終わった

(owatta = done)

The speech was better than before, but not as good as I had expected from the practice the night before. Whatever it is over. I took videos and they will be up if they ever finish uploading and I ever have time to make 3 clicks to do it.

Yesterday at lunch was just hillarious. We decide to go to Family Mart, something we rarely do at lunch because its down a big hill, and I see Mariko gigling with her friend. There is a steaming pile of fresh dog doo right in front of her, and she is watching to see who steps in it. She didn't tell me till I got past it but warned everyone behind me! KOWAI!

Anyway I missed the big bang because I wanted to get in line for the ATM before I had to wait in line for half an hour. Some guy in sandals was the one to kick it. Then someone came along and tracked it all throughout the Family Mart. (Think 7 Eleven) It was downright hillarious, I really should have video taped it.

とにかく、I just took my final exam. Went pretty well. Just a nice conversation with the teachers. In just a couple minutes we are going to go to the school to have lunch one final time then go to Kitaoji to mess around a bit with some of the conversation partners before our farewell party at 5pm. After that we go out for Nozomi's birthday.

Then everybody but me leaves the next morning. It is going to be sad. But its not like I cant handle it. It will be nice to finally have free time to do the things I want in Kyoto and hopefully see the friends I have made and kept from 3 years ago.

In other news, my Dad is doing fine. よかった.

Anyway I am late, gotta go.

Links of the day!

nope

大変

たいへん(difficult)

I got an email today from my mother that my dad is in the hospital. So far nothing serious but then again people dont go into the hospital to have a picnic. I really hope everything is ok and I am worried. I left messages at home and on my sisters cell about it.

So a quick wrapup of other things... Monday we went to Ginkakujin, a famous and beautiful temple in Kyoto, and after that to Arashiyama monkey park. Both places I went 3 years ago but that didn't stop me from taking lots of pictures. Today we went to the official Gion festival, a parade thru downtown Kyoto of beautiful ancient style mobile shrines. Basically the festival started in the 1100s when to stop a rampant plague a bunch of different cities made portable temples and sent them to Gion in Kyoto.

It worked, and the plague dissapeared, so they continue the tradition and it is 1 of the 2 big festivals in Kyoto and one of the 3 biggest in Japan. It is amazing how they turn these giant wooden things that have no suspension or turning ability on their own. I really wanted to get a video of them turning it up close, but we left all too early so we could go practice our speech. Because I had been out all weekend, speech practice was also the first time I read my speech.... it did not go well. By that I mean disaster. I have been practicing since and I think it will be a bit better tomorrow afternoon when I have to present it.

Tomorrow before the speech we learn causitive form, then Thursday some Keigo and Friday is an individual 20 minute oral test. Then free till the farewell party that night.

I have no idea when I will upload the next batch of pictures, I took a TON this weekend and have no time to label them all. In some ways things will get much quieter when all the IJP people leave on Saturday morning. It will also be a bit sadder, and I still will have a lot left to do.

Anyway, I need to practice my speech, but dad, I really hope you are ok...

ashi ga itain

足が痛いん
(legs hurt)

Weellll... ya, after dancing till 6am and getting 4 hours sleep the night before, walking semi-aimlessly around Shijo (we had places to go but kept passing all the same places) got old after about 5 hours. Problem was it lasted a lot longer. we left at about 1:30pm and got back around 11:30. Thing is everything is just so damned fun. ^_^

Gion matsuuri (Gion festival, one of the 2 big festivals in Kyoto- think like 4th of July) is in full swing and the streets are packed. The actual parade itself is Tuesday I believe, but the fun parts are all the food and trinket stands and hundreds of people in yukata everywhere.

We went to the Shakeys pizza (all you can eat pizza, pasta, salad and... curry?!?) to refuel me and Kyle from the night before, did a little omiage (gift) shopping, I got more time on my cell phone, and then bowling (I sat out and returned emails, my legs were done) and finally went to The Hub for dinner / beer where I actually had a nice conversation with Tsu-kun since I finally got to sit down and regenerate some energy.

I also ran into KANA there! Jeff's conversation partner from 3 years ago. I saw her sitting over by the stairs and immediately recognized her but couldnt exactaly place her. It is amazing how in 3 years people look different but still the same. It is true of Nobuko, Eri, Minori and Natsumi as well. But there was no doubt I knew her so we talked a bit. Not for very long, but I got her email (so I can give her Jeff's blog) and we plan to meet at school soon.

It is amazing what a small world it is.

Today we go to Ginkakujin temple and then Arashiyama monkey park. After that we come back, don Yukatas and go back into Shijo for Gion again. So my semi-rested legs get to do it all over again. (Did I mention Arashiyama is a mountain? The monkeys are at the top...)

I have a metric ton (Is that a lot? I don't know metric...) of pictures from Thursday on. I have no idea when I will actually get a chance to label and upload them. Hopefully tomorrow.

Gaijin Guntai vs The Typhoon

(Gaijin Army vs the Typhoon)

We win. But let me start chronologically...

Friday night we went to dinner and then Karaoke with a couple of the conversation partners, including Mariko and her friend Yayoi. (Not sure how to spell) My roomate Trevor and Tsu-kun kicked the rest of our butts. Towards the end of the night they found out I like Shiina Ringo and sang several songs by her, some of which are still stuck in my head. Anyway I had to call it quits at about 3am because I had had almost no sleep the night before....

Oh! Almost forgot! I gained a new nickname. Yayoi had a cell phone keychain of Majin Buu from Dragonball Z. Someone asked her to explain his name, and basically Majin means monster and Buu is like a sound word for big, fat, over-inflated, like a balloon. So instantly I reacted and I am now Gaijin Buu. (Gaijin means foreigner)

On to last night. There was a Typhoon coming and it was raining cats and dogs all day. For one of the guys on the 4th floor it was his last night in Japan, so they were all planning on going to the Gion festival, then dinner then clubbing. Well because of weather it got shrunk down to clubbing, and while I didn't want to sit in the dorm all night, I'm not much for clubbing either. Me and Kyle started playing Pokemon wirelessly and I just gave up on going out.

11pm rolls around and the girls are still here... They weren't going to leave till 11:45. So I decided to go. It was a blast. It wasn't raining that bad when we got there at all, and of course it was indoors. I got Kyle to go with me too and he danced for 5 solid hours. I took a few breaks but otherwise I was out there with everyone too. Neither of us are dancers.

When we emerged at about 5am, the typhoon had lost. There was actually bits of SUN that are STILL HAPPENING. You don't understand I am sure, but this is Japan. Go look at my pics. There is no sun here this time of year. Sure its the 'land of the rising sun' but this time of year the sun quickly runs away.

Near as I can tell, there will be clear (well for Japan anyway, which means not much rain) all day. We had beaten the Typhoon.

We went to McDonnalds afterwards, a tradition they have that left me wanting a couple of red burritos, and then Taxi home. My head hit the pillow about 7am, even though I really didn't feel that tired. Now its 12:24pm. I woke up at 11 and laid there for half an hour before just deciding to get up.

Sleep is for the weak.

I wonder when I will practice my speech and do my homework...

Links of the day!

Hey I got some!
The Ultimate Showdown Oldie but new to me. A good one.
Gaijin Smash I linked this before about a year ago but the URL has changed since. Read what it is REALLY like to live in Japan and laugh a lot too.
Mythbusters results Results from every single Mythbusters test.

I never thought I would spend so much time in a womans bathroom...

2nd ケータイ post because I dont want to go downstairs and set everything up when Im leaving in 20 minutes...

Last night when I was pretending to study （new pics up) there was a going away party for the 3 german students. It was 11pm so I thought I'd hang out for an hour... well that became a lot longer of course but not for the usual reasons. The party was in the tatami room and it was a blast. It was like the United Nations in there, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Americans.

The german girl （Adriana I believe, I suck at names) (Ok, I gave up on typing on the keitai now) needed some help walking upstairs so I brought her back up to her room. But before that, one of the Chinese girls threw up in someones face... So I laid her down but others decided to drag her to the bathroom, where I guess she was quite productive. I decided to check on things so I knocked on the door and a very worried looking french girl answered saying she just didnt know what to do with her. I asked if she was decent and she invited me in. I spent the next hour or so talking to her keeping her brain moving.

(er out of time, ill edit later. live in suspense...)
(welcome back to the most disjointed post ever)

She was 20 (legal drinking age in Japan) and rather inexperienced. She could answer most questions but didn't know what she had to drink. She never threw up in my presence, do we decided to put her to bed, so we carried her up the stairs and put her to bed. She seemed to be doing better when we got her moving, she was appoligizing and stuff. I honestly don't really know who she was or could recognize her, 95% of what I saw was the back of her head with her face down in the toilet. She should be fine tho.

After that I spent a couple minutes back at the party so I could actually talk to some people. I went to bed at 3:30.

Now, I am my roomate's alarm clock. We have one, but I am the one that gets up to it. I wake up at 7, shower, eat and wake him up at 8. Then we get to class (starting at 9am) with about 13 seconds to spare.

I woke up to a pillow hitting me and my roomate saying "dude- its 9:15" Wheee... So I took a 5 min shower (hey I'm late anyway) and we got to class 45mins late.

I think I did way better on the test than I expected and better than the previous two. I may ask my senseis for it today as otherwise I think I may have to wait till wednesday. Learning in the program is basically done, Monday is a holliday 海の日 (ocean day) and then Tuesday is the Gion festival. I will write about last night later.

Thank you for reading the most disjointed blog post ever. I wonder if you understood anything.

Keitai test

Since I can never quite remember the address, I thought I would test.

In other news I am talking to Paul about keeping my room in the IHouse till the friday after the program ends. I realize there is nowhere I would rather be than here with my friends. I will have time to explore the city more and can still take day trips.

now that I typed all this on a cellphone keyaoard, I hope i got the address right... It is so much easier typing in Japanese on these things... But Blogger sucks at Japanese and none of you would understand it.
残念ですね

PS I got it wrong again...

I found my place..

It's in kindergarden.

Those of you who know me probably arent supprized. But today we went to Sumedia (spelling?) Kindergarden and entertained a small army of 3,4 and 5 year olds. It was quite a frightening and fun at the same time.

After the 'entertainment' period, we were split up into groups of 2 and ate lunch with them. That was quite fun. Having 20 kids surrounding me asking me questions like 'what is 'bento' in english?' (there isnt any) 'what is 'basu' in english?' (bus) etc etc etc ALL AT THE SAME TIME AS LOUD AS THEY CAN WITH THEIR MOUTHS STUFFED FULL, and still managing to remain quite charming. After lunch, I got on the floor in the corner and started pointing out things and giving them english names, but that didn't stop them from all talking at the same time (this time with empty mouths at least)...

Er, did I mention I was wearing a cheezy little cat mask on the top of my head? It was made as a prop for the other group's 'Neko Neko, Inu' (cat, cat, dog; changed from duck, duck, goose) Well at this point I lifted it off of my head and re-adjusted it. this made them all instantly realize that it can be moved... They spent the next 5 minutes taking it off, throwing it on the floor, then someone else would place it on my head properly, then someone else would cover my eyes with it. They seemed to be equally divided into 3rds on the opinion of what to do with it...

Then, for no apparent reason, several of them started pounding on my head like a drum saying 'obeka' which means 'being western'... it didn't hurt at all so I just let them do it. I actually couldn't stop laughing.

When it was time to go, about 250kids all gathered all over the place on 2 different floors to say goodbye to us loudly and repeadedly for about 15 minutes. My cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing.

After that, we went to Shijo (major shopping area in Kyoto, its the name of a street) and did some omiage shopping and ate at a Shakeys pizza... closest thing to real pizza I have ever seen in Japan.

Right now, the gallery and it seems Picassa are PISSING ME OFF. The Gallery refuses to import 100 of the 175 pictures I took at Biwa and I have just now troubleshot it down to a problem with Picassa, meaning I have nowhere to turn for help. (I know the developers chat rooms for Gallery) How or when I will fix it I do not know, I have no freaking time to worry about programs bought out by money grubbing companies that don't work for shit. Oh wait, I am writing this on one of that companies' sites now arent I?

Whatever...

Links of the day!

still no

Yay filler!

As I sit here waiting for the rest of my pictures to finish uploading (there is some weird problem, out of the 171 pics I took at Biwako only 75 get imported.....) I thought I would share some side things I keep forgetting. Assuming I remember them now...

I think the most interesting Japanese test I have had so far is 'Shogakuseichan' at Biwa. ( I honestly have forgotten her real name, I need to re-get it.... ) But she decided to tell me at about 1am that she was a shogakusei. (Jr high student) This put me in the interesting predicament of trying to prove her wrong in Japanese. Of course it was pretty much impossible, but very fun. I asked her what school she went to, who her principal was.. but how would I check the answers? I asked when her birthday was and whether she had brothers and sisters and what their ages were. Ultimately I was unsuccessful, but it was quite an interesting experience.

Hmm, what else. It rains a lot, but last weekend was actually really sunny. That ended this afternoon.

OH! Ways to tell you are fluent in Japanese:
1. You can read upside down (the conversation partners often sit across from us and read what we are writing. I can do it but at about 1/4th speed)
2. You understand what people say on loudspeakers here. Thing is I think this disqualifies most Japanese from fluency...
(I want to add more to this list)

Hmm, what else. The Tsuru no Ongaeshi Blooper Special has made a resurgence and seems to be a hit with the conversation partners and I even got 2/3 teachers to watch it...

Tomorrow we go to a kinder garden to entertain 80-100 EACH of 3,4 and 5 year olds. I will be Simon in Simon says for the 5 year olds..... Kyle told me about a joke him and his friends have about if you were given 1 weapon how many 5 year olds could you take out before being overwhelmed... The only weapon I want is a cup....

Gaijin power is quite interesting. It allows one to reserve an entire table at an otherwise extremely busy eating place on campus just by sitting down. It also always guarantees an extra seat or two next to you on the train no matter how busy it is. We are aliens here, and from what I have heard from long term dwellers that never changes. However, Japan is a society of in-group-out-group. That is how the strangers act towards you. But once they are friends they are the most thoughtful, caring people in the world.

I know there is a lot more I want to say, and my uploads are still going, but I am out of ammo atm. Enjoy the update. No one comments anymore cept for H-mac, I wonder if anyone reads. Comment on the pics ppl, that's my favorite part...

Frank- I want to call you and congratulate you personally, but times didn't line up well, I either have to be up way past bedtime to call you at 7am or skip school and call you in the evening... Anyway, congrats.

Links of the day!

what do you think?

BIWAKO!!!

Lake Biwako just absolutely rocked. I was somewhat sceptic (as my previous posts show) but it was very fun. The lake is the largest lake in Japan. It is no Michigan but you cannot see across. I wonder how it sizes up to say Salt Lake... The water was cool and nice, but if it was Lake Mission Viejo they probably would have it closed to swimming. The only bad part of the whole time is since it is a lake, the 'sand' isn't quite smooth because there is not enough wave action (hey I learned something in Oceanography!) and my feet got destroyed. I always wear shoes so my feet are pretty tender. After a few beers at the bbq, I forgot about it and just ran around barefoot (the sandals dont fit) beating them up even more. (I gained 2 large cuts on the bottom of my big toe)

Everyone was just great and it was a really great time. It was the mini vacation we all really needed and I really didn't want to leave. There are a lot more details in the pictures I am uploading now. Unfortunately school starts again tomorrow..... And I have yet to do homework so I will keep this short.

Links of the day!

na....

oops

Sorry, I didn't mean to leave such a depressing message up so long. I really only felt like that Monday and Tuesday. Even in just 1 month they can't all be good days.
Wednesday was the fourth of July and I celebrated it by having a few beers at a British pub and then killing everyone who was wearing a red coat.... Well ok maybe not that 2nd part. It was pretty fun tho if not perplexing, and I got to celebrate basically when you were all still waking up. Actually since it was a day off I would bet a lot of you were asleep. For instance it is almost 10pm now and it is almost 6am the same day back in Cali.

Got an email from the fam, apparently the internet got broke again. Yay. Nothing like 10000 mile tech support.... Anyway, I finally got my keitai so I have email. If you want the address, email me at my regular email address. If you dont know that, well then I probably dont want to give you my cell phone email :P

Tomorrow is a test I havent studdied for yet... whee. Saturday we go to a lake which is supposed to be famous but I keep hearing the water is dirty and it is probably going to rain. Thats ok, you know I am not much for swimming. We are not allowed to bring textbooks or dictionaries, but screw that I want my dictionary. Should be fun.

The 1st weekend pics have been up for a day or so, and I am going to start uploading this past week of pics now, they should be added before bed... maybe. benkyo shitakunai yo...


Heather- thanks. youll probably take over my desk by the time I get back so you dont have to carry your water buffalo upstairs... ^^

Links of the day!

ugh

For the last couple of days, I have honestly been fairly burnt out. 2 subjects I have never been able to master (particles with ageru, kureru, and especially morau and qualifying nouns with sentances where I seem to screw up word order) have come up, and every day its basically school all day, then homework, food, a bit of time on the computer to communicate and tag/upload pictures (uploading as I write) and then bed. And bed is late. I seem to have no time to study other than homework to fill in gaps, etc. And our two projects, entertaining ~300 3-5 year olds and our speech are now starting...

I still really love it here and I knew it was an intensive program and I am getting a lot out of it but I guess I am in a bit of a slump.

The good news is I got a cell phone yesterday and will get practice and such out of it, it will also enable me to update this durring my last week in Japan. I may or may not share the email, it is somewhat expensive, but not really. I am waiting to see just how much use I get out of it.

We also are going to lake Biwa on what is basically a spring break this weekend. We are not allowed to bring our textbooks. We will see how that goes. I want to learn. The lake gets very mixed reviews. It is apparently a very famous place but the water is dirty, etc. Oh well, what is, is.

Links of the day!

should I just delete this? I'm way too lazy

tanoshikatta shuumatsu

Another ep of eD in Japan.

Friday Nobuko, Minori, Eri and Yukiko came over to make me dinner of Okonomiyaki and Inari. It was the most I've eaten since I came to Japan, it was really good and I stuffed myself. It was really fun and my roomate Trevor impressed all the girls to no end by the fact he brought an iron to Japan and could cook. (Ya, we dont get it, but they were very impressed. I was trying to get Nobuko to mary him.) It was a shame the night ended at only 10pm. (When guests must leave the dorm.) But it was really fun.

Saturday the night didn't end so early. ^^ We went for a walking tour of Nara and several of the temples around Todaiji temple. Afterwards Paul, Onozaki sensei, Kyle, JC and I went out drinking to a few gaijin (foreigner) bars. No, no eD, but I had a blast anyway. ^^ I kinda want to go to more Japanese style places but it was still fun. No pics of the night out because my camera battery died. Thankfully today I found the second battery I thought I left in America. Without that my last week here would pretty much be pictureless.

Today was rest day. I spent a few minutes talking to Jeannine and Chrissie till Skype died on me. I had a small hangover and we were all starving (no food from the cafeteria on Sunday) so Kyle, JC, Josh and I went on a nice tour of the side and back streets of Shijo area. (Aka I got us lost for a bit) Once again I got rejected getting a cell phone. This time I had my passport but I didn't know the dorm address.... I will be going back tomorrow after class.

Now, it's 10pm and I still have to do my homework...... it's only 2 pages so whatever. If you are very lucky I will upload pictures tonight.

Links of the day!

Nope!

Shashin ga aru

First- I have won the war. The first two sets of pictures are up. Expect the next set sometime this weekend if I get a chance. Links at the right, I'm sure you can figure it out...

Today was a little shopping excursion in which we were made to bug honest shop keepers with stupid questions like 'whats the name of your store', 'what is this', 'what is it made of', and 'what do you use it for.' Though good practice, its pretty much a total waste of time for the shop keeper unless you buy something. So I bought a few small food items, and my first omiage. (for Bonnie of course ^^) But seriously, I refuse to ask what an apple is made of and what it is used for...

Anyway, tomorrow is our first test. I should do alright other than the fact I cant spell katakana for anything. Seriously, its a messed up version of my native language I cant spell in the first place. I know all the characters and can read it, but I cant spell. The same level I am at in my native tounge. NEXT!

Talking with some of the year long students from places like Italy and New York, they envy our program and our teachers, because it is so intensive and we are getting so much out of it. They are in the same book as us but just begining to learn kanji from the first book because their teacher sucks. Teachers are gods here, unless they do something blatently illegal they are set for life with a great paying job and lots of respect. (...hmm maybe I should become a teacher...)

Thing is, I wish I could have a little more fun. As previously stated, I want to learn as much as humanly possible out here. But part of that IS going out and doing things that are NOT structured. The trips to the market and stuff are great but a night on the town on your own without a safety net is important too. I should get that chance this weekend however.

We did so much the first weekend I thought to myself 'slow down a bit, its a long time, you have time to do things.' But I dont. Time is very short and I already feel it slipping away. I've decided I dont need to sleep anymore. I got a great night's sleep last night and I was still tired all day. I think I am just not used to sitting in a classroom all day. Also, I fell asleep about 11:30 and from 4:30 on woke up every half hour, my body basically saying 'wth are you doing.'

I found out I cant use my old cell phone here. My pictures are forever trapped in it. I still may buy a new one for ~$60 with minutes, from the practice I got last time it was worth every penny.

Minori, Nobuko and Eri are coming over tomorrow to cook me dinner, should be a lot of fun. After that I have no idea what will happen, but I may not blog tomorrow. Let my pictures keep you busy.

Anyway I should study.

PS- I am glad your giant squid is a female.

Links of the day!

nope, I got studying to do

hi again

Hmm.. I'm not sure about this daily update bussiness, if I post every day it gets boring.

Anyway, today was Skype day, I tried to pick people I thought would be up at 6am. The first call was to ipowerweb.com, because they apparently decided to reset a lot of peoples passwords without telling them, preventing me from uploading pictures... uh, thanks guys. Next was my family- hi mom and dad! (and Andrea) Guess my brother got a job, yay. Then I left a message for Adam and Beverly, and maybe I will call Chrissie after this. I know better than to think Jeannine is up, and Minna is probably still partying with 8 guys. :P

Today was the speech contest, I was extremely tired all day. The speech contest was fun and the party afterwards was a lot of fun too. I met another ton of people who's names I will probably forget, along with new words I have already forgotten. There is just so much to do and see here, even though I've been here before, and I want to do it all. I want to make the most of every second. But I also want to learn as much as humanly possible, and being half-awake all day doesn't help that. Tonight I will get a good night's sleep.

In other news, I won the battle with the school's IT department AND my domain host and the pictures are uploading now. Once done it should only take a few clicks of the mouse for me to share them with you... but who knows, it has been pretty hard so far every step of the way.

PS- please dont post comments annonomously, use the second option to fill in your name. Also, I will respond to comments as neccesary in the same comment thread after I post a new post. I may not respond to everyone, because well, I'm in Japan and I have better things to do.

Oyasuminasai

Links of the day!

Teramachi One of my favorite places ever. Think Irvine's Rectum only not so damned full of its self and expensive. Also a LOT more crowded and some ancient temples thrown in for good measure. We will be there tomorrow for class.

Hi, remember me?

Well, sleep isnt really happening lately. It is 10:30 now and none of us have even started our homework because the welcome party was right after school today.

The welcome party was really fun though. There is so much to do and learn here, talking with the Japanese is far more educational than any homework in my opinion, but I do know that the homework is important too.

Now for trouble. I cant seem to upload any pictures. The school has locked down everything thats not basic web surfing or email. Sounds like another place I know.... I WILL defeat them, I am working on it now. But as I said, I have homework to do.

So just know I am alive, learning a lot (tho not as quickly as I would hope) and I will try to get those pictures up tomorrow. We have already designated tomorrow night as rest day. I plan to come home, nap, do homework and then get the pictures up and actually talk to my family.... sorry parental units.

Uh... oyasuminasai

Links of the day!

as I said before, here I dont have much

Osaka

Steven from NY and Andre from Italy on the 4th floor (year long students) took us to Osaka today. Tons of walking. I think my legs might fall off by the end of the trip. We went to lots of electronics and game shops, and I BOUGHT THE NEW DS ZELDA. Not out in America till (supposedly) November, so it is definately very nice. (and I know jealous people are reading this... FRANK) I also found 'Mexican' food. I took pictures so you will see. It was good because where we went to eat all the ramen had Pork in it, so I stopped and ate while they hit the arcade.

Went to Super Potato in Nipponbashi, (videos of the Akihabara one are on akihabaranews.com) a place with TONS of video game stuff thru the ages. I got to play a virtual boy for the first time ever. It was a pretty cool Gradius-type game, but the console was rather low so I had to bend over the whole time and hurt my back.

Osaka seems like a big place, lots to do there. We went to Nipponbashi, Shinsaibashi, and briefly in Nanba. Nobuko has promised to take me back when the program ends. Should be fun.

Classes start tomorrow and I am very, very tired. So bye. If youre lucky I will upload pictures tomorrow.

Links of the day!

no, tired

I am reborn

Hello, and welcome to another episode of me back in Japan.

Yesterday was pretty quiet, most people in the program did not arive till late, so I went for a walk in the pouring rain to get a umbrella, then did a little studying.

In the afternoon, Minori, Nobuko, and Eri (friends from last time) came to the dorm and brought snacks and drinks to welcome me. It was really nice of them. They also said they want to cook dinner for me this Friday, and asked me 23 times if it was ok or not. No, I hate free meals. ^^

While they were there, my roomate came. He was really tired and wanted to take a shower so we headed downstairs and they ended up leaving. Unfortunately, Minori left her cell phone in my couch and I still have it... hopefully she can come get it tomorrow.

Last night, some of the students from the 4th floor (they are the year long ones from various places like Italy, France and New York) invited us to Karaoke just across the street from I-house. (International House- where I am staying) I do not sing, but my roomate is very good. So was everyone else there, meaning I am really not going to sing. But then someone picked a Madonna melody, and no one knew the tunes. I actually did so I filled in on a couple of them. Thats right... eD singing 'Papa Dont Preach.' At least I proved why I shouldnt be singing. (Actually I was going to duet 'Take Me Home Tonight' by Mike and the Mechanics(?) but they didnt have it.) We ended up being there till 3:15am. I fell asleep around 4 and woke up at 8, just in time to miss breakfast. Wheee~~~

Today, we had our orientation and a walking tour of Kyoto. Most stuff I had already seen, but In Kyomizudera we went thru an underground area that was completely pitch black with turns and lots of bumping in to eachother. In the center, is a special carved rock. Completely round with a raised character on it. You pat it and make a wish. When we got out we were told it was supposed to simulate a rebirth experience. (Hence the topic) However, I dont think I had glow in the dark shoes during my birth. We had them in bags we carried with them (shoes off area) but when I noticed them glowing I pulled one out for some fun. ^^

After that, more of Kyomizudera (the fountains were closed because of a leak, isn't a fountain a leak?) I walked between the love rocks with my eyes closed. (again) Gion temple, and several other things. We ended it near my beloved Teramachi.

Everyone wanted to go home, and so did I, but my stomach won out over my sore feet, so a couple of us went in search of food. After a bit of browsing, we settled on a little Kirin bar. (I should have taken a picture, but I ate there before so I am sure I already have one...) After that, a nice little adventure getting home. I mostly followed people around last time, so this time being the guide is a bit difficult. However I got us back alive.

Took a shower and now I sit here. We were just invited by some of the students from the 4th floor to go on a day trip to Osaka tomorrow. I kinda stared blankly rather than reply, as I've had 4 hours sleep and walked probably 8 miles today. (Actually I am having a hard time finishing this blog because my brain keeps momentarily shutting off) I gave a tentative yes but I am emailing Nobuko for her permission. It is her hometown and she has already offered to show me around and I definately don't want to ruin it without her.

I was thinking about uploading the 1st batch of pictures, but I think I will wait till after tomorrow. Besides, I need sleep.

PS- After a good 2 months of testing remote access to my home network, it worked for all of one day in Japan. Now all my computers say offline... Parental units / sibling units, the task is to walk into FRANKS room, hold the power button in on the BLUE COMPUTER by the desk for several seconds till you hear it turn off, then turn it back on.

I plan to call you guys soon, but I cant get a mic to work on my computer (forgot my bluetooth mic...) and therefore cant use Skype, and calling from the dorm is expensive. Plus I dont want to call you just to say 'reboot my computer please' Honestly, I do miss you, I swear.

PS2- Work-people. I can't email any of you because I am considered spam. No email from friends but you can still get all the viagra you want, spam detection at its finest.

Till next time.

Links of the day!

no, I need sleep

I'm alive- sorta

Well I'm here, I'm alive, if you were worrying- well I'd be supprized but anyway you can stop now.

After 3 days of basically no sleep, I still only slept about an hour total of an 11.5 hr flight. I then took a 45 min train to Tokyo station, then a 2.5hr train to Kyoto, then a taxi to Kyoto Sangyo Daigaku where I am staying.

I am very, very tired. So tired that I'm not sure I can sleep. Both from delerium and the fact that I have to create a bed from a pile of blankets and a matress before I can sleep. Taking a shower probably didnt help either, but it felt sooooooo goooood.

But I also have to eat- one of these days I will get smart and start remembering when I book travel to order a vegitarian meal... so as soon as I am done with this I will go to the Circle K and grab some delicious convinience store food and then hopefully go to bed.

Links of the day!

Dont expect these much while I am here, but I thought I would give a few travel related music videos. Only the first one is in English, but they are all good. The second one is especially funny. 2 planes and 1 train in the mix.
Foo Fighters - Learn to Fly
Tommy Febuary 6 - Magic in your Eyes
akeboshi - yellow moon

Sayonara!

Tomorrow I leave for Kyoto. Looks like I'll have everything ready to go by 6:15am tomorrow when I will leave my house for a flight at 11:40am.

If all things go well, (for instance, I dont get arrested at the airport for having 18354 electronic gagets in my cary on) I will land in Narita at 3:05pm the next day (11.5 hour flight + timechange) then get on a 1-2 hour train to Tokyo station, then a 2nd 3-4 hour train (if memory serves me correctly) to Kyoto station, then a taxi to the dorm I am staying in. And hopefully I get all this done before 11pm or I have no place to stay. ^^;

Anyway, I am tired and dont have much to say right now. Soon enough I'll be on another planet, but I plan to get little sleep between now and my spaceflight there...

PS- those of you playing along from home, dont miss the gallery link on the right, its where all my pictures will go.

Links of the day!

Just one, but it rocks
Food Veurisim! A kaiten sushi restaraunt somewhere in Japan. Lunch is around 8pm PST so feel free to move the camera around, and dont forget to turn on the speakers! (icon at the top) for some reason this is so enthralling...

I AM GOING BACK TO JAPAN!

It's official, I leave on Jun 20th and stay till July 29th. Four weeks of it will once again be at Kyoto Sangyo University in their IJP program, the advanced version of the same program I did in the summer of 04.

I have held off posting it here because I am still scared a meteor or something will conspire to jynx the trip. However at just over 2 weeks away, it feels pretty certain now.

If only I was ready.... I've still got lots of loose ends to tie up and am insecure about my japanese ability. Last time was the beginners program, so the fact I knew any Japanese gave me a huge leg up.

I am trying to test the fesability of blogging from my palm, even though I am not sure my Treo will have internet access in Japan. This post is being done by email because Ublog crashes my palm every time I hit send...

Links of the day!

too much work from the palm. But I have some good ones so maybe I will edit later.