Nov 6, 2016
A strange specimen observed at the Hyaku en ($1) store. Chili pepper face.
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Honduras
seen from Malaysia
seen from Netherlands
seen from Mexico
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Yemen
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Japan
A strange specimen observed at the Hyaku en ($1) store. Chili pepper face.
Day 25
I will fill in the rest, but I need to speak now because holy moly that was fun.
Okay, so I went to Philosophy, and we talked about Bushido, and it was fun...until the end where I rallied that I will never be able to enjoy Momotaro again. Apparently one of the biggest views when it was created was that it was an allusion to Japanese Imperialism/Colonialism, and the friends were the countries Japan conquered and the demons they fought...were the US and England. We’ve done some really bad stuff at times, but I don’t think that puts us at demon level. It got more awkward because I was the only US student, and we had two German students and an Australian. At lunch at the school, they know how to give home cooked food at a very small price. Next came Comprehensive. And we read today. And my reading skills suck. Really bad. Not in English, but in Japanese. Plus I was super tired. Next came table tennis. And I was on fire. Today I started learning the forehand serve and the backhand push. I forgot an umbrella though, and Eva, lovely Hong Kong friend in Table Tennis walked me to the cafeteria, and then let me borrow her umbrella. I then went on an adventure with Suematsu (my advisor) several Japanese students, and a very nice research student from Africa. A French speaking country too, I didn’t catch the name though. I got to be very good friends with a girl named Erika. We ate a whole lotta food. Oh my gosh. I had Pepsi and Ramune and Ume Alcohol, and Karikage (fried chicken) and Fish and Salad and more chicken and I wanted some fried rice, but I’m not quite sure about asking for another tables item so I kept my mouth shut. And the Pork was divine. I didn’t have to pay anything though, because the party was for me and Em (the male student from Africa). Then Erika and a few of her friends walked me to the train station. I picked up lunch and breakfast for tomorrow and I’m super happy. And now I’m gonna sleep.
Day 18
I got breakfast. Cafe au lait is a lot more watery than I thought it would be. But my cornet was tasty. First time I’ve put so much sugar in my system in Japan. Maybe it’ll help my nerves. Food here is a lot different from Japan. It’s constantly healthy. Not complaining, i’ve been dropping weight. Like my brand new clothes aren’t fitting nearly as well as they were when I first got here. I need a belt. Comprehensive is a lot better than I thought It would be. We went over 〜のは〜だ。and てくれる\てあげる\てもらう. And a bit of particles and stuff. A lot easier. Second part was fun too, and pretty easy. Table tennis is hard, but I met Eva, a girl from Beijing University, and we talked on the way home and while she ate (my stomach is not used to Japanese food yet. It’s very upset) But now I am literally about to pass out.
Day 15
My feet hurt. But I’m happy. I went all around Kodaira and the surrounding area, met some amazing people, talked about cultural differences between Japan, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and the main US, and free food. My cheese craving was mostly satisfied by my cheese Gyudon, still would kill for a mozzarella pizza, but can’t get everything. Didn’t win anything either, but found the GIANT Daiso (like largest 100 yen shop in Japan Daiso) and a few steak places, and Konan! Which will be where I procure a blanket! Overall a fantastic day.
Day 14
...okay...I GOT A 3. All my friends, all of them who are American or english speaking got 4s...and I got a 3. (I didn’t quite follow instructions though) I’m trying it for the first week to see if I can actively comprehend and keep up. If not, I’m going to my advisor. But I got a three. And then I realized that my level 3 courses...cut into my ISEP courses. My friends and I went to find the Advisor of all Study Abroad...only to find her not in. Here’s to Monday.
Day 12
I took my placement test! I’m thinking 4 or 3. But that test...made everyone feel so stupid. And I didn’t look on the back of the book where it said don’t answer what you don’t know (classic American Education here, I’m blaming ISTEP). But anyways, I find out on Friday which level I’m in, so I’m excited. The rest of the day, I kind of was relaxing. This test had been stressing me out for a bit, and I was brushing up on my kanji and my vocab and my grammar. I got food at the school, and was not happy because I picked one of the wrong things and it ended up being deep fried and mushy.
Day 10
Yesterday was a holiday- 体育の日 or Health and Fitness day. So I didn’t do much. I studied. And that’s what today is gonna be, studying. Because I need to brush up on my skills and get them fresh in my mind for my placement test.
Day 9
Most of the day I studied. However, when 8 hit, I met all the people on my dorm floor. We had a grill thing (Nabe?) and introduced ourselves. I met a lot of nice people, like Taichi, who has purple hair, and Bam, who is from Taiwan, who also studied in Texas, and Kanako, and Yuri, and Rui Liu, who is studying here from Beijing. All of them were extremely nice, and tried to converse with me as much as they could. I couldn’t catch a lot of what they were saying, but it was amazing. I also had another flavored beer, this time it was grape. Again, I reiterate the fact that it was one can and that drinking here is more of a social thing than a drink for the sake of drinking. As well, the beer here is only 3%. So it’s not strong. I got to talk about home and halloween and age and I’m one of the older kids. We cleaned up and I got some questions answered. A fantastic night!