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 227 - 14th of April

9:50pm　セミナーハウス

天気：曇り

I am so full right now! I just finished eating a heap of okonomiyaki, which I cooked from scratch tonight; I’m so proud of myself!!! My body is still aching from the sports festival practice today, which was really intense, but such a rush; I had such a good time. So, today was a pretty awesome day all round, except for the chilly weather… I got up at about 9, but managed to get to uni with half an hour to spare; I don’t really know why I got there so early. I did get to sit with Rachael and listen to some awesome music with her though, before going to class. After Speaking (which was fun as usual), I went to the CIE office, and inquired about the letter from national health insurance I had gotten yesterday; there was a form and unsealed envelope within. Turns out I didn’t have to fill anything out; it was only necessary if I was staying longer. So that turned out easier than I was expecting. After that I spent a bit of time in the lounge, doing some of the reading for Gender and Sexuality, and revising for the vocab quiz. That went well, and for the remainder of the lesson, we went over some new grammar patterns; I know how to express fractions and ratios in Japanese now! Once again, I infiltrated the Monsters class, and gleaned some interesting information from the Professor about the future of learning at Kansai Gaidai.

Gender and Sexuality was really interesting today. After covering sexuality in general, we moved into the realms of Japanese sexuality, and looked at a number of issues including methods of contraception, and the differences in how men and women can, or are expected to, express their sexuality. Did you know that in Japan, condoms are the most popular form of contraception after withdrawal coupled with the rhythm method? These forms of contraception are considered “traditional”, and yet they still play a dominant role in facilitating sexual activity in Japan. Other methods, such as the pill, are considered “modern”, and are met with great resistance in Japan, the pill especially. As little as 1% of the female population in Japan is on the pill; lack of knowledge and fear of side-effects are the main factors behind this. Another reason though is that, women who take the pill are seen is sexually “free” and therefore somehow promiscuous. While it’s okay for women to have sex, it’s not okay for them to want it. Through this logic, it could be seen that women on the pill are preparing themselves for the advent of sex, and therefore want it. In general, both men and women in Japan are very reserved when it comes to talking about sex, or seeking advice about it with counsellors and even doctors. For women especially, going to a gynaecologist can be very embarrassing, and many of them do not even want to look, or talk about that part of their body while they are there; this can make the gynaecologist’s job very difficult.

We learnt a lot more in class, but I won’t go into to that now. Needless to say, sexuality in Japan is very different to the West. Of course, it is slowly changing, and the double standards are disappearing. Anyway, next time we’ll be moving onto youth and sexuality, and I’m sure that will reveal some of the changes that have taken place. After class, I went back home and after lunch, I talked with Mum and Ben over Skype, and managed to successfully book the hotel in Hikone, Alex and I will be staying at for two nights during golden week. At 5:30, I made my way with Rachel to uni once more, as the sports festival practice would be taking place on the basketball courts. We were the first people there, but were soon joined by Brett and then Chelsea. It was very cold, and also very windy, but I reassured myself that I would warm right up as soon as I got moving. And before practice even started, we got an opportunity, helping the wind ensemble catch their manuscripts as they went flying; that was a lot of fun. A bit after 6, Yuji eventually showed up, bringing with him a trolley on which was the tug-of-war rope. But that’s not what we were starting off with. No, we were starting off with jump rope, and rope we jumped for the next hour. More people trickled in, and by the end of that time, we had everyone who had signed up. We weren’t quite 20, as Yuji had hoped, but the 13 (well 15 with Yuji and Natsuki) were doing pretty well. Yuji figured out the rules for jump rope, and eventually we had a set up where, in three minutes, we had to get as many people through the rope as possible, without making a blunder; gosh it was quite exhausting, but fun. It eventually got to a point though were we couldn’t even see the rope; it was that dark!

At around 7, we went onto tug-of-war. Yuji split us into two teams, and then we got to it; I think we ended up doing about 6 rounds. The adrenaline rush felt amazing, and although I was completely wiped out after it, I was on such a high. After winding the rope but up (which turned out to be incredibly long), and doing our Seminar House 2 team pose, we disbanded for the night. After getting my bike, I made my way over to Kirindo, to pick up the rest of what I needed for okonomiyaki, and then decided to go get some meat for it from Fresco. On the way there, I met up with Rachael and Sarah, who were also shopping. Now with everything I needed, I rode back home, and got straight into cooking; this turned out to be a very long process. I had a general recipe to follow, but really didn’t have idea of how to cook it properly. After getting the batter burnt and stuck to the bottom of one of the pans, Yuji suggested I use another, and that maybe the 中華鍋 (chuukanabe – wok) would work best. Still a little hesitant, I got Julie over, who had been taught how to make okonomiyaki, and she was a great help. Apparently I needed way more cabbage in the batter, so after adding that, we tried a small amount in the wok. That turned out really well, so I poured the rest in, and ended up making a huge one. Both of these turned out so much better than the first (which I still ate), and I was soon sitting down enjoying the big one, topped with bonito flakes, sauce mayonnaise, and seaweed flakes; it was pretty good considering it was my first try. I think next time, I’ll be able to do it in a much shorter amount of time too; over an hour is too long…

Day 213 - 31st of March

11:50pm　セミナーハウス

天気：曇り

I’ve just come down from watching Hetalia with Rachel, Ash and Rachael. We watched it from the start of the second season for Rachel’s benefit, but it was great for me too, because I finally got to see the last two episodes of the season. But wait, there was more; season three has just started. Ash had the first episode loaded and ready to go for our viewing pleasure. It hasn’t been subbed yet, but it was still really cool to see. We also got to see the trailer for the movie that sadly isn’t coming out till June; Alex will be able to see it though! Anyway today… despite expectations, it didn’t end up raining, although it was cloudy. In Speaking today, we watched some more funny videos, before continuing with the new grammar patterns. In the break, I bought some bread from the convenience store, and then went to the cafeteria to sit with Jo and Kim; Stefani and Amelia joined us. Getting to Reading and Writing, we started chapter 4 by going through new kanji; a whole bunch of reading practice was to follow. After that, I went straight upstairs, again forgetting that there’s a 25 minute break between classes. So, I ended up sitting in on the Monster’s class and talking with Katie, while watching Rose draw Godzilla on the board; they would be watching the movie in class today.

Just after she finished drawing Mothra, I had to leave. In Gender and Sexuality, we continued for a bit with marriage, and watched some more of the wedding, and then we went onto Japanese women’s narratives of internationalism. Basically, Japanese women are seeking opportunities outside their country because they want to live more fulfilling lives; and this includes seeking foreign men. Interestingly though, there are actually more foreign women married to Japanese men than Japanese women to foreign men. This is largely due to the large populations of Chinese, Koreans, and Pilipino in Japan, who are still considered “foreign”, even if they are born there; you’re Japanese by blood, not by birthplace. So that was all very interesting. Getting home, I had lunch, got the washing in, changed the linen, vacuumed the floor, did some exercise (didn’t go to the gym), and then finished off my interview write up. It was almost 7 when I put some rice on for dinner, and then got the write up printed off, and then started learning my vocab for Reading and Writing. I went back up to the kitchen just before my rice was done, and made gyudon. I sat with Ash, and Rachel joined us; everyone else had already gone to study. We stayed in the kitchen until about 9:30, and then made our way up to Ashes room to watch Hetalia; glad to be up-to-date now…

Day 197 - 15th of March

11:24pm　セミナーハウス

天気：雨天

Well, the nice weather certainly didn’t last; it’s been cloudy all day. It just started raining this afternoon… I woke up early, so I could spend some more time memorising my sakubun, and got to school just before 10; I talked with Rachael on the way. Checking my mail, I got yet another card from Nanny and Poppy; i feel loved. Today, we all had to pick up our new ID cards, so Rachael and I went straight there. They’re kind of plain, and the crappy picture of me is even bigger; I really preferred the other ones. Oh well, can’t be helped. I went to Speaking, and we spent the whole class revising for the exam; we actually got out 30 minutes early. So, I had plenty more time to memorise my sakubun, and I went in feeling really good. Apart from a few kanji (ones that I didn’t have to know anyway), I got the whole thing done perfectly. After that, I went to Avail because I thought some shopping would make me feel better (not that I was feeling bad), but didn’t end up finding anything I liked. So I soon returned home.

After lunch, and watching a bit of sumo on TV while talking to Adam, I got ready to go to the gym. When Simon got back at 3, we made our way over, and after signing in and changing shoes, we got started. I really enjoyed the session, and it was helpful watching others using the equipment; I tried out a few new things. Simon ended up getting bored, which was a shame, but says he’s going to stick with it; we shall see. Regardless of what he decides, I know I’m going to continue with it; I felt really good afterwards. Getting back home, I made a solid start on my Gender and Sexuality essay, spending a bit over two hours scanning the textbook for any useful information or quotes; it was pretty interesting actually. I’m going to talk about how gender norms and attitudes are constructed in Japan through language, institutions such as schools, religion, and marketing; should be good. I was feeling very hungry by about 6, but decided to put on some rice to eat with my dinner (leftovers), so had to wait another half an hour.

It was almost 7 by the time I got round to eating, but that only made the food taste even better. I found the anime channel, and started watching Tamagochi’s; who would have thought they’d make an animated TV show out of those little guys. I remember having them when I was little, and I know that Alex still has them now, so she would have loved to have seen this. The rest of the group filtered in, and we talked for a while, before they filtered out again. I stayed behind a bit longer, talking with Yuji and Julie, and then Hugo and Simon, and then finally went back to my room. There, I started memorising my script for my speaking exam tomorrow. I’m trying not to stress about it too much; I want it to be natural. At around 10, Biancha came knocking at our door, and beckoned my out to the lounge. She had made a cake for Hugo since it’s his Birthday tomorrow. So, we gathered together a few people and had a little, early celebration for him; the cake was amazing. Eventually I got back to my room, and finished off getting the script in order; I’m happy with it now. Well, I should probably get some sleep now; one day down, four more to go…

Day 194 - 12th of March

11:47pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

I have been in the kitchen for the last 4 and a half hours just talking; pretty awesome. Since the lounge hasn’t been free all night (and we had originally planned to watch a movie in there), we all just decided to stay where we were; the kitchen… Anyway today was another one of those kinda sunny kinda cloudy days; it wasn’t too cold thankfully. I got up at the sound of Hugo’s alarm, and readied myself for one last day of uni; weekends are so nice. In Reading and Writing this morning (seems like such a long time ago now that I think about it), we read some more Japanese folklores including “The mouse bride”, and “The poisonous starch syrup”; no joke. Then, in the last 10 minutes of class, we got to watch the animated version of “Tsubutorijisan” (the story about the old woodcutter). It was quite funny in parts, and I could understand most of it; there weren’t any subtitles. After that, it was straight to Speaking, and today was our last speech (my mistake). We finished off with keigo, and then got to watch a short movie; can’t remember the title. It was something like “the Samurai cellular phone”, and basically a Samurai in the Edo period finds a cell phone, and is contacted by a guy from the future (obviously) who wants to confirm a historical event; namely, the assassination of Kira Yoshinaka.

This is the story of the 47 Ronin (masterless Samurai), and I remember it from history. While you only saw the lead up to the assassination, it was very funny how the presence of the cell phone, and the guy talking, subtly caused history to go the way it was supposed to, mainly because it motivated Oishi (the leader of the group), who wasn’t at all interested in avenging his master; Lord Asano was made to hara-kiri (cutting of the belly) after attacking Kira out of anger (he was very annoying) in the palace, which was against the law. While reciting a most moving speech to the guy on the phone, he doesn’t realise his men are behind him listening; this inspires them to attack. Eventually, Oishi accepts his fate, and the story ends with them all donned in armour, marching towards the castle; they end up killing Kira (cutting his head off and burying it with their lord) and then they turn themselves in, and are eventually all ordered to commit suicide. Right at the end of the movie, the guy who is talking on the phone is finally revealed, and it zooms out to show a huge room filled with people talking to historical figures; very cool. This one did have subtitles, though it was still cool to pick up bits and pieces.

After that I had a bit of a break, so after going grocery shopping (again), I went home and had some lunch, and then had a little nap. I got back in time for Gender and Sexuality, in which I got to watch yet another movie; what a great day. This one (called “Ripples on the Water”) was about women’s lib in Japan in the 70’s; and I seriously didn’t even know they had had one. Well, they had, and while it wasn’t as dramatic as in the West, the efforts of those women have slowly been affecting Japanese society. It was narrated by a women who had gone to America (to escape the restraints of Japan), and had met a women named Fumiko who was part of the lib. After she died (of lung cancer), the women returned to Japan, to seek out Fumiko’s family and friends, and other women who took part in the movement. These women believed not in changing society, but changing themselves, so that society would slowly change around them; interesting logic. One thing that struck me in particular was when she visited a couple who had a family, but weren’t married. The kids of this couple were discriminated at school, not only by other students, but also by the teachers; I thought that was disgusting. Their parents were really supportive though, and I think they’ll grow up to be strong; fighting against conformity just like their parents.

So yeah, that was all very interesting and imformative, and it basically last for the entirety of the lesson; then I was free. Reaching the parking lot, I met up with Peter, and we rode together until the library, since he was going to Kuzuha; I on the other hand, was just going home. Simon and I had decided to meet up at 3:30 to go to the gym. Well, 3:30 came, but Simon didn’t. I waited in the lounge for about 10 minutes, and then decided to just go on my own; I was too pumped not to go. Getting there, I signed in, changed shoes, and descended into the basement where the gym was. It was bigger than I had expected and had a plethora of equipment. After putting my stuff in a locker, I went in to check it all out. I soon got chatting to another guy there (can’t remember his name – I really am terrible), and had a go on the bikes. 15 minutes later, I went onto to the hydraulic equipment. Half the fun was in figuring out how to use it, but I got a general understanding of most of it; although I was scared that some of them would blow up. A lot of the equipment seemed very well worn, which wasn’t comforting at all. There were also free weights, but I even going to touch them. After about 30 minutes of arm and leg exercises, I did some stretching, and then a warm down bike ride for 10 minutes. In that time, Andrew (whom I had met last semester and gone out with on one occasion) came in. He went over to the bench, and did some weights, which was actually a bit scary to watch; I was afraid the bar would fall on him. But he did a decent amount; I was impressed. After my bike ride, I went over and we caught up, as he tried some of the hydraulic stuff.

Soon after, he left, and I followed suit, saying goodbye to the other guy; it was almost 5 o’clock. I felt pretty good, though my muscles weren’t sore enough. I’m sure I’ll get a good routine going soon enough, to make the most of everything. Getting back, I found Simon in the computer room, and was about to give him the reprimand of his life, when he explained to me his plight; he lost his bike key, again! He spent a few hours looking for it, and failed, so he had to leave his bike at uni; he’s hoping he can find his spare key now. So that was permissible, and I did feel kinda sorry for him; even though it’s stupid that he lost it in the first place. Anyway, he still very much wants to go, and we’ll probably go Monday afternoon; I might go tomorrow too, if it’s open. With that sorted, I went to my room, and waited for dinner time, uploading some photos to deviant art. Sarah and Rachel had decided to take up my invitation make tacos, so I told them we’d meet in the kitchen at 7. I was very hungry by that point but with their help, everything was done in no time, and the three of us were soon enjoying tacos; a very messy, but tasty meal indeed. Then as I said, we spent the rest of the night chatting; it was great. Very sleepy now; probably just do some laundry, study, and get started on my take-home exam for Gender and Sexuality tomorrow. Hugo's not back yet...