SO. It`s friday morning and I was rushing Wednesday so here is le blog of the week. I try to incorporate all languages equally...
Anyway, so, you may be wondering why I mentioned aflack in the title of my blog, well....let me tell you. I was watching t.v, as I occasionally if not frequently do, and an Aflack commercial came on. Let the record show, in Japan, that duck is faaaar less obnoxious. His `Aflack` is more of a comforting duck-like presence, instead of an ear grating word that might give the listener a small death wish.
The weather was weird again. It rained and then snowed hard core on Sunday, but now its like 70 degrees out. Niiiiice.
Golden week traveling starts today I think. It`s today, Friday, until Wednesday (which I have off anyway) Lots of Japanese will be out and about, although I`ve heard many may have cancelled American and Mexican trips, one can only imagine why....
I think tomorrow I may be going to a `Hanami party`. This is when you go to a park that the flowers are blooming in and sit around and eat...among other things. Its seems like a lot of fun, or so I hear. Sunday I`ll be going to my Host Family`s other house 3 hours away. Im pretty sure its like a really old cabin. That`ll be for 2 days. We`ll see how that goes..
Judo is going well, they asked if I wanted to enter a tournament later in the month..hah.. I told them I`d gladly watch. Something tells me I wouldn`t be able to handle it actual competition, its hard enough to communicate when I`m doing something wrong. Lets add rules and regulations to that, please...
School is going as well as can be expected. 3 hours at a time is slightly taxing, but hey, what can I do? At least I`ll know some quality Japanese by the time I`m done here.
Ew, speaking of class, gotta run. Hope everyone is taking care and not catching the swine flu.
-Kevin
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wacky Weather, and other things...
Well, people, life is good.
Monday was a fantastic day, as far as weather goes. I threw on a shirt, forgoing the jacket. Put on the afghan, which I'm dubbing the "riding scarf" and away I went with Elias, Kate, and Nat on a nice bike ride. I can't get over living in close proximity to the school, which is right next to the cycling road. Riding my bike every day definitely feels reaaaaaaaal good. Tuesday it rained a lot, which was unpleasant.
I'm settling in with all this school business. 3 hours of straight Japanese is a little daunting, but I am enjoying myself, and am definitely learning quite a bit. I'll be pretty disappointed if I'm not talking more by the end of the class. I had been hoping that being in Japan would somehow mean I'd get over the procrastination bug. I was sadly mistaken. I managed to pull some movies from my friend Elias's hard drive....so Lilo and Stitch I have been watching, and I love it. My independent study is highly dependent on me reading the books on time, which I'm been attempting to do. Soooo much reading, then again, if I plan on attending graduate school, Jason says I should get used to it.
Oh! So. This weekend me and the host family went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was awesome, I should go to more museums, I've decided. It wasn't all just Japanese art, but the stuff I saw I liked! What's the saying? "I may not know art, but I know what I like" ?
Whatevs.
Today is another day of Judo practice in the evening. I like it a lot! I forgot how much I liked it, the last time I was in a martial art I was 15. It's nice to be at something physical again. I even got my own gi (uniform) to use from the captain, which is awesome!
A lot of my friends here have decided / are deciding whether to stay a year. I would love to, myself. I think I'm falling a little bit in love with this place, but isn't that expected? I have much too much to do back home, living in a house, being a freakin' Ugly to a great group of ladies (for those who don't know, it's a St. Norbert thing..) Not to mention I think I would miss everyone back at home too much. I was talking with a friend from Okinawa earlier today, Tati, which was nice. She said something that I agree with, it never gets easier moving away from people, which is kind of what I try not to dwell on while I'm here. It's great that I can meet all these wonderful people, people worth knowing, and I'll move away and in all probability, never see them again.
Booo sad thoughts. Again, I try not to dwell.
We do all we can in the time that we are given, after all, life isn't forever, hm?
In other news, I'm pretty sure I'm going to apply for the JET program. That'll mean after school I'll come back to Japan and teach English ( I think..) of coruse they won't tell me where they'll put me, so it's possible I'll be in the middle of Bufu, Nowhere, Japan, but such is life, yes?
Also, Golden week, which I mentioned before, I think I'll be going to a house 3 hours away with the family and chill for a couple of days with them..
Well that's all from me. Take care all, I'll be sitting here in this internet cafe, probably reading for my independent study, and not procrastinating at all, no sir.
Monday was a fantastic day, as far as weather goes. I threw on a shirt, forgoing the jacket. Put on the afghan, which I'm dubbing the "riding scarf" and away I went with Elias, Kate, and Nat on a nice bike ride. I can't get over living in close proximity to the school, which is right next to the cycling road. Riding my bike every day definitely feels reaaaaaaaal good. Tuesday it rained a lot, which was unpleasant.
I'm settling in with all this school business. 3 hours of straight Japanese is a little daunting, but I am enjoying myself, and am definitely learning quite a bit. I'll be pretty disappointed if I'm not talking more by the end of the class. I had been hoping that being in Japan would somehow mean I'd get over the procrastination bug. I was sadly mistaken. I managed to pull some movies from my friend Elias's hard drive....so Lilo and Stitch I have been watching, and I love it. My independent study is highly dependent on me reading the books on time, which I'm been attempting to do. Soooo much reading, then again, if I plan on attending graduate school, Jason says I should get used to it.
Oh! So. This weekend me and the host family went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was awesome, I should go to more museums, I've decided. It wasn't all just Japanese art, but the stuff I saw I liked! What's the saying? "I may not know art, but I know what I like" ?
Whatevs.
Today is another day of Judo practice in the evening. I like it a lot! I forgot how much I liked it, the last time I was in a martial art I was 15. It's nice to be at something physical again. I even got my own gi (uniform) to use from the captain, which is awesome!
A lot of my friends here have decided / are deciding whether to stay a year. I would love to, myself. I think I'm falling a little bit in love with this place, but isn't that expected? I have much too much to do back home, living in a house, being a freakin' Ugly to a great group of ladies (for those who don't know, it's a St. Norbert thing..) Not to mention I think I would miss everyone back at home too much. I was talking with a friend from Okinawa earlier today, Tati, which was nice. She said something that I agree with, it never gets easier moving away from people, which is kind of what I try not to dwell on while I'm here. It's great that I can meet all these wonderful people, people worth knowing, and I'll move away and in all probability, never see them again.
Booo sad thoughts. Again, I try not to dwell.
We do all we can in the time that we are given, after all, life isn't forever, hm?
In other news, I'm pretty sure I'm going to apply for the JET program. That'll mean after school I'll come back to Japan and teach English ( I think..) of coruse they won't tell me where they'll put me, so it's possible I'll be in the middle of Bufu, Nowhere, Japan, but such is life, yes?
Also, Golden week, which I mentioned before, I think I'll be going to a house 3 hours away with the family and chill for a couple of days with them..
Well that's all from me. Take care all, I'll be sitting here in this internet cafe, probably reading for my independent study, and not procrastinating at all, no sir.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Club Houses and The First Two Weeks
Good news, everybody!
Actually...I've got not much of anything I just really like saying good news. So, here I am, once again at the internet cafe. I already skyped with my parents and sister, which was fun, and I tried to skype with Justin and Jenn, but apparently skype hates me, so we failed.
Class has been good. It's 3 hours a day, every day except Wednesday ( our day off) Thursday and Friday we have additional classes with Jason Barrows. Thursday starts the Japanese Art class, which is comparing Impressionist art to a certain form of Japanese, I don't know, we're not that far into the subject yet. The other class is 3 hours of American Culture ( kill me). We international students are there basically to help Jason so far, as it's mainly geared toward the Japanese students.
Speaking of the students, I really like it here, so far I haven't had a bad experience with people my age here. Yay.
So they have a club house here, which holds, in all the various rooms, the circles or clubs. Ranging from a Tea-Ceremony group to music appreciation to Judo, it's packed with things to do. The first week back was heavy recruitment ( at least I think) and walking in was rather intense. IT was filled with people and I ended up signing up for a lot of stuff, ha! I looked at Aikido, Japanese Archery, hiking, and ran up to see the HI-C kids, (which is the club that helps us international peeps out, love those guys)
Basically what went down was this: I was really interesting in Japanese Archery, 'cause, you know:
"What did you do in Japan?"
"Pffft, freaking Japanese Archery, and what?!"
So yeah. But it was waaaay to expensive for me to just take for the one semester I'm here, so long story short, with the help of my friend Elias, I found Judo, and am going to meet them at 6 tonight!
Other than that, things are going well. It's once again Wednesday, therefore explaining my time spent at the internet cafe. I'm really enjoying my time here, I don't know what else there is to say! More about how clubs go I think, after I'm done with today.
Golden week is coming up, which means I'll have a few days off, don't ask me how I'm goin to spend them though. Also, it should be getting warmer, so the blossoms might actually be in bloom soon. I feel like I had more to say but I can't imagine what it was....
Take care all, I'll write again when something interesting happens, heh.
Actually...I've got not much of anything I just really like saying good news. So, here I am, once again at the internet cafe. I already skyped with my parents and sister, which was fun, and I tried to skype with Justin and Jenn, but apparently skype hates me, so we failed.
Class has been good. It's 3 hours a day, every day except Wednesday ( our day off) Thursday and Friday we have additional classes with Jason Barrows. Thursday starts the Japanese Art class, which is comparing Impressionist art to a certain form of Japanese, I don't know, we're not that far into the subject yet. The other class is 3 hours of American Culture ( kill me). We international students are there basically to help Jason so far, as it's mainly geared toward the Japanese students.
Speaking of the students, I really like it here, so far I haven't had a bad experience with people my age here. Yay.
So they have a club house here, which holds, in all the various rooms, the circles or clubs. Ranging from a Tea-Ceremony group to music appreciation to Judo, it's packed with things to do. The first week back was heavy recruitment ( at least I think) and walking in was rather intense. IT was filled with people and I ended up signing up for a lot of stuff, ha! I looked at Aikido, Japanese Archery, hiking, and ran up to see the HI-C kids, (which is the club that helps us international peeps out, love those guys)
Basically what went down was this: I was really interesting in Japanese Archery, 'cause, you know:
"What did you do in Japan?"
"Pffft, freaking Japanese Archery, and what?!"
So yeah. But it was waaaay to expensive for me to just take for the one semester I'm here, so long story short, with the help of my friend Elias, I found Judo, and am going to meet them at 6 tonight!
Other than that, things are going well. It's once again Wednesday, therefore explaining my time spent at the internet cafe. I'm really enjoying my time here, I don't know what else there is to say! More about how clubs go I think, after I'm done with today.
Golden week is coming up, which means I'll have a few days off, don't ask me how I'm goin to spend them though. Also, it should be getting warmer, so the blossoms might actually be in bloom soon. I feel like I had more to say but I can't imagine what it was....
Take care all, I'll write again when something interesting happens, heh.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Honshu Trip
Woooooooooo!
Alright, let's see. Where shall I begin, dear reader? I suppose I can tell you, at least, where I am. Right now, I'm sitting in an incredibly quaint cafe, called "Cafe Coen" Koen means park, and it's a nice casual setting. So far I've had Earl Grey tea, the chicken meal (with a surprisingly delicious salad) and a mango/cranberry mix drink, which is also pretty 'dern good. I am finally back in Sapporo, which is in Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan. Currently, I'm downloading the software needed to upload all my pictures. But let's go to the beginning, shall we?
After saying goodbye to my parents I made my way through the Ohare security, and without much trouble, found my way to the gate. From there I wandered around to look for a money changer (highway robbery, by the way). Having exchanged my money, I went on to Jamba Juice, aka Nectar of the Gods. I really like Jamba Juice, and now you know this about me.
After that I found a seat and read my book until the plane boarded. I met a youngish guy who said he was doing something with aviation. I caught a glimpse of two BCA tags ( bright yellow baggage ties) and had my first look at Patrick and John, two fellow BCA goers. Turns out they (and everyone in this program) are pretty freakin' cool, if I may say so. The trip over there was your average 13 hour ish plane ride. I'm used to such lengths so I wasn't overly bothered by it. I had a window seat, which was nice, and next to me was a Japanese man, and next to him was an American going to Tokyo for an internship. He was pretty cool. Didn't get his name though, we could have totally facebooked.
Side note, I need to break that addiction!!
End side note.
After the plane ride I took yet another, but shorter ride from Tokyo to Sapporo. There we were met with the rest of the group. Everyone has been awesome so far, as I've said. Jason Barrows, our BCA director and chaperone for the trip...and tour guide...and translator...and etiquette teacher....is a great man. I'm really glad I get to take my two classes with him.
My couple days in Sapporo are a bit of a blur, but I met some Japanese students, Kotoro, Rise, Satomi, Mame, and Nori. Everyone has been really helpful and I can tell we're all going to get along very well. Satomi and Mame came with us on the Honshu trip, and I like to call them the Secretary Force, because they would run around buying the tickets everywhere we went.
The trip itself was phenomenal. As I've said the food was fantastic. I can't even remember all the shrines and temples we went too, which is dumb of me, but I'll figure it out when I put on the pictures. A stand out experience in Kyoto was that shrine/mountain, Inari. The entire place scaled up, with orange Tori-gates and most shrines were protected by Fox Statues. It was incredibly strenuous in my out-of-shape state. I think overall I gained some endurance on the trip.
In Nagoya we went Karaoking, and it was amaaaaazing. Lots of fun. Also, underground areas are a major part of the areas around train stations in Japan, from what I've seen. Underground shopping spanned for a pretty big distance. It's pretty fascinating.
I feel there was soooo much that went on. It was an informational trip. I learned more about Japanese culture and etiquette and more about my new BCA friends. We all get along pretty well. My favorite place was Tokyo. I didn't make it to the Sanno (sorry mom) But I did get into Akihabara and ended up seeing many Totoro stores. Uh oh. I need to make a trip back.
I met up with Nariya, who is studying in Tokyo, and we spent a good day together (on my free day) and I even got to see Miki, my conversation partner last semester.
After Toyko ( and by the way, we stayed at the Hotel Pacific, which was quite the upgrade from the traveler hotels we had been staying at, and it was faaaaantastic) we flew back to Sapporo, wait for it, ON THE POKEMON PLAAAAAAAANE!!! I kid you not, how lucky is that? I'm in Japan -and- got to ride the pokemon plane.
Anyway, we are back in Kirari, the guest house for Hokusei (my university) yesterday was orientation, today we took a placement test( ew ew ew) and tomorrow I go to move in with my host family!! Hopefully they'll have internet, then again, I do like this place right here.
Have I mentioned clubs yet? If so, forgive me! Here they have clubs you can join, ranging from Fashion club, to Aikido club, Judo club, Archery, music, dance, etc, anything really! I want to join one but I'm a little worried about the language barrier...
Well that brings us back to me sitting in this cafe. Tonight we're going to do some karaoke, I'm excited. So far, so good, guys, thanks for sticking with the long read, hopefully it was coherent...
Take care all, I'll come back to update soon!
Alright, let's see. Where shall I begin, dear reader? I suppose I can tell you, at least, where I am. Right now, I'm sitting in an incredibly quaint cafe, called "Cafe Coen" Koen means park, and it's a nice casual setting. So far I've had Earl Grey tea, the chicken meal (with a surprisingly delicious salad) and a mango/cranberry mix drink, which is also pretty 'dern good. I am finally back in Sapporo, which is in Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan. Currently, I'm downloading the software needed to upload all my pictures. But let's go to the beginning, shall we?
After saying goodbye to my parents I made my way through the Ohare security, and without much trouble, found my way to the gate. From there I wandered around to look for a money changer (highway robbery, by the way). Having exchanged my money, I went on to Jamba Juice, aka Nectar of the Gods. I really like Jamba Juice, and now you know this about me.
After that I found a seat and read my book until the plane boarded. I met a youngish guy who said he was doing something with aviation. I caught a glimpse of two BCA tags ( bright yellow baggage ties) and had my first look at Patrick and John, two fellow BCA goers. Turns out they (and everyone in this program) are pretty freakin' cool, if I may say so. The trip over there was your average 13 hour ish plane ride. I'm used to such lengths so I wasn't overly bothered by it. I had a window seat, which was nice, and next to me was a Japanese man, and next to him was an American going to Tokyo for an internship. He was pretty cool. Didn't get his name though, we could have totally facebooked.
Side note, I need to break that addiction!!
End side note.
After the plane ride I took yet another, but shorter ride from Tokyo to Sapporo. There we were met with the rest of the group. Everyone has been awesome so far, as I've said. Jason Barrows, our BCA director and chaperone for the trip...and tour guide...and translator...and etiquette teacher....is a great man. I'm really glad I get to take my two classes with him.
My couple days in Sapporo are a bit of a blur, but I met some Japanese students, Kotoro, Rise, Satomi, Mame, and Nori. Everyone has been really helpful and I can tell we're all going to get along very well. Satomi and Mame came with us on the Honshu trip, and I like to call them the Secretary Force, because they would run around buying the tickets everywhere we went.
The trip itself was phenomenal. As I've said the food was fantastic. I can't even remember all the shrines and temples we went too, which is dumb of me, but I'll figure it out when I put on the pictures. A stand out experience in Kyoto was that shrine/mountain, Inari. The entire place scaled up, with orange Tori-gates and most shrines were protected by Fox Statues. It was incredibly strenuous in my out-of-shape state. I think overall I gained some endurance on the trip.
In Nagoya we went Karaoking, and it was amaaaaazing. Lots of fun. Also, underground areas are a major part of the areas around train stations in Japan, from what I've seen. Underground shopping spanned for a pretty big distance. It's pretty fascinating.
I feel there was soooo much that went on. It was an informational trip. I learned more about Japanese culture and etiquette and more about my new BCA friends. We all get along pretty well. My favorite place was Tokyo. I didn't make it to the Sanno (sorry mom) But I did get into Akihabara and ended up seeing many Totoro stores. Uh oh. I need to make a trip back.
I met up with Nariya, who is studying in Tokyo, and we spent a good day together (on my free day) and I even got to see Miki, my conversation partner last semester.
After Toyko ( and by the way, we stayed at the Hotel Pacific, which was quite the upgrade from the traveler hotels we had been staying at, and it was faaaaantastic) we flew back to Sapporo, wait for it, ON THE POKEMON PLAAAAAAAANE!!! I kid you not, how lucky is that? I'm in Japan -and- got to ride the pokemon plane.
Anyway, we are back in Kirari, the guest house for Hokusei (my university) yesterday was orientation, today we took a placement test( ew ew ew) and tomorrow I go to move in with my host family!! Hopefully they'll have internet, then again, I do like this place right here.
Have I mentioned clubs yet? If so, forgive me! Here they have clubs you can join, ranging from Fashion club, to Aikido club, Judo club, Archery, music, dance, etc, anything really! I want to join one but I'm a little worried about the language barrier...
Well that brings us back to me sitting in this cafe. Tonight we're going to do some karaoke, I'm excited. So far, so good, guys, thanks for sticking with the long read, hopefully it was coherent...
Take care all, I'll come back to update soon!
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