After the veritable flurry of blogs of last (two weeks ago? Time is strange here), I gave it a miss for a while, being all blog-ed out. Now, however, I am back and refreshed and ready to write some more. (?)
Not too terribly much has happened since the last post. Classes, homework, just the daily grind. Honestly, the days start to blur together because of their sameness.
However, this weekend, Dan Leech made an appearance. Dan is an OU grad who is studying on a Fullbright grant near Tokyo, and decided to come visit us and hang out. Dan is a lot of fun. Thursday, John went to meet him at the train station while some of us went to go drink in a club room until Dan met us. Then we continued to drink in the club room. It was a good time.
Friday, I don't think anyone had classes, at least I didn't, but I was awakened from a hungover sleep by my phone ringing with Mom on the other end wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. After she let me go, I went back to sleep for a couple of hours.
When I finally rose, I had a leisurely morning of talking on the computer, taking a nice long shower, and then getting dressed. Dan took a shower in the dorm, too. He had stayed in the club room the previous night since there aren't many hotels around here. But, anyway, a group of us went down to a local ramen shop for lunch. This place has great ramen. Unfortunately, Jessie and I (the other 3 monther) had to go early to look at King-sensei's car to make sure our bags could fit. He'll be driving us to the airport instead of us having to worry about shipping bags and navigating the trains and such. It's much better this way.
After looking at King's car, we had a little while free. Then, we went to Nagoya Dome at 3. When I say 3, I really mean that I was ready at 3, when I was told we would be leaving, then we waited for 20 minutes on someone, then caught the bus, then waited at the train station for more stragglers. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's having to wait on people. I'm normally a patient kind of guy, but if someone says, "Be ready to go at 3," it means you need to be ready to go at 3. So we didn't end up getting to the dome until around 4:30. Anyway, we went shopping. The dome contains an extremely large shopping mall. I only bought one thing, but I blew money in the arcade trying to win an Elmo head for Grandpap. I didn't get it. Came close, but the crane cheats.
We met some people in Fushimi for dinner. At the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a going away party for Jessie and myself. I say "a" because I'm sure there are many more to come. The food was delicious, if slightly pricy, but that's Hard Rock for you. Since it was a going away party, Jessie and I got balloons. Then we got dragged up to the stage to dance to "YMCA" in front of the entire restaurant. Jessie was embarassed, but I rolled with it. It was a good time. We bought some souveniers in the gift shop, then retired to a nearby bar for some drinks. Many people were to be out the whole night. The trains stop around midnight. I however, did not want to be out until 5 in the morning when the trains started again. So I returned. On an incredibly full subway car, I might add. We were literally packed in like sardines. From the subway to the railway, and from the railway, I walked home from the station, finally getting into my room around 1:30. The doors locked at midnight, so I had to knock on a window and ask someone to come open the door for me. I called Dad, talked to some friends for a little bit, and finally collapsed into bed. All in all, a good experience.
I'll be home soon. I'm excited and sad.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Flitting Thoughts
So as my time here in Japan begins to draw to a close, I realize I haven't really posted any real "thoughts" about the whole thing. Rather, most blog posts have been concerned with give you the what and the how and the when etc., than with give my analysis of the situation. Well, I've had a drink and am feeling somewhat inspired right now, so shut up and listen.
Everything shapes what we are. It is a fact of life. Many times we do not realize how we have been shaped until long after the fact, when we go back and look at old photographs and say wistfully, "I remember this. This is when..." and so on. I can't tell you how Japan has changed me. I don't know yet. But this experience has become a part of who I am. I will forever look back at these three months I have spent oh, so far from home, and say, "I remember this. This is when..."
I am a product of my experiences. Without them, I would not be who, or what I am today. Because of this, I am reluctant to do this, and so on. Some good, some bad. So it goes. Po-tee-weet.
I have a test tomorrow. I drank anyway. Just one beer. Enough to relax a little. I've been tensing up a lot lately. I can tell because my shoulder hurts all the time now. I weigh 90.5 kilos. That's 199.5 lbs, for our American visitors.
I wish I hadn't broken my heart so much. Or had it broken. Whatever. People ask about this girl that I kind of had a thing for over here, and I tell them, "Nothing has happened. Nothing will happen. I can't do it." I just can't do it right now.
So now I sit here at this desk where I have spent so much time during my stay, steadily typing away at my tiny computer, listening to music and recording my thoughts.
Do I wish I hadn't had some of the experiences that I have had? Well, sure. I've regrets, like any adult. I wish I weren't broken. I wish I weren't so stony and at the same time so soft. Nevertheless, they now shape me, as they have shaped me. You live, you learn.
I miss familiar touches. Someone tried to move me around yesterday, I had to surpress the urge to flatten him. I had to surpress an urge at dinner tonight to reach across the table and throttle someone. I'm sick of a lot of people I'm living with. I told him to never touch me again. I don't like to be moved. Especially by people I don't really like. It messes with my brain. I want a hug from my Dad, my sisters (all of them), my friends, my grandma, my mother. I want a decent handshake. I had one this past weekend from my host dad.
It's gotten cold. Fast. Dropped to around 40 degrees today. Finally. People bitch. People always bitch. All the time. I hate it. I have to hear the same thing, day in and day out.
Japan is strange. It is full of invisible walls. There are things you can do, and things you can't do. Simple as that. In America, society is very open, with very few restrictions. Japan is incredibly restrictive.
I'm out of ideas. No, no conclusion, no neat wrap-up at the end of the 22-minute episode where everything returns to normal, Po-tee-weet.
Everything shapes what we are. It is a fact of life. Many times we do not realize how we have been shaped until long after the fact, when we go back and look at old photographs and say wistfully, "I remember this. This is when..." and so on. I can't tell you how Japan has changed me. I don't know yet. But this experience has become a part of who I am. I will forever look back at these three months I have spent oh, so far from home, and say, "I remember this. This is when..."
I am a product of my experiences. Without them, I would not be who, or what I am today. Because of this, I am reluctant to do this, and so on. Some good, some bad. So it goes. Po-tee-weet.
I have a test tomorrow. I drank anyway. Just one beer. Enough to relax a little. I've been tensing up a lot lately. I can tell because my shoulder hurts all the time now. I weigh 90.5 kilos. That's 199.5 lbs, for our American visitors.
I wish I hadn't broken my heart so much. Or had it broken. Whatever. People ask about this girl that I kind of had a thing for over here, and I tell them, "Nothing has happened. Nothing will happen. I can't do it." I just can't do it right now.
So now I sit here at this desk where I have spent so much time during my stay, steadily typing away at my tiny computer, listening to music and recording my thoughts.
Do I wish I hadn't had some of the experiences that I have had? Well, sure. I've regrets, like any adult. I wish I weren't broken. I wish I weren't so stony and at the same time so soft. Nevertheless, they now shape me, as they have shaped me. You live, you learn.
I miss familiar touches. Someone tried to move me around yesterday, I had to surpress the urge to flatten him. I had to surpress an urge at dinner tonight to reach across the table and throttle someone. I'm sick of a lot of people I'm living with. I told him to never touch me again. I don't like to be moved. Especially by people I don't really like. It messes with my brain. I want a hug from my Dad, my sisters (all of them), my friends, my grandma, my mother. I want a decent handshake. I had one this past weekend from my host dad.
It's gotten cold. Fast. Dropped to around 40 degrees today. Finally. People bitch. People always bitch. All the time. I hate it. I have to hear the same thing, day in and day out.
Japan is strange. It is full of invisible walls. There are things you can do, and things you can't do. Simple as that. In America, society is very open, with very few restrictions. Japan is incredibly restrictive.
I'm out of ideas. No, no conclusion, no neat wrap-up at the end of the 22-minute episode where everything returns to normal, Po-tee-weet.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Homestay, etc.
So this past week has been ridiculously busy with no end in sight. Jesse and I are going to be incredibly busy almost right up until we leave. Which sucks. However, I do have good news. I just sa-no, I can't do that. That's just retarded. I'm sorry everyone.
Yesterday was our middle school visit (not to be confused with our elementary school visit). We had to wake up super early on a Saturday morning to go visit some stupid middle school before our homestay, which could not have come at a worse time because of the sheer amount of work we have to do, and talk to middle schoolers in English. So we're all bitching a little on the bus, with things like, "Man this sucks!" "Man, this is so early" and other such inspired and witty commentary. When the bus pulled up some of the students saw us pull in and all started waving and yelling, "Hello!" What followed was possibly my very best couple of days in Japan.
For this middle school visit, everyone was placed in classrooms, with several foreigners to a room. While we were wating for the day to start, we were sitting in an upstairs room of this giantic Soviet-esc building. Really, it looked like something straight out of Stalinist Russia. It did not bode well. It turned out to be really fun, though. Sitting in the library, I think it was, there was old 1940's music playing. I heard "Take the A-train." It was surreal. I was placed in a first year class, so the kids were around 11 or 12. The first part of the day we talked a little about ourselves and they talked a little about themselves, and it was a general get to know you, let's ask awkward questions time. We had lunch and then reccess. I don't know the last time I had recess. It was amazing. We played dodgeball. I was awesome. In the afternoon we played games that the students had made. This was also fun. There were three groups, one group had a board game, one group had a card game, and the third group had a chopstick relay. After the afternoon session finished we all went down to the gym and sat with our classes and had a closing ceremony with people saying how much they enjoyed their time at the middle school, etc., etc. After this, the foreigners went back up to our little welcome room and had a closing ceremony of our own where we wrote messages to our class, talked about the day, and then had a short little closing ceremony of our own. This was quickly followed by host family introductions.
We were all down there in a group, wondering who was our family. I spotted a couple of girls who looked the correct age for my family which was 15 and 18. Lo and behold, when my name was called, they were my family. And ya'll, the 18-year-old was hot. Not just pretty, but smokin' hot. Her english is also excellent so if she reads this (since I gave you my blog address, Saki), I'm going to have to ask you to not translate that last part to your family. Thanks. Annnnywaaaaaaay, back to the story at hand. My family consisted of 6 people, 4 of whom met me at the middle school. It was the Shibata family, consisting of a mother, father, two teenage daughters, a 10-year-old son, and a grandmother. Mr. and Mrs. Shibata along with Saki (18) and Risa (15) (who had just gotten out of school at the same middle school) met me at the school, introduced themselves and told me that it was very nice to meet me. I told them that I had made sure to memorize their names and that it was very nice to meet them as well. I even showed them the sheet that the CIP had given us with their names and ages on it. They thought that was very funny. Thus begins awkwardness, I thought, but I was wrong, since Saki's English was so good, she was able to translate when I didn't understand or couldn't explain something in Japanese on my own. These people gave so much to me in the 24 hours I was with them, I couldn't even begin to explain how welcome and at home I felt with them. They live in Kasahara, a suburb of Taijimi, the city right next to Kasugai. Their house is a very nice, middle-class house. They have a dog. His name is "Pakku." I asked Saki about it, him being her dog and whatnot, and she told me it was for a hockey puck, because she likes hockey so much. They asked me if church was okay, and I told them it was. We didn't end up going, but I think it meant a lot to them that I was willing. The family except for Saki is Buddhist. Saki is a Christian. It is the opposite of my family, I told them a little later. Saki had to go to church anyway because she was on the worship team and had to be early to sing and such. So we piled into the van to take Saki to the church, and the rest of us (except for Obaachan, she stayed home) hit the batting cages. It's been at least 10 years since I've hit a ball with a bat, folks. I think I tried to hit about 60, that seems right. Three times in the cage at 20 balls each.
While we were waiting for our turn in the cage, I noticed something: It was a right-handed cage. I told them this might be problematic for me, being a lefty and all. So we moved down to a switch cage to bat. I'm still sore, but it was worth it. After the cages, we went to the mall and window shopped for a while, they asked me questions about myself and my family, and I asked them standard polite questions. At one point, we were in the toy section and I saw a Nightmare Before Christmas toy. I asked Risa if she had seen this movie (this is Japanese, FTR):
"Yes, but it was a long time ago"
"Did you like it?"
"Yes!"
"Would you like to watch it? I brought it with me. It's in my bag."
"Really? That's cool!"
"Yes! We can watch it in Japanese, too. I don't understand everything, but I have seen it many times and remember it."
and she runs off to ask her mother if it's okay to watch the movie after we get back from dinner.
About this time, it's time for us to go get Saki from church, so we go to pick her up, and I go in. It was mainly foreigners with a smattering of Japanese people. I soon realized it was won of the more...how to put this...open? Dad will know what kind of church makes me uncomfortable, and this was one of them. And I'm done talking about that. People's religion is none of my business.
After church we went to Yakiniku, or grilled meat. At this restaurant, there is a brazier in the middle of the table and you put pieces of meat and vegetables on it. It was really delicious. I mean, really delicious. I had a bit of everything, beef, beef tongue, pig intestine, pig skin, squid, chicken, regular pig and other such things. They kept putting food in my little bowl and I kept eating it. I could not finish everything, though. This was soon to be a theme. Full of meat and other such goodness, I waddled back to the car, and we all went back home.
After everyone had gotten comfortable, I got out my tiny, tiny computer to show them some pictures. I had forgotten my digital camera, unfortunately, so I have no photos from this trip to post yet, nor was I able to show them photos from my travels. They thought Bethany was very pretty, and Dad looked cool. I mostly showed them pictures from Hawai'i because that was what I could find on the internet that had my family in it. I also gave them their gifts which were various and sundry little things, in addition to an OU coffee mug. They got some lanyards from OU and pens and pencils from the John and Annie Glenn house. They were thrilled. We then proceeded to watch Nightmare. I finally hit the hay around 11:30 on an incredibly comfortable futon.
Sunday dawned cloudy and rainy. I got up around 7:30 and took a shower and tried to eat everything at breakfast. Unfortunately, and Dad can attest to this, I don't do well with big early breakfasts. There was so much food, and I couldn't eat a whole lot without getting sick. We lingered around the breakfast table, drinking coffee and talking for a while. I learned a little more about them, and they a little more about me. I wrote my information on a piece of paper and gave it to them so we could stay in touch. I promised to write them as often as my schedule would allow.
Unfortunately Saki had her part-time job and so could not be present for the next part of the adventure. We did, however, pick up Obaachan (grandma), and she came with us to this historical villlage. It was fun, but I didn't understand a whole lot. They picked out a present for Kelly. When I say picked out, I mean they bought it. For me. To give to her. All because I had asked Risa what something she would want would be, since Kelly and Risa are the same age. So we walked around, did some shopping, and my family treated me to another meal. This time of soba noodles, for which this village is famous. (Sidenote: Every village in Japan is famous for something. Some little niche is filled. If you mention a town, chances are someone will say, "Oh yeah, they're famous for -----"). Again, I couldn't eat everything, but I gave it a run for its money. I made sure to eat the stranger things on the dish. An entire pickled fish, some other pickled bits, and so on. After lunch was a little more shopping, and I made sure to get a picture with the (almost) entire family. We headed back to Kasahara.
We had a little time left, so we returned to the house before I had to head to the middle school to get picked up. Taiga (their 10-year-old boy) and I played video games. He seemed to really enjoy it. I did too. Video games are the ultimate equalizer. If you enjoy them, it doesn't matter what your culture is, everyone can gather together. そろそろ時間です。(As they say in Japan.)Too soon, it was time for me to leave, and so leave I did. I said my good-byes to Taiga and Obaachan, and even Pakku. Risa, Mr. Shibata, and Mrs. Shibata came with me to say good-bye. We got our picture taken in front of the bus, and I hugged Risa and Mrs. Shibata good-bye and shook Mr. Shibata's hand and told them I would write them often, and try to return as soon as I could. Despite my misgivings about the whole thing, it was great. I could not have asked for a better time.
I'm glad when I'm wrong like that.
Yesterday was our middle school visit (not to be confused with our elementary school visit). We had to wake up super early on a Saturday morning to go visit some stupid middle school before our homestay, which could not have come at a worse time because of the sheer amount of work we have to do, and talk to middle schoolers in English. So we're all bitching a little on the bus, with things like, "Man this sucks!" "Man, this is so early" and other such inspired and witty commentary. When the bus pulled up some of the students saw us pull in and all started waving and yelling, "Hello!" What followed was possibly my very best couple of days in Japan.
For this middle school visit, everyone was placed in classrooms, with several foreigners to a room. While we were wating for the day to start, we were sitting in an upstairs room of this giantic Soviet-esc building. Really, it looked like something straight out of Stalinist Russia. It did not bode well. It turned out to be really fun, though. Sitting in the library, I think it was, there was old 1940's music playing. I heard "Take the A-train." It was surreal. I was placed in a first year class, so the kids were around 11 or 12. The first part of the day we talked a little about ourselves and they talked a little about themselves, and it was a general get to know you, let's ask awkward questions time. We had lunch and then reccess. I don't know the last time I had recess. It was amazing. We played dodgeball. I was awesome. In the afternoon we played games that the students had made. This was also fun. There were three groups, one group had a board game, one group had a card game, and the third group had a chopstick relay. After the afternoon session finished we all went down to the gym and sat with our classes and had a closing ceremony with people saying how much they enjoyed their time at the middle school, etc., etc. After this, the foreigners went back up to our little welcome room and had a closing ceremony of our own where we wrote messages to our class, talked about the day, and then had a short little closing ceremony of our own. This was quickly followed by host family introductions.
We were all down there in a group, wondering who was our family. I spotted a couple of girls who looked the correct age for my family which was 15 and 18. Lo and behold, when my name was called, they were my family. And ya'll, the 18-year-old was hot. Not just pretty, but smokin' hot. Her english is also excellent so if she reads this (since I gave you my blog address, Saki), I'm going to have to ask you to not translate that last part to your family. Thanks. Annnnywaaaaaaay, back to the story at hand. My family consisted of 6 people, 4 of whom met me at the middle school. It was the Shibata family, consisting of a mother, father, two teenage daughters, a 10-year-old son, and a grandmother. Mr. and Mrs. Shibata along with Saki (18) and Risa (15) (who had just gotten out of school at the same middle school) met me at the school, introduced themselves and told me that it was very nice to meet me. I told them that I had made sure to memorize their names and that it was very nice to meet them as well. I even showed them the sheet that the CIP had given us with their names and ages on it. They thought that was very funny. Thus begins awkwardness, I thought, but I was wrong, since Saki's English was so good, she was able to translate when I didn't understand or couldn't explain something in Japanese on my own. These people gave so much to me in the 24 hours I was with them, I couldn't even begin to explain how welcome and at home I felt with them. They live in Kasahara, a suburb of Taijimi, the city right next to Kasugai. Their house is a very nice, middle-class house. They have a dog. His name is "Pakku." I asked Saki about it, him being her dog and whatnot, and she told me it was for a hockey puck, because she likes hockey so much. They asked me if church was okay, and I told them it was. We didn't end up going, but I think it meant a lot to them that I was willing. The family except for Saki is Buddhist. Saki is a Christian. It is the opposite of my family, I told them a little later. Saki had to go to church anyway because she was on the worship team and had to be early to sing and such. So we piled into the van to take Saki to the church, and the rest of us (except for Obaachan, she stayed home) hit the batting cages. It's been at least 10 years since I've hit a ball with a bat, folks. I think I tried to hit about 60, that seems right. Three times in the cage at 20 balls each.
While we were waiting for our turn in the cage, I noticed something: It was a right-handed cage. I told them this might be problematic for me, being a lefty and all. So we moved down to a switch cage to bat. I'm still sore, but it was worth it. After the cages, we went to the mall and window shopped for a while, they asked me questions about myself and my family, and I asked them standard polite questions. At one point, we were in the toy section and I saw a Nightmare Before Christmas toy. I asked Risa if she had seen this movie (this is Japanese, FTR):
"Yes, but it was a long time ago"
"Did you like it?"
"Yes!"
"Would you like to watch it? I brought it with me. It's in my bag."
"Really? That's cool!"
"Yes! We can watch it in Japanese, too. I don't understand everything, but I have seen it many times and remember it."
and she runs off to ask her mother if it's okay to watch the movie after we get back from dinner.
About this time, it's time for us to go get Saki from church, so we go to pick her up, and I go in. It was mainly foreigners with a smattering of Japanese people. I soon realized it was won of the more...how to put this...open? Dad will know what kind of church makes me uncomfortable, and this was one of them. And I'm done talking about that. People's religion is none of my business.
After church we went to Yakiniku, or grilled meat. At this restaurant, there is a brazier in the middle of the table and you put pieces of meat and vegetables on it. It was really delicious. I mean, really delicious. I had a bit of everything, beef, beef tongue, pig intestine, pig skin, squid, chicken, regular pig and other such things. They kept putting food in my little bowl and I kept eating it. I could not finish everything, though. This was soon to be a theme. Full of meat and other such goodness, I waddled back to the car, and we all went back home.
After everyone had gotten comfortable, I got out my tiny, tiny computer to show them some pictures. I had forgotten my digital camera, unfortunately, so I have no photos from this trip to post yet, nor was I able to show them photos from my travels. They thought Bethany was very pretty, and Dad looked cool. I mostly showed them pictures from Hawai'i because that was what I could find on the internet that had my family in it. I also gave them their gifts which were various and sundry little things, in addition to an OU coffee mug. They got some lanyards from OU and pens and pencils from the John and Annie Glenn house. They were thrilled. We then proceeded to watch Nightmare. I finally hit the hay around 11:30 on an incredibly comfortable futon.
Sunday dawned cloudy and rainy. I got up around 7:30 and took a shower and tried to eat everything at breakfast. Unfortunately, and Dad can attest to this, I don't do well with big early breakfasts. There was so much food, and I couldn't eat a whole lot without getting sick. We lingered around the breakfast table, drinking coffee and talking for a while. I learned a little more about them, and they a little more about me. I wrote my information on a piece of paper and gave it to them so we could stay in touch. I promised to write them as often as my schedule would allow.
Unfortunately Saki had her part-time job and so could not be present for the next part of the adventure. We did, however, pick up Obaachan (grandma), and she came with us to this historical villlage. It was fun, but I didn't understand a whole lot. They picked out a present for Kelly. When I say picked out, I mean they bought it. For me. To give to her. All because I had asked Risa what something she would want would be, since Kelly and Risa are the same age. So we walked around, did some shopping, and my family treated me to another meal. This time of soba noodles, for which this village is famous. (Sidenote: Every village in Japan is famous for something. Some little niche is filled. If you mention a town, chances are someone will say, "Oh yeah, they're famous for -----"). Again, I couldn't eat everything, but I gave it a run for its money. I made sure to eat the stranger things on the dish. An entire pickled fish, some other pickled bits, and so on. After lunch was a little more shopping, and I made sure to get a picture with the (almost) entire family. We headed back to Kasahara.
We had a little time left, so we returned to the house before I had to head to the middle school to get picked up. Taiga (their 10-year-old boy) and I played video games. He seemed to really enjoy it. I did too. Video games are the ultimate equalizer. If you enjoy them, it doesn't matter what your culture is, everyone can gather together. そろそろ時間です。(As they say in Japan.)Too soon, it was time for me to leave, and so leave I did. I said my good-byes to Taiga and Obaachan, and even Pakku. Risa, Mr. Shibata, and Mrs. Shibata came with me to say good-bye. We got our picture taken in front of the bus, and I hugged Risa and Mrs. Shibata good-bye and shook Mr. Shibata's hand and told them I would write them often, and try to return as soon as I could. Despite my misgivings about the whole thing, it was great. I could not have asked for a better time.
I'm glad when I'm wrong like that.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Two Posts in One Week? He's Mad, I Tells Ya! Mad!
Just some thoughts in this one, rather than my weekly list of misdeeds and misadventures.
Quick note to Dad: The Risk of Being Alive by Brian Hancock. Don't buy it. It may be a present. You should still read it sometime. You'd enjoy it.
This Sunday will mark 4 weeks until I leave for home. As I have mentioned before, time here is so funny. Some nights I'll look up from my work and it will only be 7:00, while other nights I am scrambling to get things done before 11. I feel like I do the same amount of work every night, but I differ wildly on my sense of time. I'm starting to go a little crazy having almost every moment of my free time planned out. I'm a free spirit, man, I have to wander when the mood strikes me. Unfortunately my schedule and transportation situation do not permit me such freedom. The yoke of Japanese University life does not rest easy on my shoulders. The trip to the mountains would have been good for me. I would have gotten a break from everyone and everything, but that's how my chips have fallen this time. I seem to have exhausted my prospects around Kasugai for wandering in and around forests, and cities don't thrill me all that much. The concrete jungle, if you will, holds no attractions for me. I want to walk and feel dirt, reach out and feel trees, I want to be able to bend over and scoop up some earth and smell it. I finally got my birthday card from Grandma today. It was apparently missent to Thailand. It says so right on the envelope. How you confuse Thailand and Japan, I do not know, but it was done. This card has a picture of a compass and a map on it. How I wish I had those two things.
If you would have asked me when I was a child, what I would be doing at this point I would not have guessed this. Not in a million years. Where will I be in 10 years? I haven't the foggiest. I hope I'm happy. I love my dad. He's perhaps the greatest influence on my life. I love to tell people how much like him I am, how cool of a guy he is. How I hope when I'm 55 I'm still doing as well as he is. However, I don't know if I'm cut out for his type of job. A suit everyday, calling on offices day in and day out. Then again, he travels a lot. Almost every day a new place. Sure, it's in the same general area, but I think he has the wanderlust, same as me. Maybe I even got it from him. He is my father, after all. Dad, when you read this, as I know you will; this is for you: Let's go somewhere. I don't care where. I want the outdoors, I don't care when we go, it could be snowing and windy and I would still go out. Nothing can stop the Hurst men.
I made a list today to make sure that I have everyone's present. There are still a few that I need to get. I realized as I was making it, I have gotten myself remarkably little. Beyond food, I don't have a whole lot of things for myself from this trip. Most of my money has gone to gifts. I'm fine with this. I miss my family. A lot. I often wonder if I'll come back changed in any significant way; it is 3 months, after all. However, it's only 3 months. It doesn't seem that dramatic when you look at it in a wide scope. It sure feels a lot longer here on the ground. I haven't done all the things I want to do, and won't get a chance to. I'm only 22 though, I still have a long time to get things done. I might end up back here. By "here" I mean Japan. No more university for me, thanks very much all the same. Missing you all,
Quick note to Dad: The Risk of Being Alive by Brian Hancock. Don't buy it. It may be a present. You should still read it sometime. You'd enjoy it.
This Sunday will mark 4 weeks until I leave for home. As I have mentioned before, time here is so funny. Some nights I'll look up from my work and it will only be 7:00, while other nights I am scrambling to get things done before 11. I feel like I do the same amount of work every night, but I differ wildly on my sense of time. I'm starting to go a little crazy having almost every moment of my free time planned out. I'm a free spirit, man, I have to wander when the mood strikes me. Unfortunately my schedule and transportation situation do not permit me such freedom. The yoke of Japanese University life does not rest easy on my shoulders. The trip to the mountains would have been good for me. I would have gotten a break from everyone and everything, but that's how my chips have fallen this time. I seem to have exhausted my prospects around Kasugai for wandering in and around forests, and cities don't thrill me all that much. The concrete jungle, if you will, holds no attractions for me. I want to walk and feel dirt, reach out and feel trees, I want to be able to bend over and scoop up some earth and smell it. I finally got my birthday card from Grandma today. It was apparently missent to Thailand. It says so right on the envelope. How you confuse Thailand and Japan, I do not know, but it was done. This card has a picture of a compass and a map on it. How I wish I had those two things.
If you would have asked me when I was a child, what I would be doing at this point I would not have guessed this. Not in a million years. Where will I be in 10 years? I haven't the foggiest. I hope I'm happy. I love my dad. He's perhaps the greatest influence on my life. I love to tell people how much like him I am, how cool of a guy he is. How I hope when I'm 55 I'm still doing as well as he is. However, I don't know if I'm cut out for his type of job. A suit everyday, calling on offices day in and day out. Then again, he travels a lot. Almost every day a new place. Sure, it's in the same general area, but I think he has the wanderlust, same as me. Maybe I even got it from him. He is my father, after all. Dad, when you read this, as I know you will; this is for you: Let's go somewhere. I don't care where. I want the outdoors, I don't care when we go, it could be snowing and windy and I would still go out. Nothing can stop the Hurst men.
I made a list today to make sure that I have everyone's present. There are still a few that I need to get. I realized as I was making it, I have gotten myself remarkably little. Beyond food, I don't have a whole lot of things for myself from this trip. Most of my money has gone to gifts. I'm fine with this. I miss my family. A lot. I often wonder if I'll come back changed in any significant way; it is 3 months, after all. However, it's only 3 months. It doesn't seem that dramatic when you look at it in a wide scope. It sure feels a lot longer here on the ground. I haven't done all the things I want to do, and won't get a chance to. I'm only 22 though, I still have a long time to get things done. I might end up back here. By "here" I mean Japan. No more university for me, thanks very much all the same. Missing you all,
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Has it really been a week already? Well, almost a week. Close enough for government work.
Not a whole lot has happened really in the last week. We had class 4 days this week, though I only had it 3 because of the way my schedule works out. No classes on Friday is pretty nice, I have to say. The biggest news was the election. It caused some tempers to flare amongst the more outspoken members of the group. I kept my mouth shut because it's really no business of mine what others believe in. Tuesday (for you, I guess, because it was already Wednesday afternoon when we heard the news) sparked an e-mail from our guy here in Japan. He's been doing this study abroad program for 16 years, so he knows quite a bit about group dynamics. He basically told us to shut out pie-holes and mind our own damn business. I thought it was good advice. As I said previously, our group is beginning to fracture a little bit, with everyone wearing on everyone elses nerves. However, some good has come of this. A few of us have reached across the aisle, as it were, to make friends with the WVU guys, who, despite being akin to retarded monkeys, aren't all that bad.
Friday I went to Nagoya on my own. My first totally solo train ride. It went well, with only a moment of hesitation at the end. I purchased a set of speakers for my computer. They're pretty nice and would have cost me 2980 yen, but I had enough points on my rewards card that I got them for free. So really, they only cost me the 1200 yen to and from Nagoya, which is something I can live with. Friday night we snuck a few Japanese into the dorm and had a little party in the second floor lounge.
I finally pulled my sorry ass out of bed around 10 on both Saturday and today. Saturday I did nothing for the whole day. It was a wonderful feeling. My roommate and I just listened to music and sat around. I got caught up with some people, did a little reading, etc. That evening a large group of Americans and Japanese went out to shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu consists of a pot of boiling liquid into which is thrown various varieties of vegetables, and sundry meats. It was fantastic.
The homesickness has been getting pretty bad lately. I find myself missing a lot more things and wishing for such and such to happen. It's tough. I have a little more than a month left, and still so much to do. This next weekend is the homestay, the weekend after is another school trip; this time to a pottery factory where we will make our own piece of pottery. I will probably make a tea bowl. Not too long after that school trip is another one, this time our Shogakkohomon. Our elementary school visit. It's the big thing, the thing I've been dreading for quite some time. Will I be able to memorize my speech? Will the kids think it's interesting? What if I forget everything? The typical pre-performance jitters most likely. I hope. Sincerely hope. But I miss simple things: french fries, my own bed. Speaking of my own bed, I've been waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where I am. It's strange. Beer. I also miss good beer. Japanese beer is different, sure, but the novelty has worn off. I finally found a "stout" last night. It was lackluster at best.
It's finally getting cooler here. I've broken out my colder weather gear. Finally. Though, the trees here might be retarded. Some of them are already bare, some in various stages of color, and some still green and clinging to their leaves. I miss proper trees. The ones that all turn at the same time, in a brief flash of glory before turning brown and dropping off and causing that wonderful smell of wet leaf mold that so characterizes fall in Ohio. Perhaps that's what bothers me the most. The lack of familiar smells. I rely very much on my nose for cues. There is nothing here that smells like home. Sure, seperate smells are familiar, but nothing really smells like fall or smells like home, and so on. The slow trickle of changing leaves, coupled with the Japanese obsession with landscaping leaves very little oppurtunity for the leaves on the ground to rot.
On the lighter side, I have a shedding problem. My hair is all over the linoleum floor of my room. I know it's mine because my roommate doesn't have that much on his entire body. It's kind of funny.
Love you all,
Not a whole lot has happened really in the last week. We had class 4 days this week, though I only had it 3 because of the way my schedule works out. No classes on Friday is pretty nice, I have to say. The biggest news was the election. It caused some tempers to flare amongst the more outspoken members of the group. I kept my mouth shut because it's really no business of mine what others believe in. Tuesday (for you, I guess, because it was already Wednesday afternoon when we heard the news) sparked an e-mail from our guy here in Japan. He's been doing this study abroad program for 16 years, so he knows quite a bit about group dynamics. He basically told us to shut out pie-holes and mind our own damn business. I thought it was good advice. As I said previously, our group is beginning to fracture a little bit, with everyone wearing on everyone elses nerves. However, some good has come of this. A few of us have reached across the aisle, as it were, to make friends with the WVU guys, who, despite being akin to retarded monkeys, aren't all that bad.
Friday I went to Nagoya on my own. My first totally solo train ride. It went well, with only a moment of hesitation at the end. I purchased a set of speakers for my computer. They're pretty nice and would have cost me 2980 yen, but I had enough points on my rewards card that I got them for free. So really, they only cost me the 1200 yen to and from Nagoya, which is something I can live with. Friday night we snuck a few Japanese into the dorm and had a little party in the second floor lounge.
I finally pulled my sorry ass out of bed around 10 on both Saturday and today. Saturday I did nothing for the whole day. It was a wonderful feeling. My roommate and I just listened to music and sat around. I got caught up with some people, did a little reading, etc. That evening a large group of Americans and Japanese went out to shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu consists of a pot of boiling liquid into which is thrown various varieties of vegetables, and sundry meats. It was fantastic.
The homesickness has been getting pretty bad lately. I find myself missing a lot more things and wishing for such and such to happen. It's tough. I have a little more than a month left, and still so much to do. This next weekend is the homestay, the weekend after is another school trip; this time to a pottery factory where we will make our own piece of pottery. I will probably make a tea bowl. Not too long after that school trip is another one, this time our Shogakkohomon. Our elementary school visit. It's the big thing, the thing I've been dreading for quite some time. Will I be able to memorize my speech? Will the kids think it's interesting? What if I forget everything? The typical pre-performance jitters most likely. I hope. Sincerely hope. But I miss simple things: french fries, my own bed. Speaking of my own bed, I've been waking up in the middle of the night not knowing where I am. It's strange. Beer. I also miss good beer. Japanese beer is different, sure, but the novelty has worn off. I finally found a "stout" last night. It was lackluster at best.
It's finally getting cooler here. I've broken out my colder weather gear. Finally. Though, the trees here might be retarded. Some of them are already bare, some in various stages of color, and some still green and clinging to their leaves. I miss proper trees. The ones that all turn at the same time, in a brief flash of glory before turning brown and dropping off and causing that wonderful smell of wet leaf mold that so characterizes fall in Ohio. Perhaps that's what bothers me the most. The lack of familiar smells. I rely very much on my nose for cues. There is nothing here that smells like home. Sure, seperate smells are familiar, but nothing really smells like fall or smells like home, and so on. The slow trickle of changing leaves, coupled with the Japanese obsession with landscaping leaves very little oppurtunity for the leaves on the ground to rot.
On the lighter side, I have a shedding problem. My hair is all over the linoleum floor of my room. I know it's mine because my roommate doesn't have that much on his entire body. It's kind of funny.
Love you all,
Monday, November 3, 2008
Uhhh...Halloween, Toyota and School Festivus
So today is the 4th? That seems right. I haven't updated my adventures for a little while because I got all blogged out with writing about Hiroshima and Kyoto. The past week wasn't any less busy, either. With tons of homework to do every night, not to mention meeting with Japanese students and just trying to keep up with everything, I can't even begin to think of getting ahead. To make it worse, my nightmares have started again. I don't remember what most of them are about, but I normally wake up sweating.
So this past week was Halloween. Some of the Japanese students threw the exchange students a Halloween party on Wednesday. No one seemed all that into it. At least not like back home. It seemed as though it was simply to humor the Americans who have gotten used to having fun on a random day at the end of October. I talked to some of the Japanese students, and Halloween is getting more popular in the more urban centers, but out here, in Kasugai, not a whole lot happens for it. I was a lumberjack. It was okay. Afterwards was nomihodai at a nice bar. I drank far too much, and stayed up far too late. Worth it, though.
Friday was our trip to Toyota to watch car manufacturing. I know how cars are made, and I can see the exact same thing in America. It is not why I came to Japan. Enough said about that.
So I didn't get to go to the mountains like I had hoped. The weather up there was just too bad. I guess I'll just have to come back. While a disappointing development, it did allow me to attend the School Festival, which occurs once a year for three days. It is the biggest thing the school puts on, I liken it to a fair. Families with small children from the community come and everyone has a good time.
Saturday, walked around the festival for a while, but I soon tired of it and several of us decied to head into Sakae to do some shopping in the shopping district there. It was fun. More presents were purchased. The will be shipped back. They are not to be opened. Sunday, I went back to the festival. Like the good little boy I am, I was not content to just enjoy the fesival. I had to participate. Spur of the moment-like, though. While walking around the festival, I saw my conversation partner carrying a sandwich board and announcing what his group was selling. We had a brief conversation, and I took the sandwich board with a promise to walk around and then return to his group's tent. So I did. I stood and hawked his food. The tent next door were friend's too. I stood and hawked their food. I did damn well. Business picked up. I was an oddity. A foreigner? Speaking Japanese? Selling things? I've gotta see this. And so on. So I worked for a couple of hours until I tired of that. I told them I would come back and help the next day as well. And so I did. And it was fun again. I went to a third tent that I had promised to visit, this one selling African food, and helped them for a while. Soon, some of my other Japanese friends chanced by. We sold food together, with lines like,
"If you want to be big and hairy like Ike, buy these!"
"Ike eats these every day to be strong!"
and so on. It was incredibly fun, and we actually managed to sell the stand out completely. Every single thing. I bought the last cup of tea. I got a bowl of soup in payment, that was it. I didn't want anything, I just did it to have some fun and help out my friends. All in all, a good weekend.
Time here is funny. It seems to fly by during the days, but when you look back, you say, "Was that really only two days ago?"
The group is starting to tire of one another's company, I believe. Tempers flare more easily, more conflicts arise. I'm trying to stay in the middle. It's comfortable here. Only a few people really annoy me. These things happen.
Unfortunately, since I didn't get to go hiking this weekend, that was it. There will be no more chances. Once the weather turns sour in the mountains, it stays bad until spring. Oh well.
I love and miss you all,
So this past week was Halloween. Some of the Japanese students threw the exchange students a Halloween party on Wednesday. No one seemed all that into it. At least not like back home. It seemed as though it was simply to humor the Americans who have gotten used to having fun on a random day at the end of October. I talked to some of the Japanese students, and Halloween is getting more popular in the more urban centers, but out here, in Kasugai, not a whole lot happens for it. I was a lumberjack. It was okay. Afterwards was nomihodai at a nice bar. I drank far too much, and stayed up far too late. Worth it, though.
Friday was our trip to Toyota to watch car manufacturing. I know how cars are made, and I can see the exact same thing in America. It is not why I came to Japan. Enough said about that.
So I didn't get to go to the mountains like I had hoped. The weather up there was just too bad. I guess I'll just have to come back. While a disappointing development, it did allow me to attend the School Festival, which occurs once a year for three days. It is the biggest thing the school puts on, I liken it to a fair. Families with small children from the community come and everyone has a good time.
Saturday, walked around the festival for a while, but I soon tired of it and several of us decied to head into Sakae to do some shopping in the shopping district there. It was fun. More presents were purchased. The will be shipped back. They are not to be opened. Sunday, I went back to the festival. Like the good little boy I am, I was not content to just enjoy the fesival. I had to participate. Spur of the moment-like, though. While walking around the festival, I saw my conversation partner carrying a sandwich board and announcing what his group was selling. We had a brief conversation, and I took the sandwich board with a promise to walk around and then return to his group's tent. So I did. I stood and hawked his food. The tent next door were friend's too. I stood and hawked their food. I did damn well. Business picked up. I was an oddity. A foreigner? Speaking Japanese? Selling things? I've gotta see this. And so on. So I worked for a couple of hours until I tired of that. I told them I would come back and help the next day as well. And so I did. And it was fun again. I went to a third tent that I had promised to visit, this one selling African food, and helped them for a while. Soon, some of my other Japanese friends chanced by. We sold food together, with lines like,
"If you want to be big and hairy like Ike, buy these!"
"Ike eats these every day to be strong!"
and so on. It was incredibly fun, and we actually managed to sell the stand out completely. Every single thing. I bought the last cup of tea. I got a bowl of soup in payment, that was it. I didn't want anything, I just did it to have some fun and help out my friends. All in all, a good weekend.
Time here is funny. It seems to fly by during the days, but when you look back, you say, "Was that really only two days ago?"
The group is starting to tire of one another's company, I believe. Tempers flare more easily, more conflicts arise. I'm trying to stay in the middle. It's comfortable here. Only a few people really annoy me. These things happen.
Unfortunately, since I didn't get to go hiking this weekend, that was it. There will be no more chances. Once the weather turns sour in the mountains, it stays bad until spring. Oh well.
I love and miss you all,
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