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!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
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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