Entries this day: D'oh! DruDaddyG Going_home Janette

D'oh!

12:15pm JST Tuesday 8 April 2003

Being silly has its benefits and some apparent drawbacks.

I have just arrived at the International Lounge where I can get inexpensive Japanese classes (100 yen for 2 hours = ridiculously cheap) and classes have just ended for the day and won't happen again until Thursday.

Now. I had this information; it was given to me and Olivia at the Ward Office on the same day. The day we signed up for our alien registration.

Olivia (and some girl-friend of hers (who sounded like a Kiwi)) came to the class. I missed it.

- - - -

However, it does appear that I'm doing this "Japan thing" on my own more than she. That's apparently a choice; I could hang out with my roommates more, but they don't seem interested in taking Japanese classes. I could meet other cats, but I've not done that so far. I've found my little internet cafe and have plugged in for my fix. But the fix is no longer free, and I hear Japan calling me while I'm there.

Olivia had a friend with her who's fluent in Japanese and English at the Ward office. I imagine this bridge to the Japanese world has made it a bit easier for her to become integrated and feel settled enough to .. for example, pay attention to the flyer and plan ahead and come to class instead of play online.

The d'ohest part of this: I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. I just missed the one class that's held during my two days off. But.... I can come on Thursday & Friday and then zip off to work when I'm done.

DruDaddyG

9:43pm JST Tuesday 8 April 2003

After studying a bit, and sleeping a bit more, I trained to Shinjuku to meet up with Dru. We walked randomly around the city, people watching and into an electronics store where we scoped out some crazy small cameras and minidisc players and video cameras.. Small small small is the keyword there. Looked at some of the electronic translators, but didn't get any; the model I wanted was more expensive than Travis suggested I could find it. So instead I bought a shower scrubby thing for exfoliation purposes. Oh we visited a pachinko parlor and he told me that gambling is illegal in Japan, but the balls that people accumulate can be exchanged for prizes. And there's a store nearby that will purchase the prizes. Wow. The room was ridiculously loud. Din so incredible that the woman behind the desk wore a headset and mic, amplifying her voice so she could be heard.

We finally settled upon a sushi train where we basically dared each other to try different slimey things to eat. Clam, squid, scoops of little fish, slimey white slime stuff, slimey pink stuff, and crab salad. Oh, and he told me the word for green tea. Something like ochya so I turned toward the waitress to ask and he starts snickering as if it's the wrong word. I turned back to him and he's all, "naw, I'm just kidding; it really is ochya" so I ask her and the waitress points to cups right in front of me with tea bags beside them. D'oh!

Funny how we get into patterns; on the way to Dru's house, he led us to the station for his work. D'oh! 130 yen each to fix that little error, but whatever.

Kickin' it in his apartment now watching Simpsons; his roommate Chris just got home from work. He's from Melbourne. "Melbourne shits all over Sydney." "Everyone thinks 'Sydney is Australia' and it's not; it's just Sydney."

Going home

11:23pm JST Tuesday 8 April 2003

A bit cramped on the train, trying to respect the personal space of those around me. But we basically all have seats on this train. I can see a hint of my getting better at navigating the train system in that I've memorized a rail line and a station that goes with it: the Nambu line goes through Musashi-kosugi. I've not memorized the kanji that goes with these names, but it's a start.

According to the chart, I've got 29 minutes on this train til we reach Musashi-kosugi. Should be early enough for me to transfer to my line, Toyuko-Tokaido (or something like that) and zip down three stations to Tsunashima. Oh, and I've learned a trick: when in a random station going to a random station, just purchase the cheapest ticket available, then use the Fare Adjustment machine at the end station to pay the remainder. That way I don't have to figure out the exact fare, and I won't pay too much.

In *this* case, going home tonight, I'm using a loophole (?) in the system. I've got a pass that says I can go from Musashi-kosugi to Tsunashima. I bought that at the end of March (and Nova will reimburse me for it on my first paycheck: May 15th) for like 11000 yen. That much? Shit that's $100. Anyway, I got the pass and I was able to get into the system with the smallest ticket available 130 yen and will get out of the rail system using my pass. Wow I'm really abusing the system with my $100 rail pass.

11:55pm

Musashi-kosugi station now and I must say "Hey man, why is no one else getting on this train?" From what I can tell it's a local train (stops at every station) so maybe they want to wait for the express which leaves in 5 minutes. Whatever. I'm 90% sure I'm on a train that will work for me.

12:00am

Dagnabbit. Everyone was asked to get off the train, and I'm two stops from home. Some people split and left the station. Enough people are still here that I imagine I can get on the next train with them. Good deal. Mental fingers are crossed.

12:02am

A train just zipped past; I wonder if it's carrying those who stayed at Musashi-Kosugi.

12:10am

Made it to Tsunashima. I'm too tired right now to really appreciate this as a wild and fun adventure. I'm simply thankful that I'm home and won't have to walk a long way nor pay a lot for a cab. Thank you train system that I gypped with my $100 pass. Thank you.

Going to walk home now without stopping by the internet cafe. 380 yen minimum is out of my price range for now.

Janette

1:24am JST Wednesday 9 April 2003

Just talked to Janette for over an hour. Mmmmmmm.

Great to hear what's going on in D-town, and to share stories about J-ville. Special thanks to her for calling me for most of the conversation. I'm looking greatly forward to her visiting me out here!

Good night.