Return to Normalcy?

So it's been a little over a month now since my return. Japan has now started to seem surreal, much like home seemed surreal when I was there. I find that I ask myself, "Was I really there?"

Yes, yes I was. It was an incredible experience. It will shape the rest of my life, I'm sure. Even now, I find myself launching into a story that starts with, "When I was in Japan..." with some sort of obscure and rambling anecdote following. I had an interview about Japan actually. She wrote everything down. I think it filled three or four notebook pages.

So things have settled back into my normal life. I go to class, do homework, call friends, go out, you know, all that good college kid stuff. But then I realize that this is my last year. No, not even a year, 6 months. I graduate in June. Weird.

I finally have my big computer back. This thing is huge compared to the computer that I've been using for the past 4 months. However, my car broke. Transmission. Balls. You win some, you lose some. So it goes, as I've become fond of saying. My father called me on that saying. He asked where it was from. I told him. He was suitably impressed. This, of course, launched us into a discussion of literature. Both he and I think Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 are necessary reading. I added Sirens of Titan, but that one is optional. He mused about passing the made up title of something about Literature Expert or something silly to me. I'm slowly becoming my father. This isn't a bad thing, I suppose. He's healthy, happy, and about to get married actually. Weird. I'm his best man. I should start to think about a speech.

When I was talking to Dad, I told him of my job prospects. He said that it was truly unfortunate that I happen to be entering the job market at roughly the same time as he had 30+ years ago in the mid-seventies. He started to ask questions about the jobs; I didn't know how to answer. I told him what I could, but I'm just starting this real world person stuff. He agreed that this was the time for me to have an adventure. I'm single, with no real prospects, I'm used to living in small spaces, I don't have that much stuff. He figured that as long as I have enough money to pay the bills, buy food, and have some left over for a little bit of entertainment, I should be golden.

It's a little romantic to be able to tell people, "I have no idea where I'll be in 9 months." It's also incredibly nerve-wracking. Oh well,
So it goes.

The Return

I'm back in America now. I need a few days to recover. It feels good to be home.

Po-tee-weet

Yesterday I took the JLPT. It went decently, though I don't know if I will pass. In all honesty, I don't particularly care, I guess. That's a crappy attitude to have, but I'm just worn down by this point. Worn down by all the work, trying to communicate my thoughts in a different language, and having to listen to all the drama and whining from our group. It is the same conversation, day in, and day out. It's normally about 5 specific Japanese guys who live in our dorm. It's quite frustrating, and I'm glad to leave that part of my daily life behind.

Well, it's now Monday for me. There are no classes today, it's a random holiday for the University. The rest of the world continues as normal, but the University doesn't have classes. Japan seems to have a lot of strange, random holidays for being the hardest working country in the world. Sure, you can say, "It must just seem that they're random to you, but I bet they make perfect sense to the Japanese." I'll give you some of that. I'm gonna pull out the academic calendar and go through and highlight some of the holidays we have.
University Foundation Establishment Day : 12/8
Coming of Age Day: 1/12
Respect for the Aged Day: 9/15
As mentioned in a previous post, we get the Equinoxes off. So 9/23 is no classes.
Sports Day: 10/13
Culture Day: 11/3
University Founding Day: 11/19
There are plenty more, but those were just what was on m calendar.

I got a twitter. www.twitter.com/jfriesinger Now I can annoy the internet on a whole new level. For those of you not in the know, a twitter is an internet tool that operates on the simple premise, "What are you doing?" So you update it when you feel like it. Things like "I'm going to study in the library" and other helpful things to let people know where you are and what you're doing. It's very helpful if you're into that kind of thing, and I am. However, a majority of my updates have been along the lines of "Still in Japan" or "Update: My life is trivial" Click the link for the full list.

I've been reading through the archive of Questionable Content, one of my favorite webcomics. (found at http://www.questionablecontent.net) Jeph Jacques is a very funny man. On his site, there is a link to Vagabond Jewelry (www.vagabondjewelry.net) which specializes in the forging of copper. I found it interesting and was soon purveying the wares displayed. I would like to buy a cuff to hide my MedAlert Bracelet. I don't want to stop wearing it because that seems foolish. I do however, get tired of people asking what it is, or what's on it. So If I could just have something to cover it up the majority of the time when I'm out, that would be ideal. My favorites are "Navel" and "Unchained."

I probably should get started on my stack of homework that the senseis decided to grace us with in spite of our gigantic test yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again,

そろそろ時間です。

(Soon, it is time.)
So it goes.
Monday and Tuesday were my Shogakkouhomon. It's hard to believe that something I've virtually dreaded my entire time here is done. It was almost painless. Almost. I only had to present on Monday, and my class was pretty good. They were enthusiastic and would answer my questions, and seemed to have a good time. Monday in general went well. Tuesday also went well, up until the point when I was assigned to help in the class full of little shitheads. They didn't pay attention, and they didn't answer questions. Oh well. Such is life, win some, lose some. I probably built lots of character.

Even though I'm coming down to the last week of my stay in Japan, even the last few days of class, the pace has become almost frenetic. I had my last Vocabulary class yesterday, and my final for Conversation today. The final for listening was last Thursday. I got a 93 and some change. I was pretty happy with it. The sensei's seem to be genuinely sad that Jessie and I will be returning in a little over a weeks time. 10 days from today, I will be home.

As I was saying, the pace has increased. We learned several new grammar points in the past two days, and even as I sit here, there is a worksheet that needs to be done before tomorrow. Will it get done? Most probably. No class tomorrow, though. Thank goodness for small favors, I suppose.

The JLPT is Sunday. I have to take a train to get to my testing center. It's rather inconvienent. It's at the very end of one of the subway lines, and a 15 minute walk from the station. Oh well. It will be over soon, I suppose. (For those interested, it's official name in Japanese is as follows: 日本語能力試験　transliterated: Nihongonoryokushiken Fascinating, isn't it?)

I guess that's it. Po-tee-weet.

Weekly Update

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.

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.

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.