The Past Few Days, with Pictures!

Friday, I visited Annika's school, Yayoi, in Ina City.  There are 3 schools in the area-- Inakita, the hardest to get into, Yayoi, the middle one, and Akaho, the easiest to get into [where I go].  [In Japan people apply for public schools, not just private schools.]  It was interesting to see another school and meet new people and see what Annika's daily life is like.  Visiting Yayoi made me much happier with Akaho.  At Akaho, the people are much more fun and social, whereas at Yayoi they seem more serious and shy.  When Annika visited my school, my friends really welcomed her and gave her chocolate and we all ended up lying on the floor together and laughing about everything.  When I visited Yayoi, everyone was really nice to me, but they weren't as silly and lively.  If I was actually learning stuff at school and a real student, I might prefer the more academic environment of Yayoi, but as an exchange student, I prefer the more vibrant place.  It really doesn't matter what the level of the school is because everything is review anyway and furthermore, I don't speak Japanese well enough to have intelligent conversations.  [Except with my host mom.  She is very patient and also very smart, so it works well.]

Yes, everyone always does the peace sign.

We spent the first block in the library.  Then I introduced myself to the class during homeroom, then geography class, then I met the American who teaches English, then lunch.  Then next block was another one that Annika usually doesn't go to [It was PE, and Annika sprained both ankles a while ago.]  

It was a cloudy day, but warm.  It felt like New Hampshire's April, so we went exploring outside.  Being barefoot was so nice after a winter of shoes.  Annika had been telling me about a park she found near her school, so we headed off toward the park.  On the way, we came across a little shrine in the woods.

Barefoot!

This is why I love Japan.  This is why I love my life.  It was the kind of moment that is what ties together all the other times, the stepping stone of truth and simplicity between the normal days.  We ran up the stone steps, between the old stone columns beneath the wet pine trees.  

Shrine Lion

It was drizzly and grey, but that made the mossy lions seem tamer and the leaves and needles softer under our spring toes.  At the main building of the shrine, we rang the bells and bowed and clapped twice and thought our thoughts and bowed again and promised to give extra money next time because we didn't have any coins with us.  

We sang ridiculous songs, made up on the spot, and wandered through the various tombs and buildings and statues.  Annika was feeling heart broken, so we threw sticks in the woods to let go of the pain.  Then we ran down the hill and were at the park.

Shrine

Like the woody shrine, the grassy park was also deserted.  I love coming across deserted parks because it means I can use the swings and be scared on the big slides without disrupting 4 year olds.   

Back to school.  English class, then another hour in the library, which we spent listening to music and drifting to sleep.  Deserted places are nice because no one cares what you do.

Then shodou club!  I watched them practice their massive-banner-making performance that they'll do for the 3rd years as a graduation present, then did a little shodou myself.  [shodou = Japanese calligraphy.  It's done with wet black ink and a big paintbrush.]  

We ate dinner at the Annika's host dad's restaurant with Annika's host mom and 2 sisters and her sister's friend.  Super delicious!  

When we got home, everyone was exhausted but we decided to go do karaoke.  [It really is very very popular in Japan.  That isn't just a stereotype.]  The four of us, [Annika's sister Yuri, Yuri's friend Mari, Annika and I] sang silly AKB48 songs together and had a nice time.  

The next morning [Mari and I slept over at Yuri and Annika's house], we got up early to go take purikura!  A very very popular Japanese teenage girl pastime.  They are always shocked to hear that in the US we don't have it.  

Purikura

The claw arcade game thing broke and we knocked over the whole basket... Lucky!!

In the afternoon, I went to Annika's Japanese lesson [the one I tried to go to last week but the teacher wasn't there].  It made me both excited and frustrated.  Excited, because I realized how much having a teacher will help me and how quickly I'll be able to learn.  Frustrated, because I feel like I'd be twice as good at Japanese now if I had been taking classes for the past 6 months.  Oh well.  There's nothing I can do about that now, I guess.  Unfortunately, Japanese class and mandolin practice often coincide [because I often have 6 hour long mandolin practices on Saturdays!] so I may not be able to go often.  I told my host mom I wished I could go more often, and she called someone and found out that there are Japanese teachers in Komagane!!  I'm going to the class tomorrow for the first time!  This class occurs during the school day, but if it seems like something that will help me I'm guessing I can talk to my school and they'll let me take the afternoon off on Tuesdays.  At least I'll be learning something then... everything taught in the lessons at school is stuff I learned years ago.  Math is about 5 years ago, Science is about 3 years ago, History is also 3 years ago... Japanese class would definitely be a better use of my time.  

The next day, my host sister Hanae and I went skiing!  The ski place in Komagane is tiny [just 2 trails] but I love skiing no matter where it is.  We calculated how many runs we did and, if we're correct, we did 40!  In the evening, we went with host dad to a soba party [soba= those really delicious noodles I've written about before] at his friends' house.  An older man grows the plants and makes the soba flour and makes the noodles and cooks it all by hand!  I talked to all the people and one man gave me a book of photographs he took of tiny mushrooms.  Another man wants to take me and my host family to see the place where something important involving neutrinos happened.  Not exactly sure what it is, but it is relevant in a physicsy way.  

I seem to inspire middle-aged people to attempt to remember the English they learned in high school.  They don't necessarily want to do this so they can talk to me [they talk to me in Japanese] but to talk to each other.  

"This is a pencil.  Would you like something to drink? This is red wine."  "No, no.  Wait a minute please...  Please, wine now." 

There are lots of other things I was thinking of writing about, but this is really long so I think I'll end here!

Random notes [I think this is becoming a permanent part of my blog]:

1.  I'll be back in the US on August 2nd!  See you in 5 months!

2.  I caught myself mixing up through/threw and write/right in this post...I thought I was smarter than that... Eek!  Please let me know if you see any stupid mistakes so I can fix them!  

Strawberries.

I have never eaten so many strawberries in one day!

Today my host mom and sister and I went strawberry picking!  I don't know why, but during my time in Japan i have developed an intense love for strawberries.  What a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We went and got tickets at a little building, then walked down to green house number nine.

This is where the green houses are!

In Japan, the rules of strawberry picking are exactly the opposite of the rules in the US.  You can eat as many strawberries as you want in an hour and a half, but you can't take any home with you.

Me and Hanae [host sister]!

We spent about half an hour strolling down the little aisles, eating a fantastically huge number of strawberries.  Then we felt quite bloated and realized it was impossible to eat any more, so we walked around and soaked in the beauty of the perfect red berries.

Mom and Hanae

The leaves of all the strawberries I ate.  At least 30.

And there were ostrich eggs in the little food store nearby!

The cost about $35 each!

I was supposed to go to a Japanese class with Annika in the afternoon, but the teacher didn't show up.  I'll go again next week, though.  It will be interesting, because I have never had a Japanese lesson before.  Everything I know I have picked up from experience. I'm excited to join the class, but I'm also a little proud and stubborn and unsure because it will mean that I can't say I did it all on my own anymore. Still, I do realize that this class will help me a lot and I'm looking forward to learning Japanese in a more manageable way.  And I think it will speed up my learning significantly.

Anyway, the teacher didn't come, so we went to the bookstore.  I found the Western Classics section and got way too excited and couldn't decide which one to get.  It was fantastic.  I love that my life now involves moments when I can't choose between reading Shakespeare, Hemingway, or Fitzgerald in Japanese.  I ended up getting The Great Gatsby, because Shakespeare would be way too hard at this point, and I've read lots of Hemingway before.  I also got a Japanese fashion magazine, to get a little of both of my cultures.  Magazines here are really great.  They usually come with little bags or things, and Japanese clothes are so amazingly wonderful that any 200 page book devoted to them is bound to be good.

I ran into my friend Megumi in the train station!  She plays mandola in the mandolin/guitar club.  We walk home together everyday, since our houses are nearby.  This time together has made her become my closest Japanese friend.  She is really nice, and not as girly and giggly as many of my other friends, which I find quite refreshing.  It was nice to take the train home with a friend, rather than alone, as I had originally thought.  It's only 20 minutes, but it is little surprises like this that come together to create general happiness.


Sushi for dinner!  Ate a little squid about 2 inches long.  It was cute.  We talked about cuttlefish and I taught them about how they change colors and can copy patterns and stuff.


I loved today.



Random notes, as usual.
1.  I asked about whaling [it was on TV] and why Japan still does it.  I didn't fully understand everything my host mom said, but this was my general impression:  Part 1 -They've been doing it for a really really long time, so in certain villages it is the way of life and the culture of the people.  Part 2- they have to do examinations/inquiries into the whales [kind of unclear on this part, didn't understand it perfectly] and that is where the meat comes from.  My host mom wasn't sure why the examined whales had to be killed, and said she would look into it.
2.  SUCCESS!  Host Mom [approximate, cause this conversation was a while ago and in Japanese]: "You've changed my image of Americans.  I thought they all ate a lot of fast food and weren't very healthy, but you've told me all about the farms in your area and the kinds of things you eat in New Hampshire and about eating flowers from your garden, and it seems like you have a very good lifestyle."

Good Things

• What usually happens with my brain is that when it hears English on TV or wherever, it sends me a little message saying "Hey! Pay attention! You know that language!"  Now it is starting to happen with Japanese... I can understand portions without actually giving it my full attention, so my brain sends me the "language you understand" alert and I think it is English, but then it isn't.  
• The same thing has happened during conversations with my host mom-- I'll be really confused about why she's randomly throwing English words into her sentences, and then realize that my brain is just confused by the Japanese words I know really well.
• I found a Russian text book in the library at school.  All the explanations are in Japanese.  It might be my favorite object in the whole world.
• I spent the afternoon playing music with Annika.  
• Annika is visiting my school this Tuesday!  
• At this point, I speak Japanese well enough that I can explain to my host mom that what is going on inside my head is entirely different from what I actually am able to communicate and that it is really hard.  It doesn't really solve the problem of feeling isolated, but it helps to have someone understand.
• Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  Happy Birthday Dad!
• Recent words I learned:  Sea Otter- rakko, photosynthesis- kougousei, single-celled organism- tansaibouseibutsu.  Host fam and I have good conversations. :]
• My sister is in Kenya now!  She's the most awesome person ever.  Seriously.  Read her blog! Link: Molly's Ridiculously Amazing Life in Kenya
• That's all for now.  It's late and I have school tomorrow.
• I'll be more consistent about blogging in the future.
• I'm pretty sure I say that every time... 

Peanut Butter

My host dad tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and liked it!!!

I told my host family about apples with honey and apples with peanut butter... once again, the peanut butter part really grossed them out.  We tried both.  They liked the honey and apples. but thought it was a little too sweet.  Peanut butter on apples was not a hit.  Peanut butter and celery worked out though!  They took a picture of me eating an apples slice with peanut butter on it cause it seemed so strange to them.  It is funny to experience this in reverse.  My food comfort zone is pretty gigantic now.  Oh, sea cucumber for dinner?  No big deal, I've eaten that plenty of times!

I had a 6 hour mandolin practice today.  There isn't a concert coming up or anything... the next one is over 4 months away.  Japanese clubs are just intense.
Then I got home and played cello for an hour.  So great, but my arms are so tired!

Exactly 1 week with my family!  It seems like I've only been here 2 days, but I also feel like I've known them for years.

Soba. Sumo. Scout.

My host family has a tradition of eating soba every Saturday.  It just so happens that soba is my favorite Japanese food.  I love it a lot.  Told you this family was perfect for me!

Big news in Japan:  Sumo wrestlers have been fixing games for betting etc.  It is on TV a lot.  I was going to do a whole explanation for you, but my dad just sent me a video about it [lucky coincidence!] so you can watch that.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/02/04/lah.japan.sumo.scandal.cnn?hpt=C2

I couldn't add the video to my post because it isn't from youtube.  :(

I found To Kill a Mockingbird in Japanese in the library today!  I can pretty much read it too!  I need to have my dictionary nearby, but I now know enough kanji to not rely so heavily on the dictionary that it takes years to read anything. I know it is lame to be reading a book from the US, but it really helps to have an idea of what should be happening.  Once I can read a little more I will move on to Japanese books.  But this is my first book, so I think it is ok.

I forgot!  Yesterday was the exact half-way point of my exchange year.  Whoa.

Home.

I've been with my 3rd host family for less than a week and I already feel completely at home.  It is such a perfect fit.  This family has the same thing with music that my first family had with tatami-floored rooms filled with ancient gold-leaf-covered statues.  They just keep popping up when I least expect it.  Often, too.
I moved here on Saturday.  On Sunday I had a Rotary meeting in Matsumoto, and when I came home there was classical music blaring from my host dad's "Listening Room."
My host mom and host sister both are excellent at piano.
I have a host sister!  She's 14, which is fun because we're the same age difference as me and Molly, but this time I'm the big sister.  She's really nice and smart and sooooo good at piano.  I help her with her English homework.
My host dad is a doctor, and his clinic is the first story of the house.  We live on the second story.  The house is pink.  I'll put up a picture once I take one.  The house is so comfortable.  It is like somehow with this family complete comfort and Japanese culture can suddenly coexist.
One of the best things about having a host sister is the family-feeling it brings to the house.  My host mom and sister and I have tea and eat strawberries and chat every evening.  I really love it.  I discovered bancha, which is some sort of roasted Japanese tea, and delicious.
My host dad used to play the cello.  He doesn't really play anymore, but he still has a cello.  Before I knew this, we were talking about music and I mentioned that I've always wanted to play cello and accordion.  I get to use the cello!!  I practiced for about an hour yesterday, but I'm still working on making it make the right sounds.  It's my first time using a bow and not having frets.  The strings are different notes from mandolin, so I have to rethink all that too when I play songs.
I have not seen it yet, but apparently my host mom has an accordion that she's going to let me try!  So many life goals accomplished.
I really feel like I can be my true self for the first time in Japan.  The language ability helps, but I also feel like this family really cares about me, but even more they influence me to develop myself into someone I want to be.  They care about the same things as me, and they share it with me.  They also want to know about American culture in more depth than most people I've met here.  I've already had conversations about Irish influence on American folktunes and the spirit of New Hampshire and history and so many other things.  And they teach me about Japan too.
AND JAPANESE.  Oh my goodness, I think I've learned more in the past 5 days than I did in the prior 4 months. They [especially my host mom] help me SO much.  She teaches me the tough grammar and remembers which words I learned the day before and helps me remember them the next day and keeps a notebook for us-- one side for her new words and culture things, and one side for my new phrases and kanji. While my host dad is reading the newspaper, he'll often ask if I can read the kanji in the headlines.  If I can't he explains it to me, and usually explains the rest of the article too.
Food is so good here. My host mom is a really good cook, and she also gets lots of local food and healthy things and generally doesn't shop at the super market, but at little specialty stores.  She took me food shopping the other day, which was a lot of fun.  She doesn't drive, so we walked all around the town stopping at different bakeries, flower shops, and her co-op place.
My room is tatami-style!  It's my first time sleeping on futons and having such a traditional Japanese room.  So beautiful.  Pictures will come.
I'll probably continue ranting about how much I love my host family in the next posts, but for now I'm going to move on to culture stuff!

My host mom and I were talking about sandwiches [I forget why] and I was telling her about normal American types.  When I mentioned pb&j's she was completely shocked and thought it was really gross!  She'd never heard of it before.  When my sister came home from school, she told her, and my sister was disgusted too.

Haha. Japanese teenagers are so different from US ones.  Today in school, my teacher had all the girls sit at their desks in a circle, and all the boys sit in chairs across from them.  We had to talk for one or 2 minutes, and then the boy would move on to the next chair.  It was really challenging for them just to talk to someone of the opposite sex!  My teacher was doing this because he wants everyone to be able to function once they have jobs and have to work with the cootie-infested beings.  Some of the boys were completely silent, and I just had to keep asking them stupid things like their favorite food and age and stuff.  Strawberries are popular with Japanese boys, I've discovered.  Luckily I don't feel awkward easily, because the majority of the boys seemed terrified and someone had to make the conversation happen [although the person who can't speak the language all the way is not the most obvious choice... Oh well].  Anyway, it was pretty amusing to see the contrast.  When I told my friends that in the US boys and girls can talk to each other really easily and even hug each other, they were super shocked.

Today is the day that it becomes spring, according to Japanese old tradition.  Every year on this day, people throw soy beans around the house.  They throw them outside of a window or door in each room, saying "Oni wa soto!" [Demons outside!] and then into the room, saying "Fuku wa uchi!" [happiness in the house] and it is supposed to bring good luck and keep out bad things for 1 year.  Each year also has a direction, [this year is South-South-East] and most people eat a roll of sushi facing that direction.  I think this is a newer tradition.  They also put holly and seed pods on the door so that the demons can't get in.

That's all for now!  I'll put up pictures of my new house soon and hopefully make another post with all of the things I forgot in this one.