Long letters from the future
Well this is going to be a long post. Right now I'm on the internet in my lab, so I'll probably post pics more consistently. BTW, if you click on the individual pics, I put comments on most of them, so don't click the stupid slide show.
Fri, Apr. 1 - UC orientation at some coffee shop (which has some of the best orange juice I've ever tasted), then left on the shinkansen(bullet train) for Sendai. Sendai and Tokyo are about 200 miles apart, but the train ride was less than 90 minutes. It's fast, but ridiculously expensive, about $90 one way. When the three of us (Fred from UCI, Bill from Cal, me) got to Sendai, it was totally different from what I thought. The train station there is gigantic, about 4 stories total, with lots and lots of floor space. A couple of volunteers from the city of Sendai met us there and took us to our dorm, with our bags waiting for us thankfully intact. Next, we met Olen, a JYPE student (the program I'm in) from Colorado School of Mines. The four of us first left the kaikan (the dorm i'm in) and headed down the street to Family Mart. Family Mart is probably one of the coolest things I've seen in Japan so far. It's basically 7-11 with delicious food and other services that cover everything you would ever need. After that we took the bus downtown and went to the 100-yen shop. The 100-yen shop is basically a department store, where everything is 100-yen. They have clothes, food, silverware, plants, towels, headphones, and a lot more. After that we went Yodabashi Camera, a giant electronics store, and indulged in our geek side a bit. For dinner, I had onigiri(there is a pic of it) and niku-man (another pic). After, I played some Halo with a Swede, another American, and an Australian. Being the only asian there, I naturally won every round by a landslide. Just kidding....
Sat, Apr. 2 - This day was key. After eating pancakes graciously cooked by Olen, the other UC guys and I went to the "Treasure Trove." There are these giant dumps, really more like permanent storage, where anyone and everyone throws stuff they can't use or take back home with them. I got a TV, VCR, Rice Cooker, Microwave, Rugs, and even an abstract painting. Later, we all went to "Dosanko Ramen", which was delicious. Then we went downtown again, and bought more stuff.
I had to get passport photos so we went to an arcade with purikura (literally "print club"). That was super awkward, because there were four of us male foreigners in a sea of japanese highschool girls and their boyfriends. I eventually got my photos, and we went back to the dorm. Dinner was gyoza (dumplings).
Sun, Apr.3 - In the morning, Fred and I decided to go to play tennis at the campus courts. We left around 11.30am, took a wrong turn, ended up in downtown (the opposite direction), and finally reached campus at 1.30pm. When we actually got to the courts, there were people using them. Turns out that the courts are usually reserved for the tennis team, except after 5pm. Realizing defeat, we wandered a bit outside the campus. We eventually found ourselves in the Sendai International Center. There is a message board there that has requests for language partners/friends and so on. Both of us put up a request for japanese friends to practice japanese with. So far, I've only gotten one response. After that we somehow found ourselves in downtown again, next to Daiei (giant dept. store), and picked up some free posters for our rooms. Finally, we just took the bus back home. That night we (Fred, Hyun from Korea, Albert from Indonesia, and I) watched Swing Girls, a ridiculous comedy about group of misfits who make a big band. It really is funnier than it sounds.
Mon, Apr. 4 - This day was registration day. The new students (3 UC, 2 others), went to do the foreigner registration, and open a bank account. The Sendai volunteer group, plus some volunteer students at Tohoku University helped us out greatly during this day. For lunch we ate at this restaurant on the 30th floor of a giant dept. store. The student volunteers were pleased that I could speak Japanese, so we became friends more easily. Later that day, I went to get a super-high-tech cell phone, that can pilot an airplane and make minute rice. Unfortunately due to a small rule that I'm not 20 yet (the legal adult age), I had to get my parent's sig on the contract (Fax is unacceptable) to get a cell. So I signed for my parents on the form and went to another cell shop. They were none the wiser.
Tues, Apr. 5 - JYPE Orientation w/ campus tour. This took pretty much all day. Nothing really more to say, except for there was this other JYPE student from Upenn, who happened to have lived in Cupertino for several years. He went to Kennedy Jr. High, but was in the year above me. After orientation, (or orientaring as they say in Japanese-English), We went back to "The Gyoza" for more.........gyoza.
Wed, Apr. 6 - Made friends with this guy from Korea, Chul Ho Kim. He's pretty cool, but he can't speak english very well, so we talk in Japanese. Totally bombed my Japanese placement test due to being half asleep. I found out that I got level 3, which is probably something I've taken at SB, but maybe not. It's out of 5 levels, and after lvl 1, you should be able to get into Japanese 4 at sb. The coolest part of today was after the placement test. I asked some guy outside of the music room how I can join a guitar club or something. He did one better by introducing me to his rock/punk band/club. There are only 5 people in the band, and it's already decided, but after talking with them a bit, they told me I can come watch them practice. They even invited me to a concert on thurs (which is today, as I am typing). The leader also told me that if I might be join the band w/ guitar if someone leaves or is sick, but I can hang out with them. There is also a jazz band, so I might end up joining that instead. Today I also chose a couple classes for normal university students, because I wanted the challenge.
My classes are: Molecular and Cellular Biology (English, with all JYPE students), Fundamentals of Computer Engineering (English, with mostly japanese students), Japanese 3 (English with all JYPE students), "enerugi o kangaeru" or Thinking of energy (Japanese, with all japanese students), Engineering English (Japanese/English, with all Japanese students), and my lab. Even though I'm a native english speaker, Engineering English is about good technical communication. Hopefully, the japanese students will benefit more from the course with an american in the class. Probably a guaranteed A though. "Thinking of energy" is kind of like a freshman seminar about different forms of new energy and what can be done to conserve and develop it.
My lab is soo awesome. It's just a couple of cubicles, but I get to work on next-gen graphics hardware. Another thing I can work on is improved medical imaging, so I'm pretty excited.
Today - Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone stateside is doing well.
Fri, Apr. 1 - UC orientation at some coffee shop (which has some of the best orange juice I've ever tasted), then left on the shinkansen(bullet train) for Sendai. Sendai and Tokyo are about 200 miles apart, but the train ride was less than 90 minutes. It's fast, but ridiculously expensive, about $90 one way. When the three of us (Fred from UCI, Bill from Cal, me) got to Sendai, it was totally different from what I thought. The train station there is gigantic, about 4 stories total, with lots and lots of floor space. A couple of volunteers from the city of Sendai met us there and took us to our dorm, with our bags waiting for us thankfully intact. Next, we met Olen, a JYPE student (the program I'm in) from Colorado School of Mines. The four of us first left the kaikan (the dorm i'm in) and headed down the street to Family Mart. Family Mart is probably one of the coolest things I've seen in Japan so far. It's basically 7-11 with delicious food and other services that cover everything you would ever need. After that we took the bus downtown and went to the 100-yen shop. The 100-yen shop is basically a department store, where everything is 100-yen. They have clothes, food, silverware, plants, towels, headphones, and a lot more. After that we went Yodabashi Camera, a giant electronics store, and indulged in our geek side a bit. For dinner, I had onigiri(there is a pic of it) and niku-man (another pic). After, I played some Halo with a Swede, another American, and an Australian. Being the only asian there, I naturally won every round by a landslide. Just kidding....
Sat, Apr. 2 - This day was key. After eating pancakes graciously cooked by Olen, the other UC guys and I went to the "Treasure Trove." There are these giant dumps, really more like permanent storage, where anyone and everyone throws stuff they can't use or take back home with them. I got a TV, VCR, Rice Cooker, Microwave, Rugs, and even an abstract painting. Later, we all went to "Dosanko Ramen", which was delicious. Then we went downtown again, and bought more stuff.
I had to get passport photos so we went to an arcade with purikura (literally "print club"). That was super awkward, because there were four of us male foreigners in a sea of japanese highschool girls and their boyfriends. I eventually got my photos, and we went back to the dorm. Dinner was gyoza (dumplings).
Sun, Apr.3 - In the morning, Fred and I decided to go to play tennis at the campus courts. We left around 11.30am, took a wrong turn, ended up in downtown (the opposite direction), and finally reached campus at 1.30pm. When we actually got to the courts, there were people using them. Turns out that the courts are usually reserved for the tennis team, except after 5pm. Realizing defeat, we wandered a bit outside the campus. We eventually found ourselves in the Sendai International Center. There is a message board there that has requests for language partners/friends and so on. Both of us put up a request for japanese friends to practice japanese with. So far, I've only gotten one response. After that we somehow found ourselves in downtown again, next to Daiei (giant dept. store), and picked up some free posters for our rooms. Finally, we just took the bus back home. That night we (Fred, Hyun from Korea, Albert from Indonesia, and I) watched Swing Girls, a ridiculous comedy about group of misfits who make a big band. It really is funnier than it sounds.
Mon, Apr. 4 - This day was registration day. The new students (3 UC, 2 others), went to do the foreigner registration, and open a bank account. The Sendai volunteer group, plus some volunteer students at Tohoku University helped us out greatly during this day. For lunch we ate at this restaurant on the 30th floor of a giant dept. store. The student volunteers were pleased that I could speak Japanese, so we became friends more easily. Later that day, I went to get a super-high-tech cell phone, that can pilot an airplane and make minute rice. Unfortunately due to a small rule that I'm not 20 yet (the legal adult age), I had to get my parent's sig on the contract (Fax is unacceptable) to get a cell. So I signed for my parents on the form and went to another cell shop. They were none the wiser.
Tues, Apr. 5 - JYPE Orientation w/ campus tour. This took pretty much all day. Nothing really more to say, except for there was this other JYPE student from Upenn, who happened to have lived in Cupertino for several years. He went to Kennedy Jr. High, but was in the year above me. After orientation, (or orientaring as they say in Japanese-English), We went back to "The Gyoza" for more.........gyoza.
Wed, Apr. 6 - Made friends with this guy from Korea, Chul Ho Kim. He's pretty cool, but he can't speak english very well, so we talk in Japanese. Totally bombed my Japanese placement test due to being half asleep. I found out that I got level 3, which is probably something I've taken at SB, but maybe not. It's out of 5 levels, and after lvl 1, you should be able to get into Japanese 4 at sb. The coolest part of today was after the placement test. I asked some guy outside of the music room how I can join a guitar club or something. He did one better by introducing me to his rock/punk band/club. There are only 5 people in the band, and it's already decided, but after talking with them a bit, they told me I can come watch them practice. They even invited me to a concert on thurs (which is today, as I am typing). The leader also told me that if I might be join the band w/ guitar if someone leaves or is sick, but I can hang out with them. There is also a jazz band, so I might end up joining that instead. Today I also chose a couple classes for normal university students, because I wanted the challenge.
My classes are: Molecular and Cellular Biology (English, with all JYPE students), Fundamentals of Computer Engineering (English, with mostly japanese students), Japanese 3 (English with all JYPE students), "enerugi o kangaeru" or Thinking of energy (Japanese, with all japanese students), Engineering English (Japanese/English, with all Japanese students), and my lab. Even though I'm a native english speaker, Engineering English is about good technical communication. Hopefully, the japanese students will benefit more from the course with an american in the class. Probably a guaranteed A though. "Thinking of energy" is kind of like a freshman seminar about different forms of new energy and what can be done to conserve and develop it.
My lab is soo awesome. It's just a couple of cubicles, but I get to work on next-gen graphics hardware. Another thing I can work on is improved medical imaging, so I'm pretty excited.
Today - Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone stateside is doing well.
posted by Shyam at
12:24 AM
2 comments
I'm doing well...and I'm glad you're havin' a blast...btw...how much do these new fangled cell phones cost (in $) and shall I assume they are compatible with the system here??
By
Neal N. Oza, at 4/11/2005 2:25 AM
hey shyam- glad to hear you are doing well. im looking forward to reading about all of your adventures. what school are you at? i'd like to see if any of my japanese friends are going there. also, if you are ever in chiba (particularly kashiwa) and need a guide, i think my host family would be hang. take care of yourself.
By
Anonymous, at 4/11/2005 11:15 PM
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