Misc Orders of Business: Questions aka M.O.B Questions

To any and all my readers (from now to perpetuity):

I'd just like to thank you for making it this far. I know I tend to get a bit verbose and detailed, but sometimes I feel that the little things help make the large things so much more interesting. It also provides you with a more immersive and entertaining story, wouldn't you agree? Since my first few days in Japan were so memorable I felt the need to include as much detail and depth as possible, mostly for my own sake. From here on out the posts should be shorter and fewer multi-parted posts. However, I will try to make sure that the quality (or lack thereof) remains!

EP asked me, in reference to Jeez, Last Night was Real?! Part II, if Japan's rails and streets were as confusing as Boston, (EP and myself spent roughly 6 days lost in Boston). In short, yes and no :D. You see, for me, the hardest part of navigating Japan is that I'm illiterate in the Japanese writing forms. Everything (at least on my route to school) is very much labeled with signs and directions. I haven't yet explored much of Tokyo except a bit of the area surrounding Shinjuku station (Shinkuku Station is something in the range of a block in size and beyond that it has many floors). So in that way, it is harder than Boston. However Boston is hard to navigate even for those native to the English language. The lack of signs, the fact that 4 rights somehow make a hexagon (I know hex means six folks), and the various other problems with Boston's design make it much harder to navigate. I mean, if its hard for a native to navigate, can you imagine a foreigner trying to find the Museum of Fine Art? Boston in many ways reminds me of a painting. A painting Stewie Griffin once called "Crazy Stairs"(pictured above). Now of course, all of us college folk know that this painting is called Relativity. But still, "Crazy Stairs" does seem appropriate. Okay, so I didn't know the name of the painting before I Googled it a second ago, but the Internet is wonderful because anyone can pretend to be smarter than they truly are, BEHOLD THE INTERNET! But again, I digress...

So as always, thanks to EP for her questions and comments and thanks to you for reading. If any of you readers our there have questions, feel free to leave comments for me and I'll try to respond in my next M.O.B Questions!

Gambatte

-DPN

Life Could be a Dream Shabu-um Shabu-um

Uh oh, me thinks I gave you readers a pun that you're going to have to reasearch to understand. How mischivious of me >.<
The following takes place on April 4, 2008

I made an appointment with Sophia's Student Couseling Center for today. Now, contrary to what many of you may be thinking, let me asure yuou that I am quite mentally stable. I was there to gather information on the services offered by this center and common Japanese abroad issues that students experience. I think I may make some type of pamphlet for our abroad office back at Storrs. It is my hope that more UConn students will be willing to travel to Japan if they know that there's a free counseling center should they get overwhelmed and feel they need help (they even have English speaking counselors). I spoke with a counselor for about an hour about these issues and she was extremely helpful, if a bit dodgy. She would usually reply with "its always different". Now I understand that the mental health field is not a perfected science and that the counseling center gets a myriad of people with all different types of problems. But I'm slowly learning that her dodgy nature might be more due to her Japanese nature. In fact, she basically said as much. You see, the Japanese communicate not just verbally but in many other ways, but more on this in a Random Observation post.

Following the interview, I realized three things. I had the day to kill, I was hungry and I wanted to explore. So I hopped over to Shinjuku (this time with 10% less being lost!) and began a mini-quest for good food. I had seen a small portion of Shinjuku already with Pat two days before, but back then I had a goal. However, on this day I was just going where my feet took me. So I walked the main streets, and would randomly duck into side streets to see what I could find (Just call me Dan Bourdain). I saw quite a few restaurants around and all of them looked amazing. However, I decided on a small shop with prices which suited me. It turned out to be a ramen shop! I bet that college students out there are all groaning as they look over to their dorm food container and see the massive quantities of Maru-Chan or Tops Ramen. I assure you, this is not the same thing at all. Simply put it was amazing. I'm not sure I can ever go back to instant ramen (*cough* bull *cough*).

Deciding to walk off the delicious meal, I went back to the Odakyu department store Pat and I had visited the other day for a closer look. I was amazed. Honestly, Japanese department stores have everything a person could want all in one place. But then I found it. I found a place I have always wanted to go to, but should never be allowed to get close to with money. For those of you who know me, what is a place in Japan that, if I go to, there is a very real possibility of me blowing through my 4 month budget in roughly 4 minutes? You have 3 seconds 3...2...1. For those of you that haven't figured it out A FREAKIN' JAPANESE TOY DEPARTMENT! Yes folks, I admit it there are times when, at heart I am a geeky kid. At this store they had the latest in Kamen Rider gear and various models and kits at reasonable prices, and dig this NO SHIPPING AND HANDLING. Oh had the fates rewarded me this day.
To the left is a picture of this year's Super Sentai (on what Power Rangers is based) toy display. Quite honestly I almost fell to my knees in tears, it was like looking upon the most beautiful altar you could imagine. In fact at this point I may have actually been lightheaded and foaming at the mouth :D
This year the Super Sentai is Engine Sentai Go-onger. This is a cut out of their leader looking pretty bad ass.

Anyway, after about a half hour of savoring the various toy sights I stood in contemplation of the decision I had ahead of me. This decision in many ways could affect not only the rest of my time in Japan, but be an indicator for the rest of my life. I could:

1) Go on a manic spending spree right then and there which would bankrupt me and display a complete lack of restraint which inevitability begins a slippery slope of lack of pride and self control
2) Buy something small and learn that it is ok to give into your urges a little bit
3) Walk away and earn self respect for my ability to control my desires.

I managed to walk away folks (cue the balloons and streamers)! I did something I never thought I'd be able to that day. Personally the only thing that could be sweeter than the satisfaction I feel right now is that $200.00 model I wanted....OH GOD WHY DIDN'T I BUY IT?! In actuality I'm still amazed at the fact that I didn't break bank when I saw the toy department. But I would be rewarded later that day.

When I returned home, okaasan told me that the family was taking me out for a welcome dinner! How awesome right? We left around 7:00 pm and arrived at a rather nice restaurant. I had no idea what we were eating, but I knew that it was going to be delicious. It turns out we were eating shabu shabu. For those of you who don't know, at a shabu shabu restaurant you are provided with a bowl of water which is boils at the table. You are then provided with a variety of thinly sliced meat and vegetables which you dip in the boiling water to cook. The meat cooks quite quickly and you have a variety of sauce to accompany the meat. I know it sounds odd, and many of you are wondering why we would pay to cook our own food. But its one fun experience. This was also the first meal where the entire household was gathered to eat.

From left to right: Oniisan #1, Okaasan, Oniisan #2, and Otousan (father in Japanese). Take a guess at which brother is older (pst: here's a hint, when someone asks you a question like that, the answer is usually the one you wouldn't normally suspect)
There's something I wish to say before I continue my tale. When you hear stories about people who live with a family from another country, I feel as though they don't often point out the prominence of the language barrier. While I was having a wonderful time enjoying being with these people (and will until the end) the language barrier often causes a bit of an awkward silence to overcome conversation. But more on language barriers and communication in another post ne? On to the food! Massive plates of meat and veggies were brought out and we dug right in. At some point, beer was brought out and it almost felt as if a competition was present of who could hold their beer better otousan, oniisan # 2, or myself.
Thankfully, I'm a UConn student so I'm not as much of a novice in such matters. It was amazing how much we ate, but it was truly a great dinner and quite oishii (delicious). At the end of dinner we all said gochisosama-deshitta (something along the lines of "I have been treated/spoiled") and headed home. As was slowly becoming the trend, I spent the night talking with my okaasan and watching baseball with oniisan #1 and headed off to bed. But I must say, it was an amazing day all in all.

Today's Japanese word will be: Kazoku (pronounced: Ka-zo-ku). This word means "family" in Japanese. Usage: Watashi no kazoku wa koko imasu English: My family is here. Usage note: Kazoku is used when referring to one's own family. When referring to another family you add the prefix "go" to the word. So "your family is here" would be Anata no go-kazoku wa koko imasu.

After a night like this, there's really little to explain. These people have taken me in an are treating me like family. In fact at one point this past weekend my okaasan told me that I am now part of her family, which is really endearing. When I look back at my reasons for wanting to get a dorm in Japan, I remember that it was the need to have freedom and to meet people I could go out with more easily. In this home I've been given the freedom I was worried I wouldn't have and gained more than just some people to hang out with. I've gained a new family. So thank you to the family for taking me in an I will do my best to deserve to be part of your family.

Gambatte

-DPN

Sniper Rifle or Buck Shot Welcome

Yeah the title in not particularly good on this entry, my bad. The following is a post for April 3, 2008.
April 3, 2008 was the day of the exchange student welcome party. I woke up and went about what is slowly, and reassuringly becoming my morning ritual. I make my bed, organize my things and go downstairs to have breakfast with my okaasan. After showering and getting ready for the day, I left roughly 5 hours before the party was scheduled because I had to take care of some business on campus. I had to set up my computer account with the school that day. While doing this I met two girls from California who seem to be really cool (if at some point they are reading this because a friendship has developed between the three of us, hey Holly and Alyssa!). When the time for the party was close I went to the building where it was being held and just sat outside for awhile. To my left, I heard 3 girls speaking in English. I walked over and introduced myself to them and we were all talking about why we had come to Sophia. There was a German girl, a Nepalese girl and a Japanese girl (sounds like the set up for some joke ne?). Now at some point an Indian (who I later found out to be American) girl walked by. The German girl and Nepalese girl started muttering to each other. Apparently the Nepalese girl wanted to introduce herself but was too shy to do it, the German girl kept encouraging her to. So I asked if they wanted me to do talk to the girl. They didn't really give an answer but I did it anyway because I was bored. So I spoke with the Indian-American girl and introduced her to the German and Nepalese girl. Here's the kicker, behind my back the German girl goes "he's awkward isn't he". Yeah, I think that's a little messed up. Just because I like meeting new people I'm awkward? No, awkward is staring at a girl and saying that this was the third chance you've had to introduce yourself and not do it! Don't get me wrong, the German, Nepalese and Japanese girls were really nice, and I stand by that. However I just think its...particularly distasteful for them to say what they said, or at least within earshot. But the odds of me seeing them again are nil so life goes on. The party was interesting. I met up with Henry and a few people he knew from his Japanese dorm. Foreman and I spoke with a plethora of Japanese and American people at this party. Most of them were really cool. I also reintroduced myself to a couple of people who had helped Pat and myself during the cursed ticket/receipt affair. I thanked them and just "chewed the fat" as Holden Caulfield would say. However, just as I did with that Japanese girl I met at the start of my adventure, I forgot to get e-mail addresses for the people I had met. A shame too because most of the people I met I would love to travel the country with. We're all from such scattered parts of the U.S. and the world that it would be fascinating to hear their thoughts on life. But I guess there's always tomorrow (bad philosophy I know, but considering that I'm really attempting to meet everyone I can this trip I think I'll be ok).

Going back to the German girl calling me awkward. I've been thinking of a way to explain this that will make sense to the average reader who does not know me personally. I consider myself a very outgoing person, but by the same token a very reserved person. With people I'm comfortable with, I love having crazy adventures. But it is very hard for me to meet new people. I don't think that I'm a bad or overly weird person. I like things ranging from watching anime to playing sports. So, like Ferris Bueller I try to transcend social groups. But I AM a self conscious and shy person. So getting courage to speak to new people is not easy for me. As such, I consider friendship a very strong bond (however diluted the concept of friendship has become in this facebook world). So when I make friends it is similar to using a sniper rifle. You see, a sniper rifle is a weapon meant to shoot accurately for an immediate and strong kill. This is how it was for me for most of my life. I choose my true friends very carefully, and once I have you I'm fiercely loyal to you until the end. I don't care if I haven't seen you in months or years, if you are my friend you will always be (unless you really mess up, but that's yet to happen). As such, I'll do almost anything to protect and help my friends. However here in Japan I've decided that, in keeping with my "go big or go home" policy, I would attempt a different friend making philosophy. Here, its more like I'm shooting a buckshot. A buckshot spreads far and wide and tries to hit as many things as possible. Sometimes it will miss but just as often it should hit true. Is this wrong of me? Is it wrong that I like meeting new people? If it is maybe I should sit in my room and only go to class. If that's the case I shouldn't have left America in the first place! So I say to you critics out there, yeah I may not always be as socially adept as some ripped frat guy, but damn it I'm trying! Feel free to comment and voice your opinions on this matter, and other issues raised by this post.

Gambatte

-DPN

Today's Japanese word is Tomodachi (pronounced: toe-moe-da-chi). Used as a noun. This word means friend. Use and translation: Anata wa watashi no tomodachi desu English: You are my friend.

For the reasons listed above, I chose this word for today's post. However I have an extra challenge for you. As you contemplate the use of the word in Japanese think about your concept of friend. Is it a term you tend to throw around to everyone you know? Has the term "friend" replaced the word acquaintance in American English?

An Ugg-ly Sight

Now I don't particularly deny or attempt to hide my dislike for Uggs. Its not really that I dislike the product so much as they caused my first fight ever with a very good friend of mine (a chunk of the sheep skin feel off which I'm 90% sure is NOT supposed to happen on a $300.00 pair of boots) so its a very personal grudge. I'm sure Uggs are a great and quality product etc, etc and whatever else I have to say to avoid a lawsuit. At UConn, it seems as though every other girl is wearing these boots whether in rain, snow, sleet or sun, (Uggs the U.S. Postal Service of woman's fashion). Now I was a bit grumpy following my 13 hour trek to Japan. However having passed through customs and a variety of other hoops in the hopes of reaching my host family's house sometime soon I saw a rather disturbing sight. I boarded a train and gazed outside the doors and there I saw it. A girl, in a pair of jeans wearing a sundress on top of that. What adorned her feet you ask?! UGGS! I travelled 12,000 miles and still I cannot avoid this product which plagues me! So all I can say, and I know that my fellow UConn students will agree that it is fitting, Japan...Great Pick?

Gambatte

-DPN

Random Observation 2: "Yeah...that's the ticket!"~Jon Lovitz as the Pathalogical Liar

This post we will be discussing (and by we I mean I, feel free to talk to the screen as you read but I make no guarantees that I'll hear you) the majesty, beauty and lack of mystery that is the Japanese rail network. Now I say lack of mystery for one reason. When you ride on these trains for the first time, and really look around you (unless its rush hour) you will understand immediately why the train system is so widely utilized. You see, the Japanese rail system isn't just used by business men, or hobos. People of all ages and destinations from school to a corporate office to misc. widget factory ride the rails back and forth. From what little I have seen, this is just a natural part of life. My own commute is roughly 45-75 minutes depending on a variety of factors. From the type of train I get on, to the time I decide to leave to just how lost I get wandering Shinjuku. As before mentioned, Shinjuku Station is the busiest station in the world with more than 2 million people passing through it every day. Have you ever seen a salmon swim upstream to spawn? That is what its like navigating Shinkuku Station at rush hours. I don't know how the Japanese do it, but there seems to be a conspiracy that whatever platform to which I journying toward, all 2 million other people are heading in the opposite direction. Strike that salmon analogy, imagine a tadpole swimming upstream...up a stream of Japanese people with suits ties and briefcases. Oh the agony of attempting to maneuver through them. But I digress...

The train is so popular because of the extensive network of rails across Japan. If my own trips are any indication, one can usually get within minutes walk of any location you desire in Japan. Japan's rails are almost disturbingly efficient. In New York and Boston, I would assume that a train is on time if it arrives within 5 minutes or so of its scheduled arrival (if someone who utilizes the trains daily could confirm or correct this fact to me in a comment it would be most appreciated!). In Japan every train I've ridden has seemingly arrived within seconds of the arrival time (I haven't actually timed it, but I'm being a rebel this post). Another factor which contributes to its appeal is the cleanliness of the trains and train stations. Look at these photos of various parts of rail network:

These pictures are of the platform where I board my last train home. Notice that you cannot see a single piece of garbage. Even in the gravel pit by the rails is almost unnaturally clean! You'd be hard pressed to FIND garbage at a Japanese station and train, than you would to find a clean spot

The conductors also wear uniforms vaguely resembling American police uniforms. These are usually always in crisp and clean condition. Now compare to your average Amtrak train station and worker's uniform (not that Amtrak is bad, but this seems almost ridiculous). For those who have been on New York or Bostonian subway lines and inside those stations, you will notice a wonderful scent of flowers, lemon, thyme with just a hint of urine. The strongest scent I've experienced on a Japanese train since being here was the smell of a wonderful perfume on the woman next to me (I wasn't sniffing her out you weirdos out there; it was rush hour and people tend to be forced together like sardines...you'll see though). Another drawing point of the trains is the seating. The seats on a Japanese train (even just short local subways) are cushioned with a velour like fabric (Zap Brannigan would love the Japanese rails).

A Map of the Odakyu Lines. I ride use these trains to get to and from Shinjuku every day

The above map has saved my butt more than once. You cannot see it at the moment, but the location stops are written in Japanese (kanji, katakana, and hiragana). However I have the ability to read this map because the Japanese were kind enough to also write the location names in English lettering (romaji).

This is a my commuter pass. It is amazing because I don't have to take it out of my wallet to use it. All I have to do is wave my wallet in front of the reader and I am allowed through the gate. Think of it as a train version of an American E-Z Pass for toll stations.

Now, can anyone from New York or Boston tell me what this man is doing wrong? THAT'S RIGHT, he' s sleeping on the train. See, in America if you fall asleep on the train, the p robability of getting something stolen or you being molested or some such criminal activity seems quite high. However in Japan, people sleep rather comfortably on a train system which is extremely safe (Disclaimer: We here at Nan Desu Ka?! make no guarantees that if you sleep on a train in Japan you won't have something st olen or be groped, by reading this aloud you have absolved Nan Desu Ka?! of any a nd all responsibility if you're stupid enough to let something like that happen to you). I wonder if, now that I've said that disclaimer, tomorrow's post will be So I was Robbed and Someone Touched Me Today...

All of these factors, which make the train system in Japan so wonderful, has the downside of being crowded at rush hours. For my UConn people, imagine a green or yellow line in the middle of a torrential downpour at noon. Once you have that mental image, add 100 more people into that bus, and you'll have some idea of what its like. Below is a video showing a mild-moderately crowded train:

I imagine you're asking, "Dan, this looks pretty crowded, are you sure it gets any more crowded than this?". Wonderful question my good sir or ma'am. Here's how you know that this train is not overwhelmingly crowded. The proof is that I was able to take this video in the first place. You see, taking this video required mobility of my arms and the slightest bit of pivoting of my torso. On rush hour trains the best I can do is look up and down and pray that I have oxygen to breathe.

Gambatte

-DPN

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

Jeez, Last Night was Real?! Part II

Orienting to the Orient?

The time I dreaded soon arrived. I had to leave for school. I had orientation that day, but I was less worried about that than the actual commute. You see, most everyone in Tokyo (and I assume most of Japan in general) commutes to work, school, and widget shop by train. The train system here is EXTREMELY efficient and well developed, but more about that in a later post. My personal commute consists of roughly 45-75 minutes on a train depending on what train I get on (express or normal) and how lost I get at my switch overs. You see I have to get off at Shinjuku Station, which I believe is the busiest train station in the world. For all you naysayers out there who believe their respective nation's biggest train station is the most populated, its not true. Shinkuku has 2 MILLION people pass through it every day. Somehow I managed, with a little help, to get to Yotsuya station which is near my school. Of course, I got lost while finding campus (I think this entire trip will be me asking people how to get to certain places in 2 minute intervals). I assure you I was happy to get to a location where I had a map and a clear destination (Sophia's Yotsuya campus). I arrived at orientation and was surprised to see how many Gaijin students were there. I sat down in the back, more because there were no other seats than anything else. Before orientation started I introduced myself to another American next to me. Why don't we call him Foreman, since he's from Wisconson, and he's a pretty chill guy. As we were talking, a guy sitting right in front of us introduced himself as Dilon (I think). Dilon's Australian and has been here for a few years and is, also, a chill guy. We spent some time just introducing ourselves and talking about things we'd like to do while here. Of course we ended up spending most of the orientation talking and crackings jokes about what was being said. However the thing that got us laughing the hardest was the warning from one of the speakers (which was also officially written down on one of our packets), to watch out for cults! Of course, the speaker had a hard time keeping a straight face at this as well. I'm sure that UConn should start issuing cult warnings since several cults have appeared such as: The Ugg cult and the Cult of Craig Austrie. However, at UConn it is usually customary all students to drink the punch :)! After this thrilling orientation, the gaijin students were assigned to a resident student guide. The guide assigned to myself and another foreign student was a Japanese student named Machiko-San. She was really sweet but you could tell she was shy or not confident in her English. Machiko-San, myself and the other girl teamed up with another guide, Tomoe-San and her gaijin. Together we bought commuter passes so we could pass through the gates at the stations along our train route without the hassle of buying tickets. I decided I needed to go to Shinjuku to get myself a power adapter, and I started asking people if they wanted to go along. Only Tomoe-San's ryugakusei (foreign student), needed to go. But that is a story which requires its own post entirely...

This is me and my very exhasperated Jim (the office) face after getting on a random train which may or may not take me to campus...

Jeez, Last Night was Real?! Part I

The following blog entry is a back entry for April 2, 2008

I'm pretty sure when, I woke up that morning, I was thinking the what the title says to myself. I mean after such a surreal flight, with the fact that for roughly 24 hours I had seen daylight, along with an exhausting train ride and just the general discomfort and disorientation had while travelling, I think my mind believed that I would wake up and be back in my American bed. However after I truly awoke, I was pleased to find myself still in Japan. I woke up pretty early that day and unpacked all my clothes and miscellanea. I'm pretty lucky because, I think, my room is pretty spacious considering its an extra room in an actual house in an extremely nice neighborhood. Here have a look:


By the time I finished it was about 7:30am Tokyo time, so I opened up the shades and windows and was greeted by a rather beautiful day. After I did that, I opened up my room door just to show that I am very willing to interact with the family (for you college kids, its like propping your dorm door open so people will come in and talk). I proceeded to sit down at my desk and just listen to some music when I heard quick moving feet. My assumption had been that it was my okaasan waking up. But then I heard another set of feet running around. Now I had seen enough Japanese horror movies, and their bastardized American equivalents (actually no I haven't but for the purpose of this particular conversation) to know that I was about to have my soul ripped out by a vengeful child ghost who was after me for one reason or another. So I slowly turned around to face my imminent doom and lo and behold!!
Actually this is my Okaasan's grandson who, because of this photo, I will refer to as kaijuu-kun (kaijuu means monster, but note that I'm trying to use it in a nice way!), and he didn't really sneak up on me. In the background is his older brother who I will call Ivy-kun (after Phil Ivy, since about a week later he came into my room and wanted to play cards with me) . They both shyly walked to my open door when they woke up and greeted me with a quiet "ohayo". It just turns out that kaijuu-kun is somewhat photogenic.
Here's a picture of Ivy-kun...oh wait no its not. I tried to get a snapshot of Ivy-kun but right before the flash Kaijuu-kun shoved Ivy-kun out of the way and jumped into the shot! Told you he was photogenic. I believe at this point Ivy-kun is actually flat on the ground from the push
^ . ^
I ate breakfast with the kids and had a great time. I called them each my kanji-sempai (because its probably exciting for kids to be referred to as sempai from someone roughly 15 years older than them). After I had showered and gotten ready for the day the kids asked me to play some tag with them which I did, and boy was it funny. I swear these kids are like monkeys just jumping from chair to chair and running into things. I think I'm in good shape and they wore ME out...kids!

Random Observation 1: Kamen Rider: Average

For those of you that don't know, Kamen Rider is an ongoing Toksatsu show which is very popular in Japan. It is a show a show about a superhero (a new hero each year since around 1990) who rides motorcycles and wears a mask (or Kamen). My first Kamen Rider show was Kamen Rider: Kabuto from about 2 years ago.

However, the post title and the previous few sentences are misleading, since I will NOT be discussion the Kamen Rider series (I'm sure the collective geek community is up in arms at this point), but people I have dubbed Kamen Rider: Average. I'm sure many of you have seen documentaries or shows about Japan (Anthony Bourdain and so on). If you have, I'm sure you've seen the many average people in modern Japan who walk around wearing masks. You also see many riding on the trains (hence Kamen Rider). Now I know what you're asking yourself, "Why should I care?", or "Why do some Japanese wear masks?". For the group that asks the latter, I've come up with possibilities. 1) They wear masks because they are all ninja, 2) In Japan surgeons are on call at ALL times and wear masks in order to show their status and be able to immediately jump into action should someone need emergency plastic surgery or 3) They wear the masks because they have allergies and don't want to breathe in the pollen and dust which is all around (Note to Pete: I'm not sure whether the masks would prevent SARS sorry). Now granted the 3rd option is supported by my host mother telling me allergies are the reason, but still...I'll let you come to your own conclusion





Clearly these two Kamen Rider Averages are ready and waiting to cut someone open should an appendix be ready to explode... and you all said they're not heroes

Gambatte

-DPN

Addendum: My okaasan has informed me that the term "Kamen" is used only for whole face masks and the word "masku" is used for the types of masks displayed above. The post will remain the same for the sake of being clever, but I wanted to make sure all you readers knew the difference.

Let's Start from the Beginning...Part III

Since the day I knew I was going to write a blog for my trip, I decided that I would like to try to make it more interactive for my readers. So I've thought that it would be fun if, at the end of the weekly blog entry, I post a Japanese word and definition and perhaps some minor bits of grammar. Therefore, just as I'll be here learning Japanese, you can learn some Japanese as well. However, these words won't usually be picked at random, they'll usually be something which relating to what is on my mind at the time, but I will try to explain my reasoning to you with each word. I hope you enjoy this little feature and hopefully we all learn something from it!

Today's Japanese word is: Tadaima (pronounced: ta-dye-ma). Used as an interjection when one returns home. This word means "I'm home"

Using tadaima now feels fitting. All my life I've wanted to go to Japan, and now that I'm here I finally feel like I'm realizing one of those cheesy childhood fantasies. However, what makes this truly important to me, is that my host family has made me feel like their home is my home. I haven't been here long but, for now, yes I am home.

Gambatte

~DPN

Let's Start from the Beginning...Part II

Boarding and the flight: A taste of what's ahead

After boarding the flight, I did something I didn't really didn't think I had the courage to do at this point in my adventure. A couple of minutes before the flight attendants had started boarding the flight, an amazingly pretty/cute Japanese woman had caught my eye. As we waited in line to board the flight I walked over to her and introduced myself. Almost immediately we were having a great time conversing. I should probably mention that this entire incident was in Japanese! That's right not only had I begun picking up a girl, I had done it in a language I taught myself (I guess it is similar to how Flaver Flav attempts to pick up women and his native language is burned out gibberish)! For the next few minutes we talked as we boarded on the plane. Now, as she saw that the flight attendant was waiving her to her seat, this girl tries to discreetly look over to see if I was sitting near her. Now granted, she could have been looking over to make sure I was NOT sitting next to her, but I prefer to be an optimist in this particular case :D. (Spoiler: I dropped the ball didn't get her number or e-mail and only know that she lives in Chiba, which is huge, so sadly I'll never see her again). For all you sickos out there the girl looked somewhat like this: For the record, this is Angela Aki a half Japanese singer. I love her music and I highly recommend giving one of her songs a try out. Some songs are even in English! (No wonder I was attracted to this girl ne?)

The flight itself was fine, however according to the Japanese Travel Ministry, Laptops and Nintendo DS are not allowed to be used on Japanese flights, which threw a huge wrench in my entertainment plans. The food was good, and the entertainment provided, along with my copy of Catcher sufficed for the 13 hour debacle. However here's a recommendation to all of you, when on a long trip, go for the isle seat! While the window seat is nice to lean on and view the scenery, I can't tell you how much I would've loved to freely get up and walk around. I couldn't do this because the guy sitting right next to me essentially passed out for the ENTIRE flight and I didn't want to wake him just to be able to walk around. However the rest of the flight was enjoyable. All in all ***BEWARE! BLATANT PRODUCT PLACEMENT AHEAD!*** flying with JAL was a great choice as they are an excellent airline with almost constant attention from the flight attendants, comfy seat, and their entertainment system. So remember, you can't spell joy and Life without JAL...you know unless you misspell joy and life.

The best analogy I can create for my actual trip to Japan is this; imagine yourself reclining on a cloud. You have the perfect back support, leg support and a plethora of spirits and foods available to you. Now, you're listening to your favorite music and relaxing reading a nice book and sipping a glass of wine. As you slowly begin to drift off to to sleep, you feel another wave of relaxation overcome you. Feel free to imagine that feeling for a second. Now as you slowly drift deeper and deeper into your comfort zone, imagine the person you care most about walking over to you and whispering something tender and loving in your ear. Now as they do that, imagine that someone gently places a jackhammer into your eyesocket and lets that baby rip! Do that for 13 hours, and you'll have a good idea of what I experienced.

In Japan:
I was picked up from Narita by Fumo-san. I was amazed he was still there since it took an hour to get through immigration on a flight that was already extremely late! He is a cool guy and speaks English very well. Thank God for him being there because there is no way I could have navigated the rails to get to Kawasaki from Narita. I believe the trip is roughly 1.5 hours with a few change overs. Although I made a few mistakes with tickets and things we did get there alive. Although I learned that carrying several large and heavy bags of luggage on the trains, especially at Shinjuku Station, during rush hour is a major pain in the ass. But we finally arrived at my host family's neighborhood at 10 or 11. I must make a quick comment, which will be expounded on in a later post, about how safe Japan is. We were walking at 10 or 11 PM with large luggage and I never once felt in danger. When we arrived my host mother, who for now I will call okaasan (or mother in Japanese), was still awake and waiting for me, her oldest son who I will call Oniisan (brother in Japanese)#1 was also present to greet me. After a bit of initial awkwardness and greetings, as my Japanese is sort of piece-meal, my okaasan sat me down and served me a still warm dinner! We hit it off right away and spoke for some time. Now at this point some of you are asking, "How the hell is he conversing with her when he admits his Japanese is not that good?", and that is a good point. My okaaan speaks English extremely well, and between her broken English and my broken Japanese we can have some interesting and very deep conversations. So ended my trek to Japan. I was shown to my room and after brief good nights with my okaasan and oniisan #1 I quickly fell asleep, but then again, at this point I hadn't slept more than 30 minutes in roughly 28 hours.

Let's Start from the Beginning...Part I

Quick Note: I originally had planned to post my first several entries on the days they occurred, but it took some time to get my internet up and running. As such, I am hurrying to get the back posts written and out. Some of the more specific points or quirky stories I would have said in these back posts will instead have new posts specifically dedicated to them. Also, the three parts of Let's Start from the Beginning... are all parts of one giant post for the day I left (gotta love meta-posts). So sorry for the delay!


The following happened on the day of March 31, 2008 and written as such (woot for an homage to 24)
"They" say that the best place to begin any story is from the beginning (of course I could be making that up). I've decided to follow "their" advice. I didn't get much sleep last night, but I stayed up late talking to my fellow world traveller EP, which really calmed me down. After saying goodbye to many of my close friends via a very personal facebook note (because when I think personal connection, I think facebook) I attempted to sleep. The next morning my mom drove me to the company that would take me to JFK. Of course, my mother cannot go anywhere without trying to be socially adept, but failing (it was kind of cute though). At the shuttle's pick up spot, my mother spotted an Asian couple sitting inside. She proceeded to ask if they were going to Japan (no doubt because I was going to Japan), which elicited a "no". She could have stopped there, but she continued to ask if they were Japanese to which they, again, replied "no". Here's a hint to all people; just because someone is Asian and about to go on a trip, it does not mean they are going to Asia! As my vehicle departed for JFK my mom started crying and I must say that, despite all the crap we give each other, something like that really just makes you remember the importance of family. I slept most of the trip to JFK but we made great time and arrived around 9:30 am.
At the terminal, I was gifted with the sight of two rather foxy looking Japanese women working for Japanese Airlines (for those who know japanese, this is a bit ecchi, I know), or JAL for short. All I can say is that if those are the types of women I'll meet while abroad, there might be a problem with bringing me back home. I must say that it was at this point I realized how alone I will be while in Japan. This trip is all me, and it is not like I'm only going away for a few weeks, nor do I have someone around from home around the way other abroad students have. But this all faded as soon as I found myself a Starbucks (JFK ftw!). So now, I'm sipping my favorite mocha and reflecting on how unreal this seems. This feeling of it being a dream is helped be complete by the overcast haze around the airport. But I guess that could just be smog (thanks New Jersey).

Mission Statement

I know what you're all thinking, "everytime someone goes abroad, they think they've become interesting and should write a blog", and I am no exception. However, I strive to show some funny, interesting and just flat out awkward situations which tend to occur to me on an almost by the minute basis, as well as just showing the general interesting nature of Japan. I will try to post at least once a week, but I may post more than once a week so tune in, same bat-time, same bat-channel!

Gambatte

~DPN

NAN DESU KA?! or "What is it?!": Helping perpetuate Japanese stereotypes and going big or going home since April 2008.