A little bit of culture

Today is SUBWAY culture:

First we start with an anecdote. Well, more like a series of short observations.
For some reason, some people have a hard time finishing their primping in the house. You would be surprised by the number of females I have seen put on their make-up in the train, morning, noon and night. Sure, when the train is super crowded, there’s no way to manage this, but around 9:30 am, when the numbers have died down a little, there is enough space to manage this. I have seen eyeliner applied, mascara, blush, lipstick. You name it, I’ve probably seen it. I watched in amazement as one young lady put her contacts in while the train was moving! Impressive! The most appalling was this morning, around 10 am. I saw a man plucking his chin hairs. I would like to think that he could have shaved at home and saved himself a little bit of embarrassment. But, no, it’s not embarrassing, because in theory, no one is looking at you. I was looking.

Next! We look at the other important etiquette of the trains: Drunken behavior.

Please do not sleep on the trains! They are not your home. I know, they are really, really comfortable, but think of the other guests. Also, think of how embarrassing it is to be this drunk on a train that is probably really crowded.

my rough translation: let's do it at home.
After drinking, please be considerate of other customers

This is one in a series of monthly train etiquette reminders. I apologize for not getting the previous three months, I assure you they were as interesting as this one (One reminded us to be wary of our wet umbrellas, another noted that we probably shouldn’t carry our giant backpacks and eat from our lunch boxes on the train. “Do it in the mountains” is what it said. The final one was along these lines, it showed a group of people drinking on the train, and proclaimed “Do it at the pub!”).
---
On another, totally unrelated not, I chilled with some Earlham friends last week. Two of them were my best Earlham buds, Damon and Mariah! We went around Tokyo, hitting up the cool spots like Harajuku, Akihabara and TOKYO TOWER. It was my first time, and it was pretty cool. We only went up the first observation deck, because it cost extra to go higher. Don’t you like how much I rule my life by my wallet? It is much, much lighter after the past two weeks (I just bought a sweet winter jacket!). Oh, it was also my birthday that week, so they helped me celebrate. Yeah, I’m 21. Probably too old to be blathering away like this. That’s my cue!!

Me, Mariah and Damon. Chilling with some baby-jizos.
Yeah...I'm glad the dude who took this did not run off with my camera!!

OMG ME AT TOKYO TOWER! ^_^

See you next time!

I have many memories...

...but a limited attention span!

First, I would like to apologize. I have been slacking (two weeks or so, yes?). I think what started it was my poor job interview, which only fueled my lack of motivation. After that, the days just sort of blur together, so I’ll just apologize one last time for being lazy.

I would like to start by telling you about a local festival called ‘Tori no Ichi’. As some of you may know, I live near Senso-ji, which is a pretty famous Temple in Tokyo (It is the second most popular place to go on New Year’s Eve!). Between my house and Senso-ji there is another Temple, called Chokoku-ji (as you might have guessed, ‘ji’ means temple. It is held every year in November, on the day of the ‘tori’ (which means bird), i.e. rooster (This year, it was held on the 5, 17, 29! Three times! I was very lucky).

Without looking it up online, I will tell you my very basic understanding of this festival: people from all over Tokyo come to pray at Chokoku-ji for protection against accidents (like car accidents) and for good luck with money. You can also buy ‘kumade’, meaning bear hand (claw), which will help you ‘rake’ in money (see picture for reference!). Also, on these three days, the main street that the temple is on is lined with food stalls (and the occasional dried fruit/fish vendor or traditional Japanese spice vendor). On the days of the festival, I had Okonomiyaki for dinner, mmm!

These are the 'kumade'. The whole inside of the temple was lined with
stalls that were selling them. It was magical!
Not the best pictures, eh? All four of them are inside the temple.
If you search 'Tori no Ichi' on google, you can get a lot more photos,
and better ones too. I am not great at picture taking...yet.

Next, I want to tell you all about our group trip

((Two quaint views...the first is when Kathleen and I walked to the convenience store,
the second is the entrance to the Shinto Shrine))

Next, I want to tell you all about our group trip to Yamanashi, a small town near Mt. Fuji. Let me give you a quick itinerary of the trip: Depart around 9:00 AM (I think? I don’t remember the exact time) from Takada no Baba (which is about 40 minutes from my house. Arrive at the Yamanashi hostel/dorm at around 1:30 PM (Again, I forget exact time). Have an hour and a half, two hour meeting about what we will be doing in February. Go to a public onsen (hot bath!) and soak our cares away. Then dinner, another hour-long meeting, nomikai (drinking party), and finally sleep.

Fuji-san! Can you see the top? No..

The next day, about half of us hiked to the lake, and we looked at Mt. Fuji (It was quite cloudy, so we couldn’t see the top!). Then, a few of us went with our Japan Study faculty advisory (Paul Watt) and walked to some local temples. This was GREAT. We went to both a Buddhist and a Shinto temple. It is really amazing how these two religions are fused in Japan.


The first is the bell at the Buddhist temple, the second is the
sumo ring at the Shinto Temple. Did you know
that sumo wrestling is a Shinto tradition? I did not!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first post in a long time!
I miss you all!

My hand hurts!

Why does my hand hurt? Well, because I have spent the last two hours working on my resume (which you'll get a nice picture of, NEXT entry) and writing post cards! Some of you lucky devils might receive one...in a month or so!

Well, last Friday I saw an AMAZING Kabuki play. I can safely say that I love Kabuki. It was So. Funny! The Kabuki play I saw is called"Sumidagawa Gonichi No Omokage". And it was a pretty avant-garde, if I do say so myself. Why? It was the 'New York Version'. What does this mean? First, it was performed in New York. Duh. Also, those foreigners who wanted, could hear the English translation while they watched. Because of this, I was a little more into it. The main reason it was so 'avant-garde' was because one of the main characters, Hokaibo, would actually do his monologues in ENGLISH! Now, if any of you have seen clips of Kabuki, you know that they way it is spoken is sort of a weird combination of singing and exaggerated sounds. When Hokaibo spoke English, it sounded...normal, albeit with a Japanese accent. But what he said was stupid, and actually breached the 'fourth wall' of theatre: he engaged with the audience, made references to current culture (such as James Bond), and even mocked other characters for not understanding English! A good example of random English spoken by Hokaibo is when he says, "Who writes this crap?" Ah...what a joker.

Not only was this play very funny, but the acting was superb (of course)! (The main actors were the same as the ones from the previous play!). The other characters stayed within the confines of the stage and their Kabuki world (except for one point, where a few characters were 'journeying' and stumbled upon a demon/evil spirit that they decided to pray to/offer sweets. Yeah, it was just a foreigner, sitting in the audience! Haha...). And the last scene, wow! There were some pretty intricate dances and fight scenes. Search 'Hokaibo' or better yet...THIS article? NY Times. Good description of the plot...something I am not good at relating!

The joint spirits of Hokaibo and the
Princess Nowake [disguised as Okumi] pose with Okumi,
as they dance to prove who is the real Okumi.
I know...Hokaibo is making a funny face
but this is Kabuki, and it totally works in context!

Next big thing...I'm trying to get a job! I have a job interview this Wednesday and I'm making a BIG deal about it because it's basically my first job interview (Well, second. But yeah...). I know there's little chance that I get this job, seeing as I'm only allowed to work 14 hrs/week (according to my work permit), but hopefully they need a waitress (or maybe a bar-person^__^) badly enough to hire me? Haaa...Wish me luck!

Happy Halloween!

So, Friday was Halloween. Did everyone have fun?

I had an interesting Halloween. I dressed up as a 'zombie maid', but I didn't have any fake blood, so I just looked kinda like a maid with bad makeup. Not to mention, the costume was a little too small for me (Japanese girls are tiny!!). Whatever...just look at the picture and see for yourself:



I went to a club with some friends. It was interesting. First, it was in Roppongi, which is foreigner central. Roppongi is probably the area with the highest concentration of foreigners (they either live there, or go there to party). The club was called Muse, and Temple University was hosting the party. We danced there. There's not much else to say besides that. Well, the club itself was an interesting place. It was made up of a lot of different rooms, and at one point I found a Karaoke room! There were so many people, drunk and otherwise, it was not (in all) that great an experience. I think the best moment of the night was when I was at the bar with two Japanese guy-friends, and we spotted a very feminine looking guy. One of them decided to talk to him, and then we all ended up talking. Both of my friends got his number. I didn't. Haha!! I kept seeing the guy-girl throughout the night (at one point in the girls bathroom...), and he would always wink and make a peace-sign. He was very pretty!

We left the club, and walked from Roppongi to Shibuya. That was a long walk! Um...we were going to do something in Shibuya, but our plans changed. We caught a Taxi, took it to Waseda, and I changed back into my normal clothes. We went to a park, met a few people, and just chilled until around 5 am, when we caught our first trains. I actually fell asleep on my train, my head was definitely on some Japanese guys shoulder.... I woke up in the middle of nowhere, had to ask some random person to get directions back to the right track (i just had to go to the train going the opposite direction, but my brain was not working...) and walked home and slept until 3 pm, when I woke with a hangover (I deserved that. I am not planning to repeat Halloween night EVER again.)

[[ANYWAY, Sorry about the lack of quality posts. I'm not very good at this blogging thing.
Next post, I'll talk about the local festival that's coming up. It's some sort of Rooster festival (you know, like the Chinese zodiac). It's going to be three days this month, and the first day is the fifth! (So...today....)

LYDIAAAAdesu

Hisashiburi!

久し振り(hisashiburi)
"It's been a while/ long time, no see!"

Sorry that I'm pretty lazy with this! Here comes another entry!

Last Wednesday, I went to a play with my mother. It was called "Mori no Ishimatsu" (森の石松) which is the main character's name. It was really funny! I did not understand it at all, it was a Yakuza period drama (maybe Edo period...), so the men spoke with an old-fashioned AND gangster accent. But I loved it, regardless!

See the bigger picture <3

The guy at the front is Ishimatsu, or Issan. He's a lower level yakuza who loves sake, and is in love with Bochan (the girl in the white Kimono). The young man on the left is another lower level yakuza, who helps Issan when he is being attacked by five other yakuza, thus becoming friends. The 'lady' on the right (played by a male) is a geisha/former geisha who is taking care of the little boy. The story of Issan and the yakuza is separate from the story of the geisha and the little boy, until the end of the play. It is important to note that every character is interesting, comedic, but not slapstick. This play was a comedy, but also an action, period drama, which is what made it so interesting to watch!

Synopsis of what I understood (this is a little long, skip if you don't want to read it!): Issan is a fairly strong yakuza, we see him cutting down other men from the beginning of the movie. He also loves sake, but he's a kind-hearted, lovable man. The young man, we'll call him U-san (I think his name is Umai, or some variation of that), is the member of another Yakuza group. I'm not sure why, but U-san has to do something (vague, i know) for his boss. From what I gather, he gets money or a sort of boon from another Yakuza boss (this trip takes place over the middle 2/4 of the play). Issan helps U-san get this boon. Okay, this is getting a little confusing, and a little chopped up! Sorry, you all know I'm really bad at telling stories!

(((I can not really give a good synopsis of the story because there are so many little things I want to add in! But if you are interested in hearing more, skype me or catch me on gmail, aim or facebook. I would love to tell you more detailed aspects if you want!)))

One of the scenes that really epitomizes Ossan's character is the boat scene, and for some reason basically the whole cast is there! After U-san is 'borrowed' by a group of [drunk] ladies to sing to them (did I mention he has a great voice? He was played by a semi-well known singer), Ossan starts talking to the other [three] men on the boat. They, too, are Yakuza and the four start drinking. Ossan asks who the strongest is and they keep saying names, none of which are 'Mori no Ishimatsu', so Issan keeps giving them alcohol. It was funny because at one point I believe they started listing off the actors names. I think....So, Ossan is drunk, the other yakuza are drunk and finally, they say his name. It's all good!

The next scene that sticks out in my memory is the sword fight. Of course there is a sword fight! It was A.MA.ZING! This happens after Issan and U-san get the boon/money from big boss, and return to give it to U-san's boss. Well, U-san's boss does not want to accept it, for some reason, but Issan scares/threatens him into it. See? Issan is bad-ass. But no one knows it, for some reason. Well, U-san's boss did not like that, not one bit, so he rounds up the posse (not a western!! haha) and decides to hunt down Issan. They ambush him at a temple but after a small skirmish Issan get's away, slightly battle damaged (they had cut off his top-knot, so his hair was flying everywhere! He looked so funny with that bald-spot ^__^).

After a bit more of tiny skirmishes, they finally have him surrounded! He does not go down easily (he's been stabbed all over, cut down his back, and is bleeding profusely! ). The fighting was great! There were spins, jabs and all sorts of fancy, yakuza-style fencing. Okay, so, not really fancy, but it was nicely choreographed! In the end, of course, Issan is cut down and he dies in U-san's arm (U-san then proceeds to shout 'Anikiiiiiii' which means 'brother' and it goes black. wow. strong stuff!).

So, I've left out a bit, err....a lot. Especially about the geisha and the little boy. Pretty much that pair reflects Issan's childhood, as it was that same geisha who took care of Issan when he was a little boy! She mourns the fact that Issan became a yakuza and wants her current charge to grow into a 'good man'. During Issan's death, she has a little monologue about how sad she was. Whatever, I didn't like her anyway. -___-;;

End of synopsis.

Whew! Sorry about that! That took way too long!

Friday I went to a Kabuku play. It was four hours long (with two 20 minute breaks, and one 10 minute break). And it was only 1/4 of the actual play! What?

The Kabuki play was 'The 47 Ronin'. I'm not going to give you a description, because you can find it on wikipedia if you search '47 ronin kabuki' and scroll down to the kabuki section. We just saw four scenes of the play, which was amazing and boring. I actually almost fell asleep during the last scene because I was getting so used to the strange way of talking, that I was being lulled to sleep! Not to mention that rain was pounding so loudly on the roof that it was like a white-noise machine.

What can I say about Kabuki? It is definitely an acquired taste. They speak an incomprehensible form of Japanese (well, mostly incomprehensible. I saw many people wearing the translator device on their ears, and yes, they were translating it into Japanese). One thing I want you all to know about kabuki, is that it is an all-male cast, even though there are many female characters. Men play women! It is actually an accomplished art form and many people think that these men have been trained to play women better than women can play women! (although I'm sure it's not so common a thought anymore). If you think that's sexist, don't. The men do a good job and women have their own form of women-only acting called 'Takarazuka". Back to Kabuki: the costumes were amazing, and the acting was so...interesting. If a group of Americans was watching kabuki, the would burst out laughing at the climax of scenes. I would have laughed, but I would have been the only one in a room of....a lot of people. (Oh, did I mention I sat pretty close? I was in the first section, in the 9th row! That means sitting on the FLOOR on a think cushion.)

So, why would we laugh at this traditional Japanese art-form? Right! Because at the climax scenes, the actors strike strange poses and, at least the bad guy, makes a face that involves sticking his tongue out and hissing! It was pretty cool, because all the main characters had their faces painted in some way. The bad guy had lines painted into his face, so he looked almost like a demon mask. The other main character of the first part had his face painted completely white, with black accents for his eyebrows and eyes, and red for his mouth. There was another samurai with his face painted this way (It's a samurai drama, btw.).

My seat was great because it was right next to the 'hana-michi', which means 'flower street'. It's a perpendicular extension of the stage that divides the audience in half. It's a staple of any Kabuki stage. It basically brings the action into the audience, and creates a place for dramatic entrances and exits. One of the bests scenes that utilized the hana-michi was near the end, when a bunch of samurai rushed towards the main gates of a castle, to avenge their master's suicide, but they were stopped by their fellow samurai. It was great! There were about 15-18 men that rushed forward, and about 7 that pushed them back! It was a lot of commotion and shouting!

And, for all the stylized acting, traditional instrumental and singing, there was actually a bit of comedy in it! I was quite amazed at one scene, where a buffoonish underling of the bad guy was instructing other underlings on how to ambush someone. Their was a lot of pantomime and slapstick in that scene! Wow!

In all, I would probably love to go back to another Kabuki play. I still want to experience the other popular arts such as Takarazuka (which I mention in this post a little earlier), Bunraku (which is traditional puppet theatre) and Noh (older, and less-dramatic that Kabuki, and less ridiculous, except the main characters wear masks). So interesting...

Okay, that's a lot. I've written too much (and for too long!), not much is actually that interesting to anyone but me (sorry!). I have a Japanese test tomorrow and I need to study! ByeBye!

And so it goes...

Today was a no-school holiday celebrating the founding of Waseda. And, on that note, I shall tell you a little of Waseda's history!

Waseda was founded by Okuma Shigenobu in 1882 and, in case you forget this fact, there are statues of him everywhere around Waseda Campus. In fact, his main statue is a common meeting place for students so, even if you do not know his name, you know his face. Anyway, it was founded during the Meiji Restoration and I vaguely recall my history teacher making a point about this. Maybe it was one of the first Universities? Something like that. I feel silly not knowing. Anyway, if you want to know more than that, check out Waseda's home page (here's a convenient link) or you could always go to wikipedia.

here's a nifty picture of
Okuma which we shorten to 大隈銅像
in text messages...i think

Oh, a little story I meant to tell you guys: When I was in Shibuya on Friday (see previous post) I ran into an Earlham friend, Carlos. It was pretty whack. Shibuya is definitly the strangest place to run into someone you know, because it's always full of people (just like the rest of Japan >.<). When I first saw him he was, go figure, looking at a car. Good story, yeah?

Now, onto Today. I went to Ueno and Akihabara. Sounds exciting, yeah? It was nice, but Akihabara was a little bit of a dud. Maybe I just didn't go to the right place? Akihabara is popular for electronics and otaku (anime-fans). And there was a lot of electronics and a lot of anime culture. It was exactly what I expected.

I'm quitting my life as a
student so I can become a maid
and serve tea and cake
to all the Akiba-otakus!!!!!!

So, I know that wasn't much of a post. Better luck next time, eh? Check out my photos on facebook. I should be posting a new album or two within the next 24 hours!

Culture Shock

Culture Shock #1

Instead of writing about boogers, mystical Japanese remedies or plastic surgery (all very interesting subjects) I am going to write about the strange, passive-aggressive/aggressive side of Japan I never actually knew about. Then I'll give you a more interesting 'culture shock'.

I have two anecdotes I wish to relay onto you, my dear readers. The first concerns my Japanese teacher, Itou-sensei, and her fun culture lessons. Her first nugget of wisdom came in the warning of 'not to look at Japanese people in the eye'. You never know when someone is going to stab you. The next lesson we revieved, was a warning not to stand too close to the tracks when waiting for our trains. Why? Because someone might push us into them! But, Itou sensei, why would someone want to do that? Do they dislike foreigners? No, it's because sometimes, Japanese people do it. Who knows, maybe it's stress?

These are just warm-ups. The final Itou-ism concerns the lady, herself. As she tells it, she was on her morning train when the woman sitting next to her fell asleep, and her head dropped onto Itou sensei's shoulder. Naturally, Itou sensei did nothing, that is UNTIL she got off, when she gave the sleeping woman a nudge in the ribs. Ouch!

My next story is just as crazy as the last one. It happened after I crossed the big intersection in Shibuya (the one from the video). A lady had tripped and, from my standpoint, the culprit was her shoes catching on the textured part of the sidewalk (which helps blind people 'see'). When she gets up, she swings her plastic shopping bag (which has something in it) at a random girl. And by swing, I mean bases-loaded-gee-i-hope-i-get-a-home-run swing. Kapow! My only response was 'Whaa?' Seriously, the girl did not deserve to be attacked. I mean, seriously?

That was shocking to me...

Now, something a little more fun:
See? See? Seeee? The one with the pink hair! We call them 'Gyaru' or 'Gals' This is actually a whole range of the 'Gal' style, but my favorite is the ganguro-gyaru, aka the one with the pink hair and white war paint. (In Shibuya, in front of Shibuya 109)
<3<3<3

I want to write a little piece called 'culture shock', but I really want the reader's opinion so...Mom, Dad, please leave your comments (hahaaaa). But seriously, anything you guys and gals want to know about? Anything you've heard you want me to confirm or any myth you want me to....BUST? (I <3 Mythbusters).

If you all have no opinions, I'm going to start 'culture shock' with my breakfasts because, let me tell you...Every morning I get a little culture shock just looking at it <3.

Lydia

Another Week...Gone

Hey! I'm doing it! I'm making another post :)

Again, school the week went by and I do not have much to say on that. It's a little odd, how little I to say on that subject. Right now, my biggest complaint is my [in]ability to do my reading homework. For some reason, my Art History teacher does not give us a syllabus, but expects us to go online and search for it (okay, maybe that sounds a little lazy). Once we find said reading list in the vast web that is Waseda's "Course N@vi" we have to decipher what the heck it says (it really is a jumble of book and journal titles and no dates), and then we have to, somehow, find the readings in the library. Oh, and, there's one or two books for about 35 students. Yeah...not happening. So in the two weeks of school I've done NO reading. I need to talk to the teacher again about how impossible it is to do his homework.

On to the important stuff. Japan. I mean, that's the only reason we're doing this, right? Me, so I can post all the fun, exotic and strange things that surround me and you, so you can read them!

On Saturday, I had my first club meeting. I joined a club called 'Waseda Donuts' a.k.a. 'Wasedo'. After a bit of confusion I managed to meet up with Takero, the co-leader (and a first year, I might add). At first I was afraid I had joined the wrong club, because everyone brought an instrument. There was a guitar, a green clarinet-type thingy, three recorders, an ocarina, a cow bell, a few tambourines, and some cute, kiddie bells. However, once they all started to practice songs like, 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' and 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' I didn't feel so bad. I mean, I still had nothing to contribute besides my madd tambourine skillz, but I managed. Then (and here's where some people got weirded out) we went to a sports center to PLAY WITH CHILDREN (All three of them)! Haha, no, they came to us, and we did 'Halloween' stuff. And by that, I mean we did some makeup, some balloon animals, and a musical jam-session. Just like the real Halloween. Oh, did I mention we ate donuts? Yum!

Is that not the cutest kid ever? His name
is Hiro, and he was wild. He's wearing
a nice, traditional halloween costume :)

After a few hours with the kids, we had a nomikai. That translate to 'drinking meeting' and is pretty much what it sounds like. There was dinner too, but the main event is the drinking. We started at 7:30 or 8, and went until 10:30. It is important to start early, because if you rely on a train or subway to take you home, the last one's leave around 11:30 pm. It's pretty inconvenient, but [almost] everyone has to deal with it. So, at 10:30, we left and split into two groups. One group went home (I think?), the other group did a 'second round'. I was in the second round, but I did not stay too long. I had an earlier train to catch. But, I managed to get a membership card for an 'izakaya' (Japanese style bar), so I'm looking forward to that :) All-in-all, I think it was a pretty good day. I hope they ask me to come back :)

Yesterday I was with the Earlham kids (including the Waseda students who were there last year), we walked through Harajuku, Shibuka and ended the night with monjyaki. Monjyaki looks gross. I'm just going to include some pictures, you can judge for yourself what it looks like. What I really want to talk about is Shibuya. Shibuya is famous for a few things; shopping, partying, the statue of Hachiko and Shibuya Crossing. I believe it is one of the worlds most traversed crossings? Well, I'm sure I'm making this up but, see for yourself what it's like:


I started the video before we crossed, and stopped it before we finished.

So, there you have a little taste of what Japan is like. What did you think? Do you recognize it from 'Lost in Translation'? :)

Here's Haruna making the monjyaki...notice
how runny and icky it looks?
It gets a little thicker as it cooks...but it's still odd.

Well, I'm off to bed. Got to get up early if I want to be able to fit on those trains, yeah? ^_^

-Lydia

p.s. anything you guys and girls want to see? Send me your requests! haha! Thanks for reading and, as always, I apologize for any spelling errors :)

I`ve been a bad girl...

Hey people who read this!

Sorry, by now most of you realize how lazy I am. I have a hard time updating a blog once a week. I hope people actually are checking it, because I made it for you guys! Yay! *insert happy face*I`m just going to do a quick update, I am at school right now.

Last weekend went down like this:

Thursday: Checked out `The Hub` after school. At night, it is basically only Waseda kids, and some foreigners. It`s an Irish Pub, what do you expect? Haha, anyway it`s expensive, smokey and all the good stuff that pubs usually are. I returned home early that night (left at half past 10, got home after 11).

Friday: Did some stuff in the morning (no class), went shopping around Takada no Baba (a big station near waseda). Then, went to Harajuku with some girls. Walked up and down the main st, did a lot of window shopping. I lost my phone, then found it again. It`s all good...I`ll talk more about that night in my next entry.

Saturday: What did I do? I did homework. At night, I met the Waseda kids who were at Earlham last year, and had dinner plus all we could drink. It was pretty awesome, except that the place we went to served us mostly pork foods, and I didn`t eat a lot. On the bright side, I ended up paying nothing. Thanks Earlham! Also, that night was great, because I managed to catch both of my last trains! Yay for not having to get a taxi.

Sunday: I was lazy, until I realized there was a bbq arranged by the club that was helping us at our orientation. I rushed through my shower and managed to meet everyone. Funny note: there was a well dressed Japanese man passed out near our meeting spot. Awesome! The bbq was okay...having to take an hour long train ride to get there was NOT nice. It ended up okay, i ate lots of beef! Finally! Went home, took a shower, did homework.

Okay! Sorry for the cave-man talk, sorry for the spelling mistakes. I hope that satisfies the thirst for knowledge until tomorrow :)

LYDIAAAAAA

First Day of School

As my title suggest, today was my first day at Waseda University's School of Liberal Studies, aka SILS. It was a rough first day, since I had classes from 9 until 4, with only a 50 minute lunch break. What made it worse, was all the rain. I guess there is typhoon weather that has been sending us rain. Anyway, without further ado, I give you...my SCHEDULE!

Japanese 3a (Mon, Tues, Thurs 9-12:10)
Japan Anthropology (Mon 1-2:30; Wed 10:40-12:10)
History of Modern Japan (Mon and Thurs 2:40-4:10)
Art History (of Japan) (Tues 1-4:10)

Yes, I know, it is a lot of classes about Japan but let's not forget that I am a Japanese Studies major. Hopefully by the end of this year (if not by the end of this semester), I'll have figured out a direction I want to go in with my thesis. So far all I got is maybe I could write about social/cultural implications of food. I don't know, that does not really make sense, does it? Haha...I though I would get to take a class this semester that had that theme. It was Waseda's online course syllabus that gave me this idea.


Anyway, back to my day (and maybe about my week?). I woke up at 6:20 so I could shower and be ready before breakfast. I wasn't ready. I left my house about 7:40 and, of course, I did not miss rush hour. Luckily my station is not one of those that hires 'pushers' and by that I mean those men who politely, yet forcibly, push you into the train to make sure the doors will shut. Now, don't get the idea that my train is not crowded, because it is really crowded. Once, I let two trains pass because I was too afraid to get on them, they were so full. I finally managed to muscle my way onto the 'women's only' train. Everything you hear about Japan that sounds something like, "Oh, the Japanese are so polite" and other phrases that follow, you can just throw out the window during the period of 7:30-9:30. I do not know the exact time frames, but you get the general idea. Pushing is not optional, it's mandatory. If you want a place on any morning train, you have to pave your own way. With that said, I would like to say something about being a foreigner in such a homogeneous country...it sucks. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm liking Japan, but people [that don't know me] treat me like an obstacle. In the mornings, people assume I don't know the appropriate way of lining up for the trains, so they cut right in front of me. When I arrive at my station, people try to step around me when I'm walking forward. Once, a Japanese girl asked me where I was going, only to tell me I was, in fact, on the RIGHT train. Thanks!

The fact is, turning this pointless story into one with a point, that no matter how long I am here, I will always be just a gai koku jin, a person from a foreign country. There are plenty of foreigners who have made their lives here, but I am pretty sure that none of them are ever treated 100% the same as other Japanese. Now, I'm sure this happens all over the world, but I have never been on the other end of this. In America I am used to seeing people who do not look like me (Caucasian) and my first instinct is not usually, "Hey, look! Foreigner!" But, again, that's just because I've grown up in a country where I am surrounded by all sorts of different races. I am constantly being told, no matter if it is a psychology class or a pop. culture class, that Japan is an island separated from other cultures by the ocean and because of this they have remained homogeneous. Anyway, I think I'm raining, and I'm sure no one wants to read that.

On to something a little more (maybe not) exciting. One of our last group orientation sessions, we went to Kamakura, which is one of the old Capitals of Japan. If you are interested in it's exact history, please search it on wikipedia, because I've forgotten everything about it! I shall conclude with a few pictures from that day (Friday, September 26th).


I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining a lot. I think it's a mixture of the culture shock process (phase 2: unrealistic observations and other such ridiculousness) and adjusting to a new family and school life/schedule. I am looking forward to my year in Japan. So, please enjoy these pictures of the Kamakura temple and surrounding areas.

Byebye!

Home Sweet, Foreign, Home.

Hajimemashite. Atashi wa Rideia (Lydia) desu. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
How are you. I am Lydia. Nice to meet you. (lit This is our first time [meeting]. I am Lydia. Please take care of me)

Here I am. I have moved into my new home and met my family. They are super nice and, because they have hosted so many students in the past (15, my host mother said), they seem more open and playful than your average, 60 year olds.

Here are some quick facts: My mother is a traditional housewife. She does the shopping, cooking and cleaning (Except for mine, apparently. Ha!!). My father is a retired policeman turned 'government worker.' I'm not sure what he does, but he probably is behind a desk all day. My brothers, ages 33 and 29, are both policemen AND they still live at home. Take that, mom!

Right now, I'm chilling in my room, listening to someone play some sort of recorder (that instrument all of us learned in 4th grade). One thing that is similar to my home-stay experiences in Osaka and Tokyo is that the houses are squished together. They are all about three stories high but, using my house as an example, the bottom floor is used for the car. I think my family has a pretty sweet gig: They have a nice kitchen/dining room, a tatami mat room (6 mats in size), four bedrooms (mine, parents, brothers), a sweet entertainment area FILLED with manga, a bathroom and a shower/sink room (i think each floor has this, but I don't use the third floor, since that's where my brother's rooms are so I am not so sure).

Here are a few pics. I don't want to post too many, since it's kind of an invasion of my family's privacy:

View from the top of my house, main street, facing.....right.
My sweet, sweet dining area. You can't see the whole table where we eat, it's hidden by the small counter. This photo is taken standing in the kitchen area. It's a cute little double room. Heeh...
My little room. There's a little closet tucked away in the corner. I managed to shove all my luggage in there!!

Well, there you have it. That's a slice of my new little life. Sorry, no rhyme intended.

School starts Monday, and once I get my class schedule, I'll post that. Until then, I need to find a way and place to withdraw money. Tomorrow we go to Kamakura, then Friday I go to Waseda to have a final orientation/ home-stay language lesson AND get my Japanese cell-phone. I will also try to get the health check so I can use Waseda's gym and other facilities. Then this weekend, I will try to withdraw money, if I have not already done it Thursday or Friday. I am almost out!!

I'm outie!

Lydia

I`m finally here...

...so why has it taken so long for me to write?


Friends,

Today I experienced my first earthquake. Around 7:25, the morning of September 21st, I was in my bed and I was a little confused, but after realizing what it was, I was naturally excited. "Wow! This is pretty cool!" are pretty much the words I said. Hopefully, experiencing earthquakes remains a new and exciting experience, otherwise, well...You know.

So far, I`ve been to the following parts of Toyko:
Higashi-Yamatoshi-a smaller suburb-ish area where our dorm is, and most of the orientation sessions take place
Waseda-The area in and around Waseda University (the station exit is called `Takada no Baba`
Asakusa-A part of Tokyo with an older history; it houses a shrine to a really old Buddha statue, and the pathway leading up to it is filled with great, touristy shops.
Shinjuku- Lots of bright flashing light, various types of arcades and shops
Harajuku- Clothes, clothes and more clothes. I saw a few people dressed up in the extremes of Japanese fashion. Very interesting.

I have not had a long time in all of these places, except for Higashi-Yamatoshi. I`ll write more about all this later, when I`m not sharing 2 computers with 30 students.

Jya ne! (Later then)
Lydia

First Post

So. Here it is. THE blog.

It's one of the many preparations I make before I ship off to Japan.


Yes...It's one of those blogs. A student in Japan. Cultural tidbits of Japan, from the eyes of a foreigner. Strange things of Japan. An insiders guide.

Well...maybe not the last one. Either way, it's a cliched topic, but I have to do it. I need some way to communicate to friends, family and maybe even strangers, about my trip. And, hey, if someone, even if it's just me, gets a few minutes of entertainment out of this, then I've done what I set out to do.

T minus 12 days.

Lydia