Sugiyama Jogakuen Welcoming Party

...it was not a `party`.

Today was rainy :( I still haven`t bought myself an umbrella. So when we left, I took one out of the stand. I hoped that whoever owned it wouldn`t be wanting to go out. I`ve noticed Japanese rain is remarkably different to when it rains in Tasmania. In Tasmania, the winds blow, so it`s impossible to use an umbrella anyway. It Japan there is very little, so the rain falls straight down. I actually prefer Tasmanian rain. You`ll hear why later.

Sugiyama`s Sunday bus...I guess they don`t expect many people to be going to University. I couldn`t believe how much space there was!

So, at 9.20am we arrived at Sugiyama, and I jumped immediately onto the computers. Still no news. There has been no news for a few days now, which is extremely disappointing. When there`s no news, it makes me feel isolated. Once inside CIEP (Center for International Exchange Programs) we became aware that today was going to begin on a formal note. In one of the classrooms, there were two girls practicing...something. I couldn`t understand. They turned out to be the announcers for the day. They were using microphones. Which meant for our introduction speeches, we would be using microphones. Terrible.

So of course, I became extremely nervous, felt sick and did not want to be there at all. At 9.50am we went into the classroom...us two Utas students had to sit at the front, in the middle. Which meant our speeches were first; luckily I was spared and got to go second. One of the announcers noticed I was quite nervous; after my error-free speech, she smiled and gestured to me which was quite nice.

Once all the formailities were over, we made our way to one of the cafeterias. There were a lot more students here, I have no idea who they are. We all got drinks, listened to a few speeches, listened to the koto club (traditional Japanese stringed instrument), classical music club, and then we were able to eat!

There was supposed to be a mix of Japanese and Australian food (apparently). The Japanese take on fish and chips are interesting; their fish is tempura-style, and their chips are potato chips. I was not impressed.

Some of the food. The fish head looked gross, I wonder if anyone ate it.

Top: I think the ball things were chicken. I hope they were chicken. But nevertheless, they were really, really yummy. The fried thing is karaage, which is fried chicken. There`s also some salmon, two wedges and some kind of bread with lettuce, ham, cucumber and tasteless mayonnaise. At least they tried! I saw a girl eating hers with chopsticks. I used my fingers like you should :)

Bottom Left: `Hitsumabushi`, a famous Nagoya food. It is pretty much just rice and eel. I ate eel! The whole thing just tasted like fish, so it wasn`t too bad, considering I don`t like fish too much.

Bottom Right: `Kishimen`, another famous food from Nagoya. It`s just flat noodles in some kind of soup; it`s really yummy, I liked it very much.

Later on they brought out dessert; I didn`t get to have any, I was so disappointed! It looked like some kind of yoghurt, and another was cheesecake or something. They didn`t make enough. I was looking forward to some kind of dessert all day too!

Akiko, Risa, and me. I am not going to smile with teeth ever again, I don`t care what anyone says! Those two are really nice :) I like them. They call me Lolly-chan ^^

The cheerleading club also put on a performance. I loved the dress that the girl with the microphone is wearing! So unique! Unfortunately you can`t see the detailing around the neckline or the sleeves. I couldn`t stop staring all day.

And that was about it. Oh, I nearly forgot. The rain. It rained constantly all day. We missed the last bus of the day, so had to go by subway. On the walk from Issha Station to the dormitory, my shoes had filled up with water. That`s why I like Tasmanian rain. Although it`s annoying and it gets awfully cold, my shoes have never filled up with water. Here it rains all day, straight down. The only good thing about it is that it stays quite warm, and the weatherman is always right. I can rely on weather forecasts for the first time in my life :)

And now for some unrelated photos:

I`m so slow sometimes. I thought the can on the left was supposed to be orange juice...even though it says apple, and has an apple on the front. I was not impressed while I was drinking it...until I realised it was apple. Then it wasn`t so bad. I still prefer coke!!

Yesterday`s convenience store buys! I was craving bread again, so I bought some. The problem is that they only come in three or six slices, unless I get that really expenisive bread. I also bought some sandwiches; couldn`t resist! One was tuna and salad, one egg. It was so, so yummy. Also got some mints, the `Mintia` brand. They`re good too, can`t stop eating them! These ones are grape flavour. Got some corn chips for the movie night we had (only one pack though; I just had to fill the space). They come with dip inside; handy! I got Dars chocolate too, because Risa gave me one and I fell in love. Seriously, Japanese chocolate is the best chocolate I have ever had. But you tell if you look at my face closely :( It`s really suffering. I`m forcing myself to take a no-junk diet. I was planning to do that before we came anyway. Oops!

The computer/common room! I only took the photos just now so I was unable to resize them. Sorry, they`re quite large!

Dinner, the night before last. Just chicken and avocado!! It`s the yummiest thing I have had in ages.

Some buildings I photographed on the bus on the way to uni the other day. The first is some building at Sugiyama. Next is some really nice apartments, although you can`t tell so much from the photo. I think Sugiyama is located in a rich area. Lastly just a nice house :)

Some photos of Meito-ku, near the dormitory. Natalia, Nicole and I went to the rental store to get a movie for last night`s movie night. On the left is a cigarette vending machine. Isn`t that just terrible! They sell for around $4 too! No wonder so many people smoke here, disgusting. The other photos are just random shots.

xxx Lolly