The end of a chapter

So, After much traveling and wrapping up. I STILL haven't been able to upload the rest of my pictures into smug mug but I will!!

All in all this experience was everything I wanted and more. In a way this whole trip was a challenge to myself to see if I could do it. Live in another country, make friends, get basic necessities. Now that I know I am capable of this it'll open the doors to many more adventures....

but for now, I think I'll stick to Rochester and finish up my last year. After this post I will be updating my normal blog D-E-F-E-N-E-S-T-R-A-T-E with my adventures on american soil. :)

Thank you so much for everyone who supported me and rooted me on for this whole trip. I took your wishes and hopes with me no matter where I was. :)

ok kids, time to learn some japanese that can be used in English

after being in the IJST program and leaving I realize that I have picked up vocabulary that isnt english or japanese. here's a few examples.


-tachi

"I was hanging out with the san kai tachi a few minutes ago and we played a way cool game"

this is basically used in regards to a group. for example, in the IJST program there were groups of people that alway hung out together (no these are not cliques--you don't get mocked or anything like that--its just the people you get along with the best). all the people (including myself) that hung out on the third floor lounge of the apartment building the program took over called ourselves the san kai tachi (the third floor group)

chotto matte-ing


"ohman, we need to chotto matte here to buy some stuff"

This means we need to stop--matte is the te-form of the verb matsu which is to wait. I used the phrase a lot today. chotto can also be used to describe something negative. The Japanese use the word alone when they want to not give a direct negative answer. so we use it for the following;

"that is chotto expensive" "That was chotto scary" "this seems like a chotto bad idea"

the literal mean can be seen as "kind of"


"ganbate"

"lets ganbatte this!"

ganbatte is normally used to cheer someone one on. however when used in IJST english its basically to say lets get this started.


*In dopey voice* omedetou
this is used alone and normally after someone does something incredibly dumb. think of the word "kudos" used sarcastically.

"jouzu!"

this word in japanese is normally used in japanese to say you are good at something.

thats it for now. i'll think of some more that we used.

--signing off for now--

dre

Mission: Mt.Fuji--failed

So I tried to climb Mt.Fuji two nights ago--kinda failed. I have now discovered that I suffer from something called Altitude sickness. I got to the 3010 meters mark when A.the temperature dropped, b.my head started aching and c. I started feeling sick. Needless to say I was escorted back down about 2 stations to relax adn watch the sun rise off Mt.Fuji from there.

i am currently in Tokyo staying at a hotel in Ueno which is about a block from the station--I had a great time today running around and getting some omiyage (souvenirs for friends and family). we went to Asakusa which is a huge folk art and temple complex followed by a fishermans area for lunch (sashimi rice bowl--yum). After than it was a quick walk to Ginza where I listened to a jazz band play on the street before training it back tot he hotel to drop stuff off. I met up with a group of IJST students in daiba and watched the sun set on the tokyo bay before eating american food at a department store called aqua city, more window shopping was done before I returned to Ueno and am now about to start watching Lilo and Stitch which Zander just bought at the disney store--tomorrow is tokyo tower and shinjuku (harajuku too!) before heading out to an overngiht train to Hiroshima. :) I would like to say I should not be held responsible for the fact that I may steal my hotel's yukata (the internet is my confessional).

signing off for now!!!
--dre--

My laptop is going to eat me...Oh! cheap hotels.

So I've been so busy with projects and presentations that I have no had a chance to write in english on my blog. instead of carrying around my convenient, cute and tiny EEE pc I have been lugging around the crappy dynabook laptop they gave us since I have to type up so much stuff in Japanese (consent forms, focus group questions, presentation scripts, power point slides, and final essays). Owning this gigantic japanese only laptop has opened up a whole new concept of hating computers to me. Not only is typing in ei-go (english) probably the hardest thing ever but writing in pure hiragana with no kanji is such a pain in the---yea. I really want to get Japanese input on my dell when I get homewhere there is an on off switch that isn't changed every time I graze the capslock button. Drives me a bit insane,


We were talking about spaces in general in Japan and discussed bathroom and the technological advancement of toilets in japan (two words-heated seats). It's interesting because we also talked with a IJST graduate who works in the tech division of Goldman Sachs. It was great having him talk about the work he does here in Japan. He really opened my eyes to what else I could do with my degree. He was really helpful in finding some places where I can look for job openings in Japan. However he recommended I do JET first. I explained to him about my thoughts on continuing my education (no doubt I will, but the when is still up in the air). I've now had two people say that perhaps it is best to do JET/Fulbright then do my MBA. ahh!!! too much conflicts!

I just finished finalizing my plans two weeks ago and the prices are fabulous!!! Ive got a climb to Mt.Fuji followed by 2 days in tokyo 2 days in hiroshima 1 day in himeji 2 days in osaka/kyoto 1 day in Nagoya and 2 more days in tokyo. YAY!!!

I must have broken some sort of language barrier.

So, This is a blog-worthy small victory that happened on Friday but I felt I needed to mention since I talked with a Japanese student on the phone yesterday.

So on Friday it was decided that we were going to Karaoke, however some of our SGE students didn't know where or when. So in the middle of class someone called me. I missed the phone call so I texted the person in Japanese letting them know I have class but if it was ok that I would call them at 12. I received a text saying that person would call me. At around 12:15 I got a phone call from Kazuya asking where and when is kareoke? I tell him I have no clue where we are meeting but that its at 9. I thought we were meeting on the 3rd floor. I then concluded that I would talk with the IJST ryuugakusei (exchange student) that is organizing it, then text him where we are meeting. He replied that he understood and would look forward to my text. with that we hung up.


sure you're wondering--what's the big deal dre? so what?

I HAD THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION IN JAPANESE!!! Without gestures pictures or the person infront of me.

I remembered this because another Kazuya (yes I know two of them) invited me to shyogi club (japanese chess) and I had to tell him I had tons of homework, projects and presentations to deal with.

WOO HOO! Go me for little victories!!!
Anyways....
まったね！ <--I totally want to get this input on my laptop to type in Japanese.

--signing off for now--
dre

Why Karaoke before Home Stays is not the best idea.

So last Friday I went to my first Karaoke ever. I'm thinking that if marketing doesn't pan out one of these establishments is what I am going to open up in the states (haha just kidding). I want to take one home with me!! Basically you pay a flat fee for either no drinks or all you can drink. Then you are pretty much allowed to stay there for long periods of time (like...oh lets say 8pm-1am). All in all this was fabulous time filled with awesome duets with the SGE students. I sang Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne with an SGE students who was the best back up a girl could ask for *laughs* All for the flat price of 1300￥　this all in all generally sounded like a good idea until the next morning--Where I met my host family at 9am.

I would like to start my home stay experience by announcing that I did not embarrass myself--despite the fact that I was a few hours short of a full nights sleep on my first day with them. I stayed with the Takada family which is a family composed of a mother (okasan), a father (otousan), and daughter (Yuuko). The father works a whole bunch so I only saw him in the evenings. The mother and Yuuko were fabulous. We started my homestay by going to a artists village where I made some Japanese arts and craft, then went grocery shopping for sukiyaki--which I must make again in the states. the next day we went sightseeing around Kanazawa and dropped by a department store on crack (department store/supermarket/amusement/food court/video game area/ and cinema.) nNeedless to say my host family rocked. I'm currently writing my thank you letter for them--almost done!!

--signing off for now--

dre

5 guys and a baccho

So 2 weekends ago was my program's long weekend. In an effort to escape the grasps of Kanazawa at least for a bit, I planned with 5 other guys to go on a trip to Kyoto and Osaka. Last minute another 2 girls were added.

Sometimes traveling with that many people was a bit of a mendokusai (pain in my ass) but also with that many people I had a great time.

There was a lot of stuff that I discovered while on this trip.

1. hotels can be very good and cheap at the same time in Japan.
2. I actually have the power to stop mysef from buying a cheap computer screen in den den town (osaka's version of akihabara).
3. Japanese women spend a ton of money on clothing
4. I will always compare US public transportation to Japan and the US will never be up to par with the convenience and timeliness of Japanese public transportation.
5. I cant wait for the end of this program to do more sightseeing.

In Kyoto I saw kinkakuji, kiyomizutera and went to gion (geisha district). I had my first taste of shabu shabu which is thin slices of meat that I boil myself. There were a lot of us so we got our own room--tons of fun.

In Osaka I went shopping tried my hand at pachinko and ate some delicious okonomiyaki (i can't describe it so look it up!!) oishii desu! (tasty!!)

I gotta run to class but I'll post about this last weekend with my host family.

--signing off for now--
dre

help! help! I'm surrounded by engineers!!

So about 2-3 days ago one of the engineers in the building decided to fix the unbroken internet. >.< as a direct result the whole entire building has been leaching off of what we like to call "the old manternet" basically a very small trickle of internet that manages to reach our apartment. Thus the reason why I haven't posted as often as I would have liked.

Yesterday we discovered that beyond the fact that someone had touched the internet there was also the fact that our internet usage as a whole was so incredibly high that the school's system couldn't keep up with it. Therefore rules have been set to prevent this from happening. Anyone caught torrenting will be torture and hung to show an example of not hogging the internet. :P

Classes are going well, my least favorite is the science and technology one since assignments are given out in Japanese and there is a need to combine forces with other people to figure out exactly what we are doing for homework or an in-class assignment.

Yesterday I went to the school's travel agent and planned a super cheap trip to Kyoto and Osaka with some friends. (fun fun!) I'll be staying in yoto for a night at a ryokan (Japanese inn) and 2 nights in Osaka in a hotel. The plan is to go to Nara sometime in between to see the forest with deers and the giant buddha there.Train tickets and rooms were under 200!! *yay!*

I've still got pictures to upload but again the shoddy internet makes me sad. :( and therefore hates the uploading of pictures. Once the internet is properly fixed I will promise the rest of the pictures. :) I've got about another....150-200 to share.

signing off for now!!!

dre

sure it looks perfectly innocent....

This is a sign I took from google images since this situation was so traumatic I couldn't even take a picture of the sign outside.

I'd like to start this blog by letting everyone know that I was not affected by the Sendai Earthquake that happened yesterday. My field trip was in Northern Japan however I was not even close to where it happened. ;) I'm safe and sound. There are a few SGE students who were calling home to make sure everything was ok.

Now onto my weekend adventure to Anamizu, Anamizu is a coastal city in Northern Japan. KIT has a conference house/building there that we stayed in. We had a great time on the way there stopping at a museum to do some research for our rube goldberg machine projects. Then stopped at a fisherman warf and finally arrived at the conference house. the place was like a small dorm. During our orientation before the trip the girls and guys were reminded that the only way to get clean at Anamizu was to use the public bath .

Now, I would like to preface this with what I thought a public bath is--individual showers followed by a dip in a tub with a few people. As getting naked infront of people isn't my forte I decided that I would just take a shower and not have a girl bonding experience in the tub. I didn't give it another thought (you can see this is getting to the dre is dumb part). After the awesome Japanese Style BBQ I got back to the dorms and discovered the truth of my situation--the showers and bath are all open spaced. After me and the other american girl had a minor (ok, major) freak out we watched the Japanese students get in without even a care >.<

If the public bath wasn't enough though we got the 6:30 am wakeup call the next morning. Speakers, wired through out the whole building started playing annoying-shoot-yourself-in-the-face classical music. We were then corralled for a 7 am morning gathering in which we were forced to go exercise. At that hour in the morning I decided crying wasn't the right way took look at things--I decided laughing my ass off after the morning gathering was a better idea (my roommates at one point thought I was crazy).

We then left at 9:30am and arrived at Wajima a fisherman town and visited a public market, our next stop was a mountain temple (Soiji temple) before arriving in an exhausted cluster to Nishikawa Heights.

Needless to say it was an incredible experience--if not a bit traumatic at times. I had a great time.　

gotta finish some homework.

まったね！！

^.^

--signing off for now--

dre

classes hath begun...

oh man >.< my brain is mush after Japanese classes of doom. i met my project partner for the rube goldberg machine i am making--Thank god he's a Mech E and knows what he's doing. Im loving my cell phone and the fabulous japanese text messages.

I'v got tons of homework but I'm taking care of business. :) I tried plum wine for the first time yesterday--delicious!!

today we're going to Anamizu on the seashore for the weekend at the conference house at KIT.

I'll be online on my sunday morning and share the rest of my awesome pictures.

--signing off for now--
dre

One week update

So after a week of living in Japan i have compiled a list of things I miss, and a list of things I don't miss.

I miss...

Raw Fruit/Vegetables- If you know me then you'll understand that fresh cut fruits and veggies is about the best possible thing to eat in my mind. Here in Japan fruits are ridiculously expensive (a small water melon costs approximately $15 dollars and apples cost $3 a piece.)

Internet access in my room-- The guys are trying to figure out how to do this however so far no good—so i have ot go to a public ounge the flor below me to enjoy the gift of wireless internet and skype people.

my Nakama 2 book-- I only brought my Nakama 1 book so I can't look up as much kanji as I would like. (I end up stealing a class mates book to review stuff.)

Lipton Green Tea with Honey-- the green tea here is ok but I have longed for the refreshing taste of my lipton green tea. :(

I haven't missed...

Sunshine-- While rainy season is supposedly due any time now we have been having fabulously sunny days since we arrived -knock on wood-

Cars to drive me places-- I've been walking everywhere! My goal is to find a book off where I can apparently find a real great price on J-pop. A lot of people in this program are really into Japanese music so I've been getting educated in the way of modern Japanese music. (I only rely on dramas and animes to select my japanese music tastes) a large group of students are going to go to a music festival in yokohama after the program is over—I am strongly consiidering joining them (it sounds like it's going to be great time)

My cell phone-- yesterday I bought a cell phone for $88. i have free texts to any fof the phone services here and free incoming calls (my number is 080-3040-4352—if you want to give me a call) I get to keep the phone and any time I'm back in Japan I can reactivate it. This has been great so far since a few people in the study abroad program have a cell and can now coordinate where everyone is going rather than meeting in a central location.

Brick-- The architecture of KIT is beautiful. The campus is someplace where you can enjoy some great greenery.

Last night I actually staid in as I wasn't feeling too up to the weather. I'm feeling much better now and am starting classes today (yay!)

I added more pictures of smug mug so check em out!!

--signing off for now--
dre

Matsuri!!!

:P

Supreme awesomeness. Yesterday, thank to awesome SGE students, all IJST students went to Kenrokuen Gardens, Kanazawa Castle and the festival that is currently taking place in town this weekend. Yesterday's main event was the parade where various school marching bands, the Edo period firefighters, priests, Edo period reenactments--geisha, a queen, a king lots and lots of samurai. Then there was the open air festival (which I'm going back to today) where there's games and food and toys. :)

I apologize for the lack of festival pictures--my battery not enough for all the awesome video and pictures I took.

Check out this smug mug link and I'll have comment under photos. :)

--signing off for now--
dre

Welcome to Japan

After three days here in Japan I'm already noticing my vocabulary improving. :) I'm learning terms that I should be uing on a regular basis that just aren't taught in class....for example when entering someones house with ouot knocking (like my neighbor who i know) I should be saying ojamashimasu...literally i am going to bother you and when I leave I hould say ojamashimashita basically I have bothered you.

When I arrived in Japan my biggest hurdle was making it from Narita to Kanazawa. Thankfully on my first train (Narita to Tokyo station) I impressed a “salary man” with my Japanese—basically I ordered a bottle of water and asked if the lady selling treats on the train had kakuro soda (a really tasty hard candy). He'd ask me questions in english and I would reply in japanese, anyways, he offered to take me to my next connection on the shinkansen (bullet train). thank god for that because Tokyo station was hectic—everyone was going everywhere and I had to go up FOUR flights of stairs. Once on the Shinkansen (picture) my lack of sleep caught on—unlike normal trains the shinkansen is such a smooth ride that it can put a weary travelere lie myself to sleep—I had a few scares thinking I slept through my stops but I made it to Echigo yozawa a hot springs area in which onmy own I made it to my ast a final connection to Kanazawa. (picture) this would be an hour after my arrival when moost of the other trains arrived. I think our exchange group stuck out alot. haha!we were concerned standing outside the waiting room in a big group since it was 10pm and the Japanese people would probably start wonder who the hell invite those many gaijin (foreigners) to this station?

I arrived safe and sound and bone tired...unfortunately jetlag didn't let me sleep past 4am onmy first day...I am proud to say that now I am waking up at 6 am. (I'm swly working my way to 7:30). blog

I had my living orientation two days ago during which I learned all the different rules of maintaining my apartment. (picture of dorm) my room comes with a desk bureau and japanese futon which is surprisingly comfy. I even have my own balcony area where I can air out my futon on nonrainy days (which are few and far in between).

Yesterday was opening ceremony so we got to get a speech from the president the final count for us students in 16 students from Rose Hallman (sp) institute of techology, 14 from RIT, 8/7 (forgot) from University of Illinois and 1 students from the University of Hawaii. Then we met some SGE members (Students for Global Exchange) who conduct the bike rental service we're allowed to use. The also threw us an awesome party where TONS of KIT students attended. (picture) I definitely brushed up on my Japanese then I also me a student who is from Mexico, he was so happy to be abe to speak spanish with someone. before the welcome party though there was lunch and (dun dun dun) my placement exam. since xams are extremely boring to talk about lets talk about lunch.

I would like to say that the wa I have been chosing what to each it by pictures. Since my kanji is not necessarily up to par I read parts of what the menu says and decide if the picture looks good enough to eat XD so far so good I haven't had a bad experience dining yet. the most fascinating place though was definitely the school cafeteria (picture) its kinda like a veding machine where you pay for your lunch, take a ticket, bring it to the right line and get your delicious meal (picture) I had some soba noodle concotion—don't about what's on top of them, all i know is that there was shrimp in it.



After the welcome party me and my new group of friends went with some of the japanese students to the place I had been waiting for since I got here to go.....

drum roll please.......

A takoyaki shop!! (picturesx2) since there was 7 of us we filled up the whole shop and share yaki soba (soba noodles stir fried in tasty sauce), takoyaki (pieces of octopus that are mixed with batter and some other ingredients topped with bonito flakes) and okonomiyaki (it's like hotcakes but savory with cabage and meat).

It's pretty funny since we're so new all the exchange students travel in huge groups we get stares wherever e do especially my room mate shella who has blonde super curly hair.

Today we're heading out to the festival that is in town as well a the kanazawa castle—fun fun!

more pictures of my adventures (about 200+) can be seen here <--link

The fun has arrived!!

So, 5 years of dreaming,2 years of trying, and 23 hours of traveling....I've made it!!!
.
I am currently staying in Nishikawa Heights in Kanazawa right out side the Kanazawa Institute of Technology.

so far I've survived without embarassing myself. YAY!!

Upon arrival I discovered that I am one of 7 girls here...out of 37 people.

>.<

I'm off to opening ceremony now!!

I promise my next post will be wish pictures!!!!

--signing off for now.--

dre.