So Thursday I finally met with Sayaka! I met her and 2 of her friends at the McDonald's on campus. She speaks about as much English as I speak Japanese. So at first communicating was a little difficult, but the more I talked with her and her friends it became easier to hear/understand them. She really loved the bracelet I made for her. After McDonald's, Sakaya and I went with one of her friends to meet her speaking partner in the CIE lounge. There we just hung out and talked some more. We probably hung out for about 4 hours. It was difficult, but fun! Afterwards, her and I walked back to my Seminar House. I wanted to show her the place, but because it's still during orientation week we weren't allowed to have visitors yet. So I told her that she can come over next time!

Friday, Shalonda and I got up and went to the convenience store to buy cell phones! They're white and pretty and Japanese! They ran out of chargers, so we will go back tomorrow to get those. Anyway, the cellphones here don't come with many minutes; maybe 60 minutes a month. Most people don't use their cellphone for talking, especially not in public or while on buses/trains! Everyone just sends e-mails from their phone. It's similar to text messaging, except each phone has an e-mail address and you use that to send it (you can also send mails to non-cellphone e-mails).

After that, we ran into our temporary room mate Heewon while making our way to the waiting spot for the Kyoto trip. Each group of international students was accompanied by a few Japanese students. Our guides were named Hitomi and Chisato. They were both very nice (and gorgeous, too!). We took a bus, then some trains to get to Kyoto. We walked over to Kiyumizu temple (or maybe it was shrine...I don't know). It was absolutely beautiful. I can't really do much to describe it, you'll just have to wait for the heaps of pictures I took (they're coming! I promise!!). While we were there, some creepy old white dude asked Chisato if he could take a picture of her. She was nice and said yes, but the rest of us were like '..uhhhh creeepy!'. After walking around there, we walked backed towards the train station and had some dinner on the way. We ate omuraisu (the name comes from the combination of omelette and rice). It's pretty much an omelette-looking egg wrapped around rice, vegetables, and topped with various sauces. Ketchup is a popular one, but I said no thanks. Mine was just chicken and rice inside egg with tomato sauce on top. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't my favourite thing either.

We got back to our rooms at about 8:30, and I passed out early once again at 9. Then, I woke up at 7 on Saturday, but I went back to sleep from 8 until 12. Shalonda and I went to the grocery store and I bought some rice, orange juice, and delicious rice snacks called Bonchi!! After that, I took another nap from 4-6! I just hung out around here on my computer until 2:30am-ish which is when I went to bed.

Today I woke up at 8:30, had some rice and orange juice, and now I'm about to go downstairs to do my official check-in for the seminar house! Then I am probably going to go meet a friend and hang out.

More soon!

P.S. Don't drink milk from vending machines. Just don't do it.

Want to buy 1 pair of rain boots size 10 (US). Yellow is prefered but not necessary (Morton Salt Girl!)

I learned the hard way that my boots, are in fact NOT water proof. I would think rain boots are avialable here, but I have such huge monster feet that anything here may not be in my size. A few of us haven't even ben able to find slippers yet because they are all too small.

I walked to school early this morning with Shalonda. She's currenty opening and savings account and I'm waiting in the computer lab. We have 2 "manditory" meetings today, and then I finally get to meet Sayaka! She seems to excited! I am, too. I also need to buy a cell phone today. They had run out the past two days, so hopefully they will have some today! In Japan, most people do not talk on their cellphones. They only get about 60 minutes of talking time per month. But text messages and phone e-mail are unlimited. I've seen people texting while riding their bikes! That's pretty hardcore if you ask me. Also many phones have TV on them, so you'll see people watching that while on the trains.

The other night our 3rd (temporary) roommate moved in. She was shocked at how nice and accomidating Shalonda and I were. We cleared out space in our closets and on our desks for her. And basically told her what's ours is hers. She's only staying with us until she moves in with her Homestay family this weekend, but until that time it's her room, too! So she should be entitled to everything we have. Apparently, past roommates (roomsmate lolol mmmm references) of hers were not as nice.

I can't wait until classes start. I feel like so far I have just been playing it safe and sticking with what is familar (i.e hanging out with the USF students, or English speakers). I think as soon as classes start, and I meet more people, I'll be speaking more Japanese and hanging out with more people. I really want to push myself to step out of my comfort zone (within reason, of course!) The spoken Japanese classes are all 5 day a week for 50 minutes each. In all Japanese classes, you're only allowed to speak Japanese. I'm nervous about this, yet excited at the same time. Because I know from first hand experience that if you want to speak a language you need to speak it, and speak it often. I also feel as if I'm tragically behind most other people. I have been studying for 1.5 years and so have many other people, but at USF the classes moved soooooo slow. Other people that have been studying for the same amount of time probably know twice as much as I do. For example, I can read and write about 150 kanji (recognize maybe 175), where as the other students I mentioned can read and write 500-700. I find that so crazy. But these classes are intense and move at a fast pace. I'm hoping to see improvment rather quickly!

Tomorrow there is a trip for all the international students to Kyoto! We are going to meet in front of the CIE (Center for International Education) building at 2pm. I believe this trip's main purpose is to introduce us to the transportation systems (buses, trains, etc.) I've already had some practice, so I'm like hella pro. I am slightly worried, though. Because there are 460 international students and they are trying to get them ALL to go on this trip. How in the world do you get 460 students on a bus and trains together? Hopefully everyone won't show up. I don't think I could handle it lolol

Last night I actually stayed up past 9pm! I believe I was up until 11:30. And I slept through the entire night! Let's see if I can keep it up. I don't really like going to bed early.

It's time for one of those oh-so-"manditory" meetings! More later.
<3

     I'm pretty sure that in the 5 days that I've been here, I have made more friends than I have during my entire 4.5 years at USF. And the best part is that they are from all around the world: France, Greece, Sweden, Australia, Korea, Japan! Everyone here is basically in the same boat; having come from a foreign country, not completely understanding the language, adjusting and adapting to the new area. I think this makes it incredibly easy to make friends here! And most people I have met are incredibly nice. There are the occasional 1 or 2 people that make me want to punch them in the throat, though.
     Last night we met up with a USF student who has already been here for a semester. He invited some friends, and we all went out to eat. On the way, we ran into people who joined us. One girl asked if she could walk with us back to the dorms and just ended up coming to eat with us! We went to one of those sushi restaurants where the food is sent around on little plates on a conveyer belt type thing. Also, there is a touch screen computer at each table that you can use to order specific things. And when that food is ready, it comes straight to your table on a shinkansen (bullet train). It was so cute! I'm not as brave as most, so I didn't try anything. Eating has been difficult so far since I'm so picky, but I was expecting that.
     Oddly enough, one of the harder things for me to get used to is driving on the left, walking on the left, doing everything on the left. Doing things on the right side is just so ingrained that it is taking a while to adjust. Crossing the street is difficult, too, because I have to stop and think about which side of the street is going to have cars traveling in which direction.
     Today I finished mostly everything that I needed to do during the orientation period; turned in forms, signed up for classes, squared away financial matters, took the placement test. On Friday I will get my course schedule! I really hope I get the classes I choose. If more than 30 people sign up for a class, it becomes a lottery-type system. Also! Tomorrow I finally get to meet my Speaking Partner, Sayaka! I'm very excited! I've been waiting for the chance to get some hardcore Japanese conversation practice. I'm excited to give her the bracelet I made for her birthday, as well.
     This is short, but I'm very sleepy. I finally have the chance to take a nap today and fix my sleeping schedule! It's been very difficult for me to stay awake past 9:30-10:00 most nights. But then I would wake up at 2am, and go back to sleep at about 5. I'm hoping if I take a nap, I can stay up a bit later tonight!

     Ok so! I left my house at about 3:30am on Friday to get to the airport at about 4:45. When I got there and went to check in, Shalonda and Carlos were there, too. We got our boarding passes, checked our bags, hung out for a little while, took the tram, went through security and waited at our gate.
     The flight to Chicago left at about 7am and was just fine, I think. I can't really remember. It wasn't too long, but I may have napped for a small portion of it. We arrived in Chicago at 9ish (Central time, now). O'hare airport is quite large. We walked around trying to figure out what to do. We had to actually leave the building and take a tram to another building.
     We got our boarding passes at the JAL counter and then met up with Alex, who had left from Orlando. We had to go through security for a second time, and then we headed to our gate. Because there weren't 4 seats available together, we tried to get 2 sets of 2 seats. Shalonda and Carlos were already seated together, so Alex asked to get his seat with mine. Then we got on the plane. It was quite large, and the first class seats were amazing! They reclined fully and had massage things, and very large TV sets. The regular seats weren't so bad, except that my knees were pretty crushed the entire time. Anyway, this flight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The 13 hours went by pretty quickly. They served us a meal soon after taking off. We had a choice of Teriyaki Chicken with rice, or some sort of fish with noooodles. While eating that I watched 500 Days of Summer. I think I took a nap for a little bit after that. They served us some tiny weird sandwiches later on (one was ham, and one was egg salad...no thanks). I watched UP. I think I took another nap after that. 2 hours before landed, they served us our second meal. It was some pasta with sauce and cheese, salad, fruit, and yogurt. The food was pretty good for airplane food. After eating, I played around with the TV, tried some of the games, and just kind of sat there until we landed.
     In Narita airport, we had to go through immigration. The process was giving a form we filled out, scanning our fingerprints and taking our picture. Then we had to pick up our bags and take them through customs. Again, game them a form and went through. We had to walk to another area of the airport for domestic flights. We had to check in again at the JAL counter and check our bags again. Then we had to go through security for a 3rd time! After that we waited by the gate. We actually ran into 5 other students going to Kansai Gaidai. For this flight, we actually got to take a bus out onto the tarmac and then walked up some stairs into the plane.
     The flight to Osaka was very short. It was only about one hour. While on the plane, I finished the bracelet I was making for my Speaking Partern, Sayaka. After landing in Osaka, the large group of us got our bags and found the guy who was going to take us to our housing. It was only about 7pm, so we had to wait until 8:15 for other students. We left our bags with him and explored the airport. Everyone stopped at a small restaurant to eat. I was tooooo tired to eat. After eating, we walked back and got our bags and walked to the bus. The bus was quite big, but the seats were tiny. Once again my knees were crushed. We didn't leave the airport until about 8:50.
     The ride to our housing was about 45 minutes. When we got there, luckily there were hired vans to take our luggage for us. We had a 5 minute walk to the building where we signed in and then the RA's helped us to our rooms.
     I live in what is called Seminar House 3. When entering the building, we take off our shoes and put them in a cubby according to our room number. Anyway, I went up to my room, and it is very nice (pictures to come). It is an apartment style room, so there is a shared living room, kitched, and bathroom for 8 people (4 doubly occupancy rooms). My actual room is a traditional Japanese style room. The floors are covered with tatami mats, and we sleep on futons (which we fold up when not sleeping). The rooms also have a desk for each person. Shalonda arrived a few minutes later.
     Of course when I got in my room, the first thing I did was take out my laptop and try to get some wireless internet. No such luck. We have to register our laptops in order to use them with the internet. But, luckily, there is a computer lab on the first floor (which is where I am now).
We met one of our apartment mates briefly (Rebecka) and then went to bed. I thought that I would sleep in very late because I had been awake for almost 48 hours before going to bed, but I woke up at 9am.
I got up, took a shower, and met another one of our apartment mates (Elin). Both Rebecka and Elin are from Sweden. They are very nice and speak English so well. Rebecka told us that they planned to go to the grocery store, so Shalonda and I decided to go with them. Before going, we met up with another girl from Sweden (Camilla) who was friends with Rebecka and Elin.
     The walk to the grocery store was about 20 minutes. The store was amazing. It was so clean and neat. We split up and searched for food. It was quite overwhelming at first trying to read everything and figure out what it is. I ended up buying some of this amazing rice! It comes in a microwaveale contained and requires no water! Just cook for 2 minutes. Amazing! I also got some noodle-y things that I haven't tried yet. It all came out to about ￥980.
     We walked back and hung our for a little bit before deciding to go back out. We were headed for a convenience store this time. And also, we wanted to see the school on the way. We got a little lost at first, but we asked a girl how to get there (in half Japanese/half English) and then found our way. Shalonda and I tried to find slippers, but they were all toooo small. Darn tiny Japanese feet. But socks will suffice for now!
The walk back was a bit longer this time, maybe 25-30 minutes. When we got back Shalonda and I ate some chicken and rice while Rebecka and Elin read some magazines they bought. Camila and Carlos both came over and we looked at some forms we have to fill out.
     Amazingly enough, they are giving us what is called the JASSO scholorship. It is either ￥80,000  per month, or ￥160,000 total. It's not too clear. Either way, that is quite a bit of money to be given for free! I love it.
     That about sums up my first two days in Japan. Tomorrow I have an orientation at 2pm for the Language Lab. Then I may head over to Osaka for a bit to explore and what not.
     I have been taking lots of pictures, but unfortunately I am very dumb and forgot the USB cable to connect my camera, nor do I have a card reader. I'll have to find out about getting one of those. When I do, there shall be a million pictures. I have already taken several pictures of cute things with faces.

    A few people have asked for my address, so if you want it, let me know and I'll get it to you.

More to come soon!~

In less than 12 hours I will be leaving my house for the airport. It's about an hour and a half drive to the airport and my flight is at 7am. My itinerary is as follows:


Tampa International (TPA) to Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
Departure (TPA): January 22, 6:57 AM EST (morning)
Arrival (ORD): January 22, 8:56 AM CST (morning)

Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) to Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Departure (ORD): January 22, 10:20 AM CST (morning)
Arrival (NRT): January 23, 2:35 PM JST (afternoon)

Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Osaka Itami (ITM)
Departure (NRT): January 23, 4:35 PM JST (afternoon)
Arrival (ITM): January 23, 6:00 PM JST (evening)


So this will have me arrive in Osaka at 4am EST. I've never traveled this much or this far ever. It's going to be quite the adventure!


I'm pretty sure that I have everything packed. I'm taking a large duffel bag, a small suitcase, my laptop, and my bag. Oddly enough, I have more socks than any other article of clothing!


People keep asking me if I'm nervous, but as of right now I'm not. I'm not feeling much of anything, to be honest. It's as if nothing is happening. I'm sure once I arrive in Japan I'm going to be like "What the hell am I doing in Japan?". 


I think my biggest fear about this excursion is not being able to understand anyone or communicate with anyone. I feel as if I have forgotten all the Japanese I've learned over the past 3 semesters. Luckily I have a 13 hour plane ride to brush up on it! Also, traveling with 3 friends, all of whom are in the same boat as me, is going to help. And of course I have my speaking partner, Otani Sayaka. We have only exchanged e-mails so far, but once I arrive she will be there to help me get acquainted with the area.


For now, I think I will take a nap. I plan to just stay up tonight until 3am. 


Melissa~