I'm finally in Japan! So great to be at the land of rising sun, one of a place I've been dreaming to go to since childhood. Plus, I am now stepping on the same piece of land as my JAE-oppa! HAHA! (sorry, my fangirl spirit is really strong nowadays xD)
Okay, now I'll be updating this blog twice per week, Insha-ALLAH... With limited internet access here, I can't afford writing too often. But I'll try my best. Sorry for the delay, everyone.
Monday, June 7, 2010 (American time)
Diya and I boarded NH011 All Nippon Airways on 10:50am. The flight was cozy and full of Japanese families. The stewardesses were very polite and the service was awesome! They offered drinks every 10mins! But the food wasn’t that good since we ordered for veggie meals (Muslim meals might contain non-halal chicken). I gave ANA 7.5/10.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010 (Japan time)
We arrived at Terminal 1, Narita Airport around 1:30 pm. So excited to see Japanese staffs greeting and bowing to us. そろそろ、日本に着いた！The customs procedure wasn’t hard, we passed easily as 外人 (gaijin). First, we sent our baggage to KIT through ANA service – Japanese trains/buses do not have spaces for large baggage. Then, we converted US dollars to yens at post office; we’re so nervous to speak in Japanese that I messed up a bit! Since we’re using overnight bus to Kanazawa, we rode 2 trains to Shinjuku bus station; it took more than 2hours! Funny thing, I saw like 70% of train passengers no matter males or females, young or old, they have cute accessories in form of stuffed toys, etc., hung at cellphones, backpacks, handbags. Important to note, the toys were hugeeee!! Those toys should add some weight to phones especially, I wonder how they can make calls with stuff that size hanging around. Still, it’s interesting/amusing to watch. Too bad we didn’t go to Tokyo first, I really want to see Tokyo Tower w/ my very own eyes; plus, Jae-oppa might do his shooting somewhere nearby! (^___^)
We met other 9 RIT kids at Shinjuku, and I had my very first real Japanese meal there! Udon w/ tempura, yummy! At 11pm, we boarded the bus. Guess what? All seats occupied w/ sleeping hood, like one in baby stroller! It’s for passenger’s privacy while sleeping. So cute!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
We arrived at Kanazawa JR Station – train and bus stations – at 7am. After struggling w/ all weird Kanji all around the station, a kind old man helped us in finding the right bus terminal. It was ¥330 to reach Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT) in 30min. My heart leaped w/ joy to see the campus, it’s not large, even smaller than RIT. But there came a feeling that this’ll be my spot for 6weeks, it should be good. We met Miyamoto-san, Office of International Program (OIP) staff, who’d been emailing us during pre-departure period, and now she helped us w/ apartment rooms and orientation packets.
Diya and I got same apartment – 47.509 – occupied w/ 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. The hostel called Nishikawa Height, and we could see the river view separating KIT and hostel from our balconies. So cool! For the remaining day, all RIT students went out exploring around KIT hunting for food, toilet papers, etc. There’re a lot of ramen restaurants, unfortunately I couldn’t eat ramen here, its soup contains beef/pork stock. Instead, I got a luxurious bento lunch of tempura rice, only ¥580. That night, I wasn’t that sleepy, but I slept anyway on the futon – so comfy~
