Day 253 - 10th of May

11:16pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
Just been working on my field report, and I’m about halfway through; gosh I wish I didn’t procrastinate so much. On the plus side, I did yet my homework for Reading and Writing finished this afternoon, so that leaves tomorrow afternoon free to finish the report… Today, it was raining, but the usual cold that comes with the rain was absent, so it wasn’t so bad. Getting to Speaking, five presentations took place, thanks to the fact that all of them were a reasonable length. We also got the schedule for oral exams and I’m up on Thursday; not really looking forward to it. I have no idea what I’m going to talk about. After class, I went over my sakubun a couple more times, sitting with Katie in the lounge. Soon, Reading and Writing came, and I actually did really well. I remembered the entire thing, and it ended up being just over 2 pages (800 characters), which is perfect; I’m hoping the content is okay. I got out feeling relieved (another thing to tick off), and went to have some Makkas for lunch. After that I rode home in the rain, and after putting the washing away, had a big long nap; I felt pretty guilty afterwards. But, I did get my homework done, and also made a list of everything I have to do so far as tying up any loose ends with the university; there’s quite a lot. At 6:30 I went and had dinner, and then sat in the kitchen till about 8:30, talking and watching TV; and laughing of course. Getting back to my room, I was soon visited by Rachael, who came to exchange FFVII: ACC disks with me. The one she got recently with the PS3 doesn’t have subtitles, so she swapped it with the disk that she originally gave me. It doesn’t bother me at all, since I’m sure I’ll buy the regular DVD version when I get home anyway. I sat with her in the computer room for a little while, helping her a bit with her presentation for tomorrow; she’s in Saigo sensei’s other level 4 class. Finally, I came back in here, and got stuck into my report. It’s only worth 20% of my grade, so I need to stop fussing and just get it done. As I write this, Carly’s is on her way here from Tokyo by night bus, so we’ll be seeing her at uni tomorrow I’m sure. It’ll be nice to catch up, and we’ll be able to finally plan Tokyo properly…

Day 236 - 23rd of April

天気：曇り

While threatening clouds dominated the sky throughout the day, it never did actually rain; it was still cold and windy though… Waking up this morning, I got ready, and then had a little bit more time to study for my test; not that I really needed it. I rode to uni with Rachel, and then got to class with plenty of time to spare. The test turned out to be pretty easy; I remembered all the kanji and grammar patterns. That done, I went to Speaking, and we spent half the lesson going over the pick-up lines people had come up with yesterday; some of them were quite funny. We quickly went over the grammar patterns (which again were from level 3), before watching an animated short in Japanese; it was interesting, to say the least. After that, I was free to go home for a little while. After picking up some groceries, I had lunch, and then did some reading. Getting back to uni, I met with Ash and Katie, who were on their way to USJ this afternoon; making the most of their season passes. I was soon in Gender and Sexuality, and after short discussion about host and hostess clubs, we went onto our final topic; sexuality and gender minorities. Today, we discussed homosexuality. It was interesting to contemplate homosexual as a sexual activity, and homosexual as an identity, because they are different things. There are many examples of what is called “institutionalised homosexuality”, activities or behaviours that do not reflect sexual preferences or lifestyle, but are simply parts of the norms of the institution or society.

Throughout Japanese history, there have been numerous examples of age-structured practices of men-loving-men, from Buddhist institutions to the warrior class. These acts were done in order to strengthen the relationship between priest and acolyte, subordinate and commander. Kabuki and the urban class also have a long tradition of homosexual practices. During the Edo period, homosexuality was banned for just 8 years, and the fact that no other effort has been made since to restrict male/male sex indicates that Japan doesn’t have an elaborate, punitive view of certain sexual acts, unlike other countries where religious beliefs come into play. Another interesting thing to note is the shift between homosexuality as behaviour to homosexual as a person (the medical model), which brought about new terminology in Japan. The word 同性愛 (douseiai – lit. “same sex love”) came about in the early 20^th century, when the occurrence of female/female sex was identified in many girl’s boarding schools; before this, there had been no context for putting men and women in the same category. The funny thing is, the word for heterosexuality 異性愛 (iseiai – lit. “unusual sex love”) was derived from the homosexual term. And that was me done for the day; the weekend upon us once more.

Getting back home, I tried to do my homework but failed, and a look at my Alice in Wonderland ticket stub, lead to a chain reaction that resulted in me having a huge chuck-out. I went through all my draws and tidied them, got rid of all the bits of paper, magazines, flyers and the like that I really didn’t need, dusted my shelves and started getting the books and merchandise I had collected boxed up, and then vacuumed the floor; it was quite invigorating actually. It about two hours, but I was really happy that I was able to start getting things sorted out for going home; I probably threw away about 10kgs worth of paper and plastic. Of course, I kept the important things, like the pamphlets and tickets from places I’ve been, and some nice wrapping paper; I can handle lugging that home. Afterwards, I managed to get my homework done, and then I went up to make dinner; it was about 6:30, and the kitchen was empty. I was well into cooking my chicken pasta dish before Rachel and Sarah arrived. Sitting down, we ate while watching Doraemon on TV, and at about 7:30, Julie came in asking if we were still up for watching ゲド戦記 (Gedo senki – i.e. Tales from Earthsea), directed by Goro Miyazaki; son of Studio Ghibli’s Hayou Miyazaki. While I hadn’t particularly liked it the first time I’d seen it, I was willing to give it another go, so Julie, Rachel, Chelsea and I all went up to Julie’s room and squished up on her futon, in front of the laptop.

Honestly, I enjoyed the movie a lot more this time around and I think it might have had something to do with the fact that we watched it in Japanese; poor dubbing can see the downfall of any good movie. However, in comparison to other Ghibli films, it’s definitely not up there for me. This was the first time I’d seen it in Japanese, and something that confused me was the use of a female voice actor for the main antagonist, Lord Cob. In the English version, the character (which is male, although I suppose it is a little ambiguous) had a creepy man’s voice, but in the Japanese version, it was a clearly a women’s persona; not a womanly-man. So that was a little strange, especially considering it had been produced in Japanese first. After the movie, we lounged around for a little while and then, since Chelsea was hungry, we decided to go to Fresco to pick up some food; it was already past 10:30 at night. In the hallway, I bumped into Katie and she had candy canes to give us. Going to her room, I asked the two about their day at USJ, and they said they had a wonderful time, and got a chance to go on the new ride, which was amazing; I kinda wish I’d gone. Then I received the candy canes from Katie (which were left over from Christmas), and a Hetalia pin from Ash; I have to go collect more now! I went to the kitchen, and handed a bunch of the candy canes out, and then got rugged up for our outing. We ended up riding to Fresco, and I couldn’t help buying an ice cream while I was there; everyone else was. Chelsea got some gyoza and fresh yakitori so she was very satisfied when we returned home to eat. It was about 11:30 when we gathered together once more, but in the kitchen this time, since Jazz was going to bed. To end the night, we ended up watching Aladdin, and I enjoyed watching Rachel mouthing the script throughout the entire movie; it’s clearly her favourite Disney movie…

Day 234 - 21st of April

10:16pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

This incessant switching between rainy and sunny days is getting rather tiresome, although I do very much enjoy the sunny, warm days, like today; just wish it would stay constant. Anyway, apart from the weather, today was wonderful… I woke up with my hair standing up tall; that’s what I get for sleeping on it wet. But actually, it looks really good, so I kept it that way. I got my blog done, and then got some study in for my last vocab quiz in Speaking; kinda sad in a strange way. I soon got to uni, and did the quiz, which went fine, before we went over some more grammar points. Saigo Sensei let us know that the final exam will include stuff from the entire semester, which means 10 chapters of grammar and vocab; I’m scared already. After class, I spent the next hour getting my homework for Reading and Writing; I was much more focused today. We did some revision in class, since we have an exam on Friday, and then I made my over to the ATM before my next class. In Gender and Sexuality today, we watched a documentary about host clubs called “The Great Happiness Space”, which was fascinating and terrible at the same time. Basically, a host club is where a woman can go to “get her dreams fulfilled”, by paying to spend time with a host of her choice. This documentary centred on a host club in Osaka, which is kind of awesome because I’ve been to the area where it’s located; between Shinsaibashi and Namba. The hosts are attractive, products that the women use to “heal” themselves emotionally.

The challenge for the host is to lead the women on as long as possible, in order to maximise profit. They rake the streets for women who look like they have the money to spend (they seek out girls with designer labels), and try their hardest to persuade them to come to the club. The average salary for one of the guys at this particular club was $10,000 a month, with the top ranking guy earning $50,000; how do they do it!!! Well unfortunately, host clubs have created a situation where women are forced into the sex industry in order to afford it. One of the women interviewed said that 70-80% of clients are in the industry! Women who are selling their bodies are of course feeling bad about themselves, so where do they turn; the host clubs. These men will listen to them, and give them advice, and make them feel loved; human nature is such that no one wants to be lonely. While you might think that these men of the host clubs are absolutely despicable (well I guess they are in a way, creating false relationships), it’s just as bad for them. Working in this trade has completely altered their perception of women; they’re playing off each other. The women go around to several clubs, saying “I love you”, “I want to marry you”, to several different guys; and some of them are even in multiple relationships. While some of guys want to have normal relationships, they no they can’t, and they have no trust in women anymore anyway; so they too, are lonely. So yeah, there’s another example of crazy Japan.

After that, I rode home and had lunch while watching a talk show that was discussing the volcanic eruption in Iceland, and how this has impeded many people returning to their home countries; all flights into many parts of Europe have been cancelled. In KIX, they’re letting passengers sleep in the lounge for free, and giving them water and food and use of amenities for free too; people have been waiting there since Saturday. Gosh I would hate to be in that situation; really glad I live in Australia right now. Ash, and a few other people are worried they won’t be able to get back, so I’m really hoping the air has cleared by then. After eating, I talked with my family for a bit, and then went out the lounge to wait for Ash and Rachel; we were going to see Alice in Wonderland. It was about 4:20 when we set off, and we got to the Hirakata Cineplex just on 5; we walked. Amazingly, when we arrived we were able to catch the 5 o’clock screening; it was a bit rushed! Unfortunately, we really didn’t have time to buy food or drink, so no caramel popcorn for me; oh well, saved some money. We made it in time to catch a few previews (including Toy Story 3), and then got comfy for the feature film. And oh wow, I absolutely loved it; everything about it was wonderful. It was definitely worth it in 3-D too; just as good as Avatar in that respect. After the movie, I had a quick look in the shoe shop, and then we made our way back home; it was already past 7. Getting back, I had dinner (pizza), and then sat around chatting until about 9:30. Since I don’t have any homework tomorrow, I’ve been a little lazy, and have been chatting with Alex for the past couple of hours; also downloaded the soundtrack from the movie. Well, better get some sleep now, hoping it’s a nice day tomorrow…

Day 232 - 19th of April

10:28pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Just been in the kitchen, re-watching Jazz’s Japanese game show debut; she had finally received the recording from them. Everyone sat eagerly in the kitchen, awaiting Jazz’s entrance, but we ended up having to wait almost 40 minutes before she did; there was a whole bunch of other stuff on beforehand. Anyway, it was cool to see that again; it’s already been more than two months since it occurred. Well, today was a nice warm day, albeit a bit cloudy… I woke up with little time to get ready, so I just had a banana, got dressed, and got out. There was no need to rush though, because basically as soon as I got to class, it was over. Today, we were meant to go around and interview Japanese people about our topic that we’re going to present in class. Instead, Jo, Nathan, Kim, and I sat around and talked, and also got a bit of homework done, in the cafeteria; I would ask Mori and Midori Sempai later. It soon came around to Reading and Writing though, and we did have a proper class; finished off the reading, and answered lots of questions. After class, I went to Kirindo and Fresco for groceries. When I came out of Fresco, I noticed a taiyaki stand set up, and decided I’d buy a couple; custard-filled of course. I was really glad I did, because the guy gave me and extra one for free; I thought that was really nice. So I enjoyed one fresh during the ride home, and saved the other two for dessert; yummy!

Getting home, I had lunch and then got a little bit of homework done, before having a nap. I also got to read a letter from Nanny, and I got an insight on why letter writing has become such an integral part of her life; it was very interesting. When I get back, I’m going to have to write down all of Nanny and Poppy’s stories of their early life; I think it would be fascinating. Eventually it was time to get back to uni for koto club. After a snack, I got to the room and found Brittney and Maarika. Neither of them was practicing, but I decided I would practice for a while anyway; stumbled through Miyabi a couple of times. 6 o’clock came round, so Mori arrived, and we got everything moved down into the practice room; I think for now on, I will pick up the keys for the room on both days. Natalie and Kirianna, and eventually Mori Sempai also showed up, but there was no sign of Riho or Miki; which was a bit of a shame. I worked on the strumming technique, which I found out is simply a tremolo. It was quite funny, because Mori Sempai told us the name for the technique in Japanese トレモロ (toremoro), and I looked it up, thinking it was a Japanese word.

When I found out it was an English word (well, technically Italian), I smacked myself, and so did Mori Sempai; she knew it was a katakana word, but never realised it was a borrowed word. Anyway, I’m getting slightly better at that; I’ve just gotta try and not be so tense. Since I lent Maarika one of my tsume, I spent the last 20 minutes talking with Mori and Midori Sempai about the Great Barrier Reef, which understandably they didn’t know that much about. Still, we made some interesting assumptions about what would happen if it suddenly disappeared; chain reaction. I’m going to talk with them some more about it tomorrow, and I’ll have to find some other Japanese students to ask questions too; hopefully I can get something out of it that I can use for my presentation, which seems to be the point of the exercise. After packing up, I rode back with Maarika and Mori, and then basically went straight to the kitchen; I was hungry. I made a heap of yakisoba, and I had hoped it would last for three meals, but it never seems to go that far; oh well, two is better than one. So yeah, spent the rest of the night in the kitchen, and now I’m going to get some sleep; Hugo and I are going to try to make an effort to get to bed earlier…

Day 231 - 18th of April

10:26pm　セミナーハウス

天気：　晴れ

I just got back from 鳥貴族 (Torikizoku), a restaurant where all the items on the menu are 280円 (well, technically 294円with the tax). As the name suggests (torikizoku means bird of nobility), chicken is the primary meat, but there are also salads, soups, and rice. But more about that later… I got up this morning at about 9:30, and had a citron, apple and banana for breakfast; I didn’t have any milk for cereal. Then, I spent until 1 doing homework, and practicing kanji. I decided I needed a bit of fresh air, so I had a bit of a ride before getting some take out from the new kebab shop just across from the east gate; Café Istanbul. I’ve been missing kebabs since I’ve been here, so I was really happy. Two international students were in there smoking a hookah, which anyone can do for the price of 800円; not for my thanks. Still, I thought that was kinda of cool; they are quite beautiful devices. I ate my doner kebab in the nearby park and wow, it was really nice; maybe a bit small for the price. After eating, I went to Avail, but didn’t end up buying anything; there were a few things I liked though.

Getting back home, I worked on my blog, and talked with family for a little bit, before getting interviewed by Hugo. He’s doing a group report for his physiology class, and has to interview both Japanese and foreign students; I hope my answers help him. Soon after that, he asked if I wanted to come out with him and Yuji to torikizoku for dinner; they would be going straight away. Since my best decisions are usually made spur of the moment (before I have time to think about them), I decided to go for it; it would be fun. And it was! We were joined by Yuki (Yuji’s friend from a university in Osaka), and Biancha met us there. We arrived at straight on 6 when it opened, and ended up staying until after 9:30; well, Biancha left a bit early. After ordering drinks (I just had water), we could order whatever we wanted, whenever; they have a buzzer system. I only ended up having 3 dishes, and they were all chicken. My favourite would have had to be the filleted chicken covered with tartar sauce. Also, after the first bowl of cabbage, all the rest are free; not that I like cabbage that much.

I got the opportunity to talk in Japanese a bit to Yuki, who wasn’t very good at English; I also translated for Hugo a bit. Yuji got considerably drunk, and this made him very tired for some reason. While the quality of the food was very high, the service was a little slow; Yuji had to wait half an hour for his last meal. Everyone else ate way more than me, but that was more because I was being cheap; I would have liked to try a bit more. I did get to try some of Biancha’s deep fried camembert cheese; gosh that was so tasty. If I go again, I’m definitely going to order it. I also got to try some of Hugo’s chicken naan bread, which reminded me of Mexican food; it was beautifully spicy. When we left, Hugo and I soon separated from Yuji and Yuki; Yuji was going to Tsutaya, and Yuki was presumably returning home. I decided I would make a quick stop to Makkas, to get a soft serve; that made me happy. Hugo and I were soon on the bus back home; unfortunately Yuji missed it. Even though it was a little long, it was a great night out and I’m glad I went; I need to do stuff like that more often. Well, uni again tomorrow, better get some sleep…