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| My phone~ On Tuesday I had my usual classes (Japanese and super-boring anthropology), and I was pretty exhausted so I came home right after school and did some work before going to sleep early. I still really like the topic of my anthropology class, but we don't do very much in class. That said, we have an interesting homework assignment for next week (comparing Avatar to Princess Mononoke, a Japanese anime film), and the professor cancelled class for Friday, so overall I'm pretty happy with the course. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a beautiful day. It has started getting really nice during the day but still gets pretty chilly at night. Yesterday I had Japanese in the morning and then we had our (last!) "orientation" meeting in the afternoon. The first part was actually really interesting -- we met with Dr. Slater again and he talked about a lot of unique Japanese social characteristics such as the ideas of uchi and soto -- i.e. the concept of "insider" vs "outsider." One of his most interesting points was discussing the difference between "maturity" in the US vs Japan -- at home, you are considered "mature" if you are an independent, self-sufficient adult who can make their own decisions and knows how to interact in social situations. In Japan, however, being "mature" is seen as recognizing that you actually are dependent on others, and so you must take responsibility for your own actions and how they affect others. Pretty interesting distinction. Also, Dr. Slater mentioned the term "flyjin" (pronounced fly-jean) -- it is a play on the word "gaijin" (guy-jean), which means foreigner in Japanese, and "flyjin" is (jokingly?) being used to poke fun at all of the foreigners who fled Japan after the disaster. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that people still thank us for staying here or for deciding to still come, and that hasn't changed. Yesterday I didn't get home until pretty late after my NGO management class, so I did some homework and then went to bed. Today was also a really long day. I had Japanese in the morning, then had lunch with some friends -- I came in late and they told me to sit in this chair that was basically in the middle of everyone, so I was bombarded from all directions by Japanese for about 30 minutes. Immersion. After lunch I had economics where we had another in-class problem set, and then later at night there was a volunteering information session. Peace Boat and Second Harvest Japan were both there to talk about what they have been doing, and how we can get involved. I unfortunately can't go volunteer next week during Golden Week, but I am looking at dates later in May. Nothing too exciting to report from this week -- but these next few weeks should be great. Saturday I am going to Yokohama with SISEC, and then next week I have Tuesday-Thursday off from school so I am going to Kobe and Osaka! I am visiting our family friends and also am trying to meet up with one of my high school teachers, who is currently teaching at an international school in Osaka. Then, the next weekend is my BIRTHDAY!!! It's on a Friday (Friday the 13th!), and my birthday is also normally during finals period at Wellesley -- so I finally get to have a real celebration. AND this will be my first time ever celebrating my birthday in the time zone where I was born. SO EXCITED! Have a great weekend everyone! |
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Flyjin
I can't believe it's already Thursday night! This week has flown by but I am super exhausted. My classes have been relatively uneventful and I am looking forward to the weekend and next weekend's Golden Week holiday. On Monday I had Japanese class in the morning, and then lunch with a bunch of Japanese friends -- we got our food in the cafeteria and then took it to a nearby classroom, which was great because we actually had space to move our elbows. Seriously, the cafeterias are so crowded at lunch it was insane. But I had my delicious lunch and then economics, which was basically a review of a class I have already taken at Wellesley. After classes were over two of my friends and I went to do some shopping in Harajuku, where I made my first real purchases other than food. I got a super cute floral backpack and also "blinged out" my phone (see below), so now if anyone was considering taking me seriously they definitely won't. Harajuku is fast becoming our favorite place for shopping, and I can't wait to take my sister there! (Start saving your money now.)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter!
Happy Easter! It's so weird to be in Japan during an American holiday that I usually celebrate -- I'm normally bombarded by Easter candy and decorations in stores starting before Christmas (basically), but I haven't seen anything similar here. I did manage to eat a Reeses today but that was the extent of my American-style celebration... Today was a pretty chill day as I woke up really not feeling well, so I slept for a while more and ended up going to a late light lunch around 4pm. We ended up at McDonalds (typical Americans?), where I had a normal chicken sandwich and then a "banana cake" mini McFlurry -- it was pretty freakin awesome. The McDonalds in our area is inside of a supermarket, so we also did some grocery shopping. I got a new box of cereal and a bunch of fruit, so I'm pretty stocked for breakfast for the next two weeks. I ended up going out for dinner later and split a delicious pasta/rice/tonkatsu (pork) dish with a friend since I wasn't that hungry. It was super oishii (delicious). We also went to a bakery to get dessert, so overall today wasn't the most healthy day for eating, but hey it's a holiday right!? I got this strawberry shortcake thing which was really yummy. I feel like I say that about everything I eat here, but it's true -- everything is so good!
Yesterday I hung out in the dorm most of the day because it was pouring outside for most of the day. I got some work done and it finally stopped raining around late afternoon so I left with some friends to go to Takadanobaba for dinner. I thought we were just meeting a few people but we ended up running into the giant group that was gathered for the SISEC event, so we went with upwards of 40 people to a restaurant for light food and drinks. It was an overload of Japanese but I've been trying to use more of what I know in conversation (which is still not much). After taking one semester of Japanese before coming here, I felt like I was at least a tiny bit prepared, but now getting here and being in actual social situations I feel vastly underprepared. Its really overwhelming but I learn something lots of new things every day so hopefully within the next few weeks I will start to feel better. Thankfully, I usually have about four human dictionaries with me at all times, since most everyone on my program knows more than me -- they have been really helpful :). Overall though, the SISEC event was really fun and I've made several good Japanese friends!
Friday (two days ago) was also a great day. I had Japanese in the morning and then an early lunch with some friends, and then went to a SISEC meeting which was mostly in Japanese with the occasional English translation. I'm really bad at approximating, but there were probably at least 60+ students in the classroom where the meeting was held, so it took a while for everything to get settled down. The meeting was mostly in Japanese with the important events also translated into English, so we got the information for the upcoming events for the next few weeks (ice skating, Yokohama tour, cooking party the day after my birthday!). The meeting was kind of overwhelming--they wanted all of the exchange students to sit in the front--but it was nice to see some familiar faces.
After lunch I had my anthropology class, which I still really like, but most of the learning is definitely going to take place outside of the classroom... class time has not been productive, to say the least. But, we have an interesting assignment for next week which will soon be posted on my class blog, so in all it was fine.
Friday night was a "girls' night" as we sent the guys off to do their own thing and a bunch of us girls went to Omotesando for dinner. We at at this place called Eggs 'n' Things, which is apparently a chain in Hawaii, but it had super delicious American breakfast food. I got chocolate chip pancakes, and last minute decided to add whipped cream, which turned out to be a quality decision. We spent a few hours at the dinner place and were never pressured to leave despite the line of people waiting to be seated -- thank you Japanese service. We also sat outside and it still gets pretty chilly at night, so we were all provided with an individual blanket to use at our seats. Amazing.
After dinner we walked to Shibuya to this little alleyway lined with tiny bars on either side -- we picked one and went up to their second floor where the seven of us filled up the whole space (the ground floor was the same size). Unfortunately, my camera was dead, but it was a great traditional Japanese experience and was really relaxing. We had great conversation the whole night and it was really good company. After an hour or so we left the bar and walked around Shibuya a bit more before deciding to head back to the dorm, as we were all pretty tired from our first full week of class.
In all, I had a pretty chill weekend, mainly since I wasn't feeling well for part of it. Some of my friends visited Tokyo Tower, which is definitely at the top of my list of things to do next. My mommy mailed me an Easter package which I can pick up tomorrow -- yay thanks mom! I'm excited for some American candy :) Time for sleep -- tomorrow begins another full week of class!
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Dinner! Noodles, pork, and rice with egg! Nom
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Friday (two days ago) was also a great day. I had Japanese in the morning and then an early lunch with some friends, and then went to a SISEC meeting which was mostly in Japanese with the occasional English translation. I'm really bad at approximating, but there were probably at least 60+ students in the classroom where the meeting was held, so it took a while for everything to get settled down. The meeting was mostly in Japanese with the important events also translated into English, so we got the information for the upcoming events for the next few weeks (ice skating, Yokohama tour, cooking party the day after my birthday!). The meeting was kind of overwhelming--they wanted all of the exchange students to sit in the front--but it was nice to see some familiar faces.
After lunch I had my anthropology class, which I still really like, but most of the learning is definitely going to take place outside of the classroom... class time has not been productive, to say the least. But, we have an interesting assignment for next week which will soon be posted on my class blog, so in all it was fine.
Friday night was a "girls' night" as we sent the guys off to do their own thing and a bunch of us girls went to Omotesando for dinner. We at at this place called Eggs 'n' Things, which is apparently a chain in Hawaii, but it had super delicious American breakfast food. I got chocolate chip pancakes, and last minute decided to add whipped cream, which turned out to be a quality decision. We spent a few hours at the dinner place and were never pressured to leave despite the line of people waiting to be seated -- thank you Japanese service. We also sat outside and it still gets pretty chilly at night, so we were all provided with an individual blanket to use at our seats. Amazing.
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| Whipped cream... with some pancakes on the side |
In all, I had a pretty chill weekend, mainly since I wasn't feeling well for part of it. Some of my friends visited Tokyo Tower, which is definitely at the top of my list of things to do next. My mommy mailed me an Easter package which I can pick up tomorrow -- yay thanks mom! I'm excited for some American candy :) Time for sleep -- tomorrow begins another full week of class!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Getting My Edjumacation
I am almost done with my first full week of classes and I absolutely love all of them. I have never been this excited about actually going to class -- but it's a good thing I'm so enthusiastic about it here since there is so much else to do in Tokyo. On Wednesday I had Japanese and then an afternoon walking tour of the Yotsuya area, which was absolutely amazing. My tour guide was a really cute Japanese lady and, after the now-routine "Why did you come!? Aren't you worried!?!!?" introductions, gave us lots of interesting information about the area within walking distance of our campus. We started out by the university playing fields, which are in what used to be the moat surrounding the castle grounds, and ended up at the Imperial Palace, which I had actually already visited last time I was in Tokyo with my family in 2008. Tokyo is absolutely beautiful and it is so interesting to see the modern buildings juxtaposed with the zen gardens and sakura trees. It was a great (free) tour and I really enjoyed exploring the area around the university more (which I hadn't done that much yet).
After rushing back to campus from the tour end point, Wednesday night I had my first NGO Management seminar -- I'm gonna let the others finish, but I think this is going to be my favorite class *of all time*. The professor is the CEO of Second Harvest Japan, and he is a very charismatic speaker who is really knows his stuff. We had a great class yesterday talking about the differences between NGOs and NPOs, and also got into what makes a "bad" NGO. We talked about the issue of capacity and how too much money coming in too quickly can actually hurt an organization if they don't have the resources to handle it, as the excess funds could lead to waste, corruption, etc. I could write a whole blog post about the class but I'll try to check myself here. DidImentionI'mreallyexcitedaboutthisclass.
The only downside about the class is that it is from 5-8:15pm on Wednesday nights, so after eating dinner I didn't get home until around 10pm. But, I had pretty much finished my homework so I was still able to get a good night's sleep before waking up on Thursday -- which was a great day. The train commute was not bad at all (I barely broke a sweat on the train) and then Japanese was semi-interesting (I'm still relearning things I know) and I was really productive between classes. For anyone who is interested/stalking me/obsessed with blogs, I'm keeping another blog for my anthropology class on the earthquake. We were all required to post about our experience with the earthquake on 3.11, and then we read our other classmates's posts about it -- so I got several firsthand accounts of Japanese students' experiences, which was really interesting. I am really excited about that class as well -- I mentioned that on Tuesday a group from Japan Action for Refugees came to give us a notice about an information session, which I went to this afternoon. The session was rather long -- I actually arrived kind of late because I wasn't given the exact location for the meeting, and after I walked in with a few other American-looking people they decided to present information in both Japanese and English (thankfully). I am really excited about this opportunity and, if all goes as planned, will be going up to northern Japan (still far away from the reactor) during the first week of May to do relief work. We will be working on getting the school in the area open again and then clearing debris from houses. It will definitely be exhausting both physically and emotionally but I am so thankful that I will get an opportunity to help.
After the information session I headed back to the dorm with several students and we got dinner at one of our regular places before heading home for the night. I had a very relaxing night: I finally put my suitcases under the bed, rearranged everything on my shelves, and caught up on pictures (and blogging). I finally feel settled in to my room (my bed is actually the most comfortable thing ever) and rested physically even after a long week of class. There was actually just a medium-sized aftershock while I was typing this post. I'm pretty used to them by now, but it still makes my heart race every time the slight swaying turns into definitely noticeable shaking. Not to freak my parents out or anything. I can't believe I've been here for almost two weeks -- it feels like I just got here, but also like I've been here forever. But, there is still so much to do and so little time! I think I am finally going to do karaoke tomorrow night -- can't wait!
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| Nijubashi Bridge on the Imperial Palace grounds in April 2011 (left) and July 2008 (right) -- notice any similarities? |
The only downside about the class is that it is from 5-8:15pm on Wednesday nights, so after eating dinner I didn't get home until around 10pm. But, I had pretty much finished my homework so I was still able to get a good night's sleep before waking up on Thursday -- which was a great day. The train commute was not bad at all (I barely broke a sweat on the train) and then Japanese was semi-interesting (I'm still relearning things I know) and I was really productive between classes. For anyone who is interested/stalking me/obsessed with blogs, I'm keeping another blog for my anthropology class on the earthquake. We were all required to post about our experience with the earthquake on 3.11, and then we read our other classmates's posts about it -- so I got several firsthand accounts of Japanese students' experiences, which was really interesting. I am really excited about that class as well -- I mentioned that on Tuesday a group from Japan Action for Refugees came to give us a notice about an information session, which I went to this afternoon. The session was rather long -- I actually arrived kind of late because I wasn't given the exact location for the meeting, and after I walked in with a few other American-looking people they decided to present information in both Japanese and English (thankfully). I am really excited about this opportunity and, if all goes as planned, will be going up to northern Japan (still far away from the reactor) during the first week of May to do relief work. We will be working on getting the school in the area open again and then clearing debris from houses. It will definitely be exhausting both physically and emotionally but I am so thankful that I will get an opportunity to help.
After the information session I headed back to the dorm with several students and we got dinner at one of our regular places before heading home for the night. I had a very relaxing night: I finally put my suitcases under the bed, rearranged everything on my shelves, and caught up on pictures (and blogging). I finally feel settled in to my room (my bed is actually the most comfortable thing ever) and rested physically even after a long week of class. There was actually just a medium-sized aftershock while I was typing this post. I'm pretty used to them by now, but it still makes my heart race every time the slight swaying turns into definitely noticeable shaking. Not to freak my parents out or anything. I can't believe I've been here for almost two weeks -- it feels like I just got here, but also like I've been here forever. But, there is still so much to do and so little time! I think I am finally going to do karaoke tomorrow night -- can't wait!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Infrared and Omuraisu
After our jam-packed first week in Tokyo, the past few days have slowed down a bit as we get back into school mode, but it has been nice to have some time to slow down and unwind. Unfortunately, the main reason we have been taking it easy has been the rain: today and yesterday were dreary, rainy days, which basically turns each train car into your own personal sauna. (The windows literally fog up.) Not the best start to the school day. Sunday, at least, was beautiful weather, and my friend and I did some more exploring around the area where we live in an (unsuccessful) attempt at following a hand-drawn map to find the post office. We actually got pretty lost, asked a lady for directions, and she ended up being super nice and walking around with us for a while in an attempt to figure out the little squigglies on our piece of paper. We didn't find the post office (so no postcards home yet, but we did find a delicious "coffee" place which was actually like an upscale IHOP -- it was DELICIOUS. I had an omuraisu, which is like an American omelette but mine had cheesy rice inside. SO good.
After lunch we returned home to relax in the dorm before going to our university to meet for the SISEC welcome party, which is basically just a big international student organization that encourages interaction between foreigners and Japanese students. When we met at campus there were probably about 50 people already gathered, and let me tell you that moving 60+ students through the trains within downtown Tokyo is no easy task. I stayed right by the line leader, just like I was taught in kindergarten, because I really didn't want to get lost. So, I ended up being one of the first few to arrive to the restaurant in Shinjuku where we had rented out their "party room" which had seating for upwards of 80 people. It was really well serviced and we had lots of delicious food and drink. I met a ton of Japanese students and and got some new numbers -- which I haven't talked about yet. We were all really excited to just have a phone again but Japanese cell phones are actually THE coolest thing ever. I mentioned that cell phones have email addresses that you use to text people, so it could get pretty annoying to have to exchange a cell phone number AND mail address every time you get a new contact. But, the Japanese have (of course) solved this problem by putting an infrared sensor in their phones -- so when you meet someone new, you just hold your phones next together, press a few buttons, and *bam* you have a new contact in your phone, complete with their name in both katakana and kanji plus any phone numbers or mail addresses they have stored in their user profile. Pretty dang amazing.
After the welcome party, we headed home and were back to our dorm at a reasonable hour. A few of us got a dinner snack and then packed it in early to get ready for our first full week of classes... which as I mentioned, started off very gray. Monday was pretty uneventful: I had Japanese class and then lunch with a few Japanese friends, then went to my public economics course which is still really interesting. I met with the professor after to get some beginning ideas for my thesis, but am still in the very early planning stages. In the afternoon a bunch of us ended up heading back home together (forgoing shopping in Harajuku because of the impending storm), and we spent the evening lounging around the dorm before grabbing a quick dinner out. While I was really looking forward to a homestay, I have really enjoyed the dorm as well: it is nice to have one central area for us all to meet, and we have all enjoyed getting dinner together.
Today (Tuesday) started off with rain and the sauna train ride. It was definitely my most miserable commute yet, so I'm hoping I've hit the low point, although in the summer months things are sure to be worse. Today I had my Japanese and anthropology classes, and was able to have lunch in the cafeteria before the lunch rush (which is absolutely insane). My anthropology class was pretty interesting -- we had a group from the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR) come and talk to us about opportunities to go volunteer in some of the hard-hit areas in northern Japan. It is a great opportunity and I am really excited about getting more information. After class, and friend and I left to go to find the high school where basketball practice was being held, which was quite the adventure. We had to ask directions several times, found the middle school gym first, and then finally found the gym on the second floor of the high school building. I just sat and watched practice the whole time, but it was nice to be around something familiar like basketball again. It was raining on the walk back to the station and I shared my umbrella with someone on the team and started talking about NBA players, when I found out that in Japan Kevin Durant is called the "Durantula" because of his long arms and legs (does he have that nickname in the US???) and he commented that Kevin Garnett has an exceptionally small head. I really like the team but I'm not sure if I have time to be a manager -- I have to do a lot of writing for my classes and I also want to get really involved in volunteer work, but I'm still going to think about it.
I finally made it home through the rain and a little later a group of us left to have dinner -- we ended up at the same place I had eaten on Sunday, so I got an omuraisu again because it was just that delicious. It was great company and one of the most enjoyable dinners I have had yet. I spent the rest of the night catching up on internet happenings, because while the ethernet for most everyone else was out, mine was mysteriously still working... but hey I wasn't complaining. I'm feeling pretty out of the loop regarding the NBA playoffs but the Celtics are up 2-0! All about 18!!!
Tomorrow brings a walking tour of the Yotsuya including the imperial palace grounds, so I am pretty excited about that. The weather is also supposed to be better, which is exciting! But, I keep reminding myself about how hot and humid it is going to get in the summer, so I need to enjoy the cooler weather while it lasts... じゃ、また！！！
After lunch we returned home to relax in the dorm before going to our university to meet for the SISEC welcome party, which is basically just a big international student organization that encourages interaction between foreigners and Japanese students. When we met at campus there were probably about 50 people already gathered, and let me tell you that moving 60+ students through the trains within downtown Tokyo is no easy task. I stayed right by the line leader, just like I was taught in kindergarten, because I really didn't want to get lost. So, I ended up being one of the first few to arrive to the restaurant in Shinjuku where we had rented out their "party room" which had seating for upwards of 80 people. It was really well serviced and we had lots of delicious food and drink. I met a ton of Japanese students and and got some new numbers -- which I haven't talked about yet. We were all really excited to just have a phone again but Japanese cell phones are actually THE coolest thing ever. I mentioned that cell phones have email addresses that you use to text people, so it could get pretty annoying to have to exchange a cell phone number AND mail address every time you get a new contact. But, the Japanese have (of course) solved this problem by putting an infrared sensor in their phones -- so when you meet someone new, you just hold your phones next together, press a few buttons, and *bam* you have a new contact in your phone, complete with their name in both katakana and kanji plus any phone numbers or mail addresses they have stored in their user profile. Pretty dang amazing.
After the welcome party, we headed home and were back to our dorm at a reasonable hour. A few of us got a dinner snack and then packed it in early to get ready for our first full week of classes... which as I mentioned, started off very gray. Monday was pretty uneventful: I had Japanese class and then lunch with a few Japanese friends, then went to my public economics course which is still really interesting. I met with the professor after to get some beginning ideas for my thesis, but am still in the very early planning stages. In the afternoon a bunch of us ended up heading back home together (forgoing shopping in Harajuku because of the impending storm), and we spent the evening lounging around the dorm before grabbing a quick dinner out. While I was really looking forward to a homestay, I have really enjoyed the dorm as well: it is nice to have one central area for us all to meet, and we have all enjoyed getting dinner together.
Today (Tuesday) started off with rain and the sauna train ride. It was definitely my most miserable commute yet, so I'm hoping I've hit the low point, although in the summer months things are sure to be worse. Today I had my Japanese and anthropology classes, and was able to have lunch in the cafeteria before the lunch rush (which is absolutely insane). My anthropology class was pretty interesting -- we had a group from the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR) come and talk to us about opportunities to go volunteer in some of the hard-hit areas in northern Japan. It is a great opportunity and I am really excited about getting more information. After class, and friend and I left to go to find the high school where basketball practice was being held, which was quite the adventure. We had to ask directions several times, found the middle school gym first, and then finally found the gym on the second floor of the high school building. I just sat and watched practice the whole time, but it was nice to be around something familiar like basketball again. It was raining on the walk back to the station and I shared my umbrella with someone on the team and started talking about NBA players, when I found out that in Japan Kevin Durant is called the "Durantula" because of his long arms and legs (does he have that nickname in the US???) and he commented that Kevin Garnett has an exceptionally small head. I really like the team but I'm not sure if I have time to be a manager -- I have to do a lot of writing for my classes and I also want to get really involved in volunteer work, but I'm still going to think about it.
I finally made it home through the rain and a little later a group of us left to have dinner -- we ended up at the same place I had eaten on Sunday, so I got an omuraisu again because it was just that delicious. It was great company and one of the most enjoyable dinners I have had yet. I spent the rest of the night catching up on internet happenings, because while the ethernet for most everyone else was out, mine was mysteriously still working... but hey I wasn't complaining. I'm feeling pretty out of the loop regarding the NBA playoffs but the Celtics are up 2-0! All about 18!!!
Tomorrow brings a walking tour of the Yotsuya including the imperial palace grounds, so I am pretty excited about that. The weather is also supposed to be better, which is exciting! But, I keep reminding myself about how hot and humid it is going to get in the summer, so I need to enjoy the cooler weather while it lasts... じゃ、また！！！
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Week 1!
My first week in Japan has flown by -- I can't believe I have already been here for a week, but at the same time it feels like I have been here for months. We are all pretty well adjusted and are starting to get into a schedule for the weekdays. On Thursday, the first day of classes, I left at 7:30am and was on campus by 8:45. I went to my Japanese class and was feeling comfortable with the level until the end of class when we got a grammar worksheet that I didn't know how to do a lot of. I may end up switching classes, but I'm not sure yet. Class registration is really unique here: you can't actually register for classes until the second day of class. "Class shopping" is a big thing here and everyone goes to 6 or 7 different classes before. I went to four different classes on Thursday, but the only one I am going to stay in is Public Economics (and Japanese of course, which meets every day). In Public Econ we got an introduction to the course and then talked about the rolling blackouts and whether or not they are the best economic solution to the current electricity shortage in Tokyo (right now things are okay since AC/heat are not really needed, but in the coming summer months demand is expected to exceed supply by about 20 million kW). For those who are interested, the professor's academic opinion was that an electricity consumption tax would be a better solution, because it would both reduce consumption and raise funds for relief efforts or the government's budget (right now Japan's national debt as a percentage of GDP is 178%, the highest in the world -- for comparison the U.S. is at 40%).
After my last class on Thursday I came back to the dorm with several CIEE students. We were home by 6pm which was a nice early night. We had dinner later that night at a soba shop in the area around our dorm -- it was so delicious and is run by an elder couple who are absolutely adorable. The old man was very sweet and complimented our group as we were leaving -- I know I will be going back there soon! The rest of Thursday night was spent trying to figure out which classes I was going to go to on Friday, and continuing to get everything organized in my room.
Yesterday (Friday) was another great day. I went to my Japanese class, a boring anthropology class, and then had lunch with the Sophia Communication circle -- it was kind of awkward because it was basically just a bunch of friends hanging out and talking, but I happened to meet a girl who lived in Chapel Hill, NC for seven years -- so random! We were really excited and talked a lot about North Carolina -- I usually say I am from Boston since most people are familiar with that city, so it was nice to talk about NC for a change.
After lunch I went to an anthropology course called Nature, Culture, and Technology. A bunch of CIEE students were planning on going because it looked like a really cool course where you get to watch films like Avatar and Princess Mononoke and write about them, but when we got to class we found out that there is a special topic for this semester's course -- "the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster" as it is officially called. I am actually really excited about this course -- it is a lot of work where we have to write a 20-25 page term paper and also do a big group project, but the class includes a volunteer requirement and it is giving me ideas for my thesis topic. I am going to meet with the professors of this course and my public economics course, as well as send some emails to Wellesley faculty and hopefully come up with a thesis topic that involves an economic analysis of some aspect of the disaster. Then, I can use this course to get a head start on my thesis research while I am in Japan -- win win!
After class a group of seven of us started out for home but then decided to back to Ueno Ameyoko, the really crowded street that I mentioned a few posts ago. It was much more enjoyable today -- we could walk down the street without getting stepped on, and could actually take time to look at all the street vendors and see what they were offering. We looked at a bunch of bags and shoes, and also got some delicious fruit skewers for only 100 yen -- I am really excited about how much my fruit consumption has increased in recent days. After Ameyoko we decided to go over to Harajuku, which may be my favorite place I have visited so far -- there are so many cute, affordable clothes shops there, and we saw all types of people. It was a lot of fun, but we finally decided to head home around 7pm since we had a big night ahead of us.
Last night was my first taste of Japanese nightlife -- we met some Japanese classmates in Shibuya and they showed us a good club to go to. The price was a little exorbitant (cheaper for girls though!), but the club was so much fun and by the end of the night there were probably about 10 or 15 CIEE students there, so I kept bumping into people I knew. One downside of going out at night is that the trains stop running at midnight -- so if you are going to stay out later you have to wait until the first train at 5am. That was what happened last night, and we ended up going to McDonald's at about 4am while waiting to go to the train station. This is actually a really popular thing to do here -- people wait for the first train in somewhere that's open 24 hours like McDonald's or a manga club. Needless to say, 12am is pretty early for the trains to stop running, so lots of people were sleeping on tables.
We finally made it home by 6am (!!!) and I went straight to bed... and slept until 3pm. That was definitely the latest I have ever stayed up / slept until. I am finally awake now and just did my class registration: Public Economics, Japanese, earthquake course, and NGO Management. I am really excited about all these courses so it should be a great semester! It was weird to actually go to class again but I think we are all getting back into the homework mode. The anthro course is really technology-oriented so I have to create a Twitter account and blog for the class, and also join the class Facebook group and register for two electronic course information sites. Should be interesting! I'm looking forward to getting going!
After my last class on Thursday I came back to the dorm with several CIEE students. We were home by 6pm which was a nice early night. We had dinner later that night at a soba shop in the area around our dorm -- it was so delicious and is run by an elder couple who are absolutely adorable. The old man was very sweet and complimented our group as we were leaving -- I know I will be going back there soon! The rest of Thursday night was spent trying to figure out which classes I was going to go to on Friday, and continuing to get everything organized in my room.
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| Dinner at the soba restaurant |
After lunch I went to an anthropology course called Nature, Culture, and Technology. A bunch of CIEE students were planning on going because it looked like a really cool course where you get to watch films like Avatar and Princess Mononoke and write about them, but when we got to class we found out that there is a special topic for this semester's course -- "the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Disaster" as it is officially called. I am actually really excited about this course -- it is a lot of work where we have to write a 20-25 page term paper and also do a big group project, but the class includes a volunteer requirement and it is giving me ideas for my thesis topic. I am going to meet with the professors of this course and my public economics course, as well as send some emails to Wellesley faculty and hopefully come up with a thesis topic that involves an economic analysis of some aspect of the disaster. Then, I can use this course to get a head start on my thesis research while I am in Japan -- win win!
After class a group of seven of us started out for home but then decided to back to Ueno Ameyoko, the really crowded street that I mentioned a few posts ago. It was much more enjoyable today -- we could walk down the street without getting stepped on, and could actually take time to look at all the street vendors and see what they were offering. We looked at a bunch of bags and shoes, and also got some delicious fruit skewers for only 100 yen -- I am really excited about how much my fruit consumption has increased in recent days. After Ameyoko we decided to go over to Harajuku, which may be my favorite place I have visited so far -- there are so many cute, affordable clothes shops there, and we saw all types of people. It was a lot of fun, but we finally decided to head home around 7pm since we had a big night ahead of us.
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| Pineapple and melon skewers! |
Last night was my first taste of Japanese nightlife -- we met some Japanese classmates in Shibuya and they showed us a good club to go to. The price was a little exorbitant (cheaper for girls though!), but the club was so much fun and by the end of the night there were probably about 10 or 15 CIEE students there, so I kept bumping into people I knew. One downside of going out at night is that the trains stop running at midnight -- so if you are going to stay out later you have to wait until the first train at 5am. That was what happened last night, and we ended up going to McDonald's at about 4am while waiting to go to the train station. This is actually a really popular thing to do here -- people wait for the first train in somewhere that's open 24 hours like McDonald's or a manga club. Needless to say, 12am is pretty early for the trains to stop running, so lots of people were sleeping on tables.
We finally made it home by 6am (!!!) and I went straight to bed... and slept until 3pm. That was definitely the latest I have ever stayed up / slept until. I am finally awake now and just did my class registration: Public Economics, Japanese, earthquake course, and NGO Management. I am really excited about all these courses so it should be a great semester! It was weird to actually go to class again but I think we are all getting back into the homework mode. The anthro course is really technology-oriented so I have to create a Twitter account and blog for the class, and also join the class Facebook group and register for two electronic course information sites. Should be interesting! I'm looking forward to getting going!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Getting Adjusted
It is Wednesday and I think I am finally over my jet lag. I still wake up early in the mornings because my curtains let in so much light, but I am usually able to go back to sleep, which is a good thing because my days are jam packed. On Monday we got to campus around 9:30am for an orientation session on academics, and we began trying to figure out what classes we are going to take this semester (you mean I actually have to study here???). We took the Japanese placement test in the afternoon, and in between we got to explore the Sophia University "freshman week" activities - mainly the club fair. Now, I thought Wellesley's club fair was bustling, but absolutely nothing compares to this event. The Sophia club fair is two days, from 10am-4pm, and all of the university's 300+ clubs are packed onto the campus's two main roads, with garish signs and tons of flyers. You literally can't walk two feet without having a flyer shoved in your face, and in some places it was so congested that it wasn't possible to walk at all. So crazy. I probably got about 100 pieces of paper, most of which I couldn't read, but I've narrowed down my interest to about four clubs (photography, calligraphy, basketball, and a social club). They begin meeting over the next few weeks so we will see how it goes.
After the placement test (which I finished pretty quickly since I could only do about 10% of it), I had some time to wander around on my own. It was pretty weird to be completely on my own and not around other CIEE students, but I walked around campus soon and then ended up meeting up with a friend in the computer lab. In the afternoon we had an information about keitai (cell phones), which are pretty unique in Japan. Almost everyone exclusively texts -- calling is pretty expensive -- and they mainly use cell phone email addresses, because some phone providers can't text to numbers on other providers. Needless to say, everyone in Japan is attached to their keitai and, as observed in the train station today, even older businessmen have several key chains dangling off the end.
Monday night I came back to the dorm pretty early to finish unpacking. A group of us took a scenic route home, walking down a street lined with sakura that has had some vendors out selling food for a few nights, but that night it was closed because it had been raining. We were disappointed but actually found a place where I got a good serving delicious gyoza and rice for under $5 -- have I mentioned how much I love the white rice here? I do. I have told several Japanese people it is my favorite Japanese food. They are amused, but it is true -- you can't get white rice like this in the US!
Tuesday started with an aftershock at 8:10am that actually woke me up -- which was good because I had overslept. I got ready on time, however, and we went to meet our program staff to go to the city center to register as aliens (the MIB headquarters were closed for the day). It actually took forever -- there were 26 of us trying to register, and from the first to the last person was at least three hours. I was among the first to be able to leave, however, and made my way to campus with some friends. We spent some time wandering around the sakura that are all around campus, and discovered the origins of a mysterious staircase in the hill. In the afternoon we had another orientation session, then we were able to pick up our cell phones! It was nice to be phoneless for a few days, but it was really hard to coordinate meeting up with people (Tokyo is pretty big). Of course, we all spent about an hour playing with our phones and exchanging numbers, and then I went with some people to the basketball club's welcome party. I am looking into being a manager for them, which would be wicked awesome, but it may be too big of a time commitment. Needless to say they were impressed with my basketball knowledge... and height. I was (kindly?) informed that nothing in Japan will fit me. That's okay -- I brought my whole closet anyways.
The basketball party was a lot of fun (and turned out to be free for us - even better) and I made some more Japanese friends. I am actually really happy that I have met so many Japanese students already - they are all so friendly and eager to use English, which is good since I know about five sentences in Japanese. Even with the lengthy party, I was still in bed by midnight, which suits my old lady bedtime habits just fine.
Today (Wednesday) was a great day. This morning we had our (last!) orientation session on campus, and then I met with a Japanese sensei (professor) to discuss my Japanese placement. He was really helpful and I decided to move up half a level from where I was placed, so the first few weeks of class should be interesting. I will remember more of what I have forgotten once classes start though...?? (That's the plan.)
This afternoon we visited a disaster preparedness center in Ikebukuro, which was helpful even though we have been in several small/medium quakes/aftershocks already. We crawled through a room filled with (fake) smoke, experienced a 7.1 earthquake, and got to use a fire extinguisher. I feel like those are all things I should have done in elementary school, but hey now I am prepared! After our session a group of us split off to explore the area. It was absolutely amazing. We stayed until it was dark, so we got to see the streets light up with offers of delicious food and sales. We also went to a "cat petting zoo" -- there were cats in little rooms we could look at through the glass, and also cats running around the complex that you could pet. It was pretty cool, although most of the cats were pretty skittish. We had a delicious simple dinner (I had hot soba noodles) and then took the train back and were home by 9pm! It was nice to have an early night. We also stopped to get some groceries -- I got some yogurt, tangerines, and a box of cereal!!!!!!!! Many of you know how much I love cereal -- needless to say, I was happy. Once we got home I started trying to figure out my classes for tomorrow, which I think I have finally made progress on.
This post has gotten pretty (really) long, but I wanted to have an introspective moment. This is a really interesting time to be in Japan. We have been told that Tokyo is much "darker" than normal -- electricity is at a premium and maximum conservation efforts are being taken. Sophia University normally has about 800 foreign exchange students -- this semester there will be fewer than 100. Everyone is telling us "thank you for coming" or "thank you for being here" -- they recognize that we could have easily decided not to spend this semester in Japan, but we have decided to come and are in it with them for the long haul. Being a (light-haired, tall) foreigner in Japan is already an interesting experience, where most people treat you very well, but now we stand out even more. The majority of foreigners fled Japan after the disaster, so most people are very appreciative for the ones that stayed. It has been interesting interacting with people at this time, and it will be even more interesting to see how this semester plays out. Classes start tomorrow, so it will be really weird to get back into school mode. With that, I should get some sleep before tomorrow! Oyasumi!
After the placement test (which I finished pretty quickly since I could only do about 10% of it), I had some time to wander around on my own. It was pretty weird to be completely on my own and not around other CIEE students, but I walked around campus soon and then ended up meeting up with a friend in the computer lab. In the afternoon we had an information about keitai (cell phones), which are pretty unique in Japan. Almost everyone exclusively texts -- calling is pretty expensive -- and they mainly use cell phone email addresses, because some phone providers can't text to numbers on other providers. Needless to say, everyone in Japan is attached to their keitai and, as observed in the train station today, even older businessmen have several key chains dangling off the end.
Monday night I came back to the dorm pretty early to finish unpacking. A group of us took a scenic route home, walking down a street lined with sakura that has had some vendors out selling food for a few nights, but that night it was closed because it had been raining. We were disappointed but actually found a place where I got a good serving delicious gyoza and rice for under $5 -- have I mentioned how much I love the white rice here? I do. I have told several Japanese people it is my favorite Japanese food. They are amused, but it is true -- you can't get white rice like this in the US!
Tuesday started with an aftershock at 8:10am that actually woke me up -- which was good because I had overslept. I got ready on time, however, and we went to meet our program staff to go to the city center to register as aliens (the MIB headquarters were closed for the day). It actually took forever -- there were 26 of us trying to register, and from the first to the last person was at least three hours. I was among the first to be able to leave, however, and made my way to campus with some friends. We spent some time wandering around the sakura that are all around campus, and discovered the origins of a mysterious staircase in the hill. In the afternoon we had another orientation session, then we were able to pick up our cell phones! It was nice to be phoneless for a few days, but it was really hard to coordinate meeting up with people (Tokyo is pretty big). Of course, we all spent about an hour playing with our phones and exchanging numbers, and then I went with some people to the basketball club's welcome party. I am looking into being a manager for them, which would be wicked awesome, but it may be too big of a time commitment. Needless to say they were impressed with my basketball knowledge... and height. I was (kindly?) informed that nothing in Japan will fit me. That's okay -- I brought my whole closet anyways.
The basketball party was a lot of fun (and turned out to be free for us - even better) and I made some more Japanese friends. I am actually really happy that I have met so many Japanese students already - they are all so friendly and eager to use English, which is good since I know about five sentences in Japanese. Even with the lengthy party, I was still in bed by midnight, which suits my old lady bedtime habits just fine.
Today (Wednesday) was a great day. This morning we had our (last!) orientation session on campus, and then I met with a Japanese sensei (professor) to discuss my Japanese placement. He was really helpful and I decided to move up half a level from where I was placed, so the first few weeks of class should be interesting. I will remember more of what I have forgotten once classes start though...?? (That's the plan.)
This afternoon we visited a disaster preparedness center in Ikebukuro, which was helpful even though we have been in several small/medium quakes/aftershocks already. We crawled through a room filled with (fake) smoke, experienced a 7.1 earthquake, and got to use a fire extinguisher. I feel like those are all things I should have done in elementary school, but hey now I am prepared! After our session a group of us split off to explore the area. It was absolutely amazing. We stayed until it was dark, so we got to see the streets light up with offers of delicious food and sales. We also went to a "cat petting zoo" -- there were cats in little rooms we could look at through the glass, and also cats running around the complex that you could pet. It was pretty cool, although most of the cats were pretty skittish. We had a delicious simple dinner (I had hot soba noodles) and then took the train back and were home by 9pm! It was nice to have an early night. We also stopped to get some groceries -- I got some yogurt, tangerines, and a box of cereal!!!!!!!! Many of you know how much I love cereal -- needless to say, I was happy. Once we got home I started trying to figure out my classes for tomorrow, which I think I have finally made progress on.
This post has gotten pretty (really) long, but I wanted to have an introspective moment. This is a really interesting time to be in Japan. We have been told that Tokyo is much "darker" than normal -- electricity is at a premium and maximum conservation efforts are being taken. Sophia University normally has about 800 foreign exchange students -- this semester there will be fewer than 100. Everyone is telling us "thank you for coming" or "thank you for being here" -- they recognize that we could have easily decided not to spend this semester in Japan, but we have decided to come and are in it with them for the long haul. Being a (light-haired, tall) foreigner in Japan is already an interesting experience, where most people treat you very well, but now we stand out even more. The majority of foreigners fled Japan after the disaster, so most people are very appreciative for the ones that stayed. It has been interesting interacting with people at this time, and it will be even more interesting to see how this semester plays out. Classes start tomorrow, so it will be really weird to get back into school mode. With that, I should get some sleep before tomorrow! Oyasumi!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Tokyo Whirlwind
So much has happened in the past few days it's hard to believe I just got here. Our first full day in Tokyo, April 9th, we had breakfast in the hotel and then were on a bus by 8:30am to go visit a temple whose name escapes me at the moment. Apparently it's a site that is not necessarily on the traditional list of places to visit, but it was absolutely amazing. The complex was huge and they also have a "drive in" area where cars can drive in to receive a blessing for road safety, car safety, etc -- keeping up with the times! After the temple we went to this super fancy hotel to have a delicious buffet lunch and our official welcome kanpai (toast). The lunch was delicious and they had super yummy tiny desserts (which were sized appropriately so I could try one of each). After the lunch we drove about two hours to our dorm, while the program director pointed out notable sites from the front of the bus. We are living in DK House Warabi, which is sort of like a traditional American dormitory (single rooms, hall bathroom, etc) except for that anyone who wants to live independently can live here (not just college students) and you can't wear your shoes inside.
My room is so cute - it is pretty spacious; I have a futon-style bed and tons of storage space. Most importantly, I have a beautiful view of the sakura which are currently in bloom from my window. It's pretty challenging to close the curtains and block out the view at night, but it doesn't really matter because these curtains let in almost all of the light anyways. After a brief introduction to the dorm, we lugged our suitcases up the stairs (no elevator) and then returned to the common room for a fantastic welcome party with a TON of food. It was so delicious - and we were really enjoying the day full of free meals (normally we have to buy/prepare our own food). After dinner we rested for a bit and then walked around outside a bit to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, and then relaxed downstairs together while attempting to not go to sleep too early - still trying to get over jet lag! In all, it was a jam-packed first day, and I slept really well in my super comfy bed (which I may just have to pack into my suitcase at the end of my stay here).
I woke up pretty early yesterday (Sunday) and actually felt my first aftershock around 6:30am - it wasn't a big one, but I was sitting at my desk in my rolling chair so it was definitely noticeable. My group met around 10:15am to go to the nearest train station (Nishi-Kawaguchi) and get our Suica passes which allow us to get from our dorm to campus an unlimited number of times for one price. We took the trains for the first time to campus (I have about an hour commute including one train transfer), and then tried to eat in the cafeteria but it was closed. Instead, we ran into most of the other CIEE people and emptied out the 7/11 and ate lunch outside in the sun.
After lunch my orientation group leader took us to Electric Town in Akihabara, which is basically a collection of the most electronics stores you have ever seen on one block. We mostly looked around and decided to buy some things later because we had a lot of walking ahead of us. We walked from Akihabara through this super crowded street to Ueno Park, where we met some Japanese Sophia students and enjoyed hanami in the park. I've never seen a park so crowded - everyone and their brother was out on a tarp sitting under the beautiful sakura trees enjoying the view - but it was well worth it because Ueno Park and the sakura trees were breathtaking. Everyone was very friendly and we had a great time meeting some real Japanese people. At around 6:30 we packed up our many tarps and walked to this restaurant where we got a bunch of smaller appetizers, which was a great way to try a bunch of Japanese food. I tried chicken cartilage, octopus (fried and raw), and raw salmon... enough said. I was exhausted by the end of the night and we finally headed back to the dorm around 10:00pm. I was in bed by midnight and fell asleep instantly - it was an amazing day but I wasn't completely over my jet lag, so I was ready to get to sleep ASAP.
Today brings an orientation at the university, Japanese placement test, and possibly karaoke. We have seen so much already but it is barely scratching the surface of what Tokyo has to offer - this is definitely going to be an amazing semester!
My room is so cute - it is pretty spacious; I have a futon-style bed and tons of storage space. Most importantly, I have a beautiful view of the sakura which are currently in bloom from my window. It's pretty challenging to close the curtains and block out the view at night, but it doesn't really matter because these curtains let in almost all of the light anyways. After a brief introduction to the dorm, we lugged our suitcases up the stairs (no elevator) and then returned to the common room for a fantastic welcome party with a TON of food. It was so delicious - and we were really enjoying the day full of free meals (normally we have to buy/prepare our own food). After dinner we rested for a bit and then walked around outside a bit to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings, and then relaxed downstairs together while attempting to not go to sleep too early - still trying to get over jet lag! In all, it was a jam-packed first day, and I slept really well in my super comfy bed (which I may just have to pack into my suitcase at the end of my stay here).
I woke up pretty early yesterday (Sunday) and actually felt my first aftershock around 6:30am - it wasn't a big one, but I was sitting at my desk in my rolling chair so it was definitely noticeable. My group met around 10:15am to go to the nearest train station (Nishi-Kawaguchi) and get our Suica passes which allow us to get from our dorm to campus an unlimited number of times for one price. We took the trains for the first time to campus (I have about an hour commute including one train transfer), and then tried to eat in the cafeteria but it was closed. Instead, we ran into most of the other CIEE people and emptied out the 7/11 and ate lunch outside in the sun.
After lunch my orientation group leader took us to Electric Town in Akihabara, which is basically a collection of the most electronics stores you have ever seen on one block. We mostly looked around and decided to buy some things later because we had a lot of walking ahead of us. We walked from Akihabara through this super crowded street to Ueno Park, where we met some Japanese Sophia students and enjoyed hanami in the park. I've never seen a park so crowded - everyone and their brother was out on a tarp sitting under the beautiful sakura trees enjoying the view - but it was well worth it because Ueno Park and the sakura trees were breathtaking. Everyone was very friendly and we had a great time meeting some real Japanese people. At around 6:30 we packed up our many tarps and walked to this restaurant where we got a bunch of smaller appetizers, which was a great way to try a bunch of Japanese food. I tried chicken cartilage, octopus (fried and raw), and raw salmon... enough said. I was exhausted by the end of the night and we finally headed back to the dorm around 10:00pm. I was in bed by midnight and fell asleep instantly - it was an amazing day but I wasn't completely over my jet lag, so I was ready to get to sleep ASAP.
Today brings an orientation at the university, Japanese placement test, and possibly karaoke. We have seen so much already but it is barely scratching the surface of what Tokyo has to offer - this is definitely going to be an amazing semester!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Finally in Tokyo!
After starting to plan this trip in September of 2009, 18 months of waiting, a major natural disaster, two week delay, and 15 hours on a plane, I am finally in Tokyo! Of course, my trip couldn't begin completely uneventfully - right as I got off the plane from Raleigh to DC my mom called to tell me that there had just been a 7.4 earthquake around where the first one hit, although this one didn't really cause any more damage. The plane ride from DC to Tokyo wasn't too terrible - I was in an exit row with no one beside me and an extra row of space in front of me, so I had lots of room to spread out (and my own TV screen!). I watched several movies I had been wanting to see for a while (Tron!) and got a few hours of sleep, and after eating one of the best turkey and cheese sandwiches I have ever had, we made a safe but rather bumpy landing in Tokyo!
Customs and immigration lines were pretty short, so I met the CIEE staff pretty quickly after landing. A few of the academic year students helped me exchange money and get on the bus to the hotel, so before I knew it I was in my room, freshly showered and curled up on my bed in a complimentary yukata. I almost didn't leave my room for dinner, but went down to the convenience store to get a snack and ran into a big bunch of the CIEE kids. About 15 of us ended up eating in one person's hotel room, and it was a good chance to get to know people and also interrogate the returning students about everything from circles and clubs to what classes will be like. Before too long however, I realized I was too sleepy to really absorb any information, so I came back to my hotel room to get some sleep. I actually have to register for my fall 2011 Wellesley classes tonight... senior year! It's been hard to think about those classes when I haven't been at Wellesley since December, but I'm actually really happy with my schedule. I get early registration since I'm abroad so I should get everything I want! Yay thanks Wellesley!
Tomorrow we have to be checked out of the hotel by 8:30am to begin our first day of orientation - I think we are doing some sort of bus tour and also moving into the dorm that we will be living in until August. Considering it's 8:00am in NC right now and I technically didn't sleep all night, I need to get some sleep so I can stay awake all day tomorrow! Oyasuminasai!
Customs and immigration lines were pretty short, so I met the CIEE staff pretty quickly after landing. A few of the academic year students helped me exchange money and get on the bus to the hotel, so before I knew it I was in my room, freshly showered and curled up on my bed in a complimentary yukata. I almost didn't leave my room for dinner, but went down to the convenience store to get a snack and ran into a big bunch of the CIEE kids. About 15 of us ended up eating in one person's hotel room, and it was a good chance to get to know people and also interrogate the returning students about everything from circles and clubs to what classes will be like. Before too long however, I realized I was too sleepy to really absorb any information, so I came back to my hotel room to get some sleep. I actually have to register for my fall 2011 Wellesley classes tonight... senior year! It's been hard to think about those classes when I haven't been at Wellesley since December, but I'm actually really happy with my schedule. I get early registration since I'm abroad so I should get everything I want! Yay thanks Wellesley!
Tomorrow we have to be checked out of the hotel by 8:30am to begin our first day of orientation - I think we are doing some sort of bus tour and also moving into the dorm that we will be living in until August. Considering it's 8:00am in NC right now and I technically didn't sleep all night, I need to get some sleep so I can stay awake all day tomorrow! Oyasuminasai!
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