On The Way Home

In Boston a stopped train is just another inconvenience in the transportation system. In Japan it means one of three things-there's a typhoon, there's an earthquake, or someone's been hit. Unfortunately, I was on the train just now to experience the last one. As we finally pulled up to the platform I could see the guy: from the head wound it looked like he had been standing too close to the platform. I'm just glad he wasn't a jumper.

News from the 3rd Floor Kyoshitsu

So I went up to the kyoshitsu (study space/computer lab) today to update my website and send some emails. I inserted my USB drive, uploaded my pictures, and turned off the drive. I then proceeded to pull it of the computer, but it was stuck. So very stuck, in fact, that three students, a library worker, and I could not figure out how to get it out. Soon a little group of five or six of us were gathered around the CPU, staring at it, scratching our heads, and seeing if just one more pull might get it out. The girls at the computer next to us were staring and giggling, all the assistants at one time or another came to help, and I'm sure we drew the attention of most of the students studying in the room.

Finally, the computer teachers were called in. They unplugged everything and performed surgery on that poor computer right there on an empty table. With much avail, a screwdriver, and some good luck, my USB drive finally came out, apparently unscathed by such a process.

It was determined that my USB port has two little indents on the backside, which is contrary to the one indent on the Japanese USB mouse offered for comparison. This may or may not have caused the problem, but either way, I believe I will be using my USB drive much less in Japan than I had originally thought.

Summer Vacation Is Officially Over

I am now officially enrolled at Otani University, a small Buddhist University in northern Kyoto. By small, I mean that it takes me two minutes to walk from one end of the campus to the other. By Buddhist, I mean that it was founded to study Shinran's Pure Land Buddhism, and now has the largest library of Buddhist texts in Japan.

I wasn't expecting to actually enroll in classes. I thought that I would study some Japanese, do some independent research, and consult my advisor when I got stuck with something. This will not work, apparently. The university says that in order to keep my visa I must take classes, my advisor says that I don't know enough to just jump right into my research, and I really don't have too many reasons to disagree with them. Yes, I would rather have an infinite amount of free time in which to travel at a moment's notice. But I am also excited about learning all these interesting new things!

Monday 9am: Reading the Vimalakirta sutra
Tuesday 9am: Lecture in Early Buddhism
Tuesday 10:30am: Reading Modern Works on Buddhist History
Wednesday 1:00pm: Reading Historical Sources on Shugendo
Thursday 9am: Lecture on the History of Chinese Buddhism

Aren't you intrigued? I am.

But on the down side, I have truly discovered the inefficiancy of the Japanese education system. I believe that I have already been completely convinced that I could not actually go to school here. Let me explain. Most schools end summer vacation and start their second semester the first week of October. Having been told nothing different, that is what I assumed. But no, school started last week at Otani, and nothing was done to hurry the process of registering so that I could actually attend the first classes. Also, I have been waiting patiently to buy a commuting ticket and change my cell phone plan until I had my Student ID card (a magic piece of plastic that reduces prices by half). I was promised I would get it today. Today they say, you can have it Friday. One more of these delays, and I am going to have to make one myself. It costs me $10 a day just to get to and from school! A little consideration on their part would be nice! End of rant.

Perception vs. Reality

My balcony has a screen door that is very effective at keeping the bugs out, however, it has failed miserably when it comes to dampening noise. The screams of schoolchildren and the laughs of my neighbors float freely through the screen along with the breeze. There is one sound that I don't mind much, though. I first heard it the evening I moved in - a small high-pitched ding! that resonated quietly every once and while. I immediately associated it with the small bell my host mother would ring when presenting rice to the ancestors before dinner. I was very glad that so many people were still honoring the old traditions even in small apartments where a butsudan would take up valuable space. The sound of that small bell made the cement buildings seem a little more homey-like.

It wasn't until a few days later that I realized the bell I heard from my balcony and the bell of the elevator were one and the same. I am such an idealist.

Great Expectations

One of my professors told me that entering into a Japanese university always entails a large element of surprise. I experienced one aspect of that today when I met with my advisor for the first time. Apparently, as he says, I am expected to take 5 classes and eventually enroll in the masters program. Someone needs to explain "research student" to this school; I think I'll give Fulbright a call.

Coordination

Firstly, let me tell you of at least one of the joys of the keitai(cell phone)-I'm using it right now to post this. Then let me tell you about two interesting things I saw in Osaka today. One was called The Floating Garden, a circular observatory on top of a very modern building. The other was a man who rode by on his bicycle, calmly reading a novel while weaving through traffic.

Mukaijima- Suburb of a Suburb

I have moved into my mansion! No, not a luxuriously large house, but an apartment in a concrete high-rise building. The former is the US definition of the word, the latter, of course, is the way it is here in Japan.

As my address listed to your right suggests, I am living in somewhat institutional housing in what is considered International student housing. I have my own apartment, complete with kitchen, bathroom, and way too much furniture for my liking in an area about the size of a decent sized dorm room. But, I have a balcony! And although my view overlooks a tennis court and a few more mansion buildings, it at least provides a good breeze and some nice light.

I live in an area called Mukaijima, which is basically a suburb of Fushimi, which is a suburb of Kyoto city. Mukaijima is filled mostly with mansion buildings, so it is not what you would call a pretty area, but there is ample shopping in walking and bicycling distance. And I have been taking full advantage of said shopping areas; I believe I have spent close to three hundred dollars in two days...

Over the river and through the woods

I have been staying with my friend Mayo and her family in the center of Kyoto for the past two days. They live in a wonderful traditional style house with a family-run shop in the front and the living quarters in the back. The middle is an area that is a cross between indoors and outdoors: it has a roof and a kitchen, but there are also little gardens and stone floor walkways. Her family makes traditional bamboo blinds called "sudare."

Anyway, we went out to her grandmother's house in Shiga prefecture yesterday. I was led to believe that her grandmother lived on a farm, but in fact, she just had a really big garden. What really intrigued me was the house. More than Mayo's it was really a traditional Japanese house. In fact, it was like lots of little houses within one big rambling house. There were outdoor passages all over that led to sections of the house with two or three rooms and their own little gardens. It was both fun and annoying that everytime I wanted to go to a different part of the house I had to take on and off the offered slippers and sandals at least three times.

The Bellhop Was My Best Man

I went downstairs to check out of the hotel this morning and was stopped by an employee as I walked into the lobby. -Could I go around please? A wedding was about to start.- Okay, so I went up to the 2nd floor where there was a balcony overlooking the lobby. From there an amazing picture met my eyes. In the middle of the painted scene of a columns and beautiful flowers, a stained-glass window was projected on the wall. In front of it was an altar with a church-related looking man patiently waiting. As I watched, a bride dressed in a beautiful white dress entered from a side staircase and met her groom to walk in to the lobby. At that moment, "snow" began to fall from above as a woman softly sang Amazing Grace with a slightly Japanese accent.



It astonished me that this hotel could, did, and was popular in arranging for the transformation of their lobby and cafe restaurant into a wedding chapel on Saturday mornings. Just imagine the couple watching their wedding video a few weeks later: beauty, style, and the 'ping' of the elevator door as it opened and closed for hotel guests.

Moving Pictures

I was riding on the subway this morning on the way to orientation, blankly staring into space while attempting not to fall over the man crushed against my side, when I was suddenly surprised by the view outside the window. Now normally we all know that the view outside of a subway window is either blackness or a blank wall, and this is what surprised me: instead of boring cement, a commercial was playing in the subway tunnel. I guess it was like those little flip books of Disney scenes that you could buy as a kid, but these were painted on the wall of the subway tunnel and were brought to life by the movement of the train as it passed the pictures. What exactly it was advertising I couldn`t tell, but I was impressed nonetheless.

The Ambassador's House

Last night the Japan-United States Educational Commission hosted a formal welcome reception for this year's Fulbright grantees at the United States Ambassador to Japan's house. After passing two security check-points we walked through the tree lined lane to a very beautiful and peaceful house in the middle of Tokyo's Roppongi area. It was a lovely reception attended by a Minister of Education, certain commission Chairpersons, and all the current and former Fulbrighters from both Japan and the US that were in the area. We drank wine, exchanged business cards, and repeated our fields of study at least fifty times. It was a nice evening, but the jet lag hit around 8:30pm and most of us went to bed soon after.

On a side note: I am staying at the Tokyo Daiichi Hotel where the hallways are entirely pink and the room keys are old fashion skeleton keys with large pink emblems. My roommate conjectured that we are staying on the Princess Floor..

Tadaima!!

Hello from the wonderful country of Japan! My flight arrived safely, my luggage was sent easily, and I made it into downtown Tokyo without any hassel. The only thing I was worried about was falling asleep and missing my stop on the bus, but somehow I managed to keep awake. Right now I'm staying in a swanky hotel just down the street from Ginza, the 5th Avenue of Tokyo. For the next two days I have orientation with the other nine Fulbrighters before heading off to Kyoto on Saturday.

It still seems a bit surreal being here. I see kanji everywhere and the population is much shorter, but I'm still surrounded by Americans and I haven't had to speak very much Japanese yet. That's probably a good thing, because every time I have tried I usually get it all messed up. I'm hoping that by the time I get to Kyoto the language section of my brain will have started working again. I'm going to blame it on the jet lag for now.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

In exactly 7 hours from now I will be boarding a plane that will take me to another plane that will take me to Japan. You may ask, am I ready? Am I packed and prepared? The answer is a resounding No. Packed, maybe. Prepared, not a chance.

And yet, I have accomplished so much. I have called my good friends, visited with my family, and ended the summer on a reasonably relaxing note. I think that despite the last minute packing frenzy and endless lists of things to do and not forget, I have managed to keep something of the subdued and easygoing mood that defined this summer. I will exit the country satisfied and refreshed.

It always works out somehow

I feel like I'm back in my sophomore year. It's 11pm and I haven't started the huge project that's due tomorrow. I really should be pulling an all-nighter, but I have this firm belief that everything will work out just fine, and so I decide to go to bed instead.
Only this time the huge project involves taking my life and moving it to Japan in two suitcases, one backpack, and one box. I know it's gonna take longer than the six hours I have set aside for packing tomorrow, and this worries me. But at the same time, that unrealistic feeling that everything will somehow just end up working out has taken a firm hold in my mind once again. So, against all logic, I'm going to bed.

Flight Schedule

For anyone who would like to know when I'm leaving and where I'm going- an approximate flight schedule:

Depart Monday, Sept. 13 7:30am from Fort Wayne
Arrive Monday, Sept. 13 8:30am at Chicago O'Hare
Layover
Depart Monday, Sept. 13 11:00am from Chicago O'Hare
Arrive Tuesday, Sept. 14 4:15pm at Tokyo Narita

The flight from Chicago to Tokyo is surprisingly short-only 13 hours. I would have thought it to be longer, since the flight from LA to Osaka was 12 hours. However, because of the Great Circle ("An arc of a circle for which the center is the center of the earth. A great circle is the shortest possible surface route between two points on the earth.") it's not as long as it could be. I looked it up on the Great Circle Mapper and here's what I found:

Chicago (41°58'43"N 87°54'17"W) to Narita (35°45'53"N 140°23'11"E) is 6274 mi

LA (33°56'33"N 118°24'29"W) to Osaka (34°25'38"N 135°14'39"E) is 5742 mi

That's only a difference of 532 miles. At the average speed of a commercial airplane of 600 mph, that equals only about an hour difference. Just what my flight schedule says.

Progress

List of things to do before I go:

1. Unpack
2. Repack
3. Set up website
4. Visit relatives in Ohio
5. Buy gifts
6. etc...

Five days seems way too short. And yet way too long.