It's been a while

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Haven't posted in a while. Been busy here with joining a few extra-curriculars and banging my head against this wall of language day in and day out. It's been a month now and I know I made the right call coming here. It's been a month now....two more to go before I'm supposed to hit some magical threshold where Japanese is no longer a fight. It's tiring when communicating is work rather than an automatic process. Also trying to find a suitable electronic dictionary (a necessity) is near impossible. There are a billion kinds but all cater to Japanese people learning English. It was tough trying to find the most English-user friendly but after a week of agitation I finally settled on a good one.

I've joined up with a student language exchange club. Student activities in Japan are like nothing we have in US colleges. Back home there are some active campuses, but nothing can compare. I was in the student center (a two-towered, 8-story behemoth housing offices and rooms for countless clubs, lounges, a gym, rehearsal rooms, cafeteria, and 7-11) at 7pm on Friday night. THe place was crawling with students making advertisements, handing out flyers, and doing their club things. Clubs are a big social circle as I was about to find out. That night we informally spoke our respective languages at a bar. Tuesday nights apparently have more structure and less alcohol. The way a "nomihodai" works is you go to a bar/restaurant with a group, squeeze into this room with a very low roof and cushions to sit on at a low table. Flat rate is all you can eat and drink. Pitchers of some not-to-horrible beer kept coming along with some mixers with shouchuu, a distilled spirit that tastes like rum.

This past weekend I went to a BBQ at a friend's host family. As it turns out they hosted the previous student from Lafayette who never went back to Lafayette. We met up there and exchanged numbers. He is going back next semester to graduate. Kind of crazy. I promise I'll come home.

Monday was a holiday, Sports Day, commemorating the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The family has a bunch of memberships at hotels around the Tokyo area and Sunday into monday we went to Yamanaka-ko, one of the 5 lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji. Again, we got to see a piece of the big guy. The weather was really beautiful and some of the trees were starting to turn colors. Japanese love that. They have a dozen different words for autumn, nature, and leaves turning. We went to an area where snowmelt collected from Mt. Fuji and did some sight seeing. The ponds around this area were crystal clear because the water was so fresh and cold. Got to taste some more japanese pickles and ate some fish right out of one of these ponds (cooked). Afterwards we made a brief stop at a music box museum. Some of these music boxes were enormous and even contained violins! The museum itself was beautiful...in an old mansion overlooking Mt. Fuji.

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Photos

Better view
hmm...

Musical clock
This guy pops out and conducts as a fountain syncs to the music

This is a popular wedding spot
Wedding was totally open

After the ceremony
Everyone in the courtyard was given rose petals to throw.

Comments

[mom]

its been a while
how beautiful the pix are! although we speak often, I love reading your blogs and the way that you write. Have a great day. PLEASE promise, you WILL come home!!!!!!!!!!!! xoxoxo

[christa]

those pictures are GREAT! i loveee the sunset ones! they are beautiful. good luck with the classes, i cant believe how hard you are wprking to keep up, it seems like a great challenge for you!! make sure u find time to relax at the bar, it sounds nice there! haha

[Eman]

The language is tough but I am having a great time. Drinking age is 20 so don't worry about the bar scene