| The Komachi lobby is a popular hang out spot. Anyone can play video games or board games, watch TV, or just hang out on the couches. A couple of nights ago, I played the Akita edition of Monopoly with some people from America, Korea, China, and Morocco. Yixiang from China also taught us how to play a Chinese card game from his city called Red 10, which was pretty fun once we got the hang of it. I uploaded some pics of a couple meals from the cafeteria as examples, but each meal is different. One thing that stays the same though is miso soup and rice. After a meal is purchased at the cafeteria, students can have unlimited miso soup and rice. So I've been eating rice with all of my meals, but I stopped getting the soup just because I wasn't really drinking it. I've tried many new things and often I'm not really sure what I am trying. Lots of unfamiliar vegetables and things like that. On Saturday I left campus for the first time and rode the bus from AIU to the AEON mall with Janae from Georgia. There were some free buses this weekend, so they were all very full. I was surprised when students pulled down fold-up seats and filled up the aisle way. This wouldn't be allowed most places in the U.S. Japan is a mostly cash-based society; we can only use cash to pay for things on campus, and many shops are cash only, so Janae and I searched for the mall ATMs that accept international cards. We quickly found the first floor ATM, but kept receiving messages saying that the ATM bank could not process our requests at that time. Uncertain as to why that was happening, we set out to find the second floor ATM. A student from Kentucky directed us to the machine, but Janae and I were getting the same message. We left the ATM contemplating our options, but immediately saw a small group of American looking international students. So we started talking with them and discovered that the ATM we needed to use would only let us make withdrawals on week days. Ashley from Delaware had come through Akita Station on her way to AIU, and knew there was a 7-Eleven near there. 7-Eleven is one of the few places foreigners can withdraw cash. So then we all got on the bus and rode to the station, walked to the 7-Eleven, and withdrew cash. We went back to the Station where we found a movie theater, and did puri-kura, which is like a photo booth that lets you draw on and stamp the pictures before they are printed. Despite choosing the regular setting, our eyes were still made bigger in the picture. After getting lunch, we returned to the mall to do our shopping. I mostly got some things for my dorm and school supplies. However, tomorrow we have a matriculation ceremony that we need to dress nicely for, and although I brought dresses, I completely forgot to bring any dress shoes. This worried me because I typically wear an 8.5 (wide if available), and the average Japanese woman's foot is something like a 5 or 5.5. Luckily, I found a cute pair that fit - it was one of the biggest sizes I could find! |