Tokyo Sven

(Source: myrealway)

Weekend.

My weekend was incredible and long and tiring.

Two welcoming parties, an all nighter clubbing in Roppongi, a sleepless Sunday night, and the Izakaya on Monday.

Looking back, these are most likely the biggest contributing factors to my current state: deathly ill.

Okay, maybe not deathly ill, but I’m pretty sick now. I was exhausted for the last two days, despite sleeping a lot, and at first I thought I had mono or something (No, I haven’t been making out with anyone), but I woke up today feeling well rested. I’m pretty sure it’s just a cold. Anyway,

Last Friday, the school held a welcoming party for the new exchange students in order to meet some of the Japanese students at the University. Well, they had alcohol, which was surprising since it was a school function (then again, I suppose this is college). I had a little, but it really wasn’t even enough to get buzzed off of…

But my drinking isn’t the point haha. One my fellow exchange students drank so much that we had to call an ambulance to take her to a hospital and have her stomach pumped. O.O;;

At first, we thought she was just… well, really drunk haha. She couldn’t walk well on her own, but she was pretty responsive, so we had to help her back to the dorm (which is probably about a mile away from the school). Well, then she wasn’t able to walk, so we took turns carrying her, and if anyone has ever had to carry dead weight, you know how hard that is (towards the end it took four people, including myself, to carry her). Eventually, she started barfing on people (I was one of them) and she stopped answering our questions. To make a long story short, we got her back to the dorm and put her in the shower, but that didn’t do anything, so we called an ambulance.

I couldn’t go to sleep for a couple of hours afterward because I was too wired from the night.

The next day, we had the official welcome party where we met our teachers and more students. They had a nice buffet, though I didn’t eat much from it (which I really regret now), and there was no alcohol at this party. Just water and juice. I had a pretty good time and I met a lot of new people, so the afternoon was definitely a success.

People keep telling me I look like an abercrombie model, but I know they’re just not used to seeing blonde people hahahaha.

Later that night, my fellow exchange students and I went out for a night on the town. We went to a club in Roppongi called ‘GasPanic,’ and spent the entire night there. I had SO much fun. Needless to say, I was also very drunk (Sorry Mom and Dad). I took so many photos, and there are even pictures of me with people I don’t even know. Those are my favorite. Also, It has been confirmed by my friend that I kept attempting to take my shirt off. I think I danced with anyone and everyone near me… though I can’t quite remember.

Now, I was very drunk, but I made sure to be extremely careful as well. I didn’t want to go to the hospital like the girl from the previous night haha. Lots of water, some food to ‘pad the cell,’ and a tylenol before I went to be at 6:00 in the morning.

I woke up around 2:00pm. Later in the day I went to Ikebukuro and did some clothes shopping with two of my friends! I bought a shirt, a jacket, and these amazing pant-pajama-leggings-fleece shorts type things. They’re so comfy. And they’re beautiful.

That night I couldn’t sleep, so I tried to watch Memoirs of a Geisha to put me to bed. Well, that didn’t work. I basically watched the entire three hours of the movie, and then I didn’t fall alseep for another hour after that. I think I got about three hours of sleep that night.

The next day I was feeling a little sick. My throat felt just barely sore. That night I went to an Izakaya (Japanese bar and restaurant) with some exchange students as well as some Japanese people! I had so much fun! But I’m sure talking loud and inhaling the cigarette smoke of other customers didn’t help my throat much.

Tuesday, I woke up feeling absolutely exhausted, even though I had slept a good eight hours. My throat was sore, and I my nose was beginning to get stuffy. The next day was the same. I slept a lot, but I was still dead tired all day, even though I took like… a million naps. Today (Thursday), I woke up still sick, but definitely not as tired. I think all the exhaustion was the weekend catching up with me.

As for right now, I believe that is all you need to know.

Oh, I finally manage to get a phone! Fifth time’s a charm, I suppose!

Gay.

Tokyo is a gay city.

I went out clubbing last night for the first time since I’ve arrived. It was… interesting to say the least! o.O

What I thought would be a night surrounded by six to seven people, ended up being a night shared with two people of whom I knew nothing about, a run in with a transvestite, and a very creepy, very handsy frech guy.

Okay, so the tranny part was a lie, but it sounded too good not to write…

Anyway, I went to the Nichome (Knee-cho-may), with Su, a korean girl from my dorm, and Rumi… I’m not entirely sure how to explain Rumi… but she’s Indian (India Indian) and she’s insane. In both good and bad ways haha.

Anyway, it began as a normal club night, hopping back and forth between two clubs (which we got into for about six bucks total) and dancing until we diiiiiiieeeeed! Then came the curry restaurant. Rumi, for some reason, invited this lone french guy to come sit with us (she’s very friendly, and usually drunk from what she’s told me). Well, unfortunately for Su, he ended up having a thing for Korean girls. He kept bragging about all the money he was making in Japan, and even told her he would give her an iPhone.

With all his creepiness, you would think it would be common sense to politely decline his offer to buy us drinks at a nearby bar, but no… they decided to go with him. 

Oh. My. God.

I was like, ‘WTF is happening?’

He kept offering to buy us all sorts of things among food and drink, but I decided early on that I wasn’t going to accept anything he offered. I mean, someone had to be sober when frenchie would inevitably try to fling Su over his shoulder and run off.

Well, after about thirty minutes and many warnings to Su to be careful around him (in Japanese, of which he couldn’t speak… yeah, I felt like a ninja), I decided it was time for us to go. I told him we had to get back to the club and thanked him for being so nice. And then we booked it out of there.

After a few minutes at the bar (which was small, but had plenty of people around), I think they realized it had been a mistake to accept his offer in the first place.

After that, the night returned to the norm, and we finished it dancing. In the morning at about 5 a.m. we all headed for home.

A night like that had me exhausted, and, once I got home around 6:15 in the morning, I promptly removed ALL of my clothes (yes, enjoy the visual!) and slept until 1:30 in the afternoon.

Overall, it was a good night, and I can’t wait to go again… though maybe with more people.

Thanks for reading. ;D

Wow.

I’ve been in Japan a little over a week so far, but it feels like I’ve been here for an entire month.

I remember my first day here in Tokyo; I was scared out of my mind, drenched in my out sweat (god, the humidity here is terrible). Getting off the plane was surreal. It was like walking through a cloud or falling into a wormhole. It was already apparent that Tokyo was a different world in which no amount of anime or video games could have prepared me for.

Suddenly the language barrier was very, painstakingly real; as I attempted to communicate (rather poorly) my way from Narita International Airport to the Toyo University International Dorm alone, this became clear rather quick. Yet, somehow, I made it. I’m still not entirely sure how.

Then came the intimidating task of acclimating myself to my new environment. Knowing nothing about the area was bad enough, yet knowing none of the people who lived here was even worse. Honestly, I have difficulty making new friends, especially in new situations. That first night I was terrified, worrying that I would never make friends.

Yeah, I tend to over think things. I’m a worrier. Thanks mom.

Skip ahead a week, and I’ve already begun to foster some new friendships. There’s Melodie from Australia, who already has me hooked on a british drama called Skins, and Shoko, who is a bilingual, Japanese-American. I’m so jealous of her skillz. I’ve hung out with a few other people, but I haven’t had the chance to really connect with anyone else yet.

I’m eager to find what the year will bring, both good and bad.

Already, I feel myself growing. My perspective is changing and broadening with the realization of how big the world really is. And what it’s like to be a foreigner. Never in my life have I been worried about communicating; will the store attendant be able to understand the question I’m asking her? Will I be able to comprehend the directions given to me by a police officer when I get lost? And, never in my life, have I truly felt like an outsider because of my appearance. In America, regardless of your race, people are rarely surprised to see you walking down the street. Yet in Japan, I find people constantly staring at me as I wait in line for food or walk through a temple. I feel their eyes examining my hair, skin, and eyes, and I can see it in their face that they think I don’t belong. And not so much in the sense that they’re offended or sicked by my presence. Most people are very friendly and kind. Still, to them I am a foreigner. I’m white. I have blue eyes. My hair is blonde. Essentially, I am the opposite extreme of the Japanese.

Sometimes the attention is nice, but most of the time, when I just want to blend in and enjoy a festival or temple, it just feels like I’m out of place.

The experience is a valuable one, and it isn’t as negative as I’m making it sound. It’s just different and a little uncomfortable at times.

Anyway, I’m slowly getting myself adjusted, and I’m fairly confident now when it comes to communicating with the Japanese people. There’s still so much I clearly don’t know, but I’m optimistic that I’ll adapt just fine.