It's quite the conundrum, growing up. As children, we always want to be doing something, whether it be playing, playing, playing, or eating. Always! As a kid, there are times when even taking a break to go to sleep seems like such a waste, since you want to keep having fun! But, as you grow older, that all changes. It's hard to determine when the true transition into adulthood is, but now that I am entering that phase, I think I'm starting to understand more. First of all, to adults sleep is important. VERY important. You would be hard pressed to find a kid that says they sleep as a pastime or hobby, and yet I hear that from my university peers all the time. Really! In my Korean class for example, when asked what we do after classes, many people said sleep! And it's not because we don't know how to say anything else. We have been taught many useful words! Like... eating! Or... studying! And... watching Korean Dramas! But no. My classmates all just want to sleep. Hardcore adulting at its most enjoyable! Another thing that I find, now that I'm older, is that I can truly enjoy the finer things in life. The saying, "You'll understand when you're older," the biggest bane of every child's existence, I understand now, too. When I was younger, I was too busy playing to stop and smell the flowers. I was too busy spending time with friends, to truly appreciate what they mean to me. I was too wrapped up in myself to think about others, and what they are doing for me. Now, while I still don't stop to smell the flowers (though that's because I am not adult enough yet to actually like the fragrance) I do stop to look at them. My campus in Japan is absolutely beautiful now that spring is in full motion. There is green everywhere, and each of the trees and bushes are taking their turns flowering. As a fully transitioning adult, I not only notice this, but it brings me great happiness. Also, whether it is at ICU here in Japan, OSU back in the states, or Medina High School in my hometown, I have a group of irreplaceable friends that make me happy just to think about. When together, I can become a kid again, if just for a few hours, and play to my heart's content. When apart, I still feel their presence as an important part of my life that I can be happy with and proud of................ Wow that got mushy. That's because it's Friday! The world of the weekend is lounging enticingly before me. In Japanese it can be called, 花金 (hanakin) literally meaning golden flower but representing the meaning of TGIF. I blame this name for my flowery language! Just know that the weather, the plant life, and my day-to-day life are all going very well here in Japan! At least on the weekends. It seems that as children, there is not really a need for distinction between week and weekend. Sure, kids don't want to go to school, but it's either playing at school or playing at home. Now that I'm an adult, there's this thing called "work" that leaves me feeling very frantic, somewhat stressed, and just overall busy. From Monday morning until Friday afternoon, I feel like I am in constant motion, either going to classes, my part-time job, or some club function or another. My hypothesis is that this "work" phenomenon, is what causes not only the transition into adulthood, but also the sudden love for sleep, and the ability to smell roses. ALL THE TIME. Or maybe that's love. Either way, "work" is the important key here! "What evidence do you have for this?" you might ask, well I have just the thing for you! It's retired people! Think of the people in your life who have worked their required time, and have now settled down to a peaceful existence. What are their sleeping habits like? They probably go to sleep around 10 or 11 and then wake up around 4, 5, or 6 right? This person is obviously an adult, and yet they don't seem to like sleeping anymore even though they have plenty of time for it now! This correlation is clear, irrefutable evidence to my claim! Work = needs sleep. Oh wait, that's not what I was proving... But you get the point. Or maybe not. I lost the point... Let's start again. I think what I wanted to say wasn't really about the process of becoming an adult, or about retiring for that matter. What I really wanted to convey is my realization that I have been having recently. As a kid, becoming an adult means being able to do whatever you want. As a transitioning adult, being an adult means having to take on annoying responsibilities like paying the bills, and working, as well as a sudden drop in energy that often gets supplemented by coffee. But, as an adult, what does being an adult mean? Before it happens, it's such an important word. But afterword? It's not a single gateway after all. These changes are never ending. I'm glad to have finally learned that becoming an adult isn't all that bad. When you're always playing, you can't be happy in the few moments when you aren't. But now, I can sit in my room after a tough week, look out the window, and be happy. No music, no TV, no phone, just the beautiful little forest out my window and the newly hatched butterflies flittering about.
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Anyone want to guess what it means? If I didn't know Japanese, I would have absolutely no clue. Heck, ask me a month ago, and I still wouldn't have been able to tell you! (And I have been studying Japanese for two and a half years now.) Just goes to show you how important Japanese teachers think the dentist is I guess. I haven't been keeping up my end of blogging... I originally said I wanted to blog every day, but we all know how that ended up! In the end I won't blame myself. Blame it on having nothing to write. But! Today I went to the dentist! It's the most exciting thing I have done in a while! Lately all I have been doing is trying out meditation with a real Buddhist monk, learning about education by observing a Japanese elementary school class, hiking in the various mountain ranges around Tokyo, learning to play the Shamisen and Koto, somehow managing to go to class despite all of this other stuff, and going grocery shopping. Lots of grocery shopping. Because I finally learned how to make food for myself. I mean, look at this masterpiece! So yep. The most exciting thing in my life right now is going to the dentist! I'm sorry I can't bring any more fun info from Japan! I know I am most of my readers most realistic and reliable source for information on everything important going on in Japan. But there's truly nothing to report up until now! Anyway, without further ado, I present to you: My Trip to the Japanese Dentist OfficeFirst of all, let me start off by telling you that the dentist is the dentist, even in a foreign country. My cavities have become "tooth bugs" but in the end, it's just clean, polish, spit, and pray there are none. (Which there weren't of course!) On the other hand, I would say that's pretty much the end of similarities. You still have to fill in paperwork when you first go in, but the manner of the staff and even the set up of the office is completely different!
When I was waiting to be taken back, the dentist told me, "Just a check up and cleaning, right? Don't be scared! It won't hurt!" (Because I went to an office that has an English speaking dentist, this was said in English) Can you imagine it? A dentist telling a 21-year-old girl not to be afraid of having her teeth cleaned? I can't, and I was there. I was so touched, I didn't even have time to be flabbergasted. Next, when it was time to head back to go through my scary ordeal, I had to take off my shoes. I'm assuming many of you know that you have to remove your shoes before going into someone's house in Japan, but I wasn't expecting it at the dentist's! They also provide plastic slippers for you to walk around in. Makes the trip feel kind of homey in a way! Padding past the reception desk in my slippers, I couldn't believe my eyes! True, usually dentist's offices don't really have their own rooms for patients, but this office didn't even have the cubby-like areas for the chairs. Everything was just out in the open! Mine in particular was right next to a door leading to who knows where, but people were going in and out of there during the cleaning process. I would say that makes me worry that it could cause a distraction and the dentist could end up hurting me with the dental scalar, but even that was different! It's hard to imagine it being as effective as the metal scraper that American's use, but all they use here is a high pressure water squirter! The even weirder thing was that it felt similar to when the dentists in the US use the metal apparatus to scrape at my teeth. It makes me wonder just how strong that water stream is? It's at least strong enough that before starting the dentist puts a towel on you, on top of the typical paper bib, while also giving you a pair of protective eye wear. It's like science class all over again, except that they give you the fancy plastic glasses instead of the clunky goggles. After the intense spray down is the relaxed spray down. Instead of having a sprayer that looks like the typical scraper, the next sprayer looks just like the typical polishing brush, but this one also sprays water! So, to recap, first scrape with water, then rub with water. I started to get excited thinking I might be able to save money on toothpaste! But then the next step is to polish, so I figured maybe a dollar every three months is worth it to get rid of morning breath. The polish came out of a normal toothpaste looking tube, and the dentist's assistant (who actually did everything in this transaction) put it on her glove, kind of like those make-up artists who test the color of the make-up by applying it to their hand first. Then, using an assumedly normal brush, she polished my teeth. Finally, using a mini-marshmallow size cotton ball, they rubbed a weaker version of fluoride on my teeth. The dentist also stressed not eating or drinking for the next 20 minutes. And that's how it happened. While the dentist's assistant was cleaning my teeth, just after starting each process she would stop and ask me if it hurt and if I was okay. Also, before cleaning any of my teeth, she would announce in which part of my mouth she would be working in with detail. Front of the bottom teeth, back of the top teeth, etc. She was super gentle and extremely nice. She even answered all of my weird questions. For my mom's sake, I wanted to get a Japanese dentist's take on wisdom teeth. They said as long as there is no inflammation or visible problems with the other teeth, the there they won't remove the wisdom teeth even if they aren't growing in! No unnecessary surgery, mom! Also, it seems that unless you have a cavity or something wrong with your teeth, then they won't do the X-Ray, though I didn't interrogate them enough to know this for sure. And that was it! All the details about the Japanese dentist that no one really cared to know! Please enjoy these weirdly in English but great pictures that they had hanging in the reception area. I know I did. I've always wanted to consider myself spontaneous, and now I finally can! As Fall Break was approaching and exam season was roaring it's ugly head, I decided that I was going to go to Korea! No, not North Korea. Why does everyone keep asking me that? South Korea! Duh! The land of KPOP and Korean Dramas. And, what's more, from the moment I decided, my departure date was set for the next week. How's that for spontaneous? It was surprisingly easy to get everything set up. Buying a place ticket, booking a hotel(?) room, finding someone to go with, everything went rather smoothly. For the last thing, all I had to do was ask a few friends if they wanted to go to Korea with me next week, and voila! I had a taker. Although the rushed planning was a bit stressful for Mia, because she was going with me, I no longer felt any worries. I knew everything would work out fine! And, of course, I am writing this from Japan after the fact. Spoiler Alert: I made it there and back without dying. It is amazingly cheap to be able to fly to Seoul, South Korea from Tokyo, Japan. It didn't even cost me $200 for a 5 day trip. The hotel(?) was even more amazing! For 4 nights for 2 people it was even cheaper than the flight! Mia and I each spent only about $80! Pretty awesome, right? Of course, with the drop in price, there are bound to be things not so desirable. For one thing, the room at the place was TINY. Like puny. Like, half of the size of my bedroom in my dorm at ICU. There were bunk beds in it that were better than sleeping on the floor, but only just barely. The mattresses were quite solid and the pillow wasn't the typical awesome hotel pillow that you dream about before going on a vacation. It was mediocre at best. The bathroom was also small, and the whole thing doubled as a shower and apparently the water pressure was horrible! But there were good things too! The room itself was a pretty nice quality and didn't feel dirty. There was a TV and a heater/air conditioner that allowed you to control the temperature (although that did end up falling off the wall randomly). And it was a private room, just for Mia and I, with a lock and everything. Although I find it difficult to really consider it a hotel, it didn't feel like a hostel in the slightest. On the other hand, although it was cheap, the flight was great! It almost felt like the amenities on it were the same, if not better than the flight I had to Japan! Asiana gets an A+ from me! From tons of leg room, to a foot rest, to a remote for the TV on the seat, to a nice adjustable headrest, it felt completely different from my Delta flight, and any others that I've been on for that matter. Although the flight was less than 3 hours, they gave us a full meal too! It was extraordinary! The only thing lacking was that you only were allowed one bag. Whether you checked it or brought it on the flight, it was still only one. And this was an international flight! That was the only thing I found weird. Here's some pictures I took of the flight amenities :) All in all, despite having very little time to prepare, everything worked out well and I didn't have to fork over my entire wallet to do so! The spontaneity made me feel adventurous and excited, and the good results make me want to continue being so! Since my stay in Japan, I have begun to feel like quite the mountaineering expert! I'll have you know, I have now hiked up and down mountains on three whole occasions throughout my life, all within the last three months! If you don't claim expertise from this experience, than I can't imagine what I could possibly do to deserve the honored title. From my deep and meaningful expeditions, I've come to realize that hiking is like the ocean. Yes. You heard me correctly. Rocks = ocean. It's as easy as chocolate = love. Basically, I find that my perspective changed often, almost coming and going in waves. On my first hike I must admit I was arrogant. I proudly walked with minimal muscle ache for an extended period of time at an impressive incline. It was tiring but nothing I couldn't handle and I was keeping up with the experienced people in front of me much better than the people behind me were, so I was feeling quite pleased with myself. For about an hour. That was the first wave of hubris. Then I reached the enlightenment phase. Do you know what it feels like to be physically exhausted but to have to continue on anyway? It really messes with your head. For me, it creates a lightheaded sensation, and then it separates my consciousness from my physical motion thus enabling my body to continue it's laborious and painful trek without tying my mind down. In these moments, when the mind is completely separated from the physical world, it's what I would imagine Buddhist Enlightenment to feel like. You feel at peace. At one with the world. And above all you do not feel the pain that is obviously there. In these moments I have the thought that if anyone is feeling depressed, then they should try hiking. It brings everything to life and just makes you happy to be alive. But, like the tide, this wave must also recede, and in it's place comes pain and desperation. I then realize that hiking truly cannot be for everyone. Especially not everyone like me who has poor stamina and is not a workout nut. I would wonder why I was doing this to myself, when we would finally get to the top, and if I could actually make it. These are the three waves of the mountains. I assure you, they come and go, all three playing a game of tag inside me as I hike. Some moments, when it feels too easy to be true after eras of exhaustion, I start to think that I had a physical breakthrough in the span of a few hours and all of the sudden I have become an invincible hiker! But of course that isn't the case, so eventually the pain and pessimism returns, followed by the forced enlightenment. And so on and so forth. So, this begs the question, is it worth it? ... I think so! Pain is just weakness leaving the body, so think of how many calories you are burning, how much muscle you are building, and suck it up! Enlightenment is a truly glorious feeling, so it's probably worth enduring a bit of pain to experience it every once in a while. And then, there's the main reason that you would want to be hiking in the first place: it's beautiful! Just look at these and feast your eyes! All of this was possible because I joined the Wandervogel Club at ICU. You get to explore the numerous mountains around the Tokyo area and spend time with fun people while immersed in nature. It's been a truly wonderful experience that I've had while staying in Japan.
Some of you may be wondering how my trip is going, seeing as I haven't really been uploading blog posts very often. Or at all. For a whole month. Well, I would like to make up for that with this post! Here's an interview with yours truly:
Q. I hear you've been in Japan for just under two months now. That should be enough time to really get into the groove of things and experience what it's like to live there, right? So, tell me, how is Japan so far? A. Amazing. Q. Amazing indeed. I'm sure any study abroad would probably be that way, but I'm glad to hear that it is suiting you well. With that being said, I've also heard that you are taking a full class load, fuller than what is recommended, and on top of that are participating in an Intensive Japanese course that is famous for breaking souls. Are you actually able to find time to enjoy yourself? A. Yes. Q. That is very heartening. I was worried that you were running yourself ragged without any breaks. Of course, I didn't even mention that you seem to have joined some clubs. That's also taking up a lot of your time I suppose! How many did you say you joined, again? A. Four. Q. That's right! It was Softball, Wandervogel, Shamisen, and Koto. I remember now. That's quite a mouthful isn't it!? Which one is your favorite do you think? A. No comment. Q. Not a very talkative person, are you? Well that's okay. I will break you! Let's get down to the nitty-gritty shall we? I'd like to hear more details about your typical day. How much time do you spend talking in Japanese? Answer in three words or less. I dare you. A. Around 5 hours. Q. Dang. Three words exactly. Well, I suppose that probably varies day by day. With Intensive Japanese requiring about 3 hours of only speaking in Japanese, along with the clubs you've joined primarily using Japanese, and including your Japanese roommates and dorm mates in general tending to use Japanese, it is probably more accurate to say that it varies depending on the day, don't you think? A. Well, as an interviewer, I think you are probably the worst. You dare me to use three words on a question like that and then criticize my answer.... Honestly, what do you want from me? If you don't want one word answers, ask better questions! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And that is where I'll have to end the interview. I can't very well get into a heated argument with myself and still claim to be sane. Minor kerfuffles only please! In all seriousness though, I am having the time of my life. Every day I feel blessed to be here. I love talking with the people here. I love challenging myself to talk in Japanese as much as possible. And there are so many moments where I can appreciate just being blissfully happy. I especially enjoy the moments that I spend talking with the various people in my clubs. It's always fun to find out the cultural differences through chats about holidays, movies, dating, etc. It's even more fun to mix my patched together Japanese and a type of onomatopoeia charades together and attempt to convey my own culture. If I had to choose one bad thing about being here, I would say that I miss my friends and family that I left in Ohio. Social media and such is good for communicating in some ways, but it can't help the fact that I can't hug my mom. I can't watch movies and play softball with my dad. I can't talk truly face to face with any of my friends and family. If I was at Ohio State, would I be doing any of these (besides talking face to face with my friends at OSU)? No. No I wouldn't. But that doesn't change the ache that I feel. To truly understand, let me use an analogy. It's like sharing a bedroom and sleeping in the top bunk of the bunk bed. You climb up ever so carefully, not making any noise or shaking the bed and waking the person below you, and just when you've found the perfect spot to sleep, you realize you need to go to the bathroom. Had you stayed sitting at your desk and doing your homework, you wouldn't need to go at all, but knowing that you can't go without putting in supreme efforts really changes your outlook. It makes going to the bathroom before going to bed just that much more important. And that is what it's like to live on the opposite side of the world from your loved ones. If you know they are right there, then you won't miss them too much. Social media is more than enough to satisfy most of your interacting needs. But, being so far away your sleeping and waking times are switched.... Well, now I feel pretty lonely in the fact that I can't see them. Thankfully I have made friends in my classes, dorm, and 4 clubs so I can't feel truly lonely! Other than that though, there is nothing I truly miss! Except for the American style breakfast. Because my cooking skills really just can't cut it and it isn't served anywhere that I've found so far. With these two exceptions, everything else is great. I'm so happy that I was chosen to attend ICU. I can't imagine a more perfect school for me to be studying at in Japan. In Japan, middle schools, high schools, and colleges all typically have what's called a school festival. Basically it's a day, or possibly two, where all of the classes (MS, HS only) and clubs put together fun games, cafes, haunted houses, food to sell, etc. to make money for the year. It's also a great way to have fun and advertise your school at the same time. ICU is no different! This weekend just happens to be the ICU festival. For the students of ICU, this means lots of big responsibilities, time commitments, effort, and is in general a royal pain, but in the end I think it's probably fun and worth the stress. At least, for someone like me who is getting the chance to experience her first school festival, I think it is well worth the effort. I absolutely love it. The school has been decorated with fun gates and signs everywhere and there are tons of booths full of clubs hawking their wares. The performance clubs are all holding concerts and collecting funds through ticket sales and there are still plenty of others that have taken over a classroom and set up displays or themed cafes. It's quite the fun experience! For me specifically, I am super busy as per usual. In between my various performances and duties I've had the chance to walk around for a few minutes and enjoy, but honestly, I almost enjoy working the festival more than walking it. I also must apologize in advance. I cannot show you many pictures of what the ICU festival looked like because there is, in fact, a typhoon approaching Japan at this very minute. While enjoying myself in the downpour, dodging puddles and playing bumper umbrellas with the throngs of people, I didn't have the desire to take out my phone and take pictures. You'll just have to make do with the videos from my performances and my descriptions. I dare you to find me in this performance. It's pretty hard right?!?
My first act as an ICU festival participant was to perform a piece on the Shamisen. It was apparently not required that you memorize it, but I didn't figure that out until I was actually "on stage" and someone had brought their music with them... It wasn't for lack of trying though! It's just that, as you may have noticed, I am the only foreigner in this club. Between other club members not knowing if bringing music is allowed, and the language barrier that is bound to happen with detailed explanations with musical jargon, I was unable to ascertain the truth until it was directly in front of me. Had I brought the music, I may not have messed up as much, but even with the slight forgetfulness I experienced at times, I'm actually pretty happy with my performance. I'm really looking forward to the next one in December because I will actually get to wear the traditional Japanese clothing called the Kimono! To get an idea of what that is if you don't already, the singers and the upperclassman on the left were wearing them! After the performance I had a short break where I ate some food and then I went to work at the Wandervogel (hiking/rock climbing) Club's game. I unfortunately don't have a video of this, but basically we played rock climbing air hockey. By projecting a puck onto a rock wall and using an XBOX Kinect to sense where two peoples' hands and feet were, you got to play air hockey while climbing. It's super fun, even though the technology was somewhat glitchy. I didn't actually help much, because again language barriers and there were already quite a few club members taking over the jobs, but I like to think that I gave them good old American moral support. And I made use of the fact that I was in the club to be able to play for free. But I was definitely not there with ulterior motives... Once I finished my "harrowing" hour long shift, I wandered the festival in the rain and hodge-podged some festival food into a lunch of sorts. I also visited my friend at his Ballroom Dancing cafe which was very enjoyable. Basically, you pay 300 yen (a little under $3) and you get a drink, snacks, a fifteen minute-ish dance performace, and a chance to learn some of the moves with the dancers afterward. Here's what some of the performances looked like:
The Disney theme was amazing, the dancing was fun, and I had a great time dancing with my friend afterward. It was a 300 yen well spent! Next up on day one of the ICU fest was my koto performance. We performed Sakura at the koto cafe and I did much better than when I was playing the Shamisen. This is namely because this song is the equivalent of an intense "Hot Cross Buns" for possibly all traditional Japanese instruments. It was the first thing we learned how to play on the koto, and it was the first for the Shamisen as well.
And there you have it! My first day at the festival. The second day would have started off with making and selling chocolate bananas with the softball club, but due to the typhoon not only was the tent area starting to flood a bit, but for fear of the tents caving in under the torrential rain, the outdoor portion of the festival was cancelled. Instead, I chatted with some of the softball team members, gave some more moral support to the Wandervogel Club, had another koto performance, ate some Otonomiyaki since the outdoor festival was cancelled and my roommate had a ridiculous amount leftover, and helped close up the gym with the Wandervogel Club after the festival was finished. If you can imagine, I'm beat! I also did no homework over the past weekend so I'm feeling quite overwhelmed. And, to deal with that, I am writing this blog post. Thankfully, the staff of ICU must understand that we students truly have our priorities straight, and to congratulate us on our good choices, have deigned to give us the morning off on the Monday after the festival. Thank you ICU staff! You are extremely kind and magnanimous!
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. And it was such a Japan weekend. It's really one of those things that you need to experience once when here! Bathroom, oh bathroom, where can you be? I've been out all day and really must pee. Hark! I've spotted it, to the right over there. I truly must hurry, there's no time to spare. Upon entering the room, I sprint to the stall, to find the porcelain throne is not there at all. Instead on the ground, what do I find? But a porcelain hole. A toilet redefined. Some people say this is better; that it's cleaner, and good posture But to me it's a pain, hard to aim, and takes longer If you manage your business without peeing on yourself Then good for you! Truly cleaner and a workout For those of you less lucky, leave the stall quickly, head to the sink But what do you find there? Just water and a mirror, which really does stink There's no soap, no paper towels, no dryers, no nothing Lesson be learned, bathrooms in stations aren't worth trusting. Thank you! I just felt like writing a poem, no matter how silly. This is one possible situation that you can find yourself in when trying to go to the bathroom in Tokyo, but I've found there is such a ridiculously huge variance between different places, that I truly don't know what to expect anymore. On campus the bathrooms usually have one squatty potty with the rest being normal toilets, some sinks, and soap. In certain buildings, they go above and beyond to give you toilets with options (like a bidet and shower functions, a de-stinkifier, flushing noises to drown out any flatulence or other unmentionable bathroom sounds, a seat warmer, a help button, and many more. Not all of these are found on every high tech toilet, and I am positive there are some features that I haven't seen yet but still exist.) and hand dryers as well. The point is, when walking into a Japanese bathroom, you really have no clue what you are getting yourself into. To be safe, I've been told to walk around with a pack of tissues JUST IN CASE they don't even have toilet paper, but I have yet to see that happen. I would however suggest carrying around a handkerchief. It is very nice to have when there are no paper towels or dryers. BTW this is a post dedicated to Paupo, my grandpa. He always told me about the bathroom in this restaurant in Ohio that had a fancy toilet, so I just wanted to let him know that in Japan, you can indeed find a treasure trove of such places. Paupo, you should visit me in Japan just for the bathrooms! I know most people may not care to see pictures of toilets and their features, but if that statement doesn't describe you, then please enjoy these pictures that I've taken in some of the bathrooms that I've encountered. There's just so many things wrong with this picture... First of all, in what world should the button to flush a toilet be next to an emergency help button? What if you are in a hurry and you don't look properly??? That almost feels like putting the "self-destruct" button next to an intercom.... Secondly, I can't possibly imagine what you would need to call for help for while sitting on the toilet. Part of me wants to press it just so I can ask the response team what sort of emergency they are expecting. Do a lot of Japanese people have heart attacks while in the bathroom or something??? Looks pretty interesting, right? Basically, face towards the the arch (on the left) and squat down with your feet on either side of it. The toilet paper can go directly into it as far as I know and then you still have to flush it just like a regular toilet. If you actually want to try one of these, which I'll admit I did want to just for kicks and giggles, then they can be found at most train stations. Sometimes, they are even the only option! I also saw them at the airport. It's a great way to stretch your legs after a long flight, don't you think!? Somehow, when a toilet comes with directions I can't help but wonder if it isn't too complicated... This was on the wall of the bathroom in my hotel room when I first came to Japan. Below is a picture of what the control panel actually looked like. They are so nice to write everything in both English and Japanese! I've seen it both ways, but even when it's in Japanese it's pretty much self-explanatory from the pictures.
Dear Schedule, Well, I've had a full week! Monday: had class for almost four hours, starting from 8:50, with a break for lunch and then another nearly 4 hours of class yet again at 3:10. If that wasn't enough, I went to a meeting for the idol club at 7:10. Homework was accomplished at cost of some sleep time. Tuesday: again, class from 8:50 - 12: 40, then went to the Wondervogel club during lunch time, to find out that they actually meet on Wednesdays. Had more time to do homework, so I watched a movie. Homework accomplished at cost of some sleep. Wednesday: can you guess when I had class? I'll give you a hint. It started at 8:50 and ended at 12:40. I actually went to the Wondervogel club today during lunch, as well as the Koto club. Afterwards, I went to the softball field for the first time to try to join the club, but apparently practice was cancelled. Very sad, but I got some homework done instead before then going to the Aikido club from 6:00 - 8:00. Unfortunately, the rest of the homework was accomplished at the cost of some sleep. Thursday: I won't repeat it again. I had class in the morning. If you don't remember what time, please refer back to a previous weekday. I also had class from 3:10 until 7:00 again today. Mondays and Thursdays are looking to be tough! Today I had some free time, but I can't enjoy it. I have initiation practice to go to! And, practice for my initiation practice to go to. Homework was... yada yada... sleep.... yada yada... Friday: morning class, Shamisen club meeting and mini lesson, softball club second try, Aikido Club practice (didn't make it), Momi House Pizza Party (also missed it), softball game (added at last minute). Softball team bonding and relaxing trip to the ofuro at cost of some sleep. Haha "orange" you glad I didn't say homework? (For those of you unlearned in the art of knock knock jokes, I think you had "banana" go google it.) (And for those of you ignorant in the ways of the pun, please refer to my partner in Copley High School's Tech Department, Sam. I'm sure he would be happy to help set you straight. He guarantees one pun for every three sentences, or your money back.) Saturday: I didn't get to sleep in because the tail end of a typhoon is coming and I needed to go shopping. My roommate Ayano and I went to a drugstore at 10:00, and continued onto grocery shopping (I had run out of food 3 days prior... but that's what the dining hall is for, right?). I then worked on my Literature presentation with Brandon (also an exchange student from OSU) who lives in my dorm. We grabbed dinner and bought some more food from Don Quixote. Although it had been raining at that point, it wasn't too bad yet. And the dining hall closes at 4:00 on Saturdays so we didn't really have a choice.... Finally, I worked on my translation homework, and wrote this blog post at the cost of some sleep. (Noticed how the days' descriptions get longer? Living proof that my memory isn't great...) Sunday: my homework day! Nothing to do but study, study, study! Who knows if that will actually happen though. I've been finishing up this blog post all morning after all, and I'm sure I can find a movie to watch if I try hard enough... I might as well tell you that I finished studying at the cost of some sleep. It's some really obvious foreshadowing to my own future. Glossary: Every day 8:50 - 12:40 class: Intensive Japanese B, so far it is indeed intense, but the amount you can learn from studying a language for 3 hours every day is well worth the effort. Monday 3:10 - 7:00 class: Modern Literature in English Translation, seems like it will be alright. I only have to read three short stories every week. Definitely doable. Thursday 3:10 - 7:00 class: Translation at Work, interesting class that involves learning about machine translation and other helpful translating technologies and how they work together to make a translator's job much easier. Not too hard yet, but they might just be easing us into the technology first. Supposedly, the projects we will be doing, if all goes well, will go into helping translate information about the Olympics into English and will actually be used in a real world application!
Wondervogel Club: I don't know what it means either... I think it's probably German! I do know it is the rock climbing but not rock climbing club. Activities include learning rope work for scaling mountains, and then proceeding to hike up the easier routes instead. A bit of a spoiler, but next week Sunday I will be hiking up a mountain with the rest of the perspective new Wandervogelers. Meetings to discuss activities and dates are held Wednesdays at lunch time, and excursions occur over weekends and breaks. Aikido Club: A Japanese martial art that can be used for self defense. It is great for women and children because it is not based on strength. The basic idea is that if you relax and move as if a big scary guy isn't holding onto you, you can actually manipulate your opponent's movements with little effort. I have yet to figure out how to truly relax while a nice, smiling guy is holding onto me though, let alone a big scary one.... Practices are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 6:00 - 8:00. Softball Club: More of a circle than a club, because it is actually very laid back, unlike most of the other clubs I have mentioned. There are 20 some members in total, but probably less than 10 are active in their participation. Of the few members that I have met so far, they have all been friendly and fun people to be around. I'm looking forward to playing my favorite sport together with them this year! Practices are Wednesdays, Fridays 3:30 - 6:00 and Saturdays 4:00 - 6:00. Games are... I don't know when, but about once or twice a week.
Don Quixote: Both a book, and an amazing store. It's huge, random, cheap, and has all your shopping needs (including, but not limited to, school supplies, snacks, workout equipment, a washing machine, fun masks, clothes, costumes, games, beauty supplies, etc.).
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AuthorThe name's Sarah. From September, 2017 to June, 2018 I will be your guide through life as an exchange student in Tokyo. (Some guide I am. It's like I just left you in the middle of nowhere so that I could go off on my own adventures!) Archives
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