this is random stuff I've done/noticed over the past week of being here (though it's felt like a month; already used to life here)
well, first of all, the plane was ...fun. my original plans were to go from Houston to San Francisco, and then SF to Osaka (KIX). but the first plane got delayed, so I ended up missing the connection, and so they told me that essentially there was no way to get me there on the 15th of September. So I ended up leaving to get there early in the morning on the 16, via a fantastic route: all the way from Houston to Tokyo, just to turn around and LEAVE JAPAN to stay the night in Guam, and then come back to Osaka. But when I landed in Tokyo, I was intercepted by an airport official and told that plans had changed and I would be going on a domestic line from Tokyo to Itami Airport in Kansai. Which turned out really really nice, because Itami is about five minutes away from my host family's house.
and my host family is amazingly awesome. I'm having soooooo much fun with them (yay for cultural exchange XD) I was taught how to properly play janken, am learning a ton about what things are good for you and why, and having a ton of fun just watching the crazy japanese television shows. and they are really really crazy here, lol. I recognize a lot of people because I got into dramas over teh summer, which is always fun.
japan is イケメンパラダイス. enough said XD
I watched the last episode of Hanakimi here! I actually understood it too, lol
it was all happy and sad and AMAZING and I don't know what I'm going to do without that tv show, lol
I had orientations every day this week, and then classes start on tuesday (monday is a holiday)
I got the results back for the placement test, and I am in the fourth level, which is exactly where I wanted to be so yay
we have these people called Nihongo Partners who are KGU students volunteering to kind of show around us exchange students, and so I met them yesterday and the day before. the first day they helped me get a train pass, and yesterday we went to the city hall to fill out alien registration forms and look for a cell phone company. thing is, in Japan you're not an adult until you're 20, and therefore cannot enter into a contract without a parent signature, and it can't be a fax. so finally we found a place that would let me sign without a parent, but since I don't have my alien registration card yet, I can't get anything until it comes on 10/4
all the exchange students went on a field trip together to Himeji castle together yesterday...it was SO PRETTY. we still keep getting reaaaaaally odd stares, even more when we're a giant BOOM GAIJIN WAD (gaijin smash ftw) muuuch fun XD
all the public toilets here have buttons that when you press them, the sound of a flushing toilet comes out. reason being......apparently japanese girls are shy about making toilet noises and so flushed the toilet once for the noise and once at the end, and since that was a waste of water they put the noise thing, lol
kat-tun is on just about EVERYTHING here lol
everywhere I turn it's a kattun cm or ad or whatever
and I was watching SMAPxSMAP with my host mom a couple of days ago and it was reallly funny and then Oguri Shun and IKUTA TOMA WERE ON THERE AND IT WAS AMAZING oomg
I definitely have seen both lots of lolitas and a kogal or two so far, lol
even though I dont live in a very big or important place XD
going to school every day is a two minute walk to the station, about 10 min on the train, run off the train to catch another train, stay on for about 10 or 15, get off the train to walk up a FREAKING HILL for 15 minutes. some smart city planner went and put the freaking train station at the BOTTOM of the hill and then KGU at the TOP of the hill......... yeah
but I don't get lost too badly cause I just follow the junior high and high school students in the mornings. school isnt in right now, but they have all kinds of entrance exams going on. I did manage to get reaaaally lost yesterday coming home, lol. that was.......fun
I also have managed to not see a lot of things, even though I pass by them every day. I just realized today that there was a fire station...dunno how I managed to miss that one.
today I was in the cafeteria with a friend, and this japanese lady randomly came up to us and started talking. turns out she wants us to volunteer at her english school for like a couple of hours or something, so I am totally gonna go do that. she wants us to come on monday, and since its a holiday, I figured it would be fun~ lol
and the english class at the high school here is having a halloween party in Itami shopping district, and they want to have an english booth or something so the kids can have a chance to experience "real halloween (lol)" and so I am gonna volunteer for that too
and guess where it is? it's this shopping place called........REITA SHOPPING CENTER. omg, I almost died.
food is actually pretty cheap here, whether from a restaurant or the grocery store. I was surprised, lol
and I think this is sufficiently long for now, so hasta la vista
random pictures:
http://www.mediafire.com/?1ek2uwtyzml
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
久しぶり☆
well..........
a good thing to note is that Japan has a distinct lack of internet.
as of right now, my advice for coming to japan is:
- make sure phone cards work before coming here
- space.....is seriously a big thing to consider. bring suitcases that can be stored inside one another and stuff
- be very very prepared for heat...electricity is expensive and so no a/c or anything, just trusty old fans (the hand-powered kind)
- bring lots of extra pictures (the ones left over from applications, visas, whatever) because there are EVEN MORE forms and stuff to fill out over here
- bring lots of cash, especially until you figure out where you can use your debit cards (very few places)
- japanese people don't show their skin a lot, so refrain on the sleeveless shirts
- a fan and a handkerchief are the most useful things you can bring here
- buy a PET bottle early, put water in it, and then you won't die of heat thirst
that's all for now - I will write something of actual substance later
a good thing to note is that Japan has a distinct lack of internet.
as of right now, my advice for coming to japan is:
- make sure phone cards work before coming here
- space.....is seriously a big thing to consider. bring suitcases that can be stored inside one another and stuff
- be very very prepared for heat...electricity is expensive and so no a/c or anything, just trusty old fans (the hand-powered kind)
- bring lots of extra pictures (the ones left over from applications, visas, whatever) because there are EVEN MORE forms and stuff to fill out over here
- bring lots of cash, especially until you figure out where you can use your debit cards (very few places)
- japanese people don't show their skin a lot, so refrain on the sleeveless shirts
- a fan and a handkerchief are the most useful things you can bring here
- buy a PET bottle early, put water in it, and then you won't die of heat thirst
that's all for now - I will write something of actual substance later
Friday, August 17, 2007
Initial Preparations
At this point, I currently have
- been accepted to the study abroad program at SMU
- been accepted to the study abroad program at 関西学院大学 Kwansei Gakuin University
- received my Certificate of Eligibility from KGU
(they apply for this for you in Japan and then send it to you - you have to apply for the visa in the United States, though)
- applied for and picked up my visa from the Japanese Embassy
(the one closest to me is in downtown Houston. I took the COE and my passport along with me, but I ended up needing an extra passport-sized photo to attach to the application they gave me there, so bring one! it takes three days to process, and they'll have to keep your passport for those three days)
- received information about my host family
- gotten a supply of medicine big enough to last the three to four months I'm there, as I'm planning on coming home for Christmas and restocking. We had to send in a letter with the prescription saying that I would need an extra amount, which ended up being no problem.
- gone to my bank and let them know that I'd be studying abroad in Japan for a year, and they put a note in my file about it in order to prevent them from freezing my account because a large number of purchases was made in a foreign country (important!)
- checked with SMU about getting the paperwork for needed credits
- made doctor and dentist appointments before I leave
what I have left to do at this point is really just general purchasing and packing of necessities, clothes, and entertainment...fun stuff
once I get to Japan, though, I'll have to get a bank account and a cell phone as fast as I can. I received a JASSO scholarship, which is through a Japanese establishment, and rather than losing a lot of it through currency conversion charges, I was advised that it would be better to get an account in Japan and hold it all domestically. I received two other scholarships as well, but those (the Sun and Star scholarship through SMU, as well as a Bridging Scholarship from the Association of Teachers of Japanese) are only to be spent in the United States. I've decided to use those two to pay mainly for plane tickets (I'll be coming back over the winter vacations).
As for the cell phone, I figured it would be much easier to get a plan in Japan with a Japanese phone, rather than try to work out how to bring my phone over.
- been accepted to the study abroad program at SMU
- been accepted to the study abroad program at 関西学院大学 Kwansei Gakuin University
- received my Certificate of Eligibility from KGU
(they apply for this for you in Japan and then send it to you - you have to apply for the visa in the United States, though)
- applied for and picked up my visa from the Japanese Embassy
(the one closest to me is in downtown Houston. I took the COE and my passport along with me, but I ended up needing an extra passport-sized photo to attach to the application they gave me there, so bring one! it takes three days to process, and they'll have to keep your passport for those three days)
- received information about my host family
- gotten a supply of medicine big enough to last the three to four months I'm there, as I'm planning on coming home for Christmas and restocking. We had to send in a letter with the prescription saying that I would need an extra amount, which ended up being no problem.
- gone to my bank and let them know that I'd be studying abroad in Japan for a year, and they put a note in my file about it in order to prevent them from freezing my account because a large number of purchases was made in a foreign country (important!)
- checked with SMU about getting the paperwork for needed credits
- made doctor and dentist appointments before I leave
what I have left to do at this point is really just general purchasing and packing of necessities, clothes, and entertainment...fun stuff
once I get to Japan, though, I'll have to get a bank account and a cell phone as fast as I can. I received a JASSO scholarship, which is through a Japanese establishment, and rather than losing a lot of it through currency conversion charges, I was advised that it would be better to get an account in Japan and hold it all domestically. I received two other scholarships as well, but those (the Sun and Star scholarship through SMU, as well as a Bridging Scholarship from the Association of Teachers of Japanese) are only to be spent in the United States. I've decided to use those two to pay mainly for plane tickets (I'll be coming back over the winter vacations).
As for the cell phone, I figured it would be much easier to get a plan in Japan with a Japanese phone, rather than try to work out how to bring my phone over.
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