-Japanese people think Japanese is a really hard language
-life is considerably better when it is not raining
-life is considerably better when you are in the bay area
-old japanese people blame white people for the bomb (no matter what)
-one of the main reasons why living in my host family's house is difficult is because of the physical arrangement of communal space
-the world is so pretty and so full of possibilities
-sometimes you find friends in unexpected corners
-property laws are incredibly important, but also incredibly stupid
-opposable thumbs are what make us human
-sometimes your horoscope is completely accurate
-sometimes all you need is to listen to Bob Dylan
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
February is already halfway over
February Break was a really nice trip. Kendall and I traveled really well together, and it was really great to be away from Kyoto for a little bit. Some highlights:
-SNOWBOARDING. It had been since March 2006, but it only took about 3 minutes for me to remember completely how to snowboard. The snow conditions were perfect for both days, the views of the Japanese Alps were amazing, snowboarding in Japan is way cheaper than anywhere else in the world (perhaps the only thing that is cheaper here), I had the easiest snowboard rental experience ever, and since we were at the mountain on a Monday and Tuesday, we were more or less the only people there (aside from people at ski schools and people training for races).
-36 hours in Tokyo. What a weird and wild city. We went to a Kampo (chinese medicine) seminar, and when Kendall and her friend Masako went to a seminar on Chinese fortune-telling, I explored a street filled with cool old bookstores.
-Staying with Masako--Masako did a homestay with Kendall's family when Kendall was 4 and 5, and I fell apart when she pulled out early 90s photos of little kid Kendall.
-Staying with Kendall's old host family--I can't really describe the Tadama family. They were really great and showed us a wonderful time in Ueda. But they also gave me a lot of perspective on my own family experience.
-When I returned to Kyoto I still had one more day before I had to go back to school. I went on a bike ride to this crazy park/forest near my house and I brought my drum, and for a while I sat in this lookout tower in the middle of some woods near a playground and played drum.
I just got back from a really fun excursion to Osaka. I can't believe I have been in Kansai for five and a half months and am only now discovering that Osaka is actually the best city in Japan. It is so close and it is so cheap to get there and the people are so fun and nice and hip and the food is really delicious and the colors POP. I actually knew this in early October when I went to Osaka for the Radiohead show but did not internalize this, and therefore did not actually learn it. I am remembering other times I have learned something but did not internalize it and therefore did not learn it:
-flossing after Vision Quest
-getting up when you wake up after Alaska
-knife after Alaska
-etc.
I think I need to make more of an effort at remembering the things I learn, and learning the things I remember.
-SNOWBOARDING. It had been since March 2006, but it only took about 3 minutes for me to remember completely how to snowboard. The snow conditions were perfect for both days, the views of the Japanese Alps were amazing, snowboarding in Japan is way cheaper than anywhere else in the world (perhaps the only thing that is cheaper here), I had the easiest snowboard rental experience ever, and since we were at the mountain on a Monday and Tuesday, we were more or less the only people there (aside from people at ski schools and people training for races).
-36 hours in Tokyo. What a weird and wild city. We went to a Kampo (chinese medicine) seminar, and when Kendall and her friend Masako went to a seminar on Chinese fortune-telling, I explored a street filled with cool old bookstores.
-Staying with Masako--Masako did a homestay with Kendall's family when Kendall was 4 and 5, and I fell apart when she pulled out early 90s photos of little kid Kendall.
-Staying with Kendall's old host family--I can't really describe the Tadama family. They were really great and showed us a wonderful time in Ueda. But they also gave me a lot of perspective on my own family experience.
-When I returned to Kyoto I still had one more day before I had to go back to school. I went on a bike ride to this crazy park/forest near my house and I brought my drum, and for a while I sat in this lookout tower in the middle of some woods near a playground and played drum.
I just got back from a really fun excursion to Osaka. I can't believe I have been in Kansai for five and a half months and am only now discovering that Osaka is actually the best city in Japan. It is so close and it is so cheap to get there and the people are so fun and nice and hip and the food is really delicious and the colors POP. I actually knew this in early October when I went to Osaka for the Radiohead show but did not internalize this, and therefore did not actually learn it. I am remembering other times I have learned something but did not internalize it and therefore did not learn it:
-flossing after Vision Quest
-getting up when you wake up after Alaska
-knife after Alaska
-etc.
I think I need to make more of an effort at remembering the things I learn, and learning the things I remember.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
february 5
I have Monday-Wednesday next week off, and thus tomorrow begins the long-awaited February Break. Originally I had wanted to go to the Snow Festival in Hokkaido (northern Japan), featuring giant sculptures made out of snow. But fall break taught me to be careful about traveling, and going to Kobe for the Luminaria taught me just how much Japanese people love both being a tourist, and seasonal activities. So I put the snow festival plan to rest.
Kendall and I wanted to do something together, and the plan that emerged is basically me accompanying her on her research trip. We are first going to Tokyo, where we will go to some seminars on kampo, a traditional medicine practice that originated in China (like a lot of things about Japan). Then we will head to Ueda in Nagano, where we will stay with her old host family from when she came to Japan two years ago. We will go snowboarding on Monday and Tuesday, and then I am returning to Kyoto on the night bus Tuesday night.
Not much else to say. The winter is a test of endurance. But spring is approaching sooner than I think.
Kendall and I wanted to do something together, and the plan that emerged is basically me accompanying her on her research trip. We are first going to Tokyo, where we will go to some seminars on kampo, a traditional medicine practice that originated in China (like a lot of things about Japan). Then we will head to Ueda in Nagano, where we will stay with her old host family from when she came to Japan two years ago. We will go snowboarding on Monday and Tuesday, and then I am returning to Kyoto on the night bus Tuesday night.
Not much else to say. The winter is a test of endurance. But spring is approaching sooner than I think.
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