Today I visited the campus for the very first time. The Shonan campus is big and consists of 17 administrative buildings. And of course, there are the sports facilities: dojo for martial arts, tennis and basketball courts, swimming pool, weight training gym, soccer fields, etc. And for now, it's pretty quiet. But it will get very crowded as soon as classes begin.
I visited both the international students' residence and the apartment where the judo girls stay. Upon viewing both accommodations and listening to the recommendations of many, I finally decided to stay at the international students' residence. I'll be rooming with a Japanese girl whom I've yet to meet.
Also had the chance to watch a bit of the women's judo practice. I feel both excited and intimidated to train with them... but I know this is a lifetime opportunity. I have to be like a sponge, absorb everything I see and learn and hear. And I'm hearing a lot of English music here lol. I was pretty surprised but many American artists are pretty popular here, like Avril Lavigne, Daniel Powter, Taylor Swift, etc. And guess what was playing during the women's judo warm-up I watched? Who Run the World, Girls by Beyonce. Quite fitting for a women's judo practice. ; )
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The following day, we had to drive out to the Immigration Center to obtain a student visa.
It took such a long time to drive here. What would normally only take 45 minutes in Manitoba takes about 2 hours here because of the traffic and single lane roads. The road here used by two cars is the same width as a lane for a single car in Canada. Which makes for a somewhat terrifying experience to zoom so close to cars traveling in the opposite direction along roads that wind and turn and go up and down. But apparently, there's nothing to worry about because Japanese believe they are good drivers. At least that's what they say. It also helps that many cars here are slimmer. They have kejidosha, which are recognized by their yellow license plates. They are so cute : p I almost feel like I'm in a miniature world.
Like in Canada, cars also get arrested for speeding... which is called nezumitori here. That translates to "mouse catching". And only two days in, I had the chance to experience that. Not me personally (I'm not allowed to drive... and don't think it's something I'd like to try either haha...) but my homestay dad got a speeding ticket. And unlike in Canada, you can't really talk your way out of it.
After getting all the papers in order, we went to buy a bike and a few necessary accessories for my stay in Japan, i.e. bed sheets, pillow, alarm clock, frying pan, hangers, etc... And a bright yellow bike! I love it. Here it is : ) They call this kind of bike "mamachari" which means Mommy's bike. They have the basket in front for groceries and are very popular here in Japan. I'll be sad to leave it here when I go back home... in all my time in Canada, I've never seen that kind of bike there.
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| my AMAZING bike ;) |
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| How bikes lock in Japan: the lock around the wheel prevents any movement of the wheel |
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| my bike doesn't really stand out, does it? : P |
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| A parking lot especially for bikes: sweet! :) |
I'm moving in to my room on Sunday. Again, both excited and nervous because for now, the extent of my Japanese is limited and I've been relying on my host family parents here to translate for me. At the end of the day, I'm already so mentally exhausted from straining to understand one word here and there in conversations to try to make sense of what people are saying to me. I really cannot wait to be able to speak fluently. Really can't wait.
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