Today we got a tour of Kanda University, the main campus that I will be attending to take courses this semester. The trip wasn't bad and the walk was more or less straight forward. The campus itself is attractive and they have a fair deal of tennis courts, which makes me happy. I get into moods where I want to play tennis and I'd have to say now is such a time.
Another experience I've had today was inside one of the arcades, a Taito [company] one to be exact. The group I was with wanted to go to a Photobooth again so I went with them but decided to walk around the arcade instead. There I found those games where you put coins in and the slide down stuff and push more coins, well, here you get to keep the coins that fall off, so I decided to get some tokens and try it. Little did I know that the smallest amount of Tokens was 1000円 so I put that in and to my surprise I got 200 tokens, haha. I didn't know I was supposed to put a cup under there to catch them so they started going all into the change machine and a Japanese employee came over and gave me a cup. I thought it was funny. Anyway, I played those for a while and got back pretty much all the tokens I had spent on it, haha, so I had about 200 tokens and didn't know what ot do with them when the people I was with came back. What they have there is a "Medal Keep Machine", but you had to have some sort of account there. Luckily, one of my party members had been in Japanese last semester and could help me make one, so I *think* next time I go back there I'll be able to figure out how to use the machine to get my tokens back. Worst case scenerio I lose the $10 and have a story to tell from now on.
Dinners in this dorm are really quite the experience. It's sort of like having a home made dinner but in a mass produced sort of way, as in we see the ladies cooking behind the other room but they make just a bunch of different stuff and we eat it all without really having a choice. The meals range from fish to pork to beef, and all the meals come with rice, water, and soup. I am not a huge fan of most of the soups I've been trying with the exception of a really delicious onion soup, but the rest has been more than edible. I enjoy everything here except this really thin white fish, it's just really chewy and stiff in ways I just don't care for.
Well, it's come to my attention that I haven't showered yet today, so I'm going to go do that real quick before bed. I love the showers here, they're so toasty.
Oh, and my dorm I have taken pictures of, they're at the very end of my Japan : Days 1 - 4 Album.
Alright, shower then bed, then Meikai Tour tommorrow!
My Japanese Experience
Monday, March 30, 2009
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7 comments:
Your room looks pleasant.I'm glad you're able to eat most of the food that they prepare for the dorms.Are you finally getting over jet lag?
GR.Mom
Hi, Damian.. all your experiences are just fantastic.. that token machine, is a gambling game, and you can lose money and quickly. cj found out at the pawling fire department carnival a few years back. your machines are different due to being in japanese.. have fun. your showering experiences sound nice.. toasty.. your food looks appealing, glad you are enjoying the different kinds of foods.. the fish head had a lot to be desired.. ha. the weather looks nice there, that one day that hail and rain, and cloudy wasn't good, but otherwise, looking good. we are sure enjoying your experiences. with photos.. keep them coming. gram and papa
Well finally we get to see why you are there! Yes school son-remember-school?! Ha! The dorm room is nice-looks like you purchased some slippers-sweet-I would love that! You have your tub fetishes and I have my slipper fetishes! Anyway, I do think the dorm is nice and the meals sound so so I guess. Not sure I would dare eat some of the things you are eating. Are you allowed to eat whenenver and they just heat it up or are there set times for all of this? Anyway-I really appreciate all the time you are putting into the blog so that we at home can experience this with you! Love ya! Mom
Hi Damian, I am going to try and set up the camera phone tonight so that we can talk sometime this week to you. The room looks fairly small? Are you on the 2nd or 3rd floor? I would be interested in hearing about you classes, are they taught in english or japanese? Hope your shower was toasty , love dad
Hi Mr. D
Sounds like you came in contact with the japanese version of the "one armed bandit" (slot machine to you HaHa). At least you have a story to tell!
Like your room and wish we had a toasty shower. Ha
Pretty soon it'll be class time and you'll start cracking the books again. Till then: ENJOY!
GPA
Hi Damian
Well, speaking of "gambling" have you tried Pachinko yet? I'm sure you've seen some of the parlors. Have to be among the loudest places on earth - worse than Chuck E Cheese.
You haven't said if you've tried sushi or sashimi yet? It is an acquired taste (as is sake which I love but I don't want to promote alcohol). Josh and I went to that same superstore in Akihabara when we were there in November - just remember some electronics won't work in the US because of the difference in cycles electrically.
Have you tested your Japanese out in public yet? Japanese people are always impressed when a gaijin tries to speak Japanese. You will typically hear something like "Nihongo jozu desu ne!" even when you mangle the pronunciation.
When you get the chance, try to get out of the city and into the countryside - it's very different from Tokyo and it's suburbs.
@GR.Mom : I never actually really had jet lag. I get a little bit tired earlier here but I'm almost certain that it's from getting up around 7:00 each day, something I am very not used to. Oh well, easy enough to adjust for me because of my irregular sleep schedule.
@Dad : I'm on the 2nd floor, the room is chilly but thankfully the air conditioner thing doubles as a heater.
@Everyone : I can't use Video Skype from my room here, it uses too much bandwidth and will clog the internet, so I'll have to use only voice here while I'm in my dorm. I am pretty sure at KUIS I can use the image though.
@Claude : I have tried Sushi and Sashimi, I'm more of a sushi fan, but I like Udon and Soba more than both of those. And yeah, the Pachinko parlors are absolutely insane. There just isn't another word for it, haha. People buy huge bins of the balls, I sorta want to go and try to play a little, it seems neat, but I probably won't. And I would love to see the countryside, one of the weekends I have a break or just a weekend in general I'll have to head out there.
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