School festivals are a big deal in Japan. Most schools (Elementary through college, I think) have them at least once a year, and there's usually tons of food, games, music, etc. At Kansai Gaidai's most student groups and clubs, plus groups and clubs from nearby high schools, had food booths, plus there was music going all the time and performances ( Read more... )

Showing just how backed up I am in pictures, here are (finally) a few from Halloween. Halloween here was pretty fun, actually. No trick or treating in Japan, but there were costume contests on campus, so a good number of people were at school that day in costume ( Read more... )

Sorry I haven't posted in forever. I keep getting distracted by pretty things in Japan. (I am easily distracted.) But here are (finally) some pictures of the trip to Nara I took a while back. I went with my friend Laura, plus two of her friends, Kanako and Shoko.


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My host family took me to Universal Studios Japan a few weeks ago, which was ridiculously fun. (Everybody thinks I have the good host family because they do thinks like take me to Universal.)

(My host brother is incapable of sitting still long enough for a good picture. It's adorable.)


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We went to Osaka Jou (castle) the saturday before last with a Japanese friend of Casey and Dave's. It was boiling outside that day (that whole week, actually) so we were sweating buckets, but it was a lot of fun too.


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Kyoto and Karaoke ( Read more... )

The cafeteria at Kansai Gaidai is really nice. I bet we'll get sick of it soon enough (And I suspect the food is so great more because of novelty than because it's amazingly cooked) but they have ramen, udon, donburi, and curry rice every day, which we're all still pretty excited about.


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Today was my first full day here, and we definitely were busy, even though orientation doesn't really start until tomorrow. We went out to lunch with Japanese student (and I could sort of hold a conversation in Japanese!) studied a bit, then went on a tour of the train station and a nearby mall, then dinner with the tour group ( Read more... )

Putting this up before I leave. (Just about 36 hours and I am still not packed. Oh dear.) If any of you want letters from Japan (From me. Just to, you know, clarify that.) then leave your address here. Comments are, of course, screened. I can't make any promises I will actually manage to send any such letter. There's a very real chance I will get ( Read more... )