Well, today was quite a productive day spent at home. Although it was rainy in the morning, the rest of the day turned out to be quite sunny, so I managed to get a load of washing on… Getting up at about 9:30, I got ready for the day, and after breakfast and shower, Hugo was up too. I spent most of the morning studying for my lesson test on Wednesday. I had lunch at 1, and then finally decided to get the washing on, which lead to me taking all the clothes out of my cupboard and sorting them out. Now I have two boxes packed for home, each with five long sleeved t-shirts in them, and a bunch of books and other miscellany. So that was good. I spent the rest of the afternoon studying, and researching for my Japanese presentation on the Great Barrier Reef; that was fun.
It was about 7 when I went up for dinner, and I sat with Brett, Sam and Liz while watching TV. I ended up staying up there until about 9:30, enjoying Milo and watching a really interesting quiz show that I wish I could have understood more of. Getting back to my room at about 9:30, I talked with Alex for a while as I uploaded photos to dA; I’m so excited about our trip. After a shower, I got back into Reborn; I haven’t read it for ages. I managed to get the first volume finished (finally), and now I’m about 10 pages into the 2nd; it’s getting really good. At the same time, I tried to transfer a video for my camera to the computer; notice I said tried. Again, the program decided to be “unresponsive” and it lost everything just as it was finalising the file; so frustrating. So, I’m going to try again tomorrow I guess; I have no more patience now, and it’s about time I get some sleep…
Rain, rain, go away, come again another season! I’m seriously tired of the miserable weather, and so is everyone else… Riding through the rain I got to uni at 9, and we spent our Reading and Writing class reading a sort of critique of the book, “Why men don’t listen and women can’t read maps”; in Japanese of course. It was basically going against the argument that the book presents, that men and women are fundamentally different, and these differences are wired into the brain. It argued that sociological and environmental factors play a more prominent role than biological factors in defining gender roles; so that was quite interesting, especially in Japanese. For some reason, our class was very small today, and this trend continued when I went to Speaking; maybe everyone was still in bed, I wouldn’t blame them. We started off by watching this amazing group of Chinese dancers called 千手観音 (Senshu Kanon – “Thousand hand bodhisattva”). It was absolutely amazing to watch, and it’ll be easier to just link you to it, than try to explain it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic8uKHwTX3w&feature=related
Amazingly, the lead dancer is actually deaf! After that, we finished off the grammar points for lesson 9, and then got a sheet to fill out our speech topic on, as well as write three questions to ask the Japanese students around campus. I decided to do my speech on the Great Barrier Reef (since it’s close to home), and describe the environmental issues surrounding it. So, I had no idea what I should ask the Japanese students. By the end of class, I had one question, but Saigo Sensei said it was okay to come back to his office later to submit it; this was a relief.
After class, I went straight home, and put some washing on; since it was still raining, I had to hang it inside. After a bit of homework, I had lunch, and then I was making my way back to uni once more for Gender and Sexuality. I ended up being a little late, but that was okay because Professor Hester almost always is as well. Today we talked about youth sexuality in Japan, which is actually surprisingly different to the sexuality men and women of the previous generation expressed; in some ways, it’s gone to the extreme. The media has heavily influenced the attitudes and behaviours this current generation upholds and in many cases, is sending messages that conflict with those coming from family and school. Such activities as 援助交際 (Enjo Kosai – “dating with compensation” aka schoolgirl prostitution) while not as prominent in the media, are still occurring today. Magazines are positioning women to be more assertive, teaching them how to pleasure men, and take the lead in relationships. Women as consumers of sexually charged material are beginning to take over men; they are now viewing men as objects of desire, just as men have of them. Things have certainly changed; a lot. It is quite fascinating though.
After class, I went to Saigo Sensei’s office, to hand him my questions (I’m pretty happy with them), and then I went to the convenience store to photocopy some pages from my Japanese textbook for Julie; she wanted the list of cooking vocab. Getting back home, I had a bit of a rest, and then was soon on my way out again, to go to a sentou; I really needed it. I decided to try the one near Top World, which I had never been in before. It was in fact, quite similar to the one in Makino; still, it was nice to try some place new. I ended up seeing at least three yakuza in there, two with full body tattoos, and one with his back covered; I wondered if many of the others without tattoos were yakuza too. I also had a shave while I was in there; I’d seen a lot of men in sentou do it before, so I thought why not. I didn’t end up staying in the bath all that long, but I still felt heaps better than when I entered. I also weighed myself to find that I’d actually lost a few kgs; oh well. Leaving, I went over to Top World and walked around for a bit before thinking, “Why am I shopping here, everything is so expensive”. So, I ended up going to Fresco and buying a lot of fruit; I got a type of citron, apples, and bananas.
Back at home, I unpacked my groceries, and decided to just keep the fruit downstairs, since there was no way I was going to fit it all in my fridge or my cupboard. I was soon eating my leftover pasta bake for dinner, and chatting with the group. We stayed in the kitchen until about 8:30, before going down to the lounge to watch movies; I had missed our movie nights. However this night seemed to be very much geared towards the girls, with “The Princess Bride”, and Peter Pan (the 2003 live-action version). It took me a while before I remembered I had actually seen, at least parts of The Princess Bride, and it was actually pretty funny; though pretty terrible at the same time. Peter Pan, which I had seen in its entirety before, turned out to much more enjoyable this time around, and I don’t know why. Most of the other girls hadn’t seen it before, and they all enjoyed it, expect for Rachel, who admitted she’s too much of a cynic. I enjoyed an apple, and the one of the citron; it resembles an orange but is a little sourer. It was pretty late when we finished, and so I was very ready for sleep, wanting to be as rested as possible for tomorrow’s festival…
Well, just for fun, it decided to pour with rain all day today; and heavy rain at that. This meant that by the end of the day, my jeans and jacket were quite wet; they’re hanging up to dry now. I’m just hoping the weather improves by tomorrow. I really wanted to get my hair cut today, but the relentless downpour completely put me off. Anyway, another Monday… I finally rolled out of the futon at 9, and hurriedly got ready for the day. I managed to get to class just in time, racing on my bike through the rain, icy drops pelting my face; okay, so I’m being a little dramatic. The test today went pretty well, although there was one sentence that I wasn’t happy about at all; I couldn’t think of the grammar pattern to use. Jo revealed to me later that I was a passive sentence; I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. Oh well, I’ll still get part marks for it. The listening part was okay; not the easiest, nor the hardest I’ve had. And I remembered all the vocab words; that part seems to be the least of my problems now. I finished in a little over 30 minutes, and then went down to the lounge, and spent the next 1 and a half just chilling with Rachel, Sarah, and Katie; and Rachael when she came. I did do some kanji practice, and some readings for Gender and Sexuality, so I was at least semi productive.
In Reading and Writing, we started chapter 5, which contains a whole bunch of crazy kanji; it’s going to be fun learning them. After class, I went home (the rain even heavier now), and had lunch before basically crashing for the next 2 hours on my futon; I guess today decided to be a lazy day. Sooner then I wanted it was time to return to uni. Koto club started up again, at the regular time of 4:30. This was the first day for freshmen (and what a lovely day for them… not), so the uni was absolutely packed; especially all the food venues. I dropped my bag in the club room, and then went to the convenience store to get a quick snack. Getting back (snack already devoured), I was just about get started reading Hitman Reborn when guess who arrived; Brittney. She hadn’t been for weeks, so I was quite surprised. Also, considering that Midori and Mori Sempai, and Maarika all have classes until 6 (which is a real shame), so I wasn’t expecting anyone to turn up for a while. Another unexpected arrival was Riho; I think we met once before. She’s a second year student, and seems really nice, though a little reserved; well, I guess that can be expected from a Japanese girl.
So, I thought it would be a good time to set up downstairs in the practice room. Brittney and I both took down koto, but unfortunately when we got there, and I tried the key… it didn’t work; I guess that would make sense. So back up to the club room we went; I felt a pretty bad. We still got a bit of practice in though. Riho practiced sakura, and Brittney Hanagoromo. Soon, Brittney left, and was replaced by Natalie; she helped Riho a lot with Sakura, which was really great. At about 5:30, Kirianna also arrived, although she didn’t stay for very long; and Natalie and Riho were soon to follow. So, then it was just me again. I decided I would have a crack at Kagaribi, so I tuned it and got stuck into it; so difficult. Maarika arrived a bit after 6, and just sat as I played around. When Mori Sempai arrived we could finally get set up downstairs. She was so happy when I told her so many people had showed up today; she had been worried about the fate of koto club. Soon after getting set up, we had another unexpected visitor; Tami-chan. She’s from Puerto Rico, and was Maarika’s roommate during orientation week. Midori arrived soon after, and we all ended up chatting for a good while; a bit too long, as I really wanted to practice.
Today, Maarika and I got started on a new piece, which I can’t remember the name of, but nevertheless it was quite fun, and very challenging; it’s one of the pieces the girls have played before. I’ll get a photocopy of it tomorrow, along with Kagaribi; with the time I have left, I don’t think I’ll be able to get good at that one. Anyway, since it’s a duet, I immediately decided to take second koto; it seems to be a fact that the second part is always harder. Midori helped us a lot, so we had a general idea of what to expect from it. I’m looking forward to the sensei coming tomorrow, and hopefully she approves of us playing these pieces; last time she saw us, we were still on Hanagoromo. So enthralled in practice, we ended up finishing a little late; not that I had to be anywhere. After packing up, and saying goodbye, I rode in the rain for the last time today, and got home around 8. I went straight up to the kitchen, and made gyudon for dinner, catching Katie as she made her way out; she’s just received her certificate, and a generous sum of money for the article she wrote for a competition earlier in this semester. Ash and Rachel we also leaving, so I spent a little while talking with Julie, eating white chocolate and drinking Milo; great combination. At about 9, I went back downstairs, had a shower and then got settled in bed; I guess I felt I deserved a bit of a break. I’ve spent most of the night just playing bejewelled and uploading photos on dA. Well, hopefully the weather’s improved tomorrow, so that I may be a little more productive…
Professor Hester told us that in Japan, a recent expression has come about, which goes along the lines of, “In spring, there are never three days of sun in a row”. I scoffed at this in class, but true enough, after two beautiful, sunny days, the weather has indeed turned sour; it was windy, cloudy and cold. At least, it didn’t rain… I got up a bit before 9, and put some washing on, before getting ready for uni; of course I choose the day when it’s cloudy. After putting it out, I studied my vocab for today’s quiz, and then made my way to class. I ended up being a little late, I don’t know how that happened, but quickly sat down and got the quiz done in no time; studying the vocab right before class seems to work well for me. After class, I went down and found Rachael, so I gave her the box of the biscuits I baked, and wished her a happy birthday. After that, I decided to go home to have lunch now, since I was so hungry; also I would be doing koto practice after classes. So, I rode back, had lunch, and then basically had to turn around again; I don’t mind at all with my bike. In Reading and Writing, we finished off the dialogue (which proved to be exceptionally challenging, even for the teacher), and then had to answer a whole bunch of questions about it. After that, I went straight upstairs and stalked the Monsters class, before going to Gender and Sexuality.
In today’s class we looked at motherhood and fatherhood in Japan. Of particular interest, is the phenomenon of 熟年離婚 (jukunen rikon – “retirement divorce”), in Japan. Basically, many women in Japan don’t want to have to look after their husbands after they’ve retired. The women have already devoted much of their life playing an active role in raising their children, the man, “supporting” his family by being the breadwinner, away from home. So really, it’s not until they’ve actually retired, that men spend a lot of time at home. So, understandably, many women can’t cope with the re-entry of the husband into the household. This realisation made me feel extremely sad for the way that Japanese society works. Of course there are many happy, lasting marriages, and more men are trying to play a more active role in childrearing, but still. I can’t imagine how intense living the “model” Japanese life must be, especially when the constraints of society and work are so compelling. The professor showed us the first episode of a drama called jukunen rikon that provided models for exactly what I’ve just described; it was very moving. I’d really like to see the rest of the series actually.
After class, I met up with Maarika and we went to the room we would be performing in tomorrow (2207), to practice. Getting there, we found Mori Sempai and Midori Sempai moving desks, and promptly helped them out. Kirianna and Natalie were also there, furiously practicing hanagoromo; they were doing really, really well considering the amount of time they’ve had. We beautified the board, and munch on sweet potato snacks, and got some serious practice in too. The tea club joined us, and began to set up their stuff; they’d be serving tea and snacks to visitors while we played. Maarika and I will be playing from 11-12 tomorrow, for what is basically a festival for the incoming students to Kansai Gaidai; I can’t wait. I ended up leaving at around 5:30. Kirianna, Mori and Midori had already gone their own ways, but Natalie and Maarika decided to stay and practice a while longer. I rode home with Peter, and he further confirmed the instability of spring weather in Japan, recalling a conversation he had with one of his Japanese friends; they said it wouldn’t stay constantly warm until late May!
Getting back, I got started on my homework, and soon enough it was time for the seminar house meeting. This was my second last meeting, and I remember it from last semester. We went over checking out procedures and all that again, but this time it was different because I’d have to actually do it! Actually, technically everyone has to checkout since the seminar houses are closed during the summer holidays; they have to find alternative housing. That’s why I’m so glad I came last semester; I made the right decision. Natchan also let us know of an upcoming event that would see the seminar houses unite in friendly competition; sports festival. It’s next Saturday (the 17th), and there will be a number of events. I really wanted to participate, so I signed up after the meeting; it’s going to be so much fun. I was then dragged upstairs to Ash and Katie’s room, to sign a card for Rachael’s birthday, and look at Ash’s “shinies” i.e. her purchases. All of us then went down to the kitchen, and presented Rachael with gifts and the card and proceeded to sing happy birthday to her; she had already got it from her Japanese class today, so was quite embarrassed by this point. After that, I got to cooking yakisoba, which turned out great; the ingredients were all so fresh. I gave out the last of my Milo biscuits, and everyone appreciated them, but not as much as I did; I must have eaten about 15. I stayed up in the kitchen till about 9, and then came back down here, and worked on my Reading and Writing homework some more. Well, better get some sleep now…
