Wednesday, August 31, 2011

New bike!

I got a new/used bike! It was only 6500円, which is roughly $85. It's cute and pink, but I can't ride it well =(
Although to my credit, the roads and sidewalks are so narrow here, and there are no bike lanes. Everybody bikes, so it's very crowded all the time and difficult to maneuver around obstacles. There are random poles in the middle of the sidewalks *everywhere*!Also, you have to learn traffic rules for a country that drives on the opposite side of the road.... To be honest, it's pretty dangerous and I'm scared for my life >_> but I think the commute from the seminar house to campus should be bearable....
Over here, there are a lot of different rules for bikes. It's illegal to ride one at night without a light. Initially I thought my light was broken, but I figured out you have to actually pedal the wheels for them to work. It's also illegal to ride a bike drunk! You can go to jail! 
They do have an interesting way of locking bikes here, though. You actually get a key which you use to drive it, and when you take it out, you can lock the wheel(?) . Anyway, it's complicated. But really cool!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Karaoke!



Rachael Jaspan and Taka-san invited us to do Karaoke at an amazing place near Hirakata station!!!! The room came with all-you-can drink... nomihoudai!!!! We sang American, Japanese, and Korean songs. Well, we attempted of these, but some didn't quite work out...
Anyway, above is a video of Rachael Jaspan singing, and below is one of Panic! At the Disco.We had such a blast!!! =D

Orientation Week

Getting adjusted to life in Japan is difficult. Especially for a vegetarian. Getting adjusted to life in Japan whilst simultaneously attending orientation week hell is just plain torture. Homesickness. Nausea. Vomiting. What time is it? Placement tests, paperwork, payments, etc.............
This week hasn't been as fun as I thought it would be. Sure, I've met some cool people and had my fair share of adventures, but the stress of completing all the orientation tasks on time is taking away all of my energy. That, and the heat/humidity of Osaka around this time of year. Pretty much exactly the same as Florida. Sigh.

Our campus is about 1 mile away from the dorm I'm staying at, so I think I might need to invest in a bike if I plan on arriving to any of my early classes on time. Most things are about 20 minutes away from the seminar house on foot, with the exception of  a nice park, cheap(ish) clothes stores, and a hole-in-the-wall okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki (a fried savory pancake with tasty ingredients such as egg, vegetables, etc) is one of Osaka's most famous dishes, but I got kimchi yakisoba there since it's just about my favorite food ever! It's like a fried noodle dish mixed with Korean kimchi, and it's absolutely delicious.
Being vegetarian here is hard. Especially not eating fish. But I'll see how long I last before I die of malnutrition or (unintentionally) break my 6 year vegetarian streak. For instance, today I bought Inarizushi, which usually consists solely of fried tofu stuffed with rice. To my surprise, it contained small pieces of boiled fish inside. The easiest things to find vegetarian are sweets and snacks, but I'm not sure I can survive of off those items. I may have to learn how to cook!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Departure!

Ok, so I know this is a little late seeing as how I've been in Japan for a few days now, but I have so many amazing pictures and stories to share! I flew through Korean Air, which has to be my favorite airline to date. They have this awesome interactive system in front of each seat which allows you to listen to international music and watch awesome movies from the West and East. Even new releases(Thor, Hanna, Rango, etc). I even got to randomly stop at Incheon airport.
I was the only UF student on my flight, and I arrived later than everyone, but somehow we all(well, mostly) managed to meet each other at around 9pm JST. We found a fellow gaijin attending Kansai Gaidai named Dani and adopted her as our own!
This is where the real fun kicked in. Staying up all night until around 6am at an airport in a foreign country. Awwwwww yeah!  So much studying, sleep deprivation, and craziness. Security even took our passports for inspection at one point.
In the morning, we all got yummy breakfast and embarked on our 90 minute-long bus ride from KIX to Hirakata. Then we conjured up 6 taxis to escort all 11 of us and our huge pile of luggage to the seminar houses.