Fri., Sept. 10th
It has been quite some time since I have written, mostly due to my insatiable desire to wat to sleep every free chance I get. I have been so tired lately because of constantly being around the same group of 12 people for 24 hours a day. We literally sleep, eat, and walk together everywhere. I find myself daydreaming of being back at Soka and going for a midnight In-N-Out run, but alas all I have is Mos Burger (No Freshness Burger here, Naks. :[ ). This is my attempt to catch up for the insanity that has occurred over the last 10ish odd days.
My stay with Nako at her grandparents' house in Shibuya proved to be the highlight of my trip, as of today at least. Her obaasan's (grandmother) cooking was absolutely delicious; I know I may be asking for too much, but I really hope my host mother is even half as nice as Nako's grandmother. I met up with the BCA group (3 guys and 7 girls) on Aug. 28th and stayed at the dorm at Hokusei (the college i'm attending) for 2 days. It was very clean, but really strange since i took off my shoes prior to entering and walked around inside completely barefoot at all times. I went from having internet to the slowest internet possible and no wifi. I've been struggling so much with not having a constant connection to my support system at home. E-mailing people just isn't the same, particularly without T9 to help speed up long letters.
Our first stop on our Honshu trip was Hiroshima, where we went to the Peace Museum, located at the city center, very near where the bomb was dropped. I had an odd mixture of regret and sadness and anger when i went through the exhibit as I saw the artifacts that have been collected. The most chilling of which was a watch that stopped at 8:15 am, the exact time the bomb hit Hiroshima. We had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake with noodles, bbq sauce, japanese mayo, and usually squid.) I've realized that more than a lot of Japanese food is fried, or completely starch. I miss homecooked food without a doubt, as we've been mostly eating out of the convenience stores for the sake of (what else) convenience and cost. All i want to eat is fruits and fresh vegetables, but they're extremely expensive, though much more satisfying than the ones at home. The next day, we visited Miyajima, the island of the gods, where deer roam freely and tourists feed them. We hiked to the very top of this extremely steep mountain and while the view was spectacular, it was almost too hot to appreciate.
Next on our list of cities was Kyoto, where we visited the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) in Nara. It is the biggest Buddha statue in Japan and I've been wanting so badly to see it. I climbed through a hole in the bottom of one of the poles holding up the temple. Supposedly, the person who can climb through this tiny hole will attain enlightenment. The hole is also the same size as the statue's nostril...that's how big it is. We saw several more shrines and temples. All very beautiful, but still hard to appreciate with the amount we went to see everyday. We moved onto Osaka, where I quickly began to grow impatient with how desperately I wanted to be alone, even for a moment. We had okonomiyaki again, 2 days in a row, more against our will than anything, but the hotel was really nice and located right above Osaka station.
When we finally returned to Sapporo, we had 2 surprises awaiting us. The first was how quickly the weather had become cold. It was so different from the crazy humidity of honshu. Second, there were 5 other study abroaders (not a part of the BCA program) from Canada, Liverpool, and the U.S. I met a girl who is half-Vietnamese and half-Cuban, lives in Germany, but goes to school in Liverpool. I was so very happy when we were able to bond over Cuban food and salsa dancing while speaking Spanish, which i really find myself missing. It's extremely comforting and reminds me so much of home.
We had orientation yesterday and today and the 2 ladies in charge of our area within the university (international student support) are so nice and always willing to help. We also received our money for food and transportation for the month of September and I concluded that i must live very far, since I received more money than almost everyone else. The Japanese students that I have met on campus are very nice too, and I feel badly speaking to them mostly in English, but I attempt to say what I can in Japanese. I took the placement test for Nihongo class today and the levels range from 1-5 (1 being basic Japanese and 5 being a class with no Americans in it.) I was so shocked by how little I remember from class. The first section was listening and went by so quickly that I barely had time to register what I had heard and read the question before they moved onto the next question. The written portion was difficult because it was all grammar and 16 pages long with at least 30 fill in the blanks per page. My hand and neck started cramping less than a quarter of the way through. Halfway through the test, I was called in to do an oral interview to test my speaking skills. It wasn't as difficult as I was expecting, except when I was asked to describe how to make my favorite food that I had said I loved cooking --- lasagna. >.< All I was able to say was noodles + meat sauce + tomatoes + cheese and put in oven. It was only until now that I realized I probably should've said that I loved making cereal and saved myself the hassle. I will probably be in Level 2 but at this point i'm not upset. I just want to do well, since it's 12 units worth of my GPA. Maybe by the end of SA, I will correctly be able to explain the process for how to make lasagna. I meet my host family tomorrow at 11 am, so actually in less than 11 hours. I'm really nervous and I hope they like me. lol GANBARIMASU. (I will do my best).
*PICTURES TO COME LATER, when i'm able to upload them*
No comments:
Post a Comment