The First Week in Japan

Since I arrived at school, I've been keeping a journal in one of those black and white speckled Composition Books. You may ask, "Why keep both a journal and a blog? That is a lot of repetition!" This may be true, but I may be writing secrets about you in this journal, along with my own personal feelings and thoughts. I don't want the internet to keep track of these things, and besides, this blog is more about sharing my impressions of the Japanese culture with family and friends in the west.

The first few days of school were for orientation, which was a long and arduous process. I met a ton of kids, both international and native japanese. I'll say that I definitely feel the language barrier here when the students have conversations in japanese (or any other language). I try to listen intently to what they are saying, and maybe I'll pick up some key words, but otherwise it is still overwhelming. So I sit in my blissful ignorance and know that one day I'll be voicing my thoughts and opinions in nihongo. 

Along with the jetlag and language adjustment, I would say that I've been adapting to the culture quite well. Everyone is so polite and cute! I find myself bowing when saying "arigato" (thank you) and greeting passing japanese students with "ohayio" or "konbanwa" (good day/evening). I'll even say little things to express subtle feelings, like "kusau" (damnit!), "uri" ("i'm confused" sound), "yari yari" (used for different situations, can mean "I'm tired" or "Let's fuck em up!"), "men doksai" (what a pain), and the simple "hai" (means yes, used for acknowledgement of something or someone). The japanese spirit is accommodating, humble, and enriched with a sense of honor that is rare to see in America. My impression is that they do not express their true feelings or emotions in an extroverted way, but rather keep them within and sort it out in private. 

I've had a blast trying new things in Akita-city and the neighboring AEON shopping mall. We are pretty far from anything here on campus, so taking the bus to these places for 150 yen is how we stave off a lot of boredom. The city is quite clean, and I love how cartoons are so intermixed with the culture. You can't turn a corner without seeing an anime character on something. In AEON, my favorite activities include: getting a giant parfait, exploring Utopia Arcade and playing their 500 yen Gundam Simulator, buying a yakitori (meat stick) for 50 yen and carring the stick around in my mouth, watching japanese people and notice their coy glances at the curious "gaijin" (forigner), taking ridiculous pictures in japanese photo booths. 

I've found the greatest fun-zone on earth, and it's name is Round One. You pay an entrance fee of 2200 yen, for access to 3 floors of ridiculous fun! Here's a list of what they have: coin-less arcade, bowling, batting cages, volleyball, soccer, football, archery, mini golf, badmiddon, tennis, riflery, skating, mini-bikes, kiddy ball pens, boxing, pool, karaoke, massage chairs with WALLS of manga. Oh, and you can spend the night. This place is a short cab ride from AIU, so you can wake up and get back in time for classes... This place is heaven for everyone's inner child. 

I've met so many friends here, each one is unique and awesome. The campus community is very close, almost tribal in nature. Information and indeed gossip about people and events travels very quickly and to everyone. The japanese students are fun to talk to, because we are both just as excited and confused about each other. This international university will be a challenge to both my character and my social skills.

There has been a little romance already, but I won't say too much there because things are still up in there. I will say that she is sweet, kind, smart, cute (but not too cute), and japanese. She likes anime, manga, video games, and she's japanese. I know I said that already, but she gets bonus points because of it haha.