Adventure Time

Lately I've been having lots of adventures with Macee~~

Yesterday, she and I went to Shibuya to apply for jobs at an English school.  Afterwards, we got coffee from Starbucks and walked around for a little bit.  While we were walking, we discovered a pet store.  I'll let the following picture speak for itself....

After freaking out over finding a Meerkat for sale, we decided to go shopping since Macee had never been to 109 before~  Then we came home and cooked dinner together and planned future epic adventuring times!



Today, we walked together to Toyo's second campus because we both have classes there this semester and wanted to be sure that we remembered where it was.  When we got there the sakura were just too pretty to pass up a chance to take pictures~!

On our way home we took a cute little back street and went up some super steep stairs and figured out another way back to school~  It would be an awesome short cut if it weren't for having to climb the staircase of doom.

Registering for Classes

Today Macee and I went back to the school together and I had my advising appointment.I really like my advisor.  He's super nice and he likes to just sit there and chat with me during our meetings haha  For the moment, I have decided on 4 classes in addition to the 5 Japanese classes I'm required to take.  I don't think I will be able to take all 4 of those classes but I wanted lots of options to work with during drop/add.

Ok I'm going to take this opportunity to explain how signing up for classes at Toyo works for exchange students.  So if anyone interested in studying abroad there in the future reads this blog it might be helpful for them.  I don't know if this is the typical way schools work for foreigners in Japan, but this is how Toyo Uni does it:


First of all, we had to take a placement test at the beginning of the year that split us into three levels: J1-beginner, J2-intermediate, and J3-advanced. Unless you test out of all three levels, it is required for you to take 5 Japanese language courses: Integrated Japanese, Kanji Literacy, Listening Comprehension, Reading and Composition, and Project Work.  These classes are taught between 9:00am and 12:10pm Monday through Friday.  This is the set time for everyone regardless of level. 

After that, there are two packets of classes that we were given at orientation.  Timetable A is all the classes offered that are taught solely in Japanese.  Timetable B lists the classes that are taught in English or with partial support in English.  Unlike most classes in American universities, which require you to attend the same class multiple times per week, classes taken at Toyo are typically taught only one day a week.

You decide what classes you want to take and then write the class information (ie course code, course title, teacher name, etc) on the Registration Form.

Then for the classes you want to take, you also must fill out these permission forms to give to your teachers that basically explain that you are an exchange student and you want permission to take their class. (We were given these forms at orientation as well) They are really simple to fill in. You just write the course title, the day and period of the class, and the room number.  All the other information is already printed onto the sheet.

After that, you take your registration form to a meeting with the advisor that the school assigns to you and your advisor signs off on it.  Then, you take the registration form and the permission forms to the GIO (Global Initiatives Office) aka the study abroad office.  They file the registration form and give you a copy to keep.   They also make copies of your permission forms for their own records, but give the originals back to you to give your teachers on the first day of classes.

The first week of class is a "trial period" or what we call "drop/add" at home.  If there is any class that you want to change, you just go back to the GIO and make the change on your original registration form.  


And that sums up the registration process!

Blowin' in the Wind

Well... it's 6AM and I can't sleep....
I have been sick whether from allergies or a cold I'm not quite sure, but either way I can't breathe and it's preventing me from sleeping so I decided to take the spare time to post a blog.

Yesterday was interesting.  I went with Macee to the school because we were both supposed to have our advising appointments.  Hers was scheduled for 1 and mine was scheduled for 3 so we were planning on just hanging out at the school.  However, while we were sitting in 4th building, one of the teachers from GIO found us and told us that all advising appointments for the day had been canceled and that the school was being closed because a bad storm was coming in.  This really freaked me out because...well let me go off on a side rant for a moment:

When Quaff stayed at my home in the U.S. it stormed.  Nothing super crazy just a normal thunder storm, but it really freaked them out and I didn't understand why.  Now, having lived in Japan for 7 months, I think I kind of understand.  Thunderstorms don't really happen here unless you count typhoons and even with the one typhoon I encountered here there wasn't a whole lot of thunder, just lots of rain and really strong winds.  Since being here, I have only experienced two of what I would view as thunderstorms.  One was in November, the other was last night. 

So now back to my original point: Japan doesn't really have bad storms very often so when the teacher told me they were shutting down the school because of an approaching storm, me and Macee decided really fast that we needed to get home and stay there.  I was really glad we made that decision when I was sitting in my room later that evening listening to the wind shake my door.  Yet again I feared that a part of the tree outside my window was going to fly into my room.  There was even a tornado warning (which answers my frequently asked question of whether or not Japan has tornadoes) and apparently it was the strongest storm Japan has seen in decades according to this website.

But all is well now and the sun is coming up.... I should be asleep.  I hope to go to the doctor soon so I can get over whatever this is that has me feeling so bad.  Also, I have to worry about rescheduling my advising appointment.  Only a few more days until school starts back~

ワッショイ!

Last night I went to Gevil's last live show at Club Seata in Kichijyoji.
I took the train to Kichijyoji by myself and somehow managed to get on a train that went past my stop so I had to backtrack some and ended up being late, which meant that I had to ask some 14 year old girls to help me find where Kazuma was waiting for me. Once I met up with Kazuma, we went to Mister Donut and met Haru, Ukisemi, and Takuma.  It was really great getting to hang out with them.  I miss my big brothers a lot.  It was also fun to realize that I can almost follow their conversations in Japanese now.
When we got to the venue, I had the realization that it was the same place I saw Quaff perform for the last time and it made me a little sad, but the show was really great! Also I got to meet Takuma and Kazuma's mom and hang out with Hiroka~ So I was happy!

"sealing" Gevil

encore~

After the show, we hung around for the after party and I got to talk with Taka for a minute.  He gave me some sort of strawberry cream filled pastry that looked like Totoro~! It was so cute I felt bad eating it, but it tasted just as good as it looked and I was super hungry by that point haha I intended to stay until first train, but since Haru and I were both dog tired he and Uki were super sweet and paid for us to take a taxi home <3  So I was able to make it back in time to actually get some sleep~

Taka can never pass up an opportunity to make fun of me lol

Today, I had to be at the school by 11:00AM for Spring Semester Orientation.  Basically we just had to go get the necessary paperwork and the list of classes and find out when we meet with our adivsors and the let us leave.  The -interesting- part of it was outside the buildings.  All through campus were two never-ending lines of people handing out flyers for their school clubs.  It was like nothing I have ever experienced before.  It was so loud and as you walk in between these two lines of people to get into the school building there are people on both sides of you trying to get your attention and holding out papers that they are begging you to take.  It was the strangest feeling! I imagine it to be a lot like how rockstars feel when they get done with a show and are walking back to their tour bus or something.  Now I'm happily back in my bed where I intend to stay for the rest of the day because I'm not feeling so great and I want to get plenty of rest and make sure I'm healthy and ready for school to start back on Friday~

Here's a LINK to a video that Emily took at the school today.  You see me attack Macee in a hug at one point in it ^^

December 20: MAGICAL BOX

This blog is going to be all out of order....but I guess that's ok.  I'm pausing in my re-cap of November/December to talk about my day today.  After starting out the morning with kanji class and finding out that I made a 63/100 on that IMPOSSIBLE kanji test I took last week, I wasn't feeling so happy.  But not even kanji class can keep me down for long when Taka's around.  He met me for lunch in Takadanobaba and we had ramen.  I was fully prepared to be made fun of for my failtastic ramen eating, but I was actually able to do it right this time (much to Taka's disappointment haha)! Anyhoo, after we ate, he gave me a late birthday gift (<3) Lots of bath salts that smell aweeeeesoooome....AND....a box.  Not just any kind of box mind you.  A box that makes things disappear.  While we were at the restaurant, Taka put a toothpick in it and demonstrated it for me and I was baffled.  He had to show me how to do it and even then I still wasn't sure exactly how it worked! So needless to say when I got home it provided with amusement for much longer than it probably should have, but I was trying so hard to figure out how it works! I'm still not sure I completely understand..... but anyway on to the .....

*drumroll~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* 

DEMONSTRATION VIDEO

勉強 - studying

My brain hurts....

I think I have done more studying today than I have in the entire last month.
Not to mention I am pretty sure I consumed enough coffee to keep me awake for days O_O''
I lost count after 5 cups....
But the important thing is that I got some serious studying done.
I'm pausing for a break now before I go get food and then continue for another couple of hours.

I've been such a good student lately!
I even went to the library and figured out how to check out a book!

The library here really scares me though because it has the bookshelves that move and I have this terrible fear that I'm going to get trapped and squished in between them.

There are still kind people in the world

Ok so I haven't updated in forever.
I really intended to keep a regular blog, but I just don't seem to have the time.
What free time I do have I tend to spend it sleeping or going places.
But today I feel like writing and I have something specific that happened that I wanted to talk about.

Whenever people ask me why I like Japan one of my common responses is "because people in Japan are so kind."  Yesterday, I experienced a perfect example of that.

In my classroom where I have my Japanese language class almost every morning, the desks have a cubby where you can sit books or your papers or whatever.  For me personally, it's a place where I sit my cell phone so I can access it easily to check the time (which is frequently because I'm usually starving and dying to be done with class).  Yesterday when Molly and I got to the cafeteria after we were done with class, I realized that my phone wasn't in my purse and we determined that I most likely left it in the classroom.  Instead of rushing immediately back to the room in a panic, praying that no one had found it and stolen it already, I remained sitting and talking with my friends until 3rd period was almost over.  Then Molly and I made our way back to the classroom and waited for the class that was in there to leave.  When the bell rang, we went in and began looking in the desks, but my phone wasn't in the desk I usually sit in.  As I began to retrace my steps of where all I had gone that day in my head, a guy walks over, reaches into another desk and hands me my cell phone.  This guy had not only walked away from his group of friends to help me, but also stopped in the middle of a phone call to show me where my phone had been moved to.  In America, my phone would have more than likely been gone long before I ever even realized it was missing.  And I -highly- doubt it ever would have been hand delivered back to me when I went looking for it even if it was still there.  That guy probably has no idea just how much he made my day.

I realize that there are good and bad people everywhere, but I feel like in general people in Japan just care more.  I've seen a woman drop her wallet as she was getting off a train and a man pick it up and chase her down just to give it back to her.  In the cafeteria everyone finds a seat and then leaves their purse or bookbag there to hold their seat while they walk away to go buy food without fear of someone stealing it.  There can be no one sitting at a table, but if there is a single folder sitting in the middle of it no one will sit there because it is claimed already.  In the dining halls at UGA you would come back to find your folder, purse, bag, whatever shoved off to the side and four people sitting at the table you were hoping to save.

There have been several times since I got here that I have been lost or confused about how to do something and had a complete stranger come up and, despite language barriers, attempt to help me.  It amazes and inspires me every time.  And I just wanted to share with everyone one of the many reasons I love this country so very much.

November 18th

This day started off with me and Molly being even more tired than usual, so for some reason we thought it would be a good idea for us to both drink two coffees before class..... Needless to say we will never make that mistake again.  We were so hyped up through the entire class, which resulted in a tower of coffee cans on our desk that our teacher questioned at one point, but never actually got mad at us for, as well as some interesting additions to our Japanese books.  That night, we had a "Takoyaki Party" in Eddie's room (Takoyaki are balls of cooked dough with octopus inside them).  Eddie did a great job cooking and I had a GREAT time at this party.  We had a giant tickle fight, taught my boys how to dance the macarena (for the record any time I refer to 'my boys' in this blog it means Daiki, Naoki, Takuto, and Masaki), had a chance to hang out with Akira again for the first time since the very first big I-House party, met Daiki's friend Kazuya, and watched creepy Japanese ghost movies.

November 9th

This day was just an average day in the life of Lauren and Molly really, but it just happened to be the start of the running "poke vs pork" joke we have with Kenji.  We were all sitting at lunch having a discussion about how the two words sound exactly the same when you same them like a Japanese person would.  Which resulted in me thinking Kenji was calling me pork when he was saying poke so I asked him if he was calling me fat.  So now we "ポーク" each other all the time :P   This was also the same day that Kumba and I were throwing paper airplanes at each other across the lunchroom and teaching everyone how to make "cootie catchers" and paper snowflakes haha

 Our kanji writing/drawings with Kenji

Just chillin' out in the cafeteria after class

Exploration, Karaoke, Cards, and Video Games

Wow... it has been a while since I posted anything.

I have been SO BUSY!
It has been great and crazy all at once haha

So I'll start off with some pics me and Molly took one day while we were exploring Toyo (our school).
We managed to find our way onto the roof and took some great pictures of the view from there ^^

Last weekend I went with a huge group to karaoke and we had a blast!! 8 solid hours of singing, laughing, eating, and just having fun in general. ♥

Then the other night my Language Exchange Partner (LEP) Daiki brought his Wii and a big group of us played Super Smash Bros for most of the evening!  I was SO bad the first day, but since then I have been practicing because I am determined to be able to keep up with the guys haha  But before we played video games, since Takuto, Masaki, and Naoki taught me how to play Old Maid (which I never knew how to play to everyone's extreme surprise), I decided to try (with the help of Nick and Molly) to teach them how to play E.R.S. which ended up being extremely fun even though most of the time I was out of cards and on the side trying to slap my way back in :P

Today I'm going to do homework and sleep.  You know... have to work that in somewhere LOL

Change of plans....

Ok so....
when I posted that I was placed in the level two class, it looks like I lied.
They have moved me up into the highest level class now (L3)
I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this...
The class is full of people who are absolutely brilliant at not only reading and writing Japanese but speaking it as well.  In fact, most of them have lived in Japan at some point before now.  It makes it very intimidating for me because I'm definitely at the bottom of the class.... but I talked to the people at the GIO office and they said that I scored really high on my placement test and barely fell short of making it into the level 3 class to start with so they think I have the skills needed for the class....
The level two class was comfortable for me.  Level three pushes me way outside that comfort zone, but seeing as how I chose to come live in a country that speaks an entirely different language for a year at a school where I didn't know anyone, being in my comfort zone wasn't a luxury I expected to have anyway haha so I think I can survive.  It's just going to mean a lot of time spent studying each night.  But again, since I came here to learn the language, that's not such a bad thing.  I guess I will just have to see how it goes :/

がんばりますよ！！ (it means: I will do my best!)

DRUM ROLL~~~~

The results are in: I have been placed in Japanese level 2!
That's out of 3 possible classes so I'm in the middle one :D

Today was the first official day of Japanese class and it started at 9:00AM this morning.
If there is one thing about myself that I am certain of it is that I am NOT a morning person haha
It's going to take some serious amounts of coffee or red bull to keep me awake through 3 hours of Japanese study every day!!
But my teacher is really really nice and I enjoyed the class today.  It's slightly intimidating because she only speaks in Japanese, but I was doing ok understanding it until I started falling asleep.... oops ^^;

Tomorrow I have 'integrated Japanese' and 'reading and composition'
I'm nervous.

And now it's entirely too late and I have class at 9:00am again tomorrow. so BED TIME~!

First Day of School

Today was my first day of "classes"
I say "classes" because I actually didn't have class today, just a placement test. But I did have to go to the school and take a really hard test! So I'm pretty sure it counts!  The test today was three parts: composition, multiple choice, and kanji.  And they TOTALLY made us start the test with composition.

So at 9:00 in the morning and having not taken a Japanese class in almost 5 months, I wrote my first ever essay in Japanese.  The subject was "things you have experienced since coming to Japan" ... I'm pretty sure that was the most random thing I have ever written.  I'm not even sure it can count as an 'essay' I'm pretty sure it was just a bunch of sentences thrown together in no particular order.  For example: "I have made a lot of good Japanese friends.  My roommate and I like to take purikura when we go to Shibuya. I tried watching movies in Japanese, but it is difficult."  At least they will know I can form sentences I guess even if I can't make them flow haha

Then we got a ten minute break before we had to start the insanity that was the multiple choice portion.  It started out easy with test A...then I raised my hand and got test B and was thinking 'ok this is a little harder but I'm still understanding...' so I raised my hand and got test C.  By the end of test C my eyes were starting to cross and I was going 'hmm well I've never even seen that before but this looks familiar so let's pick this letter!' then I raised my hand and got test D.  Took one look at it and handed back.  There was no point in me even trying because it would have just been me picking random letters the entire way through.

The kanji portion was a joke really.  It was "circle the kanji you recognize" .... I wish the entire thing had been that simple!!

Tomorrow is the worst part: the interview.  I'm extremely intimidated by that one, but since that isn't until tomorrow I'm not going to stress it today.

After the test was over, Molly and I were going to go see one of our new friend's band play at the school, but we got lost and by the time we found the place he had already played haha But we had a good laugh at ourselves getting lost and now we know a little bit more of our school :P

Right now I'm going to go meet Meg and we are going to go see if we can find some good food for lunch.  Maybe try a new restaurant! YAY ADVENTURE! YAY JAPAN!! haha