Today was a slightly intense until the completion of our placement exam. I woke up at 630am today. It was strange for me since I’ve been waking up at 5am usually everyday. I’m just tired I guess. Anyways, I woke up to bright, clear skies, which made me happy because I didn’t have to worry about rain! Breakfast was the same today as it was the first day here with the addition of the nuts that we had for dessert last night. I finished breakfast and left for school. The walk today was a lot easier for me. I guess I’m getting used to it.

When I made it to the train platform I was slightly confused on which train to take. I couldn’t remember after successfully doing it several days in a row. I did get on the right train though so don't worry! Machida was extremely crowded because I went during commuter time. When I got on the train I needed to take to get to school, it was packed full of people and I literally pushed my way in! Then after I got in more people kept getting in so I had to go further into the train car. I was so close to the people I couldn’t even turn around without being in someone’s face, nor could I move my hands without accidentally groping someone! I was groped, but I don't know if it was intentional or not…LOL! The over-crowded train is a typical Japanese stereotype that I lived through today!

I made it to Fuchinobe, the station where I take the bus to school, and met another RJ student. We talked about our host family experience on the way to school. She was telling me how it feels like she’s living with roommates who cook for her. I kind of feel the same way…usually after dinner my host parents say, “Relaxing timeをします！” which translates to “It’s relaxing time.” That means it’s time to go to my room! I mean I don’t mind but still it’s like don’t you want to talk to me more or make me do/go somewhere with you? Oh well I shouldn’t really complain. It’s not that bad. Anyways I agreed with here and we thought it was funny that we felt similarly.

We made it to school and went into the Japanese language help building to take our placement exams. The tests were given on the computer, which was nice. I must admit though it was challenging. There were different levels A through D, A being the easiest and D being the most difficult. Today’s examination included grammar, vocabulary, and kanji, or Chinese characters. I finished all level A for each section and most of section B. However, I tried section C and I was completely lost! It was definitely nothing I could have studied for. After we were done testing, we had the option to take an intermediate/advanced reading exam. I chose not to do it because it had the intermediate/advanced name. Some of my friends attempted it and couldn’t do it so I know I couldn't do it either. LOL!

We were free for the rest of the day following the exam. It was nice to be able to go do anything I wanted. I saw Jacob after the test and told him about how his family is reading my blog. I don't know if he thinks I’m crazy or not! LOL! I hope not! My friends and I went to eat at Steak-don, which is a steak house. It was really good and not too expensive. I paid about 8usd for my meal. After we finished lunch we split up and went to a grocery store so the people living in an apartment could buy food. It was about a 20-minute walk from the school and it was extremely hot! I can’t adjust to this temperature. I was used to 120 at home in California, but in Japan I can’t even take 89 with humidity. It’s weird. We arrived at the grocery store and I was happy to go into an air-conditioned building! We stayed there for a good 20 minutes looking for groceries. Afterwards we went to 3 of my friends’ apartment area to put their cold groceries away.

It took about another 15 minutes to get there. I really liked their apartments. They were really up to date and were more spacious than my room here. I wouldn’t mind living there. LOL! We ended up staying there for a while because it was hot outside and we liked the air conditioning. Actually Allen, one of my friends, was helping out Sarah, Tobias, and Lulu set up their Internet. It was actually more work than it should be. In fact most everything in Japan is more work than it should be. You’d think a country that's so technologically advanced would have everything work smoothly. WRONG! For example: throwing out trash. There are so many rules as to what you can throw out and when you can throw it out. Certain days are for burnable garbage, others for unburnable garbage, and others for recycling. It always changes too and if you don’t throw away things properly you’ll potentially get fined. WTF? Why is throwing away trash so hard???

After fighting with the Internet for a while we hopefully got it working. It will take 24 hours so I should know soon. LOL! So we finished doing that and decided to take Allen’s groceries back to his apartment. It took about 20 minutes to walk there and it was still hot! On the way I found a 500yen coin so it made it worth it! LOL! 5 free dollars! Hahaha! Anyways when we got there we found someone else who wanted to go to Machida and we all walked to the train station…I think it was another like 20-minute walk. I seriously never walked so much in my life. I’m ready to drive again! LOL!

When we got to Machida, we went to Yodabashi, the giant electronics store. Everyone split up and went their own way. I ended up buying a new dictionary case for my electronic dictionary. I finally asked about my AMEX card too. I asked the clerk if it was good (literally) and he said he wasn't sure and he said he’d try. So we waited for a few seconds and it processed! I’m so glad that one of my credit cards works here because I was freaking out about not having anything! LOL! After buying my case, I had to leave to come home because it was already 600pm and I need to be home by 630pm for dinner. If I’m going to miss dinner I need to let my host family know 2 hours in advance. I would have done that if I had a cell phone! I made it to my train station by 615pm and I was starting to freak out so I walked really fast to get home. When I got closer I literally started running. Hahaha! I didn’t want to be late! I made it up the stairs and in the door by 629pm! I was, and still am, so tired!

I’m totally ready for a cell phone! I love Japanese cell phones. They have so many bright colors and models. It’s like looking around in a candy shop! They’re really cool too! You can watch TV on them for free, pay for things with them at stores (like pay pass in the US), and do all kinds of other things. I can’t wait to get one…because they’re cool and because I can’t go on much longer without a line of communication other than the Internet at home.

Anyways that was a little off track, back to my day. For dinner we had a whole fish, rice, tomato slices, a vegetable omelet, and these sweet black beans. The fish was definitely something I was not ready to eat. I mean sushi is okay, but a whole cooked fish with the head and tail and everything still inside is a little much. I asked what I was supposed to eat and my host parents told me everything but the head, tail, and bones. I asked them if I was supposed to eat the insides (guts) and they said yes. I thought I was going to die when they said that! I don't eat fish that often if even that…and to be told I have to eat its insides was a little more than disturbing! I did it though. It was gross. Overall dinner was pretty good though. As much as I hate tomatoes, I think they’re growing on me. It’s odd how that works.

During and after dinner I had a good long slightly confusing conversation with my host family. We talked about everything. I was sitting there listening to them when all of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing noise by my head…and it was a huge mosquito. I tried to kill it but it flew too fast and I didn’t see it anymore. I thought it was gone but apparently it lingered and bit my leg 3 times! Stupid bugs!!! Hahaha! After dinner and the conversation I came into my room to blog and was starting to do just that when my arch nemesis reappeared! I still was unable to kill it! I’m afraid it’s going to attack me while I sleep LOL! It’s time to shower and get ready to sleep…tomorrow I’m meeting Sarah, Lulu, Allen, and who ever else comes to Machida to go shopping!

My legs really hurt from all the walking I did yesterday. I even took some Advil last night to help ease the pain…but I guess it’s only for that purpose…not to cure it! LOL! Today I managed to wake up before my alarm went off again! I think I was up at 6am and I set my alarm for 645am. It’s okay though because it gave me more time to get ready for school and pick what I wanted to wear…LOL! When 7am rolled around, I ate breakfast. It was the same as yesterdays with the addition of a hardboiled egg. When I finished breakfast I gathered my things and I was on my way to school.

I made it to the train station a little quicker today because it was cooler outside today than it was yesterday. I also managed to get on all the right trains again too! I’m doing just fine so far with trains…however my Japanese still needs improvement. When I made it to the Obirin, I was looking for anyone who I knew, or at least knew was in the RJ program. I met Jacob and asked him first if he knew where we were supposed to go and proceeded to tell him that his mother commented on my blog (I’m happy you did Kim!). LOL! We went up to the CIS office, which is the office for international students and waited for a guide to take us to the building we were supposed to go to.

When we got to the building that was across from the central campus, we had orientation about alien registration, banking, and national insurance. We then filled out all the paperwork excluding the banking information because we need an inkan, which is a stamp that is used for identification. It’s like a signature but it's a stamp that's necessary for doing things like opening a bank account. We filled out a paper and gave it to a woman who would make them for us. It cost 2,500yen, which pretty much equals $25usd. After that orientation we were given lunch again and it was really good!

We had an egg salad sandwich roll thing, a deep fried (maybe) meatloaf roll sandwich, some potato salad, deep fried fish, and these weird little potato-like ball things. It was good though; I think I already said that… LOL! Anyways after we finished lunch our group of like 8 or more went in search of the campus bookstore. I’m actually not sure if we found it or not...but anyways we ended up at a store and looked around. We left and when we were a good 500ft away we realized we were missing one of our friends so we had to go find her. She is literally the one who always seems to get separated from us too…it’s funny. We found here and went back to the building we started the day in.

Once we were there we broke up into groups and took a “tour” of the school and Machida. We were guided by I believe 5 Japanese students. We went to the Japanese Language help center, the school health center, the library, and a church on campus. After that we got onto a bus and went to the train station to go to Machida. We all made it at the right time too because once we went down the stairs at the train station, the train was there. The first place we went in Machida was Yodobashi camera. It's a gigantic electronic store…like Best Buy but 5 stories. When we came out…literally 10 minutes later it was pouring rain.

It was also very humid because of the rain. We then walked to the Japanese version of a, I guess you could call it, K-mart called Donkihote. I bought an umbrella for 300yen. It's a good size too…hopefully I’ll remember to bring it when I see clouds outside! Of course after I actually had an umbrella it stopped raining like 5 minutes later. WTF? Well after that we went to the city hall in Machida to apply for our alien registration so we can be legal in Japan It took a while to get us into the application processing room but I just have to wait till mid next week and then I can buy a cell phone that actually works here in Japan! When that was done we were going to go to the daisou, or the dollar store, but I had to separate from the group so I could come home in time for dinner.

I made it home and I counted the stairs as I walked up them tonight. It’s only 88 stairs, but they’re steep and just thinking about them hurts my legs! I came inside and greeted my host family. Oh I don’t know if I’ve said this before or not, but the bugs here in Japan are intensified. By that I mean they’re huge and scary! I saw this big, cool colored bug on the ground. I took a picture but I haven’t put any pictures on my computer yet; I’ve been busy. Anyways, my host mom had a meeting tonight and she left and it was just my host dad and I for dinner. We had some cucumber salad with sunflower seeds and seaweed, some Japanese eggplant with a good sauce, more of the stew/soup/noodles from last night, and rice. It was good I must say. And dessert…or what was considered dessert was a boiled nut that you’re supposed to crack open and eat the inside. It was interesting to say nonetheless.

I’m exhausted again and I have an online Japanese test tomorrow at school. I studied a little bit but I just can’t focus right now! I think my Japanese is coming back too, which is good, although I wish it were better. Time will help though I know. I probably left some things out but I can’t help it…I want to sleep!! Good night for now!

So today was much better for me than yesterday, I must admit. I’m starting to adapt to living with my host family. They’re actually really nice to me…although I wonder if my host dad likes me or if he’s disappointed in me because I don’t speak very good Japanese. I kind of feel dumb. Things can only get better…well at least I hope they can.

Last night I slept with my window/sliding glass door open and it was kind of nice hearing the cicadas all night. I fell asleep relatively fast. However, I woke up super early, about 530am. WTF? Haha! I mean it’s not bad that I wake up early but it’s not preferred by me! I actually have to be up by 7am to eat breakfast so it’s ok. I had a piece of toast, yogurt, a banana, and hot tea with milk for breakfast. I thought it was pretty good. So after eating breakfast I quickly gathered my things and headed for the train station. It’s actually a little further than I expected but I’m sure I’ll survive. It was pretty warm on the way to the station at 745am. Also in Japan people can ride their bicycle on the sidewalk so you have to be careful and not walk in the center of the sidewalk. You need to walk to one side and stay fairly close to it! I think I was almost hit like 5 times! Haha! We were actually told to watch out for the bikes at orientation today and that they can hit us...well I mean they're not allowed to hit us, they may just collied into us! LOL!

After about a 15-minute walk, I arrived at the train station. I was hesitant to try and figure out which train I was supposed to take, however I figured it out. Also my suica card worked too so it was nice to be able to just put my wallet up to the gate and walk in without doing anything else. I think if you look for “suica in action” (or something along those lines) on youtube you can see how it works. Anyways I made it on to the train and I was already sweating, which might I add I never do! Haha! I made it to Machida, where I have to walk to another train station to get on a different train line to go to school. I was kind of freaking out because there was a ton of people everywhere and it was a little overwhelming.

I found the next train I was supposed to get on and went off to school. We get to take a free bus to the school so it’s nice not having to pay. I was supposed to be at school by 845am and I was there at like 848am. I didn’t do too badly on the timing. I think I should leave a little earlier though. Anyways there were people who were later than I was by about 10~20 minutes. Let me briefly say that if some of this doesn't make sense, I apologize. I’m actually quite tired. Where was I? Oh yes, so we had orientation from 9am to 12pm when we were told there was a lunch waiting for us in the cafeteria. The food was good and I was happy to be able to eat!

Oh wait I forgot, we had a break between then and there is an AMPM at our school so I went there and tried to pay for a drink and some chocolate with my debit card, but it doesn’t work here in japan. I mean I can pull money out of the atm at the post office; I just can’t buy things with it. It kind of sucks….I wish I could use it that way I don't need to carry money around. I’m unsure if my AMEX will work too…I’ll ask tomorrow. So back to where I left off, sorry for jumping around by the way, after lunch we decided to walk around and see some of the campus. So we went outside and walked around LOL! It was nice in the shade but extremely hot out in the sun. After we got bored from walking around, we went into the meimeikan, which is a building that most classes are in, and waited to have our e-campus orientation. It was long and kind of boring but we had to learn how to use the school’s email system and the registration system.

After all orientation was over, a group of us decided to go look for the 100-yen shop. It’s kind of like the dollar store but Japanese style. LOL! I bought some towels for when I take a shower and some laundry detergent. Oh and I bought a pocket towel because when you’re hot here it seems that you cannot help but to sweat profusely from your face and the pocket towel is to wipe the sweat away. I then left my friends and headed back for my host family’s house.

Dinner is at 630pm, so I felt kind of rushed to get here on time since it was 600pm when my train got to my station. I walked fast and thankfully made it here before 630! When I opened the door, I saw my luggage and I was thankful that it finally made it here…mostly because I had nothing else to wear tomorrow! Haha! For dinner we had a Japanese style noodle/meat/vegetable stew, rice, and the dreaded salad. You know, I may just give up disliking tomatoes and cucumbers. I think I have no choice! ☺ After we finished dinner I gave my host parents my gifts I brought them. They really liked the trail mix and everything else I got them. My host mom was even saying that the jam assortment I bought them was so cute it could be a kitchen accessory! Hahaha!

We talked a lot over dinner. Well at least I attempted to say what I could. I really dislike the fact that I can understand what someone says to me but I have no idea how to respond back. It frustrates be but I know my Japanese will get better and I could be worse off…I could NOT understand what they say and be totally clueless. Anyways after dinner it was relaxing time according to my host parents. I think it’s their way of getting my dumbass away from them! Hahaha! I took a shower and then unpacked my luggage. Now I lay here on the floor typing this! My legs are a little sore from walking around all day, and this whole wearing socks thing kills my feet because they tend to get a little hot. I’ll take some Advil before I go to sleep, that way my pain won’t keep me up. It’s only 854pm and I’m exhausted…

Edit

Oh yeah I don't know if I mentioned it yet, but the toilet here is a Japanese style kind. The one with all the buttons and water sprayers and what have you. It’s cool to use it as weird as that sounds. Also when you flush it, water comes out of a faucet like thing on the top of the toilet where you can wash your hands with the water that’s filling up the bowl. I have no idea how sanitary it is, however, I think it’s very ingenious. I wish the toilets back home could do that LOL! It saves water and it prevents you from having to actually touch a faucet if you some how managed to get your hands dirty. I tell you, the technology here is crazy!! I can’t wait till I can get a cool Japanese cell phone! I’m excited!! Yay! If I have to splurge on my spending, it will be buying my cell phone LOL!

Tuesday September 9, 2008 6:25pm

I landed in Japan yesterday at about 4:30pm Japan time…and it was like 12:30pm in California…I think. It was a long 10 hour flight but I kept dozing off to sleep every 30 minutes or so. I even slept through the first meal! I was sad because I was really hungry! The rest of the flight I had to keep myself from falling asleep for the sake of literally being able to eat! Haha! That sounds bad. When we finally landed it was nice to get off the plane and move my body! After going through customs I got my bags and waited at the bus stop for a bus to a hotel. We stayed at the International Garden Hotel Narita. It was pretty nice and that’s when I met a bunch of people who are now my friends’…well I hope they will be anyways! So I ate dinner there and talked to people then went back upstairs to take a shower and go to sleep. I made a short video of my room there so I’ll have to figure out how to upload it.

When I woke up this morning at 6:30am I took a shower again and then my roommate and I went to go eat breakfast before we had to leave. On the way to the restaurant we saw a gigantic spider and it was really scary…I managed to take a picture of it too! The food for breakfast was pretty good. After breakfast we took a bus from the hotel to the school, which took a little less than 2 hours. I took some pictures but I couldn’t tell you where exactly I was. When we finally got to the school we went to have a welcoming lunch and met the staff that will be helping us this whole year. After we were finished with lunch we were separated and went to orientation for home stay families. It was very informing and I feel like I’m going to do something wrong! LOL! After that orientation we finished we rejoined the other students and finished orientation for the day. Following that, we met our host families.

My host family seems really nice. They’re an older couple at least in their 60’s. The host father came to the school and we took a bus to the train station where he helped (and I mean literally did everything for me) me set up a suica card, which is a pass that lets me ride the trains without paying every time at a ticket counter. Once we made it to our station, tsurukawa, his wife met us. You know now that I think about it…I really don’t know their names. I mean I have the paper with their last name but I don’t know the first names. I’ll do a proper self-introduction after dinner. I feel like my Japanese is so horrible and that I shouldn’t even say anything or else I’ll sound like a stupid American! I understand most of what they say to me but I can’t speak back…I’m trying though. I was given a list of interesting rules. I need to buy my own bath towels, laundry detergent, and something else…but I forget. It shouldn’t be too bad though.

My room is so small!! I was kind of hoping I’d have a decent sized room, but it’s little! My bed even fold up…that’s how little space I have! My “desk” reminds me of a TV tray! Hahaha! I have a door out to the patio thing where I’ll hang my clothes. Oh yeah there are a lot of cicadas outside and they’re making a lot of noise even right now! I can’t believe how dark it is and it’s only 6:40pm. It’s kind of strange. By the way have I mentioned how hot and humid it is here? OMG! I’m melting hahaha! I wish I had my entire luggage here. Last night we gave our luggage to a moving service and they should have had everything here, or at least I think, already. Luckily I packed enough clothes in my carryon so that I have something to wear tomorrow. I can’t even give them their gifts.

In a way I kind of wish I would have opted for an apartment, it seems like it would be less stressful. Plus I wouldn’t really have any rules and I’ve been on my own for so long so it seems kind of weird to have a curfew again. We’ll see how it works out, if I have any problems I know I can contact the school and they can arrange an apartment for me. Although I’m sure this will work out fine. I’m just kind of confused right now about what I should do. I wonder how much of a challenge it will be to get to school tomorrow since I have to do it by myself. I have that damn nervous feeling in my stomach and I don't like it! In a way I kind of want to go home LOL! I will survive though. I just have to get over my fears and deal with it! Well I think it’s almost dinnertime so maybe I should get ready…although I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.

Update: so for dinner we had these croquet sandwich things that were good and a “salad” made of cucumber and tomato…two things I despise! I had to eat it too because it’s rude if you don’t eat everything that you’re given in Japan. Bleh tomato and cucumber!! Hahaha!

It's been a while since I've blogged so I decided today would be a good day! Let me pick up where I last left off. I went to Las Vegas and had a blast there. We partied like rockstars and we were seen at the hottest clubs every night! I definitely wish I could have afforded to stay longer! Haha! When I came back home from Las Vegas it was my birthday which was also a lot of fun. I love my friends and family! Since then I've spent a lot of time relaxing and catching up with family. 

Some time has passed since I last wrote an entry. I think being up at 1:30AM qualifies as a good blogging time! Anyways, life has been pretty relaxed and calm since I have no obligations this summer. I've spend my days lounging by the pool and my nights partying with my sister. 

Firstly, let me welcome you to my life. Everything here will come from my mind unedited and honest. Who am I? My name is Josh, I'm 23 years old and I was born and raised here in California. So far in my life I've been high, I've been low, I've been fast, I've been slow, I've had nowhere to go, I've been down on my luck, and I've felt like giving up, but above all else...I've kept moving forward.