Brief Summary

It's too stressful to think about recapping everything I'm behind on, so instead I'll summarize.

The last few days in China were great. I had an evening and one full day in Shanghai. It reminded me a lot of Tokyo - a lot more modern. It is on the coast so the air is a little better than some of the other cities we visited. I spent the entirety of my daytime hours in Shanghai at Tongji University. They have amazing testing facilities and are a veritable experimental factory. I guess the price of labor allows them to turn out a lot of specimens and get a lot of tests done. Almost every major highrise structure in China has had a scale model tested on the shake table of their laboratory. They put the tested models outdoors and it looks like a miniature city. Nobody else does any testing like this - too labor intensive and difficult to get the scaling right.

Building models used for seismic testing on a shake table at Tongji University.

The nightlife in Shanghai was really fun. We went to the Bund and found a great spot overlooking the river and skyline for a drink. The last night we were there we went to a place that could have been anywhere in the world based on the patronage. It was all foreigners - Americans and Europeans. It was really strange - like walking into a different world.

Overlooking the Shanghai skyline from the Bund.

A few days after I got back Nathan arrived!!!! I was so happy to see him. We had a wonderful week together. The first few days we spent in Tokyo. We saw Tsukiji fish market, Asakusa, Harajuku, Yoyogi park, Meiji-jingu shrine and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. We had dinner with Tomo and my supervisor here. And that was all in the first two days. We then took Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. They say if you can only go one place in Japan it should be Kyoto. It has such a wealth of shrines, temples, gardens, castles, etc. It is much more untouched than Tokyo and it's truly overwhelming the amount that there is to see. I think we fit it a good amount of sightseeing - we saw some pretty amazing things. We also did a Kaiseki meal on the river which involved being served many artfully prepared Japanese courses by a Kimono-clad server. It was a cool experience. Probably our favorite experience, however, was a lunch we had in the garden of a temple. It was a yudofu (boiled tofu) meal. It was more the setting than anything that made it so special.

Me and Nathan at the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Me and Nathan at the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto.

Yudofu meal overlooking a temple garden.

Since I've been back I've been working and not feeling so well. Not too long before I get home. I'm starting to get excited about it. It is getting close enough that today I wondered if I could just wait until I leave to clean the apartment. I realized that was a bad idea but that is how close it is getting. Also wondered about groceries. But I'm cooking all my meals at home so I go through groceries really fast. Now I'm rambling.


I am toying with the idea of coming back for a short visit next year if funding permits. From a research standpoint, I have a lot to learn still from Tomo and could definitely use more time with him. We'll see...

Doctor's visit

No, this post is not to give you any gory details about my health. I just have to post about this becuase visiting the doctor here was an entirely strange experience. It was not like visiting the doctor in the US - at all. A friend got me to the clinic and the forms were in Japanese. He filled out my name and address then left. In the very busy waiting room, the nurse came out and asked me my symptoms - in front of everyone! I have to hope this was because I couldn't fill it out on the paper. She then took my temperature in the waiting room -with everyone! After about 40 minutes, I heard a man's voice on a PA asking me to come to room 3. I found room 3 and in it was a doctor. Thankfully he spoke english (we determined this ahead of time, that's why I went to this particular clinic). He asked me what my symptoms were. There were no questions about family history. I wasn't weighed, I didn't have my blood pressure taken, I wasn't asked what medications I was on or if I was allergic to anything. He didn't really know what to say about my symptoms but he didn't check into them in any physical way. He just took my description and kind of stared at me blankly. I had some ideas about the problem so I made some suggestions. He seemed to like my ideas and decided a blood test was in order. And that was it! I got the blood test, paid my money, was told to come back in a week and I left. He was nice but it was a pretty useless visit (unless of course the blood test is enlightening). It just felt really unthorough. If I hadn't had any thoughts of my own who knows where I'd be. So that's that.

So much to catch up on...

...but I'm not going to do it now. I still need to talk about the rest of my time in China (in Shanghai, which I loved) and then the week of Nathan's visit. He left on Saturday. I'm not feeling so great today - going to doctor. I'll have to try to write more later.

Suzhou

I'm still playing catchup on my China posts so you'll have to bear with me. After the mountain excursion outside of Nanjing, we took a train to Suzhou. This is a smaller town that is a popular tourist stop. I liked it immediately. I think it was the fact that is was smaller and more quaint and well kept-up. We flew by the seat of our pants as far as the hotel arrangements. Ryan and I picked one on the train from his guidebook and miraculously communicated it to two separate taxi drivers (we were in two taxis from here on because four people plus luggage is too much for one). The separate taxis were a bit of a worry because without cellphones and language and maps we would be in bad shape if one taxi didn't end up where it was supposed to. This time it worked out fine.

Suzhou is an old city known for its beautiful gardens. We arrived in time to check in and rest before heading out for dinner. There's something comforting about seeing so many foreigners in a place. It just seems more familiar. We walked from the hotel along a canal to the main drag where all the stores, restaurants and bars are located. The street was filled with people. The stores were great - a mix of fakes and trendy but non-fake clothes. I wanted to do shopping but it's hard with four people. We decided to eat at a Korean place because Han and Shinae could order for us. The meal was amazing. I've decided that I really like Korean food. I'd had Korean dishes in the past which were really good but I think this was my first all Korean meal. It's pretty spicy but the flavors are great.


After dinner we split up by gender. Shinae tolerated my shopping but I didn't buy anything because I could tell she wasn't really into it. After a while we went back to the hotel. We met the boys there and I convinced Ryan to go back to an Aussie pub with me by luring him with a big screen showing soccer (he's a huge soccer fan - I couldn't care less). We only stayed out a while longer but it was fun.

The next morning we set out to see some gardens. They were really pretty but overrun with tourists (we hit the first place at the same time as a large Italian tour group). Also, there wasn't coffee at the hotel breakfast so I was hurting at first. Fortunately the garden had a coffee shop with real espresso!!! You have to understand that until this point I don't think any of the coffee I had in China was either real brewed coffee or espresso. It was all nescafe (instant), even in the nice hotels. It was such a thrill to have an espresso - I think I went on about it way too long but it was just what I needed. After the garden we did some souvenir shopping and then walked to another garden. The second garden was quieter and really well landscaped. There were a set of pagodas and some interesting structural features. After lunch we headed back to the hotel to collect our things and then set out for Shanghai.

Nanjing

This was an unusual conference because it was split between two cities. I don’t think it was the best idea because it adds unnecessary complications and confusion. The plus side is that I got to experience more than once city in China. Before I get into my time in Nanjing I will say that the last night in Chongqing was good. I mentioned the hotpot dinner we had. There were 6 of us all together four of whom were Japanese, one of which was Tomo. Ryan, my travel buddy, and I rounded it out. None of us speak Chinese but Tomo has some words and phrases at his disposal. It was difficult to order but we got it figured out enough. I’m a fan of food and I love spicy foods but I just didn’t like this type of meal. It involved cooking meat and vegetables in a spicy oil or broth in the middle of the table (see pictures in previous post). You then fished out whatever you could find and put it in a bowl of sesame oil in front of you. Once it was cooled down you ate it. I didn’t like the homogenous nature of all of it. It all tasted like the spicy liquid and the oil. And there’s no rice or other bland food to balance it out. It was a lot of fun and I couldn’t have left Chongqing without experiencing it once.

The next day was reserved for intercity travel. Since there were so many people traveling from one city to the next, we took a bus to the airport and practically dominated the entire flight (actually we dominated all three flights that day between the two cities). On the bus ride from the Nanjing airport to our hotel I could already tell I was going to like it better than Chongqing. It seemed cleaner and a lot prettier and kept-up. There were a lot of trees and landscaping. In reality, there was the same, if not more, pollution as there was in Chongqing. After we checked into the hotel, I was sad that it was overcast – until I realized that it wasn’t actually overcast, it was just hazy with smog. If you looked up into the sky, you could see some blue peeking through.

That night there was a student gathering arranged for all of the graduate student conference participants from all countries. It also included a lot of professors and NSF representatives. It started with a banquet which included some talks (I had to give a few slides on my vision of smart structures technology and ways to incorporate it into education). That drug on a bit long but we had a fun table (including the four of us from UIUC as well as Prof. Foutch). Following the dinner we walked over to a huge KTV (that’s what karaoke is called in China). I don’t do karaoke. But it’s fun to watch others. Although there were a lot of us, the room was still too big for us. Actually it was more than just a room, it was a few rooms and a billiards room and a private bathroom.

The conference in Nanjing was okay. I had a hard time getting into it because my responsibilities were finished and I already felt like I went through a full conference. On top of that, the session rooms and meals were actually in a hotel across the street from the one most of us were staying. And when I say street, I mean busy road in a country where traffic laws are completely disregarded. It was a gamble every time. I never figured out how it worked. There were more than four roads intersecting and nothing was at right angles and the crosswalk lights were broken and I think even if got the theory of the timing figured out, it wouldn’t matter because nobody followed the rules.

The last day of the conference, most of the conference participants went on a tour of a silk factory and then to a Confucius Temple. It was pretty fun. The silk (actually brocade) factory was fascinating. It’s all hand made on these amazing contraptions which are operated by two people. It was really amazing how they coordinated to produce the most intricate brocades. The factory was in a very poor part of town. Our tour buses almost got stuck in the alleys and we drew quite a crowd of locals. I’m truly amazed we got out because we got ourselves wedged in pretty well and with no way to go back the way we came. And there were three buses. But it worked out.

After the conference ended, Ryan, Han, Shinae and I spent the next morning on the mountains above Nanjing. We went to the tomb of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the father of modern china (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen_Mausoleum). It was really hot and humid and we climbed a million stairs to get to the tomb. But it was really pretty and it felt great to get the blood circulating again after so many days of sitting in conference sessions.



***I'm having trouble posting pictures so I will have to add them later when this starts behaving***

Chongqing

I'm here in Chongqing, China. This is the largest city you've never heard of. It has a population of over 30 million people. That is not a typo. It's the fastest growing city in China and the world's awareness of the city has not kept pace with its growth. By many counts it is already the largest city in the world and is continuing to grow at breakneck speed. I can't say that I really like it here but it's difficult to experience it all in only four days during a conference. I have done some non-conference things that I think give me some picture of the city.

First of all, I will say that our hotel, although it is a very nice, is not in the "nice" downtown area (with the Marriott and Intercontinental). We are at the Golden Resources Hotel and the service is fine but the staff has quite limited English. The are surrounding the hotel has some moderate shopping and a nice but tiny park but otherwise it is not the best part of town. It's dirty and smelly and the air quality is atrocious. There is construction everywhere. But not neat and tidy construction like in Tokyo. The traffic is crazy and taxi rides are an adventure. They have these three wheeled little vehicles zipping everywhere and ignoring all traffic rules. I tried to go running the first few days but it was next to impossible. First the air quality and the smell make it difficult to breath (essential to running) and the sidewalks are grimy and dusty and they are not contiguous - they just end and then you're stuck in the road (not a safe place to be).

The first day we were here (three students from home are also here for the conference as well as Tomo and another guy I know) we walked around the area of the hotel. The heat and humidity was so stifling and the shopping was pretty bad. We only lasted about 30 minutes and then retreated to the hotel. On another night the conference organizers planned for the attendees to go on a night tour. It was nice but I kept thinking of the saying "it's like putting a bowtie on a cowpie" because the flashy and colorful lights are pretty and night but during the day it's just crowded and dingy. I took some pictures of the skyline. It's difficult to get good shots at night but here are a few:

Last night we had the banquet for this portion of the conference (on Friday we head to Nanjing for the second portion). The food was supposed to be "real Chinese food, not that American stuff" but it was kind of the same to me. It was okay but not great. The entertainment was cool. We had a dancer and some traditional Chinese music.

After the banquet, Ryan (fellow student who I also travelled with in Japan on my first visit in December) and I ventured to the "real" downtown in search of an Irish pub that his guidebook said existed. From what I had seen of Chongqing to that point, I was in disbelief that such a pub could be found. Communication with the Taxi driver was a fiasco. The drive was scary but I kept reminding myself that the taxi driver wouldn't want to die himself so we must be somewhat safe. He never really knew where we wanted to go but he got us to the general area and dropped us off at a hotel. From there we followed the map in the guidebook. I should mention that it was pouring rain and we didn't have umbrellas. Once we got out of the taxi we were bombarded with people wanting to remedy our umbrella situation. We could never figure out how much they wanted for it so we just decided to get wet. We first came upon a clock tower which is supposed to mark the center of the city. This is it here:

After getting completely soaked looking for the bar, we finally found it amongst a lot of bars and clubs. The place we went didn't have many people but of the 15 or so people in there, 6 (including the two of us) were foreign (non-Asian). After our stay there we decided to explore the area some more since by then the rain had stopped. We walked around forever looking for a temple that was also in the guide book. We found it (sorry I don't know the names of the things I'm referring to) but of course at midnight it was closed and really dark. I took pictures anyway.

Before the final conference sessions this afternoon, we were taken on a tour to the Three Gorges Museum. It was okay - I'm not a museum person and I wasn't feeling great. We took some great pictures in front of the Peoples Hall (not sure if that's what it's called).

KFCs are everywhere

I'm getting tired of writing right now. I had so many observations that I was going to mention but that will have to wait until next time. I'll just finish with some pictures from dinner tonight. I'll describe in more detail later. Traditional hotpot meal - originated in Chongqing.

It's been a while....

I know I haven't posted in a long time. I've been busy, ill, and lacking in good/exciting news. I arrived in China last night. I will post more about that another time. For now I want to recap the last week. I had an amazing opportunity to attend some meetings on behalf of my advisor. The meetings were part of a joint US-Japan panel on seismic and wind effects. The participants from both sides were primarily professors and government agency representatives. In terms of age, title, and experience I was way out of my league. But, I was made to feel so welcomed and made some amazing contacts. Many of them kept telling me how lucky I was to be attending the meetings as a graduate student. It was really eye-opening to see how these types of things work. There was a lot of pomp and circumstance and "Mr. Chairman" this and that. It was all very official. I feel like I effectively contributed to the discussions. My presentation went well and was well received. Many people are interested in wireless smart sensors for structural monitoring. It's not a topic that takes a lot to convince people of its merits.



There were three days of meetings and then three days of technical site tours. The site visits included a seismically retrofitted earth-filled dam, the largest arch bridge in Japan, a tsunami breakwater (the deepest underwater construction in the world), fatigue retrofit of steel bridges, a hybrid mass damper on a high rise building. We got amazing access to everything because it was all arranged by the Japanese ministry people. I really enjoyed it. I ate entirely too much. Every night is an excuse to eat and eat with food that just keeps coming and coming. And sake! Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some from the past week....

Prof. Foutch (my former advisor) serenading us at a dinner.

Another dinner

The group in front of the arch bridge.

Feeling Better!

I have a temporary resolution to my research dilemma. Actually it’s not a solution at all to the research itself, but rather what I am going to do about the whole China thing. I talked to my advisor today and he said not to worry at all about presenting a paper. I can easily and discreetly be removed from the program since he is a co-chair of the conference and one of my labmates from home is the secretary who will do it. Of course, I can still attend and participate in the student program. He will also give me some other organizational and administrative tasks to do while I’m there in order to justify my funding. He didn’t seem disappointed at all – or at least not disappointed in my effort. That’s really how I feel as well. I’ve worked so hard that I can’t fault myself for not having done everything I could. I’m just sad it didn’t work in time for the conference. I’ll pick up that part of my research when I return to Illinois. In the mean time, I can work on other things that will make the most of my time here in this laboratory. Also, now my trip to China is really just a nice vacation. Not having to worry about a presentation is a great feeling.

I’m getting prepared for my week of meetings next week. Three days of meetings will be held in Tsukuba (http://www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/hp/e_hp/) which is also known as the “Science City.” I decided, at Dr. Spencer’s suggestion to stay at the hotel there with the other US participants. It will save and hour and a half commute each day and will be a nice change of scenery. I’m really excited to see my old advisor, Dr. Foutch, who will also be attending the meetings. The three days after the meetings we have technical cite visits. Two are in Tokyo but on Thursday we will be going to Kamaishi City (http://www.city.kamaishi.iwate.jp/english/welcome.htm) on the coast to see a Tsunami breakwater. We will get there via the bullet train and stay one night. I think it will be really pretty and also a nice side trip. I have been instructed to bring gifts for the Japanese delegation members. It’s supposed to be something that is from your home or your university but I didn’t know about this meeting before I left Illinois. I did bring a mug and a set of playing cards from the U of I as backup gifts but I’m definitely going to have to go buy some more respectable gifts, even if they are from Japan.

I have started to plan Nathan’s visit for real. I have the beginnings of an itinerary typed up and I’ve added up the expenses. It’s going to be great. I’m trying not to get bogged down with the idea that we have to experience “everything.” We will see enough and have a good time with each other while doing so. I hope it doesn’t rain while he’s here because the best way to experience everything is just to walk around.

I’m feeling a lot better – like I have a huge weight lifted off! Now I can enjoy the rest of my trip.

Board destruction...

I think my heart might thump right out of my chest. Today we decided that we had come to the end of our efforts to fix the software for my sensor board. I decided to give the schematics one last look to see if there was anything wrong. The first thing I noticed was an error. It makes me crazy. So I tried to come up with a fix. Meaning cutting my board and soldering on jumper wires. It's tiny - and my hands shake, and wires touch eachother that shouldn't and pins start bending and then it's all wrong and weird voltages appear and i don't know how to fix it and this could be the end of the board all together because I have probably ruined it beyond repair. This makes me crazy. And it makes my back hurt. And I want to eat everything.

To my parents

I will preface this by saying that this post has nothing to do with being in Japan.

My parents are amazing people. They are courageous and adventurous. They were and are great parents. They have made their daughters' happiness a priority and it is so selfless. They are a never ending source of encouragement. It's nice to know you have two cheerleaders on your team at all times, just a phone call away.

My mother is funny and full of joy and always the life of the party. These traits used to embarrass me but now I am so proud to be around her and call her my mother. I hope that I keep my youthfulness the way she has - I never want to become stuffy. She is stylish and creative and very intelligent. She believes that I can do anything and tells me so often. I couldn't ask for a better mother and friend.

My dad is the wisest person I know. But it is never intimidating wisdom - he knows just what to tell you and how to tell it to you so that everything makes sense. He is one of two people I know that hasn't met a person that doesn't like him. He has a way with people that is amazing to watch. He is so careful with people's emotions. Some of my best memories involve having coffee with my dad and simply talking about "stuff."

I love my mom and dad and I am thankful for the life they have given me. I have had so many amazing experiences that have shaped who I am. They have given me every opportunity to not only succeed in life but to be a good person. I owe them everything!

Vacation is Over

Today I ran. I have to stop eating everything in sight. So, from now on, moderate eating and a little more excercise. I hope to stick to it. It's easier at home because I can just run down to the basement and get on the elliptical machine. Here I need to run. A Japanese guy from home told me that people didn't run on the streets here. Well, they do. I think this may be a recent development or it is becoming more common. But the funny thing (funny to me but probably not so strange) is that the runners I see all wear track suits. I throw on sweats and a t-shirt but they have the whole track suit on. It's just funny because it's the norm. I always thought that the good thing about running is that no special gear is required. Here, apparently it is.

I went to Shinjuku where the big bookstore is with the foreign book floor. I bought two more books. One is a brick so that should keep me going for a while.

This upcoming week is Golden Week. It's supposed to be crazy with people everywhere. I guess all of Japan travels during Golden Week. I will be working. I guess it's fine because I don't really want to deal with the crowds. They're bad enough during a regular week.

Nezu Shrine

I took a break from work this afternoon to walk to Nezu Shrine. Not really to see the shrine (they're kind of all alike) but to see the blooming azaleas. It was nice - they were gorgeous. It was crowded (what's new) but worth the visit. Here are some pictures:





Resarch is still going poorly. We just can't seem to get anywhere with the problem we're having. I'm not too stressed about it because I've done everything I can do and at this point I have little control over the outcome. As a wise person told me, "It's just work."

I've been here for one month. It feels like longer. But is has also flown by. Before I left to come here, I told myself that the first month would be the hardest and the rest would be easier. Well, it can't get much easier than it has been. The first two days were awful but the rest has been great. I keep saying that I have to pinch myself for having such a great opportunity. I miss Nathan a lot and wish I was eating healthier but other than that, everything has been wonderful. I think it will also make me appreciate home more. And I will definitely take some things with me when I leave here. For example, I really want to walk more - to school, to the store, etc. It may not happen but I'd like to give it a shot. And I will make Onigiri at home. That's a fact.

Campus Stroll

I have done a lot of work over the past few days so in the middle of the afternoon today I was practically nodding off at my desk. I decided to take a short walk around campus to get some fresh air and enjoy the nice day (finally!). Here are some pictures:

The Red Gate (not the real name...)

A little pond on campus surrounded by trees. Very serene and pretty.

Another shot of the pond.

A particularly ugly building on campus (one of a few). This is the unfortunate result of seismic retrofit. There has to be a better looking way!

I snuck this one in. I actually took it when I first arrived (the cherry blossoms are long gone) but I never posted it. The tree is in front of the clock tower building - the most recognizable building on campus.

Terribly boring research update...

I got help finally on the driver for my sensor board. Bless his heart - they guy and I were on Yahoo Messenger for 6 hours straight. For him it was until 2 am. We didn't reach a solution but we made a lot of progress - especially compared to the progress I had been able to make on my own. I actually read something from my board - so far it's junk but hope is not lost. We will be back at it again tomorrow. I may not sleep tonight becuase I have so much to get done.

I also found out today that I will have to take my advisors place at a big meeting in May (the week before I go to China). I'm nervous becuase I will be the only student and I have to present in front of the all of the US and Japanese delegates but it will be a great experience. Fortunatly my old advisor will also be in attendance. He is one of my favorite people and will be an excellent source of support.

More food...

I had parfait on Saturday. It was wonderfully delicious. I probably consumed a weeks worth of calories in one sitting. The picture to the right is of three desserts the three of us had (Tomo, Hazuki and me). I don't think the picture does the desserts justice - they were absolutely gorgeous. I had a mango trifle and every bite was amazing. The mango was so ripe and sweet.

I really ate a lot this weekend. The same day I had trifle, I had Mexican for lunch and later on I had a variety of Asian dishes (at Asian Kitchen) for dinner. I can't believe I ate so much.

Overall I had another great weekend. Unfortunately, today was a big reality check. My research is really at a stand still and I have reached the point (in time and otherwise) that it is really causing problems. I have to submit a paper for the conference in China and it's not looking good. At this point I need a miracle.

Campaign and Competition

The picture below is most of a board that is posted right out in front of the main entrance to campus. These are scattered all over the place. They represent all of the people running for the city council. I didn't understand why there are so many but it was explained to me that there are many seats to fill.

I really wish I could get a good picture of the campaigning vans I talked about last time. It's really crazy. Besides the megaphones and signage there are usually about 4 people hanging out of the windows in matching jackets (i've seen metallic pink among other colors) waving to the people they pass. I tried to get a picture last night but they were going to fast.

I have found it interesting to learn a little about Japanese politics - but far be it from me to try to discuss it here!

Speaking of things that are somewhat political....

The civil engineering department shares the same building as the architecture department and this poster, aimed at architecture students, is posted at the entrance of our building. At first I thought "wow, something like this would NEVER fly in Champaign County or many other places in the US." But I looked up the website and kind of pieced together the gist of the competition (it's in Japanese so I translated it with Google and got a pretty choppy translation). I think that the idea is to create a space where smokers and non-smokers can socialize together without the non-smokers inhaling any smoke (or limited smoke ?). It sounds strange and their pictures are really odd but I kind of like the idea (if it's possible). See, in the U.S. the local and state governmets take away the rights of private property owners by imposing smoking bans (the result of which I generally appreciate). But in Japan, they think "let's try to accomodate everyone!" What a great idea!

Updates

I also wanted to point out my countdown to the left. I've also added some links. I'll think of more or better links in the future. Things are going well still. Research is still slow but I'm enjoying myself a lot.

I really like this snack that is common here: onigiri. It is triangular in shape. The outer layer is nori that is kind of crispy and it is wrapped around a triangle of rice. The rice has the sticky consistency of sushi rice but not the vinegar. In the very center is something that depends on the kind you get. Salmon, tuna, chicken, etc. It’s really good. Let me find a picture….

I could eat one right after the other.

I also want to comment on the way that local politicians campaign. I think it's pretty funny how it's done. They drive around their precinct (that's not the right term - I just mean their prospective geographical domain) in these little vans equipped with megaphones. And they usually have some signage with the candidates name. Of course I don't know what they are saying (except I can understand good morning, hello, and thank you) but it's pretty intrusive. Especially right outside my apartment window. And they're everywhere. Yesterday there were two at an intersection representing different candidates and they were trying to speak over one another...it was funny. I haven't gotten a picture but I will post one when I do.

pa-ti o shimashita (we had a party!)

We had a welcome party for new graduate students in the Bridge and Structures Lab, the Concrete Lab, and the Wind Lab. There is a picture below of the whole group. It was pretty fun but my idea of fun is stronly influenced by the type and amount of food involved. We had sushi (mmmm) and pizza (mmmmm) and beer (mmmmm) and other snackfoods (mmmm). It was strange to have beer in one of the classrooms but it shouldn't seem strange considering you can get it out of vending machines.

Nothing to do with Tokyo...

I love this! I've never see anything more true.

Presentation

I got through my first presentation. It went fine - glad it's over.

Busy Saturday

What a day! This was the day we planned for Tomo to “take me around” Tokyo. He was serious about this! I don’t really know what size geographical area we covered or how many miles we spent walking but it was a long and wonderful day. We started at Kou… which is just south of campus. From there we took at least two different trains to Tsukiji where the famous Tokyo fish market is http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm . You could smell the fish all the way down in the subway and we just followed in outside. It is where all of the fresh catch gets bid on and sold to commercial buyers and to those who sell in the nearby market area. It was amazing. We actually didn’t get there early enough to see the bidding but you could still get an idea of the chaos. I took lots of pictures of fish parts and large scallops. We walked around the main commercial area and then the market. I loved seeing all of the colors and smelling the smells. I wanted to eat everything in sight. I had a few samples and bought an eel skewer that was awesome. For lunch we wanted to eat at the market to sample the fresh fish. We chose a place with a long line (always a good sign) and had the freshest sashimi bowl ever! It was really good and included tuna, mackerel, salmon, uni (sea urchin), egg and the big orange fish eggs (don’t know what they’re called). I really hit the spot.

We then took a few trains to and walked to Hinode Pier, which is on the waterway. We took a boat up the river and passed under so many different types of bridges. They really like to paint the bridges different vivid colors and they are each a different type: cable stayed, suspension, draw bridges, etc. The boat ride ended at Asakusa. We walked around the stores that lead up to the main temple there. Tomo explained to me (and I had noticed in my travels thus far) that because temples and shrines are the biggest tourist attractions, there are always little stores and food places leading up to the temple, kind of official places.

After Asakusa we took two trains to Akhiabara. That is the main electronics district in Tokyo. You could get any type of cell phone, digital camera, computer part that you could ever want. It was interesting but by that time my feet were pretty tired. We wanted to go to one of the maid cafes but the few we tried were really busy. Tomo said that they are quite popular, especially in Akihabara and involve a girl in a special maid outfit serving you. I don’t really have a good mental picture since we didn’t end up doing it. Instead we went to one of the big electronics stores and found the most amazing massage chair ever! I will buy one as soon as I can possibly afford it. It was amazing. Really felt like a real massage – not some pansy cushion that kind of vibrates. I must have one.

Rejuvinated from my massage, we walked around a little more before taking the train to Segumo (kind of near where I live in Komagome). Tomo tried to explain to me that this is where grandmas go. I didn’t understand until we got there. Sure enoguth, there were little old ladies everywhere. And stores that sell stuff little old ladies like. It was leisurely to walk around. We found some Manuka honey in a honey store and had some honey ice cream (yum!).

The last stop on our whirlwind tour around Tokyo was Shinjuku. I will definitely be returning there when I have more time. Our first stop was an enormous (7 floors) book store that we knew had a English magazines and books. I was so excited to see all the magazines from home. I was about to start loading up on them until I realized that they were about $10 US a piece! I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much. Especially when I realized I could buy a paperback for the same price. So I bought a few books.

After the bookstore we walked to a highrise building that Tomo said had restaurants on the 30th floor. We were going to meet his “friend” there. She was running late so we sat down and got drinks and appetizers. The view of the city from that high was amazing. And the food was amazing as well. It was mostly Korean food and I loved it. A lot of sesame which I really like. And light salads and spring rolls and this pancake type thing with green onions and squid. We also had this rice dish that was really great and a Japanese kind of appetizer called nankotzu which is battered and fried soft chicken bones. I had a coenzyme-Q10 cocktail which was supposed to be good for me and tasted great. We finished it all off with desert. One more long walk back to the station and another train ride and I’m home. Whew!

Pictures from Saturday's excursion

I don't feel like organizing these...or describing them. Maybe I'll comeback later and do it.

Back at square one

Yesterday I started my Japanese Language class. The Civil Engineering department offers the class so I don’t even have to leave the building. They put me in the second class because I have had some Japanese. I was pretty bad. I can’t understand what they’re saying! I can read and write but I can never comprehend the spoken language. So, they’re putting me in the first class but, since the first month will be boring for me, they are going to give me as yet to be determined “special tasks”. I wish I didn’t have to go back a class because I have decent vocabulary and the writing is fine…I’m just not good under pressure and I have a pretty thick skull. My basic class starts tomorrow and meets everyday. It will be a nice diversion from research and might actually help me get better.

Research is still frustrating. I took two steps backwards and was so excited just to get back to my starting point today. It felt like an accomplishment but in the big picture it was nothing. I have to give a presentation on Monday to two labs combined. Rather than give an in depth talk about my research, I will just give an overview of the University of Illinois, and the research that our lab there is doing. I’ll give some background on what I do and what my goals are and I should be good! Lots of pictures usually helps. Once I get this out of the way I should only have to give another presentation closer to when I leave.

Getting more familiar....

Last night Tomo (he’s a guy that just got his PhD from the University of Illinois and we worked together on similar projects – now he’s an assistant professor here at he University of Tokyo) came to Komagome with me to help me scope out all of the restaurants and figure out how to order at the more intimidating (read: no English) places. I feel a lot more confident about it now. We ate at a place that is just up the hill from where I live. I was really good – kind of western as fall as the interior of the restaurant – more tables and more spacious than other places I had seen. It had a lot of variety, from salads to sushi to “bar” food. I think I’ll go there a lot in the future. It was reasonable and I can eat in a comfortable setting not far from home.

Tonight I had some success cooking at the apartment. It’s been hit and miss on the outcomes. I have to adjust my thinking on what I can cook. With only one burner, one pot, very limited space (i.e. no place to do a lot of chopping) and limited ingredients (mainly seasoning) I have to simplify what I try to make. I’m going to stick with pasta and rice dishes that I can just make all in one pot.

Research is frustrating. I’ve hit a road block. I won’t bore you with the details. I don’t see a solution that doesn’t involve a lot of help from others. That’s never an ideal situation. Especially when those with the needed expertise are in Illinois. And, as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” I’m just not their priority and I’m not there to meet with them face-to-face. I know it will get resolved but the main pressure is that I need to get some results prior to the conference I am going to in China, which is coming fast! I’m not in panic mode yet but that’s because I still have hope. On the flip side, I’m really looking forward to the trip to China. After that, Nathan comes to see me and then three weeks later I go home. Not that I’m counting the days yet but I am excited for Nathan to visit me.

Heart Saving Button

My electromagnetic cooker has a "heart saving button." That may come in handy!

I had another great weekend. Really relaxing. Friday night I took the train to Ueno and had dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Now, I realize that it is not Japanese at all, but I was craving grease, American style. And a margarita. It certainly delivered. I had a huge burger and fries and the margarita. It was really loud and crowded and even though I was by myself, it was fun to get out and be around people. After dinner I wanted to walk around the Ueno area a little. Unfortunately a young Japanese guy latched on to me and wouldn’t leave me alone. He followed me around for about 15 minutes before I had to just go back into the station. His English was pretty limited but I know he understood that I was saying I was married and I wanted him to leave me alone. He was really harmless but it was annoying.

Saturday I did my chores. First I went for coffee. I was excited because I had seen an ad for a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel they were selling. When I asked for it he showed me that it was not yet available. I settled for a bagel with crab on it – it was gross. I don’t think they just sell bagels, just these weird bagel sandwiches. I’ll just have to ask next time. I need to figure out how to say “plain bagel”.

I did my laundry in a hole in the wall coin laundry. It went fine but kind of expensive. I also cleaned my apartment which took no time at all because there’s just not that much to clean! I headed back to Ueno in the afternoon. It was kind of overcast but it was still really pretty. I took lots of pictures of the cherry blossoms and people. Ueno Park is one of the most popular in Tokyo. I’m looking forward to going back again when the weather is nicer and there are fewer people. There are also some museums and a zoo there that I want to get to.

I wandered around the shops in Ueno station for a while and bought some postcards. An old lady started yelling at me when I passed her – for seemingly no reason. The only thing I can think is that my shopping bag containing a super soft and flimsy (but large) pillow hit her and I didn’t notice. I just kept walking because I couldn’t understand her and had no idea what I could have done to merit such a response.

Back in Komagome for dinner I mustered the courage to go into a noodle shop with absolutely no English on the menu. I just said tofu (which I know is also “tofu” in Japanese) and supu (which I think is how you say soup). They got the tofu part but not the soup part. Not that I really wanted soup, just tofu and noodles in a big bowl with broth. A nice lady at a table nearby bailed me out. She understood enough of what I was saying to point out a menu item. When it came to me, it was just what I had wanted. Unfortunately, it was realllly salty. I was kind of disappointed because I could not use my new found menu item as my order in the future to avoid the language issue. I’ll just have to tackle it all over again next time.

Sunday was Easter. I went to the church I had been told about and seen in Harajuku. It was really nice, all in English. It’s in a really new building on the main street in Harajuku but apparently the church has been around since late 1800’s. The service was similar in style to our church in Champaign. For a while I forgot I was in Tokyo.

I really enjoy Harajuku. I think I could go back every weekend and not get bored. I went to an awesome restaurant that was recommended in my Frommers book (awesome book!). It has a fusion menu and the staff speaks English. It seems like they have an amazing brunch menu but I was in the mood for lunch. I had a Thai Caesar salad that was really good. I can’t wait to take Nathan back. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around – there’s so much to see and so many people from all over the world to watch.

Before I headed back to Komagome, I was lured into this little place by the most intoxicating aroma of baked goods mixed with chocolate. I HAD to have one. I saw the lady making them. She puts a huge chunk of chocolate (like bigger than my thumb) and wraps it in croissant dough. The result is a flaky croissant with gooey, slightly bitter chocolate in the middle. It was soooo good. My mouth is watering thinking about it! Another thing I can’t wait to take Nathan back to. I took a picture it was so good.

Great weekend! I am really enjoying it here. I’m also really happy to explore on my own. I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do! Tomo was helping his dad campaign this weekend (he’s a politician in Tomo’s home town and this weekend was some type of election) but he said that he’d “take me around” next weekend. I’m not sure what that will hold but I’m looking forward to it.

I can't put pictures in right now...I will as soon as it lets me.

Magazine Therapy

I got a package!!! From Nathan. It has some software I needed for my computer but it also had goodies. Magazines (I’m craving English reading material that is not about Japanese culture), a book, and chocolate. It was so sweet and made my day. This morning I took the People magazine to the coffee shop and just reveled in the mundane details of pop culture. It was strange how much it relaxed me and transported me to a different place. I know that sounds ridiculous but that’s how it was.

Last night Deal of No Deal was on TV. It was the Japanese version. For the first time, I knew exactly what was going on. They move a lot faster and the audience is not as vocal.

I bought slippers for my lab last night. We take off our shoes in the lab so slippers are necessary if you don’t want to go with sock feet (or worse, barefoot in summer). I love my slippers – I feel so assimilated!

To give you an idea of how my typical day is shaping up: I get up around 7am (Nathan calls around that time) and have a lot of time to get ready and eat breakfast – or lay in bed a little longer. Around 8:30 I go to a coffee shop just a minute from my apartment. I draw that out for a long time – read, watch people, write, etc. Around 9 or 9:15, I think about heading to the lab. For the past two days I have walked (40 minutes – good exercise) but when it gets too warm for that, I will take the subway exclusively. Nobody from the bridge group arrives much before 9:30 or 10am. Until today, I didn’t have a key so that was also my start time. At noon we eat lunch together – go buy lunch at the store and bring it back to the lab or bring from home. Everyone leaves around 7pm. By the time I get home it’s usually around 7:30 or 8pm unless I run errands before. I usually explore, get or make dinner. I go to sleep around 10:30pm. So that’s it. Pretty boring and a lot of alone time. But I don’t mind it at all.

I found food storage containers

They were here on campus the whole time - at the co-op store. Yay! If you comment anonymously, let me know who you are. Also, I'm also posting some pictures of campus....

Statue outside my building

Me outside main gate

Big tree in front of my building (starbucks is just out of shot to left)

My building

Main gate of campus - clock tower in the distance