A Shmorgishborg of Information

Again, sorry about the delay! It seems that with the semester moving faster, I've had less time to write (which I suppose is probably a good thing)! Here are some of the more important aspects of this last month.

Firstly, a little about my campus and some of the things I've done.

Alcohol is a big deal for college students (and businessmen, actually). After every big event, the custom is to party. It's not just a kid's way to have fun, it's literally a cultural deal. There's a complicated regime with a "first nomikai (drinking party)" followed by a "second nomikai," followed by possibly more or maybe karaoke. These parties start early (maybe even as early as 5 or 6pm!) and each last 2-3 hours. Since each one costs over $20 (and since the Japanese tend to get pretty drunk pretty quickly), I haven't participated. Still, it isn't uncommon to see Japanese students drinking on their campus (the auditorium is a very popular location)! There is a legitimate club called Waseda ODD--OutDoor Drunkards.

On any Japanese campus, there are two types of organizations: clubs and circles. Clubs are a lot more strict--members must attend more events and spend more time doing activities. However, I've been involved in one: Waseda International Club (WIC).

WIC participated in a cultural festival called "Yataimura," which translates to "City of Tents." That's pretty much exactly what it was. WIC had 4 different tents selling food from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. I was in the South America group, and I got to help prepare the food (twice--once to taste and determine what to cook, and once to actually prepare for Yataimura).

Although I didn't help make them, we had signs and costumes. Daniela, Ashleigh, Val, and I are representing South America! (Daniela was the only one from South America...and she's Canadian as well.)

They wanted foreigners to help sell the food--it was actually a little uncomfortable for some people, since they used us as a sort of marketing technique (as no Japanese actually knew where we were from). A few drunk men were convinced I was from Brazil! The food we ended up making: South American dumplings (they tasted more Asian than anything, though), steak cubes (since we were all too poor for real steak :P ), and bread pudding. They were pretty delicious, and the dumplings sold out!

This is the Waseda Bear--our mascot. He's kinda cute, but the cap and gown makes him seem a little too serious for me.

These (surprisingly straight) fellows are members of the "Shockers," an all-male cheerleading team, and the "jocks" of the Waseda Campus. Between the fact that they call themselves the Shockers, they're male cheerleaders, and they do stunts like this, I find it hard to not laugh! They were pretty good, though, so I'll give them that. Pretty entertaining.

These adorable little girls also performed--they were really coordinated! Clubs start from a very young age in Japan--it's important to be involved in them since so much revolves around group activity in Japanese culture.

After Yataimura, Halloween rolled around the corner. I bought myself a pumpkin, and I thought I'd share what I carved:

He reminded me a lot of home, and I was happy to have him on my fridge for a few days :)
In the background, you can see a "kaki," one type of Japanese persimmon. They are distantly related to apples, and they are absolutely delicious. One of the cheapest fruits sold here!

Ashleigh and I dressed as Harajuku Girls for Halloween. Harajuku is a shopping district notorious for its over-the-top fashion trends (and delicious crepes!). Harajuku Girls are those who partake in that fashion, dye their hair an orange shade (initially an attempt at dying black hair blond--but I have to wonder if that's just the style, now), and wearing ridiculous outfits.
If you're curious and get the chance, google them--you'll be amused!

The next day, we went to the first round of the SouKeiSen (Waseda-Keio War--the abbreviated Kanji for "Waseda" reads "Sou") baseball game. There are 6 teams in the league Waseda plays in; one of the other teams is Keio University--Waseda's rival.

We, of course, sat in the one of the student sections. There were (strangely enough to an American) two student sections per school, each with their own band (so 4 pep bands). During their respective at-bats, the bands played nonstop, and the students stood, sang, and cheered with them (they knew all the words to all the songs and chants!). The other team would cheer occasionally during these periods. It was odd to me, though, because the two separate student sections (for the same school) had no regard for each other! The bands played different cheers/songs, and they and the students managed to stay in time with their individual section! It was quite different for me!

Some other cultural differences stood out during the game. For instance, the sportsmanship was phenomenal. If an umpire made a bad call, everyone just kept cheering, and the players just went back to what they were doing (while I and another American friend stood in shock). Even though Waseda played fairly badly that game, the cheering never died down, and the fans never got less excited. It honestly seemed like they were there for the purpose of cheering on the team (and not particularly watching the game)! The most surprising thing of all, though, happened right at the beginning. A Keio player had a good hit during the first inning and scored a home run--and Waseda cheered. It really confused the foreigners; was I cheering for the wrong team? Nope--just fantastic sportsmanship. In the end, though, I found that I enjoy the booing and and yelling more. I like the competitive feel of sports that the Western world boasts!

We had a random Wednesday off one week, so Clare, Alex, Tomasz, and I went to the Imperial Palace Gardens to have a relaxing morning with some clear blue skies (the weather really was gorgeous)! Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

It's hard to believe you're still in Tokyo--but if you look past the beautiful greenery, you can still see the skyscapers! On this level field, a lot of people had gathered with picnics. If I ever go back, I'll definitely remember a picnic lunch!

We found this gorgeous waterfall. I was pretty much in love.

The other side, where the waterfall emptied.
There was also a glorious music building that was built for one of the ladies who lived in the Palace for her 60th birthday, some guard towers, and numerous walls--but most of the buildings that had been there are now gone. The gardens are gorgeous, though, and definitely worth a trip on a sunny day!

We had another day off that Friday, and that weekend was the Intensive Japanese Language Student trip to Hakone--a place famous for hot springs! We started early with a long bus ride, and our first stop was a place with a gorgeous view of Mt. Fuji. We had beautiful weather the whole weekend, so the pictures turned out lovely!

The trees near Hakone had begun to change. This one blew me away.

A group of good friends here: Geoffroy, Edouard, Youri, Alex, (Me), Ashleigh, Marija, and Clare. Behind us, of course, is Mt. Fuji! And a beautiful blue sky we never get to see in the city.

From there, we went to a beer factory and got a tour of the place! I could understand a little less than half of what our tour guide was telling us, but it was neat to see all the workings of the place. We all got three free beers to try; it was a lovely experience.

After trying Asahi's finest, we boarded the bus and headed toward our hotel! We set up our rooms (after much switching, I ended up in a room with good friends), had some delicious green tea, and went to our feast.

It was literally a feast. This isn't even all of the food we got!

This is the vegetarian version--I had a little of both (since one friend didn't like fish but forgot to request veggie). What I think was swordfish may have been one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

After dinner, I tried out the onsen (hot springs). At this hotel, they were indoor, and there were two areas (one for men and one for women--though they switched sides depending on the day). It was a little unnerving at first, since you do have to get completely naked. But once you start the process, it's very relaxing. First, you wash yourself completely at little stations around the pool. Then, with your hair up so it doesn't touch the water (that's considered rude), you climb into the onsen. You relax until you get too hot, and then you wash yourself again to cool down. You can repeat this process as long as you like--just make sure you don't pass out! In the women's bath the first day (I ended up going in the morning, as well), there were two different temperature onsens. Even the cooler one was extremely hot! It was a very relaxing experience.

The next day, after an all-you-can-eat breakfast (complete with a very strange looking fish that I did not touch--I mostly went for chocolate croissants), we got back on the bus and went to check out some volcanic activity!

There was a lot of sulfur in the air, but seeing the water bubbling and boiling was very neat. There were a few little trails--each had a great view of Mt. Fuji!

The area around that volcano is very famous for its black-shelled hard-boiled eggs; they're cooked in such a way as to turn the shells black. Clare and I tried some; they tasted like regular hard-boiled eggs, but as the legend goes, we'll each live an extra 7 years! We also tried egg-flavored soft-serve ice cream (which, rather than tasting like egg, tasted very sweet and delicious).

After our volcanic experience, we went to a touristy area for shopping and a 15 minute cruise. Here are some pictures from the cruise!

It looked like a Pirate Ship, so I thought it merited a picture. Captain Jack, are you there?

Not entirely sure what it is, but I thought it was gorgeous!

Following our boat ride and lunch, we got back on the bus and drove to the Hakone Open Air Museum. Since it was a beautiful day, it was a very nice and relaxing walk through basically a park full of neat sculptures and tower-like things. There were some indoor exhibits (Picasso, Spanish artists, etc), but most of it really was in the open. There was a mini-onsen for feet that we spent some time in--very lovely!

An adorable children's playhouse that looked a lot like Jenga!

Here is a very large sunny-side up egg that we particularly liked.

After that, it was a long bus ride home, but I don't know one person who didn't agree that the trip was well worth it. :) What a fantastic trip!