Evie in Japan

roundup

2011-05-02T04:33:00.001-07:00

I'm so much happier now my best friend Erin has moved to town. It means I have someone to go to izakayas with and meet japanese boys. Recently whenever we go to one, a table of boys will insist that we join them, fill us full of alcohol and then pay for it! awesome! I also went on a gokon recently and met a nice guy, but I will have to wait and see if anything develops there.

My parents are coming after Golden Week and I'm super excited. And then in June a friend from Germany is coming to visit me :) I'm very happy about that too...

<3

久しぶり update

2011-04-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

Hello people.

I've decided to make more of an effort to update this blog regularly.

Here's what's new with me.

Have decided to move to Osaka when my contract is up and work in eikaiwa. I don't like my town or position very much, so I have decided to only spend the one year as a CIR.

I went to Tokyo last weekend and had a lovely time hanging out with Waseda friends. Tokyo is in one piece and the only things I noticed that were different were the dimmed lights in Shinagawa station, and the roped off escalators.

I'm feeling happy and positive but a little disappointed with how my JET experience has played out, as well as saddened by recent events.

hostess with the mostest

2010-11-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

In contrast to Ina-Den, seeing EigoOkDoctor was a pleasant experience. Unfortunately once he realised I could speak Japanese he insisted we use that but switch to English for any medical terms I might not know.

He tested me for asthma and he said the results showed that my breathing isn't great but not bad enough to qualify as asthma. He's given me 4 different types of pills and these patches you stick on your chest at night. He said I could have some kind of obstruction or even sleep apnea. I need to go back in two weeks and report on how his cocktail of substances affects me. He was really kind and nice, the place was super clean and pleasant.

Three bags of meds!!!

I took the day off today, so after the doc doc, I headed into Sanjo and happened across some lovely shoes!!!

brown brogues I have been wanting for years

yellow heels (I need more colour in my life)

As I was walking back to the station a club scout planted himself bodily in my way and asked me if I work in the evenings and if not did I want to work in his cabaret club? (translation; work as a hostess- a woman who wears skimpy dresses and entertains men with witty banter and flirtation while plying them with alcohol and lighting their cigarettes until the early hours of the morning) It was sooo hard to get away from him... he followed me all the way to the station saying how kawaii I was and how since I am 'bilingual' I will be super ninki with the customers. I would have run away from him but I was wearing my new heels. It was pretty funny.

Going to the doctor in Japan

2010-11-24T02:41:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I'm going to take the day off and head into the city to seek out an English speaking doctor.

I got sick back in February with trouble breathing/sore lungs/coughing. At the time I went to two doctors and spent a day in hospital (had 2 chest x-rays) and they just told me 'oh you're a bit anemic' and 'the cartilage in your ribs might be inflamed.' at the time, I was told 'oh it will clear up in no time, whatever it is, until then take some ibuprofen.'

It didn't clear up and I've suffered through 10 months since then... I kind of felt like 'If nobody can help me all I can do is not complain about it and just hope it goes away on its own...' I mean, I went to two doctors and spent a day in hospital. I don't know what else I could have done back then. I also got a clean bill of health for my medical to come here. ('Oh it's probably just a lingering cold').

But I really can't do it anymore. I haven't been able to take a deep breath in almost 10 months. My chest aches all the time, I have no energy, I feel awful all the time.

Add that to the stress of coming here, and doing this stressful job (working in a foreign language) and I just really can't put up with it anymore. At best, it's a daily annoyance, at worst (like when the weather is cold/I catch a cold) I have to fight for every breath.

After the debacle with Inaka Dentist (Ina-den?), I've decided to go to an English speaking doctor (I hope they really do speak English, not just claim to...) I'm going to ask for asthma testing.

Hope they can help me. I'll report on my first ever Japanese doctor experience tomorrow... wish me luck please.

For the love of God, brush your teeth

2010-11-18T02:43:00.000-08:00

I thought I would write a little bit about going to the dentist in Japan, since I have now done so and survived. It cost me a day of my nenkyuu (paid leave), excruciating pain, embarrassment, over a month, but somehow... 0 yen.

Here is what happened. Over a month ago now, I woke up in the middle of the night with crazy toothache on my right side, the same teeth on the top and bottom. I get in to work red-eyed and my co-worker immediately leaps to the phone and gets me an appointment with their local family dentist, who has been treating her and her family since time began. I protest by saying that I don't want to go to a dentist, I'm sure it will be better in a day or so and besides, I don't want to go to a dentist. (I didn't particularly have a fear of dentists before this, but I kind of had a bad feeling about trying to communicate with a Japanese dentist. If only I had stuck to my guns.)

Given instructions and told 'you can go now! don't worry, just go' (despite which, the nenkyuu begins to tick away here) I head downtown and arrive at Inaka Dentist. With trepidation I go in and hand over my health insurance card and wait to be called.

I go in and find an open-plan room with several chairs laid out like at a hair salon. It appears that Inaka Dentist is a dental superman who can work on several people at once. A little drilling here then onto the next one, and round and round he goes. (this is apparently 'normal' in Japan.) Inaka Dentist 'speaks English' and is seemingly baffled/excited by the presence of a real live gaijin upon which to experiment (sorry if I embellish here. I'd like to try to describe the atmosphere as well as I can.) to begin with, he decided to clean my teeth, using the special plaque drill thing or whatever. Actually the nurse does this bit. This is fine, but I haven't asked for this, and I don't much want to pay for this, and by the way, did I mention the right side of my face is on fire?

After the nurse has done cleaning my teeth, Inaka Dentist looms above me. He is not wearing gloves when he sticks his fingers in my mouth. Luckily I know the word for cavity (mushiba) so I understand when he says I have two cavities. However I am not prepared for him sticking the drill into my mouth, as usually in the west this is preceded by some sort of anasthetic. As he starts to drill away at my excruciatingly painful and sensitive teeth, I tell myself he must have simply forgotten the anesthetic (you know how forgetful these medical professionals can be) so I decide to let him know by letting forth the scream I've been holding in. At which, the nurse holds me down while the Inaka dentist cheerfully chants 'itakunai, itakunai' (it doesn't hurt) as he drills a hole in my bad teeth.

Finally I am released and allowed to rinse, by which time I am bawling, shocked, in pain, bewildered, and with big holes in my teeth. Since I can't really stay this way, I agree to let the dentist fill my cavity. (After I have squawked "I want a WHITE filling!!!! WHITE, DO YOU GET IT??? WHITE!!!" just to make sure he doesn't use that nasty-brassy ass metal filling all the Japanese people have.) So he fills in the bottom one, but then, something is wrong with the top one. He says it's a 'loot kanaru'. Wait a minute. I have heard of these, often, on American television shows, often in conjunction with the words 'agony' and 'pain.' I haven't really had much dealings with dentists before this (my teeth have always been pretty healthy). So I have no idea really what a 'loot kanaru' is, besides the fact that it is painful. Luckily, Inaka Dentist is down with technology so he whips out his iPad and shows me a detailed diagram explaining what will happen. He is going to remove the inside of the roots of my teeth. This doesn't sound too great to me. I say I will have to think about it. He tells me I can come back on thursday and in the meantime, he will put a temporary bit of rubber filling in there. I look at his eyes twinkling behind his magnifying specs. I look at the filthy cloth beside my chair, with bits of blood and unspeakable dental matter on. I say sure, fine, just let me out of here. I stumble into the office to pay, the lady says I can pay next time. I insist upon paying, she says 'no charge this time. itakatta deshou? kawaisouni.' (it hurt, didn't it? poor you.) I leave.

The pain in my upper tooth escalates to gigantic proportions. I need to get it fixed. I'm scared. I should probably look up English speaking dentists in the nearest city. I should probably gaman until the weekend then seek out English speaking dentists in the city. Are there any in the nearest city? I just need this one tooth fixed, then I'll be fine. I really should seek out English speaking dentists in the city. I really need it fixed now. It's Thursday morning. Like an idiot, I go back to the same dentist.

This time, he gets out tiny needle-thin wire brushes and sticks them up inside my tooth, into the roots. Again we are talking no anesthetic. It feels like a red hot needle being shoved up inside my brain. I bawl again. (The weird thing is, and others may notice this as well, when you're culture shocked and homesick and something hurts you physically, even something like stubbing your toe, the pain seems to open the floodgates of everything else that's upsetting you as well.) so we're talking super bawling, with snot. Everyone is uncomfortable with the gaijin causing a scene in the open plan dental surgery. Dentist tells me to minimise the pain, he must heal my 'loot kanaru' sukoshi zutsu, or bit by bit (again, this is the way it is done in Japan. multiple, short appointments are seen as kinder to the patient... as well as bringing in the dough by way of the repeat appointment fees.) Since the dentist has dug out quite a bit of my diseased root, the pain starts to go away and I can leave. Again, desk lady tells me I can pay when I come back. Well, we we'll see about that. I go home and feel better. Much better. But I can't eat/bite anything. And then the little bit of rubber filling falls out. I have a huge gaping hole in my tooth. Now I really can't eat anything or drink anything. I need to do something about this hole. Thinking that the worst must really be over, I go back to Inaka Dentist one more time. This time I have looked up the word for anesthetic and I repeat it like crazy until he gets the point and gets out his syringe. This also hurts like crazy, and furthermore, it doesn't seem to work. Everytime he sticks his needles into the root of my tooth and yanks them out it seems to hurt more and more. I tell him more anesthetic or we're done. He gets out another syringe and- I'm not joking here- has some sort of old man spasm and shoots it into my eye.

Time freezes until i say 'uh... that went into my eye.' Inaka dentist looks a bit perplexed and eventually he trundles off to get some eye wash. Then he sticks little splinters of wood into my tooth root, takes an x-ray and seems satisfied. He then packs these little cones of hard stuff in there and melts it with a hot iron. And then he fills it up and my agony is over.

I leave, again not paying, as they have insisted I come back for a check to take another x-ray to make sure it's looking good. Eventually I go back because I figure I have to pay some time, and since it's going to be expensive even after insurance, I better face the music.

But... no. The receptionist says 'no charge.' I am Gaijin and do not understand. She brings out Inaka Dentist. 'In the name of international exchange,' he says, 'no charge'. I find this really hard to believe so I don't leave. Inaka Dentist then says 'ippai naita yaro? itami kirai? kekkou nakimushi yanka? maa, amari itakatta kara, konkai wa no charge desu'. (you cried a lot, huh? Do you hate pain? you're kind of a crybaby, huh? well since it hurt so much, no charge this time)

If you would like a free cleaning, two white fillings, a root canal and several dental appointments all for free, I recommend the following. a) go to an Inaka Dentist, preferably an elderly one. b) be a gaijin girl with big eyes and long hair c) cry.

Or alternatively, bring toothpaste from home, floss, use mouthwash, and brush your goddamn teeth like crazy (three times a day. brush them at work. Japanese people do and now you are starting to understand why.) Never eat candy again. Avoid the Japanese dentist like the plague. Don't let people fool you into thinking that getting a drilling without anesthetic is normal, or that you're a crybaby if it hurts. But basically yes, go to the dentist at home before coming to Japan. Go to the dentist at home when you visit. Do not go to the dentist in Japan. Ever seen a Japanese person with fucked up teeth? Yes, we all have. But there is a reason.

外人さんすげー！日本語なかなか分かるじゃん！

2010-11-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

I went out last night with some people from work I didn't know. It was fun, and I had a good time. They're nice people. But I'd like to just write a little about what you might call the 'inaka mentality' towards non-japanese people (ie, that they cannot speak Japanese.)

I spent most of the way there on the train chatting to them in only Japanese. (none of them speak English, I don't speak English day-to day anymore, my job, everything, I do in Japanese.) They asked how long I studied, I said four years at college, I mentioned I have a degree in Japanese, that I studied for a year in Tokyo, and that my job here involves translation and interpretation.

As soon as we reach the restaurant and sit down, they ask the mama-san for an English menu for me. There is a huge fluster and general to-do as she locates their ancient yellowed greasy mispelled English menu, which contains less than half the content of the Japanese one, and proffers it like the holy grail.

Since I am a tame Gaijin and I try not to upset the wa too much or offend people, I tried to be polite. I took it and pretend to read it. It seemed to make them happy.

But what part of 'I can speak Japanese' doesn't transmit?

The thing is, you can't even get mad because they truly, somehow, on some level of thinking, thought they were being kind and considerate to me by getting me an English menu, since I couldn't possibly read the Japanese one. Japanese people are nothing if not kind. But it still sucked.

Thriftyness

2010-11-01T03:26:00.000-07:00

Living in Japan is expensive. And, since I want to save some money for the future/potentially buy a Louis Vuitton bag, I'm always trying to save money.

The following are tips I've picked up from various places/magazines.

Set up a direct savings transfer so that some of your money goes monthly into a separate savings account. You don't even have to think about it, and you'll never miss it. If you're prone to impulsive spending you might want to hide your bank card for that account, though. I actually got one of these set up, and it worked for the first month, but then they said they couldn't do it anymore because on my main account, my middle name is spelled メーリー and on the savings account it's spelled メアリー. Japanese bureaucracy at its most stubborn and annoying. I have to go down to the bank I have my savings account with and spend a while trying to get them to change it. Here's a hint- don't let people mess with the katakana for your name because they think a certain way 'sounds better'. stick to your katakana guns people. it's only katakana- there can be no right answer. But I digress.

Secondly- recycle shops, and Book Off! you'll never have to pay full price for things again. Especially good for books, games, furniture and appliances (I'm not so keen on secondhand clothes.)

100 yen stores
Full of useful, cheap, useful, cheap, cool stuff that's also useful and cheap. Just don't go crazy and overbuy things you don't really need. Good for stationery, small household items like toothbrush mugs, glasses and plates, bento boxes, etc.

100 yen grocery stores
use the google map and look up 100 yen grocery stores, like 100 lawson, in your area. You need to be careful though- since everything's 105 yen, you might end up paying 105 yen for a carton of tofu you could get at your local supermarket for 80 yen. surprisingly good for meat and vegetables, as well as various essential sauces.

Using point cards and coupons
Get a T-point card and you can use it at Tsutaya when you rent movies, and when you buy things at Family Mart. Pick up coupons from the supermarket- I got 5% off my groceries today using a coupon I picked up last time I went shopping.

Time your shopping
After 5 or 6pm, supermarkets start pricing down items that are going to expire soon. If you shop after work and keep your eyes peeled for 半価 (half price) stickers.

Make your own bento to take to work
Eating out at lunch costs money. Getting food from the conbini costs money and is generally bad for you. Bringing your own bento saves you money, and you can use up leftovers this way, too.

Quit using vending machines
Vending machines at 140 yen per drink x 2 drinks a day really adds up. try bringing your own flask or bottle from home. If you buy a box of mugicha (barley tea) teabags and stick them in the fridge in a jug of water, you get a delicious tea at a fraction of the cost of those big 250 yen bottles of Ooi Ocha you can buy at the store.

If you use a kotatsu, make sure you use it over a carpet and not the bare floor, or you'll just wind up heating the ceiling of the person below you. A tip I read about is to put newspaper underneath the carpet to keep even more heat in.

If I think of or find any more, I'll stick them up.

Around the House

2010-11-01T03:16:00.000-07:00

So people say that it is a mixed bag. Some people get awesome 4 bedroom houses with zero rent. Some people live in glorified dorm rooms.

Here is my little kotatsu which I am always sitting at now it's gotten cold.

Here's my little cold-water washing machine on the balcony. (Japan ruins clothes.)

And here is the glorious view from my window!

My boom: Recycle Shops

2010-11-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

The town I'm living in just so happens to have a pretty sweet recycle shop. Unlike their UK counterparts, Japanese recycle shops are run for profit and are seen as a way to reduce landfill waste. You can get pretty good furniture and household appliances nearly new there and incredibly cheap. The larger ones even sell brand name goods in various states of use.

I was given an old Playstation by a fellow JET friend who found it in her house. It's legitimately old (1998?) but still works fine. I picked up a stack of games from the recycle shop for 105 yen a piece. It's pretty fun getting to rediscover old games with Japanese dialogue.

In my collection so far;

Dino Crisis (resident evil. with dinosaurs.)
Biohazard 1, 2 and LastEscape (aka resident evil 1, 2 and 3)
Driver (keep crashing into things)
Parasite EVE (rpg with mutants.)
Um Jammer Lammy (like PaRappa the Rapper, but with guitars. Not as fun as guitar hero.)
Spyro the Dragon (awful Japanese version... looks like crap.)
Final Fantasy 8 (aka the best Final Fantasy ever...)
Tomb Raider 2 (Lara sounds weird in Japanese.)

I'm desperately seeking the following;
Crash Bandicoot, 1 and 2
Parasite Eve 2
Silent Hill
Dino Crisis 2

Other good places to check out are secondhand game shops and Book Off, where I found my Resident Evils.

Pretty soon I'll be 'upgrading' to a Playstation 2! (around 2000 yen at my local recycle store...) then I'll be able to watch DVDs!

If you want a sweet entertainment system for less than 50 dollars, check out your local recycle shop...

gaijin hunting

2010-10-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

To recap,

saturday morning- ran the 英語で遊ぼう booth at the children's festival with 4 of the english teachers here. We did the hokey pokey with the kids, and I read ちびゴリラのちびちび. It was really, really fun, and interacting with the kids is one of my favourite parts of this job. Unfortunately, in my contract there is this neat little clause (a など） which basically means my contracting organisation can have me do anything they want. Which is why we spent the majority of the time constructing the tent/gazebo, hauling hugely heavy mats/amplifiers/cd players around, etc, etc, all in the unseasonably hot weather. Also, when my friend got whacked in the head by a falling pole, my supervisors simply stood there sucking their teeth and telling her she'd better find some ice from somewhere. Um... thanks for the help.

Later on I was on my way to the station to meet friends in Sanjo, when I was stopped by two policemen. They asked me my name, address, where I was going, what I was doing, what airport did I enter Japan from, and did I have my gaijin card? (luckily, yes... I ALWAYS have my gaijin card and so should you.) They started off talking to me in English, but I kind of realised これがやばいよ so I switched to Japanese, mentioned I work at City Hall, and oh yes, I went to Waseda University, and then they did a 180 and started being all smiley and friendly- asking me if I have a boyfriend, do I have anyone I like, and how about going to a bar with them in Sanjo sometime?

It was pretty funny, but it still kind of upset me that in Japan you can be stopped by the police for no other reason than being a gaijin. If I hadn't had my gaijin card on me... When they finally let me escape, they said 同じ公務員で頑張りましょうね！ heh.

This weekend has involved shopping for my halloween costume (akihabara maid outfit) a yakiniku tabehodai with friends, and a super-intense cleanup of my apartment. I've also just ordered some books from amazon.co.jp. They let you pay cash on delivery, but I am never home, so I went for payment by conbini slip instead.

Long time no blog

2010-10-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

I'm now settled in to my new home in Japan but have been much too busy to update this blog...

I have been focusing instead on my Japanese-language blog (unfortunately only accessible if you have a Japanese cellphone email). Working 9-5 5 days a week entirely in Japanese is making me realise that my kanji and more technical vocab knowledge isn't as good as it should be. Also, right now I have a lot of free time at work so I've decided to dedicate this to studying Japanese.

I'm planning to take the JLPT N-2 next July. If that goes well, I'll go for the N-1, the highest level. The reason I'm not going for N-1 straight away is because my kanji is really weak, and I need to build up with studying the lower levels. the JLPT works on a cumulative scale like this.

There's also a speech contest in November I'm thinking of entering (althought I usually hate public speaking...) I think it would be good experience.

I'm already thinking about work post-this and if I want to work for a Japanese company, JLPT N-1 is going to be essential. If I can add other things to my cv as well, so much the better.

I've just gotten back from a weekend seeing friends in Tokyo! there was yakitori, izakayas, purikura, harajuku shopping, crepe eating, karaoke-ing and lots of drinking. I also got to see my friend's band practice. It was refreshing to hang out with Japanese friends again. Where I live is pretty inaka (rural) and sadly the only Japanese people who will talk to foreigners want to talk to us because we're foreigners. It's hard to get to know someone in that situation. I can't help feeling disappointed when they come out with 'can you use chopsticks?' 'do you have four seasons in America?' why is it that only with my Tokyo friends can I have a proper conversation, in Japanese, about normal things? Oh well.

時間が遅い！

2010-07-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Just bought a new suitcase for hauling my stuff to Japan, since the old one was looking a little battered.

I am soooo excited there is only a week left to go! Finished my summer job yesterday so I'll be going with a little money in my pocket which is reassuring. I'm looking forward to meeting my predecessor and the people in my office! (yes, I do also think about work and not just how great it's going to be living in Japan...)

I hope this week goes quickly... I want to be back already!

Also, I'm very excited because some good friends in Tokyo have organised a joint nomikai for me and 2 other friends from Waseda also returning under the same programme... I'll get to see my old friends again and I can't wait!

leaving on a jet plane!

2010-07-07T09:42:00.001-07:00

イエス！ I'll be flying to Tokyo on a Japanese airline for the first time ever!

The service is gonna be ~awesome~

and the food too, maybe?

I'm so excited!!!

Also, I've never flown direct LON-NRT and I've never flown in the evening before (maybe this means I can sleep this time?)

return trips via KLM/scandinavian airlines with european changeovers and 4am starts... those days are over! 万歳！

オリエン

2010-07-02T13:01:00.001-07:00

Back from the 2 day pre-japan orientation.

They gave us lots of information...

And I got to meet lots and lots of new people!

It was soooooooo hot, I totally sweated through all the lectures...

I also got to meet the other people doing my same job... There's only three others, besides me... In the whole of the country...

We had separate language classes, and we were drilled on keigo and nuances...

The first day we had five hours of solid Japanese class...

After classes and everything was over, I went to get Subway with some people, then to the bar at the university. And then... I crashed and slept like a log. (I was up from 4.30am...)

It really hit me that I'm actually going back to Japan in less than a month! There's 4 flights, and only two of them are Japanese airlines. Having never flown on a Japanese airline, I'm REALLY hoping I'll get to go on one of those two... (but knowing my luck, it's gonna be BA :P)

bloggy blog

2010-06-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

I recently got a new camera! YAY!

and I also started a flickr account- http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksalamander/　どーぞご覧になってね☆

Working hard at my summer job and soon... JAPAN!

But first...

Pre-japan orientation

Graduation

Dying my hair brown

Packing

I really want to eat takoyaki....

風邪引いた

2010-06-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Caught a bad cold... the worst one since I don't know when...

And unfortunately I have to work the next 7 days without a break while this ill...

I tried tamagozake, garlic rice porridge (bleh) tea with honey and lemon... nothing works.

I've been wearing a Japanese face mask at home, using hand sanitizer lots and coughing into my sleeve, not hands, like you're supposed to, to avoid spreading germs.

Does such a considerate person deserve to catch such a bad cold in the first place?

Ahh... :'(

京都の一人暮らしはワンルームで〜

2010-06-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Got some pictures of my new apartment, courtesy of my predecessor!

It's a one-room apartment, and small (the bathroom is... tiny)

but I have nice shiny wooden (probably linoleum) floors, a kitchen table of sorts (more like a breakfast island), a small kitchen, balcony, etc etc. I've arranged to buy a few things cheap from my pred like kotatsu (want!) a fan, futons etc.

I've been thinking I might buy a bed though, because while I like sleeping on tatami, I don't like the idea of sleeping on a linoleum floor very much. Since space is an issue though I might buy a day bed/sofa bed and use it as a sofa most of the time.

Overall, it looks clean and airy, and I'm just so excited to finally have a space of my own after all these years of communal living. A fridge with only my food in it! dirty plates to wash up that only I have dirtied! My own bathroom to spend hours in the bath/shower in! Heaven!

Placement details

2010-06-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Got an email from my predecessor, giving me lots of helpful info. Am really excited about going now. Have been told that this place requested a British girl.

Have a summer job lined up, which will help me scrape together some money to survive on when I first get there. Also am a little flummoxed by the whole packing situation. Airline restrictions for the UK mean we can only have one suitcase and one carry on, which means I have to fit several days' worth of clothes, laptop, essentials, etc, in my carry on as my suitcase will be sent ahead. :/

In other news, taking my mum to see Gackt in London in July because she loves him (I'm not really a fan).

Got my placement

2010-05-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

Got my placement and handbook in the mail today!

And I'm going to be living in... Kansai! (sorry, no specifics. see if you can guess.)

It wasn't my first choice (or second, or even third) but it looks like a pretty nice placement. I'm sad that I won't get to see my friends in and around Tokyo very much, but I can always get the Shinkansen there to see people every now and again.

Time to brush up on 関西弁, perhaps!

月の恋人

2010-05-18T05:22:00.000-07:00

I used to watch Japanese dramas a lot before I went to Japan (and learned a lot of Japanese from them, too) but I haven't found anything I want to watch recently (the last one I watched and enjoyed was Buzzer Beat). I decided to watch 'Tsuki no Koibito' because it has a lot of actors I like in it (Kimura Takuya, Kitagawa Keiko, Shinohara Ryoko, Matsuda Shota). For a Monday-9 drama there's obviously been a lot of hype and money surrounding it. But I'm not sure how I felt about the first episode. Keiko didn't have enough to do, nor did Matsuda Shota. Kimura's character is kind of a jerk, but I did like the feisty character of Xiu Mei. It's one of those wordy dramas, so I think I missed a lot the first time around, but I've gotten hold of some Japanese subtitles so I will watch it again with those. One thing I'm kind of excited about is having a television in Japan so I can watch stuff like this, and smapxsmap and hey3, etc.

また待ってる時間

2010-05-18T04:37:00.000-07:00

Some of my American friends who also got accepted to this program have found out their placements already. Unfortunately, us UK folk have to be patient and wait for a letter 'in mid-May."

I'm actually kind of concerned about where I end up. Worst case scenario would probably be Hokkaido, because I've heard it's so cold there and after spending the past year living in the north of England without central heating (too expensive for my housemates :P) I just can't take the thought of being really cold any more.

Best case scenario is anywhere in the Kanto region within 1-2 hours train away from Tokyo. My friends are in Tokyo, I lived in Tokyo, I love Tokyo. Best-best case scenario would be Kawasaki (or anywhere in Kanagawa) since that was my first choice. Chiba would be excellent too as that's where my best friend, Erin, lives.

Knowing my luck I'll probably be on Kyushu or Shikoku and getting to Tokyo will become a major operation. A big city is what I'm after.

I'm expecting another week or two to wait. Hopefully it won't be as bad as when the Royal Mail lost my acceptance letter (and I couldn't get home to get the letter sent to my permanent address, as there was no one home) So I ended up waiting 6 days longer than most other people in the UK to find out (I emailed them in the end and they sent me a replacement letter). that was a pretty bad.

就職決めた

2010-04-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy to say that I will be returning to Japan in three months' time to live and work :)

Dreams can come true, but only if you work hard.

I can't wait to see all my friends again.

面接受けたあああ☆

2010-02-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to London, to take the interview.

Even though I've been really ill with a chest infection, I still made it!

I was worried that I might space out during the interview, because I can't breathe very well, and I could only eat dry toast for a week beforehand, so I was feeling REALLY weak...

BUT it was ok! I think I did as well as I could possibly have done, and now I just need to relax and wait for the results in April. (So long!)

I was interviewed by two Japanese men and a British woman. I wasn't asked anything difficult, and they were smiley and friendly throughout. Since I interviewed for the non-english-teacher position, the whole thing was in Japanese. The reading comprehension part was tricky, obviously I couldn't read all of the kanji out loud, so I skipped the ones I didn't know and just did the best I could.

Being back at the Japan Embassy reminded me of the last time I went there, to get my visa for studying abroad at Waseda.

well, wish me luck~☆

キター！！！！

2010-02-05T05:42:00.001-08:00

So a letter came for me the other day, informing me that I have an interview!!

The interview will be in Japanese (0__0')

And I also get to go to ロンドン for a day...

I'm nervous but I gotta do my best!

頑張る〜☆

思い出3 Farewell Party

2010-02-02T03:03:00.001-08:00

Another great memory- the party the study abroad people threw for the Japanese members of our circle. There were one or two performances, and I was actually in one! We performed a dance routine Erin choreographed. It was really fun, as part of the routine we pulled one of the guys (Micchi) out of the audience. Rehearsing for the dance with the girls was fun, and we pulled it off without a hitch! (I have never been on stage in public before- I'm seriously shy) Just goes to show how Japan can change you.

思い出 2 Farewell trip

2010-02-02T02:42:00.000-08:00

I also went on a Farewell trip with my circle. We got a series of trains (the last one was a trolley) to the inaka (countryside) I think it was Chiba or Saitama (my memory fails). We played games, ate yakiniku, watched performances put on by several members of the group, went in the open air onsen together, (er... girls and boys separately by the way!) had an all-night drinking party until 6am, one hour of sleep on the tatami mats then back on the train to sleep all the way back to Tokyo... I made some great memories with some really lovely people- I miss them all.

No pictures of the onsen, obviously, but it was in a little rock garden, so nice to sit in the hot water and look up at the stars!

At Takadanobaba rotary before leaving...

Playing games

Yakiniku dinner

Drinking party

思い出 1 hanami, matsuri and yukata

2010-02-02T02:25:00.000-08:00

Whilst I'm waiting to hear from japan, I've decided to make a few retroactive updates- I got really lax with keeping up this blog at the end (too much fun to cram into too short a time) so I've decided to make up for that now with a few posts.

One of the best memories I have of those crazy last few weeks is going to summer festivals with my friends, wearing yukata! we also went to the beach at Odaiba and had a great time eating lots of yummy food looking at the lights across the bay.

The gang on the driverless monorail train to Odaiba

Take devours a watermelon

Me, Erin and Katie

I love the heat of summertime in Japan. It's the only place I've visited where it's just as hot in the middle of the night as in the middle of the day. The heat seems to cling to the earth. I absolutely love it, although most people I know can't take the humidity.

People dancing at a summer festival I went to with my parents and some family friends

Catching goldfish

Festival at Yasukuni shrine

Takoyaki stall

Katie and the guys

Yukata!

これからだよ

2009-11-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

I've sent my application to the embassy in London, and I received a card today saying they'd got it. I guess all I can do now is wait... (and study Japanese for the written test and interview... assuming I get an interview!) eee

Back again...

2009-10-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to update this blog again... to say... I'm currently mired in the application process for working in japan. I'm applying for a mostly japanese speaking position. The UK application is still not open, but luckily I have pretty much all the materials I need for it. I'm really excited about this and I hope I get in. Of course I want to return to Japan, but I also want to work.

In other news, I've started learning Korean and am enjoying it a lot, especially its many grammatical similarities to Japanese which makes things easier.

I'm still missing Japan and I'm still in reverse-culture shock. I wish I had kept this blog updated properly, but I've got stacks of photos and a box of various mementoes from Japan, so I won't forget anything.

I'll update again when/if there are any developments.

goodbye japan

2009-08-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

This will probably be the last entry to this blog-

I'm back home in the UK and not liking it very much. Feels like black and white after technicolour Tokyo. I miss my friends and my happy Tokyo life. All I can think about is getting back. The lifeplan remains unchanged. One year to study, one year to try and get back.

thank god or karma or whoever for an amazing ten months.

on a less positive note

2009-07-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

I've had a wonderful time this year, but I feel like there have also been a lot of really tough aspects of living in Japan, at least for me.

Japanese class. I was placed in level 5 and progressed to level 6 last semester. It's been really, really difficult and not much fun. There are times when I don't know what's going on, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I feel like the teacher is unsympathetic, like I'm the class retard, etc. Ok, so it's supposed to be good that I got into such a high level (mid to higher advanced) after a paltry two years of learning Japanese. But I would rather have gone into a lower level and had fun. Japanese at Sheffield is a breakneck-pace, hardcore study experience, and I didn't want to spend my year abroad struggling to keep up. A break would have been nice after two years of extremely intensive classes. At least my japanese teachers at Sheffield are sympathetic and encouraging. Here I constantly feel like "well, you got placed in this level, so you should be able to do this without complaining", so I don't complain. (except on this blog, heh)

I'm also disappointed that the lower levels get to do fun things like go to the Ghibli museum and try on yukata during class. We never do anything fun. we just have kanji tests and we have to read newspapers and we have to do a bajillion presentations and projects on complicated topics. This year has kinda sucked the fun out of studying Japanese.

ok, so enough whining about that. one MAJOR gripe I have is the behaviour of certain men in clubs. I've had creepy guys come up while I'm having a conversation with someone and just grab me. which is really really not cool. Or they say they want to practice English with me and then come out with something perverted in English!!

another thing that really blows my mind is when i or one of my foreign friends happens to be sitting or standing near a japanese person who thinks it's a huge amusing joke to strike a pose next to them and get their friend to take a picture. I now know how an animal in the zoo feels!

being a foreigner in Japan inevitably means that you'll be treated like a) a pet b) a child or c) an idiot, some of the time.

As I may have already said a million times, I've had a beautiful year here, but the reality is that it's a strange and bewildering experience living in Japan sometimes. It does have its perks, I'm not denying that, but I'm going to enjoy going home and being normal again for a while.

Izakaya people

2009-06-25T01:47:00.000-07:00

Recent 100 yen beer consumption in Shinjuku Kabukicho...

How many people can you fit in a purikura booth?

2009-06-07T03:19:00.000-07:00

Here's 12.

disturbingly domesticated

2009-06-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

So I tried my hand at making a bento the other day. You can get a ton of bento boxes, containers, etc from any 100 yen store. I know you're supposed to have a certain ratio of vegetables to carbs and protein, but I just made mine how I felt like it. (I made two, for the Sokeisen.)

What you see here is egg, chikuwa (fish sausage) wieners, tuna mayo onigiri (rice ball), inari-zushi, kiwi and cherries, renkon, konnyaku, fried chicken, cherry tomato, cheese, and the containers hold soy sauce and mayonnaise.

Today, I also made fried rice. It's really easy and quick to make. you fry onions and garlic, add ham and mixed vegetables, then cooked rice, soy sauce and an egg and just mix it all together.

I've been burning through money lately so I'm trying to save money by cooking stuff myself and having leftovers. There's a 100 yen Lawson nearby, and I managed to buy three meals worth of ingredients for 1100 yen...

1 pack rice 100 yen

ham 200 yen

mixed vegetables 100 yen

2 onions 100 yen

garlic 100 yen

2 carrots 100 yen

1 bag potatoes 100 yen

1 sweet potato 100 yen

curry roux 100 yen

cream stew mix 100 yen

= fried rice, curry and cream stew.

Life Plans

2009-06-06T00:48:00.000-07:00

So there's less than two months left here. I've had without a doubt, the absolute best year of my life. I've made so many friends, had so much fun, made so many wonderful memories, and I've been largely completely content and happy every single day. I'm really sad to be leaving, but on the other hand I do feel homesick for England and I can't wait to see my friends there again.

One thing I have realised from the year abroad is that I definitely do want to return and work in Japan. So far my rather sketchy plans are as follows- return to Sheffield and graduate, then apply to work as in Japan. My friend Erin is also planning to return so we might live together. I think that by and large most of the people I know here as foreign exchange students have some plans to come back. Japan is a really clean, safe, comfortable place to live, and one year just isn't enough.

It's really hard to believe I've been here for almost 9 months without going home once. England seems so far away from me now. I'll be going home on the 22nd of July.

お誕生日おめでとう、Anson and Takumi

2009-06-06T00:43:00.000-07:00

Anson's birthday dinner. Held at a favourite bar of ours near Waseda. The food was soooooo good- chicken, pasta and chocolate banana crepes. Phil and Hessu sang a song they wrote about Anson.

The following evening there was a joint nomikai for Anson and Takumi's birthdays. All-you-can-drink IS a challenge.

All-you-can-eat is not a challenge

2009-06-06T00:39:00.001-07:00

We went to a tabehodai in Shibuya with Momoko and some of the Japanese girls. You get 90 minutes to eat as much as you want, buffet-style. Last time we went to Sweets Paradise. This was pretty similar, except they had much less choice (two pasta dishes and hayashi rice, salad, and desserts). Also the staff were really slow at bringing more when the food ran out, so we spent some time just waiting around between plates. (which is annoying with a time limit). The desserts were pretty good, especially the warabi mochi.

Fairly bad hayashi rice/pasta combo plate

Erin demonstrating the after-effects of overeating- food baby

早慶戦

2009-06-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Spring Sokeisen (big baseball game between Waseda and its rival Keio)

We don't have baseball in England (there's a game called rounders that schoolgirls play that is roughly the same concept) so I don't really understand all the rules of the game, but it's really fun to watch. Unfortunately it started raining really heavily in the fifth inning and we ended up leaving because we were soaked. Apparently they resumed play shortly after that (grr) and Waseda won! When I went to the Autumn Sokeisen, Waseda lost the game that I watched, so I really wanted to see them win once. I hate rain.

Note the umbrellas.

Mini-nomikai in Shinjuku Kabuki-cho

2009-05-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Had a small drinking party at a great, cheap izakaya in Kabuki-cho (100 yen beer) we also had some good gyoza and yakisoba. We all got VERY drunk (did I mention the 100 yen beer) and generally had a fun and crazy time. As can be seen from these pictures.

Take and Micchi are two of the nicest boys I've met in Japan.

Celebrating the death of the Year Abroad Project

2009-05-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Us Sheffield peeps had to write a 6000 word essay dubbed the Year Abroad Project, during our time in Japan. The deadline recently passed so to celebrate it being over, we had a small drinking party in Ikebukuro. The project was a huge pain in the ass. I found it especially annoying that we had to do work for Sheffield whilst still attending our classes in Japan, and I found it even more annoying that our year is the LAST year to have to do it. rip Year Abroad Project.

Everyone drinking to relieve the accumulated stress!

Disgusting garlic drink... why, Japan?

Turkish food and Host Clubs

2009-05-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

I went out with my friend Lexy the other night. We had some yummy Turkish food in Takadanobaba then we went to a host club. I've been several times, but it's not really something I'm into (Lexy is a host club connoisseur). I guess it's fun having drinks poured for you and being fussed over by extremely well-groomed men, but I don't really find them attractive and sometimes they are WAY too flirty. It's the kind of thing i think is fun for a girls night out but not something I like to do too often.

Host clubs operate by trying to get you to go back, but the first time is generally only 1000 or 2000 yen for a 2 hour nomihodai. At the end you pick your favourite guy of the evening and if you go back, they get a cut of whatever you pay. The price generally increases the more times you return, so the hosts do everything they can to make women fall for them and agree to patronise their host club exclusively. We always make sure we go to a different one every time.

Hosts also try to get women to go on dates with them, which the women pay for. One time we went to all-night karaoke with the hosts after the club, but since we were gaijin and they found us a novelty, they actually paid for us.

Lovely Lexy

TGI Friday's in Shibuya

2009-05-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

Erin's birthday dinner- fun was had by all.

彼とプリ

2009-04-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

Purikura with my boyfriend:)

Hanami

2009-04-20T21:26:00.001-07:00

Consecutive updates... need to stop being so lazy... I have a huge backlog of things to post about.

This year, I finally got to do hana-mi (cherry blossom viewing party). Several times!

We even ordered the ubiquitous pizza right to our spot! It was really fun to hang out with people all day until well after dark, eating and drinking and enjoying the cherry blossoms and eating and talking and eating.

ママとの遊び

2009-04-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

My mother recently came to Japan for a vacation. She came with my aunt, and it seems like she had a great time visiting temples, shopping, and trying out new Japanese food. My mother loves Japan and has visited it more times than I have, but this was a first for my aunt. I took them to eat sukiyaki which was a first for both of them, and took them to Asakusa, Shibuya, Odaiba and Tokyo Tower. Mama said she was surprised at my knowledge of the Tokyo Subway system, but it's actually really simple... don't you think? 笑 I was happy to get the chance to show them some of my favourite places. My mother is learning Japanese, so I let her speak for herself as much as she wanted to. She did rely on me for some of the more technical aspects such as buying tickets. I even got them to take purikura with me... the result is a slightly bemused image, but...

Not having seen my mother since September, I was really happy to see her again. ママが感動しすぎて泣いてしまったからちょっと恥ずかしかった　（笑）泣かないでよ、母さん！

The purikura is still on my phone, so I might add it later :P

Teaching English

2009-04-20T21:06:00.001-07:00

For the past two weeks I've been teaching English at various locations in Tokyo, such as Shibuya, Aoyama, Ochanomizu, etc. I signed up with a website that pairs up native English speakers with Japanese people looking for conversation partners.

I've only done four lessons so far, and in those four lessons I've managed to earn 12,000 yen...

3000 yen a lesson... it seems a huge amount of money for simply chatting in English for an hour. Some of my students insist on paying my travel fare and buying me tea or coffee too.

My students are exclusively men (why?) and since I signed up I've had more requests than I have time to deal with... Apparently I'm in demand because I'm British, and many Japanese people admire the British accent and find it easier to understand than many American accents.

No longer being poor is a strange experience, but I like having enough money to buy clothes and attend nomikais after a long time.

I'm getting tired out with school and work, and I recently had a cold, so I'm not feeling too genki lately, but that can't be helped. I have four more lessons booked this week, so I don't need to worry about money for a while, it seems.

Gaijin drunk on the subway???

2009-03-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

Oh no... it's me!

This was a few months ago, Lisa's birthday party... after drinking games and vodka... I'm usually such a well-behaved, courteous gaijin...

8.30am in Tokyo

2009-03-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a picture of the haircut I got in Korea. They curled it for me as well, but I have not yet been able to recreate it myself.

In other news, I have made the choice to no longer see Koichi due to various reasons... why do I seem to always bring bad things upon myself? Anyway, I'm moving on.

Registration for classes has begun... I have two 3 hour blocks of level 6 Japanese from 9am. Gah, I'm really worried about this. I had enough trouble with level 5. In some ways I wish I hadn't passed and didn't have to move up to level 6, but what would I have done otherwise? Repeat level 5?

As for SILS options I've gone for a lit class and a class comparing Eastern and Western art, we get to go to a couple of museums for class credit which will be pretty fun!

I want to take introductory Korean but I'm not sure if I'll be able to or not... Hmm.

Korea

2009-03-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

I recently went on a trip to Korea with some friends :)

It was really fun, one of the nicest vacations I have ever had. Apart from some epic turbulence on the flight over, but I survived. Korea is... quite like Japan but also very different. It's kind of high-tech and also kind of run-down in parts. Korean people are lovely. A lot of them can speak Japanese (kind of weird to be in Korea speaking Japanese to store owners etc...) We saw some interesting things, had a lot of fun drinking with friends over there, ate a LOT of yummy spicy Korean food like kimchi, galbi, bulgogi, etc. We did some shopping (the won/yen exchange rate was very much in our favour) got haircuts, did some sightseeing, etc etc! Got yelled at by an old Korean man on the subway... definitely an adventure.

Here are some pictures. The rest are at www.flickr.com/photos/evieinkorea

I'm getting really bored of photobucket and the stupid way it resizes everything a different size.

Thanks to JiHae, JaeWoo and Moongle for taking us out for delicious food, all-night drinking, and for translating!! You all made it really fun :)

プリクラ roundup

2009-02-22T23:47:00.000-08:00

recently taken purikura :)

need to take more!!!

Sheffield Style Shenanigans

2009-02-22T23:30:00.000-08:00

Ok so in the last few weeks I've been hanging out with some lovely fellow study abroad students from Sheffield. There was a lot of drinking, eating, drunken bowling, karaoke-ing, wearing silly costumes and clubbing. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Good times, crazy days.

花より男子？

2009-02-22T23:22:00.000-08:00

I just got back from lunch with my friend Erin. We had ramen at Ippudou. The last few times we went, they gave us free lollipops, this time they gave us free lollipops and fruit.

This weekend I am setting up a gokon! Koichi is going to bring two friends, and I'm bringing Katie and Erin and we're going to drink at Baba. The reason being that his friends want to meet gaijin girls, and Katie and Erin are cool with meeting new Japanese boys. So hopefully it will be good... None of my friends have met Koichi yet so I hope they like him... haha.

Speaking of which, here's some pictures of him hanging up laundry while I was hanging out at his place.

No money no life

2009-02-21T02:29:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the pound going to shit, I have no money to do pretty much anything. Also, since we're on the long break right now, I have no classes to go to and no incentive to wake up, so my sleeping pattern is more or less this right now; sleep at 5am, wake up at 5pm. Recent all-night clubbing has exacerbated this problem.

I'm trying to sort my sleeping schedule out in time for my trip to Korea next month. I'll be going with some of my friends here and I can't wait! I haven't really done much travelling/sightseeing in Japan, mostly because of the money issue but also because on my three prior holidays to Japan I saw enough shrines/temples/deer/monkeys/geisha/traditional Japanese stuff to tide me over for quite a long time. I really don't want to pay money to go look at things I've already seen.

I'm trying to remember what I've been up to since I last posted. I acquired a sort-of Japanese boyfriend called Koichi. He doesn't speak English, but it hasn't been much of a problem. I'm not too serious about it though. I only have like 5 months left here after all. Plus he works all the time so I only see him about once every two weeks.

Also I've been losing weight due to various 誰にも言えない秘密 and money troubles. Counting out ten yens to pay for a sandwich at Family Mart is hugely mendokusai.

Looking at my schedule book for the past two months, I've been doing a lot of drinking and clubbing with Sheffield friends, sukiyaki with Katie and Erin, a Snakes on a Plane Drinking Party which escalated into drunken chaos, dates with Koichi, nomikais, etc etc... nothing that fascinating to be honest.

I did acquire a sort of stalker who followed me around Atom, tried to get me to go home with him, then followed me as far as Takadanobaba before I gave him the slip. Unfortunately in a moment of drunken stupidity I gave him my phone number which enabled him to send me five text messages and call me 27 times in just under three days, until Erin answered my phone and told him to piss off in Japanese (I'm too nice/weak to be mean to anyone...)

So that's my catch-up post. More later maybe.

Manju?

2009-02-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

i love manju (sweet bean paste buns)

this one has an ugly little face...

but he was truly delicious inside...

Latest impulse buy- from ドンキホーテ

2009-01-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

Disney's Marie towel!

I'm actually using it as a rug for now!

可愛い〜☆

New Year Sales

2009-01-03T21:41:00.000-08:00

So today I finally managed to wake up before sunset :P

I went to Shibuya :)

I found a really nice warm scarf at Cecil McBee for only 2000 yen!!!

Plus some other stuff.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

明けましておめでとうございます！

I spent a really great New Year's with some of my best friends here. We started off with toshikoshi soba cooked by my friend Audrey, then we went to the huge new year countdown at the shrine near Tokyo Tower, then we went to Kamakura to visit the shrine there and watch the sunrise at the beach, which was really beautiful. (but freezing!)

I don't think I'll ever forget this New Year!

New Year's Resolutions are to eat more healthily, study harder, have fun etc etc. And finally force myself to study kanji... :P

ケーキ

2009-01-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

I love the cakes you can get here in Japan.

Here are two of the most popular kinds- strawberry shortcake and mont blanc. mont blanc is also known as marron cake, and it's made with chestnuts.

Of the two, I prefer mont blanc!

Cha Tsutaya

2008-12-30T04:59:00.000-08:00

A bag I bought the other day at a really cute tea shop in Takadanobaba called Cha Tsutaya. They also sell bento boxes and all manner of cute stuff :)

Ebisu Party

2008-12-30T04:53:00.000-08:00

We went to an all-night party in Ebisu. It took us a while to get there because of being repeatedly nanpa'ed (hit on). Oh look, gaijin girls in pretty dresses!

The party was really fun :) There weren't really any other visibly foreign girls there which is good because it means attention (guys buying us a LOT of drinks, plus being invited up into the VIP section) but also bad because it meant weird guys pinching my cheeks and touching my hair and talking about my round eyes etc. :(

We went to Denny's after at around 7am with some guys who paid for us :)

This is the flyer and the free teddies we received as a promotional gift

Tsutaya

2008-12-28T01:11:00.000-08:00

Finally I got a Tsutaya card!

For those who might not know Tsutaya is a big dvd/cd rental chain. They have a huge range of dvds and they're pretty cheap to rent, too. Registering for the card was a bit of a problem since me and my friend Erin weren't sure how to ask for one... but we figured it out and rented Love Actually and Bridget Jones's Diary. Hmm what should I rent next?

bubble tea bubble tea

2008-12-26T10:40:00.001-08:00

It's nearly 4am! I'm going to a party tomorrow that doesn't start until midnight, so it's ok to sleep all day, right?

Well I survived my first Christmas away from home... had pizza with friends on Christmas Eve, then went to all-you-can-eat in Shinjuku with other friends. It was fun. Not the same, of course, but fun. I went to Saezeriya tonight for Misa's birthday dinner :) My Japanese conversation skills got rusty in just a few days of speaking only English... darn :(

I got a present from my friend Audrey. They're tapioca pearls!

I made my own bubble tea. It took about 30 minutes to boil the pearls until they were soft and chewy. Usually when you buy bubble tea you get a big straw as well to suck up the pearls with, but I had to use a spoon... it tasted exactly the same as the kind you can buy from bubble tea stands, but it was a pain to make. A delicious pain... I love bubble tea A LOT.

Oh by the way, I'm really into this cd by YUI that I bought recently, called "My Short Stories". Especially "Last Train", "Winter Hot Music" and "Skyline". They're really pretty songs. YUI is hard to sing at karaoke :P

暗い部屋

2008-12-20T05:20:00.000-08:00

I made gnocchi for dinner but it was somewhat of a failure, and now I'm still feeling hungry. Since I went to the trouble to make it, I resolved to eat every bite, but the taste was too much for me...

ah disappointing :(

in other news, I'm feeling frustrated with my surroundings. I try not to spend too much time in my dorm room because it's gloomy and affects my mood. The building I'm in is old and drafty, and my room shows the signs of years of use... the floor has strange markings, the furniture is old and ugly, the light gives everything a sickly yellow glow... I've decided to do something about it tomorrow and buy some things to make it nicer, such as a blanket for the bed and a new lamp, for example.

I did see a good store in Odaiba that has the kind of things I like, but Odaiba is quite far away and it seems too much of a hassle...

When I went to Odaiba last I went with a friend, and simply followed him without paying attention to the stations, so I'm not sure I remember how to get there at all... epic failure.

Maybe I can find some nice things around my area instead ~☆

books books books

2008-12-20T01:49:00.000-08:00

When I was last in Japan in march, I bought a book to read called "Teddy Bear" (named after the Ayumi Hamasaki song). It was the first book I read in Japanese and I was totally 夢中 (engrossed) in it for the whole of the two weeks I was here. Read it on the subway, on the shinkansen, etc etc. It was originally a keitai shosetsu, which is a novel you can read bit by bit (i guess a chapter a week) on your mobile phone if you sign up. Because of that the kanji and vocabulary is quite simple and I didn't even need a dictionary to read it. Also I really liked the story.

Now I'm back in Japan I found out they published a sequel which I've just started reading (the same story from the guy's perspective) and also made it into a movie which I bought in Shibuya today.

Another keitai shosetsu that's really famous is one called Koizora. They made it into a movie and a drama (which I've just finished watching) and I just started reading the book.

it's not exactly great literature, but it's fun to read and is slowly improving my reading skills. I could be pretentious and buy some Mishima Yukio and sit there with a dictionary looking up every single word I can't understand, but for now I'm contend to just read simple, fun japanese books like this.

I heard Mishima Yukio's written Japanese is beautiful, but I'm going to wait until I'm improved to attempt reading him in Japanese. (I'm currently reading Thirst for Love in English).

/end book talk!

中途半端

2008-12-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

I've neglected my own diary for well over a month, as well as this blog lately.

So what have I been doing?

Clubbing in Shibuya, host club (and karaoke with the hosty guys), eating lunch with my class paid for by the university (i had oyakodon, or parent-and-child, or chicken and egg over rice) which was pretty sweet :)

After a bout of insomnia that resulted in my missing a few classes and getting scolded, I've been trying to sleep more, and forcing myself to class even if I failed to sleep the night before. It's gradually getting better.

I bought a bicycle! it's just a mama-chari, or mum bike. It has a basket and handle and it's super cute. It cost me about 10,000 yen, brand new which isn't bad. I'm planning to take a picture of it at some point...

There's a big ryuugakusei nomikai on friday, and I'm going to a formal with my friend Erin after Xmas... there's a lot I have to look forward to.

"datte saki boku itta desho!!"- cute kid

2008-12-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

This morning I went with my class to a primary school （小学校）near Takadanobaba!

We introduced ourselves to a first year class of around 35 boys and girls, played games with them, and sang a song with them that they taught us called "Believe".

First of all they were incredibly cute. The boys were hyperactive and cheeky and the girls were sweet and shy. But they weren't scared of us foreigners and played and chatted with us :) I had to introduce a saying from my country and I couldn't think of anything at first, but I went with "it's raining cats and dogs". All the kids were so neat and cute, not like English kids who usually have snot and baked beans all over them. And they weren't bratty at all, just full of life. I really love children :)

Afterwards me and some people from my class went to the food court at Okuma Garden House for lunch. Got salad, miso soup and chips which was kind of a weird combo maybe but I couldn't decide on anything like gyuudon. Put mayo on the chips which reminded me of Sheffield :)

My chest hurts pretty bad and it's kind of hard to breathe. This is kind of worrying. :(

Secondhand Books in Tokyo

2008-12-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

Went to the secondhand English bookshop near Takadanobaba with Anson. We got Starbucks on the way :)

I picked up Mishima Yukio- Thirst for Love (i wrote a paper on him last term at Sheffield, got kind of interested in him and I wanted to read him again properly, hence this purchase.)

Also Howl's Moving Castle. I've only seen the Ghibli film but I've heard good things about the book, so I'm excited to read this.

Dracula- I love this book so much but forgot to bring a copy with me. I now own around 5 copies of this book...

Afterwards we met up with Andrew and went for dinner at this nice little italian place. Only had a salad because I was full up with leftover cream stew. Next time I want pasta :)

Cream Stew

2008-11-30T05:40:00.000-08:00

2nd time cooking for myself in Japan- I decided on a whim to make cream stew.

I went to the 100 yen Lawson's for all the ingredients. I made a chicken, potato, carrot and broccoli cream stew. The procedure is fairly much the same as making curry. You buy the cream stew mix in blocks and just stir it in once the vegetables are cooked. I also added some milk at the end.

It was really good! There's a restaurant nearby that makes delicious cream stew udon (cream stewdon) so I'm thinking next time I make cream stew I'll try adding udon.

The next time I make curry I think I might experiment with adding something like honey or apple to improve the flavour subtly.

Hmm, what should I cook next?

Come on Barbie Let's Go Party... in Shinjuku

2008-11-30T01:05:00.000-08:00

So last night I stayed out all night playing in Shinjuku. It was great fun. Izakaya, drinking game-bowling then karaoke. A bunch of guys Lisa knows invited us to karaoke. They were very sweet! It's fun hanging out with drunken Japanese guys!

I got quite drunk, not in a stupid way but in a silly, giggly way. Come to think of it that was probably the most drunk I've been yet in Japan. Still nowhere near the level of inebriation one can reach in Sheffield, but pretty drunk all the same. I don't really enjoy being overly drunk. Moderation!

Got home around 6am and crashed and now I have a severe 二日酔い (hangover!)

I've gotten over my little homesick/culture shock blip and am in love with Japan again. I also love just how many friends I've managed (somehow) to make here. I'm pretty much never bored. There's always someone to play with! Why should I be sad? :D

check out the bowling skillz!

Okonomiyaki party and curry rice

2008-11-24T21:48:00.001-08:00

Recently we had a cook your own Okonomiyaki party.

The okonomiyaki I made was cheese and pork. Not too good, but I should have brought my own ingredients.

Also, I made pork curry rice for myself the other day. I don't cook often, but it was really good :) Next I'm going to try to make cream stew.

Roppongi Hills

2008-11-24T21:32:00.001-08:00

The other night we went to Roppongi Hills to see the Christmas lights!

Aren't they beautiful?

There were a lot of couples around.

Last night I went to Harajuku for shopping! I finally found some shoes! I'm a size 6 uk (normal!!!) but here I'm an L... and most shops don't have L size. So I'm happy I found these!

I also bought a beautiful coat that's also really warm! The picture makes it look dark, but it's actually snow white.

Today I wore this coat and shoes, and 3 people said good morning to me on the street which was a nice change! Dress like an ojousama and see what happens :P

Retail Therapy is the best.

It's now 1 month until Xmas, and on Xmas eve in Japan you're supposed to go on a date. I doubt very much that I will find anyone to go on a date with me. I think maybe Japanese boys don't really go for foreign girls, and the other exchange students here pretty much only want to go out with japanese girls.

However I do have an agreement with a good male friend that if neither of us have a date we'll go to Tokyo Tower together :)

I want a bicycle

2008-11-22T02:04:00.000-08:00

I've been toying with the idea of buying a bicycle. Bicycles in Japan are really cheap, but I need to register it in my name and also reserve a space to park it behind my dorm. Hmm. Hmm. I'm definitely going to think about it. What would I do with it when I leave? sell it?

Today I went to the library and studied for a few hours. I actually really enjoy studying, but I can't do it in my room because I get distracted by the internet and so on. I also just really enjoy being in libraries, because they're quiet and nobody bothers you. I spent most of my last term at Sheffield in the library.

I wrote a few pages of grammar notes and read my book. I just finished re-reading Kafka on the Shore for class and now I've started The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

On feeling useless

2008-11-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

I had to do a group presentation in class today, when I didn't even know what we were supposed to be doing. Our group didn't really communicate. One member never comes to class, and the other just did her part herself. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to prepare, so I had to make stuff up on the spot. In Japanese. Try it sometime for a fun experience.

I'm getting really depressed lately over Japanese classes. I have Japanese class twice a week from 9am for 3 hours with a ten minute break. For one thing, that much Japanese in one go gives me a headache that lasts all day. English is forbidden in the class room, so if I don't understand what people are saying or the teacher's instructions, there's little I can do about it.

Everyone says to me, "It's amazing that you're in level 5 when you've only been studying Japanese for 2 years." I think everyone else in level 5 has been studying a lot longer than me. One girl has been studying for ten years. In fact I had someone tell me "I'm not even complimenting you. It's just plain amazing is all." But that doesn't make me feel much better when I'm struggling every single class. I get good marks but I can't always follow what's going on. Monday class is just about ok, but Friday class is horrible. Typically the teacher gives us all a newspaper (a japanese newspaper by god) and asks us to read it out loud in turns. (read it!!! it's all kanji!!!) then discuss/answer questions about the content. Also on Friday we have a kanji test. We're given one week to learn 50 kanji and about another 100 words comprised of that kanji. This is physically impossible, at least for me, and I've given up even trying.

Ok so I wanted a challenge, but a challenge I could do.

In happier news, I finished reading the first Jacqueline Wilson book, and now I've moved on to reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Japanese, but I plan to use a dictionary for this one.

Days

2008-11-16T00:53:00.001-08:00

Recently I've been doing a lot of things and having a lot of fun.

I went clubbing for the first time here last week. My friend from Sheffield, Lisa, was kind enough to get us on the guest list for a club called Camelot in Shibuya. It was fun and not too different from clubs in England, except that it closed sometime around 5am. All-night clubbing is definitely a new experience, if somewhat tiring. I did also get to go into the VIP room and talk with the producer of the club (it helps to have pretty blonde gaijin friends...) Actually I didn't enjoy that too much because he was kind of scary. He did give me "five stars for your Japanese", though, so that's something :P

Recently I've also been to a lot of nomikais, and also to "all you can eat dessert" at Sweets Paradise with Momo and Misa. You pay 1500 yen then you have 90 minutes at the buffet. We all ate so much it got to be painful... then we took purikura!

I'm pretty obsessed with purikura. I have a whole box of it in my room already. I'm looking to get a small notebook I can stick them in, but I haven't found one that I like yet.

I lost my Pinky Girls leopard print pass case and a Suica card with 2000 yen on it at the club, which made me very sad. I left my details but no one contacted me to say it had been found. I just know someone enjoyed riding the subway on my Suica card for a long time :(

Rather than mourn the loss, I went back to Pinky Girls and bought a new one, in dalmation print this time. I also had to buy a PASMO, which isn't as cool as the Suica card. I like the little penguin mascot Suica has.

Some pictures of my favourite things lately... Ponyo (went to the Ghibli Museum), Palette's Sweet Street schedule book, necklace, Pinky Girls pass case (and ugly grey PASMO), mobile phone (have i got enough dangly stuff on it yet?)

An example of the desserts at Sweets Paradise

Misa

Momo- a really sweet girl!

Dresses I've bought recently at my favourite shop in Harajuku. It's called Wonder Rocket, and it has the most amazingly beautiful really feminine clothes. The mannequins have rabbit heads, there are flowers everywhere and birdsong plays when you walk in.

On being a foreigner in Japan

2008-11-16T00:38:00.000-08:00

I'm having a little trouble right now understanding Japanese people. And I'm not referring to the language barrier.

In England if someone asks you to hang out with them, or on a date, you can safely assume that they like you and want to be your friend. Whereas in Japan, they may not like you very much but feel that they should spend time with you out of a sense of obligation. Also Japanese people are very polite and therefore can't be straightforward. Rather than saying something that might potentially upset you, they can tend to tell you an untruth, thinking that it's the best thing to do.

In England, we would consider it deceitful, but in Japan, it's considered polite and done with the best of intentions. However as a gaijin, who isn't used to the culture, it can be disconcerting and quite upsetting. I need to spend more time here in order to learn to read people properly.

Amongst my ryuugakusei friends here we've decided that if someone asks to hang out with you, you shouldn't put too much importance on it unless they specify a time and place. And even then you should probably be aware that they don't necessarily want to be your friend, but might want to spend time with interesting gaijin to try to broaden their cultural horizons, or practice English.

Japan is a country with a relatively low population of foreigners and as such many people here aren't used to dealing with us. They often find us strange and hard to deal with. Also, they can find it a pain after a while having to either speak with us in English, or understand our broken Japanese.

This is just an observation I've made. I've met loads of really lovely people here who do happen to be Japanese, but you have to understand the cultural differences and try to work around them.

It seems funny that the ryuugakusei all seem to be in our own little tight-knit group despite the fact that we come from all over the world... America, Canada, Korea, Israel, Austria, Pakistan, Germany, France. That we can all get along so well despite the fact that we all come from vastly different backgrounds seems strange sometimes, when we're all having difficulty breaking down barriers and making Japanese friends. There's very much a "them and us" mentality here.

I'm not trying to complain, I just wanted to express what it feels like sometimes here to be a foreigner in a country like Japan.

Cecil!

2008-11-07T06:22:00.000-08:00

I finally have my scholarship from the lovely JASSO people!

They also gave me quite a bit of "settling in money". Since I've been here almost 2 months now and am very much settled in, I think I'm going to be spending it on clothes.

I'm totally addicted to Cecil Mc Bee and I think I'm going to have to head there to buy a scarf I just saw in Seventeen.

I googled Cecil Mc Bee earlier and what I found was kind of surprising... Apparently there is meant to be no specific person called Cecil Mc Bee and the name was chosen "at random" for the stores. However a jazz musician called Cecil Mc Bee is suing for the rights to the name. This is kind of funny. Imagine going to Japan and finding hordes of teenage girls wearing your name everywhere. Anyway, I just love the clothes there but I need to make sure I don't go too crazy and just stick to buying accessories. I'll keep clothes buying for the cheaper stores on Takeshita doori in Harajuku :)

I need to buy a coat, shoes, and another dress...

Tomorrow we're all going to the Ghibli museum, so I might have to go on Sunday or Monday if sunday is too busy.

I survived another Friday worth of classes. Unfortunately I keep spacing out (3 hours of level 5 japanese from 9am on a friday is not fair) and I can't follow what the teacher says. When this happens she inevitably calls on me to answer a question, and I have no idea what's going on. Hmm. Also, I'm getting disgracefully bad scores in all my kanji tests which is making me sad :( sad enough to actually study! On a more positive note I got 100/100 on my Orange Days vocab and kikitori quiz, and a nice shiny sticker too (lol)

also I accidentally keep mixing up English and Japanese to bizarre comedy effect. Earlier I said "my nodo is so kawaiteru that it's shinjirarenai".

...? brain where have you gone?

my beats per minute never been the same

2008-10-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

I got moved back up a group in my grammar class.

Damn it!!!!

I was enjoying being in an easier class for once :( But last week I accidentally got an A+ on the homework so they bumped me back up. Ohhhh make up your minds! :(

Now I'm in a much harder class and I have to concentrate really hard again, which gives me a headache. Hmm.

Going to Meiji Shrine to see the illuminations tonight with everyone. This makes me happy. I'm not in a Halloween mood and I don't even have a costume. There's supposed to be a party later, but I'm not in a party mood! Hmm, why?

One more thing

2008-10-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

One more thing about today...

I was on the train at Shinjuku and a Japanese lady asked me where we were. At first I didn't know what she was saying, and because we were stopped by a big sign saying "Shinjuku" I thought she was kidding me. Then she said (in jp) "oh, are you a gaijin?" and walked off.

omg can't you tell by looking? how rude! lol

Also standing at traffic lights in Shibuya a foreign lady next to me out of the blue says "how far to Kayado?"

me..."excuse me?"

"how far to kayado ya reckon?"

me"...Kyoto?"

"yeah Kayado thats what I said sheesh"

me... "er... an hour or two on the shinkansen?"

"oh yeah? i gotta go there someday." *walks off*

me "..."

Lazy Girl Update

2008-10-27T00:32:00.000-07:00

hello,

I've been so lazy lately about updating this blog, my Japanese blog, even writing in my own diary. And this is really not good because when I find myself in rainy Sheffield in a year's time I will have nothing but my memories, and my memory's not that good. So I need to write everything down and document it.

So lately, what have I been doing? went to a host club for the first time with lovely Lisa and some other peeps. Also I went to Disneyland!! and bowling (the shoes are cooler, the lanes are shorter) another nomikai, some all night drinking in the park, 3am ramen, etc etc... it's all a blur but I am having the time of my life :D

Today being monday (i have no classes on monday) I went shopping! I needed shoes. Depressingly I am a L shoe size in Japan. In the UK I'm a 5 1/2 to a 6 which is perfectly normal medium size. Anyway I went to this big mall in Shinjuku but it was full of neon, leopard print ugly fugly clothes so I gave up and went to the big Kinokuniya. Which might be my favourite place in the whole world. It's a big-ass bookstore. If only I could read everything in it.

Anyway! what I bought! Teddy Bear 2, the sequel to a book called (hm) Teddy Bear, which is the first (and so far only) Japanese book I've ever read. The vocab is sooo simplistic, you don't have to be anything amazing at Japanese to read it. You just need to know about 1000 kanji. I also bought Koizora which is anothe keitai shosetsu (novel originally made for mobile phones). It's also got pretty easy vocab and I just saw the film with Aragaki Yui which I really liked. So I'm looking forward to reading that one!

And!!! I found a whole section of teen books from the UK translated into Japanese! They had a lot of Jacqueline Wilsons, which if you're a girl and you're English you will have read at some point. I got Girls Out Late and Girls in Tears, which I read about a million times when I was at school so I pretty much have the story memorised. Also the original in English is written in a really simple way, so hopefully the Japanese is similar. I actually read about 5 pages in Kinokuniya to see if I could understand it enough to buy it!

Also... I feel very guilty, but I went to Shibuya 109 again. And I went to Cecil McBee. Again. And I bought a 7000 yen skirt. I told the salesgirl what I was looking for and she just ran off and came back with the exact thing. So even though it was expensive... I needed it! ok! and that's my justification :D And while that may be around 70 dollars, to me it's only like 40 pounds. I love how strong the pound is :D

Anyway I should probably study, but I really can't bring myself to. Though I have been playing my kanji quiz games on my DS every night because my kanji is terrible and it's got to a point where it's become a real problem.

In other news, I am still sick with a cold. It may be a different new cold or it may be the old cold coming back for a second round. Damn you unpredictable Japanese weather.

Books! the girls out late cover says "Most popular right now with English girls!" lol

Skirt<3

Meeting with Lisa and Ildze

2008-10-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

I met up with some friends from Sheffield (also studying in Tokyo) at Starbucks in Shibuya.

We got bubble tea

We went shopping in Shibuya 109...

We took purikura, and played the UFO catcher...

My winnings!

We went to the HUB for dinner...

it was really fun!

Odaiba

2008-10-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

we went to Odaiba...

TGS '08

2008-10-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

Went to the Tokyo Games show with Seojon and Audrey.

it was soooooo full of otaku!!!! (0______o')

a little bit scary... literally crowds and crowds of otaku!

But it was fun getting to try out the new games and see the trailers :D

and I had a lot of fun with Audrey and Seojon :)

It was hard to take pictures, so I only have two.

緊張

2008-10-06T21:15:00.001-07:00

For some reason my tuesday Japanese class is so much easier than my friday class. I think this is because tuesday sensei is generally more friendly and speaks much more clearly than friday sensei.

Today tuesday sensei said that friday sensei wanted to know if i was reeeally sure i wanted to stay in level 5, but tuesday sensei said my placement test score was great so as far as she was concerned there was no problem. ah... ok! anyway i am staying put.

Also today I feel really nervous because I might be going somewhere with someone later. But I don't want to say too much. i really wish my friends from home were around to give me some advice :(

anyway- ganbaru kara!

Sweets with Audrey

2008-10-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

@ Cafe Retro near Waseda.

Yummy cheesecake!

Wanna sweets... don't you??

for future reference: 結膜炎 (ketsu-maku-en)

2008-10-06T00:02:00.000-07:00

Today when I woke up my eyelids were stuck together.

Wait, I know what this is! I have pink-eye! oh no.

Ok, so I need eyedrops.

Wait, what's "conjunctivitis" in Japanese?

The dorm internet is down so I can't check it online.

All my friends are either in class or might not know what "conjunctivitis" is in English.

So I went to the pharmacy and somehow managed to communicate what I needed.

"my eyes are red and itchy... i don't know what it's called... do you have any medicine?" (in nihongo)

I couldn't read a damn thing on the box the nice lady gave me so I just paid for it and hoped for the best.

Ok, put the drops in. wait, are these just water?

10 minutes later all I can taste is rancid mediciney eyedrops in my throat.

Yep... these are the right ones...

Hopefully it will clear up in a day or two. Because I might have something important to do, haha.

Incidentally I went to Harajuku today to buy clothes, because I needed them. Right?

ありがとう

2008-10-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Yet again today my useless alarm clock from Muji failed to go off at the right time...

I would have missed class (and this is a BIG deal here) if I hadn't got a mystery phone call...

Half an hour before my class was due to begin I was sleeping peacefully when I got a call on my room phone... I answered it and went "bleggghh?"

There was a long pause... then a Japanese lady apologising for having dialled the wrong number.

Thank you, mystery Japanese lady! You saved me! I got to class (5 minutes early)

wildlife, kinokuniya and ponyo

2008-10-01T19:36:00.001-07:00

Hey!

gross things I have witnessed in Japan so far-

cockroaches

a huge rat running down the street at night in Shinjuku

disgusting mosquitos

huge spiders

otaku

Yesterday we went to Shinjuku to watch Gake no Ue no Ponyo! It seemed a lot cutesier than the other Ghibli films I've seen, but it was really good! Ponyo was so cute! And the artwork was beautiful. We also had ramen, took purikura, and went to the huge Kinokuniya.

I found The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye, both translated into Japanese by Murakami san! I started reading Catcher. I can't quite get it :( I need an English copy to compare.

In Japanese movie theaters you can choose your seats beforehand! And everyone shuts up when the movie starts, and nobody throws popcorn. Wow! A civilised country (lol)

I really want to go and see (i've forgotten the name) the Galileo movie, and Resident Evil Degeneration!

I bought some cute shorts in Takadanobaba also yesterday. I was looking at them and the shop girl came over and was like "kawaiiiii deshou" and started talking to me about clothes. It was so cute. Does this happen to anyone else?

Murakami Haruki san

2008-09-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

I had a really fun class today- the title is "Selected Topics in Comparative Literature", but it's actually about Murakami Haruki and some American authors like F.Scott Fitzgerald. We should read the following books;

A Wild Sheep Chase

Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle

Kafka on the Shore

The Elephant Vanishes

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

The Great Gatsby (plus Murakami's translation in Japanese)

The Catcher in the Rye (plus Murakami's translation in Japanese- this sounds like the best thing ever. How do you translate the catcher in the rye?)

I've read them all but some of them quite a while ago. It's a big class so I doubt I'd win the race to get them from the library and my funds are kinda limited here so I'm going to ask my mama to mail me my own copies from home.

It looks like it's going to be a really interesting class! The lecturer is really cool also. Hey did you know that the main translator of much of Murakami's work is also a lecturer at Waseda?

Class!

2008-09-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Had my first Japanese language class today!

Our sensei is really nice :) What was cool was that no English was used at all, and we were told not to chat to each other in English either. I was really worried about being out of my depth, but I think it will be ok. It's challenging but not crazy hard. Although I miss Nagai sensei's handouts with the funny example dialogue and cute pictures- the grammar sheet we were given is like a sea of kanji, eep. Also we have to learn 1000 kanji just in this autumn term alone- that's more than we learn in a year at Sheffield. I don't like jikoshoukai time but I managed not to make a fool of myself or stumble over my words, yay. We have SO much homework :( Plus the class was THREE hours long!!!

Am meeting everyone later for okonomiyaki then studying!

benkyou benkyou!

Retail Therapy; Shibuya 109

2008-09-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

I wasn't feeling too genki yesterday for various reasons one of them being homesickness... so today I decided to go to Shibuya 109!

Classes started today for everyone but me (somehow I have a day free!) So I went by myself. I got stared at A LOT on the train by this salaryman. He was just like 0___0 at me for about 5 stops. Boo. Don't stare at me （笑）

Anyway, at Shibuya 109 I did some shopping! I must admit I was a bit scared of those shop girls, blonde beehives, brown skin and a ton of makeup, all dressed in varying shades of pink. But they were so sweet! One girl came up to me in Pinky Girls and we started talking about Japanese fashion, haha. Also one of them patted me on the hand when she gave me my change. Like I was a pet. （笑）

So here's what I bought... for the record, I am now nearly broke until scholarship time...

A VERY shiny belt

necklace, bracelet and cell phone strap.

A card case for my Suica :)

This scarf is really soft.

Also, I don't think I've mentioned this yet. but isn't my phone cute? I can watch tv on it and everything. It was expensive, though... :(

please appreciate the cuteness of my Waseda bear phone strap.

My new shirt

2008-09-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

from Harajuku

おもしろくなああああい？

2008-09-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

We had a very funny orientation today from the student groups WIC and Niji no kai.

One part focused on how girls can hit on Japanese guys.

This is something I think a lot of people might be interested in :P

So I will record their hints here.

1. Call him a "baka" (fool)

2. Call him an "usotsuki" liar.

3. Pull on his sleeve.

4. Sneak up on him and touch him on the shoulders.

5. Put your hair band in your mouth while tying your hair back.

Apparently they love this. Do this and you're sure to succeed!!! :P

Advice for men was

1. smoke in a cool way.

2. roll up your sleeves.

3. reach things from high places for girls.

4. play the guitar.

I'm off to a nomikai now but i don't think I will be pulling on any boys sleeves or calling them fools.

Three from the streets of Harajuku :)

2008-09-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

Pretty crowded...

Great name for a store...?

Lolitas

Level FIVE???? are you sure?

2008-09-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

We got the results of the placement test back yesterday, so we did.

I was very surprised because I'm level 5, (Lower to mid Advanced) There are 8 levels 1 being the lowest, and from level 7 (i think?) you don't even have to take Japanese and can take regular classes in Japanese with Japanese students...

Also someone said that they predict that fives will get to level 8 by the end of the year, and that means more or less total fluency...

I'm really happy because I get to be with my friend Seojon who is amazing at Japanese but I don't know if it will be too hard for me or if I'll be able to keep up :( Also most of my other friends are in group 2 or 3 :(

Also, speaking Japanese on the phone is totally scary. I would rather use email every time.

Today we're going to Harajuku! I need to buy clothes!

The only down point is that my throat hurts and I think I'm getting sick, boo.

Karaoke, kitties, bubble tea and pad thai

2008-09-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

First karaoke in Japan...

Check out the cool walls in this karaoke box!

A friendly neighbourhood kitty! rawr... let me eat your umbrella...

Then we ate at a yummy Thai place...

I had pad thai!!! so goooooooooood

and on the way home I had bubble tea with Seojon!!! I love bubble tea so much! I never tried it before Japan but it was love at first... er... taste! This is regular milk tea flavour :)

Waseda Entrance Ceremony

2008-09-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

It was pretty formal....

All the gang together

then lunch :) we picked a little place at random near Waseda, and the guy running it was sooo sweet to us and brought a selection of things for us to try, and he even put traditional music on for us.

First ever 飲み会 (drinking party)

2008-09-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

So we all went to the nomikai (drinking party) last night... it was so crazy! Japanese people drinking... I have never seen anything like it! There were people running to the bathroom to throw up then running back for more beer. It was CRAZY. I thought British people were bad!

I made some new Japanese friends! And I've finally got the hang of sending messages on my phone. Anyway, there was a lot of alcohol last night but luckily my tolerance is pretty high! I had a cocktail called a Cutie Honey :)

I think it's true that alcohol improves foreign language ability, because I barely used English all night! :D

In the day we went to Asakusa and Ueno park. At Asakusa I drew a bad fortune :( then a good one! In Ueno there were people dressed up in costumes. This is us with the "pedophile panda" as Gui called it. It seemed to be drunk and was staggering around patting children on the head.

Also some purikura I've taken and some pix of the nomikai :D

ALSO i think there was an earthquake this morning! I woke up thinking someone was shaking my bed. It was interesting! Not really scary! Kind of like being on a boat!

Bonus picture- a map of Japan made with mikan peel! Awesome!

Long days of red tape followed by fun

2008-09-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

I am having such a nice time here! I've met a really nice group of people, and I think my Japanese is improving already! I'm able to talk to Japanese people and be understood, too :D Today we registered for our gaijin cards which was yet more endless form filing and waiting around. Gah. Then we went to Shibuya, did purikura, played in the ゲーセン (game center) and went to a bar where I managed to get the barman guy to drop the 500 yen per head service charge. A little Japanese goes a long way! :D

I really will write a proper update soon but for the first time in years (or ever) I am actually REALLY busy!!!

Here's me and Seojon playing the taiko drumming game!

In Shibuya 109- Cecil Mc Bee!

Shiny things...

More shiny things!

The rain is really crazy and we're supposed to be having a typhoon.

Anyway update later! I'm lazy and sleepy!

xxx

quick

2008-09-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

i made some friends! they're all lovely! Japan is lovely! Everything is lovely!

Whee!

and.... dinner!!!!

more later

Hello from my dorm

2008-09-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

hi!!!!

i'm in my dorm. it is baaad. it looks like a prison or a hospital. eee.

incidentally there is a huge 6 person bath on my floor but no kitchen, and i have my own sink and fridge.

orientation tomorrow. am i gonna make any friends???

My room... I'm all alone, apart from Rilakkuma...