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So I am back in Japan now. The feeling is kind of strange as I am surrounded by familiarity in a decidedly foreign place. I have already had a couple of conversations in Japanese and I feel a little embarrassed to speak because it has been so long (well, only about eight months actually) since I have used the language in a working context.
I flew Northwest airlines for the first time today. Their hub is in Detroit, so I flew there first before heading to Osaka. Most airports have a central area with a few terminals branching off and possibly different ranges of gates branching off from the terminals. Detroit Metro was one huge long linear corridor with gates A1 through A-seventy-something all lined up one after the other.
I started to walk along the "moving carpet" in the direction of my gate when I noticed overhead a bright red bullet shaped monorail shuttle scarcely making a sound as it rushed passed overhead. Keen to investigate, I took the walking carpet back to the escalator in hopes of getting a closer look. There I discovered it would take me to my gate!
A sign written in English and Japanese with Japanese being, strangely enough, the dominant type indicated how long the wait would be. The red led clock embedded in the sign counted down in minutes and seconds subtley adjusting the time as some hidden computer controller estimated the progress of the train. It reminded me of taking the realtime course at Waterloo.
Northwest is OK. I found the service to be reasonable; not rude, but not very friendly either. I was on a 6300 series 747-400 if that means anything to you. The interior seemed a little aged. The food was not great and the stale bun came with some "Real Buttery Flavor (TM) Cream" which tasted salty and awful instead of real butter, though I was probably one of the few to notice. On an equally trivial, but positive note, the armrest sported a mini-stereo jack compatible with those used on most headphones as opposed to the dual mini-phono jack that I assumed was an airline industry standard.
I wonder why airlines use those funny dual pronged headphone jacks. Maybe it gives the airline the option of selling headphones. I remember when they used to use those long plastic flexible wind tube style headphones with the foam earplugs on the end. It resembled a stethescope and I guess there were little speakers in the armrest creating the sound which was carried by the hollow tupes to your ears. Those had a dual prong plug with one tube eventually leading to each ear. Maybe the contemporary dual mini-phono jack is just a stylistic anachronism.
The flight was uneventful and I slept for most of it. Things only became interesting again upon my arrival at Kansai International. The line at customs was short and I filled out the disembarkation card while shuffling along. You need to indicate name, age, passport number, home address, address in Japan, flight name and number, and purpose and lenght of stay. I turned over my passport and the card. The girl at customs did not ask a single question, put a sticker in my passport and waived me through.
The next area is the baggage search and declarations area. They have men in cute uniforms with white gloves behind low stainless steel counters each with an X-Ray machine to the side. Scrolling text in red LEDs indicates that no drugs, obscene material, illegally copied items or contraband is allowed. Good thing I left my counterfeit pornography wrapped joints at home.
I walked up to the man and we stared at each other. Him expecting me to know what to do, and me expecting him to tell me. I said I have some alcohol. He mumbled something about opening my bags and asking if I have anything illegal. I opened one of my bags and showed him the bottle of wine. He said "Ok, ok, no drugs or anything illegal?" I said, obviously, "No". And then he said something that, regardless of situation, context, or language was very clear to understand: "Body search"
I have read some scary things about Japanese customs. It seems that foreigners do not have much "rights" when entering the country.
He waved another man over and indicated I was to proceed with him. The new man said "Nihongo wakarimasu ka?" which means "Do you understand Japanese?" I said, in Japanese, "A little" which he took to mean "Yes" and we proceeded to talk in Japanese from then.
We started walking towards the near wall. There was the sliding glass door entrance to freedom. Beside that, there was a glass window to a currency exchange booth. Then a door that looked like it might be to an office and beside that there was a partition made with high office cubicle style walls against the main wall. We headed for the partition.
Upon entering the partition you could see that it was divided in two. Presumably if you entered from the other side you were presented with a similar room. The room was pretty spartan. From right to left there was a chair and, in front of the chair, a little square of carpet on the floor with a pair brown leather japanese slippers neatly aligned. Continuing on, a square white melamine table. The only item on the table was a clear plastic medical pump bottle with red Japanese writing on the outside. The bottle was filled with a clear fluid and I can only guess it was either antisceptic or lubricant. Gulp.
He asked me to empty my pockets and we continued talking in Japanese with him asking what I was doing, where I was staying, where I was coming from, and then, as I continued to respond, how I knew Japanese. He had me take off my shoes and briefly inspected them. And then he said "Marijuana's popular in Canada isn't it." I smiled and said "Yes". He asked if I brought any which I declined. Then I volunteered that my Japanese friends smoke up when they go to Canada. He asked if I smoke marijuana and I said no. He smiled and said "Ima daijoubu?" indicating my baggage and clothes which means basically "you're not bringing any trouble now are you?" and I said "diajoubu" "I'm clean".
He thanked me, wished me well, and sent me on my way. The whole exchange was rather pleasant and I think he assessed pretty quickly that I was OK and maybe his collegue was being unecessarily suspicious. Still, in retrospect, talking about drugs with a customs officer in a language where you would describe your skill level as "conversational" is not without an element of risk.
All in all, my first "body search" went quite well.
I am at an Internet cafe now. A little tired and weary I may forgo the customary Friday night partying and find somewhere to sleep with a hot Japanese ... bath.
Tomorrow a few of my friends are in town and I will try to connect with them. Stay tuned for more.
I will be returning to Japan on Thursday! I applied for and was accepted to a one month exchange program between Renison College, one of the colleges affiliated with the University of Waterloo where Japanese language classes are taught, and Poole Gakuin University, a school in Osaka.
木曜日に日本に戻ります。卒業したばかりけれど、もう一回留学生になって一ヶ月大阪のプール学院大学で日本語を勉強します。日本にいればパーティしましょう。
エクスチェンジをしてないとき仕事を探すので仕事の情報があれば手伝ってくださいね！
April 30 - Arrive in Osaka
May 7 - Exchange program begins
June 5 - Exchange program ends
June 14 - Return to Canada
４月３０日 - 大阪に着く
５月７日 － 日本語の勉強が始まる
６月５日 －日本語の勉強が終わる
６月１４日 －カナダに帰る
Yesterday I wrote my last exam ever. The significance was much greater than that of my last day of classes or last assignment, both of which passed with little notice, as it was the single final academic effort in my undergraduate career. I found far greater satisfaction than I expected in ending and I was beaming brightly like the sun for the rest of the sunny afternoon.
I have a favourably selective memory which allows me to see the past in much more positive terms than perhaps actually existed. For school, this means the exam anxiety, homework stress, and activity overload fade into shadows whereas the bright experiences, dancing at fed hall, playing soccer, even working with friends in the computer labs, stand out.
Before everything does fade away, both good and bad, let me try to recall some of the experience. This will be the mini version of my university memoirs.
By my last year in high school, I did not know where I wanted to study, or even more importantly, what I wanted to study. The glossy brochures all showed pictures of boys and girls, older than me, of mixed race, gender, and style, smiling in computer labs, libraries, and workshops unravelling the mysteries of the world with keen satisfaction. It was obvious I would be entering a sanctuary of happiness and enlightenment. The issue was which sanctuary.
I had been taking Computer Science classes in high school and discovered that some of my good friends and classmates from that program would be applying to Computer Science at Waterloo. From an early age I had a fascination with computers and electronics that I had failed to notice as unique. When really young, I just assumed that everything that interested me would interest anyone else.
My dad had an Osborne "portable" computer. It was the size of a suitcase and weighed as much as if you had filled that suitcase with books. You would lay the suitcase down on its large side, and the top (now facing you) would detach to reveal a keyboard on the inside face. The keyboard would plug into the big suitcase part which presented you with a tiny green CRT screen (comparable to that of an old analogue oscilloscope) and two 5.25 inch floppy disk drives - one on either side of the screen. I believe it could only operate while plugged in.
The Osborne was probably my first experience with computers. I loved that machine. Bright red LED's indicated disk drive access and knobs would control the brightness and contrast of the tiny monitor. I used to use it for word-processing in elementary school. While I was not word processing I would play snake.
The first time I recall doing any programming was on an Atari 800. That device was used mostly for playing games (my favourite was Star Raiders) though I spent countless hours enjoying some of the other popular titles: Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, and of course Space Invaders.
Most people would treat that line of Atari strictly as a cartridge based console game system. My dad, however, in his geeky eccentricity, acquired a myriad of second hand, under-appreciated peripherals and software for the device from people all over town who had, for some inexplicable reason, decided to divest themselves of their precious hardware. The most useful of these acquisitions was a disk drive which allowed one to run various versions of DOS which led to a) more games, available on floppy, and b) a chance for me to program and experiment. I was always excited when Dad brought home a new stack of disks.
Dad also provided me with books and magazines on programming and the Atari. Though not as nerdy as some people must have been at my age, and therefore not too adventurous when it came to my own creations, I would copy program listings from the magazines or books into the Atari and run the programs perhaps tweaking them out of curiosity. In this way, my dad's indulgence and encouragement of my interest in computers planted the seed that would lead me to consider following my friends' inclination to pursue a Computer Science degree at university.
I received other forms of encouragement along the way. In junior high school, my mum bought a 486 SX 33, our first "PC" style computer. An expensive and delicate investment with which my mum, under reassurance from the IT guy who sold it to and set it up for us, allowed me complete freedom. I broke the sole stipulation that I "stay away from File Manager" on our first day of possession. Later that week I rendered the system unbootable by playing with the config.sys file. Needless to say, I have learned a lot since then.
When reflecting on those young interests and given my success and enjoyment doing AP Computer Science at high school, it seemed natural that I would enrol in a Computer Science program in university. My ambitious application to Cambridge University in England was rejected and my top choice became the University of Waterloo. With many friends going to Waterloo and with the approval and support of my high school teachers, I packed my bags to move East.
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Tune in next time for Undergrad - First Year
I will be going to Japan for a month and a half (I will post details about that seperately), leaving on April 29th! Consequently, the apartment that I planned to hang onto for the summer I would now like to sublet. Details:
15 Dietz Ave North, Waterloo, Ontario
Beside Westmount Place
15-20 minute walk to campus
$230 / month including utilities
May 2004 - August 2004
If you are interested, email me (sublet at globalconquest dot ca), ICQ me, or phone me at 722 1905. More information below...
This is the exterior.
This is the homey interior. Chef Will and banana bread not included. Ok, I might include banana bread if you ask nicely.
The outside is not much to look at, but the apartment is high quality and in good condition which contrasts with most of the typical Waterloo student ghetto. The common area and bathroom floors are tiled. The rooms are hardwood floors. The fridge and stove are new and work well. The bathroom is nice.
The bedroom has incandescent lights facing the ceiling to provide bright indirect lighting. You will appreciate this if you have lived in, for instance, WCRI with the buzzing flourescent fixtures.
The unit is a basement unit which will be nice in the summer being a little cooler. The windows, however, are big and provide a lot of natural light.
Common room furnishings are included: table, chairs, couch, TV stand. The bedroom is unfurnished, but I could leave a table, shelving unit, and mirror.
Laundry is in the basement and is coin operated. A wash costs $1.50 and so does a dry.
Parking is available.
You would be living with my three girl friends... er... friends that are girls. They are clean, friendly, and studious.