Winter Is Coming & Other Related Stories

In 2011, I spent some 3 months in Rwanda, which is famous for its beautiful women, one thousand hills, cleanliness and a tough, lean president. A lot of my friends and readers told me to get them Rwandese girls when I was going back to Kenya, as if girls are just　おみやげ (souvenirs) that I could just put in my bag and distribute them to friends when I got back! Anyway, I have been here a week and I know what you guys want me to send you or come back with cheap  Japanese cars! Am I right guys? Especially you three: Mackel Tisa (Subaru?), Woolie (do you want a Prius) and Alex (do you want an Allex?).

A Toyota Alex

The bad news is, there are no abandoned cars on the streets.. I thought I would just find one with keys left in the ignition and drive off. Ok , I am kidding. A new car here is expensive, new baby cars will cost you like 1,000,000 Yen (the conversion rate to Kenya shillings is almost 1:1). For secondhand cars, I have not yet seen a used car lot around, but that could be because I am in a “rural” city. The worse news is, I can’t do business/any part-time job or I will lose my student visa and scholarship. So the business has to wait, patience tomodachi (friends).

I have been in Japan for exactly one week now. I haven’t seen much of it, because I have spent most of the days in campus, getting oriented with the life, filling hundreds of forms and starting Nihongo (Japanese) classes. I have also been shopping for stuff I need from EON, which is a huge supermarket chain in East Asia. Everything in Japanese so thank God for pictures, because they show you or give you a clue of what’s inside the pack. Also, a few international brands for beauty products like Nivea, Lux give you an idea of what you’re buying.

It is autumn, which means the landscape is dotted with trees that turn orange, red, auburn, purple and various other dazzling colours. The weather has been great, except for a couple of days when it rained non-stop. It gets warm, like 26deg. No need for a sweater or blanket at night. But winter is coming. And I hear it could get to zero or sub-zero temperatures. The campus of Kanazawa University (金沢大学) will be covered in snow. While I am dreading the cold temperatures, I am looking forward to snow.

The sign reads: Welcome to Kanazawa Daigaku. Click to enlarge

In the meantime, I am really enjoying the walk to school in the morning and evening, takes about 20 minutes from where I stay. It’s a hostel for international students. In your room, there’s a study desk, bed, fridge, wardrobe, several shelves and bathroom with a bathtub and (normal) toilet.

 

This is my study table

The international house has students from all over the world studying in various universities in Kanazawa City. And it’s located 1 block away from EON, a large supermarket.

Ishikawa International House where I am currently staying

Below are several photos of the campus. Enjoy! Click on the images to see the full view and scroll through the gallery. Also, follow me on Instagram for more pics..

The trees turning auburn? in Autumn in Kanazawa university

Severall steps to walk up and down as the university is built into the mountain

Views from Kanazawa University in Autumn

A footbridge connecting two parts of the campus

Benches where students can sit and enjoy the sun

The university square

The trees turning auburn? in Autumn in Kanazawa university

The view from a footbridge at the campus. I wonder where that road leads.