to being independent. We're basically adults. I do not like being treated like a child and told what to do! This isn't a matter of fitting in to Japanese society, this is really getting to be things that, no matter what culture, we are not obligated to do. Plus I've ceased to think of her as the epitome of Japanese culture she seems to think she is, anyway. I feel no obligation to abide by whatever she thinks is right just because I'm in Japan.)
I'm so glad I'm going to my old host family's this weekend. SO GLAD.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Oh, god, what a freaking roller coaster of a day. I'm not one to be shaken up by drama that often so this is pretty unsettling. The futon mess with Endo-san continues, as even though she has told us she'll lend us out her futons now, I still had a different one left under my bed and she FLIPPED OUT that it was missing and lectured Aly and Brette for like hours tonight. I missed all of this because I went with Lisa to a piano concert by her piano teacher back at college, but I'm just really dreading whatever will happen next when I have to face her again. I put the futon I took back in the closet but of course it's not going to be the end of things. I know I'll get lectured again, or whatever. ugghhhh.
I just really, really don't want to have to DEAL with Endo-san, and god, I just hate that this isn't our space. She invades it at all opportunities and doesn't just let us DO THINGS our own way, on our own, she has to constantly instruct us on how to do it and it SUCKS to be living in an apartment still full of someone else's JUNK because they CANNOT STOP caring about what may happen to it while we're here. THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE RENTED IT OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!! I am never, ever, ever subletting or renting a house if I can HELP it. god!!! Landlords SUCK.
And there's a Japanese test on Thursday that I'm probably going to FAIL again, which will be lovely, and I STILL HATE OUR NEW TEACHER IN THAT CLASS WHY IS SHE SO INSANE. Why is my life filled with insane Japanese women that I HATE having to deal with?!
(Don't worry. This is just a rant. No, seriously, I'm really just fine overall. But this is all so aggravating!!)
I just really, really don't want to have to DEAL with Endo-san, and god, I just hate that this isn't our space. She invades it at all opportunities and doesn't just let us DO THINGS our own way, on our own, she has to constantly instruct us on how to do it and it SUCKS to be living in an apartment still full of someone else's JUNK because they CANNOT STOP caring about what may happen to it while we're here. THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE RENTED IT OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE!! I am never, ever, ever subletting or renting a house if I can HELP it. god!!! Landlords SUCK.
And there's a Japanese test on Thursday that I'm probably going to FAIL again, which will be lovely, and I STILL HATE OUR NEW TEACHER IN THAT CLASS WHY IS SHE SO INSANE. Why is my life filled with insane Japanese women that I HATE having to deal with?!
(Don't worry. This is just a rant. No, seriously, I'm really just fine overall. But this is all so aggravating!!)
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Today I got to ride my bike home in the rain!! I didn't bring an umbrella and the light sprinkles we'd had all day had turned into something harder by the time I needed to get home from the station. At first I thought it would be fun and exhilarating, and then I just got completely soaked. It was okay though. I immediately hung all my clothes up to dry and spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home, finishing my Japanese homework and a translation for TOKYOPOP. I'm still just doing little things here and there but it's been fun. Stu, the CEO guy, is also here now, he'll be in Japan for the next month. He looks a little different, but he remembered me, that was cool!
I love the KFC kids meals here cause you always get the coolest, most random toys. In January I got that funky Curious George plate, this time I got a lunchbox. So cool.
I really, really like both of my roommates. We have so much fun together. Every night we sit in the living room/kitchen area with our laptops and listen to hilarious music and look at random stuff on the Internet while doing our homework/whatever. I'm pretty lucky, I guess, thinking of all the people who end up really unhappy with randomly-chosen roommates. (Then again, it'd be different if we were sharing rooms or something like that.) But despite the Endo-san shenanigans, I really enjoy living here in this situation, and I'm happy I have good roommates I can have fun with. :)
(We STILL don't have our real Internet up yet, we continue to steal wireless from our neighbors, but that's another story altogether!!!)
I love the KFC kids meals here cause you always get the coolest, most random toys. In January I got that funky Curious George plate, this time I got a lunchbox. So cool.
I really, really like both of my roommates. We have so much fun together. Every night we sit in the living room/kitchen area with our laptops and listen to hilarious music and look at random stuff on the Internet while doing our homework/whatever. I'm pretty lucky, I guess, thinking of all the people who end up really unhappy with randomly-chosen roommates. (Then again, it'd be different if we were sharing rooms or something like that.) But despite the Endo-san shenanigans, I really enjoy living here in this situation, and I'm happy I have good roommates I can have fun with. :)
(We STILL don't have our real Internet up yet, we continue to steal wireless from our neighbors, but that's another story altogether!!!)
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Hmmm, not much to saaay... last Sunday I went to Harajuku with Lisa, Matt, Allison, Priscilla, and Liz, which was lots of fun. It was nice to go back to another place I hadn't been since January. We shopped all up and down Takeshita-doori and I spent maybe a bit too much but I have lots of cool new socks now, so I consider it a fair exchange. :D! I also got one of those skirt+leggings ensembles that seem to be kind of popular now. The leggings end a little below the knee and have lace along the bottom. They're really cute. I was suspicious of this whole leggings thing because I will admit that I used to abuse leggings in elementary school, but I think it's safe for me to own a pair again.
It had been raining a little (not very hard) the 4 hours we had been wandering around though (I got a pink semi-clear umbrella! So cool) so after we got done shopping, instead of doing anything like going to Yoyogi Park (where bands play) or the bridge where the cosplaying people are, we all just went back home. Kind of laaaame, but we all said we'd come back someday when the weather was better.
Backtracking a little, last Tuesday like I said, I went to Lisa's host family's house for dinner, and we totally rode the monorail. IT WAS SOOOO COOL. The rails are above the train, and it hangs suspended from them. Watching it pull out of the station and glide away into the night over the streets and through the buildings was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. MONORAAAAIILLLL <3 And it was fun at her house too, her host mom made a ton of really delicious food (I forgot to bring a gift!!!!! I felt so bad) and it was really cool. When I needed to leave it was still raining really hard outside so her host mom drove me to the monorail station, which was really nice. By the time I got all the way back to where I live (this was wayyyy out in Chiba, far west of where I live, closer to Tokyo) it was only raining a little bit and I could ride my bike home no problems, even without an umbrella (like I can do that hold-the-umbrella-with-one-hand-bike-with-the-other thing anyway! I need one of those things that holds the umbrella up for you).
Dinner with Endo-san has been really weird lately. We agreed on a time for dinner: 6 pm. So first, we all get back around 6:10 one time and she tells us we're "late." Right. Now she's started bringing dinner in at 5:15 or 5:30, when usually only one or two of us is home yet, and saying "Everyone's late, huh?" Um, whaaaa? It's not even our set dinnertime! Don't say we're late! And then sometimes SHE'LL be late, and come in and tell us she didn't have time to make us anything proper and just give us something we know she warmed up really fast. Today I got home and dinner looked very promising. One of the dishes was this sort of pasta salad with lettuce bits, pasta (the kind that the Cheesy Alfredo macaroni & cheese used to have--Mom knows the kind!--so I was really excited about that) and some meat things. So I take a bite of the pasta and realize... the meat things are tuna. And I poke around it more, and I discover TINY SHELLS. What!??! She knows two of us don't eat fish!! Why is she serving us stuff with fish in it?! I tried to wash out the pasta and get rid of the fishy bits, but I couldn't. It was completely contaminated. agh!!! And I love that kind of pasta, so I really wanted to eat it! But no!! arrrgh.
Brette and I contented ourselves with going to the grocery store, where I got cream sauce and macaroni pasta so I can make my own proper pasta next Sunday. Ha! I also got a bunch of crazy candy/Pokemon themed snacks for Bekah. As soon as I can find a box to mail it in, I'm sending her stuff.
I also thought my bike was stolen today because it wasn't where I parked it in front of the station. I really got all worried, thinking I'd have to call my old host mom in tears telling her the bike got stolen, and I even entertained notions of going to the police (the police station is right next door) but wondered if they could even do anything, and I didn't even know the word for "steal"... well, it was there, just someone had moved it!! To the row behind the row I was parked in. whyyy? This has never happened before! But the most important thing is the bike was not stolen. Which is good, because who would want that old thing anyway? Well, I like riding it of course, but it's plain and silver, no allure for the hoodlums running around stealing bikes.
I am kind of dying to go to Disneyland (it'll be this weekend or the next, probably the next) but I need to get a new camera first. Mine is pretty much dead. I can get the camera duty-free too, 5% discount! So I think it's gonna have to be Akihabara this weekend if I have any say about it. I'm also really tempted to get a Nintendo DS and Pokemon, I wasn't originally that interested but some guys here bought those things and they're having a lot of fun with them. Plus I bet it'll help my Japanese a lot and be something fun to do on the train (besides listen to music and zone out), but that's another $200 purchase I probably don't need to make. Oooh, I really want a white DS though... I also think I'm going to go to the Pokemon Center in Nihombashi sometime soon. I'm gonna take a bunch of pictures and make Bekah totally jealous! :D
Our IES field trip to Nagano (1998 Winter Olympics site!!) is coming up at the end of the month too, I'm totally excited. We get to go to the monkey onsen!!! (read about it! If you click the "Japanese Macaque" link you can see a picture of the monkeys IN the hot springs pools!) And do lots of other cool stuff! yayy
It had been raining a little (not very hard) the 4 hours we had been wandering around though (I got a pink semi-clear umbrella! So cool) so after we got done shopping, instead of doing anything like going to Yoyogi Park (where bands play) or the bridge where the cosplaying people are, we all just went back home. Kind of laaaame, but we all said we'd come back someday when the weather was better.
Backtracking a little, last Tuesday like I said, I went to Lisa's host family's house for dinner, and we totally rode the monorail. IT WAS SOOOO COOL. The rails are above the train, and it hangs suspended from them. Watching it pull out of the station and glide away into the night over the streets and through the buildings was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. MONORAAAAIILLLL <3 And it was fun at her house too, her host mom made a ton of really delicious food (I forgot to bring a gift!!!!! I felt so bad) and it was really cool. When I needed to leave it was still raining really hard outside so her host mom drove me to the monorail station, which was really nice. By the time I got all the way back to where I live (this was wayyyy out in Chiba, far west of where I live, closer to Tokyo) it was only raining a little bit and I could ride my bike home no problems, even without an umbrella (like I can do that hold-the-umbrella-with-one-hand-bike-with-the-other thing anyway! I need one of those things that holds the umbrella up for you).
Dinner with Endo-san has been really weird lately. We agreed on a time for dinner: 6 pm. So first, we all get back around 6:10 one time and she tells us we're "late." Right. Now she's started bringing dinner in at 5:15 or 5:30, when usually only one or two of us is home yet, and saying "Everyone's late, huh?" Um, whaaaa? It's not even our set dinnertime! Don't say we're late! And then sometimes SHE'LL be late, and come in and tell us she didn't have time to make us anything proper and just give us something we know she warmed up really fast. Today I got home and dinner looked very promising. One of the dishes was this sort of pasta salad with lettuce bits, pasta (the kind that the Cheesy Alfredo macaroni & cheese used to have--Mom knows the kind!--so I was really excited about that) and some meat things. So I take a bite of the pasta and realize... the meat things are tuna. And I poke around it more, and I discover TINY SHELLS. What!??! She knows two of us don't eat fish!! Why is she serving us stuff with fish in it?! I tried to wash out the pasta and get rid of the fishy bits, but I couldn't. It was completely contaminated. agh!!! And I love that kind of pasta, so I really wanted to eat it! But no!! arrrgh.
Brette and I contented ourselves with going to the grocery store, where I got cream sauce and macaroni pasta so I can make my own proper pasta next Sunday. Ha! I also got a bunch of crazy candy/Pokemon themed snacks for Bekah. As soon as I can find a box to mail it in, I'm sending her stuff.
I also thought my bike was stolen today because it wasn't where I parked it in front of the station. I really got all worried, thinking I'd have to call my old host mom in tears telling her the bike got stolen, and I even entertained notions of going to the police (the police station is right next door) but wondered if they could even do anything, and I didn't even know the word for "steal"... well, it was there, just someone had moved it!! To the row behind the row I was parked in. whyyy? This has never happened before! But the most important thing is the bike was not stolen. Which is good, because who would want that old thing anyway? Well, I like riding it of course, but it's plain and silver, no allure for the hoodlums running around stealing bikes.
I am kind of dying to go to Disneyland (it'll be this weekend or the next, probably the next) but I need to get a new camera first. Mine is pretty much dead. I can get the camera duty-free too, 5% discount! So I think it's gonna have to be Akihabara this weekend if I have any say about it. I'm also really tempted to get a Nintendo DS and Pokemon, I wasn't originally that interested but some guys here bought those things and they're having a lot of fun with them. Plus I bet it'll help my Japanese a lot and be something fun to do on the train (besides listen to music and zone out), but that's another $200 purchase I probably don't need to make. Oooh, I really want a white DS though... I also think I'm going to go to the Pokemon Center in Nihombashi sometime soon. I'm gonna take a bunch of pictures and make Bekah totally jealous! :D
Our IES field trip to Nagano (1998 Winter Olympics site!!) is coming up at the end of the month too, I'm totally excited. We get to go to the monkey onsen!!! (read about it! If you click the "Japanese Macaque" link you can see a picture of the monkeys IN the hot springs pools!) And do lots of other cool stuff! yayy
Saturday, September 30, 2006
grrrr. I hate when people ring our bell and it's no one I know. Just now that happened and I had to go out in my bathrobe and see what was up. It was some woman with like six children trailing after her wanting to know where Endo-san was. Like I know?! I'm mostly annoyed that it gave those kids a big fat chance to stare at me, the disheveled gaijin, and I'm not really in the mood for that when I'm in pajamas and a bathrobe. Stupid kids.
I guess I could have picked up the phone and talked to her through the intercom (fancy Japanese door-answering technology! Some homes even have a video screen where you can see the visitor). But that's so strange to me that I never think I can really do it.
I'm also a little annoyed because we had a Japanese test on Tuesday and got them back yesterday, and I didn't do very well. In my defense, neither did many other people in the class, since no one knew what to expect (we weren't told what would be on it, just that we'd have a test) and they graded it pretty harshly. Then also, we switched teachers, so now instead of the three teachers, our class has one (and one of the old three on Thursdays), and she's the most irritating one. She does that thing where she talks to us like we're children, way too happy and smiley, and I hate when teachers do that. I want my old teachers back!!! I hate this switching around thing. The whole point of a class is to build up a good relationship with your teacher. Even though we had three, I still liked all of them. Now we only have one and I don't like her at all. This does not bode well. We'll switch again in another couple of weeks but I still don't like how they're doing this.
I also ate a Pokemon-themed bread thing yesterday. It was a curry bread, so inside it was flavored like curry. Which, I like curry, but not inside the middle of bread, that was weird. I got it because it was the Vulpix bread (each bread had a different Pokemon on it) and that was my favorite Pokemon. Inside is a little sticker thing of another Pokemon that I'm going to give to Bekah. I wish I could mail her some Pokemon bread but it would definitely have gone bad by the time it got to her. Oh well.
My nose is still stuffy (I think I've lost the ability to smell) and my throat hurts from time to time. Hyung-Hye is convinced I need to go to the doctor and she says if I'm not completely better by next week, we're going. I just don't understand, because I feel fine overall, what's with these persistent symptoms?
I guess I could have picked up the phone and talked to her through the intercom (fancy Japanese door-answering technology! Some homes even have a video screen where you can see the visitor). But that's so strange to me that I never think I can really do it.
I'm also a little annoyed because we had a Japanese test on Tuesday and got them back yesterday, and I didn't do very well. In my defense, neither did many other people in the class, since no one knew what to expect (we weren't told what would be on it, just that we'd have a test) and they graded it pretty harshly. Then also, we switched teachers, so now instead of the three teachers, our class has one (and one of the old three on Thursdays), and she's the most irritating one. She does that thing where she talks to us like we're children, way too happy and smiley, and I hate when teachers do that. I want my old teachers back!!! I hate this switching around thing. The whole point of a class is to build up a good relationship with your teacher. Even though we had three, I still liked all of them. Now we only have one and I don't like her at all. This does not bode well. We'll switch again in another couple of weeks but I still don't like how they're doing this.
I also ate a Pokemon-themed bread thing yesterday. It was a curry bread, so inside it was flavored like curry. Which, I like curry, but not inside the middle of bread, that was weird. I got it because it was the Vulpix bread (each bread had a different Pokemon on it) and that was my favorite Pokemon. Inside is a little sticker thing of another Pokemon that I'm going to give to Bekah. I wish I could mail her some Pokemon bread but it would definitely have gone bad by the time it got to her. Oh well.
My nose is still stuffy (I think I've lost the ability to smell) and my throat hurts from time to time. Hyung-Hye is convinced I need to go to the doctor and she says if I'm not completely better by next week, we're going. I just don't understand, because I feel fine overall, what's with these persistent symptoms?
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Well, today was certainly interesting. Part of the Keiyo Line that we take to school broke down because some cable(s) caught on fire or something between Shin Urayasu and Tokyo, so when we got to the station to go to Japanese class this morning, no trains were coming and it soon became apparent that there weren't going to be any for a while. (Our station that we stop at, Shin Urayasu, was also completely shut down.) The alternative the station people were giving us was to take a free bus ticket, get on a bus to Gyotoku Station, and use that line to go to where you needed to go. Or take a taxi. Riiight. Fortunately for us, class was canceled entirely!! :D But it was just so interesting to see people arrive to the station (one woman even got off her bus and started running to catch her train!), realize they couldn't get past the ticket gates, and come back and mill about. Just like ants when a part of the anthill is destroyed, or lemmings with some obstacle suddenly set in their path. But we were ants and lemmings too. We just went home, and Brette was going to walk up to the area by Gyotoku Station to get her gaijin card and then get Mister Donut, and I went with her and got some doughnuts. Mmmmmm Mister Donut is soooo gooood. I got three doughnuts and, instead of saving one for later like I thought, ate them all. soooo goooood!
I also took advantage of our extra time to do my laundry (I was really down to my last articles of clothing) and take a nap. My afternoon class, History of Tokyo, was a field trip, so around 1 I left for that. It was at Ryogoku, the same place we saw sumo, and we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. That place is REALLY COOL. All the exhibits are things like miniature models of a samurai's living complex, life-size representations of merchant houses, models of famous buildings, and it was all just so hands-on and interesting. A really, really cool museum, and now I understand what Melissa was talking about over Janterm when she raved about it.
After that, Lisa, Anna and I went back to Kaihin Makuhari and we went to the Mexican cafe/restaurant place in one of the area malls. I got a quesadilla and some ice cream for dessert. The quesadilla was definitely good but you could tell it was a form of Japanified Mexican food. Oh well! We just stayed there for a while chatting, and then I went home around 7 or so. The Keiyo Line was up and running again so I could take that home.
Oh yeah, and before work yesterday I got my gaijin card. Or rather, my alien registration card, but everyone calls it the gaijin card. If you're going to be staying in Japan longer than like a month or so, you have to go register and get one. We already did the registration and this week we could go pick it up. If a policeman asks me for it, I have to show it to him, and if I don't have it then legally he can take me to the police station and question me for hours and even make me come in to court for it. Seriously. There's some horror stories floating around online that you can read where that's happened to people. If I hadn't been planning to just carry it in my wallet all the time, then you can bet after reading that I definitely would have!
Still have a little cough/sometimes sore throat/occasional sniffle but I hope it's continuing to clear up more and more. Lisa finally went to the clinic yesterday after having like a three-week cold and I guess if it holds out that long I'll have to do the same, even though I don't want to.
I also took advantage of our extra time to do my laundry (I was really down to my last articles of clothing) and take a nap. My afternoon class, History of Tokyo, was a field trip, so around 1 I left for that. It was at Ryogoku, the same place we saw sumo, and we went to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. That place is REALLY COOL. All the exhibits are things like miniature models of a samurai's living complex, life-size representations of merchant houses, models of famous buildings, and it was all just so hands-on and interesting. A really, really cool museum, and now I understand what Melissa was talking about over Janterm when she raved about it.
After that, Lisa, Anna and I went back to Kaihin Makuhari and we went to the Mexican cafe/restaurant place in one of the area malls. I got a quesadilla and some ice cream for dessert. The quesadilla was definitely good but you could tell it was a form of Japanified Mexican food. Oh well! We just stayed there for a while chatting, and then I went home around 7 or so. The Keiyo Line was up and running again so I could take that home.
Oh yeah, and before work yesterday I got my gaijin card. Or rather, my alien registration card, but everyone calls it the gaijin card. If you're going to be staying in Japan longer than like a month or so, you have to go register and get one. We already did the registration and this week we could go pick it up. If a policeman asks me for it, I have to show it to him, and if I don't have it then legally he can take me to the police station and question me for hours and even make me come in to court for it. Seriously. There's some horror stories floating around online that you can read where that's happened to people. If I hadn't been planning to just carry it in my wallet all the time, then you can bet after reading that I definitely would have!
Still have a little cough/sometimes sore throat/occasional sniffle but I hope it's continuing to clear up more and more. Lisa finally went to the clinic yesterday after having like a three-week cold and I guess if it holds out that long I'll have to do the same, even though I don't want to.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Okay. I have been sloooowly but surely getting better. Maybe. I hope. Today my voice returned (since it cruelly abandoned me over the course of the cold), which I took as a good sign, and even though I'm still coughing, it's getting to be more of a normal dry cough and less nasty sounding. Last night was weird in that my forehead and cheeks started feeling really hot like I had a fever right before I fell asleep, but I took an Advil and went to sleep and was fine in the morning, with my voice restored. So, hm.
It's RAINING here, and I didn't bring my umbrella. On the bright side, tonight I'm going to Lisa's host family's house for dinner, and we get to take the CHIBA MONORAIL, which I am ridiculously excited about using. It is suspended from the rails. What's not to love?!
There's more, but I can't really think of it at the moment, so I'll just update more later!
It's RAINING here, and I didn't bring my umbrella. On the bright side, tonight I'm going to Lisa's host family's house for dinner, and we get to take the CHIBA MONORAIL, which I am ridiculously excited about using. It is suspended from the rails. What's not to love?!
There's more, but I can't really think of it at the moment, so I'll just update more later!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Tokyo Game Show 06
I went to the Tokyo Game Show today. I went by myself to Kaihin Makuhari (it's called Tokyo Game Show but actually held in Chiba at the Makuhari Messe, which is in the same city as the IES center) and then called up the girl geeks of IES, who I rarely hang out with but I hung out with today because there was, honestly, no one else I was friends with going, aka TK, Heidi, Caitlin, etc. Went around with them, played the Kingdom Hearts DS game trial in order to get the Roxas wristband, saw cosplayers, saw Seki Tomokazu (♥), and so forth. It was quite, quite fun.
Friday, September 22, 2006
wah, after yesterday when I felt just fine all day, I woke up today and went to class only to realize that I was feeling even worse!! My voice is going (even though my throat doesn't hurt that much), and I just feel all blah. Even so, it's not terrible, I can still do things, but class was just too much for me. I told Ishikawa-san at IES about it, and she asked me if I wanted to go to the doctor, but I said no, it's not that bad and it'll be expensive... I think I need to sleep for the rest of the day, and rest over the weekend, and if it's not better by Monday I'll go to the doctor then.
My guess is that it's the seasons changing. Every day it's a mixture of warm and cool, some days more one extreme than the other, with rain every couple of days, and that can really wreak havoc on your body. (You'd think I'd be used to it, though, living in Texas!)
On the bright side, today walking to school I definitely saw at least 5 people who are Disney performers going to work. It's really easy to pick them out. We have too much fun doing it.
(blonde girl with sunglasses riding a bicycle goes by)
Brette and I: (look at each other) ...Disney.
My guess is that it's the seasons changing. Every day it's a mixture of warm and cool, some days more one extreme than the other, with rain every couple of days, and that can really wreak havoc on your body. (You'd think I'd be used to it, though, living in Texas!)
On the bright side, today walking to school I definitely saw at least 5 people who are Disney performers going to work. It's really easy to pick them out. We have too much fun doing it.
(blonde girl with sunglasses riding a bicycle goes by)
Brette and I: (look at each other) ...Disney.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I'm siiiiiiiiiiiiick! wah! It happened after all. My head hurts a tiny bit and my nose is all runny/stuffy. So I didn't go to work today, which really kind of sucks because I had stuff to do. But, on the plus side, in their reply to my email that I wouldn't be in today, they want me to translate the FAQ manga!!! yesssssssssssss :D I hope this means I did a good job on the script preview thingy!
Doug is currently working on trying to study abroad in Japan himself next spring. yay!! Go Doug! Texas Tech makes it a LOT harder to study abroad than Austin College does (reason #32442124 why I'm glad I chose to come here after all), so he has a lot more hoops to jump through than I did, and I'm hoping he gets in (and gets all the money he'll need to go)!! I'm really thinking more and more that study abroad is a really great opportunity that everyone should take at least once if they have even the slightest interest in it, because you'll never get the chance to do it again. After college you have to either work in or simply visit a foreign country; you can never live there temporarily as a student.
Doug is currently working on trying to study abroad in Japan himself next spring. yay!! Go Doug! Texas Tech makes it a LOT harder to study abroad than Austin College does (reason #32442124 why I'm glad I chose to come here after all), so he has a lot more hoops to jump through than I did, and I'm hoping he gets in (and gets all the money he'll need to go)!! I'm really thinking more and more that study abroad is a really great opportunity that everyone should take at least once if they have even the slightest interest in it, because you'll never get the chance to do it again. After college you have to either work in or simply visit a foreign country; you can never live there temporarily as a student.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
I'm all sniffly right now and I've been sneezing all day; my throat also hurt a little when I got up. I might have a cold or something. That better be ALL it is because I decided I am not going to need to use the Japanese medical system while I am here because it is too confusing and too expensive and too gaijin-UNfriendly. It probably won't come to that point but I am just saying this now! I will not get sick while I am here!!
Today was the first day of anime class. It was interesting. The lecture was a little boring, but I think it's going to be okay. I actually wasn't going to take this class because I knew there would probably be people who couldn't be mature and who would just annoy me, but then I changed my mind once I got here, and decided that if I do work for Tokyopop someday, it couldn't hurt to be educated on the history of manga and all of that.
We also had our third Japanese teacher today for the first time, and that was interesting too. Sometimes I miss the instructions for what we're supposed to be doing next and I get all confused and feel stupid, which, as I've said before, is a new feeling for me in a Japanese class. I actually really need an electronic dictionary, even though they are $200. I hope this weekend I can get into Akihabara and purchase my electronics. It turns out my camera still works, the batteries had just been drained (AGAIN. It happens so fast!! That is why it is slowly breaking). If I find a good deal on a new camera, I think I will get one, though. I'm just so sick of dealing with this bad old one.
I also only have $85 or so left of the $500 I brought with me. I wanted to make it last until the end of September but that's probably not possible. It's not like I've been squandering it (okay, not much) but stuff just really adds up! So pretty soon I'll have to withdraw money and hope I can be better about stretching that.
I think I'm already pretty fully adjusted to life here. I don't really think too much about wishing I was back home, and in fact it surprises me when I go on Facebook and see pictures from my AC friends doing stuff without me (and then I miss them a lot and realize things are going on without me, but most of the time that thought doesn't enter my mind; that's just how it is). It actually feels like, starting back in June, my year has been/is going to be divided into three big chunks of complete location changes, adjusting to a new area, etc. First was California and Tokyopop; now is Japan; the spring will be France. So it's kind of gotten to the point where moving around feels almost natural, and it's not hard at all to settle down into a new place again. The study abroad people were all "It's hard for split year students because they feel like they just got used to one place, and then they have to go to a different one" but, even though I bet I will experience a little of that, it won't be that bad for me, probably because of what I just experienced this summer, which was in fact a really good preparation for study abroad. We'll see, though. I won't lie that I'm really anxious about France, but I still want to go because it's my best chance to experience as much of Europe as possible. I decided to do a homestay there and I hope that works out too.
Today was the first day of anime class. It was interesting. The lecture was a little boring, but I think it's going to be okay. I actually wasn't going to take this class because I knew there would probably be people who couldn't be mature and who would just annoy me, but then I changed my mind once I got here, and decided that if I do work for Tokyopop someday, it couldn't hurt to be educated on the history of manga and all of that.
We also had our third Japanese teacher today for the first time, and that was interesting too. Sometimes I miss the instructions for what we're supposed to be doing next and I get all confused and feel stupid, which, as I've said before, is a new feeling for me in a Japanese class. I actually really need an electronic dictionary, even though they are $200. I hope this weekend I can get into Akihabara and purchase my electronics. It turns out my camera still works, the batteries had just been drained (AGAIN. It happens so fast!! That is why it is slowly breaking). If I find a good deal on a new camera, I think I will get one, though. I'm just so sick of dealing with this bad old one.
I also only have $85 or so left of the $500 I brought with me. I wanted to make it last until the end of September but that's probably not possible. It's not like I've been squandering it (okay, not much) but stuff just really adds up! So pretty soon I'll have to withdraw money and hope I can be better about stretching that.
I think I'm already pretty fully adjusted to life here. I don't really think too much about wishing I was back home, and in fact it surprises me when I go on Facebook and see pictures from my AC friends doing stuff without me (and then I miss them a lot and realize things are going on without me, but most of the time that thought doesn't enter my mind; that's just how it is). It actually feels like, starting back in June, my year has been/is going to be divided into three big chunks of complete location changes, adjusting to a new area, etc. First was California and Tokyopop; now is Japan; the spring will be France. So it's kind of gotten to the point where moving around feels almost natural, and it's not hard at all to settle down into a new place again. The study abroad people were all "It's hard for split year students because they feel like they just got used to one place, and then they have to go to a different one" but, even though I bet I will experience a little of that, it won't be that bad for me, probably because of what I just experienced this summer, which was in fact a really good preparation for study abroad. We'll see, though. I won't lie that I'm really anxious about France, but I still want to go because it's my best chance to experience as much of Europe as possible. I decided to do a homestay there and I hope that works out too.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Third Week In Japan
Okay, with this post, I'm done catching up, and now I'll just post normal updates here, instead of everything in one batch. There's also no pictures here either, unfortunately, still stuck on my phone. I even tried to take my camera to Asakusa on Saturday only to find that it wouldn't turn on!! Howww annoyinggg. Maybe it's finally bit the dust; it's been acting up for a while. Well, there's no place better to purchase new electronics than Japan. Whenever I finally get into Akihabara I'll look for a good deal.
Week Three: September 11-18, 2006
Week Three: September 11-18, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Second Week In Japan
All right, here's the next bit of my Japan blog, still trying to catch up on past entries, sorry! Eventually I'll be up to date. This one has a LOT less pictures (sorry!!) because I started using the camera on my phone to take pictures so I didn't have to lug my actual camera around. Unfortunately, I can only pull those pictures off the phone with Bluetooth, which my laptop doesn't have. I have to wait until someone with a Bluetooth-equipped laptop will let me use it to get the pictures off. That was supposed to happen this week, but DIDN'T. :(
Week Two: Sept. 2-10, 2006
Week Two: Sept. 2-10, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
First Week In Japan
Here is my first attempt to catch up on what's happened so far. For those in my family, here is some background information you might want to know. I am studying abroad through a program called IES; they organize our housing and classes. We could choose to take our Japanese classes either at the university IES has been using for a long time now, Kanda University, or at a new-for-this-year university, Meikai University. I chose Meikai since that program focused more on language, but I also have a few area studies classes at Kanda (taught in English). When I went to Japan in January, that program was also organized by IES, so I already knew some of the employees there from that time. A new employee there is actually my friend/former Japanese language resident who went to my college last year and worked as a Japanese assistant teacher (Hyung-Hye). From my school, there are three other people going that I know, all boys (Casey, Aubrey, and Alex).
If there's a Japanese phrase/pecularity I include here, I'm only going to explain it once, so you better remember it! Lots of things are pretty untranslateable so I usually keep the Japanese term in most times. Okay, I think that's it, read on!
Week One: Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2006
If there's a Japanese phrase/pecularity I include here, I'm only going to explain it once, so you better remember it! Lots of things are pretty untranslateable so I usually keep the Japanese term in most times. Okay, I think that's it, read on!
Week One: Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2006
Saturday, September 9, 2006
welcome!
woohoo! I'm renewing this blog to talk about my study abroad experience in Tokyo, Japan this fall of 2006. I'll post detailed diary entries and pictures here. よろしくおねがいします！
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Sarah's Japan Enikki, Week 1, Jan. 5-15, 2006
Woooo, here is the first installment of my Janterm trip journal + pictures!! I divided it up into three sections, one for each week. I am calling it my enikki (絵日記) because that word means picture diary which is exactly what this is.
Sarah's Japan Enikki, Week 1, Jan. 5-15, 2006
Sarah's Japan Enikki, Week 1, Jan. 5-15, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
update #5
Wheeee, back in Tokyo (Asakusa, in our ryokan). The rest of the group has left and now it is just Kathryn, Sarah K, Milin, Fred and I. We are freee of IES's jurisdiction and the annoying people! yaay!! The ryokan is a very cute old building though very veeeeeeerryyy cold (I am currently freezing my hands off ahhh). brrrrr
The sayonara party Friday night was so sad, when I had to say goodbye to my host mom and Nanase I started crying. My host mom was crying too... ahhhh. They were so amazing. I almost want to change my plans to study abroad in Japan just to stay with them. And also to come back to this crazy crazy place of course.
The rest of the week, who knows. I think I'm about to go to Harajuku and check out the freaks (hahah) though. Kathryn and I also hit up Shinjuku last night but we only really saw Isetan.
That's really all, may post later, may not. Fly back 27th!
The sayonara party Friday night was so sad, when I had to say goodbye to my host mom and Nanase I started crying. My host mom was crying too... ahhhh. They were so amazing. I almost want to change my plans to study abroad in Japan just to stay with them. And also to come back to this crazy crazy place of course.
The rest of the week, who knows. I think I'm about to go to Harajuku and check out the freaks (hahah) though. Kathryn and I also hit up Shinjuku last night but we only really saw Isetan.
That's really all, may post later, may not. Fly back 27th!
Thursday, January 19, 2006
japan update #4
Okay! Last night in this internet cafe place, and I have only 10 minutes left (unless I pay for more, hmm). Yesss, okay sooo, birthday. 20!! woohoo. After a day in which NO ONE MENTIONED IT AT ALL (except for my friends, because I reminded them) somehow at dinner they brought out Kirin beer and Coke and toasted me!! (the beer because Japan's drinking age is 20, although it's gross and I only had a few sips) what the heck people!! How could you let me spend the day all sad that no one noticed (I only mentioned it once or twice but still) and then RANDOMLY BUST OUT with something like that!? insanity!!
The Hiroshima Peace museum reallly pissed me off. It had an agenda and it was so biased. I was maaaaad. I'm not saying the bomb was the best idea around, but Japan was NOT going to give up unless some sort of drastic measure was taken. THEY WERE NOT! No matter how weakened they had become, they were determined to fight, and if the bomb hadn't been dropped, tedious fighting would have ensued for who knows how long because of their stubbornness. I researched this for a paper I wrote awhile back, so I'm not just making this up. And guess what, nuclear weapons aren't going away. Nope! Once again, not the best idea, and I hate the thought that they may be used someday for widescale destruction, but they're also important technology that we need to keep developing.
But then we went to Miyajima, the best place ever, and I got another arrow and petted some more free-roaming deer. And saw the floating torii and a bunch of cool shops. I wanted to ride the gondolas and see the monkeys, but alas, we did not have time. :<
Time to go! Tomorrow we go back to Tokyo and have the farewell party! But then I stay on in Tokyo starting that Saturday, and I also don't know about internet access then, sooo. I'll write... whenever!
The Hiroshima Peace museum reallly pissed me off. It had an agenda and it was so biased. I was maaaaad. I'm not saying the bomb was the best idea around, but Japan was NOT going to give up unless some sort of drastic measure was taken. THEY WERE NOT! No matter how weakened they had become, they were determined to fight, and if the bomb hadn't been dropped, tedious fighting would have ensued for who knows how long because of their stubbornness. I researched this for a paper I wrote awhile back, so I'm not just making this up. And guess what, nuclear weapons aren't going away. Nope! Once again, not the best idea, and I hate the thought that they may be used someday for widescale destruction, but they're also important technology that we need to keep developing.
But then we went to Miyajima, the best place ever, and I got another arrow and petted some more free-roaming deer. And saw the floating torii and a bunch of cool shops. I wanted to ride the gondolas and see the monkeys, but alas, we did not have time. :<
Time to go! Tomorrow we go back to Tokyo and have the farewell party! But then I stay on in Tokyo starting that Saturday, and I also don't know about internet access then, sooo. I'll write... whenever!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
japan update #3
What up, I am in Hiroshima. We are staying at the Hotel New Tachibana.
In an internet cafe, so I get more than the scant ~15 minutes I got at the IES offices before people lurking the computers made me cave in and finish up, though this means I have to actually pay to use it. Whateva, if I paid for an hour, I am using up that whole hour.
Kyoto was not all that great, but it's not the fault of the city, but our tour, which was horrendously boring and only took us to like five thousand temples. Oh god, make it stop! Make it stop! I don't care about temples! We didn't get to go to Gion, and we didn't get to go to the shrine with the bunch of red torii that Sayuri runs through in Memoirs of a Geisha. Honestly, if we didn't do that, what point is there to Kyoto?
Also, it is barely a city. It is nothing like Tokyo. Liek, seriously, it is more like a large village. I was most confused. Perhaps I wasn't seeing the right parts, though, I don't know.
Oh, but I tried the public bath in our hotel!!!!! I did it!!! Yessss!! Naked in a room full of other women! I did iittttttt :DDD Honestly, if you know anything about my modesty, you know how hard that was for me to do. And so I had a very nice long conversation with two of the other girls on the trip. While naked. So strange, so strange. And yet I am still proud of me. Public bath! yesss
Tomorrow, my birthday, shall be spent crying, as we are visiting the Hiroshima Peace Park museum & A-bomb dome and whatnot. I'm glad to have a respite from the TEMPLE FEST by going to a museum instead but seriously? Going to be depressed like what. Ah well. Janterm doesn't equal a good birthday for me, and I should just learn to deal with that.
Oh, and deer temple today in Nara!! Deeeeer temple!! :D The deer rocked, too. deeeeeeeeeeeer ♥
In Kyoto at Kinkakuji Temple I saw a guy who struck me as looking a lot like someone I knew, so I took a picture of him to show to that person later. Only when I looked at the picture later, he was looking straight at me. So I suspect he knew what I was doing. But oh well, I'll never have to see him again, I figured. WRONG! He was IN NARA at the deer temple at the same time today. What the heck, man. I can understand if he was following a similar schedule/tour type thing, but at the exact same time of day? At the same place in huge temple complexes for me to see him again? Craaazy. Kind of freaked me out, really. weird, weird things!
Time is almost up soooo, byebye!
In an internet cafe, so I get more than the scant ~15 minutes I got at the IES offices before people lurking the computers made me cave in and finish up, though this means I have to actually pay to use it. Whateva, if I paid for an hour, I am using up that whole hour.
Kyoto was not all that great, but it's not the fault of the city, but our tour, which was horrendously boring and only took us to like five thousand temples. Oh god, make it stop! Make it stop! I don't care about temples! We didn't get to go to Gion, and we didn't get to go to the shrine with the bunch of red torii that Sayuri runs through in Memoirs of a Geisha. Honestly, if we didn't do that, what point is there to Kyoto?
Also, it is barely a city. It is nothing like Tokyo. Liek, seriously, it is more like a large village. I was most confused. Perhaps I wasn't seeing the right parts, though, I don't know.
Oh, but I tried the public bath in our hotel!!!!! I did it!!! Yessss!! Naked in a room full of other women! I did iittttttt :DDD Honestly, if you know anything about my modesty, you know how hard that was for me to do. And so I had a very nice long conversation with two of the other girls on the trip. While naked. So strange, so strange. And yet I am still proud of me. Public bath! yesss
Tomorrow, my birthday, shall be spent crying, as we are visiting the Hiroshima Peace Park museum & A-bomb dome and whatnot. I'm glad to have a respite from the TEMPLE FEST by going to a museum instead but seriously? Going to be depressed like what. Ah well. Janterm doesn't equal a good birthday for me, and I should just learn to deal with that.
Oh, and deer temple today in Nara!! Deeeeer temple!! :D The deer rocked, too. deeeeeeeeeeeer ♥
In Kyoto at Kinkakuji Temple I saw a guy who struck me as looking a lot like someone I knew, so I took a picture of him to show to that person later. Only when I looked at the picture later, he was looking straight at me. So I suspect he knew what I was doing. But oh well, I'll never have to see him again, I figured. WRONG! He was IN NARA at the deer temple at the same time today. What the heck, man. I can understand if he was following a similar schedule/tour type thing, but at the exact same time of day? At the same place in huge temple complexes for me to see him again? Craaazy. Kind of freaked me out, really. weird, weird things!
Time is almost up soooo, byebye!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
japan update #2
Just a short update, as there are children shrieking only feet away and I'm about to go shopping in Ikspiari and play putt-putt golf with my host mom, sister, and sister's friend. I don't know when I'll be able to update again because tomorrow we leave for Kyoto/Hiroshima/Nara and I don't know about internet access there. I'm not really looking forward to going... besides the fact that I really like the routine I've settled into here in the Tokyo area (not to mention my great host family), all the group things so far have been an irritating, exhausting game of 'how can we avoid people we don't like but who insist on following us around hanging out with us.' It has been most tiring, and has only left me completely frustrated and even less willing to let those people tag along. If you knew them, you would understand why. They are on my list of 'Things that have dampened this trip so far.' =_____= Luckily, that list is mostly overtaken by the list of things I -do- like, which almost makes up for it. Like some of the cool things I've bought, which include an arrow from Tsurugaoka Shrine, a hilarious dish sponge with a FACE ON IT, a Tokyo Tower model... etc.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
What up, I'm here in Japan. On Sunday I went to Tokyo DisneySea (the adjacent park to Tokyo Disneyland, with a bunch of new rides, including INDIANA JONES THE BEST RIDE EVER OMG OMG) and yesterday to Tokyo Tower (duty as a CCS fan = fulfilled). Yesss!! :D Oh, and my host family is amazinggg, my room is tatami with a futon, it is like sleeping in a cloud! And the family is so nice, I really like them and I hope they don't find me completely irritating either. I'm keeping a journal which I'll type up when I get back, so you can hear more then. It still doesn't seem like I'm in Japan... despite the, you know, Japanese and Japanese people and whatnot. I don't know if I'll ever be convinced. Anyway, it is just about time for class, so I'll perhaps post later when I get a chance.
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