Project Orientation

Oh man, today definitely had ups and downs. First off, I couldn't even figure out what breakfast was (fairly typical) and it was pretty bad (not typical). Luckily, I had stocked up with a box of frosted flakes (フロスティ) so I didn't starve. Then Ben and I headed out to catch a train to Shinjuku. Surprisingly, the typhoon died down as it went along the coast and it was sunny for part of today. The best part of the train ride was an old lady playing on her Nintendo DS. Only in Japan...

Then things went downhill. Turns out, I couldn't pay my dorm fees by credit/debit card. Thus ensued a long journey (with the help of one of the teachers) to find an ATM I could use. The first two ATMs didn't work and neither did the first bank. We eventually wound up at a second bank that had international ATMs. So all good, right? Nope, things are never that easy. I tried to withdraw all that I needed at once but the transaction was denied. So I tried withdrawing a small part of it, which worked - twice. After that, I couldn't even make a balance inquiry. My account was frozen, and I still had to pay my dorm fees. Luckily, Ben let me borrow some money from him. So now I have a few more days to figure out why my account is frozen and how to get cash. It is really surprising how uncommon credit/debit cards are in Japan, the technology capitol of the world. Jerks.

Then things got better. Ben and I picked our clinic projects today. I am going to be working on solar chimneys and Ben is working on exercise machines for the elderly. Prof Shiomi introduced me to the faculty member heading the project and then he gave me a quick orientation. The funny part was when he asked what my major is. I told him engineering, but he wanted to know which type. Turns out, it is hard to describe Mudd's engineering core. My favorite part, though, was when he was talking about project duties. The two students I am working with are building a prototype to prove feasibility, which left me to theoretical analysis. No problem, except I don't know thermodynamics. Turns out, neither do the other students, which is why they wanted me to do it. Hah...

When Ben and I were walking to the station in the morning, I got my first phone call on my Japanese cell. Yunyi (one of the students from the English conversation class) was calling about lunch. So we made the plans and we had a big lunch at a local restaurant with the three people in the English class and then some of their friends. The curry rice was delicious, and we had a lot of fun with eggs. Ben got owned by my cracking skills. And we both got owned by one of the guys that could beat (mix? stir? whisk?) the eggs with this chopsticks fast enough to make them foam. I was better than Ben, but we both sucked. Anyways, lunch was a success. A delicious, delicious success.