Kyoto, Spiders and Grunts

So last Friday and Saturday was the school trip to Kyoto. I believe the qualifier "school trip" is very important here. Since it was a school trip it was very rushed and regimented, with little free time, and a good chunk of time spent on the bus being talked at in keigo the polite language of Japan. There are many levels of keigo, with everyone of them being most incomprehensible to me. So! To business! *toasts* ha, just kidding. Seriously though.

Friday we left the school bright and early, on the bus by 8:25 and gone by 8:35. It took us about two hours to get to Kyoto, with our first stop being Kiyomizudera.

That's me somewhere around it, with it in the background. Anyway, this temple is noteworthy because it was constructed completely in the Japanese style, i.e. no nails. That's right, the whole temple is constructed with joints.

Also this temple is famous for water flowing from a certain waterfall which is supposed to grant health to those who drink it. Yes, I drank it. Sure, I feel more healthy. I bought a souvenier cup from which to drink it.

So we broke into small groups and wandered around for a while with the condition to meet at another temple by a certain time. During this time we could have bought souveniers, but that was made clear only in Japanese, and seeing as how I'm not that good, I didn't understand, and so bought no souveniers. Damn. Other oppurtunities will arise though!

I'm going to compare this trip to an EF trip in Western Europe with the word "cathedral" being replaced with the words "temple" or "jinja(shrine)." You can only look at some many in a day before becoming jaded. That was this trip. It was pretty and all, and yes, I did buy souveniers, but I'd rather just show and tell in person than on here. Mainly because I'm lazy. Anyway...onward!

So another temple, this one boasting the largest temple gate in Japan. It was very pretty and we caught the end of a service in the main hall.

After this temple was the ryokan or traditional Japanese inn. We had dinner, sang some karaoke, and hit the public bath for a good end to the day.

Saturday dawned somewhat cloudy, much like Friday, but soon turned towards sun. Our first stop of the day was Kinkakuji, the Golden Temple, called so because of a layer of gold leaf which covers most of its surface.

Ta-da!

This was followed by another temple on the outskirts of Kyoto. Pretty, lots of pictures taken, blah blah blah.

Jaded? A little.

Another shrine? Yes. Souveniers, pictures, etc.

Back on the bus to Chubu. End of trip. I'll tell you guys more later.

On a different note, I've been thinking about things. Spiders. Spiders are everywhere. Not just small spiders, but large green spiders that look incredible deadly, but probably aren't. Seriously though, I now understand why there are so many spiders in the Zelda games. They have extremely large, tough webs. It's scary.

On another, different note, I enjoy that an acceptable response to a question is a grunt. A grunt. Or some other, different noise. I will miss it when I go back home. The conversations with Dad will go like this:

"Jon, did you take out the trash?"
"Nnn." (In Japan, this is an affirmative)

"Was that a yes or a no?"

And so on.

All for now. Miss you all.

Hiroshima Trip Day 3: Miyajima Island

Up at 6:30 Sunday! It was a day for mountains! Specifically Mt. Misen, the very same mountain that the Kobodaishi climbed over 1200 years ago. The Kobodaishi was the man who brought Buddhism to Japan, and so this mountain is considered very holy. In fact, Miyajima is one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. It's the place with the red tori in the water. That is actually part of Itsukushima Shrine, founded in the year 1168 by Taira no Kiyomori after his initial victory over the Minamoto clan, as related in The Tale of the Heike. We were extra lucky because that day there was a wedding! It's good luck to have a wedding there, and it's good luck to witness a wedding there. Also, a baptism! Extra lucky! So we wandered around there for a bit, got a group photo, I purchased a couple of good luck charms, it was quite nice.

Finally, time for my mountain. I had told Dr. Thompson that I wanted to climb the mountain instead of taking the ropeway with everyone else. Why? Well, I'm crazy like that. So, after the shrine we all walked over to the start of the trail up the mountain with a brief stop at a souvenier shop. I bought one of the peaked straw hats that are traditionally worn by pilgrims in Japan. More on the hat later, though. So, hat purchased, and put on, I was ready to start. There were photos of me getting ready to start up the mountain, wishes of luck, etc., and then I was on my own.

The hike started out not too difficult, wide stairs, spaced decently far apart, gentle slope. It got worse. Boy, did it get worse. Those stairs got smaller, closer together, higher, more uneven. My legs started burning about 20 minutes into the hike. They would not stop burning for the rest of the day. I met other people climbing up and clambering down the mountain. I lost count of the number of times I said, "Konnichi wa" that day. Many, many times, I'm sure.

As I was climbing the ungodly number of stairs up this mountain, an idea began to blossom in my mind. I should write something on this hat. After all, I'm going to wear it all the way up. Surely that is good luck. So during my climb, I thought about what I would write on it, with nothing definite coming to mind. So I climbed, and climbed, and climbed. Those who have gone hiking know how mind-numbingly boring recounting the hike can be, so I'll just throw some pictures up here to let you see what I saw.


And so, after an hour and a half of arduous climbing, I reached the top. Sweaty, panting, and disgusting, I mounted the last few stairs up to the tip-top of the observation tower. The view was spectacular, and worth all the stairs, and panting, and sweating.
I called Dr. Thompson. "Dr. Thompson? It's Ike, I made it to the top!"

"Wow! Already? Did you get anything to eat?"

"No, not yet. When will you guys get up here?"

"----------"

I lost the call. That's fine, though. They know I made it to the top, and am unharmed. However, I don't know what I'm supposed to do next. So I start to head down a different path. It took me to a temple. Again, more on that later, after I meet the group. I end up trekking another kilometer to the ropeway station. My legs were still burning from all the stairs, and there was no end in sight.

So I met the group, and we trekked back over to the temple. This is the temple where the 1,200 year old flame is. I drank some of the water, which is supposed to be holy, just like everything else on this mountain, and purchased some more good luck charms, this time as gifts. I'm not saying for whom, though. I told Dr. Thompson about my idea for my hat. He thought it was a great idea. He asked one of the attendents if he was a priest. The attendent said no, but went to go get a priest. The priest took my hat, and went away for a bit. When he came back down, there was a saying and the temple name, and the year on my hat. This was more than I wanted, but really cool! The saying was one of the Kobodaishi's sayings (remember him?). It translates to "One way, two people." Apparently while I was climbing, the spirit of the Kobodaishi was climbing with me! Pretty cool stuff.

So, I took a group of people back up to the top. My second time up there. (I haven't had a real break, yet, remember?) This time though, I finally got to eat. I had a beer and a bowl of udon. It was delicious.

Obligatory pictures all around, etc., etc. and back down to the ropeway. From the ropeway to the town was about a five minute walk. We did some shopping, bought some food, and killed just enough time to be right on time for the 4:30 ferry off the island. From there it was train to train to train to train to taxi back to the dorm. I almost collapsed into bed.

Hiroshima Trip Day 2: Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum

I woke on Saturday bright and early and ready to start the day (ha!). No really, I was pretty excited to be in Hiroshima and so was up fairly early. Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day, with big puffy clouds if there were any, the sun was shining bright, and the sky a clear blue.

We left the hotel around 9 to catch a street car to 原爆ドーム. Genbaku Do-mu. Atomic Bomb Dome. The site of the most destructive bomb ever used on a real target. Where the the largest number of people were killed at once. Well over 100,000 died from the blast and fire. Heavy stuff. I almost lost it as soon as I saw it.

Dr. Thompson has a very close connection with the bomb. His baby sitter was 8 months old when the bomb was dropped. She only survived because her mother did. Mrs. Tanimoto (her mother) is now 92 and spent most of the day with us. Dr. Thompson's babysitter is a spritely 63 -year-old. Still full of life despite all the hardships she endured. Her name is Koko Kondo (born Tanimoto). She is married to a minister and has two adopted children. She is sterile because of the radiation.

Koko gave us a tour of the Peace Park before we went to a private room downstairs and listened to her for almost 2 hours. She talked about what happened that day, relayed to her through her mother only recently because the memories were too painful to talk about. Mrs. Tanimoto's story is in Hiroshima by John Hursey, so I won't tell it here, I just encourage you to read the book. What is truly important is the stuff not in the book. Koko said after she was old enough to understand some of what happened, she wanted revenge. She said, "I am a good person, my family are good people, Hiroshima is full of good people. The person in the B-29 must be the bad person." And she swore to get revenge. There are a couple of other things that she said, but to be honest, I've forgotten. It was very emotional. She swore that she would do something to the pilot if she ever met him. She would bite him, or punch him, or kick him. She would get revenge. In 1955 her father, the Reverend Tanimoto, was on This is Your Life. She and her mother were flown out secretly to appear on the show. Also at the show was Capt. Robert Lewis of the Enola Gay. She knew that she couldn't just go up and kick or bite or punch him while she was there, so she just stood there and glared at him. Thinking how much she hated him for dropping the bomb. He went on. He started to cry and say, "We didn't know, we didn't know what it would do." Koko realized that she shouldn't hate the man who dropped the bomb. She said, "I realized I should hate the war itself." After the show, when Capt. Lewis was just standing there, little 10 year old Koko Tanimoto walked over, took his hand and held it. She said, "He was a big hand. He was a warm hand." (allow her her grammar mistakes). That was the most memorable moment from her speech for me, at least. She went on to talk about the rest of her life. She has done many things, been many places, promoting peace. She is truly remarkable. I can tell you more in person, but to convey it through this medium is far too difficult.

After listening to Koko for two hours, we got some lunch with her and Mrs. Tanimoto. I had her and her mother sign a bookmark. Then we went into the museum.

There was no resentment, just an ernest desire to move on and never have this happen again. It talked about the history of the city, this history of the bomb; just the facts in the first part. The second part was the most heart-wrenching thing I have ever seen. Little school uniforms torn, burned, bloodstained. Tiny lunch boxes with their contents turned to charcoal. Watches stopped at 8:15, bottles melted and steel girders wrenched; the list goes on and on and on. Koko and her mother were there to point out where their house and church were in relation the hypocenter of the bomb. Again, words fail me. The final part of the museum had video testimony from some of the survivors. I couldn't watch. I wasn't feeling to steady on my feet. I went outside and sat on a bench and fought back tears for about half an hour.

We all had to do our own thing for a little bit after the museum. It was tough, perhaps the most difficult thing I have ever had to see.

We went to Hiroshima castle, and had dinner at a nice restaurant. That's Hirosima castle. Well, a reproduction at any rate. Still cool. I got to sit with Dr. Thompson and Katherine Marshall, and share the meal with them. It was quite pleasant. After eating we had free time, so I continued to hang out with Dr. Thompson and followed him to a bakery called Anderson's. It is actually an offical Consulate of Denmark. Crazy Danes. After Anderson's, I was tired and worn out so I went back to the hotel and went up to the bar for a couple of drinks. I sat at the end of the bar, drinking beer and looking out the window at the moon over the water. It was a good way to end the day.

I hit the hay early, as Sunday promised to be a big day, too.

Hiroshima Trip, Day 1: Friday

So last weekend was Hiroshima, and since it was such a large trip, I feel it needs several posts on this little magic box called the "computer."

I had one class on Friday at 11:10. It was the standard fare for class, except for the fact that we were talking about the details of the automotive manufacturing industry in nearby Toyota. It's difficult to understand that process in English. In Japanese it's nearly impossible. We were talked at for an hour and a half regarding the manufacturing process and how the "just-in-time" system is so awesome, etc etc. I just wanted out.

After class I had lunch with Miho and a couple of other friends. She wished me a good trip and told me to take lots of pictures to show her. I had already had all my bags packed before class, so all I had to do was go back to the dorm and meet everyone at the bus stop. We got on the 2:00 pm bus to go to the train station where we took the local train into Nagoya. In Nagoya we had to change lines from the local line to the Shinkansen line. That should ring a bell with everyone. The Shinkansen is the fastest train in the world. It travels at about 240 km/hr. If you do the math that comes out to FAST mi/hr. I took a short (about a minute) video to show you the countryside whizzing by.

The girl sleeping is Meghan, my "Shinkansen buddy." We were pretty tired.We changed trains in Shin-Osaka to finish our journey to Hiroshima station. At Hiroshima station, we had to get on another local train to go to Miyajima-guchi, where our hotel lies. We hit around rush hour on a Friday, so most of us had to stand for a good part of the trip.

We arrived safely and checked into our hotel, then quested for food. We found okonomiyaki. (remember that stuff? They put noodles in it in Hiroshima!) It was quite delicious. I was at a table with Katherine Marshall, the director of Education Abroad office. She came with us on the trip, and really enjoyed herself. After dinner, we closed the official functions for the night and adjourned to the bar. I'm not posting what went on as it might be compromising to our faculty member. We ended up retiring around midnight. Saturday was going to be a big day.

Misc. Shenanigans

Well, it's Sunday again, I guess that means I should update this so you all don't think I'm dead and sell all my stuff. This past week was pretty hectic; we had a lot of homework and a lot of classwork, with not a whole lot else going on. Dr. Thompson showed up last Monday, and brought a bit of America with him. None of us really realized just how much we missed home, until he showed up and reminded us that America actually exists, that it's not some obscure rememberance that we all have. We met with Dr. Thompson on Wednesday to discuss Hiroshima, which is next weekend. We'll be spending all day Saturday at Peace Park, which is ground zero the atomic bomb. Sunday we will be going to Miyajima island, the site of a very famous shrine, and where a 1200 year old flame is still burning. The flame was lit by Japan's first emperor, Kammo. Apparently you can drink water heated by it, and this water is supposed to have mystical properties.

(quick break in the action: I just heard the retarded boys from WVU out in the hall and the only words from one of their mouths was, "That's hot" as a response for at least 5 sentences.)

This past weekend, the OU students with with the English Language and Culture Association to Ena, where a traditional onsen is located. On the bus ride, I got teased because of my plethora of earrings, but it was all good-natured ribbing. More of a, "wow you have a lot of earrings" than anything bad. A few of the girls that were around me seemed to enjoy poking them to make me jump. After arrival and going over the rules and dinner, it was bath time. Several of us did go into the bath, which requires you to be completely nude, but some of us took a miss on it. I went into the bath because, well, when in Rome, as they say. It was a nice bonding experience for everyone who went. (No, grab-ass and towel-snapping did not occur. Horseplay in the bath is incredibly dame (bad)) Yesterday morning there was a brief hike, and then breakfast, which was incredibly traditional Japanese food. I should have taken a picture of it to show you, but alas, I thought of it too late. It was Japanese pickles, rice, eggplant, salmon, nori and miso. Not the most appetizing, but still delicious. After breakfast there was a "get to know you" exercise in the gym, all in English, followed by free time. During free time, we decided to teach a group of Japanese kids that were hanging around how to play kickball. I was a captain, and my team won. By a lot. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Free time seguewayed into lunch which was closely followed by a short class, in English, with the Japanese students. It consisted of simple games and the students interviewing us about Japan. Easy stuff. We were supposed to leave almost immediately after the class, but the bus was incredibly late; about an hour and a half late. I didn't mind, it gave me a chance to talk with the Japanese students some more.

When we got back, five of us went to an okonomiyaki place. Okonomiyaki is a type of Japanese pancake with almost anything in it. Mine was pork and kimchi, and it was delicious. It was three of us Americans and a couple of Japanese students who had gone with us to Ena. One of them, Miho, has to commute an hour and forty minutes to get to school. She lives in Gifu, one of the neighboring prefectures. She also happens to be adorable, a plus in any book, I think.

After Okonomiyaki, we returned to the dorm and hung out for a while. I hit the hay around 10:30 or 11:00. The previous night at Ena, I had gone to bed around 1:30 am, "slept" on a futon on a tatami mat floor. It was less than comfortable and my shoulder was killing me the next morning when I woke up for the hike at 7:00. So last night I slept from around 11 until 9:00 this morning. It felt pretty great.

I looked at classes for winter quarter today. I'm almost done. This is scary to me. Especially since I'm not sure what I'm doing when I graduate anymore. Winter quarter (tentative) is as follows:
Intermediate Japanese II
Intermediate Thai II
Symphony Orchestra
Women in Buddhism
Greek Archeaology
Bringing my credit hours to 18 for winter. After that, then, I will need only two more courses: another random Tier II and my capstone course, then I can graduate. When I talked to Laura at the end of spring quarter, she said that I could have a couple of easy quarters and then graduate. I told that I still wanted to do Thai and Japanese and Symphony so it wouldn't be easy at all. I wish that I had the time to take some other courses that didn't count for anything, but that's what I get for switching majors. That is, perhaps, the biggest regret I have about college. Sure, I've made many mistakes, but I wish I would have switched my major earlier. Although it was probably starting out ChemE that made me realize how much I didn't actually like it.

Today is my turn to cook dinner. We're going to have fish soup with carrots and potatoes and bread. James and I went down to the Super to do some grocery shopping. The super has a little section where you can buy pre-cooked things, and a little area in which to eat them. I bought several types of baked goods, including some sort of cinnamon bread. It was amazing. I miss baked goods.

This week we have a quiz and two tests. Both tests are on my birthday. The sensei's may be getting a little too much enjoyment out of that joke. I don't want tests for my birthday, quit saying they're my presents! Then to Hiroshima on Friday night. Tests on my birthday, then to the atomic bomb site. It's going to be a cheery one this year. Oh well, them's the breaks. I did get a package from Mom about a week ago. I'm waiting to open that on Thursday, on my actual birthday. I also got a card and letter from Grandma, which is definitely appeciated. It was nice to get news from home. I miss all of you, but I am having a lot of fun, fo sho. Love you all,

The Roller Coaster of Life

Well, more bad, more good.

A group of us when to an Autumn Festival in Arimatsu, about half an hour away by train. Many of us wore yukata, a type of cotton kimono worn in the summer. This town, Arimatsu, is famous for its tie-dyeing technique called shiraboshi, and was actually founded for the express purpose of dyeing clothes in this manner. It's a very cute little town, and I might have to go back to explore some more on my own.

I kept glimpsing myself in windows of stores and the like, and everytime I thought, "Richard Chamberlain?" For the unenlightened, he was the actor who play Blackthorne in James Clavell's Shogun miniseries produced by PBS many years ago. Those who have seen it will hopefully have the same thought I did, and those that haven't: watch it. We also got to make our own tie-dye head-towels, so I have that as a little souvienier.

I got to talk to Jamie Hoff today, which helped to make my day even better. She's in Indonesia for another half a year, and only two hours behind me here, so I hope to talk to her even more. Terry McCord dropped me a line today to, telling me that being rejected by the Peace Corps isn't the end of the world, and that he got the same rejection letter 33 years ago.

Who knows what I'll do now? Definitely try again, yes, but...oh well. I'll worry about it later.

Bad news time: No mountains this weekend? The guy I was going to go with cancelled on me because of a shortage of cash. These things happen, but I will climb those mountains even if I have to sleep under a tarp wrapped in blankets. I will let nothing stop me.

Love to all,

Some good, some bad

I think I'm starting to get the hang of most things here. Which is good. Classes occupy most of my time during the week, which helps the time pass quickly. It's a nice change of pace from the first week when we had no classes and nothing to do and were bored all the time. I got my conversation partners this past week. They seem pretty cool, I'll be meeting them for lunch on Wednesday. Hopefully things go okay.

Mountain climbing is on for next weekend thus far. I'm pretty stoked.

My roommate and I bought track suits. We look like the Russian mafia. Terrifying I know.

I went out on an excursion today and found that lookout I tried to find a couple of posts ago. There are several shrines at the top. I took a panoramic picture from the top of the lookout. I'll post it sometime, I guess.

(That's it right there.)

Bad news time.

I got turned down for the Peace Corps. I don't have enough experience, so in this time of competition that can't consider my application further.

Balls.