Andreas's Japan journeys

Move

2006-10-24T11:23:00.000+09:00

This will be my last post.

To get to my new blogg that I have established, click on the following link.

http://andreasjj.wordpress.com

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Today's word is sayounara - goodbye

r0x0rd teh x0xxor

2006-10-23T08:29:00.000+09:00

I'm just updating now to tell you all that Blogger - the server that is hosting my blog - totally sucks, and I am going to change as soon as possible to another. That means you'll have to remember a new Internet address to type into the browser if you want to read my coming updates.

This is because in Blogger, all dates, all times, all updates, are totally wrong and I am sick of editing them afterwards. It says I am updating at 10 AM when I'm in school... I don't know why because I've changed the time-zone to +9 Japanese time, so it should register as 5 PM, but no.

Also I am unable to upload more than one picture at a time, making it annyoing to write my Nara-school trip update since I took more than 120 pictures. I just don't have the patience to upload 120 pictures one by one. So all in all, Blogger totally sucks. And I don't get the support needed either. So I am going to pause my updates until I've found a good server, which might take a week or so. Until then!

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Today's word is sugokku okkotteiru - totally fucking angry

Chopsticks on fire

2006-10-21T12:11:00.000+09:00

Today I asked Nie-sensei out on a date. It didn't turn out that great. She dismissed by attempt at the very beginning by saying that I was asking too rudely (I wasn't using the -masenka form, gasp!) and that I was a bit too young for her. Shimatta...

Instead, I had to be satisfied with a date with my room-mate Toni. Together, we cooked our first meal in the appartment instead of going out at a restaurant. It was a dai-seiko! We had bought some meatballs the other day so we fried that and tried to figure out how to use the rice-cooker. In the end, it tasted just like it were supposed to. I had been le Cheffe and chopped the vegetables while Toni fried them together with the meatballs.

Toni the master-meatball-roller-with-chopsticks is rolling his meatballs. With chopsticks

My plate of food. Bought it 3 hours before we started cooking. Plate itself, one bowl for rice, one for the food, a pair of chopsticks. I also have a larger bowl for soup stuffed above the sink

I can also proudly announce that I have tied my first necktie via Internet instructions! So now instead of using the former necktie I had which was a fake one, using a elastic band around the neck, now I can wear a real one on Monday. It's really nice one, with a material that looks like silk (obviously fake since the tie cost 6,50 Swedish crowns), and it runs smoothly along my fingers. And it's just the right lenght too.

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Today's word is ryouri suru - to cook

Test of courage - chocolate and kanji

2006-10-20T10:12:00.000+09:00

I went to the supermarket today to buy some food. I've been living pretty extravagantly these 3 weeks because I thought that I'd be moving to my host family. As I've mentioned my host family is no longer ready to receive me, so now I must begin to think a bit more about my finances. So instead of eating at a restaurant (which is still cheap compared to Swedish standards) I figured that something had to be done, else I would spend my life savings on food alone. So there I was, at the supermarket, when suddenly there was an apparition. A vision; a red box I knew I wouldn't be able to see in any other country than Japan. Or maybe I would, but not in Sweden at least, and thus never except in Japan... well, I just had to buy it concidering my bad luck with the Japanese candy I bought the other day.

POCKY!!!! Waaaah! *begins to hum on "Love a Riddle"* And then we have my dinner to the right...

Speaking of buying things. Today I got my other two books that I had ordered from school. The self-study-only kanji books. I jus hope that I will be able to study some of them at the side from my ordinary studies so I will progress in the writing part as well. Guess we'll see about that once we move a bit further.

Minna no nihongo kanji books, let's just hope I get some use from them

Next wednesday we have our first real test. Chapters 1-6. I think I'm prepared for 1-4 but I've got to study more on 5 and 6. Only problem is I've signed up for a school trip on Saturday so that whole day is gone. Instead I'm hoping to take some great pictures, so if I have the time on Sunday you can expect a long account of my journey. So where am I going then? I'm going to the city of Nara to visit one of the oldest temples in Japan and see one of Japan's biggest statues of Buddah; 14 metres high and carved into the mountian I believe. I'm hoping to take some great photos of it.

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Today's word is yuuki - bravery

Genki genki!

2006-10-18T18:15:00.000+09:00

Nie-sensei started today's first lesson by asking us if we felt genki. Healthy that is. It can also mean high in spirits, as in "you ready to study until you bleed??!?! huryeeeeeeah!" or something like that. I think she meant the latter. But the fact is that we were supposed to feel very genki too, since today was the health examination for most students on campus. The Japanese are extremely picky about health and cleanliness (as I've shown in earlier installments with the hand-washing at restaurants). They are not allowing foreigners to donate blood because it might be contaminated by something that hasn't been discovered by the doctors in whatever country you come from. It doesn't matter that I've donated blood for the past 4 years, my blood just isn't good enough. So that's one income that I won't be able to account for.

Today though, it wasn't my blood they were after; it was my body. I swear, the doctor wanted me. No one had to take their shirt off but me. I guess he wanted to see my manly torso. Anyway, into the buss I go (yeah, they've got mobile x-ray centres) and it's done in a jiffy. They were checking for tubercelocis(?). I wouldn't be surprised if I had actually got it even though I have never smoked a cigarette in my entire life, because in Japan people smoke as if their face is on fire. You don't see it because of the smoke they constantly breathe out. Puah puah, even high school students smoke if they can get their hands on cigarettes. Good thing they wear school uniforms so you see if it's a boy or a girl. Wouldn't want to make a mistake when I pull out my flash-cards extraodrinaire

One bus each. Only male doctors in ours though...

Nie-sensei. At 2 o'clock she's still genki. She actually works until 5;30 then studies English from 8-10

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Today's word is shinsatsu - medical examination

Break a leg!

2006-10-17T08:56:00.000+09:00

Well now, today I have only bad news. First off I have been told by the school that I will not be able to move to my host family. A member of their family had had an accident and will not be able to act host family for me or anyone else for the time being. So here I am, still in the shared appartment when I was looking forward to having a room of my own in a Japanese house with all that comes with it.

Japan is the dream country for the one who wants to lose weight. I noticed that when going to the supermarket to buy some candy to comfort myself after the homestay family news... Ok so if they have candy in Japan how can it be *the* country for weightloss other than the fact that the food is low-cal? Well the candy is unedible. It looks nice and tasty on the outside, and once you grab a bite... well, I don't think I need to explain. Just imagine your mouth full of flour. The Japanese are in other words thin because they can't eat the damn candy they produce!! Or something like that... at least I know I will be standing away from the candy department for the coming months.

Horrible Japanese candy; eat at your own peril

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Today's word is tsumazuki - setback

Raislaandwaisha

2006-10-16T11:39:00.000+09:00

Welcome to this update that is the first which will be in total Japanese! Except this part of course. Here is how you install Asian fonts on your computer to view Japanese, Chinese and Korean writing:

First click on "Control Panel"

Then click on "Language setup"

Now click the "Languages" tab in the top and check the "Install files for East Asian languages" box. 230MB of space is needed. You will be required to restart your computer.

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今日は!

これは　初めのＰＯＳＵＴＯだ。私は　凄く　嬉しいです。　でも　ちょっと　短いです。まだまだ　べんきょします。この　イメーギは　見て　ください。

SEXとＫＯＴＯＫＯだ!　恐ろしい!

じゃ、　今日　これで　終わりました。　またね!

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今日の　単語は　muzukashii - hard (as in difficult)

King Andreas

2006-10-15T05:45:00.000+09:00

Yes!! Now I feel like a royal member alright. Got my blue blood flowing in my veins and my Blue Blood lying right next to me on the table. It was merely a coincidence that I found it when I went looking for Kotoko. I was supposed to meet with her at the CD-store, and then I think I subconsciously went past the case with X-Japan in it... Instead of a single CD there were two, and behold, it was one I had to get!! So I bought it instantly and ran home, afraid that it might disappear if I waited. Question is now; do I open the sealed package and listen to this brilliant piece of J-rock, or do I stuff it into my suite case and wait 8,5 months until I can hear it in my stereo at home.

The lighting in my room sucks... but at least I can see my CD clearly on the table!

Hm, as I'm writing this now at home I just remember; what about my meeting with Kotoko...

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Today's word is kouzoku - royalty (as in royal person)

Benkyoushite kudasai

2006-10-14T06:19:00.000+09:00

Holy mother of the big-boned Buddah! Now I sure got my hands full. School has finally (hm, maybe I shouldn't be so positive considering what we get) begun and I have loads of homework. Already. 4 days into the course and we're pushing forwards as if I was in third grade at seconday school again. Feels kind of good, cause I know we're getting somewhere then! But at the same time, it sure is hard work. But, without it I wouldn't learn anything, and then why am I here... I've also bought flash cards, something that Japanese students use vigoriously to learn English. So I thought, I should be able to do it in the reverse order! And here I am with three neat little flash card holders. These will be great when I start studying kanji I think.

One day's worth of homework...

My flash cards! Hyaku

Minna no nihongo, my Japanese and English text books. I am getting two more with only kanji later, self-study only

The teachers at the school are great, especially one; Nie-sensei. She can joke about herself to make tedious and awkward situations feel like a breeze. Then we have one older who is of course the pronounciation teacher! And she goes crazy on this one guy who cannot pronounce some words correctly. It's not that he lisps, but he just cannot get the tongue right on the s's. She's a bit old school and corrects every time she hears it's wrong. Nie-sensei lets it slip and then says the same word in a setence of her own. It's a trick I learned at the teacher-training too back in Sweden. It is a good way to let the student hear the correct word without pointing him out "you're wrong idiot, it's like this".

The third of our teachers do lisp however, and sometimes it's really hard to tell what she's saying when she's speaking quickly. In Japanese, however, it doesn't matter that you lisp because you can pronounce words accurately anyway, in contrast to Swedish.

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Today's word is genmitsuna - strict (as in exact)

Konnichiwa!

2006-10-11T06:11:00.000+09:00

I got jumped alright. On the way back from school, just like I told you. But they were a bit young to my taste. 7-year-olds who thought it was cool that I spoke Japanese. I told them I only knew a little and they asked me if I knew of this and that. Most of the time I just stood there with question marks for eyes and a puzzled expression. But sure enough, there was this one guy who persisted in talking to me when they noticed that I couldn't make myself understood very well. Yet... He wanted to know if I liked apples, and meat, and fish, and where I came from. But it seems they don't have much global geography in the early classes. He knew of Japan and South Korea so far. Wish I had had a map.

When I got back to my appartment I figured that if I couldn't talk to a mere child, then how the blazes will I talk to other people who talk of other things than apples and food? A serious focus on studying, that's how! Off I go to the study room. Gambare!!

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Today's word is tabemono - food

Kawaii sukuulu boya

2006-10-10T09:50:00.000+09:00

Oh yeah! Now I have finally found the ultimate chick-magnet that I've been looking for. And it is so perfect since my school days are now a fact. I started today, Monday, with real lessons. We're starting at the very beginning, but we are moving in quite the pace, taking 4 chapters in one day. Spoke with the teacher that I thought we were doing too basic things, but if we keep this up, it might be just fine anyway really. But back to my first topic.

School bag, necktie and two shirts for 140 Swedish crowns, see if you can get that in Sweden!

SEKUSHII dana?

Am I not just the cutest thing you've ever seen? I know I know, my perfect figure is a part of it too, but this shirt, it's really great. Perhaps I should've shaved though. Hey I didn't look like this in the mirror this morning! This camera is adding not only 5 pounds, it also adds beard... Oh well. I just know I'll get jumped soon anyway when I walk home from school. And let's not forget about the tie! It's the a in apple I'm telling you.

In other news, I've got a new pair of matresses so now at least my bed is soft. But now my back hurts like hell every morning because I sink too deeply down into the bed. Perhaps I should try a new pillow, or remove one of the matresses. On with the safety goggles and white robe; Dr. Andreas is ready to experiment.

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Today's word is hajime - beginning

Friday is Flyday

2006-10-07T09:50:00.000+09:00

After watching some programs in the morning, I hereby officially declare Japanese children's programmes to be crazy. Either you have octopussy-mice that run after a ball, a dancing super hero with a theme song who cries 50 Yes!! during the first two minutes, or a white and a grey... blob that compete in ping pong and balloon throwing. And let us not forget the dancing kids with heads bigger than their bodies. I'm just asking; where is the anime?!

Is it just me, or is there a certain likeness between these guys?

Today I was asked to introduce myself to the school. I was the second one in line and didn't really know what to face. I just grabbed the microphone, turned around... and suddenly had about 600 eyes of the other students glued on me. Why did it feel as if everyone was staring exactly at me? I thought everyone was tired enough after a quarter of teacher introductions. Guess it was to prepare us for the upcoming classes. We have a new rule you see. No other language than Japanese on campus. So if you know "hello" and is asked what you did yesterday or what you had for dinner, you answer "hello" because that is all you know. It is a good rule for learning the language, but it is a bit hard for some in the lunch line...

"What kind of bread would you like?" "Hello".

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Today's word is hisuterikkuna - hysterical

Maguro, dame!

2006-10-06T13:20:00.000+09:00

I think it is time for me to begin with the restaurant-article! I'm going to cover all restaurants I visit, starting today. I will have to do several articles since there are truck-loads of restaurants just along my street, and I've yet to see about 2% of the whole city.

Today I started with going to Denny's again for lunch. They have superb food for a low price. I chose a combo meal, one that consisted of ramen, tempura and rice. Ramen is a name used for all sorts of spahgetti noodles that is served with soup. There are three types, soba, udon, and glass-noodles (no idea what Japanese name is). I got the udon ones. Tempura is vegetables and shrimps mixed together and then fried. Rice is... rice. But you can get many types of rice dishes really, not just plain rice. I got some terrible mix with a sugar-seasoning that tastes like [censored]. I really had to order some new rice. In any case, these things together both fill your belly, and is really low-fat (hint hint all you girls out there; throw away those diet-cokes and start eating Japanese food if you want results).

The rice with the lethal sugar-seasoning

My very own syrup, literally! I got it to sweeten my orange juice. Only the Japanese know why...

Cleanliness is a virtue, especially in Japan. Denny's are not the only ones to give these to customers before dinner, every restaurant without exception (perhaps McDonald's?) give them out before serving the meals

I went to one of the most exclusive restaurants I have yet to visit for dinner. It was a truly traditional restaurant and I was actually afraid that it would be one of those "Japanese only" restaurants, but we got in alright. It was seriously the coolest restaurant I've been too. Private rooms for the dinner, a personal attendant (well might have been because we were the only ones there too), only traditional food, no potato-crap, tea to drink, and amazing wall decorations. The coolest, but perhaps not very traditional but who cares, is that the attendant could speak decent English. You'd think that people at computer stores (who cannot help you buy that special cord) that handle international wares like computers, laptops, cables, modems etc. would be able to speak at least proper English. But no, instead it's a 45-year-old Japanese waitress at a restaurant no one visits. Not only the toilets are weird here, it's the places at where educated people work too. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the restaurant's toilet. Wonder if I should go back there just for that reason alone...

The isle in the restaurant, we sat to the left closest to the camera. The picture is a bit flimsy I know, but I didn't see that in my camera's quick-view unfortunately

In any case, I ate a really traditional (yes everything was very traditional there) meal called moriawase. It is a so-called sashimi dish, that is, it includes fish. I got 7 pieces of sushi (a rice ball with raw fish on it) and 3 grilled crayfishes. I removed the tuna from the menu (thereof the title) since that is the standard for sushi and loved by the Japanese. Got some salmon instead and shrimps. To that I drank o-cha (green tea) and some brown tea that tasted... weird. Didn't drink a lot of that, nor did I drink the water I ordered. It was still filled with chlorine as with all water in Japan since it's so polluted. Like most countries in Europe they drink bottled water here in Japan. It really makes you think twice about being so fortunate about the pure ground water we have in Sweden.

The wall decorations. Ever see this at McDonald's?

Green tea and sushi, can it get any more Japanese? Perhaps if you include a talking toilet

But I haven't just eaten all day even if it might sound like it. I've actually done my first trip to the laundry, and that was quite the different experience. Since most homes are so small, Japanese families do not have room for a washing machine or a tumble drier. So they go to coin laundries where you can wash your clothes for an overrated price... It costs less if you have got your own detergent. Only problem was, in no way could I have use for any of the enlightening lessons in the higher art of washing clothes from dear mom at home, since the washing machines were quite the different ones. It didn't help either that everything was written in Japanese. After a bit of help from another visitor who pointed and gestured the machine finally started rolling and after 30 minutes or so and 300 Yen lighter, the clothes were as good as new. The question still lingers though if I used the right temperature for the washing.

My kingdom for a shrue! Or a good dictionary explaining how to operate Japanese washing machines

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Today's word is hashi - chopsticks

SEX-Japan

2006-10-05T05:55:00.000+09:00

I've finally bought them! Three of them at the same time. I didn't think I'd find them in Okazaki actually. Thought I had to go to Tokyo or Osaka to get some action, but no. They were right here in Okazaki, just across the street from the supermarket and voilá. Their lithe form, their creamy words. Despite the fact I don't understand their Japanese they know what I want to hear. It costs ¥9000 for all three of them. I must pay for them myself of course, since my father has already paid for the headset to my laptop. But he thinks I should do it, now that I'm in Japan. "I can't order them via the Internet" I say. "Then buy them, now that you are here. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." I know he's wrong, I just have to go to that special district in Tokyo..., then I strike the deal. I walk home with a special feeling of satisfaction deep down in my gut. It's not often you can buy something this Japanese in Japan, and certainly not outside Japan. Hm, alright, well perhaps in Japan, but I can say that it's hard outside. Trust me, I've tried.

I wish I had got some X-Japan too but no, even harder to find

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Today's word is gokai - misunderstanding

Bebop & Rocksteady

2006-10-04T12:46:00.000+09:00

It's early morning in Japan. I'm dead tired after a long, tedious, boring and sleepless night. Went to bed early just to wake up at 1 o' clock. After 1 hour I got up, understanding I couldn't sleep. Went to bed again at 3 o' clock and after a futile attempt I finally got up at halv past 4. I blame it all on my bed. Here, let me show you a picture of my room again with the villanous bed in focus.

I hope I won't spend many sleepless nights on this more than I have to

It is not just the bed itself that is rock-hard. The matress and pillow are as well. Fortunately my cover isn't, and I guess it's a comfort at least. This is why I want to, just like the title explains, mention that today's keyword is; rock-hard. That's right. Bebop is totally rock-hard. So is my bed. I think it's even harder. That's why I won't get any sleep. My back hurts like hell after a night on that surface. I just have to buy another matress.

Speaking of new things to buy, I got myself (at last!) some decent paper. Japanese paper is thin as a nail and totally useless. Never buy yourself Japanese toilet paper! It's as strange as their toilets. You need rock-hard paper to be able to... you know. Not this mm-thin paper that breaks apart if you breathe on it.

Yesterday I went and tried my first sushi restaurant here in Okazaki. I had only tried some dishes at Denny's and some pasta restaurant (there are loads of pasta restaurants here, it's like the Italians have invaded Japan with their restaurants instead of the Americans with their stupid McDonald's). But the sushi was absoultely delishious I must tell you. Of course, there's a difference when trying sushi in Japan and in restaurants in other parts of the world, but I never figured the experience would be so different as it was. One other thing that was different was the staff working there. Talk about dedication!

Deniisu resutoran, one of many pasta restaurants

The first thing when you walk in that happens is that you are greeted by the waitress. When she announces that you have come the whole restaurant's staff yells a welcome, and in you go. I almost got a heart attack because I wasn't ready for the guy shouting from over the disk right in my ear. At least you feel welcome. Next you try to speak a combination of Japanese and English to order. It's easy enough to point but when ordering how many of each you want, it's another matter. The waitress instantly runs behind the counter and gets a frakking notebook with phrases, words, numbers you name it, all in Japanese-English so that she can serve better. Then the phone rings and when she's done with our order, she RUNS to the phone just to pick it up. If there are any Swedish waitresses out there, tell me honestly if you would run to the telephone if it rang, or if you would just walk, subconsiously hoping that it will stop ringing before you get there. Rock-hard servitude is the word. They may smile at me falsely, they may dislike me for being a foreigner, they may think whatever, but none of that matters to them as long as they can provide good service. And trust me, the Japanese service is the best you can get.

"TESUTOwa muzukashii desu ka?" she asks. I look at her disbelieving and finally answers "hai". "Nanika muzukashii desu?" "Zembun..."
My language test is finished after 4 hours of pain and frustration at myself. I blame my bed. The lack of sleep shut down my brain. But I honestly think it will be alright. I can advance later on to an intermediate level and pick up my lost time. Just got to work hard enough. Rock-hard determination is the word...

A Japanese morning, it's about half past 5

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Today's word is katai - hard (as in solid)

Enter the Japan!

2006-10-03T20:28:00.000+09:00

As anyone who reads the title might figure, I'm blogging my adventurous journeys in Japan! I came here two days ago, on the 30th of September; tired, wet (you do not want to sit on a plane for 9 hours on a wet seat where someone had poured a flask of water, plus literally bathing in your own sweat, and with nothing to chill you down), cranky, and all what that means. It didn't help that I had before my flight travelled by car through half of Sweden for 12 hours first.

Of course I got stuck in customs too... We all did. Every single one of the 200 passengers. Because we all needed to turn in some special form, we all needed to show special visas and the like. It was not fun when you were tired, and wet, and all that what I wrote.

But now I'm rested. I've even had the pleasure of eating a few meals here in Japan. Of course all of them have been at the restaurants. I can't cook. Not in my kitchen that I've been handed at least. But that's fine with me, I don't mind at all! The restaurants in Japan are so good and have such dedicated service I'd like to go there every day if I could. That is; had I the money to do so. And of course I don't. I hope to get by anyway.

But where are my manners. I haven't even said where the hell I am. Here, let me show you;

Okazaki City! My plane landed in Nagoya (though not where Nagoya is located on the map; here let me show you again).

This red marker shows where the airport is. It's (I believe) an artficially-made island in that place. I was kind of concerned until we hit ground why we were flying at 50 metres, when viewing the TV screen inside the place of our location. Why the hell are we going down now, we're right in the middle of the sea and a good way from Nagoya still. Then we struck ground and here I am. Or it was all a rouse and aliens have projected images inside my head of the landing, denying me the truth, telling my subconsious that I was too tired to see what really was going on. Or I'm the alien since that is what it says on my welcoming card to Japan.

I'm studying at the Yamasa Institute in this lovely city. Its housing facilities are conveniently located near the school itself and all other important facilities you might need. Such as bars, restaurants, karaoke(?)bars, supermarkets that sell alcholol that you can get in the bars, coin laundries, more bars, electricity stores that cannot help you, and even some more bars I discovered on my way home from the electricity store that couldn't help me. Japan is truly a facinating country! I bet if I left the main road that has been the only one I've adventured on so far, I could find myself even more bars. I almost pity my friends back in Umeå who have to stand up with stupid places like X3m, Corona and... are there any more in Umeå? Point is, there aren't a lot. And here I see more bars on one street than people. And trust me, I see a lot of people. Because Okazaki City is inhabited by "merely" 350,000 people, and it's entire surroundings by 8 million. The city itself is in other words a small town... And the politicians in Umeå say their town is growing... bah!

My room is a bit small, especially since I am going to share it with a room mate that hasn't shown up yet. I have no idea when he arrives. Here is my one room, and my entrance hallway that is combined with my kitchen and bathroom. To the left is the toilet. I don't think I've ever lived this spartanious before. Still I don't complain. I kind of like it. Makes me my own king in a few ways. I just hope my room mate won't try to steal my toilet paper.

Hallway with fridge and freezer

TV, laptop, bed, everything a students needs. (Vart e' brudarna?)

My toilet is really funny. I hadn't really assumed I would have one of those crazy things that the Simpsons get in their hotelroom in some episode. It talks and spurts water and etc. But I was still surprised at the design mine had. On the top you have a combined sink. It's totally useless since I cannot have my soap next to it, so I have to go right next door to my bathroom and use that sink which does have a place for the soap...

A combined sink and toilet. No wonder the Japanese are smarter than us! This idea proves it all!

Ok I think that is enough to comprise for the dates I have missed. 30th and 1st that is. I just want to finish with a few pictures that I somehow was able to take despite the bumpy ride in the van from the airport.

Here we are, leaving the what I think is the artificial island.

Entering the mainland, aka Japan!

Two places we drove by. One of these places I want to enter, one of them I certainly do not want to enter! Can you guess which one? Btw, the Sega world place is one and the same, from two angles. Go Sonikku!

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Today's words are zubunure ni naru - become thoroughly wet, and gaikokujin - alien (as in foreigner)