This past weekend went pretty well! On Saturday, I walked the two miles to the post office to send back my Wifi. I successfully communicated with the postal worker, although it probably took me fifteen or twenty minutes before finally getting everything figured out. I ran back and didn’t get lost (this is something to be proud of, I swear).
Sunday was a little more exciting. I decided to go to church, with a little push from Alex. I was pretty nervous because this meant I had to navigate the bus and trains all alone. However, I left about 30 minutes early and made it on time with no issues! I did get on the wrong train but switched to the correct one before we left the station. The church I went to is in Shintanabe, which is a 10-minute bus ride, 6 minute train ride, and about 12 minute walk from where I live. This is likely the closest church to me, but it truly isn’t so bad of a commute. After arriving at the Shintanabe station, two members from the congregation picked me up and took me to the chapel, and introduced me to people in the church. I was so grateful and they were very nice! It is called Kyoto International Chapel. The service is in both Japanese and English, which is nice because I can actually understand the service fully. After service, we had Korean food and I met a few people from America, including one from Ohio!! She jokes that it is called the “Good Morning State” because in Japan good morning is pronounced the same way that Ohio sounds. She was very sweet and I hope that I can hang out with her more often. We talked after the service until 4 PM. Afterwards, I went on a walk with the pastor, his wife, and their dog. It was nice to talk with them, as they were very encouraging and understanding of my struggle to get acclimated. I plan on going back and I feel that the community there will make this experience a lot better.
Monday was a national holiday here in Japan, so we had the day off. I had a video date with Alex at 7 AM. It was so nice to see him for a couple of hours. The weather was rainy and cold, but Terry and I decided to travel to Kyoto despite the conditions. We stopped at a 7-Eleven, where I tried this weird pizza pastry. Pizza is definitely better in the United States, I assure you. I know everyone underappreciates Domino’s, but that place is gold compared to the pizza they have here. After that decadent delight, we walked to a shrine near Kyoto University. It honestly looked like every other shrine in Japan, it was built in 1641 though. I thought that was neat considering the United States didn’t come along until 1776. Kyoto University was a short walk from this Shrine, so we headed that way. The school itself didn’t compare to the traditional architecture you see everywhere around Japan. The majority of the campus was covered in concrete buildings. There was one dormitory that was made of wood but fairly dilapidated. It is supposedly the oldest dorm for a college in Japan. They didn’t allow photography, so I can’t show you a picture. However, I don’t think it would be worth one anyway. I did feel bad for Terry because he had planned to buy lunch from a university restaurant and visit a museum about the school, but everything was closed due to the holiday. By that time, we were pretty hungry so we decided to walk through a Japanese market that was in Kyoto. It was very similar to West Side Market in Cleveland, except a larger scale and all down one road. It had a TON of seafood, including octopus and whole fish (with eyes) sitting out for people to buy. I did not eat any of that. However, I did try melon bread (soft on the inside and crisp/sugary on the outside) and dumplings in sweet sauce. Both were delicious! I hope that I can find them again to eat while I am here. I was pretty proud of us because we managed to navigate the train stations without getting hopelessly lost or getting on a wrong train. I think that we are finally conquering the Japanese train system (only because of google maps). Yes, I know I said I hated it in one of my earlier posts, but it is good for at least one thing.
On Tuesday, I had my first presentation. They said I did a very good job. I can never tell if I actually did a good job, or if they are just being nice because they feel bad for me. I think that I will have a presentation almost every week to update my tutor and project leader about my progress in the research project. I am still a little nervous because I am not a fan of programming, but at least I will improve my skill in that area of engineering. Down below are some pictures for you to enjoy from this weekend! Miss you all very much. Thank you for staying up to date with my trip!
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