Two Gaijins And A Barbara

The Return and Beyond

2009-08-31T03:45:00.000-07:00

It’s been a month since I landed on American soil, and the Fall 2009 semester begins tomorrow.

The transition back into Western society has been intense. Living in Japan not only taught me about myself, since my return I realize the experience has allowed me to see Baltimore in a completely new light. I’m finally able to see the place I’ve spent my entire life as it is, for the first time. Studying abroad also gave me a renewed sense of creative vitality, the first thing I wanted to do after leaving BWI was to make work.

Looking back, I wish I had allowed myself to enjoy OUA more than I did. I’m a reserved person, I don’t base my reality on the need to placate others, and I missed a lot of Japan because I simply didn’t seek it out. Some words of advice: as a foreign resident ‘Japan’ won’t come you, you have go to it. I realize now that a lot of my anxieties and frustrations were frivolous and of my own design; and its unfortunate that I allowed the pervasive lack of communication to facilitate this. Regardless, I now view the experience as a positive one. If anything, the time gave me the opportunity to really understand me as an individual.

That’s a gift I view is worth all the aggravation in the world.

OUT.

2009-07-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

See you, Japan. Maybe if we had met under different circumstances we could have gotten along. It's kind of a mute point now, but I still think you're pretty cool despite how everything turned out... No promises I won't drunk text you.

ADVICE

2009-07-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Japan is very different than America. Don't come here if you want everything to be the same and definitely don't come if you don't want to make any sort of effort. Japan is like an alien planet in alot of ways so everything from making friends to making breakfast is going to be different than in America.

My Classroom Experience:
It is nearly impossible to pick your classes before arrival. The course catalogue is in Japanese (college level Japanese). You probably can't read it though the pictures are helpful. I didn't have any trouble because I came with a plan. I wanted 3 printmaking classes and 2-3 fibers classes as well as a japanese language class. What I ended up taking was just that. I knew what i wanted coming to OUA and was not pressured to take anything I really didn't want to. I knew that I couldn't rely on Hisano's class suggestions because I knew it wouldn't be what I wanted.

Monday: Starch resist dying (ai zo me)
Tuesday: Japanese1
Wednesday:Japanese 2 Lithography
Thursday: Open print studio (mostly litho, woodblock, book making, and a little figure drawing)
Friday: Alternated between open print studio and japanese tie dye class (shibori zo me it was in this class that i learned to make a kimono)

I had 4 teachers.
Ishikawa Sensei (japanese teacher): She couldn't speak english which was frustrating but i had been told before that the lcass was going to be mostly useless anyways
Hara Sensei (printmaking/books/figure drawing): perfect english and a wonderful resource
Isseki Sensei (shibori): broken English though I found it was easy to communicate with her for most things
Takigaki Sensei( (starch resist dying): absolutely no english but I found that the longer I stayed the more I understood. Though at first i relied mostly on her english speaking T.A. to translate. Her T.A. is now a good friend of mine.

I had a great semester that resembled something like an Independent study. Don't kid yourself into thinking that your hand is going to be held like it is in MICA. College/University for much of the world outside of America has a huge emphasis on Independent work and responsibility. At OUA, if you don't show up and don't work no one will scold you. They might just fail you at the end of the semester. At OUA if there is no assignment to work on, work on your own work or I suggest talking to a teacher before hand so that they can draw up a list of assignments to complete before you leave. That way you always have something to do, and it is rooted in the MICA system which should be reassuring. You should talk to your teachers about those assignments becoming a substitute for a required class at MICA if need be.

I didn't need to speak Japanese to learn at OUA. I knew no Japanese when I got there but as I stayed and listened and made more friends I got better at the language and comunication got easier. I feel that Japanese is useful but not completely necessary. Though I've always been able to adapt to many situations. Japan was definately a test of that skill but i had the best time in the world.

Friends:
The people that come up to you in OUA that really want to know you probably already speak a little english. That was the case with Hiro and Cheesecake. They both had been to america and wanted more of it from us. Masa had been to paris several times. They were some of my closest friends. Though what's the fun in speaking english all the time!? I also got very close to Tama despite a huge language barrier. The friends that don't speak english are lots of fun and they also help you with japanese the most.

The kids that say "teach me English" already know a lot of it. It will be broken and often akward but they mean well and honestly and sincerely excited to meet you.

Goodbye Land of the Rising Fun!

2009-07-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Our last week rolled around too quickly. I had to say goodbye to all of my friends. I think the hardest to say goodbye to was Tama-Chan. She couldn't speak any english and my japanese was remedial at best but we both cried when we said goodbye. In class she gave me a book with all the pictures from our trips to Universal studios and Kyoto. She also got her boyfriend Koji, and other friends Nana, En (aka Yukiko), and Yui to write what ever message they could in english and japanese in the book. I love it. i think it is my favorite thing i have from Japan.

I also recieved a hand drawn poster of my face from my fabric dying class. This is a class that had rotating students and it was overwhelming seeing all the people from that class come back just to say good bye to me. After that class Tama, En, Yui, and Nana said goodbye to me again and gave me what ever they had on them as one last gift. Tama gave me a hello-kitty bag and a scrunchy (what am i going to do with a scrunchy), Yui gave me tissue paper and gum, En gave me this hand made stuffed animal thing that matches one that she has, and nana emptied her wallet and gave it to me. It was so sweet.

The next day we had to say good bye to all of the printmaking kids. That was a tear jerker. I will miss Hara Sensei. They also gave of little poster with messages and drawing for us to remember them and our trip to Japan.

Nori hiro gave me soy sauce and geta (japanese wooden sandals) to take back with me.\
The koreans wrote us notes
Jini gave me a glass windchime
soooo many gifts!!!

We also had one last bbq to say good bye to all of our closest friends, Yasuko, Shinsuke (aka Cheesecake), Masa, Hiro, Sakamoto, Rin, Eunah. It was lots of fun until the monsoon drenched me and my ipod.

I will miss all of my friends so much... i have a really big christmas card list now... ug ha ha

A MICAN'S Guide To Surviving Japan, Part 3

2009-07-27T07:59:00.001-07:00

THE NEXT THREE MONTHS

• Stick to a budget

I can't stress this enough. After I settled into a routine, my existence at OUA became relatively unremarkable. However, shortly after arriving money became an issue, and I wish I had been able to get an accurate estimate of my expenses before departing. Upon arriving, I found my daily expenditures in Japan were not equivocal to what I was used to in the states. For example, though my weekly groceries cost $40-$60 in Baltimore, they averaged around $60-80 in Japan. That didn't seem too bad at first, but when I factored in a bento for lunch every day at school ($16-20), weekend trips into Osaka or another city (anywhere from $40-$100), and various, weekly trips to the combini ($15-$30), I realized I was spending much more each week than I had intended. This may seem trivial, but realize, because I didn't have a Japanese bank account, I had to use an international ATM, which allows a minimum withdraw of $100. I'm not used to carrying cash, especially that amount, so initially I burned through money simply because it was there. I suggest assessing your weekly expenses in Baltimore and then setting aside money for traveling, which was by far the most costly thing. Also, if you decide where you want to go before you set off the money will be there. Spontaneity was expensive...

• Shopping and popular districts

Osaka City has everything you could ever want or hope to need, unfortunately, I lived nowhere near the city. The Kanan-Tondabayashi area had basic stores: a Daei Department Store, ¥100 Shop, and a Joshin Electronics. These met my base living needs, but when I needed something special I had to ride into town. Here are some of the places I frequented:

- Abenobashi

This was where I transfered from the Kintetsu Railway to the subway when heading into Osaka City, and I would sometimes hang out there to kill time. Look for the arcade, movie theatre, and open food bazaar (under Tennoji Station) when exploring.

- Shinsaibashi

A popular shopping district among Japanese people with seemingly unlimited income. Most of the stores here were WAY out of my price range, but it was my central hub in Minami, so I spent a lot of time there. El Pancho Mexican Restaurant in Shinsaibashi Tower was a favorite of the MICA group.

- Dotombori

Dotombori is the tourist-ridden food district in Minami famous for crab legs and fugu. I didn't spend too much time there because the hosts weirded me out...

- Den Den Town

This is otaku paradise: manga, hentai, DVDS, music, porn, games, consoles, arcades, raw electronics, furniture, figmas, toys, models, and maid cafes. Go to Super Potato. Period.

- Namba

I rarely spent time in Namba, I just walked through it. It was predominantly Pachinko Towers and the Namba Station shopping mall from what I saw.

- America-mura

This is where I bought most of my clothes, shoes, books, and general souvenirs. Unimpressive at first, there is a lot to be found under the Neon Carribi-Cali-Lolita-Surfer veneer. Look for Orange Street to the south of the main strip, it has some awesome stores and boutiques. Also, the Standard Book Store is here, it was one of my favorite places to escape.

- Umeda

Umeda is the central traveling hub within Osaka City, and there is a lot to be found in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, I didn't hang out there too much. HepFive Mall was a draw, but it didn't have too much to offer me.

- Doyama-cho

Adjacent to HepFive, this is the gay district in Umeda. Bars are hard to find and sometimes unwelcoming, but if you go with a native friend there won't be a problem.

• Socialize

I won't sugar coat it, I failed in this department. It was very hard for me to make friends at OUA because of the language barrier. My limited Japanese never failed to let me down when I needed to say something pivotal and continually being asked to: "be friends and teach me English," got old quick. All I can offer is to persevere while simultaneously branching out by researching popular international gathering places in Osaka. The first time I had the opportunity to really meet new people was when I attended an International Night at a club in Umeda. I had a great time because I was around people from all over the world that were in the same boat as me. Through people I met at the club, I met more people and was able to create a small identity separate from the "MICA Group" at OUA. My only regret is that I waited so long to do this, by the time I had made friends in Osaka it was time to return to the states.

• School

I was more or less left to my own devices when it came to schoolwork. Homework was rarely, if ever, assigned and my teachers (excluding Hara-sensei) tended to avoid me. Basically, I knew what was expected of me and I worked at my own pace to complete it. This was discouraging, even disheartening at first for me and some of my MICA peers, but we were all soon able to make it work. I think because, for me, since none of my professors could give me feedback or criticism, I was able to do whatever I wanted. This was a hard thing to be presented with though, because it prompted me to question whether my time spent at OUA was, in fact, the academic experience I had come for.

A MICAN'S Guide To Surviving Japan, Part 2

2009-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

WHAT TO EXPECT/DO UPON ARRIVAL

• Living Situation/Apartment

After Hisano-san picked me up at the airport he drove me to my apartment. This was a Leo Palace 21 suite. Leo Palace is a private apartment chain that leases cheaper places of residence all over Japan; they are not a dorm and are not affiliated with OUA (think Sutton Place...). There was no guarantee I would be close to campus, and I had to walk an hour to school every day (subsequently, I would recommend planning to buy a bike). The apartments themselves were very nice, and I don't have much to say about them other than that the kitchens were tiny. I cook, so this was somewhat annoying. Wi-Fi was not available, but an ethernet cord was provided when I moved in.

• What to Buy

- cell phone

Cell phones were a little pricey, about $100, but definitely worth it. You can't survive without one, trust me, I tried. I couldn't simply get a new SIM card because Japan has a lot of legislation regulating the selling of phones to foreigners. Basically, I got a prepaid phone that I could add minutes to with cards I could get at convenience stores. All that was required from the provider (SoftBank) was a copy of my passport and Temporary Resident ID.

- bike

Remember, I was in the middle of nowhere, and bus schedules were in Kanji. Plus, I found the Kanan/Tondabaiyashi area extremely limiting to traverse on foot. Fortunately, bikes were comparatively inexpensive to ones in the states, around $90-$150 each.

- essential appliances

I'm addicted to caffeine, so I bought a drip coffee maker. Babs bought several hair styling irons, and Jen had to trek to Den Den Town to find an external hard drive. If you use something everyday and can't pack it, plan to buy it when you arrive.

• Esstential Info

Emergency #s

- Fire (119)

- Ambulance (119)

- Police (110)

- Hisano-san (he gave this to me when I arrived)

Trash info

Disposing of trash in Japan was an ordeal. Recycling was broken down to a point that could not be translated into my Western understanding. Basically, everything I disposed of was expected to be separated into Burnable, Non-Burnable, Plastic/PET, Cans, Cardboard, and Paper... I think. Here's a link, honestly though, it was too much of a headache for me to bother with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_in_Japan

Food Breakdown

Do not come to Japan if you are a picky eater. Seriously, don't waste your time and money. Japan is an island, therefore everything has some form of life from the ocean in it. In Kansai (Osaka), regional favorites are hearty, greasy, and fried (check out my "Fuck My Diet" post for more info). There were three supermarkets in the area around OUA that I lived, one Mandai Mart and two SunPlaza supermarkets, which sufficiently met my needs. If I needed something special, there were international stores in the Tennoji and Shinsaibashi subway stations that sold some American imports. DO NOT COME TO JAPAN IF YOU ARE VEGAN, there was no such thing in the rural area that we lived.

• OUA Campus

OUA is huge. Its as large as a state university and has a lot to offer. There are two large cafeterias, several small restaurants, two combinis, and a bakery; all of which are relatively cheap (MUCH cheaper than Meyerhoff, one meal averages around $5). There's also a weight room, soccer field, baseball diamond, track, and archery field. Classes are held in department buildings, most of which are not air conditioned and do not offer Wi-Fi. The International Room, a private lounge for international students, was my home away from home and served as a meeting place/work space on campus. Clubs are very popular among the lower class-men (who were my peers), and offer an array of activities to participate in.

• Starting Classes

Classes at OUA are much different than those at MICA. Being an international student was a challenge in many respects, the most annoying of which had to be the assumption that I needed to be coddled. My teachers, 90% of which did not speak English, would become frazzled around me, which was extremely frustrating. Also, the Japanese school year (April-January) is the academic equivalent of one MICA semester (i.e. students take classes for one year instead of two sets of different courses over two semesters), so because I was only attending OUA for half an academic term, I was excluded from a lot of group projects and assignments. As a result, for the majority of my time at OUA, I basically taught myself... That being said, I was also given an immense amount of freedom as far my work was concerned. Essentially, my semester resembled that of an independent study, and most of my classes were an opportunity for me to set my own assignments. Credits are broken down like this:

MICA 3 credit course = OUA 2 credit course

MICA 1.5 credit course = OUA 1 credit course

A MICAN'S Guide To Surviving Japan, Part 1

2009-07-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to put this four-part "guide" of my experiences together for MICA students who are considering a potential, future semester at Osaka University of Arts because I feel that I was not given adequate information when I made my decision eight months ago. This wasn't anyone's fault per-se, there was just so much only the experience itself could communicate. I hope this can help fill in the massive holes lost in the translations between OUA and MICA.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

• Learn Japanese

OUA didn't seem to have a staunch requirement for my ability to speak or read Japanese, but I feel they should have. No one speaks English in rural Osaka. My professors, peers, anyone I interacted with on campus could not understand me, and it severely affected my educational experience. I seriously would not recommend one to spend a semester at OUA unless they can communicate basic ideas effectively in Japanese... seriously.

• Work out your course schedule before departure

OUA's majors are very different from what I knew at MICA. Japanese university students typically enter their freshman year declared to their desired department and stay in that same department for four years. OUA is a pan-arts university, so my peers were much more diverse, made up of visual, musical, dance, and theatrical arts students. As a result, I found courses did not translate well. I recommend you plan out EXACTLY what is needed in your degree plan (i.e. IL 200 elective, GD 300 required seminar...) before departure and try and match it as best that you can to a similar course at OUA. This was hard for me, because I didn't know what OUA had to offer until I arrived, so I tried to be sure to have a very clear understanding of what I needed and didn't falter when I was pressured to take random courses taught by one of OUA's three English-speaking teachers.

• Things to ABSOLUTELY bring

Japan imports close to nothing. If you have any specific American brand of beauty products, dietary supplements, or medications you can't live without, bring them and make sure you pack enough for four months; shipping is expensive. Here are some things I forgot/figured I could find in Japan, but was sadly mistaken/dissapointed:

• Deodorant/Lotion/Facial Moisturizer

• Toothpaste

• Vitamins

• Comfort foods (peanut butter, oatmeal, etc.)

Also, remember you will be starting a new, temporary life in Japan. You will need cookware, household amenities, cleaning products, etc. Pack what you can and budget to make purchases when you arrive.

• Addresses

You will need the address of a place of residence to enter Japan. However, I wasn't given any information on where I was staying until I was dropped off at my apartment. Here is the address to the International Affairs Office at OUA, I used this as my unofficial shipping address and, at the very least, it got me through immigration:

469, Higashiyama, Kanan-cho, Minamikawachi-gun, Osaka, 585-8555 Japan

Finals Cracked.

2009-07-17T18:52:00.001-07:00

This is why I haven't updated in a while...

Tag! you're NAKED!

2009-07-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

so this is a continuation of my last post...

After the Yaki Niku party, Yosuko and I decided to go to School at Midnight with the BJ boys and Company. School, if you didn't know by now is a giant concrete labrynth built for late night, drunken, ill-advised climbing and over all tomfoolery. So the game we played was pretty fun. It was basically Virus Tag mixed in with a little bit of wall scaling. I got caught pretty quickly and was soon on the prowl. While being "It" i found the Host. He had managed to get inside one of the buildings, and lock all the doors. So it was impossible to tag him. But then i noticed something move in the shadows next to him... It was a girl! I knew what they had in mind as they both head up the stairs and out of sight. It wasn't until an hour later that they both gave up, simultaneously, and walked up to me to tag them. Hats off to you sir! That was bold... and bonus points for it being in a class room!

After the game I sat down and talked with Yasuko, and a few members of the BJ crew just to talk, for what eventually became the rest of the night. However the other Japanese kids weren't in to talking. No they had too much Whiskey for that. They played this game on the stairs of one of the campus buildings where the boys had to walk down and back up the stair case with the back of their pants pulled down to show their butts while keeping the front up so as to not show their "chinchins" (penises). After that game ended they ran through the sprinklers in their underwear. Then both the host and the girl he was with gave me a hug so that i would be wet too. (i hope nothing rubbed off). After most everyone was wet the host dressed up one of the guys as a "super hero" by putting a water bottle down the front of his underwear, a sock on the guy's right arm, another water bottle in the sock, a sweater around his neck, a broom on his back, a shoe on his head, and an inexplicable carton of milk in the back of his underwear....

then when everyone dried up, and sobered up we left through the front gate as the sun rose behind us.
It was rediculous

also:
Tomu (lead bj boy) kept asking me if he was a "Yellow Monkey" or if i would call him one...
NO! Tomu JESUS CHRIST

Yaki Niku Party

2009-07-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

So saturday night we all went to a Yaki Niku party with what we've come to call the "BJ Boys."

The Bj Boys are this group of Japanese guys that Evan ran into at the gym that inexplicably knew the word " Blow Job" but pronounced "BROOOO-JAW-BUUU" and delight in getting girls to unwittingly say that they want to give us a "brooojawbuu." It's juvenile but also hilarious.

There at the grilling party we met the host that works at our school!!! which means that we all got to hang out with a host without paying a dime. Shinsuke (aka Cheesecake) was with us too. He can speak english very well so we pretend that he was american too. it didn't really work... especially when we decided to say that he was hispanic. After that the night took a turn for the slightly racist and very innappropriate. We tried to get shinsuke to do all kinds of awful things. Everything from teaching him to roll his Rs (something worth doing back home with ur heavily accented Japanese friends...it's hilarious) to saying "'sup eses!?" and "tengo una fiesta en mis pantalones, te invito."

After the grille i went to the school with Yasuko and the remainders of the grille party to play tag on the closed school campus. A story i will have to fill you in on later!

Tokyo

2009-07-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Evan and I went to Tokyo for the last time before we leave. However the trip was a bit of a nightmare because my debit card had just expired and I had absolutely no money. I could only go because Evan was nice enough to spot me the cash.

We went to the same places, Akihabara, Asakusa, Shibuya, and Harajuku. However one night we got lost in Shinjuku district because I confused it with Shibuya district. We went to this cool little artsy bar in Shibuya that had graffiti from a bunch of Bands from when they stopped in the bar while on tour through Japan. Then we went to a club called "Club Asia"...serious no joke... "Club Asia." where we listened to good trance music but we eventually got tired and no one was dancing so we left.

The next day we met up with my friend Mizuho and her boyfriend Yosuke. She took us to Mandarake (a comics and manga store with a steam punk clock on the facade of the building)

She later took us to another club where she and her boyfriend both work as Dj's. There we met their friend Hide who is also a dj and i think played the best mix i've heard while i've been in Japan.

The next morning we got up early to got to Tsukiji (the fish market of Tokyo) which was incredible! This entire country is soooo organized and patient and quiet...except the fish market. That market was packed elbow to elbow with fish, fork lifts, and screaming japanese people!!!
I took about a hundred photos. I also got fish guts splashed on me a couple of times.

Before we left we grabbed a sushi breakfast from a near by restraunt. Evan and I got the usual but we also splurged on some Otoro (fatty seared tuna) Uni (sea Urchin) and Whale Sashimi. The otoro was delicious and the uni was probably the best i've had. The whale was strange It was fleshy but also fishy. It kind of tasted like the fat on a steak but also like fish. I will never eat it again... too much mixed emotions about the whole whaling thing but it was fun to try it.

After that we got on a train to go back to Osaka so that I could go back to class.

OMG i havent posted in forever!!!

2009-07-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is an update

KENDO: The past couple of weeks kendo hasnt met for practice. From what i can gather, there was a tournament, i assume they lost... because they arent that impressive to be honest. I assume that the next two weeks were canceled because of the shame of defeat, disillusionment with the sport, or laziness because the tournament is behind them and there is little reason to practice.

however the last practice i went to was lots of fun. I learned several techniques like how to break away from an upclose opponant and then hit them in the chest plate. Ichida (the team captain) was the one teaching me. He apparently did \nt do a very good job because i did the technique so wrong that i missed the chest plate completely and hit him square in the the ribs (which is completely exposed in kendo armor). He then spent the rest of several minutes bent over coughing. I had to practice with someone else for the rest of practice.

Drinking: Last Sunday Babs, Evan, Sam, Ari, myself, and my friend Hiro all went to Kikumasamune Sake Brewery in Kobe Japan!!! We went to the tasting room and had about 5 cubs of delicious sake! It was awesome. I bought some for later. Ari found Sake flavored icecream at the brewery (of course who else would find such a thing). Hiro seemed to have a good time and i hope i get to drink the left of the sake i bought with him!

After we got back from Kobe we went to see our friend Masa in America Town! He likes western things so we decided to buy some whiskey and rum for later in the evening. We went out for an all-you-can-eat/drink Yaki Niku dinner... however we didnt realize that in japan, if you order something at an all-you-can-eat place and dont finish it, you get charged extra. So of course we ordered this huge meal with too much food and had to completely stuff our faces just to avoid spending more money. We got a little loaded and headed to his place for the rest of the night. There we made Whiskey&Coke and Dark -n-Stormies. It was a great time. We drank, listened to music and watched A shot at Love 2 with tila tequila!!!

Tokyo: I am writing this update in tokyo. I went back with evan because i wanted to get a few more things, see Mizuho again, and let evan see this amazing city!!! The only thing bad about this trip is that my debit card expired so i am only here because evan is paying my way under the pretense that he gets his money back as soon as i get my debit card!

We saw Mizuhos Boyf dj at a club. It was a small party but it was lots of fun. Last night we went to Club Asia (yes club asia) in shibuya and listened to some good trance music but we left because no one was dancing and we were both exhausted.

Clothes: So I know what i want to do for my experimental fashion class. I am going to make all these indie kid clothes inspired by kimono and other japanese garments. Its lots of fun getting the materials for the line while i am here. I am doing alot with accessories so ive purchased a tone of cell phone charms and japanese toys. I also bought a few kimono to tear apart for the fabric. im really excited about this collection and i hope i get to make it!

OsakaCastle.Nara.DenDenTown.Namba.Dotombori.Shinsaibashi.

2009-06-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

I've been mopey and have neglected the blog for awhile, so I wanted to update with some pictures of our various adventures around Kansai... Matane!

Flashback.

2009-06-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Apparently, there was a murder in our little, rural area of Japan last week. A high school student beat a peer to death with a baseball bat over a girl. It happened where we hang out sometimes on the Ishikawa River. Its been kept pretty quiet, people are aware but choose not to dwell on/mention it. We didn't find out for about a week.

Ryoanji Temple

2009-06-16T18:09:00.001-07:00

A couple days ago Babs and I went to Kyoto to do a little more temple hopping. The prettiest was definitely Kinkakuji temple (aka the Golden Pavilion). Kinkakuji is set on the edge of a huge Japanese Koi Pond and it's top two levels are completely covered in gold leaf!!! it was awesome.

On our way out of the temple we were stopped by some middle school kids that had a work sheet with them so they could practice what English they could with whatever foreigner they ran into. They asked us the basics: name, age, reason for visit, and then, out of the blue, they asked for a message for world peace. I love Japan! It was awkward and adorable and all the things I love about this country.

After this brief encounter we walked to Ryoanji temple. This is maybe the most famous Japanese Zen Temple in existence. It also is the home to the absolutely most famous Zen Rock Garden. Now I have the utmost respect for Zen Buddhism, infact it is my most favorite school of Buddhism and one of my favorite philosophies. However I also have a mother with a rock collection.... and so I sole a couple pebbles from the most important of all zen rock gardens. These pebbles which could have been there for hundreds of years and were probab ly raked by a Buddhist monk that morning, I stole. It was actually no easy task. The viewing deck was set high enough from the ground for asian legs to not stand a chance of reaching the garden but they underestimate me. My feet could just barely touch the pebbles while dangling my legs over the edge. I made sever attempts, some more conspicuous than others. It finally took using babs as a distraction for me to have the opportunity to seize a few rocks between my socked toes. While babs was taking a picture of me, sitting by the railing, I slid my foot down to the ground, pinned a couple pebbles next to the bottom of the deck, and then slid them up the deck and into my hand. It was perfect, smooth, discrete, and successful... except I got caught. It's only because there was this old white guy next to me who I mistook for a Japanese man, and he heard me and babs discuss it before I made my move. After that I got really akward and it was time to leave....

This. Coming. Weekend.

2009-06-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hell. THE FUCK. Yes.

featuring:

• Kashima

• Karasu

• Yoo Kawa

• Kinoe

• Syunpei

• Chika Tanigawa

• Citari

• Wako Naguro

• Nishikikoi

• HIME+YOU

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SOOO NICE

2009-06-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had Fabric Dying class with Takigaki Sensei. She was looking at my work and told me that I was very good. She told me that I was her favorite foreign exchange student and the best she had. She commented on me being a special student and then left the room.

I thought this was very flattering but also very awkward and didn't know what to do and was about to leave seeing as class was over. That's when she came back into the room with a small scarf. She handed it to me and said "present." It looked at it and saw that it was white with 2 interlocking printed patterns on it in red and blue. The design was beautiful and the printing was superb and I believe hand done. I thanked her and she told me it was her mother's who used to dance (she then mimed some hypnotic arm movements to demonstrate that the scarf was part of her performance). Completely taken aback by this and honored that I received such a great gift that once belonged to her (obviously dead) mother, i could do nothing but bow and repeat "arigato gozaimas" ove and over agian.

I LOVE TAKIGAKI SENSEI!!!!

Oh DEER!

2009-06-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sam, James, Evan, Babs, and I went to Nara to go see Todaiji Temple. The temple is gorgeous and is the home to one of the biggest and the first statue of Buddha in Japan! It was huge! It was utterly astounding to walk into the temple and immediately be confronted by such an astonishingly large enlightened figure. ha ha. But what really stole my heart wasn't the statue, it was the deer.

All outside of the temple and in the surrounding park area were deer. They were tan with white spots and had antlers that didn't come to a point but were rounded on the ends. The antlers were also slightly fuzzy. The best part was that they were so accustomed to people that they were actually friendly!!! That's right these deer didn't run away from you at all! They let you feed and pet them!!! it was AWESOME! I was geeking out! No where else in the world have I ever heard of friendly deer! I don't know if they were domesticated or if they aren't as naturally skittish as other species but I do know that it was incredible to actually touch one of my favorite animals in the entire world! Such an incredible experience!

Oh Japan, just when I think i've seen everything you whip out something even more amazing!

Shibori

2009-06-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow i start shibori class (japanese tie dye). I had to pick out the type of shibori i wanted to make from a picture book and, of course, i picked the hardest kind. So the teacher is going to teach me the easiest kind tomorrow, then a more difficult kind next week, and then teach me the technique that i want to learn (which is the most difficult). So basically i've tricked the teacher into giving me three classes instead of one... ha ha Yes!!! but that isn't the coolest part.

The way fabric is sold in Japan is by the bolt (not by the meter). That's because it takes a whole bolt of fabric to make 1 kimono. And since i have to buy a whole bolt of silk to learn these three techniques, the teacher is also going to teach me how to make a Kimono with the silk that i'm going to shibori dye!!!!

HELL YES!!! I'm makin' a KIMONO!!!

My Hair

2009-06-04T05:53:00.000-07:00

So the other day I got my hair cut at a salon called Vaselines (I know... awful). I wish I could say that I was brave and was the first to let a Japanese guy cut my hair, but I can't. Sam is however, He got this asymmetrical thing with side bangs and stuff (basically it was awesome)! So almost the very next day I went back to the same place and had the same guy cut my hair. I have been waiting so long for someone to just come along, look at my head, and just do something that they think is cool because honestly I never really know what I want. And he was the one! His name is Masa and he spoke perfect English (which he learned from a podcast!!! wtf?)

In any case the salon was awesome. It was on Orange street in "America Town" Osaka (the Harajuku of Osaka). It was really arty, and was run by people that couldn't be more than 30. In the salon there was a bar with fashion magazines and cold green tea to drink! That is so smart.

This is how my haircut went:
I was politely asked to get up from the bar and sit at one of the shampoo stations. I was going to take my bag with me but they put it behind the bar for me. Then this guy put a pink towl over my face and began to shampoo my hair in the sink. The shampoo smelled like mint and was mentholated so that it cooled my scalp (much like mint gum does to your mouth). But the shampooing was not ordinary. He spent some real time on my hair and kind of gave me skalp massage right there. Then he rubbed my temples and forhead before leading me to hair cutting station. There, more bizarre fashion magazines were waiting for me. Then this cute woman came up and offered me green tea with ice and a piece of chocolate! And this chocolate was no snickers, it was delicous dark chocolate dusted with cocoa powder and it melted in my mouth! Then Masa came over to cut my hair. He played with it for a little while and decided that an asymmetrical mohawk was the look for me. I was apprehensive at first but I trusted him, and i'm glad I did!!! It looks sooo cool! After he was done the guy that shampooed my hair came over and asked if i would like a skalp massage... HELL YES!!!! So he sprayed this stuff in my hair that felt like ice cold poprocks crackling against my skull and began to massage my skalp... again! He then worked his way from my head down my neck and into my shoulders! It was incredible. Then he shampooed my hair again in the exact same way was before! I was about to fall asleep in that chair. Then he conditioned my hair and brought me back to where i got my hair cut for Masa to style it.

All of this was included in the orginal price with no added fees! it cost $47.00 which is about as much as i pay in Baltimore for my haircut (plus tip) without any conditioner/skalp massage. I loved it. I wish I could get my hair cut every week!!!

Even Socks can cause Problems

2009-05-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

So because in Japan you have to take off your shoes almost everywhere (including fitting rooms, which i think is ridiculous) I have been trying to pay more attention to what socks I wear. I've noticed alot of really cool socks since I've been in this country and I decided to follow suit. No more white ankle socks for me!

On the quest for interesting stockings i went into UNI GLO today. I picked up 5 pairs that i liked and went to the counter. The man then mumbled something in Japanese to me. I told him i didn't understand and he brought over a girl that could speak English. She told me that there is a deal on the socks and that 4 pair are only $10. I said great. She then, unnecessarily, explained to me that the 5th pair would not be included. I nodded and said I understand. Then.... She snatched them off the counter and put them away!!!!

WHAT!?

I wonder what would happen if i went up with just one pair of socks.

also on the ride home Ariyana and I saw a boy dressed like he was a character from Kingdom hearts. He had spiky blonde hair, and was wearing all black, with entirely too many chains, buckles, and zippers.

soooooo we thought it was in everyone's best interest to draw him a KINGDOM KEY and give it to him. he wasn't as pleased as we hoped and his friend (who kinda looked like what Oogie Boogie would look like if he put on Jack Skelington's clothes) was just confused.

Long story short i managed to cause 2 scenes today.

I'm Sorry Seabiscuit

2009-05-26T01:38:00.000-07:00

Babs and I spent Sunday, our last day in Tokyo in Harajuku. We met up with Mizuho and her boyfriend and took pictures with Harajuku cos-players. We also went to the Meiji Shrine which is the most important Shinto Shrine in all of Tokyo. The remains of an old emperor and his wife are inside of it and is supposed to be a monument to their love. It was a beautiful building and after we we poked around we bought some charms from the shrine store. Mizuho explained to us that the girl that gives out fortunes at the temples is supposed to be a virgin but they know the girl that works at that shrine and told us that she is not a virgin! Ha ha ha!

After the shrine we went for lunch and she took us to a Nabe restraunt. Nabe is a type of soup that keeps going. It usually consists of a soy, miso, or salt water broth with vegetables and a meat (we got beef intestine and collagen...pretty god actually). Then when you eat it and all that is left is broth you order more to go in it but not the same ingredients. It was delicious, but apart from the Nabe are side dishes. Because Mizuho's boyfriend knew one of the workers we got a deal and they ordered the nice stuff. Tofu chicken salad, fried fish, baby squid (gross but tasty), and Horse shashimi. yep... Raw Horse Meat. We specifically got a tender cut and a cut from the lard that is on the neck of the horse. Both were delicious! It came with Ginger, Garlic, Green Onions, and Ponzu sauce. It was very delicoius and Mizuho was very excited that we liked it.

After Lunch they gave Babs and Me some presents. Mizuho gave Babs a homemade cellphone charm and her boyfriend gave me his CD with all of his DJ mixes on it!!!

We are going to try and make a second trip to Tokyo to see them!!!

No Dancing

2009-05-26T01:06:00.000-07:00

Babs and I had a great time in Tokyo. However, one day stands out as particularly hilarious. Friday night we hit the town looking for a club. We had picked out Club Velfarre which I've heard about and read about in a few guide books. It is supposed to be amazing, with enough room for 1,500 people on the dance floor, live performances, themed parties, even a special night where they invite foreigners and try to show them the best of Japanese night life! (i know right way too good to be real) guess what, it was. When we arrived in the Roppongi district (where the nightclubs are) we were told that the club had been closed about a year ago.... ... ... LAME!

So then a suited black man came up and asked me what I was looking for.
"Do you want a bar or like a real club?" (the suit)
"A dance club" (me)
"...so you want a real club?"
"um... yeah a 'real' club"
"two blocks that way is club Feria, it's the best club around, great music! you are garaunteed to meet beautiful Japanese women"
"uh,... ok...?"
"It is very professional, the top Japanese models go there."
"ok...sure...thanks?"

The guy was obviously selling the joint but I couldn't figure out why. So Babs and I walk the streets looking and listening for signs of a dance party. No Luck. We find strip clubs, hostess bars, shot bars, lounges, (some of which had $75 covers) but no clubds. we finally run into this attractive Australian couple and Babs asks them if they know a place to dance and they told us to go to ... yep... club Feria but warned us that it hadn't picked up yet. We decide to give it a try. We were led downstairs by more black men in suites (now the first one makes alot more sense) to a lounge with a small dance floor and way too many couches. We look around and by the time I finished my first drink I began to notice things. The music playing was definately Matchbox 20, We were the youngest people in the club, we were also the coolest people in the club, someone was asleep on the couch, some one else came in with what looked to be his father, and the guy getting the most attention from the women was wearing a t-shirt and flip flops (this is Tokyo... not the Nassau, not Miami... Tokyo!). The DJ also had a suggestion box which is never a good sign. Then Babs went to the bathroom leaving me to listen to back-to-back Rihanna, Brittney Spears, Rihanna again!, and Michael Jackson. When she came back she told me to come with her to the club entrance. Somehow we had missed a giant 3 feet tall vinyl sign that said "NO DANCING" above the door.

Utterly disgusted and shocked into hysterics we left the club and took to Shibuya (which we heard catered more to the dancy adolescents and young adults).

It is in this district that we went to the JPop Cafe. Still not a club but we met Mizuho could speak perfect English and her friend that refused to answer by any other name than "Bucket Pudding". Pucket Pudding was apparently one of the scheduled performers of the evening. He and a partner went on stage and performed several Rap and Hip Hop songs in Japanese to a sparse but energetic audience. It was a great time!!! After the Show they brought around free shots of tequila and we talked and told jokes. We got on the first train back to the hostel (5:00 in the morning) and went to bed.

Harjuku! Harajuku!! HARAJUKU!!!!!

2009-05-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

So Babs and I went to Harajuku today (as if you couldnt tell) but that is for later.

First we went to the Imperial Palace (which had no Palace) There must be another one somewhere else but the spot that we went to (which was labeled `inperial palace` on the map) was a garden with some ruins in it. Then we went to the museum of Modern Art. Most of the paintings were painfully bad (one of which was of a bunch of cats) or looked like Picasso knock-offs but the prints, screens, and sculptures were stunning! There was even a piece by Richard Lang!!!

After the Museum we had a sushi lunch in the basement of an office building where i think i had some of the best and most flavorful sushi of this entire trip (for only $1000). Then we took a ride on the subway to Ueno to go see the national art museum, Which will be closed until JUNE! ef that in the A! We also went to the cutest pastry shop in tokyo and i had a choclate raspberry mousse tort that had a little gold leaf on it!! (dont worry taylor i took pictures)

We turned right back around and went to an old Tokugawa Garden (karakuen i think it was called) this place was gorgeous! It had a bunch of man made islands, hills, and water falls which were miniature replicas of famous places in Japan. Upon exiting the garden we walked 2 blocks to Find a mall with an amusement park!!! Babs and I rode a rollercoaster (called THUNDER DOLPHIN!!!) which went through a whole in the building!

Then we took the subway to Harajuku. (Jeffrey you would have peed!). There is no way to describe the awesome! Alot of things were expensive but there were some stores that were reasonably priced. We found sequenced moon boots, a store called Condom-mania, Neon everywhere, and one store that sold anything and everthing to make your own necklace! There was a wall of chain! Crystals, beads, clasps, everything!!! and and and A real taxidermied deer completely glammed out from antler to hoof in Rhine stones, chains, and crystals!

It was a good day

also:
it was the grand opening in Harajuku of the first Forever 21 in Japan and it was a Goddamn mess! There was less elbow room in that store than there is in a train car during rushhour! And everyone was fighting and clawing for their chance to buy cheap, polyester, unlined club gear. I almost pissed my self. They even had a cop ushering chicks in and out of the store! And when all was said and done and the store closed... there were shoes, tops, pants, hangers, and plastic jewlery (all in pink, black, and highlighter yellow) strewn across the floor. It looked like the setting of the most glamorous battle that has ever taken place! GLORY!!!

I Have Been Wasting Money On the Subway.

2009-05-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Today I took the opportunity to get out of my apartment with the intent of exploring the Minami Ward of Osaka. Initially, I had only planned to traverse Abenobashi, but I quickly covered that area in order to "finish" Den Den Town. I'm glad I did, because the beautiful weather prompted me to just walk and I made some awesome discoveries...

Around ten a.m., I took the Midosuji Subway to Den Den Town and explored the back alley-ways that branch off of the main stretch. There I found a multitude of raw electronics, hardware, maid cafes, regular cafes, large appliances, used goods, clothing, wood-working tools, and stacks upon stacks of cameras, TVs, and car parts (which was all less "pulpy" than what I am accustomed to) all smashed into streets the size of an office breezeway.

Returning to the sunlight, I happened upon Kuromon Ichiba Market a few blocks down from where I emerged. I skimmed over the live blowfish being gutted, and promptly headed towards another covered market in the distance. This turned out to be Doguya-Suji; Osaka's famed culinary supplies shopping district. There I found shops full of everything anyone could ever need to stock a kitchen (that includes plastic display food and giant raccoon statues...)

A few turns later, I was surrounded by an intimidating number of Pachinko parlors, and I realized I had wandered into Namba. From there I took the usual course: Namba led to Dotonbori, and Dotonbori to Shinsaibashi.

Next, I walked in a direction away from Shinsaibashi that I hadn't explored yet. I found a department store with boutiques like Giorgio Armani and Burberry, [Side Note: the reaction expressed by a salesperson to the dropping of a shoe, one that costs more than what most people have in their savings account at any given time, is both immensely terrifying and hilarious.] and afterwards, I took some back roads and discovered what looked to be a fabric district. It wasn't huge, but there were several stores filled with giant bolts of various colored textiles.

Finally, I worked my way back southwest to America-mura. I checked out every men's store (looking some decent clothes and a half-way decent bag...) and in the process found a manga store, two Ganguro girls, a book store filled with art/design/fashion publications, a ton of bars, and a SO many guys right out of Men's Egg Youth...

Basically, I finished the southern half of Osaka City. Next: Kita!

Japan Got Sick and I got a Vacation!

2009-05-20T03:07:00.000-07:00

Japan is a small country with lots of people in it. These People also value cleanliness. Therefor the Japanese government has canceled school in the Osaka area in an attempt to contain the swine flu contamination more effectively. However I am not Japanese, grew up in open air, and am not at all very clean. So when Japan says Quarantine I say Roadtrip!!!!

To celebrate the outbreak of this horrible disease Babs and I left for Tokyo! the hostel is great. Very clean, lots of space, nice people. My roommate is a Frenchman named Fabian, I just met an Australian, and Babs has another Carolina girl as one of her roommates.

Getting to Tokyo was no easy task. We took the Shinkansen (the Bullet train) to get out here had a panic attack about maybe missing our stop (we didnt) then got off the train in Tokyo station without a map and had another panic attack about not knowing where the ef to go, but no worries we managed to get here fine. After we bought a map one super nice woman and a nice old man came up to us to try and help us. They told us what trains to take and which route would be the fastest (I am glad to see that Tokyo-ers dont have a mean big city attitude).

Babs and I spent the evening at Sensoji Temple. It has a huge Japanese Lantern in it which has been the subject of countless Ukiyo-e prints. We also got accosted by a rickshaw boy in short shorts for a private tour. Tho tempting, we declined him and spent the rest of the afternoon perusing the shops which featured Replica samurai swords, vintage kimono, fans, cell phone charms, and Japanese Sandals. There we met a nice old woman that is an english teacher. She spoke to us for a long time about her travels across the globe, her friend in Milwauke , and the Scottish woman she had just met at a noodle shop that said she knew her friend in Milwauke. She also explained some of the differences between the tokyo and kansai dialects as well as the lost art of tradition Japanese speach. It seems that no matter where you go in Japan you are always welcomed!!!

well babs and i are about to go to Akihabara to go see the Anime/electonics culture of tokyo!!

PISS. THIS. PISS.

2009-05-17T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Japanese Government just closed all schools and public events (festivals, attractions, etc.) after a recent spike in swine flu cases within Japan this weekend. Thirty-nine people is Osaka alone have been infected, and extreme, (and what I feel to be) somewhat-silly measures are being taken to contain the virus.

So essentially for the next week, I have no classes, I can't go to the gym, and I could catch a potentially-lethal virus if I decide to travel.

Thanks Universe.

You can read about what's happening here:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gxUAXucajMaj-2JC71BPgk-wEQvAD988DAO80

Hosts

2009-05-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

So in Osaka there is a cultural phenomenon that goes by the name of "host clubs." Hosts are young men that earn mad cash by charging an hourly rate to drink with female clients while the women buy them drinks.

The drinks are most often bottles of champagne, which can cost more than $1000. These men, in return, entertain them and tell them they are pretty and that they love them. Being payed for sex also happens but it is not very common. The documentary that I watched revealed alot, but not everything, about how the system works. Most of the guys make more than $10,000 a month and on a really good month the can make up to $70,000. Uh excuse me, but where can I sign up? Whats even more amazing to me, and awful at the same time, is that the women that come in are usually prostitutes. These Japanese hookers come in and drop thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in a night for the false sense of emotional worth that these boys provide. This begs the question; Why are Japanese hookers payed so well? It seems that all the

money trickles down from Japanese business men, into the hands of the hookers, and then over to the hosts. But why? It seems that if youre being payed that much then you could turn tricks for a few years, save the cash, and start your own small business, go to school, or move out

of town and start a legitimate lifestyle. Heck these women make more money than my parents do the way they spend it on those hosts! The whole system offends my sense of prioritzed spending more than it does my morality (tho both are injured by the thought of it)

look up hosts on youtube and you will see the madness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EsKBvqe1Zw

*[Evan would like add there is even a anime/manga called Ouran High School Host Club based on the glamourous lives of hosts... underaged hosts...]

Kendo again

2009-05-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was yet another Kendo practice. They tell me that I am getting pretty good. I can now hit people properly with the shinai. The whole trick is that all the power comes from your left hand, not your right. This makes the sword crack like a whip when you strike someone and feels super neat when you do it right!!! I got hit some kids on the head with it yesterday. That was fun. Except one of the club members is about 4ft tall and she is probably the most adorable person in the world to ever wear armor. She was my instructor for a little bit and I had the akward task of hitting her on top of her helmet. It was way too weird to me to hit someone so short... I dont know why. Plus my natural forward swing doesnt go that low so I had to swing lower to hit her head which through off my balance a little. After she gave up on teaching me the next guy worked on my Japanese Demon screaming. I am always hesitant to yell because Im constantly afraid that my voice will crack like Im going through puberty and that all attempts at being intimidating will fail. However, my voice didnt crack, I didnt sound girly, and was actually intimidating. My instructor told me i did a great job and that i earned a "level up." Granted it wasnt the crazy samurai scream they the rest of the kids can do but it was a solid shout. I felt a little like Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai... Even though that movie is way stupid, it somehow helped me to channel the spirit of that silly film.

I also tried out some Judo this week. I have to admit that I like the people in Judo better. They are more fun, can speak more English, and have a better time at practice. However there is one guy that i could tell didnt like me interloping. The look on his face when i had to spar him was "i take this very seriously, you American Twat, so i am going to take pleasure in smaking you against the ground repetedly" and he did. I did not get to throw him once. Whatever, I hope the kendo kids miss more meetings so I can hang out with the judo kids more. I even asked them all out to drinks after tomorrows practice. So it should be The Kendo kids, the Judo kids, Sam, Babs, Ariyana and me all out at a bar.. gettin toasted.

Also:
After Kendo practice I was waiting for joyce to get done with her archery club with Ariyana. We just happened to be waiting around the American Football club. one of the members came up to me and asked me to join . I considered it for a little bit. I knew i had an obvious height advantage but then i remembered tossing around the old pigskin with my brother on the beach... I SUCK! I instantly declined him. Its ok if i make a fool out of myself at kendo but there is no way Im going to be the american kid that disgraces his country when he cant even catch a football thrown by a Japanese boy. Thank you but no thank you I will spare my country that disgrace.

After i declined him I introduced him to Ariyana. This blew his mind. Ariyana is an Asian American that speaks English and no Japanese. This was way too strange to this boy and immediately bagan to ignore her. He then said to me "you are very Handsome." This has happened a few times before to Evan and I and should not be confused with a pick up line. Its just a compliment
"uh... Im sorry?" (me)
"yes! you are handsome guy" (japanese football player)
"well... uh...arigato goziamas"
"yes you have good nose and big eyes! very nice"
(inner monologue: why yes we can sit and chat about how attractive i am, I dont mind at all, in fact its my favorite subect, please continue)
"I dont like my smush nose and thin eyes" as he flattened his nose with his finger
"no way" (inner monologue: oh my god, this is aweful, how can i get him off the self-hate wagon... ug... and what messed up beauty standards have made this perfectly good looking Japanese boy wish for western facial features... oh lord... what have i done)
"yes you have good nose" still pushing his in and looking sheepish
"no youre... handsome....too...?..yeah! uh.... see-ya later!"

poor guy but that was too uncomfortable for me to try and remedy

Deportation Attempt No.2 (i.e. Unintentional Foreigner Taboo #37)

2009-05-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

I was walking Eva 2.0 home from the conbini after class tonight, eating a hunk of ¥200 yakitori, when I was pulled over by a Koban patrol cop.

Originally, I thought he was going to tell me not to eat on the street, but apparently (after some awkward hand signing), he informed me that he suspected my bike was a stolen one. I gave him my various forms of identification and after calling in the serial number on the seat tube, he politely wished me, "good night" and speed off into the darkness.

The sole reason I've even bothered to mention this [non]incident, is for the purely astonishing fact that I wasn't nervous at all during the whole encounter. I mean, I knew said bike in question was mine and that I could, in fact, prove it if prompted; but the whole time I couldn't shake the feeling that I should be terrified.

Then I remembered American cops do things like this. Unprovoked.

...yeah...

My Apartment Is Eating Me Alive

2009-05-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I woke up after a troubled night's sleep to discover my back looking almost exactly like the image below.

This has been an issue since the first day I arrived, and its getting worse.

I don't know how they are getting in. All my windows are shut and sealed from the inside, I take my garbage out, and there is no standing water in here aside from my toilet bowl. I'm starting to freak out a little, and House Of Leaves isn't helping...

Seoul Food

2009-05-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

So a couple days ago the Korean students had a BBQ and invited us to it. It was loads fun and delicious. I have never seen so much meet in this country. There was a crate of Beef, Chicken, and Pork as well as other dishes like Maki rolls, a tub of rice, and a sweet pumpkin goo. It was a feast. Hardly anyone could speak English to us, except Sen and the Comedic Acting student named Juin or June. He developed a little crush on Babs and Ariyana and whenever he went near Babs he would just say "You have nice body!" Uhhh yeah.... I'm not sure how it works in Korea but I'm going to go ahead and assume that that approach doesn't work anywhere... except maybe Vegas.

After we ate about a whole side of beef we played dodgeball. This game was a little different though because every boy was paired with a girl and to get some one out you had to hit the girl that person was paired with. Not only that but the people that got hit could still throw the ball from the sidelines. Sam was good at the game... I was not.

Later on, Sen invited us to have drinks at his place. I was the only American that showed up but despite that all the Koreans insisted on speaking English, even if they weren't speaking to me. That was sooooo polite of them I almost exploded. We shared music and mixed drinks and ate snack food. I taught them the meaning of the word "beer run" and introduced them to Karen O who because of her Korean background. They seemed to like her but it remains to be seen whether or not it was just because of her heritage. After a couple hours I left and walked home, breaking my umbrella in the process. (note to self: umbrellas aren't samurai swords... no matter how much beer you've had)

Other funny things:
While at Sen's place I made several trips to the bathroom. The first time I went in I couldn't find the light switch, but then it turned on when I shut the bathroom door. I had assumed that this bathroom, like so many energy saving public toilets, had been outfitted with an automatic light. A feature that I thought strange but convenient. I was wrong... the light was only automatic in the sense that every time I got up to go to the bathroom, the girl sitting next to me would politely excuse herself from the conversation, and automatically run over to flip the switch outside of the bathroom to turn the light on for me. It wasn't until after my 4th or 5th trip to the bathroom that they told me what had happened... UNCOMFORTABLE FEELINGS!!!

Also, on the way to Sen's place I found a Pink Gucci Tie lying on the side of the road. It had obviously been discarded and run through the dirt a little... but I picked it up regardless. It's not really my style but the mere fact that I found it under such ridiculous circumstances makes it worth keeping (plus it can always be dry cleaned). I mean seriously can you imagine the glamorous/fabulous mess of a story that led up to it's owner losing it. It obviously involved alcohol. I like to think of some rich, glammed out, group of effeminate Japanese Yakuza being a hot mess in the middle of rural Osaka, reeking havoc in a white Limousin with champagne and hookers (of every variety). Then on a hairpin turn, next to the train station, the leader of the group lets the tie slip from his fingers while being distracted by the sparkle of his pinky ring. And I was there, the next day, to pick up this relic of a night of debauchery.

DEN DEN TOWN!

2009-05-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Today, Jennice and I decided to take advantage of the final day of Golden Week sales and went shopping in Shinsaibashi, Dōtonbori, and Den Den Town.

There are no words. To describe. The awesome.

If I had died in some horrific accident right there in the middle of Super Potato, I think that who-(or what)-ever governs over the Universe could look at my life, smile, and consider it to be complete.

I'm going back this weekend.

Day Of The Fox

2009-05-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Babs, Vince, and I traveled to the outskirts of Kyoto to visit the ancient Fushimi Inari Shrine.

I've been fascinated by the Shinto faith for a long time, and finding myself in such a serene, sacred place was intensely profound. It was probably the most beautiful place I have ever had the luck and privilege to see in my entire life.

Kyoto in the distance.

Yakitori!!

We left just in time to see a Golden Week parade.

Afterwards, we trekked back to Osaka and went to the Abenobashi shopping district. It was a long day, but we refused to let it end before we ate at Kappa Sushi!

I had twenty plates. Seriously.

Daft Punk was Playin' at my House (at my house)

2009-05-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

So, the entire crafts department went on a trip to the National Museum of Ethnology. This is a museum created by the students of a Japanese school of Archeology/Anthropology. It was a pretty good museum. It said that it was dedicated to the origins of every civilization without preference to any one or the other (but the biggest exhibits were Japan and China ha ha... and all the native American/Mexican stuff was all bastardized together... and I saw nothing relating to Greek/Roman civilization. The only "European" stuff was all crammed in one corner and it was all Dutch and German things.) But whatever, I'm not here to study the Americas or Classical Europe. I'm here for the Asian stuff, of which they had plenty.

I do have to write a 2 page report on the thing I liked best in the museum....in Japanese. FML

When the museum closed we all went to a gallery in the city where Takigaki Sensei's work was hanging! It actually really liked some of it! She had incredible attention to fabric details. After the show Sensei took us all out for Yaki Niku (Korean Barbeque). This was probably some of the most fun I had in a long time. Everyone was absolutely trashed after just a couple beers! Even Sensei got a little drunk and decided to whip out her 100 long cigarettes! The Slipknot girl was a hot mess and I took many pictures of her hanging on her boyfriend and stumbling around.

While on the way back I told Kato (who i'd been with the whole day) that the party can move to my house. This is an invitation that could have been a bad idea in the states... Inviting 15 of your new "best friends" that you know nothing about into your house, i don't think so. But after observing their behavior after just 1 mug of beer i thought it was pretty safe to assume that they would be out by 1:00 am. Everyone was really excited about the "party" at my place and wanted to go but as we got closer and closer to my apartment more and more people left the group to go home, until there was only 4 of us.

Once at my place they couldn't believe how much beer I could drink... which was 2mugs with dinner and a tall can once back home. Sorry Japan i have enzymes and I enjoy the fact that you don't! We sat around for a couple hours talking about nothing, watching music videos on my p.c. until about 12:45 came aound and they all were to "sleepy" (drunk) to stay up any more and they went home. We didn't get around to sake bombs.. but next time, next time.

Hello Blog, Remember Me?

2009-04-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

I am taking an oil painting class here to fill time. It doesn't really count toward my major but its nice to be able to paint however I want to without worrying about grades because everything here is pass/fail. As long as I am working hard I should be good. I like to oil paint, its my bread and butter. I know that the teacher isn't going to be able to teach me much sense I do not know Japanese, but taking the class is good because it gets me painting. We have a model right now, she has the tiniest butt crack I have ever seen in my whole life. It practically not there. It just baffles my mind because well....if you know me you know. SO SMALL. Its like God was like "whoops!" and put one in real quick.

The oil painting class I am taking here is very different from MICA. I have it 3 days a week but its the same class. I have a different teacher each day as well as a different TA. You do not enter or leave the room when the model is posing (learned that the hard way). The teacher comes in maybe twice during the 5 hours class, talks to everyone and leaves. He does not stay in the room. There is one painting teacher that comes in and doesn't even bother talking to me, lol. Which I don't really mind, I would not understand anyway. I noticed a large majority of the kids in my class paint the same way...

- None one tones their canvas.
- They sketch out the model in pencil on the canvas....which I've seen before but rarely...it also muddies up the oil paint.
- they scrub on the paint on the canvas with their brushes.

It's weird...but maybe there is a method to their madness. Only time will tell.

The plus side to all this is I only have a couple more days of this model and then I will be able to paint whatever I like for the rest of the semester, which is going to be sweeeeeet. I'm thinking of getting my hands on a fashion illustration syllabus and getting work done that way or painting Charleston things and mailing them home to make money... BLAH, but it pays the bills so whateves. So thats the plan, I'll post more artwork as I go.

I asked a rather loud and silly girl in my painting classes if she wanted do hang out some time and eat something and to invite her friends and she was like yea! Then the next day it was changed to a house party and then on Friday shes told me it would be a takoyaki party at school and a whole bunch a painting students were there! Yay! I discovered that night, that the kids here understand what I am saying really well, but are shy to speak english themselves. At the party we were telling funny stories and jokes on cell phones because they could translate between english and japanese, its was awesome. I cant wait to get my own.

Geishas!

2009-04-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Today we went to to Kyoto for our day off. We spent it looking around the Gion District (traditional/ Geisha district). We saw plenty of Kimono and even a few Geisha. They were truly strange and beautiful looking.

For lunch we went to this "omrice" place (rice covered in scrambled egg). I wasn't crazy about it but the "Crazy Big Parfait" that we shared for desert was awesome! It was a fishbowl of Strawberry sherbert, whip cream, corn flakes, strawberries, and green tea Pocky! It was insane!

After that we went to Yasaka Shrine, a Shinto temple, where we saw a traditional Japanese wedding party! The bride was gorgeous, dressed in an all white kimono with red lips and a white hood to cover her black hair. I also payed for a fortune at the shrine that told me excellent news in all my ventures. Aparently "the wind in my sails is changing" and that "misfortune has fled at the sight of good omens." The coolest part about the fortune was that it was given to me by an animatronic lion demon thing.

After that we went to a Buddhist temple at Chion-in where we saw real Buddhist monks chanting in a stunning and huge building that was all decked out in goldleaf on the inside. On the outside was a giant purple banner sporting the tokugawa emblem.

Then we went back down into Pontochō Alley and went to the Kaburenjō Theatre for the Miyako festival. There we saw the Maiko (apprentice Geisha) put on a beautiful dance while being accompanied by Shamisen. It was incredible to see them, the story in the dance was completely lost on me tho (something about a young maiden scorn so she left on a boat without paddles) I think it might be the same dance/story in "Memoirs of a Geisha" because it had the same structure that was described in the book. It starts out in spring with all the cherry blossoms then transitions through summer and then fall and finally ends with a solo dance in an snowy winter set.

We had dinner after the show and totally got taken. It was delicious but the portions were appetizer size (and i don't mean small like "fancy restraunt size" but small like "I had a bigger meal when my mom used to cut up my hotdogs for me"). Then we were charged for the "complementary" appetizer (part of a bean pod) and charged for the very seats we were sitting in! that pissed me off but it's funny what happens when you stumble into restraunt where you can't read the menu in a fancy part of town.

[pictures inserted by Evan]

Amour Armor

2009-04-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

I got my Armor for Kendo Today! It's really difficult to put on and there is a whole ritual to putting ever piece on/off the body but you look like a badass doing it so who cares?

I also learned how to say "I'm a Hot Mess" in japanese "Watashi wa atsui gotta" This is a literal translation which only causes confusion and when the people i'm talking to only look at me funny i just call myself a "Baka" which means idiot.

Other things:
Hiro, my fabric dying TA, wanted to get my number so we can hang out. I told him it was an american number so it will probably cost him. He then asked me if i have Facebook.... WHAT!??!!

Hell Yes I have Facebook! You Have Facebook!? (me)
"Yeah" (HIRO)
OMG
"Ha ha everyone in America Has Facebook"
Yeah they Do! My Parents Have Facebook
"ha ha" ::shakes head:: "Too Old!"
Great Friend me on facebook. Do you have skype?
"YEAH!"
GREAT WE CAN SKYPE EACH OTHER!!! (inner monologue: I'm going to pee myself right now!)

I'm sorry but I miss American Friendships that are varified by internet status!
He invited me to come see his house sometime (a big thing in Japanese Culture) and then showed me his work. He had made the most beautiful wax Batique i've ever seen! I couldn't get a good picture of the whole thing but i did take a picture of it. I felt like shit looking at my "Bokashi" (gradation) dye job but what ever it was my first day.

Also, simply because my fabric pattern is a bunch of intersecting arrows, this boy named Kato gave me one of his arrows from when he did Traditional Japanese Archery!!! It has his name in Kanji on it too! It all black with handsome black feathers at the end! I'm going to have to ship it home but boy is it beautiful and nice of him!

Brains!

2009-04-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

So Yesterday Babs, Sam, and myself went to Den Den town. Den Den Town is the Pop/Nerd Culture center of Osaka. The streets are lined with Electronics stores, Manga/Anime/Video Game memorabilia stores, Noodle Shops, and Japanese Porn Stores (one of which has an old lady as the mascot!)

We went in this one store called "Super Potato" which had every old video game and system that you could possibly imagine. They had every obscure, deep dark secret of video game culture that you can think of.

We also went into a store that was completely devoted to the sale and distribution of Gundam model kits. Not a store for model kits, or even for robot themed model kits, not even anime robot model kits, but exclusively Gundam Model Kits. The nerd culture is so strong and pervasive in this counrty that a store that specific and utterly useless can not only stay afloat but flourish!

After that we got back on the subway and went to America Town. Really just several blocks of crazy crazy stores. Everything from Lolita fashion to brightly colored manties were for sale and every store was blasting it's american pop music. After that we stumbled upon the heart of downtown Osaka. A sreet with enough neon lights for a theme park and more animatronic animals than your creepy uncle's house.

Then we went to get Korean BBQ and went down stairs into this fancy restraunt. AND I MEAN FANCY! You had to take of your shoes before you entered and then I noticed it had a bloody CREEK in the middle of it! I'm not kidding the restraunt had running water through it. You had to walk across a tiny/adorable bridge to go eat in a private room. In that room we drank Beer and Sake and ordered the most delicious beef we could afford. However, with these delicious cuts of meat we had mistakenly ordered "Assorted Cow Organs." We had coorectly identified 3 of the four: Heart (irony) , Tongue (delicious but feels like your biting your tongue over and over again), and stomach (a very acquired taste). But the last remained a mistery... could it be Intestine? Perhaps solid fat? It wasn't until we put it on the grill and saw the curling patterns of grey matter that we realized that it was infact BRAIN! We were reluctant at first but it turned out to be delicious! It was so flavorful and just melted in your mouth! Now I know why Zombies are so fond of them. Sam and I even convinced Babs to eat some (and she liked them too). For desert we decided to grab something a little closer to home. Mister Donut it is!

Such a good night

Deportation Attempt No.1

2009-04-26T03:39:00.001-07:00

I finally got some work done last night and decided to reward myself with a movie and glass of wine... three glasses later, I was ready for an adventure.

About ten to twelve miles away from my apartment, close to Osaka City, stands an enormous, absurd-looking spire that no one seems to know anything about. When we question locals about it, all they can offer us is that it is owned, and was erected by, a religious group of indeterminable origin... and I decided I was going to scale it. I grabbed my camera to record my path and burst forth into the night.

Life Cleaners. Ironic.

City Hall

By here: I could taste it.

Yes. I climbed over that...

It was by this point, after I had trespassed through a gated apartment complex and scaled two out of four large fences (the final being well over 10ft), that I realized if I were to continue there would probably be no way for me to get out of this nocturnal excursion alive... or not in handcuffs.

So, I took one last picture and bid my friend, the Tower, "adieu." For now, at least.

p.s. The walk home was a bitch. I got quite lost and didn't get in until at least 8 am, and as a result, I missed the group day trip to Den Den Town. Damn.

Rockin' da Candy-Painted Fly'ahs!!

2009-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, after almost a month of walking 2 1/2 miles to campus, Hisano-san took us to buy bikes! We all instantly converged upon the brightest colored ones in the store. This is mine:

Afterwards (unprovoked and out-of-the-blue, btw), he treated the whole group to lunch at Big Joes: Japan's interpretation of American dining as established by a retired Sumo wrestler who lived in the states for a spell.

It. Was. Incredible. ...in a cute: "you tried, and this is just what I needed to ease my home-sickness" kind of way.

Next: Den Den Town. Stay tuned!

Trend Wars: Hisano-San Vs. Hara-Sensei

2009-04-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is a log of the trendy/expensive things I've seen being sported by the two Japanese People we see most often.

Hisano-san:
Fendi Tie (Recycled for at least 3 different outfits already during the trip: a technical foul without a point penalty)
Jesus Fish Tie Clip (No point value but worth mentioning)

Hara Sensei:
Louis Vuitton Belt
Prada Belt (recylced once)
Christian Dior Skarf
Versace Pants

Running total:

Hara-sensei is in the lead with 4 points! While Hisano-san trails with only 1!

conclusion: Asians like brands

Kendo part deuxxx!

2009-04-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

(Spoiler)This post is not going to be nearly as sexy as the title implies.

So I went to my second Kendo Meeting yesterday! I actually got to use a Shinai! (Bamboo Stick Sword)

Everything about Kendo is so measured and precise and elegant. I managed to get a couple of the drills right but i'm still so nervous and stiff that I can't get the movements fluid enough. Even the basic strike is a complicated transition from one grip to another while keeping the shinai straight. Plus all the strength comes from your left hand! (which was confusing enough before my teacher started calling it the right hand)

Kendo is really beautiful... except for the screaming. The samurai use fear to their advantage. They are supposed to seem like demons running after you with swords. which explains the crazy masks and helmet.... aswell as the horrible asian screaming! I am a quite person. I don't scream very often (mostly because I have one of the least intimidating voices ever, especially when i am attempting to be intimidating) so me joining a martial art where screaming is routine and even demanded of you was partially due to my lack of forsight.

Other things of and pertaining to Kendo:
I asked what the symbol on the Captian's Do (chestplate meant... i had assumed it meant captain) It was actually a family seal. He is a direct decendant of a Japanese Emperor! Impressive. Now they asked me what my family did.... Uhhhhhhh. I thought of the only thing I could, which is that I am related to General Davis (the would-be first president of the Confederate States of America). I thought it would be socially damaging to say I was related to someone that lost a horrible war while i'm in a country with a shame/honor based society so I chose to say that I was related to a general. However, because "general" translates into Shogun in my Japanese Dictionary it came out more impressive than intended. Whatever now they think i'm a badass!

Also after the practice I saw my wrestling partner from the first practice! He is really nice i think i'm going to hang out with him more!

The guys were all really fascinated by my Iphone and wanted to know all about it.

Steak Dinner

2009-04-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hisano took us to get bikes today. Mine is Wasabi Green! After that, as if he had not only sacrificed his Saturday morning to be with us instead of his baby girl (who is adorable I might add), he took everyone out for an "American style" steak lunch! It was delicious but not american in any sense of the term that I am familiar with. It was a restraunt called "Big Joes" (no appostrophy) and the sign had a picture of an obese asian man's face with a che hat on. The steak was ground beef in gravy with chopped carrots and green beans. It was delicous but all the beef made me sick when I got home because I hadn't had it in such a long time. It was also strange using a fork again. It felt really uncomfortable in my hand and my instinct was to ask for chopsticks but then I realized where and who I was.

The decor was Hilarious! The walls and furnishings were made to look western/country but in the style of Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans. It was decorated with Colonial gas lanterns, statues of Native American Indians, Antigue books (still wrapped in plastic), but the best part were the uniforms. All the waitresses had to where Black and White Gingham dresses with a ruffle at the skirt and sleaves (Think Little House on the Prarie), aprons, black stockings, and black mary-jane shoes. Beautiful.

Hisano payed for everything which was so generous of him. The beef here is really too expensive, especially to be taking out 7 college kids! It was more than $20.00 a plate. We need to do something really nice for him.

Riceballs

2009-04-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to a party at a boys' dorm here at school. It was really fun. They made kim chi and sweet curry. We hung out with Aki (he grew up in Townson actually so he is fluent in English) and some other people (one of which preferred to be called "X" which is a badass name for a guy that I saw wear a hoodie that looked like a flamenco dress... but who am I to judge.) The bathroom smelled like straight ass tho and there were no real toilets. There were two stalls, both of which had toilets that resembled urinals that had been installed on the floor. It looked like M.C. Escher had been the architect.

We were drinkin Biru, Sake, and this Sake Brandy (it tasted like you mixed equal parts vodka, whiskey, and water together). Aki got really shitty and all the girls thought he was soooo cute. He had about 3 girls fallin all over each other tryin to be next to him but I think he was too drunk to notice.

The party was too big for one apartement so it continued into next door. This is not to say that the party was large by any stretch of the term. The party was of the shindig/get together variety it's just that the rooms are about the size of closets.

In the other room I introduced myself, which is always fun. They L-O-V-E the name "Vincent" here. Partly because a famous video game character goes by the name "Vincent Valentine." He is a vampire demon thing that can turn into several monsters because of horrible genetic experimentation and kills his enemies with a stylish looking revolver. Sounds like me doesn't it? Anyways whenever they geek out about my name I always shoot them with a finger pistol to let them know that I know what they are talking about and that, Yes, I do rock that shit!

Ariyana told them I was good at drawing so they asked to see my sketchbook. It was so awesome to see a whole room, no matter how small, drop what they are doing and look at my work. They absolutely loved it! I heard the word for "Very good" over and over, as well as "Sugoi" (cool). It's comforting to know that when I am living in a box in NYC, at one point I had a pretty healthy fan base in Japan.

After that the N64 got whipped out and we played Supersmash Bros. original! I was a bit wary to play video games (especialy well practiced retro video games) with a bunch of Japanese College kids. I know my place in the Great Chain of Nerd Being and I am nowhere near the eschalon of the Japanese Video Game nerds, but I played anyways. To my surprise I actually won a game, as Sanus! Jen won too as Purin (Japanese Jigglypuff) then I lost... bad. and went home. We need to have an American BBQ for them!

anyway i'm goin to eat my riceballs i just made. later!

Kendo

2009-04-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

So today I joined Kendo Club (Japanese Fencing Club). Today was a group meeting with all of the Martial Arts clubs. Sam joined Aikido (Japanese non-agressive self-defence). Everyone seemed really nice and welcoming. One of the little guys even came up to me and said that "Today is great joy." Take a breather......., yeah I know, soooo cute.

After a few drills, including a complicated game of tag, a relay race, and a few judo throws where I got to lift my partner (an 80 pound Japanese girl) into the air, it was time for "small wrestling." This is a drill, similar to Sumo but there is no ring, the people aren't mammoths, and you're aloud to grab the other person's belt. Sam got paired with the biggest guy in the room, an absolute Bull of a guy. This Japanese boy looked like a wall. I didn't envy Sam. I got paired with the next size down. He was significantly shorter and lighter than me. He actually managed to knock me down a couple times but I beat him by one match. Then the Captain of the Karate Club wanted to try his luck, and despite him being rather buff, he still posed less of a threat than the first guy. It was lots of fun tossing asian kids around.

After the wrestling was this drill in which you have to keep your partner from getting to the otherside of the room by holding him by his belt. I beat my partner again. He could barely move when I held him but when it was my turn to run I was draggin him around like it was no one's business!

After the meeting ended my partner asked me if we could get drinks sometime! HELL YES! I will drink you under the table Asia because I have enzymes!

Other Fun things:
Sam, Jen and I went to the International Club house where we met a handful of Korean Students. It was there that we met Gyuun (or something like it). He was studying to be a comedic actor and insisted on practicing what ended up being a decent knowledge of the english language. He was hilarious too, and I think he was trying to set Sam up with the girl sitting next to me (Who was beautiful btw... go for the gold Sam!)

Nicest People in the World

2009-04-21T02:06:00.000-07:00

Today I had painting class. A girl I had met during class last week came up to me and gave me a bag full of japanese snacks. Awesome! I was really suprised!! We had only chatted for a bit but we did talk about would oishii that food is here and I guess she decided to give me some more to try! :) It made my day. I am going to have to give her some of the snacks I brought from Charleston!

On my way home, I pass by the best takoyaki stand in all of Japan, that oji-san pictured above owns it. I say hello when he is there, so when I saw him on my way home from class I nodded and said "konichiwa!". He signaled me to come back and gave me a cute little Japanese ornament. (does any one know what that is?) I smiled real big and bowed "domo arigato gozaimas!" The people here could not be more patient , nice, helpful and giving!

Other then having to iron out some scheduling problems today was a really nice day!

My Name

2009-04-20T17:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to Ai Zo Me class (traditional indigo dyeing). I love my teacher, she can speak about as much English as I can speak Japanese but she calls me Vin-sen-to-Kun (kun is respectful... i think) and Vin-Chan (chan definately being a term of endearment, like 'Lil/little' in English.)

Her T.A., Hiro, is really cool! He went to Cleaveland Institute of the Arts for a year, where he discovered American Weekends. He expressed to me that he misses the house parties so i shared with him some of the gems of my lecherous past (including my 21st birthday aka "The MICA Phelps Pool Party" and a few stories from high school)

After class The teacher was wondering what my name would be in Kanji. She spent the next 20 minutes deliberating with her T.A.'s as to what sounds and symbols should be used. They decided to go with the classic Vin-Sen-To pronounciation. Because this name has 3 syllables it also is made up of 3 Kanji Symbols. The Vin sound comes from the Kanji that means Fast/Speedy. But here comes the best part. The two symbols at the end, the ones that make up the Sen & To sounds, when put together they mean "God, Super Human, or The Person between God and Man."

Excuse me while I pee myself! My name is Awesome!

OMFG! KARAOKE

2009-04-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Club Fair at OUA! It was incredible! Babs and I managed to run into the rest of the gang (sans Evan, couldn't figure out where he was... this no cell phone business is inconvenient). We took our picture with people dressed up like anime characters, shot traditional Japanese Archery (might be joining that club), and watched performances all day! Japanse hip hop dancers make me laugh a little but some of them were honestly really talented and there was a decent pop&lock crew. There was one crew of dancers that did a sexy dance in japanese school girl uniforms (uhhh..... hilarious, way worse than that Brittney Spears video back in the 90's). One group did this cute dance to this really upbeat song, however the lyrics to the upbeat song were "yeah you're totally fucked! Kiss your ass good-bye! totally fucked!" They had no idea what was being said they just thought it was a cute song in English and on the final "your totally Fucked" they all struck a pose!

There were lots of Rock bands, a Country music band (hilarious) and a band that sang 70's bubblegum music! Awesome. ABC by the Jackson 5 was a little difficult for them but that just made it better! The Power Ranger guys were back too, but in full costume! One of them had a swan erection. no joke. I can't explain it any other way.

After the festival we all met up with the Anime club. They all got tipsy on beer and weak liquor and decided it was best that we all go karaoke until midnight! Hell YES! We made friends with Sakimoto-kun and a couple other guys and had a private karaoke room with them!
Japanese Karaoke playlist:
Intro songs to many anime and video games
Journey: Don't Stop Believin'
Queen: We Will Rock You
Rihanna: Disturbia (yeah Bethany... yeah... where were you?)
M.I.A. : Paper Planes (the version wasn't right tho, it was a cover without any of the gunshots or Cha-chings... disappointing but hilarious)
Spice Girls: 2 Become 1
John Denver: Country Roads (gotta Represent... and funny as it seems all the Japanese kids knew it too ha ha ha)
and the rest was Japanese, Korean, or Philipino

Great night! FRIENDS!

Best Weekend Ever.

2009-04-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Party at OUA for the new students. It was so fun. We were all encouraged to try to make Takoyaki! Some struggles more then others.... lol

The girl on the far right is Zou-san. She is really nice and is in a couple of my classes. She reeeeally likes elephants.

Struggle...

Mmmmm!

The picture below is of Abenobashi. Vincent and I took a train there (all by ourselves! with me navigating none the less) and got there in one piece. Hara-sensai (our printmaking teacher, asked me to call her by her first name! But I just cant bring myself to do it just yet) told me that I could find anything I needed here...and she was right it was a huge place with tons of shops. I think I know where I can get practically anything I could ever possible need/want now.

Sweet arcade Vincent and I stumbled upon.

I am scared to use any of these buttons...

Below is a tasty delicious dessert I ordered at the 10 story department store Hara-sensai told me about. It was glorious.

These guys were acting out this little samurai/ninja drama....one girl had a panda puppet on her arm and mouthed words and some other person was speaking there parts for them...we all got bento box and eat lunch while watching it, it was really fun.

Oh yea. This is happening. At the festival were all these clubs. Our favorite was "CAS"which I think stood for "Comic and Animation Society". ANYSPRAY, it was basically a manga anime club.

Below was this absolutely absurd power rangers-like show. That guys swan penis turned into a into a sword which he attacked ppl with....it was insanely entertaining. I will upload video later.

After the festival was over, you could go and hang out with a club you were interested in, so of course we all went with CAS. They had snacks and alcohol and drinks. We made some friends with these really nice/goofy guys and had pretty decent english. We talked about anime and manga that we liked mostly. Even though we couldn't communicate super well, they stuck with us all night and it was a lot of fun! :)

Oh Yeah! This happened!

Towards the end of the night the CAS club president was making an annocement and I heard him say "karaoke" and got really excited! Turns out that were the party was movin!! YES!
We got our own rooms and it was a lot of fun and between all of us, only cost like 650 yen which is like $6.50. The first songs were immediately picked by the CAS members and they were the theme songs to Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Moon(which I sang the American lyrics too), and Dragon Ball. And WOW did they sing them!! No shyness or shame! lol Soon that spread to all of us....and by the end of the night all our voices were horse.

Best Weekend Ever. :)

I Finished A Novel.

2009-04-19T05:14:00.000-07:00

Today was OUA's huge, Spring Club Festival/Flea Market bonanza! ...and I overslept and missed meeting up with the MICA group at ten in the morning.

I decided however, (risk-taker that I am), to walk to campus around noon, intent I would be able to spot Sam among the crowd when I got there. Apparently, I was mistaken, and by 3 p.m. I was on my way home. (Earlier, I had suddenly become really dizzy during a screamo band's set and had to lay down. Today was abnormally hot and I don't think I was adequately hydrated...). Ok, long story short, on the way back I stopped at the conbini AND BOUGHT THIS:

[Caption: Somewhere, Andrew's head is exploding.]

Its a fashion magazine called Ageha for young gyaru women and its horrendous... LY AWESOME. Now I know how my favorite cashier at the conbini does it, she has a monthly guidebook!

I made art about it. It is now our blog banner.

[Side-note: All joking aside, reading this made me physically nauseous and I had to put it down, twice. Sensory. Overload... Plus: all the models' noses are airbrushed off. Plus, plus: The average weight of all those women in the final image is 92 lbs...]

I could have spent the next few hours formulating thoughts for a socio-ethnic rant on gender, mass media, post-imperialism, and cultural self-perception, but I decided to finish a novel I started nine months ago instead. It was, "The Death Of Vishnu," by Manil Suri. It was solid, eloquently written, and very powerful. Check it out!

Seriously. Read something other than Ageha.

It was a Day

2009-04-18T18:20:00.001-07:00

Babs and I went into Osaka City yesterday to run some errands and blow off a lot (A LOT) of steam. I'm very proud of the fact that we navigated the train system all by ourselves and that we got to and back from the city without a hitch! (well almost on the way back we weren't sure if we were on the right train but a guy told us that we were).

At Osaka:
Fried Noodles
Pasta Pescatore (strangely enough the foreign/western food was the cheapest in the mall)
Donuts, Cream filled croissants with strawberries, Ham and cheese filled croissants, a chocolate eclaire/churo hybrid, melon soda, Japanese Milk

Things we found:
Three malls worth of Designer clothing
A Chopstick store!
2 LOVE HOTELS! (next to a shinto shrine I might add)
A small fabric store
An Art Store
A Whole floor of a department store dedicated to Kimono!!!!!
Karaoke (sp?) parlors
A movie theatre (no signs in english or posters so we skipped the movie)
and... drumroll please!
A Japanese Video Arcade!!! I played this Gundam Wing game where I sat in a virtual cockpit!!! it was AWESOME. I was actually pretty good, despite all the instructions being in Kanji! You see Government I can be a Robot Pilot! Pick ME!

Its Too Safe Here, My Brain Can't Take It.

2009-04-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Last night was our first, post-school-week Friday in Osaka and, as we live in the boonies with no way of understanding the public transportation system, Babs, Vince and I bought our weight in Strong Seven and had a freshman-esque dorm party.

What I want to focus on were the dreams I had later. I don't know what I ate (I stopped at the conbini on the way home...) or what Kirin puts in that magical pseudo-brew, but I must admit, what I saw was epic on an a ephemeral scale so huge it would make Pete bow down and beg for mercy.

There were specifically three that I remember. In the first one I had just moved into a new apartment in a Baltimore/Osaka/New York-hybrid city-town and would leave for work very late every night. Sometimes, on my way home, I'd be chased down the alley to my place by a guy with a knife. The first time it happened was really scary, I fell down and couldn't move, but I managed to kick him in the groin and get away. After that it sort became routine (apparently it never occurred to me to call the police...or get a gun or something). I'd check outside to see if he was there, leave, he'd jump out of a bush (or whatever) and then I'd run screaming "help" in Japanese to the closest main road. Finally, one night he cornered me, and just as he was about to stab me I woke up. Screaming.

I must have never fully been awake, because next I remember driving my brother to Glen Burnie in Big Mama. This wouldn't be so unusual, if not for the fact that all the streets were tiny, back-woods Japanese roads and I drive a roided-out, American SUV. On the way back, I had to cross a long, sheet-metal bridge, barely wider than my truck with no guard-rail, over an infinitely deep quarry. It was the most nerve-shatteringly tense experience of my life and everyone on the other side was just watching me crawl over this huge, toothpick bridge, 100 ft in the air. Well, of course I blew it, Big Mama's right tires went over the lip, and as the undercarriage scraped across the bridge's, razor-edge, there was a moment where it almost seemed like we wouldn't fall. Wrong.

I fell back asleep soon after and found myself on the unfinished roof of a skyscraper taking pictures of some sun-drenched city. A beautiful girl appeared from behind a beam and started flirting with me, mainly talking about going to a club, to which I agreed enthusiastically. On the way down to the street the building slowly started changing, floor by floor, into a twisted, "Dark Crystal" like spire. As we were descending, we heard a noise and the girl became really scared. She said they were looking for me and that we had to get out before they found me. (Authors Note: Any time "they" is pronounced "they": YOU NEED TO RUN) We left the stairs and entered a random floor, which was a huge, labyrinthine living space for weird monkey-fish people. Long story short, turns out: they were the girls family. Turns out: they wanted to eat me.

I don't know what this all means, or even if its important; all I can say is I'm taking a break from Kirin products for a while...

An Open Letter To Japan.

2009-04-17T04:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Japan;

I've overlooked your seemingly incomprehensible lack of oatmeal, as well as your mandatory (though admirable) recycling matrix, but I absolutely can not accept the tiny, baby cups you call "drinking glasses". I NEED my 32 ounces.

Thank you;

Evan

Country filled with the most ADORABLE people ever!

2009-04-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today my class held a welcome party for all the American students! They made homemade Takoyaki and sushi. I even got to make some octopus balls myself! There was also plenty of Beer and Chips. Everyone was given cups with our names on them and little drawings with translations. I got a cat with the word Kawaii (Cute) written on it. Ariyana got Sailor Moon on hers. I was jealous but Babs was about to strangle her for it! After we filled up on Natto (fermented soy beans in a sticky goo) and Takoyaki we played some guessing games, all of which were aimed at the mortification and complete embarassment of the teachers.

When we left we saw that one of the clubs had gathered for it's weekly meeting. This club is fantastic! It was made up of more than 20 kids and they were rehearsing a well choreographed fight scene in homemade PowerRanger-esque costumes. They even had people on microphones doing the voice overs and sound effects! The best part was that one of the three main characters was a girl but was played by an androgynous Japanese boy. He was the obvious comedic element of the show, twirling around and curtseying, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was supposed to be funny. Then one of the villians pulled out an exagerated dildo sword from his groin and began to fight with it. That's when I realized that the gender/sexual confusion was all in fun...mostly.

Stay tuned for next week's episode:
"He said She said!"
or
"Don't Cross your Hashi!"

Some people just never grow up

2009-04-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

So today in class I decided it would be fun to look through some other students' sketchbooks as they looked through mine. I came upon a camo sketch book of a guy that I met earlier and began to thumb through the pages. The first few pages were mostly dinosaurs (ok... not too bad but must people get over that even before they hit puberty... this is a college art student we are talkin about, it's time to draw other stuff). And that's when I found it! The homemade porn began! several pages worth of female butts and busts then full vaginal penetration! The laughing has begun! Next page, horrible erection fish monster jumping out of the water. Now it's back to dinosaurs. The ending was nice though with some Dali-esque figures and landscapes but the whole freudian journey up until that point was uncomfortable and comical. Why he willingly showed this too me I no idea! That should have the words "PRIVATE" written all over it.

ps. random japanese boy (photo major) asked me to model for a photo session. Not being sure what the photo session entailed I told him I was late for class and ran away. Rule no. 67 for this trip: No nude modeling in Japan, atleast not until you see their work ha ha. but really... nahhh

I gave my heart to a Takoyaki guy

2009-04-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Today, while visiting Babs, I stopped to get some Takoyaki! (delicious fried cheeseballs filled with octopus and topped with terriyaki and mayo.) These delicious balls of fried happiness are only served at night at street venders by the cutest old people you'd ever meet. This is one such story.

The cute old man (or ojisan) selling that ran this particular takoyaki stand was completely bald and when he smiled ear to ear you could count all the teeth he was missing. Not only that, but his entire stand was littered with great japanese decorations. They ranged from kissing frogs, kato masks, even the pigly wiggly head on top of a half naked female body with big boobs. I asked for 10 takoyaki balls (a filling meal for only $3.00) and not only did i get my meal but he gave me one of his decorations! (a plush cat riding a koi fish on a key chain!) He must have seen me admiring his stand and decided to give me a gift! I have to return him the favor and give him one of my prints!
I LOVE THE JAPANESE!!!

Japanese Vodka Freezes When You Chill It...

2009-04-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

Today was MUCH better than yesterday. Period.

I'm in two, [actual] game-design classes, one taught by a teacher who worked at Bandai and Namco, and will hopefully learn Maya 8.5 by the end of the semester. Hopefully.

I also met a guy named Kentaro (and by "met" I, of course, mean: "was forced upon because he could understand me"). He's a Character Design/Render major and lived in the states for several years. He seems pretty cool, perhaps he can teach me how to survive this semester with my dignity... or show me where I can get my hair cut like this:

School

2009-04-14T17:01:00.001-07:00

Campus is huge. I mean HUGE!

Frist Day of Class!

2009-04-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

It was raining all day today but I did not let that get my spirits down! I had bought an umbrella yesterday at the 100yen store. There is so much you can at the 100 yen store here! It so much better then our mold 1$ stores at home. I did wear flats because they went with my outfit better which was probably not the best idea because they, along with my feet, were soaked by the end of the day. Jen said it rain all the time here. Which made me a little sad...but I will just appreciate the sunny days all the more.

We meet Hisano-san at his office and took us to Japanese Class. Everyone in there can speak and write except for us. Awesome.

Japanese class is alllll about some introductions! I had to introduce myself 3 times yesterday, its get less scary. Just stick with old faithful.

"Konichiwa"
"Watashiwa Barbara-desu"
"Hajimemashite."

Done. Smile, bow, sit down. That not the best way to do but gosh darn it they got it. The teacher did not know any English so we are gunna which sucks, but there are a ton of friendly faces that want to learn English and teach us Japanese to it should be okay. At one point in the class I moved next to Jennice who is was translating a little bit of what was going on to us in class. It was to sit in class not knowing what anyone is saying. You just have a dumb look on your face listening sooooo hard to catch anymore you might recognize. Class ended pretty fast because she wanted to change the lesson plan so we can be put in a separate group, sense we were significantly less knowlesgeable then the rest of the students (Except for Jenice, she is pretty amazing. We would probably die without her).

Next we went to register for classes, we were all in one room in the printmaking department with Hisano-san and Hara-san(Another female teacher who know English), and another teacher. We said general classes that we'd like to take. A lot of people were taking an animation class so I jumped on that bandwagon because I thought doing a little 2-D animation would be not complicated and I could work relatively independently. WRONG. The class was broken up into 3 different section and my section was like learning the production of animation. Sam was with me and we were both like "Out, get out now. We need to leave as soon as humanly possible." Because we were on computers, on a program in Japanese, we Japanese instructions on the board. We were like "uhhhhhh no." So we asked me be excused and got the hell out of there.

I went to see Hara-san, because I wanted to take a printmaking class maybe instead of that animation class. I didn't really understand her answer but what I do know is that I dont have to take that animation class again! lol

Vincent was with Hara-san working on the next printmaking project. She is super nice and she was helping me fine a curling iron, because I did not know were to look. She was super nice. I <3 her so much. Me and Vince also ran in to some Japanese grad students while in class. They know English pretty well!! We chatted with them for awhile. So cute and funny. Hara-san soon showed up and suggested we put together a make shift English/Japanese learning class for us, yay~! Also there is party for new students on Thursday and we are invited so double yay!

For dinner we eat at the BBQ place that is on our way from home. Is was delicious. I stuffed my face. It was so good. I had pork and beef. Joyce was getting unhappy with me because the pork gease was creating larges fires and I like my meat a little burnt and that apparently gives you cancer. I will not order pork again, lol. What did suck is that you had to order all the fixing seperately and that got kinda expensive. But it was fun! A good end to a somewhat rough day.

WELL... piss

2009-04-14T06:40:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... Today was extremely stressful and I'm not sure where to go from here...

Was it hubris on my part, to insert myself into a culture so grossly unprepared? I worked so hard and sacrificed SO much to be here and, though it seemed right in September, now, I'm not sure it was the best decision.

I hate to get all "livejournal," but seriously, its justified. What was I thinking? How am I supposed to get a decent educational experience out of this when I am incapable of having a rapport with my peers and teachers? I can sense their oozing, symbiotic frustration on this issue in class. Its not so fun.

SO, I really only have a two options: be the designated, class Gaijin, learn on my own, and force myself on the one English speaker in my class, OR take courses that are taught by English-speakers but will not benefit me at all in the long run. Glassblowing, anyone?

HOORAY! ...for sake.

Welcome to the first class I will ever FAIL!

2009-04-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

We had our first Japanese Language class today. Let me tell you about stress! The room was full of Asians (mostly Koreans) that already had a pretty good grip on the language, and then us. The teacher didn't speak a word of English and depended on miming to teach us the language. Excuse me, Uh can I please just get a grade for participating in this joke. Bring out the real teacher I'm ready to learn some Japanese! WRONG

Then to make things worse she demanded that we all stand up one at a time and say something about ourselves. I guessed it was our name and age but I couldn't distinguish any the names before mine because they were all Korean! Plus they said a few numbers that I recognized but not in any manner that made up a birthdate! Lord what am I doing? It comes around to me.
I stand up.
I can feel my stomach hit the floor and my lungs just floated to the ceiling.
My face is hot and red and the Japanese teacher is smiling with her hand outstreached to me like she is going to take my plate or something.
"O-o-Ohio Gozaimas erg um...." painfully long pause
"Konichi-.." (fuck no I alread y said hello... what the fuck is "my name is?!" I practiced it this morning)
"Ko-ko" (FUCK!)
(oh yeah!)
"wa-Watashi wa Vincent.... ug uerm." (take a bow doofus and sit down)
I bow and shrink into my chair feeling as if I just got off a rollercoaster with a cheeseburger in my stomach.

That was awful.
Go deal with the language barrier at the cafeteria for lunch
Next is printmaking class (oh lord what am I going to do?)
Surprise! Hara Sensei (Mrs. Hara) is fluent in english and the nicest woman I ever met. She is very excited to work with me and has agreed to teach all of us Conversational Japanese if we teach her students English! Wonderful! Plus her students actually talked to me. One of them even offered me a cookie. Such a good day!

My Room!

2009-04-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'VE MADE FRIENDS!!!!!!

2009-04-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

Kinda...Yesterday I was leaving my apartment and my next door neighbor was walking by and we chatted! She said hello in Japanese and then she started to chat with me and I told her my japanese was very bad and she started to speak english with me! I also told her I was a new student at OUA. She is very sweet her name is "Mi" or "My" I am not sure. She asked how old I was at one point and I was like 21, then I asked her how old she was and she said 20. Of course the frist thing I think of is that we can both drink in Japan! So I mime we can go out drinking together! yeah!! Haha, sorry america!! I am giving us a bad reoputation! I really want to introduce her to everyone and knock on her door but what would we do and were would we go!! How rude would I be to do that??? I dont know!!! but...

I WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS!

Haha, I also talked to another girl and have a decsent conversation in english. She was really pretty and she a Character Design major. I told her I was in Illustration major and that was kinda simular! I need to look that up in Japans because its probably isnt a word they would know. I was in the Nikon camera store at school (YEA at school ON campus) and looking for something to read my memory card so I can add pictures to my blog and she helped me. I was like pointing on this memory card reader in the store and asking "doko?" and pointed around the story and she was like "What...?" OH THANK GOD! She knows a little English so then I explained to her I needed a card reader and she talked to the ppl working there and then found me the cheaper one. SWEET!! Mission Accompliced. I forget her name but if I see her again I am going to give her one of my cards and ask to be friends haha.

We also met up with Hisano yesterday and at one point we were waiting on him for something and the whole gang was just standing around in the hall and a couple of students walked up to us and said hello!! Which was amazing!!! Because most people just stare and keep a 20 ft distance from us as all times haha. One was a photo major and the other was CG! We were going around telling him our majors and Vincent said he was a "hana" major and the guys were like "Your a flower major..." and then Vincent corrected himself and said "hangu" which meant printmaking. Oh man that was really funny. Then the coversation kind of died because they did not know much english and we did not know much Japanese and akwards goodbyes were said. I was noticed (with my 3 conversations i had yesterday with those Japanese students) that maybe I should get used to those. The normal flow of a conversation is not there its a lot of stumbling and guessing and hoping they know what the f*** I just said, haha.

That is all for now
Please enjoy these funny pictures:

Evan likes what he sees.....

Boobies
What nightmares are made of, selling us soft coffee drinks.
Yea!
Uhh.......
MLAH!

Vending Machines

2009-04-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

Vending machines are everywhere here. You can't walk two blocks without finding one. Sam said that there is a vending machine for every 23 people in this city or something crazy like that. Not only that but the items in them are not the usual...

Some of the things we've seen:
~Soda
~Juice
~Tea
~Energy Drinks
~Coffee (both hot and cold)
~Protein Water
~Sports Drinks
~Cigarettes
~Beer
~Sake
~Cameras
~Porn Magazines
~Porn DVD's
~Cucumbers... yeah Cucumbers

Somethings we've heard about:
~Fake Boob Toys
~Cars
~Electronics
~Used Lady's Underwear

Everything Pancake

2009-04-13T04:51:00.000-07:00

Picture, if you will, a pancake, but no ordinary pancake. This batter of this pancake is mostly made of egg. So really picture a starchy omelette, and on that omelette put sliced green onion and ginger. Now add some spicy cabbage. Then on top of that put teriyaki sauce and mayonaise. Then two slices of bacon. Sometimes seafood, sometimes noodles, sometimes a fried egg on top. That is Okonomiyaki (litterally translated, "everything grilled"). That is what I just had for dinner, and it was awesome!

other concerns about eating:

Today I ate lunch at the cafeteria. The way the cafeteria works is that you buy a ticket describing what yuo want and then walk to the appropriate counter for the lunch ladies to make it for you. this is a great system and is very efficient... if you know japanese. I, on the other hand. have to push a random button on a machine covered in Japanese Kanji that I can't read. To get a ticket, that is also covered exclusively with Kanji, that tells me where to go in the cafeteria to get my meal. Somehow get the ticket to the right counter to tell the ladies whether I want it Hot or Cold. Wait for them to make it for me, and listen for my order (which I don't know to begin with because I can't read any of this.) Pick up the right meal without accidentally skipping line and then sit down to eat.

I might be losing weight on this trip after all....

Godzilla

2009-04-13T02:12:00.000-07:00

So every once in a while there is an emergency siren that sounds across the city. You know, like the one in the movies right before a huge title wave or fleet of U.F.O's are about to take out the city. I'm not sure what it's for but the two options that I've narrowed down to after some pretty extensive research and debate that I've decided are most likely and feasable are:

1: "Osaka" is really japanese for "Silent Hill"
~or~
2: Godzilla

When I find out which it is, I will let you know.

Aliens!

2009-04-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that we signed up for our Alien Registration Cards. Now the Japanese government knows practically everything about us, address, phone numbers, even finger prints! I expected it to take all day for 6 kids to get registered with the government but it went suprisingly smoothly. The Japanese have really got a handle on this tedious paperwork business.

In any case the best part was that we got to use this photobooth to take more passport photos. They have required a lot of photos of us. So far I've had my photo taken 3 times and I've given 5 copies to the government. But that is beside the point. The point of this story is that we used this miraculous photo booth that was somehow engineered to perfectly light everyone's face that sat down in it. Evan wanted to use his for his facebook picture it was so well lit. The pictures that I got taken of me in the U.S., by human beings, pale in comparison to the ones by this Japanese Automaton.

Tomorrow is our Japanese class! can't wait

Also on the subject of Aliens/Angels I have become completely addicted to Neon Genesis Evangelion... I'm not a dork it is important to my philosophy... I'm a dork. Whatever! ROBOTS!

Kanan-cho

2009-04-12T05:04:00.000-07:00

So we FINALLY made it to the grocery store today and I now have food that is semi-close to my typical diet. Sans the oatmeal. Sans the k-cheese. Sans the supps... BUT, I mean, sake is ¥200 and I discovered a wonderful product through Sam called Strong Seven. I'm not big on biru, but damn, I may have a new friend...

Ugh. I need classes to start ASAP, and to get to the gym...
Speaking of new friends, the night cashier at the conbini around the corner from me is BEAUTIFUL. She is THE most adorable, and only, Lolita I've seen in Osaka (personally I think she's inbetween ganguro and lolita, BUT I've been assured she's actually Gothic Lolita... honestly though, whatever). What makes her unique are her baby pink, 2 inch, diamond-encrusted acrylic nails. She kind of looks like this, but in a work uniform:

Its weird, I think I have a pseudo-crush on her. When I bought my Strong Seven tonight I told her that her nails were cute (i.e. pointed to my hand and said "kawaii") and she giggled in the most adorable/"wow you're a creepy foreigner" way. It was insanely darling.

Earlier, Babs, Vince and I walked about 4 miles around Kanan-cho. We found a ton of awesome places, including a sweet shop, book store, okonomiyaki joint, porn vending machines, two fast food restaurants (not counting a McDonalds), and a GIANT Pachinko emporium. I bought Bryon a present, what could it be...?

Plus, we had dinner at a traditonal, family-run sushi restaurant. There was no English at all. It was awkward. But the chef and waitress were very patient and polite and altered the (Kanji) menu to appease us. There were an innumerable amount of "thank yous" and "I'm sorrys" said by the end of the meal...

All and all, it was a great day. Tomorrow: Alien Registration. Horray!

Kyoto Day Trip

2009-04-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

My first whole day in Osaka! What should I do? Leave Osaka and go on a day trip with everyone to Kyoto! Why not?!

Kyoto trip was really fun! I used the subway and the bus system for the first time while here. Mama Joyce guided us the whole way there, she was awesome.

Practically all the Japanese girls are petite little fashionista. I am going to have to step up my game. A majority of them in 2-3 in heals which blew my mind because living here you have to do so much walking.

The castle we visited was beautiful. Saw a cute couple in their yakatas. They blended in so well with the traditional surroundings.

Bought a fashion magizine. Ate soba noodles. Ordering food is so stressful went you cant read the menu, lucky Kyoto is tourist-y, so a lot of places had an english version of their menu.

Its my 2nd whole day now and I am having trouble not falling asleep before 9:00pm and sleeping past 5:00am. I still haven't really explored my neighborhood or the school. Going grocery shopping today with Vincent and Evan if they ever make it to my house.

First Day!

2009-04-11T04:23:00.000-07:00

WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!?! I can read or speak anything...! Why did this not compute earlier?? Haha

TOO LATE NOW!

Everyone was telling me that I was going to wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning and that I wont be able to sleep through the night. I was so tried by like 8:oopm that I couldnt imagine not being able to sleep through the night easily. Well, its 1:12am in the morning here, I am wide awake writing this and watching tv right now. SkyKids 2 is on TV, and its dub'd over. Earlier the was a show on with 3 young ppl, a cute guy, a cute girl, and a really fat loud dude. They joke, they laugh, all of a sudden the fat guy is getting scrubbed pretty agressively with a pet egg (look it up ppl) removing all his hair from his ankles to his ass. He was screaming the whole time and I laughed really hard. This is when I reliezed some things just transent language ppl.

I arrive today around 4, Hisano and I left the airport to meet everyone else at school. Lady Gaga was on the radio amongst other japanese songs, which made me smile. Hisano and I dropped up my things at my apartment(which is 5 min walk from school, 3 min walk from Arianna's and Joyce's yaay. Unfourtunely, Evan and Vincent or over a brigde in the opposite direction and Sam is the farest away.)
At school was so sugoi! (that means cool ppl) all the kids have cool hair, hahaha. No hipster japanese, not yet at least. Everyone was kind of familar with it already, but I have to still explore later. There are 6 of us from MICA here, and all of us walking around campus together was quite a spectical. As far as I know I am the only blonde in town. I felt like were a gang or something. We need to all by matching leather Jackets and wear then around campus with our hair slicked back, HAHAHA. I was waving to the people staring, but Evan then told me that doing that is inappropriate and freaks them out so I stopped (mostly, haha). At school Hisano gave us two big boxes of hand me-down cleaning products, cooking utesils and hangers. Which we all rummaged through to get the good stuff. I grabbed the hangers first natural, because honestly...cooking and cleaning...? No thanks! 10 seconds later and I grabbed other things, haha.

Afterward we all went to the Family Mart down the street. I went to try to find my apartment by myself. No luck. Went back to Family Mart. The boys(Vincent and Evan) helped me find my place and then we all got back together to eat otopus balls. We found them at a street corner. An really nice oba-sama(grandma, haha) was cooking them in a little shack with assorted furniture for us to sit on. My first meal from a street vender!! So EXCITING! We all got orders of 10 for 220 yen. The are saggly and scolding hot in the middle no matter how long you wait to eat them, haha. We all parted after that.
I went back to my place and tried to log on to the internet to let my parents know I am still alive. No wireless internet and I have no ethercord...awesome. I went over to Joyce's to ask her for help. Her friend Jen(another american student here) was there as well. They were planning our day trip to Kyoto tomorrow, yay! Anyways Jen has been here a long time and purchased wireless router which she was kind enough to let me use. Joyces also showed me that we all have ethernet cord already in our rooms but they are like 2 ft long. So I am going to have to buy an female to female extension ethernet cord. Went back to myplace, half assed put my bed together and fell asleep at like 9:30pm. So that was my first day and now I am sleepy again, so goodnight!

Naked Chicks

2009-04-11T04:18:00.000-07:00

BTWs. I woke up this morning to find a flier infront of my door with a picture of a Japanese young lady in only her underwear. On the front of the flier she was gazing into the camera as she slid her panties off her hips. On the back was simply a picture of her bent over leaving very little to the imagination. The background and the writing was completely pink. I think it was left over from the guy in the apartment next to me. I think he is in a band because he has a band poster taped to the outside of his door as well as a collection of other fliers. He uses black & white checkerboard tape.

It was a good morning.

Kyoto-chan!

2009-04-11T04:13:00.000-07:00

I'm too tired to type. We visited the Nijo Castle and central Kyoto. Here are some pictures...

Get out your Compass and your Star Maps it's time to go to KYOTO

2009-04-11T03:40:00.000-07:00

The whole gang today decided to go to just pop on by to Kyoto for a day trip. So we all got up early (which didn't matter because our being jet lagged has made sleeping-in not an option) and got on a train out of town. I knew the trip wasn't going to go smoothly when we hadn't even left Osaka and Evan didn't have enough money to get off the bus and we almost left him there on the bus rifling through change. However, undeterred by Evan's misfortune we pressed on toward Kyoto. This was a task that required us to ask about a million people for directions (which ironically is also the same amount of Yen that we spent getting to Kyoto.) We 2 buses and maybe 3 trains both ways but it was very much worth it. We went to the Tokugawa Shoganate Palace in Kyoto where we saw some of the most beautiful Japanese architecture and landscaping I've ever witnessed. On top of that every inch of wallspace was completely covered with Kono school Japanese paintings of tigers, forests, cranes, and waves(gold leaf being the primary pigment in all of them.) Another thing interesting about the palace was that the hallway floorboards were built to creek so that it was harder for any assassins to sneak around the palace.

In the city itself there were plenty of kimono, even outside of the geisha districts. I will be back, there are plenty of temples (such as the golden temple, completely covered in gold leaf) that need to be explored.

special thanks for making this day trip possible:
the millions of people that we asked for directions
~Aryana and Joyce for asking for directions
~The merchant lady that showed us to the sushi restraunt that was closed
~The chef of the other sushi restraunt that was closed but didn't freak out when we walked in and told us about the Noodle shop
~The cute old ladies that ran the Noodle shop
~Sam for being really tall and easily spot in a crowd
~The Japanese business men that showed us home
~and last but not least, Janice for writing the most detailed and useful directions of how to get to Kyoto despite not being really tired and not able to go.

thank you

So Polite

2009-04-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

I dropped my change today at Sukiya (a Japanese fast food place) today while paying for my meal and the cashier came out from behind the counter and picked up the 1 yen coin that I had dropped. Listen up kids 1 yen is about the equivalent of 1 penny, and equally useless, so you can understand why I was all too ready to let it slide. However, because Japan doesn't tip, have homeless people that can be found, or have anything remotely related to a "Leave-a-yen-Take-a-Yen" cup it seems that I won't be able to get rid of these tiny tin coins that feel and look like Miniature Golf Tokens. That being beside the point, I was shocked that this society has nurtured manners to the point that a grown woman, with a salary would stoop to pick up 1 yen and then not even keep it.

What drugs are in the tap water and why can't we get them in America?!

I go to school at the Wicked Witch of the West's Castle

2009-04-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

Osaka University of the Arts (OUA) is situated on top of a hill that overlooks this area of the city, making it prominant on the horizon and rather ominous. It is also constructed almost completely out of slabs of concrete, giving it the feel of a futuristic citadel or the Hoover Damn. If you remember the Wizard of Oz at all you might remember that the Wicked Witch's castle also looked like solid stone/concrete and it is for these reasons that everytime I look at the school I half expect someone to fly out of it on a broomstick.

After working up enough courage I decided to go explore the campus at about lunch time. It is HUGE. It is practically crawling with students. Plus, because it was lunch, all of them were outside looking at me. There aren't many 6'2" kids on campus. I am so excited for the first day, even though I've been making a fool out of myself everytime I try to speak the least bit of Japanese.

The campus is gorgeous, littered with gardens, fountains, and cherry trees, and goes on for what seems to me like several football feilds. Speaking of which, there is an American Football Club here and that could only be hilarious.

Fuck My Diet.

2009-04-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations does Osaka:

We're coming back SO fat... I don't even know if there's a choice involved...

...

2009-04-09T16:37:00.001-07:00

I'm watching a soap opera about women in Colonial England. They are all Japanese. This makes me so happy...

I walked about 9 or 10 km around Kanan-cho today and stumbled across where Aryiana and Joyce live (which is MUCH closer to OUA than I do). I'm going to have to get a bike. The area is SO beautiful, I can't get over it. I has everything a city could offer, meshed seamlessly among farmland and residential communities. If you have Google Earth, check the area out here:

469 Higashiyama, Kanan-cho, Minamikawachi-gun, Osaka 585-8555 Japan

I also investigated the OUA campus alone for the first time. It was an intimidating experience; ninth grade all over again. It was sort of the first time I think I REALLY understood that I'm going to have to interact with peers, that I can't understand, in an academic setting. I mean, I'm residing in a nation where I am illiterate and can't speak the language... I felt pretty much like Helen Keller. FML. At least I'm an equivocal height, people stop in their tracks when they see Sam.

I must say though, that ANY trouble I will encounter can, and will, be resolved by a vending machine. Honestly, if I did speak Japanese, I probably wouldn't leave...

First Day

2009-04-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Vince and I made it. The trip from Baltimore to Osaka (via San Francisco) took about 20+ hours, and I have never felt like a bigger grime-ball in my entire life when I stepped off that plane. Hisano-san met us at the terminal and told us that Sam, Ariyana, and Joyce had arrived the day before, and were at that point exploring Kanan-cho.

Its kind of surreal here, and I mean that in the most respectful way. My apartment, in which I am typing this post, is sandwiched between several industrial metal shops in a back alley, but a block away is a huge community farm and baseball diamond. Vending machines are EVERYWHERE and the streets are cleaner than my kitchen in Maryland (Also, no one locks up their bike. No one. That weirds me out.) I've been here six hours and I already know I'm as FAR away from Baltimore as I can possibly get, in many different respects. This utter, and pervasive unfamiliarity is making me a little nervous to start school; we register on Tuesday...

On a lighter note, everyone I've encountered has been exceedingly polite. When we stopped at a ¥100 sushi joint, the staff was VERY patient as we tried to pay the bill. Later, after I returned to my apartment, I realized my toothpaste had been confiscated (and that I had nothing to eat/no coffee for tomorrow) so I walked in the pitch dark, down several back alleys to the conbini around the corner. I grabbed what I thought looked edible/usable and went to pay. Unfortunately, I don't know how to say "Good Night," so I just smiled, paid, said my "thank yous" in Japanese, and left; only to be chased out of the store by the cashier with the rest of my change. The best part is that she would not stop apologizing, and for some reason I found that very reassuring.

It feels safe here... I'm NOT used to that...

Im an IDIOT!

2009-04-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

booked the wrong flight. had a mini panic attack. have to spend the night in san fran. -____- will be in Osaka tomorrow. WOOHOO, great start!! this is going to be a interesting semester....

Osaka Foreword

2009-04-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

OH YEAH!! Its 1 am right now and I cant sleep. We are leaving tomorrow. It will take me almost 16hr to get to Osaka...but I have no doubts that it will all be worth it. I get on my first flight at 2:30pm and around 9:00pm, but our flight wont leave till 11:30pm and we will get to Osaka at 3:20pm buuut our actual flight 11hrs long soooo...basically we will be traveling into the future. Thats right. The FUTURE people! Haha, alright well I should be trying to get some sleep. If anyone wants to skype me while I am in Japan, my screen name is "babs.tarr"

Lift Off...

2009-04-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

I. Am. Off.

Goodbye Bmore. Hello Japan.