新幹線 (The Shinkansen)

Ok, so as you guys know, I'm here at JCMU. I woke up at 5:45 this morning cause the sun was already way up and shining in my window, but I tried to get a few more z's before writing this entry. I will try to chug it out quickly since we have a continental breakfast at 8:45, and at the rate I'm spending money on food, I will not turn down a free breakfast.
So yesterday, Mizuho and I slept in and then ate a wonderful breakfast made by Mizuho's mom, who doesn't work on Fridays. There were omelets, aspabeefu, aka asparagus wrapped in beef (which was absolutely delicious), tomatoes, orange juice, toast, and peaches. The peach cups had peaches in peach jello rather than peach juice! It was all so good, and I was absolutely stuffed, but then Mizuho's mom gave me an adorable gift bag for the train, along with cheese-filled bread and some chips. Since I'd already packed the night before, I only had to rearrange the stuff in my backpack and purse. I then just had to say goodbye to A-chan, and she purred at me! Mizuho's mom then drove us to Azamino station in order to meet up with Alex.
When we got there, Alex was already crying and saying her goodbyes. Even Yuki was getting teary eyed. Mizuho was amazing as she helped us through the station and get our tickets for the Shinkansen. It was only about $112 per person, which is great. We looked for a purikura booth outside the Shin-Yokohama station, but we couldn't find one. It wasn't that bad, since even Mizuho kept getting confused by the signs in the station, so by heading back early we probably avoided missing our train. By the time the Shinkansen arrived, I was crying since I had to leave Mizuho. There wasn't much time for goodbyes, because trains in Japan are notoriously punctual, making you get on the train in only a few minutes time. Here are some pictures and videos from the Shinkansen (bullet train):

The scenery was stereotypical Japan, towns set at the bottoms of tree covered mountains, the roofs of the houses made in the Japanese style, multiple story buildings with laundry hanging to dry on every balcony. The downs looked severely slanted because the Shinkansen was climbing up, and you couldn't even feel it. We arrived at Maibara four stations later, and managed to get to the main station. From there, however, we didn't know how to get to our train from Maibara to Hikone, just one stop away. Alex and I were standing there clueless, when suddenly we heard a squeal of happiness. I turned, and Kaibara-san from our Japanese 201 class was running towards us for a hug. Kaibara-san is a graduate student who is married to a Japanese man, which is why she is studying the language. Neither of us knew she was doing this program, so we were so happy and relieved to find someone else to help us along our way. We asked a station attendant where we should go, but after following those directions, we were stuck in line behind a group of middle schoolers on a field trip. It didn't hold us up for long, but we missed our train because of how little time they give you to get on. We just had to wait 15 minutes for the next one, so that was no problem. I was a little disappointed though, because as we rode the train and looked out the window, I could see how absolutely rural and small this area is compared to where I had spent the last few days. It's...going to be very different.

We took a taxi from the station to the school, and it was only $15. But there was no way we could do the hour walk uphill with our stuff. Aparently though, there was a free shuttle that ran to the hotel next door, no one told us -__-. We were given our keys and my roommate was already here. She is interesting. She seems imposing- 6 feet tall, but she seems fun, and nice.

Alex, Jeff (another MSU student), and I ate dinner at a restaurant that is attached to the school called Cocos. We couldn't figure out for the longest time why they wouldn't come take our order despite my attempts to get their attention, but then a lady came over and pantomimed pushing a button. We found a button on the side of our table, and the waiter finally came to us. I had snacked so much on the train, I wasn't very hungry, so I just had french fires and a crepe. Alex had a glass of wine for just over a dollar. I ought to try the drinks in Japan sometime.

After we left the restaurant, there was an old man waiting outside for someone to pick him up. Somehow, Jeff ended up talking to him and dragging us into the conversation. I know my Japanese isn't the best, but the Kansai dialect...it's just so different. It takes me a long time to figure out what they are trying to say, and I don't know how to answer (but that's just because speaking Japanese is scary, especially to Japanese people). It turns out he is the head honcho of a flower arranging school, and he told us there is a festival in town some Saturday in July, and by the end of the conversation he was making us pinky promise we would go to the festival and talk to him there at his flower arranging stall. XD His wife came and picked him up, and we said goodbye.

Many of the kids still hadn't arrived because they were going as a group and there was a delay in one of the flights. Alex and I sat in the lobby trying to use the wifi, because the wifi doesn't work in the rooms. Once a few more people arrived we were having fun chatting and such, and the whole group arrived by 10 pm. We were kicked out of the lobby, and I went up to bed, excited about my new friends, but a bit disappointed about the location of the school. On the map of Hikone even, we are in the very very corner, surrounded by nothing but that place Cocos and that hotel. Riding into town will be a pain. I took an extensive bike tour today, and even so I have no clue where to go. It doesn't help that I am so directionally challenged that I can't find my way around my own campus in Michigan...Oh well, I'll work through that. But I don't have time now to talk about what I did today, because it's 9:30 at night. Yes, I did start this at 7:30. The internet went out and I had to stop but when I came back to it this evening, only the first two paragraphs were saved. So...that was frustrating. I believe I'll have sufficient time tomorrow to write, since there is nothing official planned, and I just have to go to the store and study a bit. So, until then!

Mary

Location: Lobby of JCMU

Mood: Sleepy (- - )z..z..

Listening to: Frannie playing the song "Dearest" by Ayumi Hamasaki on the piano

Japanese of the day: これは何ですか。kore wa nan desu ka? - What is this?