Day 27

I didn't do much this pass weekend but sleep, I was incredible tired, I have to make sure not to get sick around here. But all is well on this Monday evening.

Got an email today. It was to everyone living in the JCMU dorm. It was urging us to turn off all P2P sharing software and to refrain from uploading and downloading large files. Apparently Japan is very strict on the the internet usage here, a dorm/ facility of about 30 people can only use GB per day. That is not a lot considering that I can go through about 3-5 GB in one day ( I watch a lot of movies, and that was usage in america) so 30 people and 30GB is not that much. I will try to limit my usage but this was mind blowing. If we don't limit our usage, specifically downloading, no more internet for us. It's that serious.

Japan has about 130 million people in an area as large as California.

With all of these SOPA acts sprouting up around the globe it was amazing to hear this, that another thing that America has the freedom of internet usage. People are angry that cell phone companies sare limiting there browsing data when we still have the option of unlimited if we choose to stay with a neighborhood provider such as Comcast or AT&T. Just another reason to be proud to be an American, or at least live in America.

And with thisI'm getting a little homesick. Not as bad as my first experience the first time I traveled abroad. I'm not crying or anything. I just miss home, friends, being close in time. Coupled with the fact that I miss college life, Ann Arbor has it's way with you with so much to do. But I shall not complain, 82 more days and it's all the America I can stand.

Until Next Time,

Days 23-25

So it's been snowing here, not as bad as michigan gets but about 4-5 inches, and that's a lot considering that I have to bike about 2 miles to get to class on thursday. But thank the Lord, because class was canceled there, so I got to enjoy the "snow day".

Snow snow, go away, don't come back like this until I leave this place.

It wouldn't be that bad if my main mode of transportation wasn't a bike. 

Yesterday was our cultural activity. It was Samurai Kembu. A traditional Samurai dance as seen in the move the last Samurai apparently. It is done for good luck before a fight.

A traditional outfit for the Kembu

My sword I used

And her is a traditional Samurai Kembu dance we watched:

And here is me trying to do a traditional Samurai Kembu dance:

Until Next Time,

Day 21-22

Konichiwa!

So I will be cutting down on my posts, I honestly don't have time to do wonderful things Monday through Thursday. So I will post on the weekends when fun things happen.

I've been studying, and today my sensei's were so proud of me, they saw improvement, and I want to keep giving it to them. I will have a very successful last semester, and although this is my first semester without math, science, or engineering principles being learned, It is by far has been a challenge.

I will keep you posted, thanks for reading and...

Until Next Time,

Day 20

So as planned today was an adventure. It did not start off great, I was late to class because I couldn't find my key which was conveniently hidden under a bag, and then upon arriving to class I found out there was a quiz, which was not in the syllabus. omg. And then our sensee was upset with us ichinensee's for not learning our verbs. I already knew it was going to be a challenging week because my romanizations of words was just taken right from under me, and now I have to learn my vocabulary via characters. I have to put in more effort. So I'm getting it together.

On my way out on my adventure, it started to rain, and I still trekked on, I have to get use this rain. And then it stopped, and didn't start back up until I rode home. I'm just praying I don't have to do this all the time.

The ducks I saw on the way, wishing me good luck. I saw people fishing in this lake too.

I went to city hall today to apply for my alien registration. In about two weeks I will be an official Alien in Japan. That's kinda cool to say. 

City Hall, It's doesn't look so old on the inside.

So I ventured from City Hall to BellRoad, It was supposed to have many shops, and I was in search of unique things. I thought I was getting lost, but I made it. And it wasn't what I thought. Just a regular busy street.

graffiti!

Bell Road

So I finally found one of the stores I was looking for, this place called Bulldog, it was supposed to have lots of cute things. It was cool, there were lots of cute things, but not lots of "Japanese things" that I would want as memorabilia. 

Toiletpaper dolls

It said when you use me, I will bring you happiness, lol.

And that was Bulldog and Bell Road. Yeah, Not much. But I passed more interesting shops on my way to this Bell Road, and I was going to go back and boy was I glad. I went to back to Castle road, where the shops looked very castle like I guess you could say, no pics, sorry. And while looking for a place to park my bike, I turned down this opening and found a nice little area of shops, in addition to the wonderful shops already on Castle Road.

The little area.

I don't know what this is, it looks nice.

something interesting, looks like an army uniform

This was a wedding shop, they had more traditional gowns inside

I went inside a petshop as well, this little yorkie was fiesty

And this dog didn't have a care in the world. 

I could never buy a dog from that shop though, it smelled awful. Those dogs were expensive too... over $1000.

Some Shrine I believe

This part was a cemetary

This little guy looked like Mooshu from Mulan

Something interesting outside the Shrine

I can't wait to go back and actually read what everything is. The place kinda creeped me out though. The cemetary, the unknown of whatever territory I was stepping into, Mooshu. The dead creeps me out.

Back in the little area

So that brings me back to my excitement, besides seeing nice little shops. I bought a used Kimono, or for my Japanese culture enthusiasts it is probably a Yukata, it's a lighter Kimono for summer months. It doesn't fit, but it was incredibly inexpensive, so I got it anyway. A birdy told me to frame the Kimono when I mentioned I had to be realistic when buying one, because when would I wear it again. But look below to see my find. 

Kimono and obi, even thought I don't really think it's an obi, I might have to go back and get the right thing. But this was still a steal.

You can see the detail a little better

I'm proud of my purchase. Will probably get one that actually fits though, we will see.

 Well, I had a good day.

Until Next Time,

Day 19

Just Another Day in Japan. I spend my day cleaning and getting my homework done. I have a busy day scheduled tomorrow, so we will see how that turns out.

Until Next Time,

Day 18

Today was a rainy day, so no bike rides for me.

We had a welcome party, Japanese students have now moved into the dorm, they are in an intensive English program. So this should be interesting. We played human bingo, and I tried to use my best Engpanese, there is really no nice way that I can think of to combine the two. I didn't do to bad since I know basic introductions. I tried to respond in Japanese when possible.

It was interesting because today is the first time I had real Japanese food. When I went downstairs I saw pizza and subway, and then saw sushi, these noodles, and this moshi cake. Well the cake didn't taste anything like cake, forgot to trie the noodles, and I got a little adventurous with sushi. Sorry no pics, but i had this sushi with this light brown casing, instead of the normal seaweed, this rice with a filet shrimp on top, and I thought I was partaking in raw fish, on top of rice, but when I took a bite it wasn't fish. I don't know what it was but it was enjoyable.

That's all folks.

Until Next Time,

Day 15- Day 17

So I said I wouldn't miss a post, It was not my intention, but when you are studying, all can be lost, But you didn't miss too much.

Day 15

I tried to be social that day, well I'm trying to be more social in general. I went to a January Birthday "Party" in our lounge, it was basically just ice cream. People really were already friends before I got here. There are the people who were here last semester, people from the same school who knew each other from Japanese classes, or relate to each other because they have had the same japanese teachers. There are a few couples, and then you have some people who have been here multiple times. 

Well I said I'm going to try and go somewhere, I still needed to get my alien registration from City Hall, so I would just ask who else needed to go, and there you have it, an adventure can be had. 

Well I found one person, who was going with a group to Al Plaza. But this fell through because by the time they were ready to go, it was 4, I had just enough time to make it to City Hall before it closed, when someones bike was flat. We had to wait. And by that time the adventure was pointless. I know, I could have went anyway, but they were getting groceries, I didn't need any, so I stayed behind. Failed mission. 

Hey but I was able to do laundry. Washing is free, and Drying is 100 yen for 60 minutes, which I needed 2 hours. I don't know why. It's hard understanding a machine in Japanese. And I dried my mentionables in the Drying room. It's day 3 and my clothes are still drying. ah well. 

My clothes drying

drying room

I don't think I'll do this again, that's just too long, it didn't help that it rained. And your clothes just don't smell as fresh anymore. I tried.

Day 16

So Today it was time for Politics class again. So off riding my bike I went to Shiga University and sat in a 3 hour lecture. Boy oh Boy, it is a doozy. And there is no inspiration to listen because their is no final exam. But the mission is to learn so that is what I will do.

During the break between the class, I ventured to the restroom and had my first experience with the Japanese toilet. 

I did not use said toilet. You see, I decided to wait until I got into the confines of my own dorm with the americanized toilet. The area around the whole in the ground looked wet, and my mind can only surmise what that is. I don't think I will use this unless I most absolutely have to. Oh My. 

Well the ride home was quite unpleasant, it was raining, and I have no rain gear, coupled with the fact that you can not use an umbrella while riding a bike. (JCMU rule). It was a cold blurry ride home. Luckily it wasn't pouring. But in still I need to find a solution.

Day 17

Today was good. I felt great about my exam. no 100%, but I know it will be a great improvement from last week. I need to improve my vocabulary, but besides that, Hiragana is coming along. And we are just learning Katakana. 

I also participated in a tea ceremony. I will post a video of pieces of it over the weekend. I want to edit it and make it more interesting to watch. But I do have pics.

the room

We had to bow before we partook in the ceremony, that little green thing is a snack. It was very um, chewy. But it was dusted with Green tea powder, that was something I had to muster to finish. The green tea is very strong. The powder was mixed with hot water and served to us. It was very gritty. 

The inside of the "treat" had a sweet bean, that wasn't bad. But this little sucker was hard to finish, I was first going to pop the whole thing as was shown to us, but I'm happy I didn't. 

This was the view from the room, our Japanese Garden again.

I was happy for the experience, but I don't know If I would do this again. 

Next Friday it's Japanese Sword Fighting.

Until Next Time,

Day 14

Just another day,

I'm going to get out more, cause these bland blog entries are not exciting at all.

Until Next Time,

Day 13

Today was my 4th day of class. It's coming along. I wanted to get out today, and even though it was freezing, (it was only in the low 40's, but i feel the cold since there is no insulation) and it had the potential to rain, I trekked my self to the grocery store. And I took "scenic" pics as well:

Pay attention to the mountains in the background, I don't know what this grassland is. I know near by it seemed to be some vegetation, but probably a small community garden, we shall find out in the spring.

Some houses I passed, If I was a photographer, I feel as though I could have made this look cool

The "mall" I was going too, It's really a grocery store, with like a home store on the other side

Had to head home before it got to dark, but these were the pretty mountains I was talking about

And this is a treat I picked up, I guess its for those who can't decide what they want, a half ice cream sandwich with half crunch bar ice cream.

Thats all for now. Ending my monday. And in thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King, I ran across this Self Affirmation. It is meant for people with Aspergers Disease, but I feel like it is good for everyone. When thinking of equality, you have to think of yourself as equal too. 

Self-Affirmation Pledge

By Liane Holliday Willey 

I am not defective. I am different. 
I will not sacrifice my self-worth for peer acceptance. 
I am a good and interesting person. 
I will take pride in myself. 
I am capable of getting along with society. 
I will ask for help when I need it. 
I am a person who is worthy of others’ respect and acceptance. 
I will find a career interest that is well suited to my abilities and interests.
I will be patient with those who need time to understand me. 
I am never going to give up on myself. 
I will accept myself for who I am.

Until Next Time,

Day 12

Nothing Special for Day 12, chill day.

Until Next Time

Day 11

Today I volunteered at Kikone Highschool with 4 other JCMU students. We assisted with an English Language seminar. We helped students increase their language skills by helping them with adjectives and some of the difficult sounds like the differences between s vs. sh; i vs e; f vs. v ect. It was very interesting, seeing them learn English while I learn Japanese.

We went over iterations and humming of english phrases as well. It was funny, because I don't think about the inflections of my voice when talking in English, and I don't know If I would notice if someone didn't have them when speaking with me. It was a nice experience though. And even though we volunteered, the program gave us a 3,000 book voucher for bookstores in Japan. That's about $42, so I was deeply pleased. Now all I have to do is visit a book store.

Until Next Time,

Day 10

Today was Test day, oh my. I'm learning, hopefully I can do much much better next week. Hiragana is coming to me.

On Fridays there is a cultural experience, and today we learned how to do Ikebana which translates to living flower, or as we know it flower arrangement. Our teacher was 80 years old and she instructed us first by making her own Ikebana.

She was mid way through, those long stick branches you can barely see, were the foundation. You make the foundation pieces in a triangle, that's the key. Inside the bowl is a kensai I believe it's called, a small flat circle with spikes which you stick the flowers on so that they stand up accordingly.

And she was done, pretty. We did not have a broad selection of flowers due to the winter months, but those red flowers represents the new year.

I asked why Ikebana was important and it is because nature is revered by Japanese culture, and you are celebrating nature through ikebana. I also looked it up and apparently it may have started out as a Buddhist tradition when they would offer flowers to the spirits of  the dead. Ikebana is also used in Tea Ceremony's for decoration, and we will do a tea ceremony next week.

Tada My Ikebana

My Ikebana and me. Shout Owts to Delta Sigma Theta for turning 99 today! Oo-OOp. I had to support by wearing my 22 women paved the way shirt. 

others ikebana

My Ikebana again with my name in Katakana(sp). I could not recognize it because I don't know this alphabet yet.

And I guess I did have a pic yesterday, this is the Japanese garden outside my class window. I can't wait to see it in the spring. And out yonder is Lake Biwa. It's so peaceful here

Well that about does it. Happy Founders Day! to my Soror readers and...

Until Next Time,

Day 8 and 9

So I just didn’t feel like typing yesterday, but I’m going to try and not do that again, because with a title like 110 days of Japan, I need to keep with the theme. But day 8 and 9, wow. It’s been a lot. So in three days of classes, and I’m doing this from memory:

Hajimemaste.  Michigan daigakuu no wa gaukuu des. Senkoo wa Industrial & Operations Engineering des. Gonensee des. Nijinisai des.

Translation:

How do you do? I am Nadia Vedhapudi. I am a college student at University of Michigan. My major is Industrial & Operations Engineering. I am a 5^th year. I am 22 years old.

This is after 3 days of class. I know How to count, give and ask for phone numbers, tell time, and give basic greetings. I am struggling with Hiragana, but I honestly need to put in more effort with learning. It’s going to be a long night because my first test is tomorrow and I have to recognize all 70 Hiragana characters, write 55 of them, 77 vocabulary words and phrases, numbers, and understand the subtle differences between a few phrases. To say it in short, this is Intense.

Well that’s what I get for signing up for an Intensive Language Study Abroad Program. But the positive, I know there will be great benefits.

Today was my class for Japanese Politics. It was at Shiga University, a 20 minute bike ride away. It was only people from my program in the class, but it should still be very interesting. I don’t know too much about politics in general aside from my 10^th grade Government class, and what I hear from the news that I do watch. So learning Japanese Politics is interesting.

I have no pictures today. I wanted to take this great view of the mountains I saw on my bike ride back to the dorm, but it was getting dark and I had to make it home. But think about Ice mountain water, and the mountains they put on the bottle. Well that’s what I get to see, snow caps and all. It’s very calming. And since I can’t listen to music and ride my bike (It’s against Japanese law), it was needed. I’ll try and snap a shot soon.

Until Next Time,

Day 7

Today was my first day of class. Yikes. Well it wasn't too bad. We did a lot of repeating, so it is helping me with my pronunciation. I have to get this alphabet together, so I will be so excited when I can write to you and say that I know the Hiragana alphabet, but then it will be Katakana. I'm making strides.

I went to Vivia City today, it's a mall. We biked to The Hikone Station, and then took that one stop to the mall. I biked 5+ miles today, and I am so proud. It's really not that bad. Well it's not that hilly either because I know for those Ann Arborites, I biked from Bursley to Baits, and that was death. But this 5+ miles, a piece of cake. So I'm going to really get out and bike more for distance now.

But on to pics:

Here is Hikone Station, looks like I could be in chicago, sans the Japanese words

Viva City- the mall

Remember that nike ad about the butt toning shoes, well they may be fake in america, but Reebok sure did not miss out on it

So their malls are a little different, it's like a whole bunch of open space with stores, like picture macys', and how you have the different sections, one for each designer sometimes, well think of those different sections as different stores.

I guess they are looking for a leaser

two stores, there are like no wall divides

I haven't been adventurous with food, because this is what they have to offer at different restaurants:

This is subway though, that's shrimp on that sub

gesha and other little dolls

a popular character

They had a Cafe Du Monde's

I ended up eating Micky D's, only my second time eating out. But do you see this Big America, OMG, this is what they think of us, that looks disgusting.

my meal was cheap, I had to take a picture of what a wanted, and point to the chicken because I didn't know how to ask for it. 

I want to find a mom and pop shop or something similar, I really want a japanese tea set, and a kimono, well something kimono-esq(sp)

This is where we parked our bikes at Hikone Station for a nominal fee

My bike, ... I bought socks at the mall

So I went to the restaurant next door to our dorms because my roommate didn't want to eat by herself. And this was the bathroom. Luckily i haven't seen the toilets that are in the ground, I guess it would be good for the cultural experience. Very clean. That thing that looks like a soap dispenser on the left is a cleaner where you can take tissue and clean the seat. I don't know what all those fancy buttons are for.

My tea maker that I used at the restaurant, it was a wild strawberry, very good.

But that was my day. I rode back with three people in the dark and it was very scenic. There are many mountains and it was nice to see some of the buildings lit up at night like the Hikone castle. We rode by a pond, and I saw swan, and even a baseball game. I have to go on more adventures. 

Well until next time,