"today is a very important day"

Today is thursday, it is registration day. I actually got my shit done, and it felt good. It really was a bitch though, loose ends still dangle in the wind. Confucious is flowing from my fingertips; I think I'm turning Japanese. No. No Vapors. I didn't even know they did that song (thanks google), I honestly thought it was Devo. Anyways, I signed up for some bitchin classes, (hopefully) got a bank account, and "officially" own a bicycle that can legally be parked. You can actually get bicycle parking tickets.

Yesterday I signed up for a bank account over here, and it was quite the headache. It was a session for new students, so they had like 10 different student volunteers to help out. That was good, because all they did the whole time was distribute blank forms to poeple that messed up writing their information. I had to get 6 new forms; it was that bad. Darkening lines was not allowed, copying your own name from your passport had to be EXACT, and they needed photocopies. In every single requirement, I had issues. Apparently I can't write my own name in CAPS. On my passport, my name is: GILLIS CORY HART. Make special note of the I's and Y. I fucked this up big time, the I's were easy, but my hand (and only Y) betrayed me. After a few: "G...I...- fuck! すみません，新コピーがひつよ" I had my name down. Darkening a pen skip also DQ'd me. I tried to hide it but the gustappo caught me. I also had half the photocopies done, but still had to do more. Apparently there is a section in the pasport where you have to write your address, I had to do that too. Post Haste. So I get through it all and the bitch tells me my Y's are ALL wrong. Meanwhile theres a fifteen person line behind me and I cant possibly do it all again. So I tell her to take it or leave it (like the american i am), and she takes it. So i might or might not get a bank account, depending on whether or not Japanese bankers can read a Y that is askew by less than 30 degrees. My thoughts are that I will, and that bullshit follows me like a BOO.

Because of this banking massacre, I missed the Registration lottery timeslot, but went to the room anyways. There were still people in there to take your junk, so I passed it in and got an excellent lottery number! out of like 450 gaijin....37!!!! Probablly one of the last people to pick and, thank you karma! So i deffinitely got what I wanted.

Four Hours Later:
I just went to town and did my alien registration stuff with my frien Simon and got some curry. Simon had to chek out the cell phone place so we spent a while with the woman, having her explain it in japanese. That was educational. Apparently cell phones here have a CHIP that works as a debit account. Kind of like QUICKPAY on ATM cards. One can use it at the train station, vending machines, even scan someone's personal information. Japan truly is advanced with technology. Anyways I just got back, I wanted to finish this. I have to go by Johnny something for his birthday and make him a 50yen bracelet. Tonight we are going to and all you can drink restaurant and it should be a good time. I got all the classes I wanted, and the University also recieved my medical insurance documents. Tomorrow I tour Kyoto and hopefully I can get some pictures in. Everything is prettymuch all set, now all I have to do is relax and get sleep. Peace

Comprehension test

Yesterday I was supposed to take my comprehension test, however I messed up the time in my head, woke up an hour later than I had to, and arrived on campus and hour after the test had started. There was also a banking session I was going to go to, however I missed that as well. It turned out I was looking at today's schedule the whole time. Therefore, I took the placement exam. The whole thing was rather long and since I want to get into the fourth level of Japanese speaking, I had to do nearly the most questions. I generally take forever on tests and this one was no exception. The whole time I was taking it they were yelling at everybody to hurry up and skip anything they didn't know. They kept saying that we didn't have to answer every question, but as many as we could possibly understand. I wanted to do well so I tried as many as possible. There were four parts to the test: Listening Comprehension, katakana/hiragana/writing, Grammar, and Kanji. I took forever and as the only other person was turning in his Kanji section I was handing in my Grammar. I had forgotten that I still had to do that part too, so I held the lady monitoring the test up by another five minutes. The whole thing was bullshit. I don't understand how they can ask anyone to answer 200 questions, with reading, writing, and listening to decipher in under 1.5 hours? I tried my best, but probably pissed the monitor off quite a bit while doing so. She kept talking about lunch the whole time the stragglers were finishing up. She even stood and watched over my shoulder while i was doing the last bit of the grammar. I absolutely hate when people do that to me, so I slowly turned around giving her a blank "wha joo wan" stare.
I'm still sorting out the problems with my Kansai Gaidai status. Surprisingly enough money (for the first time ever) is not one of them. I don't officially have the money yet, but there was $600 deposited in my account today. I have to wait for the money to clear, then I can start paying back Johnny and his parents. My fees with KG are about 11,000 yen, roughly $108. I got a small loan from KG today and I intend to pay it back soon. The only real problem I have right now is that my Medical Insurance documents have not been faxed to the university yet. If I don't get those some time later today then I cant get my enrollment lottery number and I can't register for classes. Fuxxor. There is a banking session later to day, so I will open up a Japanese bank account ASAP. Also I will register my bicycle. So much shit to do!
There are so many foreign students running around here like beheaded chickens, so I'm very lucky to have Johnny and Maija to show me around town and KG. Since I'm removed from the foreign housing dormitorys and their gaijin bonding attitude, I can't help but feel a little critical of the superficial friendships and conversations I am hearing. I can't wait until this cloud of magnetic gaijin has passed and everyone calms down a bit. As for now I just want to avoid it; be friendly, but independent. I came here to escape my own culture, not huddle together like a pack of some small animals. IDK. There's so much shit to do.
I feel healthier since Maija gave me a five day Amoxicillin pack that she got in Thailand this winter. I hope that by the end of the fifth day I'll know what healthy is again. That's about it for right now. I too am running around without my head, therefore I must go find it.

Made it...

Well I'm in Japan and it was quite the bitch getting over here. I was sick the whole flight and am still sick 5 days later. I saw California for the first time and it made me happy, I'd like to have stayed for at least a day. I spaned the US, then the pacific, it was murder. Since arriving, I've had sushi three times and kitsune Udon twice. Japanese food is healthy, cheap, and delicious! Our apartment is awesome, (aside for having no hot water for the first two days, and no heat) it really doesnt get all that cold. We got all the furnishings in the past five days and I have no money. I'm banking on my loan to come through tomorrow, and UMASS is just a bitch in general. My councellor had not done anything reguarding my apartment and Kansai Gaidai, therefore they messed up my student status and I have accomodationsin a dorm too. I've been working everything out, but it is a very slow process since there are such different time zones. Even as I write this UMASS hasn't officially started. At Kansai Gaidai all the local Japanese students are going on a two month vacation, so it kinda sucks for my learning and interactions with local students. I'll be surrounded by Gai-jin over half of my stay. My accomodations now are very conducive to my learning and speaking of Japanese, probably much better than if I was in a seminar house. Apparenty only a handful of Gaijin have done what Johnny, Maija, and I are doing, so the school kind of hates me so far. I'm very happy and I am so glad to be in Japan and not America. Also to be free from the UMASS attitude is nice, I think I'll do a lot more studying this semester than ever! I already have started. My placement test is tomorrow and I want to do well, so I'll do a lot of studying tonight. I met Johnny's girlfriend right off the bat, and she is a really fun, nice person. I am very happy for Johnny. I try to speak only Japanese to her and hardly have to use English. She is apparently very good at English too, but it feels awesome to have conversations in Japanese. We've been shopping everyday and it has been wearing me out, but still I love being mixed into a cloud of Japanese people. Especially in crosswalks, making the bird chirp sound long after the green light has stopped blinking.