Start of the School Year

Yesterday the fall students for ICU were officially welcomed in by the dean of students.
As I sat in the ICU church listening to the welcome speech, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered the day at the beginning of freshman year, when I decided to sleep through the deans welcome speech. But because this is Japan the entrance ceremony for new students is much more important than in America. Like graduation, one by one, each of the September students were called. And when called, we would stand up and say : "Hai".

It is really hard to believe that I am at a school. I still feel as if I am in a summer camp. I moved into the First Mens Dorm a.k.a dai-ichi. I may have expressed some qualms about being in the dorms, but so far it is going pretty well. Dai-ichi is the more subdued of the 2 men dorms at ICU. Because of that I do feel lonely part of the time, but I know that I am the type of person who need a little peace and quiet at home base. I really like my roomate. Not only is he very neat and nice, but he plays soccer, speaks very little english and loves to drink at parties. Im going to try to get to know him very well before the year is over.

Today was the first day of club orientation. Basically it is the Japanese equaliant to rush week. All of the clubs have little both type places on a road and they come up to all of the exchange students asking if they want to play tennis, or for the bigger white guys, football/rugby. To be honest I cant say I like that kind of pressure. I feel like once I choose a club, that will be my click for the rest of the year. Like it or not...
Tomorrow is the last day of club orientation, maybe I will be more into it.

One of the things I enjoyed very much was the exchange with dai-ni joshi ryo(second womens dorm). It was a great opportunity to practice my Japanese.
One girl did say I dont talk enough tho...
Sometimes I just have nothing to say I guess....

Eat your heart out Jack Kerouac

After finishing the 6 week intensive Japanese language course at ICU, in preparation for the upcoming school year, all students must evacuate the campus. Meaning we are homeless! I had be fairly warned from a friend about this 2 week gap between summer school and start of school but I always planned it would be fairly easy for me to pull 2 grand out of my butt and travel all over east asia. But as the Japanese say: yo no naka sonna ni amakunai yo. The world really isn't that sweet. But thanks to the super responsible and proactive Tina, I managed to secure hostels for mon-fri for both weeks.
However this means that for a couple of nights I really was without a place to sleep in Tokyo and I feel like I have learned a thing or two. So here are some tips.
Unlike many cities in America, many parts of Tokyo never sleep. All McDonald's across the country are open 24 hours and many drunk people end up spending the night cuddled up to a big mac. So when in doubt walk towards the golden arches.

Another 24 hour oasis is a family restaurant called Gusto. (Gasuto) The beauty of Gusto is, not only is it much cleaner and pleasant than McD's, but they have a Drink Bar for only abour 300 yen. This means all you can drink for as long as you want. Now im sure Gusto is not used to gaijin coming into gasto and spending 12+ hours in there not ordering anything just drinking, but they are sure good sports about us taking the system for a ride.


For those who have a bit more money but dont want to go through the trouble of reserving a hotel or anything, you can always post up at an internet cafe. The night after gusto
, I spend 16 bucks for 6 hours in one of these internet cafes. I would have had a bad nights rest if i spent the time to think about what might have happened on those beds in front of computers, but I was so tired that the 6 hours of sleep was like a god send.

Another option if you have no place to sleep is, stay up all night then sleep on the train. The very first yamanote train starts at around 4:15. Yamanote line is a train that circles around tokyo in a giant loop so you dont need to worry about getting kicked off. So you can sit back, enjoy the lovely air conditioned train with cushioned seats, at let the gently rocking of the train lure you into sleep.

Unfortunately, even though i figured out how to catch a few winks, I dont really know where public showers are in tokyo. Lucky for me I have a friends house I showered at those days of homelessness.

The search for the holy grail

So Japan is well known for its consumer society which rivals the U.S. So when traveling to Japan there is usually little you need to bring from the US that cannot be bought here. But I have found something! Or rather not found something... Deodorant and lotion. Arriving in Japan I quickly searched high and low for lotion and regular stick(or gel) deodorant. I only had small success when i found a travel sized tube of lotion and what I thought to be stick deodorant. But to my surprise it had a roll on applicator for a liquid that smelled like strong alcohol. I don't know what chemicals they put in that deodorant but it burns your pitts. After being in Japan for a couple of weeks I have finally picked up on the trend. For Japanese people that burning sensation is actually a "cooling" sensation. Remember in the Matrix when they say something about how your mind makes it real. Well this is the same thing I think. If you read the label and it says "cool" on it, then when you put it on, you feel the cooling feeling. Not only deodorant, but face/body wipes, and even eye drops have a burning feeling. I still dont really like the deodorant, which is why I want to buy some American stick, but I actually like the eye drops.

So if you ever are traveling to Japan, or any country really, make sure to bring your toiletries.

Sumidagawa fireworks in Asakusa

First let me present the Engrish for the week.



During the hot summer months there are many firework shows all over Japan. One such was the show on Saturday July 26 in Asakusa by the Sumidagawa river. During firework shows, and cherry blossom viewing festivals, Japanese people come out with their friends and family to drink and be merry.



This is a park near by the river. As seen in the left picture, it is not uncommon for Japanese people to dress up in a traditional yukata. Not to be confused with kimono, a yukata is made from cotton and used during the hot summers. Men can either wear a male yukata or a jinbei(traditional shorts and shirt combo).

It was a very enjoyable night. First summer matsuri(festival) i have seen on this trip. Im sure there will be plenty more in the future. Nothing wrong with more excuses to be with loved ones while drinking and watching fireworks.

More Engrish!

This is an ad placed directly across from the class where i take Japanese.

Its time to go to school

On the way to ICU. What I thought was going to be an unpleasant ride on a crowded subway:














My room in Global House


















My Unit:















Global House from the outside:





The Shino-Gabu Bike:


My new keitai:


Pretty isnt it? And with that my new life in Japan is almost set up completely. Stay tuned for more in depth entries...

JAPAN

Because this blog has started about 1 week after my arrival ill make a couple of posts to bring family/friends up to speed.

Arrival:


This just reminded me of SF so I took the picture.

Thought that this was funny engrish.














View from Youth Hostel