So Christmas here is quite a bit different from America. For one, the holiday lights are all blue. No red and green, just blue. I also heard that in Japan chicken is the special Christmas food, so everyone goes to KFC. Very odd indeed.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Finaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaals!
I know it's been entirely too long since my last post, but things have been pretty quiet around here. We had our farewell party yesterday for the students who are only staying for one semester. I have lots of finals on Monday and Tuesday, but then I'm officially on break. Mary comes to visit on the 27th, so I'm very excited! Now back to studying...
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Halloween!
Halloween was last week, I went as The Invisible Man. We had a party in the I-House where everyone could show off their costumes. Mine was pretty popular. Pictures after the jump...
Monday, November 1, 2010
Okinawa!
Last week I went to Okinawa for a long weekend with eight other exchange students. We left after dinner on Thursday and arrived in Okinawa at about 9 o'clock at night. From there we went to our hostel and got settled into our bunks. We went into the city of Naha to explore and found all kinds of neat things there, like snake sake...
Monday, October 18, 2010
Trips and some pictures!
Hey everyone!
I know it's been awhile but I've been busy and have a lot to talk about. I've been on several trips recently and have another one coming up soon. I think the easiest thing is to talk about each one and have a few pictures to go with it. And since I'm lazy and rarely remember to bring a camera places, I'm stealing other people's pictures off of Facebook.
I know it's been awhile but I've been busy and have a lot to talk about. I've been on several trips recently and have another one coming up soon. I think the easiest thing is to talk about each one and have a few pictures to go with it. And since I'm lazy and rarely remember to bring a camera places, I'm stealing other people's pictures off of Facebook.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A Good Day to Be a Hawks Fan
Last weekend the international students got free entry to a Softbank Hawks baseball game at the Yahoo Japan Dome stadium. The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks played the Saitama Seibu Lions, who were ranked 2nd and 1st in their division, respectively. The Lions scored a few runs against us early on without letting us even get someone on base, but in the fifth and sixth innings we caught up to tie the game 4-4. In the eighth inning we scored three runs to bring the score to 7-4, but they did the same in the ninth inning so the game went into extra innings. In the bottom of the eleventh inning we scored two runs to win 9-7. All in all, a thoroughly entertaining game. Afterwards we got to go on the field and take pictures. Lots of pics of the game and the field after the jump.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Adapting to a new way of life
Time takes care of a lot of things. Adjusting to a new location, culture, and group of people is a process that doesn't happen overnight.
Feeling out the local area has provided a sense of stability here. The super market is just down the road, there are convenient places to get a cheap and delicious lunch, and there's a quiet little bar which provides a nice place to sit and relax while chatting with some friends in the evening.
Although I've been to Japan before, there's still a bit of a culture shock in some sense. Before, I was merely learning about the culture. This time around, I'm integrating into the culture. In Kobe, I just had to understand why something was done a certain way; in Fukuoka, I actually have to DO it that way.
Living with a group of strangers like this is something I haven't done since freshman year when I first moved in. Everyone wants a friend but is forced to rely solely on first impressions to pick who they want to spend time with. As it happens, first impressions are often wrong. Over time you get to know everyone and you find out who you sized up about right, as well as who you misjudged.
Feeling out the local area has provided a sense of stability here. The super market is just down the road, there are convenient places to get a cheap and delicious lunch, and there's a quiet little bar which provides a nice place to sit and relax while chatting with some friends in the evening.
Although I've been to Japan before, there's still a bit of a culture shock in some sense. Before, I was merely learning about the culture. This time around, I'm integrating into the culture. In Kobe, I just had to understand why something was done a certain way; in Fukuoka, I actually have to DO it that way.
Living with a group of strangers like this is something I haven't done since freshman year when I first moved in. Everyone wants a friend but is forced to rely solely on first impressions to pick who they want to spend time with. As it happens, first impressions are often wrong. Over time you get to know everyone and you find out who you sized up about right, as well as who you misjudged.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Life in Fukuoka
Hey everyone! I'm nicely settled in now at the International House dormitory for Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka. My room is really nice and pretty spacious. I have my own mini fridge, AC unit, sink, and a little half bathroom. We use communal showers but only three people or so are assigned to each shower stall.
Fukuoka is a beautiful city. It's really hot and super humid here to the point that a lot of people end up going through more than one set of clothes in a day if they're outside a lot. The beach is a 10 minute walk away and the water is really warm. Walking five minutes in the other direction takes you to the main road where there are lots of restaurants and shops. Fukuoka is famous for its pork ramen and there are ramen shops everywhere. Some places even let you customize your ramen to your liking. The subway stop is about five to ten minutes from the I-House and for 250 yen (around $2.50) you can catch a ride into Tenjin, the heart of the city. It's very busy there and there are tons of department stores, fancy restaurants, clubs, and just about anything else you could imagine.
I started classes yesterday and they've been good so far. Everyone takes a Japanese language course (either Beginner, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, or Advanced) along with five or six electives. For the first week I'm going to go to both the Intermediate and Advanced classes to figure out which one is better for me to take. The electives I've picked are History of Japan, Natural World of Japan, Intercultural Communication, Japanese Culture in Manga, Anime, and Movies, Japanese Sports (Judo), and Health Issues in Japan and the World.
Life is definitely a lot different here and it is taking some getting used to. I miss everyone and hope I can here from you all!
Fukuoka is a beautiful city. It's really hot and super humid here to the point that a lot of people end up going through more than one set of clothes in a day if they're outside a lot. The beach is a 10 minute walk away and the water is really warm. Walking five minutes in the other direction takes you to the main road where there are lots of restaurants and shops. Fukuoka is famous for its pork ramen and there are ramen shops everywhere. Some places even let you customize your ramen to your liking. The subway stop is about five to ten minutes from the I-House and for 250 yen (around $2.50) you can catch a ride into Tenjin, the heart of the city. It's very busy there and there are tons of department stores, fancy restaurants, clubs, and just about anything else you could imagine.
I started classes yesterday and they've been good so far. Everyone takes a Japanese language course (either Beginner, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, or Advanced) along with five or six electives. For the first week I'm going to go to both the Intermediate and Advanced classes to figure out which one is better for me to take. The electives I've picked are History of Japan, Natural World of Japan, Intercultural Communication, Japanese Culture in Manga, Anime, and Movies, Japanese Sports (Judo), and Health Issues in Japan and the World.
Life is definitely a lot different here and it is taking some getting used to. I miss everyone and hope I can here from you all!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
I made it!
It's been a few days since I arrived in Fukuoka but none of the students have been given internet access yet. I'm currently in an Apple store using a computer so I have to be brief. It's been exciting so far and its really really hot here. I was right about calling this place the Miami of Japan. The beach is a short walk away and the water is the warmest ocean water I've ever come across. Once I have my own internet connection, I'll update with a longer post. I miss everyone back at home!
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Land of the Rising Sun!
I made it!...to Tokyo. After getting up at 6:45 in the morning, leaving for the airport at 8, getting to the gate at 10, boarding at 12, and sitting on the plane for 13 hours, I have arrived at Narita Airport in Tokyo. I met up with Adriel, the other UD student studying at Seinan Gakuin University and we've got another half hour until we board our plane. From there its a two hour flight to Fukuoka and then we'll be picked up and taken to the International House where we'll be living for the next nine months.
The flight wasn't too bad as far as 13 hour flights go. The plane was nine seats across grouped in threes in the section that I was in, and I got an aisle seat in the middle section. Nobody had the seat next to me so I put my backpack there and freed up some leg room. There were a slew of movies available to watch on demand. I settled on Iron Man 2 and The Transporter, which ate up about a quarter of the flight. The food is about as good as food on an airplane gets, and the complementary beer was much appreciated (I went for a Sapporo). It was definitely a relief to get off the plane, even if just to sit in an airport for two hours before getting on another one.
Japan is 13 hours ahead of US Eastern Time, so while it's 4:15am there, it's 5:15pm here for me. For those of you that have Skype, my username is brian.minch so add me and we can talk there. Feel free to leave comments for all to see on this blog or send me an email if you want to talk privately. I'll make another update when I'm in Fukuoka and have internet access again.
The flight wasn't too bad as far as 13 hour flights go. The plane was nine seats across grouped in threes in the section that I was in, and I got an aisle seat in the middle section. Nobody had the seat next to me so I put my backpack there and freed up some leg room. There were a slew of movies available to watch on demand. I settled on Iron Man 2 and The Transporter, which ate up about a quarter of the flight. The food is about as good as food on an airplane gets, and the complementary beer was much appreciated (I went for a Sapporo). It was definitely a relief to get off the plane, even if just to sit in an airport for two hours before getting on another one.
Japan is 13 hours ahead of US Eastern Time, so while it's 4:15am there, it's 5:15pm here for me. For those of you that have Skype, my username is brian.minch so add me and we can talk there. Feel free to leave comments for all to see on this blog or send me an email if you want to talk privately. I'll make another update when I'm in Fukuoka and have internet access again.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I leave tomorrow!
Hey everyone! It's my last day in America so I put together this blog to keep everyone updated about my adventures in Japan without flooding everyone's inbox. Check here whenever you like to hear how things are going at Seinan University in Fukuoka.
Brian
Brian
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