Photos!

I've only taken a few photos so far (shock)

Venturing out to Umeda on the Hankyu train (reminded me of the good times of Kobe!)

shopping in Umeda

waiting at the Minoh ward office for alien registration

the neighbourhood of 粟生間谷東（あおまたにひがし）- very quiet residential suburb.

my room! it's quite spacious. other dorms have en-suite but the rooms are much smaller.

the view of the campus from my room

the first weekend

I'm blogging from one of the academic buildings at Osaka University.

Finally, today I went out to Umeda and saw the quintessential Japanese city of Osaka, with all the neon lights and millions of pedestrians and giant shops and department stores. After completing alien registration at the ward office we decided to head to Umeda. It took us almost 1000 yen for a 2-hour return trip to Umeda. I bought a kettle from Yodobashi Camera, and on the way back we stopped by the 百円 shop (the Japanese equivalent of the pound shop) and bought more stuff. I also bought laundry detergent so now I can do laundry before I run out of clothes.

I'm convinced that I'll catch a cold sometime soon. Everyday we're exhausted because of many things and errands to do and run. The temperature is quite high during the day (25-27 degrees celcius) but it drops down to around 17 in the evening. I've only brought a few summer clothes with me so in the morning I don't really know how to dress for the day. Obviously I can some clothes here but I don't want to spend money on unnecessary things before I get my first scholarship payment. I'm not sure whether I have enough money left for the rest of the month.

Here's the schedule for next week:

Monday 5th: hand in 2 essays as part of placement test

Tuesday 6th: open bank account

Wednesday 7th: someone turns 21; placement test; medical check

Thursday 8th: placement test (interview); library orientation

Friday 9th: orientation on university life

阪大生になりました！

I'm blogging from the computer room at the Centre of Japanese Language and Culture in the Minoh campus of Osaka University.

After getting picked up from the airport yesterday morning, I met 2 French, 1 German and 1 Brazilian students who got picked up at the same time. It took about an hour and a half to drive from Kansai airport to Minoh.

After checking into the dormitory (I've been assigned to 箕面留学生会館1号館) and unpacked a little, I ventured to the local supermarket with the same group of students and bought some toileteries and food. The food sold in the supermarket is quite expensive, but today I discovered the beauty of the university refectory (食堂), where cheap meals are sold. Unfortunately they only serve lunch (possible dinner as well, have to check that out) so I still have to cook in the weekends. The pantry on my floor is quite tiny (thus not qualified to be called a kitchen - for its lack of oven and kettle), there isn't even a table to eat on. Last night I had to eat my instant noodles (I was too tired to cook after a really long day) in my room whilst watching House on my computer.

I also completed alien registration and application for the national health insurance. Navigating and finding my way in the city wasn't difficult at all, but I feel like I'm always by myself...a little bit of loneliness leaking in.

It's been raining all day and my trainers and socks are soaked. I'd like to type more here but I'm exhausted so I shall head back to my room and rest.