After much trial and some error, I have finally gotten my bearings in Kanazawa. The first time I went out on my bike I got lost and started asking people where my street was, and by that I mean I rode up to people sweaty and out of breath and said "Liberty Hill" to only receive the look of confusion and fear I have since grown accustomed to. As it turns out, Liberty Hill is the name of my building, not my street, because THE STREETS DON'T HAVE NAMES IN JAPAN! That still blows my mind. People use landmarks to give directions. Apparently my apartment isn't a known landmark.
So after my first time out I only went on bike rides in one direction and retraced my path backwards. Soon I mustered enough courage to turn when I went out bike riding with a map and compass, but I still got lost, repeatedly, only to find out the next day that north is left on my map. Now that's just mean.
During the second week I had to go to a few different orientation events around town, so my supervisor drove me around town to show me where they were. So as we were driving (recklessly and on the wrong side of the road) I was jotting down "turn left at green building, road forks, take the 'cuter' street, etc." So that's how I got to places for the first few weeks, but now I have a decent bearing, and I know how to say "where is," which has proven very vital, although still quite limited: example, today I was talking to two cute Japanese girls on the beach and all I could say was "I am Majeed. Where is the train station?" They were not impressed.
Here's a video of some highlights of my first two weeks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Nice video! I saw Yu for a split second! What a lovely houseguest you had too...I hope he doesn't overstay his welcome. That crosswalk portion of the video was madness....I can't believe how many people there were there. Seriously, how did you get home on that subway system? Wow. You should be proud of yourself for making it through that alone. I hope you're doing well, Majeed. Keep the spirits up! In time you will look back on all those moments of frustation and retell them with a laugh. Yeah Majeed! You can do it! Make ICA proud! (hehehe...I know that was silly)
Post a Comment