My hard drive crashed! Thank god for backups. But still, it's a pain in the ass. I took my poor macbook to the Apple store at Shinsaibashi, and wanted to shed a tear once I found out. Just what I need. Fortunately, it's actually cheaper to have it replaced here than in the States. Just a tip. So, probably Thursday I'll haul it back to Apple and drop it off. My poor baby--off to be repaired.
I have been slacking off. It doesn't help that it's been raining literally for 3 days straight. Not a single moment of dryness. I just want to finish my book. Never mind that I have an exam tomorrow (of which I should worry about). I am reading The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood. Seriously, read this book. Or The Edible Woman, which is equally good.
I helped out, again, on campus, at a study abroad fair. My job was to tell people to come to the States to study. Everyone who came up immediately told me that they wanted to go to the States. Any questions I posed, however logical they might be, were countered with confused stares. "So, which city/state have you been thinking about?" "Do you have any questions about living in the States?" "Are you curious about transportation or food?" After some prodding, I settled on, "So what is your favorite Hollywood movie?" I got quick responses for this one.
To be fair, some were pretty informed already. They were the ones who asked, "Which city is the safest?" To which I replied, "Hard to say, probably the smallest."
I spoke with one group of girls, sophmores, who, as soon as my next group left, immediately came back and told me, "We have decided, we want you to be our friend." I have never had to answer to such a thing. It was as if they took a vote. "Any nays?" I paused, and then said yes, of course. I need more speaking partners, since I still have not one.
Soon after we traded keitai (cellphone) info, they left and another girl came up. I was about to ask the usual questions, but she immediately told me, "I want to make friends." I wanted to start worrying, but apparently this happens a lot with international students. So we chatted for a while. She's a freshman, and dressed so cute! I felt a bit slobbish (I thought I had dressed pretty well until then). I need to note some (not all) fashion styles here. Some of them would never work in the States--never. But it's nice to see so many people get away with these sort of things.
I'm feeling too moody right now. Alex isn't too happy about my computer being in the state it's in. We can't really talk because our schedules are opposite each other. And then of course there's the rain. And the humidity, which is causing me to break out worse than back home (Thank god for good makeup). My hair is also suffering, it's worse than frizzy, it just looks horrible. And because of the rain, the temperature has gone from hot-humid to cool-humid, so it's hard to be comfortable both outside and in.
In lighter news, I am definately going to Obama,Fukui soon! To show my support from abroad! By the way, isn't he getting some ground in the polls? It's about fucking time.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tough Times
Ahh, I'm so fixated by what's happening back in the States right now, and yet it's depressing me to no end! Obama is comparing the financial situation to the Great Depression, and he's probably right. I keep wondering, can it get any worse?
I'm trying to be positive, I don't want to feel like I wasted my time in Japan worrying. I should just cast my vote and... I don't know, pray? Feels kinda' silly.
Anyway, I went to Nara the other day. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was warm, a bit too humid, but nice and sunny all the same. Nara is know for its deer, which populate a large forest area, or park. This park is equally populated with various shrines and temples, the biggest being Todaiji. It's so beautifully old, the wood, the statues, everything. I would post pics, unfortunately my computer is a bit on the dead side... long story....
I am taking a class called, "Buddhist Art in Japan" and I felt like I knew what I was viewing. Like how you want to take an art survey class so you don't feel so ignorant in museums. I understood the layout, why there were smaller statues surrounding the large buddha in the center, why pagodas were built, etc. I love it; the best thing is that there are class trips to temples in the Kansai area, which is apparently the most important area for Buddhist art (Japanese Buddhism started here). And I learned that the Japanese adopted Chinese script so that they could read sutras (scriptures) of the Buddhist relics that the Chinese were importing into the country. Before that, Japanese was purely a verbal language (well, "purely" might be a bit untrue...).
Since the international students have been on campus, there was a very small amount of Japanese students around. Thursday was their first day of school. It was so fucking crowded after that! Trying to find a spot at the cafeteria during lunch makes you feel like the new student trying to find a place to sit and not stand out. And then there's the mutual staring. Japanese students staring at us, for obvious reasons. And us staring at them, mainly to see what the hell they're wearing. I have never seen so many girls wear high heels around. All that walking! There are some very curious fashion styles here. Like wearing a mini skirt and very, very high socks, and then, I don't know, boots, or high heels. That's something I won't even try to pull off. I'll just stick to jeans and a shirt. Maybe a dress if I want to seem a little fancy.
Have I said anything about food? hmm... pastries are so good here. Almost as good as the patisseries in France. Ils me manquent....
I'm trying to be positive, I don't want to feel like I wasted my time in Japan worrying. I should just cast my vote and... I don't know, pray? Feels kinda' silly.
Anyway, I went to Nara the other day. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was warm, a bit too humid, but nice and sunny all the same. Nara is know for its deer, which populate a large forest area, or park. This park is equally populated with various shrines and temples, the biggest being Todaiji. It's so beautifully old, the wood, the statues, everything. I would post pics, unfortunately my computer is a bit on the dead side... long story....
I am taking a class called, "Buddhist Art in Japan" and I felt like I knew what I was viewing. Like how you want to take an art survey class so you don't feel so ignorant in museums. I understood the layout, why there were smaller statues surrounding the large buddha in the center, why pagodas were built, etc. I love it; the best thing is that there are class trips to temples in the Kansai area, which is apparently the most important area for Buddhist art (Japanese Buddhism started here). And I learned that the Japanese adopted Chinese script so that they could read sutras (scriptures) of the Buddhist relics that the Chinese were importing into the country. Before that, Japanese was purely a verbal language (well, "purely" might be a bit untrue...).
Since the international students have been on campus, there was a very small amount of Japanese students around. Thursday was their first day of school. It was so fucking crowded after that! Trying to find a spot at the cafeteria during lunch makes you feel like the new student trying to find a place to sit and not stand out. And then there's the mutual staring. Japanese students staring at us, for obvious reasons. And us staring at them, mainly to see what the hell they're wearing. I have never seen so many girls wear high heels around. All that walking! There are some very curious fashion styles here. Like wearing a mini skirt and very, very high socks, and then, I don't know, boots, or high heels. That's something I won't even try to pull off. I'll just stick to jeans and a shirt. Maybe a dress if I want to seem a little fancy.
Have I said anything about food? hmm... pastries are so good here. Almost as good as the patisseries in France. Ils me manquent....
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Yahee!!
"Yahee" is apparently the come-on young Japanese boys use to cat call foreign girls in passing. It's possibly the best come-on I've ever heard... Using "ha-row" just gets old I guess.
Today, I volunteered for KG's Open Campus Day as a friendly 留学生 (foreign exchange-student). I sat with my friend Kaori, and intimidated high school students from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. Not that I can make fun, I am usually very nervous to speak Japanese. Maybe a shot of sake before hand would have cured that....
It took place in the "fish bowl," as it's affectionately called by Japanese students.
It's the lounge inside the Center for International Education building, or the place where all foreign students hang out/have class. Therefore, it's a sort of glass tank where one can observe foreigners in a more casual setting.
There was a sheet of questions for the students to ask us, and I got a lot of, "What do you think of Japanese fashion, hair, Kansai accent, culture shock, etc.." For some reason, I was as nervous as they were to answer! There's still so much vocabulary I'm missing!!
Amy, my roommate, and I hit up the nearest 99 yen shop on the way home, and I noticed alcohol in juice boxes. Alcohol in juice boxes! I guess we never really grow up, huh?
Today, I volunteered for KG's Open Campus Day as a friendly 留学生 (foreign exchange-student). I sat with my friend Kaori, and intimidated high school students from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. Not that I can make fun, I am usually very nervous to speak Japanese. Maybe a shot of sake before hand would have cured that....
It took place in the "fish bowl," as it's affectionately called by Japanese students.
It's the lounge inside the Center for International Education building, or the place where all foreign students hang out/have class. Therefore, it's a sort of glass tank where one can observe foreigners in a more casual setting.
There was a sheet of questions for the students to ask us, and I got a lot of, "What do you think of Japanese fashion, hair, Kansai accent, culture shock, etc.." For some reason, I was as nervous as they were to answer! There's still so much vocabulary I'm missing!!
Amy, my roommate, and I hit up the nearest 99 yen shop on the way home, and I noticed alcohol in juice boxes. Alcohol in juice boxes! I guess we never really grow up, huh?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
As it stands
I have been in Japan for about 3 weeks. I am currently passing my time here as an exchange student at Kansai Gaidai University. I should have started this sooner, but, lazy as I am, I have until this point neglected to record my experiences here. I have already seen some pretty weird shit, some amazing sights, and met rather interesting people.
I came to Japan mostly for the hell of it. I'm not getting credit for this, as my University does not offer even a minor in Japanese. I almost regret it in a way, what with the American economy getting worse and whatnot. I wonder if I will be able to pay off my student loans.... or even find a job when I get back....I try to not worry about these things so much, but in order to stay knowledgeable of American news, I have to see this. And McCain is doing better than Obama in the polls, what kind of shit is that??
A typhoon is due to hit Osaka any time now. I don't think it is very strong at the moment, though it did quite a bit of damage in Taiwan. Hurricanes might be one of the few natural disasters I've yet to experience. Tennessee is special in that it gets pretty much everything--especially tornadoes.
I wanted to post a photo relevant to each post, but any will do for now:
Karaoke!! The closest place from the Seminar Houses (aka my dorm) is called Big Wave. Pretty much all of the employees there have bleached, orangey hair, tans, and odd haircuts. Most of the folks in this pic are from my unit. Oh yeah.
I came to Japan mostly for the hell of it. I'm not getting credit for this, as my University does not offer even a minor in Japanese. I almost regret it in a way, what with the American economy getting worse and whatnot. I wonder if I will be able to pay off my student loans.... or even find a job when I get back....I try to not worry about these things so much, but in order to stay knowledgeable of American news, I have to see this. And McCain is doing better than Obama in the polls, what kind of shit is that??
A typhoon is due to hit Osaka any time now. I don't think it is very strong at the moment, though it did quite a bit of damage in Taiwan. Hurricanes might be one of the few natural disasters I've yet to experience. Tennessee is special in that it gets pretty much everything--especially tornadoes.
I wanted to post a photo relevant to each post, but any will do for now:
Karaoke!! The closest place from the Seminar Houses (aka my dorm) is called Big Wave. Pretty much all of the employees there have bleached, orangey hair, tans, and odd haircuts. Most of the folks in this pic are from my unit. Oh yeah.
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