Depressed? Drink Boss Coffee.

I have found my kindred spirit in Japan.

And who else but Tommy Lee Jones?

Unbeknownst to most Americans, he has actually done a series of commercials for Boss Coffee, probably the most famous coffee in Japan.

In them, he plays an alien who is studying Earth--and isn't terribly pleased by what he finds.

He has a lot of trouble dealing with Japanese rules and customs, rowdy, loud, drunken people, belligerent kids, and trying to fit in at parties. Hmm... reminds me of someone.

Anyway, he apparently gets by by drinking Boss Coffee: Rainbow Mountain Blend.

The commercials are great, do check them out.

Note: The first one is the weakest, so you should keep watching even if it doesn't appeal to you.

Commercial 1
Commercial 2
Commercial 3
Commercial 4
Commercial 5
Commercial 6
Commercial 7
Commercial 8
Commercial 9

Something Extraordinary

Today, when I walked into my dorm's common area, I witnessed something extraordinary.

The first thing I noticed was that it was quiet. Now, this usually means that everyone in the unit has gone out drinking.

However, this was not the case. About half of the unit's residents were sitting in the common room.

Reading.

This is extraordinary because it is something I have never seen any of them do, apart from reading from the "sex" chapter of a Japanese phrasebook, or the positions guide on a box of condoms one of them bought.

And not one of them was drunk or dressed like a dinosaur--also a rare thing.

I guess the beginning of the academic year makes students of us all.

My new aspiration is a sandwich.

I have decided. My new aspiration while in Japan is to be a Teriyaki McBurger.

Let me explain. Just now, I was feeling pretty hungry and it was my lunch break. As much as I wanted to go to the cafeteria and get some actual Japanese food, I was unable to resist the siren call of the McDonald's next door. So, I settled on a compromise.

See, the Japanese have a nifty menu item we don't have in America, and probably never will: The Teriyaki McBurger. Sure, it's American. But it still has that dash of Japanese flavor.

While eating it, I suddenly realized that the Teriyaki Burger was a pretty good metaphor for what I was trying to do here. Because no matter what I do or how long I stay, I'm going to be American at heart. But like the Teriyaki Burger, I might just be able to pick up enough Japanese flavor--in the form of learning the language and the culture-- to be able to get by.

And I suppose that's enough.

This one's for you, Mom.

You know why.

TIM's Big Bus Adventure

Hooray!

I got kicked off a bus!

Okay, maybe I should back up a little. Yesterday, I did not have much on my schedule. Classes had technically started, but there were no language classes, and none of my culture classes are scheduled for Monday. So after I sat in on a class I was on the waitlist for, I had absolutely nothing to do. So, what better way to make use of an afternoon than to go register with the government?

That's right, it was time to get my Alien Registration Card, or "Gaijin Card," (Foreigner Card) as it's commonly known.

Now, at this point, I should probably note that I am not a city boy. I have probably never used public transportation in my life before coming to Japan, at least not by myself. So now that I'm HERE, I'm not only trying to get a handle on the public transportation system, but I'm having to do it in a foreign country, where I can't ask anyone anything or read the signs. But I knew that I needed to get to the city hall by Bus.

No biggie. I'd gone to the station (which is near city hall) by bus before--once I even went on my own. So, I jumped on a bus and hoped for the best.

I was not disappointed. I soon arrived at the station, and proceeded to try to find out where city hall was. According to the directions given to me by a professor, you "go past the starbucks, turn left, and walk for three minutes."

So, step one, find the Starbucks.

Okay, found it. But which way am I supposed to be going when I pass it? Should I pass it on the left? On the right? So, I just took a stab at it. Passed the starbucks, turned left, and started walking. After about three minutes, I still didn't see any building with HIRAKATA CITY HALL printed on it. And the street basically ended. Well, I figured, that must have been the wrong way to go. So I go back to the starbucks, and set off in the other direction. Or rather, I tried to. There wasn't even a ROAD going in that direction. Well, that can't be right, can it?

So, I pulled out the crappy map they had given me and tried to get my bearings. To my surprise, city hall was actually indicated on it. So was the starbucks. Well, it looked like I had gone the right direction... but wait. Something's not right. It says that the starbucks is next to a convenience store. But I don't see one.

Oh, well. I head off in the direction I first tried again, anyway. I got to where I was before, and still couldn't see city hall. Then I squinted at the building across the street...

Did it say "Hirakata" behind that tree? Don't tell me...

So, I cross the street over to the building to get a better view, and sure enough, if you look behind the tree branches blocking the way, it does indeed proclaim that it is Hirakata City Hall.

Well, at least I found it. 45 minutes till it closed, too. Whew.

So I go in and submit the paperwork for my Gaijin Card, which was surprisingly simple. Then I start to head back.

And THAT'S when it started raining.

I was able to make it back to the station before it started pouring, where there's a lot of overhangs to hide under. I remembered that the starbucks I passed also had a book, cd, and DVD shop in the same building, so I figured that would be a good place to wait out the storm. So I look around for the starbucks.

And I spot one. Right next door to a convenience store...

And it is NOT the same starbucks I saw before.

That's right. There are TWO starbucks located within walking distance from a JAPANESE train station, and they're BOTH on the way to city hall.

After pondering the effects of globalization for a while, I went to the other side of the station and found the more interesting starbucks.

In any fellow otaku were wondering, yes, manga is cheaper in Japan. About five bucks a pop, as opposed to the 5-10 bucks you pay in the states.

Anime however, is not. I started browsing the DVDs, and was shocked by the price. They were charging up to 6,000 Yen ($51.00) for a single DVD with no frills.
Add that to the fact that I don't even think that the DVD player in our common area plays DVDs from this region, and you can guess I didn't spring for one.

I also ran into a rather interesting guy. What is interesting about this guy, is that while appearing very friendly, and talkative, whenver he decides the conversation is over, he apparently runs away. Without a word. Just escapes.

This has happened twice so far. I mean, sure. The problem COULD be on my end. But nobody ELSE runs away after talking to me for a few minutes...

Anyway. After the guy disappeared, I checked and found that the rain had stopped. I made my way to the bus stop that, according to my crappy map, would take me back to my dorm. I waited for it to come for half an hour, and got on.

A few minutes later, we pulled into a turnaround, and everyone got off but me. When I continued to sit there, the driver started talking to me over the intercom. I of course had no idea what he was saying, and he eventually simplified it: "Owari des." "It's over."

Well! How interesting. So, what could I do? I paid my fare and got off.

So, there I was, somewhere in the middle of a city in Japan, with no idea where I was or how to get back to my dorm. The most useful advice I've ever gotten from a fictional book kept flashing through my mind: "Don't Panic." So, I didn't.

I walked in one direction for a while, but didn't see anything very promising. So I came back to where I had been unceremoniously dumped off. According to the schedule, there would be another bus in about half an hour. A bus to where, though?

I had no idea. However, I thought I remembered seeing some familiar landmarks on the way to my drop off point, so I decided to start walking back the way the bus had come. I figured, if nothing else, I could turn back after 15 minutes, and brave the bus again.

Luckily, about two minutes later, I came across someone who was obviously as foreign as I was. I asked here where the heck we were, and as it turns out, we were right next to campus. Not terribly close to my dorm, but at least close to somewhere I know.

So, I went to campus, and from there I hoofed it back to my dorm, rather than try my luck on the bus again.

Now, those of you who actually know a thing or two about public transport are probably laughing your heads off at me, for making what is probably an obvious mistake.

That's fine, have a laugh. But when you're done, can you tell me how this stuff works?! (@_@)

ADORABLE

I just wanna say, my speaking partner is ADORABLE. The picture she had sent me earlier really didn't do her justice. She's also tiny, and was extremely nervous when we met, which just made her seem cuter. She also seems to be very nice, and we communicate pretty well despite the language barrier. Though, at this point, she's doing most of the work, as we're speaking in mostly English. I'll have to study hard so I can communicate in Japanese with her!

She introduced me to some Japanese food at the convenience store: Rice balls, curry bread, some sort of sweet pork cutlet sandwich, and milk tea. The rice ball was wrapped in seaweed, which I found to be a bit weird. And in the middle was a sour "Japanese Plum," or something. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it was so... FOREIGN. The pork cutlet sandwich was good, but it was weird to eat a sweet sandwich. It was almost like a pork... pastry. And the curry bread... I loved the bread, but not so much the curry inside. And the milk tea was delish.

Funny, even though I thought I wasn't crazy about the food, I'm getting hungry thinking about it...


I also took her back to my dorm so I could give her the present I brought her (A hat and shirt with my home state printed on it), which turned out to be... a mistake. My dumb roommates acted like freaks while she was there, using the word "sexy" as an adjective with about 75% of their nouns. >.<

Yesterday, I spent some time wandering around town. Found a cool toy store called Kiddy Land. They had tons of those little capsule machines. And check out what was in one of them!
How oldschool is that?
I found a few machines that I wanted to try out, but I couldn't figure out how to work them! I lost 200 Yen ($1.72) in one of them, and tried a second, only to have it fail, as well. (But at least I got my money back from that one.)
I tried to ask one of the clerks how to work them, but she didn't speak english. She then left, and came back with another clerk... who also didn't speak English.
Finally, someone came who DID speak English, and I was finally able to ask her how to work them. It was all a bit embarrassing, since they're really for kids. But at least I got them to work! The trick was in how I was turning the crank... I was doing it in one fluid motion, and you have to do it in stages (turn until it clicks, stop, do it again, etc.) I got a pretty cool mario keychain-like-thing for my phone (with a turtle shell and super stars on it), but my other tries weren't as lucky. In a machine that gave away Link's weapons, I got his dinky bow, and in a machine that gave away Eva models, I paid 300 Yen ($2.58) and got the launcher stand, instead of an actual robot. Ah, well.

I also ran across a blast from my past: The old Crocodile Dentist game I had as a kid!
How crazy is that?

While I was out, I also took in some night scenery, and saw the biggest plastic food I've ever come across.

And, that's pretty much it for today and yesterday. I'm just gonna take it easy tonight in preparation for starting classes tomorrow. I'm nervous, but excited.

Oh, and by the way...


OMG SECRET NAZI SHRINE, right?

WRONG! *thwacks*

To read about what the symbol really means, and has meant for hundreds of years before the Nazis mucked it all up, click here.

This is Timzor, signing off.

In the minority

You know, as a white guy growing up in middle class America, one thing I've never been is a minority. But that's exactly what I am now.

Sure, things are new and interesting here. But when everyone else you see is Japanese, and they all speak Japanese, and the things you buy are labeled in Japanese, and the food you try to order is in Japanese, and made for the Japanese pallet, and half the time you don't get what you think you're ordering, because despite having taken Japanese for one and a half years, you still can't speak it...

You can start feeling kinda lonely.

And despite what you might have heard, most Japanese do not, in fact, speak English.

Heck, even the English majors I've met barely speak English.

The country isn't going to adapt to you--you have to adapt to it.

And that's a pretty tall order, if you've never tried it.