Today in JAPAN

September 4, 2010
Sorry for not being able to get on any computer for the past few days. I'm already in my fourth day in Japan, and I have only used internet twice so far. I didn't bring a laptop with me, so it's partially (or wholly) my fault.

This day is my first free day. Ever since I arrived on the 1st, I have been bombarded by several orientation activities together with the rest of the gaijins. It wasn't pretty hard, getting to know people and enduring the walks around campus. What was hard was the heat. I was already warned not to expect a decent weather at this time of the year in Japan, but still the heat shocked me. I went from the Philippines in the beginning of the typhoon season, so every night, the cold weather came down.I took a bike to Mitaka earlier today to have lunch at my Filipino friend's place who helped me get to ICU from the airport.

きちじょじ

September 6, 2010
Well, I wasn't able to finish the post above since I had to attend to a couple more orientations that day. What I love the most about my school is the cafeteria. Coming from a desolate island in the Philippines, I already expected the high-tech universe of Japan before arriving here, but I was never prepared for what high-tech really is. Take the cafeteria for example, You no longer have to bring money in order to buy the food. All you need to bring is the card loaded with enough cash to swipe on the machines that calculates the amount of calories of your meal. This same machine also automatically knows what kind of food you bought and how much Yen it takes from your card. And the stories about Japan being expensive? That's the bottom line here. Everything is so much more expensive than probably anywhere else, especially to someone who comes from a developing nation. When I go to　the こんびに　to buy groceries, I often hesitate on buying anything because I could get the same product for three times lesser in the Philippines. But hey, I'm not complaining. hehe

The Filipino community here is awesome. My せんぱいｓ showed and oriented me around the area. They showed me how to get to the shopping district of きち女児　from the school. I hope I remember the routes though. It was a pretty far ride. This is it for now. I will update as soon as I can. がんばって！