biking!

hello again! my roommate was nice enough to give me one of her five adaptors, so my laptop is fully charged and should stay that way the whole semester. :)

i'm still trying to get used to the time difference between michigan and japan, but i think i'm starting to get the hang of it. it's 3:30am in detroit right now, but it's only 5:30pm here! i'll have to be careful when i start calling people. i set my skype account up and have $15 to spend on phonecalls, so maybe this weekend i'll ring a few people. :)

this morning we had breakfast and orientation, where we met our teachers and learned a little more about the program's regulations and expectations. i met a few more people; most of them seem pretty friendly and eager to explore the country. as to be expected, there are definitely a few anime dorks here, but the majority of the group seems pretty well-balanced.

after orientation, we were assigned bicycles! they're japanese-style schwinn-esque bikes, with baskets and bells. once everyone had their bike and helmet, we set off in groups to explore the city. my group stopped in at a little restaurant on lake biwa, which is the largest lake in japan and also the lake my school/dormitory is on. the restaurant, called shiruman, serves tempura, soba and udon, which are pretty basic japanese dishes. tempura is fried shrimp, soba is buckwheat noodles, and udon is noodles usually mixed with some sort of meat in a soup broth. i ordered katsudon, which was fried pork on top of rice. most traditional japanese meals served at restaurants come with green tea or miso soup at the beginning; this time we got green tea. the waitress taking our orders was awesome; she tried some english on us and got a good laugh out of it. :) in fact, most of the people we've come across have been friendly and love chatting briefly. the tables here are much lower to the floor than american tables, and we sat on cushions instead of chairs. for women, it's appropriate to sit on your feet with your legs together and your toes crossed, and for men, their legs can be slightly apart so there is room for their hands to be placed between their knees. similarly to americans, japanese take their shoes off when entering their homes, but instead of walking around in socks or barefeet, most people wear house slippers. japanese people also take off their shoes while eating at a restaurant. it's a lot more comfortable to sit and eat with your shoes off; it's supposed to simulate eating at home. there are separate slippers used for the bathrooms, too, and you're not supposed to wear those around the house because they're "dirty" from the bathroom!

probably the most interesting thing about eating a japanese-style meal--to me, at least--is the protocal you have to follow when dealing with chopsticks. it's very easy to be rude while eating; messing with your food is considered offensive, as well as rubbing your chopsticks together--most chopsticks are made of wood, if you rub them together, it looks as though you're trying to smooth out splinters and therefore insinuating that the restaurant supplies cheaply made chopsticks. also, they don't accept tips in japan, mostly because giving a waitress a tip implies that you think she is in need of money and unable to support herself.

after lunch, we biked through the city streets and found the post office, the bank, and several other restaurants i want to visit at least once before april. we stopped again at the kainz shopping area, which is a huge super-store a lot like meijer. they have food, clothes, appliances and dvds/cds/books all in one location at decent prices--at least for japan. i stocked up on food; mostly ramen and other microwave-ready foods, but i bought some special k cereal as well as orange juice and milk, which come in small cartons and cost about $2.00 each. i'm still surprised at how much english is used on signs and labels! it's everywhere! i don't mind, of course, since it makes things a lot easier when you're shopping around for essentials.

when i got to the cashier and she started to scan my items, i realized the cashiers themselves bag your items in a specific way. if you have towels or other kinds of sheets/blankets/hand towels, they fold them up, place them in a small bag and tape the open end shut. if you have paper, magazines or dvds, they place it in a separate bag from the rest of your items so nothing gets torn. also, they scan and place all of your other items into a plastic cart and give you your own bags to put them in yourself. it's pretty intense, haha.

it's still cold here, and i wish i'd brought an electric blanket... maybe i'll buy one sometime this weekend, since we don't have class on monday because it's a holiday: "international coming of age day"! all 20 year olds are celebrating by going out to the bars (20 is the legal drinking age here).

i'm gonna get some more sleep, though, because tomorrow is the placement exam and i want to be as awake as possible so i don't get placed into the level 1 class! yikes. wish me luck!

sarah