It's Finally Starting to Feel Like Fall

After spending the last two falls and winters in Chicago, Tokyo's weather has been a nice change. I've been wearing short sleeves most days. And Sweater weather is just now starting suprisingly, but I'm excited for it. I've always loved fall.

I went to a nearby mountain two weeks ago with my host family and the leaves were just starting to turn colors. We went hiking, which was so wonderful. I couldn't stop smiling, thinking "I can't believe I'm hiking in Japan!" the entire time. Its moments like these that make me realize why I'm studying environmental science; being out in nature just makes me really happy.

Tokyo doesn't seem to have as many parks as American cities, but the ones they have are really cool. I went to Ueno on Saturday with some friends and the park was full of people, street performers, and food vendors. So I'm going to try to go to the major parks while the weather is still kinda warm. I'm kinda sad that I'm not going to be here in the spring to see the cherry blossoms bloom ("hanami") which I'm sure is spectacular. I also went to the zoo, which was great, even though we couldn't see the pandas for some reason.

In other news, I've been looking for an "arubaito" (part-time job) teaching English to kids for a couple weeks now, but no luck. Tomorrow I go in to a school and see if they want to hire me. I would love the extra spending money (especially considering the exchange rate keeps going down to depressing levels) and spending time with Japanese kids seems like fun. My host family's grandkids came over yesterday and I got to play with them a bit. I taught them how to play rock, paper, scissors and learned that the Japanese version isn't that different. We then made takoyaki, which is like a doughball thing with cheese, octopus, and lettuce. Really tasty. The food here has been great. My host mom is a great cook, and I've tried a bunch of new foods so far.

Halloween is on Friday so I'm hoping that I can find a costume and something to do before then. So have a Happy Halloween and remember to vote next week!

Settling In

Tomorrow marks one month since I arrived here in Tokyo and I've been reflecting about what I've done and what lies ahead. It seems like the month went both very slow and very quick if that makes any sense. I like to think I'm at the point where everything is a little more familiar and I'm not amazed at everything for its newness or inherent Japanese "cuteness", but everyday I do seem to have a moment where I marvel that I'm actually here in Japan doing this, speaking Japanese. How far I'm away from home and how different it all is.

I've also been thinking about why I decided to come here, what attracted me to Japan. It's a question that I get asked often and I often ask myself. There are people on this program who probably have far clearer reasons for being here, whether they see a future here or becoming fluent in the language for a defined purpose. Some people got interested in Japanese anime or film in high school or have family or friends that are Japanese and were drawn here for those reasons. I came because I had studied the language at school for two years, but I'm pretty sure I didn't have a clear reason why I started it in the first place. Somehow I'm here in Japan, even though I'm not always sure for what purpose.

I guess what I saw in Japan was a challenge, something new that I've always wanted to do. I've never been out of the country before, so coming here was a big step for me. I sometimes think how it would have been easier to have stayed back home with my friends at school or at least chosen to study abroad in a place where I can actually communicate with everyone. But now I realize that wasn't what I wanted. Language certainly isn't my strength; if I'd followed those I'd have been a math major. But I've always been attracted to starting fresh, putting myself in a new or difficult situation or location and seeing how I react.

I have no idea what these remaining five months will bring. It may get easier and feel more comfortable; it may not. I might actually become pretty good at speaking the language, but I hope the knowledge I acquire here goes deeper than just kanji and chopstick skills. It's the challenge of everyday life that excites me and what I look forward to the most. Here's hoping the rest of the journey is as intriguing as the start.

I Voted :)

I was able to watch the debate on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning here) thanks to CNN.com. It's looking really hard to make any sensible argument that McCain will pull this one out thankfully. Now if the market will bounce back just a little before I exchange my American dollars for yen next week I will truly be happy.


And I can now proudly say that I have sent in my absentee ballot. I got it two days ago, filled it out and sent it back yesterday. The hardest part was figuring out with the nice Japanese woman at the post office how much the postage cost (Yay electronic dictionaries!). So now when the numbers come out on election day, I can say a was part of it.


I'm almost done with two weeks of classes and am hopefully settling into some sort of routine. I'm used to the train commute by now and luckily am only 20 minutes away from my university. I'm currently trying to find some part-time work teaching English and possibly join a club at my university. But I'm already pretty busy with classes and everything.

Other noteworthy things I've discovered:
-I went to the campus gym and failed at trying to work the treadmill. And no it wasn't broken, because I saw someone successfully using it 5 minutes later. I'll stick to jogging, thanks.
-I get lost easily and apparently cannot read a map in either English or Japanese.
-My host family's grandchildren are ADORABLE.
-Tommy Lee Jones (BOSS coffee spokesman) is Bill Murray from "Lost in Translation"
-Japanese television is highly entertaining. I love the quiz shows.
-I went to an English pub downtown where their special drinks all featured Jack Daniels. Go figure.


Monday is a national holiday in honor of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, so no class. I say "Kanpai!" (Cheers!) to that.