Orientation thus far

Here is a quick run through of some of the things that have happened are work Orientation so far:

-I've been to the offices of Co-Op Tokyo and Co-Op Net. Next I go to JCCU Headquarters. Co-Op Tokyo is a part of Co-Op Net, Co-Op Net is a part of JCCU.

-There are three others in the program: Jeff, Carl, and Hunter. They're all cool.

-Umeda san asked me how much I used to study Japanese each week at UCLA. We realized it was about 15 hours a week. Then we figured out that I'll be "studying" Japanese 16 hours a day here in Tokyo. It made me feel pretty foolish.

-I am once again the least proficient of the bunch in terms of Japanese, just like in class at UCLA. But I don't really care because I'm learning a lot.

-慶應義塾大学- That is the name of the college I will start working at next week: Keio Gijuku University. Yes, that kanji is unbelievably hard to write and I don't think I'll ever know how to write it. But Keio is one of the most prestigious universities in all of Japan, so I'm very excited.

-Chihei Umeda said that Keio is going to have an "omatsuri" that I'll get to go to. I couldn't tell if he said it is FOR me, or that I just get to go. Either way i'm excited. Partially because...

-Umeda san also said that Keio is preparing a beautiful girl to show me around the campus (CAMPUS TOUR?? WOO HOO!). But I think he was actually joking. Umeda san has a great sense of humor, but sometimes with the language barrier I can't tell if he's actually joking or not.

-Today after work, the guys and I went for a few beers in true Japanese working-man fashion. However, it was 3 in the afternoon, so none of the bars were open. Instead, we went to a restaurant called "Gasuto", which is a Denny's equivalent family restaurant. They serve beer there, so we had a few and hung out.

-As we left Gasuto, the two girls sitting close to us said hello to us and asked if we spoke Japanese. We answered yes (in Japanese) and introduced ourselves. The one of the girls gave me a piece of paper and told me to call her. It was napkin, with her name, email address, phone number, and a little cartoon drawing thing. Ha! I always thought it would be pretty cool if a girl just decided to give me her number with out me asking, but I never figured it would be in Japan. However, I seem to have misplaced the napkin. This is a shame, not because I really planned on calling the girl, but more so because I wanted to take a picture of it for you guys because its actually pretty funny.

-Food I've ate in the last few days: Korean style okonomiyaki, udon, fried rice, chirashi, natto (yikes...a little smelly). My family makes 4 course meals for almost every meal, including breakfast. Each part is usually on a different small plate or bowl, and it is always delicious.

-Expect a picture of me wearing my apron. Its ridiculous.