athousand_suns's Xanga

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Sat, 24 Dec 2005 10:30:18 GMT

update...

so it's Christmas eve, and it feels weird that I'm just sitting around eating ice cream. although I guess that fact that I have had nothing to build up to this night (decorating, shopping, etc.) makes it feel like it's not really Christmas. but that fact that I know it is and I'm missing is kind of a downer.

tomarrow though I'm having lunch with this Irish guy named Damien who comes to my school on Fridays to teach English. he said I deserved a break from the Japanese for Christmas and invited me to his apartment along with two other American teachers living in the area for a Christmas meal. after that, my host family is having some people over for dinner, which is really nice of them because I know they are just having a "Christmas party" to try and make me feel at home. Christmas isn't really celebrated here, and only really gets recognition because it is western, which automatically equals cool. it more or less it just a big marketing ploy. although I guess you could make the same complaint about Christmas in America, there is at least some element of a "holiday spirit" there. there are people here that believe by putting up their lights, pre-ordering KFC dinners weeks in advance (which for some reason the Japanese think is traditional Christmas dinner), and eating "Christmas cake" they are getting at the real meaning of Christmas, but it usually falls a little short. but (although it sounds kind of lame), I think my host family, by doing all that they have for me, unknowingly are embodying the holiday spirit perfectly. I really can't thank them enough.

yesterday there was an AFS Christmas party down in this town named Obu. I thought it would be just a couple of the kids in the Toyota area, but it was actually well over 100 people (including consolers and Japanese kids who have been AFS exchange students). it turned out to be a really good time, and it was good to see some people that I met back in august, but haven't seen since then. after the party, about 20 exchange students with a couple other Japanese kids went to karaoke, which was also a good time. I am a horrendous singer, but after going a couple times I realized that the only way to look stupider than trying to sing is by just sitting their being self-conscious about yourself. I've grown to like karaoke alot. after that, most people left but myself, Justin (from Pennsylvania), David (Chile), and Howie (Malaysia) went and walked around Nagoya station. I've gotten to know the three of them pretty well because they all live right near me and we all go out once in a while.

going back a little further, I went to Kyoto about a week ago which turned out to be just as amazing as I expected it to be. I've found I sometimes have expectations that are way to high for various things, and often get let down, but luckily that didn't happen with Kyoto. I'll post some pictures soon.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas.

edit: i forgot to mention i got accepted at DePaul. it feels really good to hear that I'm in somewhere. the big one i'm waiting to hear on is U of I at Urbana though, because that would be one of the more difficult places for me to get into. U of I and DePaul are tied at the top of the places I'd like to go. U of I is overall a better school, but DePaul is located right in the middle of the city. i have trouble concieving how amazing that would be to go to school right in the middle of Chicago.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 12:07:02 GMT

in case you were wondering, that is new murder by death playing.

even if you disapprove of streaming music on xanga, i still suggest you give it a listen.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Sun, 04 Dec 2005 07:09:58 GMT

finally, the Japanese proficiency test is over. I signed up for it the day I got here, and its been on the back of my mind ever since. and despite my lack of studying, I think I did pretty well. my neglect to study was half due to laziness and half do to my want to see what I could learn on my own from just being immersed in every day life. fortunately the latter has done me very well.

last week I went with my host dad and saw a Japanese "variety" show in Nagoya. it was the strangest, most amazing thing ive ever seen. it consisted of five acts. the first was a traditional play tweaked a bit into a comedy of sorts. the second act was an enka performance. enka is Japanese popular music mixed with a traditional song structure that was made popular in the 50`s and 60`s. its actually pretty catchy stuff. it kind of reminded me of lounge music. anyway, after that there was a speech from this actor. then fourth my host dad and I missed because we went and ate some mediocre ramen. luckily, though, we returned for the fifth and final act which was something I believe you could only see in Japan. it was several interpretive dances which consisted of some of the most insane dancing and costumes i've ever seen. the finale sums it up the best. at one point there was a group of women in full body neon spandex suits, a group of men dressed in these furry pants and wearing makeup to make them look like women, two fat guys in chicken costumes, a guy in this extravagant traditional kimono, a talking robotic bird, and a giant robotic dinosaur with glowing red eyes and smoke billowing out of its mouth. and they were all dancing. I was so confused, but I loved it. I wish I had pictures, because only seeing it in person will give you a full grasp of what went on.

and now im going to go to bed. i'm especially tired today because I had to wake up early for the test after going to bed really late because I was watching E.R. several different seasons of E.R., Oz, and curb your enthusiasm (which I wish I would have checked out sooner, because while its no seinfeld, it is really fucking funny) have all worked their way into my weekly schedule.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 08:30:27 GMT

i never thought this day would come. rest in peace my old friend.

Pat Morita

1932-2005

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 07:58:11 GMT

at long last, an update!

I've uploaded pictures from my school trip to Nagasaki onto photobucket, so I can finally post some here. mypicgallery can burn in hell.

at the hotel

eating a strange japanese snack, preen.

Hois Ten Bosch, the recreation Dutch village. I have no idea why such a thing was created. it was still pretty interesting though.

all ready for Christmas, even though its not celebrated here.

Kofukuji Temple

I just noticed that there is a hand behind the pillar, and I have no idea whose it is.

Some random girls I met that wanted a picture with me (what can I say, I've just got that foreign charm)

Chinatown

And finally, a picture of Sakita aka the Griff Waterman of Japan.

and that was my trip.

today was nice because we didn't have school. I believe this was because of labor thanksgiving day. anyway, I went and saw a traditional kyogen play with my host dad at the library. although I couldn't understand the story, kyogen is a comedy, so there the characters actions were very amusing. this is the second time I've seen kyogen, the first being just last week when I went with my teacher and saw kyogen performed along noh at the noh theater in Nagoya. the costumes and dancing in noh are extremely interesting, except because I couldn't understand the story, and its not a comedy, some of it kind of dragged. this past week I also went to an onsen for a second time up in the mountains of nagano prefecture. needless to say, it was fantastic. that's all for now.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 09:07:09 GMT

Happy Birthday Mr.Cichosz.

Sorry there's not package coming your way, but international shipping rates are a bitch. I will have something for you though, which will either be shipped in a large Christmas package or brought back in February.

I did have some moderately funny pictures I wanted to post especially for you, but My Pic Gallery chose today to tell me that after a certain period, they shut down your free site and the only way to get your pictures back is to start paying. I fucking hate My Pic Gallery.

I love you though.

Have a great birthday.

Edit: Did I mention I really fucking hate My Pic Gallery?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 09:06:59 GMT

college applications = done

me = very happy

headphones = broken

me = not so happy

i also am having trouble uploading my pictures from the school trip, but i will post them and a summary as soon as possible.

edit: i might end up seeing nofx at this club in nagoya on saturday night with a couple of punk rockers from school. i dont really care much for nofx one way or the other, but it would be a cool experience.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 05:27:54 GMT

today was one of the most interesting days ive had. why? i learned where the phrases 'hillbilly' and 'its could enough the freeze balls off a brass monkey' come from. the latter i hadnt heard before today, but damian (the english teacher from ireland who explained the meanings of both phrases) said its often used back in ireland. upon my return to america, i plan to bring this phrase into frequent useage.

i had the intention of writing out the origins, but now i have to go to the store and buy food (upon my host parents insistance) for the plane ride to nagasaki tomarrow.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 02:03:33 GMT

god, this movie was fucking horrible. my host dad wanted to watch it because hes really into baseball, but he insisted we keep it on english, so he didnt really understand what was going on. i thought i heard some where that these movies were funny, but i couldnt have been more wrong.

besides this movie, the week was pretty good. it started out kind of shitty because i had a stretch of two days where i was really tired and didnt feel like doing anything at all. this happens once in a while, and i think it is just a culmination of exhaustion from trying to understand and speak japanese everyday.

at school we've been getting ready for the school trip to Nagasaki, which is from Wednesday to Friday. it seems like alot of fun and im looking forward to spending time with the kids in my homeroom and eating the local cuisine which looks unbelievably delicious. the city itself seems like a very interesting place too. because it is so close to the Asian mainland, it is a very important point of trade and thus has received alot of foreign influence, especially from the Chinese. there are many Chinese style temples as well as a big Chinatown which im looking forward to visit. theres also this place called Huis Ten Bosch (pronounced House Ten Bus), which is a recreation of a traditional dutch town. this seems to be what most of the kids at school are looking forward to seeing. this wouldnt be very high on my places id like to visit list, but i guess it should still be interesting. the atomic bomb museum should also be very sobering experience.

yesterday i went with my host father and chapter rep. to the Toyota city hall to register myself and to meet with the deputy mayor. i had to do the same thing when i lived in miyoshi with my old host family. the deputy mayor was very nice and seemed to be happy to welcome me into his city. he also gave me some informative pamphlets and a pair of chopsticks. it was funny, because when i was registering myself, they asked to see my alien registration card from when i lived in miyoshi. at this time i realized when i went to register at the miyoshi town hall, they said it would take a few days too process the card and to come back, something which we never did. so basically ive been living these past two and a half months without my registration card, which i think is very important. oh well.

and finally, today i went with my host mom to the Toyota museum of modern art. the grounds of the museum are absolutely beautiful, especially now that the leaves are finally turning red. the paintings inside were also really amazing, and there was this one guy who did these fantastic paintings of landscapes but i cant remember his name. theres also a tea house on the museum grounds, so we went and got some traditional green tea, which was pretty good.

i think thats it for now.

Monday, October 31, 2005

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 08:10:40 GMT

i remember the first time i saw my chemical romance (as well as murder by dead and unfortunately a static lullaby) the week before halloween in sophmore year with mike thueson. before they came on half the place fucking left, and by the time they started playing there were seriosuly about 20 people in the metro. they put on an awesome show, which was made better by the fact they didnt have all that ridiculous make up on. those were the days.

anyways, its all hallows eve and ive done nothing to celebrate. although japan has a wealth of candy marketed for the halloween season, that is where it ends. at least my host family bought me some halloween pocky. if anybody has any interesting plans for tonight, please take pictures!

My new host family has been fantastic, and i really feel like i belong here. its so much easier to talk to them and ive been feeling much better lately. they are already planning what to do during winter break, and we are deciding between kyoto or nagano (to see satoshi and ayako!), or if time permits, both. im very glad my new host family has times for things like this, but i completly understand why such trips would have been impossible with my old host family. when i first came here i was hoping to do alot of travel, but i soon realized that that would be very difficult if not impossible, partially due to AFS restrictions but mostly due to my host familys hectic schedule. at first i was really disappointed, but i came to terms with it and realized that whether i travel all the way to okinawa or stay here in the industial wasteland that is aichi prefecture, im still in japan and living what ive always dreamed of doing. anyway, now that the opportunity to travel has become realistic, i think i will appreciate it alot more than i would have before.

happy halloween