I Don't Have the Power to make a Blanket statement...

When you last saw your dashing hero, moi, I just getting my commuter pass. The ticket station issued a card, which would become active the next day (April 3) and a receipt, which Machiko-San said we could use as our tickets home.The tickets worked to get Tomoe-San's ryugakusei, Pat and I into Yotsuya station, but once we got to Shinjuku station we found that they couldn't be used to get us out. This is a problem because where we were in the station, you could not buy another ticket to get through the gate. What you CAN do is take your ticket and adjust the fare. Now normally this wouldn't be a problem, however the machines and then the various train workers we spoke with didn't see our receipts as our ticket, but rather just a receipt. In fact, they weren't even sure how we used the receipt to get through the gate at Yotsuya! In a rather big bind, Pat and I decided to take a train BACK to Yotsuya Station and buy a regular ticket. However when we got to the station, we AGAIN found that these receipts wouldn't work. This became a problem since we were now, in effect trapped behind the gates to the rest of the station. It should be mentioned (and I will upload a picture later to show), that the gates really only stop you by flashing a red light and closing these two plastic panels which only go about knee high. However it would be easy enough to have just run either through the gates, or jump them (whichever seems more exciting to you, feel free to add a back flip to this imaginary image). However, thanks to the help of another Gaijin student who spoke Japanese better than myself or Pat, we eventually bought our tickets and made it to the Shinjuku's shopping district. This entire ordeal took about an hour.

Thus began the quest for our needed products. Now I can't stress this enough, I needed a power adapter but our first order of business was for Pat. You see, he forgot to bring any sheets to Japan and where he's living, they provide a bed but not the bedding. So the night before the Shinjuku quest, he had slept cold and probably rather poorly. I can go without a computer for a few days, I'm not going to let someone go without warmth (need for warmth > need for facebook). So we went to the first department store we could find. Now, in America when we think department store, we think Wal-Mart for always low low prices or some other terrible slogan. This is not the case in Japan. Department stores tend to be huge multi-storied (I think the one we went to had 6 floors?) and the goods seem to range from cheap to expensive...but mostly expensive because, lets face it, this is Japan ne? We found blankets, but unfortunately Pat didn't want to buy one from this store because they were too expensive. I don't blame him, we're talking about around $100 (or 10000 Yen) for a thin comforter if I recall correctly. We are, after all, students on a budget in a foreign land. So we searched around Shinjuku for awhile. We saw, and smelled, some great food all around us, an I can't tell you how much self control it took for us to not run in and grab a steak, or visit pachinko parlors and other places of interest. We pushed on, ignoring the bright and delicious looking distractions, and found that many stores that MAY sell bedding had long since closed. However, we stumbled unto the Odakyu Department store roughly 45 minutes later. Upon talking to a saleswoman, we discovered that this magical place had both blankets and power adapters! Oh the joy that overwhelmed me as I knew I would soon be sitting on a train headed home. Both Pat and I proceeded to go to the floors which held our respective items and in the end, exited the store victorious. Now I think the interesting part, or at least the part which makes me feel more important, is how I had no trouble or hesitation talking to people around me. I was the one who was usually asking for directions (at this point I was a pro at asking for directions in Japanese, understanding the answer is the problem) or how to do something. However here's the catch, Pat has been taking Japanese lessons in school for a few years now. I'm the one who had to self teach myself and basically piece together this language. I'm not saying that I'm fluent by any means, or even adequate. As I've always said, and by this point it confirmed, I know enough basic Japanese to not die in Japan. Tonight, I think I proved that to myself. Also, it was interesting that, back home, initiating conversation or just asking a stranger a question is hard for me to do, but in Japan I've either let go of those inhibitions or am SO jet lagged that I just don't care anymore. Either way, it was fun!!

The phrase for this day is " (insert place name here)...wa doko desu ka. (desu is pronounced like "dess"). Definition: Where is... (insert place name here).

I chose this PHRASE for this entry because it fits so well with my story, and is a phrase that is very near and dear to my heart. Since I have a penchant for getting lost (even in America), I often need to ask where to go next. This phrase is bsasically the reason I'm here at my computer conveying my adventures rather than in a Chinese forest still looking for Sophia University. Use it well...

Gambatte

-DPN