I met Lim upstairs at his room exactly at nine o’clock, just as we planned. He was already cooking some rice in his rice cooker, the steam warming the room. He mentioned that he was watching a “dorama” on his computer, but when I went to see what it was I found it not to be a drama at all, but rather a comedy. He was watching the American version of “The Office.” I was pretty surprised. I told him how popular the show is in America and how my brother Will is a big fan.
Soon the rice was done. He put it into two bowls and poured a hot beef curry mixture over it. It was sweet and spicy and really satisfying. Lim kept commenting on how it would make you fat, but I thought this was much healthier than anything the average American would have for breakfast. I made a mental note to buy some sometime.
After breakfast, we met downstairs at our bikes. Lim took the lead, taking me out to the same shop I had visited a couple days ago, Bookland. I bought the game for around 2500円. Afterwards, Lim noted that he wanted to head over to this used bookstore. This was a more traditional bookstore, with a large section of novels and informational books. But of course, the entire back wall was devoted to manga. I saw signs for the prices, which were around 100円, meaning about $1. In an American book store, manage generally goes for $8-$10 a volume. I mentioned this to Lim and he seemed pretty shocked. We browsed the store for a bit longer. We got on the subject of video games for a little bit and then the game Starcraft, a strategy game. At this, Lim asked if I knew of its popularity in Korea, which I did. In Korea the game is a sport, with many high paid professional gamers playing in televised tournaments. The game has been a best-seller in Korea for more than ten years. It was cool to hear from the proverbial horse’s mouth about the popularity of Starcraft in Korea.
After the book store, we went to the nearby Mos Burger. This was exciting for me because I’d heard of this place before in my researching of Japan. It is a fast food burger joint akin to McDonald’s, but still very much a Japanese store. I looked up behind the counter upon entering, but saw no menu, only a wall with a bit of promotional writing on it. It took a minute to realize that the menu was on a small mat next to the cash register. I saw a teriyaki chicken burger and decided to go with that. After ordering, we were given a metal post with a number attached to it that would sit on our table. When the order was ready, an employee would actually come out and serve you right at your table. It was nice to see that you can even get service like that in Japan in a fast food restaurant. Here is what my meal looked like:
We headed out of the Mos Burger and over to the park. Lim had made plans to meet with his friends and check out the park and the castle. I was delighted to go along. One of Lim’s friends is a big photographer, and was snapping photos left and right in the park. Once we reached the castle, we got some really nice shots together.
I bid adieu to my new Korean friends, as I wanted to head to the nearby cyber cafe and get some chatting time in with Zoe, in addition to check on an email I sent to Edward at the Japundit podcast a couple days ago. I saw that he mentioned my email in the show notes for his latest podcast. Since I’m writing this off-line, I haven’t had a chance to hear the episode yet. But thanks for reading it, Edward! I look forward to hearing the show once I have a Internet line into my room.
I was dead tired again at this point, so I went back to my room. Once I got there, a couple of the Korean students I had met last night were outside. They mentioned that there was going to be a birthday party for one “Sebastian” at seven that evening. I told them that I would most definitely be there. But before I could go, I knew I needed a nap. While making my evening ramen, I heard my doorbell ring. I opened it and was greeted by Sebastian himself, a tall, blond French student. He was going around to all the rooms letting people know of the plans for a party at seven. I again said that I’d be there. I closed the door, ate and finally hit my pillow. I nearly considered not getting up when my alarm went off at 6:45, but I knew the party would probably be a good time (I would later come to find this to be an understatement).
I went out into the common space and found a couple students and Sebastian there. There was also a couple of the other Americans there, including Alex who was originally from Maine. They were drinking beers and eating some pre-made sushi from a supermarket. They said to bring out my beer that I had upon mentioning I had some. I still had five beers from before, some cheap Sapporo I bought to get a taste for that brand. I brought them out and at this point the place was filling up nicely. There was a pile of food on the table and many, many cans of beer available for the drinking. I added mine to the pile.
The night was a bit of a blur, but not because I drank a few beers. I met practically everyone in the room. There were Chinese students, Korean students, Thai students, French students, Chilean students, German students, New Zealand students. I got in a ton of Japanese practice, asking each other about where we lived, where we came from, our majors, etc. etc.. Getting to know you type stuff. I also got to see for the first time just how awesome Japanese keitai were. People were trading phone numbers and email addresses like crazy, but they didn’t do it manually. No, all keitai have infrared ports on them and when you point two phones at each other and push a button, they automatically transfer all your contact data to the other person’s phone in about two seconds. I was blown away. At least when I finally get my keitai, it won’t be too hard to get everyone’s number.
As the night wore on, it came time for some fun with the birthday boy, Sebastian. One of the Korean students produced a bowl, into which everyone poured a bit of their beer that they had, in addition to chips and other food sitting on the table. It was quite a concoction. This was handed to Sebastian, who, to the screams and cheers of the other students, downed the whole disgusting potpourri. I learned from Lim who was sitting next to me that this was a Korean tradition and that often many other, um, unmentionable things are placed into the mix. Here is the video evidence:
The night was wrapping up and it was down to just me and a handful of students. We shot the breeze about life at school and such. They really were an international bunch, getting to see their different views on things. Soon, though, tiredness took over and I headed to bed. Parties at the Kaikan (international house) aren’t too bad at all.
Zoe Says:
Shari Says:
YokohamaBogi Says:
