Okazaki Castle

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I am going to say I didn't do a lot of research into the city of Okazaki so I could be pleasantly surprised in all the awesome things this city had to offer. I mean, that's sorta true but honestly I just expected it to be a normal Japanese city with 'normal' things.

Low and behold, this city has one of the my favorite things to see when travelling around the country, castles.

So, where should I find myself on my second full day, at the castle, looking down at the city, standing in footsteps of history itself.

Like most the castles in Japan, the inside of this one has been modernized to resemble a museum of sorts. The various floors showcase old historic relics like maps, armor, weapons, pieces of old buildings and a ton of various other items. Sadly, most of those areas are off limits to photos so I can't show anything other than the outside of the building and views from the top.

If you ever find yourself in Japan, definitely visit a castle or two. You might find yourself enjoying the experience quite a bit!

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First Day of School... Again

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My first day of school consisted of writing a placement exam, orientation and welcome ceremony.

For the exam, it consisted of about 100 questions with increasing difficulty. In addition to that piece, we also had to take a verbal conversation exam with the instructor. The instructors have probably gone through this so much, that they were very good at recognising where your knowledge of the language plateaued and then continued the conversation at a level where you could excel.

The examination was about 2 hours in total which is something I haven’t done, in a school setting, for quite a long time now.

After lunch, which was ramen (so, a blog post coming soon for that one), I participated in an orientation about the program, the school itself and even included a walk about of the various other buildings and amenities that I have access to.

Immediately after that, was a short welcome ceremony where the new students (3 of in total) introduced ourselves to the existing students in the program. Also, one student was departing, so he gave a farewell speech.

Before leaving the school, I was given a binder of materials and the placement results for the class that I would be participating in going forward. After having gone to one day of normal classes on Friday, I can definitely say I was placed in the right group.

One of the new students that I made friends with immediately is from Taiwan. His Japanese is much better than mine, so I feel guilty that I can’t converse with him as much as he tries to converse with me. Though, I definitely appreciate his willingness to hang out considering the language gap. Though, it is pretty cool, that people are getting together from various parts of the world and communicating in the common language of Japanese.

And I also appreciate that other students try to avoid speaking their native language as much as possible in order to maximise their speaking practice.

It’s really only been a couple of days, but by the time I get back to my room at night, I feel so tired. The mental strain in trying to operate in a different language for so much time during the day, especially when learning, is definitely a real thing.

To those that have a great proficiency in a another language other than your native one, I commend you on the hard work you put in to get there.

I am definitely looking forward to the challenge ahead over the next 2 months.

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A Homestay

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I met my homestay family yesterday afternoon for the first time and I must say, I lucked out. Not only is the family super nice and their 3 young boys (10, 8 and 5 years old) being super cool, but the housing setup is a great mix of personal space and social interaction with the family.

On this particular lot, the family has their own house, which is a pretty cool layout (newer style Japanese home), but also what I am assuming is the original house which belongs to the grandparents. And on top of that, is a smaller flat which is suitable for a single person or a couple.

So, at the end of the day, once I am done eating dinner, chatting and playing with the kids, I head over to my own place, fully equipped with everything (kitchen, full shower, washroom etc.). It’s a pretty wicked setup for someone looking for a lot of added conversation practice, but still feeling like they are living on there own.

I’ll have to add pictures of my time with the family as time goes on. As I write this, it’s only my second night so I haven’t taken much in the way of pictures so far.

I’ll try to do a quick video tour of the flat so you can get a better sense of what my living arrangement is.

I’m looking forward to all the interactions and activities I’ll get an opportunity to pursue with the family. I already told them that I enjoy the onsen (Japanese hot springs) so we are already planning to go on Sunday sometime.

I also started the Japanese school today, but I’ll touch on that and how it’s going in future posts.

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Passport Wallet

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It was a long day and a long flight. So, I was probably in a daze when I went up to the train ticket machine to load up my transit pass.

I was about 40 min away when I realized that my passport wallet wasn't in my back pack. So, I got off at my stop and got right back on a train headed towards the airport. To say I was super stressed out at this point would have been an understatement.

It was about 90 minutes by the time I had returned to the last location of my abandoned wallet.

No, it wasn't exactly where I left it, but someone had returned it to the station attendant. So after a brief chat and validation it was indeed mine, my wallet was back in my bag, secure.

I must say, if there was any place to loose something so important, it would be Japan. Either way, I am so very lucky.

Whew!