Adventures in Foreignland

Listening to: Valerie by Amy Winehouse
Currently drinking: nothing but I did have a beautiful Hotto Mocha Ratte this morning at Yeast Paradise :)

Some things just take getting used to in Japan. Today was a day full of adventures and new experiences. Not the romanticized, exciting experiences one thinks about when traveling to a foreign country, but the day to day activities that one just expects to be the same anywhere you go. To give you an example, I have had this cold for the past couple of weeks, and have put off finding medicine out of fear of buying something completely wrong/harmful. I finally built up the courage (with the help of the lovely Catherine) to step past the threshold of the daunting Japanese pharmacist, and found that everything, although in a different language, was relatively easy to navigate. I went up to the clerk and asked her, in very sketchy Japanese, whether or not the box was meant for sore throats and colds. She gave me the nod, so I felt reasonably secure in the investment. Another scary purchase I had to make was of the feminine hygiene sort. If you're squeamish or don't like hearing about female problems, you should probably stop reading at this point. Here is something I learned: Japan has very few options for tampon purchases. Before heading out, I tried to do a little research (aka asking one of the sempai's about said products), and found, to my utter horror, that tampons are pretty much as rare as gold here. Thankfully, the same drugstore that had the insane cough medicine that I bought, also had a small selection of beautifully convenient tampons.

Both of these purchases added up to about $20.00...eek!

I got home and tried the cold medicine, it tasted nasty and you had to gargle it before you swallowed, but my cough has gotten slightly better. You are supposed to take it three times a day, so I will keep you posted on how the medicine works. Aside from daily conveniences, I've also been trying lots of new foods. I told you about how I recently tried barbecued eel, and today I got my hands on some typical Japanese sushi.

Waiting for our food

I tried salmon, be proud of me!!

Some of our plates (they were stacked a lot higher
when we finished)

It really is a strange phenomenon feeling proud of yourself for buying the right cough medicine, or finding tampons at your local convenience store. Small things have started to become very satisfying and self-fulfilling (I actually got on Skype and bragged to Captain about my purchases). Being here has made me feel a melting pot of emotions, both wonderful and depressing, but things, for now, have really started to take a turn for the positive. I must credit Miss Wood with her wonderful, positive attitude, and her helpful stories about former times abroad. I also absolutely have to thank my parents who have been my solid ground these past couple of weeks, they are truly amazing people, and have helped me to make so many important decisions in my life.

Goodnight and lattes of love :)

Party on, party off

Listening to: My Whole Life by Ginuwine

Currently drinking: Cafe Mocha at Yeast Paradise

Now I understand why most people's blogs about going to Japan talk about partying so much....it's just so hard not to. More and more I've been doing my own thing during the daytime (I can now order food in Japanese which is a big plus), but I get home at night and it's always one big party, or, "do you want to party?" I really don't know how much I like it. 

I thought that running would be enough for me. I love to do it everyday and it helps me focus a lot on what's wrong, it has always been my kind of emotional catharsis, but somehow it hasn't been. I think I need a new outlet. Blogging definitely helps, but that can only go so far. So, what to do? I don't think I know enough of the land just yet to go off on my own longer adventures, and I'm not really confident enough to join any local clubs (although I am still waiting to hear back from that frisbee club ). I'm regretting not bringing my ice skates a little. Yes, the closest rink is an hour away by train and bus, but that's how everything is around here, so, relatively, it's not that much of a trek. I would love some suggestions, so please feel free to post below :) For me especially it's so easy to want to be drunk: I'm in a foreign country, sans Pirate, don't know the language very well, surrounded by lots of booze, and people that love to party. Each morning I've woken up feeling increasingly haggard, and it just feels, I dunno, nasty. I've started not to like myself, or at least not like how I've handled being abroad so far. I think it would be stupid if I promise myself that I won't drink at all, it's fun and enjoyable when you don't go overboard, but I am going to try and party less. Maybe once a week instead of once a night... so, you heard it people, now I'm accountable to the wide webs  of the internets, hopefully I can keep my vow. 

Alrighty well, that's all I have for now. School starts next week, so I'm sure I will have a bunch of new posts on what school life is like in Japan. Anyway, be good, be bad, be yourself, and love you lattes <3

I can has computer!!

Listening to: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve

Currently drinking: .....nothing (wah wahhh)

Mmmm I love sitting here in the tatame room, on my new Mac Air, uploading awesome pictures from our shopping adventure today :) 

Ok, so these soft serve ice-cream things are really cool, they give you a cup full of whatever flavor you want and then you go to a machine and it presses the ice-cream into the cone!

We passed this high school band playing on the street and they were really good, but I wish we could have listened longer :(

Then we moved on to a couple of Lolita shops to look at all the amazingly expensive clothes....

I don't think we were supposed to take pictures,
but I did anyway...

I was so hungry that I forced everyone to go to lunch early, but didn't realize that it was an eel only shop, so I had to go find something else while everybody sat and ate :( 

I tried eel...I didn't like it X(

Hipster glasses are getting pretty popular here now too...

We going to be hipsters in Japan

 Then we finally got to the shrine in Osu, it was really, incredibly beautiful.

At the shrine in Osu Kannon

Inside part of the shrine, we didn't go to the bigger part, but it was super busy anyway.

Coffee in Osu Kannon

Soooo beautifurrr :)

The stores here were really cool :)

I love the Engrish here lol

Okee dokee, that's all for now :)

Lalalalalalalalattes of LOVE!

Baby steps

Listening to: Rocketeer cover by Ukelele Girl
Currently drinking: Starbucks double mocha

You know, sometimes it`s great to have a day to yourself. I love being with people, but I guess I`m just used to having time alone. Me, a good book, and some coffee....love it. It`s weird being in a dorm (I never had to at Western because I transfered from community college halfway through the year), and I guess I just have to get used to it. Don`t get me wrong, I love everyone in the house, but I think I must be implicitly an introvert.　Today was actually the first day I walked around town on my own. It was so....freeing. I didn`t feel like I depended on someone showing/telling me where to go, and I could wander about as I pleased. Obviously, I made my way to the local Starbucks where they still make my favorite drink (double short mocha), and it just felt, I don`t know, good. It`s almost like when you first get to a foreign country, you are comparable to an infant or a toddler, and the first time you explore in your own, you are taking your first steps towards some semblance of adulthood.

On a different note, many of the housemates are still leaving becasue their schools have recalled them (even though Nagoya is safe). One of them I have grown pretty close to due to our love of going to the gym and poetry, and I am going to miss him very much. So, Wyndon, this is your shout out :) Always keep being awesome, and know that you are a great person and an inspiration!



From left to right: Brandon, Wyndon, and Michelle


The past couple of days have been filled with a lot of fun things, as well as mandatory things that make sure I get to stay in the country (haha):


One of the RA`s Mai-chan



In front of the post office signing up for a mailbox
and bank account

 I finally finished my alien registration stuff yesterday (you are supposed to do it within ten days of arriving in the country and I was on the seventh day...), so YAY I am no longer illegal, just an alien :) I also found out what Japanese class I will be taking to go along with my culture classes; I`m in the beginning of the beginners, but that`s ok, I`d rather work my way up and take it slow than be in a class that went too fast for me.

As for fun stuff... well, I`ll just post a video that I took at the arcade we went to last night ;)

The point of the game was to throw as many balls at the screen as you possibly can. Warning: this game is not good for hyper competitive people who get too excited about arbitrary competition. Other things at the arcade were: really advanced guitar hero, lots and lots of toy grabbing machines (aka money pits), virtual horse racing, and purikura!!!! These things are super addicting, vain people beware.

That`s all for now <3
Stay awesome and love you lattes!

Instant coffee

Listening to: Leaving on a Jet Plane cover by Chantal Kreviazuk
Currently drinking: Nescafe Instant Mocha


Since I was in such a rush yesterday, I feel like I really didn't get to share much of my experience here with you guys. The city here is definitely much bigger than Bellingham; I would equate it to maybe Chicago. It is the nation's largest industrial city and it's incredible! They have ferris wheels growing out of buildings:

The line for this was so long!

The main shopping center is amazing. A lot of the shops downtown are American like: Coach, Adidas, Apple, etc.. but the local stores are usually in the subway stations; they're generally a lot cheaper and have some pretty interesting stuff. Yesterday, some of the girls needed to get their computers fixed at Apple (they had to make appointments to get in!) so we decided to make it a girls day and walk around:

The store had clear stairs! Watch out for perverts...

The bus transport system here is truly amazing.

Being from the Seattle area, I'm not really used to cities being so bustling. Yes, there are people walking around in a rush, and yes, there are long lines of traffic, but it's on a whole new level here. It's probably amplified by the fact that I tend to be one of two blond girls in a sea of black, and shades of brown, hair. I also tend to be one of the taller people, so I definitely stand out. I really like the downtown area, but I'm also really glad that I live in the more rural part. It's still pretty busy here, being close to a lot of the universities, and there are lots of things to do, like, getting coffee:

This mocha was soooooo good!

Study session <3

I've also started night running again. Don't worry, I go with one of my guy friends and we stick to the main roads. It's funny because a lot of people around Japan actually run at night, so I don't feel too weird, but it's great to get all the strange looks from people at the "crazy foreigner" running around at night in the rain. The first day was really hard, I had to stop after ten minutes because my stomach hurt like crazy, but the second day was much, much better and I hope that I can keep going and get back up to my normal schedule. I've also been eating lots of good food:

Croissant, melon puff, lil' smoky thing, lemon ball,
 and something I haven't tried yet...

I'm sorry I have to cut this post short, I have to go get my electronic dictionary today, but here's a link to my picasa so you can check out more of my adventures!

Missing you Lattes!

Taking it all in

Listening to: Rodrigo Y Gabriella by Rodrigo Y Gabriella
Currently drinking: Water, but I did have some AMAZING coffee and chocolate croissants earlier today at Yeast Paradise...

Ahhh...just got back from getting my Japanese cell phone today (decorated in all the kawaii Hello Kitty stuff), now "relaxing" with friends. It actually really isn`t relaxing because I haven`t had a chance to calm down since I arrived, but everything has been wonderful so far. Yesterday we went to Nagoya Castle and then ran around the shopping center at the main subway station. I put pictures up on my facebook account, but I am borrowing someone else`s computer right now so you will have to wait until later to see pictures (or just check out my facebook). It was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was beautiful. It`s spring so the cherry blossoms are beginning, and it makes me feel like, even in the midst of all this turmoil and devastation, life still begins anew. It`s amazing to me how such delicate little plants wither and fall off every winter, yet as the sun begins to shine, new little buds begin to form and life battles against all odds. I`m probably just way too sentimental and see signs in every little thing, but maybe...just maybe. Anyway, the most interesting part about my trip so far was probably the plane flight, so you can hear that story.

It took about 15 hours of pure torturous travel time, but I made it. The worst part was probably on the flight from San Francisco to Tokyo...I am not good with turbulence (let me tell you that). My emotions from the flight went from mild anxiety to practically hysterics and then just sunk back into depression. Oh, and I watched Hereafter which has a tsunami in the first scene, I must be stupid :( Ugh, anyway, after I landed in Tokyo I had about an hour before my last flight to Chubu and the airport just haaad to lose my baggage. Thankfully they found it and I went through the final gates to Nagoya. On a side note, I got kind of lost in the airport and ran into the main ticketing area and things were crazy! Everyone was trying to fly out of Japan, and the lines weren't all nice and passive like the news was portraying them to be, so please don't always believe the media hype! After getting off the plane in Nagoya, I had to find my way from the airport to the school. The route went like this: train to subway, subway to subway station (14 stops later, trust me it`s long when you have been on a plane for 14 hours and you have to stand the whole time), and finally taxi from the station to the dorm. I wouldn`t have made it had it not been for this wonderful Japanese girl who helped me find/grab a taxi and told him where to go for me as I stood there trying not to pass out. I plan on drawing out a map later. Alrighty well, I`m gonna go play with my new phone, you can send me an email if you want my phone number, I love phone calls/attention/love :)

Goodnight and love you lattes <3

The final countdown

Listening to: The Final Countdown by Europe (what else?)
Currently drinking: Airplane terminal Starbucks Double Mocha


Here I am, sitting in the terminal at SFO, knees shaking, stomach doing some incredible acrobatic tricks, sitting on the computer and waiting to depart on my journey to Nagoya. I am one of three people in the terminal so far (wonder why), and it doesn't look like many more will show up. I woke up this morning in almost a dread panic, and then at the terminal, I kept thinking to myself , "Am I really doing this?" "Why am I doing this?" "Maybe I should go home and snuggle with my puppy..." For some reason I still got on the plane. Maybe it's because I feel like if I keep living my life in fear, I won't ever really live at all, or maybe I'm just an idiot who didn't know what else to do but follow the line. Hmm ok there was just an airport security threat level orange, so I'm hoping I don't just blow up in the airport or something...I'll let you know how it goes :/

For now I'll tell you about the weekend:

So much has happened this week, both on a personal and international level. Friday, Japan had its second largest disaster in recorded history. The earthquake and tsunami have left thousands devastated, and now they are facing complete nuclear failure at the plant in Fukushima. After I got the news I seriously considered dropping the trip entirely (actually I'm still considering it, so we"ll see if I get on the plane). The rest of the weekend I spent studying, worrying, contemplating, and throwing a fantastic goodbye party.

Hayley and I at the "photobooth"

Ultimate frisbee peeps

I woke up from the goodbye party with a "mild" hangover (not as bad as the Twins' 21st bash). After several hours of recovery, and a lot more MSNBC reading, I decided to study finals a little more. It was in between the studying that I started getting nauseous, like seriously nauseous, and I really started freaking out. Thankfully MW was there to remind me that it's easier to get things done if you take them one step at a time, so, homework first, then freak out. Monday was finals day and it went by quickly. Both finals were relatively easy and I found myself nearly skipping off campus to get home and get ready for my last day of Spring League, which was so fun and I will miss all my wonderful ulti folks! Tuesday morning I spent saying goodbye to Captain (yes that's the Pirate's real name, I'm not very creative when coming up with nicknames). We met up with his mom and little sister for breakfast,  and then said our farewells. I won't go into the mushy, crying details, but I will say that I will miss him very, very much. I drove home that night and finished last minute errands and talked with my parents for a while. Trying to sleep was...difficult to say the least, but thankfully I had the cuddly Lord Winston by my side to make sure I got at least two hours. And now here I am...nothing has happened so far, but I don't want to jinx myself and the rest of the airport. I will be flying on a giant 747, trying not to sleep and drink lots of water to reduce jet lag, but I'm not sure if I can make it. I'm really exhausted. Maybe I should just fly to China...

<3 you lattes

Earthquake 3-11-2011

My heart goes out to everyone in Japan who have been affected, or have family that were affected, by the earthquake and following tsunami. According to the US Embassy, the quake reached a magnitude of 8.9, and aftershocks will continue to happen for the next couple of weeks. The US Warden has issued a travel alert for all US citizens going to Japan, so I don't know what will happen with my plans to study abroad, but for now I am hoping and praying that everyone will remain safe and/or find a safe place to be in light of the situation. I have posted news footage of the destruction below, but please DO NOT watch if you will feel offended or need some time. I also plan on keeping people updated about the nuclear reactor situation as much as possible, please send your best wishes to the hardworking people trying to keep any leaks under control!

Six days and counting

Listening to: You Make Me Feel So Young by Frank Sinatra
Currently drinking: Enough coffee to make an elephant have to pee... umm be right back

Whew! Happy Thursday everyone, I hope you all had a fun, safe Mardi Gras :) Mine consisted of the Pirate and I staying in, eating salad, and watching the Devil Wears Prada; I kid you not when I tell you it wasn't my idea. I guess I needed a break though, after last weekend...

That Starbucks was SO BUSY!

Hey! They spelled my name right!

This week has been spent finishing school projects/studying, finalizing packing, and getting everything I don't need out of the house or put into storage. Yesterday, I sent the final draft of my essay to This I Believe (if you want to submit an essay to be posted on their website, it needs to be 500 words or fewer). I admit, I am a little excited; I've never had anything published before, sooooo it would be kind of cool to see one of my pieces in a legitimate book or on a national website. Anyway, other than that I had my final "recital" for ballet which was, for lack of a better word, AWESOME. Let's just say, the teacher had to take about thirty seconds to calm down after our performance before the next group could go on...you know whatever ;) I also finally received word from the Consulate of Japan that my Visa was done and that I could come get it anytime. I have no idea why I didn't just FedEx it to my house, it would have saved me about thirty dollars in gas and a whole lot of headache, but it doesn't matter; I finally have it. Woo! Plus, making the trek down to Seattle meant that I got to see one of my good frisbee friends, who I otherwise would not have been able to see before I left.

We were outside...

but then it got cold so we went inside.

Since it's nearing the end of the week and I will be spending the rest of my time here studying for finals, throwing a giant going away bash, and just plain being awesome, I figure I may as well post some of my favorite photos of Bellingham and surrounding areas. I will try to post before I takeoff, or maybe in the airport, so lattes of <3 until then!

Twin boats at the dock in Anacortes

View from the cabin at John's Island (the Pirate's family cabin)

The Pirate enjoying some chilly March sun

Ballet

Fragrance Lake woods. I loved the lighting :)

Miss Wood being ridiculously cool, obviously!

What I actually do in class...

Listening to: New Age Girl by Dead Eye Dick
Currently drinking: Double Tall Mocha from the Underground Coffeehouse at WWU

Today I thought I'd let show everyone how I spend my time during classes :)

Try again

Try harder

Oh otter, you so evil!

The beginning of a beautiful friendship

Just creepy

<3

I have a thing for robots I guess

Inspired by Jesse's bunny

Love monster

Hopefully you won't judge me too hard now that you know what I actually do in class! Later I plan on posting pictures of all my favorite places/things to do during my final week in B'ham, so be on the lookout for that.

~Love you lattes~