Bonsai Tree

Since fall term, Mrs. Kaji and I have been meeting for weekly English-Japanese language exchanges, having tea and cookies, and reading books together. She knows that I like traditional culture, so she always gives presents and treats. But this week (starting from St. Valentine’s Day, actually), she and Mr. Kaji had to leave on family business, so I am taking care of….ready for this?....their bonsai plant. That’s right, the tree, I, and Miki are all living together in for this week. I introduced the tree to Miki and everything the first night I got it. Before she left, Mrs. Kaji gave me instructions on how to water it with this little spritz bottle once a day, but I think my room is too dry for the plant. After the first day, I told Miki,*この盆栽は私のこのがあまり好きじゃないと思うよ。もう四枚の葉が落ちたし、かじさんもいないから、盆栽は死にたいそうなぁ。(See, Anna? I use Japanese in daily life – might not be correct, but I use it). All I have to do is make sure this little tree lives until Mrs. Kaji gets back from her trip. She would be so disappointed if it died while she was gone! **今からもよろしくね、盆栽ちゃん。


*"I don't think this bonsai likes me very much. Because 4 leaves have already fallen and Mrs. Kaji isn't here, it seems like it wants to die."
**From now on, be good to me, little bonsai.

Robot Tour!!!

Having only two weeks off for Christmas vacation isn't quite what I'm used to, but I made sure to make that time count this year! With the help of one of my best friends, Gina (we would have brought you with us if we could have, Anna Sophia), I got to backpack across Japan in the "Long-awaited, Cross-country, Pan-Japan, Caffeine-infused, Giant Robot Tour of 冬休み2010". Special featured performances by random bus friends, McDonald's lady, Miki's family, helpful direction givers, Nagoya Hoststay family, and the Japanese train system.

"Was it epic?" you may ponder. "What about Giant Robots is ever un-epic?" I would respond.

The exciting saga is airing on my blog as of March! Stay tuned for more!

Goofy Sailors: Jorren

Have you ever heard news that you thought was so amazing, so fun, and so astounding that you became more excited than the person who told you/it happened to?Haha, well, guess who is feeling that way now!?

My friend Jorren (aka the Pink OYRanger) is a very kind boy from the Netherlands whom I met through Wadaiko Club. He's blonde-haired, blue-eyed, silly, strong, and 6 foot something, which means that the Japanese absolutely LOVE him! I can't get over this kid's accent because it is so soft, but definitely there, and I'm so used to him speaking English, that whenever he speaks in Dutch, it totally knocks me for a loop. I want to keep this kid in my pocket always! He says things like, "I'm sorry: I'm not a native speaker" when he bumps into you accidentally and is always playfully taunting the French girl in our club. Seriously, he is one of the best people on the planet!

Did I mention that this guy has height? And is really cute? So, small wonder why we've been asking him all year to model in Japanese magazines, right? Do you see where this is going? *If not, just check the pictures on either side of this post - it will come to you* .

..........He finally did a modeling shoot! Haha! He had a day free and did a one-time modeling gig for POPEYE the Japanese men's magazine. Jorren, I'm so proud of you!! The topic was called "Goofy Sailors" which fit his personality perfectly. Of course, I bought the magazine (only because he is in it) and I've been showing it off to as many people as I can find! Miki has even agreed that we need to email these photos out to everyone in the club. But I ran out of people here, so I'm showing you all through the power of the Great Internet.

Anyway, I'm just procrastinating a little but, but I do have a slew of stories for you all; I'll post them (or, rather, write them) just as soon as finals are over. Happy St. Valentine's Day, by the way!

The Yakiniku Ojiisan

The other night, I was wondering the neighborhood in search for ice cream and vegetables, when I stumbled upon the mysterious, late night, yakiniku stand! I've seen this stand before, but I was always headed somewhere else or didn't have money at the time. That night, I decided to make a friend.

Allow me to introduce you to my Nashi Obaasan replacement: Yakiniku Ojiisan (Barbecue-Meat Grandpa)! While I was waiting for the chicken to cook, I spoke to my new Ojiisan and found out his life story. He is now retired, but in his younger years he was a chef at various international resorts and hotels. He lived in a variety of places, but one of them was Shizuoka, one of the locations that Gina and I visited in the winter. We were able to chat about that for a bit (fun fact: Shizuoka is famous for tea and quiet, lovely fields, by the way). While his family has always had this house (seen in the back ground) he would stay in apartments and the hotels when he lived in other cities. Even now that he's retired, he loves cooking for other people and he sets up this stand outside his house every night to serve the after work crowds. The menu is pretty cheap for chicken, beef, or vegetables with salt or special sauce.

He was very nice and even posed so I could take this picture. The food was great, and I'll probably go back for another late night snack. No more pears, but I at least can get tasty chicken. :)

A Rumbling

Saturday February 5th, 2010, 10:56 am - ICU campus in Mitaka, Japan

So, there I was, watching a Super Junior music video, doing my Japanese homework, and eating a Snickers my dad sent me, when I started to feel like someone was shacking the couch! Who would be so rude? My friends have all left the dorm for the day, the cleaning ladies don't come near me, and I hadn't seen anyone come into the lobby, so who was shacking the couch?!

Answer: No one.

At first I thought that I was imagining it all: I was dehydrated, tired, something. But then I noticed that the boy in the other room was looking around a little, too. And the lamp was rocking back and forth, too. Why is everything moving around?!

Answer: An earthquake.

I sat and waited through the rest of the tremor, deciding that it was too quiet and calm of a shake to warrant my finely honed Middle School Earthquake Safety skills. Afterwards, I opened up a new tab in Google Chrome (which I love and highly recommend) and found out that I had just experienced a JMA Seismic Intensity 2 earthquake. Here are some other figures I found posted almost immediately after the incident occurred.

Occurred at (JST)	Latitude (degree)	Longitude (degree)	Depth	Magnitude	Region Name
10:56 JST 05 Feb 2011	34.8N	140.7E	70km	5.2	Chiba-ken Nanto-oki

I would be one of the blue dotes on this map.

You know what this means, don't you? This is my second, conscious earthquake in Japan! Horray! I must admit, it wasn't quite the tush massage the last one was, but rather a sea sick sort of feeling. From where I was sitting, the couch was moving, but the world was still, so it was boat-ish, I feel. Still weird, still fun, just thought that you would like to know.