First off I should acknowledge an anecdote that I had to omit from my last post. An interesting thing about the way in which Fulbright pays each Fulbrighter in Japan, is that it is in cash. One envelope. This is because without this cash, and without a bank account (which is virtually impossible to have without a valid Alien Registration Card) we would all quickly fall into unfortunate circumstances (i.e. unable to eat, sleep, etc.). This is not very interesting, but the amount of cash that I was carrying is. I had the rough equivalent of almost $7,000 in yen in an envelope on my person for about a week. In almost any other country I would have been constantly terrified, but with my satisfaction with the (relatively) low crime rate in Japan, I wasn't too worried. At one point, I had to go to the local bank to set up my account with Hashimoto, and he witnessed the ridiculous amount of money I had. He literally began to shake in fear, and yelled out "怖い!" (scary). The only people that would carry such cash in Japan are likely to be criminals that Hashimoto had seen in movies and comic books in his childhood. Interesting to say the least.
I moved into my new apartment by myself successfully, for which I was happy. Afterwards I set out to fill it up with things both necessary and unnecessary. I ended up buying a futon and sheets, but because a taxi would have been roughly $30, I decided to take my new sleep station on the train with me. This required me walking a total of about an hour carrying a full futon in one hand and a comically large plastic bag full of sheets, blankets and a pillow in the other. It definitely warranted some stares. While riding the train, I attempted to sit with the futon on my lap, which was a failure. The image must have been pretty laughable. One would have only been able to see a large futon on my lap, with my fingers wrapped around the corners, and nothing but a tuft of hair emerging from the top of the futon. An elderly woman eventually peeked around the corner of the futon to see me and exclaimed, "大変だね!" (that's gotta be tough, huh). She allowed me to set the futon down on the floor between us and later offered her friends and I cookies. I was smiling the whole time.
After price checking at some discount stores and recycle shops (basically a used-goods dealer), I opted to try to buy some goods from a fellow foreigner that I found through the website for a local magazine aimed at the foreigner community. I scored a great deal on a TV and a refrigerator. I payed about half of what I would have paid at the local recycle shop. The person's internet alias was "Joh Axel" and he didn't communicate very well over the internet in written English. We set up a time to meet at my apartment building, and at one point he asked for my room number just in case I was late. I started to get a little "sketched out," thinking that he was most likely a large, scary Germanic ("Joh Axel") man trying to mug me. I told him that I would meet him outside. We met in the dark of the evening, and my terrifying German mugger ended up being a middle aged South Asian professor type. He seemed surprised, if not scared of me, barely spoke, and drove off as fast as possible after receiving payment.
Note: the TV and fridge work great to this day! (knock on wood)
I bought a used bike, which became my gateway to the city, and allowed me to save on public transportation fares. By bike, I live roughly 4 minutes away from my new gym, which is a 1 minute bike ride from my campus. In short, I live in a very convenient location.
Two former Oberlin students from my Japanese classes joined me last weekend on a few nights on the town. John Hugens, who is teaching English in Seoul, South Korea, and Tom Newhall, who is teaching English in a small nearby town met with me in Fukuoka on the same day. Tom, who has lived in the area for over a year, ended up being the tour guide to my new home town. Highlights of the weekend included meeting my first Azerbaijani, Kazakh, and Russian from Vladivostok. I have found, especially with Europeans, that being American can be a delicate situation. I have utilized a skill that I like to call "sarcasm," which seems to be an effective tool in disarming them. Saying things like, "Well, us Americans only discovered foreign countries 5 years ago, so you people are pretty new to us," generally generates laughs. Knowing how to say "Hello, my name is _____,"* in Kazakh also works well to build international relations.
I joined a few classes and plan on joining more. The courses for Kyushu University's junior year study abroad program (i.e. conducted in English) were not necessarily the most intellectually stimulating meetings I have ever participated in. Therefore, I might only take one, which focuses on the political economy of east Asia. Otherwise I am currently enrolled in a International Trade focused seminar, as well as a management seminar, both in the graduate school of economics, the latter conducted in English. This week I will try out some finance-oriented undergrad courses (in Japanese). I also took my Japanese language placement tests last week, and as expected placed into exactly one level lower than my desired level for every course. Hopefully I will be able to worm my way into higher level courses, which I have been able to do successfully in the past. So I will probably be taking something to the tune of 7 classes this semester. The good news is that most only meet once a week, and as I am auditing these courses I don't have to stress too much about grades (although I undoubtedly will).
My advisor continues to surprise me with his support as he is constantly setting me up with professors with related interests, telling me about job fairs for Kyushu University students, and basically helping me with absolutely everything. I have lucked out yet again!
I have been stressing about job prospects after a interview (with a transnational investment management firm) set for November was dropped after the recent, ehem, events within the world financial market(s). As I have until September 2009 to look for a job, I realize that it's irrational to worry, but I still need to convince myself of this fact.
Otherwise I'm just ready to get into the groove of things. Today I bought my first book written in Japanese which is (other than a whopping 231 pages), interestingly enough a semi autobiographical story set in China, written by an accomplished American author. Additionally, I bought a rice cooker, pots, plates, and utensils, so I have the necessarily tools to try and teach myself how to cook proficiently. We'll see how it goes, you may have a young Wolfgang Puck on your hands (doubtful)!
Hope all is well everyone!
Max
*"Hello, my name is ____" in Kazakh sounds something like "Salaam, manym atym ___." Try it out the next day you meet a Kazakh!
