It's so different from Tokyo, you wouldn't even believe. The buildings downtown have a height limit. The tallest thing is Kyoto Tower next to Kyoto Eki. You can always find your way if your lost. If you walk towards the tower you can find your way from the eki.
I live about 15-20 minutes walking from Kyoto eki. My place is nice. I have my own little kitchette and the bathroom is a good size. I have a decent sized closet too. Unfortunately I don't have a refrigerator to myself!! I'm going to have to get a little one. And my blinds were broken so I had to buy some curtains. It's not bad though. I've been able to add my own touch. Now that the photo collage is up I'm feeling a lot better.
I may not have blinds, but I do have a really good view. I got a room that faces the temple across the street. It's really cool. Every morning at 8 or so they start ringing the temple bells. I'll certainly never be late to class! I'll also never get to sleep in.
There's still a lot of things I need to get (like internet) but that will have to wait just a little while. I have one more day of vacation before orientations begin. Tuesday is a placement test and some other informational meetings. That evening we get to have a party with other international students and some Japanese students. Wednesday we have the interview portion of the placement test. Later that day I should be getting my bank account which means lost of money from JASSO too.
Also, the guy that helped me move in (Hideaki) told me that there IS a taiko club at Doshisha! I'll have to keep asking around and find it! I can't wait. I really want to start classes so I can make some Japanese friends. Don't get me wrong, I love all my friends, けど日本語はペラペラになりたい！
I wish I had a bit more time to explore where I'm living. There aren't any obvious super markets around. Kind of ironic that now that I have a kitchen in which to cook, I can't get any ingredients! Oh yeah... no oven. Which means no cookies.
I get stared at a lot more here. The odds are quite high that at some point I'll get to tell someone ジロジロ見ないで下さい.
I'm hoping to plan a trip to the Costco in Hyogo soon. I want to get a rice cooker and a fridge there.
Well, I think that's it for now. I'm a bit distracted right now. There's 4 of us in my friend's room borrowing his wireless internet for tonight. One of them is running all the "Shoes" and "Let me borrow that top" youtube videos. Random and dumb, but it's like a train wreck. You just can't stop watching...
Love until later!
Catliln D.
(sorry... the name is a throw back)
sounds like you are adjusting well heck if you got U tube you got it made.
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about that Maison Iwakuni you're living in. I'll be studying at Doshisha from april next year and need to finish my application for accomodation soon :) Need to decide weather I should care about the dormitories provided at all actually. Last time I studied in Japan I lived in the most filthiest dorm ever.. Don't want to do that again if you know what I'm saying.
I walked by Iwakuni the other day and it looked nice from the outside. I'm currently visiting my girlfriend in Osaka. I would appreciate any information you could share with me, such as those dormitory rules you wrote about. The Japanese loves rules and I can't stand some of them ;) Thanks in advance!
Anton
Hey Anton,
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what you're looking for in a dorm. Maison has spacious rooms and a prime location downtown, but there are several things about it that I haven't been pleased with. Getting to Imadgawa campus takes about 25 minutes by bike; there aren't any communal kitchens, so all you've got is the kitchenette in your room; you don't have a personal fridge; the internet takes forever to get up and running (I moved in a week ago and I probably still won't have internet for a couple of days and it's going to cost me ¥10500 to turn on and ¥3150/month after that); you have to pay for laundry; and rent isn't that cheap (¥41000 including utilities but not internet). If you can get into Hawaii house I would suggest it. They have communal bathrooms, but the rooms themselves are HUGE and it's really close to campus.
Thanks for your quick response!
ReplyDeleteMy last dorm didn't even have heating so it still sounds better :) Do you know if you're allowed to bring guests to your room, or is there a caretaker or something that makes sure that all guests leave in the evening?
According to the rules you're not supposed to have people stay the night or over after 10pm. The RA is supposed to enforce this...
ReplyDeleteSo far I haven't seen an RA and my friend let a buddy crash after a party and no one said a thing.
The only thing we've gotten griped at about is leaving bikes in front of the mail boxes and improper disposal of trash.