T O K Y O & L I F E: 2009

I think I am getting used to Japan now. Well, as far as the living aspect, I mean. I don't know if anyone knows, but I came here when I was 14 with a good friend of mine, Kazu. After that, My friend DJ invited me to go with him during Winter Vacation, when I was a little pube at the age of 15. We had such a blast, that we kept the tradition going for many years (I've been here 9 times). Airfare was cheap. I was fortunate enough to get hooked up by DJ's mom. (I'm talkin $400 ROUNDTRIP) On top of that, I was able to stay with DJ's father, who lived in Japan, for a small, small price. So yeah, I owe close to all my interest in Japan to DJ and Kazu. *kiss* Thanks guys.

Anyways! Living in Japan is expensive. I thought that having a loose budget would cut it, but I need to manage my money a little better than I was. I got a folding bike a few weeks ago. It is pretty neat.

This isn't the picture of my bike, but this picture gives you an idea of how it works.

This is my ride.

So yeah, I am able to carry it on trains and on the go, which is pretty tight. I haven't done it yet, though. I use it to go to the train station, grocery shopping, or just to show off my pro bike skills.

Random thought: Bananas in Japan are CHEAP. 8 bananas for 200yen ($2.00). I eat like 30 bananas a week.

A couple things that are on my wish list are:

Refrigerator

Electric Dictionary

Plug-in Skillet

Once my next scholarship disbursement comes in, I'll aim for the fridge and the skillet. The dictionary will have to wait... costs about $300. I miss homemade food. Eating out completely rapes my wallet. Time to start cooking, throwing my delicious meals into tupperware, and taking them everywhere I go.

It has been a month since I updated. I think the best way to tell you what I have been up to is through

PICTURES!

(You can click on each picture to see an extra large version of it)

Halloween in Japan. I was Obama... in a shady hoodie.

This message is displayed at the train station when there has been an accident.

A nicer way of saying that they are cleaning up the remains of a suicide.

I find it saddening that there are so many of these in Japan. So many, that it doesn't become a factor of somebodies life, but rather "Ah crap, I'm LATE!"

Chicken wrap from Starbucks got me stuffed for about 3 minutes.

Delicious but expensive assorted fruits at this random place next to my school.

I haven't tried it yet, but I will soon... Oh yes... I will...

A picture I took while in class. Pretty nice little city view.

This is what happens when you speak too fast, Sensei

Your guess is as good as mine

I was SO close to buying this for Halloween, but I found out that it does in fact come with STDs

At my Shorinji Kempo class. That girl is the strongest one. The guy behind her in the black thing is my leader. His punches and kicks are like DAGGERS. Outside of class, he looks like a nerd though.

A quick break before more practice.

Me and Mike with three somewhat famous TV stars. Thanks to Mike's music, he was able to get us on Live Japanese TV for a few minutes. I have the DVD of the entire show, which is wayy too embarrassing to post. But yeah, thanks Mike. I had fun.

The place I eat at on Sundays, next to the train station. Good food, but you PAY THE PRICE.

Korean BBQ. Very cheap, too. 8 pieces of those cost 4 people only 500yen ($5.00)

My friend Yuri got the hook up, and I was able to see a live MMA event (Dream)

I saw Bob Sapp, too.

He finally listened to me over and over screaming
"RIGHT STRAIGHT!"

Trash separation at my dorm. We've got plastics, burnables, plastic bottles, steel or aluminum cans, batteries, plastic bags, and a few others that I just don't use. Such a hassle to separate.

On the bus to a place called Shizuoka,
which is very close to Mt. Fuji. Bus ride took about 2.5 hours.

It was very traditional and very very fun and CHEAP!

Mike singing his heart out to the bus using the mic.
Looks like everyone is enjoying it...

The hotel we all stayed at. The room on the right has 2 beds. Then there were two more near the ceiling. TV, a lot of space, and a lot of fun.

I was somehow picked to be a chat leader about cultural differences.
Too bad I probably had the worst Japanese out of all of them.
Especially since most of them WERE JAPANESE.

A picture that my buddy Ken took. This makes the big city look like garbage.

Mt Fuji... getting closer!

Me and my buddy Mr. Inman looking super sketch. Those masks prevent germs from entering your mouth. At least that's what they tell me.

Me, Inman, Alena, Heather, Mike, Lisa, and Glory posing for Mt Fuji

Yui, Mike, and Me having a moment

We weren't sitting down... We all sat down, and heard a loud crack,

and got the hell up as quick as we could.

Why? Because behind us was a 15 feet DROP.

Alex pounded this dough like pizza, flattened it, and cut it.
But why?

We made our own Udon...

HELL YEAH!

Spider was literally the size of my fist.
INSANE

Beer dispenser. Just push. Oh, and it was FREE.

Part of my trip was an All You Can Eat AND Drink buffet.

Free beer, free sushi, free steak, free fish.

FREE

I scared the crap out of some people by lodging Obama in my door.

We also ate some delicious HUGE grapes mmm.

Stephen, Mike, Me, and Charlie enjoying some
Amazing Grapes.

I couldn't take enough pictures. I felt like every picture I took could be a post card or something.
I LOVE YOU FUJI

On the way back to the city. Saying bye to Fuji.

There were a lot more pictures, but I didn't take them. I'm waiting for everyone to upload them. When they do, I'll gather them up and post them. But yes, going to another part of Japan was great. I am always in some kind of crowded city, where everyone is too busy doing their own thing (which is fine) but it was very refreshing to go to this place. I definitely want to take a trip there again.

Most of the exchange students are really friendly and fun to hang out with. I am still looking forward to Spring, when Stephanie arrives. Shes gonna be here for about 2 weeks, starting mid April. So if you plan on coming here during that time, 99% of my free time will be with her. The other 1% will be bathroom time. We Skype a lot and try to keep each other updated as much as we can. Long distance isn't easy at all. I miss hugging, kissing, holding, relaxing, and just being with her.

I miss San Diego, too. I miss my brother's kick ass cooking. I miss my cousin's 6am coffee grinding wake up. I miss cooking cheap food and getting stuffed. I miss smoothies and burritos. I miss my family. I miss my mom's afro.

My goal is to bring a legitimate smoothie and burrito place to Japan. I will do it. MARK MY WORD.

Burrito King? Burikin? You better count on it.

Alright, well yeah. Time to get some HW done and read.

PEACE!!!

Just another random update

I have an updated schedule:

Monday: Japanese Language
Tuesday: Korean Culture and Society, Japanese Language, Japanese Culture and Society
Wednesday: Japanese Language
Thursday: Asian Politics II, Japanology
Friday: Japanese Language, Cell Phone Culture
Saturday: International Management

Basically, I took out the early morning advertising class, and replaced Game Theory with this Cell Phone Culture class. Me and Mike had no idea that Game Theory was a hard class (even for Japanese students). I at least want to have some kind of general idea of whats going on in class...

Also, Mike, Stephen, and myself are currently taking Shorinji Kempo, which is some insane martial art. A small little innocent Japanese girl can basically throw a Sumo 20 feet in the air. We spent a few hours training with them. I haven't been able to see the Powerlifting Club but I will check it out next week.

The Cell Phone class I am taking is taught by this nerdy, but informative teacher. He knows whats going on with the world of cellphones...

Some of the futuristic crap that Japan has made include:

QR Codes - Basically, they are square bar codes that can be as small as a stamp, to as big as being on a billboard. You turn on your QR Code function on your camera. It scans the code, and brings to you a website. Usually, it just contains information about whatever the advertisement is about, or has some kind of sweepstakes. Either way, it is something I would like to see in the States.

World Camera - In Japanese, they call it Sekai Kamera. It is a killer application for the Iphone. You turn on your camera, and walk around, holding it up as if you were taking a picture. Point your camera anywhere, and you get feedback, reviews, pictures, and videos that people previously left. For example, if I am walking around a shopping district, point it at a certain store, it might give me 5 reviews left by other people. It is able to do this by using the GPS technology in the Iphone. Just another way to socially connect people electronically. Again, something I want to see in the States.

Augmented Reality - I think they have this in the States. This one is kind of hard to explain, so here is a link to the video. Check it out here. About 3 minutes long. You basically whip out your camera, point, and start playing a game. It actually super-imposes images on your camera, and you play various kinds of interesting games. I don't know how people think of this, but this application is definitely my favorite.

These are the kinds of things we are learning about in the Cellphone class.

My International Management class, besides being on Saturday, is probably the class I am going to learn the most from. The teacher is from Ireland, and has a lot of knowledge and information. He definitely knows how to keeps things interesting, and also enjoys kicking sleeping students out of his class. He kind of acts as a guidance to us exchange students, giving us the reality of Japanese culture and society. Lots of things he says aren't pleasing to the ear, as far as work in Japan, life in Japan, a woman's role in Japan, etc.

I got a job working at school as a "Chat Leader." The job is pretty basic - I make conversation with Japanese students. I will be working with kids of all ages... from Elementary to College level. First day starts on Tuesday so we will see how things go.

Since I am going to school 6 days a week, I feel like time just flies by. Today is Sunday, and it is my relax day. Laundry, homework, scholarship essays, and whatever else I should get done.

165 days. Yeah, a long time away. But me and Steph are staying strong, day by day. Thank God for web video chat. Email after email just wouldn't do it for me. We have been watching Avatar lately (DO NOT SPOIL ANYTHING) and just sharing our day by day life, awaiting March. She's gonna come visit for a little over two weeks during the Sakura Blossoming season (Hanami, in Japanese. Literally means Flower Watching). It is basically the most beautiful time to come to Japan, and I can't WAIT, since both of us have never experienced Spring in Japan. I love you Steph.

I'll throw up some pictures of some stuff I have been up to lately.