"Alone" Abroad in Kyoto, Mission Start! (1/3/13)

Hey oh y’all,

Greetings again from Kyoto! Here marks our last stop on our winter Asia trip. Let the 6 months study abroad begin!

Today also starts the first day that I am “on my own,” and by “on my own,” I mean not guided everywhere by local ALC friends (I'm now with American Stanford friends). 

So today I got my first major “what am I doing with myself” moment:

After I met with my Stanford group, we decided to go out for dinner. Now what happens when you put 8 Americans in a restaurant and only one can understand spoken Japanese and the rest barely have any Japanese experience? A really good time, that’s what!

Of course, every (and I mean every) interaction with the staff makes you hit your head and think “oh boy, what am I doing here.” Just asking for a drink takes serious effort. Playing back the scene in my mind, the waitress was just asking was “how many?” I think I said something along the lines of “yes, water, lots [pause] please…” Just don’t tell my nihongo no sensei (Japanese teacher) that I didn’t understand “nan mei sama” ([for] how many people), even though I should. Special shout-out goes to Daniel Liem who, despite having only 3 months of Japanese practice, was able to successfully order by himself (though not without a lot of laughter and a wry smile from the waitress).

Daniel and his hard earned food!

Then came the sentou (public bath). Nothing like public baths. Seriously. After you get over the whole public bath awkwardness, and then further embarrassment that you clearly are an American and have absolutely no idea what you are doing, it’s really nice. The bath is super hot and, especially on a cold day, is so relaxing and refreshing. (sorry Sumi, no animals allowed)

Just remember to ask for a taoru (towel) and so-pu (soap), then shower thoroughly, and then soak in the hot tub. And it’s basically like a really hot and nice hot tub (some have jets even).

The sentou, run by a very nice oji-san.

Oh and do not, and I repeat, DO NOT, sit in the “denki ofuro” (electric bath) unless you enjoy sharp pains and going numb. There should be a sign above the bath, and if there is not, just ask, denki ofuro ga arimasu ka (is there an electric bath?) and if so, stay far, far away. Some people might say it’s good for your health and muscles…it’s not…it just hurts…a lot…

So the first chapter of our tale of the American students abroad…Were we noisy? Yeah. Were we lost and clueless? Yep. Did we make a lot of mistakes? Of course. Did we have a lot of fun? Absolutely.

And you know what? I’m pretty sure that’s the most important part. It’s little screw-ups like sitting in the denki ofuro then yelling loudly in pain while your friends laugh that make trips all the more memorable right?

So please stay tuned as I stumble my way through 6 months in Kyoto. Gambarimashou (let's work hard)!

-DC