Day 230 - 18th of April

10:08pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Although I’m feeling dead tired now, today was so much fun! I won’t keep you in suspense; we came 2^nd!!! I’m so proud of everyone for putting in so much effort, and there was such a strong sense of team spirit…I woke up at about 9 and after showering, I went up to the kitchen and ate breakfast, chatting with people as they came and went, most getting ready for today’s event. I ended up staying there till about 11, when I realised I’d have to get a wriggle on if I was going to make it there for 11:30. I bid Hugo farewell (he was going to a cultural exchange event), brushed my teeth, and then got going. Meeting Rachel outside, we were about to head off when Julie came out, saying that Rebecca and Julianne needed a lift, since they would also be competing, and they wouldn’t make in time if they walked. So, I took Julianne, and Rachel took Rebecca; that was pretty scary. It was really hard to get started, but after building up a bit of momentum it got gradually easier; it was still very wobbly going though. We only got as far as the east gates before Julianne was asked to dismount. I rode ahead to catch up with Rachel and soon we were at the courts, waiting for everything to get started. People continued to pour in, and Julie, Rachael, Katie, and Ash came as support; our unofficial cheerleaders. We eventually got going at 12, as per the timetable, and started off with the “Opening Ceremony”, before doing a few stretches; very briefly.

After that, the events stated, and we kicked off with tug-of-war. Well… we didn’t end up doing too well at all at it; we lost every game. Indeed, we are the smallest house, and we had the smallest number of competitors; all the other houses had to reduce their numbers for the event. Even when Peter came, we were no match for the other houses; there were some big guys on the other teams. Then came jump-rope, and wow did we suck at that; okay so that’s a little harsh. But still, all the teams got two tries each, to get us many people through the rope in 3 minutes as possible, and the best we did was 25; the other teams got into the 30’s. I was a little disappointed, because I was feeling pretty competitive at the time, but it really didn’t matter; we were there to have fun. After out two turns, I went with Katie and Ash to the convenience store and bought some water for me and a coke for Rachael. Getting back, it was “rest time” so many went off to get a quick bite to eat; I was feeling fine. About half an hour later (a bit after 2), the final event got underway; Super Dodge-ball!!! After the rules were explained (which actually took quite a while), we split up into two groups of 5 girls and 5 guys; since there weren’t enough of us, most of us had to double up.

The rules were basically – one Seminar House vs. another, each with a team of 10. Two people from the team are stationed on the outside of the of the opposing teams court, while the other 8 are within. There are 3 dodge-balls and a game of jankenpon (scissors-paper-rock) determines which team starts with two balls. Basically, you get sent the outside if you get hit by a ball, but you’re safe if you catch it, or you get hit above the shoulders. The person who hits you gets to go back inside their court. The people on the inside can also try to hit members of the other team; but they remain inside. The matches are 5 minutes, and the winning team is the one that either has the most people left in the middle by the end of the 5 minutes, or has sent every member of the opposing team to the outside. It was a very intense game. But guess what… we won every match! It was tournament style, so there ended up being 6 matches (7 if you include the tie-breaker we had with Seminar House 1). I ended up being in 6 out of the 7 matches, and I had such a great time. A memorable moment was when I was the last person on the inside and I managed to dodge all three balls that were coming at me in quick succession; this gave my team a chance to get other members back in. At the time, I hadn’t even realised the significance of it, but afterwards everyone congratulated me, which made me swell with pride; we had great team spirit.

Throughout the day, Rebecca (our leader), rallied us together, screamed at us, and got us to do the Seminar House pose in a big circle. I really felt a strong connection with everyone, and I think that’s what got us through; the team work and communication. There were also a few kids playing (the children of the professors’), and they were also putting a great effort in; it was especially funny seeing them in tug-of-war. Unfortunately, I can’t say that the day ran completely smooth. Our second match, against Seminar House 1, became very heated as both sides accused the other of cheating; this was the one that ended in a tie-breaker. This one guy came up to Angela (Rachel’s roommate), and threw one of the balls at her as hard as he could; so I heard. She went off crying, and oh boy did Rachel chew that guys face off; she told me she had wanted to punch him. He really did display terrible sportsmanship though. When the places were being announced, and we received trophies (they were beautiful), he went up to receive his houses place and trophy (3^rd), and showed very little enthusiasm; what a sore loser. I was actually really surprised when it was announced that we were 2^nd; I guess dodge-ball had counted for more than we’d expected. Apart from trophies, we also received gifts, which meant candy in other words. After the closing ceremony, congratulations, eating and photo-taking, we slowly made our way back to the dorm, elated.

It was 5 by the time we got back. I went to my room for a little while, and then went up to the kitchen; we were going to have a party at 6! Rebecca had asked Liz if she could bake a cake for it, and with little time to prepare, she was in a bit of a fix. Chelsea, Julie, and I helped her out though, contributing hands and ingredients, and just in time, we had a cake in the oven. There were heaps of drinks and snacks, that people had kindly contributed, and at around 6:30, the pizza came that Yuji had ordered. Since Rachael and I had made plans to go to New Delhi for dinner, we didn’t have any, but that didn’t stop us from getting stuck into the sweets. We all got a bit of cake too, and it turned out amazing; such a simple recipe too. Finally, Rachael and I said our farewells, and made our way over to New Delhi. The curry was amazing, and as usual they brought us heaps of extra food; I was absolutely stuffed. We sat and talked for a while, and then eventually left for home; it was a cold walk back... I’m absolutely exhausted now, and although there was an open invitation to go to Karaoke with Rachel, Katie and Ash, I’m certainly not up for it. Hugo’s gone out to celebrate with Tristan since it’s his birthday. All I’m going to do now though is sleep…

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…