Yasukuni War Shrine

For my 300-level history course, the teacher requires that we all visit Yasukuni War Shrine and write about our experiences. Last night I spent about 5 hours walking around the shrine. Well, not the shrine itself, but the museum attached to it. I was going to skip the museum all together because it seemed like the exhibit was going to be small, but my traveling-buddy wanted to go in and it was only 500 yen, so why not, right? Wrong. Actually, right, but maybe I should have seen the floor map before going in. Then I would have realized what I was getting myself into!

Most of the Shrine was pretty basic (purification center, hondai, and torii gate), but there were other odd things at the shrine; a theater stage, white doves, and flower competitions.

Rather than explain, let's take a look: at BIRDS!

After practicing taiko that morning, walking to and around the shrine, then going through the museum-that-never-ends, I went back to my city and decided to drop by a local shop for some dinner. My sushi place was packed (and, I mean, I say it is "mine" but I've only ever been there once), so I went to another place and was seated pretty much IN the kitchen. There is no such thing as personal space here, but Japan is small, and I'm getting used to it. As I try to sit down, squeezing through an impossibly narrow separation in the chairs, I turn the wrong way and twist my knee!! Oh no! I'm sitting there, get the knee back in place, and am about to start sobbing into my napkin, when I look to my left: there, sitting hunched over what I am sure to be his weekly bowl of soup and gyoza, is a classic, little Japanese grandfather type who has decided to start talking to me. I responded at first, but then I noticed that "we" weren't having a conversation, "he" was having our conversation in his head, but just saying it all out loud. I couldn't smile big enough, he was just sooooo cute! He was just so fun to listen to because not only would he talk about me like I was his niece or something ("Oh good she knows how to use chopsticks, but a bit messy with the soup, huh? Hehe, she'll learn. Ah, got some gyoza too? Good choice, good choice.") but he also read the menu about 5 times and commented one the prices ("500 yen! What a deal! But 450 just for rice? What are they thinking? It isn't even good rice"). And the waitress acted like she saw him come in all the time. I didn't even care that my knee hurt and that I still had to bike home. That little man made my night!

And the soup was good, too.

Let's Meet Ana

I meet Ana through Wadaiko and Yearbook club. She's a spunky, but small (very small) student here at ICU, and when my roommate Miki first spoke about her, I thought she meant my little sister. It took us a while to distinguish between the ICU Ana and my Anna. Since they share the same name, I asked Ana 「妹のために、自己紹介のビデオを取ってもいい？」or "For my little sister, can I take a self-introduction video of you?" She agreed right away, but was still really nervous about the video and didn't know what to say. Before we filmed I gave her a bunch of ideas, but she still froze up a bit. Not much Japanese used, but I'll translate the little bit below:

Ana: Ready!

Me: If you please.

Ana: Okay?

Me: Let's do it.

Ana: Hi~ I'm Ana~

Me: How cute!

Ana: This is a message for Ziton's little sister. Um, right now, um, I'm a college sophomore with a business major. I play taiko with Ziton in the Taiko club.

Me: Haha, you don't have to use "masu." (ie. you don't have to use polite speech) It's my little sister.

Ana: What? It's bad? "Masu" is bad?

Me: No, short form (informal speech) is fine.

Onishi: In English, in English!

Ana: In English? Is that okay? (she tries in English)

Everyone laughs

Onishi: Haha, finished!

Arabian Nights!!

Besides finding the random poster for the Middle Eastern Culture Center (which is supposedly really close), I just found out the the theme for another dorm's ball is "Arabian Nights"! They have made really cool looking hoodies, posters, and flyers for the ball. After yesterday's Japanese test, I even found a bunch of these table decorations. They are so cute, right? I feel that they were made in part by girls, because of the handwriting. Why would that be a little strange? Because the dorm hosting the party is an all-men's dorm. So, maybe they got their girlfriends to help out?

When I first heard that each and every dorm held a yearly "ball," I was really shocked! How could they afford that? Aren't so many balls in one year a bit much? But when they say "ball" what they really mean is "formal," and since every dorm here is the equivalent to our frat/sorority, it really isn't that shocking. Except for, everyone is invited to every ball. Drinks are served (for a price), and you go wearing whatever you wore to school that day, so it is pretty relaxed. As for a performance? I don't know what they are doing, but I'll find out!

Still, this weekend is going to be really busy: taiko practice for about 9 hours, visiting Yasukuni War Shrine, writing another Sociology and Culture essay, and starting my 15-minute-16th-century-Japanese-court-fashion-history presentation. We're in the homestretch for the ICU Festival, and everything for classes is due this week! Who thought this was a good idea?! I guess I deserve it though; a little extra work never hurt.

Later that night, Alexandra went to the Canada House ball after studying on smart.fm for about an hour. The boys had gone all out in decorating (street lined with candles, Arabian designs on the walls, sheets and cloth draped everywhere, and the entire thing done in black light and glow-paint; STUNNING!) and all the hosts were dressed as, well, hosts. There was a band formed specifically to perform at the the ball and their opening song was "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5. A boy from the Yearbook club was their main singer! At this point she was called away by some friends and returned with them to the party a few hours later. Good times, but few people were really dancing, so she came back to Zelkova and spent the rest of the night chatting with the dorm kids and eating Makku (McDonald's).

I'm Not Too Proud of This One, But....

....I've been making you all wait for a new post for far, too long. I took this a while back and didn't like it, but maybe I'll make better ones once I have a free moment again. Honestly, I don't know how people live in a trimester system!! Courses go by far too fast!

From America With Love

I got presents!! My daddy sent me a 20 lb box filled with protein (Slim Jims, beef jerky, tuna fish, ham-in-a-can, and beef stew), chocolate (M&Ms and Snickers), and Arab-ness (bulgur wheat and bullion cubes)! There was even a note addressed to Miki to thank her for being so kind to me. When she had gotten a care package from her mother a few weeks ago, I received a personalize note, some towels, and hot chocolate mix. I found out later that Miki had told her mother, "Zaiton has very few things here. It must be very difficult for her." So, taking pity on the poor foreign girl, Miki's mother sent me some items to make my life easier.

I was so happy when it came. I had been checking my mailbox everyday, and the gate keeper would laugh at me when I came back saddened and empty-handed. But one day, I saw a big, red magnet on the outside of my box, which meant that a package had come! I rushed in and gave the magnet to Kagi-san (the gate watcher) and he gave me a very omoi (heavy) box. Apparently, at the post office, my dad had been adding and removing items to get the weight to 20 lbs perfectly. Later, I gave Kagi-san and his wife some Slim Jims, for which Mrs. Kagi was very grateful. In Japanese she told me thank you, and that she hadn't eaten jerky like that in a long time (I suspect since she was last in America).

What else came from America? A festive Halloween lantern, coloring book, and crayons from Grandpa Tom and Grandma Alice!! A week ago, I was in a bit of a panic about my crayon supply, but I think that I'm set for a while, now.

Besides these gifts, my Uncle Paul sent me a housewarming card when I first arrived, so I should probably start sending presents back home to balance out the karma, right?

"It's settai, everybody!!" The Basics

Glancing at my photo albums, you'll notice that there is a lot of food. Why is that? I love food, that's why! I use food when I'm celebrating, when I'm bored, when I'm sad, when I want to do something nice for a friend, as a conversation starter, and as a treat (something to reward myself after a long night of studying or a big project). Food is just good all around, and more food is better than less food, so let them eat cake!

Where was I? Right, sorry.

Anyway, most of the time, I eat by myself, but there are a few pictures already of me eating with a group of people. The people are probably the Wadaiko club, the Yearbook club, Keyaki/Zelkova Dorm, or the Soul Run group for settai. Let me explain: if there are three prominent Japanese values, they would be seniority, collectivism, and group harmony (WA!). Still explaining: when you join a group (be it business, club, neighborhood committee, whatever), you place yourself within the context of that group (age, time active, and rank). That is the seniority part of it. Now, of course you want the group to be the best it can be, so you and the other members work together to for the sake of the whole. Collectivism, deshou? Well, the fun doesn't stop when you clock out. Oh, no. If the older, high ranking members deem the stars to be in position, they might suggest a night out for the group. You're not to going to say no to the boss/president/club leader, right? OF COURSE NOT! Besides, in spending this extra time together, you'll become closer with the other members, increasing your group harmony, making you work better together, making the company better, etc. Phew! You get the idea.

This "extra group bonding time" is called settai, and people have some mixed feelings about it. Businessmen from American companies hardly like the idea at all: work is done, who wants to go have a drink with the boss? That could take hours, be expensive, and after a day of work, you're tired! Americans would rather go home and spend time with their families. Club members usually don't have a problem with it because they are all friends and looking for a fun time! But there is not nearly as much pressure to say "yes" to go to every club settai as there is for one at the office. And I'm fine with them (for the most part), if I know that they are happening. Like I said, they can be decided upon at the drop of a hat, so you sort of dawdle around after a club activity, feel the air, and see if tonight is going to be a settai night or not.

So far, I've been on about 6 settai, and I've had a blast! They are great opportunities for me to practice Japanese, and since we are all out, we don't have to talk about the club activities or school. The Japanese students know all sorts of cheap, fun places to go, too, so I find a lot of good restaurants that I'm sure I'll go to again later on this year. We've been to parks, different cities, around the college, the train station, and Mitaka, so I'm learning more about the area each time.

When's the next big settai? Within the next two weeks, I couldn't say, but there is going to be a big blowout at the ICU festival!! Then, I'll have my pick of settai, nomi/tabehoudais, and parties. Haha, we'll see what happens. Curfew is 11:30 at the dorm, so I need to be careful in whatever I do. :) Be on the lookout for more food photos, though! I'll be sure to let you know if they are settai or not.

Till then, cheers!

Where Did That Come From?!

While walking to the Japanese-version of Marc's, I decided to go on the opposite side of the street, just for kicks. It is just the other side of the street right? WRONG!! Hiding on that side were 3 totally new places!

1. A grapevine field; I wasn't sure if I was seeing properly at first or not. I just got done telling a friend of mine yesterday that they don't have grapevines here, and I had stopped looking for them, actually. As I was going along, There was a wall of ginko trees forming a barrier to a small farm and I thought, "That's strange... I wonder what's behind the trees. (looks inside) Those seem like ivy. (stares for a while) Really familiar ivy. GRAPES!!" Sadly, these grapevines are made for making grapes, so the leaves were (you know, besides inedible) smaller than I was used to. But, lo and behold, the sign says they are grapevines. I wonder if they are going to have a wine making event or grape-squashing day...I wanna go if they do!!

2. Greeks; this was actually on my way back. I was walking underneath the pedestrian bridge, and glanced up at a sign. It was in Japanese, sure, but it was in katakana, which meant that it was for a foreign word. The foreign word was right underneath the Japanese. I wasn't going to bother reading it, but one of the letters didn't look right to me. Because it was Greek!! I found a Greek company here! I don't know what they do or who they are, but they're Greek by gum! This calls for some investigation at a later date.

3. A Shrine; I was told that shrines and temples were everywhere in Japan, so I was very disappointed in the lack of both in my town. I wasn't expecting anything large, just a little shrine to Amaterasu, that's all. Well, going along the sidewalk, I had to pause and let a swarm of little, old, Japanese women come past me. "Where are they all coming from?" I wondered. So, curious as I am, I went down the side street they had just come from and found a stone torii gate! The entrance to a Shinto shrine!! It was soooo cute and little with it's little summoning bell and stone inscriptions, but I didn't want to take a picture of it, seeing as the women were still kind of right there. But now I know where it is and I can go back and get a few pictures (any more than a few and I'd be getting duplicate images - that is how small this shrine is).

I also want to get photos of my Fruit-Stand Grandma, or at least her garden and flags so that you can see what it all looks like. I swear, she's there in her little nook everyday, so hopefully she gets more customers than just me.

Also, I update various photo albums, so even if you think that you've seen one, check the last few photos in the album to see if I have added to them or not. And I moved Campus & Heya 2 up to the top for my little sister to see better. This is all mostly for you, Phia.

An Adventure! Well, to me it was, anyway.

Picture it in your mind's eye: feeling crushed and defeated, hungry and economically bound, our young heroine sets her resolve on a last-chance-go-for-broke-over-exaggerated-but-I'm-glad-if-your-still-reading-this-blog dash to the nearest major city for some relief. Even as she prepares for the journey, the world still fights against her; rain, wind, and narrow passages are all that await between our adventurer and her destination. But mounted accompanied by her faithful traveling companion, even these forces of nature seem mere distractions!

Haha, I shouldn't write fan-fiction.

The real story: I was feeling a little blue the other day, so I thought, "Hey, why not go to Kichijoji to get cheered up and do some shopping?" But when I was leaving the dorm, the rain from that morning still hadn't let up, but I still decided to save myself the $4 of bus fair and go to the train station for the first time by myself. In the rain. On my bike. With CJ in the front basket. But still alone. Without a map. In Japan. With no umbrella. "A lone, lonely, loner" (copyright of Ice Age 3). I was soaked by the time I got to the train station, cold by the time I got to Kichijoji, disappointed in the kaitenzushi place there (the best one near me is in Musashi-sakai, I think), and not feeling any less blue when I arrived back at my train station.

But it ALL turned up after I went grocery shopping and then bought a calling card (so I can use my phone officially!). When I got back to the dorm, I cooked myself up a little something, chatted with the girls, chatted more with the kids downstairs, finished my homework, studied for a bit, and was feeling as right as rain (ba-dum-da!).

So our heroine learned an important lesson that day: the greatest joys are not in overcoming grand obstacles (alone, on one's bike, in the rain, in Japan), but in simple pleasures of good food and the company of friends.

The End