My very Japanese schedule and challenges of living in Tokyo

Hi everybody!

Yes, I know what you're thinking. "It's about time!!" "Ah, I thought she stopped blogging." "Wait... who's this person again?"

I understand, but in my defense: Living in Tokyo as an exchange student is not for the weak!

These past week has been filled with challenges and problems I never even thought of before. I don't even know where to start. Wait, maybe I do.

To all the people describing Japan as "paradise on earth", "like living in a fantasy", or even worse "like an anime"... NO. Japan may have some nice attributes, but it's certainly no paradise, especially for foreigners. (WARNING: In this post I will reveal some not-so-nice things about Japan, so if you'd prefer your dreamy Japan-fantasy, please stop reading.)

Things that make living in Tokyo hard for me:

1. My schedule. I believe people who come to work in Japan or to study at an university have more freedom to choose, but either way, as a member of a big company/institution/anything in Japan, you'll have to prepare for crazy Japanese schedules. I'm speaking mostly out of personal experience here, of course, so keep that in mind. 

My schedule as a High School exchange student involves getting up at 5.30, taking three to four different trains, using three different train lines, transferring at Tokyo's two biggest stations, before arriving at school around 8 am. Then I have classes until 12.30 (LUNCHBREAK <3), and then again classes from 13.10 to 15.05. There's almost always something to fix afterwards though, even though I have yet to join any of the school clubs, and I often end up going home around 15.30-16.00. Depending on what time I left school, I'll be home between 16.45-17.45. 

Dinner is usually at 18.00, it's my turn in the shower at around 19.00, and afterwards I have one to two hours of free time at home before I have to get to bed(futon) in order to get up at 5.30 again. 

Did I mention earlier that we have school on Saturdays too? Yeah. On Sundays I'm usually too tired to do much, except chilling at home. So no, I don't go on crazy Tokyo adventures, if that's what you had in mind.

2. The school system. Hallelujah! Haven't this given me enough problems! Let me make it clear, once and for all: The subjects at a Japanese High School can not, NOT, be taken as an equivalent to Norwegian High School subjects. Or any European subjects for that matter. It's completely different! This may not matter to most people, but as an exchange student it's very, very important. Unless you're at a native level of Japanese, you'll hardly learn anything, and even if you did understand everything, it would still be completely unrelated to your education at home. Just wanted to make that clear. 

Another thing about the school system that bothers me a bit, is the "learn-to-be-like-everyone-else" mentality. 

If we look away from the school uniforms, there are lots of other things that keep people from developing real independence. In my school we have a bunch of rules that does not effect our education in any way, only our lifestyle. 

For example, I'm not allowed to wear any make-up, listen to music on my way to and from school, and I'm not allowed to enter any cafes, restaurants or shops after school.  

In classes it's all about remembering, and in my opinion, too little thinking. 

People may learn all the names of all the generals, and all the important dates and years, but no one ever ask questions such as "Why did the war really start?" "Was there any sign in the society beforehand that could tell a war was brewing?" "Could anything have been done to prevent it?" "What have we learned from this war, that we can bring on to coming generations?". 

To me it's kind of troublesome, since I feel like the real knowledge gets lost behind details that, at the end of the day, is not all that important. 

In summary, it feels like the school is trying to shape the students into their ideal student, and does not make much room for people to be themselves. I always viewed High School as an important time to figure out your own identity, so it often go against my beliefs. 

3. Health issues. Let's be honest here, living a regular Tokyo-life, does not really promote good health. The constant stress, daily commuting and polluted, humid city air takes it toll on your body, sooner or later. If you're like me, and often don't get enough water, food and sleep either, your body is bound to make a rebellion after a few months. 

Symptoms of your body saying "Hey, I don't like Tokyo anymore":

- Swollen and soar throat, from breathing the not-so-clean air for too long.

- Constant headaches and dizziness, after a nice cocktail of sleepiness, noise, annoying Japanese businessmen and Shinjuku Station. 

- Nausea, basically your body screaming for food, water and a good rest. 

- Your skin having a life of it's own, a terrible one too, after being exposed to the unfamiliar humid and polluted air of Tokyo in a combo with fans and air conditioners. 

- Rashes and strange, red dots on your skin. I don't know where those came from. 

- Wounds on your feet after having to wear those, horrible, horribly uncomfortable school shoes. 

4. Bugs. I've gotten to the point where I welcome any spiders into the house, as long as they eat the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes. Everywhere. I mean, it's freaking October, and I for one know that mosquitoes are not supposed to be around at this time. Nothing annoys me more. Just imagine almost falling asleep on another short night, when you hear the dreaded "BZZZZ" in the darkness. Imagine running from the kitchen door to the house gate to avoid mosquitoes landing on your face. Imagine checking the bathroom and shower for mosquitoes every time you're going to use it. Imagine covering up your skin by changing to trousers and long-sleeves every time you're going down to the kitchen or living room. 

I mean, there's a spider the size of the palm of my hand living in the bathroom, and I don't even care as long as it eats some mosquitoes for me! 

Okay, my complaining is over for now. I created this blog to share my experiences in Tokyo, so I felt it would be wrong to not mention the bad things. I like Japan and think the culture is very interesting, but it is by no means any wonderland. Some of you might have been wondering why I haven't blogged for such a long time, and the answer is simply that I just didn't have time and energy for it. 

I think it's important to understand that I'm here on an exchange program, and not vacation, and there's no way I can stroll around Tokyo taking pictures, visiting famous spots and then sit down at some cafe and upload it on the blog. My current life is sadly more about the things mentioned above, than exploring Tokyo, Japanese pop-culture and shopping. 

Another not-so-good thing about Japan I'd like to write about in the future is Japan's view on foreigners, stereotyping and occasional racism. This is a more touchy subject that I'd like to spend some more time on writing, to avoid misunderstandings. You'll have to wait up for me. 

Aah... Can you imagine any better way to start your morning?

Until next time!

PS. Did I mention there's been an outbreak of dengue fever, two earthquakes and a volcanic eruption since last time I blogged? Japanese people may be harmless, but you can't say the same about the nature.