I've been in my dorm in Japan now for over a week, and I'm pretty well settled in. I've gotten over the differences in dorm life between here and Mudd, but I really hate that there isn't a dorm community here. Even though I lived in Atwood (which isn't widely known on campus for having a tight overall community), I loved the suite I was living in and there was a sense of community between us. Here in Tokyo, not so much. Luckily, I am living with Brian next year in East (because his room draw number wasn't good enough to get us in Atwood again). Another annoying aspect of my dorm here: laundry. The washer is free, but drying is 100 yen (~1.30 USD) for 30 minutes.
Tuesday was a fairly busy day. We got our student ID cards for Kogakuin (I'll post a pic soon) and then got our internet/school emails set up. Just a quick shout out for macs, my instructions for logging on to wireless fit on a single page whereas the windows instructions Ben had to use were 6 double sided pages. I met with my clinic team and had introductions and such. I am working with two seniors on prototyping a more efficient solar updraft tower. And by working, I mean the clinic team meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I honestly have no idea what to do with my life. I can only walk around Tokyo for so long, especially with my budget. I am kind of surprised by how... not challenging this seems. Oh well, I brought my Japanese text book with me so I can always just study.
Ben and I have been having lunch with the students from the English class. Since I keep mentioning them, I'll go ahead and give you more info to keep track of them. Yunyi is an engineering major originally from China (which is nice for Ben because they can talk in Chinese if she can't say something in English). She has a pet turtle and swears it is adorable, but cute is not a word I would ever use for a reptile. Then there is a Japanese guy we call "Bunny" because he has a pet bunny (which is much more adorable than Yunyi's turtle). The last person in the class is a girl named Miho. She isn't actually an engineering major, she is studying architecture. They also introduced me and Ben to their friend Arisa. We all sat around after my clinic meeting and chatted, but Arisa isn't in the English class and is much less comfortable speaking than the others. I kind of picked up on that and switched to Japanese but then everyone else was speaking in English and I couldn't keep up with trying to communicate in Japanese. Hopefully, though, I will be able to talk with Arisa more so I can practice my Japanese instead of Miho and Yunyi practicing their English.
Now for the best part. Ben and I usually take a train back before rush hour starts, but we lost track of time talking and then got stuck in the middle of riding the trains in Tokyo during rush hour. Wow. So. Many. People. My recommendation for if you are ever crammed into a train with the entirety of Tokyo's population: make sure you get stuck in a comfortable position. Don't try moving for a gap if you see one, you will get squished mid-step and have to hold the pose until the next stop. Other than that, just try to stand still or it will seem like you are trying to start a group grind-fest.
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