Japanese placement test, Entrance Ceremony and more papers

Today we had a Japanese placement test to evaluate our knowledge of the language. This will determine in which level we'll be placed. I definitely know I'll be in the lower levels. I probably could and should have studied more during the summer but I'm not really worried. I will be placed at the level where they think I ought to be. And it's pretty flexible. If I feel the class is too easy, I can ask to be bumped up.

The test started out easy... with simple listening and writing words... then we had to listen to short dialogues and answer questions... It got to the point where I couldn't really make out much of what was being said. Then we had to fill out a hiragana chart which was the easy part. Finally, we had some particles to insert in sentences and verb conjugations. In all my academic history, this is probably the worst I've done on a test. But like I said, I don't mind in which level I'll be placed. No matter what level, I'm going to study hard.

We had an entrance ceremony in the afternoon. A few speeches, a few songs played by the university's band, a bit of dozing off, and it was over. Then, along with my mother in Japan, Reiko, and two other international students, Mari and Zara, we headed to the city hall to obtain our foreign registration cards. I don't know what we would have done without Reiko. The Japanese really do not make things easy for us gaikokujin (foreigners). The people working there speak very little English, even at the service desk for Non-Japanese. Once there, we found out about another form we should also fill out for health insurance. I just hope I didn't miss anything important. Most of the time, the only parts I understand as they're explaining things about the documents is when they ask me to please be seated and wait patiently. I'm pretty good at that ; )

Also, while at the city hall, I bought my family's hanko, which is a stamp with our family's kanji. It's used here in Japan, instead of signatures sometimes.

Posing with Zara (Denmark) and Mari (Finland)

Lunch at the cafeteria

I love the fashion here. Lots of cute patterns and colors. However, there is one thing I do not get about their fashion style: the dangerously high heels they wear. The majority of women walk around all day in high heels, even on campus where you have to walk 10-15 minutes to get anywhere. I asked my mother today why that is. She answered that most women here choose appearance over comfort. I intend to buy some Japanese clothes and shoes here, even some heels, but you won't be seeing me walking around campus in them, that's for sure. My feet already hurt all over from walking all day. And I've been walking in runners and sandals. Plus I don't need to injure myself outside the judo tatami mats. Judo is already dangerous as it is.

Had my first taste of the rain here. It rained a few times today. Currently raining now as I type. It's refreshing after the 30+ degrees we've been having these past few days. The air conditioner deserves a little break now and then too : p