Gossip pt 2 / Izakaya

Umi left to pick up the girl from California she would be assisting and Kana, Lina, Kallie and I left the other Japanese girls to meet Kana's boyfriend from California, James*. James was pretty fluent at Japanese and ended up being really helpful to the Swedes and I during the first few weeks. Within just a matter of minutes Kana had asked James to tell us about Cindy. From what he explained she had caused a lot of problems within his group of friends and was a key reason why most of them were no longer as close as they once were. He didn't really delve into anything specific; but, like Kana, advised us to stay away from her because she is nothing but drama.

We all boarded the train and got off at stop 20 (Yokohama eki) and walked to the station's Exit 5 where we met up with two other male Japanese student tutors and another guy from California who had just arrived the previous day. Exit 5 was THE meet-up spot in Yokohama if anybody had to wait for someone to meet them. We walked around downtown for a bit and then went to Yodobashi Camera to buy accessories for our keitais. I purchased a cute little panda charm and a sticker of a black cat to remind me of my kitty back home. I also bought a cable so I could connect to the internet and a converter for my computer plug. By the time we left the 7 story electronic store it was already dark outside. We decided to walk around a bit to get a taste of the nightlife in Yokohama.

After an hour or so of walking around we were getting pretty hungry. James led us to an alleyway between two buildings and directed us inside an elevator which took us to the 5th floor. From there we entered a dimly lit Japanese restaurant called an izakaya. James explained that every dish on the menu, including the BEER!, was 300 yen (about $3.00) and that everyone shared eat dish. Us newcomers didn't really know what to order so we let James and the Japanese student tutors order everything for us.

Time went on and the beer and food had filled us all up. We got on the subject of our favorite Japanese words and when I was asked what mine was I mindlessly blurted out "BUKKAKE!" without even remembering that I was in Japan and everyone had known that word. Hello!!! Who was a dumb-ass? The noisy restaurant had immediately gone silent and I felt really embarrassed. The Swedes and newcomer from California didn't know what the word was so Kana shyly explained it to them while the others continued to laugh and make fun of me.

Eventually we had to call it a night since it was getting pretty late and we all had to wake up early for our orientation at the university the following morning. It is a custom in Japan to only pay for what you ordered. So when we paid for the meal we split the bill evenly (betsu-betsu) since it was an izakaya and we had shared everything. The waitress came back with a new check showing how much we all needed to pay and after taking care of the check we left. It is also a custom to not tip in Japan so we didn't have to worry about that. I greatly preferred the customs for paying for meals in Japan over the way things are done in America.

The Swedes and I boarded the train back to our dorms and the boys and Kana boarded the train back to the dorms near the university where all of the boys in the program had to stay. Kallie, Lina and I made plans to get up and eat together before heading out to the orientation. I was excited about meeting everyone in our program. It was required that all of the newcomers and people who had been there the semester before needed to be there. Before sleeping I brushed up on my Japanese a bit because I had to take a placement test that would decide which Japanese classes I needed to take.

I had a really good day. I made friends with two girls from a country I had no knowledge about and I was stoked to be exposed to more new cultures than just Japan's.

-Ofilia