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| Ok so it has been forever...... but this one goes out to Tien (do some work!)
First off because this has occurred to me recently, my host family is wayyy too nice.
It has started getting cold here in good old Kyoto and so now every single day my host family has to make sure that my room isn't too cold. I had been sleeping on a futon, like the traditional Japanese way but once it started getting cold my host mom kept giving me more layers to put on it. It started out as one mattress thingy on the floor, then progressed to a mattress and a pad, then to a mattress, a pad, and another blanket. Well I was pretty toasty but I guess that wasn't enough. So then she gave me like a super thick down comforter to sleep under. From a regular futon it turned into like two below me and one on top. I thought that was enough...... but was I wrong. So like two days three days ago they bought me a bed. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, it's an amazing bed (almost didn't wake up for school the first day after I got it), but this just shows the extent of how nice these people are. I would have been ok with the futon....
I also got the privilege of hanging out with them this past Sunday. They took me out to びわこ(lake Biwa), and a town around it called 長浜(Nagahama) and I got to see them in action. I say it that way because entertain me so much. First we have my host mother who when we went to the buffet in a hotel over-looking the lake, cleverly got two huge plates of everything for us to share when the line got too long. Now her father worked at Toyota since it began so she grew up in a wealthy family, but she has to have one of the nicest personalities I have seen. Then there is my host father who somehow eats more than I do and seems more in shape than me. He is from the 田舎(countryside/rural area) and is always the one to make the jokes about various Japanese customs and such. He is the one that when we get a free sample and then end up buying something, that we got "had". I have a picture that will explain it. Together though they make an unstoppable team that keeps me laughing on the inside and outside all day.
Here is the illusive host parents and myself getting some kind of medicinal burning treatment. I didn't really understand most of it but it had something to do with relieving aches and pains. This is the place where my host dad said we got trapped into buying something.... might be why I am laughing.
Anyway here are some more pics from that trip:
me with a statue of something that my host dad said I looked stronger than.
Lake Biwa as we are driving up
Another shot of the lake. If you see that big boat kinda in the left half that is the ミシガン船(Michigan boat). It is named after the coolest state ever, Michigan. You can also have meals and parties on it.
Here is a canal in 長浜(Nagahama) which reminded me a little of Venice.... but not that much, it was just cool looking.
Ok I should do some work now but if I remember something funny or strange I will make sure to post it up!
Oh and here is my bike as requested.....
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| Stories....So it has been a while let's see what I can remember....
Well a while ago I went to a bar called Bar Moonwalk. I know very ambiguous starting but bear with me. So two of my friends from the states, Sam and Chas went with me to this bar in Kyoto called Bar Moonwalk. Well it turns out there are really 4 of them on the same street, some big chain, but that is beside the point. So we get there and being the huge 外人 (gaijin, foreigners) we are we stuck out like three really big sore thumbs. This bar has to be my favorite because its one small room that is kinda long and only has one long table in it so you literally have to sit with whoever else is at the bar also. Its very good for the social atmosphere. Now either the fact that the place was so small or we were just so big meant that one of us could fill the whole doorway, blocking everything. Remember that fact.....
Ok, so we get in and there are already a good amount of people there but there is enough room just for us. So we are surrounded by all Japanese people. As we walk in there are some guys doing shots and they see us and start yelling hello and greeting us. Well we sit down and they proceed to pour us tequila shots. So we get to know these guys, talk to them and everyone else in the bar. We are having a good time, drinking, when all of a sudden one of the guys starts yelling at his friend and then jumps across the table swinging. The three of us were shocked, and didn't know what to do. This is where the size factor sets in.
Now I am not really that big of a guy, about 6'1" (185.5cm), 189 lb. (85.8 kg), but Sam and Chas are bigger, and the guy was about 2/3 my size. Therefore, we controlled the place quite nicely. After a lot of yelling, and a lot of us moving people, we finally got the guy out of the bar. For him to only run back in 5 mins later. Again we pretty much pick him up and get him to leave. The three of us this time waiting, blocking the doorway, till he gets in the elevator with his friends and is on his way. I felt kind of useful and because of that the bartender remembers us every time we come back.
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Next,
So on Saturday the 20th. we had a class field trip to Nara. So I take my bike to the train station in the morning and leave it nearby. Something I do frequently. Well we go to Nara, had a good time, then came back at like 4pm. I go to get my bike and bam!, it isn't where I left it......
Well now I should tell you that parking a bike here in Kyoto is sometimes an art. Most places that you would think are convenient places to park a bike, like near the train station, next to a store, or even a business, are illegal places to park. That is where the art comes in. If you can find a place that you think is safe grab it and hope your bike doesn't get towed, cause they do impound bikes here.....
So my bike is missing. The problem is that I had put it in a JTB parking area. I kind of just lifted it over the chain that was blocking the place off and decided that it would be safe. Bad assumption. I am think either someone took it (not likely), or they towed it (more likely). So I take the train home feeling kinda shitty. Well I get home, talk to my parents about it and they are like we will inquire about it after dinner. So after dinner we drive to the place where I left it. I show them where it was and they read the sign on the cone near there. Paraphrasing, the cone said, "Private parking area if you park here without permission we can get 1 man en from you." (1 man en = $100). Now I am really freaking....
So we are looking in the building trying to find someone to ask if I could please get my bike back. We can't find anyone so we are getting something to write with when I happen to glance in this public parking lot and see it. I was so surprised. My host dad says the management must have saw it and moved it to the public lot in front for me..... nicest effin people ever.
So those are the good ones lately. I am sure there are more to come..... here is a couple of my favorite pics from the temple in Nara......
On our way to the Entrance of Horyuji
Bunch of little kids in yellow hats.... must have been a field trip
Layout of the temple complex....
Yay Pagoda
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| A little down-time......Ok so now I am getting used to being here. I have settled into a routine; get up at 7:15am for breakfast, go to school at around 8:30, eat lunch with friends (usually Chas, Sam, Keiko, and Toku), then either go to another class or go home. Besides Japanese language I am taking Kansai Area Art and Busines Growth and Development, which both seem really fun. Oh and by the way if my English is really poor I am sorry but its hard to speak it anymore. I get home for dinner at 6-6:30 then after I watch some TV do some work then go to bed. I met the daughter of my host parents and she is really nice. Speaks perfect english (maybe because she is an ESL grad student in Tokyo).
Random thing that I just found if you are bored...... http://www.icechewing.com/
I am gonna change this into more of a site for my crazy stories.... which I have some already but I am sure there will be more to come.
Here is a nice one that has happened since last post.
So my new friend, Sam, and I were walking in this mall called Teramachi. It is a big covered street with lots of shops on it. Seeing as we are both pretty big white guys, we got a ton of stares (which I am getting used to). All of a sudden 3 or 4 middle school aged buys were walking in front of us and turned around and asked us where we were from. We promptly said America and one boy replied "beautiful". Feeling as if we needed to set them straight, Sam explained that that term was only used to describe women in America and that men were "handsome".
We felt like we righted a wrong and went on with our shopping.
I have to go to class, but I will post some pics later.
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