Speaking in Japanese | On my first day, I actually accomplished something in Japanese! I still can't believe it worked and I didn't chicken out. I totally stuttered and probably said nothing that was grammatically correct, but I got my message across and I understood the Narita baggage attendant somewhat so I think it was an overall successful experience. So my luggage was sent and *thankfully* arrived two days later right on time. There was also this nice older woman who was behind me in line who complemented my horrible Japanese. She also said that I reminded her of her husband because of how I organized all of my papers. Lol. I'm positive that I used more Japanese in that one day than I have all summer, haha. Other than that, I've noticed in places with intercom announcements and such that, although it takes a few times of the repetition, I can eventually understand. And usually on the first time at least I get the gist of things. I can't wait to learn more! |
Food | When there's nothing to eat in my apartment, I certainly eat less, but it also makes me leave the room at least once a day to go to the combini (convenience store), so I'm not just huddled up in my room. 7-Eleven and Family Mart (the two combini I've been going to) have really good food! And they'll ask if you want it warmed up at the register if it's hot food. I especially liked trying the different onigiri with flavors I've never seen before. The funny thing is, I'd never think of getting a meal at 7-Eleven in the US. However, having to get presentable to go out just to come back and eat is a bit pointless, so instead I'm going to the grocery store and picking up some simple essentials. For three days straight I just ate cereal and rice. By the end of the three days I was craving something green and meat so I ventured out again to experiment with some other stuff. The supermarkets in Japan that I've been to are nothing like home. I've maybe seen a single brand I'm familiar with? Everything is stuff I've never seen before—only the vegetables and the snacks that I'd get from Mitsuwa I can identify without spending an inordinate amount of time looking at the labels. And just cruising around the store looking at everything; I still don't know what's all there and I've already been multiple times! |
Walking Around Town | The best thing about walking around town is playing a game of Eye-Spy for cats. I've only seen a few, but it's so cool to see them around. There's even one that hangs out around the international office at UKK. At the same time, because of that there are "no cats" signs to warn people away from leaving the door open and letting them in. That's Japan's saddest sign. Because UKK is across the street from a military base, there are military vehicles driving on the road sometimes. The first time I saw it, it was definitely a shock, but quickly made sense again. Speaking of driving, traffic light intersections are strange here (at least what I've seen). For example, the turn lane that crosses through traffic has a line in the middle of the intersection that cars stop at to wait for the through traffic to finish, rather than just sitting randomly. In a way, that's pretty smart. Also, because the roads are so narrow, the wait line at a light isn't right next to the crosswalk, but farther back so that cars can intersect the wrong lane one the way to the right one (especially long vehicles like busses). Getting used to the opposite directions on the road is a little difficult for me, especially because for the last two years at CSUMB I've walked around town using crossroads and such more than I've ever done previously. Using the crosswalks here, my first instinct is to look for incoming cars as if they're driving on the right side of the road, so I always freak and make a quadruple check. I hope it doesn't take too much longer to adapt to the left-side mentality. |
TV | One of the cool things about the TV in my room is that there is this button that takes the edge off the brightness called the "blue light guard" so at night the brightest colors are dulled to more of a yellow-ish hue. Definitely cool. I'm also happy because I found out how to look at the scheduling online for the cable in my area (and I found Detective Conan! Saturdays at 6pm), which is helpful. Everyone talks so fast on the TV though! One day I was letting it play in the background, and this weird variety show with a foreigner ranting about kanji caught my attention. Basically, he'd list a bunch of kanji words that follow one pattern, then point out one that inexplicably breaks the pattern, yelling, "WHY JAPANESE PEOPLE?!" For example, both of these kanji (恋・愛) mean "love" but you can only use the first when writing the word for "'boyfriend/girlfriend" (恋人). Or the use of "big" (大) and "rain" (雨) to describe "severe rain" (大雨), but the counter for machines (台) and "wind" (風) for "typhoon" (台風)?! It was amusing. Also, since I've been here I've seen the best drunk driving commercial. It was narrated by a shiba inu who was recounting how much he loved to do things with his little owner and was walking around parks and schools looking for him, only to say at the end that they'd never get to play again because of a drunk driver. It was so sad! I could never see a commercial like that airing in the US. |