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.