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Published: February 4th 2006
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My Dorm
Plain, functional and like no dorm i've ever seen before. On the left and right, behind the screen thingys are our desks, and we sleep on the tatami floor. Well, so far my Blog entries have been centred around the "Japanese-ness" of my life here, as opposed to the "internationality". And believe me, it's pretty international around here! So I recko it's time to spill the beans about what I do when I'm not exploring Japan.
I live in what's called a Seminar House. It's a res close to the University I attend, (about 15mins up a rather long hill by bicycle) that houses international exchange students exclusively. That is, there aren't any Japanese students (apart from two RAs- residence assistants) living here. The place is fully heated, so I can come out of my iceblock-like state when I'm here! The diversity of languages heard around here is rather mindboggling. I've heard English, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Korean, Swedish, portugese, Finnish, French and American (Americans don't speak real English if you ask me), and some others I didn't even know existed! Most of the students speak at least two languges, besides Japanese.
Each exchange student shares a double room. My roommate is a Taiwanese-born New Zealander, who speaks Mandarin at home. She's great! She loves languages, shopping, chocolates and clothes... So we have a lot in common! She has
Playstation San-ware
The rather intriguing control for one of our res toilets. also been learning Japanese for about 8 years... I can forsee a great advantage in that for me!!! Our room is plain, modern and sparsely furnished with a futon, desk and desk chair each, as well as a low, japanese-style table. The floor is covered with tatami mats (woven reed mats). The Japanese are into the whole minimalistic way of doing things... So we each have a wardrobe big enough to even put our futon away! (But as we are both girls... we have found plenty of other stuff to put where I futons should be...)
I live on the 3rd floor (2nd floor in SA terms) with about 50 other girls. We have a shower room and a toilet room. An advantage to being in an international res: We have western-style sit-on toilets! I'm not sure whether I have mentioned it... But the seats are heated and there is a built in bum spray/bidet function! Talk about living in the first world! There are also special slippers to wear when going to the loo. I am yet to work out the point of that, especially in a girls-only bathroom! As far as I know, it's not that hard
Futon
This is my permanent sleeping arrangement. No sealy posturepedic here! But it is actually super comfy and warm. not to pee on our own feet?!
The 2nd floor houses about 50 boys, and the 1st floor (ground floor) is communal. There is a computer room with super fast, super advanced computers, just for us to sit and write mindless travelblogs... There is also a lounge, complete with Japanese cable TV... Too bad I can't inderstand any of it. We also share a large communal kitchen and dining room. We also have a shoe room as we are not allowed to wear shoes inside. Too bad bad mom: everyone walks around in slippers or socks. The shoe room is airconditioned... I'm not quite sure why, since it still smells in there. We wash our clothes in coin operated washing machines and tumble dryers. Another first for my previously sheltered Glenmore/Pmb lifestyle. They appear not to have conventional washing lines anywhere in the neighbourhood. But we have ways and means not to give all our money to the tumble dryers...
Each weekday morning I dress myself up, eskimo style, go downstairs for breakfast and then to the shoe room. From there I get on my bike and cycle all the way up the hill to the varsity. The varsity consists of two campuses, I only go to one, though, as no lectures are offered in English on the other one. Some foreign students do get to go there once they have passed the highest level of Japanese languge instruction available here. I'm just content to be where I am, thank you very much. In the morning I go to Japanese Language classes with all the other foreigners at the CIE (centre for international education). The lecturers are all Japanese, with varying levels of english comprehension! I have spoken Japanese everyday and written Japanese 3 times a week. Local students attend language classes in another building. Most of them major in English or Spanish, but there are many other languages on offer. This uni kinda specialises in language, hence they ship in about 400 foreign students each semester (ie me) for the locals to practice speaking to before going on their own exchange programme.
In the afternoon various lecture classes and practical art classes are held in English in the CIE. They are attended by us foreigners whose Japanese skills have not yet fully matured, and local students who are preparing to go on exchange to english-speaking countries. I'm taking "Japanese culture as expressed through Architecture", which is a fancy smancy way of saying "look at all the cool places you can go see in Japan... and then write a paper about them". I also take Sumi-e, which is a form of Japanese/chinese brush painting. We paint with the same stuff that's used for all that amazing calligraphy i'm sure you have seen at some point.
I have met so many different people from sooo many different countries in the past few days. Most of them have such a mixed up cultural background, it's insane, and sooo fascinating. A few examples: A boy from Sweden who's half American, half Swedish, who can speak American, Swedish, French and English! A girl from Finnland with a Canadian boyfriend who is actually half indian. She also speaks a string of European languages. Then there's a Kid from Kenya with an American accent. I think he is the only other African besides myself and the other girl from UKZN, and a Morrocan i have not yet met. Then there's the turk who walks around the seminar house playing some turkish flute thing. He will have a full on conversation with the RA (whose actual name is Yoko Ono) in Japanese, and then smoothly switch to French or English, niether of which is his mother tongue! I thought I was cool because I can speak English, simple french and a broken up version of Afrikaans! I officially have a burst ego-bubble. At least the french and afrikaans helps me to decipher the general sense of German, Spanish or Portugese conversations... And I thought I was just here to learn Japanese... Life is full of pleasant surprises.
Okay. I must shut up now. Must find noodles and coffee now.
Parting thought: I asked a Japanese girl to take a picture of me and a mate at starbucks in town (all the americans think it's crazy that I have never been to Starbucks before coming to Japan!) this morning: I said "Sumimasen (excuse me), doomo shashin ( please photo), si vous plait". Afterwards I felt like such an idiot.
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Bee
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Wow
Talk about a wide variety! all those different cultures and languages in one res no wonder you are confusin your languages! hee hee! my mom loved the idea of the butt spray, she thought that it would cut down cost on toilet paper! hope you get to keep your japanese art, would be great to c it when you come back!