Every Friday evening I forgo the pleasures of Kiyamachi-dori and stay at home to take a Japanese pottery class. In five classes I have made an ocha (green tea) cup, a utensil holder, a plate, a miso soup bowl, and a miniature castle. The castle I made with the little bit of clay I had left over from the plate. My sensei took it home and put in the kiln. He brought it back yesterday.
Let me translate our conversation:
Me: "Thank you sensei."
Him: "No problem. It's so cute. May I ask what it is?"
Me: "It is a castle for my goldfish."
Him: "Oh! To put in the fish bowl. What a good idea!"
Me: "Yes, I thought so. However, my fish died yesterday."
Him:"How unfortunate!"
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Congratulations Red Sox!!!
Of course, just when I leave, the Red Sox not only make it to the World Series, but win too.
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox!!
I hope everyone in Boston had a great time rioting and burning things, you lucky people!!
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox!!
I hope everyone in Boston had a great time rioting and burning things, you lucky people!!
Cold and the Absence of Heat
All of a sudden it is cold. One day of rain and the temperature plummeted. It's really not so bad when I am riding my bike (except for the freezing hands) or walking energetically, but there are instances when I wonder why Japan does not have central heating?
For instance, when I woke up this morning and could see my breath in my room.
Or during my Chinese Buddhism class, when my nose nearly froze off after thirty minutes, and I still had an hour to go.
I used to wonder why the Japanese were so fond of the ofuro (bath) in the evening. But now I know. If you shower and then sit in a tub of hot water for a half and hour and then get into your pajamas and go to bed, you are comfortablyy warm as you go to sleep, despite the freezing temperatures around you. Despite the fact that my gas bill will probably rise drastically, I think that I too will begin this practice on a regular basis.
Oh! And my electric carpet is now comfortably situated on my floor. It is wonderful. For a mere 4000 yen (approx. $40), I have a carpet that entirely covers my floor and at the push of a button, warms my oshiri! (guess..) There are so many electric warming objects in Japan. Electric carpets, blankets, pillows, and tables are the most poplular items. I don't quite understand; one of the main reasons there is no central heating is that the energy costs too much, yet they buy all these electric things that have to cost a decent amount to use. I guess the difference is that all of those are only turned on when you are cold, unlike central heating which runs all the time.
For instance, when I woke up this morning and could see my breath in my room.
Or during my Chinese Buddhism class, when my nose nearly froze off after thirty minutes, and I still had an hour to go.
I used to wonder why the Japanese were so fond of the ofuro (bath) in the evening. But now I know. If you shower and then sit in a tub of hot water for a half and hour and then get into your pajamas and go to bed, you are comfortablyy warm as you go to sleep, despite the freezing temperatures around you. Despite the fact that my gas bill will probably rise drastically, I think that I too will begin this practice on a regular basis.
Oh! And my electric carpet is now comfortably situated on my floor. It is wonderful. For a mere 4000 yen (approx. $40), I have a carpet that entirely covers my floor and at the push of a button, warms my oshiri! (guess..) There are so many electric warming objects in Japan. Electric carpets, blankets, pillows, and tables are the most poplular items. I don't quite understand; one of the main reasons there is no central heating is that the energy costs too much, yet they buy all these electric things that have to cost a decent amount to use. I guess the difference is that all of those are only turned on when you are cold, unlike central heating which runs all the time.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Excitement!
So many exciting things!
-Friday I went to two festivals. The first, the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Eras), was a two hour parade of people dressed up in period clothing. They started with the Meiji period (18something) and worked their way back to the Heian period (800-1100ish). Initially, it was interesting. There were lots of beautiful clothes, excited performers, and unique decorations. But after awhile, it became a bit monotonous. You would think that in 1000yrs clothing style would change dramatically. This is not so. Sometime this week I will attempt to post the 50 or so pictures I took while watching the parade, and you can decide for yourself how much the fashions did or did not change. The most exciting thing about the parade, was not the actual procession itself, it was the people watching it. For instance, the two maiko-san (geisha-in-training) who were standing about three meters away. I felt sorry for the fact that everyone kept seeing them and going up to have their pictures taken, so I didn't. But I did take a discreet picture at a distance.
-Friday night was the Kurama Hi Matsuri (Kurama Fire Festival). I am not quite sure of all the traditions behind this one, but it involves leading the souls from hell down the mountain and to the shrine with large torches. Throughout the course of the evening the torches got larger and larger until four men were needed to carry each one. Then all the gathered torches were thrown into a huge bonfire that I was certain was going to burn down the whole town. All of this would have been much more fun if it wasn't for the fact that every foreign person and most of the Japanese residents of Kyoto all coverged on one small street to watch this. At no less than ten times I was physically unable to move, except by the pressure of the crowd which often threw me into the back, head, or shoulders of some poor Japanese person. I will say, though, that most of the pushing was done by little Japanese grandmas who have no problem shoving their way through. I guess they think that their age and tradition should afford them immunity from social disdain at rudeness. And unfortunately, it does. Picture of this event will come sometime in the near future, I hope.
-Saturday I bought I an electric carpet in preparation for winter. It hasn't been delivered yet, but I am very excited for it!!
-Sunday, I watched the Red Sox beat the Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series. Go Sox!!!
-And today, I should be recieving my monthly stipend. It is nice to all of a sudden have large amounts of money bestowed upon your bank account.
-Friday I went to two festivals. The first, the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of the Eras), was a two hour parade of people dressed up in period clothing. They started with the Meiji period (18something) and worked their way back to the Heian period (800-1100ish). Initially, it was interesting. There were lots of beautiful clothes, excited performers, and unique decorations. But after awhile, it became a bit monotonous. You would think that in 1000yrs clothing style would change dramatically. This is not so. Sometime this week I will attempt to post the 50 or so pictures I took while watching the parade, and you can decide for yourself how much the fashions did or did not change. The most exciting thing about the parade, was not the actual procession itself, it was the people watching it. For instance, the two maiko-san (geisha-in-training) who were standing about three meters away. I felt sorry for the fact that everyone kept seeing them and going up to have their pictures taken, so I didn't. But I did take a discreet picture at a distance.
-Friday night was the Kurama Hi Matsuri (Kurama Fire Festival). I am not quite sure of all the traditions behind this one, but it involves leading the souls from hell down the mountain and to the shrine with large torches. Throughout the course of the evening the torches got larger and larger until four men were needed to carry each one. Then all the gathered torches were thrown into a huge bonfire that I was certain was going to burn down the whole town. All of this would have been much more fun if it wasn't for the fact that every foreign person and most of the Japanese residents of Kyoto all coverged on one small street to watch this. At no less than ten times I was physically unable to move, except by the pressure of the crowd which often threw me into the back, head, or shoulders of some poor Japanese person. I will say, though, that most of the pushing was done by little Japanese grandmas who have no problem shoving their way through. I guess they think that their age and tradition should afford them immunity from social disdain at rudeness. And unfortunately, it does. Picture of this event will come sometime in the near future, I hope.
-Saturday I bought I an electric carpet in preparation for winter. It hasn't been delivered yet, but I am very excited for it!!
-Sunday, I watched the Red Sox beat the Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series. Go Sox!!!
-And today, I should be recieving my monthly stipend. It is nice to all of a sudden have large amounts of money bestowed upon your bank account.
Friday, October 22, 2004
The Next Eight Years
I spent all day yesterday researching my choices for graduate school. It is a bit daunting to read descriptions of the programs saying things like, "This program can be completed in six to eight years." I like to think that I have a free spirit, a sort of wandering not staying in one place sort of mindset. So setting up the next eight years of my life is scary. There are so many things to think of when choosing to live in a place for a long time, and unfortunately, I won't be able to visit any of the places to which I am applying. So, if anyone has opinions on the locals of these following locations, please inform me. I would be very appreciative.
Harvard (okay, I know Boston)
Columbia
Princeton
UC Berkely
Stanford
UCLA
Unfortunately, my choices in schools are rather limited by the fact that I want to study the obscure topic of Japanese religion in the Heian Period. There are very few professors/programs that are capable of helping me with this. So, if anyone knows anyone studying this particular topic, that would also be helpful to me. Anyway, I am off to watch festivals. Have a good weekend!
Harvard (okay, I know Boston)
Columbia
Princeton
UC Berkely
Stanford
UCLA
Unfortunately, my choices in schools are rather limited by the fact that I want to study the obscure topic of Japanese religion in the Heian Period. There are very few professors/programs that are capable of helping me with this. So, if anyone knows anyone studying this particular topic, that would also be helpful to me. Anyway, I am off to watch festivals. Have a good weekend!
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Mild-Mannered Kyoto
Sadly, the typhoon was not as exciting as I wanted it to be. Yes, there was massive amounts of rain, excessively strong winds, and this one peal of thunder that lasted, I'm not kidding, for at least 45 seconds. But Kyoto is pretty protected by mountains and fairly well drained, so we didn't get any dramatics. There were no mudslides, no floods, old people did not have to be evaculated, cars did not drift by in chest deep water, and other than the Shinkansen, trains did not stop. I guess we were lucky, seeing that all of that and much more happened in quite a few places around Japan. My mother says they showed all the really bad stuff on the news in the States. Don't worry, nothing exciting/dangerous ever happens in Kyoto. Besides, even if it did, I live on the 6th floor of a huge cement building; nothing is gonna move this thing.
The only good thing that came of this was that school was cancelled. Unlike the US where college is only cancelled when hell gets a bit of frost, Japanese schools are a little more reasonable. Besides, when most of your students are commuters, you need to make sure they can get home safely. Anyway, this class cancelling thing wasn't all that great for me, since I only had one class. I came in, checked my email, and 10 minutes before class was supposed to start, they cancelled it, so I went home. Basically a waste of my time.
But there is always next time, as I hear that Typhoon 24 is already on it's way!
The only good thing that came of this was that school was cancelled. Unlike the US where college is only cancelled when hell gets a bit of frost, Japanese schools are a little more reasonable. Besides, when most of your students are commuters, you need to make sure they can get home safely. Anyway, this class cancelling thing wasn't all that great for me, since I only had one class. I came in, checked my email, and 10 minutes before class was supposed to start, they cancelled it, so I went home. Basically a waste of my time.
But there is always next time, as I hear that Typhoon 24 is already on it's way!
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Typhoon 23
Typhoon 23 is about to hit Kyoto. Unlike the three others that have drifted this way since I came to Japan, this one is actually going to be slightly dangerous. That is, the 'eye,' if you call it that, is going to pass over Kyoto. How exciting! It has already been non-stop raining for the past two days, and by 8pm tonight we should have high winds, driving rain, and flooding. Frisbee practice was cancelled for the afternoon, and there is a possibility that some trains will stop this evening. As soon as my class is done I'm gonna head home so I don't risk getting caught at school.
Eh!?
They just announced that the rest of classes are cancelled for the day, and all the buildings will be closing in 30 minutes. At least that's what I think they said. I better go find out. Here's hoping!
Eh!?
They just announced that the rest of classes are cancelled for the day, and all the buildings will be closing in 30 minutes. At least that's what I think they said. I better go find out. Here's hoping!
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Early Halloween
Last night was the Mukaijima Gakusei Center's Welcome Party / Halloween Dance Party. I volunteered my services for decoration and preparation throughout the week, and bartending during the party. Because the Gakusei Center is run by Kyoto City as a means of increasing exchange between foreign and Japanese students, we recieved large amounts of funding for this party. That is, Saturday morning we went shopping and spent around $400 on alchohol alone, not to mention another $200 on snacks, and probably a couple $100 on decorations earlier in the week.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the preparations and the party. Surprisingly, I was the only American who helped out. The main contributors were a bunch of Japanese, a German, a Finn, and some Chinese students. It was really great that the common language among everyone was not English, but Japanese. It's wierd sometimes to talk to a Caucasian person in Japanese, but it's fun too! Anyway, we decorated the basement very creatively, using lots of black lights and colors that glowed. And then last night, I dressed up in my fairy costume, and became a bartender. It was great! When I get back to the States, I am definitely going to do this as a part-time job. Mixing random things and talking to lots of people makes for an interesting evening. Of course, I also did some dancing, exchanged compliments on costumes, and answered the same questions about myself at least twenty times. The party was so successful that it started at 8pm and didn't finish until 3am. A long, but pleasant evening. The most suprising thing, however, was that after the party was over there were at least ten of us to take down everything and clean it all up. It took us a week to make the room look nice, but only 30 minutes to restore it to its former ugly state.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the preparations and the party. Surprisingly, I was the only American who helped out. The main contributors were a bunch of Japanese, a German, a Finn, and some Chinese students. It was really great that the common language among everyone was not English, but Japanese. It's wierd sometimes to talk to a Caucasian person in Japanese, but it's fun too! Anyway, we decorated the basement very creatively, using lots of black lights and colors that glowed. And then last night, I dressed up in my fairy costume, and became a bartender. It was great! When I get back to the States, I am definitely going to do this as a part-time job. Mixing random things and talking to lots of people makes for an interesting evening. Of course, I also did some dancing, exchanged compliments on costumes, and answered the same questions about myself at least twenty times. The party was so successful that it started at 8pm and didn't finish until 3am. A long, but pleasant evening. The most suprising thing, however, was that after the party was over there were at least ten of us to take down everything and clean it all up. It took us a week to make the room look nice, but only 30 minutes to restore it to its former ugly state.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Furuburaito
To make up for my lack of picture taking and frustration with the computing options at my school, I offer the website of this year's Fulbright Fellows grantees, furubraito dot com. Designed and updated by Dave, this site has many pictures of the times when two or more Fulbrighters are gathered together.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Kyoto Cuisine
I went out to dinner tonight with my two advisors. We went to a place known for its Kyoto atmosphere and traditional cuisine. Let me briefly describe to you the twelve course meal that we ate over a period of three and a half hours.
Courses:
1. Goma-dofu : A square of sesame tofu, lightly covered in soy sauce with a decorative green vegetable on top.
2. Appetizer tray : Spinach, mushrooms, tofu, chicken, fish, renkon (lotus root), fish eggs, and ginger, all delicately arranged on an elevated tray.
3. Shabu-shabu: Mushrooms, fish, tofu, leafy veggies, cooked at your leisure in your own little pot.
4. Sashimi: Two kinds of raw fish (one was tuna).
5. Grilled Mushrooms: Large, Kyoto specialty mushrooms, grilled at your leisure over hot coals in a shared pot.
6. Steamed Daikon: A section of a daikon (lit. big root = radish) steamed in a light broth.
7. Sato Imo: A certain kind of potato, accompanied by a special Kyoto leafy vegetable.
8. Miso shiro : Miso soup.9. Salad: Vegetables and an unidentifiable, but delicious, kind of fish.
10. Mushroom rice: Japanese rice cooked with those special mushrooms and a light broth, creating an extra sticky, light brown yummy rice.
11. Fresh fruit: Kaki (persimmon), nashi (asian pear), and melon served with a clear gelatin.
12. Mochi and Macha: Mochi (rice cake) covered with kinako (sweet soybean flour), served with a frothy cup of macha (powdered green tea).
* We also recieved a very nice cloth handkerchief and a Japanese candy to take home with us.
- The reason for all the mushrooms is that it is mushroom season. I am generally not a big mushroom fan, but these were very good and very fresh.
+ Drinks, of course, were traditional sake and three varieties of tea: green, brown, and a different brown.
I knew going into this that it would be a good meal, but I was surprised every time the next dish came out. I seriously thought dinner was over after the shabu-shabu. Something of this nature had to cost at least $60 a person, probably more. I gratefully thank my advisor for her generosity, and gladly consent to any further dinner invitations I might recieve.
I would also like to note that a large part of the wonderfulness of traditional Japanese dinners like this is not the taste of the food, but its presentation. For example, on top of the sashimi was a carrot piece cut in the shape of an autumn leaf. The colors of the food in each dish were perfectly matched, as were the tableware on which they were served. We spent a good amount of time admiring the beauty of the food before we even began to think about eating it. I have heard it said that the Japanese must make their food beautiful looking to make up for the lack of taste, but I would like to argue that the meticulous presentation is just one highlight in the delicious flavor of Japanese cuisine.
Courses:
1. Goma-dofu : A square of sesame tofu, lightly covered in soy sauce with a decorative green vegetable on top.
2. Appetizer tray : Spinach, mushrooms, tofu, chicken, fish, renkon (lotus root), fish eggs, and ginger, all delicately arranged on an elevated tray.
3. Shabu-shabu: Mushrooms, fish, tofu, leafy veggies, cooked at your leisure in your own little pot.
4. Sashimi: Two kinds of raw fish (one was tuna).
5. Grilled Mushrooms: Large, Kyoto specialty mushrooms, grilled at your leisure over hot coals in a shared pot.
6. Steamed Daikon: A section of a daikon (lit. big root = radish) steamed in a light broth.
7. Sato Imo: A certain kind of potato, accompanied by a special Kyoto leafy vegetable.
8. Miso shiro : Miso soup.9. Salad: Vegetables and an unidentifiable, but delicious, kind of fish.
10. Mushroom rice: Japanese rice cooked with those special mushrooms and a light broth, creating an extra sticky, light brown yummy rice.
11. Fresh fruit: Kaki (persimmon), nashi (asian pear), and melon served with a clear gelatin.
12. Mochi and Macha: Mochi (rice cake) covered with kinako (sweet soybean flour), served with a frothy cup of macha (powdered green tea).
* We also recieved a very nice cloth handkerchief and a Japanese candy to take home with us.
- The reason for all the mushrooms is that it is mushroom season. I am generally not a big mushroom fan, but these were very good and very fresh.
+ Drinks, of course, were traditional sake and three varieties of tea: green, brown, and a different brown.
I knew going into this that it would be a good meal, but I was surprised every time the next dish came out. I seriously thought dinner was over after the shabu-shabu. Something of this nature had to cost at least $60 a person, probably more. I gratefully thank my advisor for her generosity, and gladly consent to any further dinner invitations I might recieve.
I would also like to note that a large part of the wonderfulness of traditional Japanese dinners like this is not the taste of the food, but its presentation. For example, on top of the sashimi was a carrot piece cut in the shape of an autumn leaf. The colors of the food in each dish were perfectly matched, as were the tableware on which they were served. We spent a good amount of time admiring the beauty of the food before we even began to think about eating it. I have heard it said that the Japanese must make their food beautiful looking to make up for the lack of taste, but I would like to argue that the meticulous presentation is just one highlight in the delicious flavor of Japanese cuisine.
Holiday Season
There are many many holidays in Japan. Yesterday was Sports Day, I think. Or maybe Health Day. I'm too lazy to look up the translation, I just know that I didn't have school. And I don't have school tomorrow either. It is Otani University's celebration of its 101st year of existance. I wish I would have known about this earlier. I would have taken a vacation!
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Two Fish, One Fish
I woke up this morning to the sad fact that my orange fish had died. Goodbye nameless fish number one. Ganbatte nameless fish number two.
Despite my grief, I went out to watch the festival parade. (pictures forthcoming) It is not so much a parade, as a procession. The Omikoshi (portable shrine) is carried around the town so that the kami can bless the area. This particular shrine is known for its especially good water, and in this sake producing town, good water is key. So I think many of the participants had connections to sake brewing. I could be wrong, though. Either way, it was a nice small-town festival.
Today must have been a good day for festivals, because on my way to Arashiyama with some friends our bus was stopped for a half an hour by another Omikoshi. This one was near Saiin in Kyoto. We finally got frustrated with the wait, and got off the bus. This gave us a better view of the festival, but a much longer walk to Arashiyama. A somewhat futile walk, in fact, when we arrived to find out that the wild monkeys had gone away for the fall and we wouldn't be able to see them. Sigh.
Despite my grief, I went out to watch the festival parade. (pictures forthcoming) It is not so much a parade, as a procession. The Omikoshi (portable shrine) is carried around the town so that the kami can bless the area. This particular shrine is known for its especially good water, and in this sake producing town, good water is key. So I think many of the participants had connections to sake brewing. I could be wrong, though. Either way, it was a nice small-town festival.
Today must have been a good day for festivals, because on my way to Arashiyama with some friends our bus was stopped for a half an hour by another Omikoshi. This one was near Saiin in Kyoto. We finally got frustrated with the wait, and got off the bus. This gave us a better view of the festival, but a much longer walk to Arashiyama. A somewhat futile walk, in fact, when we arrived to find out that the wild monkeys had gone away for the fall and we wouldn't be able to see them. Sigh.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
One Fish, Two Fish
Today I went across the river to the Gokomiya Shrine festival. I was one day early for the parade, but that doesn't mean there weren't lots of vendors! I bought my favorite festival food, taiyaki (lightly fried batter with sweet bean paste inside, in the shape of a fish), and started wandering around. And then I saw it. A huge tub of brimming with goldfish of all sizes and colors. I couldn't resist. If I couldn't have a dog, cat, or hamster, I might as well have a fish! So, I paid the 300 yen for a paper scooper. The object of this game is to grab a fish before your paper scooper melts. So, remembering the strategy I had read in a magazine, I waited till a moderate sized, black fish with googley eyes swam up to the surface, then I scooped him up. The paper failed just as I placed him in the bucket. Yay! I won a fish! And just because I had tried so hard (or because the fish are so cheap) the man gave me an orange fish too. So now I have two fish swimming nicely in their little bowl that sits on my shelves. I'm not going to name them yet, because that is a sure way to make them die. I really hope they last awhile, although I don't know what I'll do when winter comes and there's no heat in my room.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
The Manpurse
In the States "metrosexuals" are a recent trend. In Japan, they are the rule rather than the exception. It all starts with the manpurse: a necessary item for all men not carrying a briefcase. Then come the tight pants, stratigically torn or dyed according to page 241 of the latest men's magazine (300pgs of fashion, I kidd you not). Match this with a nice 80's top, and your average Japanese young man is ready to go. Of course there are some that feel eye liner and lipstick are necessary also, but I won't dwell on that.
Back to Kindergarden
As of 10:26 this morning, I have officially completed my first week of classes. This sounds like an easy thing, but let me assure you, it is not. Despite being an exceedingly small school, things are very disorganized here. For example, I couldn't find my class. Twice. That is, I went to the room at the correct time, and no one showed up. After five minutes, I went to consult with the nice lady responsible for keeping track of my academic process. She looked up the class, consulted with her coworkers, went to the empty classroom, and finally called the teacher. Oh, it turns out that the class has been moved into his office. How nice of him to tell ANYONE ELSE! I was okay with this the first time, but when it happened again yesterday, I was pretty mad. Especially since when I went to ask the nice lady again, all I wanted was to know the professor's office number, since I assumed that is where the class probably went. But no, she would not believe the foreign girl and had to go through the whole process again, just to find out, sure enough, the class is in the professors's office. Ridiculous. And of course, since I can't find my way to the next building, nor could I possibly have the skills required to read the office numbers, I had to be accompanied like a little kindergardener to the class.
But now that is all over, and I only have to deal with the fact that I can in no possible way read all 150 pages a week assigned for my Chinese Buddhism class, I can't get past 4 lines in my Kanbun (Chinese writing of Japanese) class, and my Shugendo teacher I think assigned homework, but I don't really know. The only class I am certain to succeed in is the independent study with my advisor. Really, the largest problem here is time. It wouldn't be so bad if I had endless hours between classes, but at the rate of one page an hour (how long it takes me to read academic Japanese), I only get about six pages done a day. And this of course leaves me no time to do any of my own research.
I shouldn't be complaining too much, though. It is only the first week. My Japanese will improve, and soon I'll be able to read two pages an hour! On a very happy note, apparently everyone shows up to class late, so if I sleep in a little longer than I should, I don't have to worry about it.
But now that is all over, and I only have to deal with the fact that I can in no possible way read all 150 pages a week assigned for my Chinese Buddhism class, I can't get past 4 lines in my Kanbun (Chinese writing of Japanese) class, and my Shugendo teacher I think assigned homework, but I don't really know. The only class I am certain to succeed in is the independent study with my advisor. Really, the largest problem here is time. It wouldn't be so bad if I had endless hours between classes, but at the rate of one page an hour (how long it takes me to read academic Japanese), I only get about six pages done a day. And this of course leaves me no time to do any of my own research.
I shouldn't be complaining too much, though. It is only the first week. My Japanese will improve, and soon I'll be able to read two pages an hour! On a very happy note, apparently everyone shows up to class late, so if I sleep in a little longer than I should, I don't have to worry about it.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Small Conveniences
Everyday I ride my bike to the train station where I pay a small fee to park in a building. My parking space is on the second floor. To get up there I go to the stairs where a thin conveyor belt waits to carry my bike along as I step up beside it. The electronic voice never hesitates to remind me to hold my brakes on the way up.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Watching the Grass Grow
It is very frustrating to me how my Japanese ability fluctuates so dramatically. Last week I was feeling crappy because I couldn't manage to get a good, grammatically correct, normal sounding sentence out in Japanese. And it took me forever to understand everyone too. But this weekend, it suddenly clicked in, and for two whole days I was amazingly fluent. It was the most wonderful thing!
Here's how it happened, I think:
On Saturday I spent from noon until midnight with my frisbee team. We played frisbee, talked about playing frisbee, went to the public baths, and then to a nomikai (drinking party) to celebrate the end of the summer/beginning of the new semester. So I guess I was pretty much saturated with Japanese all day long. The alcohol at the end of the day was also a big help. Not that I'm pushing drinking, but if you are feeling like your foreign language speaking skills could use some help, have a few beers and start talking. I find that I improve by at least 200% when intoxicated. It also helps if your partners are also drinking; it makes them less afraid to talk to the crazy foreigner. But anyway, I was seriously complimented several times on the improvement in my Japanese by some of the more serious guys on the frisbee team. I trust their judgement, and I am glad for the encouragement.
Sunday was also a day spent with lots of Japanese students, but I think I actually ended up talking more English. I went to a "Sports Day" hosted by DESA, the "let's get to know foreigners" club at Doshisha University. There were quite a few Japanese students there, but there were an equal number of Americans, Russians, Brits, and a few others mingling around. I met a group of students from Principia College, a small Christian Science college just outside of St. Louis, who are in Japan for only two months, but they are traveling around to lots of places. In addition, I made a few more contacts for firsbee players in the area looking to set up pick up games, which was nice. But anyway, most of these people spoke little or no Japanese. But that became very little of a problem when yours truly was nominated to be the translator for the day. Yippee. I don't know how it happened, but it was nice practice. And after the sports fun, that is, after my team lost and was consequently assigned to clean-up duty, we went over to the river for a nice barbeque.
Japanese barbeques are much smaller and yet much bigger than American ones. That is, the grill is tiny. It's about the size of those portable ones you can buy at Walmart for $3. But instead of cooking large slabs of meat (which wouldn't fit anyway) they chop up lots of veggies, thin slices of meat, fish, and chicken, and throw it all on together. When it is done, you take your chopsticks over and pick out what you want. It's a very social event.
Speaking of the BBQ, apparently, the day before some kid had burned his face on fireworks or a grill or something only meters away from where we were set up. There must have been nothing else exciting going on in the news other than this story, because there was TV film crew wandering around for two hours taking shots of people eating and setting off fireworks. And then they worked for at least a half an hour on how best to capture that two by two meter square where he was burned. Seriously, that camera was pointed at that spot of grass for at tens of minutes at a time. Different angles, different lighting, from the river, from the hill, from directly in front...I'm sure that grass has never been more famous.
And now that I have entirely digressed, I shall go to dinner.
Here's how it happened, I think:
On Saturday I spent from noon until midnight with my frisbee team. We played frisbee, talked about playing frisbee, went to the public baths, and then to a nomikai (drinking party) to celebrate the end of the summer/beginning of the new semester. So I guess I was pretty much saturated with Japanese all day long. The alcohol at the end of the day was also a big help. Not that I'm pushing drinking, but if you are feeling like your foreign language speaking skills could use some help, have a few beers and start talking. I find that I improve by at least 200% when intoxicated. It also helps if your partners are also drinking; it makes them less afraid to talk to the crazy foreigner. But anyway, I was seriously complimented several times on the improvement in my Japanese by some of the more serious guys on the frisbee team. I trust their judgement, and I am glad for the encouragement.
Sunday was also a day spent with lots of Japanese students, but I think I actually ended up talking more English. I went to a "Sports Day" hosted by DESA, the "let's get to know foreigners" club at Doshisha University. There were quite a few Japanese students there, but there were an equal number of Americans, Russians, Brits, and a few others mingling around. I met a group of students from Principia College, a small Christian Science college just outside of St. Louis, who are in Japan for only two months, but they are traveling around to lots of places. In addition, I made a few more contacts for firsbee players in the area looking to set up pick up games, which was nice. But anyway, most of these people spoke little or no Japanese. But that became very little of a problem when yours truly was nominated to be the translator for the day. Yippee. I don't know how it happened, but it was nice practice. And after the sports fun, that is, after my team lost and was consequently assigned to clean-up duty, we went over to the river for a nice barbeque.
Japanese barbeques are much smaller and yet much bigger than American ones. That is, the grill is tiny. It's about the size of those portable ones you can buy at Walmart for $3. But instead of cooking large slabs of meat (which wouldn't fit anyway) they chop up lots of veggies, thin slices of meat, fish, and chicken, and throw it all on together. When it is done, you take your chopsticks over and pick out what you want. It's a very social event.
Speaking of the BBQ, apparently, the day before some kid had burned his face on fireworks or a grill or something only meters away from where we were set up. There must have been nothing else exciting going on in the news other than this story, because there was TV film crew wandering around for two hours taking shots of people eating and setting off fireworks. And then they worked for at least a half an hour on how best to capture that two by two meter square where he was burned. Seriously, that camera was pointed at that spot of grass for at tens of minutes at a time. Different angles, different lighting, from the river, from the hill, from directly in front...I'm sure that grass has never been more famous.
And now that I have entirely digressed, I shall go to dinner.
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