I'm curious about friendships between opposite genders in Japanese culture. My impression was that girls hung out with other girls and boys hung out with other boys and anything outside of that was grounds for rumors and scandals, however, recent events have proved that wrong and left me slightly confused and just a little bit worried.

At the welcome party, I talked to a first-year male student. We got along well because it seemed like we were into some of the same music. Well, a few days later, he showed up at the dorm unexpectedly and was asking for me. He invited me to go to a CD store downtown on the weekend. I went, and it was fun. It seemed to me like he was just using me to suggest cool new bands, which is totally fine.

I guess I'm just curious how the Japanese students in our class would view a girl and boy hanging out together. Would the assume they were a couple or just friends? Would they think it was weird that I hung out with just one guy and nobody else? What are the cultural norms for this sort of thing?

Seminar Spring Semester

Today I met Tomomi and Keisuke. They are both from Kumamoto and are majoring in International Economics. Tomomi's birthday is November 6th, and Keisuke's is July 9th. Tomomi's hobby is listening to music and Keisuke's is baseball.

始めまして！　My name is Lauren and I am 22 years old. I am from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. My major is Japan Studies and I am a Junior.

I look forward to a fun class this semester. See you in class!