I was completely wrong about being able to upload pictures. I still have to find the right cord, but I am continuing to take pictures, so at some point you'll all be treated to a bajillion of them. The last few weeks have been fairly routine, lots of "I hate it here" times and lots of "I love it here" times. It's pretty give and take, really.
Recent interesting things? Well my host father loves salsa, and he made some of his own today after I translated the ingredients from a tostitoes jar into Japanese for him, and he was thrilled. I tried to convey to him that one eats salsa with tortilla chips, but he insisted on Pringles. Why, I don't know. To eat them we didn't dip, instead we used chopsticks to pick up the salsa and put it on the chip and then eat it. It was very tasty though, so I put up with the unusual way of eating and scarfed down all he gave me.
It's finally getting a little cold around here. Oh wait, no it's still 70 outside. And I heard they had snow in Vermont last week (whhhaaaaattttt). The colors of the leaves are just barely starting to change. It's great weather but I do kind of wish winter would hurry up and get here.
Last night a few AKP friends and I stayed over at a Japanese friend's house, and she made Taco-yaki (little fried balls of dough and octopus) which is huge in Osaka and in the general area of where I live. Then this morning we went to the aquarium which was really cool, 2 huge sharks and some cool rays, as well as penguins, dolphins, etc. I mean, maybe that's not surprising since it was an aquarium, but I guess it's been a while since I've been to one.
I still haven't joined a club, but I never seem to have free time anyway, so I'm not worrying about it for a little bit, although I've been looking in to doing some pottery, especially since my host father is buddies with a really famous (apparently) potter in the area, so I'm going to do my best to get over there soon.
My landscape gardens class is still really insteresting, and by the end I'll have a ton of cool sketches to show, maybe I'll take pictures of them and post them on the internet.
I don't have a whole lot of interesting news at the moment, so for that I apologize, but I just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive. I'm sure something really cool and interesting will happen soon, and when it does I'll be sure to write about it.
Take care, everyone.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Post-Wedding Japan (with pictures coming soon)
Hello all, so it's been a week since I've gotten back to Japan after being home for Rob and Casey's wedding (congratulations, guys!) and it's certainly strange being kicked around between the two cultures. Before the wedding I couldn't wait to go back to America, and then as soon as the wedding was over I couldn't wait to come back here.
But I had definitely forgotten how much of an outsider I am here, which is something that still bothers me actively, but since there's really nothing I can do about it, I've started to get used to it a little. And, of course, those Japanese that actually know me don't treat me like an outsider at all, so it's a process.
And then there are days like yesterday, where I remember that Japan is easily the most excessively entertaining place I've ever been. For example, for 15 bucks you can play video games in what they call "4d." You are given a fake gun and enter into an area built to actually look like the locale of the video game. You're wearing 3-d glasses and the walls are screens projecting 3-d images of monsters that you shoot at. Essentially, it feels like being inside the video game. (I didn't play, but it was explained to me. 15 bucks is 15 bucks, after all).
More interestingly for everyone not as nerdy as I am, we took a school field trip this weekend to Hiroshima and visited the peace park and museum, and heard from a genbakusha (a survivor of the atomic bomb) who was gracious enough to tell us her story. We then went by way of ferry to a small island called Miyajima which is famous for a large torii gate in the middle of its bay (one of those red wooden classic-japanese-image things, I'll put up a picture in a bit) as well as the wild deer on the island, which are so tame you can walk right up to them and pet them. It was a beautiful place, totally old school, but of course very touristy.
Yesterday two friends and I went to Osaka with 3 Japanese friends where they were holding a matsuri (festival) and there were just tons of people there. I've realized since being here that Kyoto is really not very large at all, but Osaka is on par with New York or Chicago. Kyoto is more like a Cincinnati. We saw Asahara (a Japanese Olympic runner) race some little kids on a track, held a large iguana, and got dressed up in samurai gear for a few pictures. We ate some taco-yaki (fried octopus) in America town and then went and rode the giant ferris wheel which you can see all of Osaka from. A very cool day. Today is a national holiday (Sports day...) so I'm just hanging around home, eventually to do some homework.
And that's it for now. I finally have a way to connect my camera to my computer, so now I just have to remember my flickr account information and I'll have tons of pictures up soon.
Thanks for reading, see you all later.
But I had definitely forgotten how much of an outsider I am here, which is something that still bothers me actively, but since there's really nothing I can do about it, I've started to get used to it a little. And, of course, those Japanese that actually know me don't treat me like an outsider at all, so it's a process.
And then there are days like yesterday, where I remember that Japan is easily the most excessively entertaining place I've ever been. For example, for 15 bucks you can play video games in what they call "4d." You are given a fake gun and enter into an area built to actually look like the locale of the video game. You're wearing 3-d glasses and the walls are screens projecting 3-d images of monsters that you shoot at. Essentially, it feels like being inside the video game. (I didn't play, but it was explained to me. 15 bucks is 15 bucks, after all).
More interestingly for everyone not as nerdy as I am, we took a school field trip this weekend to Hiroshima and visited the peace park and museum, and heard from a genbakusha (a survivor of the atomic bomb) who was gracious enough to tell us her story. We then went by way of ferry to a small island called Miyajima which is famous for a large torii gate in the middle of its bay (one of those red wooden classic-japanese-image things, I'll put up a picture in a bit) as well as the wild deer on the island, which are so tame you can walk right up to them and pet them. It was a beautiful place, totally old school, but of course very touristy.
Yesterday two friends and I went to Osaka with 3 Japanese friends where they were holding a matsuri (festival) and there were just tons of people there. I've realized since being here that Kyoto is really not very large at all, but Osaka is on par with New York or Chicago. Kyoto is more like a Cincinnati. We saw Asahara (a Japanese Olympic runner) race some little kids on a track, held a large iguana, and got dressed up in samurai gear for a few pictures. We ate some taco-yaki (fried octopus) in America town and then went and rode the giant ferris wheel which you can see all of Osaka from. A very cool day. Today is a national holiday (Sports day...) so I'm just hanging around home, eventually to do some homework.
And that's it for now. I finally have a way to connect my camera to my computer, so now I just have to remember my flickr account information and I'll have tons of pictures up soon.
Thanks for reading, see you all later.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Yeah, It's been a while
Well, I have had a very busy last week and a half or so, I'm sorry for not keeping you all informed!
So last Friday, (not three days ago, but the friday before that) my friends and I went out for our first karaoke experience. I stuck to what I knew and sang Guns N' Roses, as well as "ABC" by the Jackson 5 which I quickly realized I knew not a single lyric to. Well, other than "ABC, 123, etc." Karaoke was both not as embarrassing as I thought it would be, and way more embarrassing than I thought it would be. Perhaps I should have consumed a little more alcohol beforehand...
The next day we made our first trip to Osaka, which has a section called Denden town which may as well be called Video Game Land, or possibly, Greg's favorite place on earth. Really old video games which you could never find in America are pouring out of shop windows on to the street, and the area is famous for its negotiable prices, so if you find the same product at two stores, you can show the lower price to the higher-priced store, and that store will sell you the product for an even lower price. I didn't buy anything (somehow) but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to every 5 feet.
Sunday was a chill at home day (they usually are) and Monday was class, but Tuesday was a national holiday, and also happened to be my 21st birthday. So, Monday night we, the Midd Kids, plus a friend from summer school and some Midd kids from other programs went out to a pub (which an english speaking bartender, though we spoke in japanese anyway) and had a great time. Tuesday, of course, was more drinking, this time with my host family. They took me to the Suntory brewery which is very close to my house, very awesome, and very free. We took a tour of which I took a few pictures even though I was asked not to, and got free drinks at the end! Before that my family took me to a sushi lunch, which was both fantastic and incredibly cheap. A huge plate full of sushi plus soup, tea, and coffee flavored jello (never again) was 12 bucks, and would probably be around 30 in America. It was awesome. For dinner we went to basically the opposite kind of place, a real shack of a restaurant my family frequents a lot, where we sat at the bar and talked to the bartender the whole time. It was a yakitori place (grilled chicken) but of course they grilled every thing else too.
I talked my family out of ordering horse, and reluctantly ate a piece of raw chicken, which I told my host family would raise hell in America. It was delicious, however, and the bartender was a real character. I felt pretty proud of myself too, as I heard other guests in the restaurant commenting to each other about how surprised they were at my Japanese skills. I guess all this education has gotten me somewhere.
Wednesday and thursday were same old same old, and friday my garden class went to another awesome garden where we sat and drew pictures for a few hours. I have to say it is definitely my kind of class. Friday we went into kyoto and chilled by the river after hitting the arcade, and yesterday went back to Osaka, though I was only there for a short while. Today was another family sunday, with the exception of some studying with some buddies.
So now you're all caught up, mostly, although I'm definitely saving material for conversation at the wedding next week. I'll see you all there!
So last Friday, (not three days ago, but the friday before that) my friends and I went out for our first karaoke experience. I stuck to what I knew and sang Guns N' Roses, as well as "ABC" by the Jackson 5 which I quickly realized I knew not a single lyric to. Well, other than "ABC, 123, etc." Karaoke was both not as embarrassing as I thought it would be, and way more embarrassing than I thought it would be. Perhaps I should have consumed a little more alcohol beforehand...
The next day we made our first trip to Osaka, which has a section called Denden town which may as well be called Video Game Land, or possibly, Greg's favorite place on earth. Really old video games which you could never find in America are pouring out of shop windows on to the street, and the area is famous for its negotiable prices, so if you find the same product at two stores, you can show the lower price to the higher-priced store, and that store will sell you the product for an even lower price. I didn't buy anything (somehow) but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to every 5 feet.
Sunday was a chill at home day (they usually are) and Monday was class, but Tuesday was a national holiday, and also happened to be my 21st birthday. So, Monday night we, the Midd Kids, plus a friend from summer school and some Midd kids from other programs went out to a pub (which an english speaking bartender, though we spoke in japanese anyway) and had a great time. Tuesday, of course, was more drinking, this time with my host family. They took me to the Suntory brewery which is very close to my house, very awesome, and very free. We took a tour of which I took a few pictures even though I was asked not to, and got free drinks at the end! Before that my family took me to a sushi lunch, which was both fantastic and incredibly cheap. A huge plate full of sushi plus soup, tea, and coffee flavored jello (never again) was 12 bucks, and would probably be around 30 in America. It was awesome. For dinner we went to basically the opposite kind of place, a real shack of a restaurant my family frequents a lot, where we sat at the bar and talked to the bartender the whole time. It was a yakitori place (grilled chicken) but of course they grilled every thing else too.
I talked my family out of ordering horse, and reluctantly ate a piece of raw chicken, which I told my host family would raise hell in America. It was delicious, however, and the bartender was a real character. I felt pretty proud of myself too, as I heard other guests in the restaurant commenting to each other about how surprised they were at my Japanese skills. I guess all this education has gotten me somewhere.
Wednesday and thursday were same old same old, and friday my garden class went to another awesome garden where we sat and drew pictures for a few hours. I have to say it is definitely my kind of class. Friday we went into kyoto and chilled by the river after hitting the arcade, and yesterday went back to Osaka, though I was only there for a short while. Today was another family sunday, with the exception of some studying with some buddies.
So now you're all caught up, mostly, although I'm definitely saving material for conversation at the wedding next week. I'll see you all there!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Week Two
Ok, so for everyone who I should have e-mailed/called/talked to personally by now, yeah, I'm sorry. For those of you who have skype, and would like to talk to me sometime, my skype name is gregselover I believe. Since I'm 13 hours ahead of the east coast, though, and don't really know your schedules, if you would like to talk to me on skype, or on the real phone, please send me an e-mail of sometime you might be free! The e-mail address I check most frequently is gselover@middlebury.edu but I also check greg.selover@gmail.com.
Anyway, Japan. Last night my host brother took me to a metal bar and we blared the new Metallica album over the sound system, it was absolutely awesome. Today is a holdiay (respect for the elders day) so my host brother and I spent all morning figuring out how to set up wireless (which we finally did and is how I'm posting this right now). Exactly when all my interesting stories happened is becoming a blur, but a few of them did occur to me that I thought I would share.
So, when my friends and I first got here and were looking for something to do, we decided to see if we could find an arcade. We thought we knew where we were going but headed off rather blindly into the city to find one. We ended up asking a little boy if he knew where a "place where you can play video games" was, only we used the word "television-game," which specifically implies video games that are played on your tv, as opposed to a computer or in an arcade. What it boils down to is we inaddvertantly asked this little kid if we could come to his house and play video games. After about 10 seconds of silence he said, "I have no idea what you're asking me" and left.
I've got more stories, of course, but I thought I would spread them out over the week. So look forward to more later.
Japanese class also finally starts tomorrow (last week was review week) and one of my electives is in Japanese, which I hadn't realized before. I think it's going to be a blast.
Anyway, Japan. Last night my host brother took me to a metal bar and we blared the new Metallica album over the sound system, it was absolutely awesome. Today is a holdiay (respect for the elders day) so my host brother and I spent all morning figuring out how to set up wireless (which we finally did and is how I'm posting this right now). Exactly when all my interesting stories happened is becoming a blur, but a few of them did occur to me that I thought I would share.
So, when my friends and I first got here and were looking for something to do, we decided to see if we could find an arcade. We thought we knew where we were going but headed off rather blindly into the city to find one. We ended up asking a little boy if he knew where a "place where you can play video games" was, only we used the word "television-game," which specifically implies video games that are played on your tv, as opposed to a computer or in an arcade. What it boils down to is we inaddvertantly asked this little kid if we could come to his house and play video games. After about 10 seconds of silence he said, "I have no idea what you're asking me" and left.
I've got more stories, of course, but I thought I would spread them out over the week. So look forward to more later.
Japanese class also finally starts tomorrow (last week was review week) and one of my electives is in Japanese, which I hadn't realized before. I think it's going to be a blast.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The First Real One!
So, I’ve been here since Monday (I’m writing this on Saturday, but I won’t be able to post it until Monday), so by the time you all read this it will have been a week in Japan for me. All I can say is this is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. Let me start with some fun stuff and then I’ll get to the more interesting challenges.
As I’ve probably told you guys, I am one of 8 Midd kids here and all but one of them I know pretty well, so it’s really nice to have some friends I can talk to. I still haven’t talked to anyone in the states in person, which hopefully I’ll fix soon. I just signed up for a Skype account, which if you have a computer with a microphone or a webcam, we can talk online for free, so if you like, check that out at skype.com
Anyways, Japan is crazy. I’ve eaten more than 20 things already (most of them fish) that I still have no idea what it was I ate (which may be to my benefit), drank a soda that tasted exactly like an apple, with an aftertaste of the apple skin. I was impressed. We stayed at the Kyoto Tower Hotel from Tuesday to Thursday, and last night I came home with my host family, who is extraordinarily nice, but speak no English whatsoever. We all drank a bit last night and had a good long conversation to break the ice and there were surprisingly few moments of complete misunderstanding or inability to communicate. Not to say that there weren’t any, but I can communicate much better than I thought I would be able to.
Reading stuff, however, is a whole different story. It’s impossible and there’s nothing I can really do about it.
My family lives a bit out of the way, my commute is 45-60 minutes, and requires that I take a bus, which only comes ever half hour, so if I ever miss it, I’m half an hour late for school.
On Thursday two students from the Doshisha Daigaku (where I go to school) showed me how to commute to my house and back and helped me do a bunch of paperwork I couldn’t read, and they were really awesome. However, when we got to my house and rang the doorbell to say hello to my host family, my host mom stepped out the door and immediately into a huge pile of dog crap, courtesy of my “host dog” Yanchan. Needless to say, it was a pretty embarrassing moment but we all just laughed and me and my guides were on our way. They took me to two awesome meals, and then to a huge arcade, 7 floors of video games. I honestly wasn’t sure what to do with myself at that point. They don’t start school for another month, so I’m not sure when I’ll see them again, but I’m hoping they’ll be my first “Japanese friends,” I think we hit it off pretty well.
I also am thinking of teaching English as a small part time job. All I have to do is stick around school for a few hours once a week and speak English with Japanese students, I don’t even have to instruct, just have conversations, and I think that too will be a good way to meet people.
Today the AKP students all went to a huge shrine together and received a blessing from the gods for a good school year and then my family took me to an amazing sushi lunch, and now I’m here.
It’s all very overwhelming and I’ve had some intense moments of home sickness, and have also reconsidered my position on Japanese food a little bit (It’s all delicious, but my stomach is just not used to it). It’s definitely been tough, and I stick out like a sore thumb (I get STARED at, like, really really stared at.) But, luckily people seem rather delighted when I speak to them in Japanese, and most people are enthusiastic about speaking with me, although just about every one I do speak to ends up asking me questions about their English. I guess we all have to learn from each other.
I miss you all who are reading this, and it’s been a bit tough. When I’m with my friends, it’s great, but of course a host family is a sort of strange situation, sometimes we’re very talkative and sometimes I just can’t think of anything to say at all. But of course I’ll manage, and it’s only week one, and on a normal weekend I would probably be hanging out with my friends, but this weekend is obviously a hang out with the host family time. I swear I’m not neglecting them right now as I write this, we hung out from about 8 in the morning until 2 today, and I’m currently “napping,” but I should probably go back down stairs soon and try to strike up a conversation.
By the way, Dad, my host father LOVES golf.
Hope you’re all well, good luck with the school year or whatever it is you’re up to! Thanks for reading, too. If you all get skype I can talk to you in person some time.
Jya, mata.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I'm here!
But don't have any time to write. Just know that I successfully made it, everyone. I bought a beer (actually 2) last night! And the first english sentence I saw in Japan was spelled wrong, which made me chuckle. This place is nuts, by the way.
I also haven't figured out how to call the states yet, so none of you will be hearing from me verbally for a while, but when I do figure it out I'll call.
I also haven't figured out how to call the states yet, so none of you will be hearing from me verbally for a while, but when I do figure it out I'll call.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
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