KAROKE & KYOTO! 2 Days and Nights of Complete Fun!~

HELLO everyone. So I will start with Thursday night. After our many activities for our orientation, my friend Daisy and I on the spur of the moment went to karoke with some other international kids. We had to walk a good 30-45 minutes to get to BIG WAVE Karoke & Bar where you can pay 1000 yen ($10.00) for an hour of all you can sing and well...all you can drink. I drank water since I feel like it is really hard for people in the Osaka humidity and heat to stay hydrated. We went with some people that we didn't really know well, but by the end of the night it seemed as though if we all had known each other for years. I guess that I what singing horribly out of tune can do for you! haha

I thought I wasn't going to sing at all, I just came to watch how much these people could drink...however I think I ended up being the one who sang most of the songs! I sang a couple of Japanese songs and shout out to my Dad for Sukiyaki which is on our iTunes at home and coincedentally had me listen to it and translate it for him. A girl named Sydney put on the song and she's like I love Enka (Japanese folk music) and I'm like I do too! And then I heard the song and freaked out and went to town! It was so much fun and we all ended up singing songs in Japanese and English. Who can resist belting out Bon Jovi's "IT'S MY LIFE" and Spice Girls "Wannabe" among other famous tunes in a foreign country that promotes crazy karokeing nights? Thank you, Japan... Oh and shout out to Ross - I totally credited you with implementing the TAKAI GO! (high five) at karoke. For those of you who do not know who dear Ross he is one of my friends who graduated from DePauw this year and he used to do this when he was in Japan. Thank you, Ross....

Gaijin Smash = this according to a kid named Devon whom I met at one of the many meetings this week defines it as such: a foreigners excuse for not putting up with or not knowing the customs of the Japanese people and henceforth gaijin smashing their way through the culture and possibly looking like a fool - but because we are foreigners...it is ok. I feel that sometimes a gaijin smash is necessary, however I do not solely relie on the gaijin smash. It is wrong to expect things to be exactly the same way as one's host country in a different culture. If you accidentally gaijin smash your way through something....it is ok. However, when abused the gaijin smash can totally make you look ignorant and arrogant.

Moving on to Friday - Friday was a sweaty kind of day...sorry tmi. It was soooo hot and lets just say I did a lot of walking and now I can't really walk normally thanks to a particular pair of jean shorts.... HOWEVER! yesterday was a great day. I received my schedule = The Body and Communication in Japan, Japanese Popular Media & Culture, and Shinto which were all the classes I wanted. I was placed into only Level 2 of Japanese which I am not happy about since I am supposed to be in 3, but the bright side to this story is that I am able to take Level 2 for a week and then take the placement test again to see if I can move up. I also met with my speaking partner Shinya for the first time yesterday. He's a year younger than me, lives in Osaka and knows some English. We communicate pretty well with hand gestures and our English and Japanese. I feel that I can help him a lot with his English, and he can help me with my Japanese. That IS the point....hahah

At 2:00pm I went to Kyoto with a bunch of other people. In my group we had 5 international kids and 3 Japanese girls who were to be our guides for the trains and Kyoto. Their names were Yuka, Tami, and Kana and they were all so very nice. I tried to speak as much Japanese as I could to them and actually found myself improving already - I spoke to them for around maybe 7 hours. Of course it was not all in Japanese, but instead a mix of English and Japanese. They were very excited to speak with me and the rest of the group. I feel like I have started new friendships already with them and I commend them in their effort to communicate with us.

Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto = I was wowed by it's complete and wonderful awesomeness. That is probably the only way to describe it! I was filled with an overwhelming happiness that I cannot really describe. I was almost moved to tears! I couldn't believe I was in Japan and actually seeing such a beautiful and wonderous sight! On the way up to the temple there are so many beautiful little shops and places that sell yukata (like a summer kimono made of cotton) which I bought. According to my dear Eyewitness Travel Guide book- Kiyomizu Temple is a famous temple over a thousand years old and could almost be called an institution of Kyoto life. I could definitely see that.

Eyewitness also says "to jump off Kiyomizu's stage" is the Japanese equivalent of "to take the plunge". I definitely feel like I have just taken the plunge into a wonderous adventure living in Japan. I am definitely going back to Kyoto. haha!