Going to school - Totoro Mountain			2004101801.jpg
	This is the mountain by which the events of the movie My Neighbor Totoro take place. Pretty cool, huh? It's right in my backyard. ^__^
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	Going to school - Higashimurayama hatake			2004101802.jpg
	One thing there are a lot of in Higashimurayama is farmland. Lotsa farms, or "hatake" (畑）. This one reminds me of a big garden center I have close to my house back home in America. It's a nice thing to bring back memories... and it's only two minutes' walk away.
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	Going to school - It's you!			2004101803.jpg
	The first line of this sign, which is at an intersection very close to where the above picture was taken, makes me laugh every time I see it. Literally translated, it says, "It's you!" Anyone who knows about the Zero Wing (also known as All Your Base Are Belong To Us) phenomenon will understand why I think it's so funny.
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	Going to school - Some houses			2004101804.jpg
	Nothing particularly particular about this picture... it's just a sight I see every day when I go to school. Note how people don't really have front yards, and walls separate what little yard they have from the street (which seems as narrow as a sidewalk sometimes). The whole fence/wall thing in Japan goes back a long time, supposedly to the time when it was easy to see in through the paper house walls that they needed fences and walls for privacy. At least, I think that's how it goes. I could be totally mistaken.
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	Going to school - SILS building			2004101805.jpg
	This is the entrance to the building where I have just about every one of my classes (the sole exception being statistics, which is tucked away in a building that is poorly/not labeled and isn't labeled on the map that was given to us, either. Note the sliding glass door. Yes, it's automatic, but like with 99.9% of automatic sliding doors in Japan, it won't open until you've practically mashed your nose up against the glass. You get used to it, though. When I return to America, I'm going to go totally nuts when doors actually open BEFORE I'm about to break through them...
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	Going to school - International student lounge			2004101806.jpg
	When you don't have classes, you either go get food or you hang out. One of the most "happening" hangout spots is the international student lounge, which is happening just about all the time it seems. I've met a few international students here, and even filled out a survey that someone was doing for a master's thesis project. One of the main reasons I come here, though, is because there's a wireless hub there (see that grey thing on the column second from the far right?), and now that I know how to connect to the wireless network (all it needed was a VPN all along) I'm able to stay connected even while on campus. No, I'm not COMPLETELY asocial. Quite the contrary, I like being in contact with my friends all the time... and it just so happens that many are online. ^__^
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