Alysse Abroad

So, I guess Typhoons are a big deal.

Apparently typhoons are a big deal.  They cause a lot of rain and wind and more rain, and people in Japan don't like the weather, so typhoons are drastic.  Japanese people like to carry umbrellas with them to protect them from the sun, from the rain, from the wind, from the clouds, and from asteroids, so when a typhoon hits, you can only imagine how many umbrellas are out.  But this is the third typhoon I've experienced and not once has one brought about more rain than California gets during winter time.  But, I suppose I can give typhoons a thumbs up, because typhoon translates to "a possibility that there will be so much wind that the trains will blow off the tracks, so all trains must stop, and since trains are the main mode of transportation in Japan, all classes, part time jobs, and other transportation-necessary events must be canceled, giving Alysse a day off." So, it's raining here, and I get to sit inside wearing my sweat pants and slippers, being a very...

It's a pretty daunting task when you do so many things and don't have the time, energy, or motivation to keep on top of blogging about it all, and it gets backed up like this.  But it's time for me to tackle this task and let you know how fun the beginning of my school year has been! I have done far too many things to blog about it all, but I have pictures to share for some experiences, so I suppose those ones will be the lucky winners! I moved in by simply piling all of my things into whatever bags, boxes, and containers I could find, and making trip after trip between Dialogue House and Global House.  I then met all of my unit mates and got myself settled in.  We had a welcome meeting and later that night we had a sort of welcome party in one of the guys' rooms, where I was able to meet a lot of people and get to know them better.  At one point, I was conducting one of the oh, so repetitive "Remind me your name again?  And where you're from?" conver...

This is the place I will be calling "home" for the next ten months!

This is where I stayed in between my time taking summer courses at ICU and starting my year at Global House.

This is my Autumn schedule:

In the last two months, I have realized that Japan has taken a lot of things from me, including Mexican food, cheese, good cookies, a car, guilt-free elevator use, and 13 lbs.  A little lesson on cause and effect.

Generally, the first day of school is when students put on their best outfits, so as to start out the year right.  Well, this year we were forced to change that up a little bit.  I introduce my Junior year first-day-of-school look! Today is ganguro/kogal day number one.  I didn't get the chance to go shopping for costume essentials because there was a mix-up about the date, so I had to make due, but I promise my outfit and makeup will get worse as the week continues. Fake eyelashes are really annoying, by the way.

I am really enjoying my time here, settled into Global House.  I have been in Japan for two months so far, and I have enjoyed every moment of it.  But, during the past two months I have felt like I was on vacation.  Don't get me wrong, I love being on vacation just as much as the next person, but now I have a new relationship with Japan.  I have started calling Tokyo "home."  Don't worry, America is still home, too, but I am really comfortably settled in here, and I'm loving it. So, this is just a post to check in and assure everyone I love that I am as happy as can be, despite missing you all very much. My dorm room, which I will show you later, feels very homey to me.  It's my own room, and my bed is finally comfortable (really comfortable).  Even though it smelled strange in here when I moved in, I found a candle for 99 yen and I light it whenever I'm in my room, so it smells like brown sugar all the time.  I also always manage to have a grea...

I've been busy again.  Still.  Who'dathunk? I know I've been back in Tokyo for 4 days and that I owe what I promise is a lot of fun Kyoto and Osaka stories.  For the first two days I was back I was relaxing in a clean room (oh, how I missed you, hygiene!) and having to pack.  Then yesterday I moved into my permanent dorm, which I absolutely love.  So, all last night and today I've been getting settled in and meeting people. Plus, we have been having orientation after orientation after orientation. I have another excuse, too.  I took so many videos that I need to compile and edit them on a video editing program.  The only one I have is Windows Movie Maker, and of course it doesn't accept the file type that my video camera records in, so I have to figure out how to convert the files.  But after trying three programs and two roundabout methods, I'm taking a break from it, so they won't be up for a little bit longer. I am now staying in Global Hou...