Cell phones

Yesterday, I went out to get a cell phone, and after I talked about one hour to the sales guy, I was this close to buying one, but then couldn't because I don't have a credit card or a Japanese bank account. So I'm going to open one tomorrow, if I can. Actually, I was surprised how well I managed the whole cell phone thing, because, as opposed to Softbank, au doesn't have any English speaking sales person. But it still worked somehow, and I'll even get the very phone I wanted, namely this one:
http://www.au.kddi.com/english/product/lineup/k001/index.html
(I know it says it's for kids, but the good thing is, I can let them lock the internet so that I don't press any Japanese button I can't read by accident and pay like a zillion yen for internet. I can still send mails, though. <3)

You might ask yourself why I got to the trouble of an au phone when Softbank is so much easier?
Well... I must confess, I'm a total fan of Arashi, and they're in the au commercial. No, really, I just wanted to test my Japanese abilities. ... Okay, I confess, it's for Arashi, and for the cute phone. ^^;
And you know what? One of the two sales guys I had totally looked like Nino from Arashi!!! (Too bad not like MatsuJun. xD)
For those of you who don't know them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVadJs80lpU
(Nino is the "big" guy in the end.)

So, enough for today, I need to be fit tomorrow! Good night!

First impressions

I have finally gotten a fitting plug for my laptop, so here are you updates! (By the way, the shop assistant at the eletronics store was super helpful and went out of his way to make sure the plug would be okay. That's much more service than I am used to from Germany.)

Okay, first things first:
I got picked up at the airport with some other people who arrived at the same time, and we took the bus together to Shinjuku. There were more people waiting, and each of us new students was brought to our respective dorms by three (!) Japanese students. "Mine" were two really cute and nice girls and a guy who even carried my suitcase. (Why don't German guys don't do that???)

The first thing I saw when I got out of the bus was... a vending machine. I suspect there are more vending machines in Japan than people - but they're sooo handy! There's one right next to my dorm's entrance, and another few a bit farther away. I like the one that sells Dr. Pepper Cola. xD

My dorm is quite okay. The room I got is probably one of the biggest I could have gotten, and the only two toilets and showers per floor were totally okay until now. But not everyone has arrived yet, so maybe that might become a problem later. Especially since everyone's classes start at the same time. ^^;

My fellow exchange students are mostly nice, as far as I talked to them. I still try not to do that much with them, as I want t0 improve my Japanese and not my English! (Although most of them are not native English speakers either, so my English might even get worse. ^^;) Some of them can't even speak Japanese because they're here for some other programs. I like them, so I might do something with them once in a while, but it should not become a habit, I guess.
In my dorm, there are two really nice Korean girls with who I went to a nearby shrine festival last night. (Unfortunately, it rained cats and dogs. >___<) One speaks English fluently, and the other one is not bad either, but when it's the three of us, we usually speak Japanese, so that's much better.

Oh, I've had some cockroaches already! One is probably the same that keeps coming out at the lobby of building three (I'm in building 5), and we called it Gocchan (from gokiburi = cockroach xD) The other one fell out of my laundry after I took it out of the washing machine, so either it had been in there or in my laundry (ew!), but it probably didn't survive the washing (or my stepping onto it by accident ^^;)

Today, I have been to Shinjuku main statio and the shopping area around it again (I've been there on Friday for a while to get my alien card) and bought a nice shirt and the Best album of Kuraki Mai. (I was not sure whether to buy it because best albums are a bit... pointless in my eyes, but they had a huge poster of her at Tower Records and a stand where you could get stuff for free if you bought the CD, so I bought it and got stickers and a clearfile. <3 I can put my tons of material in there, but I guess it's too much. There's LOADS of information they want us to know, and still a lot more to come up.)

I still have to do some organizational stuff at university, like my Japanese placement test tomorrow, registration for classes and what not, and other stuff like opening a bank account and, most importantly, getting a cell phone. It's tough without a cell phone!!! I want to contact people, but I can't.

Well, I don't know what to write anymore, and I don't have many pics to upload yet, so I'll update again later. :)

In Japan!!!

I have arrived safely in Japan on Tuesday, just as planned. I know you are probably burning for more information, but I cannot connect my laptop to the electricity here (although I bought an adapter -___-), so I am at my dorm's only computer at the moment. Please bear with me as I am trying to fix the problem. I will update as soon as I can, I promise!

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.