Maturity

Before I came here, I admit it I was soo fascinated by Japan. I was like I LOVE JAPAN! Japan is my country and blah blah blah yaddah I had this obsession, but now since I'm here I just like it.. because there's pros and cons to it. Like Japan, has really healthy food but american food is cheaper, has more of a variety and I feel is better. The downside is is that american foods are too unhealthy and will make you gain weight like crazy.. yuck! I hate the fact that alot of places here don't take debit/credit cards you always have to use cash!! I simply find that to be extremely annoying! I use to my debit card for everything.. but now I can't.. but other than that sometimes I wake up and think wow I can't believe I'm really here in Japan... but I've grown out of the I love it stage and have fully accepted it for what it is..but I admit it the are that I'm living in in Japan which is near Osaka. I like it better than Vegas. :D

Banana Diet

Supposedly, there is the trend in Japan called the banana diet! This is self explained but it's a new diet and basically japanese women are going to grocery stores to be on the banana diet... I really don't understand why japanese women need to be on a diet since they're already skinny anyways... I really don't get it but besides that I've been mad busy and I was in an article Asahi newspaper in a halloween costume.. oii well anyways I'm have to study and do a paper well peace!

Busy...

Well, I'm taking a break right now but I've been really busy lately.... but other than that I've been meeting some new people and getting invited to social events.. but I feel bad because I want to spend time with everybody but I've been booked... and I have to include school time in there too..but other than that on mixi I wrote a topic which is titled Have you ever dated a black girl/boy?! and then I wrote something like if so.. what was you experience good or bad! Well, I recieved some interesting responses and some messages..if I felt the love it was nice because I guess they thought it was towards me and was like well we're japanese and we love dating black people from men and women which is pretty cool! But I also wrote how it seems like in America asian men don't like black women. (This is from my experience). From my experience, I would be nice and try to talk to an asian guy but 10 out of 10 they didn't really reciprocate my feelings. Yet, they would complain about how hard it is to find a nice, smart and pretty woman! Jeeze, talk about being harsh when I'm right there listening! So yes, in America I've never really met an asian guy that liked a black woman. (Don't take it personally this is from my experience). Yes I explained it on my mixi and I recieved some love! It was pretty nice and I definatly want to spend time and have fun with everybody. I guess I am becoming a social butterfly. Well, anyways I'll keep you posted peace!

Didn't realize how emotional I am

Today, I finally realized I am indeed an open book! I can't nor do I hide my emotions at all. I went to Tsutaya today to check out some dvds and cds. The people esp. Kobayashi were very helpful, but at the same time they must of been fusterated helping a poor ryugakusei like me. I saw him with the cds and I asked if I can help him but due to langauge barrier he took it like I needed more help! Oii and so this guy helped me out and called some places to see where they have the cds at. My japanese can only go so far... oii but yeah all I wanted to do was get some cds and dvds and it took an hour. I felt so bad because of the language barrier and of course their emotions didn't show but mine did! This is when I realized how different the culture can be I feel that I still have my american ways because I'm direct and you can easily read me! Where as in they're not that easy to read at times. But yes, my emotions were showing big time through my face I was pretty embarassed and you can see that through my face.. oii so then of course with my japanese language. I told them that you don't have to help me. I'll do it myself besides I have to be miss independent and do it myself! But yes I told them that they were very kind and to tell that to Kobayashi too. Other than that, that was an interesting incident and oh I keep meeting random people off the streets too hahha me and my charismatic and outgoing ways but I have to be careful though... esp. at night .... other than that tommorow I'm going to explore Osaka but I need to stay low and study for now well peace muchachos!!

Brittany

Japanese culture and the embarassing event

Well, I had lunch with my sweet but very quiet nihongo partner and then after that I was off to go to Itami to help volunteer for this event and meet the mayor. Well, it turned off to be totally embarassing event. I have never been so embarassed esp. at this age. Ok so me and 2 other people went to the city hall to and I thought we were going to volunteer in our regular clothes! WRONG!! We had to wear these stupid costumes so basically we were going to meet the mayor in halloween costumes uggh how embarassing so we did and we met the mayor. Ok now here comes the most embarassing part they took pics. of us and of course being the only black gurl I stuck out and maan it was totally embarassing!!! ugh and then the newspapers interviewed us and took pics. so now we're going to be in the Asahi newspapers in our halloween costumes.. I admit it the interview was kinda boring so yes... I nodded off I tried to but yeah... I know I'm weird but this guy kept saying I looked like Whitney Houston. At least he didn't say oh your name is brittany like Britney Spears... oh jeeze!!! But yeah, they wanted us to come to pass out flyers in our halloween costumes. I said yes but I'm not going ... I'm 20 and I refuse to wear a costume unless I'm at a sweet halloween party!!! But yea and then I went to Sannomiya and hung out at this restuarant with my kewl new friend Yoshi it was pretty awesome! I even had my first drink that I liked it was Umeshu which is basically plum wine! I really liked it it was soo good. I met some really cool pplz too. Then I decided to get on the train because the last trains are always around midnight so I went on there and you know I attracted the wierdos again. There were these 2 drunk workers a man and a woman. The drunk woman points at me and whispers loudly kowaii niteiru. Which means I either look scary or cute.. but yea being black hmm u either get good attention or really really bad attention! So, I always take the taxi at night because well anything can happen esp. since I'm a black woman. But yeah, it was interesting because I was talking the japanese culture and the differences. Some people think that it's fake but I don't I see it this way when you meet them they're always polite because it's culture. I think that's a great ettiquette to have be polite when you first meet them! But honestly though, I'm polite but at the same time I just be myself! Not only that, but some pplz say it's hard to find true friends. Honey, I think it's hard to find true friends in any country you're in!! I think anybody can be fake and the only way you know who's your true friend is by time and action. Where the friend proves that they're true to you with time and action. But yeah, I'm adjusting pretty quickly to Japan. Oh the one thing that impresses me is that in Japan pplz don't hook up like crazy compared to america. In America, if someone thinks you're cute you hook up right then and there and just leave. In Japan, it's like I want to know who you are and I won't do anything until I know you. That might not be true in other parts of Japan yes I'm saying there's hoes out there too but it's usually like that though you don't hook up nor hug unless you're officially their boyfriend or girlfriend. So in Japan, if you go out with someone you ususally don't kiss or hug the person unless you're their boyfriend or girlfriend! Well, anyways woo that's all see yall' later!

heey

SO much has happened to me in this past week! First of all, I met this crazy dumb lady on the train. I was riding the train minding my own business and studying my japanese like always. Then she asked me where was I from? This was all in japanese of course so I told her I'm from America. Then she followed me outside and was like "Why are you in the military why do you kill people!" I told her that I'm not in the military and that I'm a international student!! So she told me I was lying and accused me of being in the military. I argued with her and told her that I was in international student. SO I finally walked away, but I should gone back and maybe gave her a peace of my mind! I e-mailed dad about this situation immediately, and then he responded telling me I did the right thing and that she's just a crazy lady. He also advised me to also keep my guard up! He also told me that usually the stereotype for african americans being in Japan is because they're usually in the military. That makes a lot of sense so in a way I think I experienced a form of racism but I'm offended because that just shows that there are people out there that don't believe that blacks can be smart enough to study in Japan without being in the military. Well, I hate to break your heart but I am living proof and I'm studying at a great university and I did it through hardwork. But yea that lady was such an idiot because military people would not say ryugakusei nor would they be here because they live in OKINAWA shows how much that japanese old lady knows about her own damn country! Other than that, I feel like everything is going great and I'm soo happy and blessed! My japanese is improving and I'm starting to understand more and read the street signs! Over the past weekend I went to a couple of great events! I went to the cooking communication event where we basically cook and meet other people. The event was full of japanese students which was great. I also met this one sweet japaense guy at first I thought he was really really cocky but it turns out he's nice because he gave me his e-mail and told me if I needed anything just e-mail him aww and same with the other guy but I also saw another black person like me. Of course, seeing a black person here there's this instant connection like yeah we're here yay!! So that's always good! We made an italian dessert and chocolate rice crispy treats it was soo delicious! I was like in heaven with the treats, but the one thing I don't really understand is that Japan has soo many bakeries where they make great pasteries but yet they microwave cookies ewww I admit it I miss american cookies because they're soo soft and straight from the oven! Dang I want some american cookies right now! Then on sunday I went shopping with the fellas!<--- Ladies never go shopping with a buncha guys because yeah they don't understand haahha! IT was very fun but I can tell they were like man I'm tired! But I did buy some very cheap fashionable outfits! On friday I went to Joyce's bday party it was the bomb we went to the Gyu Kaku place the all you can eat beef and woo I ate a bowl of rice but then I get full and I was the first to throw in the towel. My gift to Joyce was helping her pay her dinner bill! So of course she didn't have to pay anything and it was $26. I was very very satisfied. Lately, I've just been studying alot due to my courses they weren't joking in they said the japanese intensive courses are that intense and fast so I feel that everything is going by soo fast. I just want to slow down and enjoy it all. I went to the global lounge yesterday and to my suprise there's a lot of japanese students there even though it's geared towards international students hence the name global lounge! But yeah, I met some really sweet people do so basically my method is sit next to a random person that is ALONE and then basically you'll find something to talk about. So it was pretty good and I've also been getting some admirers... oh snap hahah but it's all good because I'm just focused on school and of course having fun in ther process well I decided that I'm going to make more time to update my blog like at least everyday or every other day because memories can be forgotten and plus I want to write everything down while it happened! Well, love yall peace Brittany

Racism

The one thing that I like about Japan is that race isn't spoken out as much. What I mean about that is that in America you would often hear people say "Well, I'm black or I'm latino" I'm this race and then they would give an excuse on why they act like that based on their racial stereotypes. I can see if one wants to poke fun at it but if it's all the time then it's not very good. I like how it's not as clicky either like the blacks hang out with the blacks and other races hang out with other races. I like how Japan is open to everyone regardless of race. Race is not much of a question it's basically what country are you from! Like what's your nationality per se. Like are you from Germany, France, Nigeria which country are you from?! I also like how they make it easier for us immigrants to get the basic nescessities like you wouldn't see the clerks be impaitent with us if you can only speak a little to no japanese. Compared to America if you're an immigrant you're taken advantage of and the employees get really rude with you! Well, my finger hurts but I will get more into depth about this!