Each term students from chronicle their experience abroad through the DiversityAbroad.com Blog.Click on a country and learn first hand from students who are currently abroad or recently got back from being abroad.
The first weekend in Japan basically consisted of a full schedule or orientation events. All day Saturday all of the new study abroad students at TUJ had various orientation events. It was a long day with tons of information.
It was actually quite overwhelming. Not only had I barely unpacked, but I also had an extremely hard time merely finding TUJ’s campus…if you can call it that. Vanderbilt can be categorized as a ‘typical’ campus for American universities—tailored green lawns, academic brink buildings, and intellectuals enjoying coffee while chatting with professors. A college located in downtown Tokyo however, does have luxury of a recreational center, quads, or adjacent dorms. TUJ occupies five floors in each of two high-rises about a ten walk away from each other.Needless to say, the campus tour was quite short. As I departed the train at Tamachi station for the first time I had about thirty minutes to make it to the first event on the orientation agenda, which was a guided tour of TUJ. Excited to finally use my Japanese, I asked many where Temple University was located but had no success. After much time I began getting frustrated and nervous about being late to my first TUJ activity, I hailed a cab and arrived right on time. It has been nearly 3 weeks now, and that cab is only one I have taken since arriving in Tokyo. This is an expensive city, and cabs are a prime example.
I then got lunch at a nearby ramen shop with some other home stay students. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Though, I had plenty to do before I could relax; I needed to get an alien registration card, apply for the national health insurance, get a prepaid phone, a work permit, a commuter pass, and more.
I got off the train at Shin-Okubo station and was rushing to make it home for dinner because it was only my second night, and I didn’t want to disrespect my family by being late for dinner. Although my house is only located about 5 minutes from the train station, I walked around for nearly 2 hours trying to find my new home. I was frustrated and worried that my host mom was assuming the worst. I finally went into a local internet café and found my houses address in an old email. I asked the lady working at the internet café to please call my family for me and ask for directions home (I did not know how to use Japanese phones at the time). Shin-Okubo is known for its large Korean population and numerous Korean-barbeque restaurants, and it just so happened to be that the internet café lady barely spoke Japanese. She finally understood my dilemma and kindly called my host mom’s cell and the house. No answer. I then walked to a nearby koban (police stand) and showed the officer the address. He drew me a map, and I made it home a little late but everything was ok. I enjoyed another delicious home cooked meal (this time everyone else had already eaten). My host mother kept saying that my “friend” from the internet café kept calling. This provided me with some laughs for a few days.
