Information and Communication Technology

It's been some while since I last put a post on this weblog, but I've been quite busy with university and social life. I think I'll first tell about the latter: how I'm getting along with people here.
Before I went to Japan I was quite worried about wether I would be able to get any Japanese friends to talk Japanese with. I've lived in France for one year and there it was not very easy to get close to french people (save some exceptions of the great guys who might read this ; ) As an exchange student living in an international dormitory and attending classes with mostly other international students it's quite hard to get into contact with local people.
However, some of the international students in France are locals in Tokyo, so I already know a few people here (and in Yokohama). Next to that, there are some student's associations that focus on international contacts. Most Japanese members of these so-called circles (or saakuru in Japanese) can speak some English and are looking for an opportunity to practice that language. Luckily they don't mind talking Japanese when I talk to them in their mother tongue, so I can also practice that language. These saakuru organised several parties so that international and Japanese students had a chance to meet and when sitting at a table with some Japanese students and a few bottles of beer phone numbers are quickly exchanged with many people. They also organised a basketball-match, there seems to be soccer every saturday (but I haven't yet been there) and the university also organised some 'mixer' activities. Clearly, there are enough opportunities to meet Japanese people, and apparently they are all very open, friendly and willing to establish a lasting contact. I must admit that I haven't yet made the most of it, partly because I also wanted to meet some people I still know from when I was in France. Another reason why I haven't yet much participated in student's nightlife here is that I met some other people before who I'm seeing regularly now. The way I met those was quite peculair - Ignas was still in Tokyo and while we were waiting for the underground I was looking up some kanji in a dictionary. Then a girl stepped up to me and asked whether I was studying Japanese. She was with a guy and they seemed to be on their way home after having some drinks in a bar. They invited us to a party a few days later and there I met many other Japanese - all working people, many of them hadn't even studied (just high school) but could speak English quite well. However, I still had enough opportunity to practice my Japanese and combined with some drinks and some food this was a very nice way to study the language. The next week they took me to some place called 'Bob's Lounge', some kind of international bar for foreigners who want to meet Japanese people and Japanese who want to speak English. The bar is run by a Japanese man (in his 60's?) who has lived in Texas for some while (hence his nickname Texan Bob) and makes announcements in English with a southern-american (that is US) accent every once in a while during the evening. At that place I met some more Japanese people who where all nice and relaxed - but maybe not representative for the average Japanese. Just as the average westerner might not be that interested in Japan - and at least not willing to learn Japanese - maybe the average Japanese wouldn't really want to become close friends with some weird foreigners. If that's the case, then I haven't met that many 'average' Japanese yet. Logically, only people interested in foreign countries/people come to those international parties, so for me it's quite easy to establish contacts and get along with them. Concordingly I'll never know what the average Japanese is like, cause I won't have much chance to meet him/her. (note that I consider students not as average Japanese: they are much younger and have a higher level of education). One necessary device to keep in contact here is the mobile phone. Most communication consists of e-mail from and to mobile phones (instead of the Short Message Service used in the Netherlands and France). So next to phone-numbers, e-mail adresses are very important to get through to people.
As far as foreigners are concerned, I naturally meet them at the dormitory and the university. I must say though that my meetings with Japanese people resulted in less contact with other international students. While many people of my dormitory mostly go out together in this neighbouhood, I'm heading for rendez-vous with other people in other parts of Tokyo. But well, I've just been here for some weeks now so I'll still have enough time to get to know everyone around here. For now, another important thing is to concentrate on my studies: classes have really started now, with tests and short papers coming up, lots to read and lots to learn so I think I have to adjust my schedule and spend some more time with books and less time with friends.