First post from Japan!

Like you people obviously have noticed, this is my first post from the most wonderful country in the world, in the most understood language in the world, by the most wonderful person in the world (joudan desu, it's a joke ^^).

I have chosen English as the language for my blog so everyone I know can read it (even the Japanese people! Or so I hope...)

Anyway I'll tell you a bit of the story of how I got here.

Japan being the most awesome country in the universe of course I wanted to go there, so first I contacted the organisation AFS. I went on weekends with them and everything but because they have a lottery system that decides which country you go to I couldn't go with them because they picked out China for me and I thought like hmmm... China me no like, so I did some more searching and found WEP (short for World Education Program (or, more likely, We Eat People)), and they said I could go, so I went. After leaving some of my luggage (oh and my parents of course ^^) at Brussels Midi Station I took the TGV (Biggo Speedo Trainness) to Paris Charles de Gaulles airport, where I found out that actually I should've left EVEN MORE baggage in Belgium because We Eat People failed to notify me of the fact that I could only take 20 kg's (they told me 23).

From PCDG we (1 more Flanders dude and 4 Wallonia-inhabitants) took the direct non-stop airplane to Tokyo Narita. There we waited. And waited. And then someone from the even more wonderful organisation WYS (World Youth Service Society (methinks), more likely short for Whoah You're Stupid for choosing us).

Then we took a limousine bus (weird name isn't it, cause it has nothing to do with limousines, here in Japan that's what they call a coach) to the Olympic Center near Yoyogi Park (which is really nice!).

And there we waited.

And waited.

And after being awake for like 40 hours we finally got some rest. But not until after having had my first experience with a combini.

>>> Nihon no Bunka Intermezzo:

>>> Nihon no Bunka Intermezzo: Nihon no Bunka = Japanese culture

>>> a combini is a small supermarket where you can buy mostly food.

>>> derived from convenience store

We did a lot of stuff at the Olympic Center, like having the rules explained to us (every hyphon and comma) but that's not really interesting now is it... Anyway we went to Harajuku (with exchange student Japanese guides (Mizuho and Miria arigatou :D)) where we went karaoke-ing and did 2 rounds of purikura.

>>> Nihon no Bunka Intermezzo: Harajuku: If you're in Tokyo and want some clothes, Harajuku is the place to be. It's street after street of clothes shops, food shops and apparently karaoke places as well :D

>>> purikura: crazy Japanese machine that turns visiting a photo booth into a sport. You go into one of the machines in the hall and have pictures taken of yourself and friends, which you can then edit and take home. Quite the hype with girls who wear too much make-up it seems (and other girls too, ofcourse, sorry :P))

Anyway it was crazy.

After all that fun it was time to go to our families. I'd been appointed the Aoyama family, residents of Yamato, Kanagawa as a welcome family. And they were indeed very welcoming! My current host parents' names are Koyu and Mieko. Koyu-san is a professional artist and university professor and loves art deco among other things. Mieko-san loves chanson/canzone and singing in general. They both love Italy. Mieko-san has a special bond with Belgium because it was the first country she ever travelled to (or so I understand). Koyu-san has a special bond with Belgium because he has studied there and likes Flemish painters.

After staying here for two weeks I will move to my second family, more info about them will follow.

I was planning to make a video blog and I will post something here as soon as I do but in the meantime I have some other stuff for you: pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42370919@N07/sets/72157622329671538/

and my version of Only In Japan!:

- Stuff with 10,000 buttons. Everything here has buttons with kanji on them. Some toilets (the one we have here does). The bath (it's irritating! only handy function is the fact that you can set it to keep the bath warm for you). Even the desk lamp I have beside me in this room has 6 different buttons with Japanese text on them.

- Cute girls in even cuter school uniforms!! I'm so sad my school doesn't have a uniform. My school is the coolest though. I can pick robotics and astronomy as subjects! It is after all Sagamihara Science and Technology High school... :D

- Book Off! The best store ever: every manga you can imagine for less than a euro :D

- The worlds most wonderful water! Sounds weird but it's true. I'd pick Japan's water over Evian or whatever any day. I'd probably even pick it over some soft drinks :P

- Akihabara! The world's biggest paradise for lovers of electrical appliances and digital media (It's in Tokyo, of course it's the biggest in something)! If it's electric or digital it exists in Akihabara :D (more about that later)

- Uber-crowded trains... not so positive.

- Weird sweets... with red bean paste and mashed rice... all of them... it's a conspiracy...

More to follow as I explore more I guess.

I have currently visited: Yamato (of course :P), Harajuku, Yoyogi Park (and in it the Meiji Jingu), Akihabara, and Kamakura! Kamakura is nice, I visited some temples and shrines. To get to the big jingu (shrine) they have there you pass through half a mile of walkway bordered by sakura trees. Can't wait to go back there in spring.

Well as it is currently almost 2 in the morning I guess I'll finish this post with:

Mata ne!

See you later!

Joren El Sugoi In Japan Habitant Flandrien Super-Deluxe Otaku Verspeurt

>>> Nihon no Bunka Postscripto: Otaku: person who is into Japanese entertainment culture