March 12, 2011

Japan earthquake 2011

so on thursday night i went out to the bar with Kate, Ryo, Takashi, Nori ,Nick and Mike. The three Japanese boys slept over and we were all laughing and joking Friday morning. it was a beautfiul Friday afternoon. my plans were to go to my internship, come home and study and go to Disneyland Saturday.

At about 2:40 pm, as I was at my desk at the Japan Times, I felt the impact of the earthquake. at first i though wow woah this is cool as it was small tremors which i thought would stop. it got worse though and lasted for about 4 minutes (which felt like an eternity). everyone started screaming and running down the stairs out the door. we waited outside the building and saw the pond/moat around my office building had floodeed out. scary.

after another quake 20 mins later, i left after my boss advised me to. i had no clue what to do. the train lines were shut. how would i get home?

millions of people were scattering the streets of tokyo, watching the tv and shouting announcement (which i could not really understand)

i walked around aimlessly trying to get a taxi (impossible) finally i ran into my friends adrian from school. we was drinking a beer and keeping calm. i walked around w him as he tried to find me a taxi (he knows the city better than me) impossible.

waited for a bus in the cold with a bunch of little obaasans (grandmas, old ladies)…the busses were all full.

finally i went into mita hall, one of temples campus buildings. (oh ps….i guess i never mentioned that my school/internship are located a 1 hour train ride away from my apartment)….by this time is was 7 pm. there were some kids hanging out in teh computer lab. i felt a little comforted that i could get a hot drink and talk to some people.

i made friends with two kids who checked my japanese homework for me and taught me some slang (native japanese kids obvs.) they also helped translate the warnings for me.

we walked to Azabu (the other TUJ building) bc there were more kids there and teachers were giving out food and drinks.

there had to be like 50-60 students stranded in teh school. a lot were on the computers, eating, a lot were getting drunk. it was like a big high school sleepover thing. i guess thats where i was gunna spend the night. at least i was safe.

around 10 pm the namboku and oedo lines began to work (2 subway lines). i need to take yamanote to get home, so that wouldnt do me any good but my friend brett suggested we go to shinjuku (party district) and go to a club and make a night of it rather than just sit inside tuj all night.

ahh why night. so we took the crowded subway to shinjuku. buisness men were sitting all over the ground like homeless people. ladies with crying babies.

we went to a kareoke bar/nomihode for a few hours and then felt some more tremors. by 1 30 am wer just wanted to go home. evern the 24 hr mcdonals had closed down.

all the food from shelves was gone. finally got a taxi at 3 am. got home by 4 30 am.

im ok right now but its scary. i m not going home. there are a lot of people suffering here. Yasuo was in Fukushima. all i could think about was how I invited him out Thursday night too and he txt me back saying he was in Fukushima (ground zero of the tsunami).

i finally got word yesterday he in alive and ok. thank goodness.

i am not a religious person and when i say pray for whoever its just an expression. honestly you can sit home and pray but wtf is that gunna do? if anyone wants to help they should donate money. many people here need food and supplies. that would be most helpful.

i feel connect and proud to be in Japan. it is now my home. I am happy the U.S. is helping though. that is one good thing about the States. they are always there to help other nations when they are in need. Thanks U.S.A.

I just hope all this gets sorted out soon.

gambatte

マリッサ

tagged as japan. japan e

March 3,2011

possible 21st birthday plan ideas

disney land tokyo- i havent been to disney in like 10 years.

sanrio land-hello kitty paradise whattttttttt

eyelash extentions (i want them! and found a lady in kichijoji who speaks english!)

go to club womb (voted the 2nd best nightclub in the world)

get my nails did—actually scratch that, it cost like 200 dollars here

i wish money wasnt ever an issue!!

4/3/11 @ 12:40am • 0 ♥

Feb 13,2011

japan

so i just got back from a long tiring weekend exploring western japan. definitely fun, definitely an experience.

wednesday night at 8 30 pm we left from tokyo on a bus. we is a group of 27 tuj students and nahomi and paul-oss leaders. the bus was like a martz bus, and it was an overnight bus in which we didnt arrive to our destination until 7 30 am, so yeah this kind of sucked. i slept on a bus wednesday night. there was no bathroom on it but it made a rest stop e very two ours.

thursday morning at 7 30 we arrived in hiroshima. i got to eat a quick snack and brush my teeth and do my makeup haha.

hiroshima was a beautiful city but it was very quiet and very open. it had almost an eeriness too it, and after going to the museum put a lot into perspective. the way i learned about things in school you learn august 6, 1945 d day. a victory. but no. what i saw when i went to japan made me very upset. what america did was kill millions of innocent victims in a painful and cruel death, literally burning their skin off their bodies until they melt. the heat of the atomic bomb was 3,000 degrees the museum was really sad, but also really informative. i got to stand in the spot the bomb landed, and meet survivors.

a about 3 pm we left and went to get some okonomiyaki—-delicious food that hiroshima is famous for. me and kate got to sit at the bar and watch the guys make it. its basically a crepe with noodles on top, and cheese and shrimp and egg and barbeque sauce. so goood!!!!!

at 5 pm we took a ferry from hiroshima to miyajima island. this was the most beautiful spot ive ever seen in my life. its a small traditional island in japan. little msall shops are open selling gifts and food. the island is famous for its deer. hundreds of deer live on the island but they are not the deer you think of in PA. these deer come right up to you and lick your hand! i had pictures of me and the deer but somehow they got deleted! i think my grandpa would have really loved miyajima. it was calm and peaceful and full of animals. and there was a lot of old people living there. it reminded me of him a lot. i bet his heaven looks like miyajima. but with butts and cabbage! lol!!

we stayed in the ryokkan inn which is a traditional japanese inn. i took a nice hot shower after nearly 48 hrs of feeling gross (i did not mention i had to go right from my internship to the bus on wedndesay) there was an onsen downstairs-which is a traditional japanese bath. japanese are big on hottub/ group bathing. its part of culture. also japanese our not embarrassed or personal about nudity. its a big public bath wear everyones naked, but its supposdely great and relaxing. jen and megan went in it and loved it. i was tempted to go in but i didnt. that was prob my only chance to ever do so and i passed it up. ypu see, onsens have a strict rule of no tattoos. tattooos are not at all popular in japan. people are afraid of them because they are associated with the yakuza——the japanese mafia. so many places do not allow tattoed people such as an onsen. but this was just a small onses in our hotel and no one would have said anything. anywayyyyy my roomates were megan, jen, mirijam and kate. we got to wear traditional robes and got a delicious meal served to our room! fish, oysters, tempura,rice,egg,pickes…and a bunch of stuff im not even sure what it is but it was delicious!!!

the next morning we all overslep! someone our alarm didnt go off! breakfast was served at 7 downstairs but i didnt wake up until 7 05so i skipped breakfast in order to get ready. i got dressed in time for 8 am check out and took the ferry back to hiroshima. then we took the shinkansen aka bullet train. its a train that goes superfast. basically if we took the shinkansen from tokyo-hiroshima it would have taken maybe 4 hours, vs 11 on the bus.

at 11 we arrived in kyoto. i have to say, kyoto was cool but i was underwhelmed. maybe its because i always hear how beautiful it is and its talked up a lot but. eh, it was ok. maybe its because there wasnt much to do and i am a city girl who likes busy busy bustle! kyoto people were a lot more sheltered than tokyo natives. people stared a lot and were in shock to see white people. (i forgot to mention we did not stay in the group of 30 the whole time! i just hang out with 4 -5 friends). i saw some famous temples, bought some souveniers and checked into the capsule hotel for the night. this was awesome. very futuristic where you sleep in a pod in the wall! the light slowly turns on in your pod as if the sun were rising in the morning.

saturday morning me, jen, kate and megan checked out at 10 am and got breakfast at a cafe. hot milk tes and egg and bread! then we went to osaka. osaka is the 2nd largest city in japan. i was warned it was kinda like tokyo but grungier and more real….you can say that again.

i was in shock and definitely got a new mindset about japan by osaka. 1st of all they have a whole different dialect than tokyo. diff slang, accents. so i couldnt understand a lot of people. also people are not as shy, they are more upfront and not afraid. from 14 year old girl;s yelling “hello!!!” at us (aka making fun of us. people in japan know like 2 english phrases hello and thank you so by saying hello its like if you were to see a spanish person in start laughing and say hola!!) also theres a lot more punk rock kinda people. and “ghettoo thugs”. tokyo is very upper class wehere people always wear prada suits and 4 inch stillettos and carry luis vuiton bags. people in osaka are more middle class and have crazy hair and piercings. people were hello gaijin at us. i used to think that term was kinda funny, but now i think it kinda hurts. gaijin is a derogatory term that means not japanese. its basically like calling a black person the n word.

the day was fun though! we spent all day saturday shopping! i got a dress, a hot, shoes! the girls at the one mall were super cute and super nice. she helped me pick out a bunch a clothes and kept telling me how cute my ring was, asking me where i was from etc. jen, kate megan and i went to an all you can eat italian buffet which was so yummy for lunch! pizza, pasta, salad! nom nom!!

after a long nap and putting on my new outfit we decided to go out. the night life of osaka is also much shadier. we wanted to stay close to the hotel which ended up being in a shady distrcit filled with people trying to solicit us into their bars and make fun of us. its so weird to me. prob because being white and living in america i have never had to deal with racism before. or being made fun of for my race. but in osaka, people love to be rude to foreigners!

i got got ddrunk then went to bed.

today was osaka day number 2. instead of shopping we went to some temples and sight seeing. me and kate got a charicatuer taken. it is cute! the artist was so a nice! a little ojiisan (old man) whos daughter did a homestay in pennsylvania we said! people kept stopping us and asking where we are from. bit unlike people the day before they said postive thngs about us, while pointing out we were foreigners by genuinly acting intrigued and saying we were kire (pretty, beautful girls)…i talked to a buncha little kids who were adorable age 7!!!

we got sushi for lunch/ dinner than headed home.

its now midnight and im beat. i have my internship tmmmrw and have to go to the alien regitration office in the morning.

1st week in Japan

So I survived my 1st week in Japan. This past week has been full of so much I am so overwhelmed...I wanted to blog a lot more but literally have not had a free moment!!!!

Hmm...so where to begin...

Sunday I went to Harajuku with Jen and Kate. It was everything I've ever dreamed of and we are going back this Sunday! Supposdely there was an English speaking guy who worked at the Softbank (cell phone company) in Harajuku so we went there to get phones. He was not Japanese, and a complete jerk and was trying to rip us off saying we must get a plan! not prepaid! so we left and went to Akihabara's softbank. The girls there spoke like, no english but we used out 日本語 skills to get a prepaid phone with unlimited texting for just 6,200 yen (about 75 bucks) The girl who worked there was cute, she knew little english but sure knew who Lady Gaga was!!!

This past Monday 1/11 was Seijin no Hi, or "coming of age day. This national holiday is held the 2nd Monday of January to celebrate those who have turned 20 over the past year. 20 is the age of adulthood in Japan. It is a very big deal here. Many 20 year olds wear kimono for the special occasion. The girls all looked very beautiful in their kimonos and had their hair done in updoos, a lot had on fur scarfs as well. It was cool to see, especially me being 20 as well. Me and Kate were going to go to a few holiday festivities but we had too much to do!

Looking at a hand drawn map, we tried to navigate our way to the 100 yen store, but of course got lost. I keep getting lost/confused wherever I go! There are barely any street signs and barely anything in English. Memorizing kanji is a must. I have learned that Jiyugaoka is自由が丘, Shibuya is 渋谷, and so forth. We asked a cute little couple if they knew where the 100yen store was. They were about early-mid thirties, and had a little baby and a dog they were walking. Not only did they tell us, they walked us there! They said in English "together", and walked a whole 6-7 minute walk out of their way with us! These people were しんせつ人です！（kind people) we thanked them over and over for their kindness. we got to the store and stocked up on soap, dish towels, toilet paper....the necessities!

Tuesday was my first day of class. I only have classes Tuesday and Thursday.

12-1:30 I have Crime, Deviance and Social Control in Japan. This class is taught by Kyle Cleveland, the study abroad advisor and head of the Asian Studies department. He is a really cool guy and I'm excited about the class. He has some field trips planned including a trip to Fuchu Prison (one of the largest prisons in the world), and a late night trip to a town run by the Yazuka (Japanese gang)

1:40-3:40 I have Japanese Elements 2. My teacher is Chiho Okada sensee. She is a tall, thin Japanese woman with long dark hair and shiny pink lipstick. She is very beautiful!! The class is very intense, especially only being two days a week. Japanese language is the main thing I want to get better at during my stay here. The language is essential. Its like being illiterate without it. Its also rude and embarrassing to live in a country and not speak the primary language.

5:30-7 i have Cognitive Psychology. My least favorite out the the classes. My teacher is a British guy with a very thick accent and he mumbles a lot. Its kind of boring as well, but we shall see.

Tuesday night after I finished class at 7, Kate and I met our friends Ryoto and Takashi in Shibuya. They are Japanese guys around out age who　have some mutual friends. We went to an udon shop with them and got some dinner. udon shops are my new favorite thing ever. Basically its a little restaurant that has pictures of all the meals in the window. You put money (they only cost about $5) into a vending machine and pick your meal, then a ticket prints out, you bring it inside give it to the worker and tell him if you want soba(thin spaghetti like noodles) or udon (thick noodles). Then you get your meal (meat, tofu, veggies, whatever you choose) over a broth with noodles. Oishii desu!! After dinner the boys took us to The Pink Cow, a laif back bar in Shibuya, Tokyo. A band from New York was playing and there were a lot of college aged kids there. 3 shots of vodka and 2 shots of tequilla later, (haha great night!!) me and Kate took the Tokyu line back home.

Monday Wednesday and Friday I work at my Internship with the Japan Times. So far its really great. I work with such an array of people! A few of my co workers are from England, 2 are from Canada, many are Japanese as well. I did not think I would need to know Japanese for my internship but this is not the case. There is not anything or anywhere in Japan where you do not need to know Japanese. I am working in the digital media department. I mostly handle their online feeds with Twiiter, Facebook, The Japan Times Pulse Blog. Today I learned how to pick the photos that go in the paper for the tv section. On my way out, Sean pulled me aside and asked me if I would like to write a few articles for the paper. I have one coming out in February. I am so excited about this! An article written by me is going to be published in the Japan Times! The national newspaper of Japan! What a great honor!!!

Overall I love Japan so far. I really do not miss home. Infact this lifestyle makes me really not like America. Well, Philly particularly. People here are so kind, quiet and polite. It makes me angry about the ghetto dirty part of Philly that I live in.

There is still a lot here I'm not used to though, just different ways of life and different social norms!

Firstly the language is a big thing. This morning me and Kate had to go sign up for National Health insurance and get alien registration cards. I am actually very proud of myself. I know nothing about insurance or paperwork or any of that back home as my mom takes care of it all...somehow with barely any English used we managed to find our way to the offices, and sign up for everything.

Today at the internship the whole office went out for lunch as a farewell dinner for Henry, he's an intern too but today was his last day. The menu was all in japanese and I was the only one who could not read it. I know I'm new to the country but its still kind of awkward not being able to read. Japanese is not even close to English like Spanish or French, where I could guess what the food was. Luckily some of the people at the office helped me out, and no one made a fuss about it.

They brought out our food all separately and its a good thing I was one of the last people to get my meal.　Even with a group of 15 people Everyone waits to eat until the last person is served. I probably would have just started digging in if I had not noticed this! Also, chopsticks are the only utensil they offer at 99% of places. I am really awkward with chopsticks. imagine seeing someone who could not properly hold a fork? You'd think they were kind of strange eh?

This weekend I plan on doing homework, going back to Harajuku and relaxing! for the first time all week!! I am looking forward to skypeing with my boyfriend and my family tomorrow. I might not miss PA but I do miss the people in it!!!

マリッサ

TOKYO LIFE

お肺よおございますで日本

So i have been living in Japan for a full 3 days now, and I can still say it feels like a dream world which I have not woke up from yet. It is so different from America in every way, and I feel like it is drastically different from Europe too, although I've never been there.

Its a collective culture, as opposed to an individualist culture. Instead of everyone focusing on themselves and their own girls like in the US, people focus on the goals on the community and live life as a group of people helping others.

ex:

1.it is very common to see people wearing hospital masks on their face. it is a way of being courteous if you have a cold by keeping your germs to yourself, or if you want to not get sick in the first place.

2.there are strict rules about garbage. everything must be divided in certain ways. wrappers must be removed of plastic bottles. everyone takes this very seriously. there is absolutely no trash on the ground anywhere. I saw a lady's dog pee on a pole and after it was done she poured her bottle of evian spring water over the pee to wash it off. the subway smells like delicious food from the food stands and restaurants inside as compared to the Philly subway which smells like rotting bodies.

3.Japanese people feel very much a community and family as a whole. Unlike America where all races are common, even minorities. It is not so common to not be Japanese here. Only 1% of the population are foreigners and 1/2 of that 1% are Chinese and Korean. White people are called "gaijin"...which is a slightly derogatory term that translates to strange foreigner.

-----yesterday on the train when me and my roomate kate walked on, these 2 Japanese girls...maybe about 14 years old started laughing at us! They think forigners are funny and strange. We were speaking in English to each other so just to be a smartass/ let the girls know we understand Japanese Kate said to the one "私ぼうしがすきです　which means "i like your hat"...she laughed but said thank you.

-4.Everyone here is so willing to help you. I have yet to come across a person with bad intent...although i'm sure they exist. he other day a car and a biker got in each others way on the road. If this happened in America I can be sure it would result in horns beeping, and curses being yelled out windows. I was in shock to see both the driver and biker give each other a friendly head bow and wave while the biker yelled "sumimasen" (i'm sorry!!/excuse me!!)

the most delicious and healthy food is in Japan! this is why Japan is the least obese country in the nation. Since i've been here my sensitive stomach has not acted up one time! I've felt healthier than ever. I ate a lot of beans,tofu, rice noodles fish and vegatables...I am getting all my essential vitamins and cutting out crap. There is not cheese on barely anything and that is a great help!!

pop culture is weird here. people are especially really kinky and sexual. There are arcades that contain girl only floors and boy only floors. the boy only floors(after i walked around on one for 5 minutes before i realized i was not allowed) have claw machines where you can win posters of anime girls in bikinis or naked....stuff like that. I saw a mouse pad that had an Anime women with big 3D boobs ...weird.

Girls fashion is amazing and completely my style and one of the main reasons I love Japan. They wear crazy bright colored clothes and nails. Kawaii desu ne! (very cute)

Today I am going shopping in the teen fashion district of Harajuku! I cannot waitttttttttttt

I'll write more about my journeys as much as possible!!!

マリッサ