The Last Weekend

This past weekend was in many ways the last time in which I could truly call myself a tourist in Japan, as of Monday I became a student. I'll bore you with the details of my classes later as my last weekend was far too much fun to not share.

On Saturday, I decided to go on a tour of the areas of Asakusa and Ueno. Older (or more experienced) TUJ students came to the dorm and escorted us through the complicated (but gradually easier to understand) train system to the area of Asakusa first. Now, being honset here I didn't know too much about Asakusa but the area was a pleasant surprise to say the least.

Asakusa is home to the famous temples and buildings of old, though the Sensoji-Temple is the most notable of them all. It is the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan, having being built back in 628. It is in excellent condition and naturally has become quite the tourist spot. I was able to undergo the cleansing ritual before going in, which made it quite the legitimate experience and even caught a Buddhist ceremony while inside. Being respectful of the customs, I opted out of taking pictures of it, not wanting my camera to be snatched away. 

In the area of the temple where a number of statues, structures and shrines dedicated not only to Buddhism but also to Shinto, the native Japanese religion. It was interesting to see the two religions be intertwined in one place, but any education to Japanese culture or history one would realize that the Japanese have no problems practicing both in some capacity despite not strictly being that religious in the first place. 

The not so pleasant surprise of the Asakusa excursion was the massive crowd. Leading up the to temple are a number of shops, stands and other services where you could buy...well just about anything really. Sadly, getting around was a bit difficult. It seemed that this particular weekend, Asakusa was hosting a parade, fair...thing celebrating Brazilian culture. Why? You probably could guess better than me. I didn't take any successful photos of the parade itself being that I am too short to get a good shot. Really all I did was able to take a masterful picture of the back of someone's head. The shops and stands were great, having a bunch of things I wanted to get but decided against it since I needed to hold on to some money for my commuter pass to school.

After Asakusa was done, my little tour group was supposed to be brought to the Ueno area...except there was no guide. Everyone that decided to go on the tour was supposed to meet up at the main gate of the temple at 3pm. There was no one there at 3pm. So my little group of friends decided we would go to Ueno ourselves. And that we did.

Ueno is home to a number of things. The area we saw was mostly home to museums and the Ueno zoo. Not really in the mood to stare at pieces of art for a couple of hours, we chose the zoo.

Now I took a lot of pictures of animals at the zoo. Probably more than I did of the temples. But this was personal favorite shot:

The Ueno zoo had lions, tigers, polar bears, pandas, red pandas, birds... and much, much more. It was a crowded zoo but being that I haven't been to a zoo in years, it was refreshing if a bit tiring from all the walking in the heat we were doing. Failing to see any of our study abroad students, we wandered Ueno to find some dinner, found a fairly priced place to eat, enjoyed our food while watching some Japanese students get drunk and fall out of their seats. Following that, we went home to get some sleep and prepare for our next trip.

Sunday was spent going to the beach at Zushi. It was a long trip, a good hour train ride to Zushi before getting lost in the area before we actually found the beach. Funnily enough, I found a quick direct way when heading back. 

Hindsight aside, Zushi beach was crowded. I mean really crowded. All my trips to the beach in my younger years and I never had that much difficult to steal a spot. 

But it was worth it. The water was absolutely perfect, pardoning some patches of seaweed and we even meet some members of the navy at one of the stands nearby. Food and drink was a bit overpriced but it was a fun day to enjoy before heading to classes. I opted out of enjoying dinner with everyone else and navigated my way back with one of my dorm mates. Luckily, we didn't get lost. I consider that my official initiation in understanding the train system. Now all I have to do is understand the bus routes and I am set.

This week is my first week of classes. I will likely update the blog then when I get a better feel for everything.

Till then.

Everything in Japan is Small

The Japanese really do not eat a lot. At least their portions in restaurants make me think as much, as it has become all too common that I end my days in my room sitting around being hungry. And seeing how my wallet will limit my eating habits to two or three meals a day, I am in for one hell of an adjustment.

Most Japanese meals are a fair size, but their portions are generally smaller in favor of giving you a number of different dishes. Most meals come with your main course, salad or soup, noodles or rice, and one place even gave me a piece of tofu. It is a wholesome variety and I have not had a bad meal since I landed here. In fact, most of been absolutely amazing but I rarely end my day feeling satisfied. It could be I am not used to the portion or the diet itself, as it is possible I am still used to eating a certain brand of nutrients. I rather not binge eat here (or simply eat a ton of food regularly) since likely I will not be eating as healthy as I was at home (seeing how I have to cook for myself and I am a disaster in the kitchen) or be as active as I was back home (there is no gym or recreation center on campus) so gaining weight is very likely. Also, my wallet (and parents) will hate me if I buy too much food.

Enough complaining about food!

Wednesday and Thursday were all about orientation, getting registered to live in Japan, getting around and completing the transition to live abroad. It helped me out a lot to spend those two days outside of my dorm since the fact I am living in Tokyo is settling in. Wednesday, my group took the bus to campus which if I recall correctly is in central Tokyo. The bus ride was about 40 minutes, which is apparently not too bad for a regular commute to university or work but I could see it being closer to an hour on most days given how crowded the streets in Tokyo can be. You see, the streets are very narrow and cars here are designed to fit on these small roads. Most cars here are about half the size of most American cars and it is very rare to find large 18 wheelers or anything of that nature on the freeways. Personally, I kind of like the smaller cars but the narrow roads are almost frightening since most streets don't have sidewalks.

Anyway, Wednesday's orientation was mostly about rules and regulations of TUJ's campus and basic guidelines to follow and some tips on getting around in Japan. One interesting note was the police in Japan get very bored seeing how the crime rate is pretty low here and they can apprehend you merely on suspicion. Basically, you are guilty until proven innocent.

We took the train back Wednesday, got our resident cards, health insurance and bunch of other papers.

Those are all the things I have to carry on me at all times. Otherwise a police officer won't be too happy. The train was fun at least as I got to experience the crowded trains of Tokyo and they live up to the hype. It is not uncommon to be nearly crushed by other commuters and train eidetic is fairly strict. Men are supposed to have their hands above their waist for all too obvious reasons and they are some train cars that are women only to prevent illegal touching. Personally, I prefer the train over the bus at is was more fun, but I will likely end up taking the bus because it is closer to my dorm and a bit easier to navigate. Getting lost in Tokyo is something I rather not do.

Thursday was more of the same, though the orientation that day was more focused on "academic" things such as adding and dropping classes and getting to know the school faculty. We got a tour of our campus which is pretty small and ill equipped but luckily enough, the student body is pretty small. I did get a foreboding warning that Japanese classes here are painfully difficult, but hopefully "Japanese Elements I" is not too bad. I rather not fail a class if I can help it.

I went out Thursday and Friday after some getting some shopping done, which was pretty fun. I experienced a sneak peek of the nightlife in Tokyo (Shibuya to be more precise) and it was interesting to say the least. Shibuya reminds me a lot of Times Square, just a lot busier. They are plenty of bars, restaurants, "maid cafes" and "love hotels" scattered about. I definitely plan to come back here a few times to check out a few more things, as the first time we were just really looking around and seeing what Shibuya had to offer.

Now this is Tokyo.

Making the Journey

The past "two" days was mostly filled with traveling. Starting early Monday morning and effectively ending Tuesday evening, I was making my way to my dorm room in the outskirts of Tokyo all the way from the homeland. The 14 hour flight wasn't too bad for my first international flight alone and it is clear that airline technology has improved since I last went to Germany all those years ago. Sure, the seats still suck and I spent the entire flight staring at the excellent service that Business First was experiencing, but otherwise I can't complain. Even the food was okay, if terribly unsatisfying since I was usually hungry again in about an hour. I didn't sleep much on the flight, but I was able to pass the time watching Avengers, The Hunger Games and Young Frankenstein. Awesome movies if I do say so myself.

Japanese immigration and customs was very relaxing and easy to deal with and I was able to get out of the airport within an hour since landing. I then found myself on a bus heading to a hotel to sign in to take a taxi to go to my dorm. Oh, and I had to pay for most of it. I found that really annoying, but that could just be me. Luckily enough, I didn't get lost and was able to settle in to my room fairly easily.

Sadly, as you can tell...my room is kind of cramped. That is pretty much the only room I have and I am forced to spilt it with a roommate. We also got a small kitchen that is poorly equipped (which is better than nothing) and a Japanese bathroom with an awkward shower thing. Oh, from what I heard the hot water is broken already. Somehow I am not surprised. And the messy bed? Totally not mine. 

I met most of the other students in my building and managed to make a brief run to the supermarket to buy some food, but not nearly enough to readily eat. Let's just say as I probably skimping on most of my meals today until I stock up on food tonight. It does seem I am the least skilled in Japanese in my building so I will depend on the skills of my roommate and neighbors to get around at least in the beginning. 

Today is the first day of orientation and I am hoping that my basic concerns are covered for the most part. That being said, I am still pretty stressed out and already homesick. The next few days will hopefully go well and my stress can be ironed out in favor of actually enjoying this experience. If not, it will be the longest 3 and a half months of my life. 

In a few hours, I will find myself on a plane heading to the other side of the world for a few months to study in Tokyo, Japan for the fall semester. I have mixed feelings about the whole idea of living in another country that I have studied and admired for the better part of my life. I was once excited, overjoyed and ready to seize the opportunity that was presented to me as I said to myself "I am going to Japan." How many people can I say they did that? Most students pick an English speaking country to study in should they even undertake such a thing. That or Italy as everybody loves Italy. But now I find myself saying "Wow…I am going to Japan" with apprehension, fear and even a tinge a regret.

I decided to try this "study abroad" thing last Fall semester after I had a professor that highly recommended that we travel out of the country. Okay so in reality I had about 4 professors over the course of my time at Montclair State University make this push similar reasons, usually revolving around "the experience." Yeah, whatever that means. I didn't think much of it at the time, but following several conversations with this particular professor, a few information sessions and even some talks from my parents I said to myself "Why the hell not?" and gave the application process a shot. Several pounds of paperwork and a few rounds of anxiety later, I was accepted by not only Montclair State University's Global Education Center but also my host institution of Temple University into the program.

But as exciting as this opportunity is, I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. It will be a big transition for me from living with my parents to living alone in a far away country with a fairly sizable language and culture barrier. I will find myself for the first time actually have to do things that I took for granted in the safety of my own home. I only wish I had a television crew following me at all times because it will be truly grade A television as I fumble my way through supermarkets to buy food only to stare at in my kitchen wondering how the hell I cook something without burning it to a crisp. And no amount of ketchup will make ashes taste good. It will take a miracle for me to survive. Hopefully my mysterious roommate will bring some valuable skills to the table. Add this to a number of other concerns including transportation to and from campus (and around Tokyo) and access to money, and freaking myself out becomes all too harsh of a reality. 

Despite all this, I am sure I will find a way to get over these first world problems and have all the fun that I hope to have. There are places to see, things to do and an entire country to experience. It will be life-changing and something I will never forget and I do hope I grow from it. 

Before I go, I wanted to say "thank you" to all my friends who made my last week here in the United States a week to remember. To those I didn't see…well you will see me when I get back. Getting ahold of me in Japan will not be impossible nonetheless, though I will be about 13 hours ahead (if I did my math right which I probably didn't). Facebook will probably be the easiest way to talk to me, though I will be on Skype and AIM as well. If you have either, let me know and we can get something going. If not, I will update this blog regularly with pictures, videos and anything else that is interesting while I am here in Japan. 

Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.