gaijinzilla

For all you girls out there who want to Gaijin it up!

2011-02-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Good news for all you girls out there who want to go to Japan like I did!

During my stay in Japan, I visited a small private girls school for just a day. Although I didn't attend this particular school, I was able to meet the English teacher (Mr. Paul Alexy) and chat with him about the exchange program they offer to high school age girls who want to visit the Land of the Rising Sun.

This exchange program is something I would recommend to anyone who wants to experience life in japan. You have my word as a gaijin, this school is great

Tadaima!

2010-07-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it home. After approximately 35 hours (according to my mom) in planes and airports I arrived home safely yesterday night, or well, I guess midnight means it was this morning.
Being at home seems so very, familiar. I thought when I returned everything would seem different but rather, it is Japan itself that seems different to me now. Being home, I feel almost like my 3 months in the land of the rising sun was just a dream. A marvelous, difficult, beautiful dream. One thing makes this dream different though...memories. This trip will not fade away into something that is barely tangible as I continue through my life. It may seem far away now that I am sleeping in my own bed and well, talking in English again, but this experience is something that has been such a big part of my life that it will continue to structure the rest of my life which is yet to come.
I referred to this trip in a previous entry as a "chapter of my life". This chapter may have come to a close but it has been such an integral part of the story of my life that I know I will never forget it.
One day I will travel back to the Land Of The Rising Sun but for now all I can do is thank all of you who made that trip as amazing as it was. I love traveling, I love Japan, and I love all of you. ほんとうに　ありがとうございます！

Farewells

2010-07-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

You know, some of my friends thought I was crazy for wishing to attend school when I should be enjoying summer vacation and who knows, maybe I am. That wouldn't surprise me. Anyway, last day of school has finally come for me. After 3 months in Japan and 2 at this school it felt weird to think of that being the last time I would see those halls or trek up that impossibly long staircase to my homeroom class which has been on the top floor both times.

The imposing feeling of the last day did not get in the way of my usual joking around with my friends in my homeroom class. We laughed and joked as if nothing were happening. As if I had been there for years and I would be there for years.

The farewell ceremony which the teachers put together was lovely. My host family couldn't come since it was at noon but practically my whole homeroom class came. The principal, my friend Juri, and I all gave speeches. The principal gave his speech in English for the Australian exchange students but for me he used simple and slow Japanese almost as if to say that he had noticed how much I had learned in my stay here. Juri started crying halfway through hers which of course forced me too wipe away some tears of my own. The students laughed out loud when I said "classes were fun" since they had caught me sleeping through them multiple times but I wasn't lying when I said how much I loved their school. It has been an amazing experience at both Mishima and Takii. Japanese school is so very different from American school that it takes a little getting used to but I loved every minute of it! People ask me why I decided to by Takii's uniform even though it is quite expensive and I always reply "because lots of people go to Japan. Few people go to Japanese high school." My uniform is my absolute most treasured souvenir and I think it will continue to be so.
Thank you Mishima, Thank you Takii! I love Japan!

Dinnertime! gaijin-style ^^

2010-07-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

Since coming to live in Japan I have been plagued by the feeling that I am really not contributing to anything at all. This normally wouldn't bother me. At home I certainly don't have a problem lounging around on the couch while indifferently observing my mom breaking her back over some chore or another. Yet for some reason, it is really troubling when it is a different family I am living with.
Anyway, I decided to remedy this by offering to cook dinner for my family. It was simple yet difficult to decide what to make. My repertoire of dishes which I know how to cook is limited to scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, and anything out of a can that just needs to be reheated. This made choosing simple yet frustrating as I realized my own failure as a girl (no offense if any of you, my readers, are in fact some psycho feminist). I hate making decisions more than I hate failing as a female though so I had no problem with this. I made mashed potatoes, baked chicken (thanks for the recipe mom! It actually turned out fairly edible!), and corn (and yes, it was frozen packaged corn).
My host sister and I went grocery shopping on our way home from our...well...shopping trip to get the ingredients. I had hoped to make home made macaroni and cheese too but I was easily convinced otherwise when I saw that cheddar cheese was approximately $6 for a tiny brick so small I would probably need two or three for the dish.
My American side was shocked when there were no baggers to do all our work for us after our purchase. Merely a little table with the plastic bags on it for the customers to place their groceries in.
Dinner itself turned out okay I guess. I am not a gourmet chef but it was edible. The chicken and the potatoes needed a lot of added salt and pepper but the corn was actually quite tasty. Maybe that is just because of the liberal amount of butter I added to it before sticking it in the weird Japanese microwave-oven thingy.
The potatoes couldn't have been all bad though since my host mom asked for the recipe and hey, I got the opportunity to not feel like a worthless couch potato which would be worth it even if I had made packaged Ramen and burned it. I am such a good person :)

Mountain Adventures

2010-07-11T00:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went hiking with a bunch of friends from church. The plan was, hike up to the Onsen which was apparently pretty famous. Play around and soak our tired muscles in the naturally heated water and then hike back down. Pretty standard right?
Well, it would have been standard if things had actually gone according to said plan. *sigh*
By taking a couple wrong turns and following a couple wrong paths we managed to not only miss the Onsen altogether but we ended up just making a big loop and ending up basically where we started, adding many miles and quite a few hours to our hike. We started out at approximately 9 and made our way out at about 4:30. How is that for a killer hike? For the beginning parts of this trip "hike" is quite an understatement. It was more like a "climb". We weren't walking uphill. We were literally climbing up the mountain through a "rock garden".

Now, I am not a big fan of really hard hikes but I love nature and I am inclined to look on the bright side of that adventure. The scenery was quite breathtaking and I actually got to see my first real wildlife when we stumbled across a family of wild boar!

To top the day off, when we stopped at McDonald's afterward I forgot all about the adorable baby pigs when I met some adorable Japanese boys. ;) These are the first boys to be brave enough to talk to me and I definitely appreciated it. We exchanged emails and hopefully we can keep in touch.

So all in all I had a fairly bitter sweet day. There were mistakes, sore muscles, and no onsen, but there was also beautiful nature, cute animals, and cute boys. I guess it all kind of evens out.

Saying Goodbyes: The Beginning of the End

2010-07-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was my last day to see my old homeroom class before they went to Canada, today was Mel and Kiera's last day at school. Now I have said my goodbyes to them and it will probably be a while before I see them again.
I loved all my friends from 2-1. They were all so amazing and friendly and cute. My nervousness at transferring schools was quickly set aside as I realized just how great these girls are. Within the first week of transferring to Takii I had almost 2 whole weeks filled up with various play-dates with various people. We soon developed a communication understanding between us, everyone had a feel for how much Japanese I knew and I had a feel for what level of English they are at. We were all able to help each other because of this. I cannot even count all the things the people in this class taught me and not just Japanese either. They taught me how to loosen up around people I just met, how to enjoy lunchtime to it's fullest, my playdate experiences taught me not only that Kyobashi station really DOES have a "big escalator" and that when you plan to hang out in Japan you better not wear heels. I made so many friends in that class, I know everyone's name and most of their email addresses. I consider all 17 of them to be my good friends and I will miss my new "good friends" very much.

Seems funny that I was just barely writing a post the other day about going to classes with the other exchange students and now I am writing one about saying goodbye to them. Our day today seemed kind of unreal. It didn't really hit me that that was goodbye until after it was over. I just can't really imagine them not being there.
They too helped me greatly with my Japanese but in a different way. They say when you teach something you are much more likely to remember it. Well it must be true, helping them with their Japanese in turn improved my Japanese greatly. Although we enjoyed teasing each other about how "my country is better", being with them has inspired me with a desire to visit Australia as well as a need to one day see my new Australian friends again.

One of my favorite quotes is "Goodbyes are only painful if you know you will never say hello again". No matter how sad saying goodbye is now, it is not the end of the world because I know I have made friendships that will last a lifetime. Friendships that, against all obstacles, won't be kept apart. I will see my new friends again. This is not "goodbye" this is "See you later".

Aquarium Time!!!

2010-07-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

I got excused from school today in order to go to the aquarium with my host sister!! We had a great time! We saw penguins, sea otters, dolphins, jelly fish, a GIGANTIC whale shark, and lots lots more! We also go to touch the sting rays and even some small sharks (at least, I think they were sharks)!
It was so cool! the aquarium was built so that at the beginning you went up a super long escalator and then you work your way down from the top to the bottom. almost all the tanks were super deep. As deep in fact as the building. The animals were all super active so it was so fun to see them all!

We also got to ride on this enormous Ferris Wheel. It was so tall that it towered over some of the tallest apartment buildings. In fact, it towered over pretty much everything!

It is kind of interesting to note the ratio of various other gaijin in tourist hot spots like this. In Kyoto, which is the very historical city with lots of shrines and temples, you see a lot of, well, white people. All the Americans, Brits, and pretty much any white person, who goes to Japan wants to see the traditional temples so you find them all congregated in Kyoto. However, at places such as USJ and the Aquarium we ran across many Koreans, Chinese, etc. I'm not quite sure why this is, it's just something I have noticed.

Special Class Schedules for the Special Exchange Students

2010-07-02T01:44:00.000-07:00

Right now there are two girls from Australia attending my school as "real" exchange students. I am in fact just a tourist visitor and cannot be defined as an "exchange student" but Takii tries to make my trip as close to an exchange program as possible.
Before Mel and Kiera came I attended classes like a normal student. Just the usual run-of-the mill Japanese classes.
However, these girls get a special schedule set up for them. They go only to English and Oral communications and various other fun classes such as Calligraphy or cooking. When they aren't going to classes they get to play on facebook or do homework in the International Room. Now that they are here I get to join them for many of these classes. Although I don't have "spares" (free periods) it livens up my schedule and, needless to say, makes school a lot more fun! We go together to Calligraphy, Japanese Culture, Cooking, various English classes, Japanese class (which takes place off campus and I will explain more about that another time), and sometimes we just watch a Japanese movie together. It is great fun! I have become very good friends with Mel, in fact, I jokingly refer to her as my Aussie twin for it is almost scary how alike our personalities are. I will be very sad to see them go back to Australia but I am definitely glad I got to meet them in the first place.

Today's cooking class creations. The ugly ones are mine ;)

Shodo class (Calligraphy)! In case you are wondering, in this picture I was making the ink I used to practice.

Melanie, Myself, and Kiera at the ATMs in the post office. We stopped by on our way back from our Japanese class.

Japanese Culture class!

Me and "my aussie twin" (also taken during Japanese Culture class)

Nara Day Trip!

2010-06-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

The day after my Japanese class came to Osaka I got to go to Nara with the two Australian exchange students and Carl. Carl, "forgot" to tell us that we didn't have to wear a uniform so Mel and Kiera wore free dress anyway assuming we could and I...well...let's just say I am a good student. I sweated through the day in my many layers of uniform.
However, it was still a blast!!! We visited two temples, my favorite one was the Todaiji Temple. This temple is apparently the biggest wooden building in the entire world! It was HUGE! Inside was the famous giant Buddha statue that many of you probably recognize. In a certain part of the temple there was a large hole in one of the posts that is apparently as big as his nostril. There is some sort of good thing that happens if you could fit through this hole but I don't know what it is. Anyway, I could have fit through it if I hadn't been wearing a skirt. *sigh* silly Carl >.<
Oh well, to be honest the nostril hole wasn't the thing I had been looking forward to believe it or not, so I wasn't too bummed. What really made my day were the famous deer parks. Nara is famous for it's "wild" deer which just roam around practically everywhere. However, these deer are far from "wild", they are so used to humans that you can pet them. There are also street vendors everywhere that sell deer treats and if you buy some of these you quickly find yourself surrounded by insistent, and extremely pushy deer. If you don't feed them quick enough they will nudge you or, rub their head on your leg, try and eat something else on your person, or, if they are real gentlemen, they will bow (needless to say the bowing ones got the most food). Since I was wearing a skirt these deer were constantly perplexed by how they couldn't rub their head on my leg without catching my skirt and almost flashing the whole park, or just getting their whole head under it. Or maybe they did realize and they are just as perverted as the wind that blows when you ride bicycles (oh jidensha... >.<). Either way I had a few close calls.

I loved Nara so much! It was absolutely beautiful and so tranquil. Although it was overrun by tourists (myself included), it was still a great experience!

A Bit of Home In My Bit of Not-So-Home

2010-06-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday all the people from my school in America who went on the Japan trip came to Osaka!! about 3 weeks ago I had been struck by a marvelous idea and since then I had been planning together with a teacher from my school(Carl) and my Japanese teacher (Mrs. Fullmer) to arrange something where my class could come visit my school and see a real Japanese high school. I could not have been more pleased at how it turned out!

Me, Carl, and the two other exchange students met Mrs. Fullmer and her possy at the train station right on time for 7th period. Then we all joined my homeroom class in the Japanese culture lesson for a special activity. Rather than going to Oral Communications, (which is what my class would normally do) they got to dress up some foreigners in Yukatas!! there were approximately 2 Japanese students to every American one and I think everyone had a blast all around. After that some of the girls showed how to do Japanese Tea ceremony and taught my classmates a little about it as well.
Afterward there was about 10 minutes free talking time between the American and Japanese students. The Japanese girls got to practice their English and the American girls got to practice their Japanese and everyone was happy.

We didn't end until well after school got out but no one seemed to really mind. Mrs. Fullmer and her group headed back to their hotel to drop off their stuff, Miyuu and I tagged along for we had all planned on going to Karaoke together afterward. However, because everything took longer than expected and Miyuu had to get home early, we ended up going to dinner with her instead. We went out for Okonomiyaki which none of the girls had tried before and it was super delicious!!!!!! Then we had to part with Miyuu and part of the group (who were saying they wanted to go back to the Hotel). Everyone shed a few tears over leaving this new friend they had made and then they said goodbye.

The girls who had stayed with me and Mrs. Fullmer(Lauren, Emily, and Holly) came to Karaoke with us!!!! It was sooooo fun! It is one thing to go to karaoke with your friends, it is quite another to go with your teacher, and ten times more fun too!
Since we are all Americans it was even more fun than before because we all knew almost all of the songs that everyone sang so we all sang them together! I had so much fun and it was so great to see people from home! I can't wait to see the rest of you when I return!

Mrs. Fullmer and Emily get dressed up by their new friends

Everyone posed for a picture together after the American's were Yukata-ified

A Japanese student shows everyone how to do Japanese Tea Ceremony

Everyone had a great time when they got to talk together for 10 minutes after "school" got out.

Breanna talks with her group of new Japanese friends!

Lauren was really thirsty after walking to the restaurant. She consumed not only her own water, but bits of mine and holly's as well. ^^

Holly and Richard on a busy Osaka street as we waited for everyone to finish purchasing their takoyaki.

Lauren and I rocked out together at Karaoke! It was fun to do this with Americans because we all knew the same songs so we could all sing together!

Watch Your Mouth!

2010-06-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

It is a well known fact that Japanese people are very helpful. This is a wonderful quality to have but as an American visiting Japan, you quickly learn when to hold your tongue. In America complaints such as "I'm hungry" or "my head hurts" are simply vaguely annoying but quite common. Japanese people are definitely not above complaining. "I'm hungry" "its so hot" etc etc are heard often. However, as a foreigner, the minute you speak openly about your discomfort it is like you put whichever Japanese person you are with into emergency mode. They will worry about said discomfort all day or until they can have it fixed.
They are also very sensitive to any interest you might show in anything around you. For example, I went out to dinner with Serina and her Aunt after USJ on Saturday. I knew we were running late and so we were hurrying through a shopping mall. I saw a store that looked interesting and all I did was simply look inside on our way past and Serina asked "Do you want to look around?". I of course replied that no, we had an appointment to get to and she looked pleased. As if I had passed a test. However, Test or not, I know that if I had said "yes" we would have done just that. She would have silently informed her aunt that we would be even more late but she probably would not have reminded me about our appointment. She simply would have made me as happy as possible and indulged in everything I wanted to do.

For the most part, this quality is a good thing. The sensitivity to others is something that I think everyone should have a bit of but as a gaijin, you learn very quickly when and how to subtly hint at what you would like to do without being direct, and when to keep your complaints and desires to yourself for the good of whichever freakishly accommodating Japanese person you are with.

Universal Studios Japan

2010-06-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

Today I got the opportunity to go to Universal Studios Japan(USJ) with my friend Serina!!! I was greatly looking forward to today because this was one of the things I wanted to do very badly when I came to Japan. USJ did not let me down! We arrived just as it opened and for a short time we were treated to fairly short lines. We rode some rides, watched some shows, and explored gift shops!

One of the shows I most enjoyed was the "Wicked" production. It was a greatly shortened and condensed version of the play that was acted using English AND Japanese (in case you are wondering how that works, they switched between the languages in seemingly random places).

For lunch we ate Caramel Popcorn and later (around 3:30) we stopped for some real food. Pizza. I have never paid so much for pizza before but I also have never tasted anything so good! It was italian style (rather than the usual greasy American stuff) with a splash of Japanese taste (in the form of tomato braised octopus on one of the pizzas). Looking at the menu I laughed as I spotted something really unusual. A pizza whose ingredients are "shrimp and potatoes". Kinda interesting, I was tempted to try it but I was afraid it wouldn't be worth $20.

The only unfortunate (or was it fortunate?) thing about today was the rain. It rained all day. It wasn't too heavy but it was enough to soak my pant legs halfway to the knee and enough to make carrying an umbrella an obnoxious but necessary task.
The appearance of said rain also was the reason we didn't go on some of the rides I had been looking forward to. Jurassic Park was shut down and we didn't want to get even more wet by trying Jaws.
However, the rain did help us in one way. It made all the lines much shorter! the average wait time for these rides was 30 minutes rather than the usual 1 or 2 hours. So I haven't figured out whether the rain was a blessing or a curse but it doesn't matter too much since today was fabulous anyway.

Homeroom Changes

2010-06-25T02:53:00.000-07:00

Since Monday I have been attending a new homeroom class. My previous homeroom class is currently preparing for their month long school trip to Canada so the school thought it best that I split my time at Takii between two classes. This new class is with the year one students (the equivalent of a highschool sophomore) and so far they are great!
Although I miss my old class very much since I made friends with literally every single one of them I am still enjoying making new friends in this class as well. I have gotten a little more than half of their names memorized but I haven't gotten all of them yet.
Hopefully soon I will be able to form some friendships that are as strong as the ones I made in my last class. Somehow, I think I will. :)

My apologies

2010-06-24T03:29:00.000-07:00

Hello my avid readers...or well, people obligated to read this blog because you are family or friends...
I am sorry that my blog posts have not exactly been very regular. I guess I suffered from a major case of writers block but I promise that I will right this wrong. You will get exactly 29 more posts for that is how many days I have before I return to the states.

Anyway, today I got the opportunity to attend the Brass Band club. Clubs in Japan are a big thing since they don't really have any fun classes the only fun thing about school is the after school activities. At my last school, as well as the first month of this school I was really indecisive about a club. There were so many to choose from I just couldn't decide. My exhaustion after an approximately 8 hour school day didn't help matters at all.
However, today was so fun!! Everyone practices individually or with friends for the first half of club activities. I peeked into one room with a bunch of 3rd years "practicing" (aka, talking and taking pictures of each other with their cell phones) and the next thing I knew I was surrounded by these same 3rd years then practically dragged into the practice room amidst a flurry of excited Japanese chatter and then posed for pictures from multiple cameras. Nothing makes you feel like a movie star like a group of Japanese school girls.
We spent the next hour or so just talking. They exclaimed in surprise at my "wonderful Japanese" and then proceeded to interrogate me about my likes, dislikes, things I want to do, and the usual do I "have a boyfriend". I attempted to learn their names (and almost succeeded, not quite) and we all got along quite well.
We laughed at each other as we each tried to pronounce different words in English and Japanese. The video I attached is my new friend Maria's version of "cereal".

Only the last 20 minutes were spent playing our instruments with the group and that was just as fun as talking had been. I do rather miss Band class. Maybe I have found the club I want to join!

Behind the Scenes: What It Took To Get Where I Am

2010-06-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

People always ask me how I planned my trip to Japan. Some of them are merely curious and some ask because they would like to do something similar. I personally believe this has been a life-changing experience for me and one that I think everyone should be able to enjoy so I am going to share with you all my not-so-secret secrets!

I spent almost a year preparing for my application to the "ideal" exchange program. I wished and hoped and wished again that it would work out for everything I had was dependent on getting accepted by this program. Needless to say, when I got rejected I didn't really know what to do. I didn't want to deal with the hassle (or the expenses) of applying for another program so it seemed the only other option I had was to make my own!

First I had to figure out more or less how this trip would lay out. I ideally wanted to go for 6 months because it is said that that is how long it takes to be fluent however, with my trip rushing in on me I realized that I did not want to deal with the hassle of getting a student visa. I can be here 3 months on a tourist visa (aka just a passport) and I realized this would just have to do. I asked around to find out what a reasonable sum to pay my host family for boarding me would be, I applied for a passport (of course), and I calculated approximately what all the expenses would be.

Next, I needed to find a host family. Thankfully I happened to have contacts in Japan through my Japanese aunt, my Japanese teacher, and my church (the LDS church). I am not exactly sure how the host families were found except that my aunt somehow contacted a church leader and the church leader found 2 families who would be willing to accept me. My Japanese teacher found one more willing family through a friend of hers who happens to live in Osaka. I decided to stay with one family from my aunt for 1 month and the family from my teacher for 2. With the first big hurdles done I was on a roll!

Lastly I needed to find something to fill my time while in Japan. I knew I wanted to go to school but I if that had not worked out I would have found a different sort of volunteer opportunity to make this trip really worthwhile! I asked my host families what the closest high schools were and it turned out that my host sister from my first family went to a school that loves exchange students. I wrote a formal letter to this school requesting that they allow me to be a visitor at their school. I offered to volunteer in the English classes if I couldn't be a student and basically assured them that I would respect their rules and be a great addition to their school. I had this letter translated into Japanese by my aunt and sent it off to the school. My second host family did basically the same thing for my second school. They went through about the same process.
For those of you wondering what the school's wanted of me this is what I provided for them:
-2 recommendation letters (one from principal, one from Japanese teacher)
-proof of health insurance that would cover me in Japan
-a few photos of myself (for the first school)
-and other various paperwork that will vary from school to school.

These 3 steps seem like very little but there are many little minute details that had to be planned in there as well but since every trip is different these details will vary. Basically the thing that made this trip possible was having contacts in Japan. Family, friends, church, teachers, etc, all of these are great resources for planning a trip to another country. The only thing you have to keep in mind with something like this is that there is always a way. Some plans may fall through, others won't work out quite like you wanted and all you can do is keep yourself open to many options and you can accomplish anything! To all those who are going to embark on a journey like mine I say "good for you! good luck! and you will never regret it!"

No Cheapskates Allowed

2010-06-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

I am going to take this opportunity to fill you all in on what I have been doing lately while at the same time comparing Japan and America as everyone expects me to do.

I become increasingly busier everyday at least 3 times a week I head off together with friends to a different destination. I've Osaka Castle for the first time, enjoyed the more karaoke (that never gets old), and gone shopping two days in a row! Almost everyday now is filled with a new adventure. This coming week I am looking forward to Universal Studios Japan, more karaoke, and probably a lot more. Each time I go out with friends I make it a priority to get purikura to remember the day by and so far I have done just that, my purikura collection is becoming quite vast.

However, the interesting thing is this: in America everyone is familiar with the phrase "just hanging out" which simply entails being together with friends. If you happen to have money you go see a movie, if no one has money then you just "chill" somewhere and do very little. Here, there is no such thing as "just chillin" when you want to hang out, you better have money because you will need it. I have not gone out once without spending at least 1000 yen (about $10). Because of this, play-dates are usually great fun and you don't often have to worry about long awkward silences or bored friends. You do, however, have to worry about going completely bankrupt.

Bunraku

2010-06-10T02:07:00.000-07:00

I had the great opportunity to go to a Bunraku performance with my school on Tuesday. For those of you who don't know, Bunraku is traditional Japanese puppet theater. Needless to say I did not understand a word of it but this didn't seem to be a problem because judging by the looks on their faces, I don't think any of my friends did either.
Bunraku uses very old traditional Japanese the language, imagine really difficult Shakespeare then times it by 10 and you probably have about the right idea of what I was attempting to understand....yeah, probably not gonna happen any time soon. Not only this but the narrator (Tayu) puts so much characterization into his voice that even the Japanese people needed subtitles to have any idea what he was saying. Imagine really nasally shouting with a lot of breaks into the vocal ranges that shouldn't be possible for a grown man with lots of long drawn out syllables and you have about the right idea of what a Tayu sounds like.
However, through the eyes of a theater geek this performance was interesting on a different level. It was so cool to see the Tayu and Shamisen player working together to weave this story. At times it seemed like they were almost trying to outdo each other in their performances but according to the brochure this is the way it always is and in all actuality their efforts matched each other perfectly. The Tayu went from talking to singing and back seemingly at random but his "singing" was something new altogether.
All the puppets were so complex they needed two or three people apiece to operate them and almost every limb down to their eyebrows were mobile making this performance far more intricate than your standard sock puppet show.

I don't think any of my friends quite understood why I said afterward that I thought the Bunraku was quite interesting, most of them dosed off before it was halfway through but I wasn't lying when I said it. Bunraku is as different a type of theater as you can get from my usual Broadway musicals and quite an experience.

photos courtesy of: eee.uci.edu/clients/sbklein/images/EDOTHEATER /bunraku/images/chanter02.jpg and http://www.pref.osaka.jp/en/attraction/culture/bunraku/img/main.jpg

America vs Japan: Reading Between The Lines

2010-06-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

Each conversation that people have has underlying currents and extra communication that goes on. The direct meaning of the words you say have little to do with what you communicate. However, I have noticed the means for this underlying communication is different from culture to culture.

In America, tone of voice and inflection is a very important communicator. You can say the exact same words simply in a different manner or place the emphasis on a different word and change the way your comment will be perceived. Sometimes we Americans are a little oblivious to feelings or emotions but tone inflection says a lot.

When you are participating in a Japanese conversation this is very different. Heavy inflection is not often used when speaking in Japanese. In fact, I vaguely remember someone once telling me that the reason most Americans have an accent when speaking Japanese is that they put so much inflection into the words.
Yet there is much more that is perceived in a conversation than you might think. The Japanese are very attuned to emotions. They are much more sensitive to how the other person is feeling or the atmosphere of the room and conversation in general than many Americans. I had a talk with my host sister about this the other day and she told me that when she attended BYU Hawaii, her professors would often ask her to "speak up" and voice her opinions because they couldn't understand why she was so quiet. She said she was surprised at how oblivious they were to her emotions if she didn't speak.

Everyone "reads between the lines", humans communicate in far more complex and descriptive ways than the words that are spoken would allow, and everyone does it differently. Next time you have a conversation with someone this is a good thing to keep in mind.

The New Girl. Again ;)

2010-06-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

As I sit here struggling to think of a clever and unusual to write this blog post and consuming large amounts of ice-cream like the American I was born to be I realize that I can't put off this post any more. In conclusion (or well, the conclusion of the introduction) you are just going to have to deal with a sad lack of originality. So suck it up and have a nice day ^^

Well, I am the new girl again. Not that I mind really, my first day of school was great. The first day is always the most entertaining for a gaijin exchange student. Unless of course you don't like being constantly stared at and admired out loud.
I was saved having to give multiple introductions by being asked to prepare one speech to give to the entire school. As an actor, large groups of people really aren't a problem for me, speeches have never really been a problem. However, put that speech in another language and I think Oscar winners would get nervous! Thankfully it went well and I didn't sound like a complete idiot.

Classes here are structured much the same way as at Mishima. We stay together as a homeroom class for every class except history in which half the class goes to another room for World History and half the class stays for Japanese History.
My classes are still practically impossible but I have taken to writing down all the notes solely for kanji practice. However, it's a given that I have no idea what I am writing on my paper, nor can I read it later.

As a private school, International Takii High School, is a bit different from the public Mishima. They are sticklers for the formalities, mainly the bow which we must perform before and after each class. Yet with this added strictness there is also a certain amount of freedom. Students actually speak up in classes here and ask questions when they have them and teachers talk a bit slower (which has done wonders for the gaijin's understanding level). There are other subtle differences but these are hard to put into words. Perhaps in the future (when my brain is not so clogged with writer's block) I will be able to describe these differences in more detail.

For today, I hope this simple description has sufficed.

gaijinzilla's alter-ego: UNIFORMzilla!

2010-06-04T05:08:00.000-07:00

Every morning I wake up and I am saved the effort of trying to put together some sort of outfit that doesn't look horrendous by having my clothing dictated to me in the form of a school uniform.

I don my pleated skirt and collared shirt and try to convince myself that I am a real Japanese school girl. However, this facade doesn't really last when I actually get to school. No matter how similar the uniform is a gaijin is still a gaijin. In fact I probably get more stares in a uniform than I did in casual dress. I guess I can understand though, it would be like seeing Godzilla waltzing around in a sundress. I would stare too.

It is hard for me to understand other's conversations but I do know enough to understand that when I hear "gaijin" and "seifuku" (uniform) in the same sentence it is safe to assume that they are talking about me. Now, I get the opportunity to make this assumption all the time!

Chapter 2: New Home, New School, New Experience.

2010-06-01T01:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made the move to the residence of my new host family. Due to this change I get the most thorough experience of Japanese culture because everything is very different than my last family. The only problem with this is that I feel like a newborn gaijin again!

I thought Takatsuki was a big city before(probably due to Mapleton being so small we only have 2 notable businesses) now I have moved to Osaka city. Which happens to be the 3rd largest city in Japan. I see now why Airi laughed when I noted how "big" Takatsuki was on my first day in Japan. I would have too.

Rather than my western bed in a western bedroom that I had become so accustomed to before I now reside in a traditional tatami room with a traditional futon to sleep on for the next two months.

After getting so very skilled at riding a bike on the terrifying Japan streets (or well, I didn't die every time I went out) now I must ride the bus to school and I am sure that will be an adventure in and of itself!

My new school is amazing, huge, beautiful, and "private". I thought I had a good handle on what Japanese schools were like and then I switched to a private one...hmmm. This isn't to say my new school is bad. No, in fact I will write a whole new post solely for its awesomeness. It is just, like everything else here, a bit different.

Thank you fate for giving me such a...thorough...Japanese experience. Hopefully I can come out of it alive, or at least sane.

Aisatsu: A Farewell to Mishima

2010-05-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Mishima High,
Well, we had our month together and it was wonderful. We made many good memories that I will remember for the rest of my life. Now I am turning the page to a different chapter in my life.

I am very glad that I got to experience Mishima High school. My first day of school was terrifying but you all welcomed me with open arms. I improved my Japanese a bit during that short time period but I still had a hard time understanding when I left (Which is code for, I absolutely had no idea what was going on most of the time). I didn't talk much because I didn't know how to say what I wanted to and I wasn't exactly the flamboyant outgoing person I am when I actually speak the language. In fact, I don't think I have been that quiet of a person since I was born.
I appreciated everyone who had the courage to come and say hello and I felt so bad when it took me so long to learn names. All you boys seemed to shy to really talk to me much but those of you who did were highly appreciated and all the girls who surrounded my chair on my first day of school and continually tried to communicate with the gaijin even though we all know it is difficult made my stay at Mishima even better.

I will miss you all but as we know, I am not leaving Japan till July 22nd. I hope to receive emails from every one of you (yes, this includes you boys too). Maybe, just maybe, yesterday will not be the last time I see you. ;)

sincerely,
the gaijin

QUIET! Testing in progress.

2010-05-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

Mishima just finished quarterly testing on Wednesday. Let me just say this, as a gaijin these 4 days were lovely! As a student who actually has to take, and pass, these tests, it must be hell on earth.

My days played out nicely during this week: wake up, go to school, sit in the library and listen to music for 3 hours, go home and play for the rest of the day. It was perfectly relaxing and a well needed break. I just count my lucky stars that I don't have to take those tests otherwise my schedule would be completely different. If Airi is any indication my day would probably be as follows: wake up 2 hours early, study, go to school, spend 3 hours wracking my tired brain for the answer to each grueling question, go home, study, eat lunch, study, eat dinner, study, take a shower, study go to bed as late as humanly possible probably still studying even in my dreams. At least I get a good 3 hours break from studying in there. Then again, does bedtime count as a "break"?

So there you have it, testing week. Or should I say Satan's days? I must say, my hat is off to all the superhuman students who attend, and pass, a Japanese high school. I guess there is a reason all Americans assume that if you are Japanese you must be a genius...it's probably true.

Inside barbecue. hmmm....

2010-05-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

We went to an interesting restaurant as a family today. Our table had a little pit in the middle of it with a grate over it. This turned out to be a mini fire pit although it was either electric or gas operated because we didn't have to build the fire itself.
The restaurant was buffet style so we paid once and got to order almost whatever we wanted (mostly meat but there was some vegetables available as well). They brought us our orders cut and seasoned but not cooked. That was our job! You know, people always say that Japanese people don't eat very much but oh boy when it comes to barbecuing I think these people could give even an American teenage boy a run for his money. We ate, and ate, and ate, continually adding more and more meat to that little grate over our fire until I felt like I had just finished Thanksgiving dinner and when we were all done with our roasted meat and veggies we ordered some ice cream to top it off! It was now that I realized that all of you who are expecting me to come back to America several sizes smaller are in for a surprise I have a feeling that the food here will do just the opposite to me!!

I did notice one thing today though that you all might find interesting and that is the tiny beverages. Here in Japan you have the option of water or soda or tea most of the time but the difference is the cup size. America's cups are huge. It takes me almost the entire meal to finish off my glass of water (for it is always water) but here my cup was tiny and there are no handy waiters to fill your glass as soon as they see it is empty. There is simply a spout where you get your own. Needless to say my family was astounded and amused as I got up 4 times to refill my teacup sized water glass and then promptly downed the whole thing in about 2 minutes. I guess they just don't understand an American's need for their beverages.

Rain!

2010-05-24T02:22:00.000-07:00

I don't usually like rain. The freezing cold rain that cuts like a knife which we get just after winter ends in Utah is not my idea of a "nice day". Once spring sets in you might get one or two 10 minute showers of perfect rain here and there but it never lasts. As soon as it's warm in Utah you can bet that there will be very little moisture till it's snowing again so I haven't really developed the greatest love for rain.

For some reason, all that changed today. Here in Japan it will start raining and continue for hours and hours on end. It could even last all day!
Before I thought of this as a hassle. I mean who likes putting on a huge bulky raincoat every time they go outside?! I certainly don't, and today I was just too lazy for any of that. As I unlocked my bike to return home from school I debated for about 3 seconds as to whether or not I wanted to go through that trouble and came to the decision that rain can't be that bad.
By the time I got home 20 minutes later, not only was I utterly soaked to the skin but I was enjoying that rain so much I didn't want to go inside. It was perfect! It wasn't cold rain. There was no freezing wind to drive the droplets straight through your clothes and chill you to the bone. Feeling the little splashes of water on my face and hands seemed to wash away all my thoughts about anything and everything and I reveled in the pure enjoyment of it!
I must have been a poor sight to all those passing me. The only one on the street without a raincoat or an umbrella smiling like a retard and riding her bike as slowly as possible, but who cares! This gaijin likes the rain and let's just say this, once rainy season comes on I think I will come home soaking wet a lot more often!

just "hanging out"

2010-05-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

In America when I tell you I am going to go "hang out with my friend(s)" I usually mean sit at home chatting for 4 hours. Maybe we will take this chatting to the mall but that is about as exciting as it gets in Utah. Hanging out with friends in Japan is an adventure and a party that can take up an entire day without you getting bored! For example: Yesterday.

Yesterday I got to hang out with a friend from school, Masami. Let me just say this, I have not had that much fun "hanging out" in a long time! It was the start of testing so we got out of school at about 11:00, (as soon as the tests for that day were finished) and we headed out to lunch first. I have been craving greasy American food like nothing else lately so we went for some McDonalds. (How much more American can you get?!). We spent the next 5 hours singing Karaoke, eating some donuts (sugar to contrast the previous grease), and shopping!

Karaoke in Japan is amazing. This was my first experience with karaoke and let me just say this: WOW! Why in heaven's name do we not have one of these places in Utah?!! We got a little room to ourselves with a huge TV and a huge, and I mean HUGE, book of songs to choose from. We rocked out to The Beatles, Franz Ferdinand, Blue Hearts, and much much more! Eventually our time ran out and we had to leave that little room of awesome but that is OK because in Japan, there is ALWAYS something else to do!
We went out for donuts!! There are no words good enough to describe these delicious circles of goodness so you will just have to use your imagination.

Following the donuts came shopping!! We rode our bikes down to the closest shopping mall and stayed there for an hour or so. That is the one thing that is the same in America and Japan, Shopping. You can probably figure out what that was like without a lengthy description.

To end my day after returning home from my awesome adventure with Masami I went to eat Ramen for dinner with Airi! Now if you think those little packages of dehydrated noodles and salt that call themselves ramen are tasty after eating ramen in Japan I think you need to get all your taste buds removed for you are not worthy to have them anymore. This ramen was SOOOO good and that bowl was HUGE. This is probably the only thing in Japan that comes in a huge serving size. A huge delicious serving size. ^^ It was the perfect end to a perfect day!

Irony Slap In The Face!

2010-05-20T00:12:00.001-07:00

Today I attended a meeting with my next host family and a possible school for the months of June and July. I experienced my first subway ride all alone. This was extremely nerve-wracking as I was absolutely positive I would get on the wrong train and end up who knows where!

Anyway, the meeting itself went very well. We discussed what classes I would attend and buying a school uniform and various other things. Apparently I have been accepted at that school. Wow lucky! The rules in this new school are much more strict than at Mishima. It is a private school so students cannot wear any jewelry, nor can they have a part time job, or even a boyfriend. I decided I can live with this though because it will be interesting to compare private schools to public schools.
However, it was as we left that the surprise came. Michiru (my future host sister) turned to me and said, "So, I didn't know this before but apparently Takii High School is an all girls school."

The exchange program I applied for was for an all girls school but I got rejected and so I looked on the bright side with "well, maybe at least I can attend a co-ed school!" and I have enjoyed my co-ed experience. Now as Michiru pointed this out it was so funny to me that even though I got rejected from the exchange program before, the new "home-made" exchange program is starting to look scarily similar to what I would have experienced...huh.

Looks Tasty!

2010-05-19T01:03:00.000-07:00

Japanese food always looks very tasty. They are much more conscious of the physical characteristics as well as the taste so everything must LOOK just as good as it tastes. However, sometimes you have to be careful because not only are they good at making real food look delicious but they have a strange obsession with making FAKE food just as tasty looking!

Japanese souvenir shops have some strange obsession with inedible but extremely tasty looking food! I have seen food magnets, food erasers, food coin-purses, candy that looks like sushi, and pointless imitations of food which have absolutely no use! The freakiest part about this is that they are so very good at making this food look real. Many of the things I run into look quite edible and in fact, extremely delicious. I guess the shop owners just love laughing at my dismay when I realize that bento is not even real. *sigh*

Kimono Throughout Kyoto

2010-05-15T02:09:00.000-07:00

Kimonos are a commonly wanted souvenir by many gaijins who travel to this magnificent country. What we ignorant white girls don't know though is how very expensive kimonos are. I too wanted a kimono very badly. Everyone who knows me knows I love to dress up and feel like a princess. I love formal wear! Yet alas, a kimono is a bit out of my price range. >.<
So Shizumi and I decided to just rent one when we went to Kyoto to see the Aoi Matsuri!
Renting a Kimono for one day was not nearly as expensive as buying one and it saved me some trouble as I didn't have to dress myself. A nice Japanese girl styled my hair so beautifully and another nice Japanese girl helped me put on this extensive piece of clothing. My kimono had many MANY layers to it. I tried to count them as they were removed at the end of the day and this is what I believe I wore: 3 pieces of various underclothing, 4 straps to be tied around my waist in between various layers, and 4 belts of a sort which were also tied around my waist in between various layers. That is what I counted but there were so many I may have miscounted!

After...kimono-ing (?) me, we headed out onto the streets of Kyoto! We first visited some sort of...festival I think. There were many many little stands in the yard of a large beautiful temple of a sort. Almost everything (if not every single thing) was handmade so it was all quite amazing however, expensive. I only purchased one thing here and that was a water color sketch of myself which a girl who looked like she couldn't be over 25 did for me in just 15 minutes!

Eventually we made our way over to watch the Aoi Matsuri, which is more of a parade than a festival. It was a long procession of traditionally dressed people. The last person in the line (or well, almost the last) was a lady dressed in a Kimono which apparently has 12 layers! Geez and I thought mine was hot! I am glad I was not her!

My apparel got the most interesting results all day! It seemed to impress the older generations mostly. I had many kind old "obaasans" staring and telling me how cute I was but the little kids liked it too. One wide eyed little girl proclaimed "o-hime-sama!" as I passed (which translates to "a princess!") and a little boy, probably around 3rd or 4th grade professed his love for me. If only all the older boys could be as smooth as him!

Now I have finally returned home. Although I was very sorry to see that beautiful piece of clothing being carried off, I am glad to be home in one layer clothing that actually allows me to slouch (which I am presently doing). It is also nice to be able to take normal steps. Walking in that thing must be an art form because it was very difficult. Most of the time I just felt like a colorful penguin.

America vs Japan: High School greetings

2010-05-14T00:12:00.000-07:00

The manner in which American high school students greet one another is initially the same as that of a Japanese high school students. Every morning as school starts you hear various "good mornings" echoing through the hall from person to person no matter which country you are in. However, this simple phrase is where the similarities stop.
A typical Japanese person will simply say the ritual "ohayou" then return to whatever they may be doing (which is usually studying for an upcoming test, or finishing any homework due that day). In some cases the "good morning" may be followed by comparing of homework between the two. Everyone arrives at school right as it is about to start so there really is very little before school socializing.

In an American high school, tests and homework are usually far from the students minds. The casual "good morning" is usually shouted across a lunchroom or a hallway and then quickly followed by the usual good morning hugs. When this exchange is between two girls then 3 out of 10 times the greetings are more of a shriek and the hugs usually consist of running across the classroom, hall, or lunch room to embrace wildly as if the hadn't seen each other in many years. As most of my friends are "theater people" my usual morning greetings everyday were an elaborate and noisy affair. Many people arrive at school long before school starts and use the extra time to socialize. Now I have to mention this, I attend a very small school (called a charter school) and the dynamics between the students is very different than at a normal school. This is probably the cause of this over-exaggerated student to student love. NOTE: I cannot speak for all schools as I have never attended a normal high school. All my comparisons of "American and Japanese high schools" is just my personal experience. It may not always be blunt fact.

One of my teachers asked me today what I think of Japan so far. I told him I love it here, everything is so amazing but there is just one thing I miss and that is hugs. My good morning hugs which were so casual before has now become the thing I miss most of all. I suppose I will become accustomed to this new idea of personal space, Japan certainly makes up for it in every other way possible. However, when I return, I want 50 hugs from everyone.

Gaijinzilla, It's a sickness!

2010-05-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

So, I started this blog mainly for my family back home and the Japanese class but turns out, a lot more people are interested than I thought. Not only do the majority of my teachers follow this blog but Mishima high school has asked permission to link my blog to their website as well as Osaka Girl's Senior High School (which was the exchange program I did not get accepted to). My homeroom teacher printed my last post about the Ensoku and read it to the entire class during homeroom today.
This was mildly embarrassing because of my light mocking of the boys in our group but I don't mind. Everyone who knows me knows I love to be the center of attention so this was fine by me.

I have also been asked to tell the class everyday something new I learned about Japan. Whether it be a name, a new vocab word, or just an interesting cultural note it doesn't matter.

So there ya go. The "Gaijinzilla" has spread! It must be a sickness because everyone seems infected by it.

Ensoku!

2010-05-12T02:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the long awaited school-wide outing (Ensoku: Picnic, outing, etc). Each homeroom class planned a different thing in a different place so rather than staying together like field trips in America each homeroom had a different bus all headed in a different direction. This trip isn't like a field trip as you would think though. In America, our field trips are usually "learning experiences", I don't believe you can even go anywhere without linking it into your classroom discussions somehow.
This trip was completely education free! In fact, our homeroom class barbecued! We travelled to Shigaken and then split into groups to BBQ. Our group cooked a lot of meat. It was quite delicious, Beef, Chicken, Octopus, Crab, various other seafood. With a bit of vegetables and some pineapple on the side.

Once again I had a hearty laugh to myself as I noticed the oh so tough boys had no idea how to build a fire. It was quite entertaining to watch them put on their gloves and when they saw me start lighting the fire glove free they expressed their shock then quietly removed their gloves as well. However, I was in for a surprise. Charcoal is different from wood. It took me 3 times the time to get that fire going. This still managed to impress my group but it made me so angry because that fire just would not do what I wanted it to.
After barbecuing everyone cleaned up and played a few games in the field close by. I noticed something interesting too, in America the genders are always intermingled. No one is shy at all, there is absolutely no such thing as cooties. Here, the boys and girls are VERY separate. The girls always stick in one group and the boys keep to themselves as well. Sure they are friends and all but not close. I guess they are just shy. Who knows! I do know this though, if I were too afraid to talk to boys I would have missed out on some of the best, truest friends in the world.

The bus ride to and from Shigaken was extremely long (I think it was around 3 hours but I didn't keep track so I am not sure) but they pulled out some Karaoke. Yes, Karaoke and it all went quite quickly. I also took this time to learn a couple more names! I have gotten Shouko, Riyo, Haruki, and Decchi, down. but I still have a long way to go!

Jidensha....shiver

2010-05-10T13:56:00.001-07:00

Everyday I go to and from school by jidensha (or, bicycle). On an average day in Japan you will see at least 100 different bicycles. At certain points in the day these bicycles stretch as far as they eye can see! Everyone rides bicycles to school or work everyday, rain or shine, pants or skirt. This requires much more skill than you would think. First day I rode a bike in Japan was probably the scariest experience ever. It is hard to describe how scary riding bikes in Japan is but these people must have it down to an art form in order to not have many major accidents every day! Streets in Japan are very narrow so as a pro Japanese bicycler you must become very good at judging exactly how big your bike is and squeezing it into the narrowest places possible. This is usually right in between a moving car and a gutter. Mornings and evenings everyone is going to or returning from work so this makes life even more difficult for now you have to add weaving in and out of business men and school girls to your repertoire of skills! As if that is not enough, rainy days make this REALLY interesting. You think riding a bike one-handed is a fun little skill to have at home. Well, try riding carrying and umbrella in one hand and attempting to deftly make minute turns in order to avoid major accidents (you can never turn too hard or you will run into something, or someone).
School girls in Japan have to be particularly skilled for everyday they add a skirt to this fiasco. I guess that wind must be the biggest pervert of them all because it loves to blow right up your skirt and attempt to flash everyone around.

Granted, riding bicycles is great exercise. Yes, when I return to America I plan on buying a beach cruiser and riding to school every day. However, if any of you ever plan on making a trip to Japan. Please, please! hone your bike riding skills because trust me, they aren't as good as you think. Believe me, it will save you AND some poor pedestrian a lot of terror.

Deja Vu!

2010-05-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the International Exchange Club from Mishima put on a welcome party for me after school. It was so fun! The ESS club joined us. Don't ask me what ESS stands for. I think it is "English Speaking....something" all I know is that it is the club for girls who want to practice English.
What was interesting about this party is the food though! It was Takoyaki! It felt like my first day all over again but with different people! The Takoyaki was as delicious as ever and talking to the British teacher's assistant was really fun. It is always fun to talk to Katie because we can compare 3 cultures at once! America vs the UK vs Japan.

Girl's Camp

2010-05-06T02:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry these posts are out of order. I just decided to write another post to make up for the multiple days on which I did not post anything.

Girl's Camp in Japan was very different from America but super fun! The leader of my group, Naomi, speaks English so she acted as my translator the whole time which gave me a well needed break from the constant headaches and lack of understanding which I have gotten used to. It was very refreshing.

Everyday (except for one of the dinners)each group of young women would make their own meals. In fact, Dinner on our first day there was a cooking contest (we won 2nd place!) It was really interesting to make Japanese meals over a fire. Because I can't cook worth crap I immediately volunteered to make the fire. I have had lots of practice building fires so I quickly had one burning but it seems you don't build fires often in Japan because no one else had it so easy. I ended up helping all the groups build their fires as well. It was nice to know something no one else did for once. :P I have gotten so used to being the stupid one.

Our hike the on the 2nd day was killer! The mountain is VERY steep so going up was difficult progress but the countryside is absolutely gorgeous! The colors are so vibrant here and there is just so much green!

Overall Girl's Camp was a very refreshing thing. All my stress from the first week in a foreign country was alleviated and I am now ready to start again!

a summary of the pictures:
first is Naomi
second is me and my group "Sasami-sama" (which is the first sound of all our names spelled into a word. Sasami meaning: chicken meat)
third is everyone from the Takatsuki ward (this was a stake camp)
and all the rest are various pictures I took on the hike

Shinto Shrine

2010-05-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Children's Day but I didn't go to any Matsuri because I did not get home from Girl's Camp until about 1:30 and then I promptly fell asleep. I did, however, go for a walk with my host mother to see a Shinto Shrine. It was very beautiful and quite interesting! I understood only little bits and pieces of Shizumi's explanation so I don't trust myself to explain the pictures to you so I am sorry. I hope the pictures are good enough!

Kobe

2010-05-01T02:16:00.000-07:00

Today the International Exchange club from Mishima went to Kobe. Since Airi is part of that club I tagged along. It was very interesting. Kobe is the city where many of the immigrants moved to so a large majority of it is ethnic (mostly Chinese I believe)
We all met at the subway station and shortly thereafter I got to ride a subway for the first time ever!! To be honest, I didn't like it. It made me slightly carsick...or well...trainsick :P

When we got there though it was worth it. First we came across an ongoing Matsuri. This was a flower festival and an entire street was blocked off so that hundreds of people could make huge pictures in the street with flower petals! The pictures were very ornate and really cool!

We also visited the historical house of some historical figure. I couldn't tell you whom this figure is though because everything was in Japanese so I didn't understand a word of it. sorry. Use your imagination.

The Islamic Mosque which we also visited was quite beautiful and one of the teachers bought a box of dates from the Islamic grocery store across the street. I was the only one who knew what they were (thanks mom) so I felt pretty smart. ;)

Then we went to some sort of emmigration center. This was very interesting! The presentation given to us by a nice old man I didn't understand but the exhibits all had English so by the time we left I had a general idea of everything. I believe this was the place where, many years ago, they trained groups of people to prepare them to emmigrate to another country, mainly Brazil but the emmigrants went many places.

We then continued on to China Town. I'm sure you can figure out what that is. We ate lunch in a delicious Chinese restaurant. And then visited a museum about China. After all this we still had a bit of time left so our advisers told us what time to meet up and we were let loose to go shopping in China Town. I had a great time!

To finish off the day, as me and Airi waited for her mother to come pick us up she took me to the arcade and I experienced the joys of Purikura!!! ooh yes, this is my new favorite Japanese thing. It is is similar to the photo booths at the mall except AWESOME! You get to choose the backround design and after the pictures are taken you go to another booth and you draw on your photos and label them! It is way fun! The sheet which you get at the end has all your pictures on it in sticker form so you have your own face-sticker! I love it! I mean, what could be better than my face on a sticker?!

how fascinating can a gaijin be?

2010-04-30T01:05:00.000-07:00

People here are so funny. I guess it isn't rude to openly stare in this country because I get that a lot. The girls are all so entertaining though. Everyday I am approached by a new group of girls wanting to know all about me. Today as I was walking down the hall a girl I have never seen before ran to catch up with me then handed me a little Japanese candy saying "a present for you". It was so cute! I actually held a pretty decent conversation with another group of girls. I didn't stumble over my words and we were able to communicate without any hitches. I was quite proud of myself. I also showed my pictures of Utah to the International Exchange club. They were very impressed and kept saying that they want to go there.

On a completely different note, here is a handy tip for the Japanese students back home:
Some of my most commonly used words are these. Chigau and Onaji (different and same) I have found these words to be the easiest way to explain why I do or do not know how to do something. "Amerika wa chigau" (America is different) is my favorite phrase. and "Amerika/watashi no gakkou wa onaji" (america/my school is the same) is a phrase that saves alot of useless instruction for whomever you may be talking to. So there ya go, Vocab lesson of the day!

food

2010-04-29T05:08:00.001-07:00

All my meals in this house look like they came from a gourmet 5 star restaurant! The Japanese tradition of sitting down to eat together for every meal is so nice. We eat breakfast and dinner as a family and if there is no school then we eat lunch together as well.
Meals are perfectly balanced and the proportions are perfect. There is no "left-over day" because Shizumi makes just enough for one day. Here are pictures of my meals from the last 2 days.

1st picture: Tuesday's Dinner
2nd picture: Wednesday's breakfast
3rd Picture: Wendesday bento
4th picture: wednesday dinner (gyouza)

The last few pictures are actually of me making Gyouza for the first time though. Shizumi taught me how!

4 M's: Movie, Mall, Matsuri, and Kaiten Zushi...wait...

2010-04-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

I had today off school so we filled it up to the brim with other activities. First, Me and Shizumi went to a Matsuri (or festival) for the upcoming Children's Day, which is on May 5. It was very similar to the usual little festivals in America yet at the same time it was COMPLETELY different. The games were different and the food was different. My cultural snack of the day was Taki (or, squid) on a stick. It was actually pretty tasty although hard to chew. There was also an absolutely awe-inspiring Taiko performance. A Taiko is a tradition Japanese drum and it was a high school club that performed for us. Apparently this club is very well known for being amazing and I can certainly see why. They were fabulous! My pictures just can't do justice to how awesome the performance was!

After the Matsuri we all went to go see a movie and geez was it crowded! Yeah, that picture of all the people...those are the people waiting in the huge winding line in front of us! When we got to the front they had 4 seats left (just barely enough) but I find it interesting that in that movie theater there are assigned seats. You don't come early to get a good seat. You buy your ticket early to get a good seat. We saw Alice In Wonderland and yes, that IS the American Alice in Wonderland but there were subtitles. It seems that unlike America, Japan is actually open minded enough to accept media from other countries.

The Mall...or was it a department store...hmmm...oh well. The vastly enormous building that sells everything and anything had 4 floors! the 4th floor was an arcade and movie theater and all the other ones had absolutely everything you can think of for sale. It wasn't like the Provo Mall either. This thing was so complex I easily would have gotten lost had it not been for the map which Shizumi picked up. Also in this "mall" was something I have never heard of before. A little lounge for which I assume you need a membership to enter. Here they have drinks and comfy chairs so you can sit and rest before continuing your shopping spree. It was quite refreshing

It was in this maze of a building that we ate lunch and dinner. Dinner was okonomiyaki which was absolutely delicious. This is another Osakan favorite apparently. As you can see, the waiters cook it right on your table!
Lunch however was even more memorable. We had kaiten-zushi (you told me to try it and I did Mrs. Fullmer!) this little restaurant consists of a little conveyed belt which goes all the way around the store and you just pick up whatever sushi you want off of it. Then, when you are done they charge you for all the empty plates you have. Each plate is color coded and there is a little key on the table so you can see how much it will cost. That beloved little conveyor belt brought us some freaking TASTY sushi! Although, every once in a while something really odd would make it's way around. like, for example, a little bowl of fries! Don't ask me why, Airi didn't know either.

Random Pictures and Random Stories

2010-04-28T03:50:00.001-07:00

Calligraphy was the first class I experienced at Mishima. The teacher speaks very little English but we were able to get by. That class is my favorite one though. I started with a very basic lesson but after a little the teacher asked me which character was my favorite. When I answered "ai" (love) which is the very first character that came to mind the 3 girls around me gasped and then started laughing because apparently ai is a very difficult character. So I chose a different one, however, about 10 minutes later the teacher looked through all my practice tries of the easier character she suddenly decided to let me try "Ai". These are my final 2 practices of the character and the teacher seemed so pleased that she had me show them to the entire class and proclaimed to everyone that this is my first time learning calligraphy.

The second and third pictures were taken today during lunch hour. The 2nd is simply a picture of me with some of the new friends I have made and the 3rd will probably make no sense to you even when I tell you that it is supposed to be an O-Bento. One of the girls put it together and for some reason, that was the funniest thing in the world to us. we laughed about it for a long time :P

Japanese High School: A Little Cultural Note

2010-04-28T03:30:00.001-07:00

Everyday when I get to Mishima, rather than waltzing right through the front doors. Airi and I must go around to the back door which leads into a locker room of types (this "locker room" is for boys and girls) here you take off your outside shoes and replace them with the school slippers and you put your regular shoes and your gym clothes in the locker.

Rather than moving individually from class to class you have a homeroom class and you spend much of your time with them. Also, only a few classes do you actually leave to another classroom for. For the other classes, the teachers are the ones who rotate around. The style of the lessons are very lecture oriented. There is little to no discussion and the teachers tend to talk very quickly (I think this is in order to fit as much information as is physically possible into one hour.)

Mishima has a courtyard similar to Merit's except awesome. It is much bigger and the plant life there is gorgeous. During the lunch-hour (which really IS an hour, not the measly 30 minutes I am used to)you find many art students there.

The only unfortunate thing about Mishima is the bathrooms. It is here that I first experienced the joys of the "squatty potty" seriously...I don't even think I can describe how fun those things are... xP However, if I thought THAT was bad, I wasn't prepared to clean one. My group after school was in charge of the bathrooms so my first day at school was quite...memorable.

Gakkou

2010-04-27T01:51:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day at school. It has been raining heavily all day so Airi's and my 20 minute bike ride to school was...fun.
I went to the school yesterday to talk to one of the teachers and work out my schedule and I thought people were curious then! Today when I got to school everyone stared at me as I passed. I am the only English speaking exchange student (there is another from Taiwan but he is not nearly as interesting I guess.) All day various students would peek their head in my classroom door to see the new gaijin student.
At one point in time I had literally a circle of giggling girls all around my desk trying to ask me questions in English AND Japanese. Every time I say anything, the immediate response is usually "KAWAII!!!" which I have now heard more times than I can count.
The boys were much more reserved however I could see them stare at me whenever I ran into them in the hall. If they hadn't seen me already that day you could see the surprise in their faces as they exclaimed the usual "OH!" which I have found is a vowel Japanese boys seem to like. Then they would turn and start animatedly talking to whomever they were with. A few of the boys (with the help of an entire possy cheering them on) got up the courage to catch my eye and say hello or "welcome to Mishima" in one case.

The attention of all the students at Mishima is not the bad kind though. It is kind of entertaining actually to be such a novel item. All of you who know me know I love being unusual and standing out. Well, I think this is the most I can/have/will ever stand out and it is hilarious!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera today so I don't have pictures yet. But tomorrow I will bring it and take lots of pictures! However, for all of you who are wondering what my school is like...it seriously feels like I just stepped into one of those shoujo manga I used to enjoy reading so much. The style of the school building is VERY similar to that depicted in most manga (think fruitsbasket) and the reactions of everybody here seems like it came right out of a story book. It is so very cliche yet I am loving every minute of it.

Tomorrow I will post all my pictures and I will go into a more detailed description of how classes are run but for now be satisfied with this: I love my Calligraphy class (my teachers seemed to think I was very good as they kept commenting on everything I did and even showed the entire class the kanji I had written) and I think I have a new found love of P.E. as it is the only class I can understand.

"hyaku en shoppu" (this is for you Mrs. Fullmer)

2010-04-26T04:04:00.000-07:00

upon the advice of Mrs. Fullmer I went to the "hyaku en shoppu" or dollar store with shizumi-mama while Airi was at school. and all I have to say is this: you were right Mrs. Fullmer, it IS way cooler than our dollar stores. they had everything there! Including, yes, alcohol. however, as you can see in the last picture, there is also non-alcoholic beer for whomever may be driving. lol

Of all the things to make high-tech...

2010-04-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows how high tech the Japanese people are and it is totally true. Every electronic thing I have seen so far has been really crazy awesome! However, of all the things to be so very high tech that I can't figure it out, why in heaven's name does it have to be the TOILET?!
Sure, the padded and heated seat is really nice but those other buttons just confuse me. Although, I guess i should look on the bright side. It is not one of those disgusting little "squatty potties" that I ran into in the Beijing airport. Although, if I am gonna have to ask my host family how to work something I would rather it not be the toilet...

I made it!

2010-04-25T05:13:00.000-07:00

The very first Japanese phrase that was directed at me since my arrival in Japan was from an adorable little old lady. It consisted of: "kawaii!...Wakai!...kawaii!" (and in all actuality, it was referring to me but I am not sure if she was talking to me or the person next to her. Probably both). This translates into: cute!...young!...cute!

When I got to my host family's house I had about 3 hours to take a breather and unpack my suitcases a bit before Airi took me to my "welcome party" which was hosted by the young women of the ward. I stumbled my way through communications the whole time. Airi actually speaks english fairly well so using our combined skills we are able to make ourselves understood and she, in turn, acts as my unofficial translator for the other girls if I don't know how to say something in Japanese. It works out.

We ate an Osakan favorite (according to Airi) called Takoyaki. The name of this tasty food is translated into: Octopus Balls.
now, I could tell you that this is simply a tasty fried ball of batter with octopus chunks and other tasty ingredients inside. but something tells me your own imagination could do a much better job filling in the blanks...

The Time Has Come

2010-04-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have been saving my money for 2 years now. Ever since I started work at the local Subway I have been saving every penny I earn to make this 3 month trip to Japan. There were many hiccups along the way, I didn't get accepted to the program I applied for, I had to shorten my trip from the ideal 6 months to 3 because of my lack of a Student Visa, and many more. Now the time has finally come for my dream to come true.

I will be uploading all the pictures I take on this blog for everyone to see and I will include short summaries of what I have been doing in Japan so that all of you in America can feel like you are part of my trip as well!

Wish me luck and please comment because I love reading what people have to say :)

ps. thank you to Emily Cutler for giving me the idea for the name of this blog ;)