I’ll be back in Australia a month from today!!! My feelings are still very mixed; just like the weather apparently. It was an awfully windy, rainy day today; not much fun at all. Thankfully though, it wasn’t raining on my way to, or from uni; very lucky… In Speaking today, we reviewed for the lesson test, before having to fill out a course evaluation sheet; I was designated to collect, and hand them to the office. Saigo sensei was such a fun teacher, and I think everyone in the class appreciated him as much as I did; we joked that we should all write in the comments to give him a raise. In the hour break, I sat with Julie and studied. Then we went onto Religion class, and today we talked about Pure Land Buddhism, which is one of the less appealing forms of Buddhism; as far as researchers are concerned. It has many similarities to Christianity, but many differences also. Probably one of the most controversial, and the reason why it’s unpopular, is the notion that anyone can go to Pure Land, and eventually reach Nirvana, just by saying the 念仏 (Nebutsu), or prayer that invokes the spirit of 阿弥陀 (Amida); the central Buddha of this form of Buddhism. And the evil man is more likely to make it because he will not rely on self-power, he will not have the ego or pride of a good man, so he’ll really mean it when the time comes. Also, when you get to the Pure Land, you’re a man; there are no women. And further, you must say the nenbutsu to reach the Pure Land. This means that if a baby dies, it can’t go there, since it can’t speak; kinda sad. Anyway, I won’t go on any more about that.
After religion, I spent the next few hours studying, and talking with Chelsea and Julie. Finally, it was time for koto, and after picking up the key, I made my way over. It was basically a repeat of yesterday, with Mori and Midori Sempai coming later; no one else showed up. Maarika and I have vastly improved at Miyabi, and I feel pretty confident about performing, with Mori Sempai on second koto, on Friday; it’s going to be fun. Getting home, I didn’t know what I wanted to cook, since it was already late, and I want to get a bit more study in. So I ended up just heating up some stew. I stayed in the kitchen till a bit after 9, and then came back down here, intent on study; I got a little distracted. Rachael contacted me, saying she’d bought a PS3, and not just any PS3, but a Cloud black PS3; she beckoned me to come and see it. I obliged, since I did really want to see it and I wasn’t disappointed; it was so cool. It came with a trail version of FFXIII and the Blu-ray version of FF:AC Complete. So, seeing as she now had two copies of FF:AC Complete on Blu-ray, she decided to give me her other one; this made me very happy!!! I’m going to have to get her something now to pay her back; that was really nice of her. Then, she showed me something else that made me even happier. She had bought Cloud’s outfit!!! So, of course I had to try it on. Soon, I had her and Katie (she came in with Sarah to practice their skit), getting me dressed in it; so my straps, and belts, and buttons. It didn’t come with the sweater, which was a bit of a shame, but it still looked epic. I had to run downstairs and show it off to everyone in the lounge; they were watching Beauty and the Beast. Reluctantly, I eventually parted with it; now I’m on a quest to find one for myself. After all the excitement, I basically just spent the rest of the evening going over vocab and grammar; I’m feeling good about the test…
Today was a bit of a crazy day (just like the weather has been lately), but it produced lots of laughs and benefits… First off, I was adamant in getting my hair cut today so this morning, as soon as I got up, I rode out to find a hairdresser that was open. I rode down the main street, having a general idea of which place I wanted to go to, but not really minding; as long as the prices and facilities looked reasonable. I stopped at one place, which was just about to open for 9, but since I had a little bit of time till then, I decided to continue on. Not very much further down was “11 cut”, and I actually remember Midori Sempai mentioning the name yesterday. I decided to give this place a try, and I arrived just as it opened; I seemed to call to me. I was the second customer in there (a little boy was getting his hair cut), and after explaining what I wanted, I filled out a few things, and then was immediately sat down. I had a nice young girl as my hairdresser, and I did my best to convey what I wanted to her. The main thing was that I wanted my hair thinned out, but no length off, and I got that across fine; she was using the right kind of scissors for it, so I knew I’d got it right. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t dye my hair for me, the lady at the front saying that the product they use wouldn’t be suitable for the “Okyakusama” (The customer’s i.e. me) hair. That was okay though, because I knew if I did it myself it would work out cheaper.
After the cut was done to my satisfaction (and it really was), I was taken over to the basin; I couldn’t resist getting a wash. This turned out to be just as interesting an experience as my first at a hairdresser in Japan. After she rinsed and shampooed it once, she was like “okay, now it’s time for the shower machine”; shower machine?!! I didn’t really know what it must have looked like since my face was covered with a cloth (they like to do that here it seems), but I could feel it. Some sort of plastic hood was put over me, with towels stuffed around the sides. They were obviously to keep the water from getting everywhere during what could only be described as a spa treatment for your hair. Jets of warm water were shot at my hair from all directions, at different frequencies and sequences; it was quite bizarre. I did enjoy it though, and after it had finished the girl asked what I thought, and I just replied with “omoshiroi” (interesting or funny). After that, she had a bit of fun styling it and what not, and her product of choice was spray. It actually held my hair really well, and puffed it up a lot which looked quite cool. So, you can imagine, I walked away (well rode) very satisfied; and very hungry. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, because I didn’t have any milk. So I did a quick shop at Fresco and Kirindo before getting back; in Kirindo I got the dye for my hair.
I ended up having breakfast a bit after 10, and it was very satisfying (I’ve been using that word a lot tonight). After that, I quickly got ready for uni, and then made my way there. I was cool and cloudy today, but it never ended up raining which was nice. I went straight up to the 4th floor, actually a little early for class. So a waited around and talked with Nathan, soon to find Ash emerging from her Japanese class in a lilac wig and school girl outfit; she was cosplaying for her presentation today. I must say, she looked quite good, though the hair colour and style was a bit strange; I wish I had brought my camera. Anyway, today in class, we got the opportunity to talk with some of the Japanese students here at Kansai Gaidai, asking them questions that had been compiled by Saigo Sensei; we had each submitted two questions to him last week. Well, some of the questions were actually pretty deep and philosophical (including one of mine) like – when you go to shopping, do you receive plastic bags? What do you thing about plastic bags destroying nature or; what do you think about Japan’s declining population? What should the government do about it? Some of them were funny or strange like – if you got stranded on a deserted island, what would be the one thing you’d have to have or; what do you think about Japan’s pornography problem??? And then a lot of them had to do with university, study, travel, and the like.
We got circulated around 4 times, and were in pairs or groups of three; two Japanese girls (because they were all girls), to one of us. This was great because Saigo Sensei informed us that the last class only had two Japanese students come in; we were lucky I guess. We started off playing a game, and then got into conversation mode. For the most part I enjoyed it, although I was sometimes struggling for what to say next; I didn’t ask very many of the questions. I tried to keep it as natural as possible, trying to facilitate conversation flow. After class, I spent the break in the lounge with Rachel while she was reading her novel for class, trying not to distract her too much. Distraction came from elsewhere though, as Katie brought with her two Japanese girls who would be attending her university next semester; so I got another opportunity to speak Japanese. Pretty soon though, I had to leave for Religion, which was actually pretty depressing; it was about Buddhism. And basically, Buddhism teaches that life is suffering, and happiness is an illusion, and we are stuck in an endless cycle of pain and bitterness; reincarnation. The only way out is to find Nirvana, which anyone can do except, contrary to popular belief, Nirvana doesn’t mean paradise, it means extinction; we become nothingness beyond our conceptions of nothingness. Apparently, nothing is better than suffering. One good, happy thing that came out of religion though, was that we’re going to be getting a 1000円reimbursement for going on the Tenri fieldtrip! Admittedly though, it was an interesting class, though I’m not going to apply any of it into my own life. I like Tenrikyo much better; pursuing happiness!!!
Being depressed made me hungry, so all I wanted to do was go home and eat; I joked. So, I went back home, and after lunch I did a bit of study. Before long, I had to turn around and go back to university for koto club. I was a little early, so after dropping my bag in the club room I went to photocopy 雅び (Miyabi – “elegance”), which is the new piece we got, at the convenience store; for both Maarika and I. Then I was on a mission to find the keys for the practice room. Since Midori Sempai had suggested it yesterday, I went to the CIE to see if I could find her; she was supposed to get the key out, and pass it on to me. I didn’t find Midori Sempai there, but I did find Mori Sempai, just about to get into the elevator. She let me know where to find the key, and what to say, and then she was off to class; it was up to me. So I went over to student affairs in the main administration building, and told the guy at the reception desk what I needed. It didn’t seem like he understood what I said; I used “sensoubu”, the correct name for koto club. Since that didn’t work, I reverted to using “koto kurabu”. He finally understood, and got me to fill out something before handing me the key. He gave me that look of, “Why is a foreign student doing this”… whatever!!! That done I went back to the club room to find Brittney and Natalie already inside; Natalie has a key too. Before setting up the koto, we had to clean the floor, just like old times, expect with a lot less people; Kirianna turned up about halfway through cleaning, and helped out, which was great.
The five of us (Tami-chan also joined us), then brought the koto and stands down, and got to practicing. Soon, Maarika too showed up, and she went to make copies of Kagaribi for us; so we were even. A bit after she returned, Sensei arrived. Mori and Midori Sempai weren’t here yet, so I was a little worried, but sensei was really great (and Maarika did most of the talking), so pretty soon the two of us were practicing Miyabi with her; and boy did my legs hurt after that. It was Natalie, Kirianna and Tami’s turn after that, and sensei went through the basics with them, and went through Sakura sakura. Mori and Midori Sempai, as well as Riho and Miki (another potential club entrant) joined us during this time. Sensei then went through Hanagoromo with Brittney, and part way through got me to join them; Sensei could sense Brittney was a little nervous playing alone. Sensei then proceeded to play the Shakuhachi part on the koto, which was actually really cool. Finally, it came around Midori and Mori Sempai’s turn, and they played 春の光 (Haru no Hikari – “The light of spring”), which we had never heard before; it was quite pretty. While Riho and Miki didn’t get to play (which I thought was kind of a shame), I think they got a good idea of what the club is all about; they seemed to like Sensei a lot too. After she left, Mori let us know that Sensei would be performing in concert on the 16th of May (a Sunday) in Nipponbashi, and we could all receive tickets for free; well, the club money would pay for them. Of course I want to go; I think it’ll be spectacular. And since I don’t plan that far in advance, I’m totally free for it. Soon after that announcement, everyone but Maarika, Midori and Mori Sempai, and I left, even though we still had half an hour of practice time left; oh well.
For that remaining time, the girls tried like crazy to get me to be able to do this particular type of strumming action on the koto, that is part of Miyabi; I just couldn’t do it. I was a little jealous that Maarika had gotten the hang of it so fast, but hopefully with a bit of practice I’ll be able to do it; just have to think positive. We ended up going a little overtime, which freaked Mori Sempai out to no end. After we packed up, she was so worried about getting the room key back in time, that she didn’t even lock the practice room first; this resulted in Mori Sempai having to chase after her. All I could do was laugh; Maarika on the other hand was up in the Spanish club room eating an ice cream. Everything turned out fine though, and I ended up riding back with Mori Sempai, after I caught up with her that is; she rides so fast! It was a bit past 8 when I got back, and I just heated up my leftover stew for dinner; always handy when getting back late. At 9, it was cleaning time for Katie and Ash, and Rachel and I helped out also; I had no problem taking the role of leader and letting others know what they should do. While washing up a bit of horseplay occurred, after I made a rather brash comment about staring at certain parts of Ash. Katie decided to take it upon herself to “defend” Ash’s dignity and chased me around the kitchen prodding me in the sides, which of course elicited rather loud cries from me; it was quite hilarious.
It continued when I referred to Ash as “sir” (she’s asked me to call her that before), and she proceeded to call me a “prized plonker” as I said good night to everyone; it was the most British thing she’d said in a while, and it made me so happy. Another bout of prodding ensued in the hall, just as Katie and Sarah were about to get into the elevator; I don’t know what got into Katie. My night of fun wasn’t quite over yet though; it was time to colour my hair! After getting everything ready, and got straight to it and the whole process ended up taking about an hour. However, I was extremely happy with the result; I’m a red head again!!! This red is really nice and subtle though, and covers my roots really well; although I did miss a few spots. I am now very satisfied (there I go again) with my hair, and won’t have to do anything else to it until after I return to Australia. I spent the rest of the night just listening to music, and studying a bit for my vocab quiz in Reading and Writing tomorrow. Also tomorrow, is the practice for the inter-Seminar House sports festival we’re having on Saturday; it’s going to be heaps of fun, as long as everyone shows up. Wow, this was a really long blog post for a weekday…
I’m on the local train with Jazz (Jacinthe), Julie, Rachael, Alvaro, Priscilla, and Hugo, and we’re making our way to Den, den town for the Nipponbashi Street festa. It’s incredibly windy today, but the sun is out and it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain; coming up to Hirakatashi now…
11:50am 特急
Now we’re on the limited express to Kyobashi, and from there we’re going to take the subway to Nagohoribashi, and then change lines to get to Ebisucho…
4:12pm 地下鉄
We’re on the subway from Nipponbashi to 北浜 (Kitahama); going to try a different way back home. Kitahama is on the Keihan line, so we can transfer there for Makino; much more direct…
4:27pm 準急
Now we’re on the semi-express to Kyobashi. Julie is going to transfer there for Nishijo, to meet with a friend. The train has stopped for no apparent reason; we’re underground at the moment… well now we’re going again. It’s just Hugo, Jazz, Rachael, Julie and I; Alvaro and Priscilla went off shortly after we got to Den, den town, which was absolutely packed with people. As soon as we got there we were in the midst of cosplay heaven; Rachael was in her element. The whole day, she was running about taking photos of anime and manga characters, most of which I didn’t know; trying to keep up with her was a lot of fun actually. Weaving our way through the crowds, and continuously bumping into people, or getting bumped into was actually very exhausting. First off, we went to watch the parade. It took a while for things to get started, and the first half an hour was mostly stuff happening on a stage right up the end of the street; couldn’t really see much. Getting hungry, I bought some onigiri from a nearby shop, and it was really good. The parade eventually kicked off at about 1:30, and we got to see a marching band (which I later found out to be the Osaka Police Band), a heap of cosplayers, samurai, maids, and some of the sponsors; there was an absolutely adorable giraffe mascot!
4:42pm 京橋
We’re changing over at Kyobashi now… the parade was over soon after it had begun. We decided that we would slowly make out way back up the street and get the subway back from Nipponbashi. Julie wanted to do some shopping, and Jazz decided to go with her. Hugo, Rachael, and I on the other hand went to Makkas for some lunch. It took a while to get there since Rachael kept on getting distracted by all the cosplayers, and when we did get to the front of the store, I had an interesting experience. An old man with a budgie came over and let me hold it, putting some seed in my hand; it was so cool. Then he put it on my head (luckily I was wearing my beanie), as Rachael and Hugo floundered to take photos. Finally in Makkas, I just got some fries, and we managed to get a table on the second floor, getting excited every time cosplayers could walk past; they need food too. After eating, we continued looking for characters, and I was so happy whenever I saw a character from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy; we even got to see England, and Japan from Hetalia. Throughout the day, we crossed paths with people from uni, including professor Hester, who looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, taking photos with his fancy camera. We eventually met up with Julie and Jazz, and after a bit more looking around, and a few purchases at one of my favourite shops there, we made our way further up the street to Nipponbashi station. Coming up to Hirakatashi now…
5:01pm 準急
Now we’re on the train back to Makino. When I get home, I’m definitely going to have a quick nap. Then I have to get ready to go out again; I’m meeting up with Alex, and her Aunt and Nan in Kyoto. I’m going to see if I can find a karaoke place close to the station, so we don’t have to come all the way back to Makino; hopefully I can gather enough energy for the night ahead…
7:01pm 牧野
I’m at Makino station; I rode here in the freezing cold. I’ve just been on the phone with Alex, trying to sort out what we’re going to do tonight. I really don’t want to have to go all the way to Kyoto just to meet her and then bring her back here. She says her Aunt and Nan aren’t that fussed anyway. I suggested that she just meet me here alone, so she’s going to talk to them about it, so hopefully she calls back soon; I guess I’ll go and find somewhere to eat dinner…
7:09pm 牧野
Well it looks like I’m going to Kyoto, to go to karaoke with Alex and her Aunt for an hour, and then Alex and I are coming back here for the rest of the night at karaoke… it’s going to be a long night!
10:23pm 特急
I’m on the express back to Tambabashi with Alex. We met in the central area of Kyoto station and practically threw ourselves at each other; it’s so good to be together again. After unravelling ourselves, she took me to where they were staying (Keihan hotel – how ironic) and I was soon introduced to her aunt, Sandy; I remember her Nan from the going away party. Sandy was hanging out to go to karaoke, but Nan had decided to just stay put. We rugged up (except for Alex of course), and then made our way back out into the night. I didn’t really know where I was going, but luckily Alex spotted a Karaoke place nearby, and we decided to just go for that. It was a little pricy, but we were only staying for an hour, so it was okay. For Sandy, it was all over too fast; she had just started to get into it too. But Alex and I were hanging to get going, so we walked her back to the hotel, and then finally got to start catching up. Before I was even thinking about more karaoke, I had to eat, so we walked a little way down the street to a restaurant chain called なか卯 (Nakao – I think I’d been to one of these before). It used the vending machine ticket system, and there was even buttons for whether you would be eating in, or taking out; so efficient. I ordered gyudon, and Alex just got some karaage. We talked for a while, and then finally got going, eager to start our all night karaoke session…
11:37pm 牧野－カラオケ
We’ve been at karaoke for about 20 minutes now, and I feel great; my voice is so much better now. For some reason, I just couldn’t project when we were at the other place; I don’t know if it was the cold or just nerves. Anyway, here we go…
