Day 28-29: The Wonders of Nara

For many people who think of traveling to Japan, Nara is not high on their list of must go to places. As a current resident of Japan I resent that image, because Nara has so much rich history and culture all on its own. Nara was actually Japan's first capital before it was moved to Kyoto so a lot of Japan's World Heritage Sites are in Nara (about twenty to be exact), and many things we often associate with Japan, including sake, were born in Nara. So to make the most of my short weekend in Nara I sought out AirBnB for their guidance on tour guides in Nara. One stood out among the rest as a unique look at Nara through a local's eyes, so I worked as fast as possible to book her since she usually is completely full. Luckily I was able to sign up for her tour for Saturday at 9:30am. So Shika and I dragged ourselves out of bed early to have a quick breakfast and to head to the meeting place of our guide. As we walked through Nara Shika kept saying how much this place felt like the countryside to her and I kept saying how it was just a quaint city since there was still a lot of buildings and things to do. I guess it shows how much perspective can influence how you see new places. We meet our tour guide outside the local subway station at the statue of an important Buddhist monk (whose name I never did manage to write down). He was responsible for the building of one of Nara's most iconic Buddhist temples, and you can see that his statue is facing the temple. At the statue we finally meet Ikuyo our tour guide. She was very sweet and welcoming to us, instantly trying to get to know us better while we waited for the third person of our party (a girl from Malaysia who again I never managed to get the name of). Once she arrived we started our tour by learning more about Ikuyo and how she had come to settle into the Nara area since she had been born in Kyoto. We then began to wander through the local shopping center with Ikuyo showing us different local treats of Nara. The three foods ew actually got to stop at look at were the famous perilla leaf wrapped sushi, Nara-zuke (sake preserved fruits and vegetables not too bad actually probably better tasting to those who like to drink), and finally Yomogi-Mochi (also known as Mugwort Rice Cake made fresh every few hours). I only got to try the Nara-zuke and the Yomogi-Mochi and both were pretty good and a great start to understanding the way of life at Nara. We then made our way officially into Nara Park. Some quick facts on Nara Park are that it houses many World Heritage Sites and is home to the sacred deer of Nara who are allowed to freely wander the park as they please, even across roads. The first place we went to in the park was Kohfukuji Temple. Here our guide explained how to properly pray at a Buddhist temple in Japan, and how you can tell the different between a Buddhist temple and a Shinto temple (original religion of Japan) since both are quite similar. For me there was a big sense of déjà vu from when I went to France and was taught the difference between a Roman Catholic church and a  Gothic church (which I can still tell to this day). At Kohfukuji temple the temple was crowded with tourists but I still found myself enjoying the atmosphere. I also made just to give my offerings, offer a quick prayer, and get my shrine book signed. (These are the usually steps you are supposed to go through at the temples in Japan). I also learned what the proper name of my shrine book was called: a Goshuinshou. Ikuyo was very happy to see I had one since she already had two herself, and encouraged the others either buy one as well or buy individual sheets. Also at Kohfukuji Temple was the second largest pagoda in Japan. It was next to this great tower that we encountered our first Nara deer. He was a lot smaller than I thought they were be but he was very calm and collected despite the title crowd of tourists around him. It was then that Ikuyo started to share her deer biscuits (the only officially sanctioned thing you can feed the deer in the park) with not only us but the other people. She taught us that if you hold the biscuit a little above the deer's head it will bow three times and then eat the biscuit. As a psychology major I was so excited of the notion that a whole park of deer had all been conditioned to do this one action over thousands of generations. It was crazy to think about that, and the fact that if you held up your hands and said the word "Nai" or nothing they will know you have nothing more and will leave you alone. It honestly blew my mind a little and I was so happy that Ikuyo had taught that to us. After the temple however we went to buy our own deer biscuits so we wouldn't take all of Ikuyo's. The challenge here though was that the deer who stood near the carts that sold the biscuits were a lot more aggressive than the other deer. They would see paper and take it out of your hands and eat it (Ikuyo said she had seen them eat people's money before). So mic like she had taught us deer etiquette before Ikuyo also taught us how to get our deer biscuits without losing anything to the deer. Even as I got away with my biscuits I could see other people struggling with the more aggressive deer and there attempts to take their biscuits as fast as possible. In order to enjoy our time more with the deer Ikuyo took us to her favorite spot and to her favorite herd of deer. Compared to the madness of early this other area was serene and the deer relaxed peacefully. There was even some baby deer who cautious at first eventually warmed up to us (bribery will do that to you). I enjoyed this area the most because it felt like I was in a whole different world were I just got to enjoy myself and connect with the deer of Nara park. My friend Shika also had a great time with her spirit animal (her name Shika actually means deer so it was quite funny to make deer jokes with her), but the poor other girl seemed scared that the deer would bite her. No many how many times we told her that their teeth weren't sharp and they knew not to bite she was still really sacred. We sadly had to eventually leave this area and continue with the tour. The next part of the park  we went to was a pond with a bridge and gazebo over the water. Ikuyo showed us this unique place called a Suikinkutsu there were if you poured water down a hole it ran into a cave underneath and sounded like music. It was amazing to hear and we all took turns pouring the water to hear the music. Then Ikuyo surprised us again and gave us (and some kids nearby) some food to feed the koi fish. She gave it to us in these little origami bowls that she made herself (one of her other jobs is actually an origami teacher). Once we finished feeding the koi we saw that there was a couple taking wedding pictures, Shika and I had some fun recreating their poses and taking pictures on our own. After that we made our way to another famous temple. Along the way we saw many Stone Lanterns along the path and Ikuyo explained that Nara had four hundred stone lanterns and one thousand hanging lanterns that were lit during special festivals. There were very beautiful covered in moss and mis matched fro different states of repair and disrepair. We also saw many more deer on the path and took turns feeding some and trying to encourage our new friend to let the deer eat from her hand. Eventually we made it to Kasuga Taisha Shrine a famous Shinto shrine which actually turned our to be a complex of different shrines based one what you were wishing or praying for. Ikuyo took us to Meoto-Daikokusha shrine which was a shrine for marriage and love. Considering that all of the members of the party were single we were very excited about the prospect of better luck with romance. The shrine itself was very pretty though and was very unique from other Shinto shrines I had already been to. There I made my offerings (wishing for happiness in love) and got my Goshuinshou signed too. Shika and the other girl bought charms to help them get a boyfriend and while I was very tempted to get one on my own I was sure I would lose it and being bad luck on myself so I just stuck with my wish. We then made our way to the main shrine were again I made my offering and got my book signed, but I also bought a fortune in the form of a little deer. Luckily for me it was english because it turned out to be the best fortune you could get. After walking around the shrine a little enjoying the iconic shrine imagery in Japan. We then made our way to lunch at a local famous udon noodle shop close to the temple. It was my first real time having Udon and it was amazing. I also had a fancy version of matcha tea and it was really good too. We then started to take the scenic route to the most famous temple in Nara park. Along the way though we stopped at Ikuyo's favorite shop so she could buy more biscuits for herself. While I was looking at some of the souvenirs one of the deers hanging out at the shop dove into my pocket and tired to steal my biscuits! I was mortified but acted quickly so all he ended up getting was some plastic.I felt a little bad for him but he was still too pushy for me to give him a biscuit. We then meet more deer along the way and eventually made it to Sangatsu-do Hall one fo the many Halls of the Todaji Temple area. This hall was very special though because once a year a special ceremony happens were a monk runs along the hall's balcony with very long pole bath is partly on fire. It is part of a tradition of cleansing and many people turn out to go see it. Sadly the ceremony had already happened but Ikuyo had been there earlier in the year to see it and was able to describe it in great detail for us. As was respectful I made my offerings and got my Goshuinshou signed and enjoyed to beautiful views from the balcony. We then made our way to the side of the building where there was free water and places to sit. Here Ikuyo surprised us yet again by giving us a little mini origami class. She taught us how to make little flower baskets, and even showed us her advanced technique by making a origami deer! She even had pre made some for each of us to have. Out of all the things I got in Nara this gift was by far the most special. After the break we made our way to the Great Bell tower where the bell for the Todaji Temple was held. It was the Great Bell for no reason it was of an impressive size, but we couldn't hear it be rung until later that evening at 8pm. From the Great Bell we made our way to our last stop Todaji Temple's main building. Sadly this was where we had to say good bye to Ikuyo since it was the end of her tour. She did tell us a lot about the temple and what to do inside, but I was really sad to see her go. She was so kind to us and was one of the best tour guides I had ever had. Armed with her knowledge we entered the Todaji temple home to the Great Buddha of Nara. It's also interesting to note that the temple is the largest wooden structure in the world, so not only was Buddha impressive but also the building that hosted it. Buda was 15m tall and had many other statues of significance around it. One of the most interesting things in the temple was a hold that had been carved into one of the columns that is the size of one of Buddha's nostrils. It is said that if you climb through that you will live a long life and be knowledgeable. Now if you know me you know I never turn a challenge, so despite being one of the only adults in line to try and squeeze through the hole I took the nostril challenge. It was surprisingly easy since I had had a lot of practice going through doggie doors. I managed to also convince my friend Shika to try it and she managed to get through it so you now know two very long living and wise girls. After that we did the usually temple activities and then made for the exit. Shika and I then want to share the last bit of deer biscuits with small herd Ikuyo had recommended for us. This was the only time Ikuyo's information was wrong or the deer were more hungry than usually because they ended up chasing Shika (the good friend I was I stood to the side and took pictures). After our quick escape we made our way back to the city section of Nara. We decided to have dinner at a famous Okinmiyakai restaurant in Nara. Before that we rested at the fountain we meet at earlier. There I saw a street artist selling cute drawings of dogs and deer. I decided to cave and commission him to make a drawing of Scout (my dog). While we waited for the drawing to finish we went shopping around Nara and eventually went back to our AirBnB to rest a little before dinner. After that we finally made our way to dinner which was one fo the best choices of the day. The food was so good and I even got to try and new Japanese dish called Ashatayaki (dough balls with octopus dipped into a soup). After dinner since most of the shops and bars were closing (it was only around 8:30pm so I was pretty shocked things closed this early on a Saturday) we made our way back to our AirBnB and got some well deserved rest. The next morning we started early again to see some more sights before we left for Nara in the afternoon. After a quick stop at the train station to drop our stuff at lockers we made our way to Gangoji temple. This one was very special because it is the first Buddhist temple in Japan. Founded in the 6th century some of the parts of the different buildings in the complex are still original. Despite this rig history however there were not many people visiting and far less than I expected. I think I enjoyed this temple the most because of this reason. It was so peaceful and I never felt troubled walking around. You could also tell that the people who worked there curly loved and cared for the temple. Plus much of the temple was surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers. I really began to understand how temples and shrines in Japan were supposed to be. A place for someone to come with their worries and troubles and be comforted. After the serene experience of Gangoji Temple we returned to the hustle and bustle of the tourist section to visit the Nara National Museum. Here many important Buddhist and Cultural artifacts were kept. Unbeknownst to Shika and I there was actually an extra exhibit on display holding national treasures of Japan. It felt like thousands people came out to see the famous works of art and pottery. The most famous was the Yoben-Tennoku tea bowl. Form I learned later on this bowl is only one fo three bowls to be made as it was, and is the only complete one. The english title of was A Brilliant Universe Reflected in a National Treasure. After a look at the other works of art we decided that we should get a close look which was a slightly bad idea because the line to see the bowl took 40 minutes. I felt like I was in the crowd to see the Mona Lisa. But unlike the Mona Lisa the Yoben-Tennoku bowl was as brilliant as the hype around it said it was. It was a good thing I had gotten to see it too because apparently the brilliant glaze that was used for the bowl has still yet to be recreated. Meaning I will probably never get to see the brilliance of that bowl again. The rest of the art on exhibit was also brilliant but I didn't completely understand all of it since I did not know enough Japanese to translate it. After the exhibit we went to he Museum Shop where I narrowly escaped buying more stuff, or so I had thought because as the staff directed us to the exit we ran into another Museum Shop that Shika wanted to stop at to see what they had. I stayed as strong as possible until I saw a really cool blue shirt that I caved and bought something. After my shameful purchase we made our way to the famous Nara sushi shop we had been told about the previous day. We got some for the train and our friends and then made our way to the train station. There we eventually got back to Kyoto where we boarded our Shinkansen without trouble, and enjoyed our unique sushi. We eventually made it back to good old Totsuka where I grabbed a quick dinner and the tucked in for the night. That concludes my time in Nara, thank you if you actually read this far and I hope to update for this week sometime Friday.

Day 23-27: New School Adventures and Joining a Club!

After Disney I started my second week of classes at MGU. Just like back home I was getting used to how everything worked, where my classes where, and adjusting to a new set of professors. Despite the fact that I am in a different country some of things I have come to learn about professors still hasn't changed. Fo instance political science professors always tend to talk themselves in a circle, usually going getting off topic about ideas they are passionate it. And even though they might show up a little late they are still very kind and good hearted. My International Law class in the second week was much of the same as what I had experienced above so nothing too important to add on that topic. In my Japanese Minority Groups class I continue to learn more and more about different kinds of ethnic Japanese minority groups. This class is in my opinion very interesting and I find myself often reflecting on how similar the act of oppressing certain groups is between the different countries in the world. As if there always seems to be a lesser man to everyone else. The professor in this class is pretty nice but he gets impatient with other students sometimes since they are always trying to go to the bathroom or talk during his lecture. After this class I headed to my first meeting as a Volunteer TA for Current Affairs (an english speaking course for Japanese students). I was really excited to be challenged and practice things i had learned as an SI leader in a different environment. Unfortunately for me the jobs in the end won't be too similar. In SI I am constantly guiding and leading the students and taking care of a lot of the behind the scenes work by myself. As a TA for this program in Japan however I am supposed to let the students come to me for help and only slightly help when it is asked for. My group is a very interesting group with students of very different skill levels in English They are very nice but like most students my age they tend tp put off work until the last minute. I try my best not to mother them but they keep on approaching me with their work at the last minute. We will just have to wait and see how the next class goes. Tuesday I had my Japanese class and Politics and Society in Japan class. Nothing terribly exciting happened but I did get to struggle through an entirely in Japanese Documentary about an influential intellectual magazine made in Post War Japan. I had some Japanese students who were supposed to be helping me translate but they seemed as confused as I was so we all tired our best with what we had. After class I will be honest I was pretty lazy and just relaxed and worked on some homework for my Japanese class. Wednesday I had Japanese class all day. Although the progress is slow since most fo the material I am covering now is review for me I still find myself improving with personal practice all around me. I feel like my mind is always keyed into trying to recognize as much Japanese as possible. After class I decided to attend the Ballroom Dance Club on campus. Another international student had talked about attending it the previous week so I decided to try and it and experience club culture in Japan. The meeting place for the club was a bit unconventional, but with so many clubs wanting space to practice I can understand why we had to practice in the school cafeteria (I did myself quite often in high school for dance team). I quickly realized however that most fo the club members spoke very little English and seemed very scared of the fact that I might make them speak English so I just tired to wait politely for the other International student. Luckily for me though one of the senior members of the club spoke enough english to explain some things to me so I wasn't as awkward. I also tired to talk to some of the other club members with my very limited Japanese. Eventually with enough Sage charm I was able to make everyone a lot more comfortable around me. By then it was time to start official start the practice. Now I will admit although I am aa very experienced dancer my knowledge of ballroom dance is close to none, but the members seemed okay with that and they assigned a older senior member who could speak english (different girl from before) to teach me the first dance: the waltz. Arisa-san (since she is older I use a title of respect with her) was a really good teacher and was very patient with me as I muddled my way through the steps. I should warn you for later in the story that I only practiced the waltz alone. Eventually I had the steps down pretty well and the time for a break came. I sued that time to get a drink and talk more with the other club members. I eventually admitted to them that I had never really danced Ballroom with a guy since I often played the guy part for dance. This one very flirty guy decided to whisk me away to attempt a waltz with me but I got so nervous that is wasn't pretty. I promised to practice more and make sure I was better for next week. The next dance we learned or practiced for the other members was Rumba. Now this dance was much more up my alley with similar steps to the Latin Dances I had learned from friends in high school. It was at this point that Arisa-san realized that I had a slight knack for picking up new dances. And when she asked a guy to practice with me I did a lot better then the waltz. After I practiced a lot Arisa-san and I talked for a while about different things like school in Japan or different dances we liked. Eventually it was time for a break again, but this time they put on the music of the next dance for the older students to practice. Now if you know me that if there is music playing that I can't help but dance to it, especially is that music is Jive music. If you also know me then you know how hard I go on a dance floor. Now take those two images together and you have me going hard to Jive music in front of a bunch of surprised and slightly impressed Japanese dancers. Later they told me they though it was cute and kind of cool. I felt like after that moment I had earned some respect on some level. This meant I could talk comfortably with the other members, and even have some fun teaching them some of my moves. After the break though they suddenly put on a much slower swing beat and I learned that we weren't doing Jive (sadly) but instead a dance I currently can't remember the name of. It was very similar to swing though so I was still excited. Now while I had excelled at Rumba this new dance felt entirely natural to me and I mastered it in little under 5 minutes. The rest of the practice time I spent prating again and again with Arisa-san eventually graduating to being able practice with a boy. After that we had our final break before we started our final practice time. This final time was supposed to be a time for boys and girls to practice the dance to go. And boy was I nervous wreck. Despite my progress during individual time when I danced with the boys I had no idea what to do with another human there so I messed up quite a bit (except for the swing one that one was pretty good). After the club was over they made announcements (I didn't understand a lick of them) and I walked to the station with some of the club members and then worked on my homework at MISH. Thursday was a busy day with classes all day. Besides enjoying all the classes I mentioned last week nothing very exciting happened. Though I am struggling to get things from the professor since I am still not officially registered for the classes (not my fault I swear). Friday I had one class but it was a very exciting day because I was heading out to Nara that day! After my class I rushed back to MISH and packed a quick bag and headed to the train station to take the famed bullet train of Japan (its called the shinkansen in Japan so I am going to call it that). At the station I got to try my first official bento (boxed lunch) and waited for my friend Shika. After some brief confusion about were the other was we were able to board the train together. While the ride was exciting I will admit I took a nap. I had planned to work on homework but the train went so fast that I got motion sick trying to read. After another regional train to officially get us to Nara (the shinkansen only went to Kyoto chichis an hour from Nara) we hurried to our AirBnB so we could rest for our first exciting full fay in Nara! I am going to make a separate post for Nara so look forward to that soon! Thank you for reading! (The picture is from the Pokemon center in Yokohama which I quickly went to Friday to buy a new phone case and do some shopping it was cool but the blog was already too thick to get into detail about it) ((The other is of my shinkansen ticket and the platform before the train came). 

Day 22: The Magic of Tokyo Disney Sea!

Hello everyone! I am sorry again for the delay on these blogs school is taking up a lot fo my time so I might not always update on the exact day as I did in the past. Anyway this Sunday I planned to go to Tokyo Disney Sea (there are two parks in Tokyo Land and Sea) with some other international students. From what I had read it had seemed like a good weekend to go. Little did I know that a good weekend to go is still crazy busy! I left my dorm at 5:30 am and managed to get to the line in Disney at 7:00am and there was already a line! I really didn't care too much though since the journey there was nice and I was sucked up into the Disney ambiance. While I waited I made conversation with my friend Kevin (the only international student willing to leave with me early in the morning) and tried to work on my reading for my International Law class like a good student. I also learned that people in Japan take their lines very seriously. As the gates started opening people started running to get the fast passes for their favorite rides (or enter other lotteries I'll mention later). I myself made my way to Toy Story Mania the most popular ride at Disney Sea and by the time I had gotten there was already another line forming to get the fast passes. From what I heard from my other friend that they ran out of fast passes about thirty minutes after the park opened (just to give you a frame of reference to how crazy busy a "normal day" is. After we had secured our own fast passes we made our way to the other rides we wanted to ride. The whole time I was admiring how beautiful and detailed the entire area of the park was. Whenever you walked into a new area it really felt like you were at the place they named it after. The first ride we went on was s simple ride called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was pretty interesting briefly recreating the story of the famous novel in a ride where you felt you were underwater (not really it was screen). The funniest part for me was the narration was entirely in Japanese (what else can you expect from a Japanese theme park?) so Kevin and I never had any idea what was going on. After that ride we made our way to Mermaid Lagoon (also known as Ariel's Grotto). I felt like a little girl again seeing the world of Ariel come to life before me, though the area was mainly for little little kids so the few rides we went on were very underwhelming. I still enjoyed the feeling I got from seeing the world of one of the few ginger Disney Princesses. After Mermaid Lagoon we wandered around bit until the other group finally arrived. While we waited I got in line for the famous Alien Mochi (it's mochi in the shape of the alien from Toy Story) and also had an apple tart in the shape of Mickey. They were both fantastic but I especially love the mochi. After that I briefly separated from the group as they went to ride the more thrill seeker rides and I did some shopping and rode the Gondola around the Harbor. I then made my way to the areas of the park I hadn't been to yet. I eventually meet back up with Kevin to go finally redeem our fast passes for Toy Story Mania. Before that though I tired to enter the lottery for Big Band Beat (the best show in all of the Disney parks from what I had read). In Japan their society is based on situational equal opportunity by randomly selecting tickets fr the show by lottery no one could truly be upset if they didn't get it. I was a little smart and used my group's tickets to earn myself two tickets to Big Band Beat! After the lottery we made our way to the fast pass line. Toy Story Mania was such a fun and creative ride! Technically there is the same ride in other parks but I had never been so seeing the sets and everything for the first time was enchanting. The ride was a shooting game with 3D glasses. My competitive side came out strongly and I managed to win by a pretty big margin (though my accuracy was terrible). After that we got lunch at a restaurant on the American Waterfront. I tried my best to avoid food I could had in the US and had curry which was really good. After lunch Kevin and I split ways again since he had more fast passes to use and I went to the last area of the park I had yet to go to the Arabian Coast (the other areas I ha already walked through). There I rode on a two story Carousel which even as a an adult I an never deny and walked around the different shops. As I was leaving that area I ran into Jafar. He was the first character I had a chance to meet so I decided to stay and try and get a picture with him. I waited a pretty long time as he meet and messed with the kids and far more enthusiastic girls around me. Eventually he picked me out of the crowd for a picture. Now I decided that this was the perfect time to practice my Japanese and unleashed all my polished Japanese on him. Jafar was so impressed he gave me a kiss on the hand and we posed romantically together. I guess the only romance I can get is with Disney villains. With the wait time I had left I watched some street performances in the different parts and even saw the famous Easter show from a distance (they take Easter very seriously here). I then meet up with Kevin again to explore around as we waited fro Big Band Beat we rode a fun little express train for a few minutes, and then explored a private ship that was sitting in the harbor. The most interesting part was the castle we found. Inside were all these cool activities based on medieval times. You could pilot boats, examine the solar system in an observatory and so much more. We got so wrapped up i the castle we were almost late for being early to Big Band Beat. Which if we had not gotten there early it would have been big trouble for me. See I had actually won the lottery on my other friend's ticket and I didn't know that you had to have the winning ticket to enter. I nearly didn't get in but the very nice curator made an exception for me since Kevin had won on his ticket. I am so glad it all worked out because Big Band Beat was an amazing show! It was supposed to be a tribute to American jazz and I honestly got whiplash from all the different songs and how suddenly the sets and costumes changed. It was also pretty funny seeing the iconic Disney characters get involved (Mickey had a rad drum solo at the end). After the show we made our way to the Harbor to watch Fantasmic the night how Disney Sea puts on. It was honestly amazing. Unlike other Disney shows that are restricted to a stage this show used the whole harbor as its stage using water, lights, boats, and fancy electronics to put on a no pun intended fantastic tribute to iconic Disney movies. After the finale we all headed back to Totsuka to try and get some rest before school. Actually that was jus the the others went out to eat. Wow this was a long one, thank you for reading if you made it this far. I'll update later in the week with fun things that happen this week,

until next time!

Day 16-21: The Classes Abroad Begin!

Apologies for the lateness of this blog. I will admit I got caught up in classes and different things this week so I haven’t been able to update. But I’m here now to talk about my first week of classes! Before I get too into that I feel I should explain some key things that are different about the school system in Japan. First off is the classes schedule is a lot different. Most classes only meet once a week for a 90 minute session. They also don’t get credit for classes based on hours but instead use credits, and can most students take upwards of twenty credits a semester. As a foreign exchange student however I had a max of 16 credits or so (which is what I’m taking because I love school and I’m a nerd). Another key difference is that for foreign exchange students the first week of classes doesn’t really count, it’s a trail period to test classes so if you take a class and find yourself hating it you’re not stuck in it. With all the logistics out of the way let’s get started! Now I might have mentioned in a previous blog but there’s two ways to get to school: a twenty minutes bus ride or a fourth minute walk. I am a stubborn cheap person so I decided to forgo paying bus fare everyday  and swore to always walk to and from school. So I’m that first day of school I faced the chilly rainy morning and walked entirely uphill to MGU. I was definitely sucking air once I got to school but you know it will probably be good for me I’m the long run. The first class I had was International Law on the fifth floor which I just loved climbing up. Still I got to class plenty early and was ready to start officially start my classes. As I waited three Japanese students also came into the class and before I knew it the bell rang (they really do have a bell system it’s pretty pleasant). There was no sign of our teacher and from the looks of the other students I could tell it wasn’t normal for a teacher to be late like this. After a few minutes of anxiously waiting and checking to see if the first class was canceled (spoiler it wasn’t) the professor finally arrived. After a brief introduction he said and I quote “International Law is the most useless form of law you can learn in the domain of law, shall we get started?” No syllabus day for me he just start lecturing about sources of law and showing use the website we’d be using. He was a pretty funny professor in the end though, and I could tell as all political professor do he’d be a rambler. After he covered all he wanted he released us for lunch. The Japanese students I was sharing the class with were really nice (there names were Kai, Mitomi, and Takaaki) and asked if I wanted to join then for lunch. After some deliberation we decided to save some money and walk to the closest convenience store. On our way back with our goodies I was talking with Takaaki with suddenly he turned looked at me and said “You have some Sakura in your hair” and proceeded to politely remove the blossom that had fallen into my hair. All I could think of  how I was literally in Japan in the beauty of the Sakura trees experiencing the most romantic thing in my life though. We then proceeded to eat lunch together and get to know each other. (Don’t get your hopes up everyone he doesn’t seem every interested now-Future Sage). After our lunch I parted ways to go to my Japanese Minority Groups and Issues Class. It was taught by a professor from Britain who was really interesting and taught me that much like ogres Japanese population is like an onion (this was in fact in my lecture no joke). After this I was officially done with my first day of classes. With the rest of the day I relaxed and tried my best to mentally prepare for the next day we’re I would face my first Japanese class, and interview for a Volunteer TA position on campus. To be ready for both I decided to try and look my best and decided somehow that walking to school with heels on was a good idea. I now have blisters to prove it wasn’t. On the bright side though my first Japanese class went extremely well. My professor is very kind and has great balance of pushing us to learn more Japanese while also helping us at the most basic level. While I’m mostly doing reviews right now she makes sure to take the time to teach me some new words here and there to keep it interesting. She also would sometimes look to me to introduce new ideas to the others that she knew I had Studies. Overall although I know the Japanese classes will be a lot of work I’m really excited to vastly improve my Japanese this semester. After Japanese class I had Politics and Society in Japan. This is also going to be a really interesting class for me with lots of reading and new topics. The lecture is mainly focused on the Japanese idea of Shimin (known as “Japanese citizen” but it has a much deeper meaning to it than that) and how it came to influence Post War Japan. After this class I had lunch with my buddies again and they showed me the wonder of the curry served at MISH. I’m going to be honest I think I might cry a little when I have to go back to the US style of lunches. We also talked about possible travel plans for us to go places in the future. After lunch I hurried to my interview which turned out to be more of a briefing than an actual interview. I was the only one dressed formally so I guess I was the only one who thought it was actually going to be an interview. Still I got the position and I can’t wait to get started with helping Japanese students improve their English. I then went to Daiso (the Japan equivalent of the Dollar Store) and did my Japanese homework which was to buy a two ring binder and index cards for にひやあく. (200 yen). The next day I only had two Japanese classes in the morning and not much else happen so I won’t go too much detail on that day. Thursday was my busiest day I started classes at 9:15 and ended at 4:55. I started with two Practical Japanese classes (not my usual Japanese class) where I improved my conversational Japanese and finally learned how to say some colors in Japanese. After those two classes I had lunch and then went to my Japanese Minority Class (this is one of the classes that meets twice a week) and learned about the Ainu people. What I never knew is that there are two minority groups in Japan that are actually originally from the mainland island (this like the Native Americans, the Ainu and their southern counterparts the Ryukyuns were forced out of the mainland sometime early in Japan’s history). The Ainu were very interesting to learn about but considering how long this blog alread is I’m going to just say if you want to learn more feel free to ask! Last but not least I had Japanese History 5 which in a surprising plot twist actually wasn’t really History. It was apparently listed wrong (happened a lot surpassingly) and is actually Japanese Literature through Translation. The Professor for this class explained that we would be learning a bit about history but through the lens of poetry created at the time. I was honestly just happy to take the Literature class I didn’t think I’d get to take. Last but not not least Friday I only had one class (Japanese whoooo!) where I practiced asking my numbers and important questions for shopping (like How much is this? = いくるいですか). After class I went back to the dorm and attempted to start all the homework I had already been give and to research for my trip to Disney this Sunday! Saturday was an uneventful day were I did laundry and got lost in a book (putting off my homework whoops...). That’s really it for this blog I’m sorry it’s so long I didn’t feel like splitting up the days. The next blog I post will be about my trip to Disney so stay tuned for that! (Also I didn’t really take these pictures this week but I didn’t take any pictures really because of classes so here’s Mt. Fuiji from my campus and me I front of the first gate to Meiji Shrine)

Day 15: Surprise Takoyaki Party!

If you have read my last blog you know intended to rest this day but it turned into an adventure day of its own. It started out with me sleeping in after the exhausting day yesterday, and then I started doing laundry with my new air drying system (just a laundry line and some clips nothing fancy). It was a bit stressful because technically I had my first fire drill in Japan at 12:00 and I could only use one washer to get five separate loads done. It was also a little awakes broadcasting my laundry on the balcony for the world to see but you do what you can to save money. I had to improvise  a little but though but I managed to finish it all after the drill (which the sounds is almost as worse as the American one but a lot more chill as far as actually doing it) and just in time for the party! The welcome party was for all the students staying at MISH so it was a mix of ISP, UC, and Japanese students. They had a lot of food for us including fried chicken (I did say KFC was popular here), pizza, and sushi. I had everything but the pizza and honestly the friend chicken was very different but delicious at the same time. After some speeches from the staff we started a giant bingo game for tons so prizes they had. Now I will admit I am pretty lucky but I usually suck at Bingo (especially when they read the numbers in Japanese). To my surprise this time I actually won Bingo third when there was a hundred or so people in the room. I decided to get a Takoyaki maker! (I almost got this soft throw pillow but I decided to just buy it on my own later). After everyone had won prizes with Bingo we started a giant game of the Japanese version of Rock Paper Scissors to win prizes specifically from the staff. It was so much fun and I even got to use my Psychology to win a couple rounds (never winning the prizes though that’d be rude since I got such a good prize). After the prizes finished we were left to mingle. Talking with some friends and new people was great and I even managed to convince a small group people to work with me to try and make some Takoyaki tonight! I went with a ISP student named Zach who had already been in Japan for one semester to the store together to buy supplies and buy some stuff I needed in my room. My room continues to get homier as time goes by. Meanwhile shopping and trying to read the recipe and buy everything was so much more fun than I would have expected.  Once we got back to my room we started getting everything ready and the next thing you know there’s a small group of us in my room enjoying some of the best Takoyaki I’ve had so far!  Besides enjoying the food we also worked on our schedules for the week (I didn’t I had it done already but I loved helping). The Takoyaki was honestly so easy to make and I can’t wait to try and make it in the US when I get back, as well as a few more times here! Even though I ended up doing more than I though I still had a great day before I officially start classes the next day! 

Day 14: Tourist Is As Tourist Does

As the title of the blog insinuates during my free Saturday in Japan I decided to go be a tourist and explore Tokyo for all it had to offer me. I’d been working all week on an ultimate plan to see as much as possible, and I tried to get some friends to go with me but do some communication errors I mainly went on this adventure alone. My day started early at 7:50 in the morning when I boarded the train to Tokyo Station. I’d been warned all week that it was going to be really crowded since that time was during rush hours. Yet there was hardly a soul on the train or even walking around. I got a seat on the first stop and didn’t have to give it up until I got to Tokyo Station. Now Tokyo Station was one of the original train stations created, and has a very European style due to their influence at the time. Right close by the Tokyo Station is the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Gardens. The walk there was really serene since there was no one really around (in comparisons to the Tokyo I had seen previously). As I approached the Palace however I noticed something seemed off. I had done some research prior to going and knew you could sign up for tours at a specific gate, but today there were police outside the gate and huge tents and security places set up. When I asked the officer about the tour he said I just had to continue to the official entrance. It was only some short time later that I realized I had accidentally come to the palace during one of the 9 days out of the year when it’s open to the public for Sakura viewing (the other days being the Emperor’s Birthday and another official ceremony of well wishing). So along I went with tourists and Japanese alike as we meandered our way to security. Once I got to the table where they were checking bags I learned that in order to make sure no one takes anything harmful in they conduct a sip test for any drinking containers they find. I find this a lot smarter than banning them outright especially since I really needed my water after walking all over the palace and the gardens. It was amazing getting to see this unique insider perspective and I gene got to practice my Japanese a little by asking some of the guards questions. After walking the beautiful path and seeing all the beautiful plant life the palace offered I made my way to the Imperial Gardens. From there I wandered, explorer and learned about the gardens to my hearts content (I was technically waiting for a friend at this point). Not only was everything beautiful and in bloom in some way there was also a rich history to the garden. The Imperial Garden that is open to the public was private land until it was opened in 1968 by the currently resigning Emperor and Empress. They put a lot of work into making it a culturally unique place for people to enjoy. Many of the new sections or the painfully recreated buildings were details managed by the Imperial Couple themselves. One of the most interesting things I think they added was a hybrid of koi fish they created themselves and still relate some koi to date. I enjoyed the Gardens so much and even more the second time I went through with my friend Shika from Taiwan. After reading all the signs and knowing where everything was I was able to teach her all about the gardens and we had a great time exploring them together. After we finished the Gardens we traveled across Tokyo to Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park. Meiji Shrine entrance is right next to a very popular part of town called Harajuku so the crowds I had missed earlier came back in full force as we tired to find ourselves a cheap meal at Family Mart. We ended up eating lunch and splitting a cake outside Meiji Shrine in a very cute cafe. After cake though my friend Shika had to leave to meet another friend so I was on my own again. Meiji Shrine was a very interesting place as one of the more modern but equally historic Shinto shrines. Since it is so historic many tourists flock to it to take pictures there. It was amazing getting to see the different parts of the shrine and getting to learn more about what Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shōken were like during their lifetime outside what little I had learned in my history classes. I also learned that the area that made up Yoyogi Park and Meiji Shrine was all donated and reclaimed land to honor the Imperial Couple. Thousands of people donated money and supplies so that Meiji Shrine could rest in the beautiful forest. I also was able to buy a Shrine book while I was there. In Japan since there are so many shrines and many people observe Shintoism as their religion it’s possible to buy these books where the people who live and study in the shrine can give you the unique stamp and kanji of that shrine. I had hoped to start collecting the stamps once I bought myself one in Meiji. While I did enjoy myself for the most part there as with any big tourist spot many disrespectful tourist that I tried my best to either ignore and politely correct when they were doing something offense. I guess as someone who loves to learn it’s hard for me to understand why you wouldn’t educate yourself before visiting another place of religion but I know not everyone is the same as me. After the beautiful Meiji Shrine I made my way to Tokyo Tower (a bit like the Eiffel Tower but now really). It was a bit of an odd trip since I had to use the underground subway and walk quite a bit but eventually I made it there. Just like the other big tourist spots I had been to today it was packed with people and since it had already been a long day for me and the tickets were pretty expensive I decided to pass on going up it and just take some pretty cool pictures of it instead. The last stop on my day in Tokyo was none other than the pure wish fulfillment that is the Mega Pokémon Store. Now if you don’t know me well you don’t know that ever since I was little I have been playing the Pokémon games and have loved the franchise dearly. So finally being in Tokyo and going to this legendary store was beyond epic. The entire time I was there I couldn’t believe all the amazing things I was seeing. If I could have I would have bought the whole store no joke but I tried my best to show restraint and buy things that I loved but were also practical. This included two new pairs of socks, some masking tape, a new water bottle, a new wallet, and two indulgent key chains. Even though I managed to restrain myself I still knew deep in my heart I would probably go back at some point to buy more stuff. After the long day I managed to have an easy train ride home back to MISH eat dinner and then crash to bed. The next day I decided to rest, do laundry, and go to the Welcome Party for MISH. More on that in the next blog! 

Day 12-13: School Preparedness in Japan and Back Home!

(First of all I am sorry for the lack of posting I have been very busy these past few days preparing for school and seeing Japan so I’ll be updating the past few days in two parts, enjoy!) Om Day 12 I had a mug day at MGU campus. We were on campus almost all day doing different kinds of orientations. We all walked to campus as one big group which if you have eve traveled with a large group anywhere you know how long it stretches out (it was really funny sight seeing us wind through Japanese neighborhoods). When we finally got to campus we went to a brief Living Orientation on things we’d need to know about campus. Most of it was stuff I had already online so I was already prepared. They had planned an hour for the orientation but it only took 15 minutes so we just hung out in the room until our MGU Buddies we’re ready to give us the campus tours. If you’ve been reading my other entries you know that I have already meet my buddies so I was very excited to get to hang out with both of them. Once we were together as a group we went on a brief campus tour to all the buildings I would need to know. As always I needed out a little at the library it was really beautiful with big windows and all the books you’d need to have for your studies. They had a lot more rules than libraries in the US, you could only eat in some rooms. After the tour we ate together in the cafeteria. Much like UCA they had many different places to eat (including the International Cafe, Cafeteria, The Student Store, and more!). The most complex was the cafeteria so they helped me get my lunch. We had such a good time eating together talking about everything that came to mind. We even decided to travel together to some local places they wanted to take me to. For lunch I had a friend chicken rice meal with miso soup and a rice cake. It was all amazing and i makes me happy to know I won’t starve for lunch on campus. After lunch I went to my Academic orientation (my Buddies didn’t have to go to this) I learned about how to register and look up classes and all the classes offered. When I was finally able to look at the list I learned they had yet again changed what classes were offered so I had to change my schedule again. (My fourth time doing so). I also learned about different extra academic programs you could participate: such as an internship, and special economic class based on a specialized Japanese business, and becoming a Volunteer TA. Out of all the programs I reached out to the Volunteer TA program because it was very similar to my work with SI back home and it could help me meet more Japanese students. I have my interview later this week so I hope to update with good news soon. Also after much debate I’m not sure I’ll end up joining a club in Japan, most of them meet on Saturday and cost a lot of money so it might not be worth it. I’ll still try my best to get to involved on campus. Also I got my Japanese Placement Test results back! I’m in Level 1 as I expected (it’s the lowest level). I hope being in this will help my Japanese.
The next day I had the welcome party at the MGU campus in Tokyo (they have two campuses one in Tokyo and the other in Yokohama). After a crowded train and bus ride with all the other ISP (international student program) and UC students (University of California) we finally arrived at the Shirokane (name for Tokyo campus) campus. It’s apparently the second oldest university in Japan so it was really cool seeing all the old buildings on campus! It was really beautiful. After a little site seeing we went up the party where there was the most mouth watering food waiting for us. (It was last lunch time and I hadn’t had lunch). We sadly had to wait for all the introduction speeches and ice breaker games to get to know other exchanges, Japanese students, and faculty. I got to meet the Vice President who was really nice and offered for me to join him for yoga, and an art teacher who teaches traditional Japanese art. After that we ate some, though there wasn’t enough for everyone so I was still hungry. While we were still eating some more speeches were needed to be made. One student from each university was asked to spread on behalf of their university. I was asked to do it for UCA and let’s just say it was funny to watch because they never told me what to say so I was rambling as I do. People said it was good though so let’s just go with that. After that the party was over and we were free to go. A group of students I knew from all over agreed we should find something to eat since lunch was weak. The whole thing ended up being a mess though because too many people came and we could go to dinner at the vegan place they wanted to go to (I was open to try their dessert to cover me until I got to dinner at MISH). After walking around exploring Harajuku accidentally we ended up at an ice cream parlor and a Boba Tea Shop. I was convinced to try BoBa Tea and honestly it was pretty good! I got strawberry tapioca flavored, and had s great time hanging with some new friends. Sadly I had to pull a Cinderella and run off from the group since I had to register for my UCA classes at 7pm. I was going to make it on time with some friends but then the train like we use to get home is suddenly canceled! I start freaking out that I won’t make it back in time. So we dashed to the nearest McDonald’s to use their free WiFi. After I was set up we found there were too many people of the WiFi so I had to use my data to register for classes. Luckily after all that trouble (and some fries from my friends) I managed to register for 4/5 of the classes I needed. Which is honestly a pretty good record. Once the train was reopened we tried to rush back to MISH to get in time for dinner. This mean we experienced our first shoving on a Japanese train. You’ve seen them the videos of people getting shoved on train it’s real and I’m a survivor. Luckily I had been smart and put my bag in front of me so I had some decency but let’s just say I was very close to everyone around me. We eventually got to MISH had dinner and I was finally able to sleep after a very exhausting day. The next day I planned to go do some major sightseeing in Tokyo so I’ll update with that later (I have to get ready for my first day of classes right now) ((The pictures are of my buddies and my boba)

Day 10-11: Busy Busy Bee! That’s Me!

These past few days I’ve been really busy as the title attests to. Lots of things to do in preparation for classes and official start of the semester for me. Yesterday was probably the busier of the two. I went to Meiji Gakuin University to go to a club fair on campus (that’s the closest quivalent for what it was st least). During this whole week clubs are trying to recruit new members since the number of members affects the budgets they receive from the school. My buddy Mayu agreed to help me and help translate conversation for me. She’s also supporting the idea of me joining the clubs she is in (English Speaking Society and Cycling Club). But I first had to get to campus on my own. I will admit that there is a bus that will take me to campus so don’t feel too sorry as I regale my tail for you. I decided to use Google Maps which up to this point was very reliable for me, and after this walk is a little dead to me. A walk to campus should take 30 minutes or so but I took almost an entire hour! It kept taking me on odd back streets and through neighborhoods and I kept getting turned around. But I really shouldn’t complain too much because I saw a lot of the beauty Totsuka had to offer. I saw Sakura along the river with festivals stalls underneath an  beautiful houses and the extravagant gardens they boasted (some even had personal shrines!). I even walked through a tranquil Bamboo Forest (I’m telling this was a wild walk but very enjoyable. Eventually I returned to the main road and after a pit stop at a Lawson’s (now is a good time to admit that after seeing Japan’s public toilets I will forever be uppity with US toilets, I mean they aren’t even heated like Japan’s??) I was at the gate of campus. My buddy came to greet me and we were off to the club fair. I do have to admit though that MGU’s campus is just gorgeous in a different way from UCA’s. I love both equally already but one does have a view of Mt. Fuji so... Anyway clubs in Japan are a lot different than clubs in the US but are also very similar. For instance the American Football players act just like their US counterparts. There are some really popular clubs and some clubs struggling to get by, and some very very serious clubs. I think the biggest difference is that the clubs here aren’t just business like I feel most US clubs are. They have a pretty active and social recruitment process and most of the time they meet a lot outside of the meetings put in place. Basically the clubs you join is your social circles on campus so it’s a very important decision that I am obviously struggling (any tips on choosing are appreciated!). Some clubs even did demonstrations in front of the cafeteria. This day I saw Marcjing Band, Cheerleading Club (A real blast from the past for me), and Cheer Up Club (similar to cheerleading but more traditional and focused on cheering at games). It was amazing getting to see the cultural differnces between the things I knew so well back in the states. I can’t wait to see Loren of them and hopefully eventually join a club so I can tell you guys more about it. After the club fair I made my way to Tokyo from campus (more senic routes involved) to go see the famous cherry blossoms at Ueno Park. When I got there the crowds were more insane than I had ever seen them before. It was really cold too so while the flowers were beautiful and I got many pictures I didn’t enjoy myself as much as I would have it had been sunny. Despite all the bad I couldn’t deny the beauty of a full bloomed Sakura tree among fifty or so others. Ueno park is also famous for many other things like their Zoo and their complex of shrines. Since I had gotten a breakdown of how to shrine from online and from my buddy I decided to try and participate at a shrine on my own. Sadly as much as I tried to be respectful there were hundreds of tourists who were being very disrecpectful right after me. Mostly using the shrines and it’s different parts as a photo op and not for its significance. I even tried to eat my favorite festival food to cheer myself up but it was hard to focus on the good when you’re alone surrounded by people who don’t care beyond the surface around them. I hope to go back to Ueno Park another time so I can enjoy myself fully with friends I know will respect the different parts of the park. After waking for hours looking at the Sakura and shrines I decided to head back to the dorm since I was very exhausted from the massive amount of walking I did. Luckily dinner at the last night was fired chicken and it was delicious!! I was ready to sleep to my heart contents afterwards but I had to do some studying for my Japanese Placement Test that was today. Beford that though quick side note. I got my first sun burn of the season yesterday. It was pretty light and was only on my face but I didn’t even think it would happen since it was so cold. Today I went to buy Sunscreen which is very complex when you don’t know enough Japanese to read the bottles, but I am glad to inform that I will not be safely protected from the sun. Alright back to the placement test. I will admit before anyone else that I was a nervous wreck for this exam. I wanted so badly to do well on it even with my limited Japanese. After a very long wait to get on a public bus to campus (let’s just say in time it took us to get there on the bus I would have had time to spare with walking) all the Internatonal Students from our dorm were late and slightly embarrassed. As the exam began I was frazzled from my lateness and the sudden realization that oh my god I’m actually going to learn a foreign language here. The exam only made it worse, it said it was for beginners but I only knew maybe 40% of what was on there? Guessing sometimes on it too. I also asked if I could do the interview section (not required of me due to my skill level) and that was even worse. It was pretty discouraging at the time but I guess who have to fail at first to succeed later. I’ll proabbly be put in the easiest class but it will probably be good to review. After the test I helped some of my friends navigate the club fair with my limited and discouraged Japanese. We had a lot of fun though going around as little group trying our best to understand things. After that I took them on the senic routes I went on yesterday and we had a great time enjoying the beauty of the area. We also happened across the same river as yesterday with the festival food. I caved and bought more Takayuki and shared it with them, and some bread I hadn’t bought earlier. Sitting along the river underneath the blossoms I had my first technical Haname with some new friends. The weather was beautiful and I had a great time just relaxing next to the river enjoying food. I understand why the Japanese are such a fan of Haname. After a little bit more shopping I returned to my room where I will be honest I relaxed and did minimal work. In my opinion it’s one the best things you can do after a disappointing exam. Even with the rough start I’m still trying to stay positive and will continue to challenge myself to learn as much Japanese as I can here. Tomorrow is filled with more orientations so I’ll be back with more learning experiences. Until next tine!

Day 8-9: Much Ado About Bureaucracy

The past two days I haven't really did much in regards to fun adventures in Japan so I decided to just combine the two blog days. Yesterday was a chill day for me, since I had gone pretty hard the last seven days I decided to just take the day to relax get laundry done, and get anything last minute done before I had the onslaught of paperwork this next week. Laundry was very interesting, Japan is one of many societies who are a big fan of hanging your laundry up to dry, and I did not have the equipment to hang it up yet so I was forced to use the dryers which did not work very well at all so I still ended up air drying some things. After the frustration of drying my laundry on a million hangers, I went with a small group of friends to go get more supplies we all needed. I found it very funny that almost every store or mall you walk into has absolutely everything you need, even down to the small convince store. It took under an hour for all us to get the study we needed from laundry lines, extension cords, and cookware for our rooms. If you can say one thing for Japan it's that they don't like wasting time looking for stuff in different stores. After shopping we dropped our stuff off and went again to Suishiro (the conveyor belt sushi place). I think as college students we can't help but like it since it is pretty cheap to eat there. This time I tired some new sushi that I already know I will sorely miss in the US and surprisingly Warm Sake! I expected them to ID since I look so young but I learned that checking someone's ID isn't really a thing here, it's all one big trust system. The warm sake we decided to share though since it was bit expensive and we all just wanted to try it. Much to my own surprise it was pretty good, and I look forward to trying more later. After that it was back to the dorm and off to bed. Well I actually stayed up quite late trying to buy Disney tickets online which was a nightmare. I wasn't even able to buy them! I had to ask a very nice store clerk to help me (after looking for the tickets in seven different connivence stores). The next day waking up early for breakfast was awful in all honesty. But breakfast was surprisingly good. A very simple spread of a over easy egg, salad, bacon, and a roll. I did cop for the Western breakfast but that's because I plan to switch between the Western and Japanese breakfasts since they are the same every morning and I need some diversity in my life. After breakfast we were off as one big group to go face the bureaucratic engine of Japan. As holders of long term visas we have to register as residents with out addresses. So as I have many times in the US I had to go to big office and sit and wait for my turn for paperwork. But the university had prepared for this and had called the office ahead of time so all we had to do was walk up in groups and give them our residence card we were given at the airport. It was that easy! With all the free time we had left the students in charge of us showed some different english speaking hospitals in the area and where the post office was. We also explored a little bit and visited a local cemetery which threw me off a little bit since it was so similar to the western world but so similar. They had a bell that is rung so people can pray and talk to the dead, it was truly spooky sounding. I didn't take any pictures out of respect. We then went on to buy our Hanko (a personal signature used for signing official papers). However since as people form the West we don't have a kanji list name to select from the Hanko so we just got to pick what we wanted. I picked Se-I (the closest sounding to my name) which means in simple terms riverside. I thought it was pretty cool but the poor man who helped me stamp some papers had no idea what it was. (Even Japanese people get stumped by Kanji). After that we had more paperwork in the form of signing up for a bank account. This took the longest and has by far been the most painful so far. I am just saying if you want to open a bank account in a foreign country... just don't? Though my table tried to make it a little fun by cracking jokes the whole time. After that I had my first dinner at MISH which was really good (broiled fish, a soup of some kind, strange rice, and more I didn't know what was but ate it anyway). At dinner I talked with some girls from Sweden and Australia about just about anything. After a little bit though I was so tired I came up my room to get some stuff done and write this blog. Tomorrow holds more exciting so I will have a more exciting blog tomorrow. Until next time! (Also please tell me if yo think these are too long because I am starting to worry about how long they are getting...)