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I have lived in my current apartment in Matsudo for just a little over a year. It is a decent place, clean (provided that I clean it) and comfortable. Yet, it does not really feel like “Home” for me. My general feeling towards my place is that it is simply a nice place to come back to from where ever I was before I was in my apartment. Outside of either of the two houses that I grew up in in Lincoln, there is only one more building where I can find another comparable ratio of memories per square foot. That place is the Senshu University Kokusai Kenshukan.

Simply, this is the dorm on campus for international students who participate in one of Senshu’s intensive Japanese language programs. About 35 college students live in this building during each program- Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. I was in the Fall 1998 program, stayed in the dorm during a visit to Japan during the Summer 1999 program, and then returned again from Fall of 2001 to August of 2002. If you have ever lived in an international dorm anywhere in the world, you probably can guess the atmosphere of this building. If you have ever actually lived in the Kenshu kan (not the “kan” as you kids in the fall 2002 program called it!), regardless of whenever it might have been, you know exactly what I am talking about. Recently a great group of 5 current UNL students who are at Senshu now came out to my Jr. High to see the school festival. It was a sunday and some were not in the best of shape. I asked what they all did last night and they said they all went out to karaoke, then came back to the dorm to drink and ended up just talking together until very early in the morning. I remember that! Except I never went to Karaoke, and don’t drink.. and also usually went to bed earlier than most. But I remember seeing other people doing those things. I spent a lot of time up on campus with either the Camera Club or, and not nearly as often, in my business classes with my Advising teacher.
Anyways- the International affairs office has copies of the language program students’ schedule for the taking in their office. And there are always Senshu students who want to come to the dorm and meet the new exchange students. It was like old times when I went to the Kenshukan last week- the new Fall students just got in, and these kids below were there to meet them. The girl with the black hair spoke fairly good english and was trying to help a german guy (who was speaking japanese) get his keitai set up. Later they all were at the genkan putting on their shoes and then headed out for dinner. I bet they went to Saizeriya. Yes!

Another thing to note is that the Odakyu line is a mere 20 feet from the dorm.

This is out the window that is next to the computers. I miss living so close to a railway- I liked hearing the last train woosh past late at night, and the clanging of the nearby intersection cross arms early in the morning when the first train went past.
As I write this I keep remembering stories and happenings that took place in the Kenshukan. Nothing that is too interesting to anyone who was not there at the time but it was fun to stop in there that afternoon. After that I went to the International Affairs office to meet with the staff and chatted. I guess I had forgotten how much they actually know what really goes on in the Kenshukan. Not everything of course, but more than the kids who stay there realize. . .

Finally, this Fall a good friend of mine is improving her already amazing Japanese at Senshu:

This is Chen Li. I can’t believe that we have been friends for 5 years now. She speaks what could sounds enough to me like native English, Chinese, and Japanese. I think that she won’t have too hard of a time finding a job in Tokyo. She wrote about my visit on her blog too, but her camera makes me look all goofy and kind of fat. It is an accurate machine.

The two links to photos in this post were linked from Ricard Bru’s blog, he is a student I have not yet met but Chen Li knows him.