百合「ゆり」 Lily

Hey this is to wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

皆さん！　　あけましておめでとうございます！！！

I took this picture just yesterday and thought that everyone needed to see it! There was a single white lily blooming among the bikes in front of the dorms. I think it is very interesting and very pretty!

昨日子の写真を撮った。　寮の前の駐車場で一つのLilyと言う花のタイプが　咲いた。　　凄く面白くて綺麗だと思う！　

　

Just so you now that I did stuff to celebrate New Years Day, I went out with some friends in the afternoon and then went somewhere else after that and as the evening drew on and midnight approached we stopped by a Shinto Shrine to see how Japanese celebrate New Years. We got some free soba and amazake (the dregs of the sake making process) out of it. YAY!

ね。　そして　昨日の晩神社に行った。　　凄く面白かった

For now I think that is all because I will be in Hiroshima soon...
とりあえずこれだけでいいとおもいます。　僕はそろそろ広島へ行くから。。。

LATER! またね！

朝霞 「ちょうか」 Morning Mist

Well, more has happened yet again. 世界の終末はまだ遠い

Things of note this time:　　　今度の面白い事は

This is the reason for the title.

この霞は　タイトルの意味

Mass in Japanese around Christmas Time:

It's in Japanese, I think is about the only real difference. They even brought out the incense for Christmas. They had a Nativity set up too. The difference was after mass. Normally their might be some kind of celebration but this time it was very Japanese in stlyle. They gave us packages with candy in them and also we could sit down and have some Tonkotsu(a kind of soup). I really enjoyed that.

日本語のミサは　英語のとまったく同じ。。　　ミサの後は　豚骨があったんだけど。。　それだけ　変わった。

Christmas Day:
After staying up until just after midnight to officially celebrate Christmas I went to bed and then during the day.... umm, can anyone say "staying in ones room all day"? I probably should because the one time I came out in the evening got locked out while up on the roof. I didn't bring my cell phone up that time so I couldn't contact anyone and the lights were off in the kitchen, but worst of all it had started to rain... so, I found the fire escape and jumped a story down to get off the roof... yeah it was really interesting. I hope that doesn't happen again, but now I know that there is a way I can get off the roof uninjured, yeah and I am always bringing the cell with me now anywhere I go.... Although the day I have to email someone to say I am stuck on the roof will be quite embarrasing, I think.

クリスマスイブに　ぼくは　友達達と　深夜まで　飲みながら　話した。　　そのあと　メリークリスマス！　と言ってから寝に部屋に戻った。　　　次の日　 僕は　ずっと　部屋で　ファイナルファンタジーXIIのゲームをしているところだった。　　でも　晩では　面白い話が　ある。　　　僕は　屋上へ上がった んだけど　下がっている時　ドアを開けられなかった、　誰かは　いつの間にか　ドアが鍵を掛けた。　　雨が降って始まったし　もう夜だし　台所で　電気は もう消したし　他の下がり方を捜した。　屋根から非常階段に飛び降りた。。　　そんなこと　もう一回　ちょっと　したくないけど　ちょっと　したい。　　 まだは　飛び降りなければならないこと　凄くしたくないけど　やっぱり　ちょっと楽しかったから　。。。

One other thing about Christmas. Here is a picture, but just so everyone knows that I was celebrating Christmas in my own way. I had a glass of Soymilk, karaage(think Japanese McNuggets!) with broccoli, and a bowl of nata de coco, while playing Final Fantasy 12 and watching The Muppet Christmas Carol! :)

クリスマスの日の写真。　　豆乳「ミルクのアレルギーがあるけん」とから揚げとブロコリとナタデココを食べながら　ファイナルファンタジーXIIをやりながら　Muppet　Christmas　Carolと言う映画を見た。　　いいクリスマスと思う。　：）

Hamamatsu, My first Trip there:
I went to Hamamatsu to see some friends and we ended up spending the afternoon bowling and the evening at an Izakaya. Well, almost until morning too. It was a lot of fun singing Karaoke with them. The main bulk of the group was from the Shizuoka Summer tour last year. Okay so I haven't said the most interesting part. We all walked from the Train Station (駅) to the Izakaya in basically Typhoon weather. We were mostly drenched by the time we got there too. Not to mentioned my umbrella was destroyed by the wind, and I think that happened to some of the others too. But we made it, it was an awesome feeling.

浜松へ行った！　友達達と　駅から　居酒屋まで　台風で　歩いた。　　僕の傘は　壊れた。　でもね　楽しかった。。。　：）

Movie Watching!!!
Umm, yeah this isn't all that significant really but....
I went to Tsutaya on a whim and was going to rent CD that they didn't end up having. I had been looking for the band "Nobody knows" because I like their song called こころおどり（Heart dance?). However, while I was searching I was attacked by some movies.... I had fun trying to convince that guy there that I knew what I was talking about. I told him I wanted to rent the movies for 1 day, especially since it was already 5 in the afternoon. I think I had to repeat it twice. Oh well.
風の谷のナウシカ
For those of you who can't read that title it is Nausicaa Valley of the Wind. It's a Hayao Miyazaki Movie. I actually watched it twice and would have to say it is a very good movie. Although the story is a little excessively nature oriented as is true to most Miyazaki movies. I would reccommend this movie to almost anyone.

風の谷のナウシカ。。　いい映画。　それだけで十分と思う、　僕は　みやざきの映画が　好きだから。

着信あり
Yeah... You have an email（to your cell phone!!)... that's the rough meaning of the title. It's a pretty sad horror movie. Sad as in not made well. You know, a horror where almost everyone dies. I don't recommend wasting your time or money on this one. I think I was laughing through most of it.... which was mostly because of the overbearing seriousness expressions on the characters. The basic story is an over bullied high school girl unsucsessfully tries to kill herself, and while her body is in a unconcious state at the hospital she exacts revenge on her class by means of a cursed phone. A phone that is linked a little girl who was killed by her sister... lovely story. The phone sends a message out to whoever is chosen and they get a message from an unknown sender with the message:
転送すればシナナイ(If transfer this message you won't die.)

Basically if you don't send it, you die, but if you do the person you sent it to dies. So you can either die, or kill one of your classmates.... yuck.
What makes it really weird is that all the students have rental phones and are on trip in Korea, I think. While the killer is in Japan still. Why am I explaining this in detail.... okay next movie. Wait, that's all for now.

この映画は。。。　見たほうがいいかどうかが分からないけど　面白かった。　　　説明は難しいけど　転送すればシナナイ　のEメールを受けたら　転送しな かったら　死ぬ。　でも　転送したら　受けた人は　死ぬ、　君の代わり。　　弱肉強食じゃない　この映画の殺人は　最初に　自殺してみたけど失敗した、　 まだ生きていたのに　意識が無かった。　ずっと　寝ている時　高校生のクラスメートたちを　呪いケイタイで　殺した。。。　怖いね？　　じゃない。。。　 僕は　笑いながら　見た。。。　

Finally!!! I need to properly thank my parents for the DS, and the friend who transported it. THANKS!! I acquired the 漢検(Kanji Shiken, Kanji test) game and have already spent way too many hours tinkering with it. That was mostly what I did the 27+28, even while watching movies, inbetween researching stuff for my trip to Hiroshima, and the when not doing normal studies.

最後のことは　家族に感謝している　亜米利加から持ってきた友達にも。　　　漢字試験の為のゲームを買った！！！　　　よく　やっている。。。　：）

Life goes on in an unending cycle. 命が永遠に続けている。

Later　　またね！

Wait did you think that was all??? それだけと思った？　もっとあるよ。

Time for Cultural stuff, besides you know just having fun I observe things.
The first thing is a sign outside the bathrooms at the Station in Hamamatsu. Even my Japanese friends think that this is really weird, but there was a map of the bathroom. Yes, I confirmed there were that many stalls in the men's bathroom. Not sure about the women's but that is beside the point. "Oh, remember if you get lost in the bathroom step outside and check the map???" Yeah... strange.　　　Okay, seriously though it is probably for the blind because of the amount of braille it had on it.

文化の関係がある時間！　　浜松の駅では　トレイの外の壁に　トレイの地図が見つけた！　　僕の日本人の友達によると　そんなことは凄く変。　　調べたん だけど　地図は正しかった。。　やっぱりね。　　”迷ったら　トレイの外の地図を調べてくれ。”　　うける。　　でもね　本当に　見えない人たちの為に置 いたと思っている。　　　　　　　

I think that is all for now. とりあえずのは　それだけでいいね？

忘年会 Bounenkai

Where, Oh, where has the time gone?
It has actually been a few days since I posted anything. Right?

Lets see...
Fridays Lesson: My Neighbor Totoro(トナリノトトロ). Yeah, instead of doing anything our teacher let us watch that movie without subtitles. Yeah that's all I wanted to say about that.

Haircut: The guys really coool!!! I also finally got my haircut after, what? I guess about 3 months... yeah. Okay, back to the guy. He actually chatted with me the entire time he was cutting my hair, which he did by means of only a pair of scissors and a comb. You know how they occasionally show the over expressive artist as having his or her whole body move along with the actions being performed be they painting, hair dressing or whatever. Well, this guy did that as he was cutting my hair. It's not like the person is just standing there and casually doing the job. He had every part of himself in it. Despite that he would occasianally chat with me but his eyes never strayed from his project. That was awesome, but at the same time could be an example of his extremist trait. Hmm.

Classical Concert: Takuma invited us to a classical concert consisting of members from school. One of his friends was in the concert. The music was awesome. I don't have too many words for it, mostly because I forgot to get a program. I also can't name any of the songs except one; t=0. It was the intro to one of the coolest songs I have ever heard. It was really long but it was supposed to be a representation of the universe. "t=0" was the intro, but it was really unique because it occurred before the conductor appeared. True to it's calculus based, time equals zero meaning. Before anything occurred or any action happened. The "t=0" part consisted of mostly darkness, no conductor and all the players start out at the same time building to a crescendo and then falling back to silence. Then the conductor came out as the lights lit up and the next movement let up to a real crescendo that was called the big bang. Then it progressed through time. It was really cool!
For an encore at the concert they did Christmas songs, or should I say a medly of them. That was funny because they all put hats on that looked like santa hats. Plus the conductor got really animated during that part. :)

Gusto (ガスと): This a restaurant chain that Justin introduced me and Ouji to. For 180en you can attach an all you want to drink drink bar option. Also, they have this thing called a Hamburg. No, it is not a hamburger. It is more like meatloaf in the shape of a hamburger and is actually filling. :)

Bounenkai: Hung out with the Karate Circle for a nomikai(飲み会) then did all night karaoke...midnight until 6am. I actually expected that to happen so I slept until noon Saturday, so that I could just stay up all day... I hope it goes the way I planned.
Well, near as I can tell a bounenkai has no speciality to the group I was with. It was just an excuse to get together and eat and drink. It was a lot of fun for me because I actually seem to get to know these people at these things, and I speak japanese for hours on end!!
In actuality this kind of party is a "Forget the year" party. Since the new year is coming the theory is that you talk about anything and everything you want to forget from this last year to clean your slate before the new year.

Well, the last thing I should say is that because of the all night karaoke thing I was able to witness sunrise here from the roof of the dorms. It is soooooo cool!!!!

Tonights Christmas Eve so remember to put your stockings up!! :)

外国人 The Foreigner

As Ouji puts it "An actual cultural observation!!"

A question was brought up in class by the teacher today that brought back an earlier event in my stay here. When I was with the karate club at an Izakaya (居酒屋), or rather when we were leaving the place something interesting happened. The owner of the restaurant (マスター） said "farewell" to everyone individually but when he got to me he applied a friendly thump to my back and said matter of factly "hen'na gaijin/変な外人." Translation: Strange foreigner, a word applied to people who act too Japanese despite their status as non Japanese, I think. I am still not what exactly prompted him to say that but I took it as a funny joke and said while grinning "何言っているの？ What are you saying?" He just kinda grinned at me and I left with the rest of the group.


Later

子包み！ Package!

Wow!! My family sent me a gift for Christmas!!! A package full of stuffs!!
凄い！！　　家族は　クリスマスだから　プレゼントが　送った！　　沢山が入れた子包み！

Muppet Christmas Carol, the movie! 　　It's a comedy movie that I watch with my family almost ever year.
映画！　　もしかしたら　Muppetsのことを知らなかったら　インタネットで　調べてくれ。 毎年ぐらい　家族と　クリスマスの時　見たコメディの映画だよ！

Peanut Butter 　　　
ピーナツバター！

Maple Syrup (a lot of it!!)　　　　
メープル！　　凄く甘いもの！

Taco seasoning packets!!!!　　　
　メキシコ料理の　たこ　

Unmentionionables (various items of shampoo, clothing and vitamins and such...)
言わないもの達　　　　　「いろいろなこと　シャンプー　服　　くすり　　などなど。。。」

Black Blanket of Beastly Beauty.... okay so its an awesome blanket that is black.
獣らしくて美しくて黒いブランケット。。。　　えっと　　凄いブランケットは黒だよ。

Christmas tree that stands a magnanimous 6 inches tall!! and it lights up!
凄く大きいクリスマス気。。。　十二ｃｍぐらい、　そして　ピカピカできるよ！

Did I mention the most important part? Bubble wrap, lots of it. :)
一番大事なことはもう言ったかな。。。　　　エアキャップ、　沢山が　入れた。

Did, I forget anything?
Oh almost... my Grandma sent me a Zebra keychain!!!

Later またね！

就職 Employ

Guess what? I just found out that my Tutor was able to get a job, the only thing next is to graduate for him and his future is mosltly set. Now this may not sound like a phenomenal thing but getting a job in Japan is really really difficult or at least that is my impression. Book stores have whole ailes of books just on getting a job. Also, it is engrained in Japanese culture to only spend 4 years in college and then graduate. However it is acceptable to go on to graduate school too. So, I think it is awesome!

僕のチューターは　就職した！！！　　それは凄いね？　　でもね　日本では　就職のは　凄く難しいとおもう。　　　本屋で　沢山の就職するための本が　あるし　　学校は四年だけし　難しいね。

Which brings up an interesting point. Recently a teacher from here showed our class pictures of his trip to Omaha. In his explanation of the pictures he referred to the first year of Japanese and the second year of Japanese classes as the Freshmen(一年生) class and the Sophomore (二年生) class, respectfully. I think I made the mistake of correcting him, but essentially that is always the case in Japan. The first year class has first year students (ie freshmen), the second third and fourth follow the same pattern. Whereas in America you might have a 6th year student in an entry level class, or possibly even someone in the his/her 60s. Basically it doesn't follow that a first year class only has first year students. Interesting?

これは　　普通に　日本では　一年生の授業は　一年生だけでしょう？　　　亜米利加　それは　そうじゃないです。　　　やっぱり　亜米利加　だれでも　授業をとってもいいと思う。　　一年生の授業は　一年生と五年生と三年生と「時々」六十歳人を　受けている！　　　興味深いね？

Later all!

月が無い！ There is no moon!!!

okay, so this is not an observation of the culture or really anything too enthralling but...

I just went up on the rooｆ and was confused... normally I can see where I am walking as soon as I get on the roof. No eye adjustment needed. Tonight, there are no clouds and no moon, just pitch darkness and the lights of the city surrounding me.

屋根に行ったんだけど　　凄く真っ黒、　何も見えなかった。　　　直ぐに分かるようになってきたんだけど　　曇っていないし　空から光があまり無いし　　歩いているところ見えなかった。　　　でも　星空が　ちょっと見えるし　　町は　ぴかぴかだし　　綺麗だよ！！！　　　でも　　月が無い。。。

召喚 Summons

If I start one of these and leave it in the bin for a bit it still retains the day I started it, so it just awaits me posting it.... hmm. Anyway this whole "What should I talk about" is becoming a bit old of a blog beginner but that is how I think; with my mind after my hands are already going.

Well a lot has actually happened this week so, I'll give a blitzkrieg summary.

-Wednesday, Following an hour of karate, I went to the Signapore girls welcome party and had a blast. Basically it consisted of food and chatting. We got to actually hang out with people!!! okay so that actually happens a lot, but the situation was pure fun without a goal. We also got to meet the Department head for the Humanities department and the leader for the Philosophy department. They are really cool. I didn't learn much about signapore except that French Fries in Signapore are exactly like Mac's but no other kinds exist. :)

-Thursday, What happened thursday... oh yeah.. class + study, I had a speech thursday and a vocab test, but I still don't remember Thursday... oh well. I did okay on the speech, but maybe next time I will try to actually memorize the thing. I think I can, but I still can't quite see the merits in memorizing something me, an idiot foreigner still learning the language, wrote.

-Friday, I found that I still have class next week while normal students finish monday. Went to Sega world and discovered a game I will not start playing but really want to called Quest of D.
Quest of D is linked to cards somehow, haven't figured the details out yet, but you insert all your cards in the game and they act like typical RPG items. In other words, it seems to play like Hung out at Take over the world club and then went to Karate.

-Saturday, Wa Wa Wa (話っ輪っ和っ Talk, Argue, Japan or something like that) happened at Granship ( a large auditorium building nearby). We also did Karaoke after Wawawa.

-Sunday: Today so to speak I went to Mass, Kanteidan, Matsuya, Kanteidan, home, Book off, Kanteidan, Donkiho-te, mochizuki, home, ramen place, home. Actually it was mostly in preparation for Movie night. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's chest. Small group of about 8. Note this was my fourth time seeing the second and yes we watched it in English.

-Also time was filled in by the usual stuff: Tests, Karate, study, laundry, food, shopping, FF7/12 etc. You know life stuff.

This was a summary, so maybe I will fill in details later.

Passion Sanctuary

I just noticed this about Ouji's Blog, but he put up the lyrics in Japanese for the opening song to Kingdom Hearts II. The English Title is" Sanctuary" and I haven't ever actually heard the English version, but I have heard the Japanese Remix, the Instrumental Version and the Original. Of Hikaru Utada's songs it is easily a favorite.

My favorite Hikaru Utada songs would be... in order I guess:

1. Passion (Specifically: Kingdom hearts remix, actual name Dive, I think)
2. 光Hikari PLANITb remix remixed for Kingdom hearts. (yes a remixed remix) English version is entitled Simple and Clean PLANITb remix
3. This is Love
4. Sakura Drops
5. Parody
6. First love
7. Traveling
8. Blue
9. Colors
10. Letters
11. Wait and See
12. First love
13. 甘い罠　　(Sweetened Trap, rough translation)
14. Sunglasses

Beyond these there are many more songs of hers that I like but its a good general list.
Singer currently has out 4 Cd's in Japanese, one entirely in English, uncountable remixes, and a new single out recently that I haven't heard.

Well that's all.

ヒカル　宇多田のPassionの歌詞は　王子のBlogに　現れたから　上のことって書いたよ。

じゃまたね

会館 The Kaikan.

Ah, home sweet home. Monday, I spent about an hour wandering around the kaikan and in general just taking pictures of any and everything that was interesting . Apparently, at least on half of the kaikan（dorms I live in) was built in the year 1985、the year I was born. According to two plagues that I found on the building. Kind of cool, but that makes me wonder why it is in the state it is in. A lot of things look rusty... I don't know how to put it, but japanese culture is so focused on the surface of things being near perfect regardless of the inside. It doesn't bother me that the Kaikan is less than perfect, but the thought crept into my mind recently about the whole inside-outside Japanese thing. If the outside is less than perfect, then what does that say about the inside.... ? So far no problems, but I think in general foreigners are expected to be on a different wavelength.

ああ。。　僕達の家。　　月曜日で　沢山の写真を撮った。　　会館の写真。　　建物の外の壁は　昭和の６０年で　半分のアパートは　作った　ってかいた。　　面白いね？　僕の誕生日の年.
でもどうして会館は　そんな完璧じゃないと思っている。。。　赤錆がある。。　　希望は　本音と建前　は　留学生会館と関係が無い　　「例えば　建前は壊れた、　本音はどうかな」。。。。。でも　会館が大好きだよ。　だから　僕の考え方は　外は　綺麗じゃなかったんだけど　中身は　まだ　壊れてなかったら　いいと思う。　　　

Okay, lets change topics. On the other hand did you know that spiderwebs burn really really easily.... nope, I don't really know for sure either but you'd think that the amount of dust some of them collect it would be true....

新しいトピック：　　　蜘蛛（くも）の巣は　凄く　燃えやすいのは　もう知っていた？　　僕も　まだ知らないけど　　でも　家の中で　時々　蜘蛛の巣は　ダスト　「埃・塵」　が　集めたと　本当に　燃えやすい事あるね。。　　　

Yeah, I think I am tired today. After all, I am talking about spiders again.. hmm. Well, on a more intelligent note: I wasn't exhausted after karate today, but that is unrelated to what I was going to say.

まったく　僕は　つかれったと思う。。　　どうして　蜘蛛の話を　また　しっている。。　　　　　

Tonight, I arrived a little late to karate so I stood outside for a bit because there was a group of （what I thought was about 4 but turned out to be） 6 girls... but I digress. I stood out there and chatted with one of the other karate members because neither she nor I wanted to force the group of girls to move. Okay、there was that and there was the fact that the four other karate members (all male!!) inside were having a lot of fun showing off Kata to the group of girls. When they did come out I found out that 5 of the girls were from Signapore and actually were better at English than Japanese, so I casually switched from Japanese to English and talked with them a bit. It was mostly about what they were doing here, how long they were staying, and in the end I also recommended some things to do in Tokyo like go to Tokyo Tower/trick art museum. When they left I entered the Dojo, but it was interesting to note some of the Karate members comments about me talking with a group of girls for soooo long. :) Although, I think some of the comments stemmed more so from the fact I am really quiet at the Dojo.... you know something about thinking in Japanese and thinking of new karate techniques at the same time is a little difficult. Both require the brain and I only have one of those..


さあ　こんばん、　遅く行ったし　　入り口は　六人「最初から僕は四人と思ったよ」　女の子が　いたし　外で　空手をする女の子と　話しながら　待ていた。　　僕達は　ちょっと　入りたくなかったので　待ったほうがいいと思った。　そして　中で　男の子は　四人　かた「平安四段とか」を　女の子達に　見せてあげていたところなので　邪魔したくなかった。　　でも　出る時　僕は　その女の子たち　話した。　　女の子達は　シンガポール殻北シンガポール人達。　　そして　英語の方が　分かった　僕は　英語で　話した。　　　普通の会話だけど　僕は　東京タワーと　Trick Art Museumに　行くのを勧めた。　　でも　面白いことは　空手人達の　江戸は　長い時間　女の子達と　喋ったコメントした。　：）　　でも　やっぱり　そのコメントの　基本（元・基・本？？）は　あまり　道場であまり喋らないから。　　やれやれ。

GOOD NIGHT. お休み！

面白い事件 Interesting Situations

The only thing to comment on today is that I still exist. I went to Mass in the morning, checked out Kanteidan (like a sol's jewelry and loan except everthing is still expensive) ate lunch at a Matsuya (think Japanese food and fast food mixed, you order its there) then I pretty much spent the majority of the last 11 hours in the lobby doing homework （Kanji）, and internet stuffs. Thats why I am reporting I am still alive.

僕はまだ生きているよ。　　今日は　勉強する日なので　あまり　何もしなかった。　　でも　ミサの後　鑑定団に行ってから松屋でたべた。　その後　ずっと　ロビーで　勉強した。　　十一時間ぐらい。　　だから　　「まだ生きている」って言っている。　
　
Okay, so there was one thing now that I think about it. I am now of the opinion that if someone's first question to you is "Where are you from," in English, they want something from you. Today some did that to me after Mass and handed me a sheet of paper. Looking at it later I determined that he wanted me to join his school and learn Japanese. I think because I only spoke to him in Japanese despite the fact he was speaking really well in English to me that I scared him off. I really don't appreciate people I don't know being presumptious. He's the third Japanese this week who only spoke to me in English who I didn't know. All three wanted something and all three started with the same first question. Although I think the second was a non threat the other two bothered me. The first lady wanted me to teach her English, I directed her to the Office lady to find someone with that capacity. The second was trying to find out which German she had previously talked to on the street, because she wanted to invite them to a Concert the next night. The third was that guy today who only really wanted me to join his school. Yeah.

To clarify something, I don't mind if Friends (知り合い、友達、親友、などなど。。。）talk to me in English at any given time. From them it's friendly, but someone trying to use me as a teaching tool directly without any already existing connection is considered a threat.

上のことは説明し難い　でも　やっぱり　　友達だったら　僕と英語で　話してもいいよ。　　最近　ちじんじゃない三人　日本人は　僕と　英語でだけ話した。　最初の質問は　”Where are you from (どこから来ました）”だった。 その後　ずっと　英語で喋ったんだけど　僕は　ずっと　日本語で　答えた。　　最初の人と最後の人の目的は　悪そうだから　失礼だと思う。　　僕の　”足元を見る”　か　”弱みに付け込む”　って言うセリフの意味だと思う。　

Later じゃ、またね！

ファイナルファンタジーVII FF7

Well, Friday all I did was feel like I was running here and there. I woke barely in time to make it to class, made it on a empty stomach, survived class, ate lunch with Ouji at a nearby restaurant, went shopping for reading material (found some but maybe not the greatest, it consisted of Desert Coral #4+5, FFXII manual, and FFVII the game) , went to conversation club and then spent the evening hanging out with some Japanese friends until about 10-11pm or so.

金曜日　僕は　あちこち走った感じたので　あまり　インタネットを使わなかった。　起きてから　朝ごはんを食べないで　授業へ行った。　授業はちょっと大変だった、でも　そのあと　学校と近いレストランで王子と食べてから　本を買いに行ったので　買った物はちょっと便利じゃないと思う　「デザートコラーの４番と５番と　ファイナルファンタジーXIIマニュアルとファイナルファンタジーVIIのゲーム！」　晩は　友達と　遊んだり　お好み焼きを食べたりした。　　十一時にぐらい　部屋に帰ってから　寝た。。。

Lets see, Ouji and I are becoming regulars at the above mentioned restaurant and that is interesting. We can't tell if we are quite welcome... I think we are but I also get the impression the lady working there doesn't quite know what to do with us. It's a mom and pop restaurant. You only ever see the same two people working their and its an older couple, but the food is really good, and I actually get enough food to fill me up for a decent price. I think is what the issue is that we are foreigners and that we actually can speak japanese to a certain extent. Japanese tend to be more surprised if we actually speak Japanese than if anything else, at least from my perspective.

ところで、　王子と僕は　よこ　あのレストランで　食べるから　面白くなっている。　　　

The evening was spent mostly hanging out and stuff, but I failed to mention in the above that we went for Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き). It's a very uniquely Japanese dish. It's about the size of a large pancake and probably has as many varieties as pizza does, just Japanese style. My favorite part about it is when they put the dried bonita fish on top. It wiggles and such as the steam rises and moistens the flakes. It looks almost alive. Don't let the strange description scare you, it tastes really good!!!!

上のことは　お好み焼きの説明だけど　日本人はちょっと要らないと思う、な？

Lets see, Saturday. Nothing interesting happened at all. I spent most of the day, studying and or sleeping. That and made foodstuffs. Ouji and I watched Mr and Mrs. Smith in the evening. Okay, so that might be an interesting thing. It got me thinking how direct relationships are in America. Things like “you’re lying” and “I love you, honey” are said directly. Here, I get the impression the first might be said as a joke among friends but that the second is pretty much never said. It was kind of refreshing to see that, although the movie was pretty much just made to put Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt together. Yeah.

土曜日。。　面白くなかった。　　僕は　勉強したり、　寝たり、　御飯を作ったりした。　でも　晩で　王子と僕は　Mr. and Mrs. Smith　っていう映画を見た。　
それは面白いことでしょう？ 日本文化で「嘘吐き」と「君を愛している」と　あまり　本気に　言わなかったね？　　でも　アメリカ文化で　よく　本気に言ったと思う。　でも　映画は　やっぱり　Angelina JolieとBrad Pittのためだけ　作った映画と思う。。　やれやれ　でも　見たこと無かったら　見た方がいいよ。　いいアメリカの文化の例と思う。。。　ちょっと。。。アメリカ文化というよりも　アメリカの世界観と思う。

On a really weird note. I spent an evening here recently just pacing back and forth on the roof of our dorms. It’s about 3 stories up, but what intriqued me more was that it doesn’t look like a lot of buildings in Shizuoka surpass the 4 or 5 story range. The few that do are really tall though. On the other hand, it’s nothing like Tokyo with huge buildings everywhere. The scenery in Tokyo is the Buildings, almost. It’s really pretty.

最近ね。。　夜で　寮の屋根で　二時間以上　歩き回った。　　三階の建物だけど　静岡の建物は普通に　三階・五階ぐらい　高そうだ。　凄く高い建物は珍しいけど　夜で　綺麗だよ。

Later！！！　またね！！

皿 Dishes

Tonight's post is really short and quick.

Washing Dishes. Tonight, I got a chance to watch a Japanese friend do the dishes. It was quite interesting. I wondered why we had two cold water faucets and one hot one for each sink in the kitchen. Anyway, he washed the dishes in water from the cold water tap only. After scrubbing them with soap meticulously, he rinsed the dishes with water from the hot water tap. My aunt had mentioned this to me but today was the first day I could confirm it. They really do wash their dishes in cold water. At least one of them does. :)

I want to continue to toy with the Japanese Culture style in relation to religion but I need to be clear about one thing. I am not saying that the Japanese Culture is a religion. I am wondering if it is possibly a substitute for a what is a clearly defined religion.

今日のポストは凄く早くて短い。
皿を洗う。　　今晩　日本人の友達は皿を洗うのを見たことあった。　友達は冷たい水のほう　温かい水より　使った。　興味深かったと思う。　じゃあ　またね。

疲れたよ！ I am Tired! Radial?

I haven't actually decided what to talk about yet today, but I thought I should start typing now or I would collapse. The karate group is awesome, but crazy. We did what I want to term "blitz's." That's mostly because I missed the name they gave it. However after 10 minutes we completely exhausted ourselves and then went through 2 more hours of drills. After which I biked for 25 minutes to get home. Needless to say, I am a little tired... I really regret getting up at 7am today.

These blitz's as I will refer to them as consisted of doing for 30 seconds one of 5 things with as much fervor and speed as you could muster. The first through fifth activity respectfully was push-ups, sit-ups, ????, kick and squat mix, and then jumping as high as you could. Sure it sounds like it was only 2 and half minutes but we actually did the full set of 5 about 3 times within 10 minutes... Following the exercise, we all took 15 minutes to recover just enough to continue drills after that. The ???? thing was to work your low back by laying on your stomach while rapidly raising your head and legs up and down. We looked like seals.. and it didn't help when our leader (who is a very animated person) started "ork-ing" like a seal.... Yeah, it was a very entertaining 10 minutes. After the first set, the jumping up and down looked more like people trying really hard to move let along jump up and down while yelling "yay!" and pumping one fist in the air. It was awesome.

Okay, I am going to try and comment on this one thing a little bit for the next set of days, I haven't decided how many, maybe until I am done. This thing is something Ouji pointed out to me that I hadn't thought of before. I want to test it out through observances and time in thought. The theory is as follows, "What if the reason Japan lacks a religion is because being Japanese itself as a cultural phenomen is their equivalent of a religion?" I know this sounds strange but if you look at it from the surface is seems like it could be true. At least that is my thought on it.

First what is a religion? To start with that seems logical. When someone says religion, we think of many things like Christiantity, Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Shintoism etc, but what makes a religion a religion? Followers? A core philosophy? If we look at Webster online we get this most fitting definition: "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices" (http://m-w.com/dictionary/religion) Going with that definition, being Japanese itself seems to fit this without the obvious acknowledgement of an ultimate reality or deity to get the "religious" aspect. Although if being Japanese is considered an ultimate form of reality then it could very well have all the aspects of a religion.
Okay enough deep thought for one day.

I keep bringing this up but, I got in a conversation with one of the karate circle members today about Christmas and New Years Day. When I mentioned the the reverse positioning in American Culture, he let me know that he thought Christmas was way more romantic than New Years Day. I responded that I thought the opposite was true. After a short back and forth about what is done here and in America on those days we agreed that depending on where you are and what you do one is more romantic than the other.

Another thing I have to mention is something interesting that occurred in class yesterday. The topic of conversation was that of dating relationships and how there really are couples on campus; you just don't see them. Ouji and I informed the teacher as to how American's act in that sort of situation. For example, it is not rude in America to directly ask if you have a girlfriend or boyfriend while in Japan by the time you ask you actually already should know the answer. We also let the teacher know that when you do get a girlfriend or boyfriend it seems important in American Culture, which is a very open culture, to immediately inform your friends and family member. You know, things like "Hey this is my girlfriend (standing right next to you) isn't she cute/pretty?" The teacher responded to that with a "オペン過ぎるよ(too open! (meaning the culture is too open!))" I really liked Ouji's response, "Ah, gomen nasai(あ、ごめんなさい/Ah, I'm sorry)." Another very American thing; sarcasm.

ちょっと日本語で:
疲れたよ、　今日の空手の部会は大変だった。　　そして　部会後　自転車で帰った。
次のトピックはちょっと危ないと思うけど　　宗教について　　よく言われたことは日本は宗教は無いでしょう？　　もしかしたら　日本の宗教は　日本人の生き方。　　アメリカの行き方は　簡単に言うことで　”自分の生活を選べぶ”と思う。　でも　日本で　すべては仕方があるでしょう？　　仕方があると言うよりも　正しい仕方があるんだね。　今日の　日本の宗教の　コメントで　宗教の意味の説明したり　日本の行き方と宗教の意味と比べたり　した。　　とりあえず　宗教のことを　毎日　試すつもり。
　それから　昨日　授業で　付き合っているの話をした。　やっぱり　亜米利加は凄くオペンの文化なので　誰かは付き合うようになってから　直ぐに　友達と家族に　伝える。　　例えば　よく言ったことは　”こちらは僕の彼女、かわいいじゃないね？”　でも　亜米利加人にとって　日本で　付き合うのは　隠したんだ。　　そして　本人に　　”彼女・彼氏がいるんですか？”　と　言っては　駄目だね？　　そんなことを言う前に　答えが分かるようにならなきゃいけないなー。　　興味深い。。

またね！　　Later!　　

噛まないよ I don't bite!

Short one today.

Japan is decorated for Christmas and what is more the First Cafeteria for Shizuoka University's menu is decked out in Christmas lights and is playing Rudolf the red nosed Reindeer!!!! Where did the world go wrong? Okay, so it's not that bad but when I entered today the sound totally startled me because it was one of the last sounds I was expecting to hear in Japan. Also, when I was at the English Language cram school again today, I asked some questions of the teacher and confirmed from here the status of Christmas here in Japan. Families get together on New Year's Eve and Couples go out on Christmas.

Random note for the day: I learned how to say "I DON'T BITE" in Japanese. In the sense of "It's okay, don't be afraid." 噛まないよ！　　kamanai yo!

今日のは凄く短い
第一食堂で　クリスマスの音楽をきったから　凄くびっくりさせた！
そして　日本のクリスマスと　亜米利加のクリスマスは　まったく違う。　　クリスマスとお正月は反対した。　　亜米利加のクリスマスは　家族の休みだけど　日本のクリスマスは　付き合っている人達のために。　　亜米利加と違うだね。
最後のことは　僕は　　噛まないよ！！！

能力試験 Proficiency Tests

Okay, so no one I think wants to hear about how often I do the laundry and clean my room etc, so from here on out based on what I did that day I am going to just comment on an aspect of Japanese Culture from my perspective. Mostly just what I see.

Yesterday. I went to an English Conversation Cram school(英会話室) to help teach English for a while. It's my part time job. I basically help out by only speaking English... yeah it's not difficult, but I tend to make easy things difficult. Instead of just speaking when I am asked to say something. I tend to try and explain things in really simple english. Like Yesterday I explained what "recently" was. Good luck with that one. The four kids that were there seemed a little confused by that though.

To take a step back, a cram school is a school that specializes in one subject or rather teaches you only one subject at a time. These schools are outside the normal school system. In fact you go to these schools if you are failing in a subject at school, or have a lot of interest in that subject. The schools cost extra but it seems that most Japanese end up at one time or another going to these schools. I don't know if we have an equivalency for this in America or not.

I also learned a little about the standardized tests for Japanese learning English. Of course, there is the TOEIC and the TOEFL both of which show that you have enough proficiency in English to go to college. However there is another set of tests called Eiken (letter A-ken 英検). If you were to translate the title to English it would be English Test. It has 5 levels,　「５から１級」　with level 5 being the easiest, and level 1 being about on the level of difficult for the average native speaker of English. It seems to be like the JLPT (nihongo nouryoku shiken 日本語能力試験) which at level 1 is difficult for natives of Japanese... but not scholarly natives. If you can pass level 1 of the JLPT you have enough ability in Japanese to get a job here in Japan. I don't know how the Eiken relates on that level but it is so difficult that they have a pre level 1. The teacher at the English Cram school I help with has not passed the pre level 1 and near as I can tell her English is excellent.

All that aside, since I at the very least want to be proficient in Japanese, I am aiming for level one on the JLPT 1 as a basic goal. In the next 2 years I want to be able to take the Kanken 2 (漢字試験). Actually I want to take Pre 1 and level 1 but that would be saying I want to learn about 6000 Kanji in 2 years(which I really want to do, but I need to do things other than study Japanese) The Kanken level 1 is beyond the reach of most Japanese, and level 2 could be considered difficult. The Kanken focuses on Kanji, their stroke order, can you write them, can you read them, and can you recognize strange compounds. Yeah, if you like Kanji (漢字) a lot then you might be able to aim for this.

少し日本語で
昨日英会話室でバイトした。　　
TOEICとTOEFLは　亜米利加にとって　外国人の英語能力試験だろう。　　僕は知らなかったんだけど 英検もある。　　　英語のネイティブスピーカーの試験じゃないけど　 一級は凄く難しそう。　　
日本語のネイティブスピーカーじゃない人の試験は　JLPT「日本語能力試験」と「漢字試験」漢験だろう。　　でも　漢検の一級は　日本人にとって　凄く難しい　でも　いつか　僕は合格したい（いま　四級は無理かもしれないと思う）。　　とりあえず　目的は　日本語能力試験の一級だけど。　　それは　一年のあとの目的。　　その為に　もう　勉強するのは　始まった。　　
皆！　頑張りましょう！

日曜日 Sunday

Today was not all that eventful(as in no planned events) but I want to try and start being more diligent about writing my observances. So here we go:

It being a Sunday, I got up about 8 or so and went to 9am Mass. Today was the first day I remembered to bring my Bible with me so that I wouldn't have to rely on my own mental translation of the Readings. At Mass here I feel like a total foreigner, I can only understand the what is going on if it is written in front of me and even that is a stretch. However, I have all the responses down and timing for a lot of things figured out. The Homily, for now, is completely beyond my understanding because the priest speaks at rate of speed equivalent to a machine gun. Having been here in Japan for over 2 months now, I am quite surprised at how much I can actually understand at Mass. The first day, on the other hand, at Mass here in Japan was quite entertaining for all those around me at Mass, or so I think.

With the exception of going to the Machi with Ouji it was a pretty ordinary Sunday afternoon and evening. I did things like clean my room (haven't done that in a week or so), the laundry, cooked chicken for supper, and studied for the JLPT level 1 and for one of my classes.

Okay, to make a start. "The Machi" is what we term the downtown section of shizuoka. It's literally machi(町) which means town, but that is beside the point. Not a lot there, except stores and restaurants. Okay, so the fact the place is almost always packed on the weekends should tell you that it is actually kind of the place to be. Today, however, the crowds seemed worse than usual. The only reason for that I can think of is that it's the Christmas Season here. That means commercialism here in Japan. Since it is mostly just born from the Japanese perspective of America's Celebration style there is almost no religious aspect at all. The streets in the Machi here are lined with many "Merry Christmas" decorations and, yes they are written in English. Occasionally you see a Christmas tree or something. Regrettably, Japan's idea of Christmas is the near reverse of America's view. Christmas is for the couples to go out together while on the other hand New Years is the Family(sometimes friends) Holiday. Or at least that's what I am told, I will find out soon I suppose.

Well, returning to visit upon a very important question, why go to the machi? Today I went to return a video I had rented and to join Ouji in shooting things at the local arcade. We play TimeCrisis4. We've got it down to a science, well not really but we do go in there with one goal. In order to not spend too mcuh money, we play on 5 credits each and see how long we can last. Thus far we have only made it halfway once. Today was entertaining though. We had an audience. A group of about 5-6 kids gathered around and watched us. Nothing like watching two foreigners, talk in Japanese while shooting things....? Wow, I bet we were actually kind of entertaining now that I think about it. I get kind of theatrical with the gun aiming and shooting occasionally. For example when there are no enemies I might turn the gun sideways and hold it with one hand and act like I am cocking it with the other. That and when Ouji and I are successful on a mission we give eachother a high five. I wonder how normal that behavior is here in Japan.

Just so you know that it is not all fun and games, Ouji and I returned to the dorms after that and studied together for the JLPT. It's a standardized test that is related showing proficiency in Japanese. If you can pass level one you have fulfilled on criterion for getting a job in Japan. Our goal is to be able to take the test a year from now, so we picked a really difficult book to study from. 　Wish us luck!!

That's all for my Sunday life, at least today...

えっと。。。
今日はちょっと普通過ぎたと思うんだけど　
教会へミサに参加しに行った　　初めての日で　僕の英語の聖書を持って行ったんだけど　まだ　ホミリー（homily）が　全然分からない。
王子と僕は「町」へゲームをしに行った　　僕達はTimeCrisis4というゲームをするのを見る為に　子供達が集めた。　すごく面白かったんだけど　まだ上手じゃない。。。
「町」はクリスマスの装飾「装飾」がいっぱい　飾っている！　　でも　宗教の関係があまり無いので　日本のクリスマスの祝い方はちょっと残念だと思うけど　すごくきれい！　 ゲームしたあと　帰ってから　日本能力試験　一級のために　べんきょうした。
そして　今日僕は　洗濯したり　部屋を掃除したり　若鶏を焼いたり　した。
それは今の日曜日の生活。　　じゃあね。

嚆矢 Koushi

Yeah, I have given too much thought to this...

Imagine for a second, Ancient China. As a noble General astride your warhorse you look on and see your troops standing around you, battle-ready in anxious silence. The wind silently dashes across the plain and the lack of sound makes a tomb seem deafening. Distant shadowy figures pass in and out of sight as your foe looms in the distance. The planned time arrives. You draw your faithful sword and wave your armored hand. In response, a lone archer steps forward grim with destiny, and stretching the sinews of his bow back readies a single arrow. He lets it go and as it pierces the sky, the silence is filled with a sharp whistling noise. It begins.

That is a more fantastical defintion of the title of my first post here. It is basically a whistling arrow used to signal the beginning of a battle, or more functionally "the start of things." Which this trip I am on here in Japan for a year is most certainly a start for me.

It has been nearly two months since I have arrived here and while I would like to bring you entirely up to speed, but that is going to take some time. I will try to post near daily about something, even if it is really short.

Two things I will mention in this post are probably the most significant things that have happened since I arrived here. I joined the Karate Circle and appeared on Stage with them at the school festival (祭りmatsuri). The other is that I went to Tokyo to meet a someone who had stayed at my house as a homestay when I was younger.

The Karate circle people are really cool and I am having fun experiencing Kata (かた) or form. I was introduced to the group one week by a office worker here that I know. The introduction went as follows, "This is Ed," "Alright good luck" and then he left. So, from day one I have been having to kind of get used to functioning on my own with this group. The interesting part of this story is that that week, the second time I went to a club activity, I was able to memorize heian shodan(平安初段). The third time I showed up I was able to memorize heian nidan (平安二段) equally fast and spent the rest of the time trying to improve my excecution of the form. Because I was able to figure it out that fast, they asked me if I wanted to appear with them at the Matsuri(祭 festival). So, thus only having been at four club activities appeared with them on stage at the matsuri and did Heian nidan as their "International Connection."

Switching gears and cities, my trip to Tokyo was a lot of fun. I took the highway bus there and back, its about a three and a half hour long trip one way. For the 2 days I was there my friend showed me around. With her and her boyfriend the first day we went to Asakusa Shrine, Tokyo Tower, and had shabu-shabu/sukiyaki for supper. The next day we went down to a newer section of Tokyo called Odaiba that apparently was ocean at one time but now looks like land to me. There we checked out The Dream big bridge (夢の大橋), rode what was the largest ferris wheel(観覧車) in the world about 8 years ago. After the sigtseeing we hung out at a mall for a bit before I was sent on my return trip home from Tokyo Station.

よろしくね！　Yoroshiku!


日本語で　手短に:
嚆矢「こうし」は　昔の中国の開戦の時　かぶら矢。　発端。　この　こう　は　この言葉しか使っていないと思う。
毎日ぐらい　ポストするつもりだけど。。
東京へ九年振りの友達を会いに行った！　　そして　空手サークルが入ったり　大祭で　出ったり　した。