OMG, I think I caught a cold, sunnuvabich. I'm not very tired or anything, but my nose is draining snot out the woohaa. I'm not sure if that made sense. I hope I don't have to wear one of those mask things.
Besides that, I freaking love it here!! But first, my ride over:
I didn't sleep for about 17 hours before my flight from Dallas to Japan, so I was pretty worn out. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep for a good seven hours on the plane. Perhaps it was the Dramamine that Dad insisted I take, which I haven't used for years...
On the plane, I watched The Office, parts of "The East is Red," and part of Michael Jackson's "This is It." That last one would have been a really cool concert had MJ not passed away. For some reason, I was given special vegetarian meals during the flight, which I don't remember specifying, but I guess that is cool too. But the food was still pretty bad, so I was thankful that Mom had packed me some rice balls.
When I landed in Tokyo, I went through customs, then went to the gate for my domestic flight into Osaka. While sitting there, some American approached me and asked if I could watch his suitcase while he used the restroom. Sketchy, but I agreed. When he returned, he told me he was surprised that I spoke English... Could that mean that I have finally been mistaken for being Japanese?? I found out that he is a Marine who's been stationed in Okinawa for a couple years, and I probably misunderstood him, but I think he said he was on his way for another tour in Iraq. He told me all about his work out there: He's the shooter guy up on top of tanks, and he told me that on the tiny shields that cover him and his partner are written "FML" and "WTF." He showed me pictures of his tank and of huge sand storms from his ipod. He gave me advice on things to do in Okinawa and told me that there are probably lots of other things that would not be restricted to me. I asked what he meant, and he said I would pass off as one of the Okinawans... Indeed, for the first time in my life, someone pegged me for an Okinawan! kind of. He then introduced me to his family via photos and videos from his digital camera. I never got to say goodbye to him: He just kind of disappeared when I went to board the plane, which I had assumed he would be riding as well. But I guess you can't get to Iraq from Osaka.
The domestic flight to Osaka was so incredibly cozy that I was uncomfortable. The soothing music, the pleasing cherry blossom designs on the seats, the perfect flight attendants who all bowed at the same time... I was expecting there to be a fireplace in the place of an emergency exit. I just wanted to sleep for that hour-long ride, but I felt rude doing it.
After arriving that night, I met up with SUA friends and they showed me around the residential area. I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 7:30 am! How did that happen?!?
Today was just orientation stuff in the morning. One odd thing: I took my Japanese placement exam in the morning, and the whole time I thought, "Their placement tests are going to be so much more accurate than Soka's... they're definitely gonna know my Japanese isn't that good." Well, a couple hours after the test, I found a note in my mailbox requesting that I be interviewed in Japanese with a professor. I went to do that... And he thought I could be in a higher level Japanese course that uses very academic kanji. I was flustered, freaking out that he thought my crappy Japanese during the interview was competent, even good. But he understood my fear of very academic kanji, considering I only know about 300 (it generally takes a knowledge of about 2000 kanji to read a newspaper). The entire time I confused him, telling him that I had never heard of some special Japanese exam (he really was shocked by that), telling him I had only taken up to 300-level Japanese, telling him that we used a textbook that he had never heard of (he searched through his all his bookcases to see if he had the book, surprised that he had no knowledge of it). Then I told him that I want to challenge my Japanese but that I also want to enjoy Japan and don't want to study all the time. I left the interview having seemingly baffled him thoroughly. I will find out my placement on Friday.
In the afternoon, the SUA kids showed me around some more. I've only been around the nearby shops, but damn, I love Japan so much! I'm probably gonna take a trip to Kyoto on Friday, so hopefully that'll be even more amazing.
The campus here is so nice, and I feel like I'm at a real college, which I guess I am. It's cool having a building whose first floor is a McDonalds/Seattle's Best, second floor is a convience store, and third floor is a book store... all right next to your classrooms. We had a professor orientation, and they all seem super nice and funny. They all happen to be non-Japanese, except this one whose topic is apparently so complicated that he has to teach it in Japanese.
The dorms here are amazing too, or maybe I'm just excited by the new environment. The rooms are traditional Japanese, so there are tatami mats and futon and this little paper screen that can separate the desk area from the rest of the room. It's a pretty good size room. You can't walk around the building in shoes, so it's funny seeing everyone shuffle around in slippers and socks.
Also I am in love with the bathrooms: separate room for toilets and a room for showers. In the shower stalls, there's a little curtained room in which you take off/put on your clothes and then an adjoining shower which is behind a folding door. For some reason, I am super intrigued by these stalls. Maybe it's the combination of the socially-agreed privacy and the thrill of the possibility of someone pulling your curtain aside to reveal a naked you. Or maybe it's just cuz I'm experiencing realer college.
Anyway, my obssession with the dorms (including this very white, clean, awesome computer lab, which resembles the gross IT lab at SUA in no way, and in which I am typing this message) makes me want to cancel my homestay and stay here. But I'm excited to see what kind of family I get, and hopefully my Japanese will get damn good. I won't find out who they are until minutes before I meet them sometime this weekend and then go home with them. Kinda awkward.
Here is a message I received from my Japanese speaking partner, whom I will meet tomorrow:
"Welcome to Japan , Krystal !! I burned for your arrival in Japan ."
Things to look forward to:
Homestay family
Speaking partner
Cellphone (tomorrow maybe?)
Kyoto trip on Friday
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