Willy Goes to Japan... Again?: 31 August 2008

For the past few days I've been participating in the Exchange Student Orientation. The first day of orientation all 435 exchange students had to gather at the "Multi Media Hall" (a lecture Hall) and listen to a bit of a speech, which I have at the current time forgotten. I then had to stay in the hall to take my placement exam. I ended up doing pretty well and had to go schedule an interview for 2:00pm later that day.

After the placement exam I went to the "SHOMU" building, which I'll refer to as Student Accounts, and fork up 26000Yen (260$). I then went to draw my number for the Registration Lottery. Kansai Gaidai uses a lottery system for students to choose their class. If you unfortunately pull a high number, you'll have a higher chance of not getting the classes you wanted, if those classes are popular. I was fortunate enough to pull a number right in the middle, 241. The girl directly after me was not, she pulled 436. This was out of 438. We were then advised to bring our lottery number at the time specified on the ticket and our receipts from the Student Accounts building tomorrow, to actually register for classes.

It was then that 2:00pm rolled around and I had to head to my interview with Komura Sensei. A wonderfully nice man, of average height and dark hair. He spoke english very well, but made sure the interview was strictly Japanese. I entered his office and sat across from him. I noticed he had my placement exam, a voice recorder, and a file, but despite the somewhat intimidating atmosphere I felt completely fine. He began and just wanted to get an idea of my Japanese academic background, at which point I shared with him that I haven't really had any college level courses other than my first semester at UWF. The more I explained the more he realized that my Japanese reading and writing level was far lower than my Japanese Spoken. It was at this point that he explained that normally those students who are in Level 6 Spoken normally take a reading and writing course at the same level. This became the main topic of our interview where to place me for my classes. At this point I'm still unsure of what level they've placed me, but I should be finding out in about two hours.

Once my interview ended I filled out my Alien Registration Form and rode my bicycle to the Hirakata City Hall, to receive my card. About half way there, the dark clouds above opened up and spilled water all over me. I arrived to the City Hall drenched and dripping. The wonderfully nice man at the desk offered his umbrella, but at that point it was far too late. He took my form, pass port, and I think some money, and after a few minutes of waiting he handed me a sheet of paper that said I needed to return between 9/24 and 9/30 to retrieve my card. This I believed was essential for me to purchase a cell phone, so I was fairly bummed.

The next day I had to rush to my registration time and went through the system without a problem. I then hurried to the on campus cell phone store, where I learned that there was another form that substituted as the alien registration card, until you actually receive it. Once again I had to take the time to make a trip to the City Hall, but this time I rode the bus. At the City Hall I coughed up 300yen (3$) and received a piece of paper with a bunch of Japanese on it. I then took all my paper work to the cell phone store and was able to purchase my pre-paid cell phone, but I had to wait a few hours for them to set it up for me.

Around 3:00pm our opening ceremony began at the Multi Media Hall and I snuck my friend Honami in with me. After a speech from the President, U.S. consulate general, Australian consulate general, and two student reps. all 435 student were ushered to the lawn for a commemorative photograph, which my friend Honami (a regular student) gladly joined in.

Later on that night I eventually was able to receive my phone and spent a good hour and half entering my friend's e-mails and phone numbers into my cell phone.

Below are some pictures of the campus and my dorm, Seminar House 4.

Exchange Student's Commemorative Photo, I took this one... I'm in the back with Honami

U.S. Consulate General

Australian Consulate General

Faculty Member... He was very funny

Exchange Student Rep.

Kansai Gaidai Student Rep.

Me and Kohei, (a student assistant and my old resident)

A wonderufl atrium, where students gather and do shows... pretty cool

Inside the Multi Media Hall for the Opening Ceremony

The Japanese Man in the Blue Suit, sitting down is Tanimoto Sensei, the president to his right is his wife and to her right is their son Tanimoto Sensei, the acting president... I was confused too.