Moving to Dorms
- Opinionated Night Owl
- Nov 1, 2019
- 4 min read
Woke up at 6. Mission of the day:
- Shower
- Pack
- Be presentable
- Check out public transportation from Tamatsukuri to Suita Campus IC Hall (includes Osaka Loop Line, Midousuji Line - Kitaosakakyoko Line, Osaka Monorail, Taxi)
- Check-out from the hotel
- Drag 2 suitcases both weighing 25+kg in +30 degrees and don't die
- Check-in to dorms; paperwork
- Get to know roommates and other exchange students (socialize)
The upper left is Kitaosakakyoko Line platform at Senri-Chuo.
Upper right is the monorail platform at Senri Chuo.
Lower right is the Midousuji Line platform at Umeda.
Okay so I managed. Like I forgot my toothbrush at the hotel so I had to buy a new one, but luckily that was the only thing I forgot at the hotel.
The travel was pure hell. The humidity, the hotness, the fact that there's practically no elevators? And I was travelling during morning rush hour which is the worst possible idea to have ever. UGH!
When I finally reached the Handa-byouin-mae monorail station and got a taxi for the rest of the trip, the driver had no idea where the IC Hall was on campus. I had to google it for him. AND it was like 500m away from the taxi stand where I got on. How could he not know?! And then he stopped somewhere and asked ME if it was the correct place. HOW COULD I KNOW? So I just shrugged and got off. That was my first and probably the last taxi drive I have in Japan.
When I arrived at the Suita IC Hall the welcome was warm and friendly. I did get the impression though (which was later on confirmed) that even though the coordinators spoke English, it would be better to converse in my shitty Japanese to get my point across rather than their English, because even if they don't understand what I am saying, they just nod and smile and agree. They never tell you if they don't understand you. In Japanese they will explain it as many times as I need to understand it at least.
There was two other exchange students at the dormitory orientation who were very nice and we became fast friends, although they weren't my roommates.
Funny fact: when the real-estate agents came to take us to the apartments and give us the grand tour, the men wanted to help us with our suitcases. But, when they tried to carry them they couldn't lift mine XD. It was so awkward afterwards because when they couldn't move it, I just went and carried it and they were all staring at me with shocked faces and I'm pretty sure I was like instantly dubbed 'the macho woman' or something.
Annoying fact: The grand tour of the apartments' was done in CHINESE. We are in friggin' Japan! They could have at least had it in JAPANESE and I would have understood it, but no, THEY DID IT IN FRIGGIN' CHINESE. And then the translator tried to translate it to English, but I know I'm being cruel for saying this, but HE WAS SO BAD. I can't understand how you could even call yourself a translator if you couldn't even say NUMBERS in the target language! So, we had one of the exchange students translate 'coz she was from Singapore and spoke good English.
So, my apartment is closest to the Suita Campus of Osaka University. It's called UR Senri Aoyamadai Apartments and as the name suggest it's an actual Japanese-style apartment and not a dormitory. We have tatami mats and sleep on futons (no beds, only mattresses on the floor), have a weird square shaped bathtub and no oven in the kitchen. The stove is a gas-burner, but the gas comes in these tiny little battery-looking things and on the first week ours didn't work because apparently it was out of gas. So we had this one guy come in and change it and you can believe I was so goddamn confused when he just pulled the damn battery-thing out of his pocket and stuffed it in. Like, we have gas canisters or small grey tanks in Finland.
Also all doors, except the front door, are sliding doors (which is so damn cool) and we have three balconies. 1 big (attached to my room yay), 1 small between kitchen and laundry machine space (you'll probably understand when you see the video below) and the 1 very tiny which you could access from the bathroom (because there is no ventilation system in the bathroom, so you ventilate it by opening the balcony door).
Below is the video of my apartment that I shot the very first day I arrived and my roommates hadn't arrived yet. It's in Finnish, so I apologize about that, but you can watch it to see how the apartment looks at least.
*Alla oleva video on suomeksi mun asunnosta Japanissa!
Below is my room after initially furnishing it ~ I have to admit I really like the blue sheets that was included in the futon set. The pale brown (beige-ish) curtains however receive very strong dissatisfaction from me.
Ingenious life hacks in Japan Part #1: You can tie your blanket to your sheets from the inside, so it will not drop one end.
Here're our laundry machine (completely in Japanese and no way to control water temperature really.) And our super tiny fridge that is like one of the worst things in life at the very moment. It fits absolutely nothing and it should be enough for THREE PEOPLE! Goodbye cooking.
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