First Day of School

So, we arrived at the school and the dorms two days ago, and our first day of school was yesterday. It's been pretty interesting, we were split into two classes, I am in the lower class, but it seems to be ok. The other class is definitely above my level, but the class I am in is definitely below my level. I'm somewhere in the middle, but I think this class will be good practice. After classes we were all taken to a welcoming party provided by the Linguistics department which responsible for our being here. We met lots of Japanese students who are studying English for varying reasons. So what we did was talk at them in Japanese and they would talk at us in English, and we would help each other with pronunciation and vocabulary. Needless to say, they helped me more than I helped them. :p 

Afterwards we had a campus tour, and I learned a lot of interesting things. One of them was that Shittenoji University is the oldest university in Japan. It has been around for ~1,200 years. And this university has everything. I am gonna have so much fun while I am here. There is a library and a gym, and there is this garden on the top of a roof called "Sky View". It has hedges in a design, and almost maze-like. It is really pretty. I am told there is also a pool on campus, but I've yet to see it. I'm gonna swim in it so much when I figure out where it is. 

After our campus tour we took a bus to the nearby shopping district and train station. I bought a dress (of course) and visited a dollar store for little needs. But afterwards we went to a local restaurant and got a variety of dishes that we passed around the table and sampled, everybody tried a multitude of different flavors and textures. It was so much fun. We also tried some drinks, my favorite being a drink called Cassius Orange (カシスオレンジ). The guys had various beers, none of which I tried. After this awesome feast, the total came to about $11.50 a person, including drinks and everything. SO CHEAP! 

This is Ayaka, S and "Kilo" (LtoR). Ayaka has been hanging out with all of us in the program and she has been showing us around Japan. She has been great!

Which brings me to another topic: Everything here is half the price as it would be in America. At least. Food at the grocery store is much cheaper. And print books are more than half cheaper. I have bough quite a few Japanese books, and the most expensive one I have seen was about $10. I bought a LOT that were just over $5. So, take that American printing companies! See, You CAN get away with selling cheaper books! You GREEDY PIGS!!!

On a happier note: look at this field of bicycles and mopeds on the Shitennoji campus.  Everyone rides them. Bikes are very popular.

Anyways, after the restaurant a large group of us decided to skip taking the bus and walk back to the dorms instead. It took us about ... 45 minutes but it was pretty simple and we had no problems. Although that can definitely be attributed to my friend "D" who was keeping us on the right track with a map in his phone. The guys escorted me to the girls dorms, (I was the only American girl in this expedition, and completely ignorant of how to actually get to the girls dorms), perfect gentlemen. And upon hitting the pillow, I was out like a light. 

Some of the people in my group. There are three, but one is hiding. :p

This is Aka, She has been hanging out with us along with Ayaka. She has been so helpful.

This is Yuri. She has been helping out Ayaka and Aki. She's been so very helpful.

Which reminds me of another thing I have been wondering about. The days here ... have different times. The sun rises well before 5 am, and sets around 7 pm. So the days start earlier and end earlier. Does anyone know why this would be? My roommate's guess is Altitude differences, my guess is Latitude differences. Would anyone know why? As a result I have been naturally waking up at 5 am every morning due to the bright sunlight coming into my room. I like how I don't feel lazy anymore. :)

My roommate, C, eating Natto. I'm gonna try it soon, but it smells bad, so, I am hesitant.