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Published: September 8th 2005
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Welcome to Tokyo!
The clouds from the plane right before landing at Narita International Airport (August 30, 6pm). Ok
Here is an abridged version of this first week... Sorry to all who would rather a personal email, but I am just trying to catch up on everything before I sit down and write to each of you.
Everything has been overwhelming, to say the least. There is just so much stimuli at every moment of every day. The first night that I got here seemed so unfamiliar. Granted I was exhausted and disoriented from the 13 hour plane ride, but everything was just so different and hard to understand. I met a few of the other IES (acronym for the study abroad program) students at the airport and most of the IES staff was there to meet us. Only after having been here for a week and a few days do I realize how fortunate I was that there were English speakers with me... communications for me is nearly impossible. I have learned to say "Thank you" in a very polite way, and that takes me pretty far... but I really have no way of talking with the Japanese. Hopefully once classes get underway it will be easier.
The first week we stayed in the Overseas Vocational Training Center
View from the OVTA
This was the view from my room in the OVTA on the first night... and to think that this area is basically the suburbs! (OVTA) where we each had our own room and bathroom. It was a lot of fun to meet all of the IES kids for the first time... it's relieving to have other people around who are just as confused and yet just as eager to try everything. Some really cool kids, some less cool kids... I'm trying not to be judgemental (after all, if I have judged lots of you Cornell or Ithaca High kids at first I might not have liked you ha ha just kidding).
We had a week of orientation where we had seminars during the day to get us situated (lots of paper work and lots of information about how to use the trains, how to use the phones, what the academics would be like, etc., etc.). For lunch and in the evening we got to hang out with these Japanese students who go to the same university as we will be studying at. These students are called the "e-pals" because they were in email contact with us over the summer, so we kind of knew them (in a limited way). They showed us how to order food, how to get around Makuhari (the city where
Waiting at the Train Station
Here are some of us waiting at the train station in Makuhari to go into Ginza for dinner. our school and the OVTA is located... here is a website if you want to see more information, it's pretty cool: http://www.makuhari.or.jp/main/english/index_e.html). They all speak English really well, so it is easy to talk to them. One of the girls really likes to watch Friends... she's seen all of them up through the seventh season. I don't think they have released the rest here in Japan yet. Anyway, we ate traditional soba, ramen and udon noodles (I have yet to really understand the difference between the dishes) and we had traditional Japanese breakfasts which are a bit strange. What else... we went to this pub one night which was a lot of fun, but we had a curfew of 11pm... however, everyone has been so exhausted that most people are ready for bed around 7 ha ha.
After the orientation week we moved into our respective housing... some people are doing homestays in various places across the city, and I am staying a dorm with six of the other girls. We have pretty nice rooms and the little town that we live in is so awesome. I haven't explored it thoroughly, but I have some pictures which I will try
Ramen soup
We went out for dinner at a traditional Ramen restaurant... this is my food. to figure out how to post...
Everything is really just so different here. It's hard to know where to start describing everything... the toilets are different. There is a hole in the ground and you have to kind of squat over it and do your thing. The train system is much different than anything I am used to. You can get to everywhere, but in general it is kind of expensive and also a bit time consuming. But at the same time it is sooo efficient. I am just so amazeed at the whole transportation system of Tokyo. Thousands of people ride these trains... it has taken quite awhile to learn to use the system. The commute from my dormitory to the campus is just under an hour and half and sometimes we have to take three differnet trains. But it's fun. The train gives me a place to write and listen to my music and just gather myself up. I really love it, I hope that someday I will live in a place that is so dependent on trains.
What else.... I went to Ginza a few times and Ueno last weekend... perhaps I will write entries about those
KUIS campus
This is a view from my campus (Kanda University of International Studies). escapades separately as there is just so much to say. I have been trying to absorb everything. My aunt made a really good observation that while traveling one's senses are highly acute... I think she said something like "Your senses are like those of Superman." This is so true... it's a good thing because I have been able to really observe and notice things that I may have otherwise skimmed over... but it's a bad thing because I have no idea what to do with all of this absorbed information. I am just so overwhelmed.
One of my favorite things so far (of course it has to do with food... what can I say, once a fatty always a fatty... thanks to my roomie 😉 ) has been to explore the supermarkets. Everythign is so different... they have an entire isle dedicated to miso products... another isle dedicated to rice crackers (Jimmy, you would love it)... another isle with prepared foods (rice balls, sushi, etc. etc.). I went with some kids and we went into a bakery which was so cool. The sweets are really good and quite different from the pastries that I'm used to. I got this thing
Small Street
This is a view of a small street in Makuhari. This is a pretty typical street in the less metropolitan areas of the city... many small shops and food stalls. that looked like a chocolate chip space ship. There are also TONS of drinks which I am excited to try. There are about 300 different kinds of juice boxes (it's really funny to see a bunch of 20 year olds drinking juice boxes) and bottled and canned drinks... things that are like drinkable yogurt, things that are described as the same consistency as body fluid... ha ha.
Oh man, so I think that I need to get into the shower and practice my (very remedial) Japanese before I sleep tonight....
Hopefully the next article (or entry or whatever it is called) will be less scatter-brained, more descriptive, and maybe more juicy. Although if I am allowing this to be viewed by family it won't be
that juicy.
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ducky
non-member comment
i love that you are doing this, i think it's such a great idea to keep us all informed at once. I love and miss you birdie