Roaming; "Observation"

It's been a while. I've cooked, I've sung, I've eaten. Read about it.

 Here's the quote!

 "A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi

Lately, this quote has resonated with me because, well, it is hard to be a bird. I guess Saadi is saying "in order to make the most out of travel, you must observe and critically consider your surroundings instead of just being a tourist," but in the end I think we're all just trying to get our bearings, even in our own neighborhoods. Observing "well" is much better than simply observing, right?

What I'm trying to say is, it takes more than just looking and observing and learning from a detached mindset.

Pictures!  The urban area Sakae: Pretty much the liveliest place close to Nanzan (about 15 minutes away on subway) and it's more or less where we go to have fun or eat out on weekends.

This is an image of the Ferris Wheel attached to the anime-manga-CD megastore/mini-mall Tsutaya. I took a picture from the other side of the ferris wheel in my last post. It costs 500 yen to ride, so maybe I'll take a spin when I have more okane.

Old-style shrine, not sure if I was allowed to take a picture or not...

I'm used to NYC but the amount of signs (that I can't read) is pretty daunting...

Huge advertisements! I wonder if there's some highly competitive market for these ads...

This beautiful statue/fountain was in the center of the underground mall attached to the Sakae station. Amazing!

At the welcome party each room had to cook food and there was even a cooking contest! Me and my roommates made spaghetti with Yusuke, our Japanese resident. He seemed to know what he was doing, and I think it turned out pretty good! Here are some pictures of the Welcome Party from last Friday.

The spaghetti we made is on the far right. Most people either made spaghetti...

... or pizza! I think the winner of the tasting contest made curry though.

Some pictures of my dormmates. They're all awesome people and getting to know them is like a privilege.

Tsubasa's a pretty cool guy.

After the Welcome Party, we all went out to Nomihoudai which is an all-you-can-drink party. Needless to say, it was pretty wild but lots of fun! I hope to get to know my dormmates much better as my time here continues...

A few days ago I went to Gokiso where there is a department store owned by Wal-Mart, called Seiyu.  I didn't get a picture of the exterior (it was pretty bland) and the inside is exactly like a Wal-Mart but with Japanese tags and whatnot. I took a snapshot at a hilarious sale sign though:

Mou, owari yo; Poor Rico Suave.

Bought chocolate from Seiyu. It really conveys the richness of cacao.

I also ate at the McDonalds in Gokiso, which was pretty much your standard deal besides insanely high prices and, well, the meal I ordered: Aussie Deli burger.

The Cheese Aussie Deli was actually delicious: shaved roast beef, carmelized onions, mayo, cheese.

I bought a prepaid phone from SoftBank. The service was pretty slow (took almost 4 hours!) but the woman who helped me was extremely polite and sorry for holding me up, to the extent that she apologized with the utmost politeness. It must be because I am a foreigner, that the process took much longer. But behold, the sleekness that is a pretty standard style keitai! 

I customize with a chibi Nanzan President strap. Ain't I trendy? 

I received a SoftBank dog strap from a can of Coffee Boss (probably the most popular iced can coffee brand in Japan) and it appears to be a limited edition strap?! 

SoftBank spoils. Not sure why you would name a cell-phone company "SoftBank" though. Messing with the heads of foreigners again, Japan?

I have much more to blog about! You'll have to wait to read more about Japanese gecen (game centers), okonomiyaki, and the otaku/electronics strip in Sakae, Osu! I'm having way too much fun in Japan, will I even be able to acclimate to classes?!

Nope.

Small-time Exploration / Orientation; "Be the light"

I'm going to start getting into the swing of posting. There'll usually be a small reflection before I go crazy posting pictures and videos of the past couple days. 

The strangest thing happens when you are pitted with a new situation. Your body, your every reaction, your mind, your entire self -- adapts. It adapts stronger than you could ever adapt if you tried. In this case, meeting people is something I have come to involuntarily adapt.

Yesterday I took no pictures, because it was an unannounced designated "study day" for those who were taking the placement exam. I ventured into Nanzan University for the first time and found the building where I would be taking the exam that I took today. Then I chatted with my roommates pretty late instead of studying. I also learned that, on T.V., kids are learning English faster than we (Americans) could ever learn another language, especially Japanese. It was baffling.

Yesterday I also ventured to the bank. And I vaguely remember walking to Lawson last night. It was nondescript. I swear you can find a Lawson at every street corner in Nagoya.

. . . . . 

Today was placement exam / orientation / exploration day. The placement exam was the most difficult Japanese exam I've ever taken. It is meant to be grueling enough to determine where you should be placed in the program. The listening section was ridiculously fast, but the multiple choice was actually manageable despite not knowing many kanji. Near the end I simply gave up.

Afterwards there was the orientation. Here's pictures of the presentation stage.

 

The president of Nanzan, Michael Calmano gave a very powerful speech in Japanese and ended with, "that was your first lesson." 

He also gave an abridged translation of his speech. Being the man that introduced the international Japanese program to Nanzan, he talked about his trials of having come here as a Jesuit missionary. He told us, that learning Japanese isn't enough. That reading Japanese isn't enough. And that speaking Japanese isn't enough. 

"It is what you say, you must have something to say."

His posture wasn't domineering; he didn't tell us to become missionaries like himself. He simply wants us to have a reason. And now, a suitable quote about travel!

 "Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light" -Yogi Bhajan

 I took it that we should tell others about the joy of traveling. That's the least we can do after intruding on their hospitality.

 Two beautiful girls (students) led us around the campus, then we had a welcome party. One of the girls is pictured here.

 And here are other international students that I got the chance to chat with.

 I then decided to wander around with my roommates. 

I passed the 7-eleven...

 ... some strange Rising Sun yakiniku place...

 ... the 100 yen shop I went to yesterday...

And then arrived at the Aeon shopping mall (entrance not pictured, it's pretty plain). Unlike the time I went there on my first day, I was able to freely explore, and found that there was an awesome ARCADE IN the department store! It was like I was in Dave and Busters without even going anywhere special!!

I played Taiko ... IN A DEPARTMENT STORE ...

... and there was Evangelion pachinko!

In fact the whole floor was dedicated to selling toys, trading cards, cute hats and trendy trinkets. I took a picture of a hat. I wonder if this is funny to you? Just place your mind in the gutter for a second.

And then later I went on an impromptu trip to Sakae, one of the more urban areas of Nagoya-shi. I took only a few pictures, and a short video of walking around. It reminded me a lot of New York back home, except cleaner and less hobos.

Familiar?

This picture will make more sense eventually, promise!

I hope these adventures can last forever! So far I have really great things to talk about when I get back home. Also, I'm expecting the part of culture shock where I'm supposed to feel vulnerable and useless. I wonder if I'll just skip it altogether?