No, I haven't died

This week has been...well, I'd say busy, because it feels like it, but when I look back, not that much happened. I got a cell phone on Monday, and that was a very stressful adventure, which I didn't enjoy much. It was a nightmare getting to school from Shibuya on my own, since I still have no handle on the train system here. When I couldn't figure out from the maps on the wall which train I was supposed to take, I went up to the ticket man, showed him my tiny metro map, pointed to Azabu-Juban (the station I wanted to get to), and said, "Ano, sumimasen. Wakarimasen." (Um, excuse me/sorry, I don't understand.") He told me which line, how much it would cost, and then I went on my way. But that wasn't the worst part.

At the changeover, I got onto the express train, since it was on the side of the tracks that the line I was supposed to take was supposedly on (that's what the signs said), but when I got on it, I must have looked really panicky, because an old Japanese man asked me in perfectly understandable English, "Are you in trouble?" I was pretty close to tears because I just have been super sensitive this week, and everything was stressing me out, but I held it in and told him I didn't know if I was on the right train, and I told him where I was trying to go. He told me I needed to transfer onto the other express, but it was the "next stop" and I would just go across the platform to that train. It turned out to be two stops more than he said, but he stayed with me until it was the one he meant, and then he went and sat down. I'm so happy that he helped me, because I don't know what I would have done. I'm terrible with trains. I can barely deal with the NYC subway system.

Anyway, this is my phone.

The wallpaper moves, it's so cool.

And there's the back. You can click on the picture to see what the sticker says. (It's a warning about the phone getting too hot, and it's in both Japanese and English.)

I set my ringtone to Pachelbel's Canon, or as the phone calls it, "pahheruberu no kanon." I can't figure out if I can download songs...I don't think I can, which is disappointing. One thing that is cool, though, is that I can have a special color light for when certain people call. So far I only have four people on my phone, though. Our dorm manager, Peter, Evan and my culture exchange partner. I had Emily's number, but she sold her phone to Evan so she could get a Soft Bank phone, so I just switched her name to Evan's.

I'll skim past the boring school stuff and tell about the semi-exciting things that are going to happen. A bunch of us are going to go to the Ghibli Museum on March 8th. Steve is buying the tickets for all of us (we joke that he's turning into our daddy), since he knows how to work the ticket machine in the Lawson (convenience store). I gave him my 1000 yen as soon as he asked me if I wanted to go, since that's one of the places I really wanted to see. Also, on March 1st (that's a tentative date, though), I'm going with some of our TUJ House/Green House group to Hakone. I'm really looking forward to that. Also, Brittany and I are going to figure out some concerts we can go to. I might go see The Gazette with her (these people http://www.pscompany.co.jp/gazette/) in March, if we can get tickets. I also really, really want to see Kagrra, (these people http://www.pscompany.co.jp/kagrra,/ whoa, you can listen to samples of EVERY song on their new cd!) as well. I want to go to the 3/30 live, since the C.C.Lemon Hall is closer than the others, I think. (Or I just don't know where they are, lol.)

I've been really tired all this week, and I'm pretty irritated with the snow. I've taken the bus to school twice this week already, and a recent development is that I start feeling sick on the bus ride home, so by the time I get to Yakumo san chome, I feel horrible. It was snowing when I got off at the stop, and so I was walking really slowly and didn't bother opening my umbrella until I started getting cold from the snow. I've quickly picked up the Japanese habit of using umbrellas when it's snowing. I never would have thought to use an umbrella in the snow before coming here. I still need to buy rainboots. I'll probably do that this weekend. (Yeaah for 4-day weekends!) I might be going to Akasaka to see some traditional buildings...I saw some pictures online that looked cool...and I'm going back to Harajuku, and most likely Shibuya, and I don't know where else yet.