Long time no talk! It's been quite a while since I last blogged, so expect this one to be a whopper. I'm finding it more and more difficult to sit down and type out daily occurrences, and not every day is a fantastical adventure, so this leads me to be posting less often. I hope this hasn't scared away too many readers! Nevertheless, read on and I hope you enjoy this monster of a post.
Last Friday was the beginning of the one and only home stay everyone in the program was to be a part of. For all but 4 of the students, the home stay lasted only the weekend, allowing us to glimpse what life is like for a traditional Japanese family, while also feeling like we were more than just observers of people. I gather that many, not just myself, felt like a real part of the family we were chosen by. I met with Nakayama Yoko and her two year-old daughter Tomomi at our school and we drove home with Yoko-san's sister Nagi-san, who happens to work at the school. Convenient, ne? After picking up Nagi-san's daughter, Minami (3 years old), we headed to the Nakayama residence to meet Keiji-san and have a group cooking experience making dinner (sukiyaki). All of the family was so nice and kind and considerate, I felt really at home from the moment I started my home stay. I was lucky enough to have been selected by a family who had both parents capable of speaking fluent English, so I didn't feel alienated by a language barrier at all. I found myself able to talk to both parents quite smoothly about any topic, be it electronics or politics or just opinions of Japan in general. Tomomi-chan was iffy towards me at first, as all children tend to be, but eventually warmed up to me and became the best host-sister I could have asked for. Nagi-san was very kind as well, of course, and I wish her the best with her second baby on the way here! Endou-san was so nice and welcoming too, and I could hardly believe that he gave me some of his calendars that he makes for a living. One was a calendar of a popular Japanese idol and the other is of *gasp* Hatsune Miku! I was so grateful for such a warm reception.
Saturday was filled with events ranging from giant buddhas to tea, the ocean, and Costco. Awww yeah. We woke up early and drove to Kamakura, which was in of itself a beautiful drive through a combination of greenery and concrete. Our first stop was the Daibutsu, the infamous Giant Buddha of Kamakura. The temple was really nice, though we didn't get to walk around much further past the Daibutsu itself. Time was a commodity, as we had much to cover in the coming hours. Many pictures were taken and should be uploaded by the time this post is there. Also, surprisingly, this Daibutsu was actually HOLLOW! There's no way we couldn't take advantage of that opportunity, so we went inside and braved the giant crowd of people within. Apparently, there used to be a huge building built around the Daibutsu, but due to a massive typhoon, the building was torn away. The Daibutsu, however, didn't budge a bit and still sits where it always has to this day.
After our temple visit, I was lucky enough to join the Nakayama's on their weekly tea ceremony lesson. It was held at a house nearby in Kamakura, and taught by a very nice older woman who had learned the way of the tea ceremony (Chado) from one of the most well-known schools in Japan. This particular teacher was a big fan of sweets, so every time we had another person take their turn preparing and serving the tea (thick and thin both), we got to enjoy another delicious treat beforehand. The other students at the Chado lesson were just as nice as the Nakayama's and treated me so well. Sitting on your knees in the traditional Japanese way is hurting less and less every time! Maybe one day it'll be comfortable (lol doubt it).
After we concluded the fascinating lesson, we walked for about 15 minutes and hit the beach! It was super pleasant and the water was just cold enough to make it feel fantastic as a contrast to the sun's warmth. Having been without my biological family for over a month, it felt just right to be with my host family enjoying the beauty and comfort of the beach. We took a ride afterwards to Costco for dinner and in order to prepare for the party we planned to have on Sunday. What a strange, surreal event it was to walk around Costco and see traditional, American-style food mingling with bulk quantities of Japanese-style ingredients as well. I could hardly believe the mass amount of food we bought for the party on Sunday! Such a wide variety of food was made available, it deserves it's own paragraph (coming up soon). For dinner? What else: Costco pizza, churros, and sweet nectar of the gods (Coke). It reminded me of many good memories; home away from home. Upon arriving home, I got to finally relax after a long day out and curl up on the couch with Tomomi-chan and read her some books. Being an only child, it was such a wonderfully different experience to get to spend time with my little sister.
Sunday brought with it one long, tiring day of socialness constantly. I went out in the morning with Nagi-san to pick up Max, since he was without a home stay family and Nagi-san decided to take him in for a home visit. He was to join us at the party we were planning, so he was a welcome addition to the group later on. We took a lunch break (brunch?) at the Endou's residence, so I got to meet Mrs. Endou-san and enjoy tea, snacks, and good company. It was sweet that Mr. Endou-san gave a calendar to Max as well; a rather neat one on aquatic animals from a nearby expansive aquarium. From there, we got to see Nagi-san's house, meet her husband very briefly, and then head back to the Nakayama's for the party. SO MUCH FOOD! We engorged ourselves on such a spread, it was like Thanksgiving. Tortilla chips, salsa, sashimi (raw fish), rice with veggies, beer, sliced apples, raspberries, roasted chicken, barbecue ribs, and pumpkin pie, amongst other things. I was just floored with the amount of deliciousness. And the Nakayama's said I didn't eat enough! Mind = blown. I was fortunate enough to bring home tons of leftovers for the next few meals of my week.
Also very great were the people present at the party. Both Keiji-san and Yoko-san invited old school friends of theirs from back in the states, as well as Poom, one of Keiji-san's closest friends and coworker. While all of them were really great people, most interesting were Charles, who did the JET (Japan English Teaching?) program when he was out of college and never left, and Tetsu-san, the official translator for many popular manga in English (half of Death Note, Bakuman, and Case Closed/Detective Conan, for starters). He even gave me a copy of Bakuman #1 in English! It was so awesome talking to the both of them, as well as everyone else, over such a delicious meal. This concluded my time with the Nakayama's, but I cannot imagine not getting to see them again sometime before I leave for the States once more. They even offered me their home if I ever find myself in need (and especially if I think about getting a job in Japan and need somewhere while finding an apartment). So tempting… I can't thank them enough for their hospitality and kindness!
Monday began another week of school, but thankfully it was made interesting by a class field trip to Roppongi's Suntory Museum of Art instead of Genji discussion. Interesting points of note: 1. This museum is owned by Suntory, the same company famous for their whiskey and other liquor-related beverages. 2. This museum was located on the fourth floor of a mall, alongside many clothing shops. 3. Held within this museum were dozens and dozens of original Japanese scrolls depicting 400 different stories told between the 14th and 16th centuries B.C. What an awesome experience it was, though I just wish I could understand enough Japanese so that I didn't have to rely on our professor with us to explain the scrolls' stories. Most awesome were the scrolls on the Night Parade of A Hundred Demons story very well known throughout Japanese literature. I'll link to a couple images so you have an idea what the story is like (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Hyakki_Yako.jpg)
After roaming around the museum for a bit, we were left to our own devices, so we ran away to find a very well-known traditional Okinawan restaurant nearby in Roppongi. We were actually the first costumers of the day because they happened to open at about 6PM, and were just setting up for some live music when we arrived. While the food was fantastic and the drinks were quite good too, the time it took to get the meal was killer (especially since we were all starving). Check out pictures to see how awesome the restaurant itself looked and what delicacies we feasted on once they arrived.
When in Roppongi, why not do all there is to enjoy? So we took a short trip to Tokyo Tower, the Eiffel Tower replica built slightly taller than the original tower itself! Since it was later on at night, the view from the tower was amazing and all of the lights of the buildings, cars, bridges, and stars melded into one unforgettable scene. While there, we also ate very special sweets in the form of a waffle/pancake meal adorned with fruits, male syrup, whipped cream, macadamia nuts, and more, depending on the type ordered. Also of note, we got to enjoy all this with a new friend! We were joined for the post-museum festivities by Cheryl, an international student of Meigaku like us, but from Singapore. We immediately hit it off at the Okinawan restaurant and talked good music, video games, and most importantly, Bemani music-rhythm games. :DD She plays Jubeat rather well, so I knew we'd get along juuuuust fine.
Tuesday brought with it a fresh day with more adventures. This time, a walk to one of the most famous, and delicious, ramen shops in Japan (conveniently in Totsuka by the train station. How about that!). While expensive, at about $12 for a bowl, it was definitely the best ramen I've yet to eat. The dumplings found in the soup were nothing less than perfect. I can't explain it further than that. Since we were so close anyways, Cheryl, Anastasia, Zoila (exchange student from the Phillipines), Denise, Izumi, and I all hit up Taito Station to see what goodies we could win from the machines. But of course I couldn't go into anywhere without helping people win figures, as well as giving some attention to my lovely Pop'N Music machine. Gotta love it! I was able to finally finish collecting these adorable stacking plushies I've been working at. I've been giving them to my friends too, so each one has a different one. I have the lion, while Kim has the bear, Fione has the black cat, Armand has the elephant, and Nikki has the pink rabbit. I'm glad they all seemed to like their gifts =]
Wednesday was nothing, so onto Thursday we go! Though fairly uneventful overall, I definitely welcomed an arcade adventure with Cheryl and Zoila at Game City post-Genji class, as well as dinner at Yoshinoya. And I'm very happy to report that the Yoshinoya here is not nearly as awful as it is in the states. They actually give you real, cooked food, with delicious soup and rice, rather than just microwaved beef and overcooked onions. Well worth the low, low price for a combo. I see why it's so popular out here!
Friday was a fun day, particularly because most of the UC students and a great amount of Meigaku students/buddies got to do an "International Tea Party". What that means is it was just a mixer event with snacks and drinks in between classes. Pretty good stuff, and I met a couple really nice people there too! Afterwards, I waited around for a few hours until I was to help a Meigaku student named Kagawa Jun with his senior thesis paper. He wanted to interview the UC students and get their opinions on the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, so I happily obliged to help my fellow student out. I felt like I was repeating myself a lot by the end of it, but I think my message was clear and my feelings known. Coincidentally, he himself is from Hiroshima and hopes to one day volunteer at the museum, so I felt like I definitely did a good thing helping this guy's cause.
On the way home, I met a random fellow named Miki who happened to remember seeing me in the gym earlier on in the week. So we chatted for a while about life, America, jobs, school, and all things in between. It's good to share a laugh with a stranger from time to time. Especially when this stranger turns out to be friendly!
Saturday was a good one, starting off with supplemental double-Japanese class, since the UC students leave before the Meigaku semester ends in January. Afterwards, the normal group peoples and I traveled to Yokohama to check out the annual International Street Fair. It took us a good while to finally find the place, but once we got there, we were greeted by much delicious food. Indian, Peruvian, Korean, Tibetan, Mexican, you name it. I myself had Butter Chicken w/Naan bread from the Indian booth (which reminded me of how much I love Indian food), as well as some SHWARMA. Yes, really.
After we finished pigging out, we worked off the calories by walking along the bayside and checking out the mall nearby with the Pokemon Center, Jump Store, and Ghibli Store. The Pokemon Center had released new things since I last went, and it was a weekend, so the place was packed to the brim with people of all ages. Everyone and their mother (quite literally) had their Nintendo DS out and playing. Swapping 'mons, battling, and all such other Poke-related happenings. I finally picked up my souvenirs from the Pokemon Center and hightailed it out of that madhouse.
Later on in the night, we were to go out and meet our friend Cheryl for dinner and drinks. It took an hour more than expected while waiting for her to come to Totsuka, so I sat outside on the swings at the kid's playground near MISH. A couple Japanese girls, college age, came and played on the swings too, so we laughed a bit at each other and spoke in broken Japanese (well, I did at least). Neither were quite my type, but it was pleasant interaction with more people of the country. When we finally got a hold of Cheryl, we went to a Korean restaurant nearby and ate entirely too much food. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the cheap nomikaya (bar) we were told was around our apartment house, so we didn't get to all drink together before Cheryl had to head home. Fortunately, the three of us remaining did get to drink, and spent a fun-filled night at the Little Bike bar chatting away. It felt good to get a little tipsy with some friends and share some inner-workings of my mind. And by inner-workings, I mean sharing very little besides just bare minimum feelings. But we all had a great time, so it all worked out swimmingly.
Sunday was supposed to be the chance to climb a mountain on the way to Fuji, called Mt. Takao (Takao-san). But after the night prior…. nahhhh, not gonna happen. So I took the day off, spent it doing homework by the river, doing a bit of walking around Totsuka, a brief stop by the arcade to win yet another figure, and then hide away like a hermit in preparation for class the next day.
And that brings us to just about where we are now in time, Wednesday of Japanese work. We're finally starting to learn Kanji, which in my opinion is actually really rather quick of a pace. I fear for the others in my class, but I'll do my best to help them along with what little I know regarding Kanji. I've been getting much more sleep lately, staying in my room and hermiting away from people, watching anime, finishing a video game (Advance Wars, a game from my childhood!), and just enjoying alone time.
Sorry this post took so long to get up, but I'll be sure to include weekly interesting Japanese culture posts too, to keep the times between normal posts interesting. Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more!
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