what to say of exchange atm?
words can't really describe it. sometimes, it's quite uneventful, especially now that the "novelty" of being in japan has worn off. it's not that it's boring here a lot of the time, but i just sometimes don't really have much to do.
recently, school's sort of finished for the school year, so now, i'm on spring holiday (i think! :D). i've been doing quite a bit with the two other exchange students from australia, which are living quite close to me, so that's been awesome. we've been going into Gifu and Nagoya, and going shopping, and just generally having a great time. but buses are expenisve here. it costs me about ¥2 200 to get to Nagoya and back, and about ¥1500 to get to gifu and back, so it's not exactly cheap to go anywhere… :/
for the last two days, and tomorrow, i've got work experience. yes, that's right; the guy who can barely communicate in japanese is working. i'm going to the town hall (like the local government equivalent), where i'm working for the public relations section. i've been doing some stuff in english, like writing emails supplying information to tourists interested in coming to visit Seki, among other things, so it's been really quite interesting. I wish i got paid though! :)
Japanese? it's going ok. i know i'm spending far too much time reading, listening, talking and watching things in English though. it just gets a bit difficult, when you're just like "I need to be able to understand things!!", so you retreat into a language you can understand, and hence, your japanese doesn't improve. once school starts back up again, though, i think it will start improving again. well, that's not quite true. it's always improving, my vocab's getting better, i'm slowly learning how to use a few new sentence structures, and my understanding is going up trhough the roof, but i don't think my outgoing communication skills overall have gotten a HUGE amount better. with time, they'll improve even more. hopefully… :D
also, if you're going to japan, or really, anywhere, on exchange in the next 100 years, read this.
get ready for packing 101.
i just wrote this for a girl leaving for japan next week, and i thought it might help some other people out too. here's the original blog post that this post is related to: http://jennyinjapan49.blogspot.com/2010/03/lists-are-your-friends.html . it would probably make more sense to read that post first, but my take on it is still really useful, i feel.
call the airline that you're flying with, and ask them to give you extra baggage allowance, after mentioning the fact that you are an exchange student. you'll often be given a couple of extra kilos free baggage allowance. you'll thank yourself in the long run!!
DON'T BUY CLOTHES before you leave. you'll hate yourself. seriously; don't. buy them here instead. there are way more interesting clothes here than anything you can find back at home, they'll be souvenirs you'll actually use, and it gives you something to do!! and yes, unless you're 7 feet tall and 200kg, the clothes will fit you. i'm a 75kg 6ft guy, and a large percentage (~40%) of guys around my age are the same height or taller than me.
same for shoes. just bring one pair of trainers (invaluable for days of walking), a pair of more fashionable shoes that you are still able to walk in, and a pair of very formal shoes that you can wear in formal situations. i'm not sure what the prices are for shoes where you are, but they're cheap here, compared to australia. also, unless your feet are like 30cm long (1' long), you should be able to find shoes here. if your feet are a similar size to your friends of asian heritage, you should be fine!! and then, buy more shoes when you arrive!! they're a pain to pack, they take up lots of room, and it's EASY to find awesome shoes here that i would buy in a moment!!
depending on how good your japanese is, maybe don't bring many learning materials, except for kanji cards with english translations. everything else is easy to find here.
don't go over the top with formal clothes. i brought 4 polos and 4 button shirts; i've worn them all of no times so far, and i've been here for 2 months already. bring lots of t-shirts, because that's what you'll actually be wearing, and also a good water-proof raincoat. currently, it's really quite rainy and windy; it's often freezing and inconvenient on your bike, i can assure you!! also bring some gloves that you can wear while on your bike/walking. it might be starting to warm up a little now, but it's still way too cold to ride without gloves, i feel.
make sure you have a VERY simple way to access money from canada or where-ever you are. every 7-11 here has an international ATM, so you can get money from most cards; but there are usually fees attached, if you're not careful. so talk to your bank, and see what can be done. i didn't bring ANY travelers cheques with me, i just get money from my account out of an ATM at the 7-11 near me, and it works perfectly.
bring the crappy kitchy canadian/american/australian stuff that you wouldn't think that your host family would like. they'll bloody lap it up!! like, my host family is still using fridge magnets from exchange students that came more than 10 years ago. olympic themed things would probably go down well too. but make sure it's presented nicely. the presentation almost matters more than the gift itself!!
buy some skype credit before you leave, and set up a skype address with phone numbers of loved ones already put in, (physical home numbers etc) so that you contact people easily once you arrive, for cheap. I had a half hour phone convo from skype to a landline in australia for half an hour, and it cost less than a dollar. bargain.
let me know if you need more info via a comment.
cheers,
have an awesome time in japan everyone!!
btw, some one asked about how i'm going in school. i can't understand almost anything any teacher says the class. so, most of the time, i goof off a little, stare aimlessly around the classroom/out the window, read harry potter (in english! :D), or study grammar. it's riveting stuff… :) school itself is probably the most boring part of my week (especially during english grammar lessons, japanese lessons, and maths), but club, where i've joined judo is awesome. i love just being able to beat the majority of the people at something, and i've made some friends, which is great. boring school lessons might be the lowlight of my day, but judo for 2.5 hours afterwards is probably the highlight! :) it doesn't hurt that it helps burn ridiculous amounts of energy; there's barely a practice that goes by without me being SERIOUSLY exhausted from a exercise.
btw, don't plan to be homesick. you're just setting yourself up for failure. you're only going on exchange like this once; you can't get this time back again. if you spend it whining and pining, trying to stay in contact with the people you actively decided to leave for a year, then why did you go on exchange? you'll see them way too soon again anyway. just enjoy the experience while you're here, because before you know it, you WILL be home again, and wishing you had spent more time actually doing things.
that's my take on it. :)
i might not be homesick, but i do definitely miss my caity… :)
cheers
xx
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