Life in Japan Land

I've been here a month now. It hasn't felt that long.

What is a fork. I do not know. A dinglehopper I'm pretty sure it's called. To comb your hair right? I've mastered chop sticks and cooking is ten times easier with my foot long chop sticks. Speaking of cooking, I've been doing a lot of that. Since there is no meal plan (there are dining halls though) I cook most of my meals. Since American food is of course not the norm here, I've had to improvise.

Yakiudon (Pan fried udon noodles)

Mushroom Pasta (... Pasta with Mushroom)

Vegetables are cheap here. I mean really cheap. Therefore I am forced to eat healthy. I love mushrooms, so I always have these in my basket. Since meat isn't cheap, they are a good substitute. I think they sometimes have the texture of meat...

Along with those, I always have bok choy, cabbage (I'm going to turn into either a cabbage or a mushroom, if I am what I eat), cherry tomatoes (the love of my life), carrots, eggs and some kind of fruit. Fruit is expensive here so it's a luxury. The fuji apples are sweet as candy though!




Aside from my food adventures, classes started.

Classes are intense and have kept me busy so I haven't gone out to do many fun things. I definitely believe I will know Japanese after this class though. My sensei (professor) teaches really well, although we cannot speak English, or use the book in class. It's difficult and makes me study for hours on end, but I don't dread it like I did on day one.

Though I will give a piece of advice. Travel abroad while you are a freshman or sophomore, while you still have basic classes to get through. They are easier to take abroad and will allow you to other things. It is difficult trying to figure out what might transfer. Here's hoping all goes well!