Orientation Time!!!

Today I woke up feeling really crummy. I had been sneezing and coughing all night so I didn't get a good night's sleep. I'm feeling better now, though my nose is still running. I had my coffee and maple bun for breakfast and went downstairs.

We walked to the Stanford Japan Center which is about 20 minutes away. The center itself is very boring and very white. There is a library, a computer room, and lots of classroom space. All in all the center is pretty average and boring. The computers are all running Japanese OS, but there are ethernet connections for laptops and we have wireless in the center, so I should remain with internet access.

I have a mailbox in the center (check my first posts for my mailing address) - feel free to mail me anything you'd like. There's also a copy machine which only takes copy cards and a phone which takes only calling cards. Yippee.

On the plus side, I was able to score two out of my five text books for free from the used book shelf. I also picked up a brand new sealed $40 Japanese grammar book that somebody left. Ca-CHING!!!

We took a tour of the center and got our meal mullah. I get 800 Yen per lunch for the entire quarter. I can't wait to feast on McDonalds. They gave us lunch at the center today: onigiri sushi and Pizza Hut (a very weird combo).

I had a shizen kaiwa (peaceful chat) with Uemiya Sensei who teaches the third year Japanese class. She said that I could speak Japanese with fluency, so I should concentrate on making lots of vocab lists and try out all the new grammar patterns and stuff I learn. Basically, to not be afraid to make mistakes.

They are going to create a 5th year according to Uemiya (but I think she meant 4th year) Japanese class for my classmate Kevin and I that will meet three hours a week. We'll get lots of speaking and reading practice since it will be only us two.

After my shizen kaiwa, Kevin and I went to talk to Yamaoka Sensei (the head Japanese language instructor at the center) who said that he wants us to audit courses at Kyoto University (finally). However, this means that bright and early at 9AM this Monday morning I have to take the three hour Ikkyu-Nihongo Doryouku Shiken or First Level Japanese Proficiency Examination. This test is the benchmark for foreign students of Japanese. The highest level of the test, they say at least 1000 hours of formal Japanese language training is needed to pass. This exam tests all 2000 kanji required to read a Japanese newspaper as well as listening, grammar, and writing. If you pass, you are considered eligible to live in Japanese society, attend university classes, marry Japanese, and grind your own wasabi. If you fail, you are doomed to a life of scrubbing the dirty ball tubs at your local pachinko parlor.

I don't know if I can pass the exam (I'm certainly going to visit a Jinjya shrine before I take it), but I will give it my all. IKUZO!!!!

After that, I had to sit through an academic advising session where they talked about the classes they are going to offer this quarter. This was over two hours long in the sweltering hear of the center's jacked up heater. I was SO close to passing out. I had to listen to Mr. Concrete rattle on and on about his stupid construction class - I was about to puke.

When this was done we got into groups and went on a scavenger hunt around the city. This was fun because I got to know some other kids well (most of the four girls on our program were in my group). I forgot my camera. By the end of the hunt I wanted to chop off my arm because my shoulder hurt so damn much. I don't like scavenger hunts because you don't get to appreciate the things you take pictures of - you just rush off to the next thing.

We went out to dinner with Japanese college students. We went to a weird Japanese food place that had all sorts of things from okonomiyaki to fish sticks to sushi to spaghetti. Once again, the beer never fails me in Japan. The main room was too crowded so me and two other Stanford guys and three Japanese students went into a smaller room.

The first girl was shy, her name was Aiko (like the Japanese princess) and she is a Kyoto University sophomore majoring in Pharmacy. The next was a masters student from Doshisha in literature named Yuko. Finally there was a guy named Daisuke who failed his entrance exams twice but just recently got into med school.

Yuko spoke super great English. She had spent a year of high school in Boston and visited Stanford for two weeks (she stayed in FloMo). Her English was really superb. Her and I talked a lot, the first thing she told me was "There's a stereotype about Japanese girls being shy - I'm not shy." I said, "I can see that." True to her words, Yuko was super outgoing and very forceful. She'd yell across to the other room or make fun of you. One Stanford guy at my table was a vegetarian and only ordered miso soup; she wouldn't let him forget that for the whole night - she kept saying "how do you like your soup?" as she laughed.

Yuko said she could become a vegetarian, but when I asked about fish, she realized it would be impossible. Yuko had great pronounciation, but somehow, when she said interjections like "I see" or "perhaps that is the case," it always sounded like she was making fun of you. Daisuke told her that I was really good at speaking Japanese, cause the two of us had talked on the walk over, and she said, "Yes...(long pause)...it seems like it," as she sucked on her chopsticks to remove every last bit of fish flavor. I know it's just a difference in pronunciation, but it felt like a put down. It is interesting to think about how the difference in intonation affects the meaning of a phrase.

Aiko warmed up and talked more. She was very nice and spoke good English, she looked to me ocassionally to tell her what the other Stanford guys were talking about because Yuko refused to speak Japanese except to scream at the waitress about her tardiness or ocassionally express her disappointment about the food. The food was actually really yummy - though Yuko would say the sashimi was too small. The six of us shared a bunch of dishes and it was really fun. When at Stanford, Yuko ate at Miyake Sushi on University Ave - she said it was "so terrible." I have to agree with her.

Daisuke got more and more 'strong' as the night went on (that's one way to put it). He doesn't drink, so I wonder what brought about the change - maybe he felt more comfortable around the company. We all had these cupons for free drinks they gave us when we came in, but Yuko forgot to give them to the waitress she had been screaming at during the bill time. Soon after, Aiko, Yuko, and Daisuke were rattling back and forth about how to get the 60 dollars in drinks we paid for back with our vouchers. Daisuke took the handfull of tickets and stood up, thrusting them at the invisible waitress, "Take these, we want our money back," he demonstrated to Aiko who was shaking her head. "You have to do it forcefully like this," he'd say.

It was of course decided that I should be the one to yell at the poor waitress and demand our money back. Why was this decided? Well, someone had to take one for the team and it might as well be the gaijin. Daisuke was very happy that I was going to do this. However, Yuko the ring leader stepped in during my moment, took the tickets from me, mumbled something about "wanting to win," and disappeared. After we were out of the restaurant for 15 minutes, she emerged with a plastic bag filled with 100 yen coins. "300 yen payback" she screamed. It wouldn't surprise me if the waitress was lying dead in the storage closet as Yuko gleefully handed out the shiny coins.

After that Yuko and many others went to a bar. Aiko, Daisuke, myself and others went to Impulse Coffee. We had shizen kaiwa for a couple of hours. They were both very nice people. Yuko too. I thought she was great! She handed out her meishi (business / name card) which features her in a kimono in front of blooming cherry blossom trees. Daisuke remarked that she looked like a prostitute and she hit him. I couldn't help but laugh. I really like these non-traditional brash Japanese girls that buck the stereotype.

I'm back in the hotel now and it is time for bed. I have to check out tomorrow morning and head over to the center. We have a little bit more orientation before meeting our host families around 2 PM and moving into our new homes.

I hope to talk to you all soon - and post some pics! Sorry about the lack these last few days.

B.E.W.