Sick.

This morning I woke up feeling pretty bad. It was my chronic stomach thing acting up again, unfortunately. It hurt a lot for about an hour, and I wasn't able to get ready for class in time because of that. So I sent my speaking teacher an email saying I wouldn't be there, and I sent my homework along with my roommate. She said I can make up the vocab quiz next week, which was a nice surprise. I was really disappointed not to get to go to class, but I honestly don't think I had the strength to bike to school at that point. So after getting my absence in order I went back to bed for a few hours and got some food into my system. I was able to make my last afternoon class, which was good. I'm feeling fine now, just very very drained.

Then I went to the grocery. I accidentally spend probably an hour and a half doing my shopping, which was not my intention! It's hard to shop for just one person. My friend Daniel had a good suggestion, though, that we get a small group to take turns cooking once or twice a week, so it's easier for everyone. It just seems so silly for me to make a special trip to the grocery to buy chicken and cheese and sauce to make parmesean chicken just for me, when it'll probably turn out pretty bad anyway.

And now I have showered, and I'm about to go make some instant curry for supper, I think. I'm going to bed very early tonight so I can regain my strength. It's a little bizarre how much simple pain can sap the life out of you. Weird. Oh well, I'm doing better now.

Tutoring

I had my regular Japanese classes this morning, and they went well. I remembered to do all my homework this time, which was good. ^_^ The weather was nice and cool today, if a bit overcast, so I ate my udon lunch outside, which was nice. In the afternoon I had Asian Psychologies, which was fairly uneventful.

After that, though, I went to tutor little kids in English. My friend Andrew does a bit of tutoring for this small place, so I filled in for him today because he had a class. It was a lot of fun. There were two classes--one of four girls, the other of three boys. They were all about six or seven years old, I'd say, and it was a blast. We did flashcards and read a little Finding Nemo cartoon, and did charades. It was a lot of fun, and a very productive way to spend a few hours. I was really nervous going into it, but I'm definitely glad I did it. The teacher wants me to come back next month, and I think I will. It was nice.

After that I had okonomiyaki at Sachi, the little place around the corner. Again. I go there like every day. It's so delicious and convenient, though! And the coupons are so cute and homemade, with little pictures of bunnies and puppies drawn on them. I love it.

I'm really exhausted, so I'm planning to go to bed early tonight. Last night I didn't sleep too well; I had a dream that Erin and I were housesitting for Grandma, but then Erin wasn't there, though I thought there was an intruder in the house. >.< Nightmares are no fun.

I'm wondering what, if anything, I should do this weekend. I'd love to take it easy, but I feel like I should go on a short trip somewhere. I dunno.

This study abroad thing is fun, but there's actually a lot of pressure on me, I feel. It's such a unique opportunity and I don't want to blow it; I feel bad if I'm not visiting some important cultural site in all my free time. I'll probably only be over here this once and I want to get the most possible out of it, but I'm trying not to wear myself out doing it. It's a tough balance.

Mostly chores and everyday stuff

I feel kinda grown up after today. I was riding my bike home from the grocery this afternoon, and I realized that I'm taking care of myself pretty well. There's still a lot to learn--I'm terrified of banking and taxes and insurance, for instance--but I think all those years of playing house and school and marine biologist and Waffle House in the basement with Erin and Nikki have paid off.

The weather today was beautiful. Clear skies, no humidity, nice breeze. It was a gorgeous early fall day. Also, some of the leaves are just starting to change color, so that's nice. And the marigolds are blooming, and the sunlight is so crisp, and I love it.

I had a 9AM speaking class today, and I forgot to do my homework for it. I was totally kicking myself; I really should have done it, I just didn't look at the homework list like I should have. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

After that I came home and talked on Skype to Nikki, my family, and David. I had actually physically scheduled them into my day, which felt really funny, but it worked out. I got to talk to everybody for at least half an hour. Very nice.

Then I had to return to campus for a very quick lunch and Survey of Japanese Art. I really, really like that class. It's a nice, no-stress art history class. The prof is really knowledgeable and laid-back, the homework is light, the topic is fascinating, etc. It's been good. Today we learned more about different statues in Horyuji, which only makes me more impatient to go. I'm waiting until the end of October, though, for the Yumedono Kannon to be on display, so it'll still be a while. That's probably good, though, considering how tiring and expensive Himeji was.

After class, I stopped by the campus library to return Sherlock Holmes, did a bit of homework, went to the QQ and got some cooking supplies, stopped by Top World for different cooking supplies, came home, ran the sweeper, read some of Monte Cristo, and took a nap. Oh, I also figured out how to changed the temperature setting on our air conditioning unit. The instructions are all in Japanese, and I had just kinda been pushing random buttons in hopes I'd stumble upon something that works. But now I've got it figured out, and it's good. Now that it's beautiful outside and we can open our balcony door without melting. Oh well. Better late than never.

This evening I used the cooking supplies I had bought to make okonomiyaki. So, the okonomiyaki--maybe I should say "okonomiyaki." It looked kinda like a pile of spaghetti between two pancakes. Not a success. I don't know what I did wrong; I followed the directions I found online. But it came out totally cakey and completely bland. So I wound up with basically a flavorless pile of flour, noodles, and cabbage on my plate, covered with a little mayonnaise. It was pretty bad. I ate maybe a sixth of it before I gave up and started just nibbling on a baguette with some peanut butter. I have a feeling I'll be hungry again pretty soon. But it was a good effort on my part, I have to say. It was, technically, edible, and I didn't break anything or hurt anyone making it, so I guess it's not too bad. I'll try again later. Maybe it needed another egg; I dunno. This calls for some experimentation.

Tomorrow--I think, but don't quote me on this--is the first day of classes for the regular Kansai Gaidai, non-international students. Everyone is so excited about it, but really I don't see the big deal. As far as I'm concerned, they'll be in their part of campus doing their thing, and I'll be in the international building taking classes. Plus, they'll make the lines longer at lunch. ;_; But I'm just a crabby person, I guess. I'm sure it'll be really nice to have some new faces around. Also, it'll be different to be on a big, crowded campus. I'll see what it would have been like if I had gone to UK or Notre Dame or Wash U, I suppose.

Himeji Trip

Today I went to Himeji. I'm completely wiped out from the strenuous day, but if I don't write about it now before I go to bed, it'll never get done.

I woke up at 8:30 this morning and met Jessica C., another Witt student, outside my dorm. We walked to the bus station, took the bus to Hirakatashi-eki, grabbed some snacks at the convenience store there, and met up with the rest of our group. Well, sort of. We never did find William. He's kind of chronically late, and we waited long enough to just barely make our train. I'm still not sure what happened. Anyway, it was me, Jessica C., Jacinthe, Phuong, and Nicole. I had never met Phuong or Nicole before, but they seem to be nice girls. A girl named Kim was originally going to come, too, but she uses a wheelchair to get around, and the castle is by no means wheelchair accessable. That was really lousy. ;_;

We rode a double-decker train to Osaka, where we had to change railway lines. After a quick ride on a local train, we got on a super duper special express train, or something like that, that would take us to Himeji. That ride took an hour, and it was very beautiful. The train was very crowded at first, so I had to stand for about fifteen minutes, but it eventually cleared out and I got to sit and see out the window. The land was beautiful. I like living so close between Osaka and Kyoto, but it means that everything I see is metropolis, basically, or suburb at best. But we rode through areas today that were a bit more rustic, which was nice for a change.

I loved looking at Kobe; I'd really like to visit there. The train went right along next to the sea, which was beautiful. There were some sailboats, big ships, and fishing vessels out and about, and many people fishing from docks. There were also considerably more palm trees in Kobe than there are in Osaka, so that was kinda cool too. Also, the homes were farther spread apart, and there were more free-standing businesses than the highrises I'm used to in Osaka. It was very nice; it reminded me more of the layout of mid-size American cities than the other Japanese cities I've visited. Actually, the seaside part of Kobe was rather like being in Destin, with souvenir shops, rental houses, and freestanding restaraunts all along the way. It was pretty cool.

Near Kobe we passed the longest suspension bridge in the world, the Akashi-Kaikyou Bridge. It connects the main island of Honshu to Awaji Island across the Naruto Strait. Turns out that the Naruto Strait is famous for whirlpools that happen there. Ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige actually made a famous woodblock print showing the phenomenon. Pretty sweet, although I didn't know about the whirlpools at the time, or I would have looked. Probably couldn't have seen anything anyway, though.

After an hour of looking out the window and eating a small breakfast of Chokochippu, my favorite little snack food here (teeny tiny chocolate chip cookies!) we arrived in Himeji. The one-way trip cost almost 2000yen (about US$20), which is kind of a lot, except when you think about how far we traveled it really isn't so bad. We had some trouble finding our way out of the station, but soon we were on the path to Himeji.

Also, at Himeji-eki I used my first squat toilet. It went well.

We walked for several blocks toward Himeji Castle, stopping at a little noodle shop on the way for lunch. Here I had my first zaru udon, or cold udon noodles served with soy sauce for dipping. It was very good.

When we arrived at the castle we were already tired and hot, but in good spirits. We payed the 720yen admission fee for both the castle and the adjoining gardens and went inside. I'll post pictures later when I'm not falling asleep, but we'll say that the castle is quite impressive. It really does look like a white heron in flight, in a way. We weren't part of an organized tour group, so I really know very little about the history of it all; if you want to know, do some research on your own time. :)

The first part we toured was called the West Bailey, and what struck me about it was not the building itself, but the procedure for entering. Like many buildings in Japan, you could only enter it with bare feet. There was a place outside the entrance to remove your shoes and place them in a small plastic bag to tote along with you. So now I have walked through a 400 year old building in my silly green tabi socks that Mom says make me look like a Ninja Turtle. The building was pretty cool, I suppose. Actually, for as warm as the day was, it was literally surprisingly cool. But also very interesting. There were these small holes covered by flaps that the sign said were for dropping rocks on enemies trying to scale the walls. Also, there seems to have been an elaborate drainage system for rainwater, with bamboo pipes diverting it away from the building. We saw lots of store rooms, as well as some of the living quarters for the women who worked in the castle. All the rooms were bare, so it wasn't terribly exciting, although I really did like the austerity of it all.

One interesting place in the West Bailey was the Vanity Tower, apparently so called because it was built as a show of wealth for Sen-hime, the important princess who lived there with her husband. This tower was neat because they had reconstructed a room to look livable, and there were mannequins of people in there. It was pretty cool; I'll put up a picture later. In any case, all the signage seemed to say that Sen-hime and her husband got along very well and really liked living there.

From there we went into the main building of the castle, climbing up, what?, seven levels to reach the top, I think. The castle, like the West Bailey, was very comfortably cool inside. It had that nice old wood smell that I like so much, too. Again, it was very plain, but really cool. The base level had been kept pretty much like it was in the original, so I got to see how dark some of the store rooms were. But as you worked your way up, it became more of a museum, with some artifacts like old scrolls, weaponry, and statues behind glass cases. It was neat. We climbed and climbed, and since the stairs were really steep I rather regreted wearing a skirt, although luckily I was wearing nice panties. (Too much information, I know, but it is something that happened in my day, and surely you want to know everything about me, right?) By the time we reached the top floor, which was crowded, small, and had a small shrine featuring what seemed to be a bunch of sake bottles, we were exhausted. But we picked our way carefully downstairs, and somehow survived.

The last place we visited in the main grounds was something called Harakiri-maru. The harakiri in question is the famous samurai practice of seppuku, or ritual suicide. No one seems to be sure why this building is called that, though. The signs say that it could have been a place where bodies were prepared for rites after seppuku, but that there's really no evidence of this, and it was probably just used as a nice area to store weapons or quarter soldiers or do whatever it is you do in a castle. I think it's just a place with a funny name, personally. Oh, and I found a really fat caterpillar with big bulgy eyes there, too. It looked like something Timon and Pumbaa would eat.

On the way out of the castle grounds, we stopped at the obligatory souvenir shop, where I purchased a couple of things that some of you can expect to receive when I return. :) By the way, if you didn't know, souvenirs are a big deal in Japan. They're called omiyage, and you HAVE to buy something for everyone you know if you go somewhere. Jessica, for example, bought several things for Kim, the girl who couldn't come. The homestay kids bought things for their host families, etc. So anyhow, there are lots of souvenir shops everywhere around big tourist places in Japan. Oh, we also got ice cream out of a vending machine, and it was pretty good.

Then, although I think everyone was actually ready to go home, we went next door to the gardens. Really, I think we only went because we had already paid our admission, we were all so tired at this point. But the garden, Kokoen, ended up being my favorite part of the day, by far. Jacinthe had to be back to her host family by 6PM, so she, Phuong, and Nicole left basically as soon as we got there, although Jessica and I, having taken Kuri-sensei's class on Japanese gardens, decided to stay and explore some more. There were about nine different garden types, I guess, including a tea garden and a nice bamboo garden. We really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately I've forgotten most of what I once knew about Japanese gardens, but still I appreciated it. This being the first day of fall, the leaves have just started to turn here, and in the late afternoon light the grounds were beautiful. I wanted to take so many picutres, but my camera battery was dying, so I don't have as many as I'd like. Still, it was a place that I definitely want to return to some day. Very, very cool.

After the garden, Jessica and I headed back to Himeji-eki to go home. On the way, we stopped at a shop so she could buy a few more souvenirs. Then we stopped at a little stand and I got some chocolate soft serve ice cream, and she got a really big snowcone, basically. We walked with the food and ate, which is a bit of a no-no here in Japan, but it was such a tourist spot that even the Nihonjin were doing it. But as we got farther away from the castle, this one traffic cop actually laughed at Jessica for eating and walking at the same time, so she finished the snowcone quickly and threw away the trash.

The hour-long train ride back to Osaka was fun, actually. It was soooo nice to sit after spending all day walking up and down stairs. Also, there were these four boys, probably about ages 12-14, obviously coming home from school, and they sat down on the train across from us. They were hilarious, joking around with each other and all. Then one of them took the tennis racket out of his bag and playfully bonked his friend on the head with it, which was really funny. Then the friend whipped out a roll of tape from his bag and started to tape together an empty water bottle and an empty juice container, which sounds really stupid, although we were laughing so hard! Everything they did was hilarious. I'm sure it didn't help matters that there were two gaijin girls giggling at their goofiness, but in any case most of the train ended up laughing at their shenanigans. It was pretty funny. Right before they got off the train, I even gave Bottle Boy my empty Coke bottle. I hope he was able to tape it to the bits of trash and hit Tennis Racket Boy upside the head with it in retaliation. :)

When we arrived at Osaka, the stations had become very crowded. People were getting home from work or heading out for the evening, I think. Anyhow, I we found ourselves on a really packed train. There were none of the "train crammers" that people have been asking about, shoving as many people as possible onto rush hour trains, although I'm sure they could have been of use.

Walking from one train station to another, also, was very crowded. And the hosts were out in full force, too, looking for business. They were so gorgeous. I've never seen so many well-tailored suits and excellent haircuts in my life. But it seems so awkward to me, the concept of hosting. I dunno. I guess some of it's cultural, and a lot of it is that I'm just shy, especially about flirting.

Jessica and I arrived back at Hirakatashi-eki around 7:30, I suppose, and we had to wait forever to get a bus home. But we got back okay, and as we were walking through the park to Sachi, the little okonomiyaki place I eat at all the time, we chanced to run into Momoko, the friend I made in the park my first weekend here. She had written me a nice little note, and she gave me tickets to her school's festival in October. She's such a sweetheart! It was a really nice surprise. Anyway, Jessica and I continued on and had delicious moudan-yaki (okonomiyaki with noodles in it) for supper. I was soooo hungry; I actually ate the whole thing, which I had thought was nigh impossible. And then I came home, showered, and wrote this update. And that is that. And now I am going to bed.

A Standard Monday

Today was just a rather ordinary day. Let's see...I woke up at 8:15, did really well on a kanji and vocab test in my reading and writing class (I think), did some homework in my downtime, participated a lot in my speaking class, grabbed some McDonald's to go, and came back home for a Skype date with David.

Oh, but the weather today was beautiful. The humidity was finally down, so it felt like a nice fall day back home. I was able to hang my futon out in the sun some today, so that got rid of some of the chronic dampness that I swear it holds.

I also napped and cooked dinner for myself. I heated up some rice from the QQ, and made a packet of instant curry. The curry package was kinda funny; I even took a picture of it. It said, "Have you ever wanted to eat a master of curry? Now you can, This [sic] is it." Haha! I've never actually wanted to eat a master of anything, thank you, curry company. But I get what they were talking about, and it was actually very good, though much spicier than I wanted. I prefer Mama-san's curry. I made some gyoza (potstickers, jiaozi), too. I got a pack of probably 30 precooked gyoza for less than US$1, and fried and steamed them. Add some ponzu and soy sauce, and it was very good. Oh, but we have gas stoves here which I'm not used to, and I accidentally caught some of the vegetable oil on fire at the beginning. >.< Oops. But I covered it quickly and it wasn't a problem. Now I know not to leave the gas on full blast.

Our poor RA, Seiko, is required by her job to be in the dorm lounge after 8PM on Fridays and Saturdays, which means that she can never go out! How awful. So a bunch of us decided to go out for karaoke tonight at 9:00 so she can come with us, for once. On Friday, I think we're going to stay in with her and do a movie night. She's so excited! I decided not to go for karaoke this time; I've already been three times since I arrived, and I should probably consider spending my money in places besides Big Wave Karaoke....

So I've stayed in for the night, and I'll probably shower and get ahead on homework, and maybe start rereading The Count of Monte Cristo. It's my favorite book, although I haven't read it in a few years. I found a really good translation of it into English in the library here, and I'm looking forward to getting into it again. Earlier today I finished the collection of Sherlock Holmes stories I was reading.

Tomorrow is Shuubun no Hi, or the Autumn Equinox, which is a national holiday. That means classes are cancelled, and that means I'll be sightseeing. I'm going to see Himeji Castle with six other people. I was the one in charge of planning this outing, so I really hope it goes well. I've got all the details planned out including meeting places and train times, which is much more planning than has gone into the other outings I've been on here. Maybe I'm just a control freak, but really, I'd rather just not get lost. Anyway, it should be a lot of fun, although it'll be pretty expensive to get there. I'll let you know how it goes.

Meeting my Homevisit Family

Oh for crying in the mud, it's only 7:45PM here on Sunday night, and I'm totally ready to be in bed. Today was a lot of fun, but completely draining.

I woke up at 9:15 this morning so I could meet Saho, my homevisit friend, at 10AM at school. We were going to see her sister Mizuho play the trumpet in her school band concert.

Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain at the time I woke up, so that made things a little hairy. But just before I set off to campus on my bike, the rain stopped. What good timing! I met Saho outside the CIE lounge, and we walked to Hirakatashi-eki. We were able to chat fairly well, although there was much frantic dicitonary use, and I'm sure I misunderstood a lot of what she said.

From Hirakatashi we took a train and two subways to a really neat shopping center in Osaka. It was like a six storey mall, which was sweet. Japanese ladies' clothing stores are a little different than I'm used to, though. For one thing, everything is very, very expensive, at least compared what I'm used to. $40 for a sweater is absolutely standard. For a Target shopper like me, that's absurd. The clothes I saw were really cute, but they were super trendy--lots of leggings and loose tops and big jewelry and clunky purses. That's great, but in the US very few people dress like that unless they're in Elle or going to a very important date, so I really can't feel justified in dropping $250 for an outfit that will (still!) look cheap in Japan and be totally absurd in the US. I'm keeping an eye out, though, for that timeless, well-made, stylish, versatile, Tim Gunn-approved article that I know I'll find here somewhere. ::sigh::

Side note: Also at the mall I bought Nikki's souvenir. (Haha, Nikki, bet you want to know what it is...too bad!)

For lunch Saho and I went to Mos Burger for my First Time Ever. It was delicious. I now know why Americans who return from Japan speak so fondly about the place. The Mos Burger I went to was in a subway station and was very crowded. The tables were close together, which has been my experience in all Japanese fast food places. I had the Chicken Burger Set, which we would probably call a Chicken Patty Meal at home; I had a chicken patty sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and mustard, a Coke, and fries. It was like the most delicious thing ever. I totally want another chicken burger. Yum!

After discovering the joys of Mos Burger, we continued on our way to Saho's old middle school in Osaka. As soon as we got off our train, it began to POUR down rain. Absolutely soaked us! We both had umbrellas, but this was a ridiculous downpour. We had to walk maybe half a mile in it, too, and these cars kept splashing us. However, we did pass another Kofun tomb, which I thought was cool. Also, there was a lake that had all these cormorants diving in it. When we arrived at the school we had to walk up a hill that had pracically turned into a waterfall, and then across the swampy baseball field. It was terrible, but at that point we were both so exasperated that it really didn't matter. We arrived looking like a pair of drowned rats. I was afraid that my cute new over-the-knee socks would be ruined by the mud, but they turned out okay.

Mrs Nakahara met us at the door of the gym and helped us get dried off a little. We arrived late, but the rain had delayed some of the concert setup, so since it started late we didn't miss anything. Saho and I fanned ourselves with the concert programs, and we actually were dry by about halfway through. The downpour continued through the concert, though, and at times it was actually hard to hear above the rain and thunder.

It was held in the middle school gym, which looked just like an American middle school gym. The only difference was the presence of a genkan (shoe removal place), and the fact that they provided the guests with slippers to wear after you removed your outside shoes.

The concert was divided into three groups, and from what I could tell they were based on the performers' ages and skill levels. All three groups, though, were really good. They played the same kinds of music you'd expect at an American band concert, as well as a few pieces by Japanese composers whose names I didn't recognize. They made it a lot of fun, though, by having a few songs where some of the kids did silly dances in costumes and such. They played the Indiana Jones theme, and before it did a little skit where this boy was trying to steal a bundle of treasure. It was pretty amusing. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

So, how do I put this lightly? Wittenberg Band, you're great and all, but I have to say you just got pwned by a bunch of Japanese 13 year olds in school uniforms. Maybe if you include cute dancing cupcake-like people in your next concert you can impress me like they did.

After the concert, the Nakaharas treated me to the most delicious soft cream--vanilla soft serve ice cream. Geez, that stuff was way more delicious than it could have been. So if you're ever near a place called Lic Joe (what a terrible name in English!) try their ice cream. Yum. We were able to chat a little, mostly about cartoons. We discussed Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Dexter's Laboratory, and Ninja Turtles.

Saho had never heard of the Ninja Turtles, although her mom was sure that Saho had watched it once when she was little. It's kinda hard to explain Ninja Turtles in Japanese, especially since it involves so many terrible stereotypes about Japan! I told Saho that it's about four turtles who are good at kendo and karate and stuff, and they eat a lot of pizza. I don't think she was terribly impressed; she just kinda laughed. I guess if you don't grow up with the glory that is Ninja Turtles, it's hard to get into it. Also, it's really hard to explain Fairly Odd Parents in Japanese. I did not do that show justice at all ("There's a boy, and he has a weird family...").

Then the family drove Saho and me back to the train station, so this time we didn't get totally drenched. She helped me find my way back home, and that was that.

Oh, well, I did have a problem getting off campus. The gate I normally use to get home was locked because it was Sunday, so I had to make a slight detour, during which it started to sprinkle again. By the time I made it back here around 7:00 I was grumpy and in desperate need of a shower, but pleasantly tired. And now I'm ready for bed.

It turns out that I have a kanji and vocab quiz in my reading and writing class tomorrow, so I've got to study a bit before sleep. But first, a list of observations and things to remember:

• According to Saho, many Japanese kids don't like carrots or tomatoes. I had heard about the carrots before, but I find the tomato thing surprising. She thought it was strange that American kids usually don't like fish. I wonder if there's a country where children love peas and lima beans?
• いっぱい (ippai) means something like "packed" or "crowded."
• 雷 is read かみなり (kaminari) and means "thunder."
• The Disney character Stitch is much, much more popular in Japan than in the US.
• アンパンマン (Anpanman) is a Japanese children's cartoon superhero. I didn't know anything about him before, but today Saho told me about him, and since this morning I've seen him in lots of places--on kids' socks, on purses, keychains, etc.
• Note to self: Don't use と申します when introducing myself in regular circumstances. The Nakaharas laughed at me for quite a while. It must be too formal for meeting a home visit family. >.<>
• I keep seeing all these little flags with a picture of a child and the number 110. I asked Saho about it today, and she said it was something to do with kidnapping. At first I thought maybe 110 is the number of Japanese children snatched in a certain amount of time, but I just now realized that 110 probably refers to the emergency 110--the Japanese equivalent of our 911. I think they're flags asking people to keep an eye out for creepy people stealing kids. Anyone know for sure?

Friday Update

Yesterday I was pretty busy, so sorry I didn't update.

Typhoon 13, also called Typhoon Sinlaku, moved through the area yesterday, although we only caught the very edge of it. Yesterday was cloudy, rainy, and breezy all day, but that was about it. Pretty disappointing for my first typhoon. But apparently it really slammed Taiwan, and I think the Kanto region (the area around Tokyo) got hit this morning. In any case, I got all excited about a downpour. Oh well, maybe next time.

I had my speaking class yesterday morning, and it was uneventful, except that I was about two minutes late. I blame the rain. I found the health center on campus and introduced myself to the nurse, just in case I get sick.

After lunch I had art history, where we learned about the Shaka Triad, a really important bronze statue in the Horyuji, a temple fairly near us. I really want to go see it now. Also, we learned about the Yumedono Kannon, a really neat statue also at Horyuji. It's only on display for a few weeks at the end of October and it's what I really want to see, so I'll probably wait until it's open to visit Horyuji. It turns out that the Yumedono Kannon is the statue that Ernest Fenollosa famously had the Horyuji priests uncover when he visited Japan during the Meiji Era on his quest for "lost Japanese art." Very cool.

In Japan in Western Film and Literature, we watched Lost in Translation. I did not like it. It was depressing and boring and not at all insightful, I thought. We watched it to look for elements of anti-Japanese sentiment, which weren't as bad as I had expected, although some scenes were still really frustrating. If you take it with a grain of salt, though, the film does have some nice shots of "Japanese types of places," if I can say that. The clubs, the restaurants, the hotels, the street scenes--all that has been pretty consistent with what I've seen. I do, though, resent that Scarlett Johansson called a Buddhist temple a shrine, and espectially that the movie implies that Japan today is a false Japan, and the Japanese should be doing ikebana and kendo instead of surfing. In any case, turn off the sound for a nice montage of Japanese landscapes, but other than that, don't bother. I did not enjoy the film.

After class I came home, napped, showered, went out to eat with Jessica at a nearby place called Zenya, where I had some pretty good yakisoba. We then met up with some people and went to Big Wave for more karaoke. I got back at about 2:00AM, and that was my Friday.

It's Saturday afternoon now, and I'm about to head out to explore Makino a little on my own. It's just a short bike ride up the river, and I'd like to see what's there.

Observations

• I haven't seen any mixed-breed dogs here. I've seen dachsunds, Akitas, Irish setters, border collies, etc., but no mutts. Interesting. I wonder why. The cats I have seen--although they've all been strays, or at least outdoor cats--have looked like regular American street cats.
• When you go to the grocery, you bag your own goods. They put your purchases back in your little basket, and give you a plastic bag so you can arrange your own stuff on the provided tables near the exit.
• I often see liter-sized bottles of water sitting out on street corners or next to lamp posts. I don't know what they're for. Any ideas?
• Paper comes in sizes different than I'm used to here. I'm not really sure what's standard, and what the different sizes are called. Most of my handouts have been on something slightly bigger than the standard American 8 1/2 x 11.

Typhoon #13 is approaching us. Depending on how bad it is, classes might be cancelled. I have heard that it's supposed to weaken to a tropical depression by the time it reaches Osaka. Still, I went to the grocery today so I can feed myself if the rain gets too bad. I bought a lot of gyoza to fry up. Yummmm.

Chores and Ancient Earthworks

I actually accomplished rather a lot today, I think. I had a 9:00 class, but after that I returned to the dorm to chat on Skype with my family and with David. It's so nice to hear from home. After that I headed back to campus for lunch at McDonald's (again--I know, I'm so bad, but it's soooooo delicious) and art history class.

Today in art history we learned about the Kofun period, basically the third through the sixth century CE. Ancient Japanese art isn't all that interesting to me, but this was kinda cool because it turns out that I'm in an ideal location for studying the art of this time. The Kofun people are known for their huge earthworks graves. Kofun means "ancient tomb," actually, and these tombs are all over in the Kansai area, especially just to the south of where I am. In fact, my professor said that I've been passing one pretty much every day and never realized it! Right on the other side of the park near the library, there's this little stand of trees that I'd never noticed before. It's exactly where I get off the bus coming from downtown Hirakata. Turns out the stand of trees is growing on an ancient burial mound. It's now a little park with some picnic tables and a walking path. I stopped by on my way home from class to check it out. It's pretty cool, I guess--kinda like any other wooded hill. But just thinking about how old it is and all the cool stuff that's probably buried under there is really neat! This Kofun period is also known for something called haniwa, which literally means "clay circle." Haniwa were ceramic objects placed around the outside of these Kofun tombs in concentric circles. They may have served the practical purpose of slowing erosion of the tombs, but some of the later ones are really elaborate and must have symbolic meaning. They started out as basic geometric cylinders, but they became really detailed. Some of them are downright adorable, like this horse. Anyway, it was really cool to be able to ride my bike to the same kind of ancient ritual site that I just studied in class. Heck yes for Kansai!

Today I also did my laundry. It's kinda expensive--200yen per load, and it only accepts certain coins, so I had to buy a Coke from the vending machine to get change. Also, the dryers don't work like I think they should. I've heard from many people who say they put a few shirts in the dryer for hours and they still didn't dry; I wasn't so sure I believed them, so I stuck a towel in for 40 minutes, and sure enough it's still completely wet. Oh well. So now I have clothes hanging all around my room to dry. I've also put some out on the clothesline on my balcony. We're supposed to get rain tonight, though, so I have to remember to bring them in soon.

I also finally cooked myself a decent meal. I heated up some rice pilaf I bought from the QQ (the dollar grocery) and marinated some salmon in soy sauce, sugar, lemon juice, and garlic, then seared it in pepper and olive oil. It sounds so nice, doesn't it? For supper I had orange juice, canned pears, rice pilaf, and seared pepper salmon. And by that nice description, I mean that I spent about an hour cooking something fairly mediocre that ended up more burt to a crisp than seared. But hey, it was a real meal, and any cooking involving meat for me is a big step. I think I'll probably make it again; it was nice to have some protein. I just need to find a better cut of salmon. The kind I bought still had skin on one side and some cartiledge on the other, and I didn't have a proper knife to cut all the extra bits off. Not that I'm skilled at that kind of thing anyway, so it was probably a lost cause. I'm sure I threw away more unusable salmon bits than I actually cooked. Still, though, I'm pretty proud of myself. And it tasted pretty good, once you got past the burnt outside. I think I just need some practice.

Kyoto Trip Pictures are Up!

Photobucket Album

Kind of a complainy post

Tuesdays are really busy for me. I have five hours of classes, and at the end of the day I'm wiped out.

I woke up with a sore throat this morning, and I hope it doesn't get worse. I'm going to gargle with salt water tonight, so I hope that helps. Sometimes I feel like I really can't catch a break. >.<

The weather today was beautiful, and very like September at home. It's supposed to storm later on in the week, and I think it's a typhoon. At least, that's what the weather map looked like.

Speaking of typhoons, what is this about me leaving the States and everything falling apart?! Geez, I can't even leave you all for three weeks and you get hurricaned and the stock market goes nuts. Louisville's in a state of emergency, Cara's family can't come visit her now, Ukraine's ruling party collapsed, Lehman Brothers is down the tubes, Mr Ashby needs surgery, I'm getting sick. Really? Did it all have to happen at once? For crying in the mud, World. Keep it together!

Everyday Life in Japan, Part 1

Photobucket Album

Kuzuha Excursion

Today I went to Kuzuha Mall all by myself. I wanted some time to explore on my own. I rode my bike to the train station and payed a small fee to park it there. I found the right train and made it to the mall just fine. I walked around for probably an hour and a half, and bought some souvenirs for various people. I also stopped at the grocery store in the mall and bought some of my cooking supplies for a salmon recipe I found.

At that point, I really, really wanted some McDonald's. I like it a lot in the US, but here it's basically a staple of my diet. It's the most filling thing I can find, so I try to eat it when I can. I set off down a promising looking street figuring surely I'd run into a McDonald's sooner or later. Three 7Elevens, a mile, and a rain shower down the road, I was still burgerless. So I turned around, and found a McDonald's less than a block from where I had started. Kinda frustrating, but I got my food! Mmmmm Filet-o-Fish!

Took the train home in the rain, only to find that someone had taken my umbrella from the train station. Oh well, it wasn't really a big deal. It was just a cheap one from the convenience store. I collected my bike and rode homeward, but I missed my turn and got a bit confused. I worked it all out in the end, and stopped at a different grocery store to buy my fish. I had to ask a lady if it was salmon, and she said yes, along with telling me that the kind I had found was good with salt. At least, I think that's what she said. Anyway, I had all my food (I also found Oreos!) so I came home to take a nap.

And that's been my day.

Respect for the Aged Day

Today is Respect for the Aged Day, and it's a national holiday, so there's no class. Yay! So what will I do with my free time? I'm thinking of going to the nearby Kuzuha Mall for some shopping. Also, I'll be picking up some groceries so I can cook myself some proper food.

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Today my friend Jessica and I had planned to meet our friend Saho and some of her buds and go together to the aquarium in Osaka. We took the bus to Hirakatashi-Eki, where we were supposed to meet, but we couldn't find them there. We were running a little late, so we thought they had gone on without us. We decided to find our own way to the aquarium and hopefully catch up with them there.

We asked another Kansai Gaidai student how to get to Osaka, and he told us where to switch trains. So we went from Hirakatashi to Kyobashi, where we transfered to a different line. From Kyobashi we went to Morinomiya, and from there took another train to Osaka-ko. All this was very confusing, as neither Jessica nor I am good with public transportation. But we used lots of maps and asked lots of (very poorly worded, I'm sure) questions in Japanese, and eventually got there just fine. We also saw some really cool things from the various trains--a big swimming pool, some cool mountains, a huge bridge, an amusement park near school.

When we arrived at the aquarium, it was really hot outside, but we had to stand in line in the sun for 40 minutes just to enter the building. Luckily there was a nice breeze and I had my umbrella with me for some shade. The line moved very fast considering how long it looked, and we eventually made it inside without melting. We looked around but never found Saho and her group.

The aquarium was really, really uncomfortably crowded at first, although things thinned out as you went farther in. At first, though, I was really worried that we'd be elbow to elbow with strangers the whole time.

This aquarium had a bit of a different setup than I'm used to. There were a few really big tanks rather than many small ones. Each big tank had a geographical theme, like Kelp Forest or Aleutian Islands. At first the viewing areas were super crowded and I was really worried, but you keep spiraling down around the differnt tanks, so you actually get all these really good views from all angles. Once I realized that I'd have multiple vantage points, I wasn't so worried about looking in every single viewing area.

They had the most unusual creatures there! Two whale sharks, manta rays, Japanese spider crabs, and ocean sunfish, to mention the most interesting for me. They were all so big; I had no idea that they could be held in captivity. But this is the place with the second largest aquarium tank in the world, so I guess that helps.

It wasn't my favorite aquarium ever, but the whale sharks, manta rays, and sunfish were totally worth it. Maybe I'm just spoiled, though. The one aquarium I hold as the standard is the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which is downright unfair to the rest of the aquarium world. Still, after Baltimore, everything else is kinda boring.

Anyhow, I took so many pictures and videos! I'll upload them as soon as I can. Very cool.

After the aquarium we wandered around this shopping center trying to find a place to eat, but all the restaurants were crowded and expensive. We ended up just going to the McDonald's near the train station, and we made it back home just fine. On the bus to our dorm area, we talked to this old man who was really nice. He had a very different accent than I'm used to, so I really couldn't understand him much, but it was fun trying to talk.

When I got back I took a nap, and here I am. I heated up leftover curry for supper, and tomorrow I plan to do some grocery shopping so I can properly cook.

Busy, busy day!