Last night we went to this 焼き肉 place that is 食べ放題. I ate so much I thought that I was going to puke but it was really fun!! I don't have any pictures because I was the grill master!
!!
31 January, 2009
Exciting things on the horizon!!
In about eight hours from right now, I am going to meet my host family!! They are an old couple (the husband is 69 and the wife is 62) who only live half an hour away from campus! Then, tomorrow is my first day of classes! I am taking a pottery class and a pop culture class, and of course my Japanese speaking and writing classes!!
30 January, 2009
NEWSFLASH!
This is my friend Emelio. He is a Mexican from Paris. We met on the bus ride from KIX to campus and were fast friends. Here he is laughing hysterically about a banana case that we found in a 100円 store (the Japanese equivalent of a dollar store, usually they're higher quality though). Mostly, this purpose of this post is to tell you that I added pictures to the rest of the blog.
Scroll down!!
Alright, So...
Because it was cold and gross rain yesterday, I did not make it to Kyoto, unfortunately. I will definitely go sometime soon...
However. If YOU are in NYC please go to this event on February 7th at the Japan Society!
Coolest thing ever, I am jealous if you go!
Takashi Miike is one of my favorite directors and he's really bad-ass!
In other news, I am a little hungover from last night's karaoke and I do not regret going home earlier than everyone else.
Also, I move in with my host family tomorrow (Sunday). They are an old couple (the husband is 69 and the wife is 62) but it seems like they have been hosting kids for a while and they said on their form that they drink, so they could be cool. They also only live half an hour away from school, which rules (some people can live an hour and a half away). My only concern is if they have internet or not. I need to put some pictures up on this blog and I can't until my beloved Mac has internets!
More adventures to come~
However. If YOU are in NYC please go to this event on February 7th at the Japan Society!
Coolest thing ever, I am jealous if you go!
Takashi Miike is one of my favorite directors and he's really bad-ass!
In other news, I am a little hungover from last night's karaoke and I do not regret going home earlier than everyone else.
Also, I move in with my host family tomorrow (Sunday). They are an old couple (the husband is 69 and the wife is 62) but it seems like they have been hosting kids for a while and they said on their form that they drink, so they could be cool. They also only live half an hour away from school, which rules (some people can live an hour and a half away). My only concern is if they have internet or not. I need to put some pictures up on this blog and I can't until my beloved Mac has internets!
More adventures to come~
29 January, 2009
26 January, 2009
Anna in the donut
... As in, the Japanese 'ana', a fun new pun I learned last night at dinner, from a very drunk Japanese man whom we invited over to join our table of a very non-Japanese group (he was the only other person in the establishment, besides thechef). We ended up at this hole in the wall place, definitely more Izakaya than restuarant, expecting very little because the place we originally wanted to eat ran out of rice. I know, how the hell can you run out of rice in Japan, you may think, but the place is run by an old couple and they close at 9pm. It was 8:30. Our friend who was enjoying her after-dinner smoke outisde and witnessing our dejection directed us to a place around the corner with flashing lights outside. It turned out that, around the corner, there were actually two restaurants with flashing lights outside (gotta love it) and so we went to the closest one (with the most pictures because out of the six of us, only three of us spoke enough Japanese to communicate).
The food was decent, I had カレー饂飩 and it did not dissappoint.
Hirosei-san, as we later learned, really liked 留学生 because his daughters once studied abroad also, so he said that he felt close to us. He was warm and tried to make jokes about the plane landing in the Hudson river, and kept sending over beer and food, telling us not to hold back if we wanted anything else. We were stuffed with beer and fried things and so we decided to go home. We thanked him sufficiently and made our way home.
On my way home, I was refliecting on what a lovely and satisfying night I had had in Japan when, suddently, this beautiful, long-haired dirty blonde daschund started leading his owner across the street towards me. He became so excited with me that he ran around my legs and captured me! The owner apologized and set me free but Kikka or Kikko (I forget) kept showering me with attention, jumping up to me and being generally really adorable. It was all too unfortunate that my curfew was in 10 minutes so I had to leave my new friend (the seminar house doors are locked at 11pm).
Hopefully I have many more nights like this one.
The food was decent, I had カレー饂飩 and it did not dissappoint.Hirosei-san, as we later learned, really liked 留学生 because his daughters once studied abroad also, so he said that he felt close to us. He was warm and tried to make jokes about the plane landing in the Hudson river, and kept sending over beer and food, telling us not to hold back if we wanted anything else. We were stuffed with beer and fried things and so we decided to go home. We thanked him sufficiently and made our way home.
On my way home, I was refliecting on what a lovely and satisfying night I had had in Japan when, suddently, this beautiful, long-haired dirty blonde daschund started leading his owner across the street towards me. He became so excited with me that he ran around my legs and captured me! The owner apologized and set me free but Kikka or Kikko (I forget) kept showering me with attention, jumping up to me and being generally really adorable. It was all too unfortunate that my curfew was in 10 minutes so I had to leave my new friend (the seminar house doors are locked at 11pm).
Hopefully I have many more nights like this one.
25 January, 2009
CHU HI
No, not HI CHEW, but close. Chu hi is this really great invention where you can get superbly drunk to the tune of about 300 yen. Usually they are lemon or lime flavored, I like lime. Kirin makes a great one. It is about 8% alcohol so all you really need is two (or three) and you will certainly wake up feeling a little 二日酔...
24 January, 2009
A Few Minor Details
Hey Kids!
So now I am in the Kansai Gaidai seminar house for one week before I get to move in with a family of strangers. A lot has happened in the past day or so. Unfortunately I am on a PC (eeeewww) in a computer lab in the seminar house so I cannot upload all of the amazing pictures I have taken so far (yes, all three). Hirakata is a cute little town. It's pretty easy to negotiate, too. Yesterday, after moving into my room and meeting my temporary roommate, Annie from Germany, I made it to the Sanko, a little supermarket.
There, I bought food for the next few days. Along with some chips and miso soup and bananas, I currently have in my possession Pokemon flavored cup noodles (I actually think it's seafood flovored, but there are little pikachus in the soup, and eating Pikachu is a way cooler prospect) and some Sakuma drops (you know, the ones that made you cry in Grave of the Fireflies...).
^^Genius^^
There are also vending machines in the dorm where I can get all the hot (or cold) Royal Milk Tea my little heart desires. Most notable about these vending machines, though, is that on the Boss machine there is an advert with Matsumoto Jun selling me some diet cola. He's pretty.
23 January, 2009
ついに私は日本に着いた！
Finally in Japan!
After about three trips to the NYC consulate to get my visa, and endless searching for guidebooks on Osaka, and of course after a 14 hour flight, I have reached my final destination. The flight was alright, despite the fact that I sat next to a 21 month old named Mason whose mother spent the whole flight keeping him from playing with everything in sight. I think the funniest thing he did was when he kept popping open a toothbrush case that opened in the center, so that the toothbrush would go flying somewhere and the mother would have to retrieve it. He did this like 6 times.
So far, I've had no trouble doing much of anything, especially since my hotel is physically in the airport. My first meal here in Japan was rather perfunctory; I s
aw a マクルドナルド (that's Macdonald's for all you noobs) and bought a hamburger for ¥100. I also indulged in some hot royal milk tea from a vending machine outside the Lawson in Kansai International Airport, which is also where my hotel is. The airport here is a lot nicer than any other in the states. There's a wonderful range of foods (from 10 gyoza for ¥300 to upscale sushi bars) and a total shopping experience (forget dute-free, I'm headed to Hermes and Ferragamo... what recession?).
Right now, I am watching the television and there is a program about popular music where various musicians perform. I saw HY, Gackt, some cute female R&B artist, and the Teriyaki Boyz. So far, I'm having a grand time!
This is the view from my hotel window. It is a landing strip, and I frequently saw plans and there. It was scary the first time and then just cool after that.
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