Day 10 (Osaka) : Orientation

Today was orientation day at the main building or what I like to call "Opening Ceremonies Part Deux" since it was practically a repeat. When I first arrived at the office the security guard greeted me in English and asked me which country I came from and when I told him I was from America he said, "America, great country!" He then proceeded to give me a pig thumbs up, which I thought was pretty cool. Unfortunately I realized after I got there that my passport was still in my coat pocket at home. The weather was too nice to wear a coat and in hindsight it seems like the passport wasn't too critical.

At the orientation some new staff members took turns reading almost the entire student hand book in Japanese, Korean, and finally English. They re-iterated the warnings about religious cons and people trying to pick up part time workers for shady jobs out in town. It seemed really forced but they insisted that giving the manuals wasn't enough without reading it because some students might still get in trouble and say they didn't know. This was another sit and run style meeting so I didn't have a good chance to meet anyone before or after the talking was finished.

It's not like I'm disappointed or anything. I never really had any expectations of really meeting other students before classes start. The first real chance to talk to people will probably be during the class announcements on Friday when we will be assigned our home rooms. I get the idea that they will put all of the English speakers in the same class but that would be a really drag on my studies. I'm not interested in speaking English with my classmates when I'm trying to learn Japanese. Either way there's nothing to do but relax and wait at this point. I'm still short a frig, carpet, and anything comfortable to set on if you don't count my yoga mat.

Looking at it positively, things will get much better over the next week or two so it will be much more interesting and comfortable each day that goes by.