Maybe it will be long?

Woohoo, closed-eyes shot! This is a nameplate for my school. "Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku"

This week seems to have gone by slowly, but now it's just ended in a flash. I meet my host family tomorrow; I hope they're all nice and that their two dogs are teeny so I can smush them I won't be so freaked out by them.

I've been exploring and discovering a bit more, at least as much as my bum leg will allow, and it's been pretty fun. I just can't wait for school to start up. I'm taking ceramics and some kind of literature course, although I'm not quite sure about the teacher. We'll see when I have class Tuesday. I also don't know what level of Japanese I'm in, but I'll find out when I get to school tomorrow to meet my family.

Some kind of restaurant/building we found, I don't know, but I thought the design was really interesting. It's a bit lost on my camera, though.

I'm not used to having coins that matter, so I've never used a coin purse. I bought this one the other day so I could keep track of my 100 and 500 yen coins since they're actually worth something.

Some DELIGHTFUL chocolates I found in the convenience store in school.

We went to a rotating sushi restaurant the other night, and I finally tried Japanese "pudding" (flan). It was... interesting.

We finished all the orientation business Thursday (I may or may not have skipped a bit of it), and Friday we went on a small trip to Kyoto. I think they were matching the foreigners with Japanese students, but Rachel had her speaking partner, so we went with her. She was really cute and very shy. She told us she was nervous to meet us. Her English wasn't great, so we did a lot of exchange, which is totally fine by me. I'm very excited to find that much of what I've learned is still somewhere in my head.

Man making kaitenyaki. It had red bean paste inside.
Rachel and her speaking partner, Megumi!
Kiyomizu Temple
A shrine inside the temple. Megumi said that this one is for safety within the family.

It's the Love Stone! I did it the last time I was here, but I tried yesterday and failed. No love luck for me.

Views from the temple. It's a huge temple built into a mountainside.

Rachel and me drinking water. I believe it's supposed to be cleansing.

Ojizousan!!!! Anyone who took Akaike's class, do you remember the Kasajizou story?

A shrine, I believe, but I don't know the name.

I also don't know the name of this temple!

The trip was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to visit Kyoto again. It's really rather close, and it doesn't cost much for the train tickets. It's just a matter of finding out which ticket to buy... I'm supposed to take the train to school each day, so I hope I can figure that out. Heh heh.


Today's Engrish, found on a railing at the temple: "Caution: Please be careful. This part is hot for a summer season."

Gyaru! I found a gyaru! Or something of one. Just look at that hair!


We found a Ghibli store in Kyoto! Everything was heinously overpriced, but I bought a Ponyo calendar, and Megumi was really sweet and bought both Rachel and me Ponyo handkerchiefs.


An egg soufflé-type thing I ate today. Nom!


I'm so jealous of the way things grow here. Oranges! In January!
And narcissus!


Two of my favorite actresses in ads: Amami Yuki and Yamada Yu. Homegirls are FIERCE.


Also, along with my dead leg, I officially have a cold. Why. Whyyy. Japan doesn't seem to have a lot of cold medicine, or at least cold medicine that isn't over 1000 yen, so I'm on my own for now. I'll see what my host family says. Apparently there's also a school nurse, so maybe I'll pay her/him a visit. Feeling like a grade-schooler.


Bought a mask today because I don't want to be rude. I've been coughing and sneezing, so someone's bound to notice. It's a little small for my massive foreign nose.
"Oh no, it's just that they're terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

Can't wait to really start

Kansai Gaidai University

Nothing too exciting has been going on so far. Rachel and I have been exploring the area, which is a lot of fun. It's really nice being on my own, too. I'm very happy I won't be staying in the dorms. The foreign students here are very nice, but it's all Japan from a foreign perspective, which I can do anytime here. I want immersion! Also, I don't care to go out all the time like the people here, and I like my alone time.


Rachel and I went to karaoke with these people the other night.


We paid 1000 yen each for nomi-hodai, or all-you-can-drink karaoke. Probably not a good idea for me to do often, as I'm a lightweight and an obnoxious drunk.

We've been going through all sorts of orientation things, which many people call ridiculous, but really, they're very necessary, and it's good of the university to keep it so organized for the foreigners. I took my placement test today and found I hardly know any Japanese, which is only mildly depressing since I'm here to learn it. I'll find out my classes in the next few days as well.



Udon at the cafeteria! It's SO good; I had it for lunch yesterday and today. Omnom.


Today's Engrish! Found it at the school convenience store.


There are these gingko leaf signs and imprints all over the city, and I WILL find out what they're for, goddammit.

Getting people to talk to me in Japanese here is like pulling teeth, but they're all very nice people, and it's lovely when they want to talk to me. I had a conversation with some girls in the computer lab today, and a few days ago I stumbled upon an old man who talked to me in English, asked me to be his friend, and proceeded to give me his number so that I would call him and come to karaoke with him and his hiking club. Well. I'm not sure about that, but he was very kind, and I think he just wanted to speak English with someone. I'm getting sick, and I REALLY don't want it, but Japan doesn't seem to have any good cold medicine, or at least medicine that's not fifteen bucks, so someone recommended me a vitamin C drink. I hope it helps.



Little kiddies' pictures I found at the library where I met the old man



A shrine near my dorm with... a playground inside? No one seems to know why...


A teeny park Rachel and I found walking around! I'm sitting on a forlorn-looking giraffe.


Don't take candy from creepy, shadowy strangers, children.


Work for me, please!

I had my first okonomiyaki in Japan tonight! It was great, and the place was really close. Rachel didn't care for it, though. Whyyyy?

Not quite surreal

I'm here!

We arrived in Japan at around 9 at night, so we stayed the night in the airport and got picked up in the morning. The flight was way too long but still all right; the service was wonderful, and the flight attendants were adorable. I wish I had gotten a picture of their boat hats. Rachel and I had seats next to this guy who was smashed the entire flight and who very nearly got violent when the man in front of him tried to put his seat back.



The only stewardess shot I could get, and no boat hat. =(

I am once again jet-lag-free, so I've been doing a lot of exploring, or at least as much as my pathetic, unexercised feet will allow. We had mini "tours" to a local supermarket and to a store that seemed to be the Japanese equivalent of TJ Maxx. Rachel and I went out today to look around and found a drug store, a Japanese thrift store (where I bought a fantastic Pikachu mini-bento for 10 cents), a 100 Yen store, and several takoyaki stands from which we bought some delightful takoyaki. MMMM. I love you, Kansai.



"Big Size," the only section that seemed to have clothes that would fit me.



My first Engrish!



FRESH TAKOYAKI FINALLY

I've been a little disappointed that I haven't had much of a chance to use Japanese, but I'm patient. I'm sure I'll need it for my host family, so we'll see how that goes.

That's about it for now. So far I've heard at least two bossa nova renditions of Beatle songs. We're staying in the dorms for the next week until we meet our host families. We can't have our shoes on here, and since I don't feel like buying slippers, I get to walk around in socks all the time. Huzzah!



Not sure what kind of flowers these are, but I'm astounded that they're growing this time of year. Japan is a lot greener than Missouri is at the moment; there are oranges and flowers on trees, and I've even seen narcissus growing already. I'm incredibly jealous.

Almost there

I leave for the airport in two hours! When we get to Japan, Rachel and I will have to stay the night at the airport, so I won't get to a computer right away. I may not even get to one within the first week, but I'll see. I'm terrified and excited. I hate flying. But huzzah! I'm going to Japan!

I'll be using my Lj for non-Japan related posts, I think, but please check here for Japaradise updates! Talk to you soon!