lost on my 1st day

Yes. I got lost on my 1st day to school. Luckily, I brought enough money and left early so I was not late to class. I trust the subway more than I trust myself on the bus. If I could understand better, than I maybe would not have gotten lost. So it is my fault. The bus system is based upon how far you travel. It starts at 100 yen. they even have a 100 yen loop as long as you stay in that area/loop.

Anyway, I could not read the signs. This time I could only see they were in Kanji. I saw later that there was romaji, but they listed all the places they go to, not just the stop. So I tried to listen for it. Ha. All I heard was Charlie Brown's teacher over the loudspeaker. Plus I was on during rush hour. Sheesh. It was so crowded, that I let go of the bar at one point and let myself stay upright with the amount of people on board. Funny, huh? So, this is how the bus system works, i digressed, When you first board, you take a ticket. The ticket will have a number on it. Mine was 15. So now you just watch this light board up front. This board has your number with a price under it. This starts at 100 yen on this route. so as it progresses in distance from when you pulled your ticket, it goes up 10 to 20 yen. I has 500 plus yen on me. Side note: it costs me only 320 yen to take the subway. As time went on, we took a whole different route that took me to the beach. Ehhhhh? I saw a lot of cool stuff but nothing familiar. So this is the part I panicked. From my spot, I could not see any familiar landmarks, nor a sign in Romaji, nor hear the driver. So I asked the guy next to me, "Tenjin wa?" He just nodded. I took that as a yes. I got off then looked around. There's a sign that says "Tenjin North". So I thought, Damn which Tenjin is it? So I head South. I hit the next stop that said Tenjin South and no luck in finding anything Familiar. I went up to a traffic person, they look like cops without the shiny leather. I asked him "Nishitetsu Hotel wa doko desu ka?" I asked for the hotel because its more familiar to other people than the school. He then tells me pointing kind of east, Tenjin Meiji. Damn. That sounded familiar because its one of the stops for the subway. So I walk. and walk. Then I finally hit a subway station. This I know. So I look at the station map. These maps are just like the mall maps in CA. They tell you where you're at and show where everything else is at. I overshot my stop by four. So I paid about 200 yen to the right stop and walked to school with a half hour until class. So I thought, I'm sticking to subways even during rush hour. So until I'm better acquainted with the area I'm sticking to walking and the subway.

Class Time. We had a quick orientation. there were six of us who started today. and a whole bunch of others who speak so well, I thought they have been here a while. Only one other person, Erin form Australia, is staying for 7 weeks. She understands better, though, so she's in a different level class. Even though I know basic phrases and grammar, I stick to newbie. It makes me look smart anyway. I'm in class with someone from France and another from Germany. Classes are a blur, but I did get the basics. They are fast pace and almost all in pure Japanese. I have homework to do now. Sorry no pictures. tomorrow maybe. I have Pop Culture class tomorrow. Woo Hoo!!