A Rough Map of Travelling

So here is a list of places I have been to in chronological order!

• Takatsuki-shi: My First weekend in Japan I spent with Andrea, Rodrigo, Jukka. We went to Takatsuki, the city of my homes jurisdiction, and did random shopping and sight seeing. This brings back so many memories! I was so nervous but excited to go out and make my way around Japan on my own. I really wanted to start my time here on a good note, and I definitely did! We went to see Gake No Ue No Ponyo as well (^_^)
• Around Osaka: With homestay family! This was a really nice day I remember. My family took me to all of these places around Osaka, like museums and a beautiful view of Osaka from a mountain outlook.
• Whitey Town: Haha, somehow I ended up hanging out with DJ, Jesse, Osso and we explored Whitey Town together in Osaka. Whitey Town is the name of the underground shopping "town" by the main JR and Hankyu stations. I learned about the Hanshin Tigers that day from Jesse.
• Aika's Elementary School: Ah, Undoukai! I went to my Host-neices elementary school to see her sports day. It was interesting using a childrens size Japanese style toilet! Throughout the day a lot of children stared at me and I got a lot of english phrases shouted at me. It made me feel like someone famous to be honest.
• Kyoto: Group trip to Shrines. Went with Andrea, Osso, Johanna, Julia, Christine, Kazuki, and Katie. It was on this trip the rest of us started to realize that Johanna and Kazuki were probably going to start dating at some point! I tried Macha flavored ice cream for the first time on this trip!
• Banpaku Koen: With Andrea and Homestay Mom. I dragged Andrea along with me because my Homestay mom invited me to go and I didnt' want to go alone! Banpaku Koen is a park with this huge butt ugly statue from the 70's or something like that. My favorite memory is feeding the koi fish. They swarmed over eachother and just went crazy when we threw food down to them. I absolutely love Koi fish and hope to have my own pond someday now.
• Kyoto: Oh gosh, I remember this day! I had barely any sleep and hadn't taken a shower or changed clothes because I had been out drinking with friends and stayed the night at Katies house. I went with my homestay mum and dad to a famous shopping area and museums, as well as saw ikebana aka flower arrangements
• Uji: My trip to the Byoodoin with Tim, Osso, Akinori is hands down one of my favorite days spent in Japan. Byoodoin is an old buddhist temple featured on the back of the ten yen coin. Gorgeous place.
• Mt Heizan and Lake Biwa: My Performing Arts Class spent a day planned by Guilnard Sensei, ending up at a BBQ at his house. I got to trick my friends by playing "white magic" and having a mysterious power of knowing which items my fellow friends chose.
• Noh: a live stage performance at Osaka Gakuin. Boring as hell, couldn't stay awake!
• Banpaku Koen: BBQ with all teachers and students. Got sunburned but had fun playing around and enjoying my first yakiniku experience with everyone!
• Nara: Tim, Sjoerd, Andrea, Christine, Osso and myself went to see the World's largest Buddha statue and feed the deer. Another amazing day.
• Kinkakuji: Andrea Tomami and Aika. This would have been a better day if so much of it hadn't been spent in a car! It was SO crowded at Kinkakuji (the golden pavilion) that I couldn't enjoy it. I plan to go back at a less popular time.
• Nara: Gagaku and Bugaku Performance Johanna, Tim, Osso, Andrea, Sjoerd. Yes, we returned! A traditional court music and dance performance is what drew us this time.
• Arashiyama: Large group of exchange students... but again we went at a time where there were just too many tourists to enjoy it!
• Mt. ..... : Andrea, Tim, Osso, John, Katie, Rod. I can't remember the name of the mountain but it took us several hours to get there and back. My favorite part: the beautiful sunset! But the sheer amount of graves was another aweinspiring moment. They served as a good reminder of the beauty of life and death, and how we should cherish the time we have here.
• Unknown Shrine with homestay fam in Osaka: haha, this was a rather long trip for me because we spent SO much time in the car. I don't understand why Japanese people have cars when such good public transportation is at hand. More often than not the public transportation is much faster.
• Kyoto: Illumination with Tim, Osso, Akinori. Kyoto at night, with beautiful lighting. Aw, words can't describe and neither do pictures, so I won't say anything other than you had to be there!
• Ohara: Gyozanen Ryokan with Tim, John, Katie, Rodrigo, Andrea, Sjoerd. A traditional Japanese Inn, with outdoor hotsprings (albeit manmade ones).

Uffdah! I am exhausted now!

But it was nice to type up such an overview because it helps me gather my thoughts and experiences and lets me better reflect upon them.

Utter Randomness

Haha so I am up late and realize that despite my repeatedly promising more posts, I have failed in doing so!

But I am bored and will write more right now. Your welcome!

So... where to begin? Aha! I have it, the train system!

I LOVE how easy it is to travel around Japan. The main railway is called Japan Railway, usually referred to as JR. But there are privately owned companies too skattered here and there, connecting the boonies and the sticks to the bigger cities. For example, I actually ride Hankyu because JR does not go to where I live! But I am not that far in the boonies, its just that Hankyu is a fairly prominent privately owned line only in Osaka. If you can see in the train map above, My station is Sojiji, the station for school is three stops away at Shojaku, and the station in Osaka is Umeda. We often just refer to station names instead of the actual city name. I live in Takatsuki-shi, but I don't get off at that station so I often say I live by Sojiji.

There is a running joke among us ryugakusei, foreign exchange students, about the lameness of Hankyu. But us Hankyu Riders are full of Hankyu Pride!! Check out Wikipedias info on it if you are more interested! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hankyu_Railway


I love Hankyu!! Haha, Hankyu is older and not as clean looking as JR but it is more reliable and the interior of the trains looks like the leftovers of a cheap 70's porno with crushed green velvet seats and faux wood interior walls. The sad thing is the reason Hankyu is more reliable is because on JR about once a month someone commits suicide by jumping in front of one of the trains, and that backs up all the trains for about at hour. This has happened about four times since I've been here. The first time I couldn't believe it, but now we just shake our heads.

However, the running joke is that no one commits suicide on Hankyu because even if they jumped in front of a Rapid Express Train they would only break a leg at most because the trains are so slow! Or, the more funny version is, if someone were to try and jump in front of a Hankyu train, that person might get a few bruises but the train itself would derail and kill all the passengers aboard...

So now you know! JR vs Hankyu is a hot topic of debate here! But I am a Hankyu rider, so stuff that in your pipe and smoke it JR people!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas

Christmas in Japan is an experience. The holiday here only barely resembles the celebration back home. From cheesy Japanese Santas to Engrish Holiday greetings (ex: Merry X-mos) to Christmas Cakes. Because in Japan, the popular thing to do on Christmas is to have a date with your significant other at KFC (yes, kentucky fried chicken this is no joke) and then eat a Christmas cake together afterwards!

Haha, but my Christmas was not spent eating fried chicken!

To start from the beginning, my Christmas Eve began with Christmas shopping. I got up early to go to the heart of Osaka city, and because the stores weren't open yet I went to Starbucks by myself and just people watched for about an hour. It was really nice actually, and I went shopping afterwards for all my friends here. That really put me in the Christmas spirit, because before that I really did not feel anything like Christmas here! I met up with my friends around lunch time and did more shopping with them. Lunch was spent at Subway, lol, I had the shrimp and avocado six inch sub on honey oat bread just in case you wanted to know!

After that we just killed time until the main event of christmas eve, which was a group of a lot of the exchange students (about 20) eating Yakiniku together. This place is DELICIOUS, but I probably gained 5 pounds! You pay 26 dollars for 2 hours of all you can eat food that you grill yourself at your table. You can grill anything from cow tongue to egg plant, both of which I have become rather fond of!

I exchanged gifts with my friends, and after yakiniku a few of us went to Karaoke and sang Christmas carols and cheesy music (ex: Ice Ice Baby or Man, I feel like a woman).

Christmas itself was less exciting than Christmas eve actually! I got to open a package from home in the morning and then talked to my parents on skype. After that I watched the Barbie Christmas Carol movie my mom sent me! I know, I am a nerd, but I LOVE the animated Barbie movies!

I went to the Gym to work out with some friends and then in the evening I went with them to a Dutch Bar and Grill. Haha, Christmas in Japan spent eating Dutch food. Well, the reason being my good friend Sjoerd is from Holland so we wanted to go and try this restaurant out. The funny thing is the owner of the restaurant was really creepy, and would say things like "Why, my lovely lady, and what do you so desire to drink this evening?" in this god awful accent.

After this I went home because my homestay family was making me a special dinner, and yes I did eat Christmas cake afterwards! And when I explained to my family that we don't eat cake in America on Christmas they seemed flabbergasted. Oh, Japan.

Whenever something is bizarre and just can't be explained with words, we just shake our heads and say "It's Japan", because that really is the only explanation you can give sometimes!

Well, that was my Christmas here. Not exactly the usual holiday fare, but it was enjoyable and I spent it with good friends.

Merry Christmas Everyone and have a Happy New Year!

The Magic that is the Konbini

Japan is the land of convenience, as far as the mundane everyday things go. For example, the enormous amount of vending machines. In other areas, Japan seems behind the times. The ATM's for instance are seldom open 24 hours; usually they are only open the same times the banks are open. This sort of defeats the purpose of an ATM... But in one area Japan has it right, and that is the Convenience Store aka Konbini in Japanese.

The Konbini is a magical place of reasonably priced goods and quality service with a smile! It is like an American Gas station, except more welcoming I think and with better food. Konbini obento aka boxed lunches are much better than standard American gas station fare in my opinion.

Even on campus at OGU there is a konbini called Yamazaki and it is attached to the Macdonalds. Here is a website that lists the services konbini's offer http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2071.html. Probably two of the more popular chains are Lawson and 7-11.

Usually my trips to the Konbini are for lunch, snacks, or for certain.. ahem.. personal lady products. At the school Konbini I usually buy this one delicious sandwich, OMG, it makes my mouthwater just thinking about it! It is this really good pork that has been cooked with crunchy/sweet mixture. I try not to get one everyday since I know it is probably high in calories! Also, one popular snack is KitKat bars. Here in Japan, as I have mentioned before, there are tons of different flavors. The other day I had a strawberry cheesecake kitkat bar and it was delicious. Another favorite of mine is a chocolate called MeltyKiss. That is probably my favorite chocolate from Japan. It really does meltily kiss you... hmmm candy love. I will have to bring a few boxes home to share...or not share!

One thing I don't like about Japan is the blatant pornography at times. These magazines are not covered in plastic wrapping or censored in anyway. They are often easily at children's eye level, and I can't help but think this is wrong for them to be so easily exposed to it. But that is Japan's culture for you. I saw an even more extreme example of this when I went to DenDen Town in Namba. Den means electricity, or electronic, so DenDen Town is a famous street of electronic goods. But every third store was a porno shop, and the pictues were NOT censored. There was one store in particular that had this lifesize cardboard cutout display of... well.. you can fill in the blank! And there were plenty of children walking around with their parents too! Different culture, different values.

In the Classroom

To make up for my previous drought of blogging, I will now commence to overwhelm this blog with posts! Todays topic: in the classroom.

To begin with, on the second day of school orientation (which was also only my third day in Japan) all the ryougakusei aka foreign exchange students had to take a Japanese placement test. This consisted of multiple choice, writing, and an oral test. Based on these results we were placed in one of four classes:

A: Begginers
B: Elementary
C: Intermediate
D: Advanced

I was lucky enough to just get into the C-class, but I am struggling to keep up and learn more every day. So far I have managed just fine and have learned a lot since I started taking classes. Interestingly enough, the Begginners class is all men and the Advanced and Intermediate classes are all girls with one lonely (or lucky) guy.

My schedule is different everyday of the week. Besides Language classes I have two other Japanese culture classes: Japanese Performing Arts and Japanese Film. Below is my weekly schedule:

MON: 9 am - 11:10 am Grammar Class with Fukui-sensei. Every Monday I have a kanji test, usually on about 20+ kanji.
12:50 pm - 2:20 pm Japanese Performing Arts with Guillnard-sensei. In this class we learn about different stage acting, music, costume, and the history of performing arts. The best thing about this class is the field trips! I have learned a lot from Prof. Guillnard, who is from Switzerland. He is the only professional foreign Biwa player (four string guitar-like instrument) in Japan and has lived here for over 20 years.

TUES: 9 am - 11:10 am Hands-on Japanese with Masada-sensei. Usually watch and rewatch short sections of the famous Japanese anime film "Spirited Away". While watching we have to fill in the dialogue word for word on worksheets. This is one of my favorite classes because it is interesting and I feel like I learn a lot from it.

WED: 9 am - 11:10 am Grammar Class
12:50 pm - 4:00 pm Japanese Film with Yuko-sensei. Film class is usually fairly interesting, but unfortunately is not good and conveying her knowledge to us. Our class is really large and she struggles to manage it. I don't feel like I have gotten too much out of this class, but I have watched a lot of movies from Japan and feel more cultured!

THURS: 9 am - 11:10 am Hands-on Japanese. Usually we write a short essay on a given topic, take turns on giving speeches, or interpret and read aloud news articles. The last is the most difficult because of the amount of difficult kanji (chinese characters) we have to read.
12:50 pm - 2:20 pm Japanese Performing Arts

FRI: 9 am - 11:10 am Grammar Class


And there you have a rough synopsis of my school life here! Outside of class we hang out a lot at the Kokusai Center aka International Center lobby and go shopping or eating out. On Tuesdays I only have a morning class so I usually try to go home early and do laundry, clean my room, get caught up on homework, etc.

Well, thats all for now folks!

I want to ride my bicycle...

Today was a beautiful sunny day, all I needed to wear was a light sweater. This wouldn't be so weird if it wasn't DECEMBER! It is so strange having this kind of weather when I have lived in Minnesota for ten years or so. I am sitting on the floor of my bedroom at my kotatsu (heated table), which is not turned on because it is nice today.

On any given school day I wake up later than I mean too, wolf down breakfast, and hop on my bike to go to the station. Although it only takes about 5-10 minutes depending on traffic and stoplights, this short period of time is enough to start the day off really badly or really well. For the most part, I enjoy the bike ride. A good day is when I get to the station just in time to catch the train. A bad day is when the train just pulls away as a enter the platform (like today).

My bike route is the same everyday. The path twists and turns, taking me past a graveyard, a rice field, various shops, lots of apartment buildings, and the supermarket. Here is a quick note on Japanese graveyards: families share the same grave, and everyone is cremated. The graves are usually one high pillar with maybe smaller pillars in four corners around it. Considering the large population of Japan, you will be unsurprised to find out there is hardly any room to walk at graveyards because the graves are so close together.

Along my route are volunteers in yellow jackets with flags that help the school children cross the street. There is one kinda chubby old man who I really like because I say ohayo gozaimasu to him everyday and he gives me this huge smile; it is adorable. But the other ones I don't really like, and I try to avoid them.

When the weather is nice I can appreciate the scenery, feel the breeze in my hair, watch people starting their days, etc. If it is a good bike day I don't have to wait at the intersections too long, I avoid all the potholes and sewerlids, and don't have to manuever quickly in order to not get hit by cars, motorbikes, or other bicyclists.

The hardest part of my route is the crossing the last street. The bike parking lot is badly located as far as getting to it safely is concerned. I have to cross the road and bike down the opposite side (in the wrong direction) to get to its entrance. This particular road is really busy, especially in the morning. On a good day, I just tail behind a more experienced biker and take advantage of their knowledge of good times to make the run for it. I can cross it on my own now as well, albeit with shakey knees afterwards.

Probably one of the worst indicators of a bad bike day is getting stuck behind and old person on their bicycle. Or even worse, a smoking old person. Yes, the Japanese smoke and ride a bike. A note on women and bikeriding: there are more variations among women bike riders than men. Men usually are salarymen in suits, students or old men. But women have a whole set of bike gear for all weathers. First, they all mastered the art of carrying an umbrella while riding. Or if they haven't they have a special umbrella holder for the job. Second, they wear huge oven mitt looking things to protect their hands. Third, among older women they often wear ridiculously long visor caps to protect their face. Of if they don't have a hat, they have a huge plastic forcefield looking thing rigged to the front of their bike. That shields them from the elements and probably lasers too. Finally, because school girls uniforms always have require skirts this makes bike riding problematic. The good girls keep them at the length intended, and even that can be a problem while riding. But the bad girls hike their skirts up to near indecency and THEN get on the bike.

Which brings me to another side note: I still have no idea what the actual required skirt length is for these school uniforms. You can see three girls wearing the same exact uniform standing side by side (which you see often), but one will have their skirt barely covering her underwear, one will have one slightly longer, and then the third's skirt will be below her knees. I assume the girls who wear their skirts that long are probably considered unpopular.