My new life in Tsukuba!
I know I haven't written in errrr... a while? This has been quite an internetless summer, and (as you might have noticed XD;) I sold quite a few things, so when I connected I had to answer to everybody's emails.
This said. I still hadn't written it here, but yeah, in the end I did win the scholarship (as did two other Italian guys, one from Torino univ. and a classmate of mine from Venezia univ.). I was sent to Tsukuba, they were sent to - respectively - Hirosaki (near Aomori) and Saitama.
The first thing I thought was "...Ugh why not Tokyo???", but then I heard about Hirosaki and I decided that I was lucky, since Tsukuba is only less than 1 hour from Tokyo (thanks to the Tsukuba Express that goes to Akihabara). I also found out that it's the same university where the interpreter I know spent his scholarship-funded year about 10 years ago, and he told me that it's a great place with a very good university and cool people, so I rejoiced a bit.
After a busy September (with payments, shippings, various illnesses, 6 days in Italy to prepare everything for the trip), I finally arrived in Tsukuba on Friday morning.
Thursday I found out that JAL is way better than Lufthansa. I'm not talking about the airplanes themselves, it's just the "service". To be quick: I had to pay 70€ because I had 3 hand luggages (only 2 were allowed, as I found out) and they obliged me to stuff one of them in my big luggage, so it ended up weighing about 26kg and they made me pay "only" 2 (dunno, I guess I should be thankful, but still -_-).
Things got better from Frankfurt, since because of some mistake by the company we (and many other passengers) were sent to business class instead of economy XDDD The seats were very comfortable, and I liked that you could choose between 100 full CDs (of various music) to listen too. The food was also quite good. The only thing I didn't like was the movie choice (I prefer JAL) and the fact that Lufthansa is not as Japan-oriented as JAL (though that's only natural, since it's a German company *_*;), so the music too was mostly western.
Anyway, a notice to all of you Italians: if you're thinking about trying anything but JAL to fly to Japan, well, just consider that if you choose Lufthansa you will have to be VERY careful with your luggages ==' (PS: I did not choose, we got the ticket from the embassy)
I arrived in Japan on Friday morning (around 8am). Me and the other two guys went to get different buses. On the bus to Tsukuba I met Nadiia, a girl from Kiev (Ukraine) who won the same scholarship as me. She actually lived in Japan 8 years (until 16 y.o.) because her father is a biologist and he was sent to Tsukuba for research. In fact, she chose Tsukuba on purpose because she used to live there. It goes without saying that her Japanese is VERY good! 8D
In Tsukuba we were sent to our dormitories on taxis. Me, Nadiia and a guy from Malaysia were in the same dormitory (different buildings though) XD There we met 3 volunteers who helped us with the first procedures. I was very lucky, because my volunteer was Kousuke, a Japanese student (you'll find out shortly why I was lucky).
We got the keys and went to our rooms. My building (well, most of the Hirasuna dormitory ones) looked quite old and dirty, and... well, it was. The corridors are quite dim and the doors somehow make the place look similar to a jail... The toilet, kitchen, laundry room are shared. The toilet is only Eastern style and, even though it's not dirty, it doesn't look too clean either. There's no bathroom inside the building. To take a bath you have to go to the common building (where the dining hall is), and by the way, there's no shower, and it's not open 24/7 (I think only in the evening).
The room is not too small, actually, but not very beautiful. You have a bed, a table, a chair and a sink with a small mirror. The sink only produces cold water, and there aren't better sinks in the toilet. There's no air conditioner (but there's a heater), and the window has no curtains (if you want them you have to buy them yourself).
In short, I kind of felt dejected as soon as I entered the room, and told Kousuke that I would be looking for an apartment soon. He told me that the dormitories are notoriously dirty, in fact he also moved out of there after his first year... Also, I later heard that the girls' dorm is even worse than the boys' one ==' He told me that he could help me look for a house, and in the end he also called a friend of his who has a car... You might begin to understand why I said I was lucky XD
We went to the post office (I was told I had to pay the first dormitory fee even if I moved soon, they'd just give me back the extra money later) and then to some real estate agencies to look for a good apartment. After seeing 3-4 rooms from different agencies I decided for one. It's 43000 yen/month, 8 tatami plus kitchen, toilet and bathroom. Actually, there were many 6 tatami rooms for only about 20000 yen/month, but I wanted a big one so that I can keep my mangas and clothes without it being too messy. In the end, it's still a lot cheaper than Tokyo! XD
I won't be describing my house, I'll just post photos when I have some <3 I like it, it was built around 1996 and it's cute. And... I only found this out later, but... it's 2 minutes on foot from Tsukuba's Big Echo!!!! *_______* This is destiny U____U
I started the contract (I still needed my student ID card and the guarantor), then we ate some good ramen behind the agency and they took me back to the dormitory. They also told me that there was a welcome party for the foreign students (the ones that came before us too) in the evening, and I thought I'd just go, since one of my objectives is to make friends! XD
In the evening we went to this "party" (well, it was basically people gathering under one of the university buildings and chatting XD) and I met a lot of people from different countries! I managed to remember the names of at least 20 persons @_@ After that me and 2 other guys, Kouji (Jp) and Igmar (Mexico) (no one else wanted to/could come Y_Y) went to karaoke *_* It was past midnight, so it cost more, but it's very cheap during the day! I don't remember exactly, but the freetime (yes, there's freetime until 8pm *ç*) is about 600-700 with drink bar included, members card and student discount *ç*ç* We sang 2 hours and then I asked Kouji to drop me by the Cybex (internet/games place) because I wanted to at least write "I'm all right". I went back home at around 4am, by myself 8D There's no mongen or anything in the dorm, so you can come back whenever you want (this is one of the few good things, lol).
It's funny, because I was so excited that I wasn't tired at all! XD; Despite being just arrived in the morning *_*; Maybe I didn't suffer from jet lag because I still had Japanese time in my head, lol.
The following day I went to visit Tsukuba Center (which is basically the central part of Tsukuba, where the station and department stores are) to see what was there. I was very happy to find out about the depaato, which are very useful and have a bit of everything!
In the evening I met with Sanja, a guy from Mongolia I got to know the day before. Actually, I'm pretty sure that he was trying to hit on me, despite him saying that he has a girlfriend in Milan... I don't know if really does (I hope not, I would feel bad for her), but anyway, I was not interested, and I think it was quite evident *_* XDDD Anyway, I was fine with chatting, but he looked quite dejected in the end, lol. (Some of you might know that I can be quite mean at times, even without doing nothing special U_U)
On Sunday I went to Tsukuba Center again because I only looked at the department stores and I wanted to take a closer look at the shops themselves. I found nice supermarkets, import food shops, clothes (even though Ito Yokado is better for those... But there's one in Tsuchiura, so I guess I can visit it there!) and restaurants.
I was SO happy, not to mention surprised, when I found out that there's a Marukame inside Q't *____* Marukame is the restaurant that makes udon in Kameari, inside Ario. The one where we always eat kamatama udon. This means that I can still eat kamatama udon in Tsukuba *_______*Again, it's destiny @T_T@
I walked quite a lot, I went to see Tsutaya too and Ishimaru Denki. Tsutaya is not too big and doesn't have as many manga as the one in Kameari, but I guess it can't be helped. In the end I'll probably be mostly visiting Ikebukuro's Animate for those ones, every once in a while (though there is a Book Off in Tsukuba *_* I'll just wait until I get a bike, because it's a bit far from here)
I found out that there's a Movix cinema too in a big department store near the main city, but I'll wait for the bike for that too. I mean, there are buses, but I don't want to spend if I can go by bike U_Uv
Yesterday we had our orientation, where they explained us a few things and also made us fill out all the application forms for the bank account, the alien registration card, health insurance and so on. This took about 2 hours... *_*;
In the evening I went to a "conversation club" created for foreign and Japanese students to meet and just chat together randomly XD (You might think that I'm being excessively social, and indeed I am, but I want to get the *very* best out of this one-year stay, so I decided to take advantage of all the chances I get to meet people, make friends and learn things) It was very enjoyable, and after that 17 of us went to have dinner in Big Boy, a kind of family restaurant where you can also eat very good steaks *ç*
Some of us went home earlier, some later. In the end the last ones to stay were me and two Japanese guys, Hiro (the one who created and organizes the conversation club) and Nori. I don't know why, but it's the third time that I end up alone with two guys... (not to mention, different ones every time...) *_*; LOL. Anyway, I met new people once again and we had lots of fun chatting XD One day I'll go to karaoke with Hiro and Nori! *_* They also told me that considering my Japanese level I should actually take advantage of my student visa and try shuukatsu (shuushoku katsudou, aka looking for a job), since Japanese students will do it starting from November O_o They say that if someone takes me in I'd be starting to work in 2011 Spring, so it would actually be interesting, since I will graduate in November next year... Hmmm, I must seriously think about this!
By the way, contrarily to Italy, in Japan they don't hire you because of what you can do at the moment (and because you have a degree), but based on your aptitude and skills. They then teach you the job themselves. So basically, if someone thinks that I'm worth hiring... @_@
Today me and some of the other Monbusho guys met with our teacher in charge, Paku-sensei (yes she's actually Korean XD). She seems nice! She explained us a few more things and then we went to the city hall to get our health insurance card and a copy of our alien registration certificate (while we wait for the actual card). They will now open our bank account (which will probably be ready on Monday... I needed it within Saturday to get a cellphone, but oh well -_-''') and then we will ALMOST be done with all the formalities @_@ My apartment contract is almost done too! XD;
Tomorrow morning we will have our first Japanese placement test! It shouldn't be hard, because it's mostly to decide if any of us needs the intensive course. Also, I think it's done with a computer, so no kanji to write *_*
All in all, I'm having lots of fun so far. The city, the university, the people I met are very nice! After chatting so much I already feel that my Japanese has improved since when I got here on Friday, which was only a few days ago, so I'm totally looking forward to what I can learn and do during this year!
Anyway, don't worry, I wrote so much because I'm very excited about everything, but I don't think I'll do this too often 8D; Also, I will be able to connect from the dorm until the 13th, but then I'll have to wait until Flets installs internet in my room (dunno how long it takes, I'm used to Italy, but it might be a lot less... XD;)
See ya! 8D
This said. I still hadn't written it here, but yeah, in the end I did win the scholarship (as did two other Italian guys, one from Torino univ. and a classmate of mine from Venezia univ.). I was sent to Tsukuba, they were sent to - respectively - Hirosaki (near Aomori) and Saitama.
The first thing I thought was "...Ugh why not Tokyo???", but then I heard about Hirosaki and I decided that I was lucky, since Tsukuba is only less than 1 hour from Tokyo (thanks to the Tsukuba Express that goes to Akihabara). I also found out that it's the same university where the interpreter I know spent his scholarship-funded year about 10 years ago, and he told me that it's a great place with a very good university and cool people, so I rejoiced a bit.
After a busy September (with payments, shippings, various illnesses, 6 days in Italy to prepare everything for the trip), I finally arrived in Tsukuba on Friday morning.
Thursday I found out that JAL is way better than Lufthansa. I'm not talking about the airplanes themselves, it's just the "service". To be quick: I had to pay 70€ because I had 3 hand luggages (only 2 were allowed, as I found out) and they obliged me to stuff one of them in my big luggage, so it ended up weighing about 26kg and they made me pay "only" 2 (dunno, I guess I should be thankful, but still -_-).
Things got better from Frankfurt, since because of some mistake by the company we (and many other passengers) were sent to business class instead of economy XDDD The seats were very comfortable, and I liked that you could choose between 100 full CDs (of various music) to listen too. The food was also quite good. The only thing I didn't like was the movie choice (I prefer JAL) and the fact that Lufthansa is not as Japan-oriented as JAL (though that's only natural, since it's a German company *_*;), so the music too was mostly western.
Anyway, a notice to all of you Italians: if you're thinking about trying anything but JAL to fly to Japan, well, just consider that if you choose Lufthansa you will have to be VERY careful with your luggages ==' (PS: I did not choose, we got the ticket from the embassy)
I arrived in Japan on Friday morning (around 8am). Me and the other two guys went to get different buses. On the bus to Tsukuba I met Nadiia, a girl from Kiev (Ukraine) who won the same scholarship as me. She actually lived in Japan 8 years (until 16 y.o.) because her father is a biologist and he was sent to Tsukuba for research. In fact, she chose Tsukuba on purpose because she used to live there. It goes without saying that her Japanese is VERY good! 8D
In Tsukuba we were sent to our dormitories on taxis. Me, Nadiia and a guy from Malaysia were in the same dormitory (different buildings though) XD There we met 3 volunteers who helped us with the first procedures. I was very lucky, because my volunteer was Kousuke, a Japanese student (you'll find out shortly why I was lucky).
We got the keys and went to our rooms. My building (well, most of the Hirasuna dormitory ones) looked quite old and dirty, and... well, it was. The corridors are quite dim and the doors somehow make the place look similar to a jail... The toilet, kitchen, laundry room are shared. The toilet is only Eastern style and, even though it's not dirty, it doesn't look too clean either. There's no bathroom inside the building. To take a bath you have to go to the common building (where the dining hall is), and by the way, there's no shower, and it's not open 24/7 (I think only in the evening).
The room is not too small, actually, but not very beautiful. You have a bed, a table, a chair and a sink with a small mirror. The sink only produces cold water, and there aren't better sinks in the toilet. There's no air conditioner (but there's a heater), and the window has no curtains (if you want them you have to buy them yourself).
In short, I kind of felt dejected as soon as I entered the room, and told Kousuke that I would be looking for an apartment soon. He told me that the dormitories are notoriously dirty, in fact he also moved out of there after his first year... Also, I later heard that the girls' dorm is even worse than the boys' one ==' He told me that he could help me look for a house, and in the end he also called a friend of his who has a car... You might begin to understand why I said I was lucky XD
We went to the post office (I was told I had to pay the first dormitory fee even if I moved soon, they'd just give me back the extra money later) and then to some real estate agencies to look for a good apartment. After seeing 3-4 rooms from different agencies I decided for one. It's 43000 yen/month, 8 tatami plus kitchen, toilet and bathroom. Actually, there were many 6 tatami rooms for only about 20000 yen/month, but I wanted a big one so that I can keep my mangas and clothes without it being too messy. In the end, it's still a lot cheaper than Tokyo! XD
I won't be describing my house, I'll just post photos when I have some <3 I like it, it was built around 1996 and it's cute. And... I only found this out later, but... it's 2 minutes on foot from Tsukuba's Big Echo!!!! *_______* This is destiny U____U
I started the contract (I still needed my student ID card and the guarantor), then we ate some good ramen behind the agency and they took me back to the dormitory. They also told me that there was a welcome party for the foreign students (the ones that came before us too) in the evening, and I thought I'd just go, since one of my objectives is to make friends! XD
In the evening we went to this "party" (well, it was basically people gathering under one of the university buildings and chatting XD) and I met a lot of people from different countries! I managed to remember the names of at least 20 persons @_@ After that me and 2 other guys, Kouji (Jp) and Igmar (Mexico) (no one else wanted to/could come Y_Y) went to karaoke *_* It was past midnight, so it cost more, but it's very cheap during the day! I don't remember exactly, but the freetime (yes, there's freetime until 8pm *ç*) is about 600-700 with drink bar included, members card and student discount *ç*ç* We sang 2 hours and then I asked Kouji to drop me by the Cybex (internet/games place) because I wanted to at least write "I'm all right". I went back home at around 4am, by myself 8D There's no mongen or anything in the dorm, so you can come back whenever you want (this is one of the few good things, lol).
It's funny, because I was so excited that I wasn't tired at all! XD; Despite being just arrived in the morning *_*; Maybe I didn't suffer from jet lag because I still had Japanese time in my head, lol.
The following day I went to visit Tsukuba Center (which is basically the central part of Tsukuba, where the station and department stores are) to see what was there. I was very happy to find out about the depaato, which are very useful and have a bit of everything!
In the evening I met with Sanja, a guy from Mongolia I got to know the day before. Actually, I'm pretty sure that he was trying to hit on me, despite him saying that he has a girlfriend in Milan... I don't know if really does (I hope not, I would feel bad for her), but anyway, I was not interested, and I think it was quite evident *_* XDDD Anyway, I was fine with chatting, but he looked quite dejected in the end, lol. (Some of you might know that I can be quite mean at times, even without doing nothing special U_U)
On Sunday I went to Tsukuba Center again because I only looked at the department stores and I wanted to take a closer look at the shops themselves. I found nice supermarkets, import food shops, clothes (even though Ito Yokado is better for those... But there's one in Tsuchiura, so I guess I can visit it there!) and restaurants.
I was SO happy, not to mention surprised, when I found out that there's a Marukame inside Q't *____* Marukame is the restaurant that makes udon in Kameari, inside Ario. The one where we always eat kamatama udon. This means that I can still eat kamatama udon in Tsukuba *_______*Again, it's destiny @T_T@
I walked quite a lot, I went to see Tsutaya too and Ishimaru Denki. Tsutaya is not too big and doesn't have as many manga as the one in Kameari, but I guess it can't be helped. In the end I'll probably be mostly visiting Ikebukuro's Animate for those ones, every once in a while (though there is a Book Off in Tsukuba *_* I'll just wait until I get a bike, because it's a bit far from here)
I found out that there's a Movix cinema too in a big department store near the main city, but I'll wait for the bike for that too. I mean, there are buses, but I don't want to spend if I can go by bike U_Uv
Yesterday we had our orientation, where they explained us a few things and also made us fill out all the application forms for the bank account, the alien registration card, health insurance and so on. This took about 2 hours... *_*;
In the evening I went to a "conversation club" created for foreign and Japanese students to meet and just chat together randomly XD (You might think that I'm being excessively social, and indeed I am, but I want to get the *very* best out of this one-year stay, so I decided to take advantage of all the chances I get to meet people, make friends and learn things) It was very enjoyable, and after that 17 of us went to have dinner in Big Boy, a kind of family restaurant where you can also eat very good steaks *ç*
Some of us went home earlier, some later. In the end the last ones to stay were me and two Japanese guys, Hiro (the one who created and organizes the conversation club) and Nori. I don't know why, but it's the third time that I end up alone with two guys... (not to mention, different ones every time...) *_*; LOL. Anyway, I met new people once again and we had lots of fun chatting XD One day I'll go to karaoke with Hiro and Nori! *_* They also told me that considering my Japanese level I should actually take advantage of my student visa and try shuukatsu (shuushoku katsudou, aka looking for a job), since Japanese students will do it starting from November O_o They say that if someone takes me in I'd be starting to work in 2011 Spring, so it would actually be interesting, since I will graduate in November next year... Hmmm, I must seriously think about this!
By the way, contrarily to Italy, in Japan they don't hire you because of what you can do at the moment (and because you have a degree), but based on your aptitude and skills. They then teach you the job themselves. So basically, if someone thinks that I'm worth hiring... @_@
Today me and some of the other Monbusho guys met with our teacher in charge, Paku-sensei (yes she's actually Korean XD). She seems nice! She explained us a few more things and then we went to the city hall to get our health insurance card and a copy of our alien registration certificate (while we wait for the actual card). They will now open our bank account (which will probably be ready on Monday... I needed it within Saturday to get a cellphone, but oh well -_-''') and then we will ALMOST be done with all the formalities @_@ My apartment contract is almost done too! XD;
Tomorrow morning we will have our first Japanese placement test! It shouldn't be hard, because it's mostly to decide if any of us needs the intensive course. Also, I think it's done with a computer, so no kanji to write *_*
All in all, I'm having lots of fun so far. The city, the university, the people I met are very nice! After chatting so much I already feel that my Japanese has improved since when I got here on Friday, which was only a few days ago, so I'm totally looking forward to what I can learn and do during this year!
Anyway, don't worry, I wrote so much because I'm very excited about everything, but I don't think I'll do this too often 8D; Also, I will be able to connect from the dorm until the 13th, but then I'll have to wait until Flets installs internet in my room (dunno how long it takes, I'm used to Italy, but it might be a lot less... XD;)
See ya! 8D