Bunches of Stuff

So lemme start from the beginning.

I got to Shinjuku on Saturday morning no problem. I began searching for Shinjuku gyoen, just walking around like how I remembered the map. I eventually found the park, but not the gate so I walked around the edge until I found a gate. The park opened at 9:00 a.m. and I got to the gate at 8:50 a.m. so I waited a bit. I saw two English speakers, one of which I know for sure was gaijin, the other not so much.

The park opened and I wander around for about 2 and a half hours. Only saw about 1/3 of the park though. It's a really big park. I got eaten alive by mosquitoes. There's a bite about every 2 square inches on my leg, and I'm really allergic so they swell up. >< I met an old guy who looked at me and told me good morning in Japanese, and I got to respond. And then every Japanese person I saw after that I said "Ohayou gozaimasu" with a smile.

(shall update more later)
Saw some really freaky cats. One was bringing it's kill to the group and called them to it. Never seen this behavior before and I know cats really well.

So there was this wonderful old man. He was around the age of 75, give or take. And he noticed I was lost and beckoned me in the weird Japanese beckoning way (it's pretty much like shooing someone away or beckoning someone in America upside down). Anyway, he beckoned me over and we struggled to make conversation for about 15 minutes. I'm okay with Japanese and I understand a lot more than I can say (cause I'm under pressure) and he knew a little bit of English so we worked out a system. I listened a lot more than talked, but it really helped my listening skills. Now I just listen for any word I can recognize and thanks to the help of Norway-girl (whose name I really hope to get before she leaves tomorrow), I now know and can remember how to say "Please slow your speech" (Yukkuri hanashite kudasai). The little old man ended up showing me around Shinjuku station and giving me general directions to Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. He also got me some Japanese maps in English. And then, he took me to the terminal and said "Ganbare" and left. Ganbare is the rough Japanese equivalent to "good luck" but it can also mean "try your hardest" as well.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (or TMGB as I shall refer to it) is free if you want to go up to the observation decks. Plus, it's air conditioned. So, between both the North and South Towers, I easily spent about two hours up there relaxing after my hard walk in the park. The view is from the 45 story and you take an elevator (erebeitaa) that makes your ears pop twice.

The interesting story I have about the Japanese society and the TMGB is that I actually lost my sunglasses. And I got them back. In America, you're pretty sure you'll never see your stuff again, but you always go back and check the lost and found. Here, you usually will get it back. And they act like it's an emergency. So - I left the TMGB and went to grab my sunglasses, which I left in the North Tower. I had just left the South Tower, so I wasn't even where they'd be. But I all but ran back to the South Tower and when I got to the top, and saw the elevator director, I said "Sumimasen, megane" (Excuse me, glasses) and I made the motions for glasses (a sad fact is that even though I've practiced getting rid of stressing syllables, my Japanese speaking ability is still hard for the natives to understand...But I'm better than someone who hasn't practiced at all). She nodded and asked a question in Japanese and then said "lost?" I responded "Hai" (yes) and she called it in on her radio. They had indeed found my glasses and I went back down to retriever them (the conductor even let me onto the very next down elevator, instead of making me wait in line). I got to the bottom floor and an employee escorted me to the lost and found (which is always run by the police. In Japan, if you lose something, the people who find it take it to the nearest police station). I got my sunglasses back and signed the release form. It was a happy ending.

I'm also iffy on staying up late. I could stay out later...but I get tired because I wake up early. Going out early is good too, though, because it beats the heat.