So the orientation meeting was very nice and the lady giving us the tour spoke excellent English. We got to look around the facility, see the Japanese style rooms, find out about the volleyball and tennis courts, see the auditorium, and figure out the washing machines. I think I did my job of giving her our present of chocolate very well because she was quite surprised by my formal presentation in Japanese. Yay me! After our tour ended I got on the internet to talk to some people, puttered around my room for a bit, and attempted to get in touch with Maggie. (I saw the note hun it's ok!) After that I went down to borrow a bike from the center and rode around a little bit. I attempted to get myself a converter from an electronic store near here but was unsuccessful. I then wandered over to 7-11 again to pick up some milk (yes, I know even in Japan I need my milk!) and another ichigo-sando (strawberry sandwich, see previous post).
I then came back to the center and after putting away my groceries, if you can call them that, I headed over to the cafeteria to have some lunch. I decided on naan, miso soup, and a piece of cantaloupe. It was very filling and only cost me 475 Yen. After lunch I went back to my room to watch some TV and ended up taking a nap, guess I still need some adjusting to the time switch. I woke up a couple of times but since it was rainy, just like today, I figured I'd just go back to sleep. I woke up again later in the evening and came back up here to the study room to hop on the computer again. After talking to some people and sending a few e-mails I went back to my room, watched some more TV, and then attempted to go back to sleep in order to adjust. I woke up a few times during the night but managed some sleep though I still woke up again at around 6am.
This morning as I was planning what to do I ended up watching some more TV. It was hysterical. First I saw a show for kids and it had this little dance thing that I can't even describe. I had originally seen in on YouTube after a friend sent it to me but seeing it on TV is so much funnier. I then ended up seeing an episode of YuGiOh but it was a later episode than what was shown in the US. After that I got to see Power Rangers Rescue in it's original Japanese. Certainly an entertaining morning of TV. Now I'm going to head into Tokyo to Akihabara in hopes of getting my converter there and then I'll probably just wander around (and maybe play the taiko drumming game).
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Patty has landed =)
Well hello one and all and welcome to the record of my crazy adventures here in Japan while I'm studying Gagaku!
As you may or may not know I hopped on a plane 11:50am New York time from JFK and started my global trek. Having not slept the night before I almost immediately passed out on the plane but managed to wake up in time for a snack. I slept a lot on the flight but always managed to wake up for food...=) When I got here to Narita airport in Tokyo the weather was rainy and dreary but otherwise not too bad. The terminal was hot and humid however which I thought was very odd. After I got through immigration and customs I exchanged some traveler's checks and walked from one side of the terminal to the other, because that's where we were all supposed to meet.
No sooner had I sat down in Arrival Lobby A than Todd, one of the guys from the program, appeared literally out of thin air in front of me. We chatted a bit and attempted to fine Casey, the other girl in my program, who flew in the day before us all. But she was nowhere to be found. So instead we went and parked our large carts full of luggage but some seats and sat down to wait for Michael, the other guy, to land as he was the last one to arrive. His plane was delayed though so Todd and I ate some snacks while we waited for him and Casey to appear. I managed to save a can of soda and a little oatmeal snack bar which was a great idea on my part, go me! Casey appeared while we were waiting and we chatted some more to pass the time. Todd and I agreed that we should take care of getting our cell phones while we were waiting for Michael so I did that while Casey went to look for her missing jeans, don't ask it's a long story, and Casey did that after she got back with pants (Yay lost and found!).
Michael finally arrived and after he took care of getting his phone we all bought our tickets for the train to Nippori where we were going to meet Terumi-san, our kind of friend/mother/caretaker while we're over here. The train ride took us about an hour but was very nice and we met up with her without incident. Once we said hello she took us over to the ticket counter so we (me, Casey, and Michael) could get our tickets from Nippori to Kita-Urawa where we would be staying and so Todd could get his ticket for wherever he was going. Poor Todd though, he has a Pasmo card, kind of like a metro card, but it wouldn't let him through the turnstile at first, it was kinda funny. So we said goodbye to Todd at the station and waited for the train to take us to Kita-Urawa. The ride was uneventful but believe me lugging two suitcases, a backpack, and a large purse around was beginning to get tiring. The train ride was about another 30 minutes and then we were here. We got off, walked past a cute little Starbucks, some bars and shops, and then a few more blocks over to the Japan Foundation Center where we're staying. After a little introduction by Terumi-san we bid her goodnight and settled in to our rooms.
Casey and I were hungry though so I asked at the desk if there was a convenience store nearby and sure enough 5 blocks away is a 7-11! Casey and I grabbed our umbrellas and trekked over there to by some snacks for dinner. I got myself a chicken pasta salad which is nothing like what you're probably thinking it looks like, a bottle of cold green tea, a small melon bread, and a sandwich of strawberries and cream (yes I know it sounds odd and revolting but it was amazing). We came back and after I fed myself (while watching Fast and Furious dubbed in Japanese, which is truly hysterical) I proceeded to unpack. I found that my computer would need an adapter to plug into the outlets here because they don't have three prong outlets, whoops. So instead I took a break from unpacking and came up here to the Study Room where they have computers we can use. I managed to chat with my dad and let him know I got here all right and also send out a couple of emails to other people saying the same. I also sent some messages out to some people I hope to meet up with while here. I then headed back to my room to finish unpacking, which took me till about 1:45am our time. Mind you we had gotten here sometime around 9:30/10 pm and I wasn't able to get on the computer until around 11pm to send my emails. But I digress.
So after I was all unpacked I made sure to set three alarms and go to sleep because I have a meeting today at 10am. I ended up waking up well before my alarms at about 6 something this morning so I just got up and showered, dressed, and then came here to type all this up. =) It's actually just about 9am over here so I'm going to head back down to my room to eat some of my melon bread and have some tea (I planned ahead and saved the bread from last night). Then after my meeting at 10am I will hopefully go meet up with Maggie in Tokyo. Miss you all, and look for more stories and hopefully some pictures soon as I get the adapter for my laptop. Sayounara!
As you may or may not know I hopped on a plane 11:50am New York time from JFK and started my global trek. Having not slept the night before I almost immediately passed out on the plane but managed to wake up in time for a snack. I slept a lot on the flight but always managed to wake up for food...=) When I got here to Narita airport in Tokyo the weather was rainy and dreary but otherwise not too bad. The terminal was hot and humid however which I thought was very odd. After I got through immigration and customs I exchanged some traveler's checks and walked from one side of the terminal to the other, because that's where we were all supposed to meet.
No sooner had I sat down in Arrival Lobby A than Todd, one of the guys from the program, appeared literally out of thin air in front of me. We chatted a bit and attempted to fine Casey, the other girl in my program, who flew in the day before us all. But she was nowhere to be found. So instead we went and parked our large carts full of luggage but some seats and sat down to wait for Michael, the other guy, to land as he was the last one to arrive. His plane was delayed though so Todd and I ate some snacks while we waited for him and Casey to appear. I managed to save a can of soda and a little oatmeal snack bar which was a great idea on my part, go me! Casey appeared while we were waiting and we chatted some more to pass the time. Todd and I agreed that we should take care of getting our cell phones while we were waiting for Michael so I did that while Casey went to look for her missing jeans, don't ask it's a long story, and Casey did that after she got back with pants (Yay lost and found!).
Michael finally arrived and after he took care of getting his phone we all bought our tickets for the train to Nippori where we were going to meet Terumi-san, our kind of friend/mother/caretaker while we're over here. The train ride took us about an hour but was very nice and we met up with her without incident. Once we said hello she took us over to the ticket counter so we (me, Casey, and Michael) could get our tickets from Nippori to Kita-Urawa where we would be staying and so Todd could get his ticket for wherever he was going. Poor Todd though, he has a Pasmo card, kind of like a metro card, but it wouldn't let him through the turnstile at first, it was kinda funny. So we said goodbye to Todd at the station and waited for the train to take us to Kita-Urawa. The ride was uneventful but believe me lugging two suitcases, a backpack, and a large purse around was beginning to get tiring. The train ride was about another 30 minutes and then we were here. We got off, walked past a cute little Starbucks, some bars and shops, and then a few more blocks over to the Japan Foundation Center where we're staying. After a little introduction by Terumi-san we bid her goodnight and settled in to our rooms.
Casey and I were hungry though so I asked at the desk if there was a convenience store nearby and sure enough 5 blocks away is a 7-11! Casey and I grabbed our umbrellas and trekked over there to by some snacks for dinner. I got myself a chicken pasta salad which is nothing like what you're probably thinking it looks like, a bottle of cold green tea, a small melon bread, and a sandwich of strawberries and cream (yes I know it sounds odd and revolting but it was amazing). We came back and after I fed myself (while watching Fast and Furious dubbed in Japanese, which is truly hysterical) I proceeded to unpack. I found that my computer would need an adapter to plug into the outlets here because they don't have three prong outlets, whoops. So instead I took a break from unpacking and came up here to the Study Room where they have computers we can use. I managed to chat with my dad and let him know I got here all right and also send out a couple of emails to other people saying the same. I also sent some messages out to some people I hope to meet up with while here. I then headed back to my room to finish unpacking, which took me till about 1:45am our time. Mind you we had gotten here sometime around 9:30/10 pm and I wasn't able to get on the computer until around 11pm to send my emails. But I digress.
So after I was all unpacked I made sure to set three alarms and go to sleep because I have a meeting today at 10am. I ended up waking up well before my alarms at about 6 something this morning so I just got up and showered, dressed, and then came here to type all this up. =) It's actually just about 9am over here so I'm going to head back down to my room to eat some of my melon bread and have some tea (I planned ahead and saved the bread from last night). Then after my meeting at 10am I will hopefully go meet up with Maggie in Tokyo. Miss you all, and look for more stories and hopefully some pictures soon as I get the adapter for my laptop. Sayounara!
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