Tokyo Game Show

So I went to the Tokyo Game Show this weekend, though it is not exactly in Tokyo (in Chiba, which is another prefecture). It was my first convention/show of any kind and it was pretty fun. Met up with Jamie and two of his friends there and it was nice getting to know a bit about the life of JET, which I was so close to getting.

Let's see, I got to TGS early on Saturday so I decided to stop by the local pro baseball stadium (Chiba Marines, managed by local legend Bobby Valentine, kudos if that made any sense to you). There was a game later that day so there were a bunch of people outside. There was a show/performance of multiple cheer/dance groups, at least that is what I thought it was. Pretty interesting to see, but I didn't actually get to see the game. Something I hope to do sometime in the future. Oh, and you know how people dress up as mascots? There was someone dressed up as a cockroach there, haha. To be fair, he was with someone dressed up as bug spray, but I still though it was hilarious. Pics up later.

Later I met up Jamie and co. What I learned from TGS is that there is a lot of waiting at game conventions. Everyone wants to play the newest games and some lines took almost 2 hours. In fact, I did wait over 100 minutes to play Okamiden. The hottest games were coupon-only and it was impossible to get them. I arrived on Sunday 15 minutes after opening and they were already out of tickets for FFXIII. I'm happy about my souvenirs though, decided to splurge on Square Enix products. =P As for pictures, sadly, you were not allowed to take pictures of the games or live performances. That only leaves the booths and the very popular booth girls. Whenever the girls posed there would be a huge crowd of people surrounding them taking pics. It is actually kind of creepy sometimes as some of these people brought professional quality cameras in order to get pics of the girls.

Hmm... it was nice overall but it was kind of tiring. Not being fluent in Japanese was a minor problem too. Unfortunately, the big shows in the US are not open to the public.

TGS Note

Back from Day 1 (or 3, depending on how you look at it) of TGS (Tokyo Game Show) where I met up with Jamie and his friends. A bit tired now (slept for a total of...13 hours the last 3 days) so I will give a detailed account later. I do have to say that my first convention was pretty nice. I hate getting up early on the weekends though...

Random Things

Found out today that I probably could have gotten internet connection for way cheaper (as in, 50% off) if I did some more research beforehand. Of course, I would have had to apply in Japanese, which I probably can not do, but then again I could have asked for help. For $20 a month, it probably would have been worth it. Oh well.

Also, when I went to pay my rent today at the real estate agents' office, the people there knew who I was and where I lived. I don't know if I should be glad that it was so easy or sad that the only reason they probably remembered me was that I was the foreigner who barely understood Japanese.

Lazy John sita at home, needs help

Well, it is still Silver Week in Japan (one of the two 5 day holidays in Japan) but I have done nothing at all. Mostly because there really isn't anywhere to go (all the other Fulbrighters just moved in or are still in hotels) and traveling alone is not very fun. Wasting away my days like summer, sigh...probably should work on my Japanese more... Anyway, I did catch up with an anime I loved as a kid, Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! (爆走兄弟Let's & Go!!). It took me forever to find a copy of it. Seriously, I have been spending years looking for it. 102 episodes in a little over a week? Way too much time on my hands.

Hmmm...glad US TV shows are starting again so I have something to watch when I eat. Japanese TV is not that interesting right now, though I probably should watch it to improve my language ability. Oh yeah, I really need some help/suggestions for good/easy/relatively cheap cooking recipes. You can only eat curry, fried rice, and bento for so long (not that I am sick of any yet, just that I know I can't eat like this all year).

Orientation Part 3

Well, second day of official orientation and while I had already known about most of the stuff, some things (like getting to know Japanese students, how to use a special language learning fund) were useful. It was nice that they brought in two former Fulbrighters to answer our questions (there was one yesterday as well). Thanks to listening to one of the former Fulbrighters, I an actually considering staying in Japan one extra year after Fulbright and attend a language school to really improve my language capability. Very tentative, but it sounds interesting.

Another thing I learned today was that I was the ONLY Fulbrighter who got off the alternative list. That means I was cutting it veryyyyy close. I am glad they ended up with the money to bring me to Japan. Interestingly, I was the last Fulbrighter to get the grant but the first to arrive in Japan.

Probably the most interesting thing today was the fact that most of the available Fulbrighters went drinking (cheap, all you can drink for 1500 yen) with the executive director of the Japan Fulbright Program. He is a very interesting guy, very nice, albeit sometimes acting a bit weird. He answered a lot of questions for us and honestly, how often do you get the chance to go and drink/hang out with the head of your scholarship/grant? Right now, besides the language issues I am having, it looks like I will be having a pretty good year ahead.

EDIT: One quick question, so one of the people I met yesterday suggested that I contact a prof who my advisor knows. Should I contact his prof by myself or should I actually talk to my advisor first?

Orientation Part 2

First official day of Fulbright Orientation. Woke up at 6:30 AM (have not done this....in quite a while...hate it). The orientation itself was pretty boring, mostly because I had already heard about most of the stuff. Lots of move in stuff that I already completed. In the afternoon, the other fellows went to the bank to cash their first check. Everyone was nervous holding over $5000 in cash on them, haha. I previously had the same experience, only I had over $7000 (3 more weeks pay).

At night, we had a dinner party, with tons of former Fulbrighters and sponsors, at the American Deputy Chief of Mission's house. It was a NICE house, probably worth millions actually. It was huge, lavishly furnished, and in the center of Tokyo. Pretty nice place and the American Ambassador was there as well. I was planning to take a picture with him, but I was unable to personally meet him. I had though about taking a picture with him with a stuffed Cecil as well, but I did not have the guts in the end. Reason for stuffed Cecil, I was planning to take pictures of Cecil all around Japan (inspired by Evan). Of course, I have not been very good at it, but hopefully he/she? will visit some places this year.

Anyway, my advisor was there with his wife and I was stuck with them the whole time. Pros: practiced by (horrible) Japanese all night and got to know them better. Cons: was not able to meet other people and network (which might be good? considering how I fear social networking) and could not speak English all night (others conversed mostly in English). Interesting enough, of the two people I did meet, one was a good friend of Professor Dru Gladney (who I worked for at Pomona) and one was a prof who does a lot of sports TV work (covered 7 Olympics for NBC or something) and documentary stuff. I am wondering about the protocol of contacting these people for information about future jobs. It seems a bit weird to just send them an email asking for help considering all the contact we have is a conversation at a dinner party. Hmmmm....

Well, afterward, most of us went for some karaoke. Not exactly my thing but I decided to stay in order to be sociable. I still can't sing and know no Japanese songs. I realized that I am most comfortable singing Chinese songs since I only Karaoke in Taiwan (and my knowledge of English songs is quite limited). We get to sleep in an extra hour tomorrow, so that is a plus.

Fulbright Orientation

So...I am in Tokyo right now for the Fulbright Orientation. I should have been arriving in Japan around this time like almost everyone else but my university started earlier. The hotel is pretty nice and is paid for the next 4 nights.

Met up with Reed and other Fulbrighers. The group is pretty interesting and most of us went out for dinner together. Everyone seems pretty nice and it seems like we will get along together. I wowed them with my appetite (not intentionally), but I still think Reed beats me in that category. Actual briefing (mostly redundant for me) will begin tomorrow morning and we have a dinner party later that night. Supposedly, the American ambassador to Japan is going to drop by.

Most "frustrating" thing I found out, one of the Fulbright Fellows (Keaton) went to Middlebury for language study this summer. He was in the same boat as I was at first; he got accepted but without financial aid. I decided to reject admission because it was wayyy too expensive for me ($9000 + plane ticket). However, Keaton called the office and asked about his financial aid. They were hesitant to give him an answer until he name-dropped Fulbright on them and wound up getting over 90% covered. If only.... I would be so much more prepared for my reaserch and time here if I actually went to Middlebury like I originally planned. Sigh... then again, I wasn't sure I was getting a Fulbright back then either. I just wish my Japanese was better...

I am alive

Wow, it has been a while. To be fair, I did not get internet until 2 days ago and it is a pain to blog on a public computer with people waiting for you. Anyways, I guess an update it needed.

- Placement test was horrible, results as well. I should have done a lot better but there is nothing to do about it right now. Basically, I am taking class 5 times a week (10:10 to 11:25) with an extra kanji class on Thursdays. Japanese class is kind of easy but hopefully it will get better. I guess I need to self-study in order to really improve my language ability.

- I also have my professor's zemi (seminar) Monday morning around 8:45. So earlyyyyyyyyy. And I don't understand what is happening either. Oh well, hopefully I will be able to understand the class later on.

- I am really glad that I have the Taiwanese student connection to utilize. They have been a life saver and really helped with with most of my questions. There was supposed to be a Moon Festival BBQ for Taiwanese students last Saturday but it was canceled because of rain (the only time it did all week!). Sad, lost a chance to meet other people and get a free meal. Unfortunately, the Taiwanese students are probably the only people I know right now. I need to meet other people, but it is hard when there are not that many opportunities, especially regarding meeting Japanese students.

- Speaking of Taiwanese students, I got dragged in playing volleyball with them, despite the fact that I have not played since high school PE class. It is kind of fun, but I really suck at it. We'll see how it goes later in the year.

I have more to say, but I'll leave it for later.

Waiting for internet

Well, it looks like I will be getting internet at my place next Saturday (9/12). It is actually a pretty quick connection in Japan considering that it is about 2 weeks since I applied. Still, not being able to use your own computer for internet is painful, very painful. For one, it is a pain to try to send files and I do not really trust public computers when trying to access sensitive data (like my bank account).

Went to a class organized by my advisor today. It was basically just a series of lectures from various profs. Technically it is still going on (and will continue tomorrow) but I decided to leave after listening to 3 of the 5 lectures today. Reason? I did not really understand a single thing they said. Ok, maybe that is a bit harsh, I could catch sentences here and there, but I did not really get the overall point of the lectures. Not surprisingly, my Japanese is not good enough yet to actually take classes in the language. Students get credit for the class as well, so I guess you can say that they stuffed 8 lectures (each around 1.25 hours), a discussion, and a conclusion into two days.

Been slowly collecting stuff and my room is almost fully furnished. Need to organize it though. My tendency to leave stuff all over my room is a lot more noticable when the room is small.

Placement Exam

Was horrible. The test was computer-based for the most part but we had 40 sentences to complete by hand at the end. Questions were multiple choice but with the time limit you really had no time to seriously look at the question. Listening part of the exam sucked and I was simply guessing in the end. You literally had 2-3 seconds to look over the choices and pick one. I felt rushed and there were a few questions in which I knew I picked the wrong choice (and I knew which one was right) as soon as I clicked it. Kanji part was ok but still missed a few. Written part was HORRIBLE. Did not have enough time in the end and left a lot blank. Maybe I should have studied my grammar more but I am not sure if that would have helped that much. They even asked us to grade ourselves. I put...14 out of 40. Seriously.

Well, hopefully this will not come back and haunt me. The levels are ranked from 100-700, with 100-400 being elementary, 500 being low intermediate, 600 being high intermediate, and 700 being advanced. Looking at the classes I took in college I should probably have tested into 600 or 700, but I am simply hoping for 500 right now. Do not want to retake elementary Japanese, hell no. Well, I guess this is what happens when you have a 3-4 month break where you stop using a language. Time for some self-study.

Quick Update

Quick recap of the past few days. Using the computer lab because I am still internet-less at home (probably will be for at least 2 more weeks).

Everyday - random shopping/looking online for things to furnish my apartment. Unfortunately, it seems that despite my obsessiveness about prices, I have not been getting the cheapest things I can. I tend to regret purchases often. Maybe I should just forgot about trying to save a ton of money this year (aiming to save a third of my grant, which is ~10,000, but I also have to pay taxes, actually saves will be much much less).

8/29 - Moved into my new apartment. Played some ultimate frisbee with (mostly) foreigners. Most of them were not that good but it was fun. Got a fridge (which is probably too big for me to fill, but oh well) and was lucky enough to have it transported to me.

8/30 - Went to the internet cafe. Was raining outside and I crashed/wiped out my bike two times. The second time was just a usual crash for me; the wheels went out under me when I was trying to ride up a metal ramp at an angle. Note to everyone, do not do this, especially when the ramp is wet. I say this from (much) personal experience. Sadly, I do not learn from my own lessons.

The first crash was more serious; it was the first time that I actually experienced flipping over my bike head-first. Another lesson, do not have your umbrella dangling from the side of your bike. Mine got caught in the front wheel and I literally went flying over bike. I really was't hurt besides the usual scrapes and bruises but it is not an experience I would like to have agian. Bike had some minor damages as well but it still rides decently.

8/31 - Typhoon! Japanese typhoons (or at least in Tsukuba) feel slightly different from Taiwan ones. First, while the rain was nonstop, it really wasn't that hard and I could have gone out with an unbrella if I needed to. Oh, and I also appreciate how most umbrellas here are clear. That way you can have your umbrella literally sitting on your head (while biking) and still be able to see where you are going.

9/1 - Registration Day. Officially registered, though I have to wait a while for my ID card and all. Also, I was slightly surprised by the amount of Chinese students here. Of the 60 so research students that registered in the morning of the first day(you could register over a period of 3 days actually), there was one from Korea, Kazakhstan(I think), one from Taiwan, one from the US (me), and the rest were ALL from China. That is....over 90%? Maybe it is a small sample size but it was still surprising.

9/2 - Today, I registered for my Japanese placement exam (which will be tomorrow). Nervous about it, especially since they are (in theory) testing my weaknesses, and really regreting not studying over the summer. I just hope I do not totally embarress myself. Also got some used stuff (TV, rice cookers, etc) which I am slightly regreting now. TV is huge (non-flatscreen 29 in) but maybe too big for my small apartment, especially since I will get a monitor for sure. Also got a bike because it was cheap, but it turns out that the bike is not in the best condition and needs fixing, probably a tire replacement. Lock is also broken so it is sitting out there unlocked but if anyone really wants to steal it I would not be too disappointed.

Hope this was not too long. I really need internet at home...