Wandering

Me and a building near my school

.

The cool garden near my school

.

Me doing the Shinto thing (old)

.

Me in a bamboo forest! (old)

This week went pretty smoothly in terms of classes!

In Art History, the class I thought the teacher was scaring away people in really was. 20 people dropped the class, but then 10 more joined...so basically we are in the same position as before. We have our first museum assignment this week, and me and the other OUS kids in the class are going on Monday. We are going to the same museum as we went to before, but I have been wanting to go back. Now that I know a little bit about the beginnings of Japanese art history, it should make that section all the more interesting. Also, it was mentioned that there might be a new Tokugawa exhibit up....needless to say, I will be there awhile!

History class seems to be covering similar stuff as art history. This is kind of good, for this way I know for sure I will learn the material! It has also given me many ideas of places to visit during spring break....

Japanese, on the other hand, is moving rather slowly. We have two different teachers, and one of them is useless!!! Well, I think the best way to learn Japanese anyways is just talking to Japanese people, which is what I have been doing....We did learn in class the word for when a person commits suicide by stepping in front of a train, which sadly happens a lot here...usually, if there is a train delay, this is the cause. It is kind of sad, but true...the suicide rate in Japan is pretty high...Su and I had to wait 30 minutes one time...sorry, very depressing!

Yesterday I went to one of the Japanese international club events, where we learned Japanese slang. It was pretty interesting, and there was a Chinese girl there I could practice my Chinese on. However, my Chinese is fading and making way for Japanese. I kept mixing up the vocabulary! So difficult....

Today was fun because it was my first time wandering around Tokyo by myself! Usually, we travel in a big herd, and it is hard to focus on things you really want to focus on. It was also refreshing to just be away from people for awhile. I walked around the area where my school is, and discovered a really cool Japanese garden/temple nearby! I cannot wait to have lunch there or something...it was very peaceful! I also explored some of the residential areas, which was interesting to see. Next, because it is on my way home, I went to Shinjuku. There, I visited Kinokuniya bookstore, which is basically like the Powell's of Japan, only with new books. It was huge! They also have a foreign language section, but all the books there were really expensive...never the less, I was there for like 2 hours!!!

This Sunday, a group of us are going to Ginza and Tsukuji! I a excited because Ginza was the first westernized part of Tokyo, and I am eager to see if there are in traces left of that architecture! There is also a garden that once belonged to a shogun which is supposed to be beautiful. AND the Sony building is there, and you can see all the new gadgets to be released! Oh, did I mention the GODZILLA statue? I am super excited for this!!!!!!

Also, Tammy gave me a good idea. If you have a request of a kind of picture you want to see or something, email or make a comment, and I will see what I can do! My first mission: sleeping people on the trains.

That's all for now!