こんにちわ！
Ok, so in order. Friday, We had an orienteering expedition in Musashi-sakai station. We had to find Sukippudori (a street), ask if a bus went to ICU, find out the purpose of a couple of stores, etc. It was quite fun. After, we all had lunch together (the class, or most of it), and then Charlene and I took off. First we stopped at a department store, so I could find some awesome erasable pens she told me about. The ink dissappears with heat, caused by friction. so the eraser is just a rubber nub that never wears away. Coolest pens ever. Then, it was off on the train.
A short trip later we were in Harajuku. I got a really cute short sleeved sweatshirt and a lolita dress, as planned. I might post pictures later. I really like it, even though I will only ever be able to wear it at anime cons and Halloween.
Charlene took me to Kiddyland, a toy store that had everything under the sun, from Totoro and other Ghibli merchandise, to anime figures, to Lilo and Stitch merchandise (which the Japanese seen to love). There were like 5 levels of awesomeness. I didn't linger too long though, for fear of spending oodles of money...
We then headed over to the Meiji Shrine. It was beautiful. only a couple minutes walk away from the station, it was amazingly isolated. It was quiet and peaceful and well, spiritual. There were large gate entrances and actual priestesses doing various tasks. I bought a charm meant for academic success... I've always kind of wanted one. Charlene got a crepe (also extremely popular here) and I mooched a couple of bites, not wanting to ruin my appetite for dinner. We got back on the train and I was back home by about 6:30, 7:00.
Oh this is a good time to mention my Suica card. These things are magical. You load money on the card (which you purchase for 500 yen and can get it refunded when you return it) and instead of buying tickets every time you go somewhere you just swipe the card (still in your wallet) at the gate. No fuss, no muss. No longer will I have to worry about what the ticket cost should be. Glorious day!
So yesterday I had nothing planned. I was going to explore a bit on my bike maybe. So I got up at around 9, took a shower and got out my computer. I was not in the mood to post, so I didn't. I did chat with Erik for a while, and then Skyped, before Kuzuhara-san came home and I decided to sign off. I then took my bike to KFC to compare the food and eat lunch. It was quite different. The Japanese just can't seem to get chicken right to save their lives. Ah well.
I continued along, stopped at an electroncs store, wandered a bit, got some more rechargable batteries and continued along. I stopped last at a 711 for some chips and headed home. I chilled/studied until 7:30ish when I came down in search of dinner.
Kuzuhara-sans other daughter and granddaughter came over for either the night or more (I don't know yet). They had dinner with us and I had a lovely time trying to communicate with a 5-year-old girl. Chi-chan is absolutely adorable, and doesn't seem to mind when I don't understand her. Between yesterday and today we've spent time drawing, playing with legos, tossing stuffed animals back and forth, playing piano, talking, eating tomatoes and other various things. Kuzuhara-san's daughter (whose name as I'm sure none of you are surprised to hear I've forgotten T.T) is also delightful. She speaks English very well, and we spent a lot of time disucssing things like how I get to school, what my house it like (we google earth'd it), pictures of my family cats and stay here so far, and marching band.
After that chat, we all took the car (my first time in a car here) to J Mart, yes, J Mart, for some household supplies. I got myself an umbrella there so I wouldn't have to keep borrowing Kuzuhara-san's. We then had dinner at a local restaraunt, and I had my first pizza in Japan. It came with corn soup and a salad and had corn sprinkled on it. It was really good though. For dessert, Kuzuhara-san convinced me to bet this banana/chocolate cake stuff that was also delicious.
Now I'm home again, I've just completed my homework for tomorrow, and I'm posting this before I get too sleepy and lazy. Oh! Almost forgot. For lunch I made the apple cinnamon pancakes that I brought as a present. Thy didn't look all that pretty, but they tasted alright, and the Kuzuhara's seemed to like them. I wanted to take a picture, but my batteries had died, and I was hungry.
So yeah, to bed with me!!
じゃまた！
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Soba noodles at Jindaiji and Asakusa again
こんにちわ！
I have resigned myself to the fact that most places I visit will require a second visit, and as such have already started. Surprisingly, though I had only one revisit planned this week, I ended up with two!
It turns out that the location of the pottery and soba noodles cultural event was the same as the shrine that the Kuzuharas took me to the first weekend here, Jindaiji, when I had forgotten my camera and vowed to return someday. Well it was easier than I had thought it would be. We got a nice bus ride there (part of the initial fee of the trip), and were ushered into a room where we had the choice of sitting on tatami mats to eat (which I did), and served delicious soba noodles. My second time having them there. Just because, I'm including the pic.
Afterwards, we went to a pottery shop nextdoor and were given a lump of clay. There was an example cup, but we could do whatever we wanted. I made this sweet bowl. Hopefully it'll withstand fireing and the trip back to America. When we were done, we were given the choice of how we wanted it glazed (which they would do for us), and left to our own devices to wander. Wander I did, though I had seen it all before. I took pictures this time, though one must keep in mind that the last time I was there it was days before a festival, and there were many more people and shops open.
So yeah, after that, I headed back to ICU with Charlene, and chilled in her dorm for a bit before we took off in search of a headlamp for my trip up Mt. Fuji in August. She suggested the Hard-Off (real name, I know), which is a second hand shop above a golf store. It was really cool. I got myself an alarm clock while I was there, and also a Japanese DS game (based of the anime Yakitate Japan, a game I know I'll never find in the states or in English, though it is quite difficult to play when you don't understand any of the words). Though no head lamp. So we continued down the block to Don Quihote again (took pictures this time), and I got a semi-cheap one. Noce though.
It was time for dinner, so we walked to McDonalds which was on our way back and I enjoyed a double cheeseburger meal (I was so unbelievably hungry). I don't make a habit of this fyi, just, every now and then I need some familiarity. I spent some of the conversation with Charlene reminicing about the states (though shes a Canadian, Toronto-style) and missing various things, such as the ability to talk to people and have complete understanding.
I headed home then, as it was already 7:30.
Today, we had no quizzes, no tests, and no homework, first time since the first day of class. Instead we prepared for conversations we were to have the next period with the visiting Japanese students who were volunteering to help our studies. Three weeks ago I knew virtually no Japanese and now I had to have a conversation in it? It was very hard, embarrasing, and awkward. Good, I guess. I don't know.
We also prepared for our field trip ro Musashi-sakai station tomorrow, where we would have to go around asking people questions about things and write down/get proof of their answers. Exciting I guess. Better than boring class. After than, Charlene and I are going to head back to Harajuku where I am bound and determined to get a lolita dress of some sort. Kuzuhara-san has also suggested we check out the famous shrine nearby, Meiji Shrine. I'll have to ask Charlene if she's interested tomorrow.
Last of all in class today, we spent some time in the computer lab practicing writing in Japanese, including hiragana, katakana, and kanji, whereas I previously only understood how to work hiragana on my computer. Sample sentence:
あしたわたしは原宿に行きます。
That says, "Tomorrow, I am going to Harajuku", though I am sort of trusing my computer that the Kanji for Harajuku is correct. I'm reasonably sure it is. Anyway, that's it for me. Tomorrow Harajuku, Saturday I meet Kuzuhara-san's other daughter and her children (Kuzuhara-san is a grandmother? I didn't know!) And Sunday... nothing yet. Maybe plans, probably studying, though there's no test on Monday (for once). There will be a huge vocab quiz on Tuesday and a huge 2 chapter test on Friday... can't... get... behind...!
じゃまた！
(Ja Matta - meaning see you later)
I have resigned myself to the fact that most places I visit will require a second visit, and as such have already started. Surprisingly, though I had only one revisit planned this week, I ended up with two!
It turns out that the location of the pottery and soba noodles cultural event was the same as the shrine that the Kuzuharas took me to the first weekend here, Jindaiji, when I had forgotten my camera and vowed to return someday. Well it was easier than I had thought it would be. We got a nice bus ride there (part of the initial fee of the trip), and were ushered into a room where we had the choice of sitting on tatami mats to eat (which I did), and served delicious soba noodles. My second time having them there. Just because, I'm including the pic.Afterwards, we went to a pottery shop nextdoor and were given a lump of clay. There was an example cup, but we could do whatever we wanted. I made this sweet bowl. Hopefully it'll withstand fireing and the trip back to America. When we were done, we were given the choice of how we wanted it glazed (which they would do for us), and left to our own devices to wander. Wander I did, though I had seen it all before. I took pictures this time, though one must keep in mind that the last time I was there it was days before a festival, and there were many more people and shops open.
So yeah, after that, I headed back to ICU with Charlene, and chilled in her dorm for a bit before we took off in search of a headlamp for my trip up Mt. Fuji in August. She suggested the Hard-Off (real name, I know), which is a second hand shop above a golf store. It was really cool. I got myself an alarm clock while I was there, and also a Japanese DS game (based of the anime Yakitate Japan, a game I know I'll never find in the states or in English, though it is quite difficult to play when you don't understand any of the words). Though no head lamp. So we continued down the block to Don Quihote again (took pictures this time), and I got a semi-cheap one. Noce though.
It was time for dinner, so we walked to McDonalds which was on our way back and I enjoyed a double cheeseburger meal (I was so unbelievably hungry). I don't make a habit of this fyi, just, every now and then I need some familiarity. I spent some of the conversation with Charlene reminicing about the states (though shes a Canadian, Toronto-style) and missing various things, such as the ability to talk to people and have complete understanding.
I headed home then, as it was already 7:30.
Today, we had no quizzes, no tests, and no homework, first time since the first day of class. Instead we prepared for conversations we were to have the next period with the visiting Japanese students who were volunteering to help our studies. Three weeks ago I knew virtually no Japanese and now I had to have a conversation in it? It was very hard, embarrasing, and awkward. Good, I guess. I don't know.
We also prepared for our field trip ro Musashi-sakai station tomorrow, where we would have to go around asking people questions about things and write down/get proof of their answers. Exciting I guess. Better than boring class. After than, Charlene and I are going to head back to Harajuku where I am bound and determined to get a lolita dress of some sort. Kuzuhara-san has also suggested we check out the famous shrine nearby, Meiji Shrine. I'll have to ask Charlene if she's interested tomorrow.
Last of all in class today, we spent some time in the computer lab practicing writing in Japanese, including hiragana, katakana, and kanji, whereas I previously only understood how to work hiragana on my computer. Sample sentence:
あしたわたしは原宿に行きます。
That says, "Tomorrow, I am going to Harajuku", though I am sort of trusing my computer that the Kanji for Harajuku is correct. I'm reasonably sure it is. Anyway, that's it for me. Tomorrow Harajuku, Saturday I meet Kuzuhara-san's other daughter and her children (Kuzuhara-san is a grandmother? I didn't know!) And Sunday... nothing yet. Maybe plans, probably studying, though there's no test on Monday (for once). There will be a huge vocab quiz on Tuesday and a huge 2 chapter test on Friday... can't... get... behind...!
じゃまた！
(Ja Matta - meaning see you later)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Asakusa, Sensoji Shrine
こんにちわ！
So this weekends adventure took me to Asakusa, home of a large Buddhist shrine and of course, an even larger shrine of consumerism. As it should be? Who knows. All I know is that it was awesome.
So first of all, Friday evening and Saturday I was useless. I caught some 24 hour bug, and ended up sleeping off a fever for 16 hours Friday night. Needless to say I had some funky dreams. It was all good though, because I didn't have class, or anything to do but chill in my room and study for my test on Monday (today). So chill I did (relatively speaking given the ever constant weather).
Sunday morning, I got up (very rested after the previous nights immense amount of sleep), hopped on the computer and chatted with Nan and Geetz on skype (my grandparents for those I haven't told the story to). It was lovely, but I soon had to get off to get ready for my solitary trip to Asakusa. I was informed moments later that we were going to meet at 4, not 2, because a couple people were held up on a previous trip. So at 2:10ish I headed out. At 2:13, after having not reached the bus in time, I realized I forgot my camera and went back. I finally got on the next bus (which was only about 15 minutes later) and headed to Mitaka station. Took the Chuo line to Kanda, the Ginza subway line to Asakusa, and then the fun began.
I ended up wandering quite a bit to find Sensoji, or more specifically the huge lantern we were to meet at (and I mean HUGE check out the pics. Dude.), called Kaminarimon. Well after asking about 4 people Sumimasen, Sensoji wa doko desu ka? (Excuse me, where is Sensoji?), I finally stumbled upon it. Hard to miss really. I was sitting there for about 10 minutes getting anxious (I had gotten there exactly at 4), when Ken showed up. He was one of the group. We sat together for another half hour before by using cell phones we realized there were 2 big lanterns. We were at the right one, but the others were at the inner one.
So we finally started exploring. I got a fortune at the shrine. It ws bad and said all sorts of stuff about how the sick person is in danger and the lost item will not be found. Apparently it is also bad for me to marry or employ. It was hilarious. We moved on and wafted the incense over our heads to promote health, took some pictures, and stared to explore the shops.
There was this street of shops all down the line from the one gate (lantern) to the other. I unfortunately did not plan well and forgot to get money from the ATM at ICU when I could, so I had only enought to got to Asakusa and back with a drink. I had to borrow money for dinner. It's alright thoug, I've already planned a trip back this Thursday with some different friends. I'll buy stuff then.
Tomorrow I have a one-on-one meeting with Kojima-sensei, and Wednesday I eat soba noodles and make my own soba noodle bowl. Thursday is Asakusa again and Friday who knows! Lot's of stuff.
Almost forgot! Today there was Rakugo, which means traditional Japanese comedy. Basically two ICU clubs performed. One was a music club playing I think Koto's. Kinda like large floor guitars. It was lovely. Then there was a girl who sat on a table and told a few humorous stories using only a fan and a cloth to help tell the story. Since the videos are too large for flickr, I'm putting them on my YouTube account at http://www.youtube.com/user/himurasarah. They'll take a couple hours to uplaod, but be patient, they're pretty cool.
So yeah, thats it for now. Probably update after Wednesdays expedition.
さようなら！！
So this weekends adventure took me to Asakusa, home of a large Buddhist shrine and of course, an even larger shrine of consumerism. As it should be? Who knows. All I know is that it was awesome.
So first of all, Friday evening and Saturday I was useless. I caught some 24 hour bug, and ended up sleeping off a fever for 16 hours Friday night. Needless to say I had some funky dreams. It was all good though, because I didn't have class, or anything to do but chill in my room and study for my test on Monday (today). So chill I did (relatively speaking given the ever constant weather).
Sunday morning, I got up (very rested after the previous nights immense amount of sleep), hopped on the computer and chatted with Nan and Geetz on skype (my grandparents for those I haven't told the story to). It was lovely, but I soon had to get off to get ready for my solitary trip to Asakusa. I was informed moments later that we were going to meet at 4, not 2, because a couple people were held up on a previous trip. So at 2:10ish I headed out. At 2:13, after having not reached the bus in time, I realized I forgot my camera and went back. I finally got on the next bus (which was only about 15 minutes later) and headed to Mitaka station. Took the Chuo line to Kanda, the Ginza subway line to Asakusa, and then the fun began.
I ended up wandering quite a bit to find Sensoji, or more specifically the huge lantern we were to meet at (and I mean HUGE check out the pics. Dude.), called Kaminarimon. Well after asking about 4 people Sumimasen, Sensoji wa doko desu ka? (Excuse me, where is Sensoji?), I finally stumbled upon it. Hard to miss really. I was sitting there for about 10 minutes getting anxious (I had gotten there exactly at 4), when Ken showed up. He was one of the group. We sat together for another half hour before by using cell phones we realized there were 2 big lanterns. We were at the right one, but the others were at the inner one.
So we finally started exploring. I got a fortune at the shrine. It ws bad and said all sorts of stuff about how the sick person is in danger and the lost item will not be found. Apparently it is also bad for me to marry or employ. It was hilarious. We moved on and wafted the incense over our heads to promote health, took some pictures, and stared to explore the shops.
There was this street of shops all down the line from the one gate (lantern) to the other. I unfortunately did not plan well and forgot to get money from the ATM at ICU when I could, so I had only enought to got to Asakusa and back with a drink. I had to borrow money for dinner. It's alright thoug, I've already planned a trip back this Thursday with some different friends. I'll buy stuff then.
Tomorrow I have a one-on-one meeting with Kojima-sensei, and Wednesday I eat soba noodles and make my own soba noodle bowl. Thursday is Asakusa again and Friday who knows! Lot's of stuff.
Almost forgot! Today there was Rakugo, which means traditional Japanese comedy. Basically two ICU clubs performed. One was a music club playing I think Koto's. Kinda like large floor guitars. It was lovely. Then there was a girl who sat on a table and told a few humorous stories using only a fan and a cloth to help tell the story. Since the videos are too large for flickr, I'm putting them on my YouTube account at http://www.youtube.com/user/himurasarah. They'll take a couple hours to uplaod, but be patient, they're pretty cool.
So yeah, thats it for now. Probably update after Wednesdays expedition.
さようなら！！
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What Harry Potter and Totoro have in common...
こんにちわ！
Harry Potter was awesome. I think it's actually getting better now, rather than a huge disappointment. That's just me...
Anyways, we left class (we being me, Charlene, who got me the ticket, and Leslie, who got Charlene the tickets). Charlene's in C1 with me and Leslie's in C4 (higher class) and has been to Japan before, so we dutifully followed her lead. She led us to Rippongi, a mini city in Tokyo. It had a huge beautiful theatre, cool statues, expensive restaurants, real upper crust. We unfotunately didn't get time to explore, as we arrived at the theatre just in time to watch the cute 'don't talk on your mobile (lol), kick the seats, talk, litter, smoke, etc. video. Watching trailors for movies that I've already seen in America is bizarre. Watched the movie, la-di-da, nothing you couldn't imagine doing at home (excepting the Japanese subtitles of course, but those were easy to tune out).
We bounced right after, hoping to get to the dorms in time to make a quick meal, for me to get home and cram in a little more studying for the vocab quiz we had today before bed. Well, all of that worked out fine, though it was a little later than I had hoped. My goodness I can't seem to get much sleep around here with all the amazing things I have to do. Tuesday I attented a lecture on archeology at ICU (wrote about that last post), yesterday I wandered Rippongi and saw Harry Potter. Today of course, was the crowning glory of the week.
The Ghibli Museum.
Oh and was it ever fantastic! The buiding was relatively small, a short walk from the Mitaka train station. it was covered in vines and plants and looked just like a building from on of Miyazaki's films. there were cool swirly spire stairs and a giant totoro looking out from a window. I was only allowed to talk photos while outside, so I'll let them speak for themselves. The inside of course, was even more amazing. There were rooms filled with handrawn and painted sketches and scenes, from movies I knew, one I didn't (still haven't seen the new "Ponyo by the Sea" but I heard its wonderful), places I recognized and random doodles for inspiration. There was one room that had all sorts of displays that were intended to create illusions of movement. One was physical that spun with little sculptures all around so that when spinning and the light flashing it looked like the characters (from "My Neighbor Totoro") were moving. It was trippy, but awesome.
We wandered for a while and ended up outside to eats some (expensive) ice cream. The raspberry was great. Eventually we realized there were schedualed showings of a short film in another room that was included in the ticket price. We stumbled into the latest showing just in time and enjoyed an adorable film about a bunch of preschoolers pretending they were at sea in a fake boat. Of course in a Miyazaki world, the water became real and they sailed off and caught a whale, which ended up saving them from a storm and towing them back home, laughing the entire way (the whale that is). There was also a lovely garden outside with a water pump of all things. Got a few pics and a short video there. When Sayuri and I felt we had seen everything, we headed out back to Mitaka station, where I was going to catch a bus, and she a train home.
I ended up meeting with Leslie again (from the Harry Potter expidition) and stopped with her and her friends at a 99 yen store (like a 99 cent store) where I grabbed some rice crackers and cheap gloves for my Fuji hike. One less thing to worry about. We walked the rest of the way to campus (it's sooooo hot and humid), I said goodbye, got on my bike and headed home. I was back by 5:10ish. I studied and cooled off by my fan for an hour or two, and headed downstairs just in time for dinner. Today was this fish (dunno what kind) which was breaded with something like panko but more robust, some mushy potato like stuff with carrots and cucumbers mixed in, soup and rice of course, and some beans. It was fantastic. Probably my favorite meal I've had in the Kuzzuhara household so far. Not that I didn't like most of the others. Just wait Mom, I'm going to come home able to eat and enjoy anything you throw at me. Even. Lobster!! Dun Dun Duuuuuuuunnnnnn....
Dramatics aside (and do the Japanese ever love their soap opera dramas) life is great. Hmm, I just had something I wanted to include in the post... Ah well, I may remember it later, whatever. That's all for now. No real plans for tomorrow or the weekend, though something may come up. The world is an adventure right now, and its wonderful.
Man that sounded cheesy. I really should delete that....
さようなら！
Ah hah!, just remembered it. It was an observation that when I visited Germany the phrase I learned first, most and best was "ich bin mude" ('u' with an umlaut), meaning I am tired. Here, though that certainly applies maybe even more, the phrase that is number one is "atsui neh?" meaning, "it's hot, right?". Always atsui. Atsui, atsui, atsui...
Harry Potter was awesome. I think it's actually getting better now, rather than a huge disappointment. That's just me...
Anyways, we left class (we being me, Charlene, who got me the ticket, and Leslie, who got Charlene the tickets). Charlene's in C1 with me and Leslie's in C4 (higher class) and has been to Japan before, so we dutifully followed her lead. She led us to Rippongi, a mini city in Tokyo. It had a huge beautiful theatre, cool statues, expensive restaurants, real upper crust. We unfotunately didn't get time to explore, as we arrived at the theatre just in time to watch the cute 'don't talk on your mobile (lol), kick the seats, talk, litter, smoke, etc. video. Watching trailors for movies that I've already seen in America is bizarre. Watched the movie, la-di-da, nothing you couldn't imagine doing at home (excepting the Japanese subtitles of course, but those were easy to tune out).
We bounced right after, hoping to get to the dorms in time to make a quick meal, for me to get home and cram in a little more studying for the vocab quiz we had today before bed. Well, all of that worked out fine, though it was a little later than I had hoped. My goodness I can't seem to get much sleep around here with all the amazing things I have to do. Tuesday I attented a lecture on archeology at ICU (wrote about that last post), yesterday I wandered Rippongi and saw Harry Potter. Today of course, was the crowning glory of the week.
The Ghibli Museum.
Oh and was it ever fantastic! The buiding was relatively small, a short walk from the Mitaka train station. it was covered in vines and plants and looked just like a building from on of Miyazaki's films. there were cool swirly spire stairs and a giant totoro looking out from a window. I was only allowed to talk photos while outside, so I'll let them speak for themselves. The inside of course, was even more amazing. There were rooms filled with handrawn and painted sketches and scenes, from movies I knew, one I didn't (still haven't seen the new "Ponyo by the Sea" but I heard its wonderful), places I recognized and random doodles for inspiration. There was one room that had all sorts of displays that were intended to create illusions of movement. One was physical that spun with little sculptures all around so that when spinning and the light flashing it looked like the characters (from "My Neighbor Totoro") were moving. It was trippy, but awesome.
We wandered for a while and ended up outside to eats some (expensive) ice cream. The raspberry was great. Eventually we realized there were schedualed showings of a short film in another room that was included in the ticket price. We stumbled into the latest showing just in time and enjoyed an adorable film about a bunch of preschoolers pretending they were at sea in a fake boat. Of course in a Miyazaki world, the water became real and they sailed off and caught a whale, which ended up saving them from a storm and towing them back home, laughing the entire way (the whale that is). There was also a lovely garden outside with a water pump of all things. Got a few pics and a short video there. When Sayuri and I felt we had seen everything, we headed out back to Mitaka station, where I was going to catch a bus, and she a train home.
I ended up meeting with Leslie again (from the Harry Potter expidition) and stopped with her and her friends at a 99 yen store (like a 99 cent store) where I grabbed some rice crackers and cheap gloves for my Fuji hike. One less thing to worry about. We walked the rest of the way to campus (it's sooooo hot and humid), I said goodbye, got on my bike and headed home. I was back by 5:10ish. I studied and cooled off by my fan for an hour or two, and headed downstairs just in time for dinner. Today was this fish (dunno what kind) which was breaded with something like panko but more robust, some mushy potato like stuff with carrots and cucumbers mixed in, soup and rice of course, and some beans. It was fantastic. Probably my favorite meal I've had in the Kuzzuhara household so far. Not that I didn't like most of the others. Just wait Mom, I'm going to come home able to eat and enjoy anything you throw at me. Even. Lobster!! Dun Dun Duuuuuuuunnnnnn....
Dramatics aside (and do the Japanese ever love their soap opera dramas) life is great. Hmm, I just had something I wanted to include in the post... Ah well, I may remember it later, whatever. That's all for now. No real plans for tomorrow or the weekend, though something may come up. The world is an adventure right now, and its wonderful.
Man that sounded cheesy. I really should delete that....
さようなら！
Ah hah!, just remembered it. It was an observation that when I visited Germany the phrase I learned first, most and best was "ich bin mude" ('u' with an umlaut), meaning I am tired. Here, though that certainly applies maybe even more, the phrase that is number one is "atsui neh?" meaning, "it's hot, right?". Always atsui. Atsui, atsui, atsui...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
More Stuffu!
こんにちわ！
Referring to the title, in Japan, there is only one consonant without a vowel after it (n). So 'stuff' would be pronounced 'stuffu'. Aaaanyway...
Sunday was spent recovering and studying. I had a test yesterday, and though I don't have it back, I did get a look at it partially graded after class when I had my once a week one-on-one required meeting with my sensei, Kojima-sensei. As far as I know I only got one or two wrong, which is pretty good for a big test like that. Today however, I believe we learned more than we have all of last week. Today was the start of, (dun dun dun) verbs.
Sounds innocuous right? Well not so my friend. There are apparently three kinds of verbs (vowel, consonant, and irregular) and though there are rules that tell which are which, there are of course exceptions (always exceptions, sigh). Each kind has a different postulate in a sentance, and there are all sorts of little bits that go between different words. You have to put 'ni' after a time, but not a general time like 'morning'. You have to put this after that and that after this, it's confusing so far. I'm slowly getting it, but today I have no idea why, I was just exhausted. I got enough sleep, but I just couldn't focus. That resulted in several times me just blanking out while trying to say something to a classmate, and looking like a space case. As such, I'm going to sleep earlier tonight. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow!!! I got a ticket to go see Harry Potter here! I don't know where the theatre is, I got the ticket with some friends, and we're going after class tomorrow. So exciting! Also, since it's so new, it'll be in English with Japanese subtitles so I'll be able to understand it still. Yay!
Ok, I needed to get that out. Back to the last couple of days. Today after class there was a voluntary lecture on archeology at ICU. Apparently, the land the campus is on has been inhabited for like, 300,000 years or something rediculous like that. According to the professor, he has found in his 15 years at ICU, 500,000 artifacts, meaning pottery pieces, arrowheads, knives, fire pits etc. It was a very interesting lecture. Afterwards, we headed out to one of the current dig sites on campus and dug up some stuff. Once again, pics on flickr maybe tomorrow.
As for small random things that have happened, tonight for dinner we went and got food from a 7-11 because Kuzuhara-san was too tired to cook. 7-11's are all over the place here, and though I haven't really been to one in the states, it seems that many people legitimately get quick food there to bring home at night. I generally don't do that at home, but maybe to most Americans that's not so strange. Also for dessert yesterday and today we had grapes. They were smaller and sweeter maybe? I don't know, just different. But good! The skins were really thick, so apparently you suck the insides out and leave the skin behind. It was fun, they kind of popped out. Also Kuzuhara-san brought home an 'apple pie' on Sunday. It was ok as pies go. I liked it though, anything to taste even remotly like something from home.
Other than all of that, I've been just weathering the heat (lol), and working on my Japanese. Oh! I officially signed up for the Mt. Fuji hike. Thats right, on August 2nd, I'm going to hike up Mt. Fuji at midnight so we can watch the sun rise from the top. Scary, neh? (Neh= Japanese expression as a sort of questioning sound, where one is looking for confirmation or just making it sound questioning). Thursday is Ghibli Museum! And then, who knows! Sometimes it's scary, especially at first, and it would be so easy to say "going to Harajuku all alone trying to meet people with no cell phone to call them is too hard, I'll just stay home" but I have been making an effort to not only say yes to any and all invitations on adventures, but also seek them out. When Charlene said she was going to see Harry Potter, I immediately asked if I could buya ticket and tag along. That was of course ok, and here I am, going to see Harry Potter probably in Shinjuku. Man. Alright, that's it for now.
さようなら！
Referring to the title, in Japan, there is only one consonant without a vowel after it (n). So 'stuff' would be pronounced 'stuffu'. Aaaanyway...
Sunday was spent recovering and studying. I had a test yesterday, and though I don't have it back, I did get a look at it partially graded after class when I had my once a week one-on-one required meeting with my sensei, Kojima-sensei. As far as I know I only got one or two wrong, which is pretty good for a big test like that. Today however, I believe we learned more than we have all of last week. Today was the start of, (dun dun dun) verbs.
Sounds innocuous right? Well not so my friend. There are apparently three kinds of verbs (vowel, consonant, and irregular) and though there are rules that tell which are which, there are of course exceptions (always exceptions, sigh). Each kind has a different postulate in a sentance, and there are all sorts of little bits that go between different words. You have to put 'ni' after a time, but not a general time like 'morning'. You have to put this after that and that after this, it's confusing so far. I'm slowly getting it, but today I have no idea why, I was just exhausted. I got enough sleep, but I just couldn't focus. That resulted in several times me just blanking out while trying to say something to a classmate, and looking like a space case. As such, I'm going to sleep earlier tonight. Maybe I'll be better tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow!!! I got a ticket to go see Harry Potter here! I don't know where the theatre is, I got the ticket with some friends, and we're going after class tomorrow. So exciting! Also, since it's so new, it'll be in English with Japanese subtitles so I'll be able to understand it still. Yay!
Ok, I needed to get that out. Back to the last couple of days. Today after class there was a voluntary lecture on archeology at ICU. Apparently, the land the campus is on has been inhabited for like, 300,000 years or something rediculous like that. According to the professor, he has found in his 15 years at ICU, 500,000 artifacts, meaning pottery pieces, arrowheads, knives, fire pits etc. It was a very interesting lecture. Afterwards, we headed out to one of the current dig sites on campus and dug up some stuff. Once again, pics on flickr maybe tomorrow.
As for small random things that have happened, tonight for dinner we went and got food from a 7-11 because Kuzuhara-san was too tired to cook. 7-11's are all over the place here, and though I haven't really been to one in the states, it seems that many people legitimately get quick food there to bring home at night. I generally don't do that at home, but maybe to most Americans that's not so strange. Also for dessert yesterday and today we had grapes. They were smaller and sweeter maybe? I don't know, just different. But good! The skins were really thick, so apparently you suck the insides out and leave the skin behind. It was fun, they kind of popped out. Also Kuzuhara-san brought home an 'apple pie' on Sunday. It was ok as pies go. I liked it though, anything to taste even remotly like something from home.
Other than all of that, I've been just weathering the heat (lol), and working on my Japanese. Oh! I officially signed up for the Mt. Fuji hike. Thats right, on August 2nd, I'm going to hike up Mt. Fuji at midnight so we can watch the sun rise from the top. Scary, neh? (Neh= Japanese expression as a sort of questioning sound, where one is looking for confirmation or just making it sound questioning). Thursday is Ghibli Museum! And then, who knows! Sometimes it's scary, especially at first, and it would be so easy to say "going to Harajuku all alone trying to meet people with no cell phone to call them is too hard, I'll just stay home" but I have been making an effort to not only say yes to any and all invitations on adventures, but also seek them out. When Charlene said she was going to see Harry Potter, I immediately asked if I could buya ticket and tag along. That was of course ok, and here I am, going to see Harry Potter probably in Shinjuku. Man. Alright, that's it for now.
さようなら！
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Harajuku and Shibuya!
こんにちわ！
Today went much better than yesterday I’m happy to say. Once again, I write this on Saturday to post on Sunday. I’ve got some studying to do tomorrow, so no going out for me.
So. I got up at a leisurely 10:30, typed up my last post, showered, breakfasted, and headed out with Kuzuhara-san, who was going to show me how to get to the bus station. I got on the #52 bus, paid my ¥210 (approx $2.10), and took off for Mitaka station. We were to meet at 2pm. I got to Shinjuku where I would transfer to another line (whose name I forget) and get to Harajuku station, only two stops away. I had to adjust my ticket when I got there because I hadn’t known how much it would cost when I first got it. Basically there are kiosks to buy tickets and you look at a map to find out how much it’ll cost to go to a specific station. When you enter the station then, you stick the ticket in a slot and get it again as you go through the thing (I don’t know how to describe it. Kinda like a toll gate for people?). at the other end when you’ve reached your destination, you exit through those toll things by sticking your ticket in again, only this time the machine eats it and you’re done. If you didn’t get the correct ticket price to begin with you have to go to a ticket adjustment kiosk and pay the difference and get a new ticket to exit the station with. Extremely efficient and easy to use, though most Japanese have cards they put money on and just pass over a sensor without taking them out of their wallets even, which is even easier. I may get one at some point.
I got there early and waited a little and the group was assembled. There were 11 of us total. Now, Harajuku is the fashion district. It’s a few streets in particular that are lined with the craziest stores I have ever seen. If ever you were to check out my flickr account it’s now. I’ll get those pics up as soon as I can. There was a huge forever 21 that had opened just a month ago and had a line to get in, there were Lolita shops with the most amazing dresses, there was a goth clothing shop that would make Hot Topic look like Aeropostale (I don’t have pics of that, there was a sign saying “no pictures” and then insulted me. Sorry I can’t type inappropriate messages in mixed company). It was just overwhelming.
Oh right, before we shopped we had a late lunch at a small restaurant nearby that was really pretty from the outside (again, flickr). I had yakisoba, which is soba that you cook yourself on the grill in the middle of the table (I think anyway. That’s what I did so I guess its just that). It was all very delicious. Then we split into groups, and shopped. I only got one shirt, but it was really cool and 40 bucks, so I didn’t want to get much more. It was all pretty expensive stuff. The funny thing is that the girls fashion scared me and I was traveling with 3 guys, so I never got a chance to check out the chick stuff specifically. As such, the shirt I got was from a store called Nudy Boy (lol), that was all mens clothing. It looks pretty sweet on me tho. All the stuff in that store was awesome, and all four of us got something there.
We then all met up at 6, and started walking to Shibuya. Shibuya is more comparable to New York than Harajuku is. When you see images of Tokyo and that one intersection where like a bajillion people are crossing the road, that’s in Shibuya. Andrew told me that something like 1000 people cross that intersection a minute. So it had giant department stores, karaoke bars every 10 feet, stores of every type imaginable, and all HUGE. It was overwhelming again. I unfortunately had limited time, as the last bus from Mitaka station to my house was at 9:30 and I did NOT want a repeat of the last night, especially as I did not know how to get from Mitaka station to my house by foot. So I accompanied the group to karaoke, we awkwardly figured out the songs, all sang at the same time and generally enjoyed ourselves. I’ll have to go again sometime, when I can enjoy myself more without worrying about trains.
Ended up no problem. I left at 8pm, found the train station easy, found the JR Yamanote line which goes to Shinjuku, got the appropriate priced ticket this time (¥290), and listened to Miike Snow on the way. Waited a bit for my bus and got home around 8:45-9. That’s about when I posted my last post btw, but I was too tired, and had other things to do while I was connected to the internet to write this post then, so I’m writing it now and will post tomorrow sometime. But yeah, I’ll check out Shibuya again sometime, when I have more time. Pics will appear sometime too.
さよなら！
Today went much better than yesterday I’m happy to say. Once again, I write this on Saturday to post on Sunday. I’ve got some studying to do tomorrow, so no going out for me.
So. I got up at a leisurely 10:30, typed up my last post, showered, breakfasted, and headed out with Kuzuhara-san, who was going to show me how to get to the bus station. I got on the #52 bus, paid my ¥210 (approx $2.10), and took off for Mitaka station. We were to meet at 2pm. I got to Shinjuku where I would transfer to another line (whose name I forget) and get to Harajuku station, only two stops away. I had to adjust my ticket when I got there because I hadn’t known how much it would cost when I first got it. Basically there are kiosks to buy tickets and you look at a map to find out how much it’ll cost to go to a specific station. When you enter the station then, you stick the ticket in a slot and get it again as you go through the thing (I don’t know how to describe it. Kinda like a toll gate for people?). at the other end when you’ve reached your destination, you exit through those toll things by sticking your ticket in again, only this time the machine eats it and you’re done. If you didn’t get the correct ticket price to begin with you have to go to a ticket adjustment kiosk and pay the difference and get a new ticket to exit the station with. Extremely efficient and easy to use, though most Japanese have cards they put money on and just pass over a sensor without taking them out of their wallets even, which is even easier. I may get one at some point.
I got there early and waited a little and the group was assembled. There were 11 of us total. Now, Harajuku is the fashion district. It’s a few streets in particular that are lined with the craziest stores I have ever seen. If ever you were to check out my flickr account it’s now. I’ll get those pics up as soon as I can. There was a huge forever 21 that had opened just a month ago and had a line to get in, there were Lolita shops with the most amazing dresses, there was a goth clothing shop that would make Hot Topic look like Aeropostale (I don’t have pics of that, there was a sign saying “no pictures” and then insulted me. Sorry I can’t type inappropriate messages in mixed company). It was just overwhelming.
Oh right, before we shopped we had a late lunch at a small restaurant nearby that was really pretty from the outside (again, flickr). I had yakisoba, which is soba that you cook yourself on the grill in the middle of the table (I think anyway. That’s what I did so I guess its just that). It was all very delicious. Then we split into groups, and shopped. I only got one shirt, but it was really cool and 40 bucks, so I didn’t want to get much more. It was all pretty expensive stuff. The funny thing is that the girls fashion scared me and I was traveling with 3 guys, so I never got a chance to check out the chick stuff specifically. As such, the shirt I got was from a store called Nudy Boy (lol), that was all mens clothing. It looks pretty sweet on me tho. All the stuff in that store was awesome, and all four of us got something there.
We then all met up at 6, and started walking to Shibuya. Shibuya is more comparable to New York than Harajuku is. When you see images of Tokyo and that one intersection where like a bajillion people are crossing the road, that’s in Shibuya. Andrew told me that something like 1000 people cross that intersection a minute. So it had giant department stores, karaoke bars every 10 feet, stores of every type imaginable, and all HUGE. It was overwhelming again. I unfortunately had limited time, as the last bus from Mitaka station to my house was at 9:30 and I did NOT want a repeat of the last night, especially as I did not know how to get from Mitaka station to my house by foot. So I accompanied the group to karaoke, we awkwardly figured out the songs, all sang at the same time and generally enjoyed ourselves. I’ll have to go again sometime, when I can enjoy myself more without worrying about trains.
Ended up no problem. I left at 8pm, found the train station easy, found the JR Yamanote line which goes to Shinjuku, got the appropriate priced ticket this time (¥290), and listened to Miike Snow on the way. Waited a bit for my bus and got home around 8:45-9. That’s about when I posted my last post btw, but I was too tired, and had other things to do while I was connected to the internet to write this post then, so I’m writing it now and will post tomorrow sometime. But yeah, I’ll check out Shibuya again sometime, when I have more time. Pics will appear sometime too.
さよなら！
Saturday, July 11, 2009
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.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
