The Koto on the Bus Goes Plink, Plink, Plink...

Today, I had my first koto lesson.

The koto is a 13-stringed traditional Japanese instrument that is played on the floor. It's like a zither, but 6 feet long. A.k.a. a little bit taller than me. I have my koto lessons at my teacher's house for one hour every Monday, from 9-10. At least, that is the schedule that we established today. She knows that I am a student and I have classes every day that begin at 1pm so I told her I need to get back up to Kyoto Uni (she lives near Tofukuji, a little south of Kyoto Station but not too much) so I can prepare for my classes. Takes about 45 minutes total to get from my house to hers, with walking time factored into the bus ride.

The koto, to say the least is a bit tricky. I played the flute for about 5 years back in junior high and high school so I sort of remember how to read a scale - not that I need to, koto is played by the string number but they did translate it to a scale, but right now I don't need to worry about that for the moment.

But...I am left handed. The koto is played with the right hand. My coordination and manual dexterity in my right hand not only needs to be worked on, but man will it get a workout.

Tuning is going to be a bit tricky. Right now I am relying on my ear but I hope to get a small tuner to help out a bit.

So my teacher and I go through the scale; she has a koto and sets one up for me.

Plink, plink, plink.

Kneeling on the floor is really hard, especially when your left knee has been acting up since you get to Japan. My teacher sees me fidgeting and chuckles - she, of course is used to kneeling on the floor.

Plink and slur up the scale, plink and slur down the scale.

Lesson is over; my teacher tells me to pack up the bridges (they raise the strings off the board and serve as the means for tuning) and tells me that I am taking them home.

Huh? Why would I need to take bridges home?

I have my own koto picks ($25 for three! Yikes - but I got a box for it so they are well protected) but bridges?

Right now, there is a koto in my room. A 6 foot koto, with bridges, a music stand to hold my book and the stand that raises one end of the koto from the ground. In my house. For the next year and a half.


I brought it home on the bus. I carried it to school, to class and home. It's not everyday you see an almost 6-foot tall gaijin girl carrying a 6-foot long koto. From the teachers at Kyoto Uni I got words and looks of encouragement; from the people one the street, I got looks that clearly said, "WTF?"

Along with my one hour lesson, I intend to practice one hour a day, every day. Even if it means to just plink away for the moment. But, if my basic plinking gets good, then I will try a song called "Sakura, Sakura." It's in my music book - still simple plinking, but instead of going just up and down the scale, I plink all over the place.

OoOoO - a challenge.

Plink!

Mmm...BIMI!

There was a barbeque hosted by the KIXS group on the Kamogama delta at Imadegawa, right before it splits into two.

I went there on foot in this town its not a question of what train you take, but what color is your bike. I decided to go on foot, and although it was a bit of a long walk it was a good thing a I didn't bring my bike, even though it was a Sunday. I totally forgot that it was "Park At Free Will Day."

I reach the delta and I see a sea of Japanese kids in the center. I have two options: go around like any sane person and use the street to go into the delta, or take the stepping stones which are in the river to walk over.

You would think, given my history of falling on my arse without even being intoxicated, coupled with the fact that I am wearing my duckprint ballet flats that are a half size too big (they fit me better in the summer when everyones feet swell anyways) that I would go around and use the street.

No. I figured that the stepping stones were close enough and I can do it.

Well they weren't close enough to qualify as stepping stones. More like "hopping stones." Before the family flips out, may I remind you that the water where I was was only knee high, and toddlers go swimming in the river, though the current it quite switft in some places. If you think the Kamogawa is THE place to hang out (again think Union Square, but with water), imagine what its like when its boiling hot and 100% humidity.

So I hop to the first stone. Hop to the second. Have a bad feeling about the third, so I take my shoes off. (The weather is still 71 degrees - hehe, though I hear I am in for it at winter time.) Slowly make my way over, passing a bunch of kids who ask me, "Daijobu?" (You ok?). It was probably funny for them to see me fearfully trying to not slip, bust my shins and fall into the river.

I made it though!

The barbeque was good. All you can eat and all the chu-hi, beer and cocktail soda you can drink (with soda, cold green tea and water too) for 800yen. Lot of kids - the delta isn't that large, but it was swarmed with college kids.

Great deal considering all the beef I ate off the barbeque. I spoke again with the guy that I talked baseball at the initial party, but this time about the New Zealand haka that the sports teams do before matches (traditionally it's a war chant I think, Mel needs to correct me on that) in order to literally scare the pants off the other team. There are a bunch of haka videos on YouTube if you're interested.

Met up with one of the Japanese girls I met and a bunch of other kids. There was this one guy who asked me if I was from JERSEY (no offense, Deena and Devon). Let's just say my response cracked people up.

In order to get Japanese people to understand the concept of "I don't live in Manhattan, I live in Queens" I have to tell them that the word "borough" is like "ku" ("ward") in terms of how NYC is divided, then go through the list of all the 5 boroughs in order for them to get that there is a "ward" called Queens and that is where I live. I need to carry around a pocket subway map with me. One kid knew Brooklyn (go figure) but drew a blank at Queens. I told him it's above Brooklyn, and in fact the "neighborhood" (each ward is broken down into neighborgood so I figured that I would just keep with the analogy) that I live in has alot of Japanese people (which is true).

So Japanese kids learn that there is more to New York City than Manhattan.

Me? I learned the concept of "bimi."

There was this one Japanese kid that looked like he belonged in the LES or in W'burg. His English was pretty decent but we spoke more in Japanese and then he takes a piece of chicken, puts it on his plate, dips it in the sauce, puts it in his mouth and pronounces, "Bimi!" with the enthusiam that Japanese have when they talk.

Don't get me started on how girls here talk in the stereotypical sense. I listen to it on my CDs for my textbooks and I burst out laughing - they are extremely emphatic.

Nonetheless, I have this guy saying "Bimi! Bimi!" and I have no clue what to do. For all I knew, he could be teaching me a dirty word and trying to make me sound like an idiot. He gestures to me that I should take a piece of chicken, eat it and then say "Bimi!"

"Bimi" is a very funny-sounding word, at least when spoken with such enthusiasm. I kept on cracking up when I began to say it. But I did it - twice and he applauded me. THEN he explained what the word meant.

"Bimi" is like the word "oishii" - tasty, or delicious. But the context or the nuance (bah to Japanese and the nuances and degrees of separation) of "bimi" as opposed to "oishii" is you use "bimi" when you see something that you aren't so sure of what the taste will be like, or you really don't like that particular thing to begin with but you eat it anyway. If it's good:

"BIMI!"

Pretty much, it's an unexpected version of "oishii."

This goes on to say that I will never say "bimi" if I try natto in one of its other forms. I know that it's downright nasty.

My Kanji Mojo

Let's make this very clear:

I hate,
I hate,
I HATE

katakana.

They jack up the English language so badly when the Japanese use it for loan words, even they don't get it that much. Don't start with the English speakers, because we try to pronounce it and as we do, we lose the meaning of it after the second syllable. It takes us awhile to get the meaning.

Chocoretto pafe anyone?*

Nonetheless, we can't live without it. If you recall my first days in Kyoto, it was my halting katakana that got Deena and I rather tasty teriyaki burgers for lunch. And most technical words are in katakana since they were borrowed from English, French, German, etc.

However, I study history. History doesn't have technical words that were borrowed from other languages, as far as I know for the moment. Maybe when you get to social trends like "mobo" and "moga" ("modern boy" and "modern girl," respectively) in the 1920s, then you have the evil, evil katakana.

Hiragana is easy. I like hiragana. You learn hiragana before you learn katakana when you start studying Japanese. I think it should be reversed - you don't use katakana as much as hiragana, so I think if you learn the katakana first, then you retain it better. The reason why I don't like katakana is because since I am not exposed to it so much, I am uncomfortable when I read it.

Kanji - oh, ho that's quite another story. Let's just say be glad I am not learning Chinese where it's JUST the chracters.

However, I like Kanji. I was quite good at it when I was in London - but that was when I was studying Japanese for three hours a day because I had nothing else to do. So when I got back to the States for my senior year, my Japanese classes at Hunter didn't teach that much Kanji - in spite of the presence of "Kanji Worksheets" in the syllabus - so let's just say over the past year, I lost my mojo for Kanji.

Which is why my Intermediate Kanji class is so difficult. I didn't want to be in Basic II because in London and on my own I practically studied the Kanji for that class and I didn't want to repeat something that is highly dependent on rote memorization. Grammar is a different thing - some of the grammar in the three classes I have (which total, oh about 13 hours a week) is a bit repetitive, but I don't mind that. My Japanese study has been rather ad hoc to say the least so I welcome any formality and repetition if that means I get it more in my head and I advance with more assuredness.

But Kanji? The only way you can learn is to memorize it, plain and simple. In London, I would do 50 kanji a day, 5 times each.

This Intermediate Class - although terrified as it makes me - is good for me. I need a "hardcore" class or two. My reading class is hardcore as well, since we have vocabulary and grammar patterns to learn. I just wish we had more homework (scream in dismay all you want) so that I can be forced to do more. Which is why I am going back into my old London habits - 50 kanji a day, 5 times each. But then we have the vocabulary with the kanji - my method of learning the kanji is to learn it with the vocabulary so I know not only the compounds, but also their usage. Kills two birds with one stone. I never started learning the kanji with the radicals so that form of learning it is a lost cause. Everyone learns differently.

My one peeve with my classes overall is that they go SO slow. We do the exercises in my Integrated Class, when we should get them for homework and instead use 2 classes instead of three to go over each chapter. Bah.

Yesterday, I went to the Kyodai library to study kanji a bit fr my quiz on Tuesday. My classmates and I don't know what to expect for the quizzes so, my method is to go over everything. I will be honest, I think I failed my last quiz and I might this week as well. simply because the teacher won't tell us what will specifically be on the quiz.

Nonetheless, I even had fun, and slowly, the wheels began to click in my head again. Like I told Colleen, I approach languages as a logistical puzzle to some extent, because studying Ancient Greek for two years made me more aware of semantics and grammar subtleties. Thank you, Prof. F. Ancient Greek is mega hardcore. But for me, that's what made it fun.

I even have the Kyoto bus map in Japanese because looking at the street signs in Japanese helps me learn my Kanji and the different readings. The street signs here do have the Romaji under it but when the sign is a bit far away, I am able to read the Kanji before I get to read the Romaji. So that helps alot in terms of learning Kanji.

I am off to study my kanji some more. I got my mojo back!

*Chocoretto pafe = Chocolate Parfait.

Is There a DOCTOR in the House?

I can't help but giggle.

I got a letter today from the people who are heading that conference at Kyoto this December. The one that a shorter version (with a BIG disclaimer on it) of my thesis is going to published at.

The kicker?

The mailing label says the following:

"Dr. (my last name), Maria"

DOCTOR!!!


OoOoO - it's a cool feeling, even though its about 6 years premature. There was no place on the submission form that I would have checked off the box for my salutation, so it was a mistake on their part.

However, there is a downside. Not so much as a downside, but something that makes me very nervous.

I have to "present my findings." As in, possibly be subjected to severe scrutiny and my face turning red and me stuttering. It's in English, thank god- imagine me having to do that in Japanese. I would have to make a speech, try to translate it, and then be totally clueless when I have to answer questions.

As Prof M. once told me, "Powerpoint is good because it puts the audiences eyes on the screen as opposed to you."

I am going to dig up all my maps and pictures that I was not able to use in my paper. Powerpoint is going to be my friend.

People! Visit Me! That's an Order!

Japanese Lesson #5:

Ginkakuji: The Silver Pavillion (that is not really Silver, since they ran outta money back in the day to make it silver plated, as a contrast to Kinkakuji).
Momiji: Japanese maple trees, when they turn vibrant colors that are even better than the trees in New England.

Because I was lazy last week, I had neglected to mention one very important thing.

I had visitors!

This is I hope the first round of many. To the college mates - you can stay with me!
(And that means you Elisa, even if you have to take a sedative to survive the flight.)

:::My audience scratches their heads - Already? You have been there less than a month!:::

Not just any visitors. Cool visitors, to be exact.

My Aunt Stella and Uncle George came from Greece. They aren't really my aunt an uncle by blood, that is - Uncle George is my dad's best friend from childhood, and he has known me since I was born. They used to visit alot when I was younger, but the last time I saw them was back in 2002, when I went to Greece with my mom and my sister.

They were in Okayama for a conference (Uncle George is a biochemist, so he is another academic hero of mine, even though it is totally different fields) so they decided to come to Kyoto for a few days after the conference. Total coincidence - they knew I got the scholarship to Japan, but they didn't know what city I was in or when I was going. Through the grapevine that is known as "The Family in Thessaloniki," they found out that I was in Kyoto the same time that they were going to visit. So Uncle George emailed me and we set up a time to meet up last Monday.

It was fun. I took them to the tonkatsu restaurant that Deena and I went to on my second day in Kyoto (the one at Kyoto Station - it's SOO good! I am going to take EVERYONE there) and they enjoyed it alot. Uncle George and Aunt Stella like to take alot of pictures; if that is one thing that I remember growing up it's that I had alot of pictures with them whenever they visited.

I told them what's going on with me (engaged, scholarship, plans for grad school, etc. etc.) and updated on the "NYC Family." On Tuesday I didn't meet up with them since they went sightseeing all day, but on Wednesday, we went to Ginkakuji before my class at 1pm.

The landscaping of Ginkakuji is gorgeous. Very Zen-like. Uncle George didn't like it because it wasn't like Kinkakuji. However, at Ginkakuji, I can get a more serene feeling out of it. Maybe because it wasn't sivler, so it was more "in harmony" with the natural surroundings. The silver plating would make it stand out ALOT.

Still, I plan to visit both places after a good snow. I saw pictures and it's gorgeous, so I hope to see it for real. And in the fall when the momiji turn colors and in the spring for "Sakura Madness." It's still very warm here - 70 degrees!! - so the leaves haven't changed yet.

Matsuri! Matsuri! Matsuri!

Japanese Lesson #4:

1) Matsuri: Festival
2) Kurama Hi no Matsuri: Kurama Fire Festival
3) Onsen: Hot Springs
4) Jidai Matsuri: Festival of Ages
5) Daimyo: head samurai of the provinces during the medieval period
5) Sankin Kotai: Alternate residence rule during the Edo (Tokugawa Period), where the daimyo lived in Tokyo every other year, and their wives and children were kept as "hostages" in Tokyo.

Today began the start of many matsuri-going-to's for me.

During the day, it was the Jidai Matsuri. I felt that I really, really, had to go because I did research on this parade.

"A procession of people, dressed in clothing from various periods of Kyoto's history as the imperial capital."

That is exactly what it was. A long, long, long line of people. To be quite honest it got a bit boring - but I know that there are ceremonies before and after the festival so next year I plan to go all out on the Jidai Matsuri-ness.

I met up with Colleen and Ingram for the Jidai Matsuri. We all sort of agreed that it was a bit dull. Very quiet, rather. I was trying to figure out the order of the periods in the parade, and asked a lady. It pretty much goes backwards: Meiji, Edo (Tokugawa), Sengoku, the ones between Sengoku and Heian, Heian, and then the founding of hte city in 794. Ingram was asking me question about why people were carrying stuff that looked like luggage in the Edo Period section and I began to explain to him the concept of sankin kotai. Aforementioned Japanese lady heard the words "sankin kotai" come out of my mouth and began to nod her head earnestly - I pretty much got the gist of it right then.

The Jidai Matsuri in essence is a big history lesson, and a pretty potent reminder of what Kyoto is. Tt's also a good example of coercion and political intent. I took a look at a map of the parade route, which is from the Imperial Palace to the Heian Shrine. The route circumvents the city; however, one can draw a pretty straight line fro mthe Imperial Palace to the shrine. When they were creating this festival back in the day (1895), a lot of the Shinto shrines in the area lost government money after a fiasco involving the solidification of Shinto doctrine. So, one other reason why the festival and the parade (and the shrine) was created was so that the Shinto shrines (which are incidentally along the parade route) could show the national government in Tokyo at the time that they can do something properly and not screw it up. That's the basic info that I have now. More later to come when I am in grad school.

Ok so the history lesson is over.

Although the parade was not over, the three of us decided to head on up to Kurama for the Hi no Matsuri. I read on the net that over 10,000 people go to this so it was a good idea. And I was right - SO CROWDED! Even the train (which was only two cars at a time) was crowded. Ridiculously crowded. Add fire to the mix and you have a very delicate situation. No photos for now (I am lazy), but when I get enough for a new photo album expect to see the pictures.

Let's just say there is alot of history for the Kurama festival. Too much in fact. Go google "Kurama Fire Festival" for more information.

Kurama is still in Kyoto, and the last stop on the Eizan-Dentetsu Line. It is actually in Sakyo-Ku, which is the ward that I live in as well, but I am on the southern end of Sakyo-Ku. Ever wonder where the mountains that surround Kyoto on three sides (N, W and E) start? On the eastern end, they start at Kurama. Kurama was my introduction to the inaka. Funny thing is, we were still in the city proper, which goes to show you how much Kyoto just sprawls out. the cool thing is, there is a natural onsen in Kurama, so if I get the guts to go to one I will try the one in Kurama.

We're Cooking Japanese, We're Cooking Japanese, I Really Think So!

I had to go grocery shopping.

If you remember my first round of gorcery shopping in a Japanese supermarket, it didn't go well. After getting a few things from Takashimaya, it was still a wee bit frustrating.

So today, I decided to take some action. I went to AllRecipes.com and looked up some Japanese recipies. I did not want to live off a diet of spaghetti, sandwhiches and salad, and instant udon/ramen is downright nasty. Cup Noodle is good, but only in small doses. Since this is Japan, I don't have an oven either, which made things a bit more difficult.

So I got some recipes for a stir-fry, udon, miso and one more thing. Two of the recipes had the same ingredients so it worked out really well. And I put down the usual suspects on my grovery lists: bananas, cucumbers, lettuce, ham, OJ, bread, etc.

I eat lunch at school so it's the dinner I worry about. Like I said, spaghetti every night isn't a good thing. Luckily, I have only eaten spaghetti for dinner twice, if anyone was wondering. It's been salad most of the time. But that can get expensive since veggies are expensive here.

Ingredients for miso soup was easy. I asked a clerk were dashi stock and miso paste was, and easily found the tofu. In lieu of seaweed, I got this leafy green thing to put in the soup.

I had a list of complicated ingredients to make the soup part of udon. I knew I would put like a beef or chicken with veggies in it, but its the soup part the always got me scratching my head. But when I was getting the dashi stock and miso paste (always get yellow instead of red, it tastes better) I noticed a box with the following label on it:

"Udon Suppu"

"Suppu" is the katakana for "soup." I took the box and looked at the back - obviously, I can't read the entire thing, but I like Japanese packaging because they have little pictures. Pretty much, add a little packet of this "Udon Suppu" stuff to hot water, then add udon noodles.

Simple!
Cost effective!

They even have packets for "Karee Udon" which is "Curry Udon." A fusion of Japanese and Indian. Maybe next time. Add two packets of udon noodles for 35yen and I was ready to go.

For lunch, I made the miso soup using the basics of the recipe that I found on AllRecipes.com. Here are the results:



It's miso soup! It's got tofu! It's got leafy green stuff!

And what is even better:

It tastes amazing. I did not mess this up! I made enough for two bowls of it. So I had this (both bowls of it) with a half-sandwhich; the bread is rather thick here and they only come in slices of 6 or 4, so I take one slice and cut it in half to make my sandwhich. I have given up on cheese, so its usually lettuce and ham with mayo. I save my tomatoes for the salad.

For dinner, I made udon. I bought this beef in the supermarket that is really thin and had a little package of sauce with it. So I took half and sauteed it (no oil, I put it in the pan and let it cook in its own juices) and poured half the packet of sauce in it - the rest of the meat and sauce I put in a container for lunch tomorrow so it will marinate overnight. Added some carrots, boiled the water, put two packets of "Udon Suppu" in it since I did not want my udon to taste watery, and - tada! Udon!



I am very happy. My tummy is happy. I can cook Japanese food. Just wait till I get started on my cooking classes. I may not be able to cook much, but by the time I come home in March 2008, I will be able to cook Japanese food.

Down By The River, Late in the Evening

Alisa, Ingram, Colleen (at Kyodai for her Junior Year Abroad on a Mitsubishi Scholarship - yes, the same company that makes the cars) and I went to eat sushi last night.

First off, we went down to Sanjo with our bikes. One of us (I won't mention who) never knew how to ride a bike, so it was quite interesting to see how s/he handled it. Quite nicely! Good job.

Rode down along the Kamo-Gawa to get there and parked our bikes at Starbucks. Now then, there are two places where one can park a bike between Sanjo and Shijo and pretty much guarantee that it won't get impounded. First is the Sanjo Starbucks. They cordon off an area for the bikes so its like "Parking for Starbucks Customers Only" but no one pays attention to that. The second place is this little alley off of Shijo.

Our main purpose was to go eat sushi. I have not eaten sushi since I got here (go ahead, gasp all you want) and needless to say, when Ingram and Alisa suggested sushi, I was totally game for it. It gets better. We all went to this place where they have the sushi on a conveyor belt, and each plate (with either two pieces of sushi or a bunch of rolls) go for 105 yen each:



I have to say, it was the most fun eating sushi ever since I first tried it. It reminded me of the scene in the Mr. Bean movie where he and Natalie Portman went to Go! Sushi in London (it actually exists, but I never went inside) and his tie got stuck in the conveyor belt. What was cool was at this place, you actually had booths for your party, and the conveyor belt just plodded along the booths. There was even a little fountain with hot water and a box of green tea sachets for your tea. Cold tea and water was self service. If you placed a special order, then it would come down the conveyor belt on a plate that had your table number on it.

None of us placed a special order, but Ingram and I were curious about natto. Natto is made up of fermented soybeans - the stuff that is left over. According to Alisa's former host mother - who had a wet plate of it every morning for breakfast - it made you stronger. According to the members of my forum, it is the most disgusting thing on the planet. Alisa said it wasn't that bad; so when she recognized a natto roll coming down the conveyor belt, I took it. There were two rolls, so Ingram and I each took one. Ingram kinda looked at it warily, but I figured down the hatch!

Bad, bad, bad idea.

It has the most disgusting aftertaste I have ever had in my life. The taste and the smell was so bad - and took you by surprise so much ,since it was a gradual taste - it practically permeated my brain. I am sitting there making faces, sputtering, and trying to eat it because I thought spitting it out was much more gross (half-chewed natto roll? EWW). Ingram looks at me, natto roll in his chopsticks, with a look of horror on his face.

Oops. I think I scared the poor guy. Colleen tried some too and Alisa ate the rest. The look on Colleen's face was classic.

Natto may look innocent, but it is a deadly, deadly thing. It is worse than Sodexho cafeteria food.








Blech. Amongst the wierder things on the conveyor belt (cheesecake that looked like deep fried sponge cake, anyone?) something caught my eye:










Hamburger sushi. Or rather, itty bittie hamburger patties on rice with a dollop of mayonaisse on it. Alisa told me there is a difference between "hambaga" and "hambagu" (I think that's the katakana for it) - one is just the patty, the other is a actual hamburger. I had two plates of it - quite tasty. This was a time to try new things; at 105 yen a plate it's not like one is losing so much. Refer to the natto mini-escapade. Nonetheless, I polished of the following "tower of glory" - 9 plates of sushi.

Afterwards, we went around Teramachi and Shinkyogoku (covered shopping arcades within Sanjo-Shijo-Kawaramachi) in search of crepes. Since the crepe stand were closed, we ended up at Cafe Independants, a cafe in the basement of a building with really cool desserts. Presentation was awesome; it reminded me of the Waltz back home. Kathy would like this place. They have a website too, so I am able to get there again, as we were walking around trying to find a place for dessert.

While eating dessert, we were debating our next move. Go to a bar, or buy something and go to the river? We walked around for a bar, but they were filled mostly with creepy, sleazy gaijin (a topic for a later post, possibly) so we decided to go for the "get something to drink and go to the river." First, we took photo stickers. The machines are WAY better than the ones home. I need to get a photo sticker album now.

Everyone that is probably uner the age of 30 goes to the Kamogawa at the Sanjo crossing. We plunked our bums down (after running into some Kyodai people at the liquor store, no less - Kyoto is a SMALL city); Ingram had "One Cup of Sake" (a glass vial filled with exactly one cup of sake), Alisa and Colleen had beer and I had this thing called Chu-Hi: made by Kirin, it's like a malt liquor thing with peach, or various other flavors. It just tasted like peach soda, which I liked.

Sanjo at Kamogawa reminded me of Union Square. There was a group of Japanese people playing African/Aboriginal music on the conga-drum things and a dijderidoo (the Australian pipe). Some in the group were swinging batons or flags like they were at a rave, minus the glowsticks. At one point, the sticks were on fire, which made the effect even more interesting. To prove that Kyoto is again a small place, I ran into more classmates on Sanjo.

It was getting a bit late, and there was this old Japanese man walking amongs the small groups, chatting about nothing, but more to practice his English. Since we had to go to the bathroom before Starbucks closed (as it was the closest Western toilet around) we decided to leave. We rode back up the river on our bikes, and I pushed my bike up the steps with no problem at all - there are motion sensor lights on the houses along the steps. When I finally got home, I took a look at my watch - it was midnight. I had hardly realized it, since there are still so many people around. Kyoto may be small, but it is surely kicking.

You Know You Are in Japan When...

1) You stir your spaghetti with a really long chopstick to prevent it from sticking.

Keitai Konfusion

I got a bank account today. Pretty simple. I like how the cash card (ATM card) comes in 32 different colors and I get to choose one. I chose Dreamy Purple. Very pretty. Should come in 10 days so I will be able to pay my next month`s rent in time. I can bank online too in English. Woot!

But there is no woot! for the keitai denwa. My cell phone.

Japanese cell phones kick the asses of American cell phones anyday. Even my fancy pink Motorola Razr`s bum gets beaten by the OLD-SCHOOL vodafone model that I have.

2 megapixel camera and the capability to play music. I have a 32mb memory card already built in.

But it`s the contract and the usage of the phone that get`s me - seriously, I do not know how to use this damn thing. It took me 20 minutes to figure out how to change my ring tone. Doesn`t help that the manual is not in english. And I didn`t sign up for this email thing so I don`t have a phone email? Not very helpful, because in order to text (or send a `Long Mail` or a `Sky Mail`) to someone outside the Softbank Network, you can`t use a number, you have to use the email?

Pah! This is so complicated. Right now, I sorta have buyers remorse - I sorta wished I had just plunked down the money for the cheapest and simplest cell phone and done pre-paid. Oh well. I signed a contract for 26 months and they don`t have one year so I have to pay a cancellation fee, which is the equivalent of how much my phone would have cost anyways. I think once I get the ball rolling on this keitai thing, I won`t regret getting a contract. Either way, I would have to pay for a cell so I might as well get the contract along with it to get all the goodies without having to go crazy paying so much. Then again, pre-paid would limit me but oh well. Thing is, pre-paid in London was simple because it was just texting, here it is a TOTALLY different story. They have cell phones that turn into miniature tv`s.

You win some, you lose some. Whatever. Not like I am really paying for it.

So as I was waiting for my cell phone to get activated, I wandered into this store called Inobun. Heaven - it is like a combination of Anthropologie and Kate`s Paperie.

I attached my cell phone charms - the one that Maki gave me and the one with a little bell and a dog from Fushimi Inari Taisha - to my cell phone on the bus back to school. I now jingle.

Back to School Kiddies!!! (I Saw MAIKO!)

Japanese Lesson #3:

1) Oishii - delicious
2) Maiko - apprentice geisha (Kyoto way of saying it)
3) Geiko - geisha (Kyoto way of saying it)

This past week I started school. it kinda feels good to be back.

Yes, I am a geek. So sue me. This is why I want to be a professor. Well, part of it.

Contrary to what I thought and what I told everyone, I am not in "academic lockdown."

WOO-HOO! I can have a life!!!

I still have 25 hours and 45 minutes of Japanese class a week. So far, not too much homework, but it's alot of studying outside the classroom.

I am in Intermediate 1. I took the placement test for beginner and once I found out I was in the test for Intermediate, I sorta stopped caring about which level of Intermediate I was in. I knew that I wasn't good enough for Intermediate 2 or 3 and like Prof. M. once told me before I left for London, "With an Asian language, always best to keep re-learning as you move on." Basically, if you have to repeat a bit to move foward, by all means. Besides, I have a year and a half year. My goal is to get Level 2 of the JLPT. I hear that Japanese people can't even get to Level 1 so I will be happy with 2.

For those that don't know, the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) is like the TOEFL, but for Japanese (language, not the people). You need Level 1 or 2 for a job and entry into a university in Japan. So far, I have Level 3. But there is such a huge jump from Level 3 to Level 2 (um, 300 to 1000 kanji anyone?) that it is going to take me this whole year to prepare for it. I have a textbook for it back home so I know what I am doing next summer!!!

All in all, I am just glad I didn't go crazy this summer with the "studying for the placement test from hell." My placement test to get my into Basic Japanese 2 at SOAS was harder than this. I shouldn't have even needed to take the Basic placement test, because I submitted course descriptions AND a copy of my JLPT Level 3 certificate (but not the breakdown of the scores, I passed by the skin of my teeth - you try studying when you have 6 classes!).

I have most of my classes with students from other study abroad programs that Kyodai sponsors. So in most of my classes, I am the only American. Most are French, German and Korean.

And get this!

My classes end with a closing ceremony and final exam on February 13, 2007. The new academic year does not start until April 1.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

1) If I go to the Phillipines this Christmas, Deena and I can still go to Hong Kong over Lunar New Year, provided she has at least three days off. I have two weeks off at Christmas, so Philippines looks more of a go than Hong Kong right now. Besides, as I rationalized to Deena, it's probably way cooler to go to Hong Kong (which is now a part of China) at Lunar New Year when everyone goes gaga then.

2) If I can get a bunch of people together, I want to go to the Winter Festival in Hokkaido. What better time to visit Hokkaido than when its really, really cold?

3) I can go to Korea during this time as opposed to Golden Week when ticket prices are up the wazoo, and use Golden Week for the special tickets that they have at low prices to go to different parts of Japan. Or, take the ferry to Okinawa, then to Taiwan. There is a ferry from Osaka that goes to Okinawa, then goes to Taiwan.

4) That one week tour group to CHINA!

5) People can visit me and I can really play tour guide!

I CAN TRAVEL!!!!! I HAVE TIME TO TRAVEL!!!

And you know that I will make the most of those 6 weeks. Sayonara Kyoto, I am gonna bounce!

In other news...

I have been making a few friends - one mainly was a girl from Korea. At a party for international students, I met three Japanese girls. Two of them are history majors - so when they heard that I was a history major and Greek from NYC, they went crazy. It was cute - they were so enthusiastic, I couldn't help but smile. We exchanged contact information so I might email them (as I still don't have a cell yet, I need my AR card to get one, and that is after November 2) to have lunch or dinner at school this week. The food is cheap and good. It's cheaper to eat out than to buy groceries.

When I was talking about baseball with some guys at the party - who knew about the Yankee that died in the plane crash this past week - I told them how I met Hideki Matsui. Their eyes bugged out!

But here is the most interesting thing of all:

Today I rode my bike down to the shopping district of Shijo-Kawaramachi. I really like it there. I wanted to check out Takashimaya and to see what a Japanese department store was like. It's pretty much nothing like an American department store was like. Take Bloomie's or Saks, stick Whole Foods under it and a mini MOMA on the top if it and that is a Japanese department store. I also wanted to go to the 100yen shop to get cereal. The cereal boxes are tiny here and I didn't want to run out during the week, as since the police doesn't impound bikes on Sundays, that is when I use it the most. S-K is a bit of a walk.

What was funny was to see how I was the only foriegner there in the groceries floor - the guy at the tonkatsu counter tried to entice me by saying "Oishii" and pointing to it, but I told him that I have already tried it, thank you. It was pretty cheap I think - 100yen a piece of tonkatsu. Given that you usually have just once piece of tonkatsu say with rice or noodles, that's not too bad. Maybe next time.

So I am coming out of the 100yen shop with groceries from there and from Takashimaya (couldn't help it, but some stuff was better priced than the local supermarket). The street got really crowded now, but something caught my eye. Now, I have noticed that at times I am a head (or two!) taller than some of the people here, especially the girls, but I noticed a particularly interesting head of hair.

It was the hairstyle belonging to a maiko.

I have a book on geisha at home and have read Liza Dalby's book "Geisha." If I remember correctly, maiko have something red in their hair at the base of the bun. So when I turned around I saw not one, but two buns with red in it.

Two maiko!

Obviously, I did not want to make a fool of myself and my hands were full anyway, so I couldn't take a picture. Plus with the fact that I realized that I stood next to two maiko at the last second and the fact that the street was crowded didn't help much either.

But now the count has changed:

Asian Squat Toilets vs. Maria - I think I am losing by now - don't ask.
Temples and Shrines: 2
Drunken Salarymen: 1
Geisha: 2!

Sticker Shock

To all of my fellow FCLC-ers (past and present):

we never had it so good.

A friend of mine who graduated from Barnard, once lamented to me that I suck, namely because I have the Time Warner Center right next to Fordham.

For those that aren't in the know, TWC is a fancy shopping mall. It's not the typical ones that you see in the 'burbs (thank god) but has more upscale stuff.

For me it has two important things, one of which every single classmate of mine from Fordham has grown to love very dearly.

First: J.Crew (with 10% off for students!)
Second: Whole Foods (the one everyone loves)

Whole Foods at TWC is the largest supermarket in NYC. Its 13,000 square feet, and I always mentioned this place when I used to give my tours to prospectives and they were getting weary of the cafeteria. That lit their faces up, especially when I added that it was not that expensive either.

So, I say to everyone back in New York:

YOU ALL SUCK. I can now sympathize with Jenny.

You would not imagine the sticker shock I had at the supermarket. 290 yen for THREE tomatoes! 400yen for like 6 pieces of ham?!?!?

Some things were cheap - like 38 yen for little cucumbers. Others were abominable. Thank god for the 100yen shop - i can get spaghetti, cereal, ritz crackers and a few other miscellaneous things from there.

However, I did find this HUGE bag of Pocky Sticks for like 200 yen. And little single-serve NY Cheesecakes.

Granted some things I knew were going to be expensive, like olive oil. I'm Greek - I don't use any other kind of oil. My family even uses olive oil to make french fries (they are really good, with parmesan and basil on it, yum). However, the price wasn't that ridiculous - 1180yen for a pretty big bottle (it was the biggest one).

However, there are things that I can get cheaper at other places. Family Mart for one - I can get low fat milk for 105 yen, and that apple yogurt (which reminds me of greek yogurt, with little pieces of apple in it) for 92yen. Not bad. You just have to know where to go.

Oh well. What can you do. Maybe its the particular supermarket - on my travels yesterday on my bike (went to Starbucks and Kawaramachi Street) I saw another supermarket. I'll check that out when I run out of food.

Keep Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Japanese Lesson #2:

1) Mama-chari: Granny-bike

In Kyoto, everyone rides a bike.

Not the bikes you (rarely) see in NYC or the ones I have seen in London, which are mostly mountain bikes. I'm talking about the mama-chari.

It's a stereotypical label, used as such because old grannies use these bikes. But rather, in Kyoto, everyone uses these bikes. They have a bell, a basket in the front, and a light. Sometimes there is a basket in the back, or a rack. Even better, there is this accesory that holds up your umbrella which attaches to the handlebars so you don't have to ride one-handed, and little kids get to ride in a bike version of a carseat. Sometimes there are two, one in the front, one in the back. I told you everyone rides a bike.

When you get a bike, you need to register it with the city. There isn't any real place to parl bikes and the police (reportedly) like to ave fun impounding your bike. So you have to go to the bike pound, pay 2000 yen and then you get your bike back. However, on Sundays, they don't impound bikes.

Another good thing is that everyone rides on the sidewalk. So that means people don't sign death wishes when they ride a bike. Another thing I notices is that the chain links on the biks are covered, so unlike London, you don't need to tie your pants up.

Today I got a bike. I (still) don't know how to drive, so in essense, this is my first real set of wheels. I got it brand new from a shop on Imadegawa Street that I saw yesterday with Deena. I was on the fence on getting a bike today, but I dreaded the thought of carrying alot of groceries (something I did too often in London, as I do not know the art of buying what you need for the day, I buy for the week) so I trekked on over. Plus, it was on sale. mama-charis can get expensive, so I was told to get used - however, I saw a used bike for 6000yen so that wasn't worth it. Better for me to get a new one so that it won't break on me and when it comes time to get rid of it, it has good resale value. So with registration, I got it for 8400yen (about $80). Not bad at all.

I was a little unsteady at first (the last time I rode a bike was what, 14?) but I got my bearings. And the saleslady helped me raise the seat, as I have longer legs than most people around here. The 26" wheel was too big for me. And the 26" bike was in black. I wanted yellow.

Why yellow? People would argue that black is more utilitarian. It sure as hell looks nice on the same model of bike that I got.

Here is the thing:

I don't drive. Why? I still don't know how. Before the world gasps in horror, I will explain. I live(d) in NEW YORK. There is a bus a block from my house. Granted, it is annoying when I go out late, to have someone pick me up that is, but that will be (finally!) recitified when I come back in 3/2008. And besides, my sister is thisclose to getting her license.

However, I do have a car. But in theory, not in practice. My dad bought a 1990 4-door Volvo (aka "The Tank") from his cousin for $500 specifically for the reason of me and my sister learning how to drive. My mom is very protective of her baby (a 1988 navy blue 4-door toyota camry that is suffering from the car versions of arthritis and Parkinson's) so if my sister and I crashed the Volvo as we learn to drive, its not like we trashed a car that is brand new, or has strong emotional attachment.

I always said that when I get a car (preferably an Audi TT 4-door convertible, a girl can dream) I want it to be in bright yellow, the kind of yellow that they have for SUVs (best shade of SUV yellow that I've seen is on a Nissan Pathfinder) or on a Ferrari. I have also seen it on a Mercedes convertible. That's why I got the bike in yellow. With the black basket and details, it's become my SUV:

Udon, Udon

On her last day in Japan, Deena and I went to Osaka.

We namely wanted to see Osaka Castle. I wanted to go to the observation deck of the Umeda Sky building, but Deena is afraid of heights so we didn't go.

Had green tea (or matcha) ice cream! And it was soft serve...yum yum. I need to get matcha powder, so I can mix it with my dad's vanilla ice cream from the Mister Softee truck.

But to Osaka. Given that we didn't spend alot of time there, we didn;t had a good map and we were still tired, we didn't get to do much. However, at Osaka castle, we ran into a high school kendo match:



I think one of the high schoolers tried to talk to me. Deena does blend in a bit, but I stick out like a sore thumb.

Osaka Castle is a reproduction of the fortress that Hideyoshi Toyotomi built. So it's really a museum.

Afterwards, we walked around for a bit. Tried to get to Den-Den Town (eletronics district) but decided to go back to Kyoto - Deena wanted some souveniers, and I wanted to go back to Muji to get some more plastic boxes.

Had udon twice today. Lunch was tempura udon at Osaka castle and dinner was at this little cheap fast-food ish place where you put your money in a vending machine, get a ticket then sit anywhere. Had beef udon for only 390 yen! So cheap. and it was good. My tummy is happy.

Mi Kasa, Es Su Kasa

Rain.

I think it rains here in the past 4 days then it ever did when I was in London. And that was 8 months (subtracting the two months I went home for school holidays).

One thing that I have noticed is that Japanese take their umbrellas seriously.

Very seriously. Hence the pun in the title. "Kasa" is Japanese for "umbrella."

When I went to Takashimaya in search of Muji, I went to the umbrella section. They have an UMBRELLA section in the accesories department.

Needless to say, they have gorgeous umbrellas. I wanted to get one, but they are a bit expensive. Maybe towards the end of my stay. Get a big one, a medium one and a small one. Contrary to New York, you see more big ones than small ones.

Which is why it was so hard for me to find a decently priced small one. I have seen big ones for like 600 yen, 390 yen, but the small ones even in the conbini's go for like 1990 yen (about $18-$20). What the hell! I wanted a small one to carry around with me so that I don't get wet, and because I didn't want to carry a big one.

Another way I can tell that Japanese take their umbrellas seriously is that outside restuarants, post offices, ward offices, combini and some of hte smaller shops, they have umbrella stands. Mainly for the larger umbrellas, but you usually see more umbrellas than people, so many people have probrably fogotten their umbrellas. Hence the large number of the clear, 300 yen plastic umbrellas amongst the Japanese (mainly Kyoto, as far as I have seen) populace.

The Count

Asian Squat Toilets vs. Maria - 3 to 6 (I win!)
Temples and Shrines: 2
Geisha: Probably will never know
Drunken Salarymen: 1

Getting a good laugh when you are exhausted: Priceless.

After the lecture, Deena and I went to Gion. We wanted real Japanese food, and since it was the evening, it was the best time to check out "The Floating World."

No Japanese food to be had - or rather, I am still too chicken sh*t to walk into a "real Japanese restuarant." We ate at a Japanese diner-ish place, with the plastic food in the window (as 90% of the restaurants do) and "Western-style food" but I can manage with the menu. I told Deena that this is Japanese food in a wierd way. Ha ha. I just had a small chef salad (though the waitress said it was big) since I wasn't that hungry - tonkatsu kept me full still.

We walked around before we ate, in oru search for Japanese food. Instead, we got to see alot of traditional architecture and little old ladies in kimono, but no geisha. Hmm. There are not too many anymore and maiko (apprentice geisha) are even rarer stil. What's more, these women that we saw weren't wearing the makeup so it's not that I didn't see any geisha or maiko, it's that I can't tell. I do plan to go to the geisha dances, however.

After dinner, while we were walking to the bus stop, we came across a group of salarymen. It was a Friday night, so everyone was out in full force. Amongst the horde of black suits, I noticed a trio of men. Or rather, two men trying to hold up someone who was so far gone. Deena and I got caught up in the mix - the trio was in front of us, while other guys were in back of us, and the drunk guy was turning his head and yelling something along the lines of "Yareru? Yareru?" (Can you do it? [Something like that]) and when he got the answer he wanted, he went bonkers. Then he collapsed to the ground in front of him.

I held it in, but when we walked away from the salarymen, I began to laugh. I then said to Deena, "It's a good thing he didn't throw up. Then it would have been gross instead of funny."

"It's Like the Gates, But Better"

So said Deena when we walked through Fushimi Inari Taisha.

But I have bad news. My ID card does say kenkyuusei.

Dammit, dammit, dammit. It was so small that I didn't even notice. The clerk at AU (cell phone shop) pointed it out to me. However, I can peel off the laminate that covers my ID card, so I have to find a way to cover it upto get the student discount.

Anyways.

After the AU disaster, Deena and I trekked on over to Fushimi Inari Taisha. It was quite funny to try and get the one-day pass at the subway station - I was trying in vain to read the Kanji and figure out which one was the best card to get. Luckily, this nice guy helped us out.

So we went to the shrine - it was rather surreal with all the torii, one right after the other:



I never say The Gates in Central Park. because that was when I was in London. The closest thing that I came to seeing The Gates was a piece of fabric that Mel cut off one of the gates.

We didn't go through the whole thing because we had other things to see as well. On the way back down, I got a few Shinto charms: one for Cat because I promised her a Shinto charm to hang from her rearview mirror (and incidentally, I got her the one to protect her while she is driving), one for my sister to help her in her schoolwork, and two for me - the same one for my sister, and one to protect me while I ride my bike (when I get it) to get to school. I also got a cell phone charm as well; since I don't have a cell yet, I put it on my camera.

We had to get back to Kyoto Station to go to Kinkakuji, so we walked around a bit and had lunch. Went to a tonkatsu (breaded cutlet) restaurant. Yum! For about $13, I had pork cutlet, cabbage, rice and miso soup with the free tea that restaurants always have. And, you get free refills of the cabbage, miso and rice - but seriously, I get full now ever since I came here, so I don't eat so much.

So off to Kinkakuji, or the Golden Pavillion.



Talk about a retirement home. It was built by one of the shoguns (I know I should know this, so apologies to Profs L and M), but a shogun before the Tokugawa period, as his retreat when he was done with his duties as a shogun. (If I am getting this wrong, please correct!)

Apparently, sometime this fall they are going to open the pavillion to the public - it's only done once every three years in order to preserve the items that are housed inside.

We went back to my house so I can get the location of the lecture on gas lamps. So that I do not bore you, let's just say that on a broader thematic element (namely bumei kaika, or civilization and englihtenment) it was a pretty good idea of me to go to that lecture. It did the job - I got rid of my writer's block that I had all summer since I felt like I was being too wishy-washy on my project. Also, I met up with Professor Smith, whom I met at Columbia and spoke to him last year about grad schools and whatnot. I thought I saw Professor Duus (he is from Stanford, I think) because I heard his name being called and I heard someone respond to it, but I have never seen his picture so I wasn't sure what he looked like. Professor Smith was nice enough to invite me to dinner with other people (he pointed out to a student of his that was at the lecture as well), but I didn't want to leave Deena behind, or drag her to another thing. So we trekked onto Gion.

If it Isn't a Heated Toilet Seat...

…then it’s the squat toilet.

I hate those things. So awkward! I am a girl. I envy the guys.

No Japanese lesson for now. Need to backtrack.

After much broo-haha and a bit of confusion, I finally got to the guest house. I saw why my landlady wanted to meet me at the conbini and direct the driver – there is no road in front of the house. No paved road at least. There are old, somewhat uneven stone stairs. I looked at those stairs in such dread – I hate stairs. And I have pretty shoes. So much for that.

Paid my deposit and my first month’s rent. I don’t have a picture of my room yet but here is a description:

It’s HUGE. For 6 tatami mats, it’s great. It’s bigger than my little sister’s room back home. I have the garden room, so it opens up on two sides to the garden. There is a little walkway right outside the shoji screens, so I can hang my laundry there. (Note – need to get some form of laundry rack – I don't want my housemates to see my laundry.) It came with a low table, small bookshelf and small dresser, so yes! I don’t need to buy a desk. What I did need to get was those plastic drawer containers, as I have no closet. Here is a picture of my room from the house’s website (until I finish decorating, this is all you get):



I sleep on the floor with a futon. For some strange reason, my back has been bothering me since before I left; given that sleeping on the floor is purported to be a good thing, this futon thing isn't as bad as I thought.

Finally met up with Deena! So good to see her and it’s really freaky in a way how we are meeting up in a different country 6000 miles away from home. So we went to this little coffee shop that had a lunch special, and with my halting katakana, we were able to order the teriyaki burger lunch special and a chocolate ice cream parfait. I HATE katakana, but now my appreciation for it is increasing, as I can read all of the stuff that’s in katakana, but not kanji. As for the kanji, its coming back – and so is my speaking ability. I am surviving. I can ask people for help. I can order lunch. I can get my Alien Registration Card – and use the correct term for it.

After lunch, Deena and I went to the Sakyo Ward office. Met up with Ingram and a girl from Spain named Judith and got the AR card process rolling (until it’s ready, I have to carry my passport, since it has the temporary AR form in it) and health insurance. Have to pay a premium of about $18 a month.

After, we went to Kyodai to register. Here is the great thing now:

1) I have a library card. I thought I would have to apply for it, but they got it for me already.
2) My ID doesn’t say kenkyuusei! WOO-HOO! This means I can get my student discount on the cell phone (50% off the bill!) since my visa says college student on it. Fulbrighters have had problems getting the student discount because their ID’s say kenkyuusei. Judith said that others who came to Kyoto on the Monbusho in April said they got their cell phones with the discount using that ID. Yes!

After Kyodai, Deena and I left Ingram because I wanted to go to Muji and Seria, a 100-yen shop. I couldn’t find Muji at first, so we went to Takashimaya to ask. I like Takashimaya for three reasons: 1-the information counter ladies were really nice and helpful, 2-I can exchange currency there at a good rate and commission free (so if you visit me, only take enough yen to get you through the first day, I’ll take you to Takashimaya for the rest) and 3-they have cute tote bags for 500 yen. However, I hate Takashimaya as well. Why?

They have those damn Asian squat toilets.

At the coffee shop, I needed to go to the bathroom. It was a squat toilet. The public bathroom was a squat toilet. I’ll bet the toilet at the Sakyo Ward office was a squat toilet as well. Thank god the toilets at the house are new, clean and not squat.

However, the toilet at Takashimaya isn’t that bad. It’s clean. The bathroom is nice. And there is a pole on the wall to help keep your balance. Live and learn. And then try not to fall into the toilet.

So with the help of the Takishimaya ladies, Deena and I found Muji. But first, we went to Seria.

Seria is great. It's a 100-yen shop. Rather, everything is 105 yen since there is tax. But it’s great. I got RITZ CRACKERS for a buck! I got English breakfast tea, green tea, a teapot, slippers, small bulletin board, letter tray and some storage boxes for my school supplies, and thumbtacks and a bunch of other little goodies. They have school supplies there too so I will be going there for notebooks and stuff. You can’t say no when its just a dollar!

Afterwards, we went to Muji. A bit on the expensive side, but it’s nice and has the clear plastic stackable drawers that I wanted for about 1400 yen, and I got the big ones. Need to get two more of those, and a smaller one. I have no closets so everything (even my jackets) go in the drawers. Pretty much because I want my room to be kept neat. I was able to get one of the guys at Muji to help me get my futon stuff – so that’s another indicator that my Japanese is pretty decent.

Took a bus back from the Shijo-Kawaramachi shopping area, which is an awesome place. I saw a bowling alley. Don't care much for pachinko – what is the point of that anyway? Deena and I were tired and hot. You would not believe the humidity in OCTOBER. You try carrying a futon mattress, two plastic drawers and a bag full of 100 yen stuff a very long way.

Since it was so humid and we were so tired, we actually found a Starbucks. No Venti! Just short, tall and grande. Fine by me. Venti seems to be too much anyways. No air conditioners though, seemed that the whole city decided to be humid yesterday. Even in the buildings.

On our way back, we dropped by the Family Mart conbini to get a few things to eat. I always keep forgetting to put the money to pay for things in the tray; I always give the money directly to the person. Practically collapsed when we got to my house, but I needed to unpack and start putting everything away.

In the Land of...Many Rice Paddies*

Japanese Lesson 1:
1) Inaka 田舎= countryside
2) Sou desu ne! そうですね！ = I see/Really!
3) Kenkyuusei 研究生　= research student
4) Conbini コンビニ = convenience store (think 7-11, but way better)
5) Keitai denwa 携帯電話 = Cell phone

Rice paddies. Lots and lots of rice paddies.

My friend Byron is in Miyazaki, Kyushu as a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) for the JET program. He left for Japan in July; during a conversation, he sent me a picture of the Kyushu countryside.

Me: “Wow…its gorgeous! The grass is so green!”

Byron: “Actually, those are rice paddies.”

So, my reaction when we finally began our descent into Narita Airport at Tokyo was the following:

“Rice paddies? In Tokyo?”

Ok, so my Japanese geography isn’t that great yet. I was expecting something along the lines of what I usually see when I fly into Newark or JFK: lights. Lots and lots of lights. Instead, I got a sneak peak of the inaka.

Oh. Holy. Crap. I. Am. In. JAPAN.

Who would have thought this would have happened?

When Greeks in Astoria go to Greece for the summer, we usually fly Olympic Airways (crappy as it is) via JFK. Olympic is at Terminal 1. In 2002, while my mom, sister and I were checking our bags, I noticed across from the Olympic Airways check-in was the JAL check-in. I turn around to my mother and I tell her this:

“You see the JAL check-in? I am going to go to Japan and with that airline.”

In a entertainingly creepy (but a good form of creepy) way, it’s interesting to see how things turned out. I said that to my mom before I even started college.

Me and Ingram (aforementioned Monbusho student) began to prepare to practically bum-rush the other passengers so we can get off the plane. We had to make a connecting flight to Itami Airport in Osaka, and were worried that we wouldn't have enough time since we had to collect our baggage, go through customs and recheck our baggage.

Getting the baggage was easy. My suitcases have the buckles so that you can buckle one to the other, and then just pull one. My carry-on was hell though; I packed my laptop and it was a shoulder duffel so it put a bit of a strain.

So we get off the plane and go to baggage claim. “Go” is not the precise word for it; it was more like “run.” And we were the only two running so it must have been a hilarious sight.

Got the bags, go to customs. Some of the customs officers were actually opening suitcases, and the guy in front of us was patted down. Ingram gives the customs officer his passport, and got some sort of hesitation with the visa. Like, the customs officer really wasn’t sure what to do with him. When I gave him my passport, the customs officer actually looked at my visa and said “College student?”

I felt like I needed to correct him.

“Monbusho no kenkyuusei.”

He looks up at me, then back at Ingram. “The both of you?” he said in Japanese. “Sou desu ne!” Compared to Ingram, I was practically rushed right through.

There was a bit of turbulence on the flight to Osaka. The landing was an amazing sight – exactly what I expected, in terms of lights. From the bird’s eye view, Osaka sort of reminds me of Las Vegas – all sprawled out, but with clusters of high buildings here and there and lots of colorful lights. The best was seeing Osaka Castle. When we landed, we see that there are more kids for the Monbusho, but all different categories, and from different countries.

There was another girl my age – Elisa – and she is renting an apartment in a building for all girls. When she found out I was in the guesthouse, she offered to check with her landlord to see if she could have a roommate, namely me. Would be cool, provided that there is enough space for the both of us. I just told her that it would probably be in November, since the minimum stay in the guesthouse is a month.

Which leads me to where I am right now. I am actually not at the house, contrary to what I was told my the international students advisor at Rits. The people from JASSO did pick us up, but they took us to a hotel. Tomorrow, we go back to the airport, get on a bus and go to Kyoto Station. From there, we each go our merry way via taxi. I called Kim (the woman that runs the house) and apologized for the mix-up (not my fault, really!) and she told me to take a taxi to a corner near the house and call her mobile before I leave Kyoto Station. She will meet me at the conbini at then come into the taxi with me to direct the taxi to the house. I called Deena and reset our meeting time due to the JASSO fracas, and I told her that I have sort of drag her along while I get my Alien Registration Card, health insurance, postal bank account and register at Kyodai. Luckily, all of that can be done within a three-block radius. Then depending on how my room is in terms of storage, it’s off to the shopping area and maybe 100-yen shops to get some things to put my room in order. Given the developments in the housing situation, I don't think I will get furniture for the next month, or maybe two. To be quite honest, I need a keitai more than a desk at the moment.

This Saturday, Deena and I plan to spend the day in Osaka. Friday is the “gas lamps” lecture. I’ll explain that after the lecture. But for now, all I can say is that there is a method to my madness, as gas lamps are pretty important for my research, in terms of a broader, thematic element.

So now, I need to go back to sleep. It’s now 3am Japan time.

(*Did you really think I was going to say "Land of the Rising Sun?)

Up, Up and Away

It’s 6:33pm EST on October 3, and I am writing this in Microsoft Word. Figured that I can pass the time by writing a very long entry, and regale you all with the tales of my travels thus far.

I think from now on, I need to provide a glossary at the beginning of each entry after this one. I think out of the 30 people or so that I gave the link to this blog to, only 3 will automatically understand the Japanese terms that I litter throughout this and future entries. However, when my writing gets good enough to attempt to write a whole entry in Japanese, nothing much I can do there, short of a translation. If anyone has noticed, my entries can get rather long, so it’s doubtful. I need the writing practice.

But first, an announcement. There has been much speculation and understanding that there was only one Monbusho Scholarship given in the United States in the Research Student category that I am in. Turns out that was wrong. My apologies. There is more than one Kenkyusei Shougakuin (Research Student Scholarship) given out each year across the U.S.

You are probably scratching your heads. How does Maria know this? She hasn’t even landed yet! She is still in the plane! She doesn’t know anybody!

I know because my seatmate is also a Monbusho student. I saw him studying the Japan Times Intermediate Japanese text (the ones that second year students at SOAS use in the fall term). So when the opportunity presented itself, I asked if a) he is studying Japanese (duh, but how else can I start?) and b) what he is doing going to Japan. My guess was since the Fulbrighters and the JETs are in Japan already, study abroad kids have started in September because that’s when the American school year starts, there has to be something that's left. Maybe another English-teaching program, or a different scholarship?

What’s even more coincidental is that a) we are both going to Kyoto, b) we have the same flight to Osaka and c) we are both going to Kyodai (Kyoto University) However, he is going straight into classes and research, while I do the 6-month academic lockdown (as I call it) in Japanese language classes. So, while I got accepted into Rits (Ritsumeikan University’s nickname) he got accepted into Kyodai.

We compared notes on the interview (both of us are from NY so we had the same people) and our projects. We also compared passports and showed our visas to one another – he graduated in 2005 so he did a master’s degree in IPE at LSE in England, so it was interesting to talk about London. It seems that things are turning for the better – at least I won’t be wandering around Narita in a panic, trying to get my luggage and run to the connecting flight. I wonder if there are other Monbusho people on the plane.

The in-flight lunch was good. I had shrimp with ginger and some spicy sauce with rice, salad, cake and this thing called “Japanese Delicacies.” It looked like vegetables, but I swear that one of the things reminded me of the animals and the forest scenes in Princess Mononoke. I should have taken a picture. I figured that I would see stranger edibles in Japan, so I pour the soy sauce on it (in the cutest little squeeze bottle) and down the hatch! It didn't make me gag so I guess I survived my first round of “Japanese Delicacies.”

Right before I boarded, I went to the bathroom in the Sakura Lounge. When I turned around, I burst out laughing. Why? The bathroom has those heated toilet seats that clean you, just like the ones in Japan. I did not press any of the buttons, since I had no clue what they would do. Just before we ate lunch, the stewardesses handed out the hot washcloths to the passengers, just as if you were in a Japanese restaurant. I haven’t even left the North American continent, and already I am in Japan.

Here We Go!!!

I am in the first class "Sakura Lounge," courtesy of Japan Airlines. As in right now - 12:33pm EST.

Free food, free booze, and free internet.

This place would make a FCLC-er sooooooo happy.

Doesn't mean that I am flying first class though. Oh well. You can't have everything.

Finished packing last night - have two suitcases, one large and one small. Packing wasn't that bad, I was able to stuff everything into the two suitcases, and I have Mel's Tumi duffel as a carryon so it wasn't that bad.

What was bad was that my TSA-Certified padlock jammed while I was trying to put the code in, and I couldn't get it to close. so I had to buy a new TSA-Certified lock. Paranoid 'Merikins. I wasn't even able to bring my travel size liquids and gels, since they weren't in a stupid ziploc bag, but a security guard provided me one.

Other than that, not much news to report. Went to Chelsea Piers bowling on Friday with Mel, Kerri and Mel's friends, a pub afterwards, and Kerri wanted to take me to Coyote Ugly, so we went after the pub. Ugly wasn't even the word for it, more like unhygenic, with all the bras plastered to the wall, just like the movie. The one in Vegas might be better, but alas, I was not 21 when I went to Vegas so I missed out. Proceeded to drink a wee bit too much wine at the pub so Kerri had to help me down the stairs a bit. This was not because I was tipsy - well partially - but my fear of stairs was made worse due to the wine. Let's just say I fall down the stairs even when I am sober. I have a scar on my left forearm to prove it.

On Saturday, I went with Mel and our mothers to check out Bridgewaters for the wedding reception. It was nice, the price was amazing for Manhattan, but the entryway did smell a bit of fish (It's on the third floor of the now/soon to be defunct Fulton Fish Market). The view was great, but the floors were dark and it smelled of fish, and it's by South Street so there would be too much traffic and hardly any parking.

So on Sunday, we went back to the original choice - Palm House @ Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It's 12 minutes from my house via the BQE, so long as that damn highway doesn't have a) construction or b) traffic. It was rainy, but still very pretty. They were setting up for a wedding so we were able to see how it was. We still have one more place to check out. But, BBG does look like a winner.

As for the dress search, my mom and I found dresses that we both like by Melissa Sweet. The fun part is, they have the designer at Bergdorf Goodman, in addition to Saks and Kleinfeld, but I would want to go to Bergdorf just for kicks. When would I have a perfectly justifiable reason to walk in there again?