Orientation (again, but in Japan this time)

I wound up going to bed super early...earlier than my roommate got back, actually, so she just banged on the door and I woke up for long enough to let her in, and then fell back asleep. But then I wound up waking up at 6:30 a.m. Oh well. I suppose I'll be getting up early this entire trip anyway.

Have I mentioned how much I love Japanese breakfasts? I love Japanese breakfasts. I don't even like breakfast normally, 'cause breakfast foods always seem to be too sweet. But Japanese breakfasts are excellent. I had walnut bread and rice and pickles and green tea, and it was so good. Also, fresh grapefruit juice. SO GOOD. Grapefruit juice from the vending machines is also ridiculously tasty.

Anyway, after breakfast we took the subway to Doshisha University, where all our classes will be. (Oddly enough, it's the university right across from the imperial gardens, if you remember it, Meab.) We wound up taking a 2 1/2 hour placement exam, which was kind of horrible. The grammar and kanji sections weren't too bad, and the interview went surprisingly well, but the listening section was rather terrible and I couldn't even finish the reading section. Then again, neither could anyone else, so I feel a little bit better.

After that, we went to lunch, which was...pretty okay, I guess. Kind of tasteless, but I suppose that what I get for ordering curry rice. And then we had (another) orientation, where we found out that we'll actually be traveling for the last part of the program, and we're going to TOKYO (among other places)!!!! YESSSSS~! I want to go to Akihabara. And I kind of want to go to Ikebukuro, if only to look for vending machine throwing men (so I can ask them to marry me). (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you obviously haven't seen Durarara!! You should go rectify that immediately. But just so you know, I saw him first.)

Something else awesome: we get library cards for Doshisha University. So much research material accessible! Please excuse me while I swoon.

Don't really have any plans for tonight. Some of the other students are planning on going to karaoke, but there will be alcohol involved, and I am exhausted, and we already have homework, so I think I'll probably just stay in and stare at my bus map and circle all the shrines. (I am going to find material for my thesis on this trip if it kills me.)

The language pledge starts tomorrow morning officially (although I've been speaking almost all Japanese today) when I meet my host family.

Some random facts:

Japanese phones can send contact information through infrared. However, it takes 15 people 30 minutes to figure out how to do that.

Even without a language pledge in action, everyone will speak Japanglish.

Even in Kyoto, which has a huge number of foreigners, people will stare at you and then try to talk to you in English.

そして、日本語！　私は毎日の単語があまり分からないと気付きました。「染色体」とか「自然の摂理」とか「過酷な運命」が分かったけど、日本語でstaplerという意味の言葉が分かりません。先生、どうして毎日の単語を教えませんでしたか。