Interestingly enough, I have found out that time passes more quickly in Japan than anywhere else in the world. Or so it would seem.
The days after last semester´s exams flew by and all of a sudden I am back home from my much awaited trip to Kyushu. And it was heaven! Getting away from the I-House, which has become almost vacant, to a hotter climate to explore the southern part of this magical country... a much needed vacation.
After having planned the trip for two days I was joined by a Finnish girl named Henna who was eager to escape the cold. And what a traveling team we made! My very modest skill of speaking Japanese combined with her kanji reading skills made us deadly when it came to asking for help or reading random signs or town names. Also, as Henna was joining a trip I had already planned I could drag her everywhere without complaint. As I have a lot to explain about each place, although I go quickly over things, I want to split it down into separate posts, so not to bore you to death, my dear readers.
We´ll start off with Beppu....
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Today it snowed! And I who had been waiting eagerly for the coming of spring... will stop holding my breath for now. Still, even if it is the first of February, the prospect of finally being able to see some snow and possibly make a snowman or two is very exciting. Speaking of snow, recently I have had these strange feelings of Christmas.... what with everything being so quiet and cold recently. My mind, deprived of real Christmas this year, is probably making up for it now, silly thing.
The snow swiftly turned to rain and it gave me no small pleasure to open the door-window to the balcony, breathe in the fresh air and listening to the rain hitting the ground and tin roof, much like listening to a waterfall in the distance. Ahh the small moments of life....
I am so excited to be hitting the road soon. These past few days I have been scouring the internet for means of transportation, places of interest and Japanese-style hotels. I have been waiting a long time to go out and actively explore the country, not just sit still in one place. Just thinking of how much sightseeing I will be doing and all the places I will be able to explore, it positively gets my skin tingling. :)
To conclude today´s blog; I finally feel more at home in the I-House and less like I am... in the way.
p.s. I just started reading the diary of Anne Frank and it took some force to remove myself from it again. Highly recommend it.
The snow swiftly turned to rain and it gave me no small pleasure to open the door-window to the balcony, breathe in the fresh air and listening to the rain hitting the ground and tin roof, much like listening to a waterfall in the distance. Ahh the small moments of life....
I am so excited to be hitting the road soon. These past few days I have been scouring the internet for means of transportation, places of interest and Japanese-style hotels. I have been waiting a long time to go out and actively explore the country, not just sit still in one place. Just thinking of how much sightseeing I will be doing and all the places I will be able to explore, it positively gets my skin tingling. :)
To conclude today´s blog; I finally feel more at home in the I-House and less like I am... in the way.
p.s. I just started reading the diary of Anne Frank and it took some force to remove myself from it again. Highly recommend it.
Friday, January 29, 2010
I talked with Sonja yesterday on Skype and among other things we discussed my love for Emerson. She asked for an example of what kind of things he writes and at a loss for words to describe such a magnificent writer I decided to simply post this beautiful example. I welcome the opportunity to post something by my dear dear Emerson on all of my blogs so here you go. Enjoy!
Bliss. <3
Peace out.
Who troubles himself about his ornaments or fluency is lost. This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.
Bliss. <3
Peace out.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
未来はずっと先だよ 僕にも分かれない
I strongly dislike being sick. These days the I-House is all but deserted and sitting in the vacant common area of the 4th floor, I have been watching the sun move from one part of the sky all the way to the opposite side. After just over a week of sickness and being stuck inside (which frustrates me to no small degree) I can safely say I have had enough and am ready to go out and play. I have high hopes that this cold will clear up by tomorrow so I can go take a long-needed walk... or take a trip to Osaka....
That is not to say that today has been entirely fruitless. I finally sat down and started planning my amazing trip I will be taking in February- March. School doesn´t start untill the beginning of April so I have plenty of time for sight-seeing and traveling.
Some stops I want to make so far include:
Will be polishing the details of when I´m leaving, how long I stay at each place and if I´ll include a trip to a not-easily-accessible long lost valley, and will see who wants to tag along on my quest to find the spirit of Japan! Promise to at least try to take as many pictures as I can.
Have got to get back to my busy schedule now.
Update: It´s only yesterday I finished my classes and can now go back to doing whatever I want.
So far I have been spending the last two hours reading a blog by a random guy teaching Greek lit. and trying to find some courses I can take before school starts again. Kendo, Archery, Latin, Baking... anything. I have also been trying to pick courses I can take at HÍ when I get back home. I just don´t do well sitting empty-handed...
That is not to say that today has been entirely fruitless. I finally sat down and started planning my amazing trip I will be taking in February- March. School doesn´t start untill the beginning of April so I have plenty of time for sight-seeing and traveling.
Some stops I want to make so far include:
- Witness the real-life effects of atomic warfare in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Pray at Ise Shrine, the holiest Shinto shrine in the world
- Explore the grounds of Himeji Castle in Himeji
- See the three great views of Japan (Nihon Sankei); Matsushima, Amanohashidate and Itsukushima
- Climb the 3776 meter Mount Fuji, an icon of Japan.
- Ascend Mount Aso to see one of the world's largest calderas
- Climb the 2446 stone stops of the holy Haguru mountain through an amazing primeval forest.
- Soak in the hot springs of Japan's Onsen Capital, Beppu.
- Overnight in one of the holy temples of Mount Koya.
Will be polishing the details of when I´m leaving, how long I stay at each place and if I´ll include a trip to a not-easily-accessible long lost valley, and will see who wants to tag along on my quest to find the spirit of Japan! Promise to at least try to take as many pictures as I can.
Have got to get back to my busy schedule now.
Update: It´s only yesterday I finished my classes and can now go back to doing whatever I want.
So far I have been spending the last two hours reading a blog by a random guy teaching Greek lit. and trying to find some courses I can take before school starts again. Kendo, Archery, Latin, Baking... anything. I have also been trying to pick courses I can take at HÍ when I get back home. I just don´t do well sitting empty-handed...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
♫ I just want your extra time and your..... kiss! ♫ ♫ ♫
I´m not supposed to be blogging. I´m supposed to be studying. Does that stop me from reaching out to my wonderful readers and telling them about my amazing life in Japan while listening to Prince? Never!
The exams kicked off last Wednesday after we had to hand in our essays. So glad that that´s over....
So far I´ve been doing fine, except for my oral exam.... I managed to get sick so I was very tired, aching and had no idea what I was saying or why the teacher was asking me about cell phones. Apparently a very common and valid topic for an exam here in the land of upside-down but I was just very confused and forgot I was taking an exam while I started babbling about the good and bad points of having a cell phone. Monday I have my last Japanese exam (reading comprehension and kanji) and a religious exam later on. Thursday is my last one before I run into spring break like a calf in spring... break....!
Yesterday was sad to say the least, we had a "see you again party", which is the positive cousin of the better known "goodbye party" but as emotions tend to run high some clever person decided to rename the whole thing to keep rivers of bitter tears of as small proportions as possible. I skipped to the party, which was held on the first floor of the I-House, not really comprehending what it meant... that people would be going home. These things take me a while... The floor was crawling with people, from the "Friends" group, tutors, random Japanese people I have never seen before, creepy Russian Harry Potter guy, us exchange students and inhabitants of the I-House. After talking, frolicking and feasting we fed our eyes with a picture show from last semester (the people who are leaving have been here for one more semester that I have), as well as this one. Very entertaining. :) After all that, we listened to some speeches by these very same people and not a dry cheek was to be found in the building. No one really wanted to go home (obviously) and have to separate from their friends and people who they had come to call family. It was so hard not to cry but as I knew I am going to cry buckets of my own when I have to leave I decided to wait a few months and managed to choke back some tears throughout the evening.
It wasn´t until the most genki (energetic) people of the I-House took their bags and walked out the door that I finally realized half the people here are really leaving ... it was a very emotional moment. It´s going to be very quiet without them, and so many people I will miss. It almost seems unfair....
But life goes on and emails have been exchanged. Next semester we have so many people storming the house and we will have some more great times. :)
I cannot wait for our two month vacation! I´m going to travel as much as I can around Japan and drink in as much experience as humanly possible. Haven´t planned anything concrete yet BUT I will go meet my people in Tokyo and go snowboarding and mojito drinking with Svanni, Björk and Sakai sensei! <3 Have never snowboarded in my entire life so it should be interesting :)
For the most part I will simply enjoy (cannot stretch that fact out enough!!) simply being in Japan, there is nothing that could make me more happy, and being free! *drifts away*
Alors, mes petits, be good, be happy and feel the love I am sending through this post. :)
All my best to everyone who reads this!
Spring is coming soon!
xoxo
-Tabibito
The exams kicked off last Wednesday after we had to hand in our essays. So glad that that´s over....
So far I´ve been doing fine, except for my oral exam.... I managed to get sick so I was very tired, aching and had no idea what I was saying or why the teacher was asking me about cell phones. Apparently a very common and valid topic for an exam here in the land of upside-down but I was just very confused and forgot I was taking an exam while I started babbling about the good and bad points of having a cell phone. Monday I have my last Japanese exam (reading comprehension and kanji) and a religious exam later on. Thursday is my last one before I run into spring break like a calf in spring... break....!
Yesterday was sad to say the least, we had a "see you again party", which is the positive cousin of the better known "goodbye party" but as emotions tend to run high some clever person decided to rename the whole thing to keep rivers of bitter tears of as small proportions as possible. I skipped to the party, which was held on the first floor of the I-House, not really comprehending what it meant... that people would be going home. These things take me a while... The floor was crawling with people, from the "Friends" group, tutors, random Japanese people I have never seen before, creepy Russian Harry Potter guy, us exchange students and inhabitants of the I-House. After talking, frolicking and feasting we fed our eyes with a picture show from last semester (the people who are leaving have been here for one more semester that I have), as well as this one. Very entertaining. :) After all that, we listened to some speeches by these very same people and not a dry cheek was to be found in the building. No one really wanted to go home (obviously) and have to separate from their friends and people who they had come to call family. It was so hard not to cry but as I knew I am going to cry buckets of my own when I have to leave I decided to wait a few months and managed to choke back some tears throughout the evening.
It wasn´t until the most genki (energetic) people of the I-House took their bags and walked out the door that I finally realized half the people here are really leaving ... it was a very emotional moment. It´s going to be very quiet without them, and so many people I will miss. It almost seems unfair....
But life goes on and emails have been exchanged. Next semester we have so many people storming the house and we will have some more great times. :)
I cannot wait for our two month vacation! I´m going to travel as much as I can around Japan and drink in as much experience as humanly possible. Haven´t planned anything concrete yet BUT I will go meet my people in Tokyo and go snowboarding and mojito drinking with Svanni, Björk and Sakai sensei! <3 Have never snowboarded in my entire life so it should be interesting :)
For the most part I will simply enjoy (cannot stretch that fact out enough!!) simply being in Japan, there is nothing that could make me more happy, and being free! *drifts away*
Alors, mes petits, be good, be happy and feel the love I am sending through this post. :)
All my best to everyone who reads this!
Spring is coming soon!
xoxo
-Tabibito
Friday, January 8, 2010
Some favorites in Japan:
* This is the most beautiful city in the world! At least its easy to think so when walking, taking the bus or cycling around Kyoto´s various quarters. The lush green mountains, endless streams of water, Japanese style houses and gardens or shrines that pop up almost every corner... it can be quite breathtaking.
*Gion. The old Geisha quarter is where I usually wind up on my walks around town. It´s hard to describe the feeling you get walking through there. While a big part of the quarter has been rebuilt and is relatively modern there are so many old shrines, temples and houses - it´s almost like taking a trip to the past. The old Japan I love so much. Walking along the thin river running through it, complete with ancient looking, simple stone bridges and Cranes in the water, hoping to spot a Maiko or even Geisha, treading the impossibly narrow, dark streets, it´s truly magical.
*The practice of bowing your head in greeting. I bow to almost everything and everyone now, even other foreigners. I find it shows your humility and respect for other people, which I must say is very refreshing.
*Sliding doors. I love seeing people go into a restaurant, bar etc. of a Japanese style, extremely narrow building and sliding the doors closed behind them.
*The fact that here, you answer to society, not God. Threaten people with the idea of hell and they will just do as they wish and repent on their death-bed. Or confess every now and then and feel better. Here, if you do something wrong you put shame upon yourself and your family and society will shun you, which is extremely serious in a culture such as this.
*Japanese tv! Oh the madness! I just learned that they dedicate about 67% of their broadcasting to entertainment - leading to a very happy tv owner. Not a very enlightened one, mind you, but happy. ^^
*Everything is so damn cute... Everyone - and I mean it - has one or all of the following hanging from their person, phone, ipod etc: bells, good luck charms, small figurines from a particular anime or manga, big balls of feathers, long soft tails, sparkly diamonds, stuffed animals, stickers or some other decoration. Even the police are equipped with shining light sabers.... ^^
*The weirdness.... example of the day: It´s very common and accepted that men read pornographic manga on the trains on their way to work or back home... no matter what age.
The night sky, kotatsu tables, screeching girls and guffawing guys, shop clerks shouting Irasshaimaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee at you as you walk past (welcome, come in), barbie doll girls, freaky hair styles, engrish, company names like "Lucifer" (I think that was a restaurant), and "Relocation Brain System" (wonder what goes on in there).... I could go on for days. I love Kyoto. :)
* This is the most beautiful city in the world! At least its easy to think so when walking, taking the bus or cycling around Kyoto´s various quarters. The lush green mountains, endless streams of water, Japanese style houses and gardens or shrines that pop up almost every corner... it can be quite breathtaking.
*Gion. The old Geisha quarter is where I usually wind up on my walks around town. It´s hard to describe the feeling you get walking through there. While a big part of the quarter has been rebuilt and is relatively modern there are so many old shrines, temples and houses - it´s almost like taking a trip to the past. The old Japan I love so much. Walking along the thin river running through it, complete with ancient looking, simple stone bridges and Cranes in the water, hoping to spot a Maiko or even Geisha, treading the impossibly narrow, dark streets, it´s truly magical.
*The practice of bowing your head in greeting. I bow to almost everything and everyone now, even other foreigners. I find it shows your humility and respect for other people, which I must say is very refreshing.
*Sliding doors. I love seeing people go into a restaurant, bar etc. of a Japanese style, extremely narrow building and sliding the doors closed behind them.
*The fact that here, you answer to society, not God. Threaten people with the idea of hell and they will just do as they wish and repent on their death-bed. Or confess every now and then and feel better. Here, if you do something wrong you put shame upon yourself and your family and society will shun you, which is extremely serious in a culture such as this.
*Japanese tv! Oh the madness! I just learned that they dedicate about 67% of their broadcasting to entertainment - leading to a very happy tv owner. Not a very enlightened one, mind you, but happy. ^^
*Everything is so damn cute... Everyone - and I mean it - has one or all of the following hanging from their person, phone, ipod etc: bells, good luck charms, small figurines from a particular anime or manga, big balls of feathers, long soft tails, sparkly diamonds, stuffed animals, stickers or some other decoration. Even the police are equipped with shining light sabers.... ^^
*The weirdness.... example of the day: It´s very common and accepted that men read pornographic manga on the trains on their way to work or back home... no matter what age.
The night sky, kotatsu tables, screeching girls and guffawing guys, shop clerks shouting Irasshaimaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee at you as you walk past (welcome, come in), barbie doll girls, freaky hair styles, engrish, company names like "Lucifer" (I think that was a restaurant), and "Relocation Brain System" (wonder what goes on in there).... I could go on for days. I love Kyoto. :)
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