Let the mixture settle.

I'm one of those people that adjusts slowly. And it takes about this long for me to get into the swing of things, where I can autopilot the daily routine and let the whole experience wash over me. Tokyo has much to be explored still, but I know chance will bring me where I need to go. There's something about being on your own that is liberating enough to let fortune take the reins for once. I'm normally terrified of being thrown into the world on my own.

I decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Oedo Sukeroku Taiko Dojo, one that I had heard about from Tanaka-sensei at SF Taiko Dojo. After about 2 hours of searching Ochanomizu, I was almost ready to give up. I asked shop owners, crossing guards, old ladies. Nobody had even heard of this place. I even went to the Kanda Myojin temple, and people stared at me when I asked. Thankfully, a local 7-11-esque shopkeep pulled out a map of the area and pointed me to it. It is an extremely small establishment, but I finally found it after sweating buckets and nearly giving up the ghost.

If you walked any faster, you would easily skim over this door. Only when I read the Wadaiko sign did I realize that was it.

I proved to myself yesterday that I could get lost and find my way out. A good reminder that giving up would have amounted to 2 hours wasted. I was so glad to meet the members of the dojo, who were actually in the middle of a meeting for their tour to Europe on Thursday. I felt bad, but they offered me coffee, and I purchased a pair of bachi (drum sticks) from them. It was an honor to meet the Grand Master and his disciples.

I ended up running into the Kanda Myojin while I was in hot pursuit of the dojo. I love running randomly into vestiges of old Japan. Beautiful relics of a beautiful time.

I also finally had dinner with Takaki, a Keio University student who attended our business lecture during the Global Skills Training portion. He had a friend considering UCLA in the next year, so we all went out to eat and be merry. We, of course, took this picture while obstructing the busy streets of Shibuya. It's great to know that I can make friends in Japan that might be coming my way soon enough. Takaki is going to San Francisco in the very near future for a program done by AYUSA Japan.

I finally gave my speech for JP students this past weekend. It was a great way to practice public speaking, and though I had to resist speaking as fast as I normally do, I'm glad I was able to both reflect on my UCLA experience as well as help some JP students get some perspective on studying abroad. It was hard to condense everything into one hour, but the powerpoint definitely kept me focused and moving forward. It felt good to have the support of my fellow interns and my UCLA friends who came to attend. There weren't many JP attendees, but the ones who came, I am certainly grateful for their listening to me blab on. I taught the UCLA 8-clap! 

:)