also, hope you guys don't mind if i give up capital letters--they are silly.
but hello, everyone! am currently stealing wireless from some hapless Japanese person. i was kind of worried earlier, because neither my host family or the university has wireless. i can use public computers at the uni, but i wouldn't be able to upload any pictures there. and what's the point of having a photoblog if you can't upload pictures?
in any case, i'm currently hiding from Izuno-san, my host mother, because i dread having to talk with her for prolonged periods in Japanese. this is a sad thing, but i think i'll get over it eventually--is probably just because we spent all day together--i needed a rest from the Japanese-speakins.
ah, i was going to upload this video tour of my room in the ryokan i made yesterday, but the file's too big. i don't know how to shrink it, so if anyone's interested, i'll zip and upload it instead, so you can download and watch it at your leisure. but now: summary of the past two days plus excess pictures. because Angela demanded it.
Friday, May 11th:
got packed, called some taxis, and rode over to the university all before 10AM. our taxi driver was really awesome and kept asking us all these questions in both English and Japanese--he was hilarious. he also apparen
tly loves Eminem and 2Pac (however you spell his name; i never listened to him). that in itself was hilarious because, well, Eminem and 2Pac, but also because our driver was pretty old--he just didn't seem gangsta enough.
in any case, we didn't spend long at the university before we headed out with Williams-sensei to Ginkakuji--this utterly beautiful shrine and garden complex. i was actually able to enjoy the sight-seeing this time because my feet had pretty much stopped hurting. i really can't even begin to describe how beautiful Ginkakuji was, and the pictures i took certainly don't do it justice. there was even more climbing--but not enough to hurt--i was pretty much in a great mood the entire day.
near the end of our visit to Ginkakuji, we all stopped to pose for some group pictures. we had this on-going katakana joke involving the pronunciation of "Cheese" from earlier group photo-taking (Japanese pronunciation is something like "chee-zuu") and so when we went to take the picture, someone shouted out "Takoyaki!" (fried octopus) instead, which drew the attention of a sensei and small group of middle-schoolers. after that, a mini-group-photo battle commenced. we'd say "Cheese!" and the group of middle-schoolers would say "Takoyaki!" our "Ai rabu yuu! (I love you!)" was answered with "Ai shiteru!" and so on. it was extremely entertaining.
also, i got a shot of sensei in a T-shirt and mimicing the eternal Japanese "peace" hand sign. it is very awesome.
but after Ginkakuji, we wandered down to visit a few small shops and ate lunch at an equally small restaurant. afterwards, there was more wandering and sensei bought everyone ice cream. (yay!) a few people had to run to the bank, so after ice cream, we split into two groups. i had bank-visited the day before, so i sat outside and waited with the others. we quickly made a game of speaking random katakana-english to Japanese elementary school children as they wandered by--it was extremely cute.
[note: the katakana-english joke was started by Williams-sensei, who decided to "premptve strike" some middle schoolers by shouting "Ai rabu yuu!" at them as they wandered by. why premptive strike? because Japanese middle schoolers have a dendency to shout badly pronounced English phrases at you as you walk by. such as "Harro! (Hello!)" or "Whas yuu name? (What's your name?)"]
eventually, we all headed back to the unversity for a short orientation and then were ushered to a building where we were to meet our host families and give our jikoshokai (self-introduction). i was extremely nervous, even though i knew my jikoshokai by heart. luckily, as soon as we were all lined up in front of the host families, Izuno-san (my host mother) waved to me and shouted "Bekki-san!", immeadiately putting me at ease. from the moment i saw her, i could tell she was an extremely nice old lady. so i said my jikoshokai okay and went to sit down next to Izuno-san. shortly thereafter, we grabbed a taxi and headed to her home--which is only like 15-20 minutes away from the university by bus, depending on traffic. (i'm probably the closest to the university, actually--Sara's an hour and a half away, for example.) i don't have any pictures of Izuno-san's house or my room yet, because i figure it'd be pretty rude to wander about shooting photos of everything, but i'll get to it eventually. but really, her house is gorgeous. it's kind of messy--cluttered--actually, but that put me more at ease, to be honest. Izuno-san is a very easy-going person; i have yet to see her wash a dish--all our used dishes have ended up in the sink or on the table. reminds me of home. XD
but her house is very big by Japanese standards--two storys (my rooms on the second floor) with a dance studio attached. i asked her about the dance studio, and it turns out it was her husband's. (who i think i gathered was American--foreign, at least--and now dead. i tried not to ask her too much about him because she'd start to tear-up if she talked about him at length.) but my room is equally big by Japanese standars. i have an American-style bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a shelf, and a huge closet mostly filled up with blankets. i've been leaving my window open most of the time because i can't figure out the AC, but also because the view is really pretty. there's a western-style toilet downstairs (with automatic seat-warmer--wonky) and a Japanese style bathtub and shower. overall, i think i lucked out majorly with my host family. Kyoko-san, Izuno's daughter, leaves for work around 8:30 in the morning and doesn't get home till really late. she's in her late 30s and is really nice. (she helped me figure out the shower XD) also, both of them seem to know a smattering of English, so they can help me understand things better, though every now and then my wonky Japanese kicks in and everyone gets confused.
holy crap this is a long entry and i haven't even gotten to today yet! oh well. i'll continue rambling and you guys can take your time reading; come back to this later if you need to. XD
so last night both Izunos opened their gifts and seemed to like them alright. after supper i showed them my photoalbum, which they got a kick out of. Izuno-san especially liked all the animal pictures--apparently she loves animals, but after her dog died, hasn't been able to keep one for fear of becomming too attached again. she does feed a neighborhood cat, though. (i've yet to see said cat, but i hear it meow every now and then.) but after that i pretty much took a bath and went to bed.
Saturday, May 12th:
but hello, everyone! am currently stealing wireless from some hapless Japanese person. i was kind of worried earlier, because neither my host family or the university has wireless. i can use public computers at the uni, but i wouldn't be able to upload any pictures there. and what's the point of having a photoblog if you can't upload pictures?
in any case, i'm currently hiding from Izuno-san, my host mother, because i dread having to talk with her for prolonged periods in Japanese. this is a sad thing, but i think i'll get over it eventually--is probably just because we spent all day together--i needed a rest from the Japanese-speakins.
ah, i was going to upload this video tour of my room in the ryokan i made yesterday, but the file's too big. i don't know how to shrink it, so if anyone's interested, i'll zip and upload it instead, so you can download and watch it at your leisure. but now: summary of the past two days plus excess pictures. because Angela demanded it.
Friday, May 11th:
got packed, called some taxis, and rode over to the university all before 10AM. our taxi driver was really awesome and kept asking us all these questions in both English and Japanese--he was hilarious. he also apparen
tly loves Eminem and 2Pac (however you spell his name; i never listened to him). that in itself was hilarious because, well, Eminem and 2Pac, but also because our driver was pretty old--he just didn't seem gangsta enough.in any case, we didn't spend long at the university before we headed out with Williams-sensei to Ginkakuji--this utterly beautiful shrine and garden complex. i was actually able to enjoy the sight-seeing this time because my feet had pretty much stopped hurting. i really can't even begin to describe how beautiful Ginkakuji was, and the pictures i took certainly don't do it justice. there was even more climbing--but not enough to hurt--i was pretty much in a great mood the entire day.
near the end of our visit to Ginkakuji, we all stopped to pose for some group pictures. we had this on-going katakana joke involving the pronunciation of "Cheese" from earlier group photo-taking (Japanese pronunciation is something like "chee-zuu") and so when we went to take the picture, someone shouted out "Takoyaki!" (fried octopus) instead, which drew the attention of a sensei and small group of middle-schoolers. after that, a mini-group-photo battle commenced. we'd say "Cheese!" and the group of middle-schoolers would say "Takoyaki!" our "Ai rabu yuu! (I love you!)" was answered with "Ai shiteru!" and so on. it was extremely entertaining.
also, i got a shot of sensei in a T-shirt and mimicing the eternal Japanese "peace" hand sign. it is very awesome.but after Ginkakuji, we wandered down to visit a few small shops and ate lunch at an equally small restaurant. afterwards, there was more wandering and sensei bought everyone ice cream. (yay!) a few people had to run to the bank, so after ice cream, we split into two groups. i had bank-visited the day before, so i sat outside and waited with the others. we quickly made a game of speaking random katakana-english to Japanese elementary school children as they wandered by--it was extremely cute.
[note: the katakana-english joke was started by Williams-sensei, who decided to "premptve strike" some middle schoolers by shouting "Ai rabu yuu!" at them as they wandered by. why premptive strike? because Japanese middle schoolers have a dendency to shout badly pronounced English phrases at you as you walk by. such as "Harro! (Hello!)" or "Whas yuu name? (What's your name?)"]
eventually, we all headed back to the unversity for a short orientation and then were ushered to a building where we were to meet our host families and give our jikoshokai (self-introduction). i was extremely nervous, even though i knew my jikoshokai by heart. luckily, as soon as we were all lined up in front of the host families, Izuno-san (my host mother) waved to me and shouted "Bekki-san!", immeadiately putting me at ease. from the moment i saw her, i could tell she was an extremely nice old lady. so i said my jikoshokai okay and went to sit down next to Izuno-san. shortly thereafter, we grabbed a taxi and headed to her home--which is only like 15-20 minutes away from the university by bus, depending on traffic. (i'm probably the closest to the university, actually--Sara's an hour and a half away, for example.) i don't have any pictures of Izuno-san's house or my room yet, because i figure it'd be pretty rude to wander about shooting photos of everything, but i'll get to it eventually. but really, her house is gorgeous. it's kind of messy--cluttered--actually, but that put me more at ease, to be honest. Izuno-san is a very easy-going person; i have yet to see her wash a dish--all our used dishes have ended up in the sink or on the table. reminds me of home. XD
but her house is very big by Japanese standards--two storys (my rooms on the second floor) with a dance studio attached. i asked her about the dance studio, and it turns out it was her husband's. (who i think i gathered was American--foreign, at least--and now dead. i tried not to ask her too much about him because she'd start to tear-up if she talked about him at length.) but my room is equally big by Japanese standars. i have an American-style bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a shelf, and a huge closet mostly filled up with blankets. i've been leaving my window open most of the time because i can't figure out the AC, but also because the view is really pretty. there's a western-style toilet downstairs (with automatic seat-warmer--wonky) and a Japanese style bathtub and shower. overall, i think i lucked out majorly with my host family. Kyoko-san, Izuno's daughter, leaves for work around 8:30 in the morning and doesn't get home till really late. she's in her late 30s and is really nice. (she helped me figure out the shower XD) also, both of them seem to know a smattering of English, so they can help me understand things better, though every now and then my wonky Japanese kicks in and everyone gets confused.
holy crap this is a long entry and i haven't even gotten to today yet! oh well. i'll continue rambling and you guys can take your time reading; come back to this later if you need to. XD
so last night both Izunos opened their gifts and seemed to like them alright. after supper i showed them my photoalbum, which they got a kick out of. Izuno-san especially liked all the animal pictures--apparently she loves animals, but after her dog died, hasn't been able to keep one for fear of becomming too attached again. she does feed a neighborhood cat, though. (i've yet to see said cat, but i hear it meow every now and then.) but after that i pretty much took a bath and went to bed.
Saturday, May 12th:
got up at 7AM today (though i had woken up earlier--the sun rises at 4AM because Japan doesn't beli
eve in daylight savings time) and hung about until Kyoko-san went to work. Izuno-san went to a pan-ya (bakery) to buy breakfast and afterwards we ate and talked some, figuring out the day's plan. we left at 9, grabbing a bus and heading to the university because Williams-sensei had wanted us to practice getting to school before we actually had to. once we got to the uni, Izuno-san tried to find out if they had wireless for me, and it turns out they do, but only for registerred students. (i could use the public computers, though.) so after that, we hopped on another bus that took us back to Okazaki Street, where Izuno-san lives. from there we walked to this gorgeous Heian shrine and garden. i took many more pictures there, because Japan is hella pretty. after a while, we stopped for ice cream and Izuno-san bought me a green tea flavored one, which, despite sounding gross, was really pretty good. she had a vanilla, and we both sat and ate and talked for a bit. afterwards, we continued walking till we got to this old Heian bridge,
where we got to feed more fish (we fed a few earlier, too) as well as some turtles and ducks. despite not being able to say or understand much myself, i had a really great time.
after that, we walked a bit, got a little lost, and eventually took a bus to downtown Kyoto, where we ate at this amazing sushi place. after you walk in, you're seated at this bar-like area. however, above the bar-area (which serves as your eating-area) there's a conveyor belt filled with individual plates of sushi--so cool! they rotate around with little sign telling what they are, and there's ocha (green tea) right there so you can grab your food as it rotates by and serve yourself! needless to say, it's all you can eat. and if you wait long enough, fruit slices and puddings and cakes rotate by as well. it was really awesome and i loved the whole experience. i'm glad Izuno-san went with me though, because without her, i would have had no clue what was going on.
eve in daylight savings time) and hung about until Kyoko-san went to work. Izuno-san went to a pan-ya (bakery) to buy breakfast and afterwards we ate and talked some, figuring out the day's plan. we left at 9, grabbing a bus and heading to the university because Williams-sensei had wanted us to practice getting to school before we actually had to. once we got to the uni, Izuno-san tried to find out if they had wireless for me, and it turns out they do, but only for registerred students. (i could use the public computers, though.) so after that, we hopped on another bus that took us back to Okazaki Street, where Izuno-san lives. from there we walked to this gorgeous Heian shrine and garden. i took many more pictures there, because Japan is hella pretty. after a while, we stopped for ice cream and Izuno-san bought me a green tea flavored one, which, despite sounding gross, was really pretty good. she had a vanilla, and we both sat and ate and talked for a bit. afterwards, we continued walking till we got to this old Heian bridge,
where we got to feed more fish (we fed a few earlier, too) as well as some turtles and ducks. despite not being able to say or understand much myself, i had a really great time.after that, we walked a bit, got a little lost, and eventually took a bus to downtown Kyoto, where we ate at this amazing sushi place. after you walk in, you're seated at this bar-like area. however, above the bar-area (which serves as your eating-area) there's a conveyor belt filled with individual plates of sushi--so cool! they rotate around with little sign telling what they are, and there's ocha (green tea) right there so you can grab your food as it rotates by and serve yourself! needless to say, it's all you can eat. and if you wait long enough, fruit slices and puddings and cakes rotate by as well. it was really awesome and i loved the whole experience. i'm glad Izuno-san went with me though, because without her, i would have had no clue what was going on.
after lunch, we went into a huge clothing store (which was very expensive but filled with awesomely stylish (in a good way) Japanese clothes. after that, we went into a depaato (department store, which is really more like a small mall, or like Belk's or something.) everything there was extremely expensive, so i didn't buy anything, but it was a cool experience nonetheless. we grabbed a taxi home, ate some sweets Izuno-san had bought, and then i ran upstairs to hide from my horrible inability to speak Japanese. also to write Jen a letter and steal internets.
been up here for about three and a half hours now though, without a word more to Izuno-san, so i figure i should hurry and picture-insert and then head back downstairs to try and be sociable for a bit. dunno if this wireless i'm stealing will be here forever or not, but i'll update as much as possible! take care, guys! *hugs and kisses*
been up here for about three and a half hours now though, without a word more to Izuno-san, so i figure i should hurry and picture-insert and then head back downstairs to try and be sociable for a bit. dunno if this wireless i'm stealing will be here forever or not, but i'll update as much as possible! take care, guys! *hugs and kisses*
13 comments:
Im glad you get along with your Host family. Izuzu-san or what ever her name was sounds very nice. Hope your having fun : )
love Jimmy
Awesometastic. Glad your having the fun and what not. Japan sounds pretty awesome. :) The resteraunt definatly sounds like greatness. And I hope you get to see the kitty cat and take its picture for jen. also do you know the cats name? lol and it looks like you posted that entry just as i was heading off to bed last night. weird. But anyways miss you lots and i have to help Shirley with the graduation stuffs :)
Hope to read good things later and what not. oh and dont worry cus Devine and I have the community taken care of while you is gone:) i even posted a little thing about it on the com page.
It sounds really terrificly fun. I am so glad that your host mother called out your name. She sounds like a very sweet person. Popi and I miss and love you very much.
Hazzar!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so happy that you got a great host family!!! I know how nervous you were about meeting them... it brought tears to my eyes when I read about her calling out your name!! If you would like I can send you some more pet pictures; pictures of cimmy, bojo, harley, and some of my kitties... since your host mommy likes animals. Just say the word and they will be on there way, or I could put them online for you to load on your flash drive and show her. Well Its late and I have had a long couple of days, hope to hear from you soon!
Love, Jen
Oh... also I printed out little cards with the title of your blog and the web address on them (I even put the pictures of the kitty you first posted). So your blog will hopefully be commented and read by many different people!!
I figured that you being in Japan don't get to hear much about good ole America. So its time for me to catch you up. DONT READ THIS JEN IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN LAST WEEKS LOST!!!!!!
Ok Becky last episode of Lost we found out about Ben. He wasn't born on the island and he killed his father. Then Ben takes Locke to the Leader of the island (someone named Jacob). He is invisible and ghost like and throws stuff and breaks glass. and whispers Help me to locke and the Ben takes locke back. On the way back Ben shows Locke this big pile of Dead Darma Initiative guys, and then shoots Locke and kills him and pushes him in the hole. YES LOCKE IS DEAD.
Next we move to Scrubs. To Shorten this up JD's ex comes back and is pregnant with his baby. He gets mad and leaves with out talking. But she wants his help so she comes after him, and then Elliot ask JD if she is making a mistake. So ok. thats how it ended. I wont tell you about Heroes because you love it too much. Later Becky
I'm so excited you're in Japan and everything's going well! I'll leave a better comment later- got to eat dinner now.
Hey Becky -- it's Ann Szypulski -- Elizabeth gave me the link. It sounds as if you're having a good time and have a great host family. I like how she leaves the dishes -- I always imagined all Japanese people to be hyper-obsessive (scary!). Have tons of fun and write lots!
It was wierd Becky. One of the boys you tutered is on xfire. He is a chinese boy from my school and he said he new you. He was randomly assigned as my friend.If you have time right thier names on your next post. Love ya
Sounds like your having an awesome time!! :D
Green tea ice cream is uber tasty :3
I would love if you uploaded the pic tour of your room!! Hope to see more pics soon :D
<3
everything looks so amazing! I can't believe you're seeing all of it in person.
i bet you're incredibly picky with the pictures you post, because they're so wonderfully inserted, not like the usual [insert picture][insert caption about picture like, "and here's us standing in front of the so-and-so"] etc.
make the most out of everything, and do as little of hiding from your non-fluent japanese-ness, because who knows when you'll be able to go back and visit, especially with all the cool people you're with?
oh, and if you want to write me and have a long epic letters back and forth thing like we had when i was in china:
812-4 creekside dr.
clemson, sc 29631
p.s. i love you
p.p.s. you're gorgeous
p.p.p.s. i reuquire something hello kitty
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