Thursday Night

So last night I went out with some friends. Drinking and Karaoke. I do not like singing, but I am a fan of drinking and stupidity. So normally, when it was my turn to sing, I would sing songs like Y.M.C.A. and Barbie Girl.

I got pretty drunk, and then discovered I was the only one drinking. I can't decide if it is worse to drink alone, or be the only one drinking. I had about 3 bottles of Sake, plus some of my friend's nasty wine.

I took a short video, which I will post on YouTube probably sometime next month (June) (videos are up now: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=982086EE81B8E4BE), mostly because I have ~30 blogs done already.

I woke up this morning with no hangover - which I give credit to my super fast metabolism and C.C. Lemon for that - went to class (when I finally found the classroom), and started uploading videos and pictures online. Videos are on YouTube, in the above link, and some cellphone pictures are on my Facebook, but I will probably post a couple here.

Not much else to tell, really. Still trying to figure out how exactly Japanese people think - but I think that is a neverending process. They make figuring out American Women feel easy. I have yet to start to even try to crack the nut that is Japanese Women. I doubt I will try to, honestly. Most of the information I know is about approaching Japanese people. I can do that just fine. Now I have to figure out how to talk to them.

Left to right: Japanese Toilet, What I wore Thursday Night (size = medium, which is why they look small), Awesome Hat, Cherry Blossoms

Friends & Strangers

(Written April 28th, 2009, ~10pm)

I have had multiple people tell me that they miss me and want me to hurry back to the states. While my FRIENDS saying this is nice, when people I hardly know, or don't know at all, start saying this, it is weird.

For example, one person, like many do, asked how long my stay would be. After finding out, they said that we should hang out when I get back, if it is before a date, which is not even half my stay here. I do not know that person, never met them. I know OF the person, but only because she is...I guess, well known? At my home university, that is.

Now, to some people, this may sound wonderful, but this stranger messaging me, privately, and encouraging me to see her when I get back - trying to get me to come back early so she can see me, on top of it all - it is a bit odd.

I do not want to worry about returning to America yet. I have been here less than a month, and when my friends want to talk or find out about my stay, they can ask, read this blog, watch my videos, or even them saying that they miss me is fine. But when a stranger messages me and encourages me to return early, it is weird and creepy. Especially when this is something that I have wanted since I was a little kid, watching Godzilla destroy this country - Japan.

I am more worried about my night out with some people (Kendall, Take, and one other [her friend, Saaya]) Thursday, than I am about America and whether it will even still be around in a year (seeing as all I hear about is how it is falling apart). I am enjoying myself, and have offered my shelter to many friends, if they have the time and money to stay. The only snags I have found are people wanting to bring friends and/or family too. My apartment could not house more than two people. It seems as if they want more than I can offer - and rather than saying "that's ok," they want to push the envelope and see how badly I want to see them.

My offer is free shelter, TV, a fridge, microwave, toilet (western), tub, washer (you have to dry your clothes outside), and someone to help them find the best food nearby (Q!). It does not sound like much until you factor in a hotel in Japan being around $30 a night (capsule hotel) - American-style hotels being $70-$100 per night - and the fact that they can stay as long as they like, the only condition being that they will bathe daily.

So for ~$2,000, or ~¥200,000, they can buy a round trip ticket and stay for a couple of weeks (a month if they stretch it) - most of the money they bring being used for food. The more $$, the longer they can stay. Sure, they will have to sleep on the floor like I do, unless they are willing to buy a bed, but they would be in a different country. So many people claim to want to come, but when the price is reduced to the point that a college student could even do that. Hell, last year, I came for 2 weeks and it cost me ~$5,000. I had to squeeze my money pretty damn tight. So to me ~$2,000 sounds amazing.

So in conclusion, I do not have plans to return home anytime soon - but I do enjoy knowing that people miss me. And to my friends, my door is currently open if you are interested in visiting. I do not know how long it will be (exams are at the end of July, so I might need to close it for a month) - but I am sure we can work something out.

Lake Party

(Written: April 25th, 2009 @ 4:00am)

I went to the Lake Party and made a lot of friends. I arrived with Kendall, Katsu, and one of his Kohai (Azu) - who was even better at English than Katsu. I was forced to wait for the party to start before I could start drinking. After talking to a few people, I finally found one very interesting Japanese girl (Take) and talked to her for at least 2 hours. She had heard about me from one of her friends. Kendall occasionally popped in, but for the mostpart, me and her talked alone, which was nice because it was the first person I got to talk to for a long period of time who wasn't an American or assigned to work with me. She was pretty much fluent - and was happy to finally meet someone who was willing to talk to her in English, since most of the Gaikokujin want to talk in Japanese.

It started raining pretty hard, so she decided to go home since it wasn't getting any better, as did the majority of the people. I stayed for a bit longer, until only a handful were left. We made our way back (Makiko, Kendall, Bob, some asian guy, and Nate). Bob went to his dorm, Nate had to be helped to his dorm, Kendall rode home on his bike, and Makiko hugged me goodnight at her apartment - which was weird, until I realized just how drunk she was (Japanese people are not very touchy, normally).

I also met Lee, who was pretty awesome and friends with Bob. Bob was pretty kickass, and kept yelling at people to get their "arses back here." I got to watch Kazu (not Katsu) get totally wasted, and realized just light Japanese alcohol was - and how light all of these students were.

Anyway, after saying goodnight to everyone - the last being Makiko, because her apartment was on the way back to mine - I rushed home on my bike while the freezing rain slapped my face, ran in, threw off my soaking wet and ice cold clothes, ran a hot bath, and sat in it for a bit while I warmed up. (I got home about 3am, btw) I talked to Makiko a bit more, who told me to take care and not get sick (because we were both soaking wet by the time we got to her apartment) before falling asleep.

I got out of the bath and am now laying in bed, fairly warm. Hopefully, I will not get a cold.

*Note: I did not get a cold.

Americans Are Not Rapists

(written today, April 21st, 2009)

Despite being a Gaikokujin (foreigner) from America, I find most others (from America) to be very immature and annoying - most, but not all. Just because some Americans are jerks does not mean all are. I hope that is understood.

For example, a girl from my University back in America keeps going around, reinforcing the idea that all American men are rapists and only want to talk to asians for sex - whether it is a girl to get in her pants, or a guy to get in his friends/girlfriends pants. It is annoying and ends up causing a lot of problems when people are trying to make friends. After talked to a few people about this, I asked her to stop in the nicest possible way (Which was basically, 'Can you please stop telling Japanese people that we are rapists? It's very troublesome), to which she responded, "If you are having issues, it is not my fault. You are just coming off as creepy."

Rather than addressing the fact that anytime she sees a Gaikokujin talking to an Asian, she tells them that he is only after sex, will go to any lengths to get it, and that they should avoid talking to him - rather than addressing this, she says that it is their own fault (because it is not just me I am complaining for) for coming off as creepy.

Now, I am a big, scary guy as it is, so her telling people I want to rape them is a bit troublesome when I am trying to introduce myself to people and make friends. But when she starts claiming that about people like Guy, who is a pretty awesome person who does not want sex with anyone (he does not have time for a relationship), she is just being a バカだよアメリカ人 (stupid american - no idea if I did that in the right order though).

Luckily, she is in a different prefecture (Aichi Prefecture, I believe), so I don't have to deal with this like I did last May (during my visit to Japan via a University class). Also, the reason I am writing this is more for my own future reference, but I thought I would share it with you.

私は馬鹿だよ

(written today, April 21st, 2009)

I hope I used the right Kanji...

I feel really stupid. Did I come to Japan too early in my studies? I feel so confused in class. I understand some Japanese, but I just got done with Japanese Society and Lifestyles (first time in that class), and all I got from about an hour and a half of her talking was that wives were/are parasites to their husbands, pention plans (Japanese people have them), old Japanese cellphones look like modern day American cellphones (also, they way they used to dress is how Americans dress now - judging both cellphones and clothing from a VHS tape that looked like clothes that Americans wear today - did that make sense?), and there is a reason why Japanese people hand out tissue paper (but I have no idea why - something about the 80s). We watched a video that said something about Freet and NEET. It showed money, which is probably related to the pention plan.

I feel really dumb, but maybe it is just because I just got here and my advisor will not be back until Thursday. Even then, I may not be able to talk to him until Friday. The deadline for classes is the 28th, which is next Tuesday. Or maybe it is the 27th, and the 28th is when you can no longer turn it in? I dunno.

And as much as people want to think that the fact that I am in Japan means that life is wonderful - which it is pretty nice compared to America, all things considered - if a problem comes up, it is a bigger deal because my Japanese is not up to snuff. To repeat what I told a friend, "does getting hit by a car in Japan make it any better than getting hit by a car in America?" The Japanophile responce is, "yes, because you are in Japan," until they realize that the hospitals here are extremely expensive.

Something else I noticed is that last May, when I visited Japan with my school, a lot of guys thought they were making headway and going to score with some Japanese girls because they gave them their emails and phone numbers. "I got 17 email addresses!" "Yeah? I got 20!" I discovered that they were just entertaining the girls, and the girls were giving them the addresses and numbers to play with them. It's like how you give a dog table scraps. It is a BAD idea to go up to a group of girls and expect to get anywhere, because they cockblock eachother. If she wants to get picked up/hit on, she normally goes about it alone, so that she does not lose face and end up being called a slut. Rarely, they go out in groups of two, looking for some fun with a trusted friend.

So, from what I understood, only 3 guys were "lucky" on the trip to Japan last May - Myself and Jon (who ended up on a Japanese-style date with two girls), and Guy, who could have hooked up with a girl had it not been his last night in Japan (she basically said, "you want to come home with me?") So if you're out to entertain, then feel free to talk to groups of girls, but if you want to actually try and get someplace, talk to one girl - and only one girl.

I guess it is good that I am more interested in learning about the culture than the language. In fact, the only reason I started learning the language is to have a better understanding of the culture, and so I could read about the culture in it's native tongue. I have a long way to go for both.

Likes and Dislikes

(Written April 16th, 2009)

A quick rundown of things I enjoy doing.

- Going to Q for Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-Style.

- Riding my bike around to random spots, then sitting and watching the clouds go by.

- Going to a vending machine to get a cold drink without having to get off my bike or even deal with people.

- Sitting in my bathtub for hours, surfing the net on my (waterproof) cellphone.

- Waking up to see what people have emailed me about or commented on (via my phone).

Though I have run into some things I do not like, mainly people staring at me, but being a 6'5" gaikokujin with long curly hair does not help. Especially someone like me, who is naturally scary-looking (so I've been told).

On the plus side, the little kids here like me and I am very memorable. So maybe I will make it out ok. Assuming I try to get out. I may just stay. Who knows.

I have an apartment, I bought all my appliences, I have a cellphone, but I am still working on getting a job.

I do not feel like my Japanese is improving, but that is probably not true. I am happier here, though. And the worlds problems seem less important here - probably because I do not have internet or watch the news too much anymore. When I do see the news, though, it is always taking about Obama.

By the way, I am writing this on a piece of paper in Q. I will be getting my usual (Specialty A, Udon) soon though, so I am going to end this now.