First Day of School

The day before yesterday (Thursday?) was a bust because of the rain. We went to the supermarket by the train station, ate ramen at our favorite little shop, and came back to the dorm.

Yesterday was the first day of school! As I wrote last time, we don't register for classes before school starts. The professors give introductory lectures for the first two classes, and students can go around to whatever class they like to see if they want to take the course. The classes tend to go Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday.

It's going to be hell registering, but I kind of like this system. I know now that the profs for the classes I went to yesterday were boring and I'll have to make better choices for Monday. I don't know if I've just been spoiled by the profs I have at Creighton, who are usually interesting enough so that I don't fall asleep in class, or if I was in a bad mood or something. I was bored to tears most of the time, and I saw people falling asleep or zoning out way more than I would back home. I tried to pay attention since the material seemed interesting, but the profs are killing me. I'm glad I'll only have to suffer through three classes other than Japanese.

I think all the Sophia classes are organized so that there are no classes from 1230-130 -- everyone gets a lunch break. The SAME lunch break. The cafeteria was way too crowded, and the food was pretty blah. You buy a meal ticket from a vending machine at the entrance to the dining hall, and you go to the proper line to get your meal. I got a miso ramen ticket for 300 yen, so I went to the ramen line to get it. I think Saniya had bi bim bap ("It has kim chee in it! It'll be spicy!") and Jim got curry. Water and green tea stations were by the food lines.

Golden Week is coming up in Japan. It's a bunch of holidays that happen to be right next to each other, so most people get a week off. At Sophia, we'll have maybe a weekend and four days off rather than a one-week break. The girls are going to Kyoto, but it's more than $500 for the trip and I can't afford it. Folk Song club is doing a "band camp" bonding thing for freshmen and new recruits for $200, so I might do that instead. I haven't sat down and translated the flyer they gave me, but I'm fairly certain it's during Golden Week.

My birthday is tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll get to do anything fun for it. Some of the girls have a rave to go to tonight, some big famous DJ is doing a show, and the other girls are sick or unwilling to go clubbing. I might just call up Jim and Jaime and go drinking with them in Shinjuku or something.

I'll post some pictures and commentary of Japanese fashion later.