Applying For My Work Permit

Today was a holiday for my school, Xavier Day or something like that. So yay, no school! Guess it makes up for us not having Japanese Thanksgiving off. Surprisingly, it was pretty warm today. It was low 20s, so I was okay just wearing my new cardigan. The wind was really strong though. I had to keep holding onto my hat since it kept nearly flying off when I was outside.

Since it's a weekday even though it was a holiday for me, I decided I'd head to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa and apply for my work permit.

I swung by Sunkus since I didn't have breakfast. I originally intended to grab an onigiri since it was so late, but unfortunately they were all sold out! So I settled for this donut. It was decent, though not really comparable to Mister Donut.

About a half hour later, I reached Shinagawa. I wasn't really expecting the station to be as big as it was. It even has a walkway with a bunch of TVs lined up to spam the same advertisement over and over again.

Somehow I managed to find the exit I was supposed to take, though once outside I was a bit confused on what bus to hop on.

Luckily I spotted some signs that were put up to help lost foreigners like such as myself. This was actually my first time taking a local bus since I've been here. I made the mistake of sitting on the seat on top of the wheel though, so I was feeling pretty cramped when someone decided to sit next to me so I had to sit in the window seat. What's interesting about this bus though was that it turned off every time I was idle for a certain amount of time. You don't even realize it really happened until the driver turns the bus back on.

I finally reached the office and went in. I wasn't quite sure where to go though, so there was much confusion on my part, but I managed to get the form handed in. Now all I have to do is wait for them to send me the post card back when they're done processing it. I hope it doesn't take three weeks like it took for someone else I know though.

Now I'm wishing I had bought more cake on my way home...

Scenes From Around Our Neighborhood

Some trees in front of a nearby apartment complex.

In front of that same apartment complex there's a little play area for children.

Tuna and mayonnaise onigiri (riceball)

Yes, adults can drink juice boxes too here.

Sunset from just outside the door of our apartment.

Preparations for putting Christmas lights up, maybe?

The pancake drink is delicious, in case you were wondering.

Come to find out, the building in the above pictures is actually a museum.

The shape of this apartment complex is just so bizarre.

If only we would have looked down where the road opposite to where our apartment is off of leads to, we would have noticed this shrine just a block away.

Just down the road to Sunkus, this is the first house to put up some Christmas lights.

And last, but certainly not least, some cake. On nom nom.

It sucks how early and quickly it gets dark here. I should really carry my camera around with me more though. My cell phone just can't compare.

Already December?!

When did it turn into December? Sheesh, the days just fly by too quickly. I can't believe I've been here nearly four months now! Since I'm writing this at school, this isn't going to be a picture post.

Most of my days recently have been spent studying for the JLPT,  though I'm not so sure how I'll do with it. Recently I've felt like my vocabulary studying has been lacking and that I really need to re-evaluate how I do things. Too bad I realized this just earlier this week, when I realized that I'm seriously having trouble recalling vocabulary I know I've studied during conversation. The vocab I want to say just doesn't come out! For the weekend I think I'll just focus on studying the grammar, since I really feel that it's my weak point. Then again, I haven't tried studying the listening section, but I'm just going to hope my listening comprehension has gotten okay enough.

On the plus side, even though I tested into a lower level of Japanese than I'm used to, they're essentially covering everything that will be on the test I'm taking. So, I've been managing to get through the class by just looking at it as a JLPT prep course. I really miss reading actual literature and analyzing it in Japanese though! *sob* I guess I'll be able to get back to doing that next semester.

Tuesday the 23rd was a holiday, Labor Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately I still had school, but it was nice to not have to be squeezed in between a bunch of salarymen on the train.

It was pretty strange to have class the rest of the week, especially on Thursday. Boy I sure missed turkey...

On Sunday the 28th I managed to rebuy my train pass, and then later that night I realized I had my literature class' midterm due the next day. I realized it around 8pm and I ended up staying up until like 2-3am doing it. Because I was so tired the next morning I was intending to skip my first class, but I checked the schedule just in case and realized I had a test?! Normally we spend a day before the test doing listening comprehension, so the fact that we didn't threw both me and several of my other classmates off-guard.


Nothing else much has happened that's been too interesting recently. Like I said, I've mostly just been studying or avoiding some responsibilities by watching TV or playing games. Daniel and I have recently begun exploring the area that's opposite to where the train station recently is, so I'll post pictures that I took later. We even discovered a Sunkus that's only like two blocks away! The other one is next to the train station, which is kind of far away when you're just in the mood for a quick snack. Unfortunately since it has a parking lot (it's the first convenience store I've seen that looks like an American convenience store), it seems to be very busy. They run out of bento within just a few hours! So last night I've been having to stick with buying onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed and usually have something on the inside. I usually get tuna and mayo), which thankfully are super cheap (only 100 yen) and pretty filling too.

Every day it's getting colder and colder. Mornings are so chilly that I feel like my new jacket from Cecil McBee just isn't cutting it. The coat I bought from Tralala isn't that warm either. I hope it doesn't snow or anything like that before my mom gets a chance to send me my other coat!!