Rush hour life and other adventures

Jeezy creezy I've had quite the week! Sorry about the prolonged silence, but I've had to give myself some time to process the fact that I am living in Tokyo. It has taken a bit of getting used to, I can tell you that.

I arrived, all starstuck and amazed, to find that my dorm is very conveniently located on university campus. Of course, it's the wrong campus, so I still have a one-hour commute every damn day. Fun times. I especially love the rush-hour treck through Shibuya and onto the Ginza line. It's so nice to get to be so intimate with total strangers! Sometimes, I almost can't breathe for excitement. Or maybe that is because I've got some dudes hip jamming my fallopian tubes and another lady's elbow firmly planted in my solar plexus while the wall is doing it's best to leave a permanent imprint on my face. You never know.

The thing about Tokyo train cars is that they are never full. Oh, they look full, don't get me wrong. But some dude will always find a way to squeeze his somehow-not-fat ass in, frequently by turning his back to the jam-packed sardine-can of human body odor and then litterally pushing against the solid mass of humanity until it deforms enough to make room for him.

The staff will help.

And in case you're unfamiliar with Shibuya; it's only the second busiest train station in the world, but I think that's enough really. Every day, it services abooooout twice the population of Oslo. Here's what the outside (the infamous Shibuya crossing) looks like at night:

A wednesday night, mind you.

In daytime, it's pretty much the same, except brighter.

So me, being more used to Trondheim Torg, have had a bit of adjusting to do. I'm coping like a native though, fishing my Kindle through the network of arms and purses to forget my social anxiety and general fear of an agonising death by crushing by losing myself in the world of J.R.R.Tolkien.

It bears mentioning that these jam-packed trains are prime fields for creepers. That is why, on some lines, you find these:

Removing the men entirely is the only way to ensure that the women can ride the train safely unmolested. How nice. My rides offer no such luxury, but I've been very safe so far. I imagine that the "pick on someone your own size" is something these men avoid, and I am in general their size or sizeier, so I'm not really worried at all. I do have a few things to say on the topic of gender roles in Japan, but that will be a whole different post indeed.

Anyways, once I do get to the campus it's a whole other story. The university grounds are gorgeous and have every ammenity. (In fact, I can't help but think "so this is what a real top-tier university feels like... I really don't mind).

There are columned archways remeniscent of western style universities, but also a Japanese archery range and a kendo hall. In the centre of the grounds there's a large park with a pond, where I enjoy going to get away from people (yes, I do that sometimes. I like people, but just not all the time, okay?)

Contrary to popular belief, this image is not
sponsored by Subway.

I love ponds.

The weather has also been generally spectacular (speaking as a Trønder), and since Japanese people generally want to avoid getting a tan, the sunny spots are always available for me to soak up that sweet sweet vitamin D.

Funfact: Contrary to our western fashion dictating tanning to a nigh-ridiculous
level, here, pale is pretty. The whiter the better. This means sitting in the shade,
using a parasol in summer and yes, I have seen whitening cream in shops.

No longer "pasty nerd".
The "pale is pretty" beauty standard really
does work in my favour.

When I arrived here the cherry blossoms were blooming, and I realized that the campus I'm living at was one of the places we visited while here on the trip last year. And last week, I was asked to talk to and guide around a new group of visitin class-tripping NTNU students. It really feels amazing to have come full circle like this. Almost like I've accomplished something.

So many tall blonde people! I just had to take a selfie!

I also got drafted to be "obligatory diversity extra #24" in a recruitment video for the university, in which my role was to be enthusiastically attending a robot show.

This was a rather amusingly awkward afternoon. The dancers were not overdressed, nor too far away to make out every detail. The show was also, at times, extremely disturbing and terrifying.

This guy was unapologetically
awsome.

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

Now I would like you all to vote: Should I, or whould I not, buy this traditional-Japanese-style-toilet-shaped curry plate?