A TriDelta in Tokyo

In case you hadn't noticed...

2010-03-26T22:33:00.002-04:00

I'm sure most of you have figured out by now that I have officially retired this blog. As huge as an impact my year abroad has had on my life, I am now moving on to bigger and better things. Thank you to everyone who followed my travels!

In case you haven't quite had enough of me yet, I have recently started a new blog/website focusing on my life as an aspiring video game writer. It's called Video Game Goddess (modest, aren't I?) and you can find it here: http://videogamegoddess.blogspot.com Feel free to drop by and visit now and again. Cheers!

Big Dog on Campus

2009-09-07T12:28:00.003-04:00

Howdy peeps. Thought I'd take some time out of my labor day to update you on my readjustment progress. Did I mention it's raining outside in Pittsburgh right now? Yeah, lovely labor day.

So I've been through two weeks of classes already and things are going okay. My literature courses are proving to be quite interesting. We've already started discussing Tess of the D'Urbervilles in Major Works of Modern Fiction. If you haven't read it before, allow me to sum up the moral of the story: bad things happen to good people. Oh, and don't fall asleep in a deserted forest with a rapist. Yeah, great book. I hope Lord Jim is a bit more upbeat.

The only class I'm really not enjoying is Calc 101. I've never liked math, but I'm not bad at it, it's just that I haven't taken a legit math course since high school. So I know I've learned all this stuff before in AP Calculus, but I totally don't remember. And of course, since it's a freshman class, all the little newbs are like, "This is so boring! Hurry up and get to the hard stuff!" whereas I'm praying the TA slows down so I can copy every single little detail into my notebook. So embarrassing. There is an excellent chance I'm the oldest person in that lecture. Why oh why didn't that Humanities Scholars course on philosophical mathematics count for my required course???

I also got my first taste of my new internship, but I won't post on that until I take some photos of my office and the hallways. Trust me, it's worth the wait.

On the reverse culture shock side of things, I've begun to notice some major changes that Japan has wrought in me. One of the negative changes would be that I'm super lazy now. I mean, by CMU standards. I'm so unused to having multiple assignments at a time and going to the same class more than once a week. In Japan I had lots of time to play games, watch movies and TV shows, write, etc. Now I find myself feeling ridiculously guilty for not having my nose buried in an assigned book or reading every waking moment. I haven't even begun to factor in my internship hours or my thesis research! It's going to be an uphill struggle readjusting to the work load, but I've never been afraid of hard work before, so I'm not really worried.

A more positive change I've noticed is my insatiable sweet tooth is gone. Seriously, I think my taste buds are having their own type of reentry shock! In Japan, I ate TONS of sweets and junk food, which is how I gained Xpounds over the course of the year (did you really think I'd tell you the number?). Now all I want every day is healthy food: yogurt, hummus, pita chips, fruit, etc. I even tried to go back to Ben&Jerry's, my ultimate guilty pleasure, and just couldn't do it. It was way too sweet! It's not like I ate healthy food all year long in Japan, so I'm really not sure why this is. But I like it. Makes eating healthy (and losing my Japan-fat) painless. Maybe my body just really really missed vitamins and is now compensating by giving me healthy cravings. For once, I'm just gonna sit back and let the cravings take over. Thank you, Japan.

I am also much more relaxed in general. I've always been a bit of a control freak- I have to know every detail of what's going on, I have to make all the plans and follow them to a T, and god forbid if I'm not at least fifteen minutes early for every single thing. Maybe I just used up all my anal-retentiveness in Japan, but I'm so much more chill now. It's easier for me to be flexible, to roll with the punches. I can be spontaneous, and if I'm two minutes late, it's not the end of the world (so long as it isn't important, like a class or interview). I guess Japan taught me that there is no way I can be in control of everything; in fact, I know I can't control the great majority of things in my life. But it obviously didn't kill me there, so there's nothing I can't handle here. I'll save the stress for when my computer inevitably breaks down sometime in November. It's become an annual event now.

And finally, what I'm really happy to have brought back from Japan with me is confidence. I wouldn't say I strut everywhere, but I certainly hold my head high and nothing and no one can intimidate me anymore. I'm a senior on campus, a big dog, and I just returned from a year in Tokyo. That makes me super cool. Yeah, I said it. I speak Japanese (casually), I will likely graduate with a 4.0 in my major, and there are iPhone apps with my name in the credits. I am so ballin'.

Of course, at CMU, I'm still only one of the many impressive students here. I have a loooong year ahead of me and a lot on my plate, so I'm still going to have to work my little bum off just like I've been doing since the fourth grade. But honestly, after Japan, I feel like there's nothing I can't handle. Even the insanely expensive price tag of grad school, the GRE, and an economy in recession. Bring it on.

My Room!

2009-08-24T12:40:00.008-04:00

'Ello, chums! I just finished throwing away my storage boxes and decorating my side of the room, so I thought I'd take some photos and post them. Allow me to take you on a tour:
Our room is shaped like a fat L; the first leg consists of the closets and my desk area, the middle is taken up by our beds, and in the second leg is Alex's area and our food area.
Using the remarkably versatile substance known as sticky tack, I put my fan and postcards on display as well as hung up the picture cloth from Kyoto that my sister Heidi gave me. Notice how I have my PS2, PS3, and video games out on display. In case you're tempted, just know that all the individual bedroom doors in the house lock ;) I'm not losing this PS3 too!
This lovely lady is my roommate, Alex, aspiring doctor and noted college athlete. As you can see, her desk is quite the opposite of mine: a live ivy plant, Giovanni the goldfish, and various flower-themed decor. I love the contrast :)
As for our beds, I have the top bunk and yes, that is a coat rack standing next to the window. Stylish yet functional, it's easily our favorite thing in the room.So that's the grand tour. Hope you enjoyed it!

The fat lady has yet to sing!

2009-08-23T22:06:00.002-04:00

Hey loyal readers! You probably thought I had left you for good. Well, fear not! Though I am returned from the land of samurai and Sony, my study abroad experience is not quite over. There is still the delightful process of reverse culture shock, which, I am told, could be as lengthy a process as the original culture shock. Oh joy.

Now, I could tell you all about my three-week vacation at home in Texas, about the amazing steak I ate every other day, the awful experience my mother and I had watching District 9, or how my dad ended up buying me two PlayStation 3's after the first was stolen; however, none of that is related to my experience abroad. So I'm gonna save myself some time and write only the relavent readjustment stuff. Like the fact that Ben & Jerry's ice cream, once my kryptonite, now tastes far too sweet, or the fact that American bread tastes absolutely terrible to me. It's like a big doughy ball of grossness in my mouth. Ew. But let's move on, shall we?

I'm blogging from my new room in my new sorority house- Tri Delta has moved from our residence on Maggie Mo to a house on the Greek Quad which is twice as large, which means twice as much estrogen under one roof. Scary, I know, but they're my sisters so I am obligated to love them. Luckily, I really do love them, or at least the ones I know.

Yeah, that's another thing that's somewhat confounding my return to the house: a good third of the girls are strangers to me. They initiated last fall when I was in Tokyo. It's a little awkward to pass them in the hall or share a sink with them in our community bathroom; we smile at each other, but neither of us knows who the other person is, but we both seem to be living here so we must be sisters. I'm sure that will wear off with time as I get acquainted with the house again, but for now, it's kinda weird.

That little awkwardness aside, I am really happy to be back. I've been spending a lot of time with the sisters I'm closest to, catching up and whatnot. They're really helping to make my transition back into the house and CMU much easier, especially the sisters I've kept in contact with over the year. I have no idea what I'd do without them!

Oh, and did I mention my room is awesome? And that it comes with an even awesomer roommate? As a senior with a strong history in the house, I got pretty much first pick when it came to rooms, so I'm in the GIANT room on the second floor, the third-floor-twin of which is a triple, if that gives you any idea. And my roommate Alex, who is also a senior and in my pledge class, just returned from a semester in France, so our room is going to end up with very international-themed decor. It's been great swapping stories with each other. I feel lucky to have a roommate that I can relate to concerning such an important event in both of our lives.

Classes start tomorrow, but I only have one hour of math; I consider my real first day to be Tuesday, on which all four of my classes are scheduled (my fifth spot is for my thesis). So though I may not have time to blog as often as in Japan (nor will I have as much to blog about), I will keep writing about how my readjustment goes, how my thesis develops, progress in my service projects, and various other areas of my life on which my time in Japan has had a lasting effect. Stay tuned, sports fans!

Sayounara Japan!

2009-07-28T20:48:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to do a really quick post before I have to leave. Today is my last day here, and in ten minutes I have to lug my under-50lbs suitcases downstairs. Sorry I didn't leave time to post a lengthier goodbye-Tokyo message; I was too busy packing, cleaning, and downloading WoW (you'll hear all about that in the next post ;) ).

Fear not! This is not the end of my blog! I plan on continuing it to document my return and the eventual, inevitable reentry shock. And hopefully I'll get to post some photos of my time in Texas with the family, too. Talk about culture clash.

So bai bai, Nihon! It was fun/weird/crazy/amazing/expensive/scary/frickin' magical!

The Photo!

2009-07-23T20:39:00.003-04:00

Here is the photo that was taken of us on the Indiana Jones ride the second time we went:

Isn't it awesome?

It's Frickin' Magical!

2009-07-23T08:29:00.015-04:00

So for those of you who haven't heard my gleeful cries of eight-year-old joy, on Tuesday my homies and I went to Tokyo DisneySea, one of the two parks at the Tokyo Disney Resort. In opposition to its neighboring park Tokyo Disneyland, DisneySea is more for adults: the rides are scarier, there are more shows, and you can purchase alcohol (not that I know this from experience cough cough).In case you are wondering how it was, check the title: the phrase of the day was "it's so frickin' magical!" and we repeated it every time we saw something amazing, which was about every 1.3 seconds. My comrades were Melanie, Sarah, and Michelle, and out of the three of us, Mel was the only one who had ever been to a Disney Park before. So as you can imagine, the three of us newbies were freaking out the entire ride there.

Tokyo DisneySea is the most expensive theme park ever built, and it shows: every ride is meticulously designed to emerge guests in whichever world that particular area of the park encompasses. The Tokyo Disney Resort is also the only Disney park not directly owned by The Walt Disney Company- it is licensed to The Oriental Land Company. But trust me, you totally can't tell; according to Mel, the experienced veteran, going to Tokyo Disneyland is just like going to Disneyland in California. And even though all the speech at DisneySea is in Japanese, all the writing is in English, if not both English and Japanese. Maybe it's because I've lived here for nearly a year, but it was easy to forget that every employee in the park was Japanese and we were only fifteen minutes outside of Tokyo. All I saw was the Magical World of Disney, and my inner eight-year-old couldn't be happier.

They even have a ~1910's era Americana area called "American Waterfront", which is home to Hotel Hightower, a.k.a. The Tower of Terror, and the U.S.S. Columbia, a full-size luxury cruise ship.

The first thing that struck us was how incredibly detailed everything was. From the train to the lampposts to even the employees' themed costumes, everything was meticulously designed to reflect the theme of whichever area we were in. Sarah actually took photos of all the bathroom signs we saw!

Since we went on a Tuesday and it was somewhat rainy all day, there were very few people at the park- the longest line we waited in all day long was 20 minutes! We arrived at the park thirty minutes after opening and stayed until the moment it closed. We went on every major attraction, saw several shows, and hit the vast majority of the souvenir shops. Needless to say, we made the most of our day ^^.The center and icon of the park is Mount Prometheus, a volcano that smokes during the day and shoots fire at night during the light show. It stands over a tall ridge line that forms a ring in the center of the park, inside of which is the Mysterious Island area. This is a picture of the view of Prometheus from inside this area; the things sticking out of it are part of the Journey to the Center of the Earth attraction, which at one point shoots you out of the volcano's side!The ride we most anticipated was the Tower of Terror, to which we made a beeline the moment we entered the park. It is seriously insane how much design goes into the waiting areas for the attractions- you have to see it to believe it. Seeing these areas is really half the fun.
But our favorite ride of the day, which we hit once during the day and once at night, was the Indiana Jones Temple of the Crystal Skull ride. It was fast, scary, and action-packed the entire way through. They even had three impressively life-like robotic Indi's spaced along the ride to help create the story! The best part, though, was the picture- we knew they would snap a group photo sometime during the ride, so we discussed how we should pose beforehand and settled on complete terror. And by a stroke of good luck, we four got to sit in the front row, with Mel in the driver's seat! She gripped the steering wheel and made the most ridiculous face! Sarah looked aghast in the photo, but I, being the genius I am, ducked the moment they snapped the photo because of a boulder bearing down on the car, and Michelle just looked confused. But when we went again at night, we all did it again and the result was perfect- everyone looked horrified at Mel, who was grinning maniacally while steering us to certain death. We all bought one or both photos, and as soon as Sarah scans hers, I'll post them here!The "most magical area" award definitely goes to Mermaid Lagoon, a reconstruction of King Triton's castle from The Little Mermaid. On the outside you see the castle, but the attraction area itself is all inside. They created a giant room using dark lighting and watery shapes so it actually feels like you're under water! It was really beautiful.

It would take me all day to give true justice to how amazing DisneySea is and what an awesome time the four of us had. This was the one thing I wanted to do most in Tokyo, and the one thing I didn't think I'd get to do. I'm so grateful I was able to go with my friends and I will remember it as one of my happiest days in Japan, if not the happiest. I don't care if The Walt Disney Company is a giant conglomerate with sweatshops in southeast Asia and criminally overpriced merchandise. It's frickin' magical!

The end of an era

2009-07-20T04:14:00.003-04:00

I finished my last exam of my last Japanese class on Saturday. Before I had even handed the four-page test in, I began to feel a sense of loss: I had just completed my formal education in Japanese language. Of course, I still have my honors thesis to write next year, but as for classes in Japanese language and culture, I'm through. From here on out, I'll mainly be working on completing my degree in creative writing.

Regardless, my informal education in Japanese will never be complete. I freely admit that I am not fluent, after three years of study, and I doubt that I will ever truly be fluent. Japanese is a difficult and subtle language which, I believe, few foreigners are equipped to master. And quite frankly, I have no desire to do so. To become truly fluent in Japanese would require many more years of study and probably a great deal more time spent abroad. But from the very outset, Japanese was never an end to me, but a means through which to become better acquainted with the Japanese video game industry. Thanks to my current proficiency in Japanese and my experiences abroad, I am already meeting that goal.

Of course, I have no intention whatsoever to give up my hard-earned language skills just because I'm no longer being tested on them. I'm still somewhat awkward at the conversational level, but thanks to several friends of mine in Pittsburgh who are native Japanese speakers I am confident I can improve upon that area. As for reading, I have my Japanese video games to keep me on my toes and remind me of kanji, as well as a couple of books in Japanese (one being the first Harry Potter).

Now I am eager to return to Carnegie Mellon and continue my degree in creative writing. Even though no writing courses were available at Keio, I didn't completely neglect my craft. During the second half of my stay here, I worked diligently on several short stories, including a lengthy Greek mythology piece which I believe is the best fiction I've ever written. I look forward to advancing my skills in fiction and screenwriting at CMU next year. In case you didn't know, I plan on using my two degrees to pursue a career as a video game writer, and I intend to apply to several graduate schools this winter to help achieve this end and to learn about game development.

In a week and two days, I will be on a plane back to America. I'm quite anxious about it, both concerning the long trip back and reentry shock, but I am also excited to spend my last week in Japan having fun with my friends. I promise you'll hear all about it shortly, with plenty of pictures! Cheers!

Sharing is Caring

2009-07-14T01:15:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update about my final research paper for my Japanese Buddhism class: it's finished, it's beautiful, and it's available for your reading pleasure online at my group's blog-

Discrimination in Buddhism

If you have some free time and want to learn about discrimination in Japanese Buddhism, feel free to read mine and my partners' essays. Intelligent comments welcome.

Tanabata Matsuri

2009-07-12T02:46:00.008-04:00

Hi friends! I am taking a short break from my extremely busy final exam/paper preparation/writing time to bring you pictures from my awesome night at the Tanabata Matsuri- don't you feel special? ;)

The Tanabata Matsuri, which means "festival of the evening of the seventh" is a lunar festival celebrated at night to commemorate the once-a-year meeting of two lovers, represented by constellations, separated by the Milky Way. The town my friends and I went to were celebrating all weekend, so we went on the fourth of July as a kind of pseudo-Independece Day celebration (we're all Americans)! This is a pic of Mel and Jake commemorating the holiday with American periphenilia that Mel's friend brought from the States ^^;;;

My friend Sarah is doing a homestay, so Melanie, Jake, and I were invited to go with them to the festival. Tanabata Matsuri is one of the many yukata festivals of summer, so when we arrived at Sarah's home, we changed into yukata, which are thin summer kimono. I happened to have my fan with me which has rabbits on it, so I picked a yukata with rabbits and moons; in Japan, they believe there is a rabbit on the moon, so it was very appropriate for a lunar festival ^^. Melanie wore a really beautiful obi that looked like a fall of sakura blossoms.

The festival is held in the shopping district of town. Every side street is lined with food, drink, and game stalls, and the broad avenues are canopied by decorations made by local shopowners. Needless to say, it was an incredible sight.

We ate okonomiyaki will standing, chocolate-covered bananas, and fresh melons and coconut. There was a haunted house that we went into- it was actually pretty scary! Sarah took video of it on her camera- you can't see much, but you can hear us screaming, especially me ^^;; We also took part in the most important Tanabata custom: writing a wish down on colored paper and hanging it from a bamboo rod. I hope mine comes true!

We all had a really, really great time at the matsuri. I'm so glad I got to go! It was really nice of Sarah's host family to invite us and lend us yukata for the night ^_^ Mel and I were already friends with Sarah's host-sister, Sakie (whom I have officially dubbed Cowgirl Sakie by the power invested in me by the great state of Texas), but her parents were so, so nice and welcoming. I hope I get to see them again before I come back to the States.

Hope you enjoyed the post! Now I must go back to my studies- one week of finals then I'm home free!!

Home Stretch

2009-07-02T04:48:00.004-04:00

Howdy homies!

Sorry for the long pause. June was quite an eventful month. My sorority sister, Heidi, was here for two weeks on her graduation trip before heading off to Korea. No one in my family had planned on coming to visit, so when Heidi sent me an email saying "I'll be in Tokyo on Saturday", I was super excited!

Every day I didn't have class, I spent playing tour guide with Heidi. We went all over Tokyo, and I got to see a few things I still had on my list. We went to the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace. The stones that the walls were made out of were HUGE! And the gardens were sooo pretty.

We also took a break at Cafe Paulista in Ginza, the oldest western-style cafe in Japan. It turned 100 this year and was made famous by loyal patrons like John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I had been trying to go there since February, but they were always full or I was too busy. But Heidi and I just walked right on in in the middle of the afternoon and got a table. The coffee and food were excellent, yet it was surprisingly moderately priced compared to most Tokyo cafes. History + cheap snack = win.

With only two weeks of class left, I'm busy writing final term papers and prepping for exams. My last one is on the 18th, so I have 11 days to enjoy Tokyo before I go home. My friends and I are already making plans, like going to Tokyo Disney- I've never been to a Disney park! And this weekend happens to be the lunar festival where they have hanabi, or fireworks. So on Independence Day, I'll be seeing fireworks in Japan wearing traditional yukata! Sure, there won't be July 4th barbeque, but maybe I'll sing the Star Spangled Banner under my breath while watching the hanabi ;)

Comfort Zone

2009-06-11T03:04:00.002-04:00

I went to the post office the other day to send home a box of stuff to help lighten the weight of my suitcases for my return flight. I carried it down the street to the small office, told them where to ship it and by what method, filled out the form, thanked them and left.

It wasn't until I was leaving that I realized how relaxed I'd been. I hadn't had an ounce of anxiety during the whole transaction. Even when my friend, who had previously agreed to mail her box at the same time, changed her mind, I just said "okay" and immediately went and mailed it alone.

This may not seem a big deal to you, but to me, it speaks volumes about how far I've come to adjusting to life here. In the spring, I sent home another box filled with winter clothing and omiyage for my family after I returned from Hokkaido. I was so nervous about using the post office, I put it off for three weeks! I was wracked by anxiety at having to make such a complicated transaction and filling out forms in Japanese that it took me weeks to build up the resolve to go.

Of course, much of my newfound ease can be attributed to my increased fluency. Even my professor, who also taught me last semester, remarked the other day about how much more talkative I am and how easy it is for her to understand me.

But more than that, I'm no longer anxious about making mistakes, about not understanding. I am still terrible at listening to employees and salespeople; I hear them, but my mind just doensn't process what they're saying. I have to seriously focus in order to dissect their keigo, which is a complicated grammatical pattern used in formal situations. I often have to ask them to repeat themselves, in which case they use gestures or perhaps a word of Engrish to convey their meaning. But I guess I'm just so used to this, it no longer deters me.

I've also been here so long that employees at the combeni and grocery stores I frequent interact with me. Usually it's about the weather, but the simple fact that they are trying to talk to me is very encouraging. It makes me feel like I've been accepted as part of the community, inspite of my being a foreignor.

Most people that I talked to before coming here told me it takes at least three months to gain fluency, so to go for just one semester doesn't make sense. By no means would I call myself fluent, but I definitely agree that one semester isn't enough. I mean, it took me half a year to use the post office without stressing out! More than just becoming fluent, staying abroad longer gives you more time to truly adjust to living in another culture. And only after I became more comfortable was I able to really appreciate Japanese lifestyles, instead of focusing just on how out of place I felt or how much I had to compromise my own lifestyle.

It's a shame, though, that just when I'm comfortable living here, I have to plan on coming home again. Only six weeks and I'll be back States-side! I'm really excited to return to my family and school, but I'm also sad. There are so many experiences here that I have to savour while I can, and important friends I may never see again. I'll just have to do my best to enjoy the rest of my time here with everyone.

Plus, I have a feeling that I'm going to get really bad reverse-culture shock when I go home >_<

Train Fail

2009-06-03T00:19:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday, my sorority sister Heidi, who just graduated from CMU with a degree in architecture, arrived in Tokyo for a two week vacation, the first week being spent in Tokyo. This isn't an update about our fabulous time together (soon, don't worry!), but rather about how we both had really unfortunate, and just plain stupid, experiences on the train this week.

Monday is my least favorite day of the week because I have a really boring class during 5th period, so I never get home until about 7pm. This time, while riding the Den-en-toshi from Shibuya to my station of Sangenjaya, I put my book bag on the metal rack inside the train and spent the time thinking about all the fun stuff Heidi and I have planned for the week.

Completely distracted, I got off at my stop WITHOUT my book bag!

I didn't realize it until I was halfway up the stairs and the train was already pulling out. So I had to go to the ticket window and explain my predicament to the station employees in Japanese and give them a description of what I lost, where I'd placed it, etc. They made a call and told me to wait. Luckily, ten minutes later someone called to say they found it three stops down the line. The employees told me to get back on the train and go pick it up. So I went down to the platform and got on the train.

In the wrong direction.

I had to get off at Ikejiri-ohashi, go to the other side of the station, and get back on in the other direction.

After finally getting to the right station, collecting my bag, and returning to my own station and back to the dorm, it was 8pm :___( You'd think I'd be past making those kinds of mistakes by now! ばかだね。。。

But I'm not the only TriDelta who made a silly mistake on the trains this week ^^

Yesterday afternoon, I left Heidi in Harajuku and agreed to meet back up with her in Shibuya in the evening. She ended up being an hour late to meet me, and here's why:

When trying to get back from Shinjuku to Ueno, she took the Yamanote line, which is correct. But she kept changing her mind about which way to go. She couldn't figure out if she should go left or right, so she kept getting off, riding in the opposite direction, then getting off again a little later to go the other way. She basically ended up going around Tokyo on Yamanote twice because she forgot it's a loop! Which I had specifically told her the day she arrived! ^^;;;;

So this week has not been a good week for TriDeltas on trains. But in our defense, Tokyo does have the most complicated public transportation system in the world.

And yet, I've been here nine months... ばか。。。

Hello Robo

2009-05-22T07:10:00.003-04:00

I met a robot today.

No, seriously, I totally did!

The Starbucks near campus is in the same building as a Mitsubishi showroom, and about two months ago, they tore down the wall separating the cafe and the showroom so you can sip coffee while gazing at shiny new cars. Mel, Sarah, David and I were getting coffee when we noticed this short yellow robot gliding around the showroom!

We watched a salaryman try to speak to it briefly. It didn't seem like the robot responded, but it was so cool-looking we all wandered over to check it out. It happened to be standing near its own info panel which listed words and phrases that the robot, named Wakamaru, would respond to.

Sarah asked, "What time is it?" loudly in Japanese, and the robot responded with the correct time in a Japanese woman's voice. It was so cute! There is a panel on its chest that flashed pictures like the time, a heart, and its battery life. Sarah asked it several questions, like What are you doing, What is your name, etc, and it responded to each question with a really cute answer; to "What are you doing?", it replied, "I'm wandering around the room, smiling all the while." Chou kawaii!

But what made it really interactive was it has sensors on its head that allows it to locate whomever it is talking to it. Every time Sarah moved, Wakamaru moved its face to keep its focus on her.

Here is a link to Mitsubishi's Wakamaru website in English if you want to check it out: http://www.mhi.co.jp/kobe/wakamaru/english/

One more experience to check off on my Japan to-do list!

Goodbye Freeman-ASIA

2009-05-20T19:10:00.003-04:00

I am deeply saddened to be sharing this news with you today: I just received an email from Freeman-ASIA , a program administered by the Institute of International Education which awards scholarships to students studying abroad in Asia, announcing that it will be closing after this spring term. You can read this announcement on their website here: http://www.iie.org/programs/Freeman-ASIA/p_announcement.shtm

Freeman-ASIA is one of the three organizations from which I received scholarships for my year in Japan, and I started this blog as part of my service project required by the Freeman-ASIA and Gilman scholarship programs. Over 4,000 American undergraduates have gone abroad with help from the Freeman-ASIA program, and I am honored to have been one of its last recipients.

いろいろなこと。。。

2009-05-18T20:49:00.004-04:00

Though I am trying to keep my blog updated about once a week, there's actually not a lot for me to post about at the moment. Nothing big, anyway. As the title says, there are various things going on right now, such as:

Video games
This month, my boss, Marc Cellucci, is getting hitched to his long-time girlfriend in Hawaii, and they're also having their honeymoon there. He's from Texas and she's Japanese, so their parents are flying in from both countries to meet halfway in Hawaii for the wedding. おめでとう、マルクさん！

Also in the world of JVG this month: the eagerly anticipated Kingdom Hearts spin-off for the Nintendo DS, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, releases in Japan on May 30! That's next week, people! To help with my Japanese study *coughplaygamescough*, I have pre-ordered it from Amazon Japan. Sooooo excited! Don't worry, my fellow American KH fans: the English version is coming to the States at the end of August.

School
Interesting how I put the video game paragraphs before the school update...
My core courses in Japanese are going along swimmingly. I really like the textbook we're using, and the professors are very skilled at explaining grammar in Japanese.

My Special Focus course, Intermediate Aural Comprehension I, is boooooooorrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnngggggg. I always leave that class feeling like I downed a bottle of sleeping pills. But on the flip side, listening is my worst skill, so it's necessary. According to Mel, who took a similar class last semester, it greatly improved her listening skills, so I'm hoping that the painful hours of mind-numbing listen-and-repeat exercises will pay off in the end.

The comparative literature class I'm taking is quite interesting. I've really enjoyed the selections so far. It's so nice to have a literature class again; it makes me less homesick for CMU. And in my Buddhism class, I've joined the team focusing on gender and social discrimination in Japanese Buddhism. It's fascinating how similar, at least in my perspective, Japanese Buddhism and certain types of Christianity are in their use of particular interpretations of core teachings to discriminate against disenfranchised groups. I plead the First.

My Imminent Return
With only two-and-a-half months left, I spend a lot of my time considering all I need to do before I return to the US. I bought a plane ticket for July 29, two days after the last day of finals, which will give me approximately three weeks home with my family before going back to Pittsburgh. Apparently, while I've been abroad the airline companies have decided that financially raping customers is O.K., so I have to keep my two suitcases under 50lbs. or pay $150 extra. Why hasn't someone at CMU invented a teleportation device yet?

Packing aside, I also have a few lists of things I need to accomplish before leaving. There are still at least half-a-dozen places in Tokyo I haven't been to, such as the Tokyo Fish Market. I have a lengthy list of omiyage (souvenirs) to buy for people back home. And, since I just received IRB approval for my thesis interviews, I need to start contacting Japanese video game developers to find willing subjects. So much to do, so little time.

I'm also nearly done with my second of two video game books (in English) that I found at Keio's library. I don't think I've ever been so enthralled in non-fiction before. Did you know that Sega was started by an American in Japan? Yeah, it's true, look it up. And Miyamoto, the genius behind Nintendo's Super Mario Bros, plays blue grass guitar and banjo! These tidbits may seem insignificant to you, but already I am finding that Japanese and American video games have a more intimate history with each other than I suspected.

Seriously: best thesis topic EVER.

Golden Week

2009-05-11T21:11:00.008-04:00

Howdy, everyone! How's everybody doing? I'm doing just fine myself, thank you. Now, on to business:

Last week was Golden Week, a period of four holidays in a row during which many Japanese leave their homes and go on a short vacation. Tokyo pretty much empties of people as everyone flocks to the countryside to enjoy spring, the south to party at the beach, or to Tokyo Disney, which is notoriously crowded during Golden Week.

Since I still have a long list of places to visit in Tokyo (and little cash left), I stayed in the city. Mina also happened to be in town at the time for a club of hers. She had all of Monday completely free, so we decided to go to the zoo.

As did the rest of Tokyo.

Monday was May 4, which happens to be Midori no Hi, or Greenery Day, and on this day all the zoos are free of charge. So the Ueno zoo, the largest and oldest zoo in Tokyo, was PACKED with grandparents, parents, and small children. Mina and I were probably the only people between the ages of 10 and 30 in the whole park. Normally, I'm not that fond of children, but Japanese kids are about as cute as kids can get, especially when they chase ducks around, as they did near the zoo's pagoda.

I don't really know why, but they had this giant string of fish kites/flags strung up near the entrance, and I thought it was cool.

We were really surprised to see this guy: an American Buffalo. A lot of people were looking at him and taking his picture. Mina and I couldn't believe how massive his head was! It's a bit difficult to get a sense of scale in this photo, but there were some wild pigs in the enclosure with him, and they weren't as big as his head.

I was excited to get to see an aardvark, or ant eater. I had never seen one before. He just kept pacing in front of the grate of his enclosure, giving everyone a good look. Mina and I noticed that he seemed to be walking on his knuckles, kind of like an ape.

We were at the zoo for maybe an hour and a half before wading through the throng just became too tiresome, so we missed some of the big cats and arctic animals. But all in all, it was a nice zoo. For some reason, they had the kangaroo situated in the Africa area, but I'll forgive them.

If you ever decide to visit Ueno Zoo, take this advice: pony up the $6 and go on any day BUT Greenery Day. And don't be shy about taking a picture with the super cute panda statue- Mina wasn't!

Green is the New Pink

2009-04-27T03:11:00.002-04:00

I think I’ve become an environmentalist.

Lately I find myself asking questions like, How can I persuade my mother to recycle, How can my sorority become more earth-friendly, and How practical is a commuter bike for transportation in Pittsburgh?

The realization that I’ve begun to think green came quite suddenly last week. I spent almost an entire day off researching green energy solutions in America, green commuting, green home improvements, and discovered the Amazon Green page on Amazon.com (which I definitely recommend).

Of course, my new attitude is by no means an overnight development. Early on in my sophomore year, I bought an organic cotton grocery bag I saw advertized in my favorite magazine, Shape, and I use it every week in Pittsburgh. Though Shape is a health and fitness magazine, over time it has become a great source for information on eco-friendly products, and every year they devote an entire issue to green living. So of course, the magazine has had an influence on me.

And even before then, I was no stranger to the environment. In high school, I was the vice president of Grable’s Grasshoppers, my school’s environmental community service club. It was my favorite extracurricular, in spite of the heat, blisters, and proximity to garbage. It felt good to do something with my spare time that had a positive impact on my city.

But in college, I became so busy with school work and my sorority, I forgot about my passion for eco-service. But about a week ago, I realized that over the last few months, my concern for living green has returned, and I believe that this is due in large part to living in Japan.

In my neck of Texas, very few people recycle. We should, but no one does and since there are no city campaigns showing people how easy it is, no one bothers. Even my sorority house at CMU doesn’t have a recycling bin inside, though I think we did before I moved in. And as far as I know, no sisters have really tried to reinstate it.

In Japan, recycling is mandatory. There are no “anything goes” garbage cans. In fact, garbage receptacles of any kind are few and far between; I have never seen a public trashcan or recycling station here. You have to be in a restaurant/café or in a train station. And instead of giant black trashcans, there are three-to-five receptacle recycling centers, with separate bins for plastic bottles, cans, combustibles and noncombustibles, and sometimes for mixed paper.

For your home, each of these categories has its own day for trash pickup, and if you don’t put out the right refuse on the right day, you can get fined. You can also get in trouble with the managers of your apartment building, if you live in one.

When I first learned that we had to separate our trash, I was not happy. Digging through my trashcan and trying to figure what all is combustible and what isn’t is not my idea of a good time. But eventually, the managers simplified our system to separating out cans, bottles, and cardboard from everything else, so it wasn’t much trouble at all. Now I’m totally used to it; it’s a habit, and a good one to have.

In America, recycling centers are even less picky than that- all your recyclable materials can go into one bag and your mixed trash into another. It makes you wonder why more Americans don’t recycle. Let’s face it: we’re just lazy. It’s the cause of many of our problems, but it doesn’t have to be.

Another green practice that is popular in Japan, as well as many parts of Europe, is cycling. In Japan, having a car is an important status symbol and many families own them, but they’re not very practical for everyday use. Tokyo commute traffic is terrible, which is why a great many car owners opt to take the train (which is also painfully crowded), but many others bike to work, if they don’t live too far. But more commonly, people ride their bikes to do grocery shopping and other errands in their section of Tokyo. Almost everywhere I go, somewhere in view is an extensive line of commuter bicycles standing in an orderly line with baskets and child seats attached.

Of course, commuting by bike is becoming an increasingly popular practice in certain metropolitan areas of the US, not only because it’s eco-conscious, but because it’s waaaay cheaper and less stressful than being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. But we’ve still got a long way to go before it can be called “common” in the States.

Simple changes like recycling and biking to work are easy ways that Americans can help combat our environmental crisis, save money, and live healthier lives. I’m not saying compulsory recycling is just around the corner (though with the current administration’s groundbreaking environmental policies, it’s not an impossibility), but maybe we should take a look at Japan’s greener lifestyle and copy an idea or two. As the Land of the Rising Sun demonstrates, urban living doesn’t have to mean living in opposition to the environment. A few tweaks here and there, and America will be on track toward a greener future.

So whether you buy a reusable grocery bag, start tossing your water bottles into a recycling bin, or dust off your bicycle, make one small change this week and take the first step towards a green lifestyle and a greener planet.

The real reason I came to Japan:

2009-04-20T02:22:00.004-04:00

Instant access to all things Square Enix!

As most of you probably are not aware (nor care), last week marked the release date of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete DVD, the Director's Cut of the CG FFVII sequel. If, like me, you purchased the Blu-ray set, you also got the Final Fantasy XIII demo disc, which contains the first half hour of the game. I pre-ordered the demo set from Amazon.co.jp months ago, and on Friday, it finally arrived!

Now, now, I know what you're thinking: but Katherine, you have neither a PlayStation 3 nor a TV! And you're absolutely right. But I do have a friend who was bent on writing a blog review of the movie and demo, and he had a friend with a PS3 and access to a large TV. Problem solved.

So Saturday night, my friends and I basked in the glory of FFVII:AC Complete, which even without an HD TV was truly breathtaking in both art and music. The new DVD has half an hour of extra footage. Many fans speculated that this would probably be nearly all fight scenes, with which the original is already quite saturated. But I'm happy to report that most of the new material is exposition explaining the true nature of geostigma, which is now as scary as the Black Death, and also the appearance of Denzel, an orphan who was completely absent from the game but now inexplicably lives with Cloud, Tifa, and Marlene. The new scenes show how he came to live at 7th Heaven, and it's quite a touching story.

If you already own the original cut and are on the fence about buying the new version, I assure you it's entirely worth the money: in addition to superior backstory, the end of the fight scene between Cloud and Sephiroth is totally different and positively wicked!

After having our minds nearly blown by the movie (we suspect that HD would finish the job), we popped in the FFXIII demo and, since I bought it, I got to play the new game for the first time. Of course, the demo was entirely in Japanese, but with four exchange students of varying levels watching, we were able to understand most of the dialogue. Also, I have been keeping well up to date on all available info on the game, so I knew the battle system well enough to skip the Japanese explanation screens and just dive right in.

I could sit here and type up all my thoughts about the game, but to be honest, I was so busy kicking butt and trying not to die that I wasn't paying much attention to the game as a whole. Instead, I suggest you pop on over to David's blog to read his review of the game- he watched me play, asked lots of questions, and took notes. You can find the link to his blog, Bored of Pixels, to the right under "May I Suggest". If you're interested in learning more about Final Fantasy XIII and the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, click on the FinalFantasy-XIII.net link.

Of course, the most important reason for my studying abroad was to improve my Japanese, which I am certainly doing. But my main reason for learning Japanese in the first place is Square Enix. Their games are not only entertaining, but they embody incredible artwork, original music, and the finest computer graphics and programming in the interactive entertainment industry. And playing their games in the original Japanese is a great way to improve my reading and listening abilities.

So remember kids: enjoy video games responsibly, and you may end up with a great career opportunity.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

2009-04-18T04:24:00.004-04:00

That is the sound that is currently blaring from a truck outside my window as it backs up. This and other incredibly annoying noises associated with construction sites have been plaguing me for weeks now.

My dorm is situated in the middle of a very short street that connects two main streets (think of an H). My window opens up to give a perfect view of one of these three-way intersections, and since it's getting quite warm out (and my AC seems to be broken), I have to keep said window open at all times or my room turns into a sauna.

But about three weeks ago, the large apartment building that stood on the other side of the main street in view of my window was demolished, and ever since then, swarms of construction workers have inhabited the area with beeping trucks and massive yellow construction vehicles that also beep and grind lumps of concrete.

They start working at 7 IN THE MORNING. ON SATURDAY.

Oddly enough, this is not the most annoying sound that's been grating on my nerves.

About a week ago, I was reading one of my video game history books when I began to hear this mangled yell being repeated over and over. It sounded like a person screaming/crying something, maybe a name or phrase, but assuming it was in Japanese, I couldn't understand and therefore tried to ignore it.

But it went on for FIFTEEN MINUTES at the same volume.

I have no idea how anyone can yell that loud for that long, but by god they did. So heat be damned, I closed my window and continued reading. But I could STILL hear it!

After about half an hour, whoever was yelling finally stopped, and I forgot about it.

But then it happened again the next day. And two days after that. And last night.

I whomever is yelling seems to be deranged or senile, it's probably one of the residents at the retirement home across the street. Hopefully one of the nurses will give the old codger some heavy meds so they shut up. Or kick the bucket. Whichever is quicker, I don't care, so long as my reading goes uninterrupted.

Heartless? Yes. Wrong? No.

Fishnets in the Spring

2009-04-12T01:30:00.002-04:00

I'm happy to say that I'm feeling a little less homesick today. On Saturday, Melanie and I went spring/summer clothes shopping in Shibuya. She's a skinny 5'9" redhead with killer legs but little fashion experience, so she became my barbie doll for the day. After hitting up the Gap and Zara, we had lunch at TGIF (yes, they have those here). The heavy shot of Americana cleared up my bout of homesickness.

While strolling around Shibuya, Mel and I people-watched to see how Japanese women dress during the sunnier seasons. Apparently, not all of them registered the season change: we saw plenty of young women in black leggings, knee-high boots, and heavy jackets. It was 72 degrees and sunny!

I discussed this bizarre behavior with Mina, my go-to-gal for all things Japan, and she said that women here have no qualms whatsoever about wearing knee-high boots all year round, regardless of how hot and humid it gets. I fully expect to see fainting females once we get into July.

Last week was also the start of my spring classes. As I mentioned, I am taking Bhuddism and Fiction for my Optional Electives. Lots of people showed up for the Short Fiction class on Wednesday. The professor is British and said it will be a discussion class, not lecture, so we're all very excited about it. My Bhuddism class, taught by an American who's lived in Asia ever since he graduated from Princeton in the nineties, is also discussion-based and focuses on how modern bhuddism is used to address social issues in Japan. We get to go on three field trips, including one to see a temple that was recently made over to be a "green" building- it's entirely run on solar panels!

It's odd to think that at the same time I'm beginning the spring semester, Carnegie Mellon is enjoying the annual Spring Carnival, which marks the last stretch of the school year. My sisters have built a "Jack and the Beanstalk" booth this year, and I can't wait to see the pictures! Good luck, ladies!

Since Maggie asked...

2009-04-05T02:32:00.004-04:00

Here is a picture I took at the Shiroi Koibito Chocolate Factory in Hokkaido. Looking at the bridge, I was reminded of the whole "troll-under-the-bridge" fable, so I asked my homies to help me out and pose. That's Melanie down under pretending to be a dreaded bridge troll, and Maggie and JC are astonished and frightened victims of Mel's wrath. And might I say, Maggie absolutely nailed it ;)

Cherry Blossoms

2009-04-05T02:15:00.003-04:00

It is finally truly spring here in Tokyo: the leaves have returned, the warm sun, and, unfortunately, so has my homesickness :_( As I reported in my end-of-semester essay on Culture Shock, a sojourner's mood goes up and down, and this is just another small dip in time. Fear not, I shall recover.

I am, however, very grateful to be here for Hanami season. Hanami means, in so many words, cherry blossom viewing party. For about one week, the sakura, or cherry blossoms, are in full bloom, and everywhere Japanese pour outside with cameras and sake to enjoy the country's national flower. My friends and I strolled over to a nearby temple in Setagaya that is famous for its sakura, and rightly so. The trees were absolutely dripping with blossoms, and I was once again reminded how fortunate I am to be able to enjoy Japan as an American student.

But sakura season also signals the beginning of the new semester, as I mentioned in my last post. I am happy to say that my two dormmates, Melanie and Michael, who were in my class last year have tested into the same level as me, so we'll all get to worry about quizzes together again. Though we haven't registered yet, I've decided on my supplementary Japanese course: Intermediate Aural Comprehension. I tend to have trouble understanding what salespeople and others say to me (thanks in large part to keigo), so I think this class will help with that.

For my two optional courses in English, I'll be taking Japanese Buddhism and Social Suffering, and 20th Century Japanese and Western Short Fiction, which I am particularly looking forward to as a Creative Writing major.

Luckily, my schedule is arranged so I only have to travel to Keio three days a week, allowing me time to continue my unpaid internship at Mission One. I am also keeping up with my short story writing; my current project is a rather lengthy piece set in Ancient Greece. Nothing better than man-eating harpies and merciless irony to brighten your day.

Hope the weather in Pittsburgh is improving. Cheers!

I hate you Blogger

2009-03-28T23:20:00.002-04:00

So, I know I was supposed to eventually post all the wonderful photos I took of the snow and ice sculptures at the Yuki Matsuri, but that isn't going to happen, and you can blame Blogger for that. Their editing program for pictures is so incredibly inconvenient and unpredictable, I'm just not going to deal with it anymore. First it was the video, now it's the pics. So sorry, but no more. Instead, I will be including the photographs in my presentations promoting studying abroad at CMU in the fall. I hope you come and see it; the photos are really amazing.

I am also sad to report that my spring break is pretty much over (weeps inconsolably). Yesterday, all of us exchange students had to take this semester's placement test. It was less stressful than last time, as I knew what to expect. I also felt much more prepared, since it had only been two months since my last Japanese class, instead of four months at the last test.

Afterwards, my friends and I went to Rappongi Hills to go see Watchmen in the theater. There are several theaters in Tokyo that show American movies, but we chose Rappongi because a) the theater is SUPER nice and b) they have the cheapest tickets for exchange students. Seeing a movie in Tokyo is usually ridiculously expensive- about $20 for one adult. But at Rappongi Hills, it's $18 for adults, $15 for students, and an amazing $10 for foriegn exchange students! All we had to do was show them our Keio student IDs and our alien registration cards. Huzzah!

By the time I made it home last night, our dorm's welcome party was about to start. About a third of Willing Setagaya's residents moved out, and though we will miss them, we got a lot of new students last week. Oddly enough, nearly all of them are from France or Scandanavia (Norway and Sweden). They are all very nice people, and I really look forward to hanging out with them this semester.

I especially hit it off with the four students from Paris; I took four years of French in high school so I was able to exchange a few greetings with them and follow a bit of their conversation (and they were kind enough to translate whatever they said in French for Maggie and me), and they were fascinated by my Texan background, even making me talk with an accent for them! None of them know very much Japanese, so I'll help them a bit with their Japanese and they can help me relearn a bit of French.

Tomorrow, I will find out what level I tested into, which will also determine which optional courses I'm taking- my plan is to take as many classes on the same days as possible so I have several days off a week. That way, it will be easier to continue at my internship during the semester.

I'll let you know what classes I'm taking as soon as I find out. Cheers, and Happy Easter!

Prescription for Sleep

2009-03-12T06:13:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm happy to announce that the application for the iPhone and iPod Touch I worked on is finally available for download. It's called Prescription for Sleep, and you can read about it here: http://www.apptism.com/apps/prescription-for-sleep

It's a really great program that helps relax your mind so you can fall asleep more easily. As the Quality Assurance Intern, it was my job to watch all the simulations multiple times to look for errors or bugs, and to play around with all the different features. It was fairly easy to test, but using a sleep-aid application for four hours is not easy to get through. It certainly had the intended effect on me: even with 7 cups of coffee, I was still yawning the whole time!

There is a free trial version on iTunes that you can check out before purchasing the full program for $2.99. Make sure to read the About page- my name is at the bottom!

Let the games begin!

2009-03-03T05:24:00.004-05:00

I decided to put off this post until I finally got to do some work, and today is that day!

About a month ago, I signed on for an unpaid internship at Mission One, an entertainment software and application developer here in Setagaya, Tokyo. I had met the founder and president, Marc Cellucci, last October at a Halloween party at Keio's Hiyoshi campus. Also a native Texan, Marc spent many years working for Sega both in America and Japan before starting his own company. Marc mentioned that his company needed testers in the near future, so we exchanged business cards. At the beginning of my lengthy spring break, I shot him an email, he offered me an internship, and I was onboard.

My official title is Quality Assurance Intern, which is really just a fancy way of saying I'm an unpaid game and application tester. But honestly, I would clean the entire office if it meant learning about video game development. Though he can't pay me, I have been getting fed, and everyone knows how much college students love free food!

The main part of my job is to test out the software that Mission One develops to see if there are any technical, design, or typographical errors and bring them to Marc's attention. Marc has also taken it upon himself to introduce me to the process of how entertainment software is designed and developed. I really could not ask for a better introduction to the entertainment software industry.

The application I tested for Mission One today will hopefully be available next week worldwide on the iPhone. I can't disclose the name of the app before it is released, but I will post it here asap. My name is actually in the credits!

Here is a link to Mission One's website, which is available in both English and Japanese: http://mission-one.jp/index_e.html They already have one game for the iPhone available for purchase: a pachinko game called Sho Chiku Bai. Though based on the widely popular Japanese slot game, the download is also having a great deal of success amongst Americans. Try it out- you're sure to get addicted!

I'll post any exciting developments in my internship here, so stay tuned. Watch out, video game industry! Katherine's coming!

March of the Penguins

2009-03-02T01:51:00.015-05:00

Hey readers! Sorry about the lengthy pause; I've been quite busy applying for various honor societies/programs/grants at CMU. I've also ended my creative writing hiatus. Yay for being productive!

On the second day of our vacation in Hokkaido, my friends and I took advantage of the free transportation provided by our travel agency to go to the Asahiyama Zoo.

Asahiyama is the most popular zoo in Japan. It is known for the diversity of their animals, which come from as far as Africa and as close as the surrounding mountains, and the design of their enclosures and attractions, which allow visitors to get a closer view than is normal for zoos.

But Asahiyama is probably most famous for its "march of the penguins". A couple times a day, all the visitors in the park line up along a marked path around the edge of the zoo to see a half-dozen zookeepers herding a dozen or so penguins along in the snow. My friends and I arrived at the zoo just before the procession began, so it was the first thing we got to see.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime up close and personal moment with the penguins, especially this little guy, who insisted on investigating the crowd every few meters.

Probably my favorite animal in the zoo was this red panda. I had not known before that there was a different variety of panda, but there you have it! It actually looks nothing like the Chinese panda, but to me, resembles a raccoon or tanuki. I wasn't able to get any pictures of them, but there were three babies sleeping high up on platforms and in trees. 超かわいい！

I was also very excited to finally get to see a tanuki and Japanese Macaque, or snow monkey. In high school, my friends and I founded a manga/Japanese culture club, and we chose Tanuki as our mascot. Though a real animal, in Japan, Tanuki is revered as a spirit of fertility. And I had been waiting to see Japanese snow monkies since I had first learned about them on some national geographic show a long time ago. Natives of Hokkaido, Japanese macaques spend a great deal of their time relaxing in the region's hot springs. I generally don't like monkies, but I wouldn't mind being one if it meant lazing around in an onsen all day!

There were also a few animals from Africa, like this lion. To be honest, seeing him in the snow made me kind of sad; he seemed restless and spent a lot of time just standing on this thin piece of plywood the zookeepers had placed next to the window; he would stand there and roar. I don't think he was very happy in the snow.

This giraffe, however, looked perfectly happy. For the first three minutes we watched him, he was licking up snow on top of a box. The rhino waltzed right up and gave us some really great shots, as well.

I also got to watch the seal being fed. He was rather reluctant to come out onto the ice, but he did get half-way out.

The trip from Sapporo to the zoo was three hours each way- it was an entire day of just animals! When we returned to the city, we found a restaurant that specialized in soup curry, a delicious hybrid of curry and stew, served here with rice and chai tea. Hokkaido is a really great place to find deliciously spicy food!

More stuff from Day 1

2009-02-16T20:31:00.021-05:00

After we returned from the onsen, the seven of us went exploring downtown Sapporo. It was still two days before the festival, so many of the main snow sculptures were closed to the public, but we did get to see a few half-finished projects. Many people say that arriving a few days before the beginning of the matsuri is best because then you can watch the artists making the sculptures; we took that advice to heart and were able to watch some groups of men working on the smaller figures.

This is a picture of us in front of the Sapporo TV Tower, which looks a great deal like Tokyo Tower but with a clock on it. During our final day in Hokkaido, we went up to the observation deck, but because there was a veritable blizzard outside, we could barely see anything on the ground.

That evening, we wandered around looking at the local shops and exploring a roofed shopping arcade that ran parallel to the matsuri park. For dinner, the boys of our group insisted we find this famous ramen shop, reportedly the best miso ramen restaurant in Hokkaido. We waited for 45 minutes in the bitter cold- it was torture! But I gotta say, that miso ramen was one of the best meals I've had so far in Japan! I don't even like ramen usually, but this stuff was awesome! And exactly what you need after standing in the cold for nearly an hour.

It wasn't until around 9pm that we finally checked into our hotel, the Sapporo Sheraton. For only paying $300, we got placed in a super nice hotel! The employees were all bilingual (though we tried to keep the conversations in Japanese for practice) and very polite, as expected at a Japanese establishment. They even put two extra beds in our double room so none of us had to share ^^. The next day when we were exploring the ground floor, we were extremely surprised to find a chapel inside the hotel; apparently it is a popular place for couples to tie the knot!

Allow me to take this opportunity to point out that, while most of these photos are mine, many of them were taken by my fellow travellers: Maggie Chan, Melanie Bise, Jeff James, Nicole Bigler, JC Sun, and Diago Takayama. I can't remember which photos belong to which friends, but thanks, guys!

Hot Water vs. Frozen Water: The Snowdown!

2009-02-10T03:11:00.010-05:00

Konnichiwa! I am back from my trip to the Yuki Matsuri, or Snow Festival of Sapporo in Hokkaido! To be honest, I've been back for a few days now, but my toes are still defrosting! There's a reason all the water is frozen up there.

Just as everyone instructed, I took TONS of photos, so many in fact that in order to share with you all four of my wonderful days in Hokkaido, it very well may take me four or more separate postings. I thought the festival itself would take up all of our time, but we ended up spending most of our time outside of Sapporo visiting famous locations.

For this post, I'll tell you about our first day there. Our plane from Tokyo to Sapporo was at 7am, so we arrived at about 8am, giving us the whole day to enjoy. By a happy coincidence, two of our dormmates and their friend were on almost the same trip as us (we booked through the same travel agency) and their seats were right next to ours on the plane. They asked us if we would like to go with them to a sacred onsen, or hot springs, nestled in the snowy mountains outside of the city. We agreed, and then it was a literal race against time to catch the bus to the mountains! We just made it in time!

It's a good thing we did, because the onsen was AMAZING! They seriously weren't kidding when they said it was "nestled in the mountains"! I had never seen a real mountain range before, so I was very excited. By the way, that strange guy in the pic is Jeff, another American ^^.

Before enjoying the hot springs, we all had lunch, which turned out to be in an igloo! Move over Eskimos, it seems the Japanese are the igloo experts, at least in Hokkaido. The walls were ten feet of packed snow, and the ceiling was stabilized with wooden polls and bamboo mats to keep the snow above the grill from dripping on us. We had jengis khan (sp?) mutton, a specialty of Hokkaido. It's basically fatty lamb and veggies that you grill yourself. It was really fun, but we kept putting on too much food and burning it! Hence the black stuff caked to the grill in the photo ^^;;;

After lunch, we ladies separated from the guys and went into the onsen. Unfortunately, cameras aren't allowed, but I'll do my best to describe it:

Like many onsen, this one had two parts: artificial pools inside and natural pools outside. We all immediately went outside to sit in the natural hot spring bath. The water was nice and warm, perfect for the cold climate. Imagine being in a giant hot tub made of stone outside, surrounded by snow-laden trees and mountains. All you can hear is the quiet chatter of a couple of other guests in the far section of the pool. A few minutes later, it starts to snow lightly, covering everything around you in a fresh layer of fluffy whiteness, while you sit safe and warm in the water. Almost makes you want to hop on a plane right now, huh?

Stay tuned for the next Hokkaido post!

The half-way point

2009-01-27T21:19:00.002-05:00

Howdy, readers! Sorry about the lengthy silence, but I was studying hardcore for my exams. My last one was on Saturday, so I am finally free to enjoy two months of break. Unfortunately, those two months are the coldest in Japan, so I won't be doing a lot of adventuring around Tokyo, but I certainly welcome the break.

In spite of the frigid weather, I am going to the Snow Festival in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, next week. My friends and I found a great deal online that includes a round-trip flight, four days/three nights at a hotel, and tickets to a TV station (they happen to be popular tourist spots in Japan) and the Sapporo zoo for about $300. So around the end of next week, expect a post about the festival. I'll make sure to take LOTS of pictures!

Even though I'm on vacation, I still plan on doing a lot of work over the next two months. At the end of March, I'll have to take the placement test again, and I'm determined to get into at least level 6. So I'll be studying kanji and grammar every day. I've also vowed to only speak in Japanese with my friends as of last Sunday. It's going to be quite frustrating, I know, but it's the only way my speaking is really going to improve. It's just too easy to use English everyday. I must resist!

This is also a good time to take care of things for when I return to CMU. I need to make my senior year schedule, for starters. I have to apply for my Seniors Honors Thesis by the start of April. I've decided to do a project on Japanese video games in America (surprise). I'm very excited about it, and I hope to do some research and interviews while here in Japan. I've also started writing again. My Creative Writing advisor has agreed to do email correspondense with me for Fiction Workshop credit to help clear up my senior schedule a bit.

So that's about all that's going on right now at the start of break. Shout out to Mel: Happy 21st Birthday! We'll be celebrating with okonomiyaki tonight, a delicious Japanese dish ^_^ Also, love to Mark, who fell down the stairs earlier today, but seems to be alright. And to my fluffy white cat, who set his tail on fire yesterday. Don't worry, he's fine, but my god the mental image is HILARIOUS. Imagine a fat, long-furred pure-white cat running around with little flames on the tip of his tail, my mother running after him trying to pat the flames out. That'll teach him to sit on the kitchen counter while a candle's burning. Cheers!

New Year's Day

2009-01-09T00:28:00.012-05:00

Howdy, homies. Forgive me if this post isn't particularly entertaining; my final exams are coming up and my brain is already beginning to fry from the mountain of studying I'm subjecting myself to. Oh kanji, how I loath thee...
But anywho, I thought I'd do a post about New Year's Day here in Tokyo. Unfortunately, I got sick the day before and couldn't go celebrate, but my friends went ahead to Asakusa, an area of Tokyo that is famous for its many temples and shrines.

Asasuka is most famous for the Sensou-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo. The outer gate of the temple is called Kaminari Mon, or "Thunder Gate", and is a popular tourist attraction because of its giant chouchin, or lantern, seen here.
Beyond the Kaminari Mon is the Nakamise-Douri, a 250 meter-long shop-lined street selling a large variety of traditional and modern Japanese goods and souvenirs. Here it is decorated for the new year.

Here is a look at one of the shops. I especially like the masks. Very attractive. I wonder what my sister would think if I brought one back for her as a souvenir...

On New Year's Day in Japan, families flock to local temples and shrines to pray for good fortune throughout the coming year. Asaskusa boasts one of the largest crowds in Tokyo on this day. People wait as long as two hours to get inside the temple. Maggie said they only had to wait for forty-five minutes, though.0_0 Holy cow, that is a lot of people.

By the way, major thanks to Maggie and Melanie, to whom these really great photos belong. And shout out to my grandmother, who is awesome, as always. She knows why. See you after finals!

My rice cooker makes me feel inadequet -_-

2009-01-06T05:08:00.003-05:00

One of the toughest things for me to find in Japan has been whole grains. White rice is pretty much the golden standard here, so I quickly gave up hope of ever finding affordable brown rice in Tokyo.

And then I found it at Seiyu last week. Go figure. Remember the Japanese store owned by Walmart? Now I can buy all the Great Value brand brown rice I need to keep me well-stocked in whole grains. Huzzah!

Usually, I make rice on the stove and let it cook while I prepare the rest of my meal. But with only one burner, things aren't that easy. So today I broke down and bought a Japanese rice cooker. Though it looks ridiculously high-tech, it was the cheapest one available at Seiyuu (~$60).

I spent about 45 min reading the instruction manual (with the aid of a dictionary), but in the end I had to enlist the help of a friend who has never not used an Asian rice cooker ^^. With her expertise, we were able to determine the (hopefully) correct water-to-rice ratio and let the cooker do it's thing.

Fortunately, the rice came out wonderful. Soft, fluffy, and delicious. Much better than my stove top variety. And that is how I lost to a rice cooker >_<.

I also had some green tea and wagashi, a traditional Japanese confection, for an afternoon snack. The wagashi I had today was daifuku: mochi (glutinous rice paste) stuffed with anko (sweet red bean paste). I know it doesn't sound delicious, but trust me, it is. The mochi paste is lightly sweetened, and the core of the mochi is usually filled with sweet red bean paste or white bean paste. The one I had (shown here) is made from green tea flavored mochi and the inside is red bean paste. Wagashi are usually served with tea, especially matcha to help balance the bitterness of the powered tea, and can be molded into many different shapes. The most common shapes I've seen are flowers, fruits, and animals like rabbits and cats.

As much as I miss Ben & Jerry's, I gotta say these Japanese sweets are growing on me. At first I thought it was silly to eat a "sweet" that wasn't very sweet at all, but now that I've been removed from American-style desserts for four months, Japanese confections taste more like sweet treats to me. I think I will miss them very much when I return to the States. But until then, I'll enjoy them to the best of my ability ^_^.

Oh hey, I forgot about that...

2008-12-23T11:34:00.011-05:00

Today is the first official day of winter vacation at Keio, and I must confess I have spent the entire day online watching movies. Huzzah!

But tomorrow, the studying begins. Oh yes! Though we've two weeks of holiday, none of us exchange students can forget that very soon after we return, final exams begin. So from tomorrow onward, I will be reviewing material, praying that my brain retains enough knowledge to get me through the exams. I also have to complete my research project on culture shock. Good thing I'm already an expert on the subject.

I remembered yesterday that I have yet to post about the Keio school festival, called Mitasai, which was held in late October. It's two months late, but better late than never, right?

School festivals in Japan are a huge affair, especially at a prestigious university like Keio. High schools also have fairs, though I haven't been to any myself. The school grounds are transformed by a veritable maze of food stalls erected by student organizations selling everything from chocolate bananas, crepes, and waffles, to okonomiyaki, noodles, and beer. It's a great way to sample native foods. I myself took a walk on the adventurous side and tried takoyaki, or fried octopus (shown on the left). I couldn't really taste anything except fried goodness, so it was okay. Don't think I'll make it a habit, though.

In one area there was a stage where music and dance organizations performed. My friends and I stopped to watch this group perform a traditional song and dance routine of Okinawa. The guys with the big drums onstage banged away enthusiastically while the girls in front of the stage preformed hand movements. Both groups chanted in time with the musicians playing the sanshin, a three-stringed banjo native to Okinawa.

Clubs also took over the classrooms of several buildings. There were many student-erected bars, including one where I challenged a friend to a soccer match on a PS2 that was projected onto a large screen. Mark and I had our fortunes told by a tarot reader, and the lot of us enjoyed a traditional tea ceremony performed by a sado (tea ceremony) club.

Though it was a lot of fun, it was also somewhat exhausting. You have to constantly fend off swarms of students trying to drag customers to their booths. There was one stall that was especially enthusiastic: the egg stall. I think they were just selling boiled eggs, but my god were they excited about it. Their stall was at the end of a long narrow alley, so anytime someone approached the end, a group of about seven male students would crowd around them shouting, "Tamago! Tamago!", except in our case it was "Egg! Egg!". I ended up going past them at least four times, and they did it to me every. single. time. I'll give them points for persistence, but jeez.

So yeah, sorry it's so late, but I was pretty dead in November. Merry Christmas everyone!

Gods Bless Us, Everyone!

2008-12-16T01:35:00.006-05:00

Guess what I'm doing?

I am sipping strawberry tea, snacking on my mother's homemade banana bread (world's best), and enjoying my shiny new iPod Nano. Christmas is usually on the 25th of December, but for me it's today because I got my winter box from my mom!

In addition to my winter clothing, she sent me my Christmas present (the iPod), a badly-needed computer game, a 4GB flash drive, and waaaaay too many baked goods. I asked for banana bread, and instead, she sent me the bread, a huge tin of peanut butter cookies and another giant tin of brownies. Why? I've no idea! But at least I have something tasty to share with my dormmates. Food shared with friends tastes better.

I used the promise of food to bribe one of my girlfriends to help me carry the box up the stairs (another good use for baked goods). She is trying to persuade her own mother to send her a package from America. Out of everyone in the dorm, I probably get the biggest boxes from home, but I know I'm not the only one that gets them. Packages from the home country are necessary for survival, especially if you're on medication. But when my friend asked her dad to mail her medicine from home, he said, "Can't you just go to Walgreens and get it there?" Uh, no!!

Not only are there no Walgreens here, but medicine is different in Japan. They of course have different brands, but more importantly, the strength of Japanese medicine is much less than Western medicine. It's also more expensive here. So when I had a cold in October, instead of going to the pharmacy and paying too much for weak medicine, I just weathered through it and had my mom ship an assortment of American meds for the rest of winter. Someone also told me that it's best to ship toothpaste from home as well; apparently, they don't put fluoride in Japanese toothpaste. I don't know if that's true, but I'm not taking any chances.

I also always have her include a jar of organic peanut butter and my favorite preserves. Not essential, I know, but we all have those comfort foods that we can't live without, and natural peanut butter is mine. Spread some on an apple slice with a sprinkling of cinnamon: it will become your favorite snack ever, promise!

On Tuesdays, I meet up with my Japanese conversation partner, Shoko, and some other girls for lunch at school. It's a great opportunity to chat with students my own age and improve my casual Japanese. We usually bring our own lunches, and today I brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and a pear. Pretty normal American lunch, right? But Shoko had never heard of a pb&j sandwhich before! Her friend, who usually eats with us, knew what it was on sight, so together we explained what was in it and how popular it is in the US. Everyone was especially impressed that the ingrediants had been shipped over from the States by my mom ^^. They thought it was so strange and cute that I brought such a foreign lunch with me, they made me pose with the sandwhich and pear for pictures!

You may be wondering what they, the Japanese girls, bring for their lunch. Sometimes they buy premade salads, sandwiches (like egg salad), or onigiri (rice balls) from the University co-op. But they often bring homemade bento, their term for boxed lunch. It's usually half rice, some fish or cooked meat, and pickled vegetables. I've also seen them bring homemade salads. In contrast, I've brought homemade stew, steamed veggies, pb&j, but also onigiri and always a piece of fruit. When Mina came to visit, she bought me a bento bag with containers to take to school with me (shown here). She thought it would help me fit in better with my Japanese friends ^_^. She always encourages me to spend more time with natives.

I'm off to play with my iPod. Cheers!

"Happy Merry Christmas"

2008-12-14T08:21:00.007-05:00

It's everyone's favorite time of year again, and even in Japan, lights adorn trees, seasonal signs are hung from department store buildings, and obscenely large amounts of people crowd every shopping center in the city.

But unlike America, where gift-giving is as sacred as Christmas Day itself, in Japan Christmas is more of a couples' holiday, a time to spend with that special someone, not your distant relatives. Gifts may be exchanged between couples on Christmas, but not between family members.

It's New Years that the Japanese really get excited about. New Years is the most important holiday in Japan, and people exchange gifts for the sake of the new year, not Christmas. Children receive money from their parents, and adults give gifts to people to whom they feel socially indebted, like their boss or a neighbor.

I had heard from a friend that Ginza had some especially lovely seasonal decorations up, so I decided to take a short day trip to explore the area. Ginza, often referred to as Tokyo's Fifth Avenue, is one of the premier shopping centers in the world. I saw Gucci, Prada, Dior, Armani, and countless other designer stores. The most iconic building in Ginza is the Waco department store, which sits at the main intersection above Ginza Sation.

Because it was a Saturday, the main shopping streets were closed to the traffic and totally packed with pedestrians. I didn't really do any shopping (as if I could afford Dior), but instead went around taking pictures of the decorations. Many other Japanese were taking pictures as well, so I didn't feel so much a tourist.

And though it has nothing to do with the holiday season, I have to include this: as I was walking to the nearby Hibiya Park, I spotted a Japanese man standing near the entrance of a building dressed head to toe in cowboy gear. Now, I never go up to people and ask to take their picture, but this was waaaaay too good to resist! I explained that he looked like he was from Texas, and I really was from Texas, so could I take a picture. He agreed, and a nearby man who overheard offered to take one of both of us. So behold: a real Texan and a wannabe Texan! Can you tell which is which?

Payback

2008-12-11T04:09:00.003-05:00

I was surfing around the net the other day and came upon a blog written by another Texan (woohoo!) in Japan, and he had a list up on things he liked and disliked about living here. I think that's a great idea. Here's how my list looks right now:

Dislike (let's start with the bad stuff):

1) People who stare (see previous, lengthy post)

2) Food I can't identify is cheap and food I can identify is expensive

3) Not understanding the majority of what I hear/read. Or when in Shibuya, what I see.

4) Everything is sooooo much more expensive here than in the US! Especially with the horrid exchange rate.

5) Some (not all) Japanese girls. Seriously, do they eat at all? I mean, I see them in restaurants, but do they actually order food? No wonder they think all Americans are fat! Giselle Bundchen looks fat in comparison to some of these girls! Seriously, eat something.

Like:

1) I can eat sushi/tempura without going broke

2) There are adorable dogs EVERYWHERE and their owners dress them up

3) I have to walk everywhere. Most people wouldn't agree with me here, but I love to walk. It's probably the thing I always miss most when I go home to Texas- you can't walk there without frying, unless it's inside a mall.

4) Unlike many humanities & social science majors, I actually use my major every day. Haha.

5) The people that will actually interact with you are almost always ridiculously nice. Like, I mean, take-the-kimono-off-my-back nice. I think there's something in the rice. (oh god, did that rhyme?)

Things I Love/Hate (it's not cheating!):

1) Saleswomen. Everyone knows that Japanese people are generally kind, hospitable, and make excellent tourists. But what you don't know is that they save the very nicest people, usually women, for department store sales representatives. In America, I love to just go window shopping to look at all the lovely things I will buy when I one day have money. I have none now, so I don't buy. But my god, the saleswomen here are so nice, and give you ridiculous amounts of tastes/samples, I no longer window shop for fear of what I might buy. I have already been roped into buying stupidly priced items I didn't really need twice. And even after you buy something, they don't just drop you- they keep giving you free stuff. Seriously people: be afraid. Be very afraid.

2) Japanese cakes. I have never been to France, and I no longer have any desire to go. If the Japanese are merely imitating French pastries, I do not want to go anywhere near the real thing. They wouldn't be able to fit me back onto the plane. I have never seen such amazingly creative or delicious cakes in my life. And it gets better/worse: they have cake buffets! I have been to two and my god, I never want to know how many calories I ingested on those nights. It's very popular amongst Japanese girls, which serves to further my agitation: how do these girls stay so skinny!?!

So these are a few of my favorite/least favorite/ambivalent things.

Oh, and speaking of the staring thing, I've come up with a new game: Make the Staring Japanese Feel Uncomfortable. Before, I simply ignored everyone around me and stared into space. But today, I decided it would be so much more fun to catch people staring at me, stare back, and try to make them as uncomfortable as possible. I did it to two people on the train home, and I was right- it is fun. If you can't join them, beat them at their own game.

Ode to a British Mate

2008-12-09T22:12:00.002-05:00

My homies and I are very upset at the moment because one of our own, Mark, is leaving us tomorrow and will not be returning. His granny died last week, so he has to go home to Britain for the funeral. However, because of all the absences he will accrue, he wouldn't be able to take the final exam for our class, which actually doesn't count towards his home university program anyway. Plus, he is going to Belgium in the spring, and it makes more sense for him to save the money it would cost to return to Japan and put it towards Belgium (he's a French major).

So we're all very cut up about it, especially him, but there's really nothing that can be done. We had a wee going away party last night at our favorite British pub (yeah, they have those in Japan). We did alright, but things got a bit teary when saying goodbye at the train station.

Who will be the glue that holds our bizarre, diverse group together? Who's going to force us to pull all-nighters at karaoke? Who is going to tell me funny stories about the British, thereby reaffirming my American sense of superiority? (j/k on that last)

But even though we shall miss him terribly, as he shall miss us, at least he gets to spend a lovely Christmas with his family in Rugby while the rest of us pay $40 for something possibly resembling a Western Christmas spread in Tokyo. If said spread includes sashimi or soybeans, I may hit someone.

Does anyone know how to mail a Christmas ham across the Pacific??? >_<

What!? You're not dead!?

2008-12-06T04:28:00.004-05:00

No, I am alive, I just had a really, really awful month!

Seriously, November was the month of death for me, both emotionally and, in some ways, literally. However, I am feeling much better now and my karma seems to have gone back to normal. Interestingly, I figured out what was wrong with me emotionally a few days ago in my Intercultural Communication class. The subject: cross-cultural adjustment curves. Apparently, when a person travels to a foreign country, they experience sort of an adjustment cycle; their mood goes up at first 'cause everything is very exciting and new and "I'm so cool for being an international!". And then they dive. Like, flat out Deep Dive (shout out to my KH homies). But then they eventually rise up again, peek in happiness, and the cycles goes on over and over until they return to their home country. However, subsequent dives in mood and rises in stress become less and less extreme as time goes on. The first dive is called Culture Shock *dum dum DUM*.

But ya see, no one told me about the Deep Dive. When people said, "Watch out for that culture shock!", I assumed they meant I would be extremely surprised and put off by the cultural differences WHEN I GOT THERE. Not TWO MONTHS LATER. No one told me, "By the way, about halfway through the semester, you, and all your fellow exchange students for that matter, are going to feel like HELL and will want to come home IMMEDIATELY. But don't worry, it will pass."

No, no one, in all the orientations I went to, all the packets I read, told me that a couple months down the road, I would get emotionally totalled, I mean WREAKED, by the Deep Dive/Culture Shock. And since I'm a nice person, I'm warning all you prospective exchange students out there: a month or two into your delightful study abroad experience, you will get tired. Tired of having to deal with new surprises everyday, tired of struggling to do the simplest tasks like grocery shopping, tired of having people constantly staring at you (especially if you're a white girl in Japan). The newness will have worn off and the homesickness will set in: yeah, foreign food is great for a while, but you always eventually go back to burgers and fries, right? But when the burgers and fries are made by people who can't pronounce "French fries" (not their fault, but true), it's just not the same! So homesickness, fatigue, and stress from your increasing school load and living situation will build and build until you wonder, "Why the hell did I ever want to come to this stupid country or even study this ridiculous language? Get me outta here!!!" This is the Deep Dive.

But do not despair!!! For I tell you honestly, as someone who just survived it (and is now studying it for a midterm research paper), it passes! For me, it was about a month long. And yeah, that's how I really felt, but definitely not anymore. I have had to make some major adjustments in my life, and I still miss my mom's cooking and real hamburgers, but I do not regret coming to Japan. This year abroad is going to be an amazing experience, and even though I know there are still more dives ahead, now that I've gotten through the first big one, I know I can handle them. I'm going to be a much more resilient and adaptable person after this year.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to a lamb grill. Not what I'd eat at home, but hey, red meat!

Cosuco

2008-10-30T07:35:00.002-04:00

Guess what I'm eating right now.

No, it's not sushi.

Or rice.

I said not sushi!

The answer: a blueberry muffin the size of my face.

I know what you're thinking: how the hell did she get back to America so fast? Don't worry, I'm still in Japan! For those of you who can't read "Engrish", the title of this post is the Japanese version of the word "Costco".

That's right: they have Costco in Japan. I don't know why, I don't know how, but they do. I haven't been there myself (here or in the US) but my friend Nicole just knocked on my door and offered me my choice of muffin from a humongous tray. She said it's just like an American Costco (though she's from Switzerland) and she would be happy to take me with her next time.

If you think a Japanese Costco is surprising, check this out: I found a Wal-Mart in Tokyo disguised as another grocery store!

There is a small grocery store conveniently located right down the street from my dorm, but it's a little pricey. Some of the dormmates suggested I check out a department store called Seiyu, located near the train station, which has a grocery store in the basement floor. Lower prices for a longer walking distance. Being the poor college student I am, I grabbed a couple of homies and hightailed it over there.

We had to walk through the first floor to get to the escalator. The center space was filled with cookie and candy counters, but around the edges were various women's accessories. At one point, we passed the hoisery section and I noticed George brand stockings. I noticed because I have a white George brand t-shirt that I bought just before coming to Japan. Now where did I buy that from...

Downstairs, we made a beeline to the fruits and vegetables; we have found that the best way to check out the price range of a grocery store is to compare produce prices. They were comparable, if not a bit cheaper, than our local grocery store. And written on the black boards between the prices was the phrase "Every day low prices".

Every day... Low prices... Where have I heard that before?

Then I walked over to the bagged salads and picked up a small package of... Great Value!?!

Oh my god, it's Wal-Mart!!!

All over the store, I saw Wal-Mart brands and slogans. I had totally assumed there just wouldn't be any room in Tokyo for a grocery store as huge as Wal-Mart; I was half right. No Wal-Marts, just mini Wal-Marts desguised as other stores. Fabulous.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pass out into a sugar coma. Cheers.

Nippon

2008-10-28T23:11:00.003-04:00

What? Not all Japanese love Americans? Get out!

Yeah, that's what I said too before I saw an Uyoku group having a demonstration in Harajuku shortly after I came here. My friends and I were walking along Omotesandou-dori when we heard chanting and a voice speaking through a bullhorn. We walked towards the noise and saw a procession of about thirty people walking down the street with a police escort. They had signs and many large Japanese flags.

Maggie was able to make out a few of their major points: they were saying that they don't like Western influence in Japan, especially in the media. They don't want foreigners in Japan or for Japanese people to act like and want to be like Westerners.

I felt really weird walking down the street opposite of them. I wondered, if they noticed me, would they glare at me? Are they angry that I'm here? How do they feel about students like me wanting to learn about Japanese language and culture?

It was the first time I had ever seen a political demonstation before; we don't get much of those in Texas ^^. I guess I was pretty intimidated at first, but I've seen them a couple of times since then. A few weeks ago, there were several people walking around Shibuya carrying Japanese flags and making accouncements over bullhorns. But it's so crowded and busy at the Crossing, I don't think they got much attention.

Yesterday, though, I had to go to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau and when I came out, there was a group of about fifteen Uyoku members with flags and bullhorns chanting at the building. Which is fine, in and of itself, except that they were standing right next to the busstop ^^;;;;; That made it a little awkward. I waited down the street from the stop until a bus showed up.

To clarify: Uyoku dantai are Japanese nationalist right-wing groups. It is estimated that there are over 1000 Uyoku dentai in Japan at the moment, and their political agendas vary, but they have a few points in common. They also tend to refer to Japan as "Nippon" instead of the usual "Nihon". For more information, check out this Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyoku_dantai

I would like to meet someone in one of these groups and ask them how they feel about exchange students like me. I think I can understand why they don't want lots of Western intervention in their society, why they may be afraid that they are losing some of their cultural values. But maybe if more foreigners like me try to learn and appreciate these values, they will no longer want to keep us out of their country. Let's learn from each other!

The Basics

2008-10-26T21:46:00.002-04:00

I know I just posted, but I realized I haven't said a single thing about my classes at Keio yet! My bad!

Most of the exchange students, including me, are enrolled in the Japanese Language Program, or JLP. We took a placement test at the beginning of the semester to determine which level of core courses we would take. There are 14 levels (though no one is in the top two yet, I think), and many of them overlap. For instance, I got placed in level 3 this semester, but after taking another placement test in February, I will probably move onto level 6 or 7.

The core courses are paired up so that each time I have class, I have two periods in a row, each period being an hour and a half long. Level 3, like most levels, is three days a week, and we have a different professor for each day. Thursdays are Kim-sensei, a Korean woman who went to school in Australia and is a former alumn of the JLP herself. Saturday is Ikeda-sensei; she has two speaking speeds: the speed of light and I-know-you're-a-foreigner-so-I-will-heavily-emphasize-every-single-syllable. We prefer the latter. On Tuesdays, we have Ohba-sensei, this wonderful happy woman who is absolutely adorable. The first day, she was so frazzled because we were running out of classtime. She kept saying "Oh, not enough time! Not enough time!" and wiping her brow (it was hot).

All my core classes are first and second period, from 9am to 12:15pm. I've never had a college class that lasted three hours before, so it's quite a challenge to sit still that long and concentrate, but the professors are pretty good at keeping us on our toes. A couple of weeks ago, they came to the mutual decision that since our reading and writing skills were great, we should emphazise speaking and listening in class. The good part: less homework and I can improve on my two greatest weaknesses. The bad part: they are always calling on students to answer questions, meaning if you lose concentration for even a minute, you're likely to make a fool of yourself in front of the class.

I know because I've already made this mistake. I let my mind wander for about 20 seconds and then Kim-sensei called on me to make an example sentence or something. I had no idea what she wanted, so I just said "wakarimasen" (I don't know) until she moved on to someone else. Never gonna make that mistake again!

I kind of screwed up the placement test, so I've actually already learned all the grammar we're going over in class. But like I said, I'm really weak in listening and speaking, so the pace of the class is alright for me. I get a great review of grammar so everything really sticks and I improve my weak points. Melanie, another American who has also taken two years of Japanese in college, is in the same boat as me. We'll just have to study better for the next placement test. At least there won't be a four-month vacation between our last class and the test this time ^^;;; Thank you summer vacation.

We also take courses that focus on specific elements of Japanese. I am taking an orthography course: kanji writing. Kanji are the class of characters in Japanese that are originally Chinese. To be fluent, you have to know about 2,000 kanji. I know 500+. The kanji class is pretty simple and straightforward: do practice homework, take test. Practice homework, test. And we use the same books I had at CMU, so I've already got the text.

I am also taking two Optional Courses about Japanese culture that will help fulfill my major at home. They are taught in English and half the students are actual Japanese Keio students. Today I have Intercultural Communication II. So far, we've discussed racial minorities in foreign countries and Japan's history of interactions with other cultures. I find the topics very interesting, and Professor Tezuka always makes sure we have mixed discussion groups of Japanese and foreigners.

On Thursday night, I have Arts/Art Workshop Through Cross-Cultural Experience, another mixed class. I have no artistic ability whatsover, but my AP European History class in high school taught me how to appreciate different art forms, so I thought it would be interesting to see foreign art. Also, more than half the classes are field trips ^_^. So far, we've made collages and photo albums, photographed a historical neighborhood in Tokyo, and last week we went to the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills to see an installment by a French artist.

All in all, I really like my classes, my professors, and the other students. I think by the time I return to America, I will have a much higher degree of fluency than if I had stayed and taken the normal Advanced Japanese classes at CMU. I'm not knocking them, but there is a big difference between three one-hour classes a week in America and ten and a half hours a week in Japan, where I am actually forced to use Japanese on a daily basis. All language majors should study abroad for this reason. And if you're not a language major, just having the opportunity to experience a different culture, a different lifestyle is a priceless experience.

My only regret: I miss my natural peanut butter. Send me more peanut butter, Mom!

Tanjoubi Omedetou!

2008-10-26T21:14:00.003-04:00

In our parents' age, Valentine's Day must have been "the day" to make babies, 'cause it seems like every other day is someone's birthday around here.

First was mine (I was born two weeks early). It was my 21st, and being American, tradition dictates that I get completely wasted on my birthday. But, seeing as how I am a good, southern girl from a respectable family (and I had class at 9am the next morning), my friends took me to my favorite cafe in Harajuku instead.

A group of us happened upon this lovely European-style cafe on Omotesandou street a couple weeks earlier and we absolutely loved it. A little pricey, but the atmosphere is great and so are the coffees and cakes. I had a cappuccino and scones the first time: soooo yummy! But for my birthday, I ordered a cappuccino (my favorite drink) and a chocolate-banana parfait, or sundae for us Westerners. You can keep your alcohol; give me coffee and icecream and I am in birthday heaven!

A couple weeks later, it was Mark's turn. Mark is a kid from England in my core Japanese course, and though we didn't really know each other, he invited me and my friend Melanie to his 21st birthday shindig: all night karaoke and clubbing in Shibuya.

Twenty-five people turned up at Hachiko for the party! That is a huge amount of people for karaoke, but we were able to find a place that happened to have a twenty-five person room. We payed an outrageous sum for two hours of nomihoudai karaoke, but it was so much fun! People mostly picked songs that everyone knew so we all got to join in and sing to our hearts' content. Some of us even belted out a couple of Japanese songs, including one of my favorites by Utada Hikaru. It ended up being a karaoke-and-clubbing-until 11:30pm party instead of all night, but it was awesome. Cheers, Mark!

And then a week ago, it was Maggie's twenty-first. Again, a Monday, so we decided to go to a cake buffet in Shibuya. That's right, a CAKE buffet. For $15, you get ninety minutes to eat all the cake, jelly, cream puffs, chocolate, and icecream you can. There was also a lovely assortment of coffees and some regular food like pasta and curry, but I was too busy checking out the chocolate fountain to pay much attention. Ask any TriDelta at CMU and they will tell you how much our house digs chocolate fountains.

So there we were trying not to die before we could sample each and every dessert, when an alarm started going off. Then a woman began to ramble happily in Japanese at us over the intercom. Maggie, the group translator, said the woman was thanking us for coming, and then she kept saying something like "quickly, quickly, eat up!". We were highly confused: was the food about to disappear or something? But people started lining up in front of this strange metal box that a worker was fiddling with. And then, as we stared in confusion and the twenty-odd people in line drooled in anticipation, the worker opened the back of the box and pulled out...

a potato.

Turns out, it was a baked potato machine! Everyone was lined up to receive ordinary, white baking potatoes. Tiny ones, too. But they were so excited to get them! I watched the first guy in line ask for four!

We hypothesized that maybe the potatoes had cake baked into them or something, 'cause we just couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. Baked potatoes. Yum. Bring me more cake!

A'ight, who fibbed?

2008-10-14T02:26:00.002-04:00

Before leaving, I was assured many many times that Americans that go to Japan lose tons of weight because of how healthy and nutritious the food is.

Wrong!

Okay, so in general, Japanese food is healthier than American food. But that rule only applies when you actually eat like an American! Unlike most Americans, I never eat fried food (except for tempura, which is Japanese), I eat only whole grains, and lots of fruits and veggies every day. I also, unfortunately, have a deep, uncompromising love for sweets, but I'm pretty good at ignoring it (i.e. I eat them, but don't admit it).

What no one told me was that most of the healthy food you can find in Japanese restaurants and grocery stores isn't appetizing, at least not to my American palette. I consider myself a seafood fan, but some of the fish that regularly appear in dishes here are rather... scary-looking. And not tasty. And though I like western mushrooms, I find most of the ones used here to be too intensely flavored and sour. Chicken usually comes in dark meat form (I only like white), and beef, though most often delicious, is usually the fatter cuts.

The healthiest, tastiest way I've found to get my daily protein is in omelet form; I make a vegetable omelet for breakfast everyday. It's an easy way to start myself off with protein, omega 3 fatty acids, vegetables, and a side of whole wheat bread. Yes, they have whole wheat here (who knew) and it's actually reasonably priced for Tokyo: $2.78 for 8 slices (yes, that is reasonable in Tokyo). Luckily, my favorite type of Japanese noodle, soba, is also a whole grain, so I'm not having trouble keeping that in my diet. And fruit, though pricey, is easy to purchase and munch on.

The real problem is vegetables. As everyone knows, vegetables are a very important part of a healthy diet. Unfortunately, I have great difficulty recognizing many of the vegetables used in Japanese dishes, and many of them I don't like. One of the easiest ways to get vegetables is to buy tempura veggies at the grocery store. The only catch: they're fried. Until today, I've shied away from buying anything fresh other than onions and bell peppers for my omelet, but today I decided to splurge for a zucchini ($2.80 for a small one) and a 3 pack of what appear to be thin Japanese eggplants (much cheaper).

In America, I have no trouble purchasing green beans, broccoli, or zucchini at the store and sauteing them with garlic and some spices. But here, the familiar vegetables are tiny and cost an arm and a leg. I also can't find any spices I'm familiar with, not even cinnamon! So I'm stuck sauteing my zucchini and eggplant in plain olive oil with a bit of salt and pepper. With my tiny kitchen and lack of raw materials, it's about all I can do.

So to all the Americans reading my blog, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but unless you subsist completely on McDonald's in The States, moving to Japan will not help you lose weight. If anything, you will turn away from the healthy, native food and attack the INCREDIBLE desserts they have here. Seriously, they have taken every delightful pastry and confection from Europe and made it twice as good. I don't know how they do it. It may be crack; personally, I find them highly addicting. But that could just be the sweet tooth talking.

Time to go saute some veggies...

Tokyo Game Show 2008

2008-10-13T06:32:00.009-04:00

As an American gamer, I have been hearing about video game conventions from websites for years; all the big companies bring new footage and playable demos to these things. It serves to give us previews and updates on anticipated titles and, of course, make us want to buy them.

One of the biggest events of the year is the Tokyo Game Show, which is attended by all the Japanese video game companies, including Sony (Playstation), Konami, and of course, Square Enix (gets on knees and worships). It was held last Wednesday through Sunday, and Maggie and I went on Saturday; she for her seiyuu (voice actor) appearance and me for Final Fantasy.

While I am really glad I got to see TGS, and the cosplayers were really cool, most everything else was... disappointing. We planned to arrive just as the show opened so we could stand in line for tickets to the seiyuu performance. Though we got there on time, after a good while of wandering about, we discovered that the tickets to the seiyuu performance had been sold out by 9:30am. But even worse (for me), Square Enix's infamous Closed Mega Theater, where they show the game trailers, and the demo area had also sold out. We had no idea where people got the tickets, since the show didn't open until 10am. We didn't even have a chance. So the main reasons that we went all the way there were gone. Very, very sad panda.

(People cosplaying as the main characters from Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII)

Also, we had not realized how freaking PACKED it was going to be! My god, it was worse than a train through Shibuya during rush hour! Unimaginable, unless you experienced it for yourself. It was violating. I never want to be that close to that many people ever again.

We did, however, get to shop at the Square Enix store. It could not heal my wounded heart, but I did come away with the poster set for the new Final Fantasy XIII and FF Versus XIII and a Kingdom Hearts Oathkeeper keyring.

Even though I actually paid the money and spent the time to go to TGS, I still ended up having to read about the new Final Fantasy trailers online. Judges rule: failure. Better luck next year.

(Models on display for sale at the Square Enix store at TGS)
(This wasn't even the crowded room)

Close Encounters of the Strange Kind

2008-10-06T03:27:00.002-04:00

Okay, so, I wasn't going to mention this phenomenon, but it's happened to me twice in one month, so I'll go ahead and tell you:

If you thought the staring thing was weird, get ready for this: Japanese men have been randomly coming up to me and talking to me. It's... uncomfortable. The first time it happened, I was walking along Takeshita Street in Harajuku, doing a bit of shopping, and I was about to go into a shop when a mid- to late-twenty-something guy asked me, "Do you live here? In Tokyo?"

I said, "Yes," thinking he wanted directions or something. But then he asked, "Are you an exchange student?" I said yes, and he asked, "Waseda?", meaning Waseda University, Keio's rival school. So I corrected him, and he seemed taken aback, and obviously pleased said, "Oh, I am Keio, too," and explained that he was a graduate student.

This whole time, we were standing almost right in the entryway of the shop, and I kept trying to take another step in. Finally, I said, "I'm going to shop now," and I turned to go in. But he said, "Wait, can I get your contact info? Can we stay in touch?" gesturing with his cell phone.

The obvious answer was of course, "NO! I don't know you! I am not giving you my cell phone number!" but not wanting to be rude, and understanding that "no" is not a word you should really use in Japanese, I responded with "chotto..." which can be loosely translated in this context to mean "not really...", and I avoided eye contact. Then I said, "I'm going shopping now" more forcefully and went into the store.

Since it was the first time this had happened to me, and the guy was kind of creepy, I felt very uncomfortable. Not threatened or anything (he didn't try to move towards me or touch my arm or anything), but I was very obviously trying to go into the store, yet he remained rather persistent. I told my girlfriends about it when I got home, but then forgot about the incident.

Last Saturday, though, Maggie and I went shopping in Ikebukuro, a district where you can buy girls' comic books and there are some really fun shopping malls. We had finished shopping and were on our way to the station walking on a crowded street. Suddenly, a male student appeared on my left and said, "Sumimasen" (excuse me). I gave him my attention, and then he moved a little closer and asked me for the time. I told him, and then he asked, "Are you busy right now?" I was confused, but said, "I'm going home now" (all in Japanese). Then he asked, "Where do you live?"

When Maggie and I re-evaluated the conversation later, she said he was asking me where my house was located. I thought he was asking me what kind of residence I lived in because it's obvious I'm an exchange student and I am so not used to people asking for my address. So I told him I live in a student mansion (apartment complex).

He asked, "Do you have time now?" I wasn't sure what he wanted, so I asked, "Why?" He said, "I want to talk to you somewhere." I thought he maybe wanted to practice English conversation, because a lot of Japanese like to practice with native speakers, so I asked, "In English?" But then he replied, "Japanese is okay, too". And then I got confused and didn't know how to respond. Luckily, he suddenly noticed Maggie walking on my right side. He asked, "Oh, is this your friend?" and Maggie and I both responded that she was. Maggie said, "We're going home now" and pulled me toward the station entrance. I hadn't realized that we had reached it yet. The boy immediately gave up and continued walking with the crowd.

I was so confused at that point. I was just dazed. Maggie, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing! She thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. We discussed it on the train, and she said she was sooo glad she was able to witness it. But she's sad that that will probably never happen to her because she's Asian, not white!

I felt a little bad afterward. He seemed like a nice, respectable student, and he didn't creep me out at all. I can't say I really understand why he wanted to talk to me somewhere (there are a variety of explanations, ranging from harmless to offensive), but I'm sure it took a lot of courage to come up and talk to me like that. He was very polite, and under normal circumstances (like, if we met on campus or something), I wouldn't have minded chatting with him at a cafe or something. But it's very confusing to have a stranger come up in the street and ask you such questions!

I don't know if the student and the creepy Harajuku dude had planned ahead of time to find a foreign girl and try to talk to her, or if these were spur-of-the-moment acts, but it's really not a good idea to try to start a conversation with a foreignor in the street. I'm sure they wouldn't approach a Japanese girl like that (no American guy has ever done that to me, at least), so I don't know if they think white girls are easy or more open to directness or what. But it doesn't work. Take notes, boys!

Meiji Jingu

2008-09-28T04:59:00.008-04:00

Being a polytheist, I have a healthy respect for foreign deities, so I decided that it would be a good idea to pay my respects to the local gods of Japan as soon as possible. Since I'm staying for a whole year, it would be a bad idea to offend the gods by neglecting to introduce myself.

Luckily for my dormmates and I, we are very close to Harajuku, home of the Meiji Jingu, a shinto shrine dedicated to the souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. Here is a little bit of information about the Emperor and Empress:

Though their tombs are in Kyoto, their spirits are worshipped at the Meiji shrine in Tokyo (Harajuku is a district in Tokyo). They passed away in 1912 and 1914 respectively, but the effects of the Emperor's policy of an open and internationally-minded Japan can be seen today in Japan's involvement on the world stage. Emperor Meiji, the great-grandfather of the present emperor, ascended the throne in 1867 and helped Japan come out of its long period of isolation. Empress Shoken was known for her devotion to national welfare and women's education. Also concerned with world affairs, the Empress donated a fund in her name to the International Red Cross which is still used for welfare activities today. Both were accomplished waka poets, and their sincere hearts dedicated to the people can be seen in their poetry.

The first image was the entrance to the shrine complex, and this is outside the entrance. There is water in that platform, and you take one of the wooden dippers and wash your hands and mouth thinking pure thoughts before you can pray in the shrine.

This is a wall on which hangs thousands of prayers written by visitors on wooden plaques. Most were in Japanese, but a good number were in English, too.

This is the inner shrine where you pray. I introduced myself to the gods and asked for a good school year in Japan. Since it's Emperor Meiji, I didn't think he'd mind that I'm a gaijin (foreignor). There are also a few offering boxes where you throw in money for the shrine. I made sure to donate, just in case it helps to win the gods to my side.

Afterwards, we bought some charms from the temple priestesses. I bought one for mental and physical health that I attached to my cell phone and another for my studies, which I hung on my mirror. I'm gonna need all the help I can get!

The Quirks of Japan

2008-09-24T03:42:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, I felt my first tremor. It was AWESOME!

It was very early in the morning and I was still asleep in bed, when light shaking woke me up. It wasn't really intense, but I could hear the furniture shifting and I could feel myself shaking in the bed. Here was my exact train of thought:

Why is everything shaking?
Oh, this is an earthquake. Cool.
I really hope my laptop doesn't fall off the desk...

And then I fell right back asleep without having moved at all. Talk about nonchalant!

When I finally did wake up, I was half-convinced it was just a dream, so I went to my neighbor's for confirmation. There had been an earthquake and unlike normal foreigners who went straight to their ridiculously large earthquake survival manuals issued by city hall, I stayed in bed and went back to sleep! I am so doomed.

At least I didn't sleep through it. Poor Maggie did! She got an email on her phone ten minutes after it was over asking if she felt it. She woke up for her phone, but completely missed the earthquake! She was so bummed. I told her not to worry; if we're lucky, we'll get another one this semester. It's probably asking for trouble, but I really want to feel one again! If a great fissure opens up in the ground and I fall into it, it will serve me right.

There are other quirks of Japan and the Japanese that I do not appreciate nearly so much. Like the staring thing. My god, I hate the staring. Not only is it ridiculously annoying, but it doesn't make sense to me! Hi! You live in Tokyo! I know I am not the first white person you have ever seen!

Some people are a lot better about it than others, though. Like, when I get onto a train, maybe a few old men or women will glance at me, but then they'll look away after a moment. Like they just want to confirm that I am, in fact, a gaijin, and that's that. Fine. But not all are so discreet. Yesterday, this ojisan kept staring at me when I wasn't directly looking at him. I could be focusing right in his immediate vicinity and he would have no problem staring right up at my face. Only when I glanced down and met his eyes did he finally look away. But then I'd look away again, and he'd go right back to staring.

But the WORST case, by FAR, was at a restaurant where two of my friends and I were eating. It was one of those chain, not-quite-fast-food restaurants where the tables are very close together. We had been eating next to this middle-aged man, perfectly normal, and then he finished and stood to gather his things. The ENTIRE TIME he was hovering over his table, he was staring DIRECTLY at Maggie, who is Chinese Canadian, sitting two feet from where he stood. How obvious can you get!? I kept looking at him hoping he wold see me and look away, but he refused to be distracted from Maggie's face. Luckily, she was so engrossed in conversation, she didn't notice. When he finally left and I told her about it, she was appropriately creeped out.

I just don't understand how Tokyoites can be so rude and unrestrained in their staring. If I lived in a little village in the mountains, yes, staring would be expected and appropriate. But Tokyo!? I see at least ten other white foreigners every day; there is no way I can be that unique to them. Right?

Now I understand what my sensei meant by "the panda effect". It doesn't matter if they've seen one before, it's different and strange (and sometimes really cute) and they can't help but stare. Sometimes they even want to touch, if you have unique hair or something. For that reason, I bought a panda bear charm for my cell phone. Appropriate, don't you think?

As long as it's just staring, I can live. But if anyone tries to pet my hair or something, I may react like an actual panda and take someone's arm off. Be warned, Japan. Look, don't touch.

Sightseeing in Minato-ku

2008-09-17T06:05:00.011-04:00

The day after I arrived in Tokyo, I joined a group of dorm-mates for a sight-seeing excursion. Well, our intention was to go to campus to open our bank accounts, but it turned into an excursion.

This was the first view of our school, Keio University:

This is the main gate of Keio. Its seal and motto are written above the archway.

The campus is very nice, very green. For being in such an urban setting, it's surprisingly secluded inside. There are a lot of trees on the campus; my experiences so far tell me that places with a lot of trees are of great significance.

Keio is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year; it is the oldest university in Japan, even older than Tokyo University. Of course, 150 years isn't very old for us Americans or Europeans, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that Japan went through a large educational reform and formal institutions of higher learning were introduced. Keio's founder, Yukichi Fukuzawa, is featured on the 10,000yen (roughly $100) bill. In the school's vice president's orientation speech, he compared Fukuzawa to Ben Franklin; both were educated civilians who made a huge impact on their societies (and both are on the $100 bill).

After visiting our school-to-be, we decided to walk over to Tokyo Tower; there is an amazing view of it from the street in front of Keio, and we had no idea it was so close.

Built in 1958, Tokyo Tower is the tallest self-supporting steel structure in the world; it is 8.6 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. It symbolizes Japan's emergence as an economic power on the world stage.

You can pay a small fee to up to the mid-level observation deck, but we did one better and paid extra for the small special observation deck near the top of the tower. We had an amazing view in every direction! On a clear day (it was too cloudy on ours), you can see Mount Fuji to the west.

It wasn't until we were standing up on the top deck, surveying the city spread out below, that I was finally able to believe that Tokyo really is the largest city in the world.

There was literally no end in sight.

Tabemono to Ketai

2008-09-15T20:36:00.004-04:00

I knew that the food here in Japan would be different (duh), but I didn't realize what an adjustment it would be.

In a lot of ways, I'm eating much better here. Meals are generally cheaper; at local restaurants, I can get a pretty large meal for less than $10, sometimes less than $5. They usually come with side dishes, like rice, miso soup, and some kind of vegetable. Here is a Korean beef bowl I had the other day:

(I have no idea why it's sideways. I can't fix it. Sorry.)

However, other foods are much more expensive than I'm used to. Because Japan imports most of their fruits and veggies, they're quite pricey. A small bunch of bananas cost $3, and an apple (yes, one apple) costs $1 or more. I'm used to having fruit several times a day, so this makes me extremely sad. However, if you do buy produce, the quality is excellent compared to the states, where it's very hit or miss. I bought a package of plums and they are really good!

Drinks are a bit different, too. Something really convenient about Tokyo is that there are drink vending machines EVERYWHERE. Like, literally every 50 feet there is at least one vending machine. At first I thought this was weird, but after walking all over town in 85 degrees, I understand.

I was somewhat confused at first about the brands of vending machines, though. Just like Pepsi or Coke machines, the brand appears on the machine and related products can be purchased. However, many machines here have brand names like Kirin or Suntory, famous beers and whiskeys. At first I thought, "Oh my gosh, you can beer in a vending machine!" but on closer inspection, I discovered that most of these alcohol companies also produce water, softdrinks, and coffee. It would be like going to a vending machine in America and buying Budweiser brand water! I'm still getting used to see people with water bottles that say "Asahi".

Last week, my friends and I went out and bought cell phones. Maggie, who has three years of language experience, did most of the talking, but we all agreed that a phone that would work in our home countries as well as Japan would be best. We went through the AU phone company; their plans were very affordable and if you're under 22 years old, they give you $100 back. That will really come in handy when we have to cancel our 2-year plans in a year: it's roughly $160, much like US companies.

I don't know if it's the group mindset of Japan, but we all got the same phone and the same voice/email package. The phones were free and the plans are $30 a month- a great deal! They're super awesome Sony Ericson phones, and we all got to choose different colors. Here's my ketai:

My favorite feature of our phones is the profile exchange. You press a button on your phone, hold it up to someone else's, and your profile information gets exchanged and put into each others' phone book. Since we have an email address as well as a phone number, this is much more convenient. American phones really need to catch up!

My room

2008-09-11T06:59:00.003-04:00

As promised, here are some pics of my dorm room in Willing Setagaya.

Not only am I really happy about my room, but I really like the other students in my dorm. Everyone is very friendly and excited to be here. We have a wide range of Japanese experience, from absolute beginners with no previous study to those who seem fairly fluent already. I fall comfortably in the middle; I can function pretty well and get around, ask for directions, etc, but it helps to have some of the more fluent students around for things like buying cell phones.

Also, as far as I know, I am one of only two Americans in my dorm; the great majority of people here are European. So far, we have students from Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Austria. Canada, China, and Singapore are also represented. I've never had such a wonderful opportunity to meet people from foreign countries before, so I'm really excited.

Oh god, jet lag...

2008-09-08T19:45:00.003-04:00

oh. my. god. TOKYO!!!!

I'm here! Yay! It's my second day in the big city, and though I'm reeeeaaaalllly tired and jet-lagged (and it's only 8:45am), I'm really excited to wander around today and explore. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The flight over was really nice. Whoever was supposed to sit next to me didn't show up, so I had the entire row to myself; I got to watch free movies that haven't come out yet on DVD; and the food was better than expected.

But it was Narita airport that really took the cake! Everything is handled so smoothly and efficiently, the luggage carts are free and much more manuverable than at US airports, and there is always a uniformed employee nearby ready to assist you. I usually find traveling to be very stressful for me, so I was very impressed by Narita.

I got to my dorm without incident and the landlords, Mr. and Mrs. Kato, gave me the grand tour and told me the dorm rules. It's all pretty common sense, expect for the trash. There are about 10 different categories of trash, and you have to throw them away in the correct bins or it's a big problem. I'm not relishing the idea of having to sort through my garbage by hand all the time, but if I take care of it every morning, it shouldn't be too bad.

The first floor is largely taken up by the lobby, which is currently filled with piles and piles of items left behind by the previous students. It's like having a free WalMart downstairs! I ended up getting a lot of items I thought I'd have to hunt down and buy: clothes hangers, laundry detergent, a pot and skillet, glasses and utensils, etc. And when it's time for me to leave, I, too, shall bequeath my leftovers to future residents.

I'm especially grateful to the past residents because the grocery store is very intimidating and difficult to navigate. There are so few food items I recognize, and the ones I do (such as fruit) are ridiculously expensive. So far all the foodstuffs I've bought are edamame and red bean buns. Now I understand why Americans always lose weight when they go to Japan: they don't know what to eat!

It's also very difficult to identify household items I need. Some things, like paper towels, are easily recognizable, but I couldn't figure out if a bottle was lotion or face wash; all the face, hair, and body products were sitting next to each other, so I couldn't tell what it was for sure.

Luckily, I have a couple of weeks before school starts to demistify the grocery store. I'm going to need them.

I'm super tired, so I'm gonna sign off. I'll include a video and pics of my room in my next update. Stay tuned!

Can you put a price on knowledge?

2008-09-06T00:28:00.004-04:00

If there is one thing I've learned about studying abroad before I've even left, it's that going abroad for a year is EXPENSIVE!

Okay, I knew that living in Tokyo for eleven months was going to up my expenses considerably (why else would I apply for extra scholarships/loans?), but having to purchase several months' worth of so many items at once is seriously taking its toll on my savings account.

The costs of my various medicines and prescriptions are really adding up; I take seven pills/supplements a day, plus contact lenses and other medicines I need for various health issues. It doesn't help that I was recently diagnosed with a disease whose monthly medication costs about $100; you don't wanna know how much it costs without health insurance! You know that saying: "At least you have your health"? Yeah, I wish.

My flight leaves in roughly 35 hours, and I'm beginning to feel the butterflies. I'm devoting most of my time tomorrow to packing (duh) and studying. The JLP placement test is Friday, so I have quite a bit of work to do. Luckily, I happen to be an expert crammer (short-term photographic memory), so I should fare just fine. Except the kanji... always the kanji... I maintain that if it were not for the existence of kanji, Japanese would be one of the easiest languages to learn.

Time to get some shut eye; oyasumi nasai!

Damn you, Gustav!!

2008-08-31T22:32:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Mr. Gustav racing across the Gulf toward Louisiana, the port at Galvaston is closing until Wednesday. Therefore, Carnival had to move and shorten the cruise to a "cruise to nowhere" from Wednesday to Saturday; no port of calls, just out to sea, wait around a bit, then back home. Soooo not worth it.

So my 21st birthday cruise with my dad to Cozumel and Progresso is canceled. I am so bummed!

I'll just have to make sure my birthday weekend in Tokyo is ridiculously fun to make up for it. Sigh.

Let's Get Some Shoes

2008-08-30T00:21:00.004-04:00

Oh my god, shoes. (If you don't know what I'm quoting, check YouTube.)

I have been shoe shopping like a madwoman, and I must say, I now have an awesome collection of kicks. Let me explain:

One of my biggest goals to complete while home for a month was to bulk up my wardrobe with Tokyo-appropriate apparel. At CMU, I can totally get away with wearing sorority t-shirts and hoodies 24/7, but in Tokyo, fashion is a very important expression of who you are and a lot of thought goes into one's outfit. Though I am obviously American and have no hope of blending in, fitting in and being stylish would be nice. So hoodies out, dressy shirts in.

I also felt pre-departure shopping was necessary because of my body type. As a 5'7" female with a medium build, I'm probably taller than 90% of the female Tokyo population, and my proportions are therefore quite different. It's already difficult to find regular jeans that fit me here, so I foresee problems in that area in Japan, and their shirts probably won't fit my torso very well either. So even though I love clothes shopping (whether or not I can afford it), I probably won't be doing much in Japan.

But I have no hope whatsoever in the shoe department.

I... am a size 11. Yes, you heard me, 11. A total injustice considering I'm not even model height. I find the shoes I like in my size about 5% of the time, including online shopping. There is no way any Tokyo store would carry my size, which sucks because their shoes are ADORABLE! It makes me cry inside.

Then I remember that handbags are one size fits all, and I feel a little better ^_^

Knowing this, I have been hitting up every mall in a 60-mile radius and all the online stores I know to look for heels, sneakers, and flats to go with all my outfits, in any situation. Though it's been a tough three weeks, I think I've got all the shoes I need. You may not understand how important this mission was to me, but trust me: there are others that feel the exact same way. I'm not weird, I'm just really picky about which shoes to pair with an outfit.

Even though purchasing multiple pairs of shoes within a three-week time period has put a small dent in my checking account (yay for birthday money), the knowledge that I have shoes for every outfit in my closet gives me a lovely surge of contentment and confidence. Shopper's high, I suppose. *sighs contentedly*

But if ombré heels go out of style in the next year, I'm gonna be in trouble... ^^;;;

You know you're in Texas when...

2008-08-26T08:13:00.005-04:00

The following paragraphs may have nothing to do with my travel plans, but I just had to mention this:

Yesterday, Mom and I decided drive to Baybrook Mall an hour away for a bit of shopping. It was a wonderful day for patrolling the mall: the sun was sizzling, the mosquitoes swarming, and the alligators were sunning themselves on the side of the road.

Yup, you heard me. Alligators.

Okay, so it was just one, but it was a HUGE sucker and he did not look happy! There we were, driving along, Mom scouting out cars to pass and me with my headphones blaring, when I suddenly spotted a huge American alligator sitting with its jaws open in the shoulder lane. We were stuck behind an eighteen-wheeler, so I didn't see the alligator until we were almost even with it. My eyes must have popped out of my head, I was so shocked!

We called our city's sheriff office and they said someone was already on the way; we weren't the first to notice the 14-footer about to take a bite out of a passing car.

So yeah, not relevant to Tokyo, but it was the highlight of my day. Welcome to Texas.These guys do not belong on highways!

Preparations are underway!

2008-07-30T10:22:00.001-04:00

Minna-san, konnichiwa!

I decided I'd put off making my first post until I got my dorm assignment; the email arrived this morning, so here it is!

For those who aren't aware, I'm preparing to travel to Tokyo, Japan in early September to participate in Keio University's Japanese Language Program for two semesters, ending on July 31, 2009. That's 11 months in Japan! I'm crazy excited, not to mention slightly terrified, but as a Japanese major, this will be the most important experience of my undergraduate career.

Here is the link for the program, if you're interested in applying: http://www.ic.keio.ac.jp/nncenter/en/index.html?url=210.html

I'm really happy that I got into my top choice for dormitories. One of the big differences between going to school here at Carnegie Mellon and going to school in Tokyo is the ridiculous commute between school and the dorms. One of the reasons I requested Willing Setagaya is that it is only 50 minutes by train from campus, as opposed to the 60, 65, and even 75 minute commutes from the other dorms. Willing also has the largest rooms (21 sq. meters) and a kitchenette (one burner, a 2" fridge, and a 1"sq. sink). Unfortunately, it's also the most expensive, about $650 a month, but I decided it was worth it. One of the students from this past school year told me that Willing is the only dorm whose commute to campus takes you through Shibuya, Tokyo's #1 shopping and night life district! I plan on spending a great deal of my free time there.

Here are some photos of my dorm: http://www.ic.keio.ac.jp/en/life/housing/picture_willing.html

The only "foreign countries" I've ever been to are Mexico and Canada, so traveling to Japan on my own, and staying there for 11 months straight, is a huge jump for me. I have to admit that I'm beginning to feel a bit nervous. But then I remember that my dorm will be filled with other English-speaking foreigners all in the same boat as me, and I feel better. Plus, my best friend, Mina, is going to be studying in Japan for a year as well, though in Nagoya, two hours away. She's been to Japan a couple of times before, so she's been giving me advice about Tokyo. And since she is going a week ahead of me, I'll have her cell phone number in Japan so if something... unfortunate happens after I arrive, I can call her for advice.

Though I'm staying in Japan for a full 11 months, Keio's semesters are set up so that I have all of February and March off. Instead of spending the money on a flight home, I plan on traveling around Japan and visiting some of the other islands. My mother is thinking about visiting me in February; she has also never left North America, but unlike me, doesn't speak a word of Japanese. I told her that if she comes, she has to try sushi. She may decide it isn't worth the risk!

One of my sorority sisters, Larissa, is also planning to come visit for Spring Break in March. She's a big fan of Japanese entertainment and culture, so we'll have tons of fun playing around Tokyo and traveling someplace like Kyoto. It will be cherry blossom time then, so maybe we can go to hanami, a cherry blossom viewing party where people socialize and drink sake under the cherry trees.

Well, that is a fairly lengthy post. I'll try to post again right before I leave. Watch out, Tokyo, I'll be there in 5 weeks!