Let it Shrine!

The rain/typhoon has finally passed! Well, technically it passed a few days ago, but I've been keeping very busy. Tonight has been the first night where I've been in my room before 10:30 pm and not downstairs talking with people. That's partly because we have to get up at 6:45 am to catch the subway to the shinkansen (bullet train) and we HAVE to be on time because the shinkansen only stops for 1 minute. Tomorrow we are headed for Hiroshima. By the way, I'll be posting a few pictures in this post that corresponds to earlier posts because  I just figured out that I can put my memory card straight into my computer. Go figure. Sorry Mom, Dad, and Steven but thanks for sending out my camera cable anyways.

 Our Japanese buddies have come over almost every night to play games and hang out with us. Half of the people are playing crazy drinking games while another half has been playing cards. It's been really fun mixing with the nihon-jin (japanese people). I taught them spicy uno and they go absolutely nuts!! I also got to meet Ariko, Aki, and Midori, who are my three Japanese buddies at Meigaku. They showed me around campus today and we had lunch. Their English is very good, but still limited. I hope that I will get to practice my Japanese a lot with them. I also took my Japanese language placement test, which was a another adventure in itself. I don't do well in interviews, especially in Japanese. Here's how the conversation went. Luckily, the interviewers found me very funny so I hope that's a good thing!

Interviewer: Why do you want to study Japanese?
Me: I really like Japan and I watch a lot of anime and read a lot of manga.
Interviewer: Ah, I see. Which anime do you like?
Me: Naruto.
Interviewer: Why do you like Naruto?
Me: Because I want to become a ninja.

This whole weekend we have gone to a different city. Friday we went to Yokohama, which has a huge ferris wheel. It's considered the date town here. Saturday we ventured off to Kamakura town, which has a giant Buddha (Daibutsu) that we got to go inside.Also, we visited Tsurugaokahachimangu shrine. At the shrine, we got to witness a beautiful traditional Japanese wedding.

Daibutsu 13.35 meters.

Tsurugaokahachimangu

Sunday, we went to Harajuku. I think it looks a lot like New York, except for the fact they have a beautiful shrine just outside the city called Meiji Jingu. We also went to Yoyogi park. It was very lively there.

Meiji Jingu

Yoyogi Park

After Harajuku, we hopped on the train to Shibuya, which is a huge busy city. Shibuya has this famous intersection where once the light goes green for the pedestrians, everyone scatters in every direction to cross the street. It was very entertaining.

After

Before

Needless to say, my feet have taken a beating from all the walking and I'm getting in really good shape! I have been having the time of my life. I thank God each second of every day. He has provided me with loving people and a great opportunity to grow. Even though most of these places were created in the name of another god, I still see the glory of God because everything comes from Him. It's hard to believe it has only been ONE week and I still have 3 months and 1 week to go!!! I'll update again as soon as I get back from Hiroshima. I'll get into my classes and such later. As a farewell, here are a few pictures from the last two posts.

 Meiji Gakuin International Student House.

My futon bed and tatami mats.