Ever since my run in with the jerks over at YahooBB, I have been very wary about addressing issues I have with any kind of service I'm paying for here in Japan.
For example, recently my phone started glitching on. It's 3 years old afterall so it's a little expected. But I didn't want to go into the shop and have to explain the problem just to be given the run around. So I just worked around the glitch (the screen would just shut off randomly)
Finally, while I was in Kochi for winter vacation the display on my phone officially died.
I was phoneless for the first time in years and that 18 hours was such a challenge!!! (only because I was trying to make plans with friends! I'm not TOTALLY dependent on my phone! ...not like I am with my laptop...but that's another story)
So I went over to the AU cell phone shop in Kochi city. And this was basically how the conversation went:
Oh, your phone is broken? Hmmm, well it is 3 years old afterall. Hmmm, alright! Here's what what's going to happen. We'll send your phone in to be analyzed. If it turns out to be a problem with the phone naturally then we'll fix it free of charge. If it was broken because you did something to it (it was dropped quite a few times in the past 3 years...) then we'll have to charge for the repairs. It won't be more than $150 (cheaper than a new phone) but we'll call to confirm with you what you'd like to do. The entire process will take about 10 days. Oh, your leaving to go back to Okazaki in 3 days? That's no problem, we'll send your phone to a shop by your home. Also, here's a phone we can lend you in the mean time. It's free of charge unless you break it of course. And of course we'll put your sim card in the lender phone so you'll still have all your pictures, preferences and address book. Have a nice day!
And that was that. I ended up getting calls from them several times after this. Each time I was convinced they were going to give me some bogus line about how I had done something to my phone that would require me to pay XXX amount of yen and also do something ridiculous like revoke my visa or some such nonsense.
First they called to confirm that it would in fact cost some amount of money to fix my phone. I couldn't understand what the woman was saying on the phone because she spoke so fast, but I assumed that the $15o would be charged and I would just have to bite the bullet and pay up.
Yesterday I got the final call that my phone had come in and I could drop by to pick it up.
Today, I went in and this is how the conversation went:
Good afternoon! Here's your phone, yes it's the same model you had before but it's been replaced by an entirely new phone. We'll just pop your sim card in here and there you go! A brand new (old) phone! That'll just be 5200yen ($50) but since you've been with us for so long, you've collected quite a few points so if you'd like, you can pay for it in full with the credit you've accumulated. You'd like to do that? Thank you very much and have a nice day!
Bottom line, I got a new phone for free :3
AU is the BEST ever!!!!!
First Day of School
That's right! Today was the first day of classes after the winter vacation. I have some new classmates and a few new teachers as well. It's shaping up to be a good term!
However, the winter vacation was all of a whopping 3 weeks. I slept and relaxed so much that I was particularly lethargic today. I could barely keep my eyes open in class. It was horrible! So I went for a bike ride after school and will continue to do so everyday until I get my energy levels back up!
In other news, I joined a Jazz band. Or rather, I was recruited by one. They needed a new English singer and I just happen to be an exhibitionist with a decent voice so I agreed to try it out.
At the same time however, this is not a small band. There are about 18 members total. Also, have I ever mentioned that I'm not a big fan of jazz? In fact, I usually hate it. It just doesn't do it for me. But I decided that this was too awesome of an experience to turn down and it's also an awesome way to use my Japanese in a very real way. I mean, why else would I be in Japan unless I wanted to sing English for a Japanese Jazz Band?
So I've started practicing some of these songs at home (my neighbors must love me) and for the most part, I just really don't like these songs. Some more than others. And then the icing on the cake is, the band director has decided to throw in Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" just for giggles. I'll admit, it's fun to sing and it's one of my favorites from the list just because it's NOT jazz at all. But at the same time, I feel like an idiot singing such a cheesy song.
I mean I cringe every time I have to take a deep breath to belt out, "AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE-AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always LOOOOOVE yooooOUUUUUUUUUAAAAIIIIII will alWAYs love..."
You get the idea
Ah well, if I sing it well, that's all the matters. But this isn't a Karaoke box either. I'll be in front of an audience (O.O) something tells me I'm gonna probably regret this :P
However, the winter vacation was all of a whopping 3 weeks. I slept and relaxed so much that I was particularly lethargic today. I could barely keep my eyes open in class. It was horrible! So I went for a bike ride after school and will continue to do so everyday until I get my energy levels back up!
In other news, I joined a Jazz band. Or rather, I was recruited by one. They needed a new English singer and I just happen to be an exhibitionist with a decent voice so I agreed to try it out.
At the same time however, this is not a small band. There are about 18 members total. Also, have I ever mentioned that I'm not a big fan of jazz? In fact, I usually hate it. It just doesn't do it for me. But I decided that this was too awesome of an experience to turn down and it's also an awesome way to use my Japanese in a very real way. I mean, why else would I be in Japan unless I wanted to sing English for a Japanese Jazz Band?
So I've started practicing some of these songs at home (my neighbors must love me) and for the most part, I just really don't like these songs. Some more than others. And then the icing on the cake is, the band director has decided to throw in Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" just for giggles. I'll admit, it's fun to sing and it's one of my favorites from the list just because it's NOT jazz at all. But at the same time, I feel like an idiot singing such a cheesy song.
I mean I cringe every time I have to take a deep breath to belt out, "AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE-AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always LOOOOOVE yooooOUUUUUUUUUAAAAIIIIII will alWAYs love..."
You get the idea
Ah well, if I sing it well, that's all the matters. But this isn't a Karaoke box either. I'll be in front of an audience (O.O) something tells me I'm gonna probably regret this :P
Kyoto
I took a break from basically constant study and took a trip to Kyoto. A classmate invited me and I thought it might be good to get out.
And it was! So far, it's the second best vacation I've ever taken in Japan...Well, in Asia as well!
We (6 of us) got up before dawn and walked to the train in the POURING RAIN!!! 3 hours later, the sun was up, we were still wet but we made it to Kyoto.
We saw tons of colored leaves which were beautiful. Kyoto really is an amazing place. On Sunday we lucked out in more than one instance!
My Swiss friend's "family" in Kyoto owns a very famous green tea shop. When we went to visit, the father gave us a tour of the shop and museum, gave us a lesson on how to make green tea (blew my mind) and let us try out a few famous drinks and desserts all for the low low price of "サービス" (<--free)
THEN, we found out that right at the moment, for one day only, the city office was putting on a special Kimono event. Anyone who wanted to could go to and get themselves robed in a Kimono (the real thing) and walk around the city.
Usually something that is quite expensive, again, received for free. I do believe it was mostly open only to people who lived there. In that, only local residents would have known about it in the first place!
While still in Kimono, we went back to the shop and checked out the park near by. I later found out it's the same park/temple that is featured on the 10yen coin.
Wow
After that we checked out some more temples and by the time we made our way home on Sunday night, I was ready to pass out. BUT WAIT!!! I still had homework I had to do before Monday (TuT) yeah!
My Classmates
Hey guys. Sorry I haven't blogged for a while but trust me when I tell you I have never been so inactive in my life. My days consist of waking up, eating breakfast (new for me) going to class, coming home, studying and then making dinner. I honestly don't do anything else. And the weekend? Yeah, they're maxed out with study too. My brain is so fried!!!!
As for friends, there are a few really interesting characters at this school that I've met. There are of course the normal geeks and otaku who love Japan because they're weird (that kettle is black I say!) but there are also a few people who are just so much cooler than that.
One in particular is my friend Derek. He's actually kinda sorta famous! The first thing we did in class was give our self introductions in Japanese.
Hi, my name is Nina. I'm from America. My hobby is reading books.
BORING
And then Derek speaks up.
Hi, my name is Derek. I'm from America. My hobby is playing the drums.
Equally as boring if you think about it.
Then a Filipino girl looked up and asked, do you play in a band?
Turns out, Derek was in a band called The Speaks who never made it big in the states but went on to huge fame in the Philippines.
And then, the other day, a Brazilian student came into class and says "Hey guys, check out what I found". And we spent the next 10 minutes watching and rewatching Derek's bands music video and laughing at him whenever we caught a shot of him playing the drums.
HILIARIOUS!
Ok, maybe just for me.
AAAAAAAANYWAY
My other friend...
So every week I have to write two journal entries in Japanese. I try to make them interesting to read but honestly, when I do nothing but study all day ever day, I'm seriously lacking in material.
But this one journal caught my teachers eye. I wrote it about my friend Olivier. (Oh-lih-vee-eh) [half French/Taiwanese American] She mentioned to me that it was kinda cute. But what I didn't know until about a week later is that she had Olivier's teacher read it too. And she commented to him about it. Kinda funny...since I sorta embellished the story a little ;)
Here's what I wrote in English. Keep in mind that I had to write this all in Japanese which is kind of a pain in the ass so I usually keep it kinda simple.
I live on the second floor of Villa 4. My American friend, Olivier, lives on the first floor. I keep my apartment clean. Sometimes my clothes are on the floor. Usually dishes are in the sink. But my apartment isn’t dirty!!!
Olivier’s apartment is VERY clean. He never has anything on the desk except a computer. His bed is always made. He enjoys doing his dishes. He gets excited thinking about it.
Recently, Olivier has been finding cockroaches in his apartment. He said, “Nina, I just don’t understand it. Why are there cockroaches in my apartment? In 3 weeks, I’ve found 2. But my apartment is so clean!”
Last night, at around 10:30, I heard a soft knock on my door. “Nina. Are you awake?” “Who is it?”, I asked. “It’s me!”, Olivier’s voice replied.
I opened the door and there stood Olivier holding a giant bag of rice. “I found the cockroaches! They’ve been living in my precious rice” (He really said that) “Now what do I do!? Do you think I can still eat it? I don’t want to waste this rice!”
Poor Olivier. Such a clean freak.
I think I had the most fun learning how to say "clean freak" in Japanese.
As for friends, there are a few really interesting characters at this school that I've met. There are of course the normal geeks and otaku who love Japan because they're weird (that kettle is black I say!) but there are also a few people who are just so much cooler than that.
One in particular is my friend Derek. He's actually kinda sorta famous! The first thing we did in class was give our self introductions in Japanese.
Hi, my name is Nina. I'm from America. My hobby is reading books.
BORING
And then Derek speaks up.
Hi, my name is Derek. I'm from America. My hobby is playing the drums.
Equally as boring if you think about it.
Then a Filipino girl looked up and asked, do you play in a band?
Turns out, Derek was in a band called The Speaks who never made it big in the states but went on to huge fame in the Philippines.
And then, the other day, a Brazilian student came into class and says "Hey guys, check out what I found". And we spent the next 10 minutes watching and rewatching Derek's bands music video and laughing at him whenever we caught a shot of him playing the drums.
HILIARIOUS!
Ok, maybe just for me.
AAAAAAAANYWAY
My other friend...
So every week I have to write two journal entries in Japanese. I try to make them interesting to read but honestly, when I do nothing but study all day ever day, I'm seriously lacking in material.
But this one journal caught my teachers eye. I wrote it about my friend Olivier. (Oh-lih-vee-eh) [half French/Taiwanese American] She mentioned to me that it was kinda cute. But what I didn't know until about a week later is that she had Olivier's teacher read it too. And she commented to him about it. Kinda funny...since I sorta embellished the story a little ;)
Here's what I wrote in English. Keep in mind that I had to write this all in Japanese which is kind of a pain in the ass so I usually keep it kinda simple.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cockroaches
I live on the second floor of Villa 4. My American friend, Olivier, lives on the first floor. I keep my apartment clean. Sometimes my clothes are on the floor. Usually dishes are in the sink. But my apartment isn’t dirty!!!
Olivier’s apartment is VERY clean. He never has anything on the desk except a computer. His bed is always made. He enjoys doing his dishes. He gets excited thinking about it.
Recently, Olivier has been finding cockroaches in his apartment. He said, “Nina, I just don’t understand it. Why are there cockroaches in my apartment? In 3 weeks, I’ve found 2. But my apartment is so clean!”
Last night, at around 10:30, I heard a soft knock on my door. “Nina. Are you awake?” “Who is it?”, I asked. “It’s me!”, Olivier’s voice replied.
I opened the door and there stood Olivier holding a giant bag of rice. “I found the cockroaches! They’ve been living in my precious rice” (He really said that) “Now what do I do!? Do you think I can still eat it? I don’t want to waste this rice!”
Poor Olivier. Such a clean freak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think I had the most fun learning how to say "clean freak" in Japanese.
Musings and Procrastination
I'm trying to study Kanji...half halfheartedly really. And little thoughts keep trickling into my mind as it wanders all over the place while I am trying to accomplish something ;)
For my class level, we were given the choice of 3 different kanji classes to choose from. The first being the easiest and the 3rd being the most difficult. I checked out the kanji list and knew all the level 1 and 2 words. So I went for level 3. (It's what I'm "currently studying")
Thing is, everyone else in my class is taking lower level kanji. Well, unless they're of Chinese decent. (obviously!) I think...no, I KNOW my kanji is really poor. I'm not even exaggerating. For as much as I have studied, as much as I needed to know to pass the JLPT 3, I should TOTALLY already know this stuff. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've already studied about 80% of the kanji in this new class. So why is everyone else lower level than me?
Meh
Don't ask me what it means. But it keeps me from feeling like a total dumbass all the time.
Today was my first elective class actually. I have two. One, as mentioned, is kanji and the other is reading. I didn't know what reading class was when I signed up but I figured it would be fun. I want some sort of motivation to study kanji and reading is the best for that! I love reading in English and there are tons of books I want to read in Japanese too!!!
But after signing up I started getting worried that maybe it would be a lot more academic than that. I mean, it'll probably be more like, read this academic paragraph about fly mating rituals and then answer some questions about it.
I started dreading it thinking about that...
But today was the first class and we read an old fable that was really cute and interesting. It held my interest and I really enjoyed the class. The teacher is nice (and pretty too for whatever that's worth) and as I was leaving the class I realized that she's ALSO my new kanji teacher!!! (won't have that class for another 3 days) So...at least that's something to look forward to (^^;
Now back to studying...after which I will go to Mos Burger which I will one day be able to afford when I get a part time job... *sigh*
For my class level, we were given the choice of 3 different kanji classes to choose from. The first being the easiest and the 3rd being the most difficult. I checked out the kanji list and knew all the level 1 and 2 words. So I went for level 3. (It's what I'm "currently studying")
Thing is, everyone else in my class is taking lower level kanji. Well, unless they're of Chinese decent. (obviously!) I think...no, I KNOW my kanji is really poor. I'm not even exaggerating. For as much as I have studied, as much as I needed to know to pass the JLPT 3, I should TOTALLY already know this stuff. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've already studied about 80% of the kanji in this new class. So why is everyone else lower level than me?
Meh
Don't ask me what it means. But it keeps me from feeling like a total dumbass all the time.
Today was my first elective class actually. I have two. One, as mentioned, is kanji and the other is reading. I didn't know what reading class was when I signed up but I figured it would be fun. I want some sort of motivation to study kanji and reading is the best for that! I love reading in English and there are tons of books I want to read in Japanese too!!!
But after signing up I started getting worried that maybe it would be a lot more academic than that. I mean, it'll probably be more like, read this academic paragraph about fly mating rituals and then answer some questions about it.
I started dreading it thinking about that...
But today was the first class and we read an old fable that was really cute and interesting. It held my interest and I really enjoyed the class. The teacher is nice (and pretty too for whatever that's worth) and as I was leaving the class I realized that she's ALSO my new kanji teacher!!! (won't have that class for another 3 days) So...at least that's something to look forward to (^^;
Now back to studying...after which I will go to Mos Burger which I will one day be able to afford when I get a part time job... *sigh*
Past 3 or so Days
I've lost all track of time. The days go by in slow motion though my mind is going at normal speed. Consequently, it feels like there are 2 days in every day...
Basically, I've been in Japan for almost 3 weeks. It feels like I've been here for almost a month and a half. Everyday, I get up around 6 (for whatever odd reason), go to school at 9 (EXCELLENT time to start school) I get out around 1:30 (until elective classes start next week) and then I have the rest of the afternoon to study.
I've been doing so much in Japanese recently, I've been dreaming in it! Which isn't as much fun as you think. It just means I speak in the same broken frustrating Japanese I use in real life. Bah!
Anyway, here's my week in pictures:
These are persimmons. They're in season here in Japan. I don't know about you, but we don't get many of these in Florida and I hadn't ever seen one before coming to Japan. Every year, I eat tons of them. This year, I decided to dry some on my clothes line outside. It takes about a month or so to dry them and I wanna see how they turn out!
Thing is, these ones weren't picked to be dried. Their stems had all been cut off. So I had to use skewers. Also, these were the only 3 persimmons in the entire grocery store when I got there...they were the sale rack because they were overripe. I figured it didn't really matter, right?
Well, as you can see, the bottom one kinda disintigrated in my hands as I was stringing it up. I figured I have nothing to lose. If it doesn't come out well...oh well. And if it does, Woohoo!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A typhoon came through here last Thursday . By afternoon, the weather was great and I had cabin fever. So I went out for a bike ride and found this beautiful pond near the apartment with two gorgeous swans!!! They swam right over to me when I stopped my bike.
I have some saved for this weekend (-^^-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last, here are a few friends I've made. We have people from China, Taiwan, America, England and Germany.
We spoke in a combination of Japanese, English and sometimes a little bit of Chinese. It was muy internacional.
Basically, I've been in Japan for almost 3 weeks. It feels like I've been here for almost a month and a half. Everyday, I get up around 6 (for whatever odd reason), go to school at 9 (EXCELLENT time to start school) I get out around 1:30 (until elective classes start next week) and then I have the rest of the afternoon to study.
I've been doing so much in Japanese recently, I've been dreaming in it! Which isn't as much fun as you think. It just means I speak in the same broken frustrating Japanese I use in real life. Bah!
Anyway, here's my week in pictures:
These are persimmons. They're in season here in Japan. I don't know about you, but we don't get many of these in Florida and I hadn't ever seen one before coming to Japan. Every year, I eat tons of them. This year, I decided to dry some on my clothes line outside. It takes about a month or so to dry them and I wanna see how they turn out!Thing is, these ones weren't picked to be dried. Their stems had all been cut off. So I had to use skewers. Also, these were the only 3 persimmons in the entire grocery store when I got there...they were the sale rack because they were overripe. I figured it didn't really matter, right?
Well, as you can see, the bottom one kinda disintigrated in my hands as I was stringing it up. I figured I have nothing to lose. If it doesn't come out well...oh well. And if it does, Woohoo!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A typhoon came through here last Thursday . By afternoon, the weather was great and I had cabin fever. So I went out for a bike ride and found this beautiful pond near the apartment with two gorgeous swans!!! They swam right over to me when I stopped my bike.
They were all like,
"So were's my bread crumbs?"
"So were's my bread crumbs?"
I have some saved for this weekend (-^^-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last, here are a few friends I've made. We have people from China, Taiwan, America, England and Germany.
We spoke in a combination of Japanese, English and sometimes a little bit of Chinese. It was muy internacional.