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Published: September 26th 2008
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I'm totally in Japan
Me and some high school students....I didn't know that they all wore uniforms here! Last week was pretty much a blur since I did not really do much at all, but I am becoming familiar with Kyoto itself. The week started with me bonding with my housemates from Asia. The full moon has great significance in Asian culture so we celebrated by making a sweet Asian treat and relaxing by a nearby lake while eating the treats we made while drinking juices and talking with each other. It was very nice to experience a part of another culture. Back home in the states we probably wouldn't not even take a second glance at a full moon unless there was a solar eclipse or something. I wish I could take all my new friends to a Braves game back in Atlanta...I think that's a big part of American culture I could share : ) Much of the rest of the week was spent completing paperwork and returning to the city ward office to pick up my alien registration papers so that I could get my bank account and ketai (cellphone). I can't say how much of a bureaucratic society Japan seems to be. I guess back home for the most part, money and credit cards get
An Asian Treat
Little rolled balls called...Dango you what you want...over here in Nippon...you have to have the proper documents before they take your money. A very different way of doing things but its all part of the learning process for me as well as some of the culture shock.
Orientation for school started on Friday the 19th and I got to meet many other international students from different parts of the world. So far I believe there are people from Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, China, South Korea, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philipines, Norway, Ireland, and many more that I'm probably leaving out. It so nice to also brush up on my French that I learned in high school...Bonjour! Ca va? (Hello, how are you?) So maybe when I return home I will know more than just Japanese! It is quite a pleasure and a different experience to be surrounded by people from so many different cultures...even the English speaking people have different ways of saying simple words like Hello. Although this type of experience is not foreign to me, it is nice to be here with other people going through the transition at the same time.
Sushi
Sushi in a bowl.....lol Friday morning at around 9AM we all met on the Kinugusa campus of Ritsumeikan University for the first day of orientation. For the Study in Kyoto program there are two different tracks that students are able to enroll under...either the SKP Program (study of the Japanese language for students who know Japanese) or the JWP Program (for students who do not know Japanese and will take elementary Japanese courses) Of course I am under the JWP Program so therefore I did not have to take the placement test that was administered that morning. I did not have to do anything until around lunch when we all got together and ate some great and FREE food! The rest of the day was pretty bland and involved with passing out papers, signing papers, and hearing more information about the next week of orientation. Friday after orientation me and my Rits House 1 mates went out to a Japanese style pub for some drinks and light food. It was pretty great to have everyone there since some people arrived in Japan on the last day for arrivals which was Thursday...I'm so glad I came early and got over my Jetlag! Perhaps the best
New Friends
Me and some of my new friends day of the week was Saturday when we all went out for Karaoke in downtown Kyoto. The place we ended up at did not have enough room for all of us to be in the same room so we ended up in three different rooms. Now as everyone around the world knows, the Japanese invented this style of entertainment...at first I was not so enthusiastic about singing in front of people....but as the night went on..I found myself bouncing between all three rooms...running up the stairs to each one to sing songs with everyone! It was a great experience! I hope all my Saturdays are like this! But the most memorable moment happened on the bike ride back home. Me and Lu Lu ended up crashing our bikes into each other...lol...they say dont' drink and drive back in the states...so I guess you shouldn't drink and ride your bike either..lol...not my fault about the drinking part though...I was sober...more updates to come soon!
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