10:48pm セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
Well, of course the nice weather wasn’t going to last; not even for another day. All the waterways are practically overflowing, and I got soaked during my commute to and from uni; not that I minded. I had a pretty lazy morning, doing a little bit of study for my test tomorrow, and then rode to uni. In Speaking, we quickly went over the grammar patterns (which we had already studied in level 3), and then spent the rest of the lesson coming up with pick-up lines; no joke. I talked to Rachael before class, and she told me she’d come up with 13. Sadly, or not so sadly, I only came up with two; this is partly because I was so distracted by what everyone else was coming up with. We had to write them down, and then submit them to Sensei; no other homework! After that came Religion, and today we talked about 観音 (Kannon) and 地蔵 (Jizou), the two prominent Bodhisattvas of Japan. And remember Bodhisattvas gave up nirvana, to stick around and help us; how nice of them. In Japan, Kannon typically manifests as a woman, although really Bodhisattvas transcend gender; in Tibet Kannon is very much a male. “She” is distinguished by an elaborate headpiece, sometimes with the image of Amida (a Buddha) in the centre, and lots and lots of arms; there’s supposed to be 1000s although it can be as little as six. In the representations with many arms, she holds a tool of salvation in each. Kannon is also associated with granting safe childbirth.
Jizou on the other hand, arguably the most easy to identify with “divine being” in Japan, takes on the guise of an old monk-like man, or sometimes a child; he may also hold a staff in one hand, and a jewel in the other. Thus, he is most typically associated with children, and old people’s health. Also, the stones with red bibs around them are likely to be Jizou, and you can see them in practically everywhere; on the side of the road, in temples and shrines. He is very much a being of the earth, and very close to the Japanese psyche. In really enjoyed that class, and as usual, it enhanced my understanding of Japan, which makes everyday encounters more meaningful. Done for the day, I made my way home and had some lunch. Feeling dead, and not able to get into study, I decided to go to the gym, and that did just the trick; I felt invigorated. Getting back, I was soon going out once more to Sanko; the need to buy groceries never dies. After that though, I was out of the rain for the rest of the day. I went up to the kitchen at about 6:30, and got my stew on, and then sat watching TV, going to check it periodically; the flame kept on giving out, which was really quite annoying. 7 came round, and the kitchen got packed with people. I enjoyed watching Julie cook her dinner, which looked really good. Since I took so much interest in it, she said we could do a trade off, some of her meal for some of mine; I was totally up for that.
The meal she was cooking was chicken, peas and potatoes in stock, and covered with a sauce made from flour, sour cream, and the drained off stock; really easy but incredibly tasty. I’m really going to have to try making it sometime; I find it so funny that so much of my life revolves around food. My stew turned out great too; I used big chunks of beef this time for a change. So I was soon sitting down, enjoying my two meals, and watching a program about crazy occurrences around the world; especially America. This included riots, explosions, collisions, robberies, and car skydiving?!! I was so full after eating, but of course there was more to come. Liz had cooked brownies yesterday for Jeremy’s birthday, and was kind enough to save some for us, and wow so yummy. After that, people kept on passing around food; I got to eat one of Biancha’s sweets, and the rest of Rachel’s mochi. Eventually, 10 o’clock came round, and I decided it was time to retire. I spent the rest of the night studying for my Reading and Writing test, which I feel quite confident about. The rain seems to have lessened, so hopefully by tomorrow it’ll be gone; just have to stay positive.
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