STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 4

SEPTEMBER 22

Slept in again. It’s so nice to have a day off.

I talked to my dad on Skype, not much to say with it only being three weeks, but it was nice. When I got off, I was about to do my homework when all of a sudden a ton of sirens went off. They sounded close, but I couldn’t see any emergency vehicles or anything outside my window. It wasn’t until I saw people running towards my apartment building, and saw vague signs of smoke to the east of me that I realized “Something’s on fire!”

I went out to the balcony that overlooked the south side of the building. Lo and behold, there was a ton of smoke and fire spitting out of the apartment building across the street. Three fire trucks and dozens of firemen gathered to put out the fire and control the scene. I had arrived late to the viewing party, as the other American exchange students had already gathered and taken pictures. Soon, the first itself was out, but the building was still smoking a ton. I went down to the first floor for a different view and spoke to the neighbors about what could have happened. Fortunately no one was inside, and the fire seemed to have started from the 2nd floor, possibly an electrical short. Of all the things I expected could happen when I came to study abroad, that was not one of them.

Looks like my interrupted homework won’t be done until after dinner. We’re going to Sushi-Ro!!

SEPTEMBER 23

Since I don’t have class until 1pm on Mondays, I decided to go to school earlier to finish my homework and get some much needed manga drawing time in. I also made myself a delicious lunch, but the extra oil kind of spilled— thankfully, I had it wrapped up!

After lunch, and grammar class with Mrs. Yamamoto, I went back to the library to work some more on my manga. I sat with Chaerim, an exchange student from South Korea, Margeaux from France, and Patima (who we affectionately call Totoro) from Thailand. They were impressed with my drawing skills, but I knew it still had a long way to go from those mere sketches. We hung out together for a few hours and decided it was a good day for curry, Indian curry to be exact. Before we could actually go, however, Chaerim had to go to class until 6pm.

We tried to go to the bank, but it was closed for the National Holiday. Then we tried to go to the bookstore near school to buy some pens, but half of the shopping strip was closed down, except for MaxValu, the grocery store. It was the same place the Elpas was. I didn’t know that whole section was closing!

So, we doubled back to the station and checked out the stationary section at Tokyu Hands. There are too many cool things there, it’s a good thing I already have pens and stuff or I wouldn’t know what to buy!

Finally, at 6:30 we headed to the restaurant to eat curry. It may be the most delicious food I have eaten in Japan - in regards to its actual use of flavor. Level 3 is not that spicy, so next time I’m going for level 4! And the naan. It is just so good. Fluffy like a pancake and you can sit there and eat it until you are so full you just want to sleep. Sounds like a good idea for Thanksgiving!

From there we headed back to the apartments and hung out in Chaerim’s room talking about manga and drawing. Chaerim showed me her own sketchbooks, and it made me miss just drawing for fun. For the past few years I have pretty much been drawing for my series, not just sketching anything that comes to mind. I kind of miss that.

SEPTEMBER 24

I HAVE NOTHING IN MY FRIDGE!!!! Except onions, and two sips of Gun Gun Gurt. Must buy groceries!!

My only class today was at 9am, for some reason conversation class was canceled. That left me with a huge gap between class and dance. I bought groceries, went home and rested for a bit and then returned to campus in the afternoon to hang out with a few of the Japanese students.

Around 6pm, or so, I headed outside into the campus mall (the open corridor between the University’s two buildings, which also served as the practice area for the dance circle). The first to arrive was a break-dancer, and an amazing one at that. He had so much power, it was a glory to watch. It wasn’t until a few other people showed up that I stepped forward to introduce myself and speak to the leader. Join the group was as simple as that, talk to the leader, give him my contact information and boom! Time to practice. I warmed up by myself, but after a while more people came, many of them doing hip-hop. It turns out that the leader of the hip-hop practice at the time was the same guy I had spoke with last Thursday (and a friend of a friend, small world).

Overall, it was super fun! I can’t wait for Thursday so I can practice again and meet more members! I have a renewed drive to work out and become healthy. Also, my schedule feels full enough that I’m not yearning for something to do. So glad I took the chance.

SEPTEMBER 25

After I put my information in for the dance circle yesterday, I realized there was an issue with my cell phone’s mail address. After the morning Kanji class I headed to Softbank to have the issue fixed; still not sure what the problem was, but they fixed it in like three minutes. Returned to school for drama class in the afternoon, which pretty much makes Wednesdays the best day of the week. Once class was over a few of the exchange students and I went to a store called Donki Hote. In a way it’s kind of like a variety store, with a bunch of crazy things, but it also has some clothing, shoes, and food. I found an adorable Stitch doll and had to buy it.

From there, I had my own plans in the evening so I broke off from the group. I met with my host sister for dinner at a restaurant near the station. We ate yakizakana (fried fish), salads, chicken… and a bunch of other foods. Later, we went to karaoke. As expected she can at least sing well. I, on the other hand, only get worse. I just cannot hit those high pitches: why do they insist on having such high-pitched songs???

Still need to work on my report for Friday’s class…

SEPTEMBER 26

Morning… ugh, I hardly slept at all. The wind was blowing so strongly that it was gusting through my room and rattling my door. When I tried to leave for class it swept a bunch of my plastic bags into the hall. At least the weather is getting cooler overall, which means less laundry because of sweat from existing. Instead it will be from dance practice Tuesday and Thursday! Yeah!

Speaking of, today was Thursday so practice officially started from about 1pm. However, there was a small international party that I had to go to, so I missed part of practice (the group warm-up part). We were in the cafeteria so I could see them through the window. Yes, the people at the party were cool, and the snacks were great, but I wanted to be out there. Once the bulk of the party activities were done I excused myself from the party and joined practice. In a way, I felt guilty for leaving the party, but I had to follow my own path.

Maybe I understand myself a little more now. I can see my weaknesses; reading, kanji, proper speech in given situations, dance and to some point even socializing. I don’t care if I make the most mistakes or embarrass myself; it’s the only way I’m going to improve. It’s a nice challenge. Difficult, but not impossible.

Now off to write that report…

SEPTEMBER 27

All right! It only took me until 1am to write the report and make the presentation for class, but it was all worth it. The topic that I decided on was the Kamakura period after all. I chose it because it is the same time period that takes place in the manga series I am writing, so I have a general background understanding of it. Though it was only a brief period in Japan’s history, it was the time when samurai, the warrior caste and feudalism were established.

I was the 4th to present in the group, but I felt pretty confident and gung-ho about it. Granted, my report wasn’t nearly as word/kanji heavy as the Chinese students’ reports were, but I held my own. We only share two classes with the Chinese students, and that is the History/Culture on Fridays and the Survey class on Tuesdays. Having them around is really motivating, sometimes intimidating, but motivating nonetheless.

SEPTEMBER 28

I headed down to Toyohashi to hang with a friend from university, Jordan. He is now teaching in Toyohashi as an ALT, Assistant Language Teacher.

I got there around lunch time, and as we searched for a place to eat near the main station, we quickly came to realize that all the gyuudon and yakitori places were full. During our search, a man from South America spoke to us at a crosswalk, but neither of us could understand him at all. His accent was so thick, we couldn’t even tell if he was speaking, English, Japanese, or Portuguese.

We ended up at a nice little Chinese restaurant, Kinrai, with a wonderful filling lunch set. There was a main dish, plus a large bowl of rice, delicious soup, salad, egg stir-fry, pickled veggies, dessert and a drink of your choice for only 700 yen. Not only was it the best Chinese food I ever had, but it was at a great price, too!

Following our delicious lunch, we headed to a nearby bookstore. I wasn’t aware that Crows (one of my favorite series) had so many issues! If it was on sale I might have bought it. When I mentioned that to Jordan, he suggested another place with used books and music. In order to get there, though, we had to take the street car. Once again, we ran into another interesting character, this time a man from Canada who tried preaching to us. We were finally able to escape after receiving some postcards from him. Then it was off to the bookstore~

I keep calling it a bookstore, but this used shop had so many things! The books I wanted were not there, and I wasn’t tempted enough to buy any others, so I turned to the music section. I ended up buying 2 CDs that were only 380 yen a piece (significantly cheaper than a new copy). I just can’t justify buying a CD Single for about 15 dollars when it only has 5 songs. These CDs also had nice cases and lyric books, so it was a double win.

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 3

SEPTEMBER 15

I was hoping for a lazy day today. I didn’t want to get dressed or spend money, but lo and behold - ! There is laundry to be done. On top of that, as soon as I hung my laundry out to dry, the storm hit. Clothes are soaked. Don’t care, better than trying to get the dryer to work. Seems there’s plenty of wind though, I’m sure they’ll dry off eventually.

SEPTEMBER 16

School was supposed to start today, but in the morning the typhoon was still hitting us relatively hard, so classes were canceled! Yeah, it’s windy, a blustery kind of windy, but it’s actually not that bad in my opinion. That means I’m going out in it. The store that I had previously bought my rain boots from was closing, so I bought a few other things on sale: slippers for inside my room, only 50 yen, and a pair of plastic/rubber shoes similar to Crocks but not. The prices seem pretty good in general, it’s a shame it’s closing.

From that shopping area I walked a little farther towards the station where there was another hyaku-en shop. For one specific item: a tension pole. In theory I can put it in my shower and dry clothes there on, I don’t know, maybe rainy days. It doesn’t seem as though it can hold much weight, but it’s worth a try.

Now, I guess I’ll catch up with my Youtube subscriptions.

SEPTEMBER 17

Classes finally started today: “Knowing Today’s Japan”, a survey class and “Conversation.” I was kind of worried in the survey class because she started us off saying that we will have to make surveys and ask students at the University. That part was okay, but the handout she gave us was loaded with some never-before-seen kanji. I was midway translating it when she started going around the room asking us each to read a line. Mind you, the bulk of the class were students who came this past March, and they were Chinese or Taiwanese, so they had a much better grasp on kanji than us new students. That being said, I fumbled through the reading and made a mental note to study more. The teacher, however, is actually very nice and cool. Once I get used to the class, I think it will be a lot of fun.

Conversation class went a lot smoother. Between kanji and speaking, I have a small leg up on speaking. Today we just talked mostly because our textbooks had not come in yet.

Other great news: my beloved gyuudon, beef and rice bowl, is still cheap and still delicious. Not only did I find Gun Gun Gurt, but it’s in a much larger bottle, and only 100 yen! Dinner was sushi at a kaitenzushi down the road from our apartment called Sushi-Ro. Cheap, delicious, and close. I have a feeling that we will go there often.

SEPTEMBER 18

The morning starts out with “Composition and kanji” class, with another awesome teacher. It looks like our study methods will be to divide up the weekly kanji between us six B-class students, and then present them: reading, definition, and example sentence. Add that to a quiz, and ending with writing a composition, and there you have it. Simple, to the point.

Drama on the other hand is just going to be fun I think. Basically, we watch [a part of] a Japanese drama, for example, we are starting with the Waterboys movie, and that is going to take a few weeks because we will also have discussions and dictation practice. I’m looking forward to it~

Another food side note: there is a place down in the food court that sells onigiri which are 1.5x larger than the normal convenient store sushi. The prices are still relatively cheap, especially for the size, it’s fresh, and there are tones of flavors! Got to start with Tuna and Salmon~~

SEPTEMBER 19

Grammar class with Mrs. Yamamoto. I am excited. I can already tell I will be learning a lot from this class. Maybe she is a little stricter than the other teachers, but I need that. Today we studied ‘ように’（you ni), which represents a change, and how its used in different forms of grammar. I’m kind of getting the hang of it.

Lunch was the International Welcome Party. There was so much food provided, sushi, chicken, sandwiches, chips, etc. But we barely had a chance to eat any of it! It was an open party, so other University students were more than welcome to come and meet the new exchange students. Meaning, they wanted to talk to us. They outnumbered us, so as some of them ate, the others talked to us, and we just really couldn’t catch a break or grab a plate full.

Then, I happened to notice people dancing outside the cafeteria. Could it be-? Yes! The dance circle was outside!! As soon as the party died down I went to check them out. They all seemed very talented, with genres ranging from hip hop, to break, popping… I was intimidated. My dancing experience was more like “exercise” in our basement at home. This is my chance though.

I went up to one of the girls, explaining that I was an exchange student and asking how I could join the group. She was only a freshman, so she passes me off to one of the hip-hop guys. He told me that if I spoke to their group leader it would probably be okay, but he hadn’t shown up yet.

I would have stuck around, but we needed to head back to our apartments to receive our bikes (provided by the school). It seemed as though they also practiced on Tuesday nights, so I promised I would come back then. Nothing was settled yet, but I knew, this was the group I wanted to join. I would have to put aside all my reservations and just go for this.

Receiving our bikes took a total of ten minutes. I could have gone back to the dancers, but the group wanted to go out and eat dinner. This time we had okonomiyaki, made on order, but not the kind you can mix together yourself. It was hard to find options without pork, so my experience was so-so, but I did get to speak to the Japanese students again. From there we headed to the station. There’s a large open area between the JR Station and the Meitetsu Station known for being a couple hang out. A couple guys actually tried to hit on the French girls— kind of my fault though. The guy waved for them to come over, and I gestured that he should be the one to come, though I didn’t think he actually would. He did, it got awkward, I’m sorry.

Thankfully, we were just on our way to another location. The building across the street had a glass elevator than went up to the 42 floor - the observation deck. We had a great view of the city at night, but we could only look at it from the west side. The other sides were part of a pay-to-enter space. Instead of doing that we headed back down and out to a Game Center. It was so loud there, the difference was palpable. We squeezed our group of about nine people into a purikura photo booth, took some pictures, and played the taiko drum game until about 10pm.

We really owe our upperclassmen a ton of thanks for helping us settle in and showing us around the city (again).

SEPTEMBER 20

We had our first history and culture class today. I don’t know why, but when class was over I was SUPER tired. So tired that I went home and took a nap.

In any case, starting next week we have to make a presentation to the class on any one subject in Japanese history. I volunteered to go on the first day, just so I can get it over with. But I’m nervous because I’ve never given a presentation completely in Japanese before. We’ll see how it goes I guess. Right now I’m trying to decide between presenting on the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), or when Islam came to Japan.

SEPTEMBER 21

The tiredness continued all day yesterday, but I slept in today so I feel fully rested!!

Raachael and Joy went to the Osu Temple today, so I ventured to join them on my bike. As if trying to navigate to an unknown location isn’t hard enough, there are just so many people that get in the way! I’m surprised I didn’t run into anyone today. It’s kind of like a video game— let’s see how many people I don’t hit today~

(Osu Temple)

I have finally been able to return to Osu. I remembered my trip from 2011, when I went to Osu with my host sister. I thought it would be easy to find the same route we walked, but boy was I wrong. The place is at least eight times larger than I remember; meaning the three streets we walked down was barely a fraction of the massive outdoor shopping mall that is Osu. There’s a ton of cool clothes and shoes… and bags… dangerous for my wallet.

After we had wandered up and down the streets a few times we headed back to the apartment and hung out on the 7th floor balcony. Mark was up there practicing dance a bit, but we kind of ended up borrowing his laptop to look up other dances that would be fun to do in costumes for Halloween. Rachael and Joy had already bought their costumes: Gachapin and Stitch. I’m jealous because I kind of wanted Stitch. No costume for me yet.

I also took the opportunity to dance a bit and catch up after three long weeks of not doing so. It felt great! I will never run again! Haha

Now I can approach the dance group again with a little more confidence~

A Proper Introduction

I realize I haven't properly introduced myself, or given you the full details on my study abroad program, so here it goes~

Hello!

My name is Halah Mohamed, I am a senior at the University of Toledo pursuing a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Studio Art (with a concentration in New Media) and a minor in Japanese.  This 2013-2014 school year I will be studying as an exchange student at our sister school, Aichi University, in Nagoya, Japan.

You may want to know how I became interested in Japanese, as a language and a culture.  I wish there was a simple answer, but in reality there have been a lot of influences.  I hesitate to say that it started back in grade school with Pokemon, only because at that time I had no idea it was a "Japanese Animation".


I did end up following anime very strongly between middle school and high school, but only as entertainment.  I liked to read so I would read both books, and comics, Eastern and Western.  Same with cartoons, both American and Japanese.

In high school, I really started to develop my own art.  First it was fanart, doing my best to copy images from the shows I watched, and then I started practicing with the "How To Draw..." books.  My style was heavily influenced by manga (Japanese comics), and consequently my stories began to take place in Japanese culture.  I was curious about Japanese names, mythology and writing, but it didn't really have an interest to study the language yet.

When I told people that I will be in Japan for a year, most of them replied with, "Oh, that's great! You've always wanted to live in Japan!"

...Excuse me? How long is always?

At this point in my recap, I am still in high school and I'm really just a huge comic and animation fan.  I'm comfortable at home and have no interest in traveling.  As for languages, when I was younger I was taught Arabic, and in my first two years of High School I learned French.  But, once we started getting into the millions of verb conjugations I began to loose interest. Then, something unexpected happened.  As of my senior year, my high school was going to offer a new language: either Japanese, Chinese, or Arabic


The school decided on Chinese, and to fill a class I decided to take the first course.  I didn't have any expectations going in, but I found out that I really enjoyed learning an entirely different writing system.  The words were pictures, and could be put together like puzzle pieces - it quickly became my favorite class.

But wait, this is Chinese, right? And I'm studying Japanese now... what happened?

To put it simply, everything has a time and a place.

 During my freshman year at the University I took 2nd-year Chinese; though I had wanted to take Japanese also, the classes were already full (I'm sure many of you understand this). After Chinese 2 (Intermediate Chinese) there really wasn't another class I could take, so I quickly signed up for Japanese.  Immediately, I was hooked.

At the time, I was working on my own graphic novels series more and more, so I was watching and reading less and less.  However, since my series took place in Japan, I could apply what I learned in class to my work.  That led me to doing even more research into the culture: NOW I really wanted to know everything I could.  But, did I really want to live in Japan?

Not yet. Not quite yet.

I had never even been to Japan! I mean, sure, there's tons of information out there on what it's like, but I had no experience whatsoever.  So, I had to go see for myself.

Fortunately, every year the head of the Japanese department offers a 3-week study abroad trip in the summer.  Once I completed my second year of Japanese, me and a group of about 10 other students and our professor headed off to Japan.  Even though the trip was very structured, it still gave me a chance to see modern Japan with my own eyes.  It was peaceful, and comforting.  The food was delicious. You could walk anywhere, or take a train.  It seemed to fit my personality very well.

This was, of course, just a 3-week trip, a vacation if anything.  Living there alone was another different ball game, and it was something I would need experience in if I wanted to work in Japan after I graduated.  So I decided it was time to take another test run, and I told my professor "I want to study at Aichi [for a year]!"  Only two students could go at a time, so I patiently waited two years (from our trip in 2011, until now, 2013), studying, saving money, and bothering every student that was studying before me for any information so that I could prepare.

Now my time has finally come.  I can say "I am pretty darn sure I want to live in Japan," but I'm giving it a year of course.  Two weeks of adjusting in, and it's so far so good.  Now I'm just preparing for the school work that is about to come my way!  First day of the semester is tomorrow~ Wish me luck!

Until next time, take care!

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 2

SEPTEMBER 8

Today I did some more laundry. My shirts are a bit wrinkle-prone, so I went out to buy an ironing board from LABI. I couldn’t find an ironing board though…

   Here’s the view from my apartment balcony!

SEPTEMBER 9

Monday, the day many of has have somewhat dreaded. The day we are placed in out classes. The day we meet a reputably strict teacher: Mrs. Yamamoto. I, along with four other new exchange students, was placed in B class, upper intermediate. I’m not too worried because even if it is a little difficult I have others to study with. I can’t say I’m excited for classes to start, but I want to be around more Japanese people, improve my Japanese, make friends and join a circle. It appears as though the dance circle at AIDAI is known as BPM, Black People Movement. If I can’t join them, then maybe tennis or soccer!

After finishing our duties at AIDAI, we met up with Junko, and Tatsuya, and then we went to go see an Ikebana (flower arrangement) Exhibition at Nagoya Station. She had a few coupons that would have got most of our group in for free, but when we arrived the vendors showered us with more coupons. In the end, we had more than enough for all of us to view the exhibit for free - they said it was because the event was ending that day. In any case, the Ikebana was amazing! I had only seen traditional displays before, but many of the arrangements were huge in comparison, very modern and unique. On the way out of the exhibit we happened to meet a woman who taught Tea Ceremony, Flower Arrangement and Cooking to Japanese and foreigners at her house. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to visit her, but I would love to learn how to cook.

(An up-close snapshot of one of my favorite ikebana pieces.

Speaking of food, tonight we ate yakiniku!!!! And the best thing was that all of the meat that came was beef, except for the last dish. It was delicious, I love yakiniku. Dessert was ice cream monaka; also delicious. I’d say that’s a near perfect meal.

By the time we got home it was dark, but my energy just kicked in. A few of us adventured west of our apartment until we found a large supermarket, Aoki Super. It had two floors dividing up its goods, and it was fairly cheap. Unfortunately, I was only caring 300 yen, so I only bought custard crème bread. We shared snacks on the walk back to our apartment, and surprisingly it was still only 9pm. I finished the night with an episode of Shabekuri 007, and called it a night. There you have it, my first full week on my own in Japan. So far so good.

SEPTEMBER 10

Paid rent for the semester… good-bye money. Again, we are living in an apartment building, not a dorm, but it was provided by the school and most, if not all, of the exchange students live between the two buildings. We received a small helping from the school for the rent, but it still cost us 216,000 yen for 6 months. Maybe that’s not so bad because we are near the heart of a big city- I mean, the main station is a 15 minute walk away after all.

On the other hand, I also picked up a pocket Wifi today. The service will cost about $40 a month, and since you could only pay for it with a credit card, I had to use my account in the States. But that payment will be taken out later. The actual device itself? It only cost 1 yen! That was a small relief.

Lastly, as far as the club/circle information goes, it looks like tennis and futsal occur at the same time, so it’s one or the other. Even though I brought my tennis racket, I am leaning more toward futsal. No news on BPM yet.

SEPTEMBER 11

Today we went to the Nagoya Port Aquarium!!! The subway there was only 580 yen round trip, and the ticket was 2400 yen for the main aquarium, and three other attractions. I knew from the posters that there was an orca in the aquarium, but I had no idea that place was so huge!

There was three orcas (one was a baby), and a ton of dolphins, not just bottle-nose ones either. We watched the dolphin show in the splash zone and got a little wet. I would really love to see the orca show and the illuminations around the port.  We also checked out the Port’s Museum, as well as the docked “Fuji”, an Antartic research vessel. Our last stop was the Viewing Deck that looked over the port (all included in our ticket). There was just a ton to look at, so I definitely want to go back one day.

SEPTEMBER 12

For lunch we checked out a nearby Indian restaurant, a recommendation of the Thai exchange student. The lunch set was a bowl or curry (today was chicken and mushroom), with a salad and drink, and naan. All you can eat naan. I’m starting to love this place. My ice chai was not what I expected, but the curry and naan are sooo good.

Following an amazing lunch, the group of us decided to go to Karaoke for 3 hours (only 500 yen in the afternoon). Now, I’m not a singer, so I was kind of nervous about it. It would have been only my second time going to Karaoke ever. And again, I can’t sing.

But, surprisingly, it was more fun than I thought - especially if I sing songs in my vocal range, haha! Back-up is always good too. Looks like the Backstreet Boys are going to be a staple of my future Karaoke jams.

When we left Karaoke it was SUPER OBSCENELY HOT. Like, you will burn and/or melt just by stepping outside. So, we just bought some crepes and waited out the heat in the air-conditioned shopping mall.

SEPTEMBER 13

Another business day. This time we all had to go file paperwork at the City Office for our Resident Cards, health insurance set-up, etc. I was one of the first done, so I could have gone back home. Instead I bought a few snacks for lunch and waited for the others.

Part of that was a mistake.

One of my friends had told me that the cheese isn’t the same in Japan. I had to find out for myself so I bought a cheese stick from the convenient store, thinking it might taste like a mozzarella stick. No. It tasted like plastic with a side of an attempt to give it artificial flavoring. Never again. Thankfully I also bought a vanilla coke (though I was quickly reminded why I don’t drink sodas - too much carbonation), some tuna-onion bread (very good) and Green Apple flavored Haichu (<gummy candies similar to Starburst).

Once the paperwork was all filed we made plans to go to an Izakaya (for eats and drinks), to celebrate one of our last nights before school started. We stayed there for a few hours, just talking, eating some, and everyone else was drinking. It was nice to hang out with all of the exchange students in one place, but as I was at the far end of the table, I could only talk to a few people. The Germans are great to talk with, and they are also strong drinkers, so the drinks just kept coming. It was a very interesting experience.

SEPTEMBER 14

They say there is another typhoon coming, so I bought some cheap rain boots for about 1050 yen. Just in case. The weather pretty much held out today, not a spec of rain. In the evening I met up with Joy and the others to play billiards, which I now know that I am horrible at. Most of the time my shot with the cue would barely strike the ball, resulting in several unfortunate and pointless turns. It was also kind of expensive, almost 2000 yen for two hours.

Pre-Departure Part Two: *Scholarships!*

"So you want to study abroad? Thinks it's too expensive?"

You've probably heard part of that phrase if you've ever considered studying or going abroad.  Please allow me to be an advocate in saying, "You can do it!"

Sometimes, we forget how many scholarships are available out there.  In my case, I had known since 2011 that I wanted to study abroad, so I had a good 1-2 years worth of preparation.  Not only did I scope out every scholarship or grant available, but I made sure that when the time came to apply I had everything prepared.  The sooner you get the paperwork/application done, the easier it is to make up for mistakes.

The main scholarships I looked at, in regards to studying abroad were:  The Gilman Foundation, The Bridging Scholarship, and the Fund for Education Abroad.  These, plus some smaller scholarships, such as those available through the University, proved to be a HUGE help toward funding my trip.  The application processes are self-explanatory.  In most, if not all cases, you need to provide your own financial information, reasons why you want to study abroad, etc.

As for other paperwork you will encounter in your preparations to study abroad, your study abroad adviser should be able to provide to you the paperwork and then guide you through the process.  In my case, I probably had to fill out my address, and passport information maybe half a dozen times, and then write another essay, and then wait.

Waiting is the hardest thing about this process!!

Shipping or sending mail abroad not only takes forever, but then it has to be processed, and if any sort of confirmation needs to be returned to you (such as a Certificate of Admission, or Certificate of Eligibility for your visa) then it takes even longer!  I highly recommend getting everything turned in as soon as possible.  The last thing you want to happen is being unable to fly into your destination country if your visa paperwork is late.

So, to summarize the important points:
1) Plan ahead! Look at as many scholarships you can and apply to them ALL!
2) DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!!! Remember that the process is going to take time on both sides!
3) Ask questions! Don't assume you know all the answers, especially when it comes to paperwork.  If there is something you are unsure about, it's best to ask and confirm, then to make a mistake and lose time correcting it.
4) Get used to waiting. :/

If you have any questions, you can ask me! I might be able to help, or at least guide you in the right direction.

Until then, take care :)

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 1

SEPTEMBER 1

5am: Awake before first light. The two large luggage I had packed almost two week ago (which I proceeded to repack until last night) were set by the front door. My parents were both sitting in the living room on the large Eas-y-Boy chairs.

They asked, “You ready?” All I could say was, “Yep.” I’d had been preparing for nearly two years, couldn’t think of anything else to do but go. I quickly made a bowl of cereal, which I had a feeling I wouldn’t have the chance to eat it over the next year. The cat’s walked by and ignored me as usual. My brothers, barely awake, acknowledged my leaving as they turned in their sleep and muffled something along the lines of “okay”.

This is it then. Time to go.

8:50am: Well, they just cut off my free Wifi access at the airport. Great. Boarding isn’t for another hour, so I’m left listening to music and contemplating when a good time to go to the bathroom is. I do not know what gate my flight from Chicago is; my itinerary says its the same terminal, so provided that is true, I should find it.

This is the start of my solo journey. It really is a strange feeling. It’s not loneliness, or anxiety, or even glee… it’s a very mortal feeling though. Suddenly, everything I do is up to me. Regardless, I think I will notice and appreciate tings more this way. I have no one to rely on and guide me. I’m not afraid to make mistakes, I learn a lot quicker that way.

Still, I hope these connections go smoothly.

SEPTEMBER 2

4 p.m. Flight to Chubu International Airport from Narita- Tokyo.

Okay, so the good news is that nothing went wrong. But let me tell you - it was not a pleasant wait.

After I arrived in Chicago I headed straight for my terminal (from G18 - K19). Usually, I’m a go at my own pace person, but in this case, I was booking it across that airport. My layover there was only 45 minutes, and I had no idea what lied ahead of me. Thankfully, I made it to my gate with some time to spare. As soon as I sat down I tried to connect to the Wifi - and then I heard the check-in desk announce my name. There was a “message” for me, but they really meant “we need to check your visa”. They also informed me that I would go through customs when I landed in Tokyo. My layover there was barely an hour and fifteen-minutes, and I had heard that customs could take up to a couple hours. I instantly became worried that I wouldn’t have enough time, but the flight attendants gave me no particular advice on the matter. So I sat with that worry in the back of my head for the duration of my international flight. All 13 hours of it.

My seat on the flight was comfortable: Japan Airlines economy class, and an aisle seat. Coincidentally, there was no one on either side of me, and in the next seats over were an infant, and girl who can sleep through anything. Guess I won’t be making friends yet. So, I started off with a movie I actually wanted to see: it was a recent release in the States, but I chose to watch it dubbed in Japanese (which was nice, they chose great voice actors). Then it was onto an episode of Japanese Variety show, DOWNTOWN DX, followed by some hours of Tetris and countless minutes of trying to sleep, but not being able to.

Then there was the food (2 meals for international flights). I had requested a “special” meal plan, aka the no pork option. It was also no beef, which for the flight I didn’t mind. They must have planned that meal for travelers from India, because the chicken/fish and rice dishes they provided were SPICY. I do like some spicy food, so it wasn’t that bad, but there was a cardamom with my chicken! That is the worst thing to accidentally eat. Fortunately, there was also a tiny salad and fresh fruit (best part!) and even a sandwich along the way. They fed us too well!! As a result, the remaining 3 hours after the 2nd meal were incredibly uncomfortable. Add to the stress of not knowing how my connection will proceed, and you have a no-nonsense traveler.

Also, the lightning strike while landing that made the lights flicker off - not cool.

As soon as I got off the plane I marched my way to the relative front of the crowd. First, I had to get through the immigration check. The line was packed, but I was well into the front end of it. Once I got up to the desk the guy took my passport, and after seeing my visa asked if I spoke Japanese. My sentences were a bit frazzled from the long, isolated flight, but I managed to say something coherent. I asked how I was supposed to proceed from that point: get luggage, go to customs, check-in again, and board flight within 50 minutes.

I sped down the stairs after receiving my Residence card and rushed to baggage claim. None of the active turnarounds were for my flight. Panic. Okay, don’t panic. Did it go ahead of me? Were they still unloading? Time to use more words. I approached the nearest security guard and he graciously pointed out the corral on the farthest end - and there it was! Thank you, orange bag, for being one of a kind.

One step down, two more to go. With my luggage in hand, and paperwork under my arm, I shuffled over to customs. Again, with those two luggages, a small shoulder bag and a backpack, ridiculous over-sized pink sweatpants and a somewhat washed out soccer tee shirt, tired and at the same time on high alert, yeah, I looked like a mess in so many ways. I’m not sure how it happened, but I ended up in a small conversation with the customs lady about my study abroad plans, which, I assume happened because she caught on that I could speak some Japanese. I also took the opportunity to once again confirm where I had to go for my domestic check-in. Some more rushing and fumbling with paperwork and I was finally heading to my gate (with 20 minutes to spare). They say luck is a skill in itself, but I definitely received a lot of help too.

Lastly, before this turbulence really kicks in, I made contact with other international students who are going to study at Nanzan University, a private university in Central Nagoya, and 2 others going to study in the Shiga Prefecture. Before we boarded the plane I gave them my business card, so, who knows, maybe I was able to make new friends after all.

Now that I’m on my way to Nagoya all my worries and reservations are gone, and I already feel at ease with this new adventure. I wouldn’t mind a shower though.

SEPTEMBER 3

It has been a long day indeed.

My friend Akane, her boyfriend Jon, and her mother picked me up from the airport yesterday. Since I was a day early for my program, I spent the night at their house in Okazaki. We made plans to leave for Nagoya for the International Student meet-up around 10 am.

I had hoped I could sleep in until 9:30, but my internal alarm woke me up at 5:30. It was already daylight, and as I got up to use the bathroom I noticed that Akane’s grandfather was making tea in the kitchen. I didn’t want to bother him, so I tried to go back to sleep - also known as, I’m going to lay on this futon for a few hours until something happens. At about 8:30 I couldn’t wait any longer, so I got up again to find Akane’s grandparents eating breakfast. They invited me to join them: 2 slices of rice bread with some butter and jam, orange juice, yogurt, pineapple and coffee. And, of course, grandfather’s tea. All this food, and not to mention they stuffed me at dinner last night too.

(Traditional Rice Paper sliding doors)

We talked for some time, and I did the best to speak with what Japanese I knew. The topics covered everything from my schooling to my prior trip to Japan. Eventually it was time to leave for Nagoya. I repacked my bags, now with slightly more space since I had given Akane a large bag of Starbust and some baklava for omiyage. As they readied the car, I finally had a chance to see the outside of the house - not only did it seem three times larger than I had initially presumed, but there was also a large garden surrounding the house. When I had arrived the night before it was pitch black, and I could see nothing but the front porch. It was a traditional style house, with a lovely garden, and even a koi pond. I wanted to see more, but that would have to wait.

Around noon, Akane and I arrived in Nagoya. We changed trains from the JR Line to the Sakuradori Subway Line, and rode it out to the last stop (really only one stop away): Nakamura Kuyakusho (district office). There we met one of the exchange students from Hawaii, Jason. From there the plan was to get our apartment keys and then find some lunch. Fortunately, we ran into the two students from the university who had volunteered to show us around: Ryoko and Kaori. At the time they were escorting the three exchange students from France: Marie, Aurianne, and Margeaux. The French girls were all staying at City Pal, just down the road, whereas Jason and I, along with the German and American students, would be staying at Chambre 72 (oddly enough a French word). Kaori showed me and Jason to the apartment, where we received our keys and finally found our rooms.

Room 705. My new home for a year.

I dropped off my bags and joined the others for a small tour of the apartment building. After that, we stopped at a small supermarket across the street to pick up groceries, and other basics. I was still full from breakfast so I only bought some fruit, vegetables and water. It was a little more expensive than the prices back in America, but I had expected worse.

We dropped off our groceries back at the apartment. (Thankfully, the building has an elevator because my room is on the 7th floor). It was already well past lunch time and we were hungry. We ended up going to a little well-known place down the road… Denny’s. Yup, first official outside meal in Japan (this time) and it’s at Denny’s. Could have been less Japanese I suppose. In any case, to make the experience somewhat more interesting I ordered the ochazuke,a rice bowl with tea broth. It was all right, enjoyable because the group was there, but I’m not in any hurry to go back.

After lunch, we went on a search for a hyaku-en shop. We still needed more basic living things, and apparently dish soap outranked toilet paper earlier. There wasn’t any near our apartment, but we were able to find one back near the station, maybe 12 minutes from our apartment or so. For some strange reason, we couldn’t find any toilet paper INSIDE the store; but, of course, as we were leaving we noticed it was displayed outside. Rather than going back in to buy it though, I decided I would come back out later tonight and buy it.

Back to the apartment and finally, FINALLY! I can unpack! All the things that I forgot I brought can now see the light. It just so happened there was another surprise waiting for me. As I was unpacking that obscenely large orange duffel bag on wheels I found a card tucked under the space saver bag. It was from my family, signed by each member. I had to stop and acknowledge the moment because nothing like this had happened before - and they had managed to surprise me! I was moved. This card is going on the wall, I decided.

However, before I could stick it on the wall, I needed tacks. That would be on the next shopping list. Then, unpacking and arranging the rest of my bags took three hours. Clothes, too many clothes. Mostly clothes, some shoes, and a few odds and ends. By the time I was ready for a break, it was dark outside and only 7pm! Now, I needed that toilet paper. So, as I said earlier, I went out in search for toilet paper. This time I headed in the opposite direction, just to see if there was any sort of store nearby. I followed the main road and quickly noticed many of the stores were closed. Only convenience stores and pachinko parlors seemed to be open. One of those convenience stores so happened to be a hyaku-en Lawson. Bingo. Got my toilet paper and went home for some much needed rest.

SEPTEMBER 4

Today, we had our first day of paperwork at Aichi University, AIDAI for short. Basically, from 9 am until 4 pm we went through filing forms for setting up accounts and other student documents. Got a few more things for the apartment from the DAISO (hyaku-en shop) near school, and when I got home I finally had a chance to eat some of the food that I bought. The 5 small-ish plastic containers that I bought were not enough to contain all the cabbage and lettuce that I cut up this morning (a head of each). Still, so far so good on the solo part I think.

My room is mostly put together now. It’s small, only a 1K (one room and kitchen), but I think it’s a pretty good size for a single person.

Also! I met the rest of the Americans today, all from Hawaii: Mark, Joy and Rachael. That brings up our American status to five, though it seems as though there is some distinction between “mainland America” and Hawaii. Nevertheless, I’m not really alone.

Anyway, I tried to do laundry today. The dryer does nothing. I need to get those hanger clips, and maybe a drying a rack because I’m not paying 200 again for a dryer that dry. With all the running today, I’m definitely feeling a bit tired, but I kind of want to workout or something tomorrow. It’s probably best if I don’t do too much, but…

SEPTEMBER 5

Ahhhh, to work out or not to work out? My feet are sore from walking and exploring everywhere. I think I’ll just do some stretches because the rash strikes again! Of course, it’s humid, and walking also encourages sweat. But, I didn’t expect to get the same upper-thigh rash that I got three years ago. I hope it doesn’t stay, cause there’s more walking to do tomorrow.

We got hit with a huge rainstorm yesterday by the way. Drenched walking home, even though I bought an umbrella — it just turned inside out after two minutes in the storm. So, I bought a hanger to dry shoes from the hyaku-en store.

During my wandering today I found Tokyu Hands at the station - the same one that Lynnette and I visited three years ago. I found the large toy hammers, just like the one she bought, and some awesome 3D puzzles. There was also a Haro alarm clock, which was either not as cool as I remembered, or a different style. I’ll just keep using my phone as my alarm for now I guess.

For lunch, the Hawaiian girls and I went to a kaitenzushi (conveyor-belt sushi). Rachael convinced me to try the natto sushi: I ate it, but it was unpleasant to say the least. “Why is this food?” I wondered, as mostly the smell took over the experience. There has to be a better way to eat it…

SEPTEMBER 6

Off to Sakae! But first, we all headed to Softbank to set up our phone contracts. It was improbable to even consider a smart phone and contract for several reasons: the contract was for two years, we would only be in Japan for one year, and the contract cancellation was over $100 dollars. Another reason was the initial payment itself for the smart phone, over $400 dollars! No thank you! Most of us chose to use pre-paid phones. The initial payment for the phone and charger was $120, but good news is that the minutes cards last two months, so we only need to pay for minutes if we need them.

(Views from Oasis 21, Sakae)

With phones in hand, and some contacts exchanged, it was off to Sakae! We wandered around the famous Oasis 21, then around the streets to Loft and the Pokemon Center. I ended up buying a water filter, “just in case”, and if anything it should discourage me from buying bottles of anything as much. As evening approached we all headed to Mexigan Bar. International students get a discount, and the nachos are delicious - slightly different, but I like them. I’d go back there.

SEPTEMBER 7

Today was relatively eventful. During my adventure on the train I ended up having a conversation with the woman who sat next to me. All I said was “Ohayo gozaimasu” (Good morning) and she thought that was impressive. I of course disagreed, and we ended talking about my studies, the weather (particularly tornadoes in America and typhoons). Turns out, the woman was on her way to Shizuoka, the prefecture east of Aichi, to try the squid. I can’t imagine traveling somewhere just to try the food.

Today is the third day in a row I have bought Coffee milk… I sense an addiction at hand. But it’s only 105 yen for 1 liter! Somehow I keep justifying that.