japanigans!

Hey people!

So far, Japan has been great. It’s just really, really hot here. I think it was about 31-32 degrees yesterday. The heat isn’t that bad, but the humidity is what really makes the weather intense. I’ve never experienced it being so humid, so consistently. But aside from sweating all the time, Japan is awesome.

Yesterday, we got the results of our placement test. I got into Intensive Japanese 400 which is what I was expecting and aiming for. So, now that I know that I am pretty relieved that I didn’t mess up on the placement test. After the results were passed out, we had a really boring orientation that was basically common sense about life in Japan and “what to do in emergencies” kind of things.

Following the orientation, there was a welcome party for the new exchange students and some current students at Nanzan. There were a lot of little foods that were just kind of a random assortment. They had like sandwiches, potato wedges, and fried chicken. They also had some sushi and dumplings. After the welcome party was over, we went on tours with current Nanzan Students. It was fun to walk around and see the campus and find out which building had what things, I don’t know how much I really remember from it though. But, I have a better idea that I did before.

After the tour, Karen and I went with some of her dorm-mates to the Ward Office to apply for our 外国人登録証明書 (Alien Registration Card) and the 国民健康保険 (National Health Insurance). We took the subway, which was a first since being in Japan. It was nice, not too crowded. I suppose in busier parts of town at more rush hour times they would be a little more packed.

I went home and took a nap after we did that, and later that night Karen asked if I wanted to go for a walk. So I went over to Nanzan and met up with her. We walked towards 名古屋大学 (Nagoya University) since neither of us had been there yet. It was a nice campus. On our way back, we stopped at a 7-11 (there’s lots of コンビニ [read: “conbini,” short for convience store, there’s a lot of them here] and a lot of them are 7-11’s or Circle K’s. There’s also this one “Lawson’s” everywhere. It’s weird.) and got some 氷結 (some drink that is lemon or grapefruit flavored and delicious). We then stopped in this park at Nagoya University. We sat there drinking our dranks, then this security guard walked by and like noticed but didn’t care. Karen was getting bit by mosquitos like crazy so we just started walking. Japan is awesome, you can walk down the street just drinking and no one gives it any thought. We walked by and went our separate ways. But it was a nice night.

So, to recap:

• Got into the level I wanted in Japanese.
• Took my first subway ride in Japan.
• Bought my first alcoholic beverage legally, ever.
• Loving Japan.

xoxo.

Hey people!

So, I am chillin’ in Nagoya. It took about 23 hours to get here all in all. I left Philadelphia at 10 AM on 8/31 had a layover in Chicago for about an hour and a half then left Chicago for Tokyo around 1 PM. The flight was really long, but fantastic. There was a lady a few rows ahead of me wearing a bright pink track suit with a huge Hello Kitty bedazzled to the back. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want one. The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. After getting to Narita, and my connecting flight to Nagoya, I managed to get my luggage and get through customs. There students from Nanzan waiting for me and the other students that were on my flight. We had to wait a long time in the airport for this one person who never showed. So, after about an hour of waiting we finally left the airport in the taxi. Driving on the left side of the road was kind of a strange experience.

My host brother, Motoi, met me at Nanzan after we arrived. We then proceeded to drag my luggage down the huge hill from Nanzan, then up the huge hill to their Apartment. >_< I am going to get a lot of exercise walking to and from school this semester.

Yesterday, Motoi made me breakfast then went off to school. But, he left around 8 am. So, I ate breakfast and watched some television. He forgot to give me a key to the apartment, so I couldn’t do much. I was still tired so I slept most of the day. I woke up around 5:30 PM and Motoi still wasn’t home, so I made myself something to eat (he had shown me how to make some “instant meals” the night before). Then, he heated up some frozen pizzas and we ate those. We talked a little bit about movies and music, but not much. He spent most of dinner on his computer. After dinner, he showed me how to get to Nanzan again, so I would be able to get there in the morning for my placement test. It was really easy and is only about a 10 minute walk away. It was much easier to get there without lugging two suitcases up and down a hill. When we were there I met up with Karen and Motoi left. Karen and I talked for a little bit and I went home. I kinda got lost, but not really. I just missed a turn, I realized it pretty quickly though. I went to bed kind of early last night (~10 PM) but woke up around 6 AM. I’ve been really tired lately, I guess it’s jetlag.

This morning, Motoi made me breakfast again. Today it was rice and miso with some cake. It was really good. I made my way to Nanzan for the placement test. The test wasn’t that hard. It was all multiple choice and pretty straight forward. I think I did pretty good. We find the results out tomrorow morning. After the test, Karen, Brandon, Dan and I walked to the cafeteria for lunch. I bought my first thing from a vending machine. Just a bottle of water, but it was probably the most exciting vending machine experience I’ve ever had. When you put your money in, whatever item you can afford with what you put in lights up then you push what you want. It doesn’t sound real exciting, but it definitely was. :)

After lunch, we went back to the orientation, and they had a welcome ceremony with all the directors of the Center for Japanese Studies (CJS). They all talked a little, then we went into other orientation materials. It was kinda boring at times but good information. I won’t bore you with the details. However, I did apply for stamp that you use for a signature. Because they don’t really use signatures in Japan, people get stamps, called Inkan, that you write the characters for your name and use in lieu of a signature. It’s pretty neat, and I’ll need it to set up my bank account.

Otherwise, today I haven’t really done much. I came home and took a nap. Oh, an old lady in a kimono held the elevator for me. That was kinda nice. I think I’ll go make something to eat since Motoi still isn’t home. Probably when I start to make something is when he’ll arrive. :P But, so far Japan seems pretty nice and I think it’s going to be a good year.

Well, that’s all for now. xoxo