Dorm!

I got my dorm, finally! (More than a week after Jess, whose blog you find as a link in the sidebar)
And Waseda will pay me 80.000 Yen a month! That covers the whole dorm fee (70.000 Yen) and leaves me 10.000 Yen for food, plus I get a little allowance from my parents! Yahoooo!!!!!!!!

I might still work one or two nights a week (a Senpai said he could find me something) to pay for concerts and short trips etc. I have a lot saved because I thought I would need it, but now I guess I keep it on my bank account if I decide to go on to postgraduate studies after all. Can't be bad. :)


http://www.nasic-waseda.net/dormitory_houshien.html

My dorm will be Houshien (not so good because they're strict, but at least the building is new), and I will get a single as I required. I couldn't figure out whether it will have a bathroom, though. The info paper says "bed, bedding, desk, chair, bookshelf, lamp stand (light bulb included), refrigerator, curtains, window screen, hangers".

So, where do I put my clothes? In the bookshelf? ^^; I mean, only hangers??? Where do I hang them? And how many are there?

Plus, it seems like my dorm closes its doors at 9.30 pm. I can only hope that my Senpai was right and the night entrance is always open, because HELLO?! NINE THIRTY?!?!?!
And of course, no visitors, no visit to other inhabitants after 11 pm and no chatting in the kitchen etc. after 1 am.

So much for onnakotoba ^^;

In my previous post, I have stated that I like the feminine way of speaking a lot more than the masculine or "neutral" one. (Neutral in a sense that many young girls nowadays speak more and more "masculine" or at least avoid typically femine expressions.)
Well, as I have been spending more and more time with Japanese people and thus spoke a lot of Japanese, I, too, have adopted that way of speech. It's easier, and I didn't want to be regarded as weird.
So far for that. ^^;

Partying with Japanese students and exchange students from Japan is fun. :) But I'm lacking sleep lately.

My first task for Japan!

I don't know how many of you know about the differences between Japanese spoken by males and by females.
Please see this article for further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna_kotoba

While watching japanese TV a lot, I have picked up a rather feminine way of speaking which, according to some people, is kind of outdated. Not to say, only few female Japanese of my age speak like that. (So do I sound like a woman in her thirties/fourties? *shudders*)

So my task from a friend who often muses my use of わ (feminine marker) is to find out how awkward people will think my way of speaking is and if it will change if, say, I find a japanese boyfriend who will of course speak male language and might influence me. Apparently, it is common nowadays that girls speak more and more like boys.
But I like my feminine way of speaking. (>__<) It sounds much softer.

Well, we'll see! I'll keep you updated for sure.

1st post: Preparations and tasks

There's still a lot of time until I'll finally be in Japan, but I thought I'd post some things I have to do before.

First of all, I want to apologize to my German (and other?) readers that they have to work their way through this in English. But as I have friends and relatives who cannot speak German but said they want to follow my journey as well, I decided to write my blog in English.
I'd also like to apologize to my English readers for mistakes I make.

So let's get started!

Last week my final approval for Waseda finally arived, so I booked my flight for the date they said activities would start in Tokyo. I'll leave here on September 7th, fly via Vienna and arrive in Tokyo, Narita on September 8th shortly after 8 a.m.
Some nice volunteer person will pick me up and lead me to my dorm so that I can check in.
(A list of the dorms for international students is here, btw: http://nasic-waseda.net/ Take a look at the pictures and try not to get a heart attack from the prizes! I hope I can get at least some financial aid via a scholarship...)

From September 9th onwards, there will be several meetings with the other international students, and we will get information on living in Tokyo, the dorm, registrating our "alien cards" etc. etc.
Then I will take a placement test for the Japanese lessons that will start on September 28th. I guess I'll post the exact schedule some other time.

Now I have started this blog although it's still some months until I can see Tokyo with my own eyes. ^^; But I guess I can post a list of things I want to do there soon and you can comment and recommend some activities or places to me, okay? (^.^)

Before I forget it: Since I have gotten a small digital camera lately, I will also post pictures of places I will visit.