Adventures in Japan

Not Something You See Everyday

2009-06-30T22:24:00.003+09:00

This post might get kind of graphic. I plan on being descriptive with what I saw this evening. Unless you work as a police officer, doctor, EMT, or in another area like that you don't usually see a great deal of blood. I saw a puddle of it coagulating on the asphalt toinght.
Perkins and I were coming home from dinner. We stopped at 7/11 because I wanted some bread for my breakfast tomorrow. Then we stopped at Ofukuro Bento-San because Perkins wanted more food. While we were on our way in we noticed that traffic was being stopped and there were some police officers and medics running around the road. I didn't get a very good look then. All I saw was what looked like something that had once been a motorcycle near the center of the lanes and two cars under the bridge leading to the International Student Center. After Perkins got his bento, we decided to get a closer look.
We went a round-about way to get up to the bridge. I had to jog my bike up the big ramp behind the building. Once we were there I peeked over the edge. The first thing I noticed was all the people standing around. There were some people taking pictures with their cell phones and small cameras. There were people talking to the police, gesticulating the way in which the motorcycle had come from. Lights were flashing from the police cars. People were standing on the side of the road, some with worried faces and others with expressions that just reflected curiosity. There were several people on the bridge next to us, and a girl walked by and grabbed her boyfriend by the arm and squeaked out, "怖い." "That's scary."
When I looked over the rail at the street below I realized what she had been talking about. There was a piece of crumpled up black cloth lying in a puddle of blood. It looked like there were some other things lying the puddle, but I couldn't make out what they were. I could only guess that they used to be attached to the person who was riding the bike. It was shaped like most puddles, uneven and rounded at the edges. But it was thicker and more reflective than a gathering of rainwater. I think Perkins and I were suddenly reminded of how mortal we all are.

Like you haven't already heard

2009-05-20T19:18:00.005+09:00

Indeed, the inevitable has happend. The H1N1 virus has reached the shore of Japan. According to an article on the Washington Post's website the number of cases in Japan has reached 191. Schools in Kobe and Osaka were shut down. Students ended up gathering for karaoke because they had nothing else to do. Some of the owners of the karaoke clubs put up signs saying that teenagers whose schools were closed down due to the flu were not welcome there.
Here in Tsukuba, there are fliers posted all over the student service offices warning about the dangers of the flu. As far as I know, if the H1N1 virus makes it as far as Tsukuba, the school will be closed down like the schools in Osaka. We're supposed to be keeping an eye on the school's website. Suzuki-sensei, my teacher for Japanese Culture and my academic adviser here, talked to us about what to do if we felt sick. He said Tsukuba has a facility that is capable of dealing with infected persons. I'm too concerned about my allergies and school work to worry too much about catching swine flu.
Some students are hoping for school closings, but I'm not really looking forward to that. I'm hoping the school won't close. It's nice having things to do that mean something to me. Otherwise, I guess I'll just go back to messing around on the internet all day. As fun as that may sound, more than an hour or so of internet gets boring pretty quickly.
The Yomiyuri Shimbun has a fairly detailed history of some of the travel patterns of the swine flu in Japan. (Contrary to the information in the web article, Ibaraki's schools are not closed yet). With so many people living in such a small amount of space it is likely that H1N1 will continue to spread.

A Trip To Ueno Zoo! YAY!

2009-04-20T16:01:00.007+09:00

On Saturday the 18th, Kira and I went to Ueno to meet her friend (from the intarwebs) Josh.
HOW WE GOT THERE: For anyone who so happens to come across this blog in search of actual, useful in formation about Japan (and Tsukuba in particular), I will chronicle our adventure starting from Ichinoya Dormitory. If you're coming to Tsukuba from Purdue, you will most likely be staying in this dorm. If when you first get here you think to yourself, "My goodness! It's so small and seems pretty old," stop yourself. There is no other dorm on campus better to live in than Ichinoya.
I rode my bike from Ichinoya to Hirasuna Friday night and stayed at Kira's. Hirasuna is much closer to the Tsukuba station, so it was strategically a better idea to stay over night at Kira's, and we wanted to watch South Park together. On Saturday we rode our bikes to Tsukuba station. It is imperative that you park in the designated areas. If you're going to be gone over night, find the parking areas near that station that you have to pay to keep your bike and leave it there. It's worth it because if you leave your bike in an area that you're not supposed to park in over night you'll get a citation or they may even take your bike. The only way to get your bike back if they take it is to go all the way to the Sakura Branch Office (where you will need to go to get your Alien Registration Card when you first get here) and talk to the people there about it, I think. There's some kind of office in that general area that handles bikes.
So, you want to ride the Tsukuba Express to Akihabara? If it's on a weekend, the cheapest and best way to do so is to go to the basement of Dayz Town and buy the weekend tickets from one of the machines for 800 something Yen one way. Remember: when you take the tickets, leave the package they come in. There's a repository for them. DO NOT TAKE THE ENVELOPE/PLASTIC BOX. What would you do with such a tiny envelope anyway? If it's a weekday, you may as well just suck it up and pay the 1100 Yen for a one-way ticket. It's very expensive, so planning trips to Tokyo for the weekend is a better idea. It's also important to remember that the machine in Dayz Town is only open when Dayz Town itself is open, so plan ahead.
Kira and I took the Tsukuba Express to Akihabara, then we took the Yamanote Sen to Ueno. To buy tickets for the Yamanote Sen (Line), you have exit the Tsukuba Express via 4 escalators then make a left. Above the ticket machines is a giant map of the Tokyo lines. Some of these maps have no English, so it might be a good idea to either write the Kanji for where ever you're going down or bring your Keitai (cell phone) and look it up by writing a text message in Kanji. By that I mean, you act like you're texting someone and the Kanji may come up. You don't actually have to text message someone. There are several different lines in the station. The Yamanote Sen is the easiest way because you don't have to transfer, but that's not always faster. If you're in a hurry, you may want to see if transfering would be quicker.
THE ZOO: Hooray! Ueno Zoo! The entrance fee is only 600 Yen. I love zoos, so it was worth going at least once. This is just for posterity, but on our way to the entrance Kira got crapped on by a bird. This is when Josh decided that she was the designated target of birds. They wouldn't poop on us because Kira was a far better target. This came in handy later when we were chilling next to some llamas and they began to have a spit fight. Spit fight doesn't really cover the amount of saliva that was being exchanged though. I don't know if you've ever seen llamas have a spit fight, but if you've ever played with the water hose outside during the hot summer you've simulated it. You put your thumb over the spout of the house while the water is flowing full force and it just sprays all over your friends or the lawn. That was what this spit fight was like. Josh and I went behind Kira to keep from getting hit, but we all managed to escape unscathed. It was at this point that Josh designated Kira the bodily fluid shield. She was to protect us from all animal excrement. She never agreed to it, but that was her title.
The llamas just before they spat EVERYWHERE!

There were two other zoo battles that we bore witness to. One battle was a flamingo face-slapping spat and the other was a kangaroo kicking contest. The flaming fight was really weird because they were all doing some kind of synchronized call and dance with their heads. Then they just suddenly stopped and started headbutting eachother. The kangaroo fight was entertaining because a tiny kangaroo was attacking a much, much larger kangaroo. I'd never seen kangaroos fight, but they use their tails. It's pretty cool. Josh is the commentator in the background of the kangaroo video.

So, that's all for now. I'll post more later! (Seriously)

Gonna Need a Bigger Mic

2009-03-26T01:06:00.004+09:00

This one's pretty personal. It's a long spring break, so I have a lot of time to think: When you’ve been doing something for a long time, sometimes you forget why you’re doing it. I’ve been learning and studying Japanese language and culture for about 3 years…maybe four. When people ask me why, I usually deliver the typical artificial answer of it interests me. But, there’s something deeper that I can’t explain about why I’m here in this country. Despite the fact that I admire and adore the people and the language, I can’t bring myself to study it. It seems like I let everything else get in my way. I was thinking the other night before I went to sleep about what I’m going to do with my life. What is to become of me? I’m 22 years old. My new name is Jesie Patricia Fess. I don’t have any children. We don’t even have our own house yet. I’m going back to school for my 5^th year in college and I’m deep in student loan debt. My husband works in the Navy. He started working there in order to pay off his own student loans when he discovered that he didn’t enjoy what he thought he loved. Maybe that’s why we have such a tight connection, and I can’t let go of the thought of him. I’ve been thinking about him more and more every day now and about how I want to return to him. How I just want to spend time with him, doing something as simple as watching a movie or cooking dinner with him. I want to see his smiling face again. I don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have married so young. I don’t regret it. I don’t regret things. It’s just something I refuse to do. But the world is so big, and I’m so small. I want to see all of it, and I’ll never be able to do that and be with him at the same time, will I? I want the best of both worlds. I want a family life with him and I want to travel and see the world. Is it possible? I’m not sure yet.

But, back to what I was originally talking about. My dreams. I should have thought of this earlier. I was thinking the other night that I should meet and talk with a manga-ka while I’m here. I suppose I could buy books about it when I get back home, but what’s the use of that when you can ask a real person with experience? The problem? My Japanese isn’t nearly good enough for that, and I’m sure I’ll run out of time before I get the chance to do that for now. Maybe I’ll have to wait. I’ve decided something. I’ve decided that no matter what, I want to become a writer. I want to touch people so deeply that they never forget the feeling my words gave them. I’m not very good right now, but I hope to get better. I feel stagnant, though. I want to get good enough for people to want to read what I have to say, and finally someone may listen to me with all the attention that I so quietly demand.

Somehow, Vic Mignogna has brought me to this decision. This may seem disconnected, but one day, when I’m a famous author, I want to thank him in one of my novels. I know I can do it. I know I can be good enough. I didn’t even get the chance to ask him if, when he was my age, he thought he would be able to touch so many people’s lives with his work. I want to do what he does in my own way. The only way I can think of is to write. I don’t know what I’ll be writing yet, or how it will affect me, I just want people to see it and think about it. I want them to think deeply about my words. I want them to feel. This world is boring and often strange. That’s why the news is such a big deal, and why the news is so often bad. It’s interesting. It’s kind of sick, actually, if you think about it. People thrive somehow off of others' tragedies. I suppose there are cases of good news that compels people to do wonderful things. Despite how disconnected I feel from the Bible and that whole Bible culture, I know there are people who truly embrace the actual intentions of the original creators of the Bible. There are people who do good works simply because they believe good works need to be done. I like to think about that, anyway. That’s what I want to believe.

All the questions I have for Vic are the ones that will lead me to my ultimate goal. Eventually, I want to write and illustrate my own stories. It won’t be manga to some people, but the categorization is not important. It usually isn’t, despite the amount of importance human beings place on categories. How did he get to where he is today? Did he have to struggle? Was he afraid that he wouldn’t make it? Did other things get in the way? Did he ever think he would impact people the way he has? I wonder if he tells all his fans that he loves them. I’m sure he does, and I’m sure that he means it. I’m going to write. I’m going to create something that people will pay attention to and draw strength from. I’m going to do something that no one else has done before, OR, as is often the case with art, I’m going to do something that someone else has done before but do it better. That’s what I want for myself. And I’m writing this to remind myself that my ultimate goal is to write and grab readers by their deepest emotions and never let go. To make them think. Maybe I should plan out how I’m going to do all this. No matter how hard it gets, I can’t quit. That’s going to be the hard part. I know I will fail. I will probably fail more often than I succeed, but I have to remember to learn from each failure. That’s the part I have problems with. How will I fight off my apathy from my routine life? So boring. Perhaps if I remind myself a little every day what I’m doing all this for, I’ll start to perform a little better.

Since Mom died, I’ve never been the same. I’ve become weaker in some ways and stronger in others. I can handle a lot of emotional stress for extended periods of time. I can take on the problems of other people, not healthy, of course, but I’ve always been that way. But, since she died, I’ve become less diligent and less interested in my future or the world at large. My studies have taken a back seat position to my interest in wasting time…waiting for it all to be over with. What are we here for anyway? I used to say that I knew my purpose. I still think I do, but sometimes I forget. I’m supposed to gather knowledge and share it with the world as best I can. I’m going to need a more powerful microphone.

Intermission

2009-02-12T20:20:00.000+09:00

Another batch of missed posting days. Oops! Oh, well.
Perkins and I have decided to start a 4 hour per day study regimen. I haven't been so successful with that, but it makes me feel good to know what I'm trying more. Back in December and early January I was having trouble just motivating myself to get out of bed. I'm not completely sure why I'm doing so well now, but I'm not going to question it too much. I'm just glad I'm feeling better.
Today was awesome because the weather was so nice that I bought a bento and ate it outside on the terraced grass of the International Student Center (it took me a long time to remember the English for that. Is this bad?). I just sat in my T-shirt in the sun chowing down on a croquet and rice. It was nice and warm. I also noticed how light my arms are from not getting any sun over the winter. I hadn't realized until I was staring at the sun reflecting off of them. O__o
Thursdays and Mondays are my least favorite days of the week. I don't like Monday because I've never liked Monday. The beginning of the week is such a downer. You have the entire week's work ahead of you, and if you had a crappy weekend you don't have anything to be happy about. I don't like Thursday because I have to get up earlier than usual because of kanji class at 8:40. Kanji class is kind of boring, too. I dread quiz days. I seem to be getting worse at remembering my kanji. Maybe I just don't use it enough. That's what I really miss about the Japanese program at Purdue. Everything that was taught was built on all the former lessons, so if you learned some kanji in the previous lesson the chances that you would use it in the following lessons was pretty good. That program was just so organized, and this one seems a jumble of grammar that doesn't have a good base to build on. That's mostly the reason Perkins started his 4 hour study program, and why I'm copying him.
The next time I post I'll be talking about last weekend. It should be pretty interesting because I took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Maibashi in Gunma prefecture to go see Toshiko Ishikura. She's the mother-in-law of my friend Misuky back home. She was super nice! And she had a bunch of awesome things to show me in Maibashi, so I'll have pictures and video of that. Until then, ja!

Not Breaking Any Records

2009-02-09T23:31:00.000+09:00

I'm not breaking any records for my consistency quite yet, but this is still a good start.
More Casey Baker, bringing more self-truths to light. When I listen to music, I feel it and I use it to think about many things: life, myself (who doesn't like thinking about themselves?), my friends, school, well, less school than other things.
It's at these times that I can feel my most intense feelings. And late at night, when I'm listening to this music I feel my most intense loneliness. Tonight I thought about my husband. I thought about how badly I miss just being able to see his face, to tell him about how I'm really feeling. I have many friends here, and I care for them deeply, but I'm the type of person who has trouble trusting other people, especially with my personal feelings. I guess I think if people don't know certain things about me, they can't use them to hurt me later. That may seem rather insecure of me, but it's how I function. I don't tell a lot of people about my true feelings. I'm sure that other people don't always tell me the truth either. Of course, it's not so much that I lie. I don't like to lie. Rather, I hold so much back that sometimes I think people don't really know or care for my opinion at all. Doesn't everyone just want someone to ask them what they really think of something? I would like it if someone asked me that. "What do you truly think of so-and-so's relationship with other so-and-so?" Do people ask you those kinds of things?
Even if someone did ask me that, I would probably evade an answer unless I was close enough with them. To me, friends are people you can trust with nearly anything. I say nearly because not everyone needs to know everything. There are some things that are better off being no one's business.
Sometimes it feels like no one is listening. Even worse, sometimes it feels like no one cares to listen. People will go about their lives around you, they will go through their daily grind without even remember that you exist. And when you try to prove your existence to them by sharing your thoughts and feelings with them, they only seem interested in themselves and their own problems, or they pretend to be interested in what you're saying while they're actually planning out the rest of their day in their head or imagining you naked.

Tip of the Day

2009-02-05T14:26:00.000+09:00

I was thinking today about the amount of stress I've faced because of my decision to study in a foreign country. A number of my friends have decided to compile tips and tricks for new foreign students back home, I suppose this is my small contribution. If you plan on studying in Tsukuba, the following tips will be very helpful. If you don't plan on coming here, then it'll enlighten you about the kinds of things I've had to face since I've been here. Either way, you walk away with more knowledge. The format for the following is this: "Japanese characters"/ "Romanji"/ "English translation." Please feel free to contribute to and correct my Japanese.

TODAY'S TIP!!!
There are several convenience stores in Tsukuba. There's 7-11, Coco's, Family Mart, and a bunch of other small convenience stores I can't remember. These are called "Konbini," in Japanese (short for convenience market/store). It's pronounced like KONE bee nee. At a konbini, the person attending the counter will ask you a series of questions, all of which are confusing if you've just come to Japan and don't know any Japanese. Fear not! I'll go through these with you.
When you make your purchase and approach the counter, if it is a small purchase, such as a bottle of water or tea, the cashier will probably ask you,
"テープはよろしいですか。"/ "Tepu wa yoroshi desuka."/ "Is tape ok?"
What the cashier is really asking is if they can just stick a piece of tape with the store's logo on it to prove that you bought it so you can walk out with it after you pay for it or if you would like it in a bag. If the tape is ok just nod or reply with, "はい。" / "Hai"/ "Yes."
If you buy a bento (lunch box), then they'll ask you if you want it warmed up. Honestly, I don't remember how they ask this right now. If you just make a regular, small purchase (a snack, for example) they'll ask you if you want a bag. They key word here is ふくろ/ fukuro/ bag. Just listen for that.
To ask for a bag you can just say, "ふくろおねがいします" or "ふくろがほしいです。" / "fukuro onegaishimasu" or "fukuro ga hoshii desu." / "I would like a bag, please."
That's all I have time for today. I have to go to my English Discussion Seminar class. It's from 3:15 to 6:00! There's a 15 minute break in the middle there, but these long classes are the hardest, I think, because I can't concentrate for that long. Later!

Updates (Not Upgrades)

2009-02-04T18:45:00.000+09:00

Recently, I've been listening to Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners. They're an interesting band. My friend recommended them to me. They remind me a little bit of Jimmy Eat World. When I listen to them I feel elation and peace, even though the songs I have by them are all sad stories.
I noticed that it's a little difficult to keep up with American Pop Culture, but much less difficult than it must've been in the past. Since I have friends at home who talk to me frequently who are interested American Pop Culture, I've been able to keep up fairly well, I think. At least, I'm not completely ignorant about it. I heard about that new Beyonce video with a transvestite in it. It seems like the music industry always does something outrageous, of course, to get attention. Nothing gets more attention than something unconventional. I guess I'm not much further behind on US Pop Culture than I was when I was in the states.
Obviously, it's been a long time since I've updated. Thus the title of this blog entry. I plan on trying to write more often. Hopefully, once a day. I've got some backup entries that I haven't posted yet that are written in my notebook. I'll get to those as soon as I can. For more interesting pictures, you can look at my albums on Facebook. Since blogger doesn't seem to like to cooperate with my posting pictures and videos, that might be a better spot to look.
More updates later. :D

ｻﾝｸｯｽｷﾞﾋﾞﾝｸﾞ!!!

2008-11-29T02:26:00.000+09:00

THANKSGIVING!

Hey, everyone. I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving! For Thanksgiving in Japan my friends and I all got together and made a special dinner of Okonomiyaki, mashed potatoes, and pudding cake. It wasn't turkey, but it was most delicious. Perkins was the one who came with the okonomiyaki idea. Okonomiyaki is a pancake-like food. It starts off as batter and egg, then you mix in cabbage, bacon, and whatever else you like. You cook it in a frying pan or on a griddle, then you put delicious okonomiyaki sauce, fish flakes (I can't remember what they're actually called), mayonnaise, and some seaweed flakes (I think) on top. After that, it's ready to eat. YUMMY!

Kira and I wanted to make mashed potatoes. Our friend from Germany, Caroline, helped us with them. Those turned out pretty good, too. :)

Daniel made some pudding cake, but since Japanese pudding and Japanese cake are not as sweet American pudding and cake it wasn't as good as he wanted it to be. I liked it, though.

This is the video of Perkins flipping his okonomiyaki. I missed his actual EPIC FLIP because I didn't have my camera on me at the time. :( He flipped it without the spatula at all. And Brando's flip is here, too. :D Er...it will be. I'm having trouble posting my videos...so...more later.

What's Coming Up @___@

2008-10-24T21:42:00.000+09:00

Greetings! I'm just going to stop apologizing for my procrastination of updates and try to update whenever I can. Really. I mean it.
Anyway, I wanted to give you a preview of what is to come:
First, this post is going to contain some tidbits from my October 17th field trip to Kasama Crafthills and the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum. Kira and I were lucky enough to get into the class. We both really enjoyed that trip. Great fun!

Secondly, I'm going to attempt to be posting more pictures from my everyday life here. There are a lot of little interesting things that I've become accustomed to that other people would find strange and/or just new. For instance, Japanese toilets. I haven't discussed this yet, but I'll get into that later.

Thirdly, Kira and I just got back from our second field trip today. We went to the Ibaraki Historical Museum in Mito City, Izumo Taisha Shrine, and Tsumugi-no-Sato (紬の里). At Tsumugi-no-Sato we dyed handkerchiefs in indigo dye and did some weaving on the loom. I'll have a lot to say about that in another post (hopefully tomorrow or Sunday my time), but for today I'm just going to cover our trip from the 17th.

We set off around 9:30 am from Tsukuba to the ceramic art museum. Beforehand, we were, of course, asked to read through some material on ceramic arts in the Ibaraki area, and we viewed a video in our orientation lecture that had demonstrations on the use of the pottery wheel (rokuro in Japanese). I have A TON of pictures of the countryside because these places were in an even more rural area that Tsukuba. I thought Tsukuba was rural until we went on this field trip. Now, I realize that Tsukuba is not nearly as village-like as the places we visited. Anyway, I think I might put a bunch of these pictures up on my photobucket (if I can remember how to get to it ><) and I'll post the link to that here so you can access more photos.

At the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum we got to see a wide range of pottery, from historical and useful to current and more artistic. I wouldn't be able to do justice to the craftsmen if I tried to describe just how amazingly talented they had to have been to complete works that were so detailed and creative. The artisans weren't just good at making pottery, they were also extremely talented at painting the pottery. I think something worth mentioning is the different kinds of kilns they used to make their pottery (and still use). There's one kiln that is only used once a year. It burns for days on end. It's built like a long, upward tunnel, but I can't remember what it's called right now. I'll have to look it up for you.
We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I grabbed as many little postcards as I could. I also picked up some gifts. ^_~ Speaking of gifts, if you read my blog and you would like anything at all from Japan, please let me know. I'd be glad to find you something and send it to you. It might take a while on the sending part, but once I know what it is I can go out and buy it pretty quickly.
I think that's all I'm going to cover about the museum for now. If you'd like to know more, don't hesitate to ask. I didn't do much describing about the things I saw there, sorry. I had to write a paper about the trip, and I did a lot of description in that. I might as well just describe a little of what I saw. (ramble,ramble,ramble)
There were A TON of tea sets. Tea sets decorated with brushed landscapes, animals, simple geometrical designs, tea sets that came out of the 30's, tea sets with ships on them, gold rimmed, handmade, handpainted tea sets. I WISH I COULD'VE TAKEN PICTURES!
After we were finished at the museum, we went to Hisatou-Koubou where we got to make our own pottery using the rokuro. It was fun, frustrating, relaxing, and messy. I made four ceramics. Most of mine turned out big and bulky. I made a pot, a large cup, a bowl, and another cup. Kira made a some tiny cups and a bowl. They were really cute! So, I'm going to try to post the videos here. They're pretty self-explanitory. :D {One last thing: I'll have footage and updates on Tokyo Game Show 2008 soon, too. Please bear with me as I try to catch up!} I have more videos but my browser is being stupid and it's making me really angry, so more later.

A Little Something

2008-10-06T17:14:00.000+09:00

So, I wanted to post something about Tsukuba that I have good feelings about. I would first like to mention that some of my, uh, fellow travelers here don't like this aspect of Tsukuba, but I LOVE IT. I think it's awesome that I could come to Japan in the first place, and this was not what I was expecting to find when I got here.
What's the first thing you think of when you think of Japan? Is it Tokyo? Is it technology? Maybe it's something more cultural, but the first thing I always thought of when I thought of Japan was technology. Videogames, organic televisions, robots...etc. Well, Tsukuba doesn't have all that. They have internet (which is not wireless and took me several days to acquire), and they have the TX. The TX is the Tsukuba Express, the 45 minute train service to Tokyo. So, you can get to all that if you want it, but Tsukuba is very woodsy. I really enjoy the natural beauty of Tsukuba, even though that means enjoying lots of bugs. :D
Here is a video I took when Perkins and I were biking back from getting our Alien Registration Cards. (Yes, I'm an alien, now) The video can be pretty loud so you might want to turn your volume down. And I'm sorry about the poor quality, I was riding my bike at the same time. I promise I'll get better at it.

Keeping Up With You

2008-10-02T18:45:00.001+09:00

GREETINGS!

I just really needed to update this and let you know that this thing can be difficult to keep up with. As usual, my apologies. :D

I suppose I'll just start with today and then look backward in my next post. This week has been rather exhausting. I've had two tests so far, and I have another test tomorrow. My room...definitely needs cleaning. MESSY! At least I managed to get my laundry done today. I've already mentioned how fantastic doing laundry is, right? (sarcasm, YAY!)

The plans for this weekend are as follows (expect pictures):

Go to Tsukuba Center with Kira for clothes

Picaso Exhibition in Tokyo on Sunday--SO EXCITING!

That's what I'm most excited about right now. As far as school is going, many of us agree (many of us being my American classmates) that Kanji class is the most difficult class that we have. Indeed! I am inclined to agree. Memorizing Kanji is hard and can be VERY frustrating because sometimes Kanji combinations and pronunciations aren't what you would think they should be. Do I use the ONYOMI or the KUNYOMI for this one!? WHAT!? NEITHER!? How the heck am I supposed to know how to pronounce that. Really.

Something interesting that I noticed today about the improvement of my Japanese language (lack of) skillz. I went to the Ichinoya Convenience Store and got a bento box for lunch. I could understand what the clerk asked me when she asked me if I wanted my bento warmed up or not. May not sound like much of a revelation, but before I just heard, "SOMETHINGSOMETHINGSOMETHINGSOMETHINGKA?" I knew what she was asking then, but I didn't hear it. THIS TIME, I could pick out words! YAY!

Sorry for the short post, but, as I said before, I'm exhausted. Much more catching up to do later. MOMENT OF BUGZEN!?

O NOES! Akiba, Kichijouji, and Parks

2008-09-22T17:50:00.000+09:00

SORRY! I was really busy last week with classes and trying to set all that stuff up. And a typhoon came through this past weekend, so I didn't really do anything. HOWEVER, the weekend before that I went with Perkins and Viet to Akihabara and Kichijouji. They had so much anime crap there I was too stunned to buy anything. When I say "crap," I mean crap. They had everything from keychains, figurines, bowls, pillows, pens, whatever. You name it, they probably had it.

Going to Kichijouji was actually a little more fun for me because they had a Matsuri, so we got to see some Taiko drummers. The quality on my video is, sadly, very poor, so you can't get the full feel of the amazing drumming. I apologize.

Also, Kira and I had lunch next to the little pond by the Student Plaza. We tossed food to the Koi. I'm not sure if you're supposed to do that or not, but they were so well trained to come up to us that I could tell many people had done it before. I love the Koi here! They're HUGE!

I could see how the trains in Tokyo could easily be a navigation nightmare. The lines overlap with each other and there are just SO MANY trains!

Going back to Akihabara: Perkins and I decided that Akihabara is actually not that big. They have tons of stores, but everything is bulit upward, so the area that the stores are in isn't actually that wide or anything. We walked all over Akiba, and we went to a little "park." It was basically a sand lot with some playground equipment on it. We were like, "Wow....park." Not at all like the park in Kichijouji, which felt more like an amusement park to us.
AKIBAKICHIJOUJI
I really wanted to go to a maid cafe to see what it was like, but we didn't get a chance to go that day. There will be more opportunities for exploring Tokyo. From what I've seen so far, I kind of like it. The atmosphere is very different from American cities, though. I'll come up with a way to explain that later. I can't quite grasp it right now.

I'm still working on some registration issues with my classes. The different departments don't seem to speak with each other here, so neither knows what the other one is doing. It's really left up to the student to find all the necessary people and places, which was difficult at first because I didn't speak much and I had no idea where anything was located. I'm finding that my Japanese is improving little by little every day. I just need to keep practicing. I'm hoping that I'll somehow find a club or circle to fit into where I can speak with more Japanese people. I'm really glad that Yurie enjoys spending time with me because she taught me more in two hours than I learned in my Japanese class here in a week. Purdue's Japanese class is much more challenging, and, truthfully, I miss it.

Note to self: The washers here take an hour and the dryers probably take an hour and a half. Who knows? I would also like to thank anyone who ever made me use critical reasoning skills. Because of you, I easily figured out the washers and dryers here. In order for things to dry, you have to empty the lint filter. This may surprise you, but I think I'm one of the few people who realizes this. Also, you have to actually put soap IN the washer in order for your clothes to get clean. You'd be amazed at how many people try to slide it through the holes in the top of the washer that clearly just for ventilation. >_> And, Dad, this won't surprise you, but I think you'll find it amusing. I have to wash my T-shirts twice.
<~~ YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN: A scene from Tsukuba University

WHOO!

2008-09-11T19:13:00.000+09:00

Sorry that it's been so long since my last update. It's really starting to feel like school here. :D I've been pretty busy figuring out my classes and going to orientation for Japanese Language class. Today, I attened my first Japanese Language class and my first Kanji class. The language class was mostly introduction and review testing. It wasn't too hard, but I've forgotten a lot of my Japanese. :(
The Kanji class wasn't too bad. We went through a lot of kanji really quickly, and it's only once a week. I've already got the books for both classes, and it looks like I'm going to be working pretty hard. We have a quiz every day in Japanese class. Kanji class is only once a week, and we have a quiz/test every time. I'll be studying hard.
I went with Daniel to the archery range today to see about getting in archery club, but it was raining so the club members were going somewhere else. So, we stayed and watched the Japanese style archery. It's so amazing to me. But, I was nervous to meet new people. And when I'm nervous like that I tend to make an ass of myself. ><>
My classes:
Overview of Japanese Education
Introduction to Modern Japanese Society
Japanese Word Processing
American Literature
Japanese Language
Kanji

So far, I've enjoyed most all of them. Overview of Japanese Education is kind of hard for me because it's a long class. Toward the end I have trouble paying attention.

Other than that, a group of us will hopefully be going to Tokyo this weekend with a friend. He has to go to a birthday party, so I'm planning on e-mailing Satomi to see if she's busy. She probably is. I'm a little nervous about that, too. For being as outgoing about classes and getting things done as I am, I sure work up a sweat about social events. Tokyo is a big city. I just don't want to get lost or something alone. That would be irritating. But, we've go phones, so I should be fine. I think I worry too much sometimes. Tomorrow I will by trying the anime/manga club here. Maybe the people there will be a bit more inviting. And hopefully I won't feel as nervous.
No pics this time, sorry.

Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senjō no Kizuna AND Other Stuff

2008-09-07T14:32:00.000+09:00

Cute stuff at the TISA Bazaar

I love Japan for many reasons, but today it is because Kiba took us to Mom's Kitchen and The Pink Panther Arcade to play Gundam. Oh. My. God.
At Mom's Kitchen we had steak and eggs (also came with toast, noodles, french fries, and I had iced coffee). It was only about $9 USD. FOR STEAK. AND EGGS. A big plate of them. And it was delicious! I was so full afterward.
Unfortunately, I've been having to ride on the back rack of my bike, so my butt is kind of sore. It's not even my butt, really, it's my back/inner thigh. Every time we went over a bump it dug into my legs. >< The biggest thing I wanted to rave about today was the Gundam arcade game. You can look it up on Wiki if you want all the specs. Just look up what's in the title of this blog. (-AND Other Stuff). Kido Senshi Gundam is an arcade game. It's basically the cockpit of a gundam. And it's totally badass. I got such a rush from playing it. Japan is the only country that this game is available in, and it's country wide, so you're playing other gamers in Japan via internet connection. I cannot even describe the amount of happiness and excitement I had when I hopped into the seat. With Kiba giving me directions, I was able to place top score for both rounds of the game I was playing. It has 2 handle controls, headset communication capability, and two pedals; one for boost and one for jump. Once you get the hang of the controls, it's SO FREAKIN' FUN. This vid is of Kiba playing it.

Fun Stuff!
I don't know why my font looks smaller, but whatever. Ah, yes. Here are some other pictures from the Tsukuba International Student Association party (which me and Perkins went to for about 10 minutes)....actually, it's a picture of the building across from the party, but it's pretty! And a picture of some little kids playing by the fountain at AIAI Mall. They're so freakin' cute. Kiba was saying how the children here are the cutests kids in the world. I'm inclined to agree. You just wanna take them home with you. Really.

These workers were exercising and stretching together. I'd never seen it before, so I had to be a tourist and take a picture.

Corn on pizza. Weird.

Lastly, there are cats all over Tsukuba, but we've been advised not to touch them. :O I loves kitties!

Accident Prone, But Recovers Gracefully

2008-09-05T21:21:00.000+09:00

Greetings my dear readers!
Well, I've given up on trying to post the correct time on this thing. What a pain. So, in case you were wonder, I haven't been posting at 1 AM my time.
The most terrifying bikeride of my life was officially...Wednesday, I believe. Gami took Perkins and I to the Tsukuba Center. I don't know exactly how far it is, I think it's like 20-30 minutes by bike. Perkins didn't have his bike yet because he missed the delivery, so I ended up on the back of my bike while Perkins was on the front. It was like riding a horse, only a lot more painful. I rested my feet on the nuts that jutted out of the back tire. It's a good thing I'm so small. So, for 20 or so minutes I was behind Perkins on this bike, it was bumpy, and I couldn't see anything in front of us, so I never knew what was going on. It was kind of disturbing, but fun in a way.
I visited my Japanese Word Processing class on Thursday, and that seems like it might be kind of fun. Kinoshita-sensei is teaching it. Beth keeps telling me which teachers were the best, but I forget sometimes. ><>
I payed my rent today. The most expensive part is the deposit. I don't even wanna get into prices here. Oh! And I bought a phone. The most expensive part of that was the phone. The bill is supposed to be only about $15 a month, but the phone was rather expensive. *cough* 300+ *cough*
I took that stupid placement test. The staff had no idea what they were doing. We were supposed to take it on the computer, then one of the teachers said we weren't going to take it on the computer and they started handing out paper tests. Then, they took the paper tests back up...and then they gave them back to us again. WAY TO GO! Not many people I talked to finished. And we had to write an essay. Mine was horrible. I spent most of it apologizing for how bad my Japanese was in hopes that at least one person would get a laugh out of it. The girl next to meet used her essay to complain about the staff. I got a laugh out of that!
And I made a new friend. Her name is Kira, and she's from New York. I know what you're thinking. I should be making more Japanese friends. At this point, I'm cool with making any friends I can. I want to join a club to meet more Japanese kids.
As for today...it was so long! I made two trips to the Tsukuba Center by bike and also rode around town with Kira. She showed me a nice, cheap store. I picked some hangers there. And some water. The water in Tsukuba isn't good to drink, so I imagine a lot of my money will be spent on bottled water. As long as it's this hot, I'm going to be carrying a bottle with me in my bike basket everywhere I go.
I bought a few shirts the other day, too. They were labled "L." I put them on and I was like, "M." They're more like between a medium and small, though. I look ok in them. All this bike riding will, hopefully, help me lose some weight. Perkins kicks my ass when we ride. I let him go in front most of the time, and he's had a job delivering newspapers for a long time, so he's used to riding his bike pretty long distances. And...me...well....I'm NOT. I always say, "Perkins...huff...huff...I'm too fat for this." Once, he told me, "Think of it this way, if you were taller you'd be less fat." And I just started laughing so hard. I'm glad he's here for me to hang out with.
I really feel like I'm adjusting well so far. I'm not afraid to talk to people or ask questions, and I can understand what most people say to me. It's funny. I noticed that a few other new foreigners are afraid to even ask questions or try to figure out their way around here by talking to people. The way I see it, I'm gonna be here for a year. If I don't start talking to them now to learn the language or get a question answered, when will I?
Oh, and about the title. I smacked into a road block thingy with my bike pedal. Just my pedal. Perkins thought I was going to crash or something, but I've been good at recovering so far. ^^;
One last thing,
Perkins and I went to eat at "Shakey's Pizza." Japanese pizza is not like American pizza at all. The crust was very thin, and the vegetable pizza had corn on it! I took a picture. I'll upload that later.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

2008-09-03T15:46:00.000+09:00

So, I have a heat rash on the inner part of my arms and on my neck. Yurie told me it was called "asemo" in Japanese. Ase is sweat. So, I went to the drug store today to look for some calamine lotion. I couldn't find any, but I DID find this stuff.

I thought, It has a picture of a baby on it. It says "asemo." This has to be the stuff I need.

INDEED! This IS for heat rash. However, the baby that gets this stuff used on her is going to be upset for about 20 minutes because it starts to BURN!!! AND STING! But it's definitely the right stuff, no matter how much it burns. :D Owie.

IN OTHER NEWS:

I wrote in my journal while I was out and about today. My bicycle is a wee bit tall for meh, so I had a little trouble getting around without looking like an idiot. HOWEVER, I am infinitely grateful to Beth for giving me her bike. THANKS BETH! ^_~ Because Perkins wanted his delivered yesterday, but he missed the delivery, so now he doesn't have it at all. I have to go study for a bit. I've been studying off and on today. Hoping to get a good score on the language placement test. I hope, I hope, I hope. Perkins and I have to meet Gami at 5 to go shopping anyway. YAY! FRIDGE! I have plenty of cash now, so things should be ok for me.

One last note: Now, I smell like a baby. Here are more pictures for your enjoyment.

Arigatou gozaimasu!

2008-09-01T17:13:00.000+09:00

To everyone who is leaving comments on my blog,

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Hontoni arigatou gozaimasu!

And please be sure to check my old posts for my return comments for you. :D

I don't have any videos for you today, but I took a picture of a mantid the other day, so here it is. He's chillin' on the vending machines. As you can see, the sodas here about 110 yen (about a dollar and ten cents). My conversion is a little off because the dollar is worth so much less now. >_<

What I do today? I go to bank! Yesterday...I didn't really do anything. I studied for a few hours and tried to organize what classes I wanted to take. They seem really disorganized here. For example, I chose the classes I would like to visit, but the room numbers aren't listed in the class handbook. The handbook says they are listed in a different book that is only available in Japanese (EPIC FAIL). And I don't get that handbook until tomorrow at my college orientation. So, any classes that I wanted to visit today and possibly tomorrow are out the window. I'll e-mail my professors to let them know.

Everyone here is SO NICE. That's one thing I don't miss about the States. All the people who have public relations jobs here are super nice and will go the extra mile to assist you. You ask if they speak English and they say no, then they'll go find someone who does. They helped us fill out all our forms at the bank. Speaking of bank...I can get money now! YAY! Perhaps by Wednesday I will be able to buy things and pay Yurie back.

Perkins and I went to the International Student Center today and registered for Japanese classes there. We had to take a preliminary exam on the computer that was about 10 minutes long. I reached level 2...which is one level lower than I wanted to get. ><>

I can't wait to just get all this administrative stuff out of the way. I'm so ready to start classes and just study and hang out with friends. I feel like I've been here for weeks, so I think that I may be getting kind of used to things. I've had to talk to a lot of people with my broken Japanese. ^^; I feel dumb sometimes when I use it, but it gets better every day. I have to ask lots of things for poor Perkins. He's been through 202, but he took a year off so he's a bit more rusty than I am.

I promise to work hard for myself. I'll be studying more tonight. Yay!

Short Post With Vids

2008-08-31T14:28:00.000+09:00

Apparently, you can post videos on here, too. So I'm going to see how that works out. These are videos of my dorm and a trip from the community center to my room. :D I think they're boring. But enjoy.

Day 4 at Tsukuba U

2008-08-31T07:21:00.000+09:00

Today I have spent most of my time just resting and cleaning my room. Perkins and I have dinner with Gami and Yurie at 6:30, so I will be meeting him an hour before that outside. Our dorms are right next to eachother, and Perkins has AIM so it's really easy for us to communicate now that we can get on Tsukuba's network. It's kind of a pain to get onto the network. You have to sign in as admin. on Internet Explorer so you can go through the proper procedures.
The current temperature is 79 degrees F. The cicadas are constantly singing outside my window, and I don't have a/c so I've got my window open as long as it's not raining. I have a fan, and that come in handy. It's so humid here that Gami told Perkins and I to buy these little plastic bins with some kind of water absorber in them to keep our rooms from getting moldy. Everything here is so cute. The little bin is called something like "Mr. Elephant." There's a cutesy picture of an elephant on the box that it came in.
About my room:
I have a desk, a phone, a bed, a wardrobe, a big bookshelf, and a shoe shelf. I get my own bathroom, but they didn't clean it before I got here so that's why I cleaned it myself today. It was pretty gross, actually. There were these little dirt particles all over it. Despite all this, I've found that I really enjoy my room. After all...it's mine. :) And now this dorm is "my dorm." And this university is "my university." And for a year it's my home. For now, I'm so happy to be here. I'm often confused and sometimes I feel like an idiot...but I really do love it here. Perkins and I were talking earlier and wondering if we would feel the same way in a few months. I hope so.
For lunch:
I had some kind of potato fish cake and some noodles with yummy sauce on them. It was a dark sauce. And there were pickled daikon radishes in it. I bought it at the convenience store down the road. I ate it at the food court, which is in the same building. There's a T.V. in there, so I got to watch some Japanese T.V. I didn't understand what was going on, but it seemed like some kind of funny game show or something. It was good to get out of my room for a little bit. I don't plan on spending a whole lot of time in here unless I have to. >_>
I'm still a little confused about my entire registration process, but I'll figure that out soon enough. Classes start Monday, so we'll so how that goes. I cannot describe the way I feel about it. I'm not nervous. I'm not excited. I'm looking forward to it.
My one fear is that I will isolate myself. Seeing as how I'll be so busy with school there's little chance of that, though. I had better finish cleaning my room. I'll put some pictures up in a few. Peace out!

Day 2

2008-08-29T16:52:00.000+09:00

My feet hurt so bad. I haven't been so tired in so long. I can feel my feet throbbing as I write this. I should've brought more money because they usually only take cash in Japan. Jusco takes credit, but I guess they don't take MasterCard.
It's nearly 10pm and I haven't spoken with anyone from home in over 2 days. Hopefully I'll be able to get to the internet tomorrow.
I'm here in Ichinoya dorm building 34. It turns out that Jonathan Perkins, another Purdue student, is in 35. His tutor has been helping us out tremendously. The tutor's name is Naoya Nogami. We just call him Gami. My tutor is Baba Yurie. She's so cute. :) She hasn't been with us but for a few hours today, though. And tomorrow we have Orientation from 9:50-6:00pm. It's gonna be a long day.
I have to remember to write about my room later. Yurie said it was "Hiroi." I think that means spacious--or old. I can't remember which. Old--very; spacious--not so much.
The weather here is "Island Weather." Everything is different. Well, almost.
I'm too tired to write much more, but I want you to know that Japan is the shit.