After posting this morning’s post I showered, had some breakfast, and headed for the train. The train was a trip (“trip” as in funny, see below.) I stopped at the Starbucks in Ichigaya station (the school stop) and got a (better than before) cup of hot chocolate. The morning’s class (Japanese language) went well. I tracked what was going on which abated my greatest fear (not knowing what the heck was going on.) After a quick lunch I had a chat with one of the other students in my morning class. We commiserated about things in class and things we liked/didn’t like about Tokyo. At 12:45 all the JLSP student gathered in the student lounge and walked together to the main Nihon Daigaku building for the “Opening Ceremony” (that must have been a sight to see, a group of foreigners walking in a pack down the street.) Once inside we were seated in some sort of order in front of a podium. A few teachers as well as some other people filed in and sat up by the podium. The director of the international division (I think) stood up and gave a speech in both Japanese and in English (I followed in Japanese, but the English clarified.) After, the teachers and staff of the international division stood and introduced themselves. Lastly the students were asked to stand, introduce themselves, and that university they were from. After the ceremony I walked back to the Annex building (where classes are held) and sat in the student lounge (and wrote this.)

Some things learned/noted today:
1.) Riding the trains during rush hour is totally different than during non-peak hours on the weekends. It’s not for the feint of heart or the claustrophobic. The closest thing I can compare it to is a mosh pit. The train pulls up to the station and you think “Awe ****, the trains’ full, no one else could possibly get on.” But no! Everyone on the platform piles in! Like sardines piling in a tin. The odd thing though is that once in the train store everyone’s quiet. You’d think several hundred people in a confined space would make some noise but it’s really quite silent.

2.) As noted before, there’s an ordinance against pan-handling, however it doesn’t prohibit giving things away. So, one of the common sights on street corners are people handing out flyers for various things. Most people pass by without taking one (as you might expect an American to pass on something a random person was handing out on the street.) Sometimes people even pass out samples of things, though the only one I’ve seen so far is sponges.

3.) Everyone has an iPod and a Cell phone. Okay, I was going to elaborate on this, but I guess it’s pretty self explanatory. Okay, the homeless don’t… well, not all of them…

Ja Mata Ne.

*I know it may seem I come off a little ethnocentric, but really it’s just the culture shock talking. I’m really a nice guy… really.