The Longest Orientation Ever

Last night I fell asleep around 10:30...with the TV still on, which must mean I was exhausted...and then I woke up at 10am on the dot because my internal clock is awesome like that even when I didn't bother setting my alarm. (We had to be out waiting for our escort at 11:30am.)

We had another information session, this time about the culture and living in Japan. They talked a lot about how Japan has a high-context culture, and how we should be prepared to deal with the way Japanese people don't voice a lot of things because they assume you already know what they're thinking. The Japanese woman telling us all of this stuff was like, "You need to stop being agressive, and become passive agressive!" Which almost made me laugh, because I thought of all the problems we had last year in school because there was so much passive agression on both sides of the...well, if you were involved in it, you know what I'm talking about, but let's not talk about that here, okay? Anyway, there was a bunch of really interesting stuff we were told, but I'm too lazy to write about it, since it'll take too long.

One thing that'll be really cool, though, is that there's a Culture Exchange Program that I can sign up for, and they put us with Japanese students to get to know them and their culture, etc. It's also an opportunity for them to learn about American culture, since apparently the staff at TUJ always has students coming up to them and saying, "I really want to make Japanese/American friends, but they don't seem interested!" when the case is just that both sides are missing the connection point (since Americans are so direct, and the Japanese are very ambiguous and take a while to form close friendships). Since I'm pretty shy and have a hard time starting up an introduction with someone unless the situation calls for it, I think this is a very good idea. The application I have to fill out is pretty weird, though. It asks questions like "what qualities would you like your Exchange Partner to possess?" and "describe your usual week night/weekend activities." Emily and I sort of looked at each other when we read that and then she said, "I feel so depressed when I think about that!" My answers would probably be: homework...procrastinating on my homework, hanging with friends (while not actually doing anything at all), and watching shows that are either too scary or really vain.

At lunch-ish time, they fed us these weird bags of snacks and juice, and then didn't let us go until around 5pm. I was soooo hungry, because all I'd eaten all day was the one cinnamon roll from 7 Eleven and orange juice. After we were finally released, Britney and Emily went up to talk to Koyama-sensei about getting Japanese classes, and I waited for them. When Emily came down, she said I should go up and ask about my level, so I did, and Koyama-sensei said I did the right thing in signing up for the beginners course, since halfway through it would accelerate really fast, and I would still learn a lot. Emily said she has the text book I would be using, so I don't need to buy it (that's $40 saved, YES!) though I still need to get the workbook.

We finally got out and went to Shibuya (third day in a row, but I still love Shibuya) so Britney could buy a watch and then we searched all over for a cheap restuarant as we wasted away. Finally we settled on a restaurant that had you order your food buy pressing buttons on a machine near the door, and then giving the tickets to the chef. The waitress sat us in the back right by the cooking area...whereas almost everyone else was sitting near the front, lol. That kind of treatment doesn't really bother or surprise me, luckily. We're weird gaijin, so of course they're going to take precautions so they can watch us. Now, it may have been because I was starving, but the food was fantastic. I got fried rice and gyoza, and it came with some kind of onion soup that was really good. And for the first time I used my chopsticks the right way. Usually I use them the way I hold a pencil (with my fore and middle finger together on the top), but this time I automatically used them the right way, and I was so proud of myself. ^_^ Now, if only I could always do that....

My first class is tomorrow. Japanese Art. I have to go in earlier than my class, though, so I can get my student ID and find out about all of the other IDs and things I have to take care of. I need to figure out all of the kanji/kana symbols I'll need for withdrawing money from the ATMs, though, because most ATMs don't have English. Luckily I probably have about a week more before I'll really need to take money out, since I've only used about $130 so far. (I don't know if that's good or bad, though.) I'll have to buy books soon, and I need to get tote bag for carrying things around, since my backpack is just not very practical. Hopefully when I finally get a bike (and register it so I don't get arrested), it'll cut a lot of costs.

Another thing is that I need to sign up for the trips I plan on going on this semester. Emily and I want to go to Yokohama at the end of February, and since we can only really afford one of the bigger trips, we both decided to go on that one together. I'm also going to the "Nihon o kanjiru" which is a mini-culture workshop of traditional and modern Japanese art, aesthetics and pop culture, as well as a sake tasting event (not sure how much I'm up to that, with the way just having my pizza cooked with beer affected me). There will be one of the Yoshida Brothers (or involved with them? I can't remember) playing shamisen, which should be awesome. I love shamisen so much.

Anyway, it's getting late, and I need to be rested for class tomorrow, so I'll just finish my milk tea (Kirin's brand of milk tea is the best, it hasn't failed yet) and then go to bed.

Oyasuminasai!