It’s been a while since I last updated, mostly because there hasn’t been much excitement around here. I finally got a lab assignment last week, which is really awesome. I’m going to be working in Dr. Ryzii on research involving the semiconductor properties of graphene. After talking to him last Tuesday he gave me a big stack of books to look at. I understand the quantum basis for most of it alright, but I haven’t studied semiconductors much before, so that’s new for me. After having so much time off it’s almost kind of a relief to have something to do again. In Sweden we were told that one of the big differences between Swedish and American business discipline was that Swedes work to live, while Americans live to work. I guess it’s true in a way.

Last night we met some of our neighbors in the apartment complex. We have Chinese exchange students living across from us, and next to us. We went over to one of their apartments for a birthday party for Kunitaka (one of the Japanese students who has been hanging around with us). The food was awesome. Chinese food here is really different from what we have in America, but it’s pretty awesome. It has a lot more vegetables and less meat in it. Also there’s much less fried rice. Most of the students are from Schezwan province, which is supposed to have really spicy food. They cooked a dish similar to a nabe, along with a beef and potato dish, and some stir-fried chicken. It was all super spicy. Spicy food is definitely one of the things I’ve been missing here. Most Japanese food is not very spicy at all. The closest it comes is wasabi, but it’s a completely different flavor from back home.

The other thing I’m really missing is Mexican food. I missed it last time, and this time is no exception. There aren’t really any Mexican restaurants in Japan. A few in Tokyo, but there was nothing in Kanazawa, and there definitely isn’t anything in Aizu. This weekend we went to Koriyama (one town over). There’s an import food store there and I managed to find some taco seasoning. I think we’re going to do Mexican night soon. Hopefully everything will turn out alright.

The first day of class is next Wednesday, and it’s already looking pretty busy. We all have to give a speech at a local business meeting that morning, so it’s going to be a full day. The speech is going to be a special pain. We have to do a 15-20 minute presentation all in Japanese about our ‘experience’ in Aizu. We’ve been pretty stumped on what to talk about. Also, writing something that long in Japanese is a real pain. While we get along day to day just fine, speaking fluently for that long about a complicated topic still takes some major prep work. This is pretty important for promoting the exchange program for Rose, so we’re planning to get the speech written over the weekend so we can get started practicing it.

Even with all the work it’s going to be, I’m really excited for the start of school. The freshmen class arrived for orientation yesterday, so the school is finally feeling alive. It’s been like a ghost town for the past couple months. The only people here were us and the administrative staff. Hanami starts soon too. This month is shaping up to be really busy and that's just fine with me.

Places in this post:
Koriyama