Two weeks in

Vaguely trying to keep to an update per weekend schedule. Here we go!

I have now been in Japan for a bit over two weeks, although it seriously feels like far longer than that. Maybe because I'm used to not really doing much with my time, and these first two weeks have had what feels like a mandatory, or strongly recommended event every single day. It's been fun, if a little tiring and has made me feel like I've lived four weeks here instead of two.

Of course, my classes have started too, but my usual tactic of 'go to classes, then go back to my room, study and lurk on the internet or watch random things' has been disrupted by the nightly parties/meetings/things that have been going on. We had dorm tsukimi about six nights in a row. Tsukimi was a word I had actually never heard of before coming to Japan. It translates literally as 'Moon Watching' and is the term that is used all the time at ICU for the 'welcome new students' parties that go on in the evenings. The ones I went to were held in my dorm, and students from one of the other dorms would come over and we would all introduce ourselves, then play some random 'getting to know you' game (I know, I know, it's a WILD live I lead!) It was actually really fun, if slightly exhausting to have to many social events. I also discovered a new favourite game – Uragiri (Traitor) Basket, a much more entertaining version of the Fruits Basket game. 

Still, despite my busy social schedule, I have managed to explore a bit. My getting lost in Japan count so far is only at two for this trip sadly, but I'm sure that will increase as time goes on. Especially as one of my lecturers recommended that we all went out and tried to get lost because that's when you find the interesting places. I'm still not convinced that wasn't his way of trying to cover up for getting everyone lost on the first field trip they took the class on... Still, it is advice that I intend to follow diligently.

The big news since my last post has to be, of course, that I have found vaguely affordable cheese. Heh, just kidding, no the big news is that I have had a full week of classes, including switching one of my classes for a more interesting one. A lot of the week was spent wearing a really-not-me outfit for initiation, which is now, thankfully, over. The fake nails actually didn't last past a day. They were just far too irritating to put up with. Which was sad, because they were kinda cool, just too long.

It's so...girly :(

So I know very few people will be interested in my classes, so I'll just say a bit about each.

Japanese: it is really disorientating to have Japanese taught at a level I can understand it at, keep up with, and actually learn something through. I like it.

Introduction to International Relations: Really awesome and interesting class, but the timetable means I have no time for lunch.

Contemporary Japan: Ramune to Anime: Make this class an hour shorter, and it would be the nicest class conceivable.

Right, now onto other, less tedious academic things. Grocery shopping in Japan is very interesting, especially for someone like me, whose main method of cooking is heating stuff in a microwave, or cooking things from frozen. That is definitely the most expensive way to eat here, and so I am having to, after many years of resisting, figure out how to cook real meals. Pasta, noodles and pasta sauce are figuring a lot, as I try to figure out what foods contain protein that I can afford and cook (bearing in mind that I really, really dislike cooking raw chicken). Also, I need more ways to cook eggs than scrambling them. Nice as it may taste, I need variety.

Another thing I have learned is that apparently I look half-Japanese. When three people on separate occasions make comments about it, or ask me if I am, I started asking why. Apparently it's the hair. Naturally straight hair is apparently not a western thing. The fact that it is currently black might help, but I haven't made a secret of the fact that it's dyed. Now, I'm not saying its a bad thing that people wonder if I'm half Japanese, it's just odd. Also, if people who know me think that, maybe the random strangers on streets think that too, which might affect my ability to play the 'oblivious foreigner' card. These are the important things in my life to think about.

Speaking of cards, I am now officially an alien! I have an alien registration card to prove it and everything! Ok, granted that was just a bad translation of 'foreigner', but it is the official translation, which is what counts, I feel.