& I am serious this time!!!
Because, what better experience to share than my newest adventure that I am currently embarking on - living in Japan.
What I am doing in here:
I am here for the final semester of my degree and will be studying at Ryukoku University. I am living in Otsu - the capital of the Shiga prefecture (kind of like provinces?) and it is about a 30 minute train ride from Kyoto. I will be living here for approximately 6 months to complete my studies and after that my plans are kind of up in the air. As are most students regarding graduation... haha
But here are a couple of my ideas so far.... Ideally, I would like to get an internship or even a job in my field of study, not necessarily in Japan but somewhere in Asia. If this doesn't work out I would like to head to South East Asia and travel until my money (or should I say debt at this point - damn student loans) runs out. We'll see.
Transit:
Getting here was quite the adventure. I left on September 3rd and travelled from Calgary to Salt Lake City where I had a surprise transfer to Portland in order to change aircrafts, from Portland I headed to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Osaka. I arrived late at night on the 4th so I got a hotel which worked out nicely although I was unable to get much sleep even thought I was exhausted. The next morning I took a shuttle bus back to the Kansai International Airport to get picked up from a student helper, her name was Ayaka and she helped me buy my train ticket to Kyoto. She saw me off on my train and I was told another helper would be waiting for me at the Kyoto train station. This turned out to be harder than I expected as I could not find her anywhere. By this time my luggage which was seemingly growing by the hour ( I wore many layers and had to keep taking them off as it is very hot here (30degrees C +) was getting heavier and heavier. I was getting a little panicky and I was exhausted from my travels and lugging around my life but I met a sweet girl who helped me and was able to get ahold of my university for me and eventually my tutor/student helper found me! I have noticed the people of Japan are extremely kind and willing to help so that has been very comforting. Once I met my new helper, Akiho, we took another train to Seta(?) where we then caught a taxi that brought me to my dorm...reaching my final destination on September 5th! Needless to say I was completely disoriented and exhausted and by the time I was able to get to sleep I slept c lose to 12 hours.
New Room:
My room is super nice, much better than I was expecting. I actually have two rooms to myself and I am really kicking myself that I didn't bring my yoga mat with me ( I ran out of room while I was packing). This spare room would be a perfect meditation/yoga room. I will just have to find a mat here! I also have my own washroom which I was not expecting at all. I only share a kitchen and a living space with my roommate, Mii and she is from Thailand! We also have a balcony that I can access from the living space or my bedroom which is great. It doesn't compare to my view that I had in Jamaica but it'll do ;) Overall, the space is really nice and I am confident that I'll really like it here!
Concerns:
I am slightly concerned about my dietary restrictions and by slightly I mean extremely. I went to the grocery store today which was rather overwhelming. Nothing is in English ( totally fair ) but it makes it so hard for me to tell what anything is! And anything that I was able to figure out, was definitely meat or contained meat. I know Japanese eat quite a bit of meat but I figured since there are many Buddhists/ and I was hoping monks around that I would be able to figure something out. It's one of those times I wish I could turn my brain off and eat as the people here eat but I can't do it. I have tried mentally preparing myself to eat some meat or even be more flexible with my restrictions but the idea repulses me. I am going to attempt to eat fish/seafood but I am quite positive that is the most I can do. I did still manage to buy a few things including some frozen vegetables, a frozen rice and vegetables dish I THINK, edamame beans, some instant noodles and a very limited amount of fresh produce.
This blog might just turn into a food diary where I log what I am able to consume hah. This shall be interesting...
Because, what better experience to share than my newest adventure that I am currently embarking on - living in Japan.
What I am doing in here:
I am here for the final semester of my degree and will be studying at Ryukoku University. I am living in Otsu - the capital of the Shiga prefecture (kind of like provinces?) and it is about a 30 minute train ride from Kyoto. I will be living here for approximately 6 months to complete my studies and after that my plans are kind of up in the air. As are most students regarding graduation... haha
But here are a couple of my ideas so far.... Ideally, I would like to get an internship or even a job in my field of study, not necessarily in Japan but somewhere in Asia. If this doesn't work out I would like to head to South East Asia and travel until my money (or should I say debt at this point - damn student loans) runs out. We'll see.
Transit:
Getting here was quite the adventure. I left on September 3rd and travelled from Calgary to Salt Lake City where I had a surprise transfer to Portland in order to change aircrafts, from Portland I headed to Tokyo and from Tokyo to Osaka. I arrived late at night on the 4th so I got a hotel which worked out nicely although I was unable to get much sleep even thought I was exhausted. The next morning I took a shuttle bus back to the Kansai International Airport to get picked up from a student helper, her name was Ayaka and she helped me buy my train ticket to Kyoto. She saw me off on my train and I was told another helper would be waiting for me at the Kyoto train station. This turned out to be harder than I expected as I could not find her anywhere. By this time my luggage which was seemingly growing by the hour ( I wore many layers and had to keep taking them off as it is very hot here (30degrees C +) was getting heavier and heavier. I was getting a little panicky and I was exhausted from my travels and lugging around my life but I met a sweet girl who helped me and was able to get ahold of my university for me and eventually my tutor/student helper found me! I have noticed the people of Japan are extremely kind and willing to help so that has been very comforting. Once I met my new helper, Akiho, we took another train to Seta(?) where we then caught a taxi that brought me to my dorm...reaching my final destination on September 5th! Needless to say I was completely disoriented and exhausted and by the time I was able to get to sleep I slept c lose to 12 hours.
New Room:
My room is super nice, much better than I was expecting. I actually have two rooms to myself and I am really kicking myself that I didn't bring my yoga mat with me ( I ran out of room while I was packing). This spare room would be a perfect meditation/yoga room. I will just have to find a mat here! I also have my own washroom which I was not expecting at all. I only share a kitchen and a living space with my roommate, Mii and she is from Thailand! We also have a balcony that I can access from the living space or my bedroom which is great. It doesn't compare to my view that I had in Jamaica but it'll do ;) Overall, the space is really nice and I am confident that I'll really like it here!
Concerns:
I am slightly concerned about my dietary restrictions and by slightly I mean extremely. I went to the grocery store today which was rather overwhelming. Nothing is in English ( totally fair ) but it makes it so hard for me to tell what anything is! And anything that I was able to figure out, was definitely meat or contained meat. I know Japanese eat quite a bit of meat but I figured since there are many Buddhists/ and I was hoping monks around that I would be able to figure something out. It's one of those times I wish I could turn my brain off and eat as the people here eat but I can't do it. I have tried mentally preparing myself to eat some meat or even be more flexible with my restrictions but the idea repulses me. I am going to attempt to eat fish/seafood but I am quite positive that is the most I can do. I did still manage to buy a few things including some frozen vegetables, a frozen rice and vegetables dish I THINK, edamame beans, some instant noodles and a very limited amount of fresh produce.
This blog might just turn into a food diary where I log what I am able to consume hah. This shall be interesting...
Glad to hear you've arrived safely, and seem to be settling in :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll find someone who can help you with your food situation.
Well I can't wait to hear more about your experiences in the Far East!!
Be safe, have fun and remember we're always thinking about you :)
Love,
Troy :P