Also, IUC is over!
waaahhhh.....
But, here are some pictures from the end, courtesy of Matsumoto-sensei, IUC's resident photographer. At every IUC event, he's forever popping out of corners and snapping so many photos that when you flip through them, they play almost like a movie. >_<
Anyway, here's me giving my final presentation:
The group of us (most of us anyway) who took shodo
And receiving my graduation certificate.
Which, this time, they didn't forget! Lol (unlike a certain HIF graduation ceremony I attended)...
Oh yeah, and I did really well on my final test!!! ☆★☆
Oh, and speaking of endings/beginnings, in a few short hours, my parents will be arriving in Tokyo! Whee!! Along with my 幼なじみ Rebecca and her mom. \(^_^)/
So, just to let you know, I probably won't be making many posts on here for the next couple of weeks, as we'll be travelling around Japan. Needless to say, I'm sooooo excited!
Oh, and I suppose I should change up the PV, hmm? Let's see, I've got to pick a good one, since it might very well be up for a good long while.
OK, I can't resist. What else, but the new PV by DoReMii's favorite twins, ON/OFF.
<3
who, me?
- ☆sarita☆
- From a former North Carolinian and recovering Yalie: Currently living and working in the big city of Tokyo, while furthering an ever-growing obsession with Japanese pop-culture.
Also, the reason we all went to go get tacos in the first place was to pregame for the movie screening! ^_^ Last term, the Friday speaking class--not me, that's when I was taking business Japanese--filmed a movie! It's a murder mystery...sort of? They wrote, filmed, directed, and edited it themselves, so it was rather an interesting production. Lol. But, since the editing and stuff finally got finished, last night we had a screening party up at the big house on the hill, that Ben, Connor, Bridget, and Travis are sharing (cf Thanksgiving).
It was a super party--Amy brought "和風 Rice Krispy treats"--so called because there are no Rice Krispies in Japan, so she used cornflakes instead. But they were really good! And Senda-sensei brought over some fantastic guacamole! XD
Yes, that means the teachers were there, too--Senda, Akizawa, and Kouno. (getting drunk with your teachers is always interesting.....)
Anyway, it was a much-fun party. The movie was a big hit, and we've decided that the next step is to release a subbed version, and make it the next Youtube sensation! ^_^ So, everybody watch out for that!
No pictures in this post, either--I took a few, but sadly certain IUC students who shall remain nameless have forbidden me under pain of death to let them see the light of day, either here or on facebook. So, sorry, no luck this time.
so, when Ben R came up to Jason and me the other day and said he knew of a good taco place near the Bandobashi shotengai that we should all go to on Friday...I just assumed he meant "tako" octopus. Because, really, this is Japan after all, and while Yokohama is a wonderfully international city, with almost any kind of food that you could hope to imagine....Mexican is still pretty darn thin on the ground--or if it does exist, really just....blech. So I just assumed Ben meant octopus.
So, imagine my surprise when Jason and I arrive at Bandobashi and find ourselves directed towards a hole-in-the-wall bearing the sign "Taco Bob's."
Bridget, Ben, Travis, and Iman were already inside, getting started. It was a teeny tiny place; the arrival of Jason and me pushed our numbers to 6 (not including the owner behind the counter), which filled up the restaurant in the most literal sense--there weren't even enough stools, so Jason had to stand!
Anyway, there were some odd parts--like the fact that for an extra 50 yen you could add "camembert cheese" to your taco--or the fact that the tacos came wrapped in this...pancake...thing....that looked oddly like a crepe. And of course, this being Japan, there was mayonnaise involved as well. BUT, the most important thing is, they actually tasted like real tacos!! The owner was really nice, too. We asked him how he learned to make tacos, to which his answer was: Well, I visited lots of different Mexican restaurants, and just figured "it's something like this." (だいたい、こんな感じ。。。)
LOL. Anyway, they were really yum, and since it's super close by, we promised to come back again.
sooooooooo tired.....
So, I'm officially looking for a job. And as my 第一歩 in that direction, today I experienced the wonders of the "we're not hiring but we'll talk to you anyway," a.k.a. Informational Interview.
See, even though I'm staying in Japan, I still want to do something related to publishing--although within that I'm pretty much willing to consider anything. Which means newspaper, magazine, foreign rights, translation... you name it, I'm looking.
Today's interview was with the Japan Uni Agency. They rep Simon & Schuster's books to get translated and sold in Japan--and that's how I got in touch with them, was through my old boss at S&S. The "Japanese market is poor," so they're not hiring, but they agreed to talk to me anyway, so I dashed off from school this afternoon and made my way over to Jimbo-cho, a.k.a. the Land of Used Bookstores. It was raining, and I got horribly lost, and managed to wander around for nearly an hour, despite the fact that the building was literally about a block from the station. But, in my defense, quite poorly labeled.
I talked to two women at the agency, Kurioka-san and Nagatsuka-san. Kurioka-san is only a little bit older than me, and just started working at Japan Uni recently, so that's why she had Nagatsuka-san come over too--cause Nagatsuka-san has been with Uni for about 10 years, and so knows more about the business.
So, on to the interview itself--
Kurioka-san was incredibly nice, the sort of person that I feel like I would get along really well with as friends. Nagatsuka-san, on the other hand.... to be fair, I don't think she was trying to be mean, I think she's just one of those dry, ironic personality types--which could be entertaining in a boss, but is absolute MURDER on your nerves in an interview. I mean, I was nervous enough having to speak in Japanese, so it didn't help to have Nagatsuka-san saying things like "It might be better for you to work in America," and "Japan still has lots of gender discrimination, not like America. You might not like it. If you try and work here, you might end up hating Japan."
Some more samples of conversation:
Me: So, what do you like most about your job?
Nagatsuka-san: I don't particularly like my job.
Me: ....oh.
Kurioka-san: Really? You don't?
Nagatsuka-san: No.
Kurioka-san: But, you get to read books and that sort of thing, isn't that fun?
Nagatsuka-san: Not really.
Me: ............
(>_<)
So yes, there were some sufficiently awkward moments--although, I knew from the start that it wasn't a job interview, so it's not as if I feel like I missed out on anything. And don't get me wrong, I did get some useful information from the interview, like about how to get started looking for translation jobs, or the fact that both Cambridge and Oxford University Presses have offices in Japan. (for which last, I totally plan on contacting my old boss at the Yale Press, to see if she has any contacts for me.....) *crosses fingers*
これからも、頑張るぜぇぇぇぇぇぇぇ！！！！！
Molly, Marshall, Ben and I met up again Saturday to go to a party in Yoyogi Park, in Tokyo. Basically the same type of deal as the hanami party, only without the excuse of pretending to be there to look at flowers, since there aren't really many sakura left anymore.
The party was hosted by "Amazon," one of the people we'd met at Satoshi's hanami party last weekend. That's obviously not his real name, but he'd lived in Brazil or somewhere for a while, and so now goes by "Amazon." lol. He's part of a samba-drumming team, so that was the ostensible purpose of the party. Although really, it just ended up as a drinking picnic.
And we weren't the only ones with this idea, either. ^_^ I took these pictures pretty early on in the day, so it was still fairly empty--it got a *lot* busier later on. 
Amazon and some of his friends broke out the drums and started playing for a good chunk of the party. That's "Amazon" on the right. And yes, he seems to usually dress like that. 
It got pretty active, too--they were giving drumming lessons, and several people came over to dance. It lasted for a while--until some self-important grandma decided we were being a nuisance and called the equivalent of the park security to come over and hush us up. (we knew it was her, because we saw her gesturing and shaking her finger at the security people after, lol).
Rikako was at the party, too, as were several other people who'd been at hanami last week. Although Satoshi was MIA, off "being an idiot" as Rikako surmised. "Baka" seems to be her favorite way to describe Satoshi (lol).
And of course, true to form, there was a 二次会 afterparty as well, although I didn't go. Had to get up pretty early to get to Yoyogi, plus I stayed up pretty late Friday night cause we had a donuts-hot cocoa-movie party at Felicia's. ^_^
But then, we actually ended up having an "afterparty" of our own, lol. Jeff's old college roommate was visiting, and Jeff wanted to show him Thrash Zone. Of course, Jeff hadn't been there yet himself, and as the place is absolutely impossible to give anyone directions to, Molly, Jason and I went along to show them the way.
Fun!
This past weekend I spent doing....花見 Hanami!!!!! For those of you wondering, hanami is the Japanese tradition of cherry-blossom viewing. Which, of course, is code for "sit out in the park hopefully near some cherry blossoms, and have a big giant party with your friends." The party I went to was (if you remember) the annual bash hosted by Satoshi, who I met at that beer-tasting with Molly and Ben back at the beginning of break. And it really was a big party. It was at a park in Ichigaya, and probably close to a hundred people showed up.
I went with Molly, Ben, Marshall, and Jason. Satoshi was there, in full form--black leather pants, orange shirt, bright-pink feather boa, and this sort of blue mesh cowboy-hat thing. Yeah. But it was lots of fun. I saw Rikako and Izumi again (who I'd met with Satoshi the first time), as well as make lots of new friends. And the weather was *perfect!* Here's a photo of some of the people I was hanging out with. The other gaijin, second to the left, is Zel; the one sitting to her right is my friend from before, Rikako; then Yukiko; and me. (I can't remember the name of the woman on the far left--oops. I'm bad with names). 
The party went on for a while--started at 11, though we got there around noon. The party broke up around 5pm, which is when we left, although Satoshi was taking numbers for an "after-party" at an izakaya nearby. LOL.
One last picture of the flowers! ^_^ 
Molly and everyone were meeting some other IUC-ers for Indian food and then the first drinking-in-the-park party of the year. But the reason I left was to meet up with a non-IUC friend (*gasp!*) to go to a bar in Jiyugaoka and play darts! XD My friend plays in competitions and stuff, so she was teaching me how to play. Darts became fairly popular in Japan a few years back, so there are actually lots of darts bars around the Tokyo/Yokohama area. It was lots of fun, and I caught on enough that after the first couple times, I wasn't missing the board anymore (lol). We stayed late enough that I missed my train, so my friend let me crash at her place--yay, sleepover!
So...I didn't get home til Sunday afternoon! >_<
Cause it's Yale spring break, so Stever-sensei, my 3rd year Japanese teacher at Yale, has been in Japan checking out possible language schools and stuff for the Light Fellowship (I think, anyway). But more importantly, she took all of the Tokyo (former) Yalies out to a fantabulous dinner! Along with Stever-sensei, my 1st year Japanese teacher, Nishimura-sensei was there, too, which was a really nice surprise. なつかしいなぁ～ On the student side (well, sort of) was me, Jason, and Jeff from IUC, plus 3 other recent Yale grads who are currently in Tokyo on other programs, or working, or whatever.
The restaurant we went to is called Ninja Akasaka (Akasaka being the area of Tokyo it's in), and 名前どおり、it's a Ninja restaurant! The door is small and fairly unobtrusive; you go through it into a dim room with dark wood paneling that has a reception desk and nothing else. When your party is all gathered, the receptionist calls out, a small door in the wall opens, and a ninja comes out! The ninja leads you through another door, and down a winding, labyrinth-like hall to your table. There's steep steps, little river-things, and a bridge that lowers down from the wall. Then you get to your table!
The staff are all dressed as ninjas, and the menu is on a ninja-scroll looking thing. The food was also really good. It's sort of an a la carte menu, so we ordered a bunch of small things to share. Some highlights:
Sushi boat! 
This really cool grapefruit thing with a sword stuck through it, and when they pulled the sword out, all this smoke came pouring out. 
A super-yummy soup that the "ninjas" made at the table. 
And finally...a "froggy" dessert! かわいい！ 
We finally had to leave the restaurant cause they needed the table for the next group, but that didn't mean the night was over. ^^ Cause next up was karaoke! Hadn't been in ages, so that was lots of fun. Also, Stever-sensei is amazing! She's got this super strong, low voice, sort of like a Stevie Nicks (sp? lol) or a Carly Simon. Anyway, she and Nishimura-sensei were getting all fired up singing songs they remembered from college and stuff. Then Jeff, Southerner extraordinaire, started up an impromptu marathon of Credence Clearwater Revival songs. lol.
It was fun times! We took the last train home from Shibuya--which, incidentally, only went as far as Yokohama station, so Jason, Jeff and I had to split a cab the rest of the way.
So, there's every possibility that my Spring Break will turn into a veg-fest eventually, but it has definitely not been lacking in excitement so far.
Thursday after class I went with Jason, Jeff, Molly, and Misa to go see "The Golden Compass," which I had been wanting to see for a while (sorry Mom!). It was pretty good. Not as good as the book, obviously. There were definitely some problems, some places where the movie felt kind of jerky, or like it moved too quickly. And that ending! (if you've read the books, you know what I'm talking about) But there were also several moments that really resonated with the book. Seeing the movie, though, really made me want to read the books again! (-_-) But I don't have them with me *sigh*
Anyway.
That sounds like it ought to be the name of some kind of band.
Nevertheless, last weekend! Jack Cafe, for the 3人 joint birthday party was lots of fun. turns out Jack Cafe is this 50s-style American hamburger joint. or, the Japanese conception of what a 50s-style American burger joint would be like. there were a lot of us, so Jeff just arranged a bunch of appetizers and stuff, for a flat fee. Hence, no burgers, but the rest of the food was surprisingly good. they served chips with actual guacamole, which totally made my day--and the fries were really good, too. but just in case anyone started to forget we were in Japan, there were about 20 jars of mayonnaise stacked on the counter.
なるほど。
then Saturday was 久しぶりのThrash Zone (yay!). the place was really full, so we ended up standing down near the end of the bar, but that was ok. It's always a really neat crowd in there--lots of people who seem like regulars and friends of the bartender, and very relaxed. Misa was adorable, though. she was totally staking out the tv, waiting for the end of whatever music dvd they were playing, because the instant it ended, she jumps in with "So what DVD are you playing next?" and the bartender, a man who clearly knows a hint when it hits him over the head, goes "Did you want to pick something?" to which Misa replies "AC/DC!!" and points at the shelf, to the dvd she's clearly been eyeing since we arrived.
LOL.
anyway, it was fun times as usual. b(^_^)d
So, last night at Jack Cafe was lots of fun. About to head out to Thrash Zone right now, tho, so I'll write a more detailed update on the weekend's events later.
This is just to give a shout out, and also because I'm updating the video.
This week is a sort of alt-rock style band that I've recently come to like a lot, called Kelun. They just made their major-label debut, and this is their first song, called "Signal." I like the album a lot. There's another song of their's, "Heartbeat," on the music player I added over there in the new left column.
<---
love,
~sarah
For the past couple weeks I've been hearing, "So, what are you and your friends doing this weekend? You're not going anywhere? Just staying at home? Well, you and your friends sure have been boring lately."
So, Mom, this is for you. I'm actually going to get out and do some things this weekend.
Tonight (I have to leave in about 10 minutes, actually), I'm going to a joint birthday party for Jeff, Andre, and Aragorn, who all have birthdays within the next week or so. There's a bunch of IUC-ers coming, so from what I understand, they basically rented out this place, Jack's Cafe, for a flat rate for about 2 hours. There'll be appetizers and drinks, and lots of people, so I'm looking forward to that.
Then, tomorrow night, I have plans to go with Molly, Jason, and Misa to....Thrash! I'm very much looking forward to this, as I haven't been to Thrash since...the night before I flew home for Christmas. Which is another story. Lol. Molly actually went back there with Andre on Christmas eve, but I don't think she's been back since. Wonder if the bartender will remember us? ;-P I think probably. I mean, it's not exactly a gaijin-trap, and I'd bet we're the only group that comes barging in there on a regular basis.
The rest of the weekend will probably be consumed by homework, as we've got rather a lot at the moment, especially in bungaku.
Oh! Speaking of which, business japanese. We've been doing these practical, work-related conversations, that sort of continue on with the same characters, &c. And last week we Ari-sensei had us string them all together and film them. Today in class we watched the video, which was sufficiently embarrassing for all involved. Lol. But Ari-sensei has promised to post it to the IUC server, so as soon as she does, I'll figure out some way to upload it here for all to see.
So, お楽しみして下さい、ねぇ～
Sunday, I took the kyudo 審査 test (shinsa), for 初段shodan, in other words 1st dan. I was really nervous, and it was a looooong day. The test was at the budokan where I usually practice, which I was happy about--sort of a home dojo advantage, if you will. At any rate, it was nice to not have to be all nervous in a new place, on top of everything else.
I had to get over to the budokan by 9am, so the plan was to wake up at about 7 to have time for some coffee and breakfast, hit up the ATM, grab a bento (cause sensei said I should bring one), and get to the budokan before 9 to beat the check-in rush.
As I said, that was the plan. What actually happened was that I woke up at 8 (the time I'd planned to *leave* the apartment originally), frantically threw on some clothes, had no time for coffee, grabbed my stuff, and ran out the door. To find that the ATM was inexplicably closed. Grabbed some food (and coffee) from the combini, and still managed to make it to the budokan right at 9am. A feat of which I am actually quite proud.
Of course, getting to the budokan at 9am was just to check in. The actual testing is done by number. And I was #386. Out of 387. Suffice it to say, I had a sizeable wait. Shodan is a fairly beginner rank, so it was basically me...and 300 high school students. They're, well, I'll stick with energetic.
I wasn't actually scheduled to begin my testing until 2pm. But that was the written part, so it gave me some time to study.
See, the kyudo exam for rank has both a shooting part (obviously) and a written test. At shodan level, the written is fairly simple, but given my severe lack of studying and the *small* fact that the test was in Japanese (of course), and sans dictionary, I was a little nervous. It turned out all right, though. The main essay question--thank goodness!--was basically, "what good effects kyudo has had on your daily life," that sort of thing. Basically the same sort of thing I've been writing for speeches and compositions for class all year. And I have to admit, it was pretty gratifying to see the sort of taken-aback look on the test proctor's face when little old gaijin me handed in a full page of Japanese. ^_^ lol
Then, the shooting part, which I was nervous about, a little bit, but mostly just COLD. I missed both my arrows, but the shots were all right. I guess it must have been good enough, cause I PASSED!!! ^_^
And here's the picture to prove it! They posted the results by stamping 合格 (pass) or 不合格 (didn't pass) above everybody's names. I'm the second from the left column--second to last, like I said. I took a picture of it with my cell phone. Cause, well, all the high-schoolers were doing it, so it seemed like the thing to do. hehe.
Apologies for the lack of updates, it's been kind of busy around here, 3-day weekend notwithstanding. But, in exchange, now you get a whole bunch all at once! (here you go, mom)
So, I was all prepared for a boring Friday night--snuggled up in my room watching dramas. Which is what I was doing, until I got an aim from Jason, at midnight: "Felicia wants to hang out, you coming?" Honestly, going out at midnight like that, it felt almost like being back at Yale again. So we met up with Felicia and went over to her room, in Toriumi Haimu, which is a building that several IUC-ers live in. Despite the fact that it's *really* close to me, it was the first time I'd been over there. And I was sufficiently jealous. Felicia's room used to be a double (her roommate moved out) and it's huge! Especially compared to my little half-a-shoebox. Of course, it was pretty cold--the Haimu has no central heating, and about as much insulation as your average Japanese building--which is to say it's barely distinguishable from the outside temperatures. Still, she has multiple rooms, including a dining table and a real kitchen, with a sink, and counter, and a real size fridge and everything! Can you tell I'm jealous?
(^_^)
We ended up staying at Felicia's until around 4am, hanging out. We caught Jeff, who lives down the hall, on his way back home, so he came over too. Lots of fun, tho the 4am part was a little rough the next day, seeing as I went to kyudo practice all afternoon, though fortunately not until noon, so it wasn't too bad. Usually I tend to skip the weekend practices--sheer laziness, I admit. But I had to go to the one on Saturday because....
Sunday I took the kyudo test! XD
And more about that in the next post!
I go home for Christmas on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, now that's out of my system...
Lol.
But this will probably be my last post before I go home. I'm going in to Shibuya tonight to meet Rebecca's' friend from UNC, who's in Tokyo doing research. So we're going to have dinner somewhere around there, and that should be a lot of fun.
Then, tomorrow, bright and early, I have to haul ass over to the budokan for the 月例会 monthly kyudo tournament. Since it's a morning one, it will probably last all day--I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get home until around 5pm?
Then, I'm most likely meeting Molly, Misa, and perhaps some others for an okonomiyaki dinner, and then potentially another trip to Thrash Zone?
Oh, right! I forgot! So last night (Thursday), in honor of being done with class and all the tests, I went out with Jason, Molly, Katie, Felicia, and Tim to this place Molly found near Yokohama eki called "Thrash Zone."
Molly wanted to go there because, according to the description online, it was a "thrash metal bar" with a "cozy atmosphere," wood paneling, and a plant in the corner.
.... and that appealed to her sense of humor.
It's also a microbrew place, which is fairly rare in Japan, so we were looking forward to getting the chance to try some truly yummy beers, as well. And we were not disappointed, in any respect.
Thrash Zone turned out to be this absolutely tiny place on the 2nd floor of a rundown building. It was certainly cozy though, and apart from lots of Iron Maiden-esque record covers decorating the walls and Ozzy playing (very quietly and politely) in the background, it wasn't terribly "thrashy." The place was also mostly salaryman-types--including this one 社長 who had lived in Boston and was very excited about speaking English with us. Felicia got stuck talking to him (sorry!) but Molly, Jason, and I ended up down at the other end of the bar and had a really interesting conversation with these two thirtysomething guys who seemed to be somewhat regulars. They were really nice, though, and didn't make any attempts to speak English with us, so it was good practice.
So anyway, it's been a busy several days, and will continue to be so, right up until I leave, I feel. But I'll try to post again a couple of times when I get home--though it will be break, so don't expect much.
One last thing:
this week's video!
Takky & Tsubasa, "Samurai"
not exactly "traditional" in that sense, but...
Lol.
feel the love. i know you do.
I don't think I've mentioned this in the blog yet, but I decided after all to go home for Christmas (15 days to go, yay!)
Because of that, I had to go down to the Immigration Office after school today to get my 再入国許可 Re-Entry Permit, so that I could actually come back to Japan after my break is done. Lol.
While I waited for my paperwork to be processed, this video was playing on repeat, in several languages, on TV screens all around the room.
The video highlights Japan's new security policy, implemented as of Nov. 1 this year, the gist of which is that in an attempt to combat terrorism, all foreigners entering Japan will be fingerprinted and photographed. This includes not just tourists, but also foreigners resident in Japan--so in other words, when I come back to Yokohama in January, my fingerprints will be on file with the Japanese government. The beginning of the video describes the procedures for how the fingerprints will be taken, and then the bulk of the rest shows footage from the 9/11 attcks, the London Underground bombings, and various other terrorist incidents, implying that by fingerprinting all foreigners Japan will be able to protect itself from such things.
I've got to admit, it's a little bit of an unnerving thought, although from what I understand it's not all that different from the current "US Visit" system for foreigners entering the states. There hasn't been as much discussion about the policy here as you might think--other than the Tourist Office being worried that the new procedures will discourage people from traveling to Japan. But it's big news in the expat/blog community, where words like "discrimination" and "interrogation" get tossed around frequently, with other people proclaiming that the new policy has caused them to cut Japan out of their travel plans.
Having not experienced the process firsthand, I don't really know what I think yet. I wouldn't go so far to say it's a reason to stay away from Japan, but I do understand the feelings, for instance, of people who are longtime, tax-paying residents and now must have their fingerprints on file. Especially in a country where most people don't own any kind of photo identification (and aren't required to), and the most common form of ID is a Health Insurance card.
Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure what I think about all this yet, really, but I just thought I'd share.
A little oxymoronic, I know (oxymoronic. Is that even a word? Damn, my English is starting to go...)
Anyway, since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving as such in Japan, a bunch of the IUC students decided to do a big Thanksgiving potluck. It was held over in the house that Bridget, Travis, Connor, and Ben R. are sharing--because that's the only place big enough to hold all of us--and was a phenomenal success. I'd say 30-some people showed, which is crazy, especially considering the whole program's only like 45 or so students.
We had a huge array of food, too. I'd been wracking my brain for something I could bring that was sufficiently Thanksgiving-y, but also something I could make in my (pathetic excuse for a) kitchen. Originally I'd been thinking black bean salad, but I had to give that up upon discovering that finding black beans in Japan is like...well, I can't really think of a good analogy, but it's *hard.* At last I hit upon the brilliant idea of deviled eggs, for which all the ingredients are readily available (the Japanese L-O-V-E mayonnaise, they put it on everything--even pizza, ick). They took a while to make, cause I have one small pot and can therefore only boil about 5 eggs at a time. But eventually I got it all done, so that was good.
Amy M--bless her!--brought mashed potatoes, and there was also cranberry sauce (the good homemade kind), green bean casserole, rolls, salad... It was a success.
We had all the Thanksgiving essentials except...a turkey. We heard about a place where one could buy frozen turkeys, but the problem was that nobody has an oven, or one large enough to cook a whole turkey. So the next thought was to grab some kind of roast duck from Chinatown (fowl is fowl), but when Felicia and Aaron showed up at the house, it was with the disheartening message that roast ducks in Chinatown are quite expensive, so they brought several cartons of shumai and dumplings instead. Lol. The closest we got to a bird all day was when Marshall showed up with an 8-piece bucket from KFC.
But it was still a pretty darn good Thanksgiving. People hung around at the house for several hours, and afterwards came over to Odori Koen by my apartment--Jason having enlightened them on the joys of drinking cheap beer out in the park with all the homeless おじいさん. So there were literally about 15 gaijin drinking out in the park until about 11pm, being sufficiently rowdy and getting many stares from some very confused Japanese people.
So, this is a very important post for any future Light Fellows who, like me, want to do some combination of summer and academic year at two different programs.
Since you're allowed to be in Japan for up to 90 days as a tourist, or "temporary visitor" without a visa, for the summer programs like HIF a visa is not necessary. For a year-long program like IUC a visa is necessary, but the staff there are prepared for this, and will help you get whatever type of visa is needed. However, according to IUC staff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the Japanese consulate, and pretty much anywhere else official that I looked, while one can switch from one type of visa to another (say, from "student" to "worker"), it is impossible to go from being a "temporary visitor" to having a visa without leaving Japan. Herein lay the problem.
BUT...having 1) read that sometimes if asked nicely, Japanese immigration will grant you a visa, and 2) heard from a previous Light Fellow that he had received a visa in-country...I thought it was possible that I might be able to get my visa in Japan as well (the alternative being to make a quick trip to Korea, Hong Kong, or some other nearby country with a Japanese consulate).
With that in mind, I headed over to the Yokohama Immigration Office as soon as I arrived. I had prepared a whole sob story, about how I really needed my visa and didn't have enough money/time to go to Korea, and could they please, please give me a visa in Japan... I approached the information desk nervously, ready to beg, plead, and bribe--however no sooner had I gotten out that I wanted to switch from temporary visitor to my cultural activities visa, then the man at the desk interrupted my carefully rehearsed story with a matter-of-fact "Fill out these two forms and go to the second window." And that was the end of the story. One week and 4000 Yen later, I got my visa; and at no time did anyone at Immigration seem to think that what I wanted was anything but perfectly normal.
So--The Moral of the Story:
No matter what the MOFA site and anyone you might speak to in the States says, it is 100% possible to get your visa in between programs, without leaving Japan. And I hope this tale saves any future Light Fellows the stress and worry that I went through.
**P.S. Another small note: although they never actually checked mine at Customs, in order to enter Japan as a "temporary visitor," you are supposed to have proof (i.e. a ticket to somewhere) that you will be leaving Japan within 90 days. In this case, the best thing is to either buy a refundable ticket (what I did), or a ticket home that you can then change to the date you actually want to go home.