Yesterday was the first session of the Soukyokubu (koto) Club. Three hours really drags on when a lot of what you're doing is just waiting. Besides me, there are eight other international students, four of whom are guys, and the club currently has six Japanese members, all girls. There simply aren't enough kotos for everyone to practice at once. Of course, I've tried out the instrument before, so I registered instead at the beginning of the session. During that time, the others took long turns at practicing the beginner melody 'Sakura', an children's' melody that everyone in Japan knows. I didn't get a chance to play until almost the very end. Practice ends at 7:30 so, with sign language as well, half the week I'm getting home pretty late.
Today was the same story. Since I had the most recent turn the day before, I let others go before me. But the person I was waiting behind acted like she didn't notice and hogged all the time to herself. I swear, if I knew German, I would have given her a talking to (i.e. cussed her ears off). Practice time was cut in half today because on Tuesdays a teacher comes to help the Japanese members. So from 6:00 to 7:30 I sat seiza style and just watched them practice. I've never been good at sitting still, I'm a figiter, and seiza was probably invented by some monk as a way to pass the time laughing at his students. You position your legs in just such a way that they can't fall asleep and you still feel pain.
Thank heavens for Final Fantasy. It means that I have something to keep me occupied in the long stretches between classes. I've already worked out which classrooms are free when, so I get a nice quiet room to myself for a few hours (which means I can actually listen to the dialog). The campus is packed now that the regular students are back. The other two cafeterias are open now, too, so I'm systematically trying out anything that looks good.
It's been raining during classes all week so far; this means that at any time when I am walking to and from the train station the weather is fine! If I tried to ride my bike, though, I'd get poured on right away, I just know it.

One Month Down

It's already been one month since I came to this country on the complete opposite of the world. Time sure flies.
Today my Religions class went to Fushimi Inari Jinja, one of the principle and oldest shrines in Japan dedicated to the god Inari. The strange thing is, people tend to personalize their relationships with this deity, so there are about as many different Inari as there are worshipers, fulling roles from the traditional keeper of rice and wealth to the newer healing of ails and bringing good luck to exam takers. The shrine was really just an amalgamation of little shrines all over the mountain where the grounds stood, and we walked all over. Halfway up almost everyone was panting and dragging their feet. Heheh, lowlanders :)
Amazingly, where we Americans would have developed as much as we could, most of the mountain is untouched. There's just the shrines dotted around the mountain and small paths leading around them. But the torii flanking the paths are anything but small. Towering over us, they were packed as closely as possible, every path having at least half protection from the rest of outside. And each one was dedicated, at about 100,000 to 500,000 U.S. dollars each, by companies or individuals seeking the blessings of Inari. One path had over seven from the same person. Talk about devotion!
Inari shrines all have statues of foxes, because while no one can agree on the form Inari takes, they can all agree that the god's servants are foxes. And Kyoto used to have lots of foxes that lived on temple grounds. They may be scarce nowadays, but now there are cats. Cats! The first cats I see in Japan are on a sacred mountain! Looks they they know good real estate when they see it. And they were all so friendly, too, lying down in the middle of paths and small walls to be petted.
On thing that makes temples over here completely different from western temples is the fact that it's normal for shops to operate on the grounds. There are tea and rest shops all along the mountain trails, and souvenir stands by the temple main. I bought an awesome black kimono and a small fox stuffed animal that I've named Daigoro. Sadly, ATMs are closed on Sundays ('the hell?!). If they weren't, I would have gone back to campus, gotten some more money, and headed right back, because one small restaurant near the station was selling BBQ quail! One of the creatures on my 'list of things I've got to try eating' slipped through my grasp because of banking business hours. Damn it.

I heard that there was a store called Animate somewhere down near the Hirakata-shi station that sells anime goods, like models, figurines, and good luck charms with anime characters on them. Well, I looked all over twice, and asked some police, but I couldn't find it. What a waste of an afternoon.
This evening I finished Nausicaa. Boy, if you ever want feel confused, doomed, insignificant, or hopeful, then read this series. It says a lot, but not really anything at all.
I saw what is most probably the most awesome game show ever, and I have to recount it all. It was like The Running Man, an old Arnold Schwarzenegger movie where convicts have to run through a giant maze-like arena while avoiding gladiators with super-weapons in an effort to win their freedom. Except this time around there was no killing, so it looked fun. Fifteen contestants started at the entrance to USJ near the Hunters, basically the ones who tag you and your out. They were dressed to look like agents in The Matrix, and even acted like it, not once changing their facial expressions or saying a word, even while running. Each contestant had a map of the park and a cell phone to contact other players with.
There were four Hunters, and they started the game in cages, with fifteen different chains run through a box in front of them. The contestants went one by one to pull a chain, and if it wasn't the right one that that person would get a head start to run into the park and hide. Only the first two managed that, though; the third contestant let them out, and everyone ran, scattering in different directions. And the Hunters were fast. I know I'm one of the faster people at Appalachian when going full out, but I'd be hard pressed to outrun these guys.
The game timer lasted for one hour and thirty minutes, with various breaks and missions at certain times. Also, the reward money went up by 100 yen every second, the last person to be caught getting whatever the amount is at that time. At 1:25:00, the first mission started, which was to disable seven spotlights in order around the park within fifteen minutes. For each left on after that time, an additional Hunter would join the game. Five of the lights were turned off. After that, there was a break as the eleven survivors played a giant Jenga game. On the blocks were things that could change the game, and the same person, twice in a row, got a blocks removing Hunters, dropping their numbers back to four. Also a coincidence, she was the first to be tagged out in the next round :)
This all took place at night, and the break continued until morning, when the clock resumed. The second mission, from 1:00:00 to 0:45:00, was for two people to get to the Jaws ride and at the same time throw two switches that would slam down a gate barring passage to and from that ride. The ride itself takes fifteen minutes, and there were fifteen Hunters riding on it. If they got through, there's no way anyone could have lasted till the end. One woman managed to get there and hide, but no on showed up until it was almost too late. The Hunters actually got of the boat and were walking up to the exit (guess they couldn't run until the time limit expired) when some guy finally came running. They closed the gate with three seconds to spare, literally in the Hunters faces. It was so thrilling!
Next there were boxes placed around the waterfront area, one of which held a special key card. At this point only eight were left; the rest had to wait inside a giant cage in the park until the end. But the card would activate a wheel of chance thing that would let one of them back in the game. Sadly, it was the youngest guy who got freed, and almost immediately he walked right into a Hunter and got tagged again...
0:25:00 to 0:15:00 was something to do with the parade. It came along it's normal route, advancing slowly toward a set of sensors (I feel I must point out that there was no one else in the park during this game). Again, two people had to turn off the sensors, this time with key cards everyone had been given from the start. By this time, almost everyone had formed into groups of two, and were constantly calling each other to know their positions. A stupid move, of course, because of the ring tones. The guy who up until then had been doing the best was called by his partner right when a Hunter was walking by. Only when he didn't die was I reminded that this wasn't a movie. It was that cool!
Sadly (not!), the mission failed. But instead of more Hunters came the Legmen, ninjas on leg stilts that ran around (literally) from high vantage looking for the players and then whistling shrilly to call in Hunters when they found someone. This was the hardest time of all, and only three were left. In the end, it was only the wimpiest-looking guy who evading them, like the whole thing was some Hollywood setup. But his last few minutes were intense. He was found twice, and each time barely managed to get away and under cover again. Because the last mission wasn't completed he didn't get the 100,000 yen bonus that came with it, but if he had he would have won 1,000,000 yen! That's ten thousand dollars! We could drop shows like Jeopardy any day to make way for this cheaper kind, and it would be better! I really want to try my hand at playing, it's like Mission Capture the Flag.

On the advice of my anime teacher, I rushed to the library after class before anyone else could get there and checked out all of the Nausicaa manga. And it is not even close to the same as the movie. For one thing, Miyazaki-sama didn't finish writing the manga for at least another ten years after the movie was released, so the ending had to be constructed hastily and remains one of his biggest regrets. Also, in 1984 he had no idea what direction the story would take, so the whole production was kinda cut-and-paste. The real story definitely shows his background as someone from a family that built WWII fighter planes, and I get the feeling that much of Kazan, my first and still favorite manga, derived most of its inspiration from Nausicaa. Reading it is more like a study than just enjoyment.
Tonight I went for a walk that wound up taking almost two hours. It wasn't that I got lost and incapable of finding my way back, I just had no clue how to get from the house to the supermarket I wanted to get to. Since Japanese roads existed all over before the idea came around to base them on a grid system, the old roads were just paved over, and so getting from one place to another is largely a matter of patience, and hopefully a car as well.

Observations:
Whoever said that the Japanese are small must have been a math major, because that is just a statistic. The U.S. just happens to have a higher tall-to-average ratio then Japan. Sure, I've seen short old ladies, but the majority of Japanese seem to be slightly taller than our average. And the guys on the baseball team tower over me; they're taller that the monster football players my high school had!
Light-up shoes are a thing of the past. Introducing the new Noise-maker Shoe! Squeaks when you walk! Squeaks when you step on them! And 100% guaranteed usable by the family dog once they get worn out! (now for sale with the oh-so-popular Skirt that Plays Music When You Move in It :)

I am pretty sure that my Religions of Japan teacher is a feminist. I was surprised to find that a teacher with this mindset bothered me, although not for the obvious reasons. I've got no problem with feminists; what they believe is their own right and their own business. But it's very discouraging trying to read the text she gave us, which she herself wrote. When normally referring to individuals, the teacher uses the pronoun 'she'. But when referring to someone of ill repute, this is replaced with the pronoun 'he'. I don't care if you think less of men, just use consistency in your language! Geez! It's hard enough to read monotonous pages without having sentence structure suddenly altered, confusing me and probably everyone else (figures-I complain about grammar instead of beliefs. That's what studying language does to you).
I've caught up with grammar and vocab for Japanese, but it's the title of the course, Speaking, that is giving me trouble. Up till now, I've only had three native speakers to talk to, and they spoke Kanto-ben. Kansai-ben is much harder to comprehend, and the professor talks at ten miles a minute. I can get most of what he says, but we're expected to speak that fast too. It's impossible to get that good in just three more months!

Observations:
Well, the Japanese seem to outstrip us in everything, so smoking shouldn't come as a surprise. They've taken it up to the next level: electric cigarettes. You have electric filters that you attach to the inside of the box, which can be plugged into the wall to be charged. The part with the tobacco comes separately, but I suppose in the long run it would be cheaper. Just attach the two together, and a little light at the end will emulate embers when you take a puff. I'm not sure whether to be dumbfounded or just disgusted (I'll stick with dumbfounded for now, it fits the gaijin image).

Another slow day, with some interesting foods. Zaru udon, and zaru soba as well, are noodles that are just served plain and cold, and you dip them in soy sauce before slurping them up (in Japan, slurping is actually kinda polite, as it shows you are enjoying your food). I had some of that for lunch, but dinner was way weirder. Takoyaki is one of Osaka's delicacies, and the other is Okonomiyaki, a type of cabbage pancake with as many different toppings and fillings as there are cultures and sub-cultures. The things I could identify were the cabbage (nothing hard there), bacon, onion, and some tentacles from either octopus or squid, I couldn't tell. And when you get tentacles, you know it. There isn't a single thing done to them when cooked (if they were...) that tries to hide the fact that you're eating a limb that has just recently been hacked off and served. They looked so fresh I was afraid they would start moving.

Observations:
Baseball is huge over here. In terms of percent of population watching at any given time Japan beats the U.S. hands down. Hideo-san watches it every time he can, even getting ESPN to watch American little league.
I saw what I can only assume was a televised Baptist sermon, but it was more like a concert. They were singing some kind of jazz-rock hybrid and the priest started synchronized dancing with one of the singers, who started using a hamster voice. I felt it better to just not ask.

Yesterday was catch-up day for food. I had nothing to do anyway, and no one was around, so I went to the mall, where I learned the proper way to store a bike in a parking garage. Apparently, most of the spots are taken by people who are renting them. For one-time use, you pay like 150, get a slip of paper wrapped around your handlebars, and then go to a small lot on the floor area between the first and second floors.
It turns out that the mall is just as much inside as it is outside. One one side of the street is the courtyard, mall proper, train station, bus transit station, car parking, and half of the restaurants. On the other side are the other half, bike parking, and Babies-R-Us. On the first floor of the mall, there is a supermarket, electronics stores, general clothing, and numerous small food shops, like a bakery where you get a tray of breads and pastries and then sit and eat. There was also a store about the size of Dillard's completely dedicated to cakes, chocolates and candies. In the supermarket I actually found some bags of Doritos. But they were dinky, and some unheard-of Taco flavor. It may have had a picture of tacos on it, but I also know that the Japanese love to make a pun with that word and taco meaning octopus over here, so I opted not to go for it. The second and third floors were kitchen supplies, bath shops, music stores, and clothing stores that specialized in certain things, like hair accessories or kimonos.
For lunch I tried some KFC. Now, the last time I had some back home, I almost passed out from a pain-queasiness hybrid, but since nothing but bread and fruit is the same over here I felt it should be ok. Man, the Japanese have NO since of chicken. The closest thing to what it tasted like would be the old style McDonald's' chicken fingers, except with a starchy tasting, flaky crust. But I didn't get nauseous, so I'd give it an ok. Then for dessert I had some kind of coffee/chocolate doughnut. What is it with foreigners and hiding stuff inside of bread where you least expect it?! There was whipped cream (which I hate) hidden, not inside the doughnut, but in the hole in the middle. How do you hide something there?! Honestly!!
Before I rode home I stopped in a book store, and had I been able to read fluently, I would still be there. Specifically in the manga section. Then I bought a loaf of bread and spent the remainder of the day just lounging and munching. Then came dinner, then I tried two new ice cream bars from the convenience store. the chocolate was kinda too sweet, like Hershey's, and the other must have been cookie dough, nothing else could have tasted like that except mango, and the Japanese always color code fruit flavors. I figure all that food should have made up for most of what I've missed.
Today was just a bleah kinda day, nothing really much happened. Hideo-san brought home takoyaki for lunch, that was fun, having to turn down kindness. I've got just one more day, then I can get back to my normal routine, long breaks over here are kinda dull. I'll have to look up some places to travel to on the off days.

Sorry for the wait! Here's the last four days.
Thursday:
Nothing (sorry, but it's true!).
Friday:
Here's what happens on Wednesdays and Fridays. My morning classes end at noon, and I've got one afternoon class at 4:00. I went the the library and read the otaku-culture-based manga series they had with the rest of their otaku collection, and then did my homework for Silver Week, a national five-day holiday stretching through next Wednesday. This left me with forty-five minutes left with nothing to do but sit next to the door of my classroom and wait. Maybe next time I'll bring my DS, I've only got two books left.
After class, which was watching Nausicaa while looking for instances of how this one shoujo character is supposed to be different from any other, I went down to a meeting some students had organized to talk about going to Universal Studios Japan the next day. I figured if I kept going with out with groups I could eventually find some people to hang out with.
I am getting really sick of these rats (i.e. the dogs). One isn't really a rat, he's sort of like my hair cutter's dog with a sock fetish, but the other one definitely fits under the International Common Sense 'Not a Dog' Category.
Saturday:
I went with a group of nine others, four Japanese and five foreigners, to USJ. And man is it different from what I expected. It wasn't so much an amusement park as it was a theme park. There were probably ten rides in the place max, and then lots of attractions, stores, and shows. I know the Asheville mall used to have a Hello Kitty store, but it was a far cry from what they've got over here. It's worse than just an obsession, it's like an idol.
Being in another country might have been responsible, but I decided to give roller coasters another try. Yeah, I know, right? I must have been out of my mind. For anyone who doesn't know of my history with roller coasters, here it is. The first one I ever rode, when I was seven, was a very old model and very, very loud. Ever since I was little I've had a giant fear of noises that loud, so I wasn't exactly sold on the ride afterwards (more like weeping in fright). Still, I associated that new fright with only big coasters, and the next time went on one that was low to the ground and even went through a tunnel at one point. My dad went with me, he sat next to me, and he was definitely higher than me, but somehow that tunnel managed to break and hit ME in the head. After that I tried a kiddy coaster, which jerked so violently I got bruised all over. And after that I waited many years (until a couple years ago) to try again. I thought maybe a hanging coaster, where your legs dangle and it's more like riding in a giant swing, would be fine. WRONG. Picture in your head your hand sweeping over smooth marble. Now hold the feeling of that in your head. That is what transpired between my foot and a support beam. Had I been slouching just a little more, I would not have that foot anymore. This is why I was insane to try riding a roller coaster over here (I probably can get a certificate to prove it, too). I knew that it wouldn't cure me of any fears, assuming I came out safe (or alive, at this rate), but it would at least get me away from avoiding my fears. All in all, it was kinda enjoyable. Except for that initial fall. I timed others later, it only takes about six seconds. It felt like twenty. I would have no problem sky diving. I'm not afraid of falling; I love it, actually. Just not when I'm strapped into a giant metal bullet intent on dragging me down with it. When the ride was over, I got up, walked over to a shelf/trash can, put my arms down to steady myself, and lost the use of my legs. I will try again, one of these days. Just not right away.
There wasn't much to do, but the lines were long so excess time wasn't a problem. There was a Spider-Man 3-D ride, and a Back to the Future one too. Now those are what 3-D effects are supposed to be used for. The rides were simple, and kinda cheesy, but really fun. For dinner we went to a bar-b-q place. There were metal frying sheets right on the table, and the waiters brought the food and then left. It is up to the customers to cook (or ruin) their food however they please. I managed to fiddle my way through some conversation, and I think I might have some people to hang out with later.
Today:
The Open Campus event for prospective students was today, so I went and checked it out after a bento lunch with furikake rice, tamagoyaki (sweetened scrambled egg rolls), chicken and a little sausage carved into an octopus. There is an anime god, and he is benevolent.
But when I got to campus I had another lunch anyway. I wasn't really hungry, but I wasn't really satisfied either. That's the thing about Japanese food-it's cooked for you to eat, not feast on. Even the snacks are so empty I may as well eat rice. Which I do :) I know I've loved ramen for over a decade, but the curry here is actually better than the ramen I can get. Half of it is the taste. The other half is that even though one plate by itself can't really constitute as a meal for me, it somehow gives out this promising feeling that eating enough would make one full, and that's something I desperately need.
I went by the store too, and in the corner is a little bakery section like in The Fresh Market. And they have batards. From now on I think I'll go there for snack food, bread has always worked :)

Headlights can be your friend

Yesterday was gray, gloomy, and full of melons. I am referring of course to the fact that melon-flavored foods and drinks are something of a gimmick over here, much like saying some food is 'Cajun-spicy' will grab people's attention. In the bakery by the station, I found some melon pan (bread), now practically iconocised with its much-important role in the aforementioned anime Shakugan no Shana. It really didn't taste like melon at all, although the main character upholds that if it did, it would be blasphemy; instead it's like a sweet bread. During the break, I read another, even more famous icon of popular Japanese literature, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This is probably the most popular book series ever to have been adapted into anime, which then successfully invaded every single corner of the globe with die-hard fans. Even if you don't like anime, you should look this one up if only for the WTF hilarity that ensues. While I read this, I had a melon soda.
There was no club yesterday either, it seems vacation for college students doesn't end until the 28th. So I had time to go downtown to the city office to get my immigration stuff taken care of. It wasn't really too difficult, I just followed everything from the example sheet the university gave me, making sure to put it in all caps, and handed it in with my pictures. Then I got a receipt telling me when to come back (mid October).
Today was the replacement test for the Reading and Writing class, and I can say with absolute conviction that I aced it! There was not a single thing on there that I was unable to do. Go me :)
The methods and meaning of anime class is, just like its name suggests, focused on the methods used to produce animation and the meaning behind the style and other, more subtle features. Think Professor Carp with anime.
On Wednesdays from 6-7:00 there is a Japanese Sign Language group. Since I figured that fits into the area of bodily communication that Professor McGary emphasizes, I went to their first meeting. I can now do a few rudimentary signs in JSL (yes, there are individual ways of signing within each country, and yes, they do count as languages). One reason the communications professor, who is also my advisor, set up the class is to see how foreign students react to learning another Japanese language with a completely different grammar system as compared to native Japanese speakers. This is absolutely fascinating to me, and I felt enthralled in learning a language that uses body language only.
Today was the first time that I have ridden my bike after it has gotten dark. My bike has a light on it, but I've never really known how effective they can be, my only knowledge of them coming from the Simpson's episode where Bart discovered a comet (and who would take that seriously?). My initial impression was that they are worthless. The lights illuminating my way home go in this order of strength- car headlights, building lights, street lights, vending machines, and finally my bike. However, the last part is on a walking trail by a river that has no other sources of light; I quickly came to an appreciation for the meager 5 feet of illumination I had.

Observations:
In order to adapt more easily to Japan, I found it helpful to have something basic and home-like to fall back on. I currently am in love with ice cream cones. The flavor is so basic, so universal (France had them, too), that it has taken up the role of my comfort food. I can get some from a vending machine on campus, of buy some from the convenient store 30 seconds from the house. I've tried to have some everyday, it's so good.
I have only seen one commercial that tries using sex to sell a product, and it was for ramen. What does that say about my tastes?
Apparently, there are places where I need to say pas du mayonnaise. I had a chicken-rice bowl, but before I could realize what was going on, the server smothered in in mayonnaise and turned to the next person in line. Can anyone (Zach) say Murphy's Law?

Today, so many things went wrong, but the things I'm interested in mostly went right. Weird.
I didn't get a letter or anything saying I failed my re-take exam, and I got to stay for the class period while others were missing, so I guess this means I passed. That was a load off my mind, until we dove right into an explanation on transitive verbs in complete Japanese, instead of english from the textbook. Man was that confusing.
I spent much of my day in the library, reading a book about what anime fans apparently need know. I also found and borrowed (and finished) an english copy of Shakugan no Shana, the first book in a super-famous series that went on to be adapted into one of my favorite anime. If you're a fan of Bleach, you gotta watch this series, in many ways it's better :)
Tho koto club, for whatever reason, didn't meet up today. And I forgot to bring along my two I.D. photos I had returned, so I couldn't go to the city registrar. The forecast has rain all through Thursday, so I can't take my bike; this means my next chance to go won't be until Thursday after class ends. If they don't close before 3:30, I should make it in time.
I had some Sapporo Ichiban for lunch today, and it is not the same. I know I was expecting that, but it still could have been better. Even the vending machine ramen tastes better (although that actually tastes pretty good). Afterwards I had a burger from McDonald's. Unlike France, I don't have to say everything I don't want seperately, like pas du burre, and pas du mayonnaise, I can just say 'plain' and they understand. The burger was pretty bland, but there was just some sort of primal joy about being able to take a big bite out of something. In a culture where even finger food is prepared against that kind out eating habit, the only other thing I've had like that have been apples, but they just aren't the same as meat.
Tonight I watched part of a French cop movie with Japanese subtitles. By using both languages to fill in gaps, I could follow about 1/4 of what the dialogue was. Which really didn't add up to anything, but hey, it was an action flick, just watching it lets one get the gist.

Friday was the first day I rode my bike. That meant the universe was going to break me in the hard way. It takes about ten minutes to get from my host family's house to the university, and much of it is uphill, so when I'm tired and going back it's an easier ride. However, I wasn't technically allowed to park my bike in the campus lot without a permit sticker. So as soon as I arrived, I went and bought the ticket that I have to turn in with the application. However, the application also required that I have a copy of the bicycle registration paper, which I just happened to leave back at the house (definitely the universe at work). So, after my first two classes, with the four hour break I had, I rode all the way back (I'm out of shape right now, so I was tired and hot by this point), and then ride back up the hills. My legs felt like lead, but at least I didn't have to ride back a third time.
I had my second language placement test, which could have gone better, but also could have gone worse. I suppose I'll find out the results tomorrow.
Yesterday I decided to go out and take the pictures I have so far neglected to take. It started raining early in the afternoon, so I took the time to explore the library (which has books on otaku culture :P), but it closed before the rain stopped. Which didn't really matter in the long run, since it didn't stop raining at all. I've seen some people riding around with umbrellas in one hand (which is illegal), so I gave it a try (when in Rome...). After one minute I gave up and will never do that again. I need to find a rain suit, preferably one that covers my backpack and all the stuff in it as well.
Today was a hardcore gaming session. Not only did I spend most of the day playing a game, but Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver came out over here today, and Tatsuki's been paying as well, while Momo played some kind of sim game. I got to cook tonight's dinner, which was a big success. I made Zuppa Tuscana, and while it wasn't quite the same as usual since I didn't have exactly the same ingredients or any measuring tools, it turned out pretty well. The kids have already asked for me to cook it again, and everyone had seconds.
Tomorrow I'm going to go to the city office to apply for my long-term visa. The student ones that are how international students get over here are only good for 90 days, so we have to get this second one in order to stay throughout the semester.

Observations
Americans say kids nowadays are being raised by TV, but that's nothing next to Japanese kids. The TVs here (there are two, both in the family room) are almost always on, and Momo watches regardless of whether or not it's a kid's program.
In the U.S. there are epic razor blade commercials. In Japan, there are epic coffee commercials with flames and Godzilla as a mascot.
Since Smack ramen is no more, I switched to Sapporo Ichiban. Just yesterday, I saw a commercial for it, something that never would have happened back home. It made me pretty happy.
All of my observations this time have been about TV, haven't they?

Something Strange about the Weather

It is no longer unbearable over here. I can't tell if it got ever so slightly cooler, or if the humidity dropped, but something changed. I woke up this morning with that feeling. Apparently, so did the Japanese, because whatever happened has signaled the arrival of fall (or AUTUMN, if you live in the tundra and have to be picky about it...).
Today I got a bike. It was used, the frame's a little large, and it takes some handling, but it only cost $70, so I'm not complaining. That's about 9~10 days commuting fare, so it pays itself off really fast. You have got to buy one if you live over here without a car.
The dogs still bark when I show up, but after a minute they are all over me. Musashi wants to jump on and off my lap over and over, and Kojiro tries to make love to my sock. Let me make this clear-not my foot, not even me in particular, but my sock. It is a dog with a sock fetish.
Tomorrow is the second exam. If I pass it, I don't have to move down a level. But it covers two chapters, that I never studied, so I spent all day and most of the evening doing the practice pages from the workbook. For any prospective exchange students, the class setup looks like this:
A-H 1- Genki I ch. 1 through 9
A-H 2- Genki I and II ch. 10 through 17
A-H 3- Genki II ch. 18 through 23
Yamamoto-sensei only goes up to ch. 15 at the end of the Advanced classes, so anyone from that level, like me, will have to study a little.
I remember thinking that I would adapt to Japanese food even if it killed me. Well, it's not going to be that difficult, really. Even the food that I don't like (except takoyaki and mayonnaise, so far) isn't difficult to handle. I still don't like it, but I can eat it. Some of my homestay meals really surprise me. Like tonight, we had boiled/grilled chicken (the chicken here doesn't taste a thing like in the U.S.) in some tomato sauce that was like marinara with cheese on top, a hot fruit soup with melon and something resembling banana but hard and, like always, rice :) Finally, a foreign food custom I don't have to shy away from.

Nothing much to report today, so it's time for a:
Train Lesson
Before riding a train, you have to buy a ticket that corresponds to how far you want to go. Each station is usually lumped together with at least one other by distance away from your current location, and the farther away that group of stations is, the more it costs to get to one of them. The price starts at 150 yen and with each new grouping goes up by 50 yen. After you purchase your ticket, you insert it arrow first (there is a little illustration) into a slot as you walk through a barrier. You have to keep walking, because your ticket will pop up at the other end pretty quickly. Keep hold of it!
Now, not every train will stop at the station you want, or even the one you are waiting at, even if it passes through there. So, once on the platform consult a map. It will show different colored lines with circles under the names of stations. The color represents the type of train, whether express or local, etc. The circles represent stops. If one line does not have a circle under the name of a station, that means that it doesn't stop there. Also, when a line ends, that means that is as far as that particular train goes. Don't worry if you have to get off of on train and board another, you don't have to go buy another ticket.
So now you have taken the train to your destination and are moving off the platform to the exit. Take your ticket out and feed it through the slot again. A computer (I guess) will calculate the value of the distance between where you started and where you are getting out (maybe when, too, I don't know if tickets expire). If you paid the correct amount, then it keeps your ticket and you can walk on through without any problems. But if you didn't pay enough, then doors will swing out to block your way and security will come. The barriers might be motion sensored, too, so if you lose your ticket you can go talk to the employee on duty to see about purchasing a new one while still inside the station. Need I bother warning against trying to jump through?
It's an expensive but highly efficient method of mass-transport. I pay 200 yen to get from Kuzuha, where I am staying, to Goten-yama, where the university is. I wish the States had something like this.
Regarding buses, they are efficient and timely like the trains, but they are also as expensive and don't go as far or as fast. 210 yen (about $2.10 U.S.) a ride is really tough.

Observations:
I was doing my homework while sort of watching a show where people did famous impressions. I looked up suddenly though when I heard something I wasn't expecting for another four months, and certainly not here-24 music. I saw a Jack Bauer look-alike doing the "Drop your weapon and get down on the ground!" line. That was almost as surprising as the fact that he did this without raising his voice in the slightest. What are they watching over here??
Melon soda tastes like lime jello, but liquid. It's sooooo weird...
I still have not seen a single cat. I can't fathom that there aren't any in this area, there's gotta be a cat lover somewhere...

Today was the first day of classes for me. Although I placed into the third speaking class for now, it seems like it is going to be really difficult. Since the class is entirely in Japanese, except when going over grammar, it's not too different from Appalachian, but Miyauchi-sensei (meow-chi) speaks very fast, using Japanese speech mannerisms and words that I don't understand yet. Also, since it seems that Japanese has at least 2.5 times the amount of vocabulary of english, some of which are the same words but determined by the situation, I am once again afraid of being sent down a level. The written class seems more intensive as well, but easier. It will cover kanji that I know almost all of, having studied them in Genki II, but this time will be a more comprehensive study of the construction of compositions and essays. Religion of Japan seems like it will be really fun, since instead of sticking to one religion and going in-depth, I can get my fill with a broad overview of everything that is currently at the forefront of people's minds.
It turns out that there are more than nine clubs, but only those nine were represented yesterday. Sadly, the travel club conflicts with my schedule (and so does the mountain climbing club, dang it!), I am going to go with the shoukyoubu club, which is about playing the koto, a traditional thirteen-stringed instrument played while sitting. Although traditionally for women, there have been men beginning to play, and one other guy has also already asked to join. I was given a quick overview of how the instrument works, and it's kinda like a harp. Although I won't have time to get too good, getting passed beginner level should be easier than violin's :)
Almost every time I walk downstairs, the dogs start barking at me. I wonder how long it will take for my appearance to stop startling them. Today was Hideo-san's birthday, he turned thirty-nine. Him and Kaori-san went out to visit his father while I watched the kids. Tatsuki has Pokemon Platinum, so I showed him my copy and he was ecstatic. He immediately asked for help beating the second gym leader (I wish I knew how to convey that you have to fight other trainers and not just gym leaders to get stronger) because he kept losing. So I traded one of my level fifty legendaries, which as expected didn't listen to a word he said and lost against a pathetic level twenty-two. So instead I brought his Pokemon over into my game and quick-leveled them. Ten minutes later, he's beaten her and is losing to the third gym leader. Haven't kids here ever heard of training?!
Miso soup is not at all like I thought it would be. It's kinda like a fish-broth porridge, and yellow. Rice at every dinner is a wonderful thing. Breakfast was awesome. I had toast with strawberry jam, and the toast was just right. Apparently Japanese toasters do not have turnny bits that lie, or if they do they are malfunctioning quite badly. Showers, however, do.

Nothing much to post today. I didn't have any classes, but I went to campus anyway to check out the clubs that were being shown. Surprisingly, there really aren't that many, only about nine or so. I think that I might go with the Travel Club, who go from local areas around Kansai to deep in the mountains.
My host family is really busy during the weekday evenings, so they said it would be good if I could make some friends soon to hang out with instead of being at home by myself, bored. The problem with that is, I don't exactly know how to do that. When I made friends at Appalachian, I was just dragged into the group and everything worked out. But over here, Not only is everyone busy themselves, but it seems that groups were already established during the plane flight. I don't know anyone, really, so I can't rely on introduction into any group. Maybe class or a club would fix that.
I saw a program on tsuzumebachi, the Japanese wasp. The biggest in the world. And that claim was not exaggerated. Remember when I blogged about the size of that cicada, and how it was half the size of my hand (and I have big hands)? Well, these things are bigger. It showed normal yellow jackets flying around them, and they weren't even as big as the tsuzumebachi's heads! I'm starting to think even Australia might be safer than here.

Day 1: Meeting

Today I left the Seminar House for the last time. I had forgotten to take any pictures of the room and building while I was there, but one of my roommates was still sleeping, so I wasn't able to take any before I left. Oh well, maybe another opportunity will present itself later.
I met with my host family at 3:00 in the afternoon, and man was I nervous. The father, Hideo, is 38, and has two jobs as an office worker, one of which takes place late on weeknights. The mother, Kaori, is two years older and works part-time. They have two children, a boy named Tatsuki who is 8 and turns 9 in November, and Momoji (Momo for short) who is 6. Though I was told that none of them speak english, Kaori-san can speak it quite well, and is far more proficient at it than I am at Japanese.
After our meeting, where a Kansai Gaidai office worker helped translate as we worked our way through the various things to know, I left with then to pick up my stuff at the Seminar House and then went to their home. In Japan, it is not mandatory that vehicles have seat belts, and the back seat of their van, which is actually pretty big, doesn't have any at all. But it can electronically fold down to become a large bed for the children to sprawl out on. If the traffic regulations here were only a little stricter, I think I would take that kind of setup any day.
Tatsuki is interested in baseball and does judo, while Momo does synchronized dancing. I got to watch home videos of both of these. The family has two chihuahua/poodle mix brothers, though I don't think they are from the same litter. Kojiro has short curly brown hair and is pretty fair tempered, but he always wants to be held in some way that not even he is sure of. And Musashi has long white hair with brown and black splotches, and barks whenever I move. He doesn't get along well with strangers. Surprisingly, these two aren't named after the two most well-known swordsmen in Japanese history, Miamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro, But after pokemon's Team Rocket duo Musashi (Jesse) and Kojiro (James).
For dinner, we went out to get sushi. This time all of the food was the same price, and the plates were colored yellow if they had wasabi and white if they did not. Needless to say, I only found this out after it was too late. When we arrived, Momo took my arm and had me sit down with her. After she noticed that I have nose hair, however (I guess the Japanese don't), she began to roll up balls of napkin, stick them up her nose and blow them out while singing some little song about gaijin :)
My room is very nice. It has a glass-plated desk with compartments on the side, a bedside drawer that all my clothes fit into, and a number of small items and manga from the last two foreign students this family has hosted. Right now the bookshelf is really empty, but I bet I can fix that.
It takes about forty-five minutes to get to campus using the bus and train, but only about twenty is I ride a bike. They don't have one that I can borrow sadly, but they said I am welcome to buy one. A used bicycle costs around fifty dollars here, while a new one only costs around one hundred. I definitely need to see about getting one.

Today was my last time trying to get to the ramen shop. And I give up. I went to the correct place this time, and looked all over. It just doesn't exit. Or maybe, like my mom said, it's like the Room of Requirement but in reverse, and I can only see it when I'm full.
I got lost again today. Funny how that's the best way to learn your way around a town. Still, in a town where I have now seen banana trees growing, it's not exactly the best place to get lost outside for long periods of time.
I meet with my host family tomorrow afternoon. This is my last night in the Seminar House, so I've already packed away everything I own and gotten it ready. The family is a father, mother, brother, younger sister, and two dogs. More info to follow.

Yesterday was the second-to-last day of orientation. I didn't have anything to do until the middle of the afternoon, so I went in search of that ramen shop again. Well, not only did I not find it, I overshot the general area entirely and wound up in the next town (Osaka goes many towns inside a city, and many cities to make up Osaka). This time, however, I did find food I could eat. I went into a normal dining restaurant, by myself, and managed to make it all the way through food and the check without any problems. Go me!
The problem came after this (what, you didn't think I was in the clear, did you?). I tried to get back by a different and shorter route, completely ignoring whatever Murphy might have to say on the subject of shortcuts. As it so happens, I got abysmally lost and just barely managed to catch myself in time to not overshoot Hirakata entirely. But I didn't have time to rest when I got back to the Seminar House. I barely had time to change into my suit (where is that belt, I still haven't found it), which was composed in all black with long sleeves, and then walked for twenty minutes in 80+ heat. Ow.
From 3:00-4:45 there were opening speeches from distinguished members and guests of the university, one of which was entirely in Japanese. And I understood it! I now know that if I ever support the Tokyo Giants and not the Hanshin Tigers, I can expect to be murdered. After the speeches was a buffet, but maybe it would be more accurate to call it an all-you-can-eat five-course meal. Which it was. There were salads, sandwiches, soups, udon, sushi, cooked meats, sweets, ice cream, wraps, and tiny, tiny little bowels of soft-serve with flavor-corresponding jelly on top. I had a green tea flavored one, but in retrospect that was a very bad idea. It could have been a little bowl of wasabi, and I never would have known until it was too late.
After I finished, I tried to wind down by going through the gardens on campus. What happened next I will never forget as long as I live. I found a little tiny building to sit in, under the shade, away from everything else, and sat and looked at the garden and fountain pond. And it was enough. I don't know any other way to describe it. It was enough. The peace I felt sitting there was absolute. That must be what solders are always looking for when they come back from war. It must be what Buddhists look for. Not for a place where there is something special, just a place where it is enough to be there. It's hard to convey. If I could sit there and just look at the garden for the rest of my life, I would neither need nor want for anything else. It wasn't particularly gorgeous or anything, but it was enough.
Sadly, the spell lifted as soon as I left, and I doubt it will ever work again, but I will keep going to that spot, nevertheless.
Today, I went to a small outlying town in Kyoto called Uji with one other American and two Japanese girls who were assigned as our guides. And they couldn't speak a world of english. It was so cool to talk to them, making mistakes all the time, and trying to keep up with everything they were saying in normal Japanese. Needless to say, I failed miserably, but it was still a lot of fun.
We took a train (two, actually) and I got to learn how the train system works. I also learned where that damned station close to the ramen shop is, and next time I will succeed in getting there. Uji is the place where the events from Genjimonogatari (or The Tale of Genji) take place. It is also supposedly where the whole thing was written and illustrated, and there was a statue of the author next to the city's famous bridge, supposedly over 1,000 years old and one of the oldest in Japan (although there were undoubtedly renovations done along the way) We visited the otera (temple) of the town, which is a World Heritage site. As we walked through the museum along side it, I noticed that the Shinto bell that I wear on my backpack didn't ring except when in the room with a Nationally Treasured bell. That. Was. Amazing.
We ate dinner before coming back. One of the girls who was our guide was actually from that town, and she recommended a sushi restaurant. I shall now describe said shop in detail so that other Japan lovers can shake their fists at me in envy. The food was all located on a conveyor belt that wound by the seating area. As whatever you wanted passed, you simply took it off of the conveyor and start eating. The price of each dish was dependent on the color of the plates, which were color-coded to show what was expensive and what was cheap. The kind i tried were: one with salmon, one that was egg stuffed with rice, one with sardine that practically was the entire fish sitting on rice, one with a fish I couldn't identify but garnished with ginger, onion and green onion, and one that looked like it had just been caught and fried minutes ago, which was the most delicious. The other guy got one with squid, but it was also filled with natto, and you're not allowed to put a plate back on the conveyor. To his credit, he did try it, and then he did swallow it. I expect he'll get a standing ovation whenever he tells that story at dinner parties. One girl kept getting rolls with filled tiny orange balls which looked liked caviar, but were actually little shellfish. And the other started with one filled with corn (?). As the night drew in dessert started being sent down, and I tried a cheese cake that lived up to its name (it was actually the consistency of a cake and not sticky). As expected, the focal taste was sweetness.
The guide who lived in Uji left us after that, and the other girl had to ride the train farther than us, so me and the other American got out and started walking back to the Seminar Houses. As I paused to consult our map, an elderly lady on a bike stopped and asked where we were trying to go, and then escorted us through the winding suburbs. Along the way she stopped and showed us the local jinja (shrine), and we went inside and did the rituals for prayer like she showed us. She didn't speak any engligh, but was very patient and kind to us, to the extent that she even passed by her own house to continue walking with us. She said that our Japanese was very good and was delightful to talk to. Arigatou, Keiko-san.
Observations
Forklifts and other heavy machinery don't make loud beeping noises whenever they move around, instead they play carnival music (I kid you not).
Pigeons are called Ha-to. Whether it's because they are endearing or taste better that way remains to be seen...
I saw some people deep asleep on the train. But when we got to their stop, they woke right up and got off!

Sorry for the wait! Two days ago I was too tired to post anything. Yesterday I didn't have internet. So today's post is catch-up.
Monday was the first day of orientation. I did the usual stuff, payments, language program walkthroughs, and campus tours. And then came the single most frightening thing of my entire life. I couldn't withdraw funds.
Looking back, it seems such a small problem, since it got resolved so easily, but picture this: You are in the most expensive country on earth and alone. You have already used up most of what you brought with you because you were told you would be able to withdraw from the campus ATM, but now you can't. The bank account you set up with the school won't be active for a month, you don't have enough to get back to the airport and get home, and food, laundry, and soon textbook charges are encroaching upon you. Panic sets in, and you are now at the mercy of the world at large, which is so big that it doesn't have to care about you.
The only thing I could do was keep on trying to find an ATM that accepted my cards. When I asked the people at the dormitory, they not only told me where I might try, but lent me a bike and took me to those places.
Let me say this about Japanese bicycles: awesome (original, Edde Izzard endorsed definition). They are the most simple design I have ever seen, and yet nothing else I have ever ridden could hope to compare. They look flimsy, but they're not. They have one gear, but they work better than any multi-geared mountain or sports bike. And the road system is designed to accommodate them. You have to ride to see for yourself how wonderful it is.
Anyway, after trying a few convenience stores, I managed to get some money inside a 7-11 (go figure). Also, I recently learned how to open the door to the second ATM on campus, a device that was partly the cause of my distress. Some doors have a black plastic thing hanging on them. To open the door, don't push up or down, or sideways, or try to turn it or pull the door open manually, just push the damn thing in!
Yesterday I was rested and refreshed enough to obsessively worry about something else: my language class placement exam. I had restudied every chapter, every page of what I had gone over in two years of class for this. I think I did horribly. The test came in sections, which corresponded roughly to about one section per unit in the Genki series textbooks. It turns out that where I got in two years was the prescribed place to be for that many years of study (Good job, Sensei!). So I took parts A, B, and C of the test, which should have in it material I am able to tackle and have already progressed through. The problem was, it didn't. There was stuff in there that I have never seen before, that I know for a fact was never covered in all my time taking Japanese. And yet, here was this unknown grammar, inserting itself in as it pleased and making a fool out of me, since I had to leave large portions blank in a section I should have had no problem with. And the worst part is, if I place back down in the second class, I'll just be learning from the textbook again, and not whatever it was they randomly threw in there. So frustrating...
Today, nothing major as far as orientation was concerned. I did, however, come across the most awesome vending machine in existence, conveniently located right next to one of the cafeterias. It had ramen, soba, and udon. What you do is this: buy the cup of what you want, open it, slide it into a cubby on the side, and press a button to dispense hot water. Wait three minutes and eat! As simple as that. I tried the ramen for lunch and the udon for dinner, both were good but the ramen was better :)
Observations
In less than one week, I have heard almost every type of cicada noise that I ever heard in anime. It really is all over the place. And the cicada's are huge! One flew right by me and it was half as big as my hand!
The amount of study I have gone through is nowhere near good enough to get by. Forget speaking passibly, I usually have to rely on charity from someone else to help me find the right thing to say.
I am attracted to Japanese females. Whether or not the ones I thought were hot are of an appropriate age will require further investigation (I can't tell! Please don't be a lollita complex!).
When dealing with the Japanese, they are polite and helpful. When just walking passed them on the street, they look at you as if you are something that just isn't supposed to be there.
On the hill behind the city, which I guess leads up to the mountains, are lines of transformers, red and white and peppering the landscape. Images of such a thing were not exaggerated.

That's all for this time. I will try and post the next journal sooner, I don't want to turn this into a 'whenever I feel like it' blog.