Watashi no tabiji

Quick updates

2007-04-10T18:36:00.000+09:00

Hey friends, 久しぶりだね？　

Well spring break has finally ended and I'm back to the grind. While my Japanese hasn't improved enough to bump me up to the intermediate classes, I've still managed to increases my score on the proficiency test and by the end of the semester, I should definitely be able to make that jump by the time I leave in August. Anywho, I'm taking a few language classes, a geography, psychology, lingustics, and a linguistics programming class..all in Japanese..so I should be kept pretty busy.

What else is new?
- Well, I'm not staying for another year due to there being too many people wanting to come to Japan, but rest assured I　will come back asap. I should be back August 10th.
- I've been to Fukuoka, Daizaifu, and Iwakuni with my new girlfriend and I'll probably go to Nara this weekend.
- My 21st birthday has came and gone and it was actually a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!
- I'll post some new pics up soonish!

Insert witty title.

2007-03-19T12:45:00.000+09:00

It's been a long time, my friends. I've been quite well and quite busy. I know I promised to update this thing more often, but I can't bring myself to sit in front of a computer for more than 30 minutes writing about what I did when I could be out having more adventures.

See, the finality of my whole excursion has more then set in. As we speak, I have less than half of my trip left, and honestly it feels like I have about 2 weeks. When school starts up again, I know this will definitely be the case.

So what have I been up to?

Well, several weeks ago, I went skiing in Hiroshima-ken for the first time. Skiing is surprisingly harder then it looks. Michael, Sean, and I rented a car and skiied for the whole day or that was the plan at least. I had to cut the day short due to crashing into a fence, getting whiplash, and bruising the whole right side of my body. What do they always say? No internal bleeding, no gain? Just kidding, I got better a few days afterwards. Moving on..

The upcoming weeks were fun as well but not quite as dangerous. I had two of my good friends7 (both Candians) birthday parties which were a lot of fun, full of tomfoolery and what not and my Kyoto/Osaka trip.

The Kyoto/Osaka trip was great, but traveling can really put a toll on your body and mind. It wasn't until I came back to the uni that I felt at home again. Now, don't get me wrong I love traveling and the such, but those cities are just too big (especially Osaka). Anyway in Osaka, Sean and I went to the aquarium and to the Umeda Sky tower which were quite amazing (pictures are up on Flickr) along with going to see Bloc Party (one of my favorite bands from the UK) who put on one hell of a show. It was kind of cool to see many different cultures unite in one room, with one purpose: to rock the fuck out. Good times.

After a few tiring days in Osaka, we head off to Kyoto which is conviently located 40 minutes away by train. I liked Kyoto the better of the two, because it reminded me of Yamaguchi. After all, Yamaguchi is called "Kyoto of the West". In Kyoto, we did a lot of sightseeing and walking around due to the 500 yen bus passes which allow for anyone with a pass to get anywhere in the city by bus. Quite nice I must say. Some of the stops we saw while using this pass, where Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, and Nijo Castle. The first two being buddist temples highly regarded in Kyoto and the last, well, the last is self-explanatory.

When we got back from Kyoto, we unpacked and pretty much passed out. Nine and a half hours on a train is not exactly my idea of a good time.

* For a better description of the events that have transpired, please refer to Sean's blog. The link is conviently located at the right-hand side of the page.

matane.

Hey, Fugu you!

2007-02-19T16:52:00.000+09:00

It's been a long while friends, indeed it has. I've been up to quite a bit since I've last posted. Since i really don't feel like blogging..i'll just list.

Some of the fun things I've been doing:

Went to Akiyoshido, the 2nd biggest cave in Japan
Got invited to my first Japanese house/party
Made some new friends
Tripped and fell through a window (again)
Went to Shimonoseki, ate some fugu, and survived!
Went to Kokura, in kitakyushuu, had a lot of fun..etc.
Pretty much deciding that I'm going to stay for another year if it's feasible

Anywho, some pics have been posted on flickr..so check 'em out if you get a chance..

Last, I'm going skiing for the first time this friday and saturday..and I'll probably start "updating" for real from then on..anywho..all is well..love it here..dont wanna come back..etc.

This country never fails to amaze me...

2007-01-31T16:31:00.000+09:00

It's been nearly four months since I landed in Narita airport completely confused and overwhelmed. While I've finally settled into my surroundings, I discover new things/situations every day/week.

As of me writing this post, my first semester at "yamadai" has ended. I've finished my classes, fumbled through my test, and come out clean. While I've seen improvement in my Japanese ability, it's not where I want it to be. I think it was kinda foolish to look back and think that I could become near fluent in only one year. But, I'm not giving up. I've figured out that I do want to do something with my Japanese, that's for sure. However, it's not going to be an easy goal. But, I am ready for a challenge.

My "haru yasumi" or spring break, will be packed full of stuff to do. On Monday, I started my new part time job over here. I'm working at a korean restaurant called, "Tomiden". While my job consists of mainly washing dishes, cutting vegetables, and, eventually, cooking food, the place is a pretty fun place to work. Michael got me the job since a lot of the Korean workers are returning home soon. The kicker is: Only 3 or so people at the restaurant can speak English. While this may sound scary, I think working here well be a great way to improve my Japanese speaking and listening ability.

In addition to working a few times a week, my break will consist of a lot of traveling. While it's still in the planning stages, I'm more than likely going to see a lot of cool shit these next two months. In a few days, I'll probably go see some stuff around Yamaguchi that I haven't got to see yet, head back to Hiroshima and Iwakuni to meet some friends up I made there, and then at the end of the month head up to the middle of Japan and go skiing with Sean and Michael. I'm pretty excited about the skiing trip since I've never been.

However, March may prove to be even more fun. Sean and I are going to spend a week or a week and a half in Kyoto and Osaka. We'll go see Bloc Party in Osaka (one of my favorite bands), check out some shrines & castles, then head up to Kyoto, and maybe eventually to Kobe or Okayama. And maybe in April, I'll head up to Tokyo for a week for my birthday and go and experience one of the biggest cities in the world. While none of this is set in stone besides the Osaka trip, i'm excited nonetheless.

I've got a funny story to share, but I'll have to get to it in another post..

A good end and a better beginning..

2007-01-06T22:12:00.000+09:00

After hours upon hours on the local trains, a severe lack of sleep, great food, memories, and photos, I'm back home in Yamaguchi.This trip, like most out of Yamaguchi, was a welcome change. Not to say that "the gooch" isn't a bad place to be. Quite the opposite, actually. But where was I...

On Dec 31st, Sean and I packed our bags for the next 5 days. We left the dorms at around 10:30 and eagerly rode our bikes to the Yuda-Onsen station located 10 minutes away. When we arrived the train station, the bike racks were jam-packed so we had to go a little off the beaten path to find our spot but eventually we did. As we approached the station, we kept wondering if our rides we be stolen when we got back; we progressed anyway.

[It must be noted that if it weren't for the Seishun Jyuu-Hachi Kippu, Sean and I probably wouldn't have been traveling since the trains can be rather expensive. However, we were lucky that there was the ticket that let us get to our destination for a relatively cheap price of roughly $120. The SJHK lets anyone who purchases the ticket to use the local trains for 5 days during a certain season of the year. There are three seasons during the year in which you can buy the ticket and our winter vacation happened to coincide with one of them. ]

When we walked inside, we bought our tickets and made our way to the train. Since neither of us had been to the island of Kyushu or the city of Fukuoka (our ultimate destination), we both knew we were in for quite a ride.

We made it to the main station and caught our first station without a hitch and a general idea of where we should end up, but at Shin-Yamaguchi we left all certainty about our upcoming travel.

The first train went from Yamaguchi to Kyushu with many frequent stops at local stations. While these frequent stops are minor setbacks one experiences on the local trains, we were both happy to have saved some money. In the back of my mind with the limited geography I knew of Japan, I recalled hearing that we need to switch trains at Shimonoseki (the last city before Kyushu) but I was wrong apparently. We got off a stop or two early and had to wait an hour or so before the next train. After awhile we got the hang of the train-hopping and eventually ended up in Fukuoka (Hakata St.) roughly 3 hours later just in time to check into our hotel.

Our hotel for the first night was the Comfort Hotel Hakata, a relatively inexpensive business hotel with comfortable beds. Check-in was a breeze since we had booked a few days prior to arrival. After check-in, we dropped our bags in the room and explored the city.

Being new year's eve, Fukuoka was pretty much a ghost town during the day but we found some sites and a cool shopping center called Canal City close to our hotel. After a few hours of walking around, we went to Starbucks then headed back to the hotel before we went out that night. At the hotel, we watched some pride fighting, and messed with the bidet-style toilet. If any of you ever go to Japan, don't mess with the knobs on the side of the toilet. They are a force not to be reckoned with. Sean knows this first hand, since he got sprayed in the face with the bidet. *shudder*

We kicked back at the hotel for a few hours then headed out to find something to do for the night. The problem was that everything was closed, including practically every restaurant, bar, and convenience shop. We ended up walking the streets for an hour or two, until we found a small little Hakkenden-style restaurant full of various meats and such. Struggling with the menu, Sean and I eventually settled on something called "Tan-Steak" which in the end turned out to be a $10 piece of beef tongue. A dish that I probably will not be ordering again anytime soon. After trying to order some more edible food, a nice Japanese couple to the next of us in their 30's helped us out with the Kanji, and ended up buying us some food and some free drinks. They also told us about an international bar named, Happy Cock, (*snicker*) that was having a big countdown party for the new year.

By the time they told us about the party it was nearing 11pm, so we quickly paid and gave them our thanks and caught a cab (my first time) to the bar. When we arrived, we paid and headed up stairs to a huge party. I've never seen so many people crammed in such a small place. It was crazy. I had a great time, met a lot of cool people ,and ended up staying until the party ended at 5am. Afterwards, we stumbled home and crashed the whole next day.

When we woke up the next day, it was almost time for our friend Michael to arrive. We caught the subway (my first time) and met him at the station. The three of us walked around and eventually found another nice business hotel located near Canal City. After we settled, we hit Canal city and grabbed some food. After dinner, Sean headed back to the hotel to relax since we were going sight-seeing the next day. However, Michael and I headed out to see if there was anything going on at night. We strolled along the canal that was lit up by all of the neon lights, but we ended up just going to another restaurant and getting some food and he got a few drinks. By 1am, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. On the way back, I did see a homeless guy shoot up some heroin which was an interesting site. Another first...

At 11am, the three of us checked out of our hotel and found another hotel by Canal city. This time, however, we stayed in a capsule hotel. What is that you ask? Well essentially it's a hotel full of tubes that are stacked on top of each other in massive rows. For a very reasonable price, you get a tube, and unlimited access to the TV lounges, and hot springs. The kicker is: only guys stay there. So I had another first using the onsen with a lot of creepy old Japanese dudes. But honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Enough about the hotel..

After we dropped our bags, we went around walking in Fukuoka for what seemed forever. We saw some very cool parks (one that was spread out in islands with bridges connecting the island) and some pretty trashy places (ironically named sunset park). We also stopped by an indoor snowboarding arena which was pretty sweet, but we didn't stay for very long. Later on after our legs were pure goo from all of the walking, we stopped at a little shop near the canal and tried Fukuoka's specialty food: ramen. And man, that ramen was damn good.

The next day Sean headed home due to the ATM's being closed during the holidays. Why are ATM's ever closed? I don't know. Sean caught his train, and Michael and I caught our train to Nagasaki. Six hours later we arrived, found a cheap hostel, and went out for the night. We found a neat little bar where everyone was really friendly. We stuck around for awhile then went back home.

The next day we woke up, checked out, and dumped our bags in a coin locker at the train station. We didn't go see the peace memorial park due to lack of time, but we did see some pretty interesting stuff such as Dejima, Chinatown, and Glover Garden.

Dejima was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading post during Japan's self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853. It was interesting seeing the place where foreigners first landed in Japan. I didn't know much about Nagasaki before I came..

Nagasaki's Chinatown was pretty small, and one of I think only two in Japan. The streets were paved with dragon imagery, elaborate decorations, and some interesting smells. We looked around here for about an hour then made our way to Glover Garden.

Glover Garden is oldest Western style house surviving in Japan and one of Nagasaki's biggest attractions. The garden belonged to Thomas Glover who was a pioneer in bringing a lot of business to Japan. He even helped found Mitsubishi. Anyway, the garden was beautiful and at the top you could see all of Nagasaki City. An image I won't ever forget.

After we left the garden, Michael and I made our way back to the train station. Here, we tried some of Nagasaki's famous Chinese food and man it was the best fried rice I've ever eaten. Next, we caught our train back to Yamaguchi. Roughly 9 hours later, we made it home.

Do you see what I see?

2006-12-24T11:26:00.000+09:00

Well, my first official Christmas by myself in winding to a close. While it's been an interesting experience, I definitely missed everyone back home. However, this isn't saying that this Christmas was a bad one. By no means was it a bad Christmas just merely different. And the events leading up to today have definitely kept me busy.

Starting off where I left off with of the week of December 10th. Early on in the week my instructor, Akagi-sensee, told the class about an annual international student Christmas party taking place on the 15th in Kirara, the cafeteria. Akagi-sensee excitedly approached Sean and I about giving a speech at the panel discussion occurring before the party, but we quickly declined. Why did we decline? Well it has to do with the fact that we both had given a speech for this teacher a few weeks prior and it was horrendous to watch. Regardless of what is lost in translation, the Japanese sure do love to give speeches.

While we bailed on the speech, we told our instructor that we would dance or sing at the event. Luckily, I say this with much sarcasm, I happened to get a minor case of food poisoning the day that we were scheduled to practice the aforementioned song/dance. The culprit? Cup Noodle, a delicious instant ramen that I unfortunately now loathe. We had a good run, but I just don't think it work out between us any more. A truly sad day...

Fortunately, the sickness wore off by the Christmas party I was good to go. When the party finally rolled around it turned out to be quite the happenin' shindig. When I entered Kirara, the place was jam-packed full of gaijin (foreigners). People from all different races gathered around the free yet delicious catered food and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of friendly people from Argentina, Peru, Iran, India, Bangladesh, etc. The night was full of ethnic song and dance from around the world and before we knew it everybody was dancing salsa or at least attempting to enjoy themselves. The university-sanctioned Christmas party ended with everybody circling up and joining hands to the tune of John Lennon's - Happy Xmas (War is Over). While the meaning may have been lost to some people, the idea was a noble effort nonetheless.

Immediately following the swaying and singing, we headed back to the International Dorms (mi casa) and were treated to a more intimate meet and greet with other international students and quite a few Japanese students. Sean and I met some people from our Karate class and from our department and invited them out after the party. The room was a smidge too small, but it was a lot of fun and a good change to mingle with the Japanese students. When the party ended, we all went out to Yuda, which, in essence, is like a smaller bricktown. We went to a local restaurant then headed off to a really nice bar/karoke joint named Johnny's. The people and the atmosphere at Johnny's rival few other places I've been to. Everybody had a blast and we stayed and hung out until the wee hours of the morning.

The following Saturday was Anne's birthday. We went to the local campus bar, Hakkenden, and had a few drinks and ate dinner. After the party, we headed to Funky time, a local pool hall. Now, this is where the fun started to happen. After a few games of pool, I decided to head home, but rather then opening the door normally I thought I would try something new. I meant to push open the door but as I approached my mind went wiggly and for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to attempt to kick the door open. However, I misjudged and kicked through the door. At that moment, time stood still and everyone in Funky time turned around with gaping mouths and scared eyes. I'm guessing this doesn't happen much in Japan. Anyway, I quickly dusted myself off, apologized several times, and head on my way. While Funky time hasn't contacted me yet about payment, I learned my lesson. My feet + glass door = embarrassment.

The majority of the week of the 17th was uneventful but a few surprises did happen. On our way to Hakkenden to eat dinner on Monday, we stopped by this nice little bar/restaurant named Cocky's located next to Hakkenden. It turned out that we were the first customers in this newly opened venue. I remember, just a few weeks ago that the place was completely abandoned. Regardless, the workers there were very friendly and warm. The bar is a very small building that kind of sticks out but it's got a nice atmosphere. As we were heading over to Hakkenden's, Sean and I met up with our friend, Kaori, from Karate class who happened to be going to the same place we were. As the night progressed, Sean talked to Kaori and decided we should have a little get together and a Dirty Santa gift exchange on Friday.

When Friday rolled around we had two parties: the Humanities party and the one that Sean and Kaori organized. The Humanities party included free snacks, a random gift exchange (I received towels), and two of the strangest plays I have ever seen. The first play was put on by the sophomores and was entitled "A mysterious bus stop." What was mysterious about it? I haven't an idea. All I saw was a strange plot, some guy dressed up like a girl, and Santa. I guess that's all you really need.

The second play was just as bizarre. From what I could tell, it was a take on Romeo & Juliet with a "unique" twist. The play was set in the "Edo-period" Japan and the warring families were the House of Chomsky (linguistics) and the House of Shakespeare (Literature) and well you know the rest or do you. In this play, the "Romeo" and "Juliet" were miraculously resurrected by scantily-clad Santa women who danced around their pretend corpses. Sound confusing? Good, that makes two of us.

After the Humanities party, Sean, Michael, and I headed off to the other party. The party was more fun, less strange, and a good chance to talk to our new friends. As always a lot of people showed up. Apparently, the Japanese didn't understand the whole concept of Dirty Santa since not a single person stole a gift. Regardless, everyone was happy with their gifts. Hell, I scored some pretty sweet Zebra chopsticks. As the party winded down, we all decided to head to Johnny's to sing some karaoke and we did so until 4am. Everyone was tired, so we said our goodbyes and headed home to hit the sack.

And that leads us up to Christmas..

Christmas was a little lonely, but I made it through it. On Christmas Eve, everyone got dressed up and went to dinner and church then a few of us went to Karaoke with our friends from Cocky's. I slept in on Christmas morning went downstairs to see if my package had come and it had. So I got to open some presents on Christmas from my family. I think it all worked out.

Next up, New Year's and five days of traveling...See ya guys after the new year. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a rockin' New Year's.

Small victories reign supreme

2006-12-17T22:27:00.000+09:00

Isn't ironic that how in your darkest hour, things can often be the most clear. I've found this quote particularly inspiring at the moment.

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. "

- Helen Keller

A change of pace

2006-12-08T11:04:00.000+09:00

The weeks following Hiroshima have been fairly routine. Not to say this is a bad thing, but I do have a hankerin' to go see more of Japan. I'm trying to pinch every last yen so that I can go somewhere for New Year's. Normally, the money wouldn't be an issue since I had quite a bit left over from last month which I spent on Christmas gifts and the trip to Hiroshima and broke about even. But, alas, this month money is tighter since I bought a Playstation 3 which I must add is a very sweet purchase indeed and I think I might even be able to play PS3 games when I get back to the States.

In between the PS3 time, I've done a couple of things here and there of interest.

Last Sunday, I went to a drama performed by the drama section of the ESS club here at Yamaguchi. While I don't attend the club anymore, the people I met were generally pretty nice and fun to hang out with. That being the case, Jiro, Sean, and I went to go watch their performace of I am Sam on Sunday and it wasn't half bad. There were a few discrepencies that got lost in the translation but it was quite entertaining. The actor who played the lead, Sam, did a surprisingly well job of portraying the character. The play went on for about 2 hours and afterwards Sean and I headed back home to the dorm.

Monday-Wednesday were pretty routine. Nothing really special. However, Sean and I got cornered into singing La Bamba for the international student christmas party next friday. Considering I don't really know this song this might turn out quite interesting, but I'm not afraid. On Wednesday, Sean, Shaoxuan, and I all had Karate and I must say it's actually becoming quite fun despite the fact that the class is way too early (8:40-10:10). I'm learning about how to take people down who come at me with plastic knives and I'm becoming quite skilled at doing so. So, if the situation ever arises that someone is coming at me with a plastic knife, cleaver, or any sort of fake stabbing mechanism, I will be more than prepared. I am a force to be reckoned with. However, if someone comes at me with a real knife I'm more than likely screwed.

Thursday brought along a wonderful excursion. It must be said that I've actually made my first real Japanese friend; a friend that I can hang out with and hold a decent conversation with. Her name is Naoko. While we were going to go to the beach on Thursday, it was raining very hard. We instead decided to push back the trip until Sunday. Though, we still hung out and went to lunch and bowling. It was nice to actually somewhat connect with a Japanese person for once. The reason why this probably happened was the fact that she could speak very good English and had traveled the world during her four years at college.

Friday, a big group of us went over to our german friend's Mattieu's apartment. We hung out, played cards, ate some Nabe (a delicious Japanese stew sort of concoction), and drank a little bit. It was pretty relaxed and just overall a good time.

Saturday, Just played a little PS3 and took her easy.

Sunday was the fun trip to Hagi. Hagi is about an hour and a half away from the university and sits on the edge of the Chugoku prefecture (the one I'm living in) near the Japan Sea. Naoko, Yen-Wei, and I arrived in Hagi by 1-1:30, went to a few shrines, visited the local natsumikan farms (sort of a bitter orange; Hagi's specialty), climbed an active volcano, and went to the beach. It was a lot of fun..

This week I have three things to look forward to: a health check, an international christmas party, and a friend's birthday party. I'll write more about those later..I'm tired of typing.

Oh and check Flickr soon because the photos from Hagi will be up soon..

It was a blast...no pun intended.

2006-11-27T15:02:00.000+09:00

Thanksgiving, came and went, without much of a wimper. A brief dinner with nothing familiar mixed with being homesick was not a recipe for success. After hanging out for awhile with the other international students, I trudged upstairs and went to bed.

Friday, I woke up at around 9, talked to Jessica, and started packing for the trip. Talking to her was a good start that made up for the lackluster Thanksgiving. After Sean and I packed, we met up with our Aussie friend, Michael and talked about the travel plans. We all quickly decided to skip our class so that we could get into Hiroshima a little earlier then previously planned.

When we made it to the rental place, we paid, and loaded the car in what was a quite painless procedure. At 3pm, we hit the road.

We took the side roads to forego paying the ridiculous tolls on the highway, but, as a result, we got to see a lot of the country side. We drove through Hofu, Shunnan-City, Iwakuni and the view was beautiful. The colors on some of the trees we passed were the brightest I think I've ever seen.

After hitting some bad traffic, we arrived in Hiroshima 4 and a half hours later. However, it took us quite a while to find a hotel. We tried several hotels, all of which were full. Whether they were actually full or not friendly to foreigners is unknown. Eventually we settled on a quaint traditional style hotel that wasn't too far from the train station. We checked in our bags and headed out to find something to eat. There was a 12pm curfew as well.

We walked around for 20 minutes or so and settled on a lovely hole-in-the-wall restaurant. We all had お好み焼き which was quite delicious and a speciality of Hiroshima。Shortly after dinner, we strolled the downtown strip and found a cool little dart bar . We hung out there for an hour or two and I killed both Sean and Michael at darts. At 11:40, we made our way back to the hotel.

On Saturday, we woke up fairly early to some chilly weather. We checked out of the foreigner-friendly hotel and made reservations at another hotel nearby. This new hotel was even friendlier which we all were glad for. After we dumped our stuff, we drove to the Peace memorial park where the A-bomb dome and museum were located. We took pictures of the beautiful park and made our way inside to the museum.

The museum was simple but well-made. It was full of artifacts, pictures, and models of the atrocity that happened August 6th, 1945. I never knew what completely happened, but afterwards I felt quite humbled. The third floor was the most difficult to look at. This floor was lined with graphic pictures, models, and stories of what happened to the people of Hiroshima. Also, Yamaguchi was one of the original choices for the dropping of the bomb. Kind of makes you think...

A few hours later, we left the museum with everyone being humbled in there own way and made our ways to the shopping district. The shopping disctrict was huge with hundreds of shops stacked next to each other. I saw some crazy shit like several teenage girls dressed up as maids walking around with their mothers among other things.

After shopping we headed back to the hotel and chilled for a little bit before going out to the bars. When we did go out we ran into some other shady americans but we quickly ditched them. Eventually, we settled at a cool, but seedy-looking bar called Barcos. As the night went on, the bar became very packed and very fun. Everyone I met there was really friendly and we all had a great time together. When we left the bars, according to Michael and Sean, I laughed at a Yakuza who was getting tackled by the cops and we exchanged some "friendly" words. Good times..

We staggered back to the hotel by 3, snuck inside and went to bed.

Sunday, we packed up and headed back home. On the way back, we briefly stopped at Miyajima which is supposedly one of Japan's top 3 tourist spots. It's famous for it's large Tori gate and it's supposed floating shrine. Anyway, we took a ferry to this small yet impressive island and looked around for a bit. There were tame deer everywhere you turned..craziness. After about an hour we left and headed back home. The weekend was a wonderful change of pace..

The pictures from the trip are up...

Minor ephiphanies.. / Quick update

2006-11-19T15:27:00.000+09:00

A person learns most when they're isolated from the people and things that they love. Thoughts clouded by the everyday mundane become much more clearer; lessons learned more visible. Ultimately, self awareness becomes more pronounced.

These minor ephiphanies have helped me to step back from the anger displayed in last post and focus on what is really important: the time that I have here in Japan.

The experience would be a wasted one if all I did was compare Japan to the preconceived idea of Japan that I previously had. I'd learn nothing and would keep perpetuating the stereotypes that I held previously. I'm ready to move on and grow up.

For those people who actually read this blog, I'm sorry for the lack of real updates on what I've been up. This blog has turned more into a therapy for me rather than a travel journal. Rest assured, things are going better. Classes are silly, not unlike OU. It's freezing outside and inside my dorm. I've become better friends with some of the international students. I've met some Japanese people who have offered to help teach me Japanese. And lastly, I'm going to Hiroshima next weekend for 2-3 days. So if you don't here from me. Enjoy your time off, eat more than you should, enjoy time with friends and family and have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving.

Step 3...Culture Shock

2006-11-15T15:14:00.000+09:00

I've definitely come down from the previous high and I find myself very frustrated. This post is just me primarily getting shit off of my chest..Don't leave comments because this shit is just temporary..
I can't stand... (at the moment)
paying $15,000 dollars for classes that are teaching me things I've learned back in Oklahoma
the language barrier
the coldness of Japanese people
the constant excuses Japanese people give
the non-straightforwardness of Japanese people and conversationsthe constant stares, especially since noone will fucking even say hello
the shyness and mass conformity of the japanese
the constant dull routine of everyday
how damn cold the dorms are at night
being stuck in the dorms
how fucking expensive everything is
the fact that pizza in japan sucks
the fact that I can talk or see family and friends
the fact that I keep getting volunteered to go to stupid ass events where I have to talk in English and yet nobody understands a damn word
the fact that I have yet to be anywhere outside of yamaguchi

People reading this, I dont need your sympathy, criticism, or smart remarks..

I know what I need to fix, but it takes time and at the current moment..I'm fed up with a lot of shit. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!

Reflections from the land of the rising sun

2006-11-05T20:20:00.001+09:00

I've made it; I'm here and I don't want to leave.

The month mark has come and gone and I'm all the better for it. Reflecting on last week's attitudes, it seems that a sea change has occurred on how I view Japan.

I think the change, honestly, coincides with a rather simple, yet peculiar event. On Friday, a whole slew of people went to the cultural parade in downtown Yamaguchi for National Culture Day, an annual holiday in Japan. The whole town seemed to step out of their quiet houses and routine lives to come and gaze at all the culture that this small town holds. To my understanding, this was the first time, this huge cultural festival has been held in Yamaguchi, and I'm glad I'm here while it's going on.

For the first time, I really stood back and took all in the pleasing aesthetics that Japan has to offer and I want to see more. The history, the culture, the people are all beautiful and I feel honored to be experiencing it. I sometimes feel like an outcast, yet I feel at home at the same time; a paradox but I care not. Hell, I feel more at home than in America. Maybe this will change with time. Regardless, I'm cherishing every moment.

I've already decided a few things, however. I am coming back here as soon as I can. Maybe after college I'll come back for grad school or maybe for the JET programme. I'm going to e-mail OU, and see if there is a way that I can possibly finish my degree here or stay for another year. I wish you all could experience what I'm experiencing. I know now that I did make the right choice.

I took heaps of pictures at the parade, 200-300 photos, so expect a lot of those on my flickr account within the next few days.

Until then,

Matane.

I fought a bear!

2006-10-29T22:07:00.000+09:00

[Cue Flashback Sequence]

I had heard buzz around the dorms the previous week that this retreat was excruciatingly boring and painful. After initially believing the rumors, I made little attempt to turn in my permission slip to attend. However, while "routinely" visiting the Humanities office, Sean and I were corned into signing up. We were trapped. As each day passed, we dreaded the retreat more and more...eventually Saturday came..

[End Flashback Sequence]

After Thursday’s night of burgers and shenanigans, I woke up Friday morning went to class and just loafed around. Later that night, I stuffed my suitcase full of the essentials needed for the international retreat the following morning. I woke up Saturday very tired with only 30 minutes to spare. I hopped in the shower, lathered up, rinsed off, and got dressed liked a madman with 20 minutes to spare. After collecting my thoughts and belongings, I took a deep breath and made my way to the meeting place.

Everybody checked in by 9:45 a.m. and we shuffled onto the bus. This bus was quite different, however. Forgoing all fire and safety codes, we sat two to a seat with another person sitting in the aisle. The Japanese apparently with their ingenious efficiency figured out a way to cut transportation in half by placing an individual in a handy little fold out seat within the aisle. Thankfully, I got there early enough to stake out the prime seating located in the back.

After about an hour we arrived to the hostel in Takuchi. We first checked in then proceeded to go into a lecture hall where we carefully learned how to make a Japanese style bed using a scale model of a futon; I kid you not. After 30 or so odd minutes of lectures, we were whisked off to our sleeping quarters which actually turned out to not be quite so bad. We then headed to lunch...

As soon as lunch was over we went back to the lecture hall, where we sat listening to about 4 hours of lectures on how to live in Yamaguchi, how to recycle, and, my personal favorite, how to follow traffice rules. During the first third of the lectures, we learned about how to register as aliens, how to open a bank account, and how to apply for health insurance. All topics that would have been useful the first week, not the fourth week. It was rather silly.

After the introductions, the next round of lectures consisted of how to comply with Japan's unnecessarily complex recycling program. For example, in order to recycle milk cartons there are six steps.

Guidelines for recycling in Japan (Part one)

First, wash out the carton using hot water.

Secondly, cut one side of the carton so that the milk carton is one long sheet.

Third, hang the cartons outside by clothespin to dry.

Fourth, bundle up the flattened cartons.

Fifth, tie them together with twine.

Sixth, place into corresponding trash receptacle.

There were plenty more where that came from, but that was one of my favorites. Following the 30 minute lecture on recycling, we were treated to the traffic presentation complete with workers in crisp blue uniforms. The rules were obvious, but different from the US. Apparently in the US, we drive on the wrong side of the road. Mental note taken...

The best part of the traffic demonstration following me being volunteered to walk a straight line in beer goggles was the traffic accident. What, you ask? Well, after the PowerPoint presentation, we were treated to a "shocking" display of what it looks like to be hit by a car. One of the workers held a dummy by a string, while the other proceeded to drive and hit the dummy full speed dead on. The dummy was launched a good 40 feet. And at the risk of sounding morbid, I laughed my ass off. I wish I could show you the video I took of how silly it was. Maybe I have a warped since of humor or maybe you just had to be here.

The rest of the day was filled with a group Frisbee golf match among other things. Folks, not to brag, but I won America the gold. I went -3 on six holes and kicked my group's, made of up Japanese, Chinese, and Bangladesh, collective ass. Go me!

We finished our game a little earlier than the other groups, so my group's leader took us exploring a little bit. We went away from the camp a little bit to this spot where week could see a local lake. The scenery was breathtaking. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me at the time. This is where I think I really started to enjoy myself. The finality of me being in Japan sunk in a little more and I smiled as we headed back up the mountain to dinner.

After dinner, we went to the international cultural night where we were treated to an aikido demonstration, a magic show, and various dances and songs from the representing countries. The retreat was turning out to not be such a bad thing after all and it got better as time went on.
Next, most everybody cleaned up and "went to bed" like we were supposed to. But a good chunk of us actually just walked around and had a party. We stayed up drinking and talking for a few hours and went back to bed. There was about 10-15 of us. It was actually pretty fun, talking to other international students. Everyone was pretty cool. By 12:30 or so the party had ended and people staggered home, I included, to our respective dorms and futons to wake up early the next morning.

Seven o'clock came way too quickly. I got up took a freezing cold shower because I didn't realize that the camp showers were also heated by gas. I just thought something was wrong with the shower. Silly me. Next, I got dressed and headed back to the lecture hall for the closing ceremonies and panel discussion. It was during the panel discussion that I got inspiration to keep going.

An African man, from Cameroon, who has been here for two years, spoke about his troubles when he first arrived in Japan. He spoke about the language barriers and his ability to overcome a lot of them with determination and patience. I know it sounds rather simple, but it really struck home with me. The finality of me being here for 9 more months really sunk in. I decided that I'm going to live in the now, take everything in that I can, and cherish it all. But most importantly to take what I have learned and grow from it.

After the panel discussions, we closed everything up, ate lunch and headed to a nearby national park. The scenery, again, was gorgeous and breathtaking. We explored the park for about an hour and a half then packed up and headed home.

Looking back on the experience, I was pleasantly surprised that everything turned out the way it did. I came into the event with low expectations, and, while, some of those were met it was a good experience. I’m glad I went.

If you were wondering about the title of the post; before we went we were warned numerous times about the rampant bears running amok. We were told not to stray to far from the group unless we wanted to be mauled. I, however, saw this as a challenge.

But to make things clear, I fought no bear of any sort. In fact, I did not drop kick, judo chop, or roundhouse any mammalian creature of any kind. But trust me, if I had the opportunity I would have. You have my word.

Check out the freshly posted pics...

"If it can be broke, than it can be fixed..."

2006-10-24T19:33:00.000+09:00

On this 10-month excursion, I discover who I really am more and more each day. Nothing extraordinary has happened; no epiphanies have occurred, yet I keep finding out what makes me tick. A scary but welcome change due, in part, to the change of scenery.

One issue I've realized that's been on my heart has been regret. Regret seems to be a big focus in my life. I still regret what I said to my mom before she passed away, and not spending enough times with my family and friends before the trip. And today was no different. I think I may have made a hasty and stupid decision concerning a good friend back in America. I told myself it was for the best, even though, I didn't necessarily believe it. But alas, I need to face what I did, deal with, and grow from it. It'll be hard, but what's life without a little struggle.

I've been told before, that I'm a torn person; a walking contradiction but I never really realized it until today. Moving on..

This past week here, excluding inner torment, has been quite enjoyable.

Last Wednesday brought tidings of tacos. After spending a nice bit of change on the preparation, our Mexican feast went down without a hitch. Enlisting help from our Chinese friends, Sean and I prepared delicious tacos not unlike the ones back home with all the fixins'. I was actually surprised that they turned out like they did, and everyone who came to the fiesta enjoyed the tacos. After the taco party, we went to ESS (English Speaking Society), which is a club where, well, the Japanese sit around and practice English. An odd choice for an extracurricular activity, but we've met some cool people there. While we were there we invited some people to go out on Friday to a local restaurant.

Thursday, we joined the majority of Japan and did our first Japanese thing, bought a keitai (Cell phone). We went to au, one of Japanese big three phone companies, and after two hours of sitting down filling out our applications, picking our plans and phones, we left. Our phones all turned out to be free, and were delivered the next day. I'll be the first to admit that Japanese phones kick America's ass. My cell is a white phone with a flip around screen (I'll post pics later). I can watch tv, e-mail, listen to music, shop online, use gps, scan barcodes, and send information through a handy little infrared sensor. Thankfully, I got a phone that is bilingual. Hooray for me!

When Friday rolled around we were pretty stoked. Not only did we get our cell phones, but later friday night was our first big outing with some of our Japanese friends. Weekends have gradually been getting better and we were finally glad to experience some of the night life especially since I'm legal over here. Quite of few of the ESS people, some of our international friends, and many others showed up for a couple hours to eat, drink, and relax. It was a blast. Afterwards, most of the group went to a karaoke bar which was a hoot. We all cracked up when Sean tried to rap and what not. And I must say, I gave a smashing rendition of "We will rock you" by Queen.

Check back for updates and a few pics...

Matane.

Climbing the mountain...

2006-10-21T23:46:00.000+09:00

Nearly three weeks have passed here in Yamaguchi, and the trip has already had it's share of ups and downs. I've started to make friends and a home here, but I still feel like I'm missing a big chunk of me. Where is that piece? Somewhere I haven't found yet..

The friends that I have made thus far do seem genuine, both, Japanese and international, but nothing quite feels like it did back home. I sometimes wonder if the person that I let them see is the real me, but I've always struggled with that. Who am I and what am I doing here? I've asked myself that a lot recently.

I consistently struggle with the fact that everyone else's lives are continuing to progress without me there. I mean I've accepted this, but I feel different. It's hard to explain. Maybe I'm merely homesick. If that's really the case, I miss family, friends, pizza, and taco bell. Nothing more, nothing less. Is that selfish of me? I've just come to realize that I just don't miss the drama and bullshit. Maybe I'm just growing up and I'm finally realizing it or maybe I just idolize things too much.

I've caught myself becoming frustrated and angry with a lot of events and choices I've made in the past. And I think there in lies the problem, I keep going back to the past, and focusing on it. I put so much emphasis on it that I feel like maybe I'm missing out on the present and future. Frankly, the feeling sucks.

I'm sure this trip would be easier if I had nothing to come back to. And my out come depended on what I did with the time I was alotted. But I do have things to come back to. Regardless, I feel torn between the two worlds and I honestly don't know what to do. I feel like I'm climbing towards something. Except, I looked down and now I'm trapped. Too scared to climb any higher or go back to the start.

Settling in and starting over...

2006-10-12T14:27:00.000+09:00

I've officially been at the university for a week now but it's felt much longer. Time, for some odd reason, seems to be slower over here. Maybe it's the fact that it the sun rises and sets earlier than in America. Go figure.

Monday was my first official holiday here in Japan. It was national Health and Sports day (taiiku no hi..I think) and I did nothing besides ride my bicycle around and go to Aruku, the 24 hour supermarket. Ironically, I took it easy on the national "fitness" day. I guess I haven't dropped my silly American ways.

Tuesday was a more exciting day as I actually got to see some of Japan and experience something new. Jiro took Sean and I took one of many ashiiyu, which is essentially a hot spring for feet. It was quite refreshing, but a few minutes into it my feet felt as if they were about to start boiling. Actually, they just turned bright red. After the relaxing foot spa, we rode to Big Wave Yamaguchi which is a very modern art museum, theater, and library rolled into one building. It was a very aesthetically pleasing building and I plan to go back and take some pictures. We browsed a little and found out that an American indie movie, Tideland, would be playing on Friday. I was excited because I missed these type of movies. On our way back to the university, we all stopped by a food vendor and bought some takoyaki (fried octopus) which wasn't that bad. However, I don't see myself eating it anytime soon since it gave me the shits. But hey, I tried..right?

On Wednesday, I took two classes: Karate and Beginning Japanese. Karate was interesting, but we had no clue what was being said. We were lectured for half of the class on the history. To my little understanding, the type of karate that we are learning is from Okinawa. After the lecture, the sensei showed us different hand and leg forms and the stances. Which reminds me, I need to practice. He also showed us the proper way to sit at the beginning and end of class and I must say it is quite painful since I have such long legs. Another minor discomfort that I have to get used to. The next class was ridiculous, however. Since I got a 5 out of 20 on my placement test, I was placed in the beginning class. The class we are taking for actual credit is an embarrassment. We had to learn hiragana (the basic alphabet) over and do silly introductions that I learned in my first class. Hopefully, it'll pick up.

Wednesday night, I hung out with some of the international students. Michael, the aussie, and Sarah, the Canadian, are pretty fun to talk to. One of these days, since Michael can drive over here, we're going to rent a car and go traveling a little bit. I also went to the English speaking society club where we were the guests of honor. Except most of the Japanese were embarrassed to talk to me. Odd situation but that's another post for another time. The club is strange, but most of the people seem very friendly.

Thursday was pretty relaxed. I just went to another basic Japanese class in the Economics department. The pace was very fast, but I actually understood most of what was said which was nice and gave me a small boost of confidence. I had learned most of the grammar we were going over, but I still learned quite a bit. Later that night, I just hung out with the international students and talked for a couple of hours.

Yesterday was decently fun. I bought a calligraphy set and took my calligraphy class. It was pretty fun but frustrating. One of Sean and my friends, Shoko, is taking the class with us to help us out.

Last night, we all went to go see Tideland at the arts center which was a bizarre movie. I didn't really enjoy it, but didn't totally hate it. I actually don't know what to think besides it finely rode the line between art and utter shit. Not a film that I would probably watch again and I think that was the general consensus. I feel bad for Shoko and Hisako because I could tell they wanted to leave, but Jiro said it would have been really rude to walk out on a movie. Go figure. Anyway, when we got back to campus, I stopped by the ESS meeting and then went back home and watched some LOST. Rockin' Friday night, right?

Today, I think I may go traveling and exploring again...I'll write more besides general updates later since I need to get out of my dorm and get some fresh air.

Hello Japan, Goodbye America

2006-10-08T10:44:00.000+09:00

We arrived at Narita International Airport in Tokyo about 3:30 pm on Oct. 3rd to unfamiliar surroundings. The plane ride had been very cramped; it was good to be able to finally stretch my long legs. We walked through the terminal and stopped off at our first Japanese bathroom. They had western-style toilets that I swear if we knew how to operate all the gadgets on it, probably would have started talking to us. A slight exaggeration, but they were nice nonetheless.

After the pitstop, we rode some sweet conveyor belts that honestly went on for quite some time. These conveyors were a great way to show off some of your moonwalking skills if you had them. Sadly, I did not. As we hit the end of the terminal, we headed down stairs to get "landing permission" which consisted of standing in a long but fast moving line and handing the worker our passport. We had no trouble getting through which was a relief.

Next, we proceeded downstairs to pick our luggage which arrived safely. However, it was here that I realized that I overpacked by a lot. I sat and waited as Sean called Jiro, his international friend from OU and our guide, to get instructions on what to do next. I waited anxiously for about 15 minutes then made my way through customs. The lines were short and the workers efficient. "What is purpose of stay? What are in your bags? Do you have any drugs, explosives, etc." I said no, and it was official. I was in Japan.

The next four hours at the airport, however, proved more frustrating. On the first floor, we visited every english-speaking terminal we could find. "Eego o hansemasuka?" I asked. And most everyone we asked could in fact speak english. A good transistion into Japan, I thought. We searched and searched to find a hotel and eventually we found a decently cheap Holiday Inn (Tobu Narita) near the airport. We decided we would take the shuttle in the morning from the hotel, catch a limousine bus, then buy our train ticket at Tokyo Station rather then getting lost in Tokyo our first night. Everyone we met was so helpful.

We waited outside near terminal 16 for our shuttle to arrive. Ten minutes later, we were picked up and ten minutes later we arrived. A friendly Japanese bellhop carried up of all my 8 million baggages of luggage while we checked in. The check in process was easy and the room was nice.
We saw another cool toilet, and flipped on the tv to find Stephanie Tanner from Full House, dubbed in Japanese. We laughed, sat down our luggage, rested for a few minutes and then went exploring.

Outside of the hotel, there wasn't much to see more than parking lots, a few convience stores, more hotels, and odd vending machines placed next to each other every 3 feet or so. Even on the dark, sketchy alleys there were vending machines. I bought a coke and it wasn't half bad. We continued exploring for 45 minutes or so then when back to the hotel and hit the sack; we were both exhausted.

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel at 6:30 got on the bus to the airport and caught the second limousine bus to Tokyo station. The hour and half ride was through the country. It was beautiful. When we arrived at the station we ordered tickets in sloppy Japanese mixed with a little english. We found our train platform and waited around; we were early.

At 10:13, we boarded the Nozomi 19 bound for Hakata with stops in Shin-Yamaguchi (our stop). The train was very comfortable and the scenery gorgeous. I took some pictures of the country side but they turned out blurry. Again, I saw the country side albeit at 168mph this time. There were rice fields, and mountains as far as the eye could see between the cities. It was here that, I started to get excited. About five hours later, we arrived at Shin-Yamaguchi.

Waiting for us at the station was Jiro, our friendly Japanese guide, and a worker for the college (I forgot his name). We introduced ourselves, left the station, and went to a suupaa (supermarket) to grab some grub. The food was cheap and a small Japanese boy came up to us curious. I guess he had never seen an American before. I smiled and went to check out. Next, we went to the university and checked into our dorms. From the outside, the dorms looked quite shitty but when I got to my room, it wasn't as bad as I thought. A little cramped, but at least I had my own bathroom (I'll post pictures a little later). After climbing five flights of stairs, I dropped my luggage off, took it all in and went down stairs to sign some forms and get some dinner. We were told all about the recycling here in Japan and how to seperate everything into their respective containers. Afterwards, we got some food at one of the cafeterias, called Bono (the other better tasting cafeteria is called Kireda). I got some chicken and rice, it was actually quite tasty but hard to eat since my chopstick skills were pretty much non-existent at that point but I quickly improved. The rest of the night Jiro showed us around campus. I went to bed pretty early. I was a little homesick but fell right asleep.

The next two days we're pretty much the same. Jiro should us around campus and outside of campus. He introduced us to other Humanites students, whom were very friendly. We met our main advisor, Matsumoto-sensee, who spoke no english and were "officially" checked into the college. I also met my own personal advisor, Ikezono-sensee, a friendly but formal Japanese man who spoke good english. We filled out form after form after form and we were told what we had to go do next. We had to get a personal stamp, alien registration card, bank account, etc. All of this meant that we had to fill out more forms and wait. Where do all of these forms go, I don't know. Thursday night, Jiro and Atsuko took us to Joyfull, a denny's-esque restaurant, close to campus. Friday, we bought new bikes, registered them, and picked up our personal stamps. My last name, Arens, translated to Aanzu and my kanji that sounded like my name meant apricot. Later in the night, Sean and I went exploring around Yamaguchi and found a cool department store with a McDonald's in it. We grabbed a bite, shopped, and rode back home and chilled before going to bed.

Yesterday, we explored the local shinto shrine and took a lot of pictures of campus and the shrine. I talked to an Aussie guy on my floor, named Michael, who is pretty cool for about an hour or so. He's been here for awhile and gave some good tips about local life from a foreign perspective. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, and later that night we went exploring in hopes to find downtown Yamaguchi. Instead of finding downtown, we rode our bikes in circles for about two hours lost. We must have traveled 10-15 miles easily. Eventually, we found our way back to campus and I went to bed, exhausted.

Well guys, it's Sunday here. My first week has past and it's been an interesting week. Next week, we'll finalize our class schedules and hopefully join some clubs. I'll keep everyone posted on what we take and how everything goes.

If want to write me:

email: bmarens@ou.edu
address: Yamaguchi International House, Room #504 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi, 753-0841

Here are some photos:

flickr photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tabiji

Mata-ne!

Mere Beginnings..

2006-10-05T21:54:00.000+09:00

After several sweet but painful goodbyes, I left all that was comfortable and proceeded through security at Will Rogers. Security was not as bad as I thought, but the workers were equipped with cold stares and a no non-sense attitude. Apparently, this "terrorism" issue is quite important. So important that they had to make sure my shoes wouldn't explode.

Eventually I made it through the gates and went towards Gate 3, my departure gate, where I would munch on some overpriced food in hopes to ease my queasy stomach. Oddly enough, aiport chocolate milk is quite tasty. I waited for about an hour or so to finally board a cramped Mesa airline bound for Chicago O'hare. I couldn't sleep because I had no room to stretch out my longs legs. Stupid puberty, but that's another story. After two hours, I had enough flying for the day. Silly me, I still had a 13 hour flight ahead of me.

When we arrived at O'hare, I was quite tired and famished. So I got something to eat, waited around for Sean to get some money exchanged and then made it to my departure gate where again I waited nervously. All of this waiting wasn't really helping much either. Next, we boarded a Boeing 747 jet bound for Narita International airport in Tokyo. As I made my way onto the plane, I saw what I soon realized was first class and thought, "This won't be so bad", but no, the seats kept getting more squished-like as I made my way back. The seats were better than last time but not much.

I sat in the window seat and looked out at the unimpressive airport and said my 40 minutes goodbyes. Apparently, the workers forgot to fuel up one side of the plane and we where delayed for a little while. Finally, we took off and headed for Tokyo. The view below was beautiful. I tried to squash a few cars with my fingers but I was sadly unsuccessful. The next twelve hours were full of discomfort, watching 5 lame movies, talkingto the Taiwanese man next to us, and trying to sleep. I met a Canadian named Gabriel who had lived in Japan the previous year. He was quite nice and even bought Sean and I a small bottle of wine. The wine tasted like licking a toilet but hey it's the thought that counts, right?

After 12-13 excruciating hours we finally made it to Narita Internaional Airport...

Mmm...foreign

2006-09-21T01:06:00.000+09:00

It's official, I'm now a foreigner. I can now walk around with a purpose bumbling and tripping my way through many cultural misunderstandings because of my new sexy Japan visa. Hopefully, I can "actually" get into the country since a visa is exactly a gurantee. Note to self: Leave the powdered sugar at home.

These past few weeks have been busy. I'm gradually saying goodbye to the things I take for granted in my home country, tieing up lose ends with friends and family, and finishing last minute preparation for my departure. These things give me an odd sense of importance, which is a pleasant change. The only thing that I wish was that of all of this closure stuff would hurry up and, well, close. I'm ready to go. The waiting is killing me.

Updates and breakdowns

2006-09-05T15:00:00.000+09:00

I've officially past the one month mark. Not the month mark for a relationship (although that's coming up the 13th) but the month mark for my departure hit on Saturday. I've never been more excited but it's actually starting to set in. I'm leaving..holy shit. I'm about to be going to Japan. What's worse is that not everything has been taken care of. I haven't got my Certificate of Eligibility which I need for my visa. And the whole visa thing is kind of a big deal. It's like losing your backstage pass right before the concert. But hey, maybe I'm blowing smoke out of my ass.

In addition, I've found out in the past week that Sean and I are pretty much on our own concerning getting to Yamaguchi University. We're landing in Tokyo; we should've landed in Osaka. Essentially we have to spend a night in Tokyo in a hostel then figure out the train systems. And from what I've heard Japan Railways can be rather daunting for the new traveler. I'll post more when I figure it out. But I guess until then, I'll charish the time I do have left with friends and family. Carp diem. Seize the carp.

Introduction

2006-09-05T14:59:00.000+09:00

Welcome to the blog. This is where I'll post my thoughts and ramblings on life in Japan. I'll share the good with the bad along with some bitchin' photos which I will be taking. My departure date is set for Oct 2nd at 7:34 a.m. from Will Rogers airport.