Tsudzukemashou!

That means let's continue, ladies n' gents.  So, last time I left off, I had just described my first full day in Japan, which was wintastic.  I'm probably going to leave out some things since things have really whirled by (attention psych majors:  screw the primacy/recency effect), but here goes. The next few days were pretty chill; we had a couple of orientations on Thursday and Friday in the mornings, including the obligatory campus tour (which I will have more to say about once I start taking electives in other buildings).  Thursday night, we had a sweet welcoming party at an izakaya, or Japanese-style pub.  We dined on a ton of cool stuff; sashimi of all kinds, kara age (which is sort of like tempura, but not quite--I have yet to hear a coherent explanation on this), and fried rice, plus some other cool stuff on the side.  Friday evening was spent not doing things; we'd been busy basically since we'd landed, so taking things slow was a pleasant change of pace.  Saturday, us kids and the roommates went to Yodobashi Camera.  This is basically how I would describe the store:  If you have ever reaped the tiniest bit of joy from purchasing any device or appliance, or any toy or game, then this place is heaven.

Before I discuss my pure rapture, here's a quick dossier of dudes.  There's Sean and his roommate Taku, Shane and Toma, Diane and Asami, and Karen and Shoko, plus your correspondent.  No, my roommate has not yet entered the plot, but he might be materializing soon.  (To answer your question, why yes, he is indeed at rugby camp.)  Other characters will be introduced as they appear, of course.

Anyway.  Yodobashi Camera is that place you've wanted to go your whole life without even knowing it.  Seriously.  It's nine floors of kickass, each devoted to different varieties of devices, which in turn are all way smarter than their cousins in the U.S.  That's right, kids, even your toaster can handle differential equations in this strangely similar but utterly more advanced planet I've landed on.  On this trip, I snagged a camera; as for my old camera, well, either I had wisely elected to forget it at home, or it exited my luggage sometime during my trip over, perhaps due to how hideously long it was.  Hey, if I could've stepped out, I would've too.  I also scored a peripheral allowing me to plug my laptop into the outlets here.  Powering up my laptop for the first time in nearly a week, I felt much as I imagine my ancestors did when the secret of fire was unraveled.  More chilling out ensued that weekend.  I should interject that all of the first week and a half we visited various and diverse restaurants--from the neon-lit establishments catering to shoppers in towering department stores to holes-in-the-wall that could well be overlooked as a mere fluctuation in color along the side of a building except for the loud banners heralding their existence--all of which serve delicious noodle dishes, chicken and fish delicately fried in the Japanese style, be it tempura or katsu, and plenty of miso soup and the super-sticky white rice on the side.

Monday, unfortunately, was the day reality set in.  Well, it made a valiant effort to, anyway.  It was indeed our first day of classes, but, still bemused as we were by our being in Japan, we were all basically in summer vacation mode.  This was a bad call, since our instructors decided to assign us about a million hours of homework due the next.  Seriously, you guys, I have never received so much homework on the first day of school, or indeed, on most days of school.  Gripped in mindless panic, I did the only thing I could do--I went to the Gasto with Sean.

What is the Gasto?  I am damned glad you asked.  The restaurant's name is supposed to be "Gusto", but for like no reason, it was decided to be named ガースト, which sounds like "Gahsutoh".  More importantly though, this is where the gangsters go to dine on somewhat ghetto imitations of Western food, such as spaghetti, pizza, and a "hambuger patty", and--here's the kicker--get infinite drinks.  Seriously.  For a flat price, you can have all the coffee, tea, soda, and assorted hot beverages (like coconut milk and hot chocolate) you can drink, a limit I have more than once reached.  The clientèle, as I have previously suggested, is divided into bleached-hair, goth-looking badasses who want their damned fake hamburgers, and extremely old people, who are a prominent constituency in most settings.  In short, going to the Gasto is always an experience, and has indeed become a synonym by which we measure how gangster a person is--do they go to the Gasto?  Not very often?  The highest compliment that can be paid is to assume that one is employed at the Gasto, to enjoy bottomless mochas as they please.

So yeah, last week was quite stressful on account of the fact that we received an obscene amount of homework.  But not all was getting our asses kicked over and over:  We took some field trips in our afternoon class to various sights around Osaka, such as the megamall HEP 5--a convenient plan given that we'd already been several times by ourselves.  On that trip, I hit the arcade at the top of the mall, where Sean and I played giant Tetris with meter-high joysticks and ogled, with frothing mouths, at all sorts of merchandise from Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and other big-name manga series, not to mention the staggering array of Pokemon products.  The few nights of freedom that punctuated the week consisted of chill hang-outs in our apartments, just us and our Japanese homies.  These are really great; we usually go for English rather than Japanese in that setting, and since on the whole our pals know way more English than we do Japanese, it's a good way for everyone to get to know each other a little better.  For example, I am pleased to report that, after watching Superbad with my friends, penis humor does indeed successfully translate across cultures and languages.

You guys, we have truly entered the golden age of mankind, a time when all youth, regardless of background, can hold hands and say in a single voice, "Prepare to be fucked by the long dick of the law!"

So, that's what I've got for now.  Actually, I should be writing an essay and studying for a test right now, but a typhoon is coming in tomorrow, and there's a chance that classes will be out, so I'm using that as an excuse to pretend like it's cool for me to procrastinate.  NEXT TIME:  My awesome weekend, including my first trip out to karaoke, the most legit sushi experience ever, a trip to a truly gigantic waterpark and its artificial hot springs, and my visit to the Osaka Pokemon Center?!