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Published: September 17th 2008
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Organized Chaos
Walking back to the train station in Kyoto Station. So my first week in Kyoto has been fun filled and overwhelming with Japanese, Mandarin, French, bad English, and any other language you can think of. Its still hard to believe that I am actually here in Nippon! I have met lots of people and seen some of the sights of Kyoto but not all of them because I don't want to overwhelm myself and see everything at once. Lets see....I've been lost three times so far..once with my new Japanese friend Taiki, once at Kyoto Station tryint to find my way back to the dorm, and once coming from the 100 Yen shop (dollar store). Suprisingly my lack of Japanese hasn't completely left me unable to find my way or question a local for directions. So far I learned phrases like Sumimasen ga, Hanazono Station? (Excuse me, where is Honazono Station?) Camera ga arreemaska? (Do you have a camera) and a couple of others. I am very suprised and pleased with me progress. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to speak Japanese way before I can actually read or write it.
So this past week I had to apply for my alien registraion card and national health
Trolley Map
The trolley that I will use to travel to school on rainy days. insurance (I can't believe they even offer this to foreigners! C'mon USA get on the boat with this!) at the city ward office. I would have been lost if it were not for the SKP Buddies from my university here in Kyoto. They helped us gaiigin (foreigners) get to the office and translated important information for us. After I get my papers I should be able to goto banko genko (bank) and buy a ketai (cellphone). It is weird not being able to call new friends that I meet on a daily basis but that should be history after I get my ketai this Thursday! Japanese cellphones are way better than American models! So out of boredom I decided to venture to Kyoto Station on Friday just to wonder around and actually see the place that Scarlett Johanssen filmed "Lost in Translation." When I got there it was so crowded with people, trains, shops, and the building itself was something to see! When the Japanese build, they build bigger and better! I was quite amazed with the architecture and the amount of people in and around the station. When I emerged from the building I saw a tall freestanding structure
Narutaki
The stop near my dorm. that I just had to visit. The structure was called Kyoto Tower and it had the most magnificent view of Kyoto. Just before I went to Kyoto tower I ate at the local Maku (McDonalds) and I just had to get some coffee from Starbucks! It taste just the same as the Starbucks in the States! I met some monks from Nepal who were very interested in America, and they actually spoke very good English too!
So the Kyoto Station area was great and I really enjoyed my time there! Later on that Friday night me and some of the people from Rits International House I ventured to downtown Kyoto to a club. At first the dance floor was pretty empty so we went to a gas station, bought some drinks and headed to the river to hang out. Apparently the river is a very popular hangout spot for 20's something students. It was so great to have drinks and enjoy my new friends in Japan. I think it was at that point I realized that I was in Japan and experiencing a new part of the world for the first time. I know it may not make sense
Taiki
My Japanese friend Taiki impressing everyone with his superman moves. but it was just such a surreal feeling that is hard to explain in words. When we left I randomly ran into a Japanese guy who began to ask me questions in English....lol...he was a little drunk and it was quite funny. Most Japanese are familiar with foreigners on television but rarely get the occasion to actually speak to one if they do not live in a big city like Osaka or Tokyo. I was happy to let him practice his English but drunk English is drunk English in any part of the world regardless of accent...lol. So on to the club with all my new friends and I must say that I had so much fun dancing, yelling, and jumping like I never have before. Like I said, it was entirely surreal that I was there in Japan meeting new people hanging out and living life. I think I'm going to like it here! So we didn't leave the place until around 3AM and after that on to a ramem eatery where I practiced a little of my Japanese on one of the cooks. "Watashi wa Amerika-gin desu"---I am an American...lol...she actually understood me too! After ramem we headed
New Buddies
Two SKP Buddies from Ritsumeikan University. back to the dorm on our bikes into the night of Kyoto city. It was a 30 minute bike ride back and I was over joyed to actually get a shower that night after clubbing, and riding bikes back to the dorm. I hope all of my Fridays and weeks are like my first week in Nippon!
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John
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All I could say was WOW!