Well, I'm back

Hey there!
So, it's been a few weeks (17 days, to be precise) since I've arrived back in Belgium.

Travelling back home was a bit hectic - I nearly overslept and we only had one hour in Heathrow to transfer our flights - and emotional. It was strange saying goodbye to friends at the airport. I mean, it's still possible that I won't go back to Fukuoka and thus never see them again. And when one person starts crying, everyone does. I was crying my eyes out and hiccuping by the time I went through the gate (the guy from the baggage check looked at me strangely).

When you think about it, travelling by plane is kind of awesome. I travelled 8 hours back in time and ate and slept 10363m above Russia.

Hey there, Denmark

Arriving back home and seeing my friends and family again was nice. When I arrived back in Belgium, I had a group very excited group of people waiting for me. If you read this blog; you guys are awesome and I love you.

It's been comfortable the first days back home, all I did was sleeping and eating. This must be how life feels like for a hamster.

Only I'm not as cute and lack cheek pouches 

Seeing my friends and family again was great. Surprisingly, the best part about it is that I can just pick up where I left, as if I wasn't gone at all. I guess that's the best part about friendship.
And I've been missing Belgian food badly, you can't imagine the happiness when I ate real fries with real mayonnaise again.

Yum, fries with mussels

Or waffels. Or my mother's home cooked food.
Chocolate, however, I did not miss. I had so mountains of it sent to me and ate most of it. I regret nothing.

Unfortunately, there were some not so awesome things I had to get used to again. The stores close ridiculously early and the national Belgian railway company might be evil.

Evil!

Also, Flemish is no longer a very secret language.

I also noticed that I changed since I left for Japan. It's not just having gained a bit more insight about Japan, I noticed my way of thinking, behaviour and even way of dressing and sense of humour has changed a bit.

And I didn't expect me to, but I do miss Japan. I miss hanging out with the friends I made there. I miss the combini (stores that are always open. Always.) and eating sushi as fast food. I miss hearing Japanese around me whole the time and just the atmosphere and the way of living I adopted in Japan. And I really wish I had taken more pictures of the daily environment etc., because those are the things I miss the most.

pictured: Tenjin in the evening

Japan wasn't a perfect country. There were several things that annoyed, surprised or baffled me, things I hated and things I just couldn't get used to. Then again, there's no such thing as a perfect place. And without any sarcasm: I was very happy there.

If it's within your possibilities, I really recommend studying abroad.
And I hope that I wasn't crying for a reason when leaving Fukuoka, I definitely want to travel back some day.

On a second thought...

So the last blog was written without much of a second thought, I just wrote everything I experiences in Japan that came into mind at that moment. As I've been in Japan about a month longer now and got to know more about the things I wrote, well, here the second thought about the last blog.

   Cold weather
Yes, it got cold. Very, very cold. I thought I was very lucky the whole time, because Belgium should be far worse right now. Then I checked it and it turned out that it was 9 degrees today, about the same as in Belgium. Who would have guessed?
Anyway, it's 9 degrees and I'm acting as if I'm trying to survive wintertime in Siberia. Did I get used to the weather in Fukuoka so much? Or I'm just kind of a wuss when it comes down to cold weather. I wonder how I'm going to survive a 5 days holiday to Seoul this January. It's only 1 degree there!

   Me worrying about my Japanese and Korean skills
Oh, I'm still worrying. I'm doing fine when talking and am picking up some new ways to talk informal, but at the same time I'm forgetting kanji and am sometimes not sure in how to conjugate verbs.
The interesting thing though, is that I have days in which I can talk Japanese well and days I completely suck. Some days I only want to talk Japanese, I want challenges and people to correct me and to teach me new thing. At other days I think "Oh, whatever. English is just fine". Or the worst days are the days something happened that makes me feel like I'm really bad at what I'm doing. I wrote this speech about genetic engineering. It's something that isn't much of a problem to talk about in English or Dutch and I was in the challenge-mood, so I thought "let's check my Japanese level!".
It did not go well.
The page was completely red with corrections and the teacher pointed out that 'my grammar isn't that good'. He basically just told me that I suck at the basics. I avoided to talk Japanese at all costs that day. And when I did talk, all that came out was some kind of incomprehensible stutters.
To give a good ending to this story; when I met the teacher again for a check-up on my speech, I managed to say most of it by heart and pointed out that his corrections sometimes made no sense, as he just didn't understand what I was trying to say. In the end, I just said it in English and he racked his brain about how you could possibly translate it to Japanese. It took him a loooong time and I felt pretty pleased with myself. If the Japanese teacher can't do it easily, then how am I supposed to?

  About students not being studious. Well, it's quite true. I asked about this, and I was told that it's hard to get into a university, but once you're in, it's a piece of cake to graduate. In a sense, it's the opposite of Belgium, where you don't do anything (well, I didn't anyway) in high school, but when you go to university, there's where the real work starts. I'm not sure which system is the best.

I should, however, apologize to the local library. I've been complaining to everyone about how inefficient they work and how it's impossible to study, as girls will just gossip and squeal out loud in the study room. It turned out it's actually a quiet and nice place to study and I was just unlucky the two first times I went there. And the way things are organised.... well, I still think filling in a paper ànd showing your student card ànd getting a computer card thingy etc. is a waste of time, but you can print for free and copying things is very cheap, so I shouldn't complain. Besides, you can't enter the library in Leuven either without your student card.
The library got its revenge, it closed on me during winter holidays.

You win this round, library

   Shaving girls
I was slightly shocked by this one. But after talking with several Japanese about it, I calmed down.
Girls don't shave every day. It's all about the few hairs that grow above your lips. Plucking the small moustache hairs is very painful, so I understand why you'd rather use a razor.

I asked three Japanese guys at a party (a nomikai; which means as much as 'let's meet up and drink together) what they thought about it. They all agreed that plucking would be better than shaving, but also thought that it's better to have a girl shave the small hairs above the lip than to have her do nothing about it at all. "But it grows back and then it get's worse" I said. At which one answered "That's ok. At least she tries."

Picture I took in Tenjin

About the women who shave their faces... That only happens on rare occasions. Your wedding, to be precise. You have hair about everywhere on your body, but most hairs are too small to see. Apparently your face becomes very pretty and 'radiant' when even the fluffy little hairs are gone. Is it true? I have no idea. I honestly can't say I've seen a lot of brides here

Well, I did see one, but I was rather distracted by the amazing dress

Just look at it!

Talking about strange things girls will do, there's this certain way of walking some Japanese girls have, with their knees and feet pointed inwards. And I've seen it very often, once I even mistook a girl for having a handicap for a split second, because of the slow and clumsy way she stumbled forwards (oh yes, I felt very bad about it). I said something about it out loud to a friend, who pointed out she was probably on a date, she was following a boy, sometimes holding hands. Maybe she exaggerated her cute walk because of him?
There's the saying that you should suffer if you want to be pretty, but it's a bit incredible to me to take it as far as not being able any more to walk at a normal, human speed. Or maybe there's just another reason behind it that foreigners as myself do not understand.

 I've asked about it. And what I've been told is that there's no specific reason to walk like this, beside the fact that it's terribly cute. Another thing I heard is that it might be because of wearing heels that are too high far too much. The clumsy way of walking with these shoes became their natural way of walking. And again, it's cute. That's one of the small differences with Belgium. When I was in high school and a girl walked by clumsily on high heels, people would snort "Look at her, wearing shoes she can't even walk in".

  Partytime
The Japanese way of partying is definitely different. The focus here isn't on drinks, like in Europe. It's food.

Lots and lots of food

To end this blog, enjoy this Engrish sign I saw on a train.

It was not necessary!

Lots of love from Japan!

2 months and counting

Hello everyone!

Firstly, I'd want to apologize for my lack of updates. There's really no excuse. I have been busy, but not too busy to write something every now and then. I guess that writing blogs just isn't my thing.

I'm doing great in Fukuoka! The weather got cold, but it's still peanuts compared to the Belgian winters, so I'm not complaining. The scholarship provides more than enough money to live comfortably and to even go shopping every now and then (shopping: something I disliked in Belgium and got to love in Japan). The dormitory is a great and luxurious place (TV room, elevator, big kitchen, Japanese bath, private terrace etc).
And we have a cafeteria that gives cheap and delicious food. In fact, I barely cook for myself over here.

om nom nom

The only things worrying me are my Japanese skills, whether I'll get my credits and if I'll be able to catch up with the Korean level of the Belgian students. I've been trying to study Korean by myself, but seem to be missing the discipline to do so and since it's already the second semester, joining the Korean class over here would be far too difficult for me. I am, however, allowed to attend one class tomorrow to see how it'll go and after that I can make up my mind whether I'll join the class. The Korean teacher did not seem too enthusiastic, though. She kept saying that It'll be very hard on me, since I'm still at a beginners level, and how she wished that I was here next semester, so she could properly teach me.
About my Japanese level; I'm worrying because I have no idea whether I got any better. I still make far too much mistakes in simple grammar rules, have difficulties in explaining things, especially when writing, and have the experience of having no idea what someone is saying far too often. My kanji skills seem to have gotten worse. My English also seems to have gotten worse and lately I have bizarre situations in which I google translate a Japanese word to English.
I have also noooo idea what's going on in Belgium (there could be an alien attack, for all that I know). Like with the bachelor paper, and what I'm supposed to do... The same with my credits. There's so little information. I guess the best thing would be to just do what I can/feel like doing and wait until more information from Belgium will reach me. If I'm really supposed to mail or blog something, they'll let me know... right?

There are several things about Japan that, even though I've been studying about Japan for 3 years now, surprised, shocked or simply baffled me. For example, how teachers teach. Maybe it's because we're foreign students, but I got to question to way classes are given. We have homework that's absolutely unnecessarily (like writing the sentences we wrote during class again. I don't see the point) and we lack homework that could make a difference, like grammar. In fact, we barely have any grammar exercises at al. Not that I'm complaining - I never liked grammar exercises - but I do think it'd be better. And the thing that irritates me the most about Japanese classes; only a break every two hours, or sometimes every 90 minutes. Even though I'm getting used to it now, I'm still not happy about it. How am I supposed to concentrate for two hours straight? That's like asking me to fly by flapping my arms.
Something horrifyig I discovered while living in Japan: some girls shave their faces... I'm not joking. When I first heard it from another foreign student, I thought it was some kind of urban legend, and did not believe it. Until I saw this...

*cue ominous music* TUN TUN TUUUUN

And we're not just talking about shaving your eyebrows here (which I also find slightly disturbing), it's the cheeks. You know, like men do every morning. I seriously doubt that all girls do this, but you càn buy it pretty cheap at the supermarket. I was reminded of this again, when reading a magazine at the hairdresser. There was a commercial about some kind of beauty salon where they'd make you pretty for your wedding day. On the picture you saw a woman professionally being shaved. I guess there's nothing more romantic than growing a stubble on your wedding night.

Another thing baffling about Japan is the way some girls walk. knees bended towards each other and feet inwards, as if they need to pee. A friend (foreign student) suggested it's because their mothers held them wrongly or put them in those special baby bags (I have no idea what it's called. It's this thing you put on like a backpack and put your baby in) too early, causing their bones to grow wrongly. Personally, I doubt this. I guess it's a cultural thing. Apparently girls have to tie their knees together when practising how to walk gracefully when wearing a kimono. Maybe that's why it's thought as cute. Being raised in a Western background, I only find it odd.

Last but not least; people don't seem to study here. Or not as much as you'd expect from university students. Of course, going to the university is completely different in Japan. It's quite the opposite of Belgium; High school is hard, the entrance exam to the university is hard, but once you're in, you barely do anything. Studying at the university is called 'the vacation of your life' over here. Girls gossip in the library, squealing things like "KAWAII!!" and "KIMOI!". In.The.Library. If you actually need to study, concentration is a challenge.

Something wonderful about Japan? The shops. They are open very late and also on Sundays.

depicted: our local supermarket at around 19:30

And then there are malls like Canal City. It looks like a science-fiction city, very beautiful.

Or Marinoa city, or the many department stores at Tenjin etc. There's so much choice. Clothes are quite expensive, but there are sales. Lots of them. Every time the local baseball team wins there are sales to celebrate. If they lose, there are sales to thank them for trying so hard. When the Hawks (that local baseball team) won the Japanese championship, the sales went crazy. Clothes went with 70% discounts.

Hawks, I could have never done this without you

But now that the national championship is won, I guess there won't be any sales for a while. Hopefully winning in other countries will count for sales as well. (You see what Japan has done to me? I changed into a shopaholic). I even got to love the Japanese way of clothing, with their short pants that look like skirts and lace on their handbags.

And I have the most wonderful room mates! They're funny, kind and always ready to help me out with something, or ask me advise themselves. The atmosphere is so much fun here, I'm so lucky. I always thought that having room mates could be quite awful, since you don't know each other well and if you have a fight the atmosphere at home goes down, but I really got to like the idea of living together with someone. When my three room mates aren't around, the kitchen feels awfully lonely. I wonder if I'll find my room in Leuven lonely when I go back to Belgium...

so homely! ^_^

Life is good over here. If anything, the university treats us like precious, little princesses.
We get an amazingly good scholarship. We're not allowed to do a part-time job, but I don't particularly care. There's more money with this scholarship than with average part-time jobs, anyway. We also don't pay for things like the heater, water and even toilet paper. It could be that its included in the rental fee, but the rental fee is very, very cheap. It's only about 10 000 yen or so per month (about 100 euros).
We are overprotected; we have a curfew, there are guards, camera's and you need a card with a chip to get in. Annelies, Julie and I once discussed how to sneak in and came to the conclusion that it's impossible if you don't possess the stealth and agility of a ninja. And they're not keeping an eye on us because they like to be strict, it's to keep the creeps out. Even though you don't see them often, this women's university does attract them. They're harmless, they're rare... but they are there (haha, that rhimes!). A month or so ago one of the international students did see a man masturbating on the middle of the street, only a few meters from the university. Talking about being scarred for life. The Japanese who heard about it were embarrassed and told us that it's a part of Japan the Japanese are ashamed about.
Also, we get a lot of excursions and fun days out that are basically free. This week, for example, we got to watch a sumo tournament for free!

go, go chubbies!

Also, when we went on an excursion to Kumamoto and Kirishima, we didn't take a train or Shinkansen or anything. They just brought us by bus, no stress.

Japanese way of going out is completely different. People don't start going out at night, they're already drunk at eight. Regular bars in the way we imagine them are hard to find and they usually close pretty fast. The drinks often have a quite low alcohol percentage (I don't have to worry much about getting drunk). And cocktails are pretty cheap, compared to Belgium. Also, you can't dance in a bar. There's a new law that says that dancing in bars isn't allowed. We found this out the first time we went out with a big group of girls. We did find two bars at a walking distance from our university. It has Okinawan food and drinks. Probably our favourite drink is the one with ice cream. Who could resist that?

Japanese food is also pretty healthy. Even though vegetables have gotten expensive this year (because of what happened in Fukushima and such). But even when not adding much vegetables, the meals are balanced. They also say how much calories are in your meal, on the take away meals and even in the cafeteria. The food pyramid is also quite different here (sweets aren't even included!). 

also, they have pokémon dietists

And that's about all I have to say about the past two months (actually two and a few days of September, but who cares?). Thanks for reading this, and until next time! (probably another two months, but at least I'll have more to write about. Right?...Right?). See you!

Time to go!

Hello to you all and welcome to this blog I’ll be (trying to) keep up to date while studying abroad in Japan. The departure will be this week, Thursday to be exact, and I’ll be staying there for about 7 months. But, as you’re reading this, you’re most likely a friend who already knows. :)

About the title of this blog, forgive me and my love for quotes. And for Lord of the Rings.

The summer vacation has been quite uneventful. Besides getting a visa and plane tickets, I didn’t really think about Japan much. I’ve been hanging around the house, being lazy, until about two weeks ago when I suddenly realized September 22^nd was coming closer. My parents, I think, felt about the same. Not that we’re sobbing (“I’ll miss yououou”), after all, I’m only leaving for a few months.

Everyone seems so excited about me going there to study, I keep getting congratulations, advice and invitations to meet up and have fun once I’ve reached Japanese soil. I’m very, very excited too, but I also can’t help feeling nervous about it. Despite all the advice, I only have a vague idea what to expect. I didn’t think I’d actually get to study in Fukuoka and to be honest, the information I received was late, unclear and by times confusing. A lot I’ve heard from fellow students, like about the Yakkan Shoumei, a document that allows you to bring more than a month’s supply of medicine to Japan. I had no idea the thing existed until they told me. On the other hand, I’m pretty bad with administrational things, so maybe I just didn’t notice.
Travelling alone is also something new to experience. I’ve been on planes before, when I was little – sleeping and getting candy from the stewardess – but I’ve never been up in the sky by myself. A new city is a bit of a challenge as well, as I easily get lost.
Also, I’ve never been in Japan. All knowledge I have about it is gathered through the internet and manga. The language I’ve studied from books and courses. I probably sound a bit unnatural, now I’ll have the chance to find out.

And I won’t be going alone! A. and J., two lovely girls from the same university, will also be studying in Fukuoka’s Womens University. The three of us will be taking the same planes to Japan, which is a relief. And you know what they say, three is a company. With J. I’ll return to rainy Belgium in March (A. is staying there, that lucky woman :D).
Originally we’d be a company of four people, which is even better, but that was cancelled because one girl couldn’t come. The girl in question is a very close friend who is absolutely obsessed about Japan, it’s a bummer the university didn’t let her in.

Right now what’s left for me to do is to pack my suitcase (which turns out to be a bigger task than expected) and other preparations. I’ll be there soon!