Day 256 - 13th of May

11:17pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Well, today I feel much better about everything; for some reason, getting my oral over and done with was such a relief. I feel like I’ve jumped over the halfway point, and now I only have another half to go; it’s wonderful. Today’s weather mirrored my happy, warm feelings and I don’t even care that I didn’t get my report done; again… After getting ready, I basically spent the rest of the morning preparing for my oral exam. I typed out everything I wanted to say, and even got a little bit of a chance to memorise it; a very little chance. Getting to uni, I went straight to the third floor, and sat outside Saigo Sensei’s office, talking with Kim; we were talking about the same topic. She went in before me, and soon after it was my turn. After an initial mind blank, I stumbled my way through, but actually didn’t do that badly. I quite enjoyed talking to Sensei about it and I wish I could have had more time to say what I wanted to say. Throughout, he would ask questions or make comments, which steered me way off what I was intending to say, but it did make it feel more natural. He was really surprised when he found out I was only 19 actually; it was quite funny. Anyway, as soon as that was done, I leapt for joy on the inside, and then went with Kim and Nathan for lunch.

We all ate katsudon in the third cafeteria, and talked about what we would be doing when we got back home; the end is so close. Around 12:30, we went back to the CIE lounge, and I found Julie to study Religion with before the quiz. In fact, it turned out to be relatively easy, and I got it done within 15 minutes; now all I have to do is finished that report. Afterwards, I sat in the lounge for a while longer, and then made my way over to Don kihote to buy Tim Tam’s for tomorrow’s party. I also bought a packet for Rose since it was her birthday yesterday, and I’d be going to her party tonight. I met Carly on the way back to the seminar house, and after dropping our stuff off, we went to Sanko; I had to buy the ingredients for my biscuits. As soon as I got back, I got stuck into it and almost 2 hours later, I had baked 31. Already that number has decreased to 27. It was almost 5 when I was done, so I came downstairs and got started on my JASSO scholarship report. I have to talk about what I have achieved academically, and how the uni has broadened my knowledge of Japan; fun, fun, fun…

I didn’t get very far with that, as we were going out for dinner tonight; New Dehli, since Carly’s never been. We left at 5:30 and soon got there; Carly rode on the back of my bike. Finding no one there, we decided to go into uni, and soon found Sarah, Katie and Rachael in the lounge. They were waiting for Rachel to turn up. In the end she didn’t, so it was just the five of us. Dinner was absolutely wonderful as always, although sadly the service was a little soon; understandable since it was absolutely packed. After waiting 30 minutes for our lasse (only Carly got hers), we decided to just leave; that was a bit of a shame. I was already an hour late for the party, so I rushed to Seminar House 1, and got inside just in time to find Mori and Midori leaving; they had already made cake. It was sad to see them go, but I was soon enjoying the fruit (or cake), or fruit cake actually of their labours; it was amazing. Rose was stoked when I gave her the Tim Tams; she immediately ripped the packet open and distributed them. There 10 of us in the room, which was basically exactly the same as our rooms here, with little differences here and there. Us guests, stuck around until almost 10, watching funny movies on YouTube, and taking photos; it was great fun. Finally it was time to say good night, and as soon as I got back to Sem 2, I was roped into watching a drama with Julie, Chelsea, Rachel and Ash; it was actually really intense. It was only the 5^th episode, but already the plot is so complicated. Chelsea caught me up pretty well, but I kinda want to see the earlier episodes. Well, I’m going to get some sleep now…

Day 235 - 22nd of April

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.

Day 230 - 18th of April

10:08pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Although I’m feeling dead tired now, today was so much fun! I won’t keep you in suspense; we came 2^nd!!! I’m so proud of everyone for putting in so much effort, and there was such a strong sense of team spirit…I woke up at about 9 and after showering, I went up to the kitchen and ate breakfast, chatting with people as they came and went, most getting ready for today’s event. I ended up staying there till about 11, when I realised I’d have to get a wriggle on if I was going to make it there for 11:30. I bid Hugo farewell (he was going to a cultural exchange event), brushed my teeth, and then got going. Meeting Rachel outside, we were about to head off when Julie came out, saying that Rebecca and Julianne needed a lift, since they would also be competing, and they wouldn’t make in time if they walked. So, I took Julianne, and Rachel took Rebecca; that was pretty scary. It was really hard to get started, but after building up a bit of momentum it got gradually easier; it was still very wobbly going though. We only got as far as the east gates before Julianne was asked to dismount. I rode ahead to catch up with Rachel and soon we were at the courts, waiting for everything to get started. People continued to pour in, and Julie, Rachael, Katie, and Ash came as support; our unofficial cheerleaders. We eventually got going at 12, as per the timetable, and started off with the “Opening Ceremony”, before doing a few stretches; very briefly.

After that, the events stated, and we kicked off with tug-of-war. Well… we didn’t end up doing too well at all at it; we lost every game. Indeed, we are the smallest house, and we had the smallest number of competitors; all the other houses had to reduce their numbers for the event. Even when Peter came, we were no match for the other houses; there were some big guys on the other teams. Then came jump-rope, and wow did we suck at that; okay so that’s a little harsh. But still, all the teams got two tries each, to get us many people through the rope in 3 minutes as possible, and the best we did was 25; the other teams got into the 30’s. I was a little disappointed, because I was feeling pretty competitive at the time, but it really didn’t matter; we were there to have fun. After out two turns, I went with Katie and Ash to the convenience store and bought some water for me and a coke for Rachael. Getting back, it was “rest time” so many went off to get a quick bite to eat; I was feeling fine. About half an hour later (a bit after 2), the final event got underway; Super Dodge-ball!!! After the rules were explained (which actually took quite a while), we split up into two groups of 5 girls and 5 guys; since there weren’t enough of us, most of us had to double up.

The rules were basically – one Seminar House vs. another, each with a team of 10. Two people from the team are stationed on the outside of the of the opposing teams court, while the other 8 are within. There are 3 dodge-balls and a game of jankenpon (scissors-paper-rock) determines which team starts with two balls. Basically, you get sent the outside if you get hit by a ball, but you’re safe if you catch it, or you get hit above the shoulders. The person who hits you gets to go back inside their court. The people on the inside can also try to hit members of the other team; but they remain inside. The matches are 5 minutes, and the winning team is the one that either has the most people left in the middle by the end of the 5 minutes, or has sent every member of the opposing team to the outside. It was a very intense game. But guess what… we won every match! It was tournament style, so there ended up being 6 matches (7 if you include the tie-breaker we had with Seminar House 1). I ended up being in 6 out of the 7 matches, and I had such a great time. A memorable moment was when I was the last person on the inside and I managed to dodge all three balls that were coming at me in quick succession; this gave my team a chance to get other members back in. At the time, I hadn’t even realised the significance of it, but afterwards everyone congratulated me, which made me swell with pride; we had great team spirit.

Throughout the day, Rebecca (our leader), rallied us together, screamed at us, and got us to do the Seminar House pose in a big circle. I really felt a strong connection with everyone, and I think that’s what got us through; the team work and communication. There were also a few kids playing (the children of the professors’), and they were also putting a great effort in; it was especially funny seeing them in tug-of-war. Unfortunately, I can’t say that the day ran completely smooth. Our second match, against Seminar House 1, became very heated as both sides accused the other of cheating; this was the one that ended in a tie-breaker. This one guy came up to Angela (Rachel’s roommate), and threw one of the balls at her as hard as he could; so I heard. She went off crying, and oh boy did Rachel chew that guys face off; she told me she had wanted to punch him. He really did display terrible sportsmanship though. When the places were being announced, and we received trophies (they were beautiful), he went up to receive his houses place and trophy (3^rd), and showed very little enthusiasm; what a sore loser. I was actually really surprised when it was announced that we were 2^nd; I guess dodge-ball had counted for more than we’d expected. Apart from trophies, we also received gifts, which meant candy in other words. After the closing ceremony, congratulations, eating and photo-taking, we slowly made our way back to the dorm, elated.

It was 5 by the time we got back. I went to my room for a little while, and then went up to the kitchen; we were going to have a party at 6! Rebecca had asked Liz if she could bake a cake for it, and with little time to prepare, she was in a bit of a fix. Chelsea, Julie, and I helped her out though, contributing hands and ingredients, and just in time, we had a cake in the oven. There were heaps of drinks and snacks, that people had kindly contributed, and at around 6:30, the pizza came that Yuji had ordered. Since Rachael and I had made plans to go to New Delhi for dinner, we didn’t have any, but that didn’t stop us from getting stuck into the sweets. We all got a bit of cake too, and it turned out amazing; such a simple recipe too. Finally, Rachael and I said our farewells, and made our way over to New Delhi. The curry was amazing, and as usual they brought us heaps of extra food; I was absolutely stuffed. We sat and talked for a while, and then eventually left for home; it was a cold walk back... I’m absolutely exhausted now, and although there was an open invitation to go to Karaoke with Rachel, Katie and Ash, I’m certainly not up for it. Hugo’s gone out to celebrate with Tristan since it’s his birthday. All I’m going to do now though is sleep…