1st week’s DECAMERON

1. 1 Housing is amazing. SANC academy provided us with incredible studios in Shinjuku and Shibuya. The area is extremely convenient. There is a convenience store on every corner, bus and subway are 30seconds away from apartments. Cheap eateries come in dozens (Yoshinoya!). The area is very safe.

2. 2 The school itself is located in the busiest part of Tokyo – Shibuya, five minutes from Tokyo’s busiest intersection. Walking to and from the bus station is an exciting experience on its own. Each morning, I join the crowd of Japanese school kids (in their emblematic uniforms), strict looking businesspeople and idle wanderers.

Tokyo at its best.

3. 3 SANC Academy has a great location and some very intelligent and perceptive teachers, who can actually speak English (a surprising phenomenon at least in Tokyo). The teachers are extremely polite, kind and caring. They’re all female. They are very skilled in letting us know about our social faux pas (such as when Troy was putting hands into his pockets while roleplaying an encounter with his Japanese host family). Nevertheless, some things have been little disappointing. First, the class sizes are not at all as advertised (at least as advertised by Yale). Judging from last year’s blog reviews, I was expecting a class of three to four people. No more than five. Well, in the second year class, there are eight of us at all times. Please, don’t get me wrong, I understand that some might view a larger class size as an advantage – after all one can focus on his/her own work (looking up words in electronic dictionary, etc). I, however, find myself being much more efficient in small classes. Sometimes, when there are so many of us, I don’t’ even get to speak for an entire hour long session. And then when I do manage to blurb something , it usually doesn’t really matter – since someone else is already waiting to speak up. Second, besides the number of students, the SANC Academy seems to be overwhelmed by the amount of administrative work involved in having so many Yallies coming in this summer. Random pieces of paper are flying all over the classroom. No one has any idea what the hw assignments are, and the tests are sometimes covering different grammar and vocabulary than they’re supposed to. I really love the teachers and I

appreciate a great deal their teaching abilities; it just seems that sometimes they can get little overwhelmed by their administrative roles...

4. 4 Japanese food is different. Everybody coming from either the US or Europe should be careful with dramatic dietary changes. I personally think that it is awesome to eat like the Japanese – sushi, miso, sashimi, … But my body has been not so sure of my impressive dietary shifts. Everybody coming to Japan for a short period of time should be aware that the diet can be very starch-filled and protein-less. I can see myself getting used to a different set of minerals and vitamins; nevertheless, there’s no way I could do so in such a short period of time. And so the nutrionist’s advice of the day should be: don’t be stingy on your food. Buy lots of fruits and vegetables (even though they’re mad expensive in Japan) and take it easy on eating rice (unless you’re used to it from home). This might sound as a silly culinary generalization. But that’s at least, how I and some of my buddies have felt.

5. 5 Study in coffeshops. SANC academy organizes only a few opportunities to spend time with real Japanese people. So you’re kind of on your own in terms of meeting the real Nihon

zin. But no worries. Just grab a coffee and sit down in one of the little cafes in your favorite hood and you’ll see how friendly everybody is. People get extremely interested in why you study Japanese (especially when they see you intensely working on your homework trying to figure out the damn Kanji…). One of my most language enriching experiences have been short conversations with random Japanese people in local Starbucks. In fact so much so that I sometimes think I would learn more just hanging around Tokyo than going to classes….oh, well, the innate wanderer in me… Beware though! Coffee can be really expensive – especially Starbucks. Some other coffee chains with a similar quality but cheaper prices are “Coffee Excelsior, Café Veloce and World Café.” I wouldn’t really recommend small family run kisaten, since they usually serve only as meeting points not as

study places as far as I’ve noticed. They would never kick you out if you claim the space as work environment for the entire afternoon. Instead, they would make you not want to claim the space as work environment for the entire afternoon. Subtle but efficient.

6. 6 Dress up. This is not a superficial fashionista comment. Tokyo is an urban environment and people seem to care much about how they look. I have not seen a single Japanese guy in shorts or a girl in a miniskirt. Body exposure is a big NO – despite infernal temperatures. The best way to fit in – as far as I’ve noticed – is to dress as the Tokyoites – i.e. nice, clean, classy, slim, and most of all, no nakedness. Obviously, everybody has his/her limits. I am not willing to sacrifice my flip-flops, other guys in SANC seem to cling to shorts. But there are always ways to appease the natives: wear khakis with flipflops, a nice shirt with shorts. One of our teachers put it elegantly; you don’t wanna look like you have “watasi wa Amerrrrrrika kara desu” written on your forehead.

7. 7 Japanese public baths – the so-called onsen - are amazing. You pay four hundred yen to get naked and lie in a scaldingly hot tub. It feels strange at the beginning but gr

eat afterwards. Visiting a Roppongi onsen with my SANC buddies had been one of my favorite experiences so far.

8. 8 Don’t be afraid to go chez Dior. Honestly, Japan is such a shopaholic culture that visiting the temples of de luxe is an experience of its own. On the weekend, we visited Ginza, the most upscale neighborhood of Tokyo and we had a lot of fun watching rich Kimono dressed ladies in their natural habitat – that is Hermes, Dior, Channel, Gucci stores. Besides, the buildings are so incredibly well-designed that many of us were more impressed by the exteriors of the Hermes store than by the Imperial gardens. This is obviously a piece of low-brow culture. It can in no way replace for the instance the amazing journey into the National Kabuki Theatre that we’ve undertaken today. Nevertheless, it is interesting to observe the comings and goings of the voracious Japanese consumer.

9. 9 Buy flashcards. Everybody has a different memory, obvi. But if you find yourself struggling with Kanji, I would suggest try using flashcards. They sell them at Office Depot, right next to the school, for 70 en.

10. 10 No fear Shakespeare. Don’t get overwhelmed by too much work. It’s clearly a trade-off between doing work and exploring Tokyo. I am trying to keep balance between the busy school routine and discovering this amazing city. I’m not really that worried about the tests. Last Wednesday, I studied for the Kanji quizz for more than five hours. I got 16/21. Yesterday, I spent time with my friends exploring our hood, studying for less than an hour. I got 15/21. Maybe, the one point is for many worth the additional four hours of busy work. Well….not for me.

Nishishinjuku's Brave New World

Today I was voted the male nurse of the SANC Academy. To prevent the outbreak of the swine flu in Nishishinjuku, our teachers decided to appoint a so-called, student leader who will make sure that Yallies don’t bring viruses to the pure nation of Japan, i.e. someone who makes sure that no one displays signs of influenza.

I am not pre-med. I have no leadership skills. The only reason for my election was the fact that I put my finger on my nose later than anyone else. Literally. Now, I am expected to go around the building sticking a thermometer into the armpits of fellow Yallies. It’s been an ok job so far. The only person that raised some worry was Stan who has been coughing since Saturday. However, having seen him in his natural habitat on Saturday (i.e. bars and clubs of Tokyo), I would think that his unfortunate condition springs more from his drinking habits than from the presence of the swine flu virus in his body. Today, I told him he should go easy on drinking. Hopefully, he’ll follow my advice.

The situation in West Shinjuku has however changed quite dramatically today. Hopping around everybody’s apartment, somehow I ended in Troy’s room. To my surprise, Heidi was serving a meal for Troy and Kevin at the same time, so I got to enjoy the well-searched for company of the Tokyo socialite, Heidi. Not to invoke Heidi’s anger, we held a pleasant conversation for a while, omitting any controversial topics (such as Heidi’s drunkenness on Saturday). However, the peacefulness of the moment had been radically interrupted. COUGH. COUGH. Troy, red in his face, excused himself while coughing into his handkerchief. Despite the mildness of his cough, we all froze immediately. Knowing the consequences of even the most innocent-looking cough, in an eyeblink, I plugged a thermometer into Troy’s armpits. It rose to 37.1 degrees. Heidi and Kevin started to pack their kitchenware, in fear of being associated with a swine flu carrier. Having removed the thermometer from Troy’s armpit, I left for my room. While searching for Kajikawa-sensee’s phone number, I quickly attempted to look up the definition for “EMERGENCY” in my electronic dictionary. However, I soon realized the limitations of my dictionary searching capacities: I couldn’t figure out how to read the Kanji character for “EMERGENCY.” And so I ended up sitting nervously on my bed contemplating Troy’s not so bright future. Interestingly, I found myself sensing less pity for Troy’s unfortunate physical condition than for the consequences that his potential swine flu represents. Having witnessed Heidi’s rapid departure from Troy’s room, I fear that Troy will no longer be attending Heidi’s dinners. In the SANC Academy’s Brave New World, there’s no place for the unfit. Bye, bye, Troy.

The past two nights have been party-intense.

On Friday, we were introduced to our buddies (most of whom didn’t show up). SANC Academy arranged everything. They gave everybody a ticket for the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi (emphasizing how generous SANC Academy is) and set up a time for us to meet with our buddies. Mori Art Museum is definitely not the richest art collection in Japan – but it’s the effort that counts, right? One of the exhibition featured post-post-modern works (such as a light-bulb tunnel) and the other was covering history of a diamond maker – “Foreversomething.” The light bulb part was so-so. The diamond part incited a huge discussion among the SANC academy students – Are these real? Fake? That’s ugly. No, I like it. Why can’t we chew gums here? Yale students at their best.

Afterwards, the group went to an “Italian” restaurant and a Karaoke bar. Things got little heated in the meantime.

Stan, wearing a T-shirt brighter than a polished shinkansen, went around commenting on people’s outfits. Some took it nonchalantly, some did not. And those who did not commented back; either making smirky statements about Stan’s T-shirt (which was brighter than a polished shinkansen) or about his deadly laughter. Stan didn’t seem to mind.

Besides Stan’s sartorialism, a major discussion (with significant consequences) occurred between Heidi and Devin. Both coming from Asian cultures with high regard for (and strong opinions about) rice making, Heidi and Devin got themselves into a heated discussion as to what the appropriate amount of water involved in making rice should be. Initially innocently appearing topic has evolved into a major issue - not unlike life and dead issues such as gay rights, abortion, human evolution, or the War in Iraq. The argument climaxed when Heidi adamantly stated that she would never again cook for Devin. Snap, snap! Most of us froze in terror upon overhearing Heidi’s definitive statement, feeling pity for Devin’s unfortunate fall into disliking….. Dear followers, at this point, you’re probably busy rolling your eyes over – you’re probably wondering what the big deal is; after all, why can’t Devin eat somewhere else? It’s not like Tokyo didn’t have enough culinary opportunities. Right?

WRONG. Devin could indeed dine at some other location than Heidi’s. Nevertheless, the question remains : should he? Heidi’s culinary abilities have turned her little studio into a major social hub, at least for other SANC academy students. Heidi paid special attention to create a list of invitees for her renowned dinner parties. Being on Heidi’s list means you’re IN. Not being on the list means you’re OUT. Despite the short period of time, Heidi managed to establish a membership club worth a well-rooted Tokyo socialite. Those who are not in the club aspire to club membership more fervently than Gilded Age Industrialists. Those who are in the club, fear and tremble at the idea of losing their membership. (especially now that Heidi exposed her executive powers to cut anyone out, as she wishes).

Dear Followers, I hope that now you understand full consequences of Devin’s loss of membership. As such, please be aware that like Roman goddess Juno, once Heidi shows her wrath, ready for total recall, she doesn’t give preliminary warnings. At this stage, everyone seems to pity Devin yet no one can afford to show compassion, fearing Juno’s ( I mean Heidi’s) anger. In a way, Devin’s Fall has led to a more productive SANC Academy students. Everybody seems focused on his/her work, avoiding heated conversations – not only with Heidi but also with everyone else. A strange “Big-Brother-Sauron’s Tower” atmosphere seems to reign over the SANC academy these days – at least until someone else flies over the cuckoo’s nest and fall’s into Heidi’s disliking. In the meantime, for those who want to retain their membership in Heidi’s League as long as possible (well, at least until August 10), I would strongly suggest to stay stoically quiet, not to engage in frenzied discussions - Especially those involving rice.

Who's like totally smokin' - and who's like totally not.

Yesterday, I decided to change my blog’s agenda. So far, I’ve been describing my struggles in the land of the rising Sun. People love to see other people struggling – failing and getting up only to fail all over again. My followers (there comes my Darth-Vader complex) seemed to enjoy to read about my failures. Nevertheless, hanging out for prolonged periods of time with my fellow Bulldogs, I decided to share some of the “what’s going on” in the SANC academy community. I decided to give my followers the pleasure of reading some of the Tokyo Summer Wave tittle-tattle. Who’s cool. Who’s out. Who likes whom. Who’s been hanging out with the hottest Tokyoites. Who wishes he/she has been hanging out with the hottest Tokyoites.

For a few posts, I will be adopting the voice of the omnipresent and omniscient dead neighbor from the Desperate Housewives, retelling the stories of L3 through L5 Yale in Tokyo students (and their randomly appearing “buddies”). I hope that in the meantime some cultural insights will shine through. And if not, no fear Shakespeare, you’ll get your daily portion of Tokyo Today, your daily portion of NishiShinjuku Juicy Campus. Except for more juicy and less campus.

Long story made short: Dear followers, prepare yourself for the first season of “Desperate Yallies in Japan’s Capital,” for the first season of who’s like totally smokin’ – and who’s like totally not.

Today was the first day of school. I have no idea what the homework for tomorrow is but I am staying upbeat and optimistic. After school, Allie, Wang-san and I had teshyoku in Shibuya. Then we met up with Kisho and Matt to go to the electronic town, Akihabara, to buy an electronic dictionary. We couldn’t find the right one. We kept losing Kisho. Getting on each other’s nerves, we all sort of became Debbie Downers. Retail Therapy was obviously not working. Then, however, someone ( I think it was me) suggested we go Karaoke. And so we did.

Karaoke was wild fun. We got a little room on the second floor. We sang all the cool songs – including Gimme More by B.Spears, Beautiful by Christina, Everybody by B.Boys. It was amazing and refreshing. Our penultimate song was “Don’t Stop Believing” and our last song was “I Will Survive.” After Karaoke we went back to our dictionary-search. And voila! The first store we went to had it. So now we all have identical Canon V90, which is nice and dandy. On the way back, we were super-tired yet we fervently started to unwrap our zisyo only to find out that our dictionaries are in fact not as dandy as we thought. Oh, well.

Now, I’m waiting for Kisho and Matt to finish cooking our supper, humming my favorite tunes from today’s extravaganza. So, in the spirit of Gloria Gaynor….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I

Risky Business

Yesterday, we (buddies from SANC) explored Shinjuku at night. It was amazing. When waiting for our tables at a suspicious Shinjuku restaurant, a group of aged Japanese men approached us. One of them said I looked like a moviestar. I told him my dad was Tom Cruise. Then he said I was smart. I told him I go to Yale, which confused him because Rosenbaum-san wore a t-shirt that said “Harvard…as much fun as abstinence.” Then he said I looked cute, which kinda freaked me out. I still took it as a compliment though. Then he said……. What? woah, woah, woah, woah…you just crossed the line, Mr. Japan.

Conclusion of the day: it is valuable to engage in daily conversations with common people in Japan…. Up to a certain point. Then just run away.

There is something strange in the miso soup

Today I woke up at 2 AM, went to bed at 3PM and woke up again at 10 PM. Exactly what you’re not supposed to do when jetlagged. Whatever – it’s not like I was taking the SATs on Saturday.

It’s my second day in Tokyo and I’m impressed. I like it here. Tokyo is strange – that I must say to preambule this post. It’s strange in an interesting way (though sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming…).

Since I cannot really see myself falling asleep in the next ten hours or so, I will describe extensively why I think Tokyo is the weirdest urban extravaganza I’ve ever seen.

3:30 AM: I went to see the temple in Asakusa.

4 AM: I went to the famous fish market in Tsukiji. It was raining as crazy. There was a lo

t of fish and some jetlagged Westerners. I forgot to pack some reasonable hiking shoes so I was traversing through mud, rain and ponds of fish blood in my Ted Baker’s. I hope the blood stains stay on the black leather at least until tomorrow when I’m meeting my groupies from SANC. Imagine how cool I’ll look. Maybe, I’ll go back to Tsukiji in a few hours just to get blood on my shirt, as well. Man! Somehow I feel that Quentin Tarantino would have casted me immediately for Kill Bill #3 – had he seen me.

6AM: I walked to Ginza, which is Tokyo’s most upscale neighborhood. I strolled through Tokyo’s “5^th Avenue” – (eeerrgghhh, I hate when people use fifth avenue in reference to random streets ….there’s only one worse thing: in Prague, they call a little dinghole street, which is like five meters long and has one Dior store, Champs- Elysees. Awkward.). Ginza felt really strange. Somehow all the glitzy high-fashion stores lose their allure when it’s raining, humid, and you smell like an aquarium.

7AM: From Ginza, I took subway to Harajuku – an allegedly trendy hood (my city guide refers to Harajuku as Tokyo’s “East Village.” Jesus! Why is NYC the reference point of every travel guide writer?). Harajuku is pretty charming. It’s hilly and the stores aren’t as ostentatious as in Ginza. On Sundays, crowds of fashion-obsessed Japanese teens are supposed to flock Harajuku. We’ll see…

8AM: I walked to Shibuya. On the way there I saw some pretty weird things. Like the “Muscle Theatre” or a crowd of women with pink umbrellas waiting in front of a churchlike concrete building, or a dozen of construction workers being instructed how to practice taichi. I guess I use the word weird just to refer to something not soordinary. Nevertheless, I think that most Yalies, too, would be “weirded out” if they saw construction workers in Calhoun suddenly forming perfect lines, engaging in synchronized movements. Oh, well…

8:30 AM: At Shibuya station, I tried to look for the easiest way to get to Shinjuku. “Oh! I see a bus! It’s gotta be going there! Why don’t I get a ride? Awesome!”…. WRONG. Never EVER take a bus in Tokyo. Not foreigner-friendly at all. They don’t have schedules. They don’t have announcements in English. The bus drivers don’t speak English. You never know how much you’re being charged. There’s only Kanji. HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Well, I was too scared to ask anyone. Everybody was staring at me. Nobody was willing to sit next to me. I know I am a foreigner with blood on his shoes. But come on, guys! I must have looked like I was in need of help….I wanted to call Yale Police. But ooops! There’s no Yale police! I thought I was going to call my best friend (or my parents, or 911, or Light Fellowship). But ooops! I don’t have any numbers. I thought I was going to call the MEDEX emergency number (that’s how desperate I was). But ooops! I don’t have a phone. So here I was, sitting on a bus bound to %^@#%#$^@$%^ having no idea what to do. Ok, I am no longer a teenager, I am a Yale undergraduate – you’d think I could do better. But have you ever been in a bus where no one wants to sit next to you? (I’m so glad there were no little Japanese kids cause these burst straight into tears when they see me). In fact, I myself was close to tears when I saw the regal Tokyo skyline disappearing and little rice fields fillinng the panorama in front of me. Well, long story made short, I gathered all my wits and made the smartest decision in my life: don’t move. I decided to stay on the bus no matter what – sooner or later it will have to return to its mother station in Tokyo. And indeed, it did! After several hours.

12:30 PM (please note the time difference): I took subway to Shinjuku from Shibuya. A policeman pushed me inside the car. I could hear the heartbeat of entire Tokyo. I have never been that close to so many people ever before. Well, good thing I was only smelling like dead fish. (Cause there are obviously worse fragrances). In Shinjuku, I immediately searched for “Don Quixote” – a chain super-cheap store, where I bought new socks. The old ones were dripping in blood and mud. I knew I had to find Starbucks in the Shinjuku jungle SOMEWHERE. and indeed! I found one overlooking one of the busiest Shinjuku intersections. What a relief! An overpriced cup of coffee never tasted better.

13:00 PM I thought I would brighten my day up. So I went to Takashimaya – a department store in Shinjuku that has a great collection of foreign magazines. Well, luckily, they didn’t have any of my favorites. The assistant in Takashimaya, however, was so “ashamed” that they didn’t carry any of my magazines that, in apologizing, she started crying. I wanted to hug her and tell her it wasn’t her fault. But then I decided not to – maybe that’s not what people do in Japan. (well, newspaper agents definitely don’t cry in the US). I left the store feeling a bit strange – the magazine lady kept shouting that they’d surely have it next time. Now, I totally have to come back and get it.

14:00 PM I went to Jimbocho – a hood with the highest concentration of stores that sell used books. I don’t really know why. I just felt like it. And it was a great experience – I sifted through an amazing collection of 19^th century Japanese travel books! I felt so upbeat and uplifted. If only they didn’t play Lady Gaga. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Poker Face. But sometimes you just don’t expect it. Toad’s on Saturday night: ok. A historical bookstore in Jimbocho on Thursday afternoon: NOT OK). After Jimbocho, I decided to peace out. I went back to Sumida-ku, where my hotel is (which looks, by the way, as if it was run by the Scarlet Gang of Asakusa). I lay down in my capsule and you know the rest.

….

Few more words before I end today’s post:

a. besides the fish market, I have seen a total number of zero foreigners. (and no, I have not been hanging out in some rural part of Hokkaido but in the busiest commercial districts of Tokyo).

b. No one eats outside (no eating on subway on the street or wherever).

c. No one talks in the public.

d. Five year-olds take subway on their own.

e. Customer Service in Japan is amazing.

f. People have their CCs memorized. If you ever thought that CCs were a bunch of useless dialogues that you will never need….well, you were wrong. Today, I have heard all CCs used in daily conversation …and by all I mean ALL. Lesson one through twentyfour. Maybe, I should have memorized them after all….

g. Japanese signs in English make no sense – ie (“Buy one t-shit, get 1200 Yen;””No-one step Bus” “Plant Quarantine” “Leave your relatives behind and the like”

conclusion of the day: So far, Tokyo seems really strange yet like totally smokin’. Amen.

On the Road

I’m  so upbeat. After two days of smooth travelling, I’m waiting for my flight to – guess where, guess where – Tokyo. I took Amtrak from New Haven to Trenton, NJ (to see my family) and then NJ Transit to Newark. I don’t know whether it’s Barrack’s rule over this unruly piece of land or pure chance, but everything went so smoothly – no delays, no accidents, no lost bags, no mean train clerks. Bravo, America! At the airport, Hudson News had my favorite sleeping pills and the newest issue of Vanity Fair (and if you think they always do, then you’re wrong). The baggage guy at the Continental counter forgot to charge me for second bag (extra fifty bucks for sushi, yayayay). I managed to steal wifi from airport café. And the coolest is that all my copassangers are cute Japanese grandmas. (OMG – ten of them just started doing some kind of taichi-like exercises. That is so cool. So cool!). Bliss and heaven!

I’m so glad  that my mood has swung in such a positive direction. Honestly. Yesterday, I got super  anxious about going to the land of Katakana (and no, Patrick, it is not pronounced Katakenka). All of sudden, I got very nervous about spending my summer in Japan. Please, don’t get me wrong. I generally enjoy travelling, visiting places, discovering other cultures, or whatnot. Yesterday, however, I felt that Japan might be bit of a stretch for my travelling capacities. On the one hand, I love everything Japanese, on the other, I’ve recently realized that Japan also scares me a bit (or maybe it’s just Katakana). Well, anyways, I’ll try to keep an open mind. Que sera, sera – whatever will be, will be.

The gate has just opened. Holly Moses.  So, I guess I should peace out. Anyways. Later alligator….or more specifically, see you in Tokyo.l