An Apology

So...I really suck at blogging and I'm really sorry >< I'm going to *try* to catch up through June and July and maybe even blog some about my trip to Korea over the next couple of weeks. Luckily, I do remember a lot of what I wanted to blog about and my feelings about each event and such, so, while it's not as good as real-time, so to speak, I'll definitely do my best to capture the events and such of the last couple months, even if it's just for me.

I know a lot of people already gave up on my blog, but I really want to have this to look back on, so I'm going to do my best to catch up! <3

Japanese Onsen Experience!

This is the conclusion to my Golden Week blog, so if you're interested in the full Golden Week experience, it's the post right before this~ ^^

For those who don't know, an onsen (ohn-sehn) is a Japanese hot spring. Onsens are a great way to relax but, for foreigners, they can be very embarrassing. Why? Because going to an onsen requires you to be completely naked. This being the case, men and women are, of course, separated into two separate onsens (or one giant onsen separated by a giant wall). Likewise, because everyone shares the same onsen,you are expected to shower before going in. Only, instead of the idea of showering at, say, a public pool, you shower in an open room right next to the onsen, with other people sitting right next to you and possibly even sharing the same nozzle.

Although I was, of course, worried about being so exposed, I really wanted to experience a Japanese onsen. I would definitely argue that it's an important aspect of Japanese culture and I didn't want cowardice to get in the way of experiencing everything Japan offered me (except eating fish with the head attached, I can live without ever experiencing that...).  So, I bucked up and walked into the room where you undress...and immediately noticed that my glasses completely fogged over. For some reason, I didn't even consider the fact that an onsen was a *hot* spring, meaning my glasses would be as effective there as they would be in the bathroom while taking a shower-in other words, completely useless. This boosted my confidence quite a bit as, even if someone did stare at me, I can't see 10 feet in front of me without my glasses and I wouldn't be able to notice them.

Actually entering the shower/onsen part was still pretty nerve-wracking. However, I quickly noticed that women young and old, thin and thick, beautiful and homely alike were all using the onsen without a problem and they were exceedingly kind. After showering and sitting in the onsen for a bit, I was completely relaxed...but soon started to overheat. What do you do then? Easy! You dip into the pool of water that is so cold you shrivel up instantly. I'm not sure if this is at every onsen or just this one (as there was a sauna as well), but I ended up using it twice before exiting, as crazy as that sounds.

Over all, I'm super glad I gathered the courage to go to the onsen. It was a great, relaxing, refreshing experience and I would love to do so again. At the same time, going with a group of Americans would probably be a lot different than going with Deanna and my Japanese host family. Not saying I would never do it, but I think it's unlikely~ ^^;;

And that is my Golden Week experience!! I will soon be updating with a  blog on Karaoke and my experiences with "micro-aggressions" and stereotypes in Japan~ Stay tuned!!

Greenpia and Golden Week

Soooooooooooo super sorry for not updating in more than a month!! I can't believe it's been that long....Anyway, I have a couple blogs that I have planned and this is the first one I really wanted to do for the last couple weeks. Greenpia is the name of a park my host family and I went to for Golden Week. For those who don't know, Golden Week is the first week of May. It's called Golden Week because there's several holidays within this week, causing it to be "golden" or the time almost everyone has off from school or work. Kangaku (my university) decided holidays are for wimps and so we didn't get a single day off. Boo.

On Thursday, I skipped class at the request of my host family and we went to Chinatown in Kobe where we had a pretty god-awful buffet (which Japanese call "Viking Style") dinner and walked around for a bit. It was fun, but not really blog-able~ Haha

Saturday, however, was amazing. We left the house around 9-10ish and then drove pretty far to Greenpia. (I've tried several times to upload the pictures, but it hasn't happened yet. I'll try again tomorrow~) Greenpia is in Miki, Hyogo (三木市兵庫県) and is apparently pretty old. First, we played tennis for two hours as my host-mom fussed over my reddening skin (She seriously worried every 10 minutes or so, which included the times immediately before and after sunscreen application). I had rolled my ankle again the week before, so I was babying it a bit, but seriously, never thought I'd enjoy tennis so much~ I kind of held my own too! Koko-chan even played with my camera a bit and took some pictures for me!

After tennis, we went to the go-carts. Not being much of a go-cart fan, I stood on the sidelines taking pictures as Deanna (exchange student host sister), Koko-chan, Ka-chan, Dai, even Tou-san and Kaa-san, took turns driving around the track. They also paid for the all-you-can-play pass (I seriously can't think of what it's called right now) that allowed us to do anything in the park for one prize instead of paying for everything individually. The park was big enough that we had to drive to some of the different attractions, so after go-carts, we drove to the BBQ area. We had "steaks" which, although my host sister thought they were pretty big, were about the 3/4 the size of a smart phone (only comparison I could think of, sorry >< ) and yakiniku (grilled meat/veggies). Oddly enough, the atmosphere made me want hot dogs and chips rather than the amazing food that is yakiniku, but I guess that's the American in me~ ;P

After lunch, we did this awesome maze. By awesome, I mean that most of the participants were at hip-level and squealing with joy as they ran around trying to find the stamp stations as fast as possible. Which was, of course, the point of the maze. You time stamped the card they gave you at the beginning of the maze and tried to find all five stamp stations, stamp your card, and race out as quickly as you could. Most of the participants totally just raced around underneath the wooden walls (there was about a foot of space from the ground to start of the wall), which made me laugh. They had no reservations about cheating! Haha. I also happened to get a phone call right in the middle of the maze and let the happy little children stamp their cards before me every time I did find  a station, but even then, I didn't do too badly~ Following the maze, we played golf, which I did pretty well in until I got to the hole that you had to hit your ball hard enough it rolled up the slope, but soft enough it stayed there...failed all over myself there....><

The last item on the agenda was the onsen, aka host spring, which will be my next blog~ (coming now~)

Racism and Getting Lost

Okay, so the bus ride home from the field trip was pretty awesome. I forgot to mention, but on the way there, we played a couple ice-breaking games (and I got super bus sick from looking towards the back of the bus the whole time! ;; ) and we all had fun~ On the way home, a couple of the Korean students was listening to KPop, and me and Leslie (new friend) fan-girled appropriately. They were surprised and pleased every time we recognized the song, and I embarrassed myself by singing along and half-heartedly doing some of the easier dance steps (like NuABO's makeup move XD ). Once SHINee's "Sherlock" started playing, it took all of two seconds for full-fledged fangirl mode to kick in. Even Abe-sensei likes KPop, so the "probably quiet" bus ride turned into Hallyu Wave City! Haha, it was soooo much fun though! Getting home, however, was another thing.

I live super close to my school, so I had never taken the train before. I knew that from Nigawa Station, I just had to follow the river. But since it was my first time taking the train, I didn't know there were two exits. So, whilst from one exit, you're supposed to go right to get to the river, from the other one, you go left. Well...I went right from the other one...which meant I was going in the *opposite* direction from my home. However, since I came across a river almost immediately, I thought it was the right direction, and proceeded to follow it for half an hour-which is when I realized something was wrong. It should have only been 20 minutes from the station to my host family's house, but the neighborhood didn't look even remotely familiar. The kanji for "Nigawa" was everywhere though, so I thought it was right. I texted my host mom and, after she called and I described what was near me, she quickly realized what happened. Turns out, there are two Nigawas. One in Nishinomiya (where my family lives) and another in Takarazuka (a really nearby city). I was in Takarazuka!! She came and picked me up (which I was so happy for, since it was now almost dark and I was exhausted and had no idea how to get home) and then explained to me what had happened! I was so embarrassed, but happy she could help. The next time I ventured out, she and my host dad gave me a map and completely outlined where I was planning on going, the nearest shopping areas, where I got lost and how to get home from said places (they even circled their house on the map [yeah, the map they had had every house and the name of the people living there on it!]). Then, they strictly ordered me to absolutely call them the second I felt I was lost. I was, again, embarrassed, but at the same time, I appreciated their concern!

After they gave me the map, I went out to explore. The main purpose of this was so that, during the day, I could get more of a bearing of what was around me so that I could find my way home again should something like this happen again, and I had Kristin (another new friend) with me, so I wasn't alone! We had fun walking around and going to the mall (where I bought a comb) and we looked at watching Titannic in the theater there! The student discount put it at almost $19 for a ticket, so I decided not to go. Even though I really, really wanted to. So badly. I could've cried. Moneeeeeeeeey! ;;; Anyway!

On the way home, we split up. Kristin went her way and I went mine, and I encountered racism for the first time! I was exhausted, and managed to get a seat on the train. However, it quickly filled up and became packed with people. This little old man and his wife got on, and they would've been forced to stand. I chose to give up my seat (which I thought was the only right thing to do) and they thanked me profusely. They got off a couple stations later, and I was about to sit down again, when I saw another elderly man looking at me oddly. Since I couldn't think of how to say "Would you like to sit down?", I simply stood up again, and move away, motioning at the seat. He gave me the meanest look I've ever received from a stranger, and pointedly looked away from me. However, from time to time, he would stare at me in such a blatantly you-dont-belong-here way. I was mortified! At first I thought it was just that I had insulted his pride, but then the other gentlemen didn't have a problem with it, and there are signs that say you're supposed to stand if there's elderly people around, so they can sit. I'm sure the rest of the way home my face was bright red. Of course, by now I expect people to stare in curiosity (it happens a lot, and it's very hard to get used to), but nobody has ever been so mean about it. Most people have been genuinely kind and open, so this was very surprising. I also know that he is from a much older generation, and that even in America older generations tend to be much more racist, but it was just...it was so unpleasant. I really never want a repeat experience! ;;;;


Finally, my classes. So far, I have three textbooks, with the possibility of a fourth one. Three or four. For eight classes. And combined, it'll more than likely be less than $100. I love this. Also, of the 6 courses I've taken so far, they all sound like they're going to be fun, easy, interesting, easy, and generally laidback! Oh, did I mention they're easy? I mean, seriously!! So far, the only classes I have tests in are my language courses, and then the most homework I have is half a page double-spaced reflection on a weekly article. Second most? 2-3 (double-spaced) page papers reflecting on movies we watch in class. Okay, I do have a 10-15 minute presentation in Korean Studies, but c'mon, it's Korean Studies! I can pretty much guarantee that's going to be fun. I currently have a max of 51 students in one class, with a close follow up of 15. My classes are TINY! Which are the best kind of course. Okay, so Korean and Japanese are both taught *in* Japanese, and I have to take a test almost immediately in my Japanese Usage class, but still, my classes are probably going to be amazing. So happy! (^.^)

There, I've caught up for the moment, and I'll try to be more regular. By now, most of you probably have seen my complaints on Facebook or Twitter about my tooth, but I don't feel like thinking about it, so I'll probably blog about it after the trip to the dentist. So, until next time!!


{Stay tuned for the next adventure in: Laura's Japanese Adventure!} 

(I hope you read that in a really masculine, far-away sounding voice. If not, read it again. Correctly this time. ;) 

Long Orientation was Long!

I can't remember what the other posts were about really and I'm too lazy to go check first, so I'm giving this one a random title and going with it, although it may or may not have much to do with the actual blog. (^.^;) Anyway!! ONWARD!!

Orientation was one entire week (Monday thru Thursday actually...) of hearing things first in Japanese and then in English. It drove me insane. Not because I didn't appreciate the translation, but because everything took sooooooooo looooooooong!! And most of the information was kind of either common sense or found in the handbook (isn't that how most orientations go?). I know the culture thing helped some people, but it came on the 3rd (maybe 4th) day...after which most of what was told was taught to us by our host families...for me, a lot of what they've talked about I learned in Sensei's culture class, so it was doubly redundant. However, at the end of orientation, there was a field trip!!

The field trip to Byoudouin/Manpukuji was pretty awesome~ At Manpukuji we did a 20 minute Zazen experience, during which you had to sit in a painful position on top of a table in a seriously cold room, and completely concentrate on...absolutely nothing. Then, the monk (who was attractive despite being bald and very nice and amusing~) walked around with this stick and smacked people quite hard six times each (Thrice on each shoulder). You could Gasho (sp?) and ask to be hit, which at first I didn't understand, but your back starts to hurt so badly that even I debated it! (You bow and maintain a bent over position during the gasho and smacking process, so it'd be a relief-despite the smacking). Abe-sensei said if the monk hits you, there might not even be a reason, but you should feel lucky. I highly doubt I would've felt anything but mortified! After narrowly escaping getting smacked by a monk, we had fucharyouri. What's fucharyouri? It says "vegetarian" but they mean "almost vegan". No dairy, no meat, no eggs, nothing, then, that you typically consider "American food". It was vegetables, rice, and tofu. Lots...and lots...of tofu. Oh, best part? It's extremely rude to leave ANYTHING on your plate, since fucharyouri is all about being grateful and humble. Luckily, what I didn't eat, I had friends who did, so there was nothing left in my bento (lunch box) even though there were a few items I couldn't come close to eating (tofu and mushrooms...) After Manpukuji, we went to Byoudouin, which is on the back of 10 yen coin. It was beautiful, and relaxing~ I bought some Macha (or Sencha, don't know) candy for my host family (which they freaked out about, they apparently love them) and took a crud ton of pictures...which I'll upload once I get internet access at school!

This has gotten super long, so I'll split it and in my next post, I'll talk about the bus ride, getting lost, encountering racism and my classes thus far!! (^-^)

Rain and Japanese Streets and Bikes

Yesterday, there was a huge storm. And by huge, I mean terrifyingly large. One second, Aya-pon, Hisshi, Maya and I were all standing outside the library in the middle of my campus tour, the next, pouring rain. And not pouring like I've EVER experienced before. I mean your-umbrella-is-utterly-worthless pouring! We rushed (running was nigh on impossible because of how hard it was to walk in the wind and rain) to the short-cut Tou-san taught me, but, even though I live seriously close, we had to take refuge in the foyer of a random apartment building. I had been laughing the whole way (it was so much fun), but we were all miserable at the same time. I checked my bag and it had about an inch of water in it!! I was so surprised!! My Kindle and everything was okay though, so that's good~ When we finally made it home, I told Koko-chan that it was fun and she laughed. Actually, everyone laughed. Haha. Still, it was an experience, and I loved it~

On another note, the streets here in Japan are flat-out terrifying. Like, you're-going-to-die terrifying. It's impossible for two cars to drive on the residential streets at the same time, and the absence of sidewalks presence of huge gutters ("ravines" XD ) that would seriously injure or maim you if you fell into them, causes pedestrians to walk in them at all times. For me, it's dangerous. For Japanese, they just got really good at swerving at random moments. And there's traffic guards everywhere!! As for bikes, as Steven put it, the Japanese work them with finesse. Texting, holding an umbrella, and biking at the same time? Why not! Two people, one bike? Sure!! It's so amazing what they can do and bike at the same time! And there's a lot of bikes. A lot! Your bike can get towed, or you can get a ticket for biking drunk, or doing anything mentioned about (2 people, texting, etc). But everyone does it. Everyone.

Anyway, my arms are screaming at me in discomfort I'm so tired, so I really have to stop here. It's so uncomfortable! D: Good night everyone!!

Host Family and the weekend

My host family is super nice! I met them right after I got off the bus from the hotel and when we got home, my host mom made lunch, while my host dad showed me around and introduced me to everyone. Kotarou (the dog) pretends to be fierce and intimidating, but then he becomes super playful and undos the entire facade. Dai freaks out when I correctly pronounce "Universal Studios" because English is apparently really cool and occasionally asks me a random question that typically ends in "知ってる/わかる" (Do you know/Do you understand". And the girls, Koko-chan and Ka-chan, are both really friendly and appear to really enjoy talking to me.

As for my host parents, Tou-san (dad) is really fun and helpful. Kaa-san (mom) is really attentive and playful. They both make me really comfortable and encourage me in my Japanese. The whole family claims my Japanese is great, but I'm just happy I can understand most of what they say, and Tou-san at least almost always understands me. If the others don't, he kind of acts like a translator. (^.^;)

One thing that's kind of funny is they like to mention Lola (ローラ), a Japanese celebrity who, to them, has the same name as me. We were watching TV together last night and every time Lola appeared, they made some reference to it. XD Sometimes, I hear them repeating things I told one or another of them to each other, and then making remarks on it. It's never in a mean way, so I don't mind at all. Another thing is they don't really believe me when I say somethings "okay". For example, my host parents took me to Osaka Castle today, and we tried different types of food. Once I was mostly full, I told them so. Kaa-san didn't believe me. She gently persuaded me into eating the rest of the yakisoba, the chicken, and then, she said she wanted to eat some BBQ beef. She had me try a piece (it was on a skewer) and as soon as I said it was good, walked away and told me to eat the whole thing! XD I couldn't help but laugh, and it wasn't that much (and it was delicious), so I went ahead and ate it. At Costco, she asked me about the muffins, and once I told her I loved Costco muffins, she bought them. She did the same with Kellog's cereal and kept trying to get me to tell her all the other "Costco food" I liked. I was slightly embarrassed, since I wasn't used to saying I liked something and then someone else buying it, but at the same time, it was fun. (^.^)

Now, I'm gonna go downstairs for dinner or for Tou-san to show me the shortcut to school. I have my placement test and orientation starts tomorrow, so I wanted to explore the neighborhood a bit~ Until next time then~