First week in Osaka! (Part 1)

Ok so, this is going to be a bit of a long post, since I was either too lazy to update it or sick from a cold. I am feeling much better now though!

Ok so I moved into my dorm about 3 days ago, and so far, I am loving it! It's in a really convenient location; in just a few minutes in either direction you can find a little mall and, of course, lots of conbini. The room actually feels kind of like a hotel, in a good way! I also have a great view from my balcony. The only thing that bothered me was the pillow, which was ROCK HARD because it was filled with beans >_<. I bought a new one at the nearby Aeon Mall.

The dorm is also 2 train stations away from campus, which isn't bad at all, but walking is 40 minutes from campus, so hopefully I can find a good path to take. Speaking of trains, the ones in Japan are very convenient and handy. Once you get used to reading the map and knowing which direction you're supposed to go, it's super easy. Though the train does get super crowded at times ESPECIALLY if you're going to and from Umeda at rush hour. At least you don't have to worry about pickpockets as much as in Paris.

Next, I want to talk about SHOPPINGGGGG LIKE OMG. So shopping in Japan can get pretty expensive. Like clothes, CDs, and DVDs are outrageously expensive. However, the merch I REALLY care about: ANIME AND VIDEO GAME paraphernalia. My goal while I'm here is to buy all the games and anime stuff I want that I cannot get in the US and bring it back to the states =) That way I don't have to spend a crapton of money at anime conventions in the US. For example, I bought a figurine of Sheena Fujibayashi from Tales of Symphonia for 500 yen (about $6.50), which in the US would probably cost around $15.

Also, where else can you go to a Pokemon Center? ;)


Well, I don't want to make this into too much of a wall of text, but I will end this post with my perspective so far as a gaijin (foreigner) in Japan. First, I want to say that no matter where you go, it is ALWAYS good to learn a bit of the native language of the country; you will be more respected in this way. Japanese people are all very helpful when you ask and are very willing to point you in the right direction.

That being said, I do get a lot of stares from people. Not really in a good or bad way, but probably because I LOOK foreign. I mean how often do you see a tall 6'2" (190cm), bearded, blue-eyed, white guy in Japan? Not as often as you might think, especially when considering Japan's very homogenous population. ;)

Also, since I have a cold right now, I am very eager as of late to get tissues, but they are not as easy to find as in the US. So what does a gaijin do? Well people on the streets actually hand out business cards and fliers in little tissue packets for free. However, a couple times, even when I passed right by them, they did not give me any at all or they looked away and didn't make eye contact. I'm not really sure why, maybe because they assumed I wasn't a permanent/native resident of Japan, which is mostly true, but oh well! しょうがない/Shouganai, as they say (It can't be helped). Thankfully though, as I was getting used to the whole tissue ordeal, there were some Kansai volunteer students who were so nice as to give me some of their own tissues :D　ありがとうございました！

Well, that's it for now! Hopefully I will be more proactive in updating my blog, now that my schedule is starting to become more regular, and hopefully my cold will go away completely in the next couple days! I am having SO much fun so far! :D Everyone at Kansai Univ. is super nice and friendly ^_^

じゃあまた！

Arrival

7am in the morning. Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs. Gotta have my food, gotta have onigiri.

So yes Friday references aside, it's a nice Sunday morning here in Osaka. I am sitting in my room at the Ramada hotel admiring the nice view from the 15th floor. My 17 hour combined flight journey was very long, but I did get to catch up on some of the movies I didn't get to watch. By the time I got off the plane, I felt like a zombie, which is probably why I didn't take too many pictures on the first night. I was so tired and ready to get through immigrations and whatnot. I finally met up with my friends, Jonathan and Shinpei, and Shinpei's girlfriend, Ami. Shinpei drove us all to the Aeon Mall which was in a seemingly suburban looking part of Osaka. We went straight for the food court, which was filled with so many different restaurants to pick from. There was even a McDonalds, a KFC, and a Baskin Robbins. I decided to settle for a nice bowl of pork ramen and it was incredible and TOTALLY worth the 630 yen =)

After that, we decided to head for the Ramada hotel. On the way, we stopped at a Lawson convenience store (or コンビニ) for some drinks. I got a delicious sparkling peach drink to fulfill my thirst for fruity beverages :P I have to mention how grateful I was that Shinpei drove us all because:

1. I hate driving.
2. I hate driving in big cities
3. Japanese people drive on the LEFT ;)

So we get to the hotel and check-in, and I was out in minutes, ready to say　おやすみ！ (good night!)

The hotel is really nice, and the view is spectacular. The bathroom is where I made some fun discoveries. The toilets are quite interesting, in that they spray water at your bootay to help clean up those dirty areas :P

Today, it's just me and Jonathan off to explore the city. Stay tuned for more updates!