04.06.11 Keep the Good Times Rolling

It seems like things are getting better for me here in Nara. This morning I finally got my internet username and password so I can access the school computers. The only problem is, I don't think this applies to wireless laptops. Basically, I have to use the library's computers for now, which is kind of a bummer because that means no skyping. However, it is better than no internet so I am not complaining.

Around 11:00 I met up with some new friends that I met at the welcome party on Monday. They wanted to take me sightseeing, and I asked them to take me to Todaiji temple, which houses the Daibutsu (Great Buddah). If I remember correctly, it is the world's oldest wooden building and the buddah is the largest one of its kind. Along the way we saw some amazing Sakura trees. I took a ton of pictures, but my camera battery eventually died. After all the sight seeing, we decided to go eat. We started with dessert first-- soft serve ice cream. The flavors were really different from what they have in America. I picked the most normal sounding one (orange), and as expected, it was really good. From there we went to eat at a small restaurant. Nara is chalk full of dining options from cheap to expensive. They have just about everything you can think of. For lunch we had a huge plate of rice with eggs, a salad, and a pizza, which also had eggs on top. Although it was pretty foreign to me, all of it was delicious. Splitting the cost I only had to pay 650 yen (pretty cheap for what I got.) I noticed here that many people buy large dishes and share, or buy multiple small dishes to share.

My new friends! Asami, Miho, Hiroko, and Ena

In front of Todaiji temple

Daibutsu

When I got back, I met with Inoue sensei to finalize my class schedule. I am pretty excited about everything I am taking. Japanese classes are vey interesting in that they only meet once a week for 90 minutes. When I asked Inoue sensei what was a normal course load for college students, he told me maybe three or four. My initial reaction: "WHAT? REALLY?" I am taking at least one class every day, and I think in total I may be taking eight or nine. Granted, three are Japanese language courses and four are "activity" courses, but still. Also, you can try as many classes as you want during the first two weeks or so before you have to finalize your schedule. Basically, for the first two weeks classes don't have rosters. It is a really interesting way of doing things, but it suits me just fine.

Immediately after my meeting with Inoue sensei, I went to meet up with the soccer club. They practice Wednesdays and Saturdays, and I promised one of the members that I would come. I am really glad that I went. They handed me a practice jersey and I immediately fit right in. Finally, something I was good at! Most of the girls there had not played soccer for very long, but everyone was nice and tried hard. The attitude was a lot better than most of the club teams' at UNCG. It seems I've made a whole new batch of friends!

And now I am sitting in the computer lab. Nguyen just walked in and she's made plans to visit Todaiji temple tomorrow so I will probably go again with her and Mao. Things are definitely looking up!