5 units of Japanese for Thematic Interaction
1 unit of:
Communication at the Workplace
Reading J-Society and J-Culture for Vocabulary Acquisition
Describing Memories through Photographs and Words
Reading at Your Own Pace
Let's Enjoy Talking
Kanji
Japanese for Science and Technology Students
Grammar
Japanese Conversation: When in Trouble
So, those are my classes. I won't take the time to describe each one of them here, since there are 10, but feel free to ask me about any of them :)
Now that I've been here a month, I think I've finally figured out where is best to shop for what...at least, as far as groceries go! There aren't really any supermarkets here; just a bunch of small shops. Some sell some things cheap, and others sell other things cheap. There is one store that seems to sell all fruits and veggies at better prices than all the rest, and another store that I walk past every day after school that often has wonderful sale prices. It's quite nice to be able to walk for normally priced groceries and food instead of having to drive.
As far as transportation goes, I legitimately haven't been in a car in over a month. It's actually a little novel to me, since I think I may go the whole year without needing even a taxi! Still, you can travel quite a ways by bus and train, and I really like how reliable that's been for me. Public transportation in Japan is a little pricey, but it's just too well run to argue the costs.
I'm a very lucky individual to have friends in all of my classes, as well. My friend Ashleigh (who appears in pictures in most of my blog entries) is in all but one, and even then, I have friends. And since most of the exchange students are of the same mind when it comes to travel and knowledge, good people are not hard to find. The most irritating to everyone, I think, are the Americans. I have to say, most of the Americans here are sort of the rejects from the United States--so, I joined a more international crowd :)
There are two international clubs on campus: WIC (Waseda International Club) and Niji no Kai (something about a rainbow...but really just another international club). I've been spending more time with WIC than Niji no Kai, and I'm involved in their Yataimura celebration. Yataimura is a cultural festival where different groups from WIC sell different foods from all over the world. I'm in the South America group; last night, we cooked South American food samples to determine which ones we wanted to sell--very delicious! And now I have another recipe I can cook. :) Next weekend is Yataimura, so we'll get together next Saturday to cook and on Sunday to celebrate and share world foods!
Here are some fun and interesting things that have happened in the last couple of weeks:
Marija, Clare, and I went to Ikebukuro to visit Sunshine City, an indoor shopping mall with several food theme parks inside. On the way there, we used the last remaining tram in Tokyo (which happens to be in Nishi-Waseda, where we live!).
Marija, Me, and Clare on the tram.
One of the food theme parks was Ice Cream City. Basically, all the food parks are connected, and you pay to enter the whole thing. Once you're inside, there are a bunch of different vendors with various delicious treats waiting for you! There are also arcades, rides, and other small attractions. It was actually pretty easy to get lost in there! There were different themes in different sections: one was based of some anime none of us knew anything about, one was some kind of ghost/zombie village (you had to go through it to get out of the park!), one was sort of western and saloon-y...it was a strange but wonderful place.
The ice creams we got. Yum.
Glape flavored ice cream made me chuckle.A few days later, Ashleigh and I went shopping in Harajuku for a phone.
We were walking past Docomo (a phone store that we weren't interested in), when these guys popped out of some random doorway. Turns out Vader advertises for Docomo. Join the Empire and receive a free cell phone? Anyway, it was amusing.A week or so later, I went to a dinner party for Bridging Scholarship recipients. It was in the heart of Tokyo at an ambassador's gorgeous house. Sushi bar and French buffet...the food could not have been better. I was very lucky, and I ran into Katie, the other girl from the UA at Waseda (who lives in the same dorm and is also a Bridging Scholar--not one of the annoying Americans :P ) randomly on the train leaving Takadanobaba Station (our station). We managed to be on the same train in the same car at the same time...going to the same place. So, we went together. We met some very interesting people--sponsors, guests, and other scholarship recipients. I even met the man who specifically donated money to me! It was a lovely evening.
On the way back, we stopped to take pictures of Tokyo Tower at night. It was one of the last two days where the summer "white light up" is still used; now it glows more orange (though I haven't seen it--I am learning in class!).
On an outing to go find the elusive ice cream in Takadanobaba, we found a Big Boy. I thought they only had those in Nebraska in the 50s.... Turns out, here it's somewhat like a diner. They had delicious looking steaks and ice cream...but it was kind of expensive. (As it turns out, the best place to get ice cream in Takadanobaba are the convenience stores--convenies. They actually have some pretty delicious things!)
We went out drinking one night, and came back to Takadanobaba Rotary (outside the station) to find this nonsense. Ew. I have video, too, of course!
Just a beautiful picture of the beautiful sky I took for class. Wanted to share it. Kind of reminds me of the poofty clouds back home. :)That's about all I have right now. Now that I'm developing a small sort of routine, I'll try to post more often. I'm learning a lot about where to find the things that I want--good beer/salad/food variety, so I'll update about what I learn, as well.
Much love!
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