Aruko!

Before I say anything else, I have to start by commenting that the internet here is painfully slow considering that I'm supposed to be here in the world capitol of technology. Or considering that I'm anywhere, for that matter. It's just slow. There it is.

Anyway, on to the main show. The biggest theme that I can think of to encompass the past 3 days is just walking. I must walk for at least 3 or 4 hours every day. It takes around 25-30 minutes for me to walk to the Kansai Gaidai campus from the dorms, a time that I always underestimate in the mornings and which inevitably causes me to be 5 minutes late for any morning meeting. On top of that is walking to get anywhere besides campus. On Tuesday I ended up unexpectedly walking to a kaitenzushi (rotating sushi) restaurant with some friends, at least a 45 minute walk from my dorm. Yesterday another group, with some overlap, walked to downtown Hirakata City, where we saw the real stereotypical Japan. Maybe it was not as much so as, say, Akihabara, but, well, there were plastic Hello Kitty water bottles. And a tiny super-cute girl mastering some Pokemon arcade game while her mother and older sister cheered her on. You get the picture. We went into a couple of bookstores, and half of each must have been devoted to manga. I guess I'm really in Japan. After that it took a good hour to walk back. Today Mieko and Alex, an old friend and a new friend, and I wandered around Hirakata City and went on a wild goose chase in search of a mysterious shrine that we saw on a map but were unable to locate in person. After 2 hours of walking we gave up and went back to the dorms. Evidently maps in Japan are never drawn to scale. Also, cars do not stop for pedestrians, and bicyclists like to sneak up behind walkers every 2 minutes and give about 1 second's notice with a ding on their bell to let you know they're about to run you over so you better jump out of the way right now. (And yet, bicycling on sidewalks is illegal.) Good to know.

I am very impressed by the food prices here. Anyone who says living in Japan is expensive clearly has not tried out many local restaurants. At the kaitenzushi restaurant, I ate everything I could eat, and in the end it came out to 380 yen. That's like $4. Or less. It was good sushi too! Plus, that includes tax, and there is no tipping in Japan. Additionally, there was the novelty of ordering off of little screens located at the head of each table, moments after which a little train would zip up to the table bearing everything you ordered and then shoot away at the touch of a button. At the cafeterias I have been getting donburi, rice topped with some sauces and egg and vegetables or meat or whatever you order, for lunch every day, and today it only came out to 220 yen. How crazy is that? It is surely better than anything you could ever find in Stevenson (Oberlin's main cafeteria), yet for less than half the price. Is there something we're missing in Ohio?

The days have been pretty loosely packed with various orientation meetings and activities, such as registering my laptop (but for some reason it still won't access the internet!), learning about life with a host family, and a rather amusing presentation about sexual health in Japan. Today I got a sheet of information about my host family! This is the first time I have heard anything about them. Their name is Karahashi, and they are an elderly couple that live in Yawata City, Kyoto, meaning that I'll have a commute of about 45 minutes to class each morning. So far, I have learned that they have a pet dog (so much for the title of this blog!), don't speak English, and enjoy bonzai gardening and handycrafts such as knitting. I am anxious about meeting them! It is hard to get a feel for life in their house after only seeing that much information, but then I will find out soon enough, "soon enough" meaning Saturday morning at 11. I'm not getting my hopes up about having internet at home, although it would be nice. Then again, maybe I'll be forced to be more studious without it. I just hope they'll teach me how to cook.

Tomorrow I will find out my class schedule and what level of Japanese I've been placed into. I am crossing my fingers that everything goes well. I already know that I got into ceramics, which pleases me immensely, so the only real question besides that is about the Japanese literature class. (I'm thinking that I'll drop the Kansai Art class so it won't matter anymore, and I'll only be taking 4 subjects, leaving me with more time to explore.) The ceramics class expects about 7.5 hours of studio practice outside of class every week, so I am hoping to become a truly skilled ceramicist by late May. Yes!

I am happy to say that I have been pretty pleased with my ability to communicate in Japanese since I got here. I still have a long way to go, but I have been able to sort of hold a conversation with a Japanese person and understand basically what's going on, and I haven't had much trouble with asking people for help if I get lost or am looking for something in a store. I think that after speaking with my host family, things will improve a lot more.

Okay, it's getting late. More to come! Once I can get the internet on my laptop to work there will be a wave of pictures coming your way, so prepare yourself.