MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It is Christmas here! I'm not sure really what to feel! I'm totally excited to be here, but I miss home so much tonight! In fact, I've missed everyone a lot this month, but I just tried to bury it. Smart move, I think not. But in my sadness and loneliness for family and friends at home, I am being blessed. I have met so many incredible people here and have such a wonderful group of friends here. I am truly shedding tears of both sadness and happiness. I would say the hardest part of living here is dealing with the ever tumultuous storms of conflicting feelings: happiness and sadness, loneliness and freedom, the list can go on. I have missed so many things at home and will continue to miss many events: parties, births, birthdays, holidays-to name a few. Yet, I have been able to celebrate birthdays here, holidays here, parties here. I chose to come knowing the struggles that come from being part of a study abroad program.

A few nights ago, when the stress hit me really hard, I wrote up a revelation I had regarding mission work. Since I have been asked to share it here, I feel that tonight is the most appropriate night to do so.
This is what I wrote:

Here in Japan, I have noticed the lack of God's Presence more than ever. I found that sometimes when I am praising Him, I feel emptied of His Spirit. So after reflecting on this, this feeling reminded me of water being placed in a dry environment. The water quickly evaporates into the thin air and seemingly disappears. However, the water does not simply disappear, it moves from a place of high concentration to a place of very low concentration, a place "needing" the presence of water. This too is like my praise. It does not fall silent and disappear, it merely moves from my soul, which is close to God, to over Japan, where God is desparately is needed. It is for this reason that missionaries in places like Japan, places that are spiritual deserts, get so worn out so quickly.

This Christmas, my friends, pray for the missionaries of these spiritually arid lands, that God may continuously refill their souls with strength and praise. Pray that the missionaries' praise does not fall flat and die in these nations, but may penetrate the harsh darkness of Satan and will one day flourish through God's Great Power.

First off, as I explained on my Facebook, when discussing spirituality, nearly every religion says that it holds the truth to the afterlife. Either one religion is right, or none of them. Many of my friends reacted harshly to my post, saying that Japan was indeed spiritual. And, I must say, if one looks at how they adhere to religious practices, then, yes, it could be said that Japan is quite spiritual. But that's assuming the definition of spiritual is a general acceptance of religion and religious practices. However, I am not talking about that. I am talking about the adherence to truth, God's Truth. 

History does not deny the birth of Jesus Christ. He truly did exist! Where secular historians and religious scholars differ is over the Godliness of Christ. In the Book of John, Chapter 14, Christ is recorded as saying, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (NASB). This is a blunt as you can get. No Christ, No Afterlife Paradise. Granted, Jesus could have been a nut whom we still continue to follow to this day.

Yet, if one checks the Old Testament and cross-references it with the Life of Christ, one can see that there were prophecies about Christ's life that He fulfilled. In fact, all the 'Messianic' Prophecies (as they are called) were fulfilled in Christ's life.

Take the Old Testament Book Micah, for example. In this book, Chapter 5, verse 2 , (Micah 5:2) it reads:

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from long ago, 

From the days of eternity. 

Who knows the carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem"? Is this not a song about the birth of Christ? Luke 2:11 says:

"...For today in the town of David there has been born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." 

This 'little town of David' is the birthplace of King David, which we know from 1 Samuel 16, when God sent his prophet Samuel to anoint  David as the future king. God said to Samuel in verse 1:

 "Fill your horn with oil [for anointing David's head as a sign being God's choice for king] and go; I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehemite [David's father, who was from Bethlehem], for I have selected a king for Myself from among his sons." 

While God was specifically referring to David as being the chosen one, this also parallels the coming of Christ, who would eventually come through David's bloodline and from his place of birth. Christ's birthline was recorded for both his parents' bloodlines. His 'paternal' side, being the genealogy of Mary's husband, Joseph, is recorded in Matthew chapter 1. Mary's genealogy is recorded in Luke 3, starting at verse 23. Both bloodlines can be traced back to King David, showing that Christ truly came from the Davidic genealogy.

In Isaiah 7:14, Christ's virgin birth was prophesied. Mind you, the Book of Isaiah was written around 700 years before Christ's birth! 

You may consider this all hogwash, but the truth of the matter is that the Godliness of Christ truly means the life or death of your soul. If you choose not to believe, then kiss goodbye your chance to be in paradise after you die. The one thing that separates Christianity from all other religions (minus Judaism, which is just complicated) is that the Bible says we cannot save our own souls. God has already set-up salvation for us. Romans 6:23 says:

For the wages [payments/fines] of sin is death [spiritual death/going to Hell], but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We sin. We hurt others, even when we meant to do right. We lie. We forget to keep promises. We sin. Because we are naturally walking destruction and chaos, we cannot naturally be with God anymore, since He is the totally opposite of us. Just like Light and Shadows cannot be together in the same spot, we cannot be with Him. Yet, God chose to come down in the form of Jesus Christ, as a human sacrifice to cover the payment for our sin. This sacrifice created a bridge between us and God, allowing for our sinful nature, our chaotic and hurtful nature to be covered and forgotten. Also we have to do is accept the gift. We must accept the fact that we cannot save ourselves and God has provided a free 'Out of Jail' card for everyone, even the murderers and the molesters. We must allow God into our hearts and allow Him to change us from the inside out, which will make us more patient, loving, caring, and closer to perfect. 

But, we ourselves cannot save ourselves. We can only accept the gift of Salvation.

This is what I mean about the truth, about 'spirituality'. If we as humans are so focused on saving our own souls and upholding religious rituals to win our right into an afterlife paradise, then how can we truly experience the spiritual world for what it truly is? 

Japan is dedicated to upholding spiritual rituals. They clean their houses in the beginning of February and let in priests to 'spiritually' cleanse the inside of the houses. They visit shrines on New Years' to ask for a good year. They try to maintain social purity and integrity so that they do not affect their  future generations' chances to attain entrance into paradise. Yet they fail to see that their culture tells the story of Christ who gave them free entrance into paradise, paradise with God!

The Japanese fight the truth and are covered in a thick darkness. So, in this way, yes, they are completely submerged into spiritual world, but submerged in the shadows of the spiritual world. If you will, Japan is covered in the Elephant Graveyard of the spiritual world, where Satan's hyenas are awaiting to devour the souls of humans and keep them from leaving the Graveyard.

We see the struggles of the Japanese in their high suicide rates and their cultural obsession with needing to fit in socially. Yet, we Christians offer a truth that will help them escape their struggles.

This offer of not only salvation in the afterlife, but peace within this chaotic world is an offer for everyone. If you haven't accepted to do so, please at least choose to research the legitimacy of this truth. Ask questions about Christianity and the conflicting claims of this world. 

If you feel the call of God and believe the truth I have explained is real, then pray to God. No, rather, strike up a conversation with God. You don't need to be formal with Him, you just need to be honest. For more information about who God is and how you can become a Christian, please go this site by Focus on the Family. Focus on the Family is a trusted Christian ministry that offers not only spiritual guidance for the masses, but also offers many resources for the many life struggles we face. Some of these resources include marriage advice and hotlines, abuse hotlines, tips on parenting, the list continues.

I know I went totally spiritual on you today, but this is the truth about Christmas. We celebrate the long awaited birth of Christ Jesus, who came to die for our sinful fine and provide a free escape from the spiritual death we deserve. 

As you receive your Christmas gifts this year, remember the sacrifice that your friends and family chose to make to give you that gift, and how that sacrifice (whether monetary or time or both) parallels the sacrifice that Christ made for us.

Merry Christmas my friends! I pray that this season will be special, especially amongst the difficulties of life! And I pray that your New Year will be a blessed one from God!

Until then, Merry Christmas peeps!

Merry-Soon-To-Be-Christmas-Day!

Hey Hey, my Peeps,

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Yeah, so I failed again to stay on top of this blog. School, like usual, got in the way. However, I now have a two-week break (started today which is the Saturday before Christmas), then following the break I will have three/four more weeks of the Fall semester! After that, I will have a two-month break!

My goals this two-week winter break is to catch up on the blog, on writing my manga, and then, of course, practice and study my Japanese.

This evening, I finally got my photos and videos off my camera, so now I will have to separate them and then post them. But, prior to posting them, I will celebrate Christmas and post m Christmas stuff!

This particular post is just telling you guys that, yes, I am still alive. No, the Mayan "End of the World" did not occur. And yes, I do constantly think about my blog.

So just sit tight for me to get things organized! Thank you for being so patient with me thus far!!!

Until then, Later Peeps!

I'm Back! Midterms done!...for now....

Hey ya peeps! Long time, no see (or read)!

I obviously got just a bit behind on posting (talk about an understatement....), so sorry about that. November was just a bit crazy between school events, our Nation's election, a friend's visit, and Thanksgiving. And boy, did November just fly by? It seems like just last week that we were all holding our breaths for the results of the Presidential elections.

On that note, I should explain briefly how one participates in elections while abroad. The Department of State has a program called Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) that travelers can register for in order to receive information for their trips. This is a one-time registration, meaning that you just have to register once and then use it anytime you are traveling abroad. Once you register for the program, you will set up an online profile where you can then register your trips abroad. Also, you can register contacts just in case something were to happen to you while abroad. After your trip is registered, you will receive monthly newsletters from the consulate nearest to your destination. For additional information about the STEP program, just click on this link.

The STEP Program newsletters will also inform you of any upcoming elections and provide links with instructions on how to receive a ballot and send it back. The instructions vary based on your registered voting precincts. I chose to receive my ballot electronically. It was sent to me via e-mail, at which point I printed it off and filled it out. If you are abroad for more than one year, you will have inform your voting precinct of your "abroad" status each and every year. You just fill out a form that you can find on the internet and email it, snail mail it, or fax it to your precinct's office. Once all the papers are filled and registered and you have finally received and filled out your ballot, you have a choice. You can take your ballot to the nearest US consulate, who will then send it in your steed, or you can fax it to your precinct office assuming that your precinct chooses to accept faxed ballots. I chose to fax mine in and received an email later confirming that my ballot had been received, verified and counted.

So, yeah. That's how voting works when abroad. But, definitely register with STEP when traveling! It's a really nice program. The newsletters also contain a lot of inform in regards to living in your destination's country. Again, really nice.

Now, catching up with life. We had our Election. Then CSU proposed 3 new fees that they want to apply to Spring 2014. These fees are supposed to serve as additional encouragement to students to graduate early. In reality, they are bleeding us for more money. Each fee is a "per unit" fee. One is applied to students repeating classes. For every repeat class, CSU wants students to pay $100 per unit per repeat class. The second fee is a unit cap fee, meaning that CSU wants to limit the amount of units students can take per semester. The proposed fee is $200 per additional unit when students are taking 18 units or more. To be honest, I'm not entirely clear on the unit cap fee. From the sound of it, if a student takes 18 units, then the 18th unit will have the $200 fee applied to it, with an additional $200 for every additional unit.

The third proposed fee is the killer. This fee is known as the 'Super Senior' fee. It is attacking any student that has 150/160 units accumulated. In Spring 2014, assuming the fee is voted in, students will have to pay $372 per unit over 160 units. The next year, the fee will be applied to any unit over 150. I currently stand at 165 (ish) units with about 60 units left (which includes the possible 12 units for my degrees that I may satisfy this year) to complete for my double-majors/double-minors. With that being said, I could accumulate an additional $5580 per semester in fees on top of tuition since I take 15 units per semester on average. And, I will have about 2 to 3 semesters left by the time the fees are supposed to be applied. That amounts to $11,160 to $16,740 in extra fees just to finish my degrees...Needless to say, this has indeed rattled me.

CSU was supposed to have voted on the fees the week following our Presidential Election, but it was postponed to January. So pray hard that these fees don't go through!

What else happened in November...Thanksgiving. A few of my CSU friends are living with host families. One such family threw us a party earlier in the semester and decided to throw us a Thanksgiving party. It was potluck-style, so the family provided the main course and we provided side dishes, appetizers, and desserts. We had sukiyaki, mashed potatoes, tacos, rice krispy treats, pudding, sushi, pumpkin pie, another type of pie and so much more! That party was on Monday of Thanksgiving week.

Then on Thanksgiving Day, we had a tuition-paid-for Thanksgiving Buffet Dinner at the New Sanno Hotel in Downtown Tokyo. Now, the New Sanno Hotel is the U.S. Navy Resort hotel that requires some form of military ID to get into. This ID can be from a parent whose a veteran or an accompanying friend with ID, and this is only for the hotel. So, for each ID holder, 20 additional people can come in with some sort of passport or ID. The Dinner had no additional identification check, but it did have a cost per person in US Dollars. Our CSU Tuition covered the cost.

So, how did we get in? One of our CSU friends is a military ID holder (I will not go into why this person has such ID), so we were able to go to this dinner. And, man! There was so much food! Here's a link to the buffet menu. It was such a glorious dinner with all the traditional fixin's I have with my family in the US! It was such a blessed time with my CSU friends! The experience was so good that my homestay CSU friends are planning on taking their host families  and/or host parents to the Christmas Buffet at New Sanno. That will be such a treat for the host familes!

Then, the week after Thanksgiving week was my midterm week (this was last week, by the way). I had a few minute-long speaking test in both my Japanese language courses and a 5-8 page paper for my Japanese literature class. Boy, am I glad that my midterm stuff is done. I finally kicked back and played some video games this weekend and heard one of our CSU friends give a speech in Japanese (language) for a speech contest. This contest was the 47th Annual Waseda University Exchange Student Competition (translated title) that is hosted by one of the international clubs on campus. My friend won the popular vote, which came to no surprise because his speaking skills are amazing!

Then today, I had church at my local church (which happens to be in my dorming complex). We started up the Christmas carols in both Japanese and English, plus we started Advent. Later in the evening, I ran (took the train) to Akihabara with a friend. Akihabara is known as the Electronics District in Japanese and is a great place to look for rare or old electronics or cheap prices on them. Akiba, as it is popularly called, is also known for its Anime Community. I will go into more detail about Akiba in a later post. Anyway, all that needs to be known is that I got a new camera since I lost the battery charger to my old camera, which was also beginning to creak and misbehave.

So yay! More pictures to come, finally!

In my next few posts, I will pick up on my trash series, then finally discuss my Nikko trip and the Waseda School festival, which were so long ago!

Hope you enjoyed this long awaited return.

Until next time, Later Peeps!

Sorry! Been Busy!

Hey my peeps!

This will be a quick post. So, the last couple of weeks have been exhausting, following the election especially. Regardless of your stance, that was one heck of an election. Then my local newspaper at home released info regarding some proposed fees on CSU tuitions that have the power to literally stop my education. I can get into that later, but if the fees become official in January, they will more than double my tuition the following Spring semester (Spr 2014), so that was a really hard blow to me.

Besides that, I have midterms this coming week. I have a 5 to 8 page paper (in English thankgoodness!) for my Japanese literature class, then two speaking tests, being one for each of my Japanese courses. Needless to say, I have been emotionally and physically exhausted by the last couple of weeks, hence the lack of posting. Also, I do not foresee any posts for another week and a day, which will be after my last midterm. After that I will finish my trash system post and blog about my trip to Nikko, our school festival and the glorious Thanksgiving dinners I have had this week!

Until then, Later Peeps!

Japanese Trash-Pt. 1

Hey, hey, Minna-san (Everyone!)

After the delay of posting, I finally got the garbage post up! PLUS, I will have a couple of event posts that I will hopefully get to this week. I have a 3-day weekend (technically 4-day for me) this week. It kicked off today (Friday) with a trip to the historical town of Nikko. I will have a post dedicated to this and the reason for the 3-day weekend. Now tomorrow and Sunday are our school festival days! I will definitely have pictures....assuming that I can find my camera charger.....But that's beside the point. So we have at least 2 event posts coming this week!!!

With that announcement aside...I have one more. I have been confronted about my lack of posting over the last couple of weeks. I think I've said this before, but...my plan with this blog is to post once a week....at least. Since I am trying to keep up in school and with work on my manga, doing multiple posts each week is not feasible. That's why my goal is once a week. Sometimes, depending on what's been going on, I might be late and I apologize in advance with that! When I have large events, I will try to post the following week when memories are the freshest. So! Don't been surprised to see only one post a week. Try checking on my posts on Weds and Suns, since these two days are most likely when I will have posted. Just wanted to make that clear....gomen nee! (sorry!)

And now! What we've all been waiting (too long) for: Japanese trash system!

Think back to the growing standard in American trash. Those in town will probably have a "greens" barrel for the gardening greens, a "recyclables" barrel, and a "general" trash barrel, which we have to drag out of our backyards or side yards each week on the designated trash day. Three barrels to fill each week, to drag out each week, all on the same week...taihen! (So difficult!). We Americans have it so hard sometimes....

But wait!

In reality, our trash system, though we typically hate doing it each week, is really easy-peasy compared to the Japanese trash system. To exemplify this, let's discuss my dorm room. It's a small one-person room with a personal toire, or toilet room. I got enough space for a small fridge, a shoe rack, a set of drawers and closet combo, my desk and my bed. Yet, I have four trash cans. Doushite!? (Why!?) Let me post the link to my ward's trash calendar. Remember, a Japanese ward is similar to a California county.

If you open up this pdf file (click the link), you will notice on the first page a fillable section saying something to the effect of "Recyclables [     day]". Above the box  that has the word 'day' in it, there will say something like "Once a day on...". One particle fillable space that I would like to point out is the "Combustable Garbage" that has two fill-in boxes. If you haven't figured it out yet, Japan has multiple trash-pick-up days. These days are trash-specific, meaning you actually do have to separate your trash before tossing it. If you don't, then you have to do the walk of shame to pick up your rejected bag of trash and try separating it correctly again for the next pick-up day....

In Japan, trash is separated into three basic categories: Combustible, PET Bottles, and Incombustible.
These terminologies differ slightly from ward to ward, prefecture to prefecture. I am currently living in a different ward than I lived in when I stayed in 2010. So I can attest to the slight differences in the trash separation. But, the listed categories are the most recognized types of trash throughout Japan.

Combustible trash is any food leftovers or paper products. Don't freak out just yet. Japan is kind enough to include the trash type on the labels of products. Combustible trash is often designated by this recycle sign . Inside the recycling sign is the kanji for 'paper' (which is read as kami....same reading as "god" but different kanji). The Japanese phrase for this type of trash is moeru-gomi, meaning "burnable (moeru) trash (gomi)".

Incombustible trash is generally plastics. However, other types of trash can be included depending on the ward. In Shinjuku (my ward), this type of trash is translated into "recyclable trash". The recycle sign that one wants to look for is this. Inside this symbol is katakana, syllable-based writing for non-traditional Japanese words. It reads pura. Who can guess what this means? It is from an English word!.............If you guess 'plastics', you are correct. This is a borrowed word from English meaning 'plastic'! Since the sound transitions in English words is difficult for the Japanese to make, they often truncate our words when they borrow them.

The last general category of trash is PET bottles. PET bottles are any plastic bottle that is made using petroleum. Truthfully, you are mostly likely not going to find very many plastic bottles that are not PET Bottles. These are separated from the rest of the plastic trash because they are processed differently from other trash...or so I've heard. I really haven't looked too much into the reasons for the separation of trash. All that I do know is that the Japanese have to immediately destroy or recycle trash because they do not have room to store. So, in order to save time and resources, the citizens are asked to separate the trash prior to pick-up. As you can guess, that which is burnable will be burned and that which can be reused will be reused.

This brings up another interesting point with the PET bottles and incombustible trash...you have to wash them before tossing them. Yes. You. Wash. Your. Trash. In. Japan. Since these types are going to be reused, having them wash beforehand helps on minimize the resources necessary for prepping the trash for being melted down and reused and preventing any unwanted oils and particles that may render the melted plastic unusable (or so I've heard). 

Combustible trash, however, does not need to be washed since it's going to be burned and utterly destroyed anyways.

Dang! This is a long post! In that case, I guess I should make it into a multi-part post. Today's post was on general Japanese trash separation. The next trash post will be on my ward's trash rules specifically. Then, I will have one last post on trash separation in town. Here, I will explain how you separate trash while at a public place. These posts will most likely come after my event posts for this weekend's various activities!

Til then, Later Peeps!

Follow-up to yesterday.

Hey guys, I just wanted to follow-up yesterday's post. It was a difficult subject on Hiroshima and cultural perspectives, so I felt that a follow-up was needed.

As I had mentioned in the post, this topic of cultural perspective pertaining to World War II was brought up by the excerpts I had to read of Ota Yoko's "The City of Corpses" for class. The excerpts were, in fact, the first 3 chapters from the book, which has 7 chapters in total. The first chapter dealt with the atomic sickness from a human perspective, the second dealt with the scientific perspective of the a-sickness, and the third chapter was Ota's experience of Aug 6th. The first chapter, to me, is the most difficult to read due to the emotional response it conjurs within the reader. But, each chapter is difficult in its own way. They are each very informative, but do not convey a sort of "pity-party" for Hiroshima. As harsh as that sounds, sometimes accounts of difficult events are made romanticize the events to invoke guilt. Ota does not do this, which is why it is so difficult emotionally. Her work is more journalistic in that sense.

So, in class, we had two days of discussing "The City of Corpses" as a literary work, rather than as a historical book. I actually was so emotionally disturbed by this book, that I left class for a few minutes yesterday. Today, it choked me up but the response was nowhere near as bad as yesterday. Because I had to bottle up my tears yesterday, I was actually getting sick feeling in class. Never had I experience such a powerful response to anything like this. But, I realized yesterday that my response was in part due to the fact that I am caught between the Japanese and American cultures that still are wounded from WWII. This was why I was trying to stress that I was not trying to put blame on either side, but rather acknowledging the conflictions between these two cultures.

But today, I realized something else about the book. As I was reading, the imagery, both in physical objects and emotional responses, were so vivid to me. It was partially due to Ota herself being to successful in conveying the scene at hand. However, there was another reason why the imagery was so powerfully conveyed. It had nothing to do with Ota's writing. Rather, it was from my own experience.

Ota described the scene following the bomb's explosion as people emerging from the wreckage, bloodied with ash-colored skin. Mind you, this is not a direct quote, but a merging of terminology and descriptions she gave. Ash rained down from the skies as people chaotically ran about, trying to figure out what had just happened to them and their city.

Did we not just experience this scene in our own lifetime?

The descriptions in "The City of Corpses" unconsciously brought back visions of 9/11. Wrapped perfectly in the setting of Hiroshima, I failed at first to recognize my own memories of our horrific experience. I also had never really experienced 9/11 with such devouring anger and twisting of emotions, so it was not clear to me that my memories were intertwining with Ota's memories and experiences. But is this not how grief works?

Grief is not something that should come natural to us. We were, in some ways, not intended to experience separation and evil within the world. I say "some ways", my Christian friends, because though God had made us to be in a relationship with us, He knew that we would be engulfed by sin and still allowed it to happen. Thus, "in some ways" we weren't meant to experience grief.

As a result, mentally we can't fully comprehend grief and thus cannot truly experience it emotionally, either. We will never be able to fully process the grief we experience. That is why it continues to return, resurfacing years and decades later. That is why parents, who lost their own mothers and fathers early in life, will grieve over at their own children's weddings, unable to experience this miraculous event with their mother and/or father.

Our inability to fully process grief is also the reason why mothers who have had an abortion will be devastated years later when they realize their aborted baby will never experience life and its miracles. This is also why we grieve for our pets years after they have passed on.

Having been a middle-aged child when 9/11 occurred, I was unable to fully grieve for our nation's loss. There was a disconnect within myself and within the nation between our mental processing of the tragic and our emotional response to it. We were deadened to our emotions, lost in the sea of confusion, pain, anger, and fear. I can honestly say that I have never been able to deal with my emotions from that day. That is why year after year I rewatch the footage from that day and from the days after it, hoping to invoke such an emotional response to it that I can finally sort out what I felt that day. This wish, however, is impossible because the colossal size of such tragic is too much for our feeble human minds and hearts to fully comprehend.

That is also why we can find outlets for our emotions, allowing us to deal with them in way that is separated from the source of our grief. "The City of Corpses" was my outlet this week. Eleven years after 9/11 and I still have grieving left to work through. That is why amongst our WWII survivors, there is still anger towards the Japanese. There is still anger towards us from our Japanese counterparts, as well. But, maybe we can learn to understand why our two nations acted the way they did and finally direct our anger to the real reason World War II happened. That reason is the brokenness of humans and its manipulation by Satan.

Til then, Later Peeps.

Garbage delay....

It was my intention to post about the garbage system, seeing that it is remarkably different from that of the US. However, the last two days brought up a topic that I felt more pressing personally than the trash system. So that previous post (which has been started) will have to wait.

So, background of this new topic. This semester I am enrolled and actively taking a Japanese literature class that is focused on the literary works either published during the Occupation Era of Japan (post-WWII) or were popular during that time.

Thus far, it has been a truly interesting experience as a student, lover of Japanese culture and a young American who is not conscious of the lingering feelings from World War II-era America. There is truly a mix of emotions driving me to learn more about the international lead up to WWII and not just the American viewpoint of it. Having learned a little bit about the Japanese lead-up to the war, I have realized that there was more to the Pacific Theater than most Americans realize. Is this not the benefit of experiencing another culture: to better view the world and its history from the most well-rounded perspective? With this being said, this is not meant to be a dismissal of Japan's violent acts towards the cultures it was in contact with during the War, it is merely a recognition that there was a depth of confliction and turmoil politically and culturally in Japan during the lead-up of the War and amidst the battles.

So, to arrive at the topic of today's post. This week's reading in the class was a collection of excerpts from the book, "The City of Corpses" by Japanese author Ota Yoko (Sur-First). There are truly only two, maybe three critical historical events that one can assume will be the topic of this book: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and maybe Tokyo firebombings. And you are right. Amongst these events, is the topic of the book. That is the bombing of Hiroshima.

"The City of Corpses" is the recount of the author's experience of the devastation of Hiroshima and its aftermath. This, as you can imagine, is quite difficult. Ota is able to draw you into Hiroshima 1945 and forces you to experience all the fears and horrors of living in the days following the Bombing, not knowing when you might die because of the mysterious, swift and hellish atrocity that is atomic sickness. She makes the overwhelming...well...devastation of watching your neighbors go from being healthy and recovering to dead in the matter of days, often times less than a week or even a half of a week. This is something that we Americans do not know how to comprehend. We dropped the bomb, how are we expected to face the horrors that followed. This is not a statement of anger, this is a statement of human nature. We, as humans, do not like being confronted by the consequences of our actions, especially when the consequences have hurt another. This is the same human nature that troubles Japan in confronting the atrocities their men and government committed during the same era.

This memoir of events does not focus only on Ota's afflictions from the war, but is the afflictions of the people around her from her own view point as she tries to get a handle on what has truly happened to Hiroshima and its surrounding areas. For me, it does bring up the question of "Was the bomb too harsh?", but this question is laid in my desire to say that the Japanese did not deserve this. I love these people, so to admit fault on their side to the point of finding such horrifying destruction of them permissible is downright difficult. But, this is not meant to find blame on either side, this is to inform you of the confliction one has when caught between two cultures she loves that were once enemies of each other.

When I read literature usual, I tend to read as much as possible in one sitting, since it is not guaranteed that I will find my way back to the work at a later date. If I am really engrossed by the work, I might just finish in just a few sittings, depending on the length of the book. This work, however, was one that I could not do that. Just reading the section in regards to the atomic sickness was so emotionally horrifying that it was making me sick. This was in part to my love for Japan and the guilt-reaction to having come from the culture that dropped the bomb, causing the sickness. Again, not meant to put blame on the US, it is just the confliction within me.

In short, read this book! It has been published in English, so you can actually read it. I want you to read about the other side of the War, one that we do not discuss often. There is a cultural barring of indulge one's desire to understand the Japanese side of the War, as if there maybe blame to lay on our soldiers and our Nation. However, what was done was done on the information that was available at that time. This is referring to both government actions and civilian actions. To fully understand the mindset of each side of the war, you need to look past what the government was dictating and involve yourself with the understanding available to the civilians. Specifically addressing Japan, the entirety of its people should not be to blame for the atrocities committed, but rather the people who committed the atrocities themselves. I challenge you to explore the reasons behind Japan's refusal to admit responsibility for the atrocities and look to see who were refusing such admission. Look pass the government's actions within the war and explore why the soldiers acted in the manner they did, why the Kamikaze existed, when they actually were formed. The culture behind Japan's actions within the war and following the war is difficult for us Americans to understand, but trying to understand their reasonings is not a condoning of their actions, it's merely trying to understand the motivations of the War and the Japanese culture of that time.

This topic, as you can see, is a sticking point for me. To be caught between cultures of once-enemy countries is difficult. I just felt the need to jog you guys out of the American views and see the world as it really is: a mess of conflicting cultures and human sinfulness. When you get pass politics, sometimes in war, there is not one side who is completely in the right, nor is there one side who was completely in the wrong.

Sorry for the tough pill to swallow. As I repeatedly said, this is a topic that I am confronted with time and time again. Please, without ragging on the perceived brutality that has been found within historical Japanese culture, try to understand the cultural underworkings of both our culture and theirs that brings us to define Japanese culture as being "brutal".

Til next time, Later Peeps.

Busy, Busy!/ Oh, the Hanko

Hey Hey, Peeps!

It's Bikky once again. As you may have noticed, my posting declined over the last couple of weeks. Sorry about that. I just got caught up in the fun, chaotic life of a Japanese college student. Of course, that meant very little sleep and trying to balance out and fun and school. Then, I got sick again this past week.... Before you freak out, one shouldn't be all that surprised. As my mom said, it's like being a first-year teacher. First-year teachers often get sick multiple times through out the year because they are exposed to new germs that their students bring in. It's the same when you're living in a dorm. We are in close contact with each other and sharing kitchen utensils, sponges, ect. So, it's hard to stay away from germs. To add to that susceptibility, all the students at this dorm are international students, probably bringing germs from their countries here, and we are all in a new land with new germs attacking our system. Combined with lack of sleep, it's easy to see why I've gotten sick twice now. Plus, I'm not the only one who has gotten sick multiple times. Many of my close friends have, as well.

But enough with that "being sick" talk, let's discuss this thing called a hanko. Think back to all that paperwork you have done in the past and all the signing you had to do. Wouldn't be nice to streamline the signing process? Well, the Japanese culture has a way of doing that. They use a little stamp called a hanko to sign paperwork. This stamp is often a circle with the Chinese characters (called kanji) of the owner's last name inside of it. For the Japanese, it's fairly easy to buy a hanko. Just walk down to any stationary shop or general store and voila!, there's a spinning case holding generic hanko of all the common Japanese last names. It's like finding one of those personalized name stamps at Disneyland or a party supply store.

But, note that I said "common Japanese last names". Truth be told, some last names are not common to have generic hanko made for them. That's part of the reason why there are hanko stores.

Real quick: here's a photo of a hanko diplay, most likely from a hanko store. This photo is courtesy of the Almighty Wikipedia.  Here's another photo, this time from realestate.co.jp, I found it through Google Images. And one more photo, this time of a hanko stamp, called an inkan. Let me clarify, this is not an image of the seal the stamp produces, but of the actual stamp itself. Typically, the stamp is small, smaller than an adult's palm. The seal it produces is also quite small, yet often very intricate!

Back to the discussion. At hanko shops, Japanese people can also buy generic hanko. But these stores are very important for foreigner and Japanese businessmen. Foreigners who are planning on living in Japan will need to have a personalized hanko made for them. Since Westerners don't have kanji attached to their last names, they can forgo getting a stamp with kanji. But, some like myself, can create kanji combinations for their last names.

Sorry if you are a little confused. Japanese language has three writing systems, two are syllable-based and the last one is the Chinese characters called kanji. In short, Japanese language uses are three writing systems simultaneously. One of the syllable-based writing systems is used for borrowed words, foreign names and made-up words. This system is called katakana. I will use a different post to fully explain the writing system. Just know that foreigners have a choice of using katakana or kanji for their hanko stamp.

 Now, there are three types of hanko. One is used for everyday signatures, such as signing for packages. This hanko, called a mitome-in, can be made of rubber. The next type cannot be made from rubber. This type, aptly called a ginko-in, is commonly made from bamboo and is used to open bank accounts, cell phone accounts and the like. I say it is aptly called a ginko-in because the word for 'bank' in Japanese is 'ginko' and this stamp is used for opening bank accounts, thus ginko-in.

The last type of hanko is really expensive I noticed. It's equivalent to a few hundred US dollars. This one, called a jitsu-in, is used for business dealings, such as property sales and car purchasing. Apparently, these stamps are often kept in a safe due to their importance in Japanese life. These can take a week to be made, so it is important to have one made in advance before considering any major life changes.

On that note, the mitome-in and ginko-in can be made to order in as little as a day. It depends on the shop. I found one hanko shop that would make a personalized ginko-in in three days and another that took only 24 hours. Guess which one I went to...yep, I got mine in only 24 hours!

Now, as you are ordering your hanko, you may have a choice of the stamp's 'handle' or lacquer color (which varies in pricing) and the case color. I chose a semi-inexpensive lacquer and the cheapest case ever! Mind you, I can always pick up another case at the 100-yen shop if mine breaks or I get bored of it.

When you are using the hanko, learn from my troubles. Always make sure that you have enough ink on the seal pattern and always make extra-sure that you have transferred your seal onto the paper by rolling the stamp back and forth. If you don't, you'll end up like me at Citibank and the cellphone company, Softbank, using up all their forms because I didn't transfer my seal correctly. The seal has to be legible on the paperwork. If it isn't, you have to do the form all over again and pray that you transfer your seal correctly. Or, you first transfer the seal, then fill out the form....

Anyway, that's the lesson of the day. I hope this wasn't too confusing. I got my info from englishpool.net this time. Just click on the site address and it will take you directly to the hanko explanation.

For the next post, I'm either going to discuss the trash system of Japan or the written Japanese language. So, leave a comment down below as to which you would like me to discuss first, or if you have my Facebook or email, message me there.

Until then, later Peeps!

Man! It's been 10 days since my last posting!!!

Hey sorry my friends!!! I knew it had been about a week since I last posted, but 10 days!? I mean wow!!!!! That is a long time.

Unfortunately......it is pretty late here and I have school early in the morn....though, I could quickly talk about Japanese schools. I would hate to miss an opportunity like this!

So here's the quick run down. Japan's school system from elementary school is know as "6-3-3", six years of elementary, three years of middle school....so let me stop there. Notice that elementary is six years and middle school is three. Elementary starts at 1st grade and lasts until 6th grade. That can only mean that middle school starts at 7th grade and ends in 9th. See the problem with this, if you are talking to a Japanese student about your high school years, they are often confused by this difference. I will often tell them about studying Japanese language for 4 years in high school and I have on many occasions been corrected by them on how many years high school lasts.

So quickly back to 6-3-3. Elementary is 6 years. Middle school is 3 years and ends after 9th grade. This leaves high school. Technically, high school is optional. At this age, students can choose to go to a technical school, focus on work or become an apprentice to someone (this happens with young sumo wrestlers!).

If the student chooses to continue to high school, they will have to choose their career path in their second year and will be placed into classes accordingly. Mind you, in Japan, the students remain in the same classroom throughout the day, with the same classmates. The teachers are the ones who rotate through the classes. There is often a homeroom teacher who will start and end the day, taking roll in the morning and is in charge of making the necessary announcements. A bit different from American schools, huh?

At the end of high school, the students are studying diligently for the college exams necessary for attending their desired colleges. Many colleges of prestige, such as Tokyo University (also known as Todai, which the restaurant is named after), are known for their nearly impossible entrance exams. The students can only take these tests once a year, so if they fail to get in, they have to and often do spend the next year studying for the test again. There are some students at Waseda that are around my age that are only 1st, 2nd or 3rd-year students for this reason.

Once in college, the students are not allowed to choose their major until their 3rd year at the school, nor are they allowed to change it once it has been declared. We Americans are truly fortunate that our entire future does not hinge on one decision in college.

Some else of interest is that colleges/universities here do not offer double majors or any minors to the Japanese students. There is a program here at Waseda that offers a double-degree, but it is only for the International students....

Also, in the younger years, there can be entrance exams to get into the choice schools. They do not get shuffled into the closest school within the designated school distract, like we do. They have the choice, but it does come with difficulties. So, yes, the Japanese are judged growing up by what schools they have attended.

There is always a trade-off, my friends. Think about that during the upcoming election!!!!

Til then, Later Peeps!

A Short Quip for the week

Hey ya peeps!

Can you believe I already have 20 posts? This one, of course, being the 20th post. Anyway, there is so much to tell you about Japan and about my first full week of school, but.....sadly.....I do not have the time today. That is because I am leaving soon to go to a ryokan (Japanese inn). This ryokan also has an onsen (hotspring bath), you know, like one of those public baths that all of us American fear greatly?

With that being said, I maybe able to write up a couple of posts tomorrow when I am back from my trip. I have already started a post on hanko (Japanese signature stamps) and maybe I can start one about my weekend trip. :D

In regards to my week, there's not much to say. School started and I got to go to a district called Mitaka for Campus Crusade for Christ's mid-week meeting. They call the meeting "IMPACT" since it is easier for the Japanese to say. Also, it carries quite a message and reminder of their work in Japan. Since I first came to Japan through Campus Crusade in 2010, I already knew some of the staff and students there, so it was really fun to see old friends again. They are, in fact, why I chose to apply for the CSU's Tokyo study abroad program over their other study abroad program.

So Thursday night was really nice. But the week has been...well....stressful because of the new environment. I had heard a lot about Japanese schools prior to coming, so I knew that they are really competitive. Also, I was not sure about how kind and understanding the professors would be. Now I know! The profs. I have are really, really nice. The classes will be a lot of work, but now I can relax and enjoy school here in Japan.

Aww....my time is up! I have some cleaning to do before I leave, so my post will have to end here.

Til next time, later peeps!

The Week in Review- Beginning of Class edition

Hey ya peeps!

It's Bikky again! Yeah, I know that I just posted the last of my Narai-Matsumoto posts, but come on! Another week of me being in Japan has come and gone!

So what of interest has happened this week...me being sick, me opening a bank account, school starting, and...a typhoon!

So let's talk typhoon! It is actually occurring right now as I type this up! It's really really creepy sounding and it's shaking my patio door! So creepy!

My friends and I went to Kichijoji today, but because I was late getting to the train station, I did not start the trip with them. But no skin off my back, I am actually glad I didn't start off with them. Wanna know why? Because I wanted to explore Kichijoji all by myself. When I came to Japan 2 years ago, I regularly traveled to Kichijoji and explored the town when I had time. So, it was nice to be able to explore my old "backyard" today. Of course, then I forgot how to get to the large park on its border and ended up walking all over town. Hence the name of this blog. But, no worries. I knew where I was in relation to the Kichijoji Station. I just forgot where the park was in relation to the station. :P

But, I finally got to the park, ate lunch and began to meander in the park, soaking up this lovely park called Inokashira Park. It is a beautiful escape from the city around it. Also, it is home to the Studio Ghibli Museum! Expect little to no photos of the Ghibli Museum when I visit it in the future because no photography is allowed in the museum. Photography is allowed only outside the museum. How do I know this? Because I went to the museum in 2010! But, I'm glad that no photos are allowed inside the museum because it makes the museum that make more magical! And it is a really, really cool museum!




So back to my day's adventures. As I was meandering Inokashira Park (for just a few minutes), I caught up with some of my friends. The trip was orchestrated by one of the international clubs, so the initial group was large and had splintered off into smaller groups, hence why I only found some of my friends.

Anyway, we walked around the park for the remainder of the day and found tons of huge, ginormous spiders hanging in their webs! It was so creepy (partially because I am a arachnophobe). So, that was the majority of the day.

Towards the end of our trip, the typhoon began creeping over Tokyo so we had to deal with large gusts of wind and some rain. When we got to Kichijoji Station to catch some trains home, we found out that the rail systems were starting to shutdown their trains because of the typhoon! So our Japanese friends raced around trying to get a handle on the situation. Never did figure out the exact cause for the chaos amongst our friends, but I'm guessing that one of our trains had already been stopped seeing that we didn't stop at Shinjuku, where we normally would switch trains. Instead, we stopped at an earlier station and took a subway line back to our home station, Takadanobaba Station.

The typhoon hadn't fully hit us yet, so walking home was not bad. The wind was definitely picking up and the rain was coming in sporadically. My friends, with whom I walked back to the dorms, and I even saw a guy's umbrella be blown inside out and break! A classic "bad storm" scene!

Since then, the wind has picked up and it is really blowing outside now! Hopefully we don't lose power before this post is published!



As for the rest of the week, it started out difficult. I had mentioned that I had been sick in the beginning of one of the Narai-Matsumoto posts. That was frustrating. It took me all week to get over it. Others from the CSU are sick, as well. It's been deemed "The Plague" by our CSU friends since someone has had it since our first week here in Japan. I'm just glad I got it before school really took off.

On Friday this week, we started school. Then yesterday (Saturday) we had our second day of class! My Fridays are jammed packed with classes, but my Mondays make-up for that by not having any classes! In a later post, I will go into more detail about school.

Now, yesterday I opened an account at CitiBank. Note that you have to have a cell phone to open an account with CitiBank Japan! They were kind to my poor cellphone-less soul and let me open an account with just my dorm number, since I am getting a cell this coming week. I just have to go back and register my cell with Citi once I get it. So, don't think about waiting to get your phone after opening an bank account! It is too much hassle to do that!

Any other words of wisdom? None right now.

The typhoon has blown leaves onto my 9th floor balcony!

Other than that, I have nothing else to discuss...for now. I will have a topical post later this week.

Until then, later peeps!

Narai-Matsumoto Final Post!!!!

Welcome back to the final post of my Narai-Matsumoto Trip. It's been over a week since I went, but as life has it, things have delayed this series of posts. Anyway, I will finish up the trip today.

When we left off a few days ago, I had just arrived to Matsumoto, Nagano. So, as one would expect it, I will pick up the travels there....after I give some background about Matsumoto Castle (which is specifically where we went in Matsumoto).

So according to Japan-Guide.com, Matsumoto Castle was built between 1592 and 1614. These years correspond with the end of the Sengoku Era, which was Japan's civil war period, and the beginning of the Tokugawa Period, which was the era of the Tokugawa Daimyo (dictatorship, if you will).

Now, according to the official Matsumoto website, Matsumoto Castle is the oldest castle keep in all of Japan. It is also one of four castles in Japan that has been designated as one of Japan's National Treasures. Here's a side note: Japan has a large collection of World Treasures and Landmarks designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations (aka UNESCO). Matsumoto Castle is not one of the UNESCO Landmarks, but if you are interested in seeing which Japanese sites are UNESCO landmarks, just click on this link. The link provides all the UNESCO sites in the world, but are organized by countries.

Back to Matsumoto Castle. Since Matsumoto Castle has some history in the Sengoku period, there are a lot of Sengoku Period weapons and armor on display in the castle. Yes, I said "in the castle", as in you get to climb to the top floor of the castle. Since the castle has been preserved "as is" there are barely any light fixtures, if any, so I could not get any good pics of the interior. I do believe I have some ok/ somewhat blurry photos set aside to be posted here. So, with that being said, let's dive into the photos.

So here we are walking down the street and what do my very own eyes see? Postings of family crests of those who ruled over Matsumoto during the Tokugawa Era.

And here's the castle...with a friend looking at it. :P

Can't tell that I am already in love with the castle, right?

Since this castle was a "field castle", meaning it was situated on flat ground as opposed to being on higher ground, a moat was built around it. In this said moat are koi fish.  Did you know that koi fish can live upwards to 100 years? I found that out at one of the Japanese summer festivals in Orange County a few years back.

 And here's the castle gate. Notice the smaller entrance to the right of the main gate. I actually don't know of the purpose for the double gates, but now the small door is used as the exit and the large gate as the entrance.

And a photo of the outer walls that are just right of the gate (if you're facing the gate from the outside, that is).

One more photo of the castle from the outside. Apparently, according to Japan-Guide.com, this building is known as a "donjon" or castle keep.

Some feathered companion. Why take a photo of them? Because I can. :D

Okay, so now we are inside the outer wall...only to find yet another set of wall and gate.

Just taking photos from inside the outer wall, so that you can get a taste of what it looks like. The focus in the photo above is just right of the inner gate, which will lead into the  main grounds of the castle.

In the photo above is the corner of the outer walls. Just thought it would be interesting for you to see.

This is a close-up of the outer gate. I would said it stands about 12 or more feet in height.

Okay, so now we are looking from the side at the inner wall and gate. In the photo below, we are looking through the inner gate and into the main castle grounds.

Yet, I am still between the inner and outer walls, waiting for friends to shuffle in. So, to kill the time, I am looking at this sign. Do I read it? No...But the illustration of the castle grounds and town is really cool!

My friends and I are inching closer and closer to the castle grounds, but to no avail! We still have to wait for the others so that we can grab a group photo (which, again, I do not have).

Inside the inner gateway is a placard of family crests for the families who ruled over Matsumoto. I absolutely love looking at family crests, both European and Japanese, so of course I would take close-ups of them.

Just for your info, see the lines of large, bold characters just beneath the crests? Those are the family names who own those crests. But notice that the last character is the same for all the families. Wanna guess why? It's because that kanji (character) is the kanji  for "family". So in essence, the kanji read as "The Family of ....". I believe the Japanese reading of that kanji is min (meen).

Some decor around the main grounds. Oh, by the way, we have taken our group photo and have entered the main ground.

So naturally, I have photos of the castle keep from inside the castle grounds.

And, oh look! A Samurai! Samurai were guards and soldiers of Japan. See the awesome design of the helmet? Well, that design helped identify the samurai. Mind you, not all soldiers were in awesome attire like this, I believe. The foot soldiers of the Sengoku Era were in fairly plain armor.

We're now inside the castle keep and looking out the windows. These windows were used by the archers to fend off the enemies during attacks.

Yay! Some pictures of artifacts. In the picture above are triggers from old imported guns from the 16th Century. Wonder how the war-ridden Japan was finally unified? Well, by the use of guns actually.

These photos are of a painting depicting a battle during the Sengoku Era.

 At this point, I am about 3 to 4 floors up in the keep. The keep, by the way, is 6 floors tall.

And this is a typical stairwell in the keep. Please note the angle of the photo, it is almost straight up. I am at the bottom of the stairs. Each stair was at least a foot and a half high and about 6 inches deep. I nearly fell down the stairs coming down because I thought my foot was an inch or so above the stair and thus transferred my weight to that foot. Come to find out I was closer to 3 or 4 inches of step...and it was the second step from the top that I was stepping down onto....talk about being scared to death. (Note: how many times can I use "step" in a sentence!?)

And voila! I have made it to the top of the keep! I have pictures of maps that point out major peaks and sites visible from each main window and a photo of a sign telling which direction the window is facing. The first set of photos has the directional sign last. All the other sets of photos begin with the directional sign.

 And now I head back down the keep. On the way down there are more artifacts on display. I can't believe most of this stuff, if not all of it, is over 400 years old!!! In fact, these artifacts are older than my own country!!!!! And, this is another reason I like Japan so much.

And we are out of the keep. Notice in the photo above how there are people kneeling, sitting, or leaning over? That is because they are putting their shoes back on. It is tradition that you take your outdoor shoes off at the entrance. Often you have to step up into the building. That step is a good indication for foreigners as to when you have to take off your shoes. Typically there will be guest slippers waiting for you to wear inside the building (or in the case of K-12 schools, you have a shoe locker to keep your indoor shoes in upon leaving school and to keep your outdoor shoes during the school day). Since this is a tourist site, there are no indoor slippers for the guests, so the guests are supposed to walk around with their shoes in a bag and their socks on their feet. Moral of the story: when visiting Matsumoto Castle, wear socks!

Now we say goodbye to Matsumoto Castle and walk down the road to our bus to go home.

Note about the above photo: I don't know the person in the photo. It's just a typical mother probably running errands with her babe on her back. This is very common to see in Japan. But, why did I snap a pic of this particular woman? Because of how her baby was sleeping. :D What can I say? I love kids!

Now back to photos from the bus!

Thought this city was so cool since it was situated by and around a large, large lake! (No pun intended on the use of "cool"!)

And we have finally finished my adventures to Nagano! I hope you enjoyed all of my photos! I thoroughly enjoyed taking them!

My next post will be a week-in-review post, then I will try and write up some more topical posts throughout the week!

Until then, later peeps!