Moving Into Dialogue House

Yesterday I finally moved into my dorm. Once we got there, I was so relived. It was so nice to hear and speak English again. My room is HUGE! Probably about twice the size of my dorm room freshman year. It has a toilet, shower, sink and mirror, closet, desk, mini fridge, microwave, and they even provided us with a table full of plates and cups. After I settled into my dorm, I was able to meet some of the other foreign exchange students here and my roommate. They are all so nice, and I can tell we are all going to be really good friends already. Since it’s the 29th of the month, it’s Niku no Hi (Meat Day). It’s a pun since in Japanese, Ni=2 Ku=9 and Niku means “meat”. So every 29th of a month, restaurants have deals going on for meats. A bunch of the foreign exchange students and I (maybe about 17 of us total) made reservations to go to a Yakuniku place. It’s basically Japanese BBQ. You order the meat you want and grill it yourself with the pots in front of you. After dinner, we were going to go out to drink but decided to just head back to the dorm instead. Today I have orientation for the dorm, and also have to go register my residency card at city hall with some others. But, later we might be going to an Owl Cafe. Should be fun!

– Amy

Look at my pictures here: https://amyintokyo.wordpress.com/pictures/

Day 4

There’s so much to say about today! I went on a bus tour with Makoto’s mom of Tokyo today.  I was super nervous about being by myself with her. But, it turned out fine. We went and did so many things, but I will just post the pictures instead of going on and on about what I did. When we were done with the tour we looked around the Ginza shopping district for a while. I ended up buying some postcards. So, everyone give me your address so I can send you one! After Ginza, we took the long subway ride home. My legs have never hurt so much after today, and being on a crowded subway pushed against people doesn’t help at all. When we made it back to the car, Makoto’s dad met us and gave me my bag. I was so happy! No more wearing the same outfit for me. We then met up with Makoto’s older brother and ate at a restaurant where everyone knew each other. It was so cute. These guys that work with Makoto’s dad kept trying to speak English to me, then I would respond in Japanese. They made me try sake, which I hated. So they gave me regular wine instead. The restaurant was family owned, and their daughter was fluent in English since she went to school in Boston for 4 years. It was so nice to finally speak English and completely understand what some one was saying. On the way back to the house, Makoto’s mom and I talked a good amount. I finally was feeling confident to speak more Japanese to her. Maybe because of the beer and wine I drank (don’t worry mom and dad. I wasn’t drunk). But, I told her in Japanese that it’s really easy for me to understand what everyone is saying, but it’s super hard to respond back in Japanese. She then told me that it was okay and since I’m going to be around it a lot I will eventually become fluent. It made me feel a ton better since I felt bad about not speaking much to her. Well, that’s about it for today. I’m going to go to ICU tomorrow morning and check into my dorm. I seriously am so blessed because both Makoto’s mom and dad are taking me there tomorrow. Which means no carrying my broken, (Yes, Delta broke my bag) huge suitcase around busy trains. Once I’m at my dorm, I will have internet everyday. So expect a good amount of updates. でも、今おやすみなさい。(But, for right now, good night)

– Amy

Look at my pictures here: https://amyintokyo.wordpress.com/pictures/

Day 3

The third day, jet-leg finally hit me. Both Makoto and I slept in and then ate some breakfast. But, after breakfast we slept some more! It was crazy. We didn’t leave the house until about 4:00 p.m. We then took the bus to another part of Edogawa (I think. I still haven’t gotten all the names down). There we waited for Makoto’s mom so we could go eat dinner together. We went to a coffee shop that was a lot like Starbucks and I got an ice coffee there. We sat and talked for a while which was nice because I got to practice my Japanese and learn some words I didn’t know. We then met up with Makoto’s mom and went to a Japanese restaurant. There I finally had my first beer! My dad says he’s not a big fan of Japanese beer because it’s very light. But, I thought it was delicious. We also ate Takoyaki (Octopus balls), squid, tempura, tori(chicken), and miso soup. Oh! And they ordered raw fish, which was fresh. And by fresh, I mean it was just killed a couple minutes before it was served to us. The head was still moving even when it came to our table! After dinner, Makoto had to leave. I didn’t know that she was going to leave me until yesterday. Let’s just say I wasn’t too happy. I know some Japanese, but it’s really hard for me to understand her mom and respond quickly. So, it was nice having Makoto there to translate if I needed it. After we said goodbye to Makoto, her mom took me shopping. However, I was reminded how Japanese clothes are way too small. The dresses fit me, but since I’m so tall they’re more like shirts. I couldn’t even fit into their biggest size of shorts (probably because they looked like the equivalent of a size 4). We ended the night by going grocery shopping and buying some drinks and such for tomorrow. OH, I forgot to mention that Makoto’s mom is taking me on a tour of Tokyo tomorrow. She signed us up for a guided tour where you bike, take a ferry, and go around to various places in Tokyo. It should be fun! Just pray that I can communicate with her. Because right now it’s been really hard. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said 私は大丈夫です(I’m fine). I’m pretty sure that’s all she thinks I can say. But, it’s so much easier to listen and understand than respond. Whelp, that’s all I got for now. But, I’m not going to lie, I’m excited to go to my university on Thursday. There everyone will speak English and I will be together with other ryugakuse (foreign exchange students). I will write more soon.

–       Amy

Look at my pictures here: https://amyintokyo.wordpress.com/pictures/

Day 2

The second day Makoto took me to Akihabara a.k.a. Electric City. It has a ton of anime, electronics, and video game stuff. But, I didn’t shop. We went and did Purikura, which is a Japanese photo booth. After Purikura we ate hirugohan (lunch) and it was amazing. I sadly forgot what the kind of Japanese dish is called, but what you do is there’s a pot of boiling water and teriyaki (I think) in the middle of the table. You order which kind of meat you want and then you go to a buffet and load up on vegetables. The waiter then delivers your meat raw and you put the meat into the boiling pot, which then cooks it. You then add the vegetables in, and there’s your meal! After lunch we went and did karaoke. I sang both Japanese songs and American ones. I ended up singing a ton of Disney songs since I think those are some of the most fun songs to sing. We then met up with Makoto’s mom for bangohan (dinner) by the Tokyo Skytree. I had some Miso soup, kontatsu, rice, and a salad-like thing. After dinner we went to the Tokyo Skytree where you can go up and see all of Tokyo. We even got to see Tokyo Disneyland’s fireworks. Pretty sugoi (awesome) if you ask me. After the Skytree, we picked out some bread for breakfast and took the train and subway back to the house. End of the second day.

 

-Amy

Look at my pictures here: https://amyintokyo.wordpress.com/pictures/

 

Day 1

こんにちは、皆さん！Hello, everyone! There’s so much to say. First, I would like to point out the fact that I am horrible at finding my seat on airplanes. Yes, I have flown many times…..just not by myself. Twice, I sat in the wrong seat. Even on the tiny plane from Pasco to Seattle I messed up. On my long (almost 11 hours!) flight from Seattle to Tokyo I was really excited at first because I sat by another gaijin(foreigner) who was super nice and helped calm my nerves about going to Japan. But, then I realized I was one row up and had to move. But, it was okay because I got to sit in the exit row which means extra legroom! I surprisingly didn’t sleep at all on the flight. I don’t know if it’s because of the creepy guy sitting next to me or because I was too excited. But, I was able to stay up and waste time by watching 4 movies. FINALLY I arrived in Japan and it didn’t take too long to go through customs. All they had to do was give me my residency card since I will be living in Japan for longer than 1 month. I remember the whole time I was in the airport I kept saying in my head, “OMG! OMG! YOU’RE FINALLY IN JAPAN!” I think I said that about 50 times. But then something horrible happened, I got to the baggage claim and saw a sign on it saying that I needed to talk to a representative. Yep, they lost my bag. So I had to wear the same two outfits for 3 days. I was kind of mad since they had a good 2 hours to get my bag onto that plane. But, oh well. I will get it eventually. Makoto (my foreign exchange student from high school) and her dad picked me up from the airport which was super nice considering that the airport was at least an hour drive from their home. I was able to speak some Japanese to both her and her dad on the long drive as well. Oh ya, did I mention they drive on the left side of the road! That night we ate sushi and it was とてもおいしかった(very delicious). I then ended up falling asleep on the couch while watching a TV program that Arashi (a Japanese band I like) was helping host. End of the first night.

–       Amy

Look at my pictures here: https://amyintokyo.wordpress.com/pictures/

 

Almost There

Well, in 12 short days I will be on a plane to Japan. It’s hard to imagine that the moment I’ve been dreaming of for 9 long years is almost coming true. Although this time is really exciting, I’m starting to get slightly nervous as well. Maybe because I’m hazukashi (embarrassed) when it comes to speaking Japanese. I can put together a basic conversation, but I’ve never tried talking to a Japanese native for a long period of time (other than my professors). With this being said, I’m extremely nervous to meet my foreign exchange student’s parents. I have a feeling that they think I know a lot more Japanese than I really do. But, I’m going to try my best. Might as well mess up a couple times right when I get there and learn from my mistakes, right? That way I will be more prepared for my placement test at ICU. However, if you all could keep me in your prayers that would be great. 

Thanks for all the love and support!

– Amy