04.03.11 Today I was a Tourist

It’s Sunday night and I’m relaxing in my room. This morning I got up around 7 a.m., which is an improvement from 5 a.m. A little before 9 a.m. I went downstairs to the genkan where I found students moving in with their families. This, at least, was a familiar occurrence, although the Japanese employ luggage carts to make things easier. (Take note, UNCG.) Nguyen met me not long after and we both began walking in a friendly silence, making small comments and inquiring of each other which direction we wanted to go.

We ended up in Nara’s historical district where we saw many of the famous temples and structures that Nara is known for. Lucky for us, there were already a lot of tourists out and about so we took tons of pictures without shame. My favorite part of it all had to be the deer (shika). They are sacred in Nara so they go where they please without any fear of people. I paid 150 yen to buy some deer crackers so Nyeng and I could feed them. We had one follow after us for more, and actually “cried” when we didn’t give him a cracker! I felt bad so I gave him the rest of mine. After touring the temples, Nguyen and I walked freely through the various shopping streets. I bought some postcards to send out and got to get a closer look at the church I saw the other day. Apparently it meets the first and third Sunday of every month from 8-10 a.m. Even though it looks like it might be Catholic I think I might try it out just to see what it’s like.

We walked for about two hours in the biting cold before circling back to campus, so we said our good byes and went to our rooms. After eating a lunch of “Cup of Noodles”, I laid down to take my Sunday nap, which turned into me sleeping on and off for five hours. I’d like to think it wasn’t loneliness or homesickness that made me do this, but I might be kidding myself. I eventually did get up to eat dinner, another convenience store miracle. I think I’m starting to get the hang of the microwave. You would think these things would be universal, but you would be wrong. I definitely have the most high tech microwave you can imagine.  It has buttons for toast, soup, pizza, etc., and it heats things according to weight (in grams). 

I don’t want to go to bed extremely early so I’ve been studying Japanese. It’s all I can do since I don’t have TV, internet, or books to read. Tomorrow I am going to campus for “guidance,” which I assume means I get to pick my classes. I wonder what they will recommend when I tell them I can’t read kanji. I now understand how people must feel when they come to the U.S. for the first time. It’s extremely frustrating not being able to read the simplest of things.

However, it’s only day four. I won’t allow myself to get discouraged—yet.