Day 257 - 14th of May

天気：曇り

Today was a long, but fun-filled (for the most part) day. It was cloudy, but didn’t end up raining, which was nice. So many wonderful memories were made today, and there was no shortage of tears. I’m sure there will be more to come; both memories and tears… I had my last Reading and Writing class at 9 this morning, and got my Sakubun handed in before spending the lesson revising. Straight afterwards, I went home and slept for a few hours; I was really tired for some reason. I had lunch, and then got a bit of revision in, before heading back to uni and taking my Gender and Sexuality quiz; it wasn’t too hard. After that, I was done for the day. I got back home at about 2, and then got my field report finished; so happy. Haven’t sent it off yet; probably do that tomorrow. Then I had some time to get ready for the party. I showered and shaved, and then went up to Ash and Katie’s room for a little while. Sarah and Katie were typing up subtitles for their skit, to put on YouTube; the teacher sent them the recording. Carly was curled up like a cat. Rachel and Ash arrived back at about 6, and I couldn’t help yelling at them in the front driveway from the room; it was rather disconcerting for them. Julie arrived soon after that, and I yelled a greeting at her too.

Since I had 20 minutes before the party, I decided to go straighten my hair; Carly followed. On the way down, I caught Julie and she showed us her model shots; they were so amazing. I still had just enough time to straighten my hair, and get started on my JASSO report (like the first line), before going up to the kitchen with my Milo biscuits and Tim Tams. The next hour and a half involved lots of eating, t-shirt signing, photo taking, and general craziness. First off, Jeremy and I were awarded a certificate of appreciation and a t-shirt each, for being the cleaning group leaders; thanks RAs. Then we got stuck into eating. I was really glad that Carly was allowed to come into the kitchen, because it meant that she didn’t have to wait out in the hallway to enjoy the food. Biancha made two wonderful rolls, Liz a pound cake, the RA’s these amazing mochi/anko sweets, and Okaasan, coffee jelly; admittedly that wasn’t very nice. But everything else was delicious. My biscuits were a hit too, and everyone completely forgot about the Tim Tams until about halfway through when I saw them there looking all abandoned, and let everyone know; all three packets were gone in less than a minute. After eating we all got into t-shirt signing, or in the case of a few people, notebooks.

There was even a special card to sign for Otoosan and Okaasan, which was a really nice though. Also, I was supposed to play the koto. The setting up in the kitchen part was fine, but the part where I didn’t have the music was not. For some reason, my Miyabi sheet music has ran away from me. I was getting really nervous and desperate so I ran over to seminar house 1 to see if Maarika was there; she wasn’t!!! Luckily, Rose was in so I was able to go up to the room and find the music; it was really easy to locate. Then I rushed back to the kitchen and was happy to find most people still there. Since Miyabi is meant for two koto, my performance wasn’t great (especially since I dropped the music on the last page) but I think everyone appreciated it. After that, everyone who had had shirts signed put them on, and we got some group photos. At 8:30, it was finally time to pack up, as people would be going out to Toriki afterwards for all you can eat and drink. Since I had just been, I didn’t feel the need to go again; nor did I feel like to dish out 3000円. Instead, after getting everything put away, I made a quick, quick dinner (gyudon) and went downstairs to watch Stardust with the gang; such a good movie. That finished at about 11, and then everyone toddled off to their rooms; everyone except Ash, Rachel and I. Ash felt like English muffins and tea, and Rachel just felt like tea; I just had a Milo. Then light conversation ensued…

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 241 - 28th of April

8:54pm　カラオケ　－　枚方市

天気：晴れ

I’m at Karaoke with Brett, Katie, Liz, Sam, Priscilla, Chelsea, Julie, Rebecca and Rachel; we’ve been here since about 7. Today was a warm, sunny day, and even walking to the bus stop this evening was pleasant…I woke up at about 7 this morning, and made scrambled eggs for breakfast; I didn’t want to buy anymore milk for cereal since I’ll be going away tomorrow. I got to uni a little early, and took a final look at my vocab list before going into the test. Well, I think I did really well on everything except for the listening; even Saigo Sensei said it was difficult. Oh well, hopefully the other sections will bring up my mark. After that, I went to Katie and Sarah’s class to watch their skit; I couldn’t miss it for the world. I hadn’t realised until now, but their Sensei is my Sensei from last semester; Miyauchi. He remembered me, and was happy for me to stay and watch; he even gave me the slips of paper to comment on. As for their skit, it was absolute chaos in the best way possible. They basically condensed all three LOTR’s movies into 10 minutes, switching between about 10 different characters between them in fast succession; it was well done. Then they had a plethora of stuffed animals portraying the orcs, the Balrog, and Shelob; it was hilarious. I stuck around and watched the other two skits, but Katie and Sarah’s was definitely the most entertaining.

After that, I had a little bit of time to revise for the vocab quiz in Reading and Writing. Well, it wasn’t my best, but it wasn’t terrible either; last one too. We spent the rest of the lesson going over the grammar points. Then we had to complete the course evaluation for the class; I took this one to the office too. After that, it was time for Gender and Sexuality. Today we talked about the gay identity in Japan, before looking at a representation of lesbians in Japan with the animation, “Plicachan”. It was a clever, funny, and cute film, but also brought up serious issues about the way lesbians are viewed in Japan; it was really very interesting. And that was that, I was home-free; well, after picking up some bread for lunch. After lunch, I talked with my family for a good two hours, and then I got my blog up to date, before making dinner; it was about 6:30 by then. I had to hurry up, since we would be going to karaoke by bus at 7:50. I made, and then wolfed down a huge okonomiyaki, and then showered and dressed. Hugo is leaving for Tokyo tonight, so I wished him a good trip, and then went to meet the others… I don’t know how late I’m going to stay tonight, since I’ve got to get going for Hikone in the morning; I’ll see how I go…

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 199 - 17th of March

10:53pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

It seems as though the weather’s finally cleared up; darn, I’ve probably just gone and jinxed it now. Anyway, while it was a nice day, I spent most of it couped up indoors, working relentlessly (somewhat) on my essay for Gender and Sexuality. I’m over the halfway point so I’m happy; that’s what I wanted to achieve by tonight… This morning, I got up around 9, and had some vegemite on toast for breakfast; I finally took the two slices of bread that Simon owed me. Then I studied for my Gender and Sexuality quiz, while simultaneously looking of more quotes to use in my essay; killing two birds with one stone. Finally, when it was time to get to uni, I rugged up despite the sunny weather; it’s still a bit nippy. In Reading and Writing class we got our sakubun back and there was unfortunately quite a bit of red; so many little mistakes. So now, as part of assessment, we have to rewrite it and correct the errors to gain up to an extra 10 points; something to look forward to over spring break. After Reading and Writing, I went straight up to Gender and Sexuality, and waited around until class started. The quiz turned out to be (as expected), quite easy, and there were even some questions on there I remembered from last semester in Cultural and Everyday Life; cross-over much. Well, it’s good for me I guess.

I think I finished in about 30 minutes, and upon turning it in, I got the refund from the Takarazuka trip; score. Then I made my way to my bike, and went to do some grocery shopping at Kirindo and Fresco. Getting back home, I had lunch, and watched some more sumo on TV. While I thought it would be fun to go see a tournament in person, I actually think it would get a bit boring after a while; I'm happy to just watch it on TV. After lunch, I got stuck into the essay, having little breaks periodically. I went up for dinner at around 7, and had my defrosted stew. Spongebob Squarepants was on the TV, the Japanese dub kind of failing; it was funny to watch though. I was very good tonight, and excused myself from the conversation at a sensible time, to get back to my essay. I really wish I didn’t procrastinate so much, but I think I’m getting through it at a good pace; I should, no, I will get it done by tomorrow night. Tomorrow at 11, I have my mid-term exam for Speaking, which I studied for over the weekend, and I can study some more for in the morning; I think I’ll be fine. Three days down, two to go; it feels good to be past the halfway mark… Oh and Happy St. Patricks Day!!!