Last Day at CHUO & The Buddy Party

Today makes two days before we leave. As this trip winds down, I really start to miss my home. This has been exciting, and very amazing, but there is nothing like home. We had our final exam today, which turns out I passed with a 100%. The entirety of this three week program has taught me more than most semester long classes.

Having the buddy party was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes. Saying goodbye to all of the wonderful faces and friends was very challenging. We ended up spending the night walking Tokyo and just talking for hours. This day was an incredible experience.

Final Day in Tokyo and the Long Journey Back

This day was both filled with joy and sorrow. We are all very happy to leave, yet we would stay if we could. I will say that the journey to the airport was actually more of a pain in the ass than it should have been for my. I had to carry a very large duffel bag over my shoulder and throughout the subway system. Needless to say I was sweating like a pig all the way there. Besides the discomfort, we rode the Narita Express to the airport which was a nice change of pace. It was a very relaxing and smooth ride all the way to our destination.
Once there, Dr. J helped us all get our bags checks and our boarding passes for we could move through security. WE all got through safely and everything was in order. The only thing left now was for us to get aboard our 777 and make our way to LAX. As soon as I boarded the plane, I took 4 melatonin pills and fell asleep for the majority of the flight. We got to LAX and realized we have a 12 hour layover here. This was going to be rough, rougher than even our flight over the pacific. We all did things to kill time, so texting, using the internet, playing games, eating and sleeping. We did whatever it took. eventually the time passed and we had to get on board the flight to BNA. This really sealed it. We all slowly and quietly boarded and took our seats. The majority of us fell asleep, others just couldn't seem to make themselves. 

I awoke again, which meant I was home. We headed to the baggage claim carousel, everyone sad at the fact that our journey came to an end. After we all grabbed our bags, everyone said their goodbyes. 

I didn't see this as a permanent goodbye, just like when I said goodbye to my Japanese friends. I am sure I will see these people again in my lifetime. All that needs to be done is that you make the effort to see them .

Skyline Breakfast, The Regae Fest, and Fugu

We awoke in time for 7 am because Dr. V had a special surprise for all the students and faculty. It was a fantastic breakfast buffet on the 24th floor of the Asakusa View hotel. Extravagant isn't even the right word to describe the view from the top. An almost 360 degree view of Tokyo gleaming in the morning paired with the aroma of fine creations of the chefs made it perfect. We all sat with separate groups but still felt as one. All the students went up to the buffet and filled their plates, some more adventurous than others, and I followed. The one thing I'd have to say I enjoyed the most was finding a table in the corner and enjoying a hot cup of coffee while looking out into the skyline and engaging in conversation with a couple others.

After making our way down and back to the hostel, we relaxed for a little while before we decided to head to a Reggae festival in Harajuku by Yoyogi Park. The reggae festival seemed appealing to me since I'm Trinidadian, I thought I'd be able to find others like myself. 

Unfortunately, I didn't run into anyone there, but we all had a good time. It smelled so good and the music they had blasting made me reminisce about home. 

Dinner time came, and I thought it was time to really take it to the edge. So back in Asakusa I took Sada and Suguru to a place I wanted to try ever since I arrived in Tokyo. They had Fugu on display outside the store. I'll be honest, I was very nervous as to if this would end up being my last meal or not. So, I just went for it. It was fantastic. Most tender meat I have had, very similar to eel. We had both the raw and grilled version. I recommend it to anyone who makes it to Tokyo. 

Final Day of Class and TNCIS Going Away Party

Final day of Class and TNCIS Party

Today is our last day of classes here in Japan so its just fitting that we have a final. The final that Dr. V gave us wasn't very difficult. It was a mostly subjective based exam. There was a lot of writing but that balanced out the difficulty.
The main event for the day was a planned event by the Chuo staff and students. It was essentially a going away party for all of us and one last chance for us to see everyone. At around 5:30 pm we all gathered on the first floor of building 3 in some sort of meeting room and we had a great time. One by one all students, both American and Japanese, stated their best memory they've had since our arrival. You could tell that emotions were rising when everyone realized that their time was running short here in Japan. So it was our time to make it worth while.

An American's Japanese Life XX

May 29, 2015

      I can slowly be surely feel my time in Japan coming to an end. Knowing all that I have done up to this point was an experience worth all the while. But sadly, my time is running out. With my departure date coming up but the need to do homework riding my mind, I was left with an inner conflict. After much mental debate, I came to the conclusion that since I have one more free day in Japan, I'll use that day to go out and get my fill. Plus we had a farewell party back at the university.
      A friend and I decided to use our time wisely and take advantage of the University's great WiFi. Good thing we did to, because as soon as we got started the rain come. I glad that I decided t work today in exchange for play because nothing beats that feeling of finishing an assignment and not having to worry about it. After completing our assignments, we went back to the Hostel to get some rest. Unfortunate for us, we were not paying attention to the time. We had just enough time to walk in, lay our stuff down, get any last minutes things, and had back out to the University.
      I really enjoyed the time we got to shared not just with our own, but with everyone else buddies. We bonded over stories about the past month and food. All the study aboard got to share their favorite thing about Japan. It's funny because even through we are all in the same group, we all had different experiences in Japan. We ended the party with an American custom. What better way to end a night than to dance. We exchanged gifts and plans for what tomorrow will bring.

Day 8, Taiko drums at Tama Campus

Breakfast at a new coffee shop chain, Doutor. I have a Matcha Latte and a tasty treat to go with it.

Today we visited the main Chuo University campus, Tama. We met other students here and tried our best to put together some origami. We decided to be ambitious and try to make a semi-hard one. It didn’t turn out so well, so I opted to make a little samurai hat. It looked ok.

Next they invited us to listen to a group of students play Taiko drums. I must say they are very talented. They were all very passionate and engaged in the songs. It isn’t just drumming, its about their leg and arm movement and their melodic, rhythmic chanting. It was really cool to watch. And then….they let us play…hahaha. It was very fun, but also laughable. Clearly, they practice A LOT! I wish I could’ve gotten some pictures of them, but I wanted to pay attention and wasn't sure if it would be rude or not.

After a long day, a few of us decided to hit the supermarket for some sushi before bed. I thought it was interesting to see the fried food out in the open and then a packaged pair of fried eggs.

Day 7, Navy Base

Its hard to tell by this photo, but this shower room is really spacious. Its nice to take a shower without bumping your elbow against the wall. The bathtub is also much deeper than a typical bathtub in the US.

Today Teresa took me to the Navy Base. It was just like being in America again. I didn’t know I would miss hearing a southern accent until I heard it from the taxi driver. It felt like I was home.

We made a stop at Starbucks to get a Matcha Latte (sooo good). I gotta drink as many as I can since we don’t have these in the US.

Next we go grab lunch at a Japanese Curry restaurant, Coco’s. You get to pick the level of spicy 1-10. You can’t even eat a certain level until you’ve had a level 5, I think. I get pressured to not eat more than a 3, so I order a 4. I definitely should’ve went with a 7. It was really tasty. Maybe I’ll be able to go again before I leave.

We head to the mall to look around. Check out the amount of bikes outside of the mall. This just shows how much they ride bikes here.

Next we go check out a supermarket to see how different it is from the US. The fruit is really expensive. A watermelon is about $12. They individually package all of the fruits and veggies.

As a person that doesn't read Japanese, Teresa says you just have to use pictures and guess by looks what it is you need. One example, is that they thought these fish cakes were some sort of candy. They tried them because of the One Piece ad.

One Piece is one of the longest running anime and you see it in advertising for everything, everywhere. 

One Piece seen in Coke and air freshner products. These are just a few examples.

The hot dogs they sell here are also either really small or really big. There isn't anything that compares to US hot dogs. These are accompanied by some quirky ads. One is from a video ad played in the store. And the other is showing a dish for kids where the small hot dogs are cut to look like little characters.

They also don’t sell many gallon or half gallon sized ice cream. Most of what I saw was a pint or less. They also had individually packaged soft serve cones.

Another odd size is the ice. Look at the small bags of ice they sell.

Some more interesting items:

gum that's called "watering kiss mint"

Plenty of fresh fish/seafood and packaged sushi

Wall of canned and bottled coffee

Day 6, Themed restaurant

Today was the first day that I slept in past the blazing 4am sun! It felt great to sleep in. We started the day with some canned Boss black coffee (sooo good).  Then we walked from her house to the subway.

Being in Yokosuka with Teresa helped me slow things down a little bit. I was able to chill and enjoy things a little more; aka walking slowly to the subway instead of rushing to keep up with our professor.

Fire hydrant with cool decoration

Delivery bike for a restaurant

One cool thing I discovered is the meaning of the yellow strips of dots on all the sidewalks and subway walkways. Its for the visually impaired. They use these dots to guide them along the street and to know where the platform for the subway ends. There is also a sound at the street crossing when its safe to walk. And there are sounds of birds chirping that guide people throughout the subway station.

Tonight, they took me to a place called The Lockup. They “arrest” you and then take you to a cell to dine. Everything is themed. Then when you’re almost done eating, the “show” begins. The “prisoners” are let loose and raid the jail. They are all dressed up in costumes, one of which reminded me of a hollow from the anime Bleach. This made it a lot of fun as they try to scare you by opening your cell and jumping on top of your cell with no roof. Then we played darts and did one round of karaoke.

 

Quirky advertisement for the day

Day 5, My Company Visit, “Career Woman” shoes, and The Beginning of the Weekend!

Company Visit

The company I work for in the US has many locations in the world. Today I visited one of the sites located in Japan. I can’t go into much detail here, but I’m very appreciative that they would take the time out of their day to show me the facility. It gives me a new layer of understanding for our business. Something that was cool that I can share is that I rode on an industrial elevator. It was basically a huge room that we rode to the next floor. It was a little surprising to see and unnerving at first but definitely cool to ride.

“Career Woman” Shoes = spending about $18 on some hideous crocs

And of course, in Japan, I know that they dress up for work, so I came prepared. I was gonna try to do the “Career Woman” thing which entails wearing heels. What I should’ve done was wear my walking shoes and then put on my heels when I arrived. I just thought, I see all these ladies doing it, I’ll try it. What?? Are you crazy, Andrea! That’s right, I stupidly walked from my hostel to the subway and then to school (I was late that morning) and then to the subway again to visit my company. All in all, it was probably 40min of walking. I was completely miserable by the time I got to my company. It required my utmost attention just to stay focused on what they were saying, while I was battling the heat and my feet. After it was over, I went to eat sushi with Joe, and on the way, we stopped at the closest place and got me some uber ugly black crocs. He probably has a photo of this, just ask.

I really don’t know how they do it. Next time I come back, I’ll have to survey women wearing heels.

 I will say that I have observed that most of the “career woman” shoes are low heels and they let the heel slip giving that cobble sound. Someone said this was for air ventilation, but I believe its for comfort.

Off to Yokosuka! Weekend with family.

I’ve been in Japan a week, and I can’t believe that I haven’t seen my family yet! So now, after putting on some better shoes, its off to Yokosuka (1hr 30min by subway). Unfortunately, my brother is out to sea, but I do get to spend time with my lovely sister-n-law, Teresa. It is also nice to get away from the dorm room life for the weekend! We take the subway and then ride in a friend’s car which was really cool. We have dinner at a place that reminds me of Waffle House inside. They bring your order out on a super hot plate that cooks your meat. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture. We hit a few more spots and then its off to bed for this exhausted girl!

Quirky advertisements for the day

Quirky ad for 0% alcohol drink. That piece of chicken is ridiculously big.

Travles back to the land of the free entry 21

On Sunday we woke up in the morning and went to the train station to get ready for our departure from Tokyo. We got all our bags packed up and went to meet Dr.V in front of our hostel. We then followed him all the way to the subway line. Lucky for me I packed super light Which lightened the load big time for the journey back. It might have been the heat or the fact that we were carrying a lot of stuff but everyone seemed somewhat irritable on this little adventure. After several train stops we arrived at the Tokyo airport. We waited around for a little bit, grabbed some food and got on the plain. Lucky for me I slept for about 12 hours on the light so I was only up for about 3 hours before we landed in LA. So began the terrifying 12 hour lay over we were subjected to in the LA Airport. The best thing about friends and sleep is that they both have a way of making the time go by quicker. I slept for another 2 hours in the airport and also played some really fun card games with some of the coolest people I have met in a while, good memories. It was also really nice to eat a dish that didn't have a bunch of rice in it. I have so many memories that i will never forget from this trip, i also learned a lot about Japanese culture and marketing from Dr.V. I would not trade this trip for anything I have had so many unique experiences and made a lot of awesome new friends. Good by Japan see you again in 5 years!!!

Ikebukuro adventure and last day in Tokyo :'( entry 20

Saturday was a wonderful day filled with new discoveries and many adventures. We woke up and went to this huge all you can eat buffet in Asakusa. There were all kinds of foods and drinks that I had never seen before. It started with some green vegetable juice that was somehow sweet and a crazy looking fruit that I later found out was a lychee, it was super good. After that I just went around and grabbed one of everything because there were way to many options. After my stomach felt like it was about to pop. I went back to the hostel for a bit and then went out on my grand Ikebukuro Adventure. Two of my friends and I went around the district looking for some fun and later we started searching for scenes from the anime Durara. In the process of site hunting I manged to finally make it to a Maid Cafe. It was fun, but in a way kinda made me feel awkward. I still had a really fun time and it turns out it was the same one in Durara, imagine that! I was very excited about doing this because I really enjoyed this show and was hoping to see what the artist saw when he was in the process of making it. It was somewhat like stepping into a parallel universe, seeing the show in reality was a dream come true. We went around to several sites and took pictures of us acting out the scenes in the show. Two sites took us literally all day to track down, and when we finally found them it was like a dream come true. We started celebrating when the women took us to the site and she started celebrating with us. One of the scenes was simply a parking lot, one might think it would be impossible to find a random parking lot in the largest district of Tokyo but amazingly we managed to track it down. This was such an amazing but also sad day; we lived an anime and even made it to a Maid Cafe. I would not trade the past three weeks of my life for anything.  It has truly been a life changing experience, and one day I will go back to Japan but until then I will just have to settle for the land of the free!