Election Day

While I was working hard on making flash cards of different grammatical points (and getting distracted by various things), Japanese citizens went out to vote yesterday. It was a gray day with rains all day. I thought about how me the student and Japanese the voters were working hard on their own task. I expected a certain disappointing result, and the weather reflected the result.

wine jello

I enjoyed my first (red) wine jello with my homestay mother a few minutes ago. It was delightfully delicious, gently shook in the bowl and the spoon, and remained cool in my mouth and down my throat. If I can consume alcohol in the form of jello, I think I might have liked alcohol already.

Hot Spring to celebrate Fourth of July

What can be more patriotic than eating Japanese-style foods and entering into the hot spring? After 3 hours of bus ride, we arrived at a hot spring hotel. We first had the full-course Japanese meal, which included shabu shabu hot pot, soup, fried fish, steamed egg, rice, and other dishes.

Everyone was embarrassed about being all naked in front of others, and used the towel to cover their bodies. I followed the crowd in this case. I also followed the crowd (walked into the hot bathtub without covering my naked body). It rained while we were sitting in the outdoor hot spring. It rained fairly hard at one point, but the three of us (from a group of 7 women) enjoyed the drops of rain that flew down our bodies. I could not distinguish my sweat drops from the raindrops.

Lost children?

An elementary school boy (4th to 6th grade) had huge pearl-like tears flowing down his cheeks inside the train today. It looked like he got on the train the same time as I, and was sobbing non-stopped for a while. Everyone around him stared at him, but did not know what to do. Finally a middle-aged woman asked him what was wrong, etc. He stopped sobbing at times, but would start again. My listening skill did not enable me to understand what he said, and thus the cause of his emotion remained unknown. I hope that he made it back home safely.

Right after I got off the train, I saw a pre-kindergarten boy standing on the platform by himself. With his loud and clear voice, he asked, "Mom, where are you?" I heard a response, and located the mother after the second time. I pointed out to him, but he did not hear/see me until after I told him the second time. It might have been that he also heard his mother that time, as his mother walked toward us.

Home alone

My host family mother went on her China trip today. I will be home alone for the next four days and three nights. This is my first experience being a responsible pet-carer. I have to make sure the 16-year-old dog Jon and the 14-year-old cat Mew are happy with how much they are eating and walking.

Midterm

I felt awful before, during, and after taking the Japanese midterm last Friday. Various people heard my complaints (sorry about that, but thanks!). The test score was better than I thought, especially the grammar portion, but it was still pretty bad. I was afraid I cannot face my teacher anymore, but while asking her questions during her office hour today, she murmured that it is okay to not be able to memorize all the grammar. She murmured it after I first murmured that I could not (mentally) memorize all the grammar we learned in class.

I am not sure if I should be relieved or not. Nevertheless, I have come up with a different way of studying to prepare for the final exam.

Cost of Lunch equals Cost of Dessert

I saw my previous conversation partner, Shigemoto-san, Carla and her husband Jonathan, and Carla's previous conversation partner, Fujii-san, in Namba on Sunday. We had wonderful Italian pasta. I enjoyed the thick (forgot the name) pasta with eggplants. My first blood-mary orange juice was also awesome! The multi-layered fruit-crepe-cake and iced coffee tickled my taste bud. I was the first to finish the cake, but the last to finish my drink. The lunch and the dessert set cost about the same, 1380 yen versus 1350 yen. We got treated by both conversation partners for the lunch and the dessert.

I cannot thank them enough. I might need to start to record everything and every meal I receive from Japanese people...

Beer and Okinawa

I experienced many first's this past Saturday. For the first time in my life, I had a big mug of beer when I dined with my secondary advisor Alan, a prominent Japan scholar Yoshi and his two children, my senpai Michael, and my kohai Dustin. The Okinawa-themed dishes were amazing! I had never had many of these dishes before.

At last, Arashiyama

To erase my regret of not having gone to Arashiyama last year, I rode the special Torokko Train through the mountains on Friday. We went through many tunnels, with all transportation fees paid for by the program. The greenery and fresh air, coupled with the mist and the light rain made it an unforgettable experience. I could only imagine how much more beautiful it would be during the autumn season, when all the greenery turns into multiple shade of yellow and orange colors.

The bamboo forest was also amazing. Tall, evergreen bamboo trees reached up to the sky and created shades for all who walked through the forest.

On the other hand, Tenryuji's huge dragon painting and amazing garden created excitement and calmness simultaneously. The dragon painting relocated me to the artists' mind and heart as they were painting it. The large tatami room next to the garden looked like the perfect place for a nap, but it was a serious meditation hall.

After everyone had left, I climbed the Jojakkoji temple with another program participant. The variant elevation, and types of plants and buildings, as well as a breathtaking view of Arashiyama city made it a worthwhile trip.

Edo/Tokugawa Period

I relived the Edo/Tokugawa period last Friday. After learning how to put on kimono myself, with multiple re-adjustments from the kimono teachers, I took tiny but quick steps toward the Nijo Castle. A world heritage site, the Nijo castle was completed in 1626. The joy from the experience of taking small steps on the wooden floor within the castle, admiring large wonderful door-and-window paintings, and feeling the natural light coming into the building was breathtaking. I only wished most of the other students had taken more time to enjoy the visual and auditory experiences that Nijo-castle had to offer.

When Real Life intersects with the movie, Dear Dr.

While watching the Japanese movie, Dear Dr., a medical "emergency" happened in the classroom. Right after the scene where the doctor inserted two needle tubes into a patient who could not breath, someone in the classroom dropped flatly onto the floor. As everyone gathered around the student, I ran out to get the teachers. When I returned to the classroom with three teachers, the student was still laying on the floor. One teacher thought the student fell asleep, or that the changing/flashing lights from the movie had made him faint. The student replied, "I was not asleep" and "This is my first time." He asked other students to help him get up, and then left the classroom with the teachers.

It was not until after they left the room that I noticed my heart was pounding loudly. I recalled my first reaction as, "Did something happen to his brain? His heart? Is he going to die soon?" He dropped to the floor right after the critical scene from the movie. It was the climax of the movie, when the doctor was making a critical decision to save the man's life.

God's angry voice?

As I lay down to sleep last night, an earth-shattering thunder hit the area. I was fortunate that I happened to open my eyes when the lightning hit. It prepared me for the coming angry sound. Even though I was ready for it, I was not ready for its loudness. It was the loudest thunder I have heard in my life. It then made me nervous because I wondered if the lightning was really close to us, and wondered if another lightening would hit and set the house on fire. (Note: Japanese houses are mostly made of wood.)

The thunder reminded me of that one eventful night more than 20 years ago... I was eight-year-old, home alone. Each time the thunder came, more tears flew down my cheeks as I trembled.

The Return of the Ear Problem

My ear problem has returned. It got much better for a couple of days, but then the problem returned. I wonder if this pattern will persist throughout my stay in Japan. It better go away by the time I go to Korea and Taiwan.

Karaoke

I finally got my first experience going to a karaoke box in Japan. I had fun singing, but I missed my practice partner, Mariana-san, from the Japan Foundation program last year. It also cost more than I thought. With the Japanese system, it is better to have less people karaoking.

Deer Nara

Nara, one of my favorite cities, has nothing but deers and tourists in the summer. The aggressiveness of the deers has not changed, although I touched the back of two female deers and one male's antler this time around. I wondered where the deers stay at during the winter. I saw a lot less deers when I was there some winter ago.

Deer Nara, you are different from Deer UC Santa Cruz. You get to eat so much more food- shika senbei (deer crackers/cookies)- than your counterparts at UC Santa Cruz. Good for you, but how wild are you then? Food-wise, your friends at UC Santa Cruz are definitely more wild than you are. Human-befriendli-ness-wise, you are more wild.

Learning from Jon

I walked a dog for the first time in my life. I have never had any pet before. This dog (Jon) is my home-stay mother's pet. He is a 16-year-old dog who has taught me a lot today. He helped me with putting collar on him by lowering his head. He waited patiently as I linked the straps and turned off the light before our walk. He confirmed what I have seen on TV and heard- marking his territories all over the place. The only thing he did not help me with was picking up his "digested leftover food." I thought I would pick up/clean my children's before a pet's. Furthermore, Jon decided to do it twice, and on the road instead of on the sidewalk. Luckily not many cars were around us when he did that.

While we were taking the walk, I remembered what someone once said, "It is not the person who is walking the dog, but the dog who is walking the person." Jon led me the whole time, except when I had to pull him back to prevent him from getting run over by cars. He was also the one who decided when we would come home.

Raining in Kyoto

I do not remember the rainy season from Osaka last year. It was probably because the Japan Foundation Kansai Center sheltered us in the same building all the time. Staying with a host family this time around means I am living like a Japanese person, a person with a mother waiting for me to come home and preparing a wonderful dinner for me everyday. Besides the mother, I also got two siblings- a (very old) cute dog and a (very old) elegant cat.

I am not used to have to commute in the humid, rainy weather, but I am learning to live like a Japanese, and to carry on with my daily routine here in Kyoto. Every Japanese person seems to rush through their days in the rain, in the same manner as when there is no rain.

Osaka Namba- Reunion of Kansai center teachers and students

I was excited to see my senpai's, Carla, Michael Jin, Michael's wife Neda, and Kansai Center's two teachers, Yazawa-sensei and Noborizato-sensei, in Namba today. We ate delicious Korean foods. Yazawa-sensei gave us "student-discount."

When everyone was quiet, I would sit and enjoy everyone's company. It was good to know and feel that I was with these wonderful people. I have now with less words, and have come to appreciate people's company without feeling uncomfortable with silences.

An interesting doctor

I went to see a doctor today. Something has been wrong with my ears for a week, but it got worse over the weekend. The doctor tried speaking English with me the entire time. I had trouble understanding her technical words and her accent. But I had a great experience because she explained everything she was about to do and described the purpose of every treatment.

The only "negative" thing was that the clinic did not accept my insurance card. I am going to have to get reimbursed. It cost less than I thought, especially after the doctor apologized for charging a bit high for a non-insurance-holding patient.