I got a haircut!

Sorry for such a delayed update -.-" I was completely bogged down by work, projects, and examinations. I finally had a break today, so i got a haircut! I have officially been japanesified. But it's alright, i am totally in love with my new hair ;D too bad it won't look like this tomorrow.

The weather has gotten so nice here, i went out with a light hoodie and a skirt today, with tights of course. It seems that here in Japan you would never really ever see a girl going around with a short skirt and bare leg. They always try to cover up by wearing either knee high boots/socks or leggings/tights, bare leg is not in here.

Life here in Japan seems to be full of rules and social protocol. You cant eat or drink while walking, it's seen as socially unacceptable. There are drink machines everywhere here but you're supposed to buy it, finish it, and throw out the can right next to the machine. You're also not supposed to drink, eat, or talk on your cell phone on the trains. There aren't cops walking around everywhere to enforce these rules but it seems that everyone follows them anyway. I wonder if this could ever be adopted in the States.

Tomorrow i'm going to visit this giant mall in my area, called Kuzuha Mall. It's supposedly like an American Mall, with American Shops, but just all in Japanese. We'll see how it goes :D Ja ne!

Bike!

So I stuffed my camera into my bike basket and decided to record my trek to school. Epic fail lols. The camera shifted somewhere mid journey and i hit so many bumps along the way i felt like puking when i was reviewing it. I'll try and figure out a better way to go about doing this lols.

Here's a pic of my bike...finally right lols. I didnt actually get a pink bike but peach is close enough. Do you see my lady bug bike bell ;D its right by my hands. The basket is pretty helpful but kind of small, so whenever i go grocery shopping i end up dangling bags off my handles. The flat panel in the back is a carrier. I finally managed to ride with someone sitting on it last week. Much harder than it looks, but its a nice sense of accomplishment once you get it right.

I'm a bit japanese'ified in this pic but dont worry i dont actually dress like this everyday hahaha. And my skirt really isnt as short as it looks lols. Shopping here is vaguely awkward because it seems that everything is one size "fit all". I'm making due but i really wish the shoes here were more exactly sized. The shoes here are a S (22-22.5) M (23-23.5) L (24-24.5) LL (25-25.5) I'm a L here, 7.5 in the states. The bigger the size the uglier the shoe gets lols but luckily its not that uncommon to find a pair of cute shoes in L but LL is def pretty rare.

Tomorrow i'm team leader for a school festival, will post pictures of it when i have them :D

Onsens and Raging Jungles

Yesterday i visited an Onsen with my friend Amanda. Spa World was having a promotion for their all day pass, and for just 1000 yen ($11.18 US) of course i'll go! They had everythinggg at this place. No need to bring towels, lotion, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, etc, everything is provided onsite. But just entering the place you can already tell the difference between New York and Japan. You purchase a ticket by the door from a machine instead of from a physical ticket vendor. Then you cant walk beyond a certain point without removing your shoes. The lockers actually give you back your money when youre done using them. And of course all the glorious nakedness the second you walk into the locker room.

The way spa world is arranged you'll never go into an onsen and see a member of the opposite sex, we're actually physically on different floors. This month the 6FL asian themed spa were for the women, the 4FL european theme for the guys, and next month it'll switch. Tattoos are really taboo here in Japan, theyre usually associated with organized crime or the yakuza, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to hide mine. I actually had a bandage on it at first but i accidently bought the medicated ones and was asked to remove them before i entered the water. After that i just had to walk around with a small towel around my shoulders and have my back face the wall of the spa whenever i got in the water. A bit irritating always having to be aware of how i'm standing but overall completely worth it because it's an experience i'll never have in the states. Amanda and i agreed to come back a few more times before the promotion is over ;D

Another thing i noticed about Japan, besides the tattoo hate, is the lack of shaving. I wondered why razors were so expensive here and now i know why. Very few people here actually shave. Its not to say none do but its not favored among the populace. The jungles were running amuck if you know what i mean. There was actually this one woman who had so much hair it went up to her belly ring, this is the first time i've ever heard of a woman with a happy trail. The icing on the cake was when she raised her arms to fix her hair...thats when i saw it. She actually had more armpit hair than my boyfriend, not to say he doesn't have any but it was really THAT bad.

But Japan isn't all about untamed forest, they actually have a lot of love for nail art. I actually got some done for myself ;] My one japanese'afied thing i have embraced at the moment.

We'll see what happens in the future with this lols. Its actually kind of awkward to type right now because i've never had such long nails before bit i'm sure i'll get used to it in a few days lolss. I guess this kinda kills my plans to join the aikido club. I also probably have to refigure how i go about doing my daily activities but that's ok ;D theyre so pretty and i might as well indulge in them now because i wont be able to survive with them in NY.

Tomorrow i'll be hitting the nightlife in Osaka, will keep you update :)

-Antonia

So my internet is vaguely working now so i can start my blog for you guys! I'm sorry its taken almost 3 weeks since i've been gone for me to start this :/

I rode the plane in my sweat couture and actually got my sister to pose in a picture with me, doesn't happen often. At customs right after this pic, i actually bumped into another kansai gaidai sei, which i've already friended on facebook prior to even meeting her in real life. The wonders of

fb right ;D

I knew it was a good idea to join the fb group prior to leaving, if not then i would have been uber bored just waiting for boarding time. The flight was sooo long, 14 hours to be exact, but Asiana fed us like 2 meals plus a sandwich break in between. Luckily, from what i've heard from other students on different airlines, i didn't get food poisoning mid flight. Now that would have been torturous.

We got to Seoul around 5am , and go figure nothing is open. We had a 5 hour wait time between flights so a group of us just sat around trying to find internet connection, this is when i checked my email and found out i left A LOT of things at home. They were in my other suitcase which i switched out for a smaller one last second. But i suppose it isn't all bad, my sister is sending me a care package with most of the essentials i can't get here, including my twix. Right before I boarded my connecting flight to Osaka we found this booth that was filled with traditional korean clothes, and of course we had to try them out ;D The whole time we were doing this people were snapping pictures of us hahaha. (from top left: Alice, Sarah, Me, Judy; Bottom left: Sam, Richard)

That first night in Japan i had... instant ramen, go figure right. We weren't allowed to use anything but the fridge, the microwave, and the stove to boil water. I pretty much had cup noodles for dinner the whole week i was here. It was soo bizarre going

to the supermarket the first time because instead of the parking lot being filled with cars, the ones here are filled with bikes. We have to register our bikes if we get one, because cops will literally stop you on the street if they dont see a bike registration sticker on it.

They're insanely strict with their bikes here lols and of course they ride on the opposite side, i almost got run over by a truck because i got confused and went right instead of left ;X And of course i found my Curry udon here ;D so awesome, They have it in the school cafeteria for 350yen, way cheaper than udon west lols and you definitely have to get it negi nashi because who likes to eat scallions anyway right?

Our school campus has this really nice spot, i have no idea what to call it though. An arena? A colosseum?

An Atrium? Well either way its really big and when the weather is nice there are usually break dancers practicing on that wooden platform in the middle. The campus is also REALLY nice. Can't wait till its filled with flowers and the fountain turns on.

The whole first week was spent in orientation meetings and then a kyoto trip. I got THE worst fortune here. It said that if there are people i'm waiting to meet,

I will never meet them. If i'm ill i will be ill for a very long time. If i lose something it will be difficult to find. I will never have children but i'll be successful at work -.-" I really should burn that thing.

This weekend i also went to Kobe and tried Kobe beef. SOOOO expensive, but sooo good!

Time here has been awesome thus far. I promise i'll update more consistently now on. You can send me a message at my keitai (cell phone) email and it'll reach me instantly like a text, wish we had this in the states without requiring a data plan. It's achen@softbank.ne.jp EMAIL ME!

( From Left: Jennifer, Mai, Me, Erika, Aina)

Missing all of you mucho!

-Antonia

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