Ketai Denwa
Oh yes. Finally I got myself a new phone. A red one nonetheless. Lets begin the drunk late night calls shall we? I bought it yesterday and I feel like I just got my first one again. Now I shall update the blogg with better quality pictures but not today since the thing I am writing about is the very thing that takes said pictures. Also I got some crazy ass japanese TV on this thing. Oh yes life will be easier now when I don't have to worry about getting lost when I'm drunk. I also got my alien registration ID card yesterday. Now I'm a real japanese!
A very hungry japanese. Time for food and for anyone complaining about the slow updates on the blogg... I won't update if nothing exciting has happened.
A very hungry japanese. Time for food and for anyone complaining about the slow updates on the blogg... I won't update if nothing exciting has happened.
Rain + Kyoto = shopping
It was raining today. Not very much but it finally feels like autumn here. The rain was followed by a really fast day in school where we played bingo amongs other things.
After school however was when the adventure started. Halloween is comming up an large parts of Kyoto is preparing for this event and so are we. We went to a place called "Loft" wich sold alot of different costumes. Every possible thing you could imagine were sold there, from MJ to Donald Duck and skimpy nurse costumes. I myself bought one that I won't show anyone until friday.
We then went to a manga store where I probobly could spend all money I have. I "only" picked up two however so now I have a total of three mangas for reading. Of course I don't understand much of it but you learn how to read hiragana and katakana faster at the very least.
Also we did not get any homework today so tonight will be reading comprehension! And candy!
After school however was when the adventure started. Halloween is comming up an large parts of Kyoto is preparing for this event and so are we. We went to a place called "Loft" wich sold alot of different costumes. Every possible thing you could imagine were sold there, from MJ to Donald Duck and skimpy nurse costumes. I myself bought one that I won't show anyone until friday.
We then went to a manga store where I probobly could spend all money I have. I "only" picked up two however so now I have a total of three mangas for reading. Of course I don't understand much of it but you learn how to read hiragana and katakana faster at the very least.
Also we did not get any homework today so tonight will be reading comprehension! And candy!
Slacking
I haven't had the time nor the energy to update in a while. I was too busy studying thursday, too drunk on friday and too hungover on saturday.
The firefestival had been overhyped by teachers so it was quite a letdown when we went there. Might have been better if we could understand what was going on. Maby next year will be better!
Friday night. Kareoke night? Hells yeah. How else would we spend our evening?
We started at a guy named Anders place. It was quite cramped there in his 12 square meter big apartment. After that we went out to one of the many kareoke bars here in Kyoto. Perhaps some of us got a bit much to drink there but thats a part of being japanese! After we sung our lungs out we went to a bar where we were chilling for a while. I decided I wanted some air since you can smoke inside and everybody is doing it. Outside I started strolling down the street without thinking. A few minutes later I realize I have no idea where I came from. I laugh a bit for my self and since I have no phone I can't call anyone to come and get me either so I just walk home alone. The night ended at 4 if I remember right.
(Pictured from left to right: Alissa (apparently), Albin, Mike, Some guy I don't remember, Gabby, Anders. Front row: Hanna, Fia)
Saturday started the best way possible. Rent day. At 10:30. Felt like boiled crap and had to go to Tashika with the rent. After I got home I sat down in my chair and did not move the entire day except for bathroom and food. Well that was the plan anyway. At about 15:00 mike came over. Still drunk as all hell he made a recap in what had happened since I left yesterday, if I weren't so hungover I would have laughed at him :)
The plan was ruined at about 18:00 when Erik asked if I wanted to go to the movies. Sure why not.
They had no good movies on however so we went to the arcade instead. Shoot 'em up, fuck year. Best idea ever. Feeling hungry we went to a small place where the waiter was very good at english and all the japanese were staring at us. We were the center of attention and we were enjoying it!
At 22:30 we left thinking, what shall we do now?
Well what do you know, kareoke is open on saturdays aswell!
This time I could not drink as much however but we had fun anyway. Also japanese can't drink at all, I saw at least 6-7 who were too drunk to stand.
Got home at about 3 in the morning with 3 cheeseburgers from McDonalds (blasphemy!) and ate them while watching some anime.
The firefestival had been overhyped by teachers so it was quite a letdown when we went there. Might have been better if we could understand what was going on. Maby next year will be better!
Friday night. Kareoke night? Hells yeah. How else would we spend our evening?
We started at a guy named Anders place. It was quite cramped there in his 12 square meter big apartment. After that we went out to one of the many kareoke bars here in Kyoto. Perhaps some of us got a bit much to drink there but thats a part of being japanese! After we sung our lungs out we went to a bar where we were chilling for a while. I decided I wanted some air since you can smoke inside and everybody is doing it. Outside I started strolling down the street without thinking. A few minutes later I realize I have no idea where I came from. I laugh a bit for my self and since I have no phone I can't call anyone to come and get me either so I just walk home alone. The night ended at 4 if I remember right.
(Pictured from left to right: Alissa (apparently), Albin, Mike, Some guy I don't remember, Gabby, Anders. Front row: Hanna, Fia)
Saturday started the best way possible. Rent day. At 10:30. Felt like boiled crap and had to go to Tashika with the rent. After I got home I sat down in my chair and did not move the entire day except for bathroom and food. Well that was the plan anyway. At about 15:00 mike came over. Still drunk as all hell he made a recap in what had happened since I left yesterday, if I weren't so hungover I would have laughed at him :)
The plan was ruined at about 18:00 when Erik asked if I wanted to go to the movies. Sure why not.
They had no good movies on however so we went to the arcade instead. Shoot 'em up, fuck year. Best idea ever. Feeling hungry we went to a small place where the waiter was very good at english and all the japanese were staring at us. We were the center of attention and we were enjoying it!
At 22:30 we left thinking, what shall we do now?
Well what do you know, kareoke is open on saturdays aswell!
This time I could not drink as much however but we had fun anyway. Also japanese can't drink at all, I saw at least 6-7 who were too drunk to stand.
Got home at about 3 in the morning with 3 cheeseburgers from McDonalds (blasphemy!) and ate them while watching some anime.
Strandprommenaden
Everyday as we walk to school we take the route by the river. A river where fish of every size thrive in the rich waters and birds soar over your heads scanning the borrom for suitable prey. Sometimes there are even bigger falconlike birds flying over the river aswell. There is a raw beauty over this riverside that can only come from unspoiled nature and animal life that we from sweden rarely can experience.
When you walk along the river you are filled with the soothing energy that emits from the crystal clear waters. The sun on your neck and wind in your back. This is what I personally think is a little slice of heaven.
When you walk along the river you are filled with the soothing energy that emits from the crystal clear waters. The sun on your neck and wind in your back. This is what I personally think is a little slice of heaven.
Watashi wa, anata wa...
Things are going so fast in school it's almost a wonder that you remember anything at all. But that's the strange part. You remember almost everything the day after. Even if you don't give it your full attention I still learn more than I ever did back home in sweden. Is it beacuse I like this class or is it beacuse they are just that awesome teachers?
It's really cool that in about a week we now know enough to make small conversations with each other in japanese. Well not very good ones but still we can ask about the time, phone numbers and small things about their personal life like what they do for a living ect.
In my class there are 17 pupils. 15 guys and 2 gals, all from sweden. None of us have any real experience in japanese but we are moving forward at the speed of light. We don't have very good comunication between the "groups" in the class yet but the icebreaking kareoke last week have softened the boundries at least. Maby in a few weeks we will be as if we had known each other for our entire lives.
(from left to right, Kim, Allen, Anders, Albin, Saito Sensei)
It's really cool that in about a week we now know enough to make small conversations with each other in japanese. Well not very good ones but still we can ask about the time, phone numbers and small things about their personal life like what they do for a living ect.
In my class there are 17 pupils. 15 guys and 2 gals, all from sweden. None of us have any real experience in japanese but we are moving forward at the speed of light. We don't have very good comunication between the "groups" in the class yet but the icebreaking kareoke last week have softened the boundries at least. Maby in a few weeks we will be as if we had known each other for our entire lives.
(from left to right, Kim, Allen, Anders, Albin, Saito Sensei)
Oh Japan.
Japan, the land at the sunrise. A land of opportunities and adventures. Where the shopkeepers greet you everytime you enter their store and then again when you leave even if you didn't buy anything. The land where you can think of something you can buy it. Like alive shrimp at the supermarket, Hello Kitty bikes and a pair of jeans for over 10000 SEK. Today I found the holy grail of snacks. Have you ever eaten cookies but the crumbles end up everywhere? That's just the way the cookie crumble I suppose... But does it have to be that way?
No of course not. The crafty little japanese people have thought of a nice solution to this problem. Make the cookies smaller. Why haven't anyone thought of this before?
They taste just like regular cookies but they are bite sized so you don't have to worry about anything besides eating them.
Oh you, Chokochibi cookies （チョコチツビ、small chocolate) you will forever be a part of my diet.
No of course not. The crafty little japanese people have thought of a nice solution to this problem. Make the cookies smaller. Why haven't anyone thought of this before?
They taste just like regular cookies but they are bite sized so you don't have to worry about anything besides eating them.
Oh you, Chokochibi cookies （チョコチツビ、small chocolate) you will forever be a part of my diet.
Meat, meat and meat
All you can eat meat. Now that sounds like an excelent idea doesn't it? Me, Albin and Mike went to a place where this magical thing took place. You were given a number of options to pick from but it didn't really matter since it was only meat to pick from. No side dishes, no rice, no nothing. Just meat. You felt almost like a man when you saw what was soon to be our dinner.
We sat by a table built for 8 and since we were just 3 we were placed next to 3 japanese girls. They did nothing but improve our stay there. We must have looked like the biggest tourists ever since we had no idea how to do anything... But that did not stop us from having a blast.
Our waitress was one of the cutest girls I ever saw. She did not know much english so we tried to talk japanese and point at things we liked. Her smile was like sunshine after rain when she finally understood what we wanted.
(Pictured, Albin and our grill made of manliness and awesome)
We sat by a table built for 8 and since we were just 3 we were placed next to 3 japanese girls. They did nothing but improve our stay there. We must have looked like the biggest tourists ever since we had no idea how to do anything... But that did not stop us from having a blast.
Our waitress was one of the cutest girls I ever saw. She did not know much english so we tried to talk japanese and point at things we liked. Her smile was like sunshine after rain when she finally understood what we wanted.
(Pictured, Albin and our grill made of manliness and awesome)
Norton anticrap
Today was a very active day despite being hungover. We went to the arcade by Kyoto Tower and played away the day. We played some tekken, streetfighter and other games I could not even read the names of.
Then when I returned I got a norton antivirus program that wants something. I did not get any papers about it and I can't even end it. Anyone has an idea of what is going on in this picture?
Then when I returned I got a norton antivirus program that wants something. I did not get any papers about it and I can't even end it. Anyone has an idea of what is going on in this picture?
Vilse i Japan blogg up and running
Jag har nu beslutat att koera min blogg pa engelska foer mitt tagentbord har inte svenska bokstaver (men har andra spannande saker som パトリク och so vidare). Klagar ni so bryr jag mig inte.
The first entry will be a summary of the past week. Many exciting things have happened to me and it's hard for me to narrow them down enough to keep in this post.
Day 1: Travel. Nothing exciting here except for the guy who picked me up at the arport helt a sign with my name on it. Patrik Wellborg... wait that's not right. Ah well, close enough! It's japan baby!
I met a guy named Erik who were going to the same place as me so we decided to stay close to each other.
Day 2: Oh holy crap did we see things today? Me and Erik met two other swedish guys named Albin and Mikael and we went to the Kiyomizu-dera temple (清水寺) in the Higashiyama mountains (東山). It was a very beautiful traditional japanese temple in a secluded place in the mountains. Streams flowed through the dense vegetation and sunrays sought their way through the canopy. Sorry about the shitty picture, my phone was a bit cranky and didn't like being full with computer software.
Day 2: We went eating sushi from a rotating band. ￥100 for 1 plate so it was cheap as hell aswell as quite tasty. The whole experience was enchanced by Tashika-san (the landlord) who decided to follow us and tell us a bit in how japan works. I wish I had a good picture of it but you would have to be there to see the beauty in it.
Later on we met two more swedish people. Fia and Hanna. They had just arrived that day and were jet-laged so we decided to take them out for kareoke! about ￥1000 for 1 hour of singing and all the drinks you could have. So drink 2 beers every hour and you are at swedish bar price whilst being alot more fun. We left 3 hours later, drunk of our boot and no voice what so ever left. We then went strolling in Kyoto-citys nightlife and what did we find?
Another kareoke place! Hells yea!
Erik also found some japanese people who wanted to join us. Henry-san, Hiro-san and a girl whose name I can't remember (she was fucking awesome at singing). We came back home at about 6 in the morning. Huge success.
(Pictured, Erik)
Day 3: Hungover as all hell. At least 9 beers yesterday (1 at dinner, 2 at the starter party, 7 or more at the kareoke)
Was a slow day and I don't remember anything that I did that was special... Well besides being in japan baby!
Day 4: Last day of being a tourist. Starting school tomorow! woo
Day 5: Well I thought today was the day we were going to start school but we just had a small briefing and were then left to go home. Dissapointed we went to a arcade instead. Oh boy did some of the crazy japanese beat the shit out of everything there? Some of the people there almost seemed to have been there, by one machine, their entire life! One girl were playing a game simmular to guitar hero but instead of having a guitar she had like bongo drums with 9 fist-sized buttons. She was playing something equivalent to through fire and flames on expert and got almost every single note. And it was not easy notes but you had to take like 4-5 of them every time. She earns this weeks title of "Crazy Japanese!"
Day 6: School. Fucking sweet. We had a teacher who spoke no english at all but you'd be suprised in just how much you can learn anyway. But that was not the best thing to have happened to me today. Nono... not even close. I (recently named "Kejsarn") made the best sandwich ever to have been created by mortal hands and feeling generous I will share the recipie with you.
1(or more) egg
salt
bread
milk
and something for taste (may it be bacon, ham, leek or whatever. I had spring onion and it was made of win and awesome)
Scramble the egg with the salt and milk in a pan, fry the bread. I recommend sprinkle chopped springonion ontop as well.
This sandwich is now named "Kejsarns macka". It has to have a white bread base beacuse if you use wholegrain it will be an inferiour verson named "Kejsarns barkbit"
(due to crappy pan and shit most of the scramble did not make it but it was still awesome)
Day 7: One week has passed and I'm feelin fine. So far this has been the best trip of my life. School is awesome and the people are nice. Today I bought a bike aswell. Costed ￥6000 and it has been crowned "Kejsarinnan".
All hail your new overlord and master.
Day 8: School starts at 13:15 (well it does that every day so no difference here) and we learn alot as usual. After school the class decides to try and do something wich in japan of course means kareoke. We sung our heart out and had a blast. The 2 hours seemed to fly away in an instant. But after that we went to a small but cozy bar. There we hung out and talked japanese/english with the people there. I even got a shot of tequila from the bartender for free! The people here are alot more friendly than in sweden where everybody hates everything. I also talked alot with a girl named Yoko and I wish I had a picture left of her. She was quite awesome indeed. I think the others took some pictures and I will update if I find anything I like.
And that's a quick recap of the past week in japan. Stay tuned for more.
The first entry will be a summary of the past week. Many exciting things have happened to me and it's hard for me to narrow them down enough to keep in this post.
Day 1: Travel. Nothing exciting here except for the guy who picked me up at the arport helt a sign with my name on it. Patrik Wellborg... wait that's not right. Ah well, close enough! It's japan baby!
I met a guy named Erik who were going to the same place as me so we decided to stay close to each other.
Day 2: Oh holy crap did we see things today? Me and Erik met two other swedish guys named Albin and Mikael and we went to the Kiyomizu-dera temple (清水寺) in the Higashiyama mountains (東山). It was a very beautiful traditional japanese temple in a secluded place in the mountains. Streams flowed through the dense vegetation and sunrays sought their way through the canopy. Sorry about the shitty picture, my phone was a bit cranky and didn't like being full with computer software.
Day 2: We went eating sushi from a rotating band. ￥100 for 1 plate so it was cheap as hell aswell as quite tasty. The whole experience was enchanced by Tashika-san (the landlord) who decided to follow us and tell us a bit in how japan works. I wish I had a good picture of it but you would have to be there to see the beauty in it.
Later on we met two more swedish people. Fia and Hanna. They had just arrived that day and were jet-laged so we decided to take them out for kareoke! about ￥1000 for 1 hour of singing and all the drinks you could have. So drink 2 beers every hour and you are at swedish bar price whilst being alot more fun. We left 3 hours later, drunk of our boot and no voice what so ever left. We then went strolling in Kyoto-citys nightlife and what did we find?
Another kareoke place! Hells yea!
Erik also found some japanese people who wanted to join us. Henry-san, Hiro-san and a girl whose name I can't remember (she was fucking awesome at singing). We came back home at about 6 in the morning. Huge success.
(Pictured, Erik)
Day 3: Hungover as all hell. At least 9 beers yesterday (1 at dinner, 2 at the starter party, 7 or more at the kareoke)
Was a slow day and I don't remember anything that I did that was special... Well besides being in japan baby!
Day 4: Last day of being a tourist. Starting school tomorow! woo
Day 5: Well I thought today was the day we were going to start school but we just had a small briefing and were then left to go home. Dissapointed we went to a arcade instead. Oh boy did some of the crazy japanese beat the shit out of everything there? Some of the people there almost seemed to have been there, by one machine, their entire life! One girl were playing a game simmular to guitar hero but instead of having a guitar she had like bongo drums with 9 fist-sized buttons. She was playing something equivalent to through fire and flames on expert and got almost every single note. And it was not easy notes but you had to take like 4-5 of them every time. She earns this weeks title of "Crazy Japanese!"
Day 6: School. Fucking sweet. We had a teacher who spoke no english at all but you'd be suprised in just how much you can learn anyway. But that was not the best thing to have happened to me today. Nono... not even close. I (recently named "Kejsarn") made the best sandwich ever to have been created by mortal hands and feeling generous I will share the recipie with you.
1(or more) egg
salt
bread
milk
and something for taste (may it be bacon, ham, leek or whatever. I had spring onion and it was made of win and awesome)
Scramble the egg with the salt and milk in a pan, fry the bread. I recommend sprinkle chopped springonion ontop as well.
This sandwich is now named "Kejsarns macka". It has to have a white bread base beacuse if you use wholegrain it will be an inferiour verson named "Kejsarns barkbit"
(due to crappy pan and shit most of the scramble did not make it but it was still awesome)
Day 7: One week has passed and I'm feelin fine. So far this has been the best trip of my life. School is awesome and the people are nice. Today I bought a bike aswell. Costed ￥6000 and it has been crowned "Kejsarinnan".
All hail your new overlord and master.
Day 8: School starts at 13:15 (well it does that every day so no difference here) and we learn alot as usual. After school the class decides to try and do something wich in japan of course means kareoke. We sung our heart out and had a blast. The 2 hours seemed to fly away in an instant. But after that we went to a small but cozy bar. There we hung out and talked japanese/english with the people there. I even got a shot of tequila from the bartender for free! The people here are alot more friendly than in sweden where everybody hates everything. I also talked alot with a girl named Yoko and I wish I had a picture left of her. She was quite awesome indeed. I think the others took some pictures and I will update if I find anything I like.
And that's a quick recap of the past week in japan. Stay tuned for more.
Fas 1
Fas 1 av resan är nu avklarad med ett besök i vår kalla och regniga huvudstad. Jag besökte Japans ambasad för att lämna in en visumansökan och eftersom Japans ambasad tekniskt sett är en del av Japan så har jag nu redan varit utomlands en gång! Eller, en gång denna vecka dvs.
Efter detta spännande besök så åkte jag ett försenat tåg till min snälla storasyster Emelie och hennes kille Fredrik. Jag har nu slagit upp ett basläger här som jag kommer att använda till då resan fortsätter mot Japan.
Efter detta spännande besök så åkte jag ett försenat tåg till min snälla storasyster Emelie och hennes kille Fredrik. Jag har nu slagit upp ett basläger här som jag kommer att använda till då resan fortsätter mot Japan.
