Profiscor on the Your-Japan Blog Network

I suppose I’mg going to post this now since Valentine’s is just round the corner and this is the only bit of romance I have to share…! Hope all the people reading fared better than I Valentines-wise!

As my year in Japan came to a close I realised there was one thing that I had to do. Aside from my project looming and me making no progress whatsoever and wishing that I had done so many things that I just hadn’t gotten round to, I realised there was one thing that I needed to man up and do…For my own sake. I suppose I haven’t written about this because it’s easier to be the storyteller when most of the events have past, rather than when things are still happening.

I’m sure many people have heard the phrase “It is better to regret something that you have done than something that you have not”, and that was my frame of mind for the last few months. (more…)

The past few months have gone really fast and pretty much before I knew it I was back on the plane to England looking over the Rivier Thames.

Apart from wasting my time brooding over what I want to do with my life. I have since turned 21 years of age and got to experience Japanese spring first hand. (And face first…!) (more…)

Ok so I guess it’s about time I should admit it.

I have a Japanese boyfriend. (more…)

Recently the old morbidity of lab has been thwarted by some lively and interesting new students.

The new acacemic year brought us Maiko, Miki, Bubs and Jimmy. Not their real names but I think they sound good together. Plus I’d like to preserve their anonimity.

Maiko and Bubs I’ve met before since they came with us on a field trip and have been around but Miki and Jimmy are completely new to the university, and both commute form pretty far away.

Miki is probably the most normal. She’s always smiling and always happy to help, she even came up to me and introduced herself when she first met me.

Maiko is the other girl who joined this year, She’s quite normal too, compared to Aki, my student helper who can be a bit emotionless sometimes. She always an effort to talk to me, and it’s not always small talk either so for that she’s in my good books.

Next up, Bubs. Bubs is awesome. Ok so he may be a little bit on the large side but he’s always smiling and always makes an effort to speak in English to me, which I will always respect. He even tries to include me in things and often tells me things that he doesn’t think I’ll know, just incase for some reason I don’t. …Like I said. Bubs is AWESOME.

Last but not least, Jimmy.

Just after the new people started, my professor informed me of one of the students being interested in improving his converational English, which you often get at the university, people find out you’re American or British and want to practise their English with you in the hope you’ll correct them and they’ll get better.

My professor told me that Jimmy had asked if he could attend the English Cafe on campus, but he had told Jimmy that he could just speak to me. So like Bubs, Jimmy has been speaking only English to me, but unlike Bubs, who’ll say something in passing, or to inform me of something or another. Jimmy will take out his electonic dictionary and come sit next to me and blurt our lines such as.

“I LIKE ENGLISH”

“DO YOU LIKE…JAPAN?”

“WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS???”

“WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LIKE”

I really wish I hadn’t told him the answer to the last one because he threw a million band names at me and started singing a few of his favourite songs…Infront of everyone.

I guess people don’t notice or don’t care, or pretend not to care because they didn’t bat an eyelid… I on the other hand had to act gracious …Fun times.

Sure, A girl likes to be serenaded but I’d like to meet the girl who likes being serenaded by Oasis songs sung in a Japanese accent while she does a Western Blot Experiment…

Labs are pretty much boring.

I either sit in the prep room thinking about what the Japanese students would do if I decided to throw myself out the window… or try and mostly fail at my experiments.

I sometimes go to my professor for help and advice, who usually avoids me because not unlike many Japanese men he is painfully shy. And I of course am a fully certified alien, so he avoids me like I am a carrier of the plague.

He does this, until I ask him about my research, in which case he can talk for the whole of Japan. A few days ago I was in his office, asking him about literature he can suggest for my final practical write up, for referencing and background knowledge etc.

HE WAS TALKING TO ME FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF STRAGHT, while I jsut stood there, trying to take it all in, thinking  — that window sure does look good right about now.

Sorry if sounds morbid, it’s a running joke I have with myself.

If I’m having a really bad day,  Taro will decide to block the passage to my seat with his, helpfully falling asleep so that even when I nudge him to move he doesnt budge, until I try and squeeze past, in which case he wakes up, acting like i’ve disturbed him. If Taro’s not sleeping he’s generally just moody, or if he’s not moody he’s just weird.

And not the, “I’m edgy and mysterious” type weird, no, Taro is the “I’m goint to randomly laugh manaically at my computer screen” and the “I’m going to fart, then turn and look at you and laugh manaically” type weird.

I just wish he wasn’t so good looking. Though let’s face it, I feel sorry for any girl who’d go for it an date him.

Sure I mean he might look good at the begining but when you get to know him, you’d probably want to join me up on on that window ledge.

Or you can do what I did today;

It had been raining all day and I decided to go home after a day at labs, except I got half way to the lift and realised that I had forgotten my umbrella, so I go back to the lab prep room and open the door.

Except Taro is standing right infront of the door putting anorak trousers on so when I open it I manage to smack him right between the eyes with the corner of the door practically knocking him to the ground.

And do you know what I did? I panicked.

I took my umbrella, closed the door and made a b-line for the lift.

Oh Im gonna pay for that one on Monday…

So it’s been almost 6 months since I’ve been here, and I’m only here until July. (more…)

So I mentioned before that I’m not your average Japanese Studies student.

My degree course is science as well and I have come here to carry our an experment over the course of the year and eventually write it up. (more…)

Sorry for the absence I tend to get writer’s block a lot!

Happy BeLATEd new year to everyone!

I’m not really a skilled writer and I didn’t really expect people to read this, and now that they are I tend to worry if I can keep up the standard. But hey, nothing ventured nothing gained! (more…)

Deeming the Shinkansen, or bullet train, too expensive, Smith and I decided to go for the cheaper option, the overnight bus.

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