Registered for classes today. I got into the level of Japanese that I wanted...Mid-intermediate. Japanese here is intense,9 hours a week with the option of taking an extra 1:30 elective course. Since I want to go all out Japanese language, I am also taking oral expression, level 3. Other courses (hopefully) are Authoritarianism, Communism, and Democracy; Japanese Political and Social relations; Nissan:case study; and Collapse of Complex Civilizations. I hope I get into all of them, they all look amazing. Stopped for lunch at a place on campus called the Uni Cafe much to my regret. N [View Full Entry]

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Went shopping today with my host mother. I had told her that I liked food and wanted to learn about Japanese cuisine. All she told me was "tabemeno, ikimashou" (Food, lets go). I guess she understands the way I think because in no time we were heading to their supermall, an 8 floor behemoth with 2 grocery stores, a drug store, electronics store, homegoods store, and Starbucks. Yeah, they made it over here. I bought deodorant that I hope is unscented, index cards, and folders. Then we hit the food. First grocery store: Dry goods and bottled drinks. Japanese love dry [View Full Entry]

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Second day of orientation at Waseda yesterday. It's a little overwhelming. There are forms for EVERYTHING! Due dates, sign here, take this here...I figured out that the best way to keep track of it all is with the calendar in my ipod that I never used before. It's pretty useful. We had a short homestay orientation today. Out of about 150 SILS kids, only 19 are doing homestay. I met some good people also doing homestays and I hope they'll make up a circle of American friends in Japan. They all speak better than I can and are serious about learning [View Full Entry]

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Today was my first day at Waseda for orientation. It's about an hour away from my house. The students there seemed very friendly, but very American. Most of them are living in the dorm, which is very close to campus, but I'm glad I chose to live with the host family instead. I will definitely get to use more Japanese. It seems that the few students who chose to live with host families are the ones that are more serious about the language. I really hope I'm right about learning more with the family. That's the reason I'm halfway around the [View Full Entry]

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So here I am. The flights went off alright. Luckily I slept through most of it. I think I'm gonna like it here...my host family is absolutely amazing. They could be the nicest people in the world. The father and mother are very helpful. They speak a little english so that helps when I get in a tough spot. The two daughters are great and the little brother, Koji, is a ball of energy. He goes to an international school and speaks the most English. I'm already getting beaten down by Japanese but I could expect that. Steep learning curve. I'll [View Full Entry]

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Today I'm just getting the last of my things together for Japan. One of them is this blog. Not too much going on with this post, just getting something down so the blog activates. I do want to thank everyone for their best wishes. I'm going to miss everyone back at home and I hope this blog makes communication a little easier. [View Full Entry]

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