Magic, or Kyodai Gasshoudan 82nd Annual Winter Concert

Wow. Just…wow. I feel like I bore witness to and took part in something amazing. Never mind the fact that I am shivering from cold and hangover as I write this.

I spent about 20 hours with choir people on Sunday—an epically long day that was the culmination of everything I had worked towards in my CIP (Community Involvement Project) since joining the choir in late September.  All the extra catch-up practices on top of the two regular weekly ones, and the retreat, and the dress rehearsal, it all led up to this, the year’s biggest event: the Kyodai Gasshoudan 82^nd Teiki Ensoukai (Regular/Scheduled Concert). I feel like it went really well and I wouldn’t do anything differently!

…Well, the day did start off a little hectic as I was supposed to wake up around 6:20 to get to the concert hall in Joyo (area south of Kyoto) by 9, but somehow my alarm didn’t go off and I woke up sleepily and then had a heart attack when my phone said 8:05. (Even though I had been thinking, “I am DEFINITELY not going to be late for this!” …Oy vey…) But I got there around 10:30 and quick-changed into Uber Ugly Costume and joined the girls still doing warm-ups and ridiculous exercises, just like always.

The rest of the day went according to the meticulous schedule given out to us. There were some final announcements and a few words exchanged among the voice parts—I was bad at improvising mine for the altos, but oh well. My crazy Westernized alto friend who was sick managed to show up about 45 minutes before the show started at 3, which was a relief since I wasn’t sure if she was gonna be able to come.

Finally we walked onstage for the Kyodai “E-ru” (jisho.org says “yell” or “cheerleading shout”), which is the choir’s theme song. I was in the front row and had just barely learned it, but whatever! I think it was okay! Maybe. And then the real thing began…

I wish I could say we all looked really snazzy, but I can’t say that about the girls. The costume is just not flattering…one of my friends who attended feels the same. It looks like wearing a white trash bag with a cheap corsage tucked into a long and shapeless black skirt. The guys looked way hotter than us—black pants with white shirt and blazer and red ties (ow-ow!). Then there was Miyako, the girls’ conductor, wearing a beautiful crimson A-line gown that had a couple of shoulder-slip wardrobe malfunctions during the women’s pieces…scandalous! And the conductor for the mixed pieces, Sally, who looks like a little girl, was wearing a tiny tux, which was basically the coolest and cutest thing ever.
No fair. We need to petition for better women’s choir outfits…

Anyway, the girls’ pieces in Japanese—a set called Hikari to Kaze wo Tsurete, “Going with Light and Wind”—were gorgeous as always. We couldn’t watch the guys’ songs since we had to do stretches, but we’d seen them at the dress rehearsal before. My friends, like I, thought their pieces were a little weird—one was about a small fish and one was about a serious man, walking seriously, crying seriously…and then killing someone seriously. Japan, man oh man, are you effed up sometimes.

Finally it was time for the slightly odd mixed pieces in Hungarian by Kodaly—two short and one really long one. I didn’t remember every single word, but I faked it well when I didn’t! Yay. And then the magic happened! I was already trying to be expressive with my face, but by the time the last one finished, I couldn’t keep the grin from my face and my eyes. As we continued into the encore (my favorite—it’s got a lovely melody and bittersweet yet happy romantic lyrics in Japanese), I just kept on beaming brighter than the stage lights, trying to share my happiness and satisfaction with the audience.

As soon as it ended, we walked off and then ran from backstage to the lobby to sing a couple of just-for-fun songs as people came out: men’s, women’s and mixed. Man, it was weird singing spirituals from the slave days surrounded by Japanese accents. Oh, and the Lupin the Third theme song with the girls. We sang one more and then hummed it as the PR boy and girl thanked everyone, then people started getting tossed in the air. There was so much love! On top of that, I saw my Japanese teacher saying hi from the audience and thanked her profusely, and then I saw my KCJS buds and Japanese friend coming through the crowd. I was so darn happy I just hugged them all—who cares if that’s not how they do things here? They had to skedaddle, but it was good even just seeing them for a bit.

After that people gathered their things, including goodie bags filled with dan-pure (dan purezento, or choir present) and rolled out. Those gifts are so adorable—it’s like secret Santa, except you make cute little notes to people and put it with a small gift or treat and distribute them to people’s bags. I’ve gone through most of mine now and it feels like Christmas came early, despite it having nothing to do with Christmas—so much love! I got stuff from people who I haven’t even talked to and people whose names I can’t match with faces. Now I feel sort of bad I only had time to make little ones for the altos, but that’s still a lot—19 people! Now imagine making stuff for 80!

So we all took the train up to the location of the reception, a large floor of an izakaya with dinner tables and couches and whatnot. Now this was not quite the afterparty I was expecting—it was more like a wedding reception than a wild party like I’m used to. Well, at least I got to sit with a couple of other new recruits, including a fellow alto who likes manga and is really good at drawing but is going to be a nurse. We had some nice good dorky chats. New otaku friend ftw!

Anyway, at this reception, there was alcohol and food, but it was mostly about toasts, congratulations, and present-bestowing at the front of the room. Fairly early on, one announcement from the women’s conductor turned into the men’s conductor proposing to her. Once I figured out what was going on, I was like, “Whoa, they were dating? Wait, what the crap? That’s adorable! But wait, what?? How old are they?” Apparently they’re around twenty-one. Dang!

So things went on like that, and I had lots of umeshu (plum liquor, good stuff) trying to get up the courage to talk to a certain person beyond the awkward interactions we were already having. I wanted to see how the rest of the night would play out, so I go, screw the last bus, I’m sticking around after the reception! Which I would learn was both a good and awful idea.

While the workers were cleaning up the space, people poured beer on two of the tenors while they stood in boxes, though I’m not really sure why. That’s probably the most frat-like thing in Japan I’ve seen. Appropriate, since one of the guys getting beer-ified seems like he could be in a frat. Then people sang more together, and then paused on a certain note as the former conductor called up their successor, hugged them and said things we couldn’t hear, and literally handed off the baton. People were crying, and I was actually pretty moved too. So that happened for men’s, women’s and mixed pieces, and then the PR pair called up their successors. It was so surreal, watching the end of an era.

Afterwards, we went outside until the real afterparty (nijikai) began at 1AM, and braved the cold while we went around the circle and shared some more words with each other. Even a few alumni were there and got all nostalgic! Mine was better this time and I thanked people for taking me in despite being an exchange student, and the fact that I was able to sing in the whole concert was thanks to them, among other things.

Then it was time for the nijikai, which was painfully expensive, but still pretty fun, and a bit more like the party I had expected. Still didn’t get to talk with that one person, but I had some fun times, and when Frat Guy started chilling at our table (these ones were low Japanese-style) I told him how I missed American college parties and how I think he’d probably enjoy them (trololol). We also talked about J-rock some, and a couple of other random dudes around me started chatting as well—it was weird being the center of attention, since I sometimes feel a little left out in choir. After drinking and eating still more, we headed outside at 3 and went to the Kamo River to sing until buses and trains started up. I probably should have taken a taxi home here, but I didn’t want it to end, and after all a cab would be pretty expensive…

We sang some stuff from the book of optional songs, conducted by the new peeps, with people occasionally chilling on the side or going to the convenience store. Eventually the trains started running so people rolled out, as it was really cold, but a couple of nice people stayed with me as I waited for the bus (in the warm train station—hehe I’m smart!) Originally I was going to go straight to campus and survive class, but I changed my mind on the bus and decided to stop at home first. Then my body decided that I was not making it anywhere and that I’d better stay and collapse.

So other than the fact that I’m sort of dead, along with my cell phone (seriously what is wrong), I’m still feeling the afterglow of choir-ness! I won’t see them much until later in January, besides the Christmas party in two weeks, but I feel a much stronger bond with them now. But damn, I am never staying out all night in the cold again. Not even the liquid jacket helped me there… There was also no liquid courage, but maybe being in Japan sucks that out of you and makes you repressed? OTL

Well, enough vague references for now, I have to go freak out about schoolwork—it’s the last official week of class! (Help. Please. Anyone.)

[*Update: that cell phone battery thing did not get better and resulted in me having to go through the hellish prepaid-phone-buying-process over again. uugh.]

Awkward Moments, Part II

Random aside: It’s Thanksgiving today, and my first one away from home. Man, do I miss crazy loud extended family and pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes…oh and did I say pumpkin pie? ;P

So, I’ve been off the radar for a little while. Got busy and lazy at the same time—the continuous paradox that is my life. Well, lazy in regards to writing this stuff up, that is.

Here’s a quick summary before we get back to our regularly scheduled program. For fall break (right after the previous entry), I was one of the many groups of KCJSers that headed off to the Tokyo area. Night bus for the win! It’s cheap and you don’t have to pay for an extra night’s bed. But I do not recommend it if you have just gotten sick the previous night. Actually, I don’t recommend traveling at all in that case. But shikatanai (c’est la vie)…Anyway, we did cool stuff like nerd out in Akihabara, where all the gamers and otaku go—there’s even a Gundam Café there. Didn't actually go; just thought that was worth noting. Actually, we ended up going to one of the many maid cafes, despite being a group of six girls. It was themed after a bunny burrow and ... kind of adorable. They were even wearing Halloween colors~

The bulletin board. They didn't allow photos inside because it would "scare the bunnies," hahaha

My dessert from the bunny cafe! So cute and fruity~

Bustling neighborhood of Shibuya

I also went to Yokohama and met with two alumni from my high school’s sister school, Yokohama Suiran High. We actually went back to see the school for a bit in the evening, which was like a weird trip back in time to my high school sophomore and junior summers! I got to visit my friend from my summer internship, Yukiko, at Keio U on the last day for a bit. Good times! And other than that, my recommendations are Harajuku (crazy style statements everywhere) and Tokyo Disney Sea (it’s not actually a water park; rather, it is simply made of epic), AND—last but not least—the Ghibli Museum just west of the city—it was a magical wonderland of animation and nostalgia. I got to sit in the catbus (from Totoro) and see an adorable short film by Ghibli!

Yes, a Gundam Cafe exists. In Akihabara (where else? haha)

Recognize this guy? Hint: Castle in the Sky

Yep, magical wonderland.

Condomania in Harajuku. Tempted to go in, but sense got the better of me. (They're saying "Georgee~" "Emilyy~")

The day after getting back, 9 of us—6 Americans and 3 Japanese students—went to Takarazuka to see a show by the ladies of the Takarazuka Revue. It was every bit as campy, flashy, fabulous and gender-bendy as I expected! For further info, see here: http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/english/first/index.html

Or here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarazuka_Revue

We saw this double feature: Classico Italiano and Nice Guy

Then it was back to business as usual, except the following weekend we had a choir retreat (which was a little pricey, but oh well). It was mostly work and little play, but there were some gossipy conversations later in the evening. Namely, I found out that a bunch of the choir members are actually in relationships—with each other. So I’m like, whoa, what? W, when—how does this happen? It doesn’t seem like there’s much chance for male-female interaction the way things are set up. Plus they’re all really nerdy and awkward like me! Clearly there’s something I’m doing wrong here. Please, tell me, oh wise Kyodai students! Also, there were no individual showers, so I had to go through that whole awkward-nakey-time bathing thing with the girls. (At least I haven’ t had to do that for over three years.) Pro tips: cover whatever possible with hands and keep eyes down or unfocused. That saves you the most embarrassment.

And other than school stuff, that’s…about it. Yup. See y’all next time. Now presenting part 2 of “That Awkward Moment When…”

…the reading is on Japanese women in an underwear factory, and the class discussion turns to which bra makers people prefer. No, the professor in that class has no shame.

…you go into a weekend retreat of choir practice thinking you’ll get to talk to a certain someone, but since you are both shy and awkward, that just does not happen.

(small lapse of time…then the events from within the past week or so):

…your host dad sneaks some natto (Japanese fermented soybeans that smell like compost and taste like death) into an omelet as a side dish, and you can only eat one of the three slices. At least he gave some warning beforehand!

…a random old man taps you and your friend on the shoulder at the bus stop in front of school and says, “Welcome to Japan!”, then  once he knows you’re American, proceeds to tell you about how he lived in Texas in the 1960s and witnessed Kennedy’s assassination, among other things, before you get on the bus. It was kind of awesome, actually.

…a semi-new member of the choir finds out you are a junior, hence older than her, and apologizes for having said anything too informal/not using keigo (respectful language) and the like. Girl, I’m American! That shyte makes us uncomfortable! Call me Natasha and talk to me casually please for Pete’s sake.

…you go to sit in the back of the bus and a special needs guy turns around in his seat and just stares at you…and stares. (At least he’s more up-front about in than other Japanese who will just take little glances at you or look from the corners of their eyes.)

Awkward Moments

This is a new and mostly humorous segment of The Gaijin Diaries (alternate title: "Oh Goodness, What Is My Life"). Seeing as my life and I are quite awkward, there will probably be similar posts in the future.
These are all things that have happened the past couple weeks, except the foundation one.

That awkward moment when…

…the buses are late and everything else in Japan is on time.

…there’s an empty seat on the full bus or train, but no one is taking it, perhaps out of politeness although they clearly want to, and you’re too far to take it yourself. (Come on guys, the seat’s going to waste!)

…you realize that when you’ve been telling the cashier at the convenience store that you don’t need a plastic bag, you’ve been saying “mother” (o-fukuro) instead of “bag” (fukuro).

…you’re in Osaka with some peeps, and a group of Americans/Japanese comes up and asks for help on a scavenger hunt, and you help them and another group as well, and you see the first group again, and it turns out the two are mortal enemies. (We have no loyalties!!)

…you suddenly look around on the train back from Osaka and realize you’re inside a women’s-only car—yes, they do exist—and there’s some random dude standing at the far end of the car who just did not get the memo.

…you’re in the store, replacing another of the items that was in your lost makeup bag, and with the shop lady’s help you finally choose the right eye shadow—but she also asks if she can help with foundation while you’re at it. (Yes lady, my skin is not the best, I know, don’t rub it in. I already have some foundation, but don’t wear it all the time. Mind yo’ business!)

…your American professor sometimes says phrases in Japanese that sound really, really American, and you want to laugh, and then one of your classmates actually does.

…you’re half-taking a nap in the tatami room in the new awesome building while your friend is studying, then you realize there is a boy holding up a sign on the other side of the table, and he and some cute friends are interviewing  your friend in Japanese…then realize you woke up with crazy sleep-hair and look totally bewildered. (A wild gaijin appeared! What will you do?)

…you’re at the optional-singing-for-the-heck-of-it part after your chorus practice, and the boys suddenly break into an American spiritual from the slave days in perfect harmony…with Japanese accents. (and you’re stifling laughter and no one will ever know why…)

…you come back on Sunday night from the first chorus bonding/nomihoudai and subsequent karaoke, still a little drunk, and your host parents have been drinking wine and are in good spirits, and ask if you’ve found a boyfriend yet and say they’re looking forward to it and will want to meet him. (Whoa what?) And also when they say don’t worry about coming home late and they’ll only worry if you don’t come home at all, especially the host dad—and especially if you’re with a guy. Or maybe they were encouraging that? Don’t remember. Either way, aaawkward times!

…a Japanese friend asks you about prom at the aforementioned chorus party, and you tell her, and then she asks what you did after. “Uh…go home?” (it wasn’t that kind of a prom… //foreveralone)

…almost everyone is in a group of friends (well, clique really) except you. (//foreveralone again)

…you ask your host dad why your host mom hasn’t seen the thank you card you left for her, and he says she’s on a business trip to Tokyo till tomorrow. You don’t know when she left. (//foreveralone still…)

…you are alone in your homestay some days from when you come home till you go to sleep, and everyone’s Facebook statuses and pictures are of their crazy families and cute pets. (also //foreveralone)

…you get all excited about monthly allowance from the KCJS office, only to find that textbook deductions took out more than half of it.

…some friends in chorus  let you know that the color purple, your favorite, is somewhat of an erotic symbol in Japan. And you’ve been wearing a purple backpack, among other things.

…your throat starts hurting like a mofo the day before your night bus to Tokyo, and it’s Saturday so none of the many local clinics are open. (also an FML)

Things They Don’t Tell You

Here are some things no one tells you about Japan right off the bat, which may be helpful for those of you planning to come here at some point. And for those who aren’t, well, I hope it’s interesting. (And you should come. I don’t take no for an answer!) Some of these are somewhat complain-y, but they’re really overarching truths that I’ve observed.

1.        The Japanese like to drink…far, far more than you might think. Nomihoudai or “all-you-can-drink” is a fairly common way of going out and getting plastered. I’ve seen guys chugging pitchers of beer…seriously, American frat boys gotta step up their game!

2.        Makeup is wildly expensive here. Do not lose your makeup bag at the abovementioned drinking establishment—or anywhere, really—for you will regret it.  ¥1100 for a fairly small eye shadow, one shade…that’s just over $14, folks. Similar prices for eyeliner that doesn’t work very well.

3.        Fruit is also more expensive than it should be—many apples cost over $1. It’s much more common to have a giant fluffy piece of buttered white bread toast at breakfast than a nice ripe orange or apple. Same goes for peanut butter—it’s pricey and hard to find, and there’s none of the natural “just peanuts” kind.

4.        Which brings me to the next point—no whole grain anything, ANYWHERE. And we KCJSers are wondering why we’re hungry all the time, and some of us are gaining weight…or at least I am.

5.        Speaking of which, you are not guaranteed to lose weight here, even if you walk around a lot. The food is not actually as healthy as it is portrayed in “common knowledge” about Japan. The convenience stores sell fatty meat curry in fried bread, for Pete’s sake. And don’t forget the mayo everywhere! (it was hiding in my sushi one time….yick.)

6.        Okay, it’s a lot about food, but being pesco-vegetarian here is a lot less convenient and more surprising to people than I’d thought. While there’s a decent amount of seafood and veggies (and CARBS), meat shows up in a lot of cuisine. And people really just don’t understand why you wouldn’t eat it, other than disliking the taste of it. C’mon people, I’ve done this since elementary school, calm down.

7.        In public bathrooms, there is nothing to dry your hands on, and sometimes no soap. So carry some Purell! Also, a lot of people bring a little hand towel with them…very handy indeed. (No pun intended. I hate puns…unless they’re in Japanese, then it’s interesting to figure them out. Teehee.) Also, best of luck finding a Western-style toilet...yeah.

8.        In contrast to the very nice but somewhat awkward Kyoto U students in my choir, the students at Doshisha, and many people elsewhere in the city, are super oshare, or stylish. Even if you wear your cutest clothes—or suavest, for you menfolk—you may still feel underdressed.

9.    Riding a bike can be scary--I’m pretty sure I’ve almost died a few times. There’s not much space, since the sidewalks and little side roads are narrow, there’s poles in the way, and of course there’s pedestrians, cars, moped riders, and other bikers. Plus the bikes are designed in this way that makes you sit straight upright. Craziness.

10.    If someone compliments you on your Japanese, it is probably not sincere. Specifically, the earlier they say it, the less sincere it is. One of my classmates said that his host family was oh so amazed at how “fluent” he was right after saying “Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu” (similar to “Nice to meet you”). Stop lying to us, people! Actually, when we discussed this in class, the prof concluded that it was just a perfunctory thing to make the Japanese person saying it feel comfortable because they’re “supposed” to say it. The result from the Japanese students taking the class was silence or small awkward laughter. Bingo!

11.    On that note, another thing that you’ll hear fairly soon from many people here, despite them being so reserved otherwise, is the question "Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?" So far I’ve heard this from my host parents, their friends who came to the mini-welcome party, a nice old obaachan (granny) I’ve met a couple times on the bus, and a girl in the Kyodai choir who’s befriended me. That’s not counting all the people who asked when I came here in high school. Each time they ask, the answer’s been no, so it’s getting a bit embarrassing. Do they just do this to Westerners or what?

This has been “Natasha’s meager attempts at giving you an insider’s education on Japan.” Hope you enjoyed it!

Awkward Tales from the Country

I think I win the prize for most “interesting” homestay family situation for the class trip to Okayama prefecture.


It’s not exactly a class trip, though, because we were divided and subdivided. The A group took a bus to the seaside area, and my B group took a bus to the mountain area. And within the B group, I was in a group of 8 people who went to the mountain town of Hokubou and played with elementary schoolers (their school has only 33 kids! Gotta do something about the declining birth rate…), then went to the grape vineyard right nearby and sampled kinds of grapes I never imagined. There were firmer/crunchier ones, ones that tasted like wine, and some longer thinner ones—and they were all about twice the size of ones I’m used to. Also, the nashi (Asian pear apples) they sold were bigger than grapefruits. Daaaang. They also let us walk around where they grow the fruits—they cover the nashi and grapes with newspaper until they’re ripe, in order to keep the bugs away. Smart! One of the workers there also took lots of pictures of us showing off the grapes. Hope we get some royalties—I mean, c’mon, we don’t just do modeling work for free.

Love that kid's photobomb face, second from right

The nashi was on steroids, I swear...

The ones in the lower right are funky/interesting

So then we walked back from there to the town office for about 20-30 minutes, taking pictures of the scenery and singing songs from Miyazaki movies. At 6, there would be a small ceremony to welcome us and put the students and host families together and whatnot. However, Shore-san (the second in command of KCJS) came up and let me know that my family wouldn’t be able to make it until 6:30. So inside I was like, okay, that’s not a big deal, but still, why’s it gotta be me who gets awkwardly left out of the welcoming thing? Anyway, Mrs. Tsuji showed up after the other students had left and was hushedly discussing things outside the door with one of the officials and Shore-san. At first it seemed like someone got sick and had to go to the hospital, so I was really worried, but then it turned out that her husband Hajime had gotten in a car crash at about 4:00, went briefly to the hospital, and was now dealing with all the legal formalities that come with such things. So then I just figured that the host family (and me) had really, really bad luck, not to mention bad timing. Seriously, a car crash right before the homestay? Do I have bad karma?!


I met the mother, Michiko, posed for a picture with her, thanked her for coming to pick me up in such a taihen (overwhelming/difficult) situation, and we left, while she explained that she hadn’t made dinner yet. Perfectly understandable, and I wouldn’t have minded at all except for the fact that I’d been hungry since 5:30 or so. Still, I was very patient and understanding. After we got back, she explained the house (very spacious compared to the Kyoto homestay, and I get to stay in the washitsu—Japanese tatami room) and started preparations, but with all the phone calls and distractions, we didn’t eat till sometime after 8:15. So that really tested my gaman (endurance) skills. The food was really good though—there was rice with red beans and chestnuts in it (seasonal fall type of dish) and chawanmushi, which is sort of a steamed savory custard in a cup with seafood and other stuff thrown in there. Oh, and miso soup with shijimi—little river clams just caught that day!

A tokonoma (display alcove) in the tatami room I slept in

Michiko’s older sister Keiko also came over before dinner. I found out later that she lived about an hour away…whoa! Good thing she spent the night over here. The family also has two sons, but the elder one—age 28—is working in Tokyo, and the younger one—my age—is living in Ochiai, the next town over. I didn’t fully understand the explanation, but it sounds like the younger one might be slow or developmentally challenged. There’s also a dog and three cats, but I’ve only seen two cats so far and they seem to be pretty shy. Aw, maan…


Needless to say, Mr. and Mrs. Tsuji were a little preoccupied with all the things related to the accident—hospital checkups, going to the company and the other person involved to apologize, et cetera. It was also a really weird situation to be there when the dad was describing to his wife and sister-in-law about the various post-accident issues he was having (left side and hearing in left ear was funky, possibly some glass in the finger, and more). I do remember saying “taihen deshita ne” (that was rough, wasn’t it), and “tsukareta deshou” (you must be tired), and “ganbatte kudasai!” (hang in there/do your best!). I mean, what else can you really say when you just met someone, and you don’t really know the details of the accident or whose fault it was? And even if it were his fault, obviously you don’t want to draw attention to that. Also, it would seem sort of patronizing to say “kawaisou” (aww/poor thing/I feel sorry for you) to the host dad.


So basically, everything was really awkward. But at least Keiko took an interest in me and asked me lots of things about America and my hometown and family. The next morning when we were talking at breakfast (salad, hard-boiled egg, giant buttered toast and little dessert-like yogurt…oh Japan), she said she did a little research on Maryland! How sweet! She said Babe Ruth came from there, and I was like, “oh, well even I didn’t know that!” *hahaa awkward self-deprecating laughter, derp derp*


I wish I had slept a little better and wasn’t on the floor and there wasn’t a dog barking at like 6 A.M. …whatever. Saturday was fun. We got going sort of late for some reason and drove half an hour to a town called Niimi, where we met Keiko’s daughter Fumika and her husband, and the new granddaughter Ayaka (eight months…d’aaww!) There was a little washi (Japanese paper) shop with a huge water wheel and two smaller ones. We got to make our own decorative paper! Mine had two dried leaves and some blue and red ink with some gold flakes strewn on there for good measure. It looks interesting, but everyone else’s looked more…artistically balanced. Then we drove a bit to another part of town called Koigakubo and ate at a little restaurant there, where most of us got the udon lunch set. Some of the other things looked good, but were only for a certain season….sigh, Japan and its love of “limited edition.”

Adding colored ink to the washi paper

*heart melts*

Mine's on the left...everyone else was more pro.

Me and my host mom with the giant water wheel

I bought a little box of cookies that had some kind of hakutou (white peach) filling in them, since hakutou is one of the Okayama area’s meibutsu (lit. “famous thing” but really just a regional food or product). Basically, if you go somewhere that’s further away than a day trip, you should bring back an omiyage (gift, especially from one’s travels) to your host family. Then we all drove to Koigakubo’s shitsugen, which I sort of figured from the kanji (“moisture” + “plains/wilderness”) meant “wetlands” before we actually went in and confirmed it. We didn’t actually walk that far because we stopped at this big pond where you could buy koi food and watch them swarm and fight to the death where food was thrown. Okay, maybe not to the death, but those were some hungry mofos, I swear.

Look at those mouths...OM NOM NOM

The funniest part was when we were on our way back out, we see a giant nasty spider in its web, and then I hear Fumika’s husband say, “Oh, look, a snake,” in Japanese. It sounded very nonchalant, especially compared to the rest of our reactions once we saw it…oh goodness. Thankfully the park lady came out of the reception cabin-thing and said it wasn’t poisonous.
Then we parted ways and went home. I was super hungry again, but while we waited for dinner, the host dad got out his giant collection of pirated DVDs that he makes and stores (yup, you read that right) to find ones to copy and give me. I ended up getting a total of nine, but they’re Japanese with no subs, so we’ll see how that goes. But yeah, he’s a cool guy—he has a really broad taste in Japanese and Western movies, and we bonded over that. Finally we ate kimchi nabe (nah-bay) for dinner! It was a delicious hotpot of veggies, seafood and tofu simmered in a big pot of kimchi-flavored sauce.

The next morning, Sunday, the dad Hajime was actually available, so we went chestnut-picking! Well, more like searching the ground for chestnuts and shaking them from the two trees and peeling open the bristly shells with gloves. Reminds me of home since we have a chestnut tree (and I live on Chestnut Avenue), but usually my mom just gets the chestnuts. This time, it was a three-person team, yaaay!

Host dad in the tree and host mom below for max efficiency!

Then we drove back though the pretty countryside, which felt like Colorado, the Appalachians in western Maryland, and Canada all at once. Back in town, we stopped at the field of “cosmos” flowers, the local specialty. It was just my host mom and I, since Mr. Tsuji was tired and had to rest in the car. The flowers weren’t all blooming since it was a bit early—they’re best in mid-October. The trip could’ve been timed better, but oh well, the flowers were still pretty.

Back at home we had okonomiyaki for lunch (my fourth time since arriving, but it’s cool), which is hard to describe: just read here. Anyway, it was yummy and ridiculously huge, or at least the second one was—good thing my host parents split it, or else someone’s stomach would burst.

Hard to gauge the size, but look at the receipt on the right for reference!

Then it was time to say goodbye to the pets, grab my stuff and take a family picture in front of the house. We ended up being a little late to the gathering spot at the cultural center, but at least I got more time with them? So it was a solemn goodbye, but we all kept waving out the window of the bus at the hosts as we pulled out of the lot.

Hehe, I'm taller than them. Also, Hana the dog was a cutie-pie

Conclusion: I think we’re all gonna miss the countryside. I know if I go to Hiroshima, which is a little further west, I’m definitely stopping in Hokubou town on the way there or back. And my host mom is coming to Kyoto in November, so we can meet then! Woohooo. (Hopefully my host dad will still have his job then…ehehe.)

Nichijou Seikatsu: Everyday Life

    My daily Japanese life is sort of analogous to Rebecca Black’s, as expressed in “Friday.”

    Here, let me show you. It works perfectly if I modify a couple lyrics: “Seven a.m., waking up in the morning, gotta be fresh, gotta go [down the hall], gotta have my bowl, gotta have [miso soup] ...... Gotta get down to the bus stop. Gotta catch my bus, I [get some stares]. [Standing] in the front seat, [studying] in the back seat, gotta make my mind up, which seat can I take?”

That about sums up my mornings. But you have to factor in the oddly long, fluffy and deep (by dimension) slice of Japanese white bread toast. Tastes all right but doesn’t fill you up. I don’t think they’ve really heard of whole grain yet here. On the toast goes some jam and maybe some of the Nutella I brought—one of my gifts from home, but they end up using it a lot less than me…

My apartment building

Bridge over the little Arisu River

Houses on my side of the Arisu

I say “itte kimasu!” (stock phrase for “I’m going and returning”) and am met with the reply of “itte rasshai!” (another stock phrase for “go and come back”) from either my host dad or mom. I cross the little bridge over the Arisukawa (Arisu River, though really a creek), usually passing by some groups of elementary or middle schoolers, and walk through the winding little path among the modest-sized, squished-together houses and apartments. The first few days it made me think of that opening song in Beauty and the Beast: “Little town, full of little people/Every day like the one before/Little town, full of little people/Waking up to saaayy….Ohayou!” Well in the song it was bonjour, but whatever.

I get to the bus stop, wait a bit for the #3, hop on through the middle doors, find an empty seat, and listen to my iPod while alternately studying for the daily kanji quiz and staring out the window. Once in a while someone even deigns to sit next to me!

Half an hour later, I walk to the front, flash my pass to the driver, and get off. Then it’s down into the Shijo Karasuma station, where I ride three stops north to Imadegawa. I come out at the corner and walk half a block to Doshisha University’s west gate. The campus really seems quite tiny for 25,000 students, but it makes sense when you consider the bigger Kyotanabe campus just south of the city. I head into the Fusokan, the building for all things international, where all of KCJS’s classes are held. The inside is phenomenally boring, but oh well. Then it’s Japanese class from 9:10 to noon, with an hour break either in the middle or the end. In the D class—which is one below E, the highest—we have Fukai-sensei, who’s actually pretty cool. I mean, she has hidden tattoos, she does funny accents, she has a poster of a metal band in her office (cubicle), and she showed us this video the day we learned Kansai dialect: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xfdb_ulfuls-osaka-strut_music (Osaka STRUT! I love it, I love it.)

The train station exit closest to school. Yup, it's Japan alright

Then we eat in the decently yummy shokudou (cafeteria) with extremely reasonable prices, especially compared to Tufts and its meal plan… (grumble grumble) And if there’s time to kill between classes some of us usually hang out in the International Student Lounge, a smaller room off the main lounge in this cool underground hallway connected to the shokudou. Then English-language content class—we get to speak English inside the classroom! Yippee!—and back home, or hanging out with friends. I have Monday and Thursday afternoons off, so that’s a relief. Wednesday is going to suck though, since I have a class until 6:15, and it’s looking like I’ll join the Kyodai Gasshoudan (Kyoto U chorus) which practices Wed. and Fri., so that means heading to their campus right after class. Well, as long as it’s just that day…

Doshisha's flags at the East Gate

Doshisha University. There's a lot of brown

I get back, unlock the door, and slip off my shoes in the little entryway as I call “Tadaima!” (I’m back!), which is often met with no response, since my host parents usually aren't around till a bit later, if at all. Seriously, I’ve had more than three nights by myself here because they’re that busy. I’m even alone this evening—my host dad is playing another golden oldies/country show at “Nashville.” But even if they’re going to be out for the evening, they always have some sort of yummy dinner all ready for me to eat. Dishes I’ve had include yakisoba, yaki-udon (both with octopus!), Italian pasta, nabe hotpot with fishcakes and boiled eggs and fried tofu and such, tuna tartare, and more. Tonight it was all three of us, finally, and we had fried iwashi fish, fried egg, sautéed bean sprouts, konnyaku (weird jiggly-type plant substance) soup, rice and even kimchee from the local Korean food place. Always so much variety!

Sunset from my window/balcony. Ignore the parking lot and you can see the mountains of western Kyoto

Some of us hung out at the Kamo River last Friday after a mini welcome party

 Weekends provide a bit more wiggle room…last Saturday some of us went shopping at/in/around Kyoto Station, which is pretty much endless. We had yummy crepes and I got a denshi jisho, or an electronic dictionary, which is super helpful for English-Japanese and vice versa. Since karaoke is cheaper before the evening, two of us KCJSers and two Japanese girls we know went on Sunday late afternoon. Good times. I actually went karaoke-ing again last night (Friday) with some friends even though it was only for an hour and kind of far. Singing Disney songs and I Want It That Way together is always worth it.

Crepes at Kyoto Eki.... nommm

How can I possibly caption this?

Today a group of us went to Kiyomizu-dera (Pure Water Temple). It was actually my third time, since I came in high school, so it was pretty nostalgic for me, walking up the narrow little street lined with shops and standing on the temple’s veranda overlooking Kyoto. It started gushing rain partway through, but we dealt with it. I even brought home a bottle of holy water I filled from one of the three springs. Today was also the last day that a dragon called Seiryu gets paraded around the temple grounds by the monks…I thought we missed it, but then they came by and I got a short video! Woohoo.

So, that’s my life so far. Not all that much variation. Except for that whole part where I was trying to get an effing cell phone for more than a week...I hate you SoftBank. I would have written about that here, but it's too tiresome and would make the pH level of this post a little too acidic.

Anyway, word to the wise: Japanese do not work well with spontaneity. I learned that once and for all when I tried to buy some train tickets a few days ago for me and a couple friends to go to Tokyo this three-day weekend, but any remotely good times were sold out. Fail. So anything you’re going to do: plan in advance. That’s all I got to say. Check you later.

To Eat Paella With Chopsticks

            As the title indicates, I learned that you can eat just about anything with chopticks this past weekend. Sunday night, the day after I moved into my homestay, my parents threw a little kangeikai (welcome party) for me. They made a variety of international-ish foods, including paella and sliced veggies you dip into heated Italian-ish oil. Keita’s boss from his design studio came, although it’s not very large, but it was still a little bit intimidating since I had to put up a good front (tatemae). Like many, he seemed a little confused by my vegetarianism…I guess it’s not as common outside of America? Later, friends of the Ohashis also came—Jackie and Ai, another couple with an age gap over ten years…alright, I ain’t judging. The wife came from the Phillippines and knew English a little bit better than Japanese…oh, and she was less than five feet tall and looked about ten years younger than her age. (Ahhh I feel so old here…okay I’m 19, but still…)

            Jackie, which was his nickname because he used to look like Jackie Chan, apparently had a son my age. Not long after mentioning that fact, he suggested we get married—(“he is not so handsome…but he has kindly heart”) It was just a joke, and they were all at least somewhat drunk, but still I thought, “Oh god, not an arranged marriage!” Eventually I got really sleepy because of jet lag, and my tummy was doing weird things the first few days with my host family, so I had to retire, but that was interesting to say the least.

            And how has the first week of classes been, you might ask? Okay you might not. But I’ll tell you anyway. It’s been busy, since we can shop around a bit before settling on our 2 English-language culture courses. I was wavering between “Outside the Mainstream: The Minority Experience in Japan,” “Japanese in Action: Language use in the Anime of Miyazaki Hayao,” and “Families and Work in Post-war Japan,” but I think I’ll go with the last two because they’re more pertinent to my future and the first one has ridiculous reading, like over 100 pages per class. That Miyazaki one also seems like it will be pretty solid, not fluff like my parents thought, because it deals heavily with pragmatics and linguistics.

            Outside of those English-language classes, we have to use Japanese pretty much all the time. Which I have to tell you is pretty overwhelming, so when it’s just us Americans and we’re outside the required Japanese-speaking zones, we end up speaking English a fair amount…we just need that outlet of clear self-expression. As Adam was saying, living here abroad is maybe twice as tiring (mentally and emotionally) as just living back home. Having to put everything through a filter—a second language you’re still working on—can be a bit frustrating, even if you know enough to communicate most things you might need on a day-to-day basis.

            Oh! Another episode for you all! This one’s called “Adventures in Japanese Bureaucracy.” In order for foreigners to get a keitai (cell phone), you either need an alien registration certificate, or at least some proof that you applied for one, since there’s a one-month waiting period. Seeing as I can’t live for a week without a cell, I went to the ward office for my city district right after I got home on Tuesday (just after 4) so I could apply before closing time.

            I figured out how to use the bike my host parents are graciously letting me use…although it is a little old and rickety, and either the seat is set too high or the shape is just weird, so I feel a little nervous. To add to that, a lot of the streets are very…erm…cozy here, so it constantly feels like there’s going to be a crash between the various cyclists, pedestrians and little cars. Combine that with trying to find my way through a neighborhood I don’t know, with pretty much no street names…yeah. Needless to say, I couldn’t find where I was on the Yahoo map that Keita gave me, so I had to give up, stop and ask someone.

            “Ano, sumimasen ga…” (“Um, excuse me, but…”) The first person I tried sort of gave me a glance and kept walking, maybe because I was a scary gaijin wearing sunglasses. The person behind, though, looked like a nice mom pushing a stroller, so I tried her. Thankfully I pretty much understood what she said, so I got to the general area. Then I had to ask another person which building it was, and he pointed me to the entrance. The lady at the info desk told me which window, and I hurried over there and waited for the women who were already there to finish up. When they did, it was already 4:45, so I was already a little nervous.

            I got all the paperwork filled out, and towards the end, I mentioned that I planned to buy a cell phone so I needed the special type of receipt/proof of application. Unfortunately, by the time they got around to that, stuff was shutting down left and right, so the guy just gave me a different kind of receipt, a form to fill out, and said to come back tomorrow. I asked if the next day was okay too, and he said yes. Still, I later wondered if maybe the paper I had gotten would be enough. (It wasn’t entirely clear because I had to do these procedures all in Japanese…yes, the guy at the foreign residents window didn’t know or wasn’t using English. WTF?) But at the follow-up orientation the next day, our program coordinator confirmed that, indeed, it was not enough for the cell phone providers…you need a specific green-ish piece of paper, which I still don’t know the name of because it was a long string of at least ten complicated kanji I hadn’t seen before.

            Well, guess I know where I’m going again this Friday afternoon! And it’s not one of the cute little markets around here. Sigh…

            On the plus side, my host parents are nice and always makes a nice variety of yummy food, even though they’re busy. Although I was home alone last night for various reasons—I wrote on my Facebook that they were living the Japanese dream, which was a joke, but not entirely…

"Itty-Bitty Living Space"

So, I’m finally in Japan.

            These past three days have been crazy, seriously. I think I’d still be exhausted, even without the jetlag.

            I mean, first of all there was the epic journey here: from my house to the orientation hotel, the Hearton Hotel Kyoto, door-to-door, it took over 27 hours. Holy crap. I feel really bad for the international students at Tufts who have to do that kind of thing just to get home for winter break and such. (Note: if you are slightly larger than the average person, do not fly Asiana Airlines. The seats are a little cramped compared to US airlines, probably because we have more obese people. There were some empty seats on our flight though, so if you want to you can probably stretch out and sleep, but…yeah.)

            So I met Hillary at LAX and we got on our flight together from there. I ended up watching three movies—Source Code (strange but interesting), Date Night (awkward but amusing), and my first Korean film called In Love and War—I was really getting into it, but they cut it off when there were only about fifteen minutes left because we were going to land soon. Major blue balls. Will have to find that one later online….muhahaha.

            We transferred in Seoul and didn’t even have time to explore the airport…oh well, hopefully at some point we can take a mini trip to Korea. Then we got on a smaller plane (much more populated with people who were obviously Japanese) going to Kansai International near Osaka. Can you believe they served a meal on that flight? It was maybe an hour and a half. On my five-hour flight from DC to LA, they did have “snack packs”…but you had to buy them. C’mon, America, get with the program! (Or maybe Alaska Airlines just sucks, I don’t really know).

            We arrived there half-dead, but thankfully all the people working in the airport were eager to help us (putting luggage on carts, et cetera). Japanese service really is impeccable. One downside to the attention to detail, though: sometimes it borders on being anal. For example, I filled out my disembarkation card on the plane in pencil, in case I made a mistake. But when I got to customs, the lady said I had to go over it again in ballpoint pen. Uh, excuse me, where on the sheet did it say that? Nowhere, I’m pretty sure. Maybe it’s common sense, but pencil should have been fine too, right?

            We had reservations for the MK Skygate Shuttle, which took us and a random couple to Kyoto. It took way longer than expected, but that gave us time to peer out the window at what little we could see of the roads between Osaka and Kyoto. Oh, and to process that we were really, finally here.

            We checked in at midnight, happily discovered that we had singles, and collapsed into sleep.

            The next two days were a blur of learning thirty-eight new names and faces (we’re forty-one people altogether, but I’m not counting myself, Hillary, or Ann—another Tufts student) and speaking Japanese pretty much nonstop. It’s really exhausting. From now on we’ll barely be able to speak English except in our English-language courses on Japan…it’s going to be tough. But at least nothing can be as tough as that placement test we took on the morning of the second day… I’ve been calling it a “dai-shippai”—a big fail. I don’t even know if that’s correct or not…clearly I’ve got a long way to go.

            Since I’m here for both semesters, though, I’m fairly sure that I’ll get used to campus, find my way around my neighborhood in western Kyoto, and be able to speak more clearly in Japanese. And understand it, of course—I was having a bit of a hard time keeping up with what my host parents were telling me when they picked me up this morning from the hotel waiting room.

            That brings me to my homestay. My host parents actually seem pretty cool. Although the dad, Keita, is 51, he dresses youthfully, does not act old and stuffy, and plays guitar in a band. (I’m going to see one of his concerts tonight! But Hiroko, the mom, has to do something for work, so I’ll be alone in the audience…) Hiroko is 34, young and pretty, and probably a good foot shorter than I am. She’s actually the “salaryman” in the family: she commutes to and from work each day and works at a company that deals with real estate specifically for students. Keita works mostly from home and does textiles and graphic design for a very small company. At least, I think it’s a company…it might be a studio. They seem like they’re going to give me plenty of freedom to do as I please, but they’ll be there for me when I have a question or problem, so that’s nice to know.

            The apartment is pretty cramped, as is my room, which is even smaller than most singles in Tufts’ dorms. But since I’ve done homestays before in Japan, however briefly, I’m used to the economy of space. It’s also pretty hot, but there’s an air conditioner in the room, which I’m going to use sparingly. I can’t waste energy or water because of setsuden, the energy conservation campaign in the wake of the earthquake/nuclear disaster.

            So I’m a little burnt out from all the changes and having to put up a good front for everyone and pretend to understand what they’re saying. But it’ll be fine.
            Kore kara ganbarimasu! (From here on out, I’ll do my best!)

Note: Credit for this entry’s title goes to Disney—it’s one of Genie’s lines in Aladdin, just in case you didn’t know. ;P

Postscript: I just went out exploring at the start of a typhoon, NBD. (Seriously though, we just had an earthquake and hurricane on the east coast right before I came here, so it’s no big whoop.) Also, when I was walking back to the apartment, some teenage girls passed me on their bikes and said, “Oh, harro!” J It was cute~ Though it’s interesting that when they see a foreigner, they assume she speaks English…