Follow the logic: a one month anniversary is paper in the States (as determined by my family and I), so the Japanese version is a cute little paper crane, right? Makes sense to me.
Let’s see; Dickinson’s money has arrived, which means that I won’t go broke in the immediate future! Hooray! I also used a little bit of it to take care of some nagging issues that have prevented me from keeping in touch with people…but more on that later.
This last week went pretty well. I’m settling into IJ 400 and my quiz scores have finally evened out, although the grammar quizzes still stump me at times. Japanese Foreign Policy remains fascinating and Japanese Culture and Art I is giving me new insight into the Japanese way of life and why certain things are the way they are. For instance, the long roofs of old-style Japanese houses and temples allowed the inhabitants to leave doors open even when it rained, which allowed them to feel closer to nature. Given that most Tanka poems from long ago are written about nature and beautiful moments in nature, this was quite important. It’s also a pretty darn good idea. Score one for 24/7 fresh air! Also, I have now completed all the forms that the Center for Japanese Studies needs to make sure I won’t be deported, etc. Things are finally calming down, which is good. Having time to breathe is nice.
This is especially true considering that Friday between Japanese and Japanese Culture and Art I raced to the bank and back to ensure that I would be able to access my Dickinson funds for the weekend. That said, I spent a quiet night at home, as I had sweat enough for one day, and was quite tired having run across town and back in time for a 3:15 class. It was no small feat considering I had to rely on the subway and my own pedaling power on an undersized bike, but I managed to do it.
Saturday was much more eventful. I woke up, had breakfast, and headed for Sakae. “Jeez, don’t you ever go anywhere new?” you’re thinking. “We’ve been there and done that!” Ah, but this was no ordinary visit to Sakae, you see. Finally, I have purchased a Japanese cell phone so I can actually coordinate activities with people! Here it is:
“Yeah, that’s a phone,” you’re thinking, “And it’s really square, and kind of chunky looking.” You might be right:
Yes, it’s as thick as one of my textbooks from Japanese at Dickinson.
“Holy crap!” you’re thinking. “That’s huge! It’s a brick!” Again, you’d be wrong. It really doesn’t weigh as much as you’d expect, and it’s chunky for a reason. What reason is that, you ask? A fine question. For one:
“Wow, Japan’s really messing with Jeff’s head. He thinks not being able to read the cell phone is a GOOD thing??” Wait for it…
Bam! That screen closes down to become the viewfinder for the camera function. And what a beauty of a screen it is:
It’s sharper than any phone in the States, and frankly, this is where the Japanese are kicking our butts up and down the street all day long. The thing does e-mail, document editing, scanning (via pictures so clear you can print from them), games and more. Of course, I went as cheap as I could and forewent the e-mail. A mistake? I don’t think so, but we’ll see. There are even models on which you can watch full-fledged TV. Seriously. The screen flips sideways to emulate a widescreen TV. It’s insane, and in some ways puts the iPhone to shame (gasp! Here comes the Apple army, ready to slay me). How big a camera could possibly be in a cell phone, you wonder? I’ve got your answer:
Wow. AND 3x optical zoom!
So there you have it. A brief tour of the Japanese cell phone world.
After making my purchase, I walked around Sakae to see what was happening. As it was definitely raining this time with no signs of letting up, I had my umbrella out and there was no way that any bands would be playing today. That’s when I came across this:
These brave souls were organizing a 42-hour hunger strike to protest the current conditions in Burma. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but suffice it to say that a Japanese journalist was killed in the recent demonstrations taking place there, and the nation as a whole is pretty ticked. These people decided to show it. It was pretty powerful. I couldn’t really understand all of what the guy with the handset was saying, but they were all chanting, and were pretty secure in their convictions. It was also a media frenzy, as you can probably see in some of the pictures. It ended up on the news for the next couple of nights.
After I realized the same speech was being made several times over, I decided to wander down toward where I had come out the last time, trying to find Katy, and I came upon the bus terminal. Not too exciting, right? Well in the classic Japanese style, this is a shopping center as well, and today was its anniversary, so they had a full-fledged fashion show and stalls out the wazoo.
They had the music cranked up to 11 on this one, and people were sitting right in front of the stage, slowly going deaf while they admired the fashions trotted out before them. An older man stopped me mid-stride and began talking to me in English. He made tatami mats (the traditional straw mats that make up the floors of old Japanese houses and some beds in the traditional style), and was selling them at the fair. I suspected he was practicing his English that he had picked up during the War, or perhaps the Occupation. At any rate, he was still plugging away, and it made me smile to see a little guy like that putting himself out there instead of giving me that classic “Ew, who let the gaijin in?” look I might expect from someone his age. I wandered around checking out the stalls, which were mainly selling traditional goods made by local artisans, and walked into the Shonen Jump store (Shonen Jump, for those that are unfamiliar with it, is a magazine that is 99.9% anime-related). Dragon Ball Z products abound, and children of all ages (including what appeared to be an adolescent transvestite–bravo to him for proudly wearing what he likes!) were running in and out of the tiny store, looking for that perfect pack of trading cards or what have you. There was also a store selling all manner of Studio Ghibli products. This was AMAZING. They had several set pieces from all the famous Hayao Miyazaki films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke and more. I was thrilled just looking at all of them (considering they were all REALLY expensive and I wasn’t willing to part with too much more money than I already had this day), and they were insanely detailed. After getting my anime-related consumer fix, I went off in search of lunch, and chose a nice looking Panera-esque cafe (I was craving some pasta, ok? I have plenty of time for Japanese food). Other than the fact that it smelled like cancer thanks to the smoking business men a few tables away, it was a very pleasant experience. The whole terminal, I should add, had a very interesting structure over it that acted like a roof, which was very handy considering the rain, but it didn’t cover everything.
Oooooo, futuristic! Rain also gathered on top, and was visible as it ran over the glass. Pretty cool.
I was then distracted by the fact that the Aichi Prefecture Art Museum was located off one wing of the bus terminal. I headed in for a look, and found that it was 8 floors, plus two basement floors! The top four floors or so were all galleries, but they were 600-800 yen a shot, so I decided I’d wait until they had a really interesting exhibit going, because I’d already studied Lautrec (the current painter on display) in High School French. For a while I sat on a bench and explored all the options on my phone, and decided to head off to greener pastures. As I was walking downstairs, I noticed a march coming down the street outside. Racing down the stairs (and once again feeling like Jason Bourne trying to catch up to someone) I came out on the ground floor just in time to realize that they were a group of hardcore nationalists, marching against China (evident from their banner, which had the Chinese flag with a large X over it) and also something about Kim Jong-Il. I videotaped part of the march and the rally they held in a nearby park, and the video is coming soon, I swear! Nanzan’s weird proxy settings are once again rearing their ugly head by blocking Google’s Video Uploader when it tries to connect to the server, but that’s not an issue anymore. More on why later.
The nationalists disbanded after their rally, and I set off in search of a DVD shop. I have been searching for a DVD of Cat Soup, which is a gorgeous, surrealist anime I saw on YouTube back in the States. I thought it was a series, but as it turns out it’s one half-hour animated short. Nevertheless, I wanted to see it in DVD quality, because it’s weird, confusing, and utterly mesmerizing. I walked into several shops I found along the way (almost all of which had rather large adult sections that are not really separated from the rest of the store; the rumors I had heard about the Japanese not having a problem with this seem to hold true, and while I didn’t expect to have a problem ignoring it, it is a little strange. I decided to make my way to Parco, the three-tower department store with a Tower Records in it, and hope that the large selection would lead me to the prize. I was wrong, but I did find a CD by Certainly, Sir that you can’t get in the States without resorting to a hefty order from Amazon, so I bought it. Continuing my quest, I walked down the main drag, walking into DVD store after DVD store until finally I looked around and thought “Hm, that Bay Meiho Amusement Center looks familiar…” Looking down, I saw the Mega Kebab–I walked two subway stops back to Kamimaezu! After getting over the shock of this, I saw a fairly well-lit alleyway with several shops lining both sides, so I headed into the DVD store. Western movies and anime abound! “Jackpot!” I thought. I looked up and down the aisles, and it turns out the anime section was fairly short. I rounded the next corner only to be greeted by skimpy lingerie and little corset-like outfits. Uh, whoops? The whole wall opposite this section (which wrapped around to the front of the store) consisted entirely of adult DVDs. Making a quick exit (and wondering how the woman working there could rest comfortably with the fact that half of the store she works in objectifies and demeans her sex), I noticed that this alley was actually the back end of the long outdoor mall in Kamimaezu. I went back the way I came, giving up my search for Cat Soup for the weekend. On my quest for something to eat for dinner, I came across another temple nestled in the heart of urban life.
I also took a picture of the full sign and a (VERY) fuzzy picture of the outside door, because my flash is inferior and I don’t have a tripod to take truly steady shots.
More pics will follow if I actually get the chance to go inside sometime. Which reminds me, the Robot Museum has officially closed its doors! I should’ve paid more attention because I totally could have visited and paid whatever price to see it, but my father sent me a notice about the closure that I didn’t get until Monday, and the last day was Sunday, September 30. Zannen, desu ne! (That’s a shame!) My apologies to anyone else who was looking forward to pictures of all the animatronic gizmos inside the Museum. Perhaps someone will reopen it while I’m still here. In the meantime, we can only dream…
I decided to eat at Yoshinoya again (the Japanese fast food-esque place), where I got the large size bowl of rice and meat because I’d walked a fair bit. I wandered around the department stores one more time, this time picking up some 70% dark chocolate with peppermint shavings and some drinkable yogurt (which sounded more interesting than milk, but was a middling drinking experience) for a little dessert, and headed back a little bit early, where I indulged in a few rounds of Virtua Fighter 5 at the local arcade, and was consequently almost late getting home. Satoko was very interested in my cell phone, and several times we failed to get my number in her phone book. After failing for a fourth time (I can’t read all the Japanese in her phone and try as she might, she can’t keep up with all technology), I headed for bed. Fin.
My mosquito killing skill continues to grow apace. There are a lot of them here.
Sunday was another quiet day spent doing homework and studying for the various quizzes this week, and nothing particularly of note happened, perhaps excepting the continuing hilarious interplay between my host parents. Shogo tends to talk incessantly, and when I understand what he’s saying, he’s usually said it once already that day or the day before. This gets on Satoko’s nerves, and she doesn’t hesitate to let him know it. The stereotypical Japanese housewife image does NOT hold here. She frequently smacks him on the arm and tells him to be quiet. Today, it was a one-two punch combination. As we sat watching golf on TV during the usual break time around 4:00, Shogo began telling all sorts of stories, culminating in Satoko telling him to be quiet because he was annoying, and when he continued, she finally told him to shut up (damare). It was quite entertaining.
Monday got off to a rough start. It was raining, and instead of being smart and going back for my rain jacket, I opted for my umbrella. Long story short, I lost control of the bike and although I remained upright for the duration, the bike and thus my backpack and laptop were not so lucky. “Crap, I broke my laptop” was the first thought I had, albeit using slightly stronger language. Nevermind that in my struggle to remain in control I had attempted to grab onto a garden’s brick wall, thus receiving several small cuts and a rather nasty one under my left pinky on the side of my hand, which was beginning to bleed slightly. I packed everything up again (the bike was fine, by the way) and continued on. At the train station I checked in on the laptop to find a nice crack on the left corner of the screen casing. “Awesome, the screen won’t work,” I thought. I also had a vocab quiz. It was going to be one of those days.
Upon arriving at Nanzan, I was relieved to find that my laptop still functions perfectly well, with no problems whatsoever with the screen. Yokatta (good). The day improved when I totally aced my Vocabulary Quiz, getting a 10/10. The rest of the day passed with no further accidents, spills or explosions, and when I got home, the day finally became as awesome as I’d hoped it would be in the first place.
The Shimozawas now have DSL.
Hear that? That’s the chorus of angels singing from on high as the clouds part to reveal unrestricted internet access without weird proxy settings and other strangeness. I’m not going to monopolize their internet, obviously, but I have been given permission to use it when I need it. Hallelujah! The first step to this was their new laptop, which arrived a couple weeks ago, and Monday was the day they got connected. Huzzah! I’ve used it once for my listening homework, and it’s fairly speedy. This is why the Google Video server problem is a non-issue. The videos should be up this weekend if I play my cards right.
Other than that, the week has been pretty quiet so far. I had my kanji quiz today, which went well despite some wickedly complicated characters, and I have to give my two-minute self-introduction speech on Friday. I’m thinking about where to go this weekend, and I’m thinking I might visit the monkey park in Higashiyama Kouen (Higashiyama Park). A park full of monkeys? How can you say no? We’ll see.
So now that I’ve been here a month, has my Japanese improved? Yes, and in weird and often intangible ways that I will attempt to make tangible with the power of words. I am getting better at picking out words and phrases that I’ve learned, but I’m still not good enough to be the fly on the wall that I’d like to be when people suspect that the baka gaijin next to them doesn’t know what they’re saying. Simply by living in Japan, I am surrounded by spoken Japanese, and thus absorb a good deal of the speech patterns during my daily life. I now understand Shogo and Satoko most of the time when they speak to me, and sometimes when they speak to each other too. School is helping my writing skills along, and the grammar I’m learning I can often use when I get home, which helps immensely. I’m nowhere near fluent yet, but I hope to be more than competent by the end of my year here, which seems entirely possible given the improvement I’ve noticed over just one month. I really want to floor some unsuspecting Japanese with my listening skills in the future.
“Just one month.” Yet, “Already one month.” My homestay is over in December, and by Halloween, it will be half over. This is an odd feeling, because I feel like I’ve only just arrived. Midterms are also looming large this month, which seems way too fast. I’m also going to miss certain things about the homestay, like the little episodes with Satoko and Shogo. I’m going to miss the quiet moments in which Satoko explains to me that Shogo wasn’t always so loud and strong; he became so around age 50, she said, and as she put it, “after 20 years…it’s a little annoying.” There is so much more time left after the homestay, but it is already going too fast in places. I also find myself in the difficult position of wanting to keep tabs on what’s happening in America (other than the MLB playoffs, which thanks to the number of Japanese players gets a fair amount of coverage in baseball-crazy Japan. Go Phillies, woo!) while also keeping tabs on Japanese current events in Japanese that I can understand (or English, in the case of the crazy political system). Then I run into the trouble of “Oh, I’d like to see that movie!” or “Wow, Britney lost custody of her kids!” (Honestly I don’t really care about the latter–I’m just showing off because I’m fairly on top of things), and I want to be in both places simultaneously. I don’t worry immensely about missing out on all of the happenings in America, but I’ve never been away for so long before. My previous trips outside the country have been two weeks at most. I know it’s going to be a very different place when I come back.
And I’m sort of fine with that.
October 3, 2007 at 1:34 am
P.S. I promise the next post will have more pictures–this one got front-loaded, and I realize there’s a lot of text here. I hope you’ll read it all anyway!
October 3, 2007 at 9:06 am
Good Blog! I am still waiting for photos of the Simozawa’s neighborhood and outside of their home, but I can be patient. I would have enjoyed seeing the umbrella bike episode. I am sure several locals had a good laugh at the gaijin dumping his laptop off the undersized girl’s bike. Maybe it will show up on YouTube. Nice phone by the way. They make ours look like tin cans and string. So far the Phillies playoff news has taken the media heat off of the Eagles dumping their third loss of the season. Only a wired generation likes yours could keep up with the news on two continents at once.
October 3, 2007 at 11:27 am
Hey, does Sakoto’s bike have a rear fender to stop the water running up your back when you ride in the rain, or do you go to class with a stripe up your pants and shirt?
October 3, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Yes, Satoko’s bike has a fender, and no I don’t ride around with a stripe up my back. Although with the little basket on the back of the bike my backpack would get the majority of the spray anyway. Patience, grasshopper on the photos. I’ll get there. The locals weren’t exactly laughing, but they certainly weren’t helping either. It’s not the social norm in Japan. My classic example for this comes from a Sesame Street article on Wikipedia (if it’s false, they’ve snowed at least one person). In one episode, a child running on the school track trips and falls. Sesame Workshop wanted the other children to stop and help him up, but Japan insisted this was unrealistic. Sesame Workshop won out in the end, and the episode aired with the children helping the fallen boy. And it really wasn’t all that funny to me; did I mention I was bleeding?