My Apartment: Photos

While I posted this pictures on Facebook, here is a virtual tour of my apartment!

Entryway; Here is where I take off my shoes to enter my apartment.

After the entryway, there is a short hallway.

Looking from my living area down towards the entryway: to the left is the kitchen and bathroom. To my right, is a door that closes my living area off from the rest of the apartment.

Here is my bathroom: tub/shower, sink, and toilet! 

Kitchen: I have a tiny mini fridge and one hotplate/induction stove top. I recently bought a rice cooker too.

Looking from the hallway into my bedroom/living area.

Here is my bed. It folds out/into from the wall/cabinets. 

Here is my desk area as well as my window/door out to my clothes drying patio. 

Week 3

Sunday:

     Sunday, being the day before classes start, was a day of bittersweet freedom and relaxation (as well as preparation). There was a ramen festival in downtown Oyama, but when we got there the lines were so long that we ended up eating at the train station instead. However, after that, we went to a local park and participated in the cherry blossom festival. This basically consists of sitting outside on a picnic blanket, eating and drinking, and people watching (as well as looking at cherry blossoms).

Monday: First Day of Classes!

       9-10:30 ~ Japanese Intermediate A

Even though this class is called “intermediate,” it is actually for advanced level students.  However, I am going to try and take it to further my fluency.

      10:50-12:20~ Japanese IA

      1:00-2:30~ Japanese IIA

Japanese IA and IIA are actually intermediate classes. They both use the same textbooks and are basically a “single” class (just separated into two sessions).

Tuesday:

      9-10:30~ Life in Japan A

      10:50-12:20~ Life in Japan B

                These two classes are basically culture classes taught in Japanese.

     2:50-4:20~ Intercultural Understanding

This class is taught in fluent Japanese and is basically an anthropology and sociology class. We’ll be focusing on English speaking cultures and comparing them with Japanese thought.

Wednesday

     2:50-4:20~Economic English

This is an advanced English class. We were encouraged to take this class in order to support and/or provide conversation practice to the Japanese students taking the course. There is a lot of English reading in this class, so it provides a needed break from the Japanese-heavy course load.

Thursday

      9:00-10:30~Japan in the World A

      10:50-12:20~Japan in the World D

                These classes combine learning Japanese culture with also learning grammar.

     1-2:30~ Japanese IIIA

                Yet another advanced Japanese class that I decided to take.

     2:50-4:20~Japanese Intermediate B

                An easy class. I decided to take it though because extra review is always good.

     4:40-6:10~Japanese Culture in English

                This is, again, a class taught in English (see Economic English).

Friday

     On Friday, I did some laundry and homework. Then I went to my first club meeting! I decided the join the Shorinji Kempo club here at Hakuoh. Since I’ve done karate in the past, I thought it would be a good way to meet other Japanese university students as well as get a workout. This class has long meetings. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, they meet 5 PM to 8 PM. Then on Saturdays, they meet 1-5 PM. I will get a lot of exercise and practice!

Saturday

      On Saturday, I did a bit of homework in the morning, and then went to Shorinji Kempo in the afternoon (1-5 PM!). After that, I relaxed with some friends and planned out next week. Tomorrow, I’ll be going to the grocery and doing more homework.

Reflections

    Overall the first week of classes went very well! I like the professors, and while I’m definitely taking some challenging classes, I think I can do it! I’m also enjoying the shorinji kempo club and am excited to continue!

Week 2

Sunday:

       Sunday was Easter and after a week of traveling and trying to adjust to jet lag, it was nice to start a routine by going to church. The closest church to my apartment is a Catholic Church, so a friend and I attended Easter Morning Mass. This church was significantly larger than the Anglican Church I attended while living in Hikone. It also offers Mass in several languages. I heard the Bible read in Japanese (of course), English, and a few others. I think my friend and I may look around a bit more, since there are some churches that are Protestant (though they are about a 45 minute walk from the apartment). Since Catholic Churches do not allow non-Catholics to participate in Communion, my friend (Jena) and I stopped by the convenience store on our way home and picked up grape juice and bread and did our own communion in our apartment.

Monday:

     On Monday, a group of American students decided to go to Tokyo for the day. It's only about an hour to Tokyo from Oyama, so it's a perfect opportunity for a day trip. While there, we visited Akihabara (or "Akiba"). This Tokyo neighborhood is best known for manga/anime and technology shops. We spent most of the day wandering through the multi-story manga/anime stores, which sell everything from figurines to fan made comics (doujinshi). Then, we went to Shibuya and ate lunch at Taco Bell! After that, we wandered through some cosmetic shops in by Shibuya station (I stocked up on bath bombs at Japanese LUSH!).

Tuesday:

    Tuesday was a busy day. We had our University sanctioned "physical checkups." They checked eyesight, blood pressure, weight, and took X-rays of our chest. After that we also had a surprise Japanese test. This was the first time Hakuoh gave the International Students a Japanese test. They said it was to better support us (rather than a placement test), which is good! After that we went to secondhand manga stores (I'm looking for a specific novel that's in Japanese...so far no luck).

Wednesday and Thursday:

    On Wednesday and Thursday, the International students participated in Hakuoh Freshman Orientation! We all went to an Onsen resort in Shiobara (about 2 hours north from Oyama). There we gave self-introductions, soaked in the hot bath (Japanese hot baths are heavenly!), and went to talks given by the faculty. It was a lot of deja vu because it had the vibe of "Entering College for The First Time." The area around the hotel was beautiful with lots of mountains and rivers.

Friday and Saturday:

      Since school starts on Monday, I used Friday and Saturday as preparation: going to the grocery, laundry, cleaning, etc. I'm planning to make my own bento lunches so I planned that out for this coming week. I also relaxed and soaked in the last few days of freedom.

Reflections:
   
    One of the most interesting things about this trip (especially compared to my experience in Hikone), is that there are a lot more opportunities to actually speak Japanese. While many of the international students can speak English, it's actually easier to communicate in Japanese with them. I'm really excited for classes to start and to challenge myself to join one or two clubs here at Hakuoh! Once my schedule is set in stone, I'll make an entry describing that. Until next time...