Hey, guys! Not dead yet!
Sorry to inflict this on y'all, but it's been awhile since I've last had anything to say, and now I feel like writing.
First off: My last entry was an elaborate April Fool's joke that I enacted on my LiveJournal readership, as well as my parents. I apologize to you who took me seriously and haven't been set straight until now. I haven't been offered any jobs with the Japanese civil government, nor have I met anyone of any particular import while out doing karaoke.
Second off: Why have my posts been so damn sporadic lately? Well, before I left Japan, I made some promises that I found, in the end, extremely difficult to keep. Eventually, I gave up on doing anything resembling keeping them, though at some point I may still try. As a result, I've found it incredibly awkward to keep up communication with people back in the US. However, I've since come to the realization that this is unfair to a large number of people, and I shouldn't let my failing in one particular connection ruin my connections with many other people.
Third off: What do I actually have to say? Japan, in general, has been a hell of a place. I've had a lot of good times, and met some great people. I've also learned a lot, though not what I had expected to when I first applied to study abroad. My Japanese in particular has not been improving nearly as much as I would have liked, or indeed, hardly at all (as a lot of what I've been doing for the past month has been review. Stupid placement tests...). I have learned, though, how to function in a place where I only really understand what's going on maybe 40% of the time. How to communicate through languages tenuously known by the parties involved. How to find pockets of sanity and peace in an incredibly crowded and crazy world. And, of course, how to semi-inadvertently spend stupid amounts of money on not terribly important things.
I resigned myself, when I began the process of studying abroad to not actually making many connections among Japanese people. I realized that I would probably spend most of my time with other students on my program, trying in groups to overcome a strange culture. I made peace with that, and looked forward to having some good times. I did have some good times, and continue to do so. However, something in the last week or so has just made things more difficult. Maybe it's the weather. It's been grey and rainy here all week, and will likely continue to be so for quite awhile. I've had difficulty mustering the energy to make it to classes. Of course, I've -always- had that difficulty, off and on, even at Macalester. The last couple of days, though, I've had those moments where I've realized that I'm completely alone, in an alien culture. I miss people back home. I'm suddenly having to deal with being alone on a daily and nightly basis, which hasn't been the case like this for quite some time. I can't go back to the way I was freshman year. Period. That was too scary. So I won't. Fortunately, I've met some really awesome people here, and they keep me on my toes, and keep me involved. So I think I'll be OK. But that's how I've been doing.
Bright spots about studying here:
Today I was asked by a French girl in my Japanese class if I was interested in meeting up to improve my German.
The ability to purchase crazy collectibles at reasonable prices (sometimes). I've accumulated a couple of Ranma 1/2 figurine scenes, some Final Fantasy figures, and a couple of panels of The Legend of Zelda dot pixel boards. Still working on finding Xenosaga figures. I know they exist. Somewhere...
Taiko no Tatsujin. 'nuff said.
Hey, I'm applying what I've been studying for two-and-a-half years, even if it's not as thorough as I may have wanted
My commuter pass to campus goes through Akihabara, a.k.a. nerd heaven.
Fish. Both at the dorm, and in the form of the cheap sushi restaurant.