Bollocks

So, let's see... Where to begin? How about we let this journal be an unstructured mess of random thoughts. I've been studying, my brain hurts from speaking so much Japanese, and I'm about ready for a day of English only. It sounds really nice actually. I've had a few interesting food encounters. This past week, for example, I had two days in a row to where I had sashimi for dinner. Sashimi, if you don't know, is simply raw fish. Yep, you have a few floppy pieces of raw fish (some with a little, um, red in it), you grab it with your chopsticks, slap it in some soy sauce, and enjoy. Pretty foreign stuff, but I dig it. They also eat raw meat here, which I have yet to try... however, I intend to when I get the chance. Also, the other day I had my first raw egg. Had some pork, dipped it in the bowl of raw egg, and then eat with rice. It was SUPER delicious. The only thing I didn't really enjoy the other day was this giant tub of gelatinous curry flavored, giggly and squishy tofu. I don't like tofu, and I never will. It's in my genes. It's in there deep. I ate a ton of it anyway, haha.
So everyone in the train is always super quiet. However! Yesterday I got to the train station early so that I could try to get a seat on the train. If you don't get to the train early you'll stand for an hour, which isn't always fun. So I sat down, and this old lady sat down next to me. She seemed interested in the Japanese that I was studying, so I started up a conversation. It was great! The whole way home we talked in Japanese. She had to have been the cutest old lady I've ever seen. She looked maybe 65, but she was almost 80. Awesome. She was super nice, and ended every sentence with a nice, long, drawn out "ne~~~~." Haha. She gave me some advice, and we talked about how I can make some more friends in Japan. We talked about how I want to be a teacher in Japan in a couple of years, and she told me that everyone needs English teachers now. Hot.
Well, class is about to start. I'm off. More to come.

- Derek

New entry! Get!

Well, I think I'll take this time to talk about some of the things that have surprised me while I've been here. I'll add more as I think of them in later posts. びっくり！

* Store clerks yell "IRASHAIMASE!", which means "welcome," super loud even if noone is around.
* There are no street signs. Your guess is as good as mine as to which street I'm on at any time.
* Every restaurant sells noodles almost. There is little variety with Japanese restaraunts.
* Bus drivers turn off their buses and headlights at every redlight.
* There are no stop signs. The occasional signal light at big intersections can be found.
* No one tips anywhere. Apparently it's sometimes ok to tip the taxi man.
* If you ask for a drink with no ice, they only fill up your cup half full.
* The way they drive bikes around here, I still haven't seen anyone get slammed.
* You never hand anyone your money when you buy things, you always put it on a designated tray.
* Japanese businessmen are adamant comic readers.
* Japanese businessmen have some of the craziest hair I've ever seen. Mohawks, spiked, colored, everything and anything.
* Every girl wears high heels.
* Every girl who is riding a bike is usually riding it with high heels on.
* People take baths here after they clean by way of shower. However, the whole family uses the same bath water. No wasting!

My brain isn't working right now. I can't think of all of them, as there are many. I'll try to do a "surprising things" list 2.0 sometime. Farewell!

p.s. There are some things that aren't surprising. McDonald's is just as bad here, and there's a Starbucks at every corner.
*

Dame desu!

More on that picture in a minute. It's old school, and bad. I don't have much to write about. I uploaded a couple of pictures again, but not much to look at. Enjoy if you'd like! I've been sending e-mails trying to find friends. I've received quite a few back! Yatta! I'm meeting four people this week, and I met one last week. Time for language acquisition!
Well, I'll let everyone know how these meetings go. Perhaps they will be good, or perhaps they will be boring. Hopefully they will not be bad. I simply leave you with a n idea of the "facilities" here. They're amazing. Click here for a link of Japanese style toilets. http://www.magicjohn.com/toto.htm This is the modern kind that is in half of the households. They have heated seats that lift when they sense you're coming, and all sorts of wonderful features. Quite intimidating. Go read about Japanese toilets on Wikipedia if you're really interested. Oh, and I encountered an old school Japanese toilet a couple of days ago. Truly an experience. I actually thought about using it and then I ran away. Besides, there are old cleaning ladies that roam throughout the bathrooms here and they clean in the men's bathroom while you're in there. They'll stand and clean the urinal that's right next to the one that you're using. Wow. Culture shock!

Haha, well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed the picture of the old-style Japanese toilet. ^^;



- Derek

タイトル

Alright all, here's a quick update before my internet time runs out at the cafe that I'm at. I've uploaded a few more pictures, but not really much to look at. I moved my photos to another site as Yahoo Pictures is shutting down. There aren't any captions yet, but my favorite new picture is that of the tanuki. It looks like a raccoon. Check him out! I've been answering "friends wanted" ads all morning trying to find some young Japanese people to hang out with while I'm down here. That, my friends, is the best way to learn a language. I have a couple of responses and I'm hoping to meet one of them today. We'll see! I'll try to take more pictures today and upload them when I get the chance.
More exciting entries to come, just be patient!

- Derek

I went to a Sega arcade last night. I won a BIG plush doll thing of the Qoo mascot. See? Here's a picture. My doll isn't that big, but still... He's so cute! You put in batteries and he kicks his feet and wiggles around. Qoo is the best drink ever. I drink one every day. Apple flavor. Now with 20% real apple juice!

Jet lag is bad for your future.

Well, it’s been an interesting few days. I got lost on the bus the first day, but I think it have it semi-figured out now. There are tons of buses that run through the station that I get on and it’s hard to figure out which one to take. The bus guide that I got doesn’t really help out very much, as the buses often stray from the routes that the map says their supposed to go on. Oh, and it will never get old seeing some old businessman in a suit or businesswoman in high heels running as you never though a short little Asian person can run to get to the bus/train/subway/etc on time. They fly, like ninjas. Oh! That reminds me. I have yet to see a ninja and I’m quite disappointed. However, from what I’m told, they’re very dangerous and you only see them after they’ve stabbed/cut/killed you. So maybe it’s for the best.
My classmates are all very interesting people. They aren’t all the unsocial, greasy, overweight anime nerds that I was afraid they were going to be. They’re all actually very normal! Oh! And manga, Japanese comics in book form, are read by all. It’s quite normal to see a Japanese businessman of 40 years old or older wearing a suit and tie, holding a briefcase in one hand, and in the other hand holding the newest Shonen Jump magazine while doing a little dance to balance on the train. I went into a four story manga and anime store today. It was very, uh, interesting. It’s really amazing going into a store with four floors of tightly packed rows of comics upon comics. And about that dance that some people do on trains. It’s very amusing to watch. I saw this old man doing it just last night. He had stinky armpits or he was too cool to hold onto the rings on the ceiling or something, but he just stood there with his hands by his side. He never moved his feet to balance himself. If the train lurched he would bend his knees, learn forward, backward, to the side, all in one fluid motion. He was a little exaggerated, and the people around him seemed just as entertained as I was. Awesome.
Ugh, what can I say about jet lag? I think I’m experiencing it for the first time. I feel dazed during the afternoon and I get sleepy fast. I’ve had a bit of a cold today and I’m going to go to bed early to try to sleep it off. Here’s hoping.
(Written on June 6 at 9:40pm)

- Derek

p.s. I’m having a hard time trying to find time to get on the internet. I commute for 3 hours a day, and I have homework, etc. Also, it’s not easy to find a place to use the internet after school that doesn’t require you to give them your right arm and big toe. Either foot’s is fine. Tomorrow’s mission: Find a FREE internet café! WOO! Goodnight America, Taiwan, and Tokyo!

p.p.s. Leave me comments! It makes me feel loved. And please, leave your name as well. I’m not sure what everyone’s alias is. Thanks!

Yatta!

Alright! Here I am! I'm in Japan! Finally! Exclamation marks! Woo hoo! I'm in an internet cafe right now, with all the manga that I can read, all the anime I can watch, and all the foot baths I can handle. And it has free drinks!
The flight was super duper long and I couldn't sleep. There was a crazy half-drunken lady in front of me who kept making a ruckus. When I got to Tokyo they liked the cute picture of me in my passport so they let me come into the country. My friend Kyousuke, who many of you guys saw pictures of, met me in the airport in Tokyo. We ate lunch together (super good ramen, be jealous) and then he drove me to the Haneda airport. They drive on the wrong side of the road! It was terrible. But I survived the trip to the airport and made it to Fukuoka, where my host family picked me up.
The host family is great. Mr. Tanaka, Mrs. Nakagawa, and their 9 y.o. daughter, Raimu. Yes, they're married, and why they have different last names is beyond me. Something about Mrs. Nakagawa being older. But anway, they rock! They took me to a Bhuddist temple/"theme park" as they called it. It has some old relics and a huge statue of a reclining Bhudda (the biggest in Japan), but it also has some stuff that is mostly for show apparently. Anyway, I bought a cute something for my mom there but she'll have to wait until I get back to see it : )
Well, this cafe is very awesome, but it is costing me a few yen to use it, so I should wrap up this entry. You're probably getting bored of it by now anyway. Japan rocks, the fashion here is capital CRAZY (and slightly awesome), the food is cheap and good, the teachers at my school are kind, and Pokemon is popular. I'm off to take pictures of a Sega arcade for my friend. Until next time!

- Derek, who is in Japan.

P.S. Sorry for the excitement. I had too much sleep last night and too much good Japanese food today, so I'm a bit hyper. Woops! Oh, and when I connect to Blogger here, well, it's all in Japanese. I have to figure out how to upload pictures, etc. Well, let's try!

p.p.s. Here's the link to my new yahoo picture account! I'll add descriptions later if I run out of time. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/derekuinjapan