Kabuki today!

こんいちわ！

Oh man was yesterday a doozie. I’ve learned more about navigation in Japan that’s for sure. So I wore my nice new brown and green skirt for the kabuki and as such could not ride my bike in it, so I had to get up early to walk to school. No problems. The day was as long and hard as any other day. At lunch I met up with a few friends. We decided that since we had until 4:30 to meet up for the trip (the current time was approx. 1:00) we would check out this store called Don Quixote. Funny name right? Well imagine a super Walmart, with every imaginable item packed into a third of the size of a Walmart. The entrance sign said “Welcome to the discount jungle!” and that’s exactly what it was. Unfortunately my battery charger decided to lie to me and not charge my batteries, so no pics now, but I’m going to try to shaft some off friends who were taking pics. Also, I’ll probably check out Don Quixote again at some point. Just because.

So that was a 10-20 minute walk for ICU. So we head back and its about 3:00. We decide to chill out in the Global House lounge (Global House being the dorm I would have stayed in if there had been rooms left). I made some new friends in the upper classes and it was fun. We then met up on the CP lounge to get into three groups of 20 to head to the stage. First we took the bus to Musashi-Sakai station, the train there to uh, one stop beyond Shinjuku (Yo- something), then the subway (first time on a Japanese subway!) to another stop I don’t remember the name of. We then grabbed a quick meal at the three stores by the subway entrance (I got my first McDonalds here! It was comfortingly familiar to say the least), but had no time to enjoy it as we were herded along another 10 minute walk to the National Theatre. We then spent 20 minutes waiting outside for the last group to arrive, especially as they were the ones with the tickets.

At about 6:45 we entered the theatre (keep in mind we left ICU at 4:30) and sat down. The program leaders gave us all little one ear headsets and receivers that we put in so we could hear an English translation of the performance. It started promptly at 7:00. We quickly found out that this was not a whole kabuki show (which could last 5 hours) but instead a kind of teaching show, accompanied by two portions of kabuki plays as examples. First the guy came out and described what all the musicians were about and what various things represented. He had a ‘battle’ with some actors, it was all very pretty. Then we saw two scenes. The first was a portion of a famous Japanese story about two brothers whose father was a great lord until he was assassinated by another lord who took power. The boys grew up training to get revenge, and finally did. It’s a hero story.

The portion we saw was the younger brother, wearing the white makeup with red lines and everything chilling on this porch thing, making a bunch of clever puns about the gods of fortune and new year’s food, greeting a friend with a new year’s gift, and finally having a dream where his older brother contacted him with the news that he had been captured by the enemy and was imprisoned. The brother leapt up awake and set about to get to his brother. He then essentially beat up an old farmer for his horse as transport (not very heroic to me, but this is Japan we are talking about, and this show has apparently been playing since the 1700’s). He even got on the horse! This was amazing because the horse was two guys in a costume, and their costume must have weighed a ton, not to mention putting an actor also wearing a ton on top of them!

He then rode off stage and there was an intermission. The next performance bit we saw was the wisteria maiden. She was played as in all kabuki by an onnagata, a male playing a female role. Apparently the only time actual women played any role was in the Meiji era in the late 1600’s, when Japan was undergoing vast westernization. But it didn’t last as women were not seen as able to play the role properly. Reasons cited were, they were too natural, and kabuki is supposed to seem like theatre not reality, the costumes were too heavy for most women, and a few other reasons. All of this seemed very logical to me.

So the wisteria maiden came out and danced in a way that was supposed to be an interaction between her and her lover. He promised to stay true but then I think he didn’t and she refused sake and tried to leave but then he convinced her to have some or something. It sounds kinda weird but it was amazing to watch. He was very graceful and that’s saying something in that tight kimono. The end was when she was a little tipsy from the sake and performed a dance again, only now while drunk. He pulled it off amazingly, still graceful and beautiful but weaving a little and sloshing around. It was awesome.

That marked the end of the kabuki, but not my night by far. It was 9:00 and a few of us headed out and back to ICU. We remembered the way back well enough. So we got to Musashi-Sakai station alright, and it was about 10:10. We stopped at the Starbucks there because we couldn’t resist. It was funny to see some Japanese pastries and katakana menus there. I got a hot chocolate like always and was disappointed when it tasted the same, but their small is about 2 thirds the size of our tall. Sigh, and it was 360 yen too (about $3.60). Not doing that again so soon. Then we realized that the last bus to ICU left at 10:12 and it was now 10:30. We now had too hoof it. Again. So we made our way slowly, talking and stopping at a couple convenience stores along the way. Keep in mind it was a 10 minute bus ride.

We got to ICU Global House at 11:10, and I started to make my way home from there saying goodbye to everyone. Mom, I know you don’t like to hear that but it was perfectly safe. The entire way was lit with streetlights and in very public places. I even saw police at one point. I found quickly however that the south gat I go out of was locked. That meant I had to go literally 30 minutes out of my way to go back through the main gate (which I had just come in through) and down two extra streets to get home. I got back at around 11:45, tired sweaty, irritated and with giant blisters on my feet from walking a few miles that day in my Teva sandals. Ugh. Then I felt bad because Kuzuhara-san had been a little worried. I apologized and promised her I’d call next time and headed for bed.

Now it’s noon the next ｄay (yay Saturday!) and I woke up about an hour and a half ago. In a half hour, I’m leaving to go meet some friends in Harajuku. I hope I’m not getting myself in trouble again!

しよんなら！

(Note: Don’t have time to post this now but I will later. Again, its noon my time, 11 pm yours as I write this.)

Nothing much, really.

こんにちわ!

Nothing especially new today again. I was talking to a friend who is living in the dorms and he has gone to all sorts of places to eat and shop and stuff already! Note to self: get to know him better. Other note: make plans for this weekend!! I don't have any as of yet, but I am going to that Kabuki tonight! Oh and I also managed to grab a spot in the much anticipated Ghibli Museum trip! This is a big deal to me.

Class pace is starting to pick up. I need to know all the characters of katakana by tomorrow. And I got one vocab word wrong in my quiz today. (Jikan is time, nanjin is what time. I said jikan was what time. Ugh) Still, not too bad for having taken 4 quizzes already right? The homestay is helping. I definately have use for the words ima - now, ashita - tomorrow, jishou - dictionary, hachiji - 8:00, etc. I got to talk to my Dad and brother today for the first time since I left, very exciting. I wasn't going to post anything today because nothing really happened, but when they told me how much they liked the blog I decided to oblige.

I feel like I've reached the point or are almost at the point where I am simply living here. When I got home today, Kuzuhara-san wasn't around so I let myself in and got on the comp (at which point Dad realized I was trying to skype call him). I suppose I should go learn that katakana and review what we learning in class today.

Tomorrow to practice asking how much yen various items cost, we are going over to the CP lounge (the Culture Program lounge, kind of an SCJ hangout where you sign up for programs like kabuki, and can buy various okashi - snacks) and testing out out knowledge with the native Japanese speakers there. Cool I guess.

One thing is true, the teachers here are excellent. They speak English very well, know when to nitpick on pronunciation and when to let it go, and are very enthusiastic and patient. I have three teachers, and we have three periods of the day. Starting 8:40-9:50, break, 10:10-11:20, break and last of all 11:30-12:40. It's amazing how tired one can be after just half a day of learning! Then again it is quite intense, or at least it will be I guess...

Well, I managed to have more nonsense to say than I thought I did! Will update when I can concerning the kabuki show!! さようなら!　（I managed to make hiragana work on my computer!!)

Learning Japanese, I think I'm learning Japanese, I really think so.

Yeah so excepting to lame title, I'ts really true! Today we started learning Kanji for the first time. It is even weirder and harder than I thought it would be. Each character makes different sounds in different contexts. So you have to have a very good understanding of the sentence in general if you want to start understanding what the Kanji says. Me and my partner for the worksheet we had felt like small children, carefully scrawling out the characters, sounding out every letter painstakingly, and suddenly reaching an understanding of what was being said, even if it is as simple as, 'kore wa nan desu ka?' (what is this). And to see if I can use this crazy Japanese keyboard I'm using in the library これわなんですか? That's really nifty. I've now used keyboards of three　different countries! American, Germany and Japan. Japan is 日本。 How exciting!

So yeah, other than this stuff, nothing new today, except oh! I signed up to go to the Ghibli Museum next week! For those of you who don't know, Ghibli Studios were founded in part by the great Hayao Miyazaki, creator of such works as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and much more. I'm really looking forward to it!

Ok so, that's all I've got for now. さようなら! (Sayonara: I'm going to type it this way every time I'm on a comp with this cool keyboard)

PS Don't forget my new flickr page! The link is in the last post and the blog description!! Look up more!

Settled in.

I think I am finally settled in for the most part. I am getting to understand my host family better (still not all that well though), I can officially make my way to ICU no problem, I signed up for a trip to a kabuki show this Friday (I got one of the last 3 spots!), and I know the campus well enough not to get horribly lost. Not to mention the classes are quite managable so far, and the content easy to follow. Yeah I know it's going to get much harder, but hey, I'm going to savor it while I can.

The teachers are excellent by the way. And I feel that by having spent so much time watching anime I actually have a real leg up, because even though I don't have the practical knowledge yet, I understand subconsciously how the language sounds and flows, whereas some other students are struggling with it.

One of my friends in the class is a half Japanese half Canadian who is taking the class to be able to communicate with her family in Japan. She comes here every summer and has a general knowledge of the country. As such, she has offered to go to Shibuya, one of the biggest shopping districts in Japan with me one weekend. I have also found two guys who also booked their flights home late so they could explore Japan further. All in all, things are really going well.

Oh and instead of posting pics here, form now on I'm going to use my new flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/40163232@N05/ enjoy!

Shrines and classes.

OK, so big things have happened these last couple of days. I’ll start with yesterday.

I woke up around 9, took a shower, and had a leisurely breakfast with the Kuzuharas. That afternoon, I was informed we were going to take a bike ride around so I said sure and took off. Unfortunately, I didn’t take my bag and camera, thinking that it would just be cumbersome. We ended up visiting a nearby semi-famous Buddhist shrine nearby. There were little vendors lining this pedestrian area, it was a bizarre mix of rural and urban all crowded together in a surprisingly comfortable fashion.

We got some soba noodles because apparently they are well known there. You would dip the noodles in this bizarre mix of soy sauce, wasabi, these little onion looking things, and mostly this weird mushy stuff that Yumiko didn’t know how to compare to American food. It was good, not great, but very filling, and I had to work hard to eat all of it because everyone was finishing theirs and I didn’t want to seem wasteful. We then toured around these fields with rice growing for show and all sorts of flowers that were unfortunately not blooming. Mom, you would have loved it. There was also a field with the plant that was used to create soba.

Next we got on our bikes and headed for the supermarket, or supa. It was a 10-15 minute ride, and much smaller than our supermarkets. There were a lot of fish on sale. We then took our 5 or so items back home and I collapsed in exhaustion. It was already evening. I went upstairs to recover, and later dinner was served and afterwards, Kuzuharasan helped me with my hiragana handwriting. I was really sleepy so I read my book (“The Japanese Way” a short info book Amber lent me with a lot of helpful tips about Japan) for a while until about 11pm.

This morning I woke up at 7:30 sharp, took a shower, packed my bag, at breakfast at 8:15, and left on my bike at 8:30. Class was at 9, and I wanted to have some time to find the bike parking, and my classroom. I ended up about 10 minutes early, and sat there chatting with the kids around me. It’s really interesting the different people who come for different reasons.

So we had class from 9 to 11:50 with two 10 minute breaks. It was long, but easy as we covered simple words and greetings. We have quizzes tomorrow on Hiragana, and a vocab. sheet we were told to memorize by tomorrow. We will apparently cover the entire little less than an inch textbook in 6 weeks. Ugh.

After there was a welcome lunch, where I socialized more, and at 2:30 there was a tour of the library, where I will probably be often to use the internet. 3:30 saw me on a campus tour, once again accompanied by a bunch of my new friends whom I am trying very hard to remember the names of. It’s working so far. I made my way home safely and easily, said to Kuzuharasan, “Tadaima” to which she responded “Okairinasai” and now I’m typing this post which I will post later.

(Pic of temporary cafeteria, usual one was under construction for the whole summer T.T)

Pics of the campus (it's a start anyway) left is of the road to the campus pointed towards the bus stop (not seen) and the right is of the campus ceremonial tea house. Yes, tea house. Next post I:ll try to remember a pic of my bike and the Kuzuharas house. It is very grey and rainy right now.

Home Safe

NOTE!! my host mother has misplaced the password to the wifi. as such I will only be able to update every now and then when I am either on her computer, or on campus. This is an entry I typed yesterday at 6pm, 5am us time.

Today was a very long day to say the least. I passed out at like 10pm yesterday and slept hard all the way until my 8am wake up call. I think I’m almost completely recovered from jet lag already. Anyway, I headed out at 9, took a bus to the train station and began my trip. From Narita Airport, I took a train to get to Nippori station where I got off, found the JR Yamanote line, took that to Shinjuku, got on the Chuo line, took that to Musashi-sakai, where I got off, found the bus stop, got on the #93 but to ICU, found the SCJ (Summer Courses in Japanese) registration, met my host mother, and here I am.

Sounds pretty simple but the packet ICU gave me indicated that it would take about an hour to get to the bus stop at Musashi-sakai, when instead it took about 2, causing me to be about 10 minutes late to meet my host mother (we agreed on noon), but I think she came a little late too. That or she didn’t mind. She speaks very little English, while her daughter (who won’t be around as much) speaks English very well and has actually lived here for a year. Not only that but she spent some time visiting a friend who lived in Toronto and went to UB! Small world!

The trains were all very efficient and nice, when trying to find the right line once I was looking at a map on a post with a puzzled look on my face and a man with two small children asked in English it I needed help. I said I needed to go to Musashi-sakai, and good thing he helped me because I was about to get on the wrong train! I still can’t believe I made it. I remember a train pulled up and everyone was getting on and I was pretty sure it was the right one so I got on it too. Then it went in the opposite direction that I thought I needed to go in. I asked a young man not much older than me if the bus was going to Shinjuku and he said yes and pointed to the TV screen above the door that displayed in Kanji and in English what stations it would stop at. Very helpful that.

Had lunch with my host family, put my clothes away in some drawers, and I have a fan blwing on my face because it is very warm here. Apparently it’s going to get warmer because most people I saw were wearing long pants! In this heat! I’m afraid… So yeah, my posts will get shorter once everything is less new and I settle into a routine. But until then here’s pictures of my room and the view out my window. I didn’t have a chance for other photos yet, but I’ll get them later. ICU campus is gorgeous!! And the neighborhood is lovely and peaceful. Sayonara for now!

Added content:

Dinner was difficult to say the least. It was a bowl with ride on the bottom and all kinds of fish raw and just sitting there. There was one that was a bunch of tine grey-silver baby fish that looked a little like tiny tadpoles. I did my best to eat as much as I could and once my stomach told me that anymore and it might go on strike, I had to explain in broken Japanese and with significant use of the dictionary that it was very good, but I needed some time to get used to eating foods like this. I emphasized that she should continue to make what she normally eats for meals, and not cater to my taste. She seemed to understand. I found out that I'm not the first person shes hosted through ICU though I am her first girl. And the first one that knows virtually no Japanese. Sigh. Classes are now tomorrow for me, though I may have an update on what becomes of today at some point.

Yosh!

First of all, yosh is kind of an exclamation of, yeah! Meaning, yeah! I'm finally here!! It's been a very long day, starting 6am July 2nd US time and ending 7pm July 3rd Tokyo time (aka 6am July 3rd US). It's a little confusing. So I headed out with my parents for JFK way earlier than necessary in case of traffic, we chilled, we ate, I made it through security. 45 minutes later I was sitting in the window seat that I would spend the next 14 hours wasting away in.

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. They had mad media going on. Each seat had a TV with a touch screen. You could watch select movies, episodes of TV shows, play games, listen to some music (they had Tonight Franz Ferdinand!) and even track the planes course on a simple GPS like map. That's how I know that I was watching Watchmen (lol) while flying over Alaska. Yes, Alaska.

I won't bore you with the tedium's of my flight, but once I saw Japanese soil I almost teared up a little. It's truly a dream come true, and I'm extremely glad I didn't chicken out like I wanted to so many times. OK, my thoughts...

Driving on the left side is weird, the plants here are different which always throws me through a loop, I saw some construction advertising that featured what looked like pac man crossing a rainbow bridge from one airport terminal to another, and a panda was there, I got nervous when I had to cough coming through customs because I thought they'd think I'm diseased and to turn on the lights in my hotel room you have to put your key in a little slot and they turn on and off that way. Great energy saving Hilton Narita!

So yeah, that's it for now. I'm going to call my host family to tell them I'm in Japan safe, and seek out sweet sweet sustenance. Sayonara!