Rainbow Bridge Panorama - Twilight (:15)
Rainbow Bridge Panorama - Night (:21)
Yokohama Park Panorama (:32)
Yokohama Seagulls (:24)
日本 1:27 pm
After leaving Shinjuku and Soul Betting Ground, we headed to Akihabara since we weren’t able to on Saturday. It was late when we finally got there and we were all pretty hungry. Akihabara has a lot of Maid Cafes, (where the waitresses dress up as maids, Steph and I went with our teacher Paul last semester) Matt and Bobby hadn’t been to one so we thought we’d try it. But after finding a few and reading the signs we decided it wasn’t smart to go to one at night. We found another restaurant and took our time eating and talking. After we were finished, we walked around some more and ended up one station away from where we started. Matt had wanted to take us to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku (where he lives) so we got on the train and headed back to Shinjuku. When we got to the Government Building it had already closed so today (Thursday) we’re going back after school. We will be able to go to the 45th observation deck and see the city lights. Bobby will not be joining us because he and Matt’s landlady has somehow made it possible for him rap on Japanese national t.v., which he’s going to do tonight. Amazing!
On Saturday our group went to Odaiba (where I spent the New Year’s). It’s a man-made island filled with shops and business buildings and includes a ferris wheel and a miniature Statue of Liberty. One of the ways to access it is the Rainbow Bridge, which you can walk across. Even though it was raining on Saturday we decided to walk instead of taking the train. I’m really glad we did because it was only sprinkling and the view was amazing! I took some videos and lots of pictures of our visit. After we were planning on going to the Government Building but by the time we were done in Odaiba we were pretty tired.
Sunday Steph and I were supposed to meet our Japanese class in Chinatown in Yokohama to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We got there late, which was unfortunate because we missed the dragon dance and the whole parade. But it was nice because we were able to explore on our own. We had gone to Yokohama last semester with the school but since our group was so large we didn’t have to time to really see Yokohama. We had wanted to go back so it was the perfect excuse. We quickly walked through Chinatown then headed back to the Yokohama park and decided to walk to the ferris wheel (the Japanese seem to really like ferris wheels). We discovered that at the base of the ferris wheel was a miniature amusement park. So we bought tickets for the wheel and the little roller coaster. After riding the ferris wheel, which took 16 minutes and was an amazing view, we explored the arcade area, took pictures in a photobooth and rode the roller coaster. It was a really short ride but worth the money we paid. We went back to the arcade to warm up again and then went to Queen’s Square, a huge mall that consists of 3 "towers" and has beautiful architecture. We explored the mall a bit, bought some things, ate dinner and headed back home. Another good day of exploring.
This week of school has been…fine. Yesterday I had my Art History midterm and tomorrow I have the first part of the Japanese midterm, the written portion. Next Monday we have the oral part, a 5-minute interview with our teacher. That should be fun. I’m actually looking forward to it. And surprisingly I’m finding myself enjoying Drawing. I thought I would hate having to use color but it’s actually a lot of fun. Hopefully after this semester I’ll continue to draw, it’s expensive but I feel myself relaxing while doing it. And we have about 7 weeks left until the end of the semester. Yay! I’ve decided I’m boarding the plan on Wednesday April 25th, which means I’ll be back in the States on the 25th. 62 days and counting…
As I’ve said before I will miss a lot. My teachers are amazing as well as the staff at Temple and I’m going to miss all the people I’ve met at school and church. I’m going to miss my host family. And I’m going to miss a lot of little cultural things and some of the food, which will be hard, if not impossible, to find in the States. Japan is a great country and I’m definitely coming back.
日本, Daily LifeFebruary 16, 2007 11:31 am
I woke up at 9 after turning off my alarm. I freaked out because I was supposed to have left about 20 minutes prior to that. So I shot out of bed, got ready really quickly, rode the bike to the station and got on the train at 9:17. My muscles had been shaking like crazy as they always do after riding the bike. I was really winded and since I hadn’t eaten my stomach wasn’t feeling too great. So I stood against the door and waited for my body to normalize itself. It never did and before I got to the first stop I started feeling really dizzy and my vision started blurring. I prayed that I wouldn’t throw up on the train, and that if I had to throw up that it would be outside. My body grew really weak and I could hardly keep my eyes open, my head drooped down and my arms hung limply at my sides. My whole body started feeling very numb and I felt ready to collapse any minute.
Finally we got to the station and the doors I was leaning against opened (I wasn’t leaning against them when they opened, thankfully I had enough awareness to avoid that). So I decided to get off and I stumbled my way down the platform. It was very odd though because my vision was very blurry, I was almost blind, everything was very white and I could hardly make anything out. And my ears were acting strange too, it was like my ears were mega plugged and there was a buzzing sound. Since I couldn’t really see, it was very difficult to walk to the end of the platform even though I was only a car away. I could feel myself swaying, ready to faint. I finally made out a pole and decided that’s where I’d crash. So I sat down against it and waited. One of the conductors asked me something in Japanese and though my ears were still ringing I managed to tell him that I didn’t speak any Japanese. He didn’t speak any English so he got back into his train and rode away. When the second train pulled up I was still sitting against the pole but I could now see more or less normally. The conductor got out and asked me something in Japanese. I again told him that I couldn’t understand but he was able to ask me, "sick?" and I said "yes, very quickly". I don’t know what he would have done because after that I got up and slowly walked to the escalators. After finding that I had gone to the wrong platform, I trudged back up the escalator and caught the local back to Machida.
I’m now sitting in the apartment and I’m feeling much better, but very exhausted. It’s been a strange morning.
日本, Daily LifeFebruary 15, 2007 11:28 pm
Today on my way to school, I took a picture of every single vending machine I passed (except those across the busy street). I made a slide showof aforementioned pictures. These pictures don’t even include the 6 (I think?) vending machines inside the school. Though it doesn’t really need to be stated again, this country is crazy.
日本, Daily Life 10:14 pm
It’s already been established that Japan is a crazy country. They like to take things to the extreme here. No doubt about it. One of the many things they have in great abundances are convenience stores, aka "konbini". And they aren’t your typical American convenience stores either. At a Japanese konbini you can make a fax, a copy, pay your bills, buy tickets for Disneyland, and in some you can buy clothes, hose, school supplies, etc. Not to mention the food. Many people, students and business workers alike, buy their meals at a konbini. They will heat up the food for you, provide you with hot water (for your cup o’ noodles, etc.) as well as any utensils you’ll need.
Oh.Yes.
Yesterday was our last day of the four-day weekend. Most of the day was spent at home on the computer just messing around. Finally at about 4:45 Steph and I headed out to meet Matt and Bobby in Shinjuku. It had been a beautiful day and we were bemoaning the fact that we had wasted most of it inside. When we arrived at the station we walked to our normal meeting place. We didn’t see Matt or Bobby, plus we were distracted by the band that was set up next to the construction wall. They were really funky and we decided we really liked their sound. After a while I noticed that Matt and Bobby were there but they were standing off a ways. Steph and I decided we wanted to keep listening to the band and eventually the guys came over. We stood there, enjoying the music (with Bobby using the beat to rap) and decided to buy their c.d. if we could no matter the cost. So when they finished Steph, Bobby and I walked over to them and Bobby started talking to one of the singers. He asked him if he could have a go on the mic, the guy agreed and Bobby started rapping while a bunch of people stopped and stared. It was amazing! He was amazing! And after he finished we all (except for Matt) got pictures with the band. They were really good and their c.d. was only about $5 (their keyboardist was blind!). I think we’re going to try and see them again since we know about when they are there. It was an amazingly fun night, which I will expound on in my next update.
Soul Betting Ground (3:49)
Bobby (3:38)
Akihabara Panorama (:25)
日本, Daily LifeFebruary 12, 2007 5:23 pm
I’m so happy! I recently was able to chat online with my best friend, Leanna. I haven’t had a good conversation with her in a long time. And we talked for about an hour and a half. It totally made my week. And it made me long for home even more. A little over two months! Like I said, I love it here in Japan but when the time comes for me to board the plane and return to the States, I will be one very happy camper.
日本 1:50 am
So it’s been a while since my last update. I’ve been busy but it’s also been pretty boring around here since my weeks are basically either going to school or doing homework. I figured you didn’t want the details of my classes day-by-day or the homework I was working on. So I will highlight the most interesting/important events of the last four weeks.
January 20th (Saturday) Steph was leaving the apartment in the late morning and suddenly rushed back inside to tell me that it was snowing! We immediately opened the window and leaned outside. Sure enough there were some flurries coming down. It was so light that by the time they hit the ground they melted, but it was snowing and we were both really excited. (The only other time I’ve seen snowfall was in Yosemite when I was about 12.) Since then it hasn’t been cold enough here to snow and I doubt it will again; we’ve been having relatively warm weather here, averaging in the high 40’s - low 50’s.
The next day we got another bike from someone from church. She’s letting us use her mountain bike (read: a bike that can actually change gears) until we leave. So now we have two bikes, neither of which we had to pay for which is a real blessing. Unfortunately Steph’s bike (the other one) has a hole in the back tire so it’s currently out of commission. But with the bikes we’ve been able to get to the station a lot quicker. And Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings we don’t have to worry about any crowds of people on our way to the station and when we get back, it’s all downhill so getting home is very quick.
Saturday the 27th I had to go back to Shinjuku to pick up more art supplies. Steph and I met up with Matt and we checked out the Krispy Kreme again and found that the line was still about an hour and a half wait. So instead we went to a Mister Donut, found that there were no seats, walked around Shinjuku and ended up back in the Krispy Kreme area where there is a Starbucks. After buying more junk food/drinks we sat outside and started making plans for a road trip this summer. We would all like to see each other’s houses and meet each other’s families and friends, so we were trying to plan the best way to do that. We decided it would probably be about 2 weeks and we started thinking of things we could do at each other’s houses and on the way. Matt lives up in Seattle and Steph lives in San Diego. The original plan was for Steph and I to drive straight up to Seattle and then come back down with Matt. But if he were to go with us, he wouldn’t be able to go on a road trip with his friend, which they have wanted to do for a long time. So at this point I’m not sure what our plans are. We are definitely going to do something to see each other during the summer but I’m not sure about the specific plans.
A week later, Saturday the 3rd, I had to go back to Shinjuku to get more art supplies. This time we met up with Matt and his new housemate, Bobby who is also from the States. Bobby had gotten here just the previous Thursday and will be here until the end of February. He’s here to see Japan so Matt had been showing him around Shinjuku. After we picked up the art supplies we headed over to Shibuya and ate at Ichiran Ramen. It’s a really interesting restaurant because you chose the flavor strength, tenderness of the noodles, the fat content, etc. It was delicious. After eating we walked around Shibuya a bit and ended up at the world’s busiest Starbucks (we’ve decided it’s required that we visit the Starbucks every time we go to Shibuya). Being the busiest in the world we had a wait a while for seats to open up, when they finally did we didn’t leave until about 11.
Yesterday (Saturday) I had to go to an art museum in Ueno. Steph, Matt and Bobby came with me and while I was in the museum they explored the area. Afterward we were planning on visiting Akihabara, another part of Tokyo a few minutes away. The exhibit I visited had paintings from the French museum, Musee d’Orsay that included original Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh paintings. It was so amazing to be able to view the real thing, to see each brush stoke less than two feet away. Unfortunately so many people were in line for the exhibit that when I finally met up with Steph and the guys we didn’t have enough time to go to Akihabara. Shigeko had invited Steph and I to dinner at her house so we had to leave to meet her. About 10 other people were also there and we had a wonderful time eating and talking until about 10. And tonight Steph and I went with a group after church to a steak house and then to Mister Donuts. It’s always wonderful to be with the people from church.
Things at school are going well. I’m currently enjoying a four-day weekend that lasts until Tuesday. I’m enjoying all my classes and Shinya even asked me to work for the Art department. So starting next week I’ll be monitoring the Art rooms and the Mac lab on Tuesdays and Saturdays every other week for a total of four hours each week. Not a whole lot of money but it’s better than what I’m getting now.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve been worried about what I’m going to do next semester. I had wanted to take a semester off of Temple and stay in the States during the Fall and return here in the Spring. But due to Visa complications that wouldn’t have worked out for the school or the immigration office. And I recently decided that while I enjoy photography, I’m not really an "artsy" person. So I’m changing my major…but I don’t know what I’m changing it to. Since I’m changing my major that means I won’t be attending Temple anymore because the Japan campus doesn’t offer any other majors that I’m interested in. And I don’t want to transfer to main campus in Philadelphia because the location is in the worst part of town (there was a shooting in front of the school).
So next semester I’ll either attend the community college I was at before and finish my GE (General Education classes) while deciding where I want to transfer to and what I want my major to be. Or I want to help with the African Children’s Choir. If I were to help with the Choir I’d be committed for a whole year. The Choir is a group of orphaned African children ages 7 to 11 that tours around North America and the UK. If I were accepted into the program I would need to raise money for any extra expenses since everything else is taken care of. But even if I weren’t able to do it next semester I know I want to do it sometime. It’s exactly the kind of organization and program I want to get involved with.
Don’t get me wrong, I love it here despite missing my family and friends. But being here as a student has really limited my time to explore (though I’m going to visit Fukuoka before I leave). When I have the means I’m going to come back with a tourist visa and explore for the full 90 days. And of course I’m going to miss everyone here and a lot of little things involved with the culture. But coming back for school would be a waste of time and money. It is a relief to have plans for next semester. I guess that’s it for now.
日本, Daily LifeFebruary 9, 2007 12:27 am
The line stretches across the platform and as the train pulls up the tension builds. Everyone takes a step forward and as soon the doors -whoosh- open, they are pushing their way inside. Once on the train my nostrils fill with the smell of stale sweat and perspiration forms on my brow from all the body heat. The crush of people pushes me into the man in front of me. He stretches his arm and I can feel it pop. With no room to move I’m at the mercy of the crowd and when they lean, I’m forced to as well. Eventually I close my eyes and let the steady sway of the train put me to sleep.