Okay... So everything... get ready to read like never before!

Hello to all!
Day I got to Japan: the 8th
--The plane ride there wasn't too bad, I started to get ancy when I only had 6 hours to go but I met my first TUJ student when I first sat down by the gate for the plane from Philadelphia to Detroit, Sarah. She was really easy to talk to even though we were both delirous from being awake and at the airport by 5am! She didn't sit next to me on the plane but on the way to Tokyo I sat next to another TUJ student named Jesse Goldsmith and he was really cool. He got my food when I was asleep for me so I didn't miss meals. I was surprisingly hungry considering I didn't use any energy to make me hungry. All I did was sleep. I will say that I was really thirsty halfway through and stopped the flight attendents whenever I got a chance for some water. I saw the end of the Sisterhood of the Traveling pants 2 and a movie that I think I saw on a previous flight or somewhere... well I saw most of it back then but I got to finally see all of the City of Ember. Really good movie I definitely reccommend it! As soon as I got through customs and Immigration I transferred my money into yen, $300 became like ... 26,700 or so yen. The currency exchange rate was 89.78yen... which meant that for every 100 yen i spend here its really about $1.10 in american money. They appearently have appreciated since I last checked... my bad... at least it's not as bad as the Euro.
--The bus i needed to take left 2 minutes after I bought the ticket so I rushed out and there were these slidding glass doors and I was rushing my too much luggage for me to really carry and rammed the doors before they fully opened, yeahhh, they stopped opening... and didn't try to close again, I'm pretty sure I broke them, slightly. haha. But lucky for my gettaway there were another set of sliding doors right next to my now broken ones and I got through and on the bus where I met my next TUJ person: James Anderson. Really awesome, probably the best conversationalist so far. He had my humor and slightly reminded me of Nick. So that was cool.
--Once I got to the hotel I was set up with a Taxi and there were three of us going to Takadanobaba, Bernadette, Perry and Me. But with all our luggage it wouldn't fit us all into 1 taxi so I opted to be the person by myself. The Student worker who spoke Japanese well talked to my taxi driver and he seemed to know where to go but that proved to be a faliure because he got SOO lost. He got to the area where he should be and couldn't find the hotel I was staying at. He just kept circling. And he said a couple of things to me which I think were that "we're getting there... just slowly" Then after a while he asked if I had a phone number or something AND luckily I did have a number to where I was staying and my phone was up and working because otherwise I don't believe we would have made it. He was nice though by the end of it, he cashed out the first bill which was like $25 and only made me pay $13.40 about. And helped me get my bags out of the trunk (he didn't help putting them in) But he wouldnl't accept a tip and I heard that if I had pressed the matter I would have insulted him so I just took my change.
--Once in the hotel people at the front desk gave me my check in information sheet and proceeded to give me a full out shhpeel in Japanese on the exact wording that I saw in front of me in English. He had great hand movements though which really pushed the point across. Then I talked with my dorm manager Kris for a bit and he reminded me that I needed to be up at 8 am for our first orientation. And told me that appearently there was a girl behind the desk that speaks decent english and he didn't understand why the other guy insists on doing the shpeel. Oh well, I unpacked partially took a partial sleep. woke up and plugged in my alarm clock and went back to sleep.

Second day: 1/9/09
Got up early, took a shower and got ready and made myself pretty, then my doorbell rang right before I was finished straightening my hair and it was my dorm manager Kris saying that it was 8:15 and that the meeting started. Which was when I told him that my clock said it was only 7:30am and he informed me that clocks from America don't work on the same wattage as clocks in Japan do. SO, my clock wasn't moving fast enough so every minute I lost some time. Oh well, he didn't mind too much.
Got to the meeting he gave us some information on how the hotel and Temple policies work. Then took us on a tour of Takadanobaba, the district I'm staying in. I saw the grocery store called the Seiyu which have the best value prices and after 9:30 their prepared meals go 20 - 30% off which when put in my fridge makes a great cheap meal to heat up or just eat the next day! There's this 100yen store where everything is 100yen about. Kind of like the Dollar store back home. I saw a Mcdonalds, Wendy's and a KFC so there's some familiarity here! The Orientation at the school was good. But while i'm talking about my dorm there's only a few of us staying there like 15 and I might not remember all their names right now but here are the ones that I do: Dat, Felix, Sean, Sean Kang, Christina, Kristin, Kris(dorm manager) Bernadette, Bob, Alena, Perry, Huun and some other people that I can see their faces but not their names.
I ate at my first Japanese place and how it works is there is a Button machine written in japanese and the price of each thing is under the item. You put in money and pick stuff. Now, its color coded so the Hunter green buttons were a plate of veggies and meat with a big bowl of rice. The orange buttons tended to be a big bowl of soup with meat and veggies in it. there were Three lonely white buttons that are medium bowls of rice and mixed with stuff.

Blah blah blah... then the rest of the day we were back at the hotel and I fell asleep too early.

1/10/09
This was our second orientation of the surrounding areas. We went to Shibuya and Harajuku(fashion place) and the Meiji Temple. Shibuya had that large crossing I told some of you about. 6way stop about so theres crazy pedestrian crossings there. AND the story about Michiko, the dog that waited for his master every day even when his master passed on he came everyday to wait. So they erected a statue for the dog right by the crossing! Gots picture of that. The Meiji Temple was cool there was a wedding that processed during the time we were there and I took a video of that whether that was wrong or not, i DO WAT I WAN'! hahaha...
--More sleep into ...

1/11/09
I'm pretty sure I was online all day trying to catch up with everyone, see, you guys don't understand how time consuming talkign to everyone back home and having a life here is! haha. But I do it anyway! Cause I love you!! lol. I went out with my friends to a BAR! ordered my first drink ever from a bar, a Pink Daniels. Wasn't that great, I think I can do better.
--But after a nap I saw the eagles game with Everyone! Nick, Sarah, Jonny B, Adrienne, Anthony, Amanda and Stacey! Worked out perfectly! Can't wait for next weeks game!! GO EAGLES! I saw this thing on youtube when the media interviewed Brandon Jacobs and has endorsed the Eagles, saying that if they couldn't beat them then no one can, because his team was the only one that stood a chance in beating them. So more power to the Eagles! hahahha

1/12/09
This was the Coming of Age day in Japan, a national holiday so I didn't start School till Tuesday. BUT I slept right through it =[ BOOOO. Yeah I tried to stay awake to go out with some people but I fell asleep around 8am and woke up around 5pm. I was tired I guess! haha.. cause I did take a nap/sleep before the Eagles game! oh well. I spent the time I was sort of awake - sleeping for an hour awake for an hour because I had nothing better to do - watching Gilmore girls. See, my bed takes up most of the room sooo I tend to sit on my bed which turns into lying on my bed which turns into passed out MissyChu. lol

1/13/09
FIRST DAY OF CLASSES. This day I had My japanese class and International Trade. I was late to both of them! haha. First of all, my orientation student worker guide decided to take us out the wrong exit and up the wrong streets and eventually get to Azabu Hall in a weird way, thereby not giving me the direct way and actual way of getting to campus once out of the train station. So I was 20 minutes late to my first class. Then I had some time before my next class and I signed up for a trip that I wanted to go on and LUCKILY I was just in time for the Yomohama day trip(which goes to Japans' tallest building and some other important buildings and .... drum roll... the largest China Town outside of China! hahaha. I'm excited but thats not until Febuary 7th. I'm waiting till my money hits to pay for the Kyoto Trip! That will be great. Uhmm... I ate lunch with my friend Sean (he was in my Japanese class back home, he sat in front of me) Met a girl named Laura that was out to make friends once she got to know us ... sort of... she moved two seats down and started talking to some other people. Seemed nice... very friendly.
--Then I went to find my next class over in the other building down the street. Sean told me it was just at the end of the street across the intersection from Azabu Hall... Yeah I went there, didn't see it, tried to get Temple information center to tell me where i should go and they tol dme to just come back to Azabu to get a map. Turns out I was right infront of it and completely missed it. So I was 20 minutes late to that class. That teacher did'nt seem to care much. All my classes seem to have all the same people in them which is cool in case I get sick and miss my classes for a day, I can just ask one person and they will know everything! haha I win. I got a whole bunch more stuff settled at school and then went home around 5:30 and got home (after going to the grocery store) around 6:40 so that wasn't too bad.

1/14/09

TODAY! YAY I made it! haha. I had my first class today for International Law which I like the teacher, she's from america and has only been in Japan for 6 months. I think I'll like her, she likes the Socratic method so that she doesn't stand up there and lecture all class and we get involved. My next class is coming up soon actually at 3:20 I believe so I best be off... its computer information science. Basically I heard its teaching me excel and other computer programs thatI should have known about when I got a computer! oh well.

really quick - LIST
I would like :
-My awesome pillow that I told you about .. mom.. Green sheet, down pillow on my bed.
-A outlet strip.. the one that can plug in 3 prong things in it... that would make my life easier.
-peanut butter becase they sell it in the tinest portions here and grape jelly if that wouldn't be bad cause that would just make my life easier
-My Hairspray that is in stacey's room, aresol can.
-Tupperware to take food with me to school in.
-Any food you would like to send my way. esp. easy cooking things because I can't read how to cook quick meals here
-FORKS AND KNIVES.. just butter knives... I can't find them for the life of me!
-Maybe a toaster... lol... you don't need to but i can't figure how to toast bread without one... I have a stove top and a microwave and I miss bananas and toast =[ Maybe just a good way to toast without a toaster I imagine there was a way at one point before they were invented!
I think that is everything!! out of everything the top three are my pillow, Knives and food! PAWEEZZEE!

gotta go! oh and videos will go up when i get back to my computer back home which contains the videos!
I love everyone! BYEEE