Week 1: Roxanne’s Jetlag-Addled Musings about Japan

 
So I’ve been in Osaka for roughly 4 days, and I have yet to get lost or die. All the things I’ve been up to so far are pretty mundane—shopping, preparing for class, eating—so rather than chronicling my adventures, I am choosing to just give you a couple of musings about my trip so far. Here goes:

1. Anime prepared me for pretty much everything in Japan.

While many of the other kids on my program seemed surprised about where we were living, I was not. I hold anime responsible for this. Not so much the anime that takes place in the past, or in a magical land, or in space…but the ones about high school or college-aged kids, who maybe just happen to also have magical powers. Those kinds of shows actually show a pretty realistic view of what Japan looks like, so when I got to Osaka and saw where I’m living, I was not surprised.

Although the kitchen was a bit disappointing.

2. Everything is a little bit different here.

Some of it is subtle, like brands written in Japanese.

 
Some of it is a little more amusing, like the fact that hair dye almost never has real people on the box.

And some of it is just awesome.

3. Being in a foreign country forces you to do things you normally wouldn’t.

Okay, this one’s a bit obvious, but it needs to be said. I mean, in the past couple days, I’ve wandered alone through a city I don’t know, asked complete strangers for help in a language I barely speak, and eaten (and enjoyed) food I never would have tried if anyone had been able to explain what it was. For example:

On my first morning in Osaka, my roommate handed me this onigiri and told me it was “chikin”. I should have been suspicious since I know that the word for chicken is “tori-niku”, but I figured it was slang. Had I read the label, I would have realized that it was “shi-chikin mayo”—basically, tuna salad.  Inside an onigiri.  Sounds weird, but it was actually surprisingly good. 

So, that's basically what's been going on so far.  Next week I start classes, which is both exciting and terrifying.  Stay tuned for my next post, in which I will explain the wrong way to shower in Japan (but I do it anyhow).