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Published: April 28th 2006
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Nana-chan!
My favorite of the two dogs. He's more chill, lets me work when I need to, and doesn't pee on the floor. Therefore, good doggy. Written Thursday Night
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Well, it's been a week now. I'm slowly adapting to this place, but I'm unbelievably busy right now. So far I've spent the majority of each day trying to work out the logistics of living here - buying a cell phone, buying an electronic dictionary (now I can read anything, given enough time!), managing the busy routes (still haven't done this one well ... it takes me almost two and a half hours to get home every day. I've gotten my morning commute time down to a little over an hour, though). I'm hemorrhaging money unbelievably fast. The bus fares alone put me back about $10 every day. I have to pay for my lunch food, too. And they don't trust digital monies, so it's not common to be able to use a credit card. Instead, I carry around huge amounts of cash and coins. Which is all good and fine in a place devoid of crime, but they don't have the same physicality as the digits in my bank account - somehow it seems more insubstantial, designed to be liquidated, and calls to me to be spent. Plus, the smallest cash denomination is a 1000-yen,
On the walk to school
A nice sunny day over the Kamo-gawa. which is a little under $10 - they have 500-yen coins, and the U.S. idea that coins are useless is carrying over here, subcounsciously, even when the damn things are practically worth $5. So, in essence, I am getting poor *quickly*.
My Japanese has already improved dramatically - and my terror of the language has subsided. Every day, I wake up,walk out of bed half-dazed, and am immediately pelted with Japanese - so I've become inured to the whole affair. I kind of imagined that the program would be like Stanford, except transplanted into Japan, but it is something entirely different. It's like living in Japan, and then occasionally seeing other Stanford students; I definitely spend more time doing stuff in Japanese than in English. We also have two hours of Japanese class every morning, so it's hard to not improve. We know have a natural male Japanese speaker, so we can stop talking like girls (a common comment from previous students - apparently our imitations of our teachers extends even to the intonations of that fairer gender; nevertheless, it is odd to see us, early twenty-year old males - and very large by comparison - chatting like young
On the walk to school
A nice sunny day to be walking past the art museum on the way to the center. girls). We speak so much Japanese that making mistakes is no longer a problem and doesn't scare me, which goes a long way towards fluency.
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Written on Friday
After I finished writing that bit yesterday, I joined up with a group and headed out for the evening. We don't have school on Fridays - except the occasional field trip - so last night was the first night we could head out and have fun. It was good to finally do that for a change; previously, I'd spent like every night exhaustedly collapsing into bed. I haven't played guitar yet, and that is the sole recreation I brought.
As beautiful as my room is, it is remarkably impractical in terms of doing work. I need a surface like a desk or something to work on, so whenever I try to work at home, I always just end up passing out on the nice heated carpet when trying to study when laying down (like that ever works). Then I peel myself off the tatami mat and walk one room over and pass out in my futon. Since my day starts at 6:30 a.m., it is significantly different than back at Stanford; by midnight, I'm dead tired.
Anyhow, I know I promised a cast of characters post, but that'll have to wait. I have to head out soon, and I may not be able to post again until after Golden Week (first week of May). I only have Internet access at the center, so you probably won't be able to hear from me for a time. I'll keep logging posts, though, and post them when I next have access, and I will make good on my promise. Plus pictures of me and the dudes.
If anyone needs to contact me, I can recieve texts for a small fee at: dannyneil@k.vodafone.ne.jp
Additionally, I might have a phone card working soon.
Cool.
~Danny
Oh, I also tried Cheerio Grape Drink (tasty, sugary, but with a hint of something else - raspberries?), Bubble Man II (not sure why the deuce is necessary; some disaster befell Bubble Man I? Anyway, extremely fizzy bubble gum flavored drink), Fanta Grape (classic syrupy grape flavor), and Freestyle Calorie-Off (tastes like a more intense Sprite, with only 18 calories for a 500mL bottle. Also one of very few drinks aimed at the Diet crowd). Plus, I've tried some bizarre fruit drinks at an all-you-can-drink place. More on that later, when I have more time.
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Mental energy
It takes a lot of energy to work things in a new culture; sounds like you've met your stride. I haven't yet on the guitar! No searches for the best noodles yet? One drink to watch out for: green tea infusion! made me gag. That's the health benefit...