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It's already dark by 4:30 here. They (Japan) had daylight savings, but not anymore. They love their seasons here, and they have all four. They send letters during the middle of summer, and the middle of winter, and formal thank you letters start with a phrase that has to do with the season: "The hot weather continues," "the maple leaves are staring to turn red," "the cold weather continues," "the cherry blossoms are so beautiful these days."
I moved into my new dorm a few weeks ago. It's so much better than the other dorm. It's closer to school (so close that I can go home during my one hour lunch break, eat and take a nap), laundry is free, I don't have as much space as the other dorm, so I don't make as big of a mess, and my roommate and I get along really well. She told me about a mozilla extension "Rikaichan" where you put the cursor up to a word (in Japanese) and the meaning just pops up!
My grandfather broke his ankle a couple of weeks ago. He's much better now, he'll proabably start walking this weekend.
The Japanese Proficiency Test is in less than a month! We took a practice exam last week, and I passed, but I did terribly on the reading comprehension and grammar.
I'm starting a job this Saturday at a beer cafe. This place serves 160 different kinds of beers, mostly from Belgium. I'm depending on them to tell me absolutely everything I have to do in extreme detail, otherwise I'd be very nervous.
I went to Nikko last weekend. The hot springs was sooo nice.
Japanese language school's very monotonous. We get a schedule that maps out the weeks lessons, quizzes and tests, and it doesn't change a lot. But schedules are so we can look ahead and prepare for the next day's material. We stay in the same classroom the whole day, and the teachers move from room to room. Our seats change every once in a while, so we get partnered up with new people to practice conversation and pronounciation. During class, we repeat what the teacher says, and read off of the overhead a lot, otherwise, we don't really say that much.
I think that's the main reason why classes seem so monotonous. No one asks too many questions because the material we have to cover for that period is already determined, and if we don't get to it, well I don't know because it's never happened, but I guess we'd have to learn it on our own. Even when the teacher asks if there are questions, rarely will someone raise their hand, or shout something out; whatever questions you have, you can ask the teacher after, on your own time.
All of us are studying abroad in Japan, and the teachers will often ask what something is like in our countries: what the retirement age is, about pollution, dating. When someone makes a sentence using the grammar pattern we just learned, and says something like, "Recently in Taiwan, most people don't hold the same job for a long time," there's no chance for another student to ask a follow-up question. Or, we'll be asked a "yes" or "no" question, or a "I think so" or "I don't think so" question, and even for these, there's no time to continue discussing the topic. This continues for a while, and the result is that everyone thinks classes are boring.
At this French language school I went to, we spent most of the time talking about current issues: unemployment, President Bush, drugs. It was a summer course for three weeks, where classes were only three hours a day. The teacher would start with a topic, and list vocabulary words relating to it, then she'd initiate the conversation. She'd also play songs having to do with the issue at hand, and we'd fill in the blanks on a handout with the lyrics. I had the freakin' time of my life, so far, that summer, but not because of the summer course, and not because I didn't have a Japanese Proficiency Exam to worry about.
But I'll flat out say it, I prefer Western teaching habits. You're encouraged to ask questions and argue, you learn the basic form and make it your own, I think you create a closer relationship with your teachers, and every classroom has an American flag (at least until high school). Well, this Tuesday we're changing classes, so things will get switched up a bit. Same textbook and lessons, but new people. The weeks are definitely going by fast, it's already September, three more months until the exam. Language schools are different from regular schools though, according to my sempai, next year's training school will be frustrating as well, but not because classes are monotonous.
I spent the last few days in Atami, at my uncle's shack in the mountains. I met his neighbors who had four Dalmations! They don't live there. They live in Gotanda, or maybe some other place in Tokyo, with three of their Dalmations. Their daughter is a year younger than me, and saw The Strokes perform at Fuji Rock Festival. It was the first time I saw my aunt and uncle in a social setting besides any family mumbo jumbo, and it was surprising to see how gregarious they could be. Before, I thought my uncle was awkward, just a little, or self-concious, but in the mountain he made jokes that were slightly offensive, but with good intentions. He did, however, remain as self-righteous as he always has been: his car that climbs up the narrow roads, the coffee maker, blah, blah. My aunt was friendly, as always, but seemed at ease in the mountain even though she had to get up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the train that would get her to Nakameguro by 8. Her co-worker's father had passed away, and she was going to his funeral. All our meals were outside, we went swimming in the ocean, climbed up the mountain (in my uncle's car), went to the bath, saw the stars, I got to read my book (The Poisonwood Bible), and take naps, drink aloe goya banana milk shakes. I guess I'm mentioning this because, well because it's so new to me. Not their place in Atami, but that part of their lives to me is new. Everyone has had the past few days off in memory of the war, and soldiers who fought in it, and pretty much everyone has a grave they can go visit. But we went to the mountain and spent a couple nights.
Marilia from Brasilia. My sempai, who's in her second year studying as a stylist at Bunka Fashion College, dressed her up and took pictures. If the link works, and you have some free time, there are more.
I decided to take the level 2 Japanese Language Proficiency Test, in December. There are 4 levels, level 1 means you are proficient, level 4 means you've put in some effort to learn Japanese. Next week we are taking level 2 practice exams, so we'll if I can get by. I'll take level 1 next year.
My summer break starts next week. I'm going on two homestays. One in Ishikawa, and the other is in Hokkaido. I have to think of things to tell the host family about my country... Paul Bunyan, the Giant Lumberjack, chocolate covered pretzels... what else, what else... I've always avoided doing homestays because I don't like the idea of being in someone else's home, and sleeping in someone else's bed, or showering in someone else's shower. I have to watch myself to make sure I don't interupt their way of living, just like I'm sure the family will be watching me. But I've turned over a new leaf, and signed up for two homestays within the next month. Hopefully, I'll come back and my face will hurt from smiling so much, and not because I had been acting overtly polite the whole time.
There seems to be some hubbub about North Korean missiles in the Sea of Japan... Honestly, I wouldn't have even known if it had flown into my sink.
I got a vonage phoneline here. It's a New York area code, so there are no international rates, only the time difference.
Oh, and Marilia and I will be sharing a room in September!
from left to right: Lamai, from Laos, Jasline, from Singapore, Phai, from Thailand. They are going to see the fireworks show in Yokohama.
Last night, Jasline showed us a Singaporean movie, called "I Not Stupid," it has a lot to do with the people and culture. They speak about 4 languages daily, including Singlish, which is a language peculiar to Singapore. There's a video on You-Tube (which she also showed us), it's quite funny. It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before, but it's this dialect of English, in Asia.
I found the Japanese verison of Vice Magazine, Volume 2 Number 10 The Cops Issue. It was at a record store in Shimokitazawa. I remember when I was a kid (which I no longer am since I turned 20) picking up this magazine somewhere on Christopher Street and thinking it was the coolest magazine ever. It has the 'do's and don'ts' section, and the cruel humor and mockery still applies in Japanese.
My aunt was nice enough to lend me one of her bikes. It takes about 15 minutes to ride to Harajuku, or Shibuya. It took me about 30 minutes to ride to Roppongi. It's good excercise, I save money, and I get to see the streets of Tokyo. The wheels are smaller than an average bike which makes it easy to maneuver around small turns, but it doesn't go fast.
It's been so hot here. I've been taking at least two showers every day because of the humidity.
My friend told me about this website. It's free radio. I'm listening to it now...The Organ. You make stations of artists you like, and they play music based on the sound and genre of that artist.
Kyle, those speakers are so good. I can play my music really loud too becuase the walls are made of concrete so you don't hear your neighbor. It's awesome.
I don't watch TV cause I don't have one in my room, but my friends from class, Lee Jeung, and Boseung, told me about this Japanese TV drama today called, "Attention, Please." It's about a flight attendent who works for JAL, and her co-workers. It was outrageous, man. The most dramatic part of the episode was when the flight was delayed because a door was showing up on the monitor as being open. There was an old guy and some lady complaining, a crying baby, then the main character starting singing "Happy Birthday" to the baby, because it was its birthday, and everyone starts singing, then the "system malfunction" gets fixed by some guy who took charge of the situation for the first time. Come on. I'd rather watch Steve O get bitten all over by a bunch of ants.
So I will begin to introduce my friends here to you. This is Natalie and Linda. We are in Nagano, a few hours away from Tokyo, at my school’s “camp.” It’s the school’s small resort really, there is skiing in the winter, a hot spring, golf, a lake, a gymnasium, and meeting rooms. The whole school was there for three days and two nights. Nathalie (wearing pink) is from Columbia. When I first saw her I thought she couldn’t be older than me, but on the contrary Nathalie is 22. She hates spiders, and likes it when I talk with a Southern accent. Next year she’s studying photography. Linda is my age from the Marshall Islands, but grew up in California and Hawaii. She tells me Marshallese folklore, and traditions. We joke about how small the islands are, and how small Nathalie is. Linda’s leaving though; she’s going back to Hawaii at the end of the month. She’s had the past few months to think about what she wants to do, and I think she’s doing what’s best for her. I’m going to miss her a lot.
general things i missed thus far:
Katherine and Jonah's Wedding Party: my family in the New York setting, the food, the general partying.
Janet's Surprise Birthday Party: my friends, the surprise, the general partying.
The Disassembling of my Bed: Mariko getting grossed out/pissed off about the mess underneath it.
Beginning of Summer Break/End of Classes.
what am I missing? please comment.
Sam, Ian, Billy and Alex's house warming party.
At Meguro Gajoen.
This was a hotel in the 1930's. Its wooden beams and carvings are very beautiful, it reminded me of the movie 'Spirited Away'. They built an addition to it which is now a luxury hotel. The public bathrooms had a stream flowing through it!
If you are traveling to Japan and have deeeep pockets, I recommend it.
Here is a picture of my grandmother (middle), aunt (right), and cousin (far left). We went here for my grandfather's 90th birthday (note: he is 92 years old now). After a tour of the old building, we went to have lunch at one of the hotel's restaurants. Our room was designed to give the feeling that we are outside in the moutains. The ceiling lights were behind a paper canopy, so the light was distributed across the whole ceiling. The floor was raised, and along two sides of the room there was water running over a ledge, and purple irises. Another side of the room had sliding glass and paper doors that faced a small courtyard. The food was amazing.
I saw my cousin Tomoharu Ido for the first time in roughly 9 years. He lives in Hiroshima. I hope to visit him one day.
Today, I fried bananas I had frozen because I didn't want them to go bad, in my new frying pan.
I once had fried bananas at my brother's friend's place in Pennsylvania with ice cream, it was when I first got my cell phone.
ZZ, a woman I used to work for during high school, ate a lot of bananas.
My friend cut them in half, length-wise, and they got a little burnt, and crispy. It was very good, but I don't know when I will make them again.
This is what I ate on one of the first days of April.
It was from the 24 hour Lawson convenient store downstairs, next to the post office. I've only had this once, however, I'm sure they are selling this today.
I paid my water bill and sent a letter there today.
I sent my condolences to Mrs. Garcia in Florida, ZZ's daughter. I received a letter from her today saying that ZZ had passed away on March 1. Earlier this month I sent ZZ a letter in Rye after I had a terrible dream where felt really guilty for not keeping in touch with her.
I've had a lot of dreams since I got to Japan, but now that I think of it, not recently.
