Akiba and not sleeping

So here we are. I had a post about our day in Akihabara and was all ready to upload it here to the blog, but Aaron needed help editing the two days worth of footage we had accrued. So he edited day one and I edited day two. We edited and edited and edited and edited until suddenly Aaron said, "Hey Mike, look out the window." Sure enough the sun was rising. Aaron finished his video and I got halfway through mine. Aaron's is finished, so without further ado, here is the day one video followed by yesterday's post. So it looks like the way it will be is, a video of yesterday and a blog about what happened that day. But don't be surprised if the blogs get incredibly short when we start teaching. If you've ever been a teacher, you know why. The rest of you...bah! Bah, I say!

Day One



Day 2: Akihabara

SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

That’s what my brain was saying as I sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh-pt for nearly 11 hours last night. It was a nice restful sleep, as the futons were wicked comfortable. It was like sleeping on clouds that were just taken out of the package.

I got up around 9:00am and ready for the day. Aaron wasn’t however, so I decided I wasn’t either and went back to sleep until 9:30. About that time we got up, ate breakfast, and prepared for our first travelventure!

Because we needed a firewire cable to upload the video, we decided Akihabara would be the best place to go first. We’d see all the fun nerd places and pick up our many, many electronics. Before we left, however, I compiled a full page of useful Japanese words and phrases and gave them to Aaron to learn and try throughout the day. He remembered “Hai” and since there was no precedent I suppose that’s a step forward. But tomorrow, he’ll have to learn two words.

Before we left, Aaron asked how to say computer in Japanese. “Konpyuta,” I said. He needed to know so he could ask a local camera shop about the computer connector cable he needed for his camera. We went into the camera store and Aaron asked one of the guys working there about cables. He sort of looked confused, so Aaron pulled out his camera. He opened the side and pointed to the firewire port. “I need a cable,” he said. “Connects to computadore.” This was my first indication that he wasn’t going to try and learn too much Japanese.

We got lost on our way to the post office (we had to go there to exchange currency) and stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. I knew enough to ask the girl working there where the post office was. She gave us directions in quick and complicated Japanese. “Sumimasen. Wakarimasen,” I said with a troubled look. This basically conveys that I’m very sorry for being foreign. She proceeded to take out a piece of paper and draw a complicated map of the whole city, complete with points of interest and color-coded districts. She was almost done (I could see her writing the symbol for post office), when she said “Iie” (no) and crumpled up the paper. She made two or three more perfectly good maps before she pulled out a real map and just pointed to the post office. By this point, I had seen the directions drawn out for me four times, so I had it down. It amazed me how exact she needed to be before it was acceptable. When I’m asked directions, I quickly mutter “yeah it’s right then left and two rights you can’t miss it bye,” before shuffling away. Guess I’m a jerk. I need to make maps from now on.

We got hungry on our misguided trip to the post office and decided to stop off at convenience store for some hardy food. Unlike American convenience stores, which stock, out of date candies and moldy hot dogs, Japanese convenience stores sell food. I advised Aaron on what to buy and got the same for myself. As we were leaving, a kid from K-SEP last year passed right by me and we met eyes. I knew who he was, but because of my no-beard and short hair he wasn’t really sure who I was. As he was staring at me thinking, “Do I know this guy?” I blurted out my hasty American “Hi!” not realizing that to him I really just yelled “YES!” Think about it. By freak accident, I answered the question he was thinking in his mind. For the rest of his life, he may very well wonder if all foreigners have mind-reading powers (we do).

In Akihabara we did all the fun things. We found the computer cable right away, so tonight there shall be video for all! I took Aaron to all my favorite fun places. We saw lots of robots and video games I couldn’t win at. Pretty much all the fun is covered in the video portion, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking, once it's uploaded tomorrow. Either way, we did a lot of stuff, like went to a maid café. I keep hearing all these things like, “Maid cafes are a cultural anomaly specific to Japan! Wow! Oh boy! So cool! Yay!” But my two experiences have been mostly that maid cafes are a cultural anomaly that should stay specific to Japan. I mean, it’s really boring. One thing I don’t understand is that in the two times I’ve been to maid cafes, they’re always playing Disney movies on their big screen televisions. I guess it’s supposed to be cutsie, but I’ve never really thought of Disney movies that way. Anyway, my verdict is, maid cafes are probably good if you want to pay for girls who are paid to flirt with you. Of course, we didn’t get that with our meal because we can’t speak Japanese. The ice cream was good though.

On the way back home, we were really tired. We were crammed into the front car of the train and I just tried to sleep my head on my arm as I stood up. It didn’t work so well. The walk from the station was about twenty minutes and was really nice. Kasukabe was dark and closed up for the night. The weather was mild and slightly windy and it was peacefully quiet. That’s what I love about Japan most. The night.

That’s all for now, I suppose. As for the video of me with my shirt off, shaBAM! Check that out! Seriously though, don’t. It’s embarrassing. And as for an update on TV, Children’s programming was awesome, just as I expected. I saw a fat guy dressed as a lollipop doing jump rope and a family of transforming superheroes. So, I expect I’ll be watching morning TV more than anything during my year here. I did also find one late night anime that’s on TV right now. It’s really cutsie and pink, but the art style is actually interesting and the humor is really random. I wish I knew what it was called.

Hello to all back home! I’m off to bed. Good night!

-Michael

P.S. Pictures will be on facebook soon. Really, we are in over heads so bear with us.