Gossiping with the Swedes pt. 1

The next day (my third day in Japan) after eating breakfast, I went to the Gumyoji station and waited for the train to see if I could recall how to get to school on my own. I noticed that two of the Swedish girls (one of them happened to be that tall blond I saw running around during my first night in Japan), and a French girl were also waiting to board the train. We all recognized each other from the orientation the night before, so we introduced ourselves once again to become better acquainted.  

I found the tall blond Swedish girl especially friendly. Her name was Kallie* and she talked with an American accent. Compared to a lot of people who didn't use English as their first language, Kallie's English was pretty good. Kallie and Lina* (the other Swede) were both international business majors from Jönköping University in Sweden. They both admitted that they did not speak any Japanese and didn't know a whole lot about Japanese culture. They chose to study abroad in Japan because it would be "different" and they wanted to experience another culture besides one they would be used to. They had both travelled around Europe a lot and wanted to expand their world knowledge. Kallie had just finished studying abroad in Germany and said she was planning on going to grad school in California after she graduated. Lina told me that it is very common for college students in Sweden to study abroad. From what I recall she said about 95% of all college students in Sweden study in a different country for at least one semester (remind me to look this up).  

The French girl wasn't really chatty at all, and whenever we asked her a question she responded in a short and annoyed manner. Noticing this, the Swedish girls and I decided to keep her at a distance.  

Since we were all headed to the university to look around, the Swedish girls asked me if I'd like to explore the campus with them. We got off at stop 22 and exited the station where we met up with Lina's Japanese student counselor, Kana. Kana and Lina went up ahead of Kallie and me while we talked about our experiences in Japan so far. We then got on the subject of the other people from our home universities that were in the program as well; and then the next thing you know, I was already involved in GOSSIP.  

Oi!  

Besides Lina and herself, there was only one other person from their university in our program. He had already been there for one semester, and they had heard some rumors that he was making the biggest ass out of himself in Japan. According to Kallie, this guy (who I would later learn was given the nickname 'モンスタ’, monsuta=monster) was completely full of himself and believed he was God's gift to women, but was actually just extremely desperate for any attention at all. They advised me to stay away and not say a word to him otherwise he would think I was coming on to him and then he would never leave me alone. They also told me that he hated Japan and refused to learn Japanese (which I would learn to be true) so they (and everyone in the program) were extremely confused as to why he was in Japan, especially for a whole year.  

After Kallie and Lina told me about their monster from Sweden, I told them about "Mr. Ambassador" Brad. As we approached the university's 食堂/shokudo (dining room) for lunch, we continued to laugh while having a grand ol' time making fun of the idiots from our respective university's who thought they were far superior than their peers but were just the biggest jackasses we'd ever known. Right as I had finished telling them the story about how Brad announced how he was ONLY going back to Japan for the food, I spotted the jerk-face sitting on a bench in front of the 生協／seikyo (student store, co-op).  

"Speaking of the devil..." I said under my breath to the other girls while approaching him with the hugest shit-eating grin on my face.  

He looked up, and without saying 'hello' or asking me how I've been, he snidely said, "Well, it looked like you already found your own little gang."  

What the heck was that supposed to mean? Ugh, he's such a jerk. I shrugged it off and asked him what was wrong and why he was holding his stomach.  

"I've been sick since the first night here. I went out to sushi and haven't been able to eat a thing since without having to throw up." Brian hung his head down and looked like he was going to die and then continued, "So, I'm waiting for my student tutor to meet me here so she can take me to the doctor."  

You have no idea how badly I wanted to laugh out loud at him, but instead I could only point and laugh at him inside my head. Heh heh heh. Yah, you only wanted to come back for the food, eh Mr. Ambassador? Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I smiled, wished him luck and then the girls and I walked around while busting out with laughter about how perfectly hysterical the events had just taken place.  

We then proceeded to find our way to the shokudo with Kana and a few other Japanese girls, one who happened to be a counselor of a girl from California whom she had not met yet. We got our food and found a spot inside the crowded shokudo where the gossiping continued. Umi, Kana's best friend, asked me if I knew the girl from California she would be assisting later that evening.  

I had no idea who she was, but I did have a question of my own. At the orientation the night before, after finding out I was from Sacramento, all of the dorm assistants asked me if I knew Cindy* and when I said I didn't they all nodded and looked at each other in the most suspicious way. I had only seen Cindy but a few times the semester before when she had joined in on a few of my Japanese classes before she left to study in Yokohama at the same university. The way in which they asked me seemed a little odd, so I asked Kana if she knew Cindy and why people kept asking me in peculiar ways if I knew her.  

Kana immediately snapped, "She's a liar! Stay away from her. She's a bitch."  

Kana's English wasn't the best, but she continued with the confusing story (confusing only because her English was so broken and she had problems tying everything together) about how Cindy had a boyfriend back home but is cheating on him and how she had tried sleeping with her boyfriend (an American who was also from California). Cindy was not to be trusted and had made quite the slutty reputation, according to the Japanese girls, so the Swedes and I decided it would be best not to hang out with her.  

The gossip would continue while we finished lunches and Kallie, Lina and I got to know each other better. We exchanged numbers and made plans to hang out the rest of the week and go to Tokyo over the weekend. Within the weeks to come, Kallie and Lina would become my closest friends in Japan even though I felt no real connection with them or share any similar interests. Little did I know that Kallie and Lina secretly despised each other--even back in Sweden. Eventually, Lina would become closer to me than Kallie and my group of friends would change; but before then Kallie, Lina and I had problems making friends with the other students just because WE didn't like them and found most of everybody extremely annoying.

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