Vol 23

この写真は私のKCPクラスです。
クラスA112は一番くらすです。

I'm in the midst of typing my follow-up report for the scholarship I received when I went to Japan, but I needed my class picture.
I emailed Utami-san some time last month, but because of Golden week in Japan, she wasn't able to send it until recently.

I'm in the final stages of this school semester, and couldn't be more excited about it ending.
I don't know why, but I was really out of it this semester.
I just didn't want to go to school at all this semester.
Hopefully, I'll be back in the game this fall semester.
I can't afford to let my GPA drop.

I'm considering changing my major once again.
Although my intentions are to enter medical school when I'm 26-27, I want to focus on my foreign language study right now instead of Biology.
If I don't transfer to UMBC this fall, then I can't go further in my Japanese studies, nor can I start Korean.
If that's the case then I'll either retake Spanish or learn French.
I studied Spanish in High school and was really good at it once upon a time.
Don't ask what happened, because now I suck completely.
I could retry Arabic, but that kicked my ass last time.
I have until August to decide what I want to do.
That is if UMBC doesn't receive my transcripts by the 30th.
I don't understand why they don't have them yet. They were mailed out in mid-April.
UMBC and CCBC are two minutes away from each other.
What the hell is the adminstration offices doing?!!!!
I have to study for Finals now.

Vol 19

これはロクサナお母さんの誕生日プレゼント。
どう？
私はつくった。

I'm trying something new today.
Sesame Ginger chicken.
Even though the sauce is from a bottle, I have never ate Sesame Ginger chicken before.
I wonder how it will taste.

I decided that I want to go back to Japan for a year in 2010.
Fall 2010.
In the meantime, I need to first, find a job, and second pass my classes.
I have to save a certain amount, and I only have a year and a half to do so.
Chloe might go back as well around that time, so we'll find an apartment and split the rent.
Let's see if I stick to this plan.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

明けましてお目妥当ございます。

今アメリカに住んでいます。

東京はとても楽しかった。

本当に楽しかった。

私のＫＣＰ友達が大好き。

今年は頑張って。

メールを書いてください。

ぜひ日本へ行きたい

ぜひ友達と遊びたい。

本当にありがとうございます。

私はアメリカで頑張れ。

Vol 6

おひさしぶり。
元気ですか。
私は元気です。

As I mentioned before, I am in Tokyo.
I arrived Friday afternoon around 3:30pm.
My friend Lena met me at the airport, so she showed me how to operate the train system, and how to purchase my train ticket/pass.
It took us about two hours to get from Narita airport, which is located in Chiba, down to my hotel in Tokyo.
The best way to get from the Narita would be by train or Limo Bus.
The Limo Bus cost about $30 and it makes different stops in Tokyo.
It takes about 1 hour 40 minutes on Limo Bus.
We caught the train from Narita to Tokyo.
Depending on what train you caught will determine how much you pay in the end.
It took us about 1 hour 30 minutes to get from the airport to my hotel, and cost about $15.
I stayed at the Sakura Hotel in Ikebukuro.
The Sakura hotel is basically a hotel for foreigners.
They own 4 hotels, 2-3 guest house, and about 4 dorms., with most of it’s occupants being from a different country.

Anyway, after I checked in the hotel and dropped off my luggage, I went out with Lena to explore Ikebukuro.
I should mention that Ikebukuro is one of the 23 wards (cities) that is located within Tokyo.
So you can say Tokyo is a city made up of 23 other cities.
First we were just walking around looking for nothing in particular.
Then we got hungry so we started to look for some place to eat.
No matter where you are in Tokyo there will be dozens of places to eat.
Different kinds of places.
Japanese, Chinese, American, Italian, Mexican, Indian, sub shops, sports bars, just dozens of places.
The problem is choosing where you want to eat.
While walking up one of the many crowded streets this Chinese guy approached us and showed us a menu of the place he worked.
It’s pretty much like the place where I eat Korean BBQ at back in America, only you buy the meat by single potions for a cheap price.
We decided to check this place out.

It was a small size restaurant but decent.
You can choose what kind of meet you want and they’ll bring it to you along with a coal table top grill.
We choose two different kinds of beef for about $2 a serving, but those two servings wasn’t enough so we ordered more and more.
The food was great.
It put the Korean BBQ, which I love so much, to shame.
We went there long, only about 40 minutes before we left.
We were suppose to meet up with Lena’s friend Casey and her boyfriend, so we went to HMV to wait for them.
HMV is the really huge music store.
It’s about 3-4 floors, and in some other places it occupy even more floors.
Around 10:30pm we met Casey and her boyfriend in front of the Hello Kitty shop.
We had to wait from Casey’s boyfriends’ friend to show up.
Once that guy arrived we went out to eat again.
He took us to this place about two blocks up from where we were standing called “The Lockup”.

The Lockup is the haunted prison style place where they handcuff you as they show you to your cell/table.
It was really cool.
The kind of place you would have a Halloween party in.
The down side about that place is that it’s so popular you only have 75 minutes in there.
They offered a variety of food which I will not name, but we got something called Russian Roulette potato balls.
It’s 5 potato puffs but the catch is that one of them will be extremely spicy while the rest are plain.
So each of us took one and Lena loss.
So the guy ordered another set but requested that they make 4 out of the 5 spicy.
Everyone lost except Lena.
This is a place for people who like to drink.
They have a large selection of drinks.
Casey ordered the Chemistry set drink where you mix the different fruity flavored alcohols together.
They also had something like a alcohol pill.
I don’t remember since I don’t drink, although in Japan I am legal.
We left there around 11:50pm and everyone decided to go home because the trains stop at 12am and taxis are dumb expensive here.
We were still in Ikebukuro so I walked back to the hotel.
Japan is a really safe place.
I won’t say safe but busy, so it’s almost impossible to do something to someone here without tons of witnesses.
That was pretty much my Friday night.
You can see pictures I took of Japan if you click the link below.

http://s385.photobucket.com/albums/oo300/tatsuri1/

Vol 5

Im in Tokyo now.
I arrived at 3:30pm, instead of 4:30 like I was suppose to.
Currently I dont have a cellphone and my internet probably wont be connected until I move in with my Host family on Sunday.
Im using the computer at my hotel, but its really weird.
It doesn't have all the keys I need.
When my internet is up and running I'll post more about what Tokyo is like.
But this really is a city that doesn't sleep.
It's 12am and I just got back to my hotel after going out with my friends, but there are still so many people running out and about.

Vol 2

おひさしぶり！
お元気ですか。

This morning I received an email from the school in Japan.
-------About freaking time.

During my stay in Japan this fall, I will be living with a host family.
My host family lives in Koto, Tokyo.
------- Yeah, never heard of it
My host family is just the mom and dad.
Their children are grown and married.
The dad is retired and the mom works part time.
They eat breakfast crazy early, dinner at a decent time, and I have a 10pm curfew.
That sucks..
The school didn't send much information about my host family.
Not even a photo.

So I posted the picture above to show you what Koto looks like.
It's practically the only photo I could find of Koto that wasn't a picture of a train.

I have 10 days left at work, 17 days before my 20th birthday, and 22 days before I fly to Japan.
I'm more excited that I can finally leave that job, than i am about going to Japan.



じゃね

Oh yeah! I changed my blog title.
It means "From Baltimore to Koto"
Although I think Baltimore spelt wrong.