Actually, I am not fond of that metaphor - it is less like this road is coming to an end, and more like I am crossing a border. A prime example from my past voyages comes to mind; Scavone, Cassidy, Zach, and I were driving through the redwood forests of Northern California. Eventually this road made it to the shoreline, curvining and winding up and down hecticly, the night descending on the already ark forest -- when suddenly we burst past the trees, the ground levelled in a plateau, and the uncovered twilight brightened the car significantly. Suddenly the road straightened significantly; we could see the sea, further inland, and the cloudly sky all very clearly and things levelled into a sort of comforting, beautiful and bland kind of barren landscape. This is allusion is much more fitting, despite some clouds and one or two obstructive buildings, I am heading into a more level and calm, much more familiar and endearing time. The previous setting, wild, nerve-wracking, but fun in an intense way will fade into the background...
...But, as those obstructions are so few, let me quickly mention the most prominent. Although I have a date set to return home, in my mind that I am happily telling everyone, I have just learned it is not completely certain. Basically I have been counting on Steve (my step-dad) starting his job with United this week, providing me cheap or free tickets, but they are somewhere between unorganized and messing around with him. I will probably still leave on Wednesday, but if he gets a call saying he needs to start a bit later...well, maybe I'll be here for another few days. It's not a huge deal, but it is discomforting for me to go from thinking I'll have my tickets today and that I can tell NASIC my check-out date tomorrow, to hoping I can give them a definitive date by Friday. Oh well, what can you do?
Now, the astute will notice a big difference from my last two posts -- I am not just openly talking about leaving, I am openly talking about leaving in a week. What happened here? Well,...since about last Thursday or Friday (depending on your location) I have been kind of disputing with AU over a tuition refund. The details are a tad hazy, so I am uncomfortable delving into too much detail. Basically I was getting fed some news that the AU Abroad policy was not to do refunds, which kind of goes against everything AU Abroad supposedly stands for. Added to this Waseda is totally willing to do refunds for students if they apply on time, I basically got annoyed and argued a lot. I also felt insulted by some parts of the exchange, and in turn may have hurt my advisor's feelings...inspiring him to prove my statements against him were unfounded, by (supposedly) taking up my case. Which kind of leaves me at a point where I don't know how far my argument got, and how far my advisor's support got (either way thank you!). In anycase, the result is a partial refund and confirmation from both schools that I have withdrawn from Waseda for this semester. Tuition was the main contingent holding me back since about Thursday, and was resolved as of Saturday or so -- after that I was only unwilling to talk about it as I had not received any sort of official confirmation until Saturday evening.
As for the other part, why I am leaving next week rather than a month from now as originally planned, there are two reasons. First...I just don't feel comfortable continuing in the care of the Japanese health care system. For those that did not read my last post, I will truncate most of my woes into this summation: Stubborness and Language Barrier. It is not important how much of this is actual, this is what my experience so far has told me exists (I am finding myself doubting how bad some of the doctors/nurses' English actually is, though there seems to be an obvious and surprising lack in English medical vocabular for most of them). I want to have an check-up/physical in both a language and context I am familiar and comfortable with. The second reason is that I want to work for three solid months (May, June, July) if I can, which requires returning home well...before May. Actually, let's add a third reason -- my little bro's b-day is on the 30th, I doubt I'll see him for it but it is a possibility.
I have more to talk about, primarily about this concert I went to (Stance Punks) and how my medical exams went today (special thank you Ben for helping a drugged-out me back to the dorms), but I feel this post has already become pretty long and cumbersome. Instead, I think I would just like to say hello and thank you to all of my dorm mates (and anyone else) who has recently started reading my blog! Hello! Although this blog is coming to an end time-wise, content-wise it should still have a bit to go. So, please stick around until the end! Who knows, when I return to the US I may choose to continue the blog with more general travels, or focus more strongly on that other blog I contribute to.
P.S. I'd also like to note that just about everyone has been pretty super cool about my leaving, even those that had to find out over facebook (or, in at least one case, twitter). I can't really express how grateful I am to everyone for that. My friends, my family, and even I kept telling myself I shouldn't have to worry about it too much, but it is kind of my nature. Anyway -- huge shout out to everyone who has been supportive, thank you so much!
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Hospitals
Now, I am sorry to not conclude the situation from my last post, but the situation is still being resolved. Basically, I do not want to make the situation much messier than it already is. I still do not want to say for certain what I want to happen, as it greatly influences how I will describe this event afterwards - either as an interesting moment in my Waseda career, or else as the end of it. I cannot stop rumors from spreading, but I will state that, if I am to leave early, I would prefer to tell people myself, in person, so as to offend as little as possible. I certainly am not so idealistic as to think I can tell everyone, but I would like to try. It is less important to me to tell people myself if I end up staying, but it would be nicer if I could. I am at my readers' mercy.
So, instead I would like to talk about my various encounters with hospitals and health centers in Japan. I don't know how much everyone knows about this, but I have been in and out, and have plans to be in and out, of more Japanese health centers than any Gaijin ever should. In a sort of sick way (pun intended), it is already becoming one of the major focuses of my Japan experience, rather unique to me. So I would love to share, at least a little bit, of what that has been like.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I have not really been back to the hospital I went to in this post. Instead I have been going to both the Waseda Health Center and the "KokuritsuKokusaiIryou Senta-," or "National International Medical Care Center," both totally different ordeals. Let's start with some general hospital/health care information.
Like everything else in Japan there is a procedure to Hospital adventures. Like every other building or office in Japan, this means going from one counter, to another, to another, until, at the end, you are back at the beginning. Every hospital requires various information forms to be filled out before you can do anything else, but afterwards you receive a card specialized to that particular center. Once you have this card, entering the hospital is a matter of handing in this card and proceeding to your appointment, or answering questions about why you are there (often in the form of a survey -- having my dictionary was very useful so I knew what symptoms I was checking). For general sick appointments, my experience has been pretty consistent. They ask my symptoms, feel my chest, and check my mouth....and that's about it. Regardless of what my symptoms are, my first visit to each hospital has been identical. Afterwards they will either proscribe pills, set up a later meeting, or kind of just tell you to come back if you get worse. From here you go to a counter and pay, and from there either get your pills or go home (sometimes you can get them right there). The doctors seem pretty one-track on what they think you have, and once they decide this they are hard to budge -- to the point of more or less ignoring symptoms if it does not fit what they want of you. I am pretty positive this is why I am having the EKG this week instead of last week, it is rather nerve wracking. The other noteworthy aspect pertains only during the day -- all of the staff will constantly say in a sweet voice "Odaijini" (take care of yourself). It is like how shop owners say like "Irashaimase!!!!" only rather than obnoxious, comforting and sweet.
Moving on, I guess Emergency (night) hospitals should be next. It is an experience I have had twice, at two different locations. Both times were scary. I still feel I owe everyone for help the first time, and last time I feel I really need to thank Negishi-san -- he walked me down again, which took until 4 or 4:30am (the first time we were back by like, 2, which is bad but not quite as bad as birds chirping). This experience of being sick actually makes me long for a roommate, I never realized how hard it is to be sick and have nearly no interaction before -- it is much more disquieting than an a roommate is aggravating, I feel (this is a total 180 as to how I felt even 6 months ago, which I find really funny). Anyway, the only real difference between the emergency hospital and the first visit to a clinic is that the options in terms of tests and medication are much more limited -- not that tests seem very common for the first visit, anyway. This first time this was alright since the medicine worked, the second time it was not alright at all and I went to the health center the very next day. However, these centers are significant in that regular hospitals are closed so frequently - nights, weekends, holidays. Real hospitals also seem to have limited outpatient hours, at Kokuritsu just 8-11am. Pretty crazy.
Next I will talk about real hospitals during the day, to which I have had only one experience with Kokuritsu. Basically, the first floor was very open with different sections. You would check in, than go to the sector to service you -- in my case it was Internal Medicine or something. There are swarms of people just sitting around, waiting to get to different parts (most at the check-out/pay area, though). I guess the coolest part of the place is that there are these aluminum medical cases attached to some belt on the ceiling, that go everywhere in the hospital. I'm not sure what is in them, but they seemed pretty neat. The most disturbing aspect was that all of the rooms where doctors meet patients is really just one room, separated by curtains. It is really odd and awkward. Also, I think I would recommend going to a hospital that advertises speaking in your native tongue, if possible. Using a dictionary to point out symptoms is just not fun. Anyway, the health center is much more interesting so let us move on.
Much like at AU, the building is rather hidden away. Unlike AU, the building is BIG as in TALL! It has many floors, though each floor is kind of small in and of itself. The set-up is much more simple and straight forward than the hospitals -- each floor has a clerk, you start on the second floor to check-in, go the floor you're told to and wait. Do your stuff, go to the next floor you're told to, etc until you're back at the second. Normally it is just a visit to third then back down to second. The real interest here is my EKG story from yesterday, which may well be beat by the story of taking it off tomorrow.
Basically, I was told in advanced that the EKG technician spoke really good English, so I was looking forward to having a doctor I could talk to. Instead, I end up following my doctor whose only word of English is "excuse me." She had me sit down, and then immediately grabbed my shirt and said "Sumimasen" (also excuse me) and lifted it. Without saying anything else she just swabbed my chest, took a sticky EKG node and tried to shove it on. Now, for those unfamiliar, I have a rather hairy chest. Stickers do not stick well to hair. I had expected the clinic to need to shave it, or the woman to try to avoid the hair parts, but no -- she stuck to her guns. Essentially, I went in feeling fine, and found myself under going 30 minutes of a crazy doctor pressing hard against my chest, putting on and tearing off (along with my chest hair) the nodes, swabbing manically my chest with fluid to help the nodes stick, eventually taking a pair of scissors and trying to cut some areas clean (she cut very few hairs, and not all the way, in effect not helping at all), and eventually putting both the bigger back stickers on as well as some sort of medical tape to keep them in place. The scene was frantic, and right out of a medical comedy/horror movie. It was ridiculous. This was immediately followed by an explanation for how to use the device (ie: press the button when your chest hurts). I was afraid to ask if I should press it then, as all of her prodding indeed hurt my chest (I was in pain for at least an hour in a way I feel comfortable believing was from her prodding). After the explanation she went through this paper-diary thing with which I need to record how I am feeling throughout the day -- which resulted in a dictionary search for basically every character on the page. Another doctor even came in to help the search, and collectively they tried to act out different symptoms. Most notable was "Memai," which resulted in a sort of coughing and hammering action by the male doctor in a manner I can only describe as surreal (it means dizziness, if you could not tell). "Ikigire," shortness of breath, resulted in similar antics from both doctors, and a rather long search on a computer's dictionary. I tried afterwards to ask what to do if the nodes, which I could feel tugging as soon as I stood up, and which also never consistently were connected well enough to give a reading before I put my shirt on, undoubtedly fell off. I could not ask in Japanese, so I tried in English and did my own acting (it looked a lot like pulling them off, unfortunately). This question was repeated three or four times, sometimes by request, before they got it. Basically they kept saying like "We'll take it off." then "We'll take it off tomorrow morning." and so on, before I finally got them to understand. The response? They handed me a roll of tape and I walked out, thanking them, as fast as I could. Needless to say, I dread going back later to have these removed, as from the short preview I was granted from the doctor removing and reapplying the nodes over and over again, the experience promises to be excruciating.
Well, there really is not much to say about hospitals. Like anywhere else, you should strive not to need them. At the very least, if you have a hairy chest and require an EKG do yourself a favor and shave beforehand. What I would not have given if she had me go home and do so rather than try her own way!
So, instead I would like to talk about my various encounters with hospitals and health centers in Japan. I don't know how much everyone knows about this, but I have been in and out, and have plans to be in and out, of more Japanese health centers than any Gaijin ever should. In a sort of sick way (pun intended), it is already becoming one of the major focuses of my Japan experience, rather unique to me. So I would love to share, at least a little bit, of what that has been like.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I have not really been back to the hospital I went to in this post. Instead I have been going to both the Waseda Health Center and the "KokuritsuKokusaiIryou Senta-," or "National International Medical Care Center," both totally different ordeals. Let's start with some general hospital/health care information.
Like everything else in Japan there is a procedure to Hospital adventures. Like every other building or office in Japan, this means going from one counter, to another, to another, until, at the end, you are back at the beginning. Every hospital requires various information forms to be filled out before you can do anything else, but afterwards you receive a card specialized to that particular center. Once you have this card, entering the hospital is a matter of handing in this card and proceeding to your appointment, or answering questions about why you are there (often in the form of a survey -- having my dictionary was very useful so I knew what symptoms I was checking). For general sick appointments, my experience has been pretty consistent. They ask my symptoms, feel my chest, and check my mouth....and that's about it. Regardless of what my symptoms are, my first visit to each hospital has been identical. Afterwards they will either proscribe pills, set up a later meeting, or kind of just tell you to come back if you get worse. From here you go to a counter and pay, and from there either get your pills or go home (sometimes you can get them right there). The doctors seem pretty one-track on what they think you have, and once they decide this they are hard to budge -- to the point of more or less ignoring symptoms if it does not fit what they want of you. I am pretty positive this is why I am having the EKG this week instead of last week, it is rather nerve wracking. The other noteworthy aspect pertains only during the day -- all of the staff will constantly say in a sweet voice "Odaijini" (take care of yourself). It is like how shop owners say like "Irashaimase!!!!" only rather than obnoxious, comforting and sweet.
Moving on, I guess Emergency (night) hospitals should be next. It is an experience I have had twice, at two different locations. Both times were scary. I still feel I owe everyone for help the first time, and last time I feel I really need to thank Negishi-san -- he walked me down again, which took until 4 or 4:30am (the first time we were back by like, 2, which is bad but not quite as bad as birds chirping). This experience of being sick actually makes me long for a roommate, I never realized how hard it is to be sick and have nearly no interaction before -- it is much more disquieting than an a roommate is aggravating, I feel (this is a total 180 as to how I felt even 6 months ago, which I find really funny). Anyway, the only real difference between the emergency hospital and the first visit to a clinic is that the options in terms of tests and medication are much more limited -- not that tests seem very common for the first visit, anyway. This first time this was alright since the medicine worked, the second time it was not alright at all and I went to the health center the very next day. However, these centers are significant in that regular hospitals are closed so frequently - nights, weekends, holidays. Real hospitals also seem to have limited outpatient hours, at Kokuritsu just 8-11am. Pretty crazy.
Next I will talk about real hospitals during the day, to which I have had only one experience with Kokuritsu. Basically, the first floor was very open with different sections. You would check in, than go to the sector to service you -- in my case it was Internal Medicine or something. There are swarms of people just sitting around, waiting to get to different parts (most at the check-out/pay area, though). I guess the coolest part of the place is that there are these aluminum medical cases attached to some belt on the ceiling, that go everywhere in the hospital. I'm not sure what is in them, but they seemed pretty neat. The most disturbing aspect was that all of the rooms where doctors meet patients is really just one room, separated by curtains. It is really odd and awkward. Also, I think I would recommend going to a hospital that advertises speaking in your native tongue, if possible. Using a dictionary to point out symptoms is just not fun. Anyway, the health center is much more interesting so let us move on.
Much like at AU, the building is rather hidden away. Unlike AU, the building is BIG as in TALL! It has many floors, though each floor is kind of small in and of itself. The set-up is much more simple and straight forward than the hospitals -- each floor has a clerk, you start on the second floor to check-in, go the floor you're told to and wait. Do your stuff, go to the next floor you're told to, etc until you're back at the second. Normally it is just a visit to third then back down to second. The real interest here is my EKG story from yesterday, which may well be beat by the story of taking it off tomorrow.
Basically, I was told in advanced that the EKG technician spoke really good English, so I was looking forward to having a doctor I could talk to. Instead, I end up following my doctor whose only word of English is "excuse me." She had me sit down, and then immediately grabbed my shirt and said "Sumimasen" (also excuse me) and lifted it. Without saying anything else she just swabbed my chest, took a sticky EKG node and tried to shove it on. Now, for those unfamiliar, I have a rather hairy chest. Stickers do not stick well to hair. I had expected the clinic to need to shave it, or the woman to try to avoid the hair parts, but no -- she stuck to her guns. Essentially, I went in feeling fine, and found myself under going 30 minutes of a crazy doctor pressing hard against my chest, putting on and tearing off (along with my chest hair) the nodes, swabbing manically my chest with fluid to help the nodes stick, eventually taking a pair of scissors and trying to cut some areas clean (she cut very few hairs, and not all the way, in effect not helping at all), and eventually putting both the bigger back stickers on as well as some sort of medical tape to keep them in place. The scene was frantic, and right out of a medical comedy/horror movie. It was ridiculous. This was immediately followed by an explanation for how to use the device (ie: press the button when your chest hurts). I was afraid to ask if I should press it then, as all of her prodding indeed hurt my chest (I was in pain for at least an hour in a way I feel comfortable believing was from her prodding). After the explanation she went through this paper-diary thing with which I need to record how I am feeling throughout the day -- which resulted in a dictionary search for basically every character on the page. Another doctor even came in to help the search, and collectively they tried to act out different symptoms. Most notable was "Memai," which resulted in a sort of coughing and hammering action by the male doctor in a manner I can only describe as surreal (it means dizziness, if you could not tell). "Ikigire," shortness of breath, resulted in similar antics from both doctors, and a rather long search on a computer's dictionary. I tried afterwards to ask what to do if the nodes, which I could feel tugging as soon as I stood up, and which also never consistently were connected well enough to give a reading before I put my shirt on, undoubtedly fell off. I could not ask in Japanese, so I tried in English and did my own acting (it looked a lot like pulling them off, unfortunately). This question was repeated three or four times, sometimes by request, before they got it. Basically they kept saying like "We'll take it off." then "We'll take it off tomorrow morning." and so on, before I finally got them to understand. The response? They handed me a roll of tape and I walked out, thanking them, as fast as I could. Needless to say, I dread going back later to have these removed, as from the short preview I was granted from the doctor removing and reapplying the nodes over and over again, the experience promises to be excruciating.
Well, there really is not much to say about hospitals. Like anywhere else, you should strive not to need them. At the very least, if you have a hairy chest and require an EKG do yourself a favor and shave beforehand. What I would not have given if she had me go home and do so rather than try her own way!
Monday, March 8, 2010
America
Hahaha, it has been ridiculously long since I posted. In the time since my last post: The semester ended, I went home to America, and as of yesterday, have returned to Japan. However, there is honestly very little to say. I might have my grades available now, but I may not for another few days. Not sure if I'll share them or not. Anyway, I'll briefly go over everything of importance.
Classes: Not much to say. I got all my work in, and know how I did in all but two courses -- both of which I could have gotten anything in.
After classes: Just kind of read Kant and watched some South Park before going home. A bit after classes ended I went to Bang/Tama's joint-birthday party, and some of my Japanese classmates, coincidentally, showed up. I also took another walk to Rainbow Bridge -- this time with Viivi, we tried to get there before the sunrise. Started at about 4:30am and got to the water around 7, the bridge between 7:30 and 8. It was too cloudy to see anything so we didn't rush after we got to the water, it was pretty fun but we got there too early to cross...so I have to go again. We did take the train across though, so at least I technically went to Odaiba again?
Home: Did a lot here. I mainly rested and watched Freaks and Geeks, and later RuPaul's Drag Race. However I had mainly come home when I did to catch the Tibet House Concert -- Patti Smith and Iggy Pop!!!! Also a lot of experimental music acts. It was pretty awesome. I stayed with my brother and ate good food, so I cannot complain about the trip. My mom also threw me a sort of 21st birthday party with this cake:
Classes: Not much to say. I got all my work in, and know how I did in all but two courses -- both of which I could have gotten anything in.
After classes: Just kind of read Kant and watched some South Park before going home. A bit after classes ended I went to Bang/Tama's joint-birthday party, and some of my Japanese classmates, coincidentally, showed up. I also took another walk to Rainbow Bridge -- this time with Viivi, we tried to get there before the sunrise. Started at about 4:30am and got to the water around 7, the bridge between 7:30 and 8. It was too cloudy to see anything so we didn't rush after we got to the water, it was pretty fun but we got there too early to cross...so I have to go again. We did take the train across though, so at least I technically went to Odaiba again?
It was pretty tasty - thank you Lisa Boehle! I feel I should now mention I also got an adorable Valentine's Day card from Zoe, my step-sister, as I don't know when else to put that in. Thank you!
Now: I am back in my room. It has been completely undone so they could change out the carpets, but on the plus side it seems I am neither getting a new roomie or a raise in rent? The sign telling me this was a tad confusing, but I am fairly confident it will stay constant. Which brings up the other thing -- a bunch of cool people, including Gen, have left the dorm. Hope you are all doing well!
Future: Ben and I have laid out our trip and made all of the reservations. We leave on the 11th, my Birthday!, and get back on the 25th (I think). The plan: Hit up Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kobe, Nagoya, then head back to Tokyo. It should be pretty sweet.
Anyway, that basically is everything important (that I can think of). Maybe I will have a rush-edit later, though?
Sunday, October 4, 2009
New Schedule/stuff
So since my last post I have gone to some more classes, and did a bit of a revamp of my schedule. My current classes look something like this:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Intensive Japanese Level 2, Kanji, Intellectual Movements in Japanese History
Wednesday: Intensive Japanese Level 2, Russia: From Lenin to Putin and Medvedev
Thursday: Intensive Japanese Level 2, History of Mathematics
Friday: Russia From Lenin to Putin and Medvedev, Intellectual Movements in Japanese History
Scheduling and class material wise it should be a lot easier to deal with. If you're wondering why I dropped Japan's Foreign Policy in favor of two courses that will not count for my major (I have been arguing with my Philosophy advisor for the last 2~3 days over History of Math to no success) it is because I perceived some issues with the Professor, as well as major overlap with my China, Japan, and the US. Pretty outright, despite some unintended flaws in the course, Prof. Bong did such a good job that this course would add nothing new -- something I hope to avoid doing. Just the way I prefer my academics. Plus, if the same thing occurs next semester with my History of Science course it will likely just inspire me to drop Phil down to a minor/completely and pick up a History minor or major, more than anything else. After this semester I will have equal credits in both fields, and both require the same number of credits for a major (and presumably a minor).
Anyway, that's boring -- let's switch to more interesting things!
After we walked to Asakusa for my first crepe in Japan!
That was about it for the day, as we were rather exhausted. However, today I did some fun stuff too: I went to a Hokkaido festival! It was an experience hard to describe, as it was filled with a flabby Bruce Lee, two encounters with a Rockabilly Club (which I hope to join in the future), and LOTS of food. I will give a quick photo snippet:
I intend to make a photo album for the last two days when I wake up tomorrow, so look forward to that! I'll add it to the bottom of this post, most likely. I guess I will also buy my remaining books and pay my rent tomorrow, though that's not very fun. (Also thanks mom for transferring my rent money in!)
Edit: Here is the album link: http://picasaweb.google.com/DanielisCertus/UenoAsakusaAndHokkaidoMatsuri?feat=directlink
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Pictures!
Today was somewhat non-eventful as I spent most of it waiting to use an ATM. However, the few events that happened were rather interesting.
I hope you enjoy this.
This one is of interest because I WENT IN HERE THREE YEARS AGO!!!!
After I woke up and got some breakfast (Milk Tea!) I asked Kim for some help with my Japanese. Basically, I wanted to say "The back of my phone is broken. Please replace it." or "Wakareteru no de, Koukan Shitekudasai." So, on my own, I went to the au shop to have it replaced...and was promptly greeted with the English speaking attendant, as I was instantly recognized from yesterday. Oh well. They didn't even replace it -- they just bent it into place, but I guess that's ok as I have insurance for it.
Later on I met some people over lunch - Yan and Hakleh(I assume this is spelt wrong). Pretty interesting, we had a rather long conversation about world politics. It was somewhat surreal as the conversation was long, was in multiple languages, and involved multiple people helping translate without really adding anything besides the translation.
Later on I walked out to find an ATM that would work. On the way I found this, and took a picture specifically for Father:
I hope you enjoy this. I walked around for a rather long time, checking the area. I was going to walk to Shibuya, but it was rather far away. I think I entered part of the Shibuya area, though? It is sort of weird how the sections are done. I also managed to enter the red light area (twice) by mistake. The second time an Eastern European man tried to sell me a room in a love hotel and "Beautiful, Japanese girls." It was rather creepy and awkward. I took a few pictures of the clean section of Shinjuku (I will maybe go back and take pictures of the seedy part):
This one is of interest because I WENT IN HERE THREE YEARS AGO!!!!
In the end the building with the ATM I wanted was closed. I ended up working my way back to find the Post Office in order to try it again, but on the way I found a 7-11 with a "Ginkou ATM" which worked! So, I guess I could have used any of these at any point and saved a lot of trouble. Oh well! I celebrated my victory with Tempura and Calpis Soda (It is a Milk Soda -- like Milkis from earlier posts, or a plain Egg Cream for new readers). Tasty!
Anyway, I updated my situation from last post in the comments for it: Basically father will try to take care of it, and if he can't then I will have to call. It seems like it was a mistake on the bank's part, though, that should be cleared up alright.
Edit: I almost forgot. Since I can now do the picture thing, I will probably go back and do picture-tours of my dorm, Nishi-Waseda area, and Waseda itself. Like, maybe a full post per each thing sort of deal. I will do other areas like this too, and am willing to take requests (so long as they are reasonable places for me to go and take pictures of). I will try to spread out these posts over periods where I may have little to actually post about to keep the blog updated, so I won't just do a bunch of them now that I have a camera. So, if there's something you want to see, comment and tell me!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ugh.
So, another mixed day. I registered for my optional class today (I still need to send all the permissions and things back to AU, but I will do that later. There are more pressing issues at hand) and got my new cell phone! Laur, Ben, and I went out to find out about them and eat some lunch -- cheap noodles. I accidently ordered an enormous bowl of them. They were good...but I got too much! I almost finished it, though. Afterwards Laur ran off and Ben and I went to another phone store, where I got mine. It is awesome. It has free streaming-TV, and can exchange contact info via infrared. Also it has an 8Mega-Pixel camera, which is 2MP better than Ben's camera-camera. Awesome.
On the flip side, I am now terrified to go out as I am low on money and cannot withdraw from any of the ATMs. I had this issue last time I was in Japan, too. I'm going to call the bank when they open in an hour or so and see if they can't help me, but I am uncertain they can. I also can't go to any banks as they are all closed until Thursday due to national holiday. Thankfully I have some USD, some Canadian dollars, and some Won so I can probably find a cash changer somewhere in Tokyo if I need to. I just hope that doesn't become my only option.
More bad news -- my loan application has been withdrawn as they have not received all of the necessary documents. This is pretty scary too, as I have no idea what I can do about it being out of the US. I may have to call the bank as well and see if something can't be done, otherwise I have to restart my loan application. Added to that the semester has started, and I was relying on that loan money to pay for my dorm here, this can be really awful. I will try to call my father and see what he thinks, but he is normally out on weekends so I may not be able to reach him.
I'm sure this will all turn out alright, but it is a rather scary place to be in. In the best of circumstances I will be able to clear all of this up in the next 3-5 hours. In the worst of circumstances I could have to return home, take the semester off, and be out tons of money.
On a side note -- the backing of my cell phone is broken and I will have to bring it in to the store.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Time to Change Gears
I have pretty much all the information I am going to get before I go to Waseda. I have my flight, I have my Visa, I have permission for just about all of my classes, and I have a room! I will be in a double in "Waseda University Student House" in 西早稲田 (West Waseda)、新宿区(Shinjuku-ku)、東京(Tokyo)、日本(Japan)(Can you tell I am happy I know the language a bit? Way easier on the heart than it was going to Korea). I will be about a 7 minute walk from campus, so I am overwhelmed with joy -- I was originally expecting between a one and two hour commute to school each day based on various sources. That fact, combined with the reduced dorm fee for a double (35000円, about $280~325 a month), makes it much easier to accept that I will have a roommate.
My room, if I am following this packet correctly, is on the first floor, is 18.48 sq m, and is in the more populous part of the building. I've also lucked out -- there is no curfew for my room, and, despite what I was originally told, there is a common kitchen (and the dorms are coed -- we were told they weren't before. A LOT of the information has been wrong). On the other side, I cannot have visitors. I am not sure how strict this is, as it says that I 1) Can't have visitors, and 2) Can't let people stay over. It would not surprise me if they are just being redundant, but I'm hoping it was just another mistake.
In anycase, the closer I get to leaving the more excited I am about the trip. Everything seems to be working out alright -- the Japanese I forgot seems easy to relearn, the fees are much less than I was originally anticipating, AU is even making transfer of funds easier -- we can now do refunds via direct deposit, for those of you that are not aware. Pretty nice. All I'm really waiting on now are a few class permissions, and word for Financial Aid, so I can get my student loan for the year.
P.S. I have decided to keep the blog going, apparently.
My room, if I am following this packet correctly, is on the first floor, is 18.48 sq m, and is in the more populous part of the building. I've also lucked out -- there is no curfew for my room, and, despite what I was originally told, there is a common kitchen (and the dorms are coed -- we were told they weren't before. A LOT of the information has been wrong). On the other side, I cannot have visitors. I am not sure how strict this is, as it says that I 1) Can't have visitors, and 2) Can't let people stay over. It would not surprise me if they are just being redundant, but I'm hoping it was just another mistake.
In anycase, the closer I get to leaving the more excited I am about the trip. Everything seems to be working out alright -- the Japanese I forgot seems easy to relearn, the fees are much less than I was originally anticipating, AU is even making transfer of funds easier -- we can now do refunds via direct deposit, for those of you that are not aware. Pretty nice. All I'm really waiting on now are a few class permissions, and word for Financial Aid, so I can get my student loan for the year.
P.S. I have decided to keep the blog going, apparently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)