imi wa what?

Hmm, so...

2008-08-13T17:12:00.002+09:00

So, I'm already back home. I know, I can't believe it. And this blog didn't turn out exactly as I had planned I suppose. It was supposed to be a day-to-day, real-time account of my doings and going ons in Tokyo but it turned out to be more of an after-the-fact-this-is-what-happened journal. Which is better than nothing I suppose. だから、all of these following posts will be after the fact.　じつわ, this may not be an awful thing; hindsight is 20/20 after all, but it also means I'll probably have left out some minor (hopefully, only minor) details. So now, with that little rejoinder, on with the posts, after-the-fact and hindsighted.

Yebisu Gardens

2008-07-13T12:21:00.006+09:00

Apparently it's pretty well known, but the first time I'd heard of it was when I went with Mia and Quentin to visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and the Yebisu Beer Museum at the end of June.

The photography museum was pretty amazing and had the photographs from the World Press photo contest. We couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit but there were some pretty cool photos outside of it.

Inside there was a pretty snazzy place to put your umbrellas, a lock-up of sorts. You put your umbrella in, pull out the key and when you're done you just unlock it.

After the photography museum we went to the Yebisu Beer Museum. Mia and I weren't too excited about it, but we decided to go anyways. It turned out to be more fun than we thought, or maybe we just made it that way because the only other option was to be moody and miserable. Besides they had big beer cans that I got to take a picture with — and I don't even like beer.

kaitenzushi/回転寿し

2008-07-13T09:48:00.006+09:00

Among other things, like crowded trains, crazy porn and jailbait school girls, Japan is known for sushi. But in all of the time that I've been here I hadn't had it. That all changed a couple of weeks ago when I met up with dBang/Diana, a fellow ryuugakusei/留学生 from Seattle, and her friend Yukari, a Jochi student who had studied in Seattle, for dinner. The plan was to meet a lot of people later for karaoke but the three of us needed to eat first. Diana and I had never had sushi in Japan so Yukari took us to this really cheap and tasty place in Shinjuku.

I wish I could have taken more pictures of the place, but it wasn't that kind of atmosphere. But here's what I did take. The picture on the right isn't so clear, but you can see the sushi passing by in the fore front. And behind the sushi there's an image with several plates. The type of plate lets you know the price of the sushi. We all tried to stay on the cheap end with sushi for 105¥ or at most 250¥. Although the more expensive ones did look pretty tasty. Also there's self serve green tea. There are tea bags and cups available and implanted right into the counter are hot water spigots.

All in all, it was a good first-time sushi experience. But my second sushi experience was even better.

The second happened not too long ago after a late night practice session at the dojo for kempo. The dojo we went to that night was in Harajuku and right in front of us was a Yoshinoya. It's a great cheap place to get beef bowls and Mia had never been before. We wanted to eat dinner, if not there than somewhere in Harajuku, but in Japan you sort of have to follow the group and two people does not qualify as a group. So we ended up getting on the train to Shinjuku and set out to find a Yoshinoya there.

Needless to say, we didn't find one, which is sometimes the way things work out when you set out to find a place. We walked around for quite some time trying to find that glowing orange sign, passing lots of stores and lots of restaurants.

A little bit of a tangent, but, we passed a really good store with lots of beautiful scarves, and people who know me know that I love scarves. So of course I had to stop in and get one. I think I'll end up going back there for some omiyage/おみやげ....

After the scarf purchase I was out of money. Absolutely no bills in the wallet and only 500¥ in my change purse. We stopped at an ATM and from there went down this small side street. We turned a corner and voila, a kaitenzushi place! Mia and I looked at each other and decided this was the place to eat. Mia had never been to kaitenzushi before so this was just as just good and ended up being even better than Yoshinoya.

We entered and sat down, but unlike the first sushi place I went to this one didn't really have any dishes going around the turntable. Mia and I grabbed two but we weren't exactly sure we were supposed to. Then we figured out that we were supposed to order whatever we wanted directly to the chefs. I wasn't sure if this was because they were closing in about an hour or so or if that was just the way the place was run.

We ordered several plates before a guy in a suit came in and sat near us. We didn't take much notice of him until he helped us get a bug out of the ginger. Then we started talking with him. Hs name is Shota and at first we thought he was a salaryman but it turns out that he's just a fourth-year studying law. He asked us at one point if we had a lot of Japanese friends, to which I replied that we were in a Shorinji Kempo club and so we knew people that way. And coincidentally, he does Shorinji Kempo too!! We were all so surprised at such a crazy coincidence. After some more chatting he told us that he was treating us to dinner. Mia and I didn't know what to think, and of course we declined at first, but he was really insistent so we just went along with it.

Outside of the sushi place we got a picture with him and I even got a video of him with Mia performing one of our wazas.

We've been chatting with him ever since and we plan to meet up with him before we had back to the States.

That night was the first time in a long time that I was really glad I was in kempo. But that's another story for another post, ne.

A picture is worth a 1000 words...

2008-07-07T00:32:00.004+09:00

So, I've been doing a lot and there's still more to do. As a result, I don't have as much time as I want to blog. But I've taken some pretty snazzy photos, some of which have already been posted and some you've never seen before. So if you want to keep abreast of what's been happening to Jeannette in Japan (that's me, by the way) then you can check out my flickr page. Written details will be forth coming, scout's honor ^_^

Jeannette in Japan's photostream on Flickr

By the by, I passed my belt test!! I am now a brown belt in Shorinji Kempo! Hoorah. And funny to think that I almost quit....

Ridiculously full weekend - Part I

2008-06-23T23:13:00.016+09:00

aka 凄いいっぱい週末 aka When Shu-en Came to Visit!

So the weekend of the 15, which was two weeks after the G-event and three weeks (maybe more) after Catherine came to visit, my former roommate Shu-en came to visit. She was supposed to come in on Friday night but as her flight was coming in very late she told me not to worry about meeting her. This actually worked out well since my friend Gabe had friends coming in from Cali.

The plan was to go to a nomikai in Shimbashi and then to Odaiba. Odaiba, is a man-made island in Tokyo. I think some of it was actually built by garbage but.... Anyway, there are a ton of things to do there, and there's a ferris wheel! So we started the night off in Shimbashi. It was a little awkward at first since I knew a couple of people in the group but we were all sitting far away from one another. But as you know, in Japan, once the drinks start to flow everyone and everything is better. Maybe it's that way everywhere but I feel like it's more pronounced in Japan. But I have to admit, I love seeing people drunk. It's one of the funniest things ever. Honest.

We all had fun, I think, maybe a little too much. But too much fun is better than none. In fact, we had so much fun that we overstayed at the izakaya by about 30 minutes. Usually you go for an two hours, all you can drink and there's food as well. And because we stayed a little later than we were supposed to we got to Odaiba quite late. Too late for the ferris wheel ride unfortunately. But there was a little beach we were able to admire and I was able to get this really dark picture of a well-lit bridge in the distance. So that's something.

The next day was Saturday and I had plans to meet Shu-en in Ikebukuro. I was really excited because I hadn't seen her for a year. We had a really good run as roommates and were pretty close at the end of my second year, and I knew we'd have a lot to catch up on. I was a little worried about finding her in the crowd in front of the station entrance, but luckily I'm easy to pick out from the masses so she was able to find me.

We ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Ikebukuro, really in Tokyo in general, called Ootoya. The dishes there are ridiculously delicious and the atmosphere is really nice. The first time I went there, I went with Mia who had been there before and I got this really amazing dish that came with a salad and soup. I don't know if that dish was a special but I haven't been able to find that combo since. I guess I'll just have to keep going there until I do. This time I got the katsu so-su don/かつソース丼 and it was really good. Shu-en got some rice thing. I dunno, I was too preoccupied with my dish to take notice of hers.

After lunch we did some shopping. To be quite honest, as far as tourist attractions go in Tokyo, there aren't many; really all that you can do as a "tourist" is participate in the consumer-driven atmosphere that permeates the city. I think that might be because the city's quite new. It was rebuilt after WWII because of all the fire bombing and such. As a result there aren't a lot of old buildings in the center of the city. There are some shrines, but my opinion on shrines is if you see one, you've pretty much seen them all. So we shopped instead; we did go see a shrine the next day, but that comes later.

A lot of window shopping and one purchase later, we had to part ways; Shu-en had plans with another Singaporean in Tokyo and I had kempo practice. But we planned to meet up later to go clubbing with Gabe and his friends. Unfortunately, Shu-en was too jet lagged to meet up with us that night. But we all had a good time regardless rocking out to some serious house, techno and electronica, the last of which is my second great love next to books. I'd have to label the night as a success as I was able to get this flashing-light ring for free just by asking this guy and as some girl gave me her whole book of oil blotters for your face randomly as we stood in line together for the bathroom. Actually, with that last bit, I don't know whether I should feel flattered or insulted....

So, after only 4 or so hours of sleep, Shu-en called to wake me up at 12 so I could meet her in Harajuku. I had lunch with her and a several Singaporean transplants at this famous ramen shop in Harajuku. Despite it's fame, none of us really enjoyed our dishes. I don't think it lived up to the hype, especially for the amount I paid. It does look delicious though and I did finish it all, but whether that was out of guilt for having paid so much for it or because it actually tasted good is debatable.

We walked around a bit after lunch to a) let Shu-en see what Harajuku was like and b) make some room in our stomachs for crepes later on. We stopped in this one store and found these crazy sunglasses. I've seen people wearing them in Tokyo, not as a joke, but seriously wearing them as a fashion statement. I mean, they look pretty good on us so, I can see the logic... maybe....

The end of the day met us at a shrine near the infamous Harajuku bridge. The shrine itself was uneventful, but what was interesting was this prayer tree. Well, it wasn't really a prayer tree, but a really large tree encircled by a wooden structure built to hold placards. People can buy these placards and write wishes on them for good health, or happiness, or in this case, to marry Harry Potter. Hey, whatever makes you happy.

Everyone wanted to go to Shibuya after we left the shrine, but I simply did not have it in me. Being out all night the night before and then all that walking around had left me tuckered out. Besides Shu-en would be here through the week so I wasn't too worried about not spending enough time with her. So I left them at the bridge and boarded the train completely exhausted but with the knowledge that it was due to a really good weekend, and that made it all worth it.

Long Time no Blog....

2008-06-23T02:09:00.004+09:00

Eek, sorry guys. There's been a distinct lack of post activity. So these next couple of posts will serve to catch you all up on my time here in Tokyo. My goal is to create a post everyday for the next week. Let's see if I can do it.

I'm close to the three-month mark of my time here. And I still can't decide whether I like Tokyo or not. People keep telling me that it's not really indicative of Japan. That Tokyo has it's own culture and attitude that doesn't really mesh with the rest of the country. I hope so because, honestly, there are times when I want to get the heck out of here. But there are other times when I feel like this is a great place to be.

For example, times when U.Va. friends come to visit. Catherine, a recent graduate from U.Va., came to see me in Nihon back at the end of May, and we went to Yasukuni Shrine together. Unfortunately, maybe, I dunno, we entered from the back, so we saw the shrine and the grounds from back to front. Which was okay, but once again, Japanese people don't tell you when you're making a mistake! So we had no idea that we did that until we got to the front gates and were all, "Oh, oops, this is the front..."

Yeah.....

The day was kind of overcast, but it was still pretty. This is the shrine in the picture here. If you don't know the backstory on Yasukuni, I'll fill you in. So, Yasukuni is a shrine in Tokyo to honor Japanese who have perished in war. This includes WWI and WWII. The latter war dead are why this shrine is so controversial today. Whenever a new prime minister is instated into office in Japan, it's always a big deal whether or not he goes to the shrine. Korea and China see it a big f-you so to speak, as Japan committed some serious atrocities in both countries, some, such as the comfort women in Korea, that it won't fess up to or apologize for. So this seemingly innocuous place is steeped in controversy and international tension.

Also, it's not really a tourist hot-spot. Catherine and I were the only foreigners that I saw who came to visit that day. It's definitely one of the more reverent shrines, which makes it all the more controversial. When you first enter (through the front anyways), as with all shrines, you're supposed to wash your hands and cleanse your mouth. Left first I think, although I could be wrong. Then you enter through some really big gates and walk up a path to the shrine.

In the previous picture of the shrine, all you can see is concrete and gravel. But really there are quite a few trees on the grounds. Tied to some of the trees are small pieces of paper with prayers or wishes written on them. There was also a museum on the property but since it cost money to enter it, we decided to forgo that.

After the visit to the shrine, we met up with some of Catherine's friends and went to Ueno. Unlike Yasukuni, this place with teeming with foreigners. It actually made me a bit uncomfortable. And I wonder if it was because there were so many foreigners in one place and foreigners get a really bad rap here or if it was due to some other reason of which I'm not wholly cognizant. Hmm, I'm not sure. But I was really glad Catherine came to visit. It was like a little slice of home had made its way to Japan.

春パ

2008-06-08T23:41:00.015+09:00

A video from my dance event. The big pay off so to speak, but I don't have the whole thing, so when I get it, I'll be sure to upload it again.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: 6/15 Here's the whole video!!!

The event, Harupa, was at Studio Coast in Shin-kiba, aka Ageha where I've partied with several of the G-Splash exchange students before. It was a blast. A very loud, very long, very visually assaulting blast. It started at 1:30 and we were the first group to go after a short opening dance act that involved half-naked men. Unfortunately, I missed that one, but....

As you can imagine after watching the video, it all went by really really quickly. I see now why they made us practice it so many times. With all of the lights and the adrenaline and the crowd, all thought quickly vanishes from your head. I'm pretty sure all of us got through that dance solely on muscle memory.

After we danced, we quickly ran back out to the audience area to cheer on the rest of the group and watch the dance as well. All in all a superb experience. The rest of the day, we could spend as long as we liked at the event watching other groups. Several of the members in G-Splash were in second groups. Jen and I were pretty amazed by that. I was sitting next to her at the time and we couldn't help remarking on how crazy their lives must be being in two dance groups. We thought G-Splash took up a lot of time, but imagine that doubled.

I'll take a moment here to backtrack about how much time G-Splash actually filled during our weeks. The first two weeks that we joined, we had practice everyday and then an :"audition" at the end, where everyone proceeded to be accepted. Then we had to choose our genres, either hip-hop or pop and lock, and we had practice for these twice a week. After a while we had the regular practices plus a second extra mandatory practice that we all had to go to. Then as the date for Harupa drew nearer, we had practice everyday and on Saturdays from 11 to 8 or something ridiculous.

So, all of those members in other dance groups did all of that, plus whatever crazy commitments they had for their second dance group. Insane, I know.

There were several really good performances, however. One about a train stopping post (the word in English escapes me right now) who falls in love with a school girl who always crosses the tracks. But she's in a relationship with this jerk. So some magic guy gives the post a potion to drink and he becomes human only to sacrifice himself for the girl's jerkish boyfriend who nearly gets run over by a train during a big fight with the girl. Because he wasn't really human to being with, the post turns back into a post, but at the end of the dance, the girl gives him back his hat, a prop that was central to the story, and kisses him on the cheek. It was all really cute, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me so I don't have a video of that one.

The night of Harupa, we had a nomi kai and it was really cool. We got to chat it up with our sempais who are usually really distant and strict. Turns out it was all a facade. The picture to the right is of me and my sempais A-ko and Tombo. His nickname comes from Kiki's Magic Delivery Service. If you've seen it, you know he looks like the Tombo in the movie and he sounds like him too. I mean, we knew they seemed really cool, but after talking with them, we knew it first hand that we were in the presence of some pretty cool kids.

Although, our G-Splash experience to date has been really intense, I think Harupa and the nomi-kai afterwards, made it all worth it.

Oh Boy.... (Part II)

2008-05-28T07:19:00.001+09:00

(Warning: This post is pictureless.)

After Friday's night of fun, I had Kempo on Saturday. Usually we have practice from 3-8 every Saturday, so a really intense sort of workout. But this Saturday was the 入門式/nyuumonshiki, a welcoming ceremony for the ichinensei/一年生 or the newcomers in the group. We had to give a self-introduction to the group and then listen to a speech by two of the masters. There was also this ceremonial part (well, it was all pretty ceremonial) where we had to drink rice wine out of these teeny tiny, delicate bowls, which I thought I was going to drop and smash on the ground. Luckily, I didn't.

We had this ceremony in the upstairs gym and then practice led by one of the masters in the downstairs dojo. It was really intense, I'm pretty sure it was the first time I ever broke a sweat during kempo practice. Thankfully, it ended early so we could all go drinking with the masters and such.We all had to dress up for this practice, so we looked like a pretty smart bunch in our suits and for Mia and I, our skirts and sweaters.

If you haven't deduced it by now, Japanese people are completely different when they drink. They take the word "uninhibited" to a whole new level. So during the nomi-kai we all had to talk to the masters. Conversation went well, I mean, it was nothing special, I didn't feel like I made a distinct impression on them. At the end of the party, however, the most senior master came up to me and told me, in Japanese and several times, that I had a good body. It was super awkward and all I could do was smile and say thank you because of the rules of politeness.

Before then, I had never been hit on by an 80-year-old man, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

More Pictures....

2008-05-25T23:58:00.010+09:00

....From Shorinji Kempo Taikai and Kempo Camp

I didn't put up all the pictures from those two events in the earlier post, so here's this post to finish the job. If you remember, I went to a Shorinji Kempo Taikai or intercollegiate tournament during Golden Week, the week everyone has off of work. It was really cool to see everyone perform. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself. (Oh, there's also a new post below this one. Part 1 of a very crazy weekend.)

Two members of our Kempo group

The train ride to Kempo camp.

From left to right, top row: Abe-sempai, Quentin, Gan, Ari. Bottom row: Hunter and Mia.

I allegedly made this face at someone. I don't believe it.

The campsite!

Oh Boy.... (Part I)

2008-05-25T22:46:00.015+09:00

...what a weekend.

Several things happened last weekend, and all of them involved some... funny, interactions we me and boys. Well, some interactions were funnier than others and some have turned out to be downright creepy. It all started on Friday night....

As I mentioned before, in a very roundabout way not everyone understood, I'm a member of a dance group on campus called G-Splash. They have 5 genres, hip hop, girl's hip hop, pop and lock, house and break dancing. We have a performance on June 7, and all of the first years, along with all of the members, are performing. As first years we could only choose from two genres to perform, hip hop or p&l. I chose hip-hop mostly because it's something I've always wanted to do and have found interesting, but also because it's something I don't think I'm good at naturally. I think it's good to have to work hard for something every once in a while; if not you just get lazy and cocky. And boy am I working hard, we had a practice the other day where I sweated straight through the shirt I was wearing. Straight through it, the thing was soaking wet at the end of that 3-hour practice.

But even though I was spending a lot of time with this group, I wasn't really making friends with the Japanese ichinensei/first years. As a result I didn't feel wholly part of the group. This all changed on Friday when some of the first years organized a nomikai.

I'm not sure if I've explained this before, but nomikais are basically drinking parties. The drinking culture is very big here as it allows people to say and do things they don't normally get to say or do because of the very strict cultural codes. In Japan, you don't want to stick out. You want to be a part of the group. In earlier decades, teachers used to punish unruly children by excluding them from the group either physically or indirectly. There's a Japanese saying that sums all this up: "If a nail stands up, it's nailed down." But when people drink, they're allowed to be rude, to stand out and to say and do what's on their minds without thinking of others. This doesn't mean what they're saying or doing is negative, it just means that they're thinking of themselves first instead of the group.

So I didn't quite know what to expect from everyone. I did hope that it would be fun and that I would get to meet a lot of people. Both of those hopes were realized. I had a really great time. It was such a fantastic night and I wish I could travel back in time and relive it second by second. We arrived at this izakaya in Shinjuku and were seated at two large tables. Very delicious food items were brought out and they brought drinks by the pitcher for each table. At first most people were sticking to their small groups formed and strengthened from long nights of practice. But as the drinks flowed and cups emptied out we all began to move from table to table mingling with the other members. I made a lot of new friends and had some great discussions, including one about honne and tatemae, which led to a very interesting moment.

Tatemae can be translated as a facade. It's basically, the face Japanese show the public. It has nothing to do with what they're feeling or thinking and is often a smile or a generic positive expression. Because of tatemae it's really hard to tell when someone doesn't like you. I was talking about this with two guys, the topic brought up when they asked me what the difference was between Japanese and Americans.

Me: Americans show whatever they're feeling on their face. If someone doesn't like you, know it. With Japanese, if someone doesn't like me, I have no idea.

Guy 1: Which one do you like more?

Me: Definitely the American way because then I don't waste time working on a relationship that's not going anywhere. And I don't bother people who don't want me around anyway.

Guy 2: (He reaches for my hand. I think he's going to shake it and he does — at first) I like the way you think.

"I like you," he says kissing the top of my hand.

I honestly didn't know what to say or do. So I just laughed. I'm not sure that was the best reaction, but it was the only one I had available at the time. There was then another awkward moment later on when they were talking about how pretty I was. And then Guy 2 says something to the effect of how he doesn't really like his face or body, I can't remember exactly. But my oh so classy and witty response was, "Pshaw, you're fine."

Nice, Jeannette. Good job.

Regardless of those two funny moments, or maybe because of them, it was a great and memorable night.

But with this as the start of my weekend, I knew it could only get better and crazier. And boy did it ever.

The Picture Post

2008-05-16T00:42:00.005+09:00

You know, all of this writing business is taking too long. It's hard to keep on top of it. No lie. So this is the picture issue; captions included. FYI, there are about two new posts before this one, so further down the page.

My time in Tokyo is going by so quickly. I've already been here for a month and a half, almost two months and I don't feel as if I've accomplished anything yet. I really wish I could stay longer, really get better at my Japanese and make some Japanese-speaking only friends.

I have met some really cool gaijin here, however, so all is not lost in the way of making connections. We all went out one night to a club called Ageha. It was so much fun and prior to going I didn't think the Japanese guys were too fond of me. But after Ageha, I know better.

I'm not just hanging out in the city though. During Golden Week, Mia, Hunter and I went camping with the Kempo club. Kempo Camp! It was... an interesting experience. There are some personalities that I just don't like in Kempo. They're not the Japanese people but some gaijin. I don't want to get into it because it's just better to leave the negative in the past; there's no need to let it... percolate, so to speak.

The weather was pretty gloomy on the way there but despite the cloud cover, everything was still beautiful.

Natalie has a cool haircut...

2008-05-07T20:56:00.004+09:00

...and we followed a cute guy down the street after eating at Mos Burger (yum)!

It wasn't creepy though because he was going in the same direction we were, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

So today was the first day of classes after Golden Week. Luckily it was a Wednesday, which means that I only had Japanese class today and nothing else. And because the Shorinji Kempo Taikai was this past weekend as well as the welcoming camp, we didn't have any practice today. Yay! And no G-splash practice either. All in all a pretty free day and a fairly non-stressful one.... or so I thought.

After Japanese Mia and I got lunch and then we went to get gelato for ¥100 or roughly a dollar. It was amazing; I got mango, chocolate and coffee nuts. I wanted to take a picture but that probably would have been totes inappropes. Le sigh. After that delicious break, Mia and I returned to the library intent on doing some work. She did some, but I did see her fall asleep for a good bit. And I got all my Japanese homework done, but then I started to stress about my anthro work.

Remember the one where I have to write an ethnography. well it was giving me some major problems. I didn't have any contacts and I didn't know where to start. See, a lot of gay bars in Shinjuku, the hub of the Tokyo gay scene, don't let in women or foreigners and I'm both. So I was really desperate to find a way in. But luckily, Greg's friend Jonas has a friend named Karsten who happens to be gay and a regular at some of these bars so next week he's taking me to one. Exciting, going to a bar for homework. Only in Japan.... Or maybe not. :-/

Major Recap

2008-05-05T07:52:00.010+09:00

It's the Major Recap Show where I recap all of the wonderful things that happened in April! W00t! So for a little preview: G-Spalsh, Kempo, Classes, Yokohama — and a video!

1. G-Splash!!!!

I have a new love it's name is G-Splash. G-Splash is wonderful, it pops and locks, and hip hops and breaks... Oh G-Splash, my life was so empty before without you. And you really made me sweat: 3 hour work outs everyday for two weeks with an audition and nomihodai/飲み補題 (all you can drink) at the end. G-Splash, this, us, it's forever. Or at least until August when I have to return to the States. The pic you see to your left is of me and my two friends D-Bang (Diana) and Stephanie waiting for our audition results. We were quite nervous.

2. More kempo!!

So I've kept with kempo. Like I said it wasn't going to shake me. No way, no how. It's getting really fun and I feel that if I was ever attacked in a dark alley or even in broad daylight, I could kick some serious ass.

3. Classes

And they're super easy! Which is why I'm able to be in two circles/clubs and not lose my mind. I'm taking two anthropology course, one on individual culture and society and one on digital technology use in Japan. For the latter I have to write an actual ethnography and I'm researching digital communication patterns in the gay community here in Tokyo. Both of those courses are some of the best I've taken, ever. I'm also taking a history course and it's probably the single most boring course I've taken, ever. I've fallen asleep every class since the first day. Even caffeine is no match for my teacher's monotone. And to round it all off, I'm taking Japanese. It's definitely less intense than I thought a Japanese class in Japan would be, but that's probably for the best.

4. Yokohama! (Here's where the video is!)
[Geez, do I have enough exclamation points in this post?]

So a bunch of us went to Yokohama to see the port and, most importantly, to see Chinatown. I know, you're probably thinking, Jeannette, you're going to a Chinatown in Japan? Something about this does not seem right. But it was so right. I had bubble tea and coconut water from a coconut (yum ^_^) and a delicious dinner. And the weather that day was just perfect. The sun was out and everything just looked new and wonderful. But don't take my word for it....

Some of my friends here in Tokyo; most of them live at DK with me and we all go to Sophia.

This really charismatic street performer. He's the one in the video. I totally thought he was going to burn himself.

Hey it's me....

And now that you've made it to the end of the post, you get a video reward. Yeah that's right. Enjoy!

Except you would have, but I can't upload it. Boo.

The Little Black Bag

2008-04-20T22:03:00.007+09:00

Oh Japan, there are so many things about you that confuse me. Like the way people can be really polite but also rude at the same time; or the way no one tells you when you're making a mistake until after you've made it because they don't want to embarrass you but you're still embarrassed either way and you wish they would have just told you before you made the mistake!

Phew.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand and the source of my latest confusion: the little black bag. Well, it's actually not that small, but this one has quite a few things in it. You're probably wondering what's in this little black bag. What's in little black bags in general and why is this confusing Jeannette? What's confusing me, is how the Japanese can be really open with somethings, and really modest about others. Take for example all the explicit and not so explicit sexual nature of some of their anime. Really in your face right? But, when it comes to real life, super modest. What's in the black bag: tampons, but also hands soap and toothpaste. Why do I need to hide all of that? It's not like people don't know it happens and besides once everyone sees the black bag they can almost guess what's in their. I mean, really, it's a bag with punctuation marks all over it. Let's be real, Japan. Let's be real.

Shorinji Kempo...

2008-04-15T15:33:00.003+09:00

... otherwise known as, How I Looked Like an Idiot Trying Martial Arts for the First Time in a Language I Barely Understand.

Hmm, I think that sums up my first day of Shorinji Kempo. It was really interesting but really difficult to follow everything. I joined the club with my new friend Hunter who happens to live in DK House with me and some other U.Va.-ers. We didn't know exactly where we were going so it was really fortuitous that we saw one of the English-speaking members of the club. He led us over to this large group where the senpai introduced himself and asked us where we were from. After that, there were some words in Japanese that I didn't understand (par for the course) and then we all started walking. There were two girls in our group and they went another direction while I kept following the guys. I felt a tinge of something in the back of my mind, but decided to ignore it and nearly followed all of the boys into the boys' locker room.

Oh yeah. Talk about a cultural faux pas.

I have a new term for all of these cultural faux pas that I've been making. They're called a gaijin／外人 smash. So gaijin／外人 is a compound word. Gai／外 is foreign and jin／人 is person, so basically a foreigner. And smash, is well, me smashing all of the cultural rules Japan has to offer.

So after I gaijin／外人 smashed the locker room, I gaijin／外人 smashed the appropriate wardrobe for Kempo club. While everyone else was in their white gi (the little outfits they wear) I was in my bright yellow Soffee shorts and a green shirt. Classic.

But all in all it was fun, if not nerve racking, and despite not being dressed appropriately, I got a compliment, some girl saw me and said I had a great body. So that sealed the deal, I'm definitely going to stick with it. Kempo, you can't shake me.

Harajuku and the first day of classes

2008-04-13T02:51:00.000+09:00

Oh the infamous Harajuku. Was it as amazing as everyone says? Hmm, yes and no. We trekked to Harajuku on Thursday as one of our last full days of touring before classes started. Once again, it was raining. And once again Teresa, Mia and I were on the lookout for certain items (boots and a bag). Teresa had warned the guys in an e-mail that us girls were going to Harajuku ready to shop, so Greg decided to bow out of this trip but Hunter and Alex figured they could brave a little shopping.

Because we went on a weekday, we didn't see all of the crazy outfits and such. Apparently the best time to go to see all of that is during the weekend, especially on a Sunday afternoon. So I'll have to go and do that sometime, if only to post the pictures here. And once again it was raining. It seems that whenever we go shopping in the rain, we never find the things that we want. This outing was no exception to the rule. I think we went to every single store on the street pictured to the right and we left Harajuku after 3 hours without a bag or boots. Furthermore, I made the unsettling discovery that the largest shoe size in Japan doesn't fit my foot! I'm only a size 9 but the large here feels like a size 8. Not good. This may mean that I will never be able to find the boots that I want here in Japan, which translates to t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

After schlepping through Harajuku in the rain we all headed to our respective homes to prepare for the first day of classes. Teresa, Mia, Greg, Natalie and Jen all had intensive Japanese at 9:15 in the morning for three hours, while Hunter, Alex and I had regular Japanese for an hour and a half at 11. The course meets for 8 hours a week so I e-mailed my advisor to see if I could get credit for all 8 hours and it turns out that I may not be able to, which is really frustrating. See the course covers a year's worth of Japanese, in my case the entire second year. But since I've already taken 201, I may only be able to get 4 credits. I'll have to e-mail my advisor again and see if we can't do something about that because it's a bother and it's 4 hours of class time that I won't even be getting credit for. Plus, if I can get 8 credits for Japanese I won't have to take 5 classes and I can take just 4! Take a moment to imagine how wonderful that would be.

Have you imagined it? Now you see why I'm so frustrated.

I went to two other classes on Friday, one of which I will definitely not be taking. The professor was just awful and the subject matter wasn't especially interesting to me either. The second course, Individual Culture and Society, however, seems really interesting and the professor studied anthropology at Oxford. So I know she's good. Other than that, I'm not really sure what else I'm taking. We'll see what happens with my Japanese credits and then I'll decide from there. Hopefully everything will work out, I don't know what I'll do if things don't.

Shibuya and Akihabara

2008-04-12T02:23:00.000+09:00

Phew, a great deal has happened since that night out in Tokyo. And it seems that I've been a bit lax on my blogging duties. Gomenasai...

To start with, I had a couple of days before classes started on the 11th. Weather.com called for rain for most of the week, but I didn't just want to sit in my room and do nothing. I mean, I'm in Tokyo for goodness sake! I wanted to see the sights. So Teresa, Mia and I decided to head to Shibuya. Not only were we going to see what this part of Japan was like but we were also on the search for certain items. Teresa and I were (and still are) on the lookout for boots. There's a whole month of rain in Japan and we just know my Chucks and her Tims are not going to cut it. Mia was on the lookout for a bag for her school books and such.

We went on Tuesday and the rain and the wind were especially intense. A number of Japanese had told Teresa that it felt like a typhoon, but we didn't let that deter us. Instead we went from the station into the nearest department store. (Note: there are no pictures for my day in Shibuya as my camera ran out of battery. Boo. So all of the pictures in this post are from Akihabara.) This was my first time in a Japanese department store and to my surprise they have a very distinctive layout. The bottom floor usually has a food market and/or small grocery as well as some restaurants. Actually, this department store had a floor for the food market, a floor below that for restaurants and several floors at the top of the building for more restaurants. We had a lunch of omu-rice, omelet filled with rice, in one of the restaurants at the bottom-most floor. The rest of the department store had many clothing shops and a really great bookstore where we spent a good deal of time.

After lunch, though, we decided to find a store that was more... youth-oriented. We had to brave the wind and the rain to do so but it was worth it. I was able to find a great pair of sunglasses that actually fit my face and two scarves, one pink and one white, during our day out in Shibuya.

The next day, we all went to Sophia's campus to check out the student clubs and circles offered. Mia and I went to see the Sophia Uni. Concert Band and their symphony orchestra. I'm not sure if we're going to join.... We were told we won't be able to play in the final concert but we weren't given a definite answer saying that we should not join because of this. It was sort of left up in the air. After the concert and lunch, Mia and I met up with Teresa, Hunter and Alex for a trip to Akihabara.

Akihabara is the very famous electronic city in Japan. It's known for its excess of stores housing electronic goods. To be honest, it was bit overwhelming. There were so many stores basically selling the same electronic devices. It was interesting to see nonetheless. Akihabara really seems to be half and half, a tourist attraction as well as a practical location. There were many novelty stores and stores selling video games and such, but there were also many stores selling much-needed electronic goods. Teresa and Mia were on the lookout for a denshi jisho, or electronic dictionary, so finding one of those was our main objective for the outing.

Unfortunately, they didn't find one that they liked but we did get to see Akihabara in all of its electronic glory and splendor, eat some crepes, which were delicious, and I got eye-balled by a handsome sales guy. All in all, our outing was par for the course.

Teresa's Birthday Adventure Part III: Tsukiji

2008-04-07T16:46:00.000+09:00

Now it was time for Tsukiji and we were all more than ready for it.

A little information about Tsukiji. Tsukiji is supposed to be the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world, and according to some guy on Wikipedia, one of the biggest wholesale food markets in general. One of our monitors was told that we went and she confessed to never having been. So I think it's more of a tourist attraction rather than something many native Japanese do if they don't have to. And the Japanese that would go to Tsukiji would be those there to buy or sell fish.

As soon as we got off the train we were presented with that lovely image you see at the top of the post, of a large fish on a building. I think that really sums up what Tsukiji is all about: fish, fish and more fish.

The closer we got to the actual market the more foreigners we saw. At one point all of them were wearing Wellies. I looked down at my flat shoes, with their miniscule holes in them, then turned to Jen.

Me: Uh oh, do you see all of those people in Wellies. I hope we're not going to get our feet wet.
Jen: (Looks down at her own flats) Not a good sign.
Me: You know what I only have three rules for this excursion. First, rule 1, I cannot get fish water on my feet. Rule 2, I cannot get fish water on my feet. Rule 3 —
Jen: See rules 1 and 2 above.
Me: Exactly, I cannot get fish water on my feet.

[Later...]

Jen: You know we only had three simple rules.
Me: And we broke every single one of them - and they were all the same!

But even though we got our feet wet, both metaphorically and literally, Tsukiji was really fantastic. We got to see so many interesting things and play human Frogger with the little vehicles that carried the fish other produce. We also saw them carting and cutting huge tuna. It was truly amazing. One guy even showed me a sea pineapple. I immediately thought Spongebob Squarepants; I always thought they made up that pineapple house stuff, but now I know he really could live in a pineapple under the sea!

After an hour or so of making our way through Tsukiji we all decided to head back home. It would seem, however, that the Japanese Rail Line had different plans for us. We made it back to Yotsuya, where our university is, but we waited forever for the train to Shinjuku. Indeed, as we waited on our platform several Japanese came and left us standing/lying/sitting there. The announcer kept saying things but never once did he mention that the train was not running from this platform. At the platform across from us, a train was stopped and had been sitting there with people on it for quite sometime. Fatigue had worn us all down at this point and we were irritated that our train never arrived. Finally we went upstairs to take another line and discovered that all trains were stopped from that platform. Why, oh why didn't they just say that!?

So, we had to take the subway line to Shinjuku and from there we were able to take our normal route home. By the time we got back to the DK House it was 8:30, we were all more than exhausted and ready for a long day's sleep. All in all it was an interesting experience. Will we ever do it again? Eh, possibly, and if we do, we'll definitely have a plan.

Teresa's Birthday Adventure Part II: The Twilight Hours

2008-04-06T16:45:00.000+09:00

...And now that we had gotten Teresa her 21st birthday drink, we had the whole night ahead of us. The trains had stopped and now it was time to find a place to settle down and get out of the cold. But where to go and what to do?

What to do indeed. It seemed that the option at the top of our list was karaoke. At the beginning of the night, we had a man approach us about an izakaya where we could stay till 5 a.m. with unlimited drinks for 20-odd (or 30-odd) dollars, but we had declined, thinking there would be better prospects. As it turns out, that was probably a pretty good set-up. When we stepped out of the izakaya we shall never return to, another man approached Teresa about a karaoke bar. This one we also turned down. We were feeling pretty good at this point, confident that we'd find a cheap karaoke bar, cheaper than what these guys were promising anyways. But, some of us were also feeling kind of tired and really just wanted a place to sit.

So after some walking, searching and another tranny sighting, a bathroom stop was needed. We stopped in a Cafe Aya and Mia and I pretended to peruse the menu while Teresa made a quick run to the restroom. I think they were pretty pissed when we decided to leave soon after without buying anything, but we didn't really want to spend a couple of dollars just so one of us could use the bathroom.

After a while, the cold began to seep into our bones and finding a place, whether that was a karaoke place or a Denny's (I kid you not, we mentioned the word and this guy passing by just started going on and on about Denny's in this really stereotypically hip-hop accent) was a top priority. Many plans were put forth, many were shot down and finally we decided to stay the night in a McDonalds. Now, this was no McDonalds like you'd see in the States. This was two floors of clean tables and warmth. There were also a lot of people there, sheltering themselves from the cold and waiting for the trains to start again, just like we were. Unfortunately, about 10 minutes after we got there, the McDonalds started to close. And we were booted out again on to the streets.

The warmth of the McDonalds had undid us, however, and we quickly found another Cafe Aya to settle down in. We whiled away the twilight hours by playing never have I ever, Nintendo DS and, intermittently, taking cat naps before the cafe employees came by to wake everyone up. And even with two cups of coffee in me, I was still tired.

Eventually, 5 a.m. drew nearer and we all decided to make our way to the train station for our last leg of the night: We planned to go to Tsukiji, a Japanese fish market. The scene to the station was like a frame right out from Shaun of the Dead or some other zombie movie. Tons of people made their way as one towards the train stations, tired from their nights out and some still a little tipsy. We filed in with the masses and boarded the train.

Now it was time for Tsukiji and we were all more than ready for it.

Teresa's Birthday Adventure Part I: Shinjuku and Kabukicho

2008-04-05T16:40:00.001+09:00

So Friday was Teresa's birthday and we wanted to show her a good night out on the town. The following entries describe the craziness, fun and hilarity of our ill-planned adventure in Shinjuku, Kabukicho and Tsukiji for Teresa's birthday. I hope you're ready for it 'cause we weren't.

Before we could begin our night out, we had to get a few things settled first. Earlier in the day we went to the Warabi City Office and registered for our Alien Registration cards and received our Certificates of Registered Matters. We each got three copies at 200¥ each, priced that way because of the type of paper I think. It was all very official. We then took these certificates to Shinjuku with us so we could get our cell phones at Softbank right outside of the Shinjuku station's east exit. It's that building with the blackish windows and the red 'emobile' sign at the top.

I admit I was a little concerned about the phone-buying process. The customer reps didn't seem like they knew a lot of English and this was one situation where we both, customer and Softbank worker, needed to understand each other clearly. Luckily, Jen and her awesome Japanese came to the rescue. And I may have even asked a question in Japanese. Yay for me.

We all decided to get a post-paid plan instead of the prepaid. With the post-paid it ends being a little cheaper and there are no cancelation fees, so that's a plus. The only fretful aspect of the phone-buying process was the amount of time it took. There were five of us trying to buy phones and the Softbank guy told us it would be about an hour. See, we had already moved our plans with Teresa back an hour from 5 to 6. Now, we had to call her again and move them back another hour to 7. Surprisingly, getting our phones was really easy. I got a blue one, which looked like purple on the box... and the others got green, gold and pink. We were like Power Rangers ready to conquer evil and do good with our mobile phones.

Or call Teresa and apologize for taking so long and find out where she was.

By the time we got our phones (only four of us because Hunter's Visa Card wouldn't work. Visa, you lied. You're not everywhere we want to be.), it was a little after 7. Teresa, Mia, Alex (another homestayer from Pennsylvania) and Tomoe, were already with us as I had to meet them at the train station. We stood outside the Softbank building waiting for one more of our gang and trying to figure out where to eat. As we stood there this guy tried to sell this deal to us from his restaurant. We abdicated in favor of trying to find somewhere else and we did. It was this great place beneath street level that served only beef and surprisingly they were able to accommodate all of us. Most of us had this really tasty curry dish with an omelet, オムカレ−. It was über good and my first taste of Japanese curry.

Then after dinner it was time to take some pictures. I don't know what you call them, but they're these photo booths with different themes. They're timed so you only have a set amount of time to pick 6 different backgrounds and then quickly pose. After you're done shooting the pictures you get to design them, which Teresa and Natalie did, props to them. I'm not a huge fan of taking pictures of myself but it was actually a lot of fun and I would definitely do it again.

Photo-op out of the way, we set out to find a bar so Teresa could have her first drink on her 21st birthday. Just a note here, the drinking age in Japan is 20 so all of us are of age. So we walked and walked. And walked. And walked some more. But we didn't see any good bars. Hunter and I did see a tranny though, and gave each other high-fives for spotting him/her at the same time. We saw a lot of hostess/host bars, which are basically ladies' and gentlemen's clubs, with a lot of suited men standing outside with ear pieces. We also ran into three very sketchy people. The first you can see in the right-hand corner of this picture here. Note his greasy, slicked back hair with the bad dye job; the sleazy suit and the scruff on his jaw line; the sunglasses at night are just overkill and the way that even in the picture he's in the shadows. He just screams sketch. This picture was really just a ruse to get a picture of this guy, just in case we needed to identify him to the police.

After our other two sketchy run-ins, Dan through the medium of Jen, finally directed us to a good bar. Or so we thought. It was all fun and drinks until we got the check. There's a 10% gratuity charge every time a waiter visits your table. We were not happy about this. In fact you could say we were downright pissed. But we had to pay it, what else were we going to do? Needless to say we will not go to that bar again. Lesson learned. And now that we had gotten Teresa her 21st birthday drink, we had the whole night ahead of us. The trains had stopped and now it was time to find a place to settle down and get out of the cold. But where to go and what to do?

To Be Continued…

Out and About...

2008-04-03T22:01:00.001+09:00

... in Yotsuya.

We had some free time today after our Japanese placement tests, which were awful by the way, and before the welcome party for all international/exchange students. We met up with Teresa who is living at a homestay instead of DK House and got lunch at one of the cafeterias on campus. We were able to eat on this wonderful roof terrace with a view of the surrounding area.The cafeteria is pretty interesting; like the restaurant we went to yesterday you order your meal via a computerized system. There are a lot of different options and you select which one you want. The apparatus, if you will, then spits out this coupon and you take it to the ordering station. It's pretty neat. I was ridiculously hungry by this time so I ordered katsudon from the machine and yakitori from the a la cart.

After lunch we decided to explore the area around Sophia. Teresa had already done this when she first arrived so she was our tour guide. Our ultimate destination was a garden near the end of the street but we took a lot of stops along the way. Our first detour was this temple off the main road.Apparently, there are a bunch of them off of main streets like this. There was a bit of a barricade blocking the entrance but we stepped past it. I'm not sure if we were supposed to though because not too long after a Japanese man came up to the same barricade, read the sign there (note it there in the bottom of the picture) and turned around. Hmm.

Our second stop was an Office Depot. We were pretty surprised to see it but Greg and Natalie thought it was great luck that we stumbled upon it. They've been searching for mechanical pencils and so far have only found wooden ones. They did find some at the home depot but none in bulk packs like in the U.S.

After some time moseying down the street in the afternoon sunshine we reached Chidoriga-fuchi Park/千鳥ケ淵. The park was full of four different kinds of cherry blossoms. It seemed like a pretty popular place. Many Japanese were enjoying the weather, the cherry blossoms and having hanami. Hanami／はなみ is a term that describes cherry blossom viewing and the partaking of food and sake/さけ, which you could smell a little bit in the air.

There were also a couple of ladies dressed in kimonos. We haven't seen too many of them so far but they looked very pretty, especially the details in the back.

Here are a few more pictures from the trip to Chidoriga-fuchi Park. The tree that looks like a weeping willow was my ultimate favorite, mostly because I have a soft spot for willows. If you want to see even more pics of the park, check out Natalie's blog.

After the trip to the park we headed back to Sophia and the welcome party, which was great. We got to meet more exchange students and Japanese Sophia students. To Teresa's chagrin, most of the students we've met so far have been girls. Akiko, my monitor says it's because there's a bit of a gender division in majors. A lot girls major in English, while the boys tend to major in math and science. It's a gender divide that's not wholly uncommon in the states either it just seems a little more apparent at Sophia.

All in all a terrific day and tomorrow should be even better.

It's a draw...

2008-04-03T05:46:00.000+09:00

So I didn't kill the jumping spider. In fact, he's still alive in my room. I saw him right before I went to bed last night and we had another scuffle. Another draw, well, a win for him since he's still alive, which makes this Jeannette: 0 and jumping spider aka Jumpy: 2. As I tossed and turned this morning due to some necessary napping earlier in the evening, I either had a dream or a fatigue-induced hallucination that the spider was climbing up my wall at some point. I gamely told him, "Fine, you win. I suppose we'll just have to live in peaceful cohabitation."

Ha, peaceful cohabitation my ass. As soon as he pops back out again, I'm killing him.

Anyways.
Yesterday I went to an exchange student orientation at Sophia／上智大学 but before we even boarded the train to get there I had a minor crisis. I forgot my wallet at the DK House. While freaking out and thinking I lost my entrance key card, I took my wallet out of my purse to look for it and promptly forgot about it. I couldn't exactly go back to get it but luckily, Greg was kind enough to let me borrow some dough for the day.

The train ride to Sophia／上智大学 lasted about 45 minutes but it seemed much shorter than that as we had to make a lot of transfers. Anyway, that train ride could be an hour and a half and it wouldn't really bother me. This past summer I had an internship in D.C. and I had to commute 2 and a half hours each way everyday. So this commute is much shorter in comparison.

We passed through Shinjuku on our way to Sophia／上智大学 which is located in Yotsuya. I'm very excited to see Shinjuku as it's fairly well-known for it's hustle and bustle. And we found this really great place to eat as we walked towards Shinjuku; and when I say great I mean it met the criteria of cheap, tasty and conveniently located. It's only a block or two away from Sophia.

Spider Update: I brushed back the curtain to see what the day was like and a spider dropped down on its thread. I don't know if it's Jumpy or a new resident but I'm not happy about this. What the heck? What is it about this room that is so inviting to spiders? Is it too warm? I'm going to make this room less hospitable. This is war.
After finding the building where our orientation would be held, we toured Sophia. Note this spiral staircase in the picture. I think we're going to figure out how to get up there. Maybe. Possibly.

And after a long day at Sophia and a boring orientation session, we all got to meet our Japanese monitors. They're basically buddies for us exchange kids. My monitor is a second-year English Lit. student named Akiko. She's super nice and super chic, but then again, all of the Japanese girls here are super chic, so that's a given. I'm pretty impressed by it, I have to say. I wonder how long it takes them to get ready in the morning? I'll have to ask them.

Then it was back to the DK House where instead of studying for my placement test today, I promptly fell asleep due to jet lag. Bleh. If this post seems hurried or not as witty as the last posts, it's because I'm still super tired and this spider business is killing me.

Spider Update: I am victorious.

I'm here! I'm safe and I'm finally showered...

2008-04-02T08:28:00.000+09:00

... except that the shower is on the guys floor and I had to pass some guy brushing his teeth when I came out of it in my towel. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

What a long, long, long trip that was. As someone who doesn't like to fly, I had a really hard time motivating myself to get on that plane. Luckily, my dad was with me to and gave me a healthy shove in the right direction. Thankfully, the flight to Chicago went smoothly and then I had a 5-hour layover in O'Hare. It wasn't so bad at first because I had a book with me, but I finished that within a half hour of being there. That's the problem with good books, they never last long enough. So after that, I tried to study but I'm sure everyone can guess how well that went.

I took the time to call my mom, who was really worried about me, and a couple of friends, one of whom I woke up (oops :-/). My mom's main concern was a) that I wouldn't be safe, not out of any fault of my own mind you, or so I'd like to think, and b) that the person I was sitting next to would manhandle me on the plane. On the flight to Chicago, I sat by a guy and my mom wasn't pleased about the fact. Our conversation on this topic went something like this:

Mom: I just don't want anyone to...
Me: Manhandle me on the plane.
Mom: Yes.
Me: I think you underestimate me; I have a really good elbow jab.
Luckily for me, and my mom's blood pressure, my flight to Narita wasn't full. The guy I was supposed to sit next to moved behind me and had two seats to myself and I had the same luxury. Not that it made sleeping on the plane any more comfortable, but it could have been worse.

By the time we arrived at Narita, it was a little bit after 4. I was told that a rep from Sophia University was supposed to meet me before 5. But it wasn't until 5:30 that I was able to pass the foreign passport check-in station and customs. I was sure that I'd missed my person but she was still there after I left customs. Keito, or Kate, is a second-year student at Sophia studying English Lit. and she's learning German too. Clearly, she's really good at languages. She and her friend Hanoko, helped me and Hanoko's charge Mike (I think that's his name...) get to the DK House where I'm staying. We took the Japan Railway train to get here and it was quite the adventure, what with all my luggage (one suitcase, carry-on and my "purse") and the commuter traffic. But we finally got here. The DK House is an international guesthouse that partners with Sophia. I have to be honest, because they weren't, and the place looks nothing like it did in the pictures. It almost makes me wish I was in a homestay or had an apartment mate. It's not that it's not nice, but I lived in a really great international residency at U.Va. and this place pales in comparison.

Unlike my room at the IRC at U.Va., this one is a single and I have a great view of some cherry blossoms from my balcony. It's a pretty sweet view. There are a couple of issues I have with the DK House and my room. First, I can't reach the outlet closest to my desk, which means that I can't plug in the power cord for my computer. I have to plug it in on the other side of the room and it doesn't even reach. So my comps running on its battery now but I charge it whenever I'm not on it. Second, there's no soap in the bathroom. Are people just not washing their hands?! And now every time I go I have to bring my soap with me. No fun. Third, this shower situation is absurd. They should have just divided the halls down the middle and not by floor level because now I have to walk past a bunch of guys in my towel. C'mon, a girl needs a little privacy.

So that's everything so far. I don't think I missed any exciting stories. Most everything is still a blur anyways. I'm still really tired and I got up at 5:20 this morning as my body clock was off. I'm going to try to nap now before I have to leave for my Orientation and what not. The only problem with that is that I saw a spider on my wall not too long ago. We had a small showdown where he jumped, several times, out of my reach. I'm not sure whether I'm the victor or if it was a draw so I have a few reservations about sleeping on that bed. Oh well, they do say the average human ingests around 8 spiders in their lifetime. I guess this spider, if he's still alive and I'm hoping no, might get added to my quota.

Waiting may be boring...

2008-03-24T21:42:00.000+09:00

...but taking a break to visit your friends is definitely not.

Happy Easter Monday to those of you who celebrate it. In one week I'll depart the U.S. but right now I find myself not at home but in Charlottesville, visiting friends, finding housing for next year and interviewing for an internship. Being back has been really great and I don't feel, bad I guess is the right word, or regretful that I'm not here with my friends. I definitely don't feel any regret about not having classes at this time, but that pesky coursework will come soon enough. At the end of last semester, I really thought I wouldn't be able to bear this interminable wait before my time abroad began. This faux "summer" break in the middle of winter has really been relaxing and now I'm ready for the term to begin.

Just a quick work about getting things together for next year. For those studying abroad for a year or a semester, one concern is getting everything in order for your return to your host institution, i.e. housing and course enrollment. Juggling both studying abroad and planning for your return may seem difficult, but here are a few tricks to keep everything under control.

1. Know your deadlines: If there are papers or other technicalities that need your approval or are time sensitive, the worst that can happen is to forget about them because of a time change or simply by living life. Always keep a tally of your deadlines and know which ones are coming up in the immediate future.

2. Don't wait to the last minute: It almost goes without saying, but as a procrastinator who always manages to squeak by at the last second (and who just reformulated a resume last night for an interview this morning), I know it needs to be stated. If you have a question about anything about your return and your courses at your home institution, do not hesitate to ask. There may be deadlines you're unaware of that you might miss. And (for the most part) university administrators really want to help you, that's what they're here for.

3. Try not to stress: This might completely discredit the previous two points, but if you miss a deadline or run a little late, it's not the end of the world. Try not to stress about it too much. The great thing about college is a good deal of responsibility is coupled with a good number of people who want to help you when that responsibility becomes too great.

Counting down is tedious...

2008-03-24T00:11:00.000+09:00

...And it's making me anxious. My nerves are completely out of control as the 31st draws nearer. I admit, I haven't posted as much as I wanted to. It's kind of complicated. I've really wanted to travel abroad, especially for an extended period of time, but I've gotten so used to being at home and all of the unknowns are making me very nervous, wishing for some sort of temporal freeze. I guess that's the catch-22 about the unknown: it's both exciting and terrifying. Change and the promised adventure of making my way through a foreign country are drawing me into their spheres but repelling me at the same time.

It's left me in a funny place, a place where I definitely have not studied as much as I should have (cracking a textbook when's one's posted at the home front takes an infinite amount of strength); I still don't have everything I need; I'm a little bit unsure of how to get from the airport to my lodging, make that a lot unsure, and with all of my baggage.

But even as I'm worrying about all of these things, I know that they'll just sort themselves out. Somehow I will get to my housing, with all of my luggage and some excellent experiences on the way.

Even though I haven't figured out the ins and outs of my initial time there, I've already started some research on what I want to do with my four months in Japan. I'm really interested in the art and music scene in Tokyo and via a google search I stumbled upon these two great blogs: Tokyo Art Beat, PingMag and Le Baron. The first two have already given me some ideas of how to explore the city especially this article. I also want to check out the contemporary art fair in Tokyo, April 3-6.

I'm not an art major but I think art says a lot about a country's culture, values and what its people are thinking about today. Plus it might be a good way to meet other like-minded Japanese and international students and people. I may not have all of the important bits sorted out yet but I definitely think I'm getting there.

Two weeks from... yesterday...

2008-03-19T03:43:00.000+09:00

Yup, two weeks from yesterday (and 13 days from today to make things easier) I'm leaving for Japan. Thankfully, I got my suitcase, my purse and the rest of my essentials, i.e. toiletries, socks and some more jeans. I'm trying to take most things with me instead of buying them abroad becuase a) I'm not sure how much they'll cost there and b) I'm not sure if they'll have what i need especially hair product. (I have very, very, very curly hair and it needs special attention.)

As far as the important stuff is concerned (visa, passport, money), it's all been taken care of.

T-18 Days

2008-03-13T22:49:00.000+09:00

The date draws nearer and in about 18 days I will head to the airport with all of my luggage (i.e. one large suitcase, a carry-on and a purse/computer). Except that I don't have a large suitcase. And I'm not sure what I'm going to pack yet. And I don't have a purse large enough to carry my computer. Or a computer case. Or an adaptor. And do I even need a converter!?

Clearly, I still have to figure some things out.

All in good time I suppose. The suitcase issue must be dealt with before the end of this week, though. I can't take another nightmare about packing my things blindly and then turning around and realizing they're all just sitting on the floor because I have no suitcase. So that's the first thing on my list. Second: At some point I should start drafting a temporary list of things that I plan on taking with me. What can I get in Tokyo? (With all of this rampant globalization, the better question might be what can't I get?) What should I take with me and what might I have to learn to live without? Third on my list: I need to get a purse and a computer case. The latter of the two can be solved easily so I'll probably take care of that this weekend, too. The former, however, is proving to be more difficult. I want a purse, a bag really, large enough to carry my textbooks and computer in when classes begin. I'm not a backpack person, so this is really important. I need a bag that combines both form and function in an aesthetically pleasing way. Oh yeah, and one that doesn't split my wallet wide open.

Speaking of money (I know, an uncomfortable subject), let's talk about the USD. Bush is adamant that we're not in a recession, but I beg to differ. I have a few friends abroad in Europe and they started feeling the pinch in the last months of 2007. Admittedly, the situation is worse for them but this past summer the dollar to yen ratio was 1 to 118 or somewhere abouts. When I last checked it was 1 to 1. Ouch. At least I'm not going to London.

We'll have to wait to see how this affects my experience in Tokyo. But for now it's back to working, studying and searching for that elusive bag. Wish me luck.

Leaving on a jet plane...

2008-01-31T12:30:00.000+09:00

... eventually. But so far, I'm still stateside. The semester in Japan with Sophia University doesn't begin until early April. In fact I don't even board that ubiquitous jet plane until March 31. In the interim, I'm at home in Northern Virginia, which is kind of tough. Two reasons: 1) Most everyone I've spent an obscene amount of time with in the past three years is in Charlottesville; 2) Being at home is nice at first, but then you get cabin fever. Going to work every now and then helps with that, however. Plus work is giving me some much-needed cash that I can spend in Japan.

I did go to Charlottesville this past week. While there I was met with lots of "Aren't you supposed to be in Japan"s and "You're probably really excited"s. My responses to both the first was "Yes" and the second, "Not really." My semester abroad seems so far off to me. But even as I type that I know that the next two months will go by very quickly as I brush up on my Japanese, watch a lot of NHK (in translation: Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and trundle off to work from time to time.

I'm not sure when others began or will begin their study abroad experiences in Asia or elsewhere, but if you have a lot of time before it begins here are some tips to keep from going insane.

1. Reconnect with old friends: I don't get to see mine as much as I'd like to as I'm in Charlottesville for most of the year and when I'm not I'm working the old retail skit or have a 9-5 like internship. So I'm taking this time to catch up with my old pals and people who have graduated but live in or around Northern Virginia.

2. Buff up those language skills: Being at home, it's hard to put myself in "work" mode and pull out that Japanese language text book. But since I don't want to be completely lost in translation when I step off the plane, I've found the time to brush up on some old grammar materials and read about some new ones. If you don't already know, vocabulary and character flash cards are a must.

3. Catch up: In between working and studying and reconnecting (jeez, I seem busy), I try to catch up on the things I don't have time for during the school year. Like sleep. And the gym. And TV. True, you can't really catch up on sleep; once you've missed it, you've missed it. But sleeping 10 hours every night, sure makes me feel like I'm making up for sleep time lost.