Round and Round I Go

January 24

In the morning, I became better aware of how the rooming situation was set up. There are six rooms with two people each. These twelve people share a centrally located bathroom, living room, and kitchen. The bathroom has two toilets, two showers, and three sinks. The kitchen is not equipped with all of its instruments yet because the school does not want the temporary homestay students at the dorms to cause any problems for the actual residents. The living room is the main area that the residents like to meet. It has a fair-sized TV and a large couch.

Once people started to wake up, the main topic was about attending the general meeting that was scheduled soon. I had no idea how to reach the school yet, so I made sure to tag along with some of the people who were going. I was able to learn how to reach the school by paying attention to where we turned. Once the meeting was over, I had to stay for the Japanese placement test. It became apparent that the test would not be as easy as I thought since I never used any textbooks for my Japanese classes and the test was based on the textbooks. After the test, it became evident just how much Japanese I didn’t know. Feeling separated in full by the language barrier, I was unable to get myself to speak any Japanese for the rest of the day. Despite this inhibition, I still needed to find out how to pay my fees. After going to the Center for International Education (CIE), I asked one of the English speaking people if I could pay with traveler’s checks. I was told that I could pay only in yen and I would have to go to the bank in order to cash the checks. I tried to get directions of how to walk to the bank. After walking for a good, long while, I decided that I was lost at that point and I walked back to campus.

Knowing that I had to pay my fees before I could register the next day, I needed to find a way to the bank. Before I could do that, however, I had to fix another problem: I was hungry and I didn’t know where to go. I was about to venture out in the town to try to find something that looked like food, but as I was heading back the way I came, I noticed people eating. I went to explore the area and I found a cafeteria and a McDonalds. Being that my Japanese was in a temporary stasis, I decided to explore the McDonalds to see what they had. I noticed only a few differences in the menu. As I was attempting to get my food, an English speaking worker came to help me order. Having made my first successful transaction in Japan, I went to eat.

After I finished eating, I went back to the dorms to get my passport, which I figured out that I needed to cash my checks. Next, I asked the dorm supervisor how to get to the bank. The supervisor did not speak English, so I used a few Japanese terms. She told me to go to the bus stop and take bus #12 at ¥220 a trip. All I had left to do was find the bus stop. I was unsuccessful in doing so, but while I was searching, I found my airplane buddy who told me that the bank was closed now (3PM) anyway. Tired and out of ideas, I went back to the dorm where I stayed the rest of the day since my legs were shot from all the walking.