Sebatical

Hey everyone,



Sorry I haven't written anything lately. Seeing as it's the end of the semester and all things have gotten somewhat busy on the educational front. My grammar classes got slowed down due to some bad tests and I've been putting in long hours as we make up missed lectures in my seminar class because my teacher was ill. I also have a Kanji test next Tuesday I've been studying for...but fear not! I will be sure to post before I leave promise!

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I am 80% packed to come home and leave the day after tomorrow! I'm nervous of course, I hate flying but excited at the same time. I can't wait to sleep the jetlag off and spend time with my friends and family. For those of you who have stuck it out reading this blog and hearing about my travels thank you. This trip was such a big thing for me and there were so many of you I wanted to share it with.

Gaijin Bippy Strikes Again!!

Muhahaha! Last Sunday several of us international students got on a train and went to a neighboring town to participate in a cross cultural festival. There was SO much stuff to do there; tea ceremony, Spanish bingo, Ugandan games, Japanese paper cutting, Korean crafts it was a hoot. However, the big selling point was the oppertunity to try on kimono (and samurai armor for the men) It was amazing. The types of kimonos they had to wear were Maiko (geisha) or wedding kimono. I got to wear the wedding one, let me tell you those suckers are by far the most beautiful things I've ever seen...and also the heaviest. They wrap you so tight you feel like your ribs could break and you can't breathe, and the layers of fabric lay so heavy on your arms you can bearly lift them. But you look beautiful! I also had the luck of being chosen to have my own hair put up in a traditional style.

Now, I get compliments about my skin and hair in this country (I'll do another post about this later) but my hair was being fawned over! It was insane! The two women doing my hair wrapped and pinned and back combed and sprayed my hair into a form I have never seen it. Then they covered it in combs and ornaments so my head felt about 20 lbs and I had to keep it JUST so or I would totaly lose my balance. Best part was, I got pictures!

Things I will miss about Japan (part two)

Seeing as (through word of mouth, noticing a lack of comments) my entry about bathtubs went over so well I decided to add another entry of things I will miss about Japan. This particular object has become almost an addiction since I came to Japan and I eat one almost every day: Melon Pan.Melon Pan is Asian style sweet bread that (normally) doesn't actually taste like melon. The name comes from the shape, which resembles a hard melon like a cantaloupe. Also, for those asking "what on earth is pan?" Pan is the Japanese word for bread, a loan word from Portugal. Melon pan is given it's sweetness from the thin layer of cookie dough bakers put over the bread dough. It's very tasty, the texture being anywhere from crunchy to doughy sweet. Melon pan are about 100 yen (a buck) a pop and come in different styles. There is the basic style (personal favorite), Chocolate chip melon pan, strawberry melon pan, melon cream pan and various other varieties.
As you can see from the adorable anime picture I have posted melon pan is very popular, almost to the point of being a cultural staple. At first I was very depressed about leaving Japan because I would also be leaving these delicious breads behind. HOWEVER! The fates granted me a wish and I found while rummaging around on Wikipedia a link to a melon pan recipe! See Here for Awesomeness so I will have to at least attempt this when I get home...because...I want to be an ambassador for international breads. Doughnuts be damned! *waves fist*
Additional Resources: Wikipedia Article

Things I will miss about Japan (Part one)

So, now that it's November and my date of departure now...about a month away people are starting to ask me "What will you miss from Japan?". I'm assuming they want to hear about all the friends I've made and the places I've gone...well I'm not sappy like that! (Or maybe I just connect with very strange things: See Previous post) Of course I'll miss my friends, and the routine I have quickly built up around the skeleton frame that is my school scedule but one of the things I will miss most is: My bathtub.
...yeah I'm waiting for the stares to die down before I continue. Yes, you can lift your jaw off the floor it's OK. If you haven't experienced a Japanese bath well you, are horribly missing out. I don't have a picture of my bathtub, but this one is a pretty good example of the usual, simple model tub that comes standard in Japanese homes.

There is nothing that tops my list of stress relieving measures more than by tub. Being so deep the water comes right to your shoulders and you can practically float. (If I was smaller I might just do so) and because of the nifty cover they put on the tubs the water stays warm much longer. Also, because the Japanese are huge bathers it means they have TONS of bath products! Bath salts, fizzies, bubble bath anything you could want. I'm a personal favorite of the fine grain bath salts. They dissolve instantly in the hot water and leave a mild but lingering fragrance throughout the bathroom. The fact that they also dye the water different colors but leave my skin it's normally pasty shade is a huge bonus. So yeah...I'll go home in December to my lackluster bathtub I can't even fill halfway for fear of overflowing it, and dream of happier days when tubs were tubs and baths were worth drawing.

An ode to Mini-stubby

I made a friend today.

This evening Tanya and I were going to the post office, and to get there you cut through the park. As we were walking up the stairs to the bridge we notice a cat. Cats are a common sight here, between the feral kitties who live in the park and the cats who chill out when let out for the night there are a lot. Now, normally the cats don't come close to you at all, in fact on your arrival they run like mad. This kitty didn't. Infact he did the complete opposite and ran right towards us, meowing and rubbing against our legs. We petted him, assuming he would be on his merry way but no! He kept getting under our feet as we walked up the stairs and I was convinced he was going to follow us to the post office. "I'm getting him food you stay here" Tanya remarked leaving me in the park with the cat. (the park is right next to the university, is a well lit and well trafficked area for my mother who is cringing at this story) So I'm sitting with the cat, who is rubbing against me, purring, loving on my purse, and jumping into my lap to make cookies. I tried in three different langugaes (English, Japanese, and Spanish) to attempt to communicate to the cat that he should go home, or at least sit and be patient but alas nothing worked. NOTHING. Tanya came back less than five minutes later to this cat perched on my knees meowing to all passers by (I got a lot of stares). Kitty then proceeded to scarf down the entire can of tuna Tanya had produced. I being in charge of getting it from plastic bag to cat. We dubbed him Mini-stubby, partialy in honor of Tanya's kitty with the same name and partially because he was a little bobtail. I think Mini-stubby is a girl Tanya thinks it's a boy so the he pronoun doens't really mean anything. We then left Mini-stubby with the strictest advice that he should return home post haste or at least find a snug place to sleep for the night and went on our way.
Yeah...the park cat population tripples once the street lights are on, furthering my theory that most of the cats DO have homes, they just happen to be let out at night. We spotted maybe 2 ferals and a half a dozen friendlys before we made it out of the park. It was like a cat gauntlet! The post office was closed by the time we got there, but by the time we made it we figured we had gone out for a different reason according to fate. I hope all is well with Mini-stubby and I hope he is now safely home, eating more food or at least conning more people out of their Tuna.

+3 Karma points for Bippy and Tanya

High and Mighty Color

Wow.

So NGU was having their annual school festival and they invited the band High and Mighty Color to come preform. For those who don't know, they're an up and coming band here in Japan who have done the openings for a few anime I like, mainly Bleach. Ian hooked Tanya and I up with free passes to stand in the front of the stage and man it was an awesome experience. I only knew I think two of the songs they played but the energy was really electric and the band really got the crowd into the performance. There was a lot of jumping I'll leave it at that. They even came and played an encore for us how awesome is that?!
Afterwards we were able to get a glimpse of them as they took photos in the tennis court. This is possibly the only time being foreign in this country has gotten me anything. The band members looked as us American kids, smiled, and waved at us. Tanya almost fainted because she really likes the main male singer and I was just happy because, well I now have bragging rights to all my friends back home. I even got to watch the guitarist and basist play catch for awhile which was awesome...yeah....it was a good day all around.

Now I have to study for my two tests I have this week.

Camera Follies

I'm pretty sure I had mentioned in here that I had broken my camera. It was a tradegy, my own personal JFK assasination with me as the sniper on the green. I had, in a folly I still regret knocked my precious camera off my desk sending it crashing to the floor. The damage was irrepareable (Camera's shouldn't rattle when shaken) and the pained whirring of stripped gears tore me assunder inside. My baby, my freshman year of college birthday present had decided today was a good day to die...

This is all that remains of my precious A610...my failed attempts to revive you only further scar your damaged innards, reflecting the utter chaos that must lie within. Though I mourned your passing...life continued on and I forged a new alliance. You were not forgotten A610...I stuck with the canons purchasing the younger model...the A560.

Yes, he is smaller than his predecessor and he lacks the nifty rotating viewer that made me fall in love with A610 but he is sturdy and he is well suited for his job. He also, amazingy had English settings so I could change that up...it's so nice to be able to understand what it is your doing on your camera...so yeah, that is the story of my two cameras, of loss and ultimately finding a decent replacement for the camera which has documented a good two and a half years of my life.

A610 you are gone...but never forgotten.

Shopping Excursions

Saturday's are generally my busy days, the days I go out on the town and spend money. This saturday was no different and I found myself in Sakae once again going to the Loft. Though this time I actually dropped some cash. The first thing I bought was something that perhaps I should have purchased sooner, mainly a pot. Yes, I've been here how long and I only just now bought a pot. Why? Because I didn't want to buy the wrong type of pot, and I didn't really want to lug a pot back to the states. Why can't they just supply pots? Honestly.
I also bought several people souviners of my trip, none of which I'll specify here because people might read and find out! I will say that those presents I bought reflect wonderfully on the people I bought them for...lets see...
I attempted to find a halloween costume but the costume i wanted ended up being around 100 dollars....I'm not spending 100 bucks on a halloween costume. So my plans to be awesome have been twice thwarted *sigh* perhaps I should have just brought a costume over with me. Not like I realized attemping to find something would be so difficult/expensive. Yeah...a word to those who want to go to Japan:
Japan has the highest cost of living prices in the world!!! Everything over here is expensive! Your eyes will spin at the amount of zeros tacked on to everything over here! I have simply gotten used to the fact I will have to shell out about 10 bucks for a flipping umbrella...and umbrella!!! And thats just if I was a cheapy one, if I want a namebrand awesome one like everyone else carries around here I can pay anywhere from 50-100 US dollars! So yeah...fellow Japan travelers you have been warned.

Poems and Pictures

So for those who didn't notice, I circucmvented the problem of loading photos and now have some up. Instead of writing about my day (in short I dumped soda in my bag, learned you can indeed dry notebooks on a line, and broke my camera...all the while keeping a smile on my face and a song in my heart as I shoved imported salmon jerky into my face) I figured since I mentioned how I had been writing horrible poetry I would share some with you! Yay! Aren't you lucky! *fake smile* If you can't stand the poems at least enjoy the most current photo of me.

Renegade Exchange Student

Using a futon cover as a sheet,

my closet now a desk,

American resourcefullness

takes on Gypsy-like attribues

while living abroad

To Tanya:

I currently share:

1 bottle of laundry detergent

1 rice cooker

2 closets of clothes

An assortment of cooking utensils

1 box of thumb tacks

A thousand frustrations

Tons of heartache

and A lifetime of memories

A Common Moment: (Tanka)

You know that you're in Japan

when you see a guy

standing in the grocery store

chatting on a pink cell phone

You Know (Haiku)

You know that you've been

in Japan too long when the

subway feels like home.

What Japan does to an English Poets Brain

Poetic muse ebbs and flows

like the tide.

I seem to have stepped off the dock

into the middle of high tide

Importance of Poems

Poetry takes on new importance

when it's part of only ten percent

of time when you write in

English

Fall!

Yeah, finally it feels like Fall in good old Nagoya, it's only by my internal clock three weeks late...so that means winter should hit around Thanksgiving! Hurray I might have finally figured this out!
I went to Sakae with Tanya and Michael (a guy from Texas). It was a pretty fun trip, we hit up craft world and I am now the proud owner of some spiffy looking yarn, went to the 100 yen shop and bought my mom and grandmother presents. We got lost attempting to find only the coolest department store ever, THE LOFT. But, we did find it in all it's modern hipster glory...each floor full of more goodies than the one below it! The best part? they sell halloween stuff there, I gotta go back and buy my halloween costume there. The other best part? Since it was Saturday there were all these young women handing out flyers and free samples of stuff so I have like a months supply of tissues and enough shampoo samples I may not have to go out and buy a bottle after all!