Hey Everyone,
It has been a while since my last blog entry. I am just a couple of days away from break with two more finals standing in my way. This has been...let say...an interesting semester. I started this semester unfocused because I was trying to get that comic chapter done for the manga competition, but alas, I couldn't get it done it time and have left it undone since then. This was not necessarily due to any sour feelings towards not finishing in time, rather I just didn't have the time nor energy to start working on the manga while trying to shift my focus back on to school...which didn't happen either... So in short, I enjoyed my classes this semester, but the semester itself was pretty unsatisfactory due to my lack of focus on it.
In the course of the semester, I did struggle with missing the friends I made abroad and missing life in Japan. The most painful part of missing everything is that I cannot just jump on a plane and visit the various places of Japan that holds some of my most treasured memories. It is just too much money to do so. So, as a result, I feel a bit trapped. Fortunately, some of my friends live in SoCal, so I can figure out how to hang out with them over break. I guess the title of this blog still is befitting...
Once school is officially over for the fall, I plan on finishing that comic of mine, post it online, and begin writing another one. Over this past weekend, I was able to get further in sorting out my photos from Japan, but now that they are categorized correctly, I need to separate the good photos from the bad and post them. Yet, another thing that I look forward to doing during break. Of course, video games, anime, and friend gatherings will also be scattered into the mix of break. Lastly, I would like to continue with this blog, sharing my continuing education on Japan and her history and culture with you guys. I just need to have sleep, food and energy to keep up with my plans and dreams...
Anyhoo, I thought I would update the dark corner of the net that is my blog on my recent activities. Hopefully I can share more about post-study abroad life soon.
Until then, Later peeps!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
6 six weeks after Japan, three weeks finished with school
Hey People,
Can't write too much. My family had a hose break and flood our home just before school started, so we have been living at my Grandma's house without any internet. That...is an interesting experience, especially since schools now rely on the internet to get campus information, lecture notes, and other important information to the students....
Anyhoo, I am still working on my comic for the competition. Whether it will be finished by the Oct 1st deadline is uncertain, but I am still working under the impression that I can finish it in time.
Thanks to that comic of mine, I have had very little time to reflect on my study abroad trip and any reverse culture shock I may have experienced. I am just too busy to think about Japan at all. I do miss using my Japanese and just living life in Japan, but that is just in the back of my mind. Once the comic is finished, maybe I will have more time to feel lonely for my friends and for Japan.
Until then, Later Peeps!
Can't write too much. My family had a hose break and flood our home just before school started, so we have been living at my Grandma's house without any internet. That...is an interesting experience, especially since schools now rely on the internet to get campus information, lecture notes, and other important information to the students....
Anyhoo, I am still working on my comic for the competition. Whether it will be finished by the Oct 1st deadline is uncertain, but I am still working under the impression that I can finish it in time.
Thanks to that comic of mine, I have had very little time to reflect on my study abroad trip and any reverse culture shock I may have experienced. I am just too busy to think about Japan at all. I do miss using my Japanese and just living life in Japan, but that is just in the back of my mind. Once the comic is finished, maybe I will have more time to feel lonely for my friends and for Japan.
Until then, Later Peeps!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Home for over a week now....
Hey peeps,
Sorry for not updating sooner. I've been home for 10 days...but only been really awake for a fraction of that time. During the first 4 or 5 days, I basically just slept. Then, the last few days I have been up all night working on manga while family are asleep. So, my sleep schedule is off. My room, which was clean when I got home, is a disaster. And homesickness for Japan is setting in. Fun stuff. It's all part of moving back home. Fortunately, I received all my packages with my stuff intact. (Thank goodness!) My kitties here love me, though one of them wasn't sure what to think of me when I first came home since I smelled different. He straightened out once I changed into some clothes that have been in my closet here.
Moving home is definitely an interesting experience. The weirdest part for me is that I felt as if living in Japan never happened...until I chat with friends I met through studying abroad, look at my stuff from Japan or start falling into habits that I developed while in Japan. Some of these habits are cultural habits, some are just general living habits.
I also view and experience life differently from the time before I left for Japan. This can make life both harder and easier.
In short, re-adjusting to life at home is not a walk in the park. A lot must happen before one can readjust to life at home. You can't just become the person you once were due to the accumulation of experiences and changes in viewpoint that you have gathered from being abroad. You're just a different person. So this make things hard, especially when things at home seem the same as before...or when things have changed in a way that makes life that much more difficult.
The last 10 days, I haven't been able to think about Japan, even when I wanted. That's because it will cause homesickness to surface faster than if I don't think about it. I first needed to recover from the crazy last few days of my stay in Japan and create a routine at home before I could begin to tackle homesickness. This homesickness, mind you, is linked to an effect called reverse culture shock. I first heard of this effect at my missions training back in 2010. I placed a nifty link about reverse culture shock in the term itself. In short, this comes from having to readjust to one's home culture after spending time in another culture. It can also be more brutal than culture shock is originally. Fun stuff. I dealt with it after my missions trip, though, at the time, I refused to accept it. Now I know better.
So now you know. Reverse culture shock does exist and is often discussed prior to someone leaving for a long-term trip abroad.
Anyhoo, I am home and still trying to readjust to the busy life at home.
Until then, later peeps!
Sorry for not updating sooner. I've been home for 10 days...but only been really awake for a fraction of that time. During the first 4 or 5 days, I basically just slept. Then, the last few days I have been up all night working on manga while family are asleep. So, my sleep schedule is off. My room, which was clean when I got home, is a disaster. And homesickness for Japan is setting in. Fun stuff. It's all part of moving back home. Fortunately, I received all my packages with my stuff intact. (Thank goodness!) My kitties here love me, though one of them wasn't sure what to think of me when I first came home since I smelled different. He straightened out once I changed into some clothes that have been in my closet here.
Moving home is definitely an interesting experience. The weirdest part for me is that I felt as if living in Japan never happened...until I chat with friends I met through studying abroad, look at my stuff from Japan or start falling into habits that I developed while in Japan. Some of these habits are cultural habits, some are just general living habits.
I also view and experience life differently from the time before I left for Japan. This can make life both harder and easier.
In short, re-adjusting to life at home is not a walk in the park. A lot must happen before one can readjust to life at home. You can't just become the person you once were due to the accumulation of experiences and changes in viewpoint that you have gathered from being abroad. You're just a different person. So this make things hard, especially when things at home seem the same as before...or when things have changed in a way that makes life that much more difficult.
The last 10 days, I haven't been able to think about Japan, even when I wanted. That's because it will cause homesickness to surface faster than if I don't think about it. I first needed to recover from the crazy last few days of my stay in Japan and create a routine at home before I could begin to tackle homesickness. This homesickness, mind you, is linked to an effect called reverse culture shock. I first heard of this effect at my missions training back in 2010. I placed a nifty link about reverse culture shock in the term itself. In short, this comes from having to readjust to one's home culture after spending time in another culture. It can also be more brutal than culture shock is originally. Fun stuff. I dealt with it after my missions trip, though, at the time, I refused to accept it. Now I know better.
So now you know. Reverse culture shock does exist and is often discussed prior to someone leaving for a long-term trip abroad.
Anyhoo, I am home and still trying to readjust to the busy life at home.
Until then, later peeps!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
T-Minus 21 hrs...
Hey Hey,
In less than 24 hrs, I will be boarding a plane for home!...I don't like it...the thought of leaving is just horrible. That's because I don't know when I will be able to come back. However, the thoughts of seeing everyone makes me want to board that plane!...So confused.
I would like to make this blog a bit more informative about Japan, especially since I will be back in the States...so we will see how that goes.
Until then, I'm checking out. I am so tired from literally running around the last two weeks, preparing to go home as I was finishing up school...Wait, I finished school for the semester? Who would have thunk that with what little time for pure relaxation I have had. However~I can have baths again! My dorms (*tears TT-TT) had no baths, just showers. So now I can clean up, then kick back and enjoy a bath~! :D ...That is...until I start thinking about how I'm leaving Japan...> ,<;
Welp...
Until then, later peeps!
In less than 24 hrs, I will be boarding a plane for home!...I don't like it...the thought of leaving is just horrible. That's because I don't know when I will be able to come back. However, the thoughts of seeing everyone makes me want to board that plane!...So confused.
I would like to make this blog a bit more informative about Japan, especially since I will be back in the States...so we will see how that goes.
Until then, I'm checking out. I am so tired from literally running around the last two weeks, preparing to go home as I was finishing up school...Wait, I finished school for the semester? Who would have thunk that with what little time for pure relaxation I have had. However~I can have baths again! My dorms (*tears TT-TT) had no baths, just showers. So now I can clean up, then kick back and enjoy a bath~! :D ...That is...until I start thinking about how I'm leaving Japan...> ,<;
Welp...
Until then, later peeps!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Slowly heading home
Hey peeps,
As of yesterday, I am out of the dorms. I sent all my boxes home. I jumped on the bullet train, headed to Kyoto, and met up with friends. All was dandy...until this morn. I lost my train card case that had not only my train card, also photobooth photos (known as Purikura), some business cards, and my Waseda ID card sleeve (we weren't allowed to keep our IDs...). So, under the exhaustion accumulated from that busy week last week and the frustration and sadness of losing my train card case, I just curled up, cried, then slept some. So today didn't start off well at all, especially since I missed my last opportunity to go to Osaka Castle for awhile. Two attempts, two misses. Osaka Castle, You will be that much more special to me~!
Anyhoo, the day was better and much more relaxed after I woke up. My friends and I chilled in the hotel room, then took a stroll through Kyoto areas I had been in April. During that stroll, we stopped and got dinner. The restaurant was an omurice restaurant. Delicious~! Omurice is a 'borrowed' term for "Omelet Rice", which is a serving of rice tucked under a blanket of Japanese omelet. Traditional omurice is served with 'ketchup rice', which, as you may be able to guess, is rice that is dressed with a ketchup-based sauce. Omurice remains one of my favorite Japanese dishes that are based on Western cooking. I just love it~!
Oh~! And the hotel is wi-fi, which means I am no longer tethered to an internet cable (which is what I had in my dorm room)!!! It's nice to be able to pick up my laptop and relocate without doing a dance around my internet cable!
Anyways, my friends and I travel back to Tokyo tomorrow. Since we may arrive in the early evening, I'm going to try finish up some moving business, such as canceling my cell and health insurance. y during that, I may free up my last full day in Japan.
After having traveled so much in Japan, this move back home just feels like a trip. That being said, I don't know how I will react to not being able to jump on a train and head to Tokyo...All will be revealed in time.
With that thought, I will close this blog post.
Until then, later peeps!
As of yesterday, I am out of the dorms. I sent all my boxes home. I jumped on the bullet train, headed to Kyoto, and met up with friends. All was dandy...until this morn. I lost my train card case that had not only my train card, also photobooth photos (known as Purikura), some business cards, and my Waseda ID card sleeve (we weren't allowed to keep our IDs...). So, under the exhaustion accumulated from that busy week last week and the frustration and sadness of losing my train card case, I just curled up, cried, then slept some. So today didn't start off well at all, especially since I missed my last opportunity to go to Osaka Castle for awhile. Two attempts, two misses. Osaka Castle, You will be that much more special to me~!
Anyhoo, the day was better and much more relaxed after I woke up. My friends and I chilled in the hotel room, then took a stroll through Kyoto areas I had been in April. During that stroll, we stopped and got dinner. The restaurant was an omurice restaurant. Delicious~! Omurice is a 'borrowed' term for "Omelet Rice", which is a serving of rice tucked under a blanket of Japanese omelet. Traditional omurice is served with 'ketchup rice', which, as you may be able to guess, is rice that is dressed with a ketchup-based sauce. Omurice remains one of my favorite Japanese dishes that are based on Western cooking. I just love it~!
Oh~! And the hotel is wi-fi, which means I am no longer tethered to an internet cable (which is what I had in my dorm room)!!! It's nice to be able to pick up my laptop and relocate without doing a dance around my internet cable!
Anyways, my friends and I travel back to Tokyo tomorrow. Since we may arrive in the early evening, I'm going to try finish up some moving business, such as canceling my cell and health insurance. y during that, I may free up my last full day in Japan.
After having traveled so much in Japan, this move back home just feels like a trip. That being said, I don't know how I will react to not being able to jump on a train and head to Tokyo...All will be revealed in time.
With that thought, I will close this blog post.
Until then, later peeps!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Eve of leaving home-Beginning the move home
Hey hey peeps!
One of the most famous manga around the world and the most loved in Japan is a 'little' pirate manga called "One Piece". At first glance, it looks dumb, its story sounds dumb, and the fans look even dumber for drooling all over it. So what is it about this manga that attracts so many people to it? That was something I had been wondering for many years. I tried reading it upon returning from my Tokyo missions trip back in 2010, and...I just couldn't fall in love with it. I could barely even scrounge up a shallow enjoyment for it. It just was the most baffling manga to be the most popular series in Japan and internationally.
Then...I came back.
Back to Japan.
Shoved back into attempting the manga series again....but this time, I watched the anime of it.
So, why should I even bring this manga series up in a blog post about leaving Japan?
Well, it's because this manga really reflects my time here in Japan. I tried something that I was not sure about trying and I fell in love with it. Then there's the theme of friends, companions, nakama, community, family. This is why I brought up One Piece.
The reason why fans flock to this series is because of its theme of nakama. To fully express the meaning of the Japanese term nakama, we have no equivalent in English. The Jisho.org translation lists words such as "company", "colleague, "circle of friends, "comrade" to describe nakama, but none fit perfectly. A nakama is a companion in life who is closer to you than a friend, but is more than a brother, something like fellow comrade in life. Think of the unique relationship between soldiers and then mix a bit more pure friendship and siblinghood into it. That's what a nakama is.
That term, nakama, is the central theme of One Piece and is the best term to describe my CSU study abroad family here. So, as I was discovering the nakama within One Piece, I was building up my own circle of nakama. Even the opening songs, endings songs, and songs sung by the characters themselves revolve around this concept of having nakama by your side.
One OP (One Piece) song that became the theme of my year here in Japan is entitled, "Oretachi wa Family/We are Family". I have linked a Youtube video of the song that also includes English lyrics for it. The characters are discussing their relationship as not being acquaintances nor friends nor siblings by blood, but 'family'. That is what my friends are here: family. We started out as strangers and ended up as family.
On the eve of leaving my dorm, my heart churns with the fear and desperation of not losing my new family. This includes my Japanese friends, my International friends, and my church friends. All of them make up my family here in Japan...and those I have to leave behind. My CSU friends and I can meet up, especially those who are near my home in Cali. But others...are out of my physical life.
As I finish packing and move on to cleaning for tomorrow morning, I struggle to make sense of this concept "leaving". It doesn't feel real yet. I have never really left my life behind before. Even when I when on my missions trip, it was still just a "trip". My friends outside my missions team were "friends from a trip". But the friends around me now are my family. They walked several months beside me. We shared our lives with each other, including the hardships. And because of them, I could survive my hard times.
In short, I am leaving one home for return to another. This is physically and emotionally something new to me. I am learning about the struggles of packing, while experiencing the struggles of separation. I am both scared and excited to see how our lives continue to intermingle and await the opportunity to travel so that I can once again see each of my family members again.
I now have a strong desire to travel all over the world.
Until then, later Peeps!
One of the most famous manga around the world and the most loved in Japan is a 'little' pirate manga called "One Piece". At first glance, it looks dumb, its story sounds dumb, and the fans look even dumber for drooling all over it. So what is it about this manga that attracts so many people to it? That was something I had been wondering for many years. I tried reading it upon returning from my Tokyo missions trip back in 2010, and...I just couldn't fall in love with it. I could barely even scrounge up a shallow enjoyment for it. It just was the most baffling manga to be the most popular series in Japan and internationally.
Then...I came back.
Back to Japan.
Shoved back into attempting the manga series again....but this time, I watched the anime of it.
So, why should I even bring this manga series up in a blog post about leaving Japan?
Well, it's because this manga really reflects my time here in Japan. I tried something that I was not sure about trying and I fell in love with it. Then there's the theme of friends, companions, nakama, community, family. This is why I brought up One Piece.
The reason why fans flock to this series is because of its theme of nakama. To fully express the meaning of the Japanese term nakama, we have no equivalent in English. The Jisho.org translation lists words such as "company", "colleague, "circle of friends, "comrade" to describe nakama, but none fit perfectly. A nakama is a companion in life who is closer to you than a friend, but is more than a brother, something like fellow comrade in life. Think of the unique relationship between soldiers and then mix a bit more pure friendship and siblinghood into it. That's what a nakama is.
That term, nakama, is the central theme of One Piece and is the best term to describe my CSU study abroad family here. So, as I was discovering the nakama within One Piece, I was building up my own circle of nakama. Even the opening songs, endings songs, and songs sung by the characters themselves revolve around this concept of having nakama by your side.
One OP (One Piece) song that became the theme of my year here in Japan is entitled, "Oretachi wa Family/We are Family". I have linked a Youtube video of the song that also includes English lyrics for it. The characters are discussing their relationship as not being acquaintances nor friends nor siblings by blood, but 'family'. That is what my friends are here: family. We started out as strangers and ended up as family.
On the eve of leaving my dorm, my heart churns with the fear and desperation of not losing my new family. This includes my Japanese friends, my International friends, and my church friends. All of them make up my family here in Japan...and those I have to leave behind. My CSU friends and I can meet up, especially those who are near my home in Cali. But others...are out of my physical life.
As I finish packing and move on to cleaning for tomorrow morning, I struggle to make sense of this concept "leaving". It doesn't feel real yet. I have never really left my life behind before. Even when I when on my missions trip, it was still just a "trip". My friends outside my missions team were "friends from a trip". But the friends around me now are my family. They walked several months beside me. We shared our lives with each other, including the hardships. And because of them, I could survive my hard times.
In short, I am leaving one home for return to another. This is physically and emotionally something new to me. I am learning about the struggles of packing, while experiencing the struggles of separation. I am both scared and excited to see how our lives continue to intermingle and await the opportunity to travel so that I can once again see each of my family members again.
I now have a strong desire to travel all over the world.
Until then, later Peeps!
Friday, July 26, 2013
Tears of ....whatever I am feeling right now.
Hey hey Peeps,
Last year at this time, I couldn't wait to get to Japan, despite my nervousness. This year, I feel like my roots are being ripped from the ground. My friends are dispersing, floor mates moving, stuff being packed away. I'm now consciously burying my frustrations of not being able to hang out with my CSU and Waseda Family so that I can get the stuff done for going back home. I honestly thought that I just didn't want to deal with the packing and shipping stuff home, but now, on the eve of my last weekend here in Japan, know that I'm upset because I have to leave my life here. I miss my family, friends, munchkins at church and pets, but geekdom nights, dinners, outings to Ikebukuro and other places, getting lost and confused and having to use my Japanese to get around; I will miss these things!!!!
Welp, I just needed to vent I guess, sorry peeps. My room is, as my friend put it, a "Hell-hole". Boxes and stuff are spilling in from all sorts of hidden corners of my room and I'm about to throw out my packages (into the hallway, not to the trash) to make more room for me to sort stuff and pack it away. Wish me luck...TT-TT
Until then, Later Peeps~!
Last year at this time, I couldn't wait to get to Japan, despite my nervousness. This year, I feel like my roots are being ripped from the ground. My friends are dispersing, floor mates moving, stuff being packed away. I'm now consciously burying my frustrations of not being able to hang out with my CSU and Waseda Family so that I can get the stuff done for going back home. I honestly thought that I just didn't want to deal with the packing and shipping stuff home, but now, on the eve of my last weekend here in Japan, know that I'm upset because I have to leave my life here. I miss my family, friends, munchkins at church and pets, but geekdom nights, dinners, outings to Ikebukuro and other places, getting lost and confused and having to use my Japanese to get around; I will miss these things!!!!
Welp, I just needed to vent I guess, sorry peeps. My room is, as my friend put it, a "Hell-hole". Boxes and stuff are spilling in from all sorts of hidden corners of my room and I'm about to throw out my packages (into the hallway, not to the trash) to make more room for me to sort stuff and pack it away. Wish me luck...TT-TT
Until then, Later Peeps~!
Friday, July 19, 2013
T-minus 10 days...the moving...
Hey people~!
In ten days, I move out of my dorm and go on a trip with some friends from home. As you can imagine, things are disappearing from my room and into boxes that will be shipped home. Souvenirs, gifts, books, cds, dishes, that which is keepable will be sent home.
Now, I won't actually be leaving Japan for exactly two weeks~!...Which gives me some time to say my goodbyes to friends and to the country itself. It is so strange to think that I'm leaving my lil home here and returning to my lil home in the US...
As I said in my last post, I registered for the Fall semester already. I will be taking two PE courses (Ultimate Frisbee and Tai Chi), two GE Courses, an art history course, and a kinesiology course. No art courses, so that I can have time to work on that competition manga of mine. The semester will start up on Aug 26th (YES~! I thought it was the week of the 19th!!!), so that gives me 3 weeks of break at home and only a grand total of 4 weeks of summer...-_-;...This is very different from last year, where I had 4 months of summer break, 3 of which were in the US. This also doesn't give me much time to work on my manga without distractions (you can see where my focus lies...).
Anyhoo, on Monday, my friends fly in (totally thought it was tomorrow-Saturday...whoops...). I have a Japanese presentation script due tomorrow, a long paper, a mini-paper and homework due Weds, and tests on Mon, Weds and Thurs. Tonight, I have my final CSU-sponsered dinner on a boat, which should be fun. Then, a bunch of us are planning on a dinner for July 27th, after our closing ceremonies. *Tears* In addition to all of that, I have several activities planned with my friends, such as visiting a cat cafe with one of my floormates tomorrow, geeking out at a game company store on Sun with some other friends (Square Enix, for those who care), and one last trip to the movies to see the newest Studio Ghibli film~! I also have to close my bank account and cancel my health and cell phone account...Did I mention packing and sending stuff home~? @_@ So much to do!!!!
Welp, that is my busy, busy life right now. I look forward to seeing everyone (partially because it'll mean that my packing is done...>.>;...).
Until then, Later Peeps~!
In ten days, I move out of my dorm and go on a trip with some friends from home. As you can imagine, things are disappearing from my room and into boxes that will be shipped home. Souvenirs, gifts, books, cds, dishes, that which is keepable will be sent home.
Now, I won't actually be leaving Japan for exactly two weeks~!...Which gives me some time to say my goodbyes to friends and to the country itself. It is so strange to think that I'm leaving my lil home here and returning to my lil home in the US...
As I said in my last post, I registered for the Fall semester already. I will be taking two PE courses (Ultimate Frisbee and Tai Chi), two GE Courses, an art history course, and a kinesiology course. No art courses, so that I can have time to work on that competition manga of mine. The semester will start up on Aug 26th (YES~! I thought it was the week of the 19th!!!), so that gives me 3 weeks of break at home and only a grand total of 4 weeks of summer...-_-;...This is very different from last year, where I had 4 months of summer break, 3 of which were in the US. This also doesn't give me much time to work on my manga without distractions (you can see where my focus lies...).
Anyhoo, on Monday, my friends fly in (totally thought it was tomorrow-Saturday...whoops...). I have a Japanese presentation script due tomorrow, a long paper, a mini-paper and homework due Weds, and tests on Mon, Weds and Thurs. Tonight, I have my final CSU-sponsered dinner on a boat, which should be fun. Then, a bunch of us are planning on a dinner for July 27th, after our closing ceremonies. *Tears* In addition to all of that, I have several activities planned with my friends, such as visiting a cat cafe with one of my floormates tomorrow, geeking out at a game company store on Sun with some other friends (Square Enix, for those who care), and one last trip to the movies to see the newest Studio Ghibli film~! I also have to close my bank account and cancel my health and cell phone account...Did I mention packing and sending stuff home~? @_@ So much to do!!!!
Welp, that is my busy, busy life right now. I look forward to seeing everyone (partially because it'll mean that my packing is done...>.>;...).
Until then, Later Peeps~!
Monday, July 15, 2013
In the midst of the freefall homeward.
Hey people,
Over the weekend, I registered for classes for my first term back home (thanks Mom for your help~!) and I cleaned my room, only to promptly destroy it by starting to pack. This is it, my last full week of school. Next week is about 4 days of classes.
This week I have a Year-End CSU Boat Party, which should be fun, and I have one of my close college friends and her younger brother flying in from SoCal. She and her brother are going to tour around Tokyo while I am finishing school, then the three of us are heading to the Kyoto area for a couple of days, after which we will return to Tokyo for a couple of days before heading home..in theory "together", but we will be on different flights in reality.
There is just so much to think about while coming home. I can't actually say I feel like I am "heading home", more like an extended vacation from Japan...with school and possible work afterwards.
Of course, with that manga competition dangling over my head, I not only eradicated all my planned summer SoCal activities, I even tailored my school schedule to provide enough time to work on the manga without compromising school itself. Such tailoring was done so with Skype sessions home and tears/frustration/signs of mental and physical exhaustion from my side...at least my family were in okay spirits during my tears~! XD It definitely would have been more frustrating if my family were equally as exhausted and frustrated as me...just that thought makes me twitch!
Anyhoo, I look forward to seeing family, friends, my kiddies whom I teach at my home church, and...most importantly...my fuzzy kids at home (our family cats~!). One's poofy cheeks to scratch, the phantom cat who sought me out to cuddle before I left, and our spaz-tastic tux cat (yes, spaz-tastic, this cat is a goof-ball). Plus our friendly tortoise~!...You can see where my human companions rank in comparison to my pets. Actually, my ranking of whom I'm most excited to see at home:
1. My Pets
2. The Munchkins (kids) at church
3. Family and Friends
4. My immediate family (I skype them all the time~! XD)
Mom, Dad, Bro, Love ya, but I got priorities~! *GLEAMING HUGE INHERITED-CROOKED SMILE*
Joking and teasing aside, I really do miss everyone one at home...I just wished I could somehow have both my Japanese life and my American Life TT-TT. But, who knows what God has in stored for my future~!
Until then, Later peeps~!
Over the weekend, I registered for classes for my first term back home (thanks Mom for your help~!) and I cleaned my room, only to promptly destroy it by starting to pack. This is it, my last full week of school. Next week is about 4 days of classes.
This week I have a Year-End CSU Boat Party, which should be fun, and I have one of my close college friends and her younger brother flying in from SoCal. She and her brother are going to tour around Tokyo while I am finishing school, then the three of us are heading to the Kyoto area for a couple of days, after which we will return to Tokyo for a couple of days before heading home..in theory "together", but we will be on different flights in reality.
There is just so much to think about while coming home. I can't actually say I feel like I am "heading home", more like an extended vacation from Japan...with school and possible work afterwards.
Of course, with that manga competition dangling over my head, I not only eradicated all my planned summer SoCal activities, I even tailored my school schedule to provide enough time to work on the manga without compromising school itself. Such tailoring was done so with Skype sessions home and tears/frustration/signs of mental and physical exhaustion from my side...at least my family were in okay spirits during my tears~! XD It definitely would have been more frustrating if my family were equally as exhausted and frustrated as me...just that thought makes me twitch!
Anyhoo, I look forward to seeing family, friends, my kiddies whom I teach at my home church, and...most importantly...my fuzzy kids at home (our family cats~!). One's poofy cheeks to scratch, the phantom cat who sought me out to cuddle before I left, and our spaz-tastic tux cat (yes, spaz-tastic, this cat is a goof-ball). Plus our friendly tortoise~!...You can see where my human companions rank in comparison to my pets. Actually, my ranking of whom I'm most excited to see at home:
1. My Pets
2. The Munchkins (kids) at church
3. Family and Friends
4. My immediate family (I skype them all the time~! XD)
Mom, Dad, Bro, Love ya, but I got priorities~! *GLEAMING HUGE INHERITED-CROOKED SMILE*
Joking and teasing aside, I really do miss everyone one at home...I just wished I could somehow have both my Japanese life and my American Life TT-TT. But, who knows what God has in stored for my future~!
Until then, Later peeps~!
Friday, July 5, 2013
Happy Independence Day!
Hey Peeps!
Happy 4th of July! This week has marked my last month in Japan! I go climbing in two days. A bunch of my friends and I are climbing Mt. Fuji. It will be a two day-one night trip that includes a hot springs bath when we make it back down the mountain. Then, will be the race to send everything home and wrap up school and my time in Japan. So much to do, so little time! All the while, I am still working on my manga for that manga competition I've mentioned. This manga is going slowly right now, just because I still have a lot to do for school and outside of school. I am still sketching and inking pages (drawing the outlines of the characters and such), but I am now moving towards fully illustrating the pages, meaning: I am adding the shadows and "gray" colors to it. Mind you, Japanese comics are black/white/grey, not full color like American comic books. I can finish the majority of a page's illustration in about 2 hrs, where the sketching and inking the lines take a total of about 6-8 hrs...so getting most of the pages sketched out and inked before leaving Japan is my goal.
Anyhoo, this month I have friends (a college friend and her younger brother) coming from the States with whom I will be traveling for a few days at the end of my time. Then, I have friends from my 2010 missions team here. In fact, my entire sub-team from that missions trip is here right now in Japan. Two of them live here currently, while the other member flew in recently to visit and to do job interviews and such for after graduation. So, of course, we're trying to get a sub-team reunion going. I got to grab dinner and a cafe drink (aka coffee/tea) tonight with the one whose recently returned. That was totally cool!
Welp, it's time for me to start heading for bed...good night! Enjoy our nation's b-day today! And remember the fallen who have impacted our nation so much! Please, do reflect on the freedoms we have protected for so many years and think hard about the current issues of today and their implications for tomorrow! We are at a major turning point in our nation's history, are you sure that we are protecting our historical freedoms or abandoning them for selfish reasons? That's for you to decide, but please consider the arguments from all angles, because we will impact our children's/grandchildren's/great-grandchildren's/family's futures by our decisions of today!
Until then, later peeps!
Happy 4th of July! This week has marked my last month in Japan! I go climbing in two days. A bunch of my friends and I are climbing Mt. Fuji. It will be a two day-one night trip that includes a hot springs bath when we make it back down the mountain. Then, will be the race to send everything home and wrap up school and my time in Japan. So much to do, so little time! All the while, I am still working on my manga for that manga competition I've mentioned. This manga is going slowly right now, just because I still have a lot to do for school and outside of school. I am still sketching and inking pages (drawing the outlines of the characters and such), but I am now moving towards fully illustrating the pages, meaning: I am adding the shadows and "gray" colors to it. Mind you, Japanese comics are black/white/grey, not full color like American comic books. I can finish the majority of a page's illustration in about 2 hrs, where the sketching and inking the lines take a total of about 6-8 hrs...so getting most of the pages sketched out and inked before leaving Japan is my goal.
Anyhoo, this month I have friends (a college friend and her younger brother) coming from the States with whom I will be traveling for a few days at the end of my time. Then, I have friends from my 2010 missions team here. In fact, my entire sub-team from that missions trip is here right now in Japan. Two of them live here currently, while the other member flew in recently to visit and to do job interviews and such for after graduation. So, of course, we're trying to get a sub-team reunion going. I got to grab dinner and a cafe drink (aka coffee/tea) tonight with the one whose recently returned. That was totally cool!
Welp, it's time for me to start heading for bed...good night! Enjoy our nation's b-day today! And remember the fallen who have impacted our nation so much! Please, do reflect on the freedoms we have protected for so many years and think hard about the current issues of today and their implications for tomorrow! We are at a major turning point in our nation's history, are you sure that we are protecting our historical freedoms or abandoning them for selfish reasons? That's for you to decide, but please consider the arguments from all angles, because we will impact our children's/grandchildren's/great-grandchildren's/family's futures by our decisions of today!
Until then, later peeps!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
The race to the finish...
Hey everyone (who still reads this blog T-T),
Thank you for wishing I would update this thing more frequently. >_< It's been a fun school year away from home. There were challenges with living alone with language barriers in place, but there have been so many fun times that they will forever outweigh the hard times. Both the good and the difficult I would never, ever want to trade in for something else. That's partially because I learned so much about myself here. And partially because one must have the difficult times to fully live and appreciate the lives we've been given.
As I write this blog, I am staring at my main Japanese class's semester schedule. It lists all the quizzes and class activities that were planned for this semester, one day at a time, one week at a time. This multi-page schedule is now pinned open to the last page. It tells me that I have this week and 4 other weeks let of the semester. Man, the last week isn't even a full week. What bitter-sweetness that is!
Last week, I received both my Moving-out paper work and my health insurance paper work. I get to go down to my local government health insurance office to turn in the paper so I am covered still, while declaring that I am returning home soon.
Next week, I have a "Returning Orientation" through my school.
I have friends who have flown in or are flying in from the States, with whom I am arranging plans to meet-up here in Tokyo. One such friend I have plans with to go on a trip with to Kyoto after school is over.
Then I have plans with my family of friends whom I met this year. Plans to go climb Mt. Fuji, CSU Dinners, and just some basic outings.
I have my room to straighten, take a photo of for memory sake, then start packing away and sending home.
All the while, I struggle to stay somewhat focus in school (I only say 'somewhat' because my focus is too splintered to ask for anything more). And to top that off, I'm trying to work hard on that manga of mine for the three-language International Manga competition.
With each passing day and week, the days getting harder. I want to inch closer to the end so I can cherish my time here more, but life won't let me. I'm one day closer to leaving, one day closer to see my family and friends at home, one day closer to the manga competition's deadline.
The heartbreak of leaving and the joy of return tend to cancel each other out, leaving me feeling void of emotions or irritated or even angry. Is that not grieving? We do not just grieve for the passing of a friend or family, but we also grieve for the passage of time. That's why leaving can be so painful. We must go through the grieving process for this kind of situation, as well. But most importantly, we must first recognize that we need to grieve...that~ would be something I am terrible at doing...It took me a few weeks to realize that I was grieving the end of my time here.
In time, I will blog about my experiences here. Maybe after I return, maybe before...I do plan on keeping this blog running after I return, because I would like to share more cultural facts about Japan. And I know that some poor exchange student will stumble upon this and hopefully can find it useful.
Until then, later peeps!
Thank you for wishing I would update this thing more frequently. >_< It's been a fun school year away from home. There were challenges with living alone with language barriers in place, but there have been so many fun times that they will forever outweigh the hard times. Both the good and the difficult I would never, ever want to trade in for something else. That's partially because I learned so much about myself here. And partially because one must have the difficult times to fully live and appreciate the lives we've been given.
As I write this blog, I am staring at my main Japanese class's semester schedule. It lists all the quizzes and class activities that were planned for this semester, one day at a time, one week at a time. This multi-page schedule is now pinned open to the last page. It tells me that I have this week and 4 other weeks let of the semester. Man, the last week isn't even a full week. What bitter-sweetness that is!
Last week, I received both my Moving-out paper work and my health insurance paper work. I get to go down to my local government health insurance office to turn in the paper so I am covered still, while declaring that I am returning home soon.
Next week, I have a "Returning Orientation" through my school.
I have friends who have flown in or are flying in from the States, with whom I am arranging plans to meet-up here in Tokyo. One such friend I have plans with to go on a trip with to Kyoto after school is over.
Then I have plans with my family of friends whom I met this year. Plans to go climb Mt. Fuji, CSU Dinners, and just some basic outings.
I have my room to straighten, take a photo of for memory sake, then start packing away and sending home.
All the while, I struggle to stay somewhat focus in school (I only say 'somewhat' because my focus is too splintered to ask for anything more). And to top that off, I'm trying to work hard on that manga of mine for the three-language International Manga competition.
With each passing day and week, the days getting harder. I want to inch closer to the end so I can cherish my time here more, but life won't let me. I'm one day closer to leaving, one day closer to see my family and friends at home, one day closer to the manga competition's deadline.
The heartbreak of leaving and the joy of return tend to cancel each other out, leaving me feeling void of emotions or irritated or even angry. Is that not grieving? We do not just grieve for the passing of a friend or family, but we also grieve for the passage of time. That's why leaving can be so painful. We must go through the grieving process for this kind of situation, as well. But most importantly, we must first recognize that we need to grieve...that~ would be something I am terrible at doing...It took me a few weeks to realize that I was grieving the end of my time here.
In time, I will blog about my experiences here. Maybe after I return, maybe before...I do plan on keeping this blog running after I return, because I would like to share more cultural facts about Japan. And I know that some poor exchange student will stumble upon this and hopefully can find it useful.
Until then, later peeps!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
....The dwindling blog still lives...
Hello everyone,
It's been a while, hasn't it? 'Twas just before Golden Week that I posted! I went and had an amazing time in Fukui with my high school buddy, who's living there. Then I came home and was an a train the next morning with my CSU crew as we headed to Hakone, a world known hotspring town/area in Japan. We spent the night in an amazing hotel with an inside and outside bath. So fun to just chill in the bath with friends!
For those who are unaware of Japanese bathing manners, there are showering stations in the bathing area where you are supposed to shower and wash before entering the bath. Culturally, one showers off before taking a bath, even in Japanese homes. Bath water is shared with everyone in the home, hence why you shower then enter the bath. Also, baths are seen as tools of relaxation, not a washing method.
Anyways, that following Monday, we were back in school, with two more CSU day trips in May. These day trips were on back-to-back Sundays, so I basically went to church one week, was gone the next because of my Golden Week trip to Fukui, then back to church the next week, only to be gone for two Sundays in a row. This past Sunday and the Sunday before that were the first two Sundays that I have gone to church in a row since before Golden Week....
Anyways, back to the day trips. The first one was to the opening day of a huge Sumo Tournament!...Yes, sumo as in the fat man wrestling. It was glorious fun to watch! There was a...how shall I say it....compact Caucasian wrestler who dominated his match within just a couple of moves. His opponent charged upon the match starting, so the springy white guy nearly vanished off to the side of his charging opponent, did what is called a joint lock (which is a type of hold or grasp on the opponent's limbs that restricts and prevents movements), then threw him out of the ring. Totally crazy to watch, since Mr. Caucasian seemed like a twig compared to all the other wrestlers. Surprisingly, a large (hah! large...) chunk of the wrestlers were not Japanese. Having watched Sumo before on Japanese t.v., I was expecting a speckling of non-Japanese wrestlers, but there were many more than even what I had expected.
The following week we went to see Japanese Kabuki theatre. Kabuki theatre consists of a few plays of various genres and types (dancing vs. pure acting) in one package. So we saw a dance performance, then a tragedy play (which was the main performance), followed by a lunch break and then the final comedy act. This sort of performance packaging is also seen in the masked Japanese Noh plays, where in older times, going to the "theatre" to see a Noh performance consisted of...I believe...7 plays, one from each genre of Noh performances. But, that's another topic for another time. I just happened to have a Noh class last semester....
Since our day trips, life has been relatively quiet....until last week. Last Monday after class, I found out through my homepage, Anime News Network, about an International Manga Competition being held by Shonen Jump, the most famous of the manga publishing magazines. Manga, for those who don't know, are Japanese comic books. Most of these manga are not like the Sunday Funnies in the newspaper, rather they are known as visual novels, similar in many aspects to Batman, Spiderman, ect. That means each chapter leads directly into the next with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger. Unlike mainstream American comics, manga have a very structured story that have a definite beginning and end. They are also published in specialized manga magazines (such as Shonen Jump) that are dedicated to selling just manga. These magazines are usually thick magazines that are published either weekly or monthly, based on the magazine itself. And each issue contains the same series. So Shonen Jump, being a weekly magazine, publishes the same set of series each week. In other words, the manga creator (or manga-ka in Japanese) has to have a chapter ready to be published for each issue of the magazine his/her series is in.
Thus brings me to Shonen Jump's manga competition. Last week (or at the end of the prior week) Shonen Jump announced this competition for which the fans can submit a manga chapter (either 15-, 19-, 31- or 45-pages in length) in either Chinese, Japanese, or English for a chance to be published and receive a momentary prize. There are four winners; the Grand Prize Winner and the three best language-specific winners. All four winners receive the same monetary prize according to yen. The major difference is that the language-specific winners get published in their country's version of Jump (nickname for Shonen Jump).....Which brings me to me.
I have decided to try and enter a manga chapter into this competition. The submission deadline is October 1st. Due to my lengthy story-telling style, I am (comfortably) writing and illustrating a 45-page manga with brand new characters and stories (since the publisher of Jump will own rights to the submitted chapters). This means that I will have to be completing about 2-3 pages weekly in order to finish in time to submit it...Within just last week, I wrote the story, thumbnailed the chapter pages (thumbnails are the small rough drafts of a drawing or work of art), and designed the main characters. And, as of tonight, I have finished outlining my first page (outlining is drawing just the lines of the charaters and elements of each scene/panel) and have starting sketching out my next couple of pages. But the sketching and outlining processes together are roughly 6-8 hrs per page for me. That doesn't including time for adding shadows and actually illustrating the work. So....yeah...this will be interesting. I will have about 3 weeks between school years in which I will hopefully finish most of the chapter.
With that being said....life will be hectic for a while. School, packing and sending stuff home, final trips with friends and CSU, registration for next year (which I still don't have a date for....), general family stuff and catching up with peops, and now this competition. If you don't hear from me again...assume that I'm buried beneath a pile of schoolwork and manga stuff....
Until then, Later peeps!
It's been a while, hasn't it? 'Twas just before Golden Week that I posted! I went and had an amazing time in Fukui with my high school buddy, who's living there. Then I came home and was an a train the next morning with my CSU crew as we headed to Hakone, a world known hotspring town/area in Japan. We spent the night in an amazing hotel with an inside and outside bath. So fun to just chill in the bath with friends!
For those who are unaware of Japanese bathing manners, there are showering stations in the bathing area where you are supposed to shower and wash before entering the bath. Culturally, one showers off before taking a bath, even in Japanese homes. Bath water is shared with everyone in the home, hence why you shower then enter the bath. Also, baths are seen as tools of relaxation, not a washing method.
Anyways, that following Monday, we were back in school, with two more CSU day trips in May. These day trips were on back-to-back Sundays, so I basically went to church one week, was gone the next because of my Golden Week trip to Fukui, then back to church the next week, only to be gone for two Sundays in a row. This past Sunday and the Sunday before that were the first two Sundays that I have gone to church in a row since before Golden Week....
Anyways, back to the day trips. The first one was to the opening day of a huge Sumo Tournament!...Yes, sumo as in the fat man wrestling. It was glorious fun to watch! There was a...how shall I say it....compact Caucasian wrestler who dominated his match within just a couple of moves. His opponent charged upon the match starting, so the springy white guy nearly vanished off to the side of his charging opponent, did what is called a joint lock (which is a type of hold or grasp on the opponent's limbs that restricts and prevents movements), then threw him out of the ring. Totally crazy to watch, since Mr. Caucasian seemed like a twig compared to all the other wrestlers. Surprisingly, a large (hah! large...) chunk of the wrestlers were not Japanese. Having watched Sumo before on Japanese t.v., I was expecting a speckling of non-Japanese wrestlers, but there were many more than even what I had expected.
The following week we went to see Japanese Kabuki theatre. Kabuki theatre consists of a few plays of various genres and types (dancing vs. pure acting) in one package. So we saw a dance performance, then a tragedy play (which was the main performance), followed by a lunch break and then the final comedy act. This sort of performance packaging is also seen in the masked Japanese Noh plays, where in older times, going to the "theatre" to see a Noh performance consisted of...I believe...7 plays, one from each genre of Noh performances. But, that's another topic for another time. I just happened to have a Noh class last semester....
Since our day trips, life has been relatively quiet....until last week. Last Monday after class, I found out through my homepage, Anime News Network, about an International Manga Competition being held by Shonen Jump, the most famous of the manga publishing magazines. Manga, for those who don't know, are Japanese comic books. Most of these manga are not like the Sunday Funnies in the newspaper, rather they are known as visual novels, similar in many aspects to Batman, Spiderman, ect. That means each chapter leads directly into the next with each chapter ending on a cliffhanger. Unlike mainstream American comics, manga have a very structured story that have a definite beginning and end. They are also published in specialized manga magazines (such as Shonen Jump) that are dedicated to selling just manga. These magazines are usually thick magazines that are published either weekly or monthly, based on the magazine itself. And each issue contains the same series. So Shonen Jump, being a weekly magazine, publishes the same set of series each week. In other words, the manga creator (or manga-ka in Japanese) has to have a chapter ready to be published for each issue of the magazine his/her series is in.
Thus brings me to Shonen Jump's manga competition. Last week (or at the end of the prior week) Shonen Jump announced this competition for which the fans can submit a manga chapter (either 15-, 19-, 31- or 45-pages in length) in either Chinese, Japanese, or English for a chance to be published and receive a momentary prize. There are four winners; the Grand Prize Winner and the three best language-specific winners. All four winners receive the same monetary prize according to yen. The major difference is that the language-specific winners get published in their country's version of Jump (nickname for Shonen Jump).....Which brings me to me.
I have decided to try and enter a manga chapter into this competition. The submission deadline is October 1st. Due to my lengthy story-telling style, I am (comfortably) writing and illustrating a 45-page manga with brand new characters and stories (since the publisher of Jump will own rights to the submitted chapters). This means that I will have to be completing about 2-3 pages weekly in order to finish in time to submit it...Within just last week, I wrote the story, thumbnailed the chapter pages (thumbnails are the small rough drafts of a drawing or work of art), and designed the main characters. And, as of tonight, I have finished outlining my first page (outlining is drawing just the lines of the charaters and elements of each scene/panel) and have starting sketching out my next couple of pages. But the sketching and outlining processes together are roughly 6-8 hrs per page for me. That doesn't including time for adding shadows and actually illustrating the work. So....yeah...this will be interesting. I will have about 3 weeks between school years in which I will hopefully finish most of the chapter.
With that being said....life will be hectic for a while. School, packing and sending stuff home, final trips with friends and CSU, registration for next year (which I still don't have a date for....), general family stuff and catching up with peops, and now this competition. If you don't hear from me again...assume that I'm buried beneath a pile of schoolwork and manga stuff....
Until then, Later peeps!
Saturday, April 27, 2013
School
Hey everyone,
Sorry for this posting being a bit late, but I am back in school already. This week, we are having a week-long break, called Golden Week. Kinda weird, I know. However, starting on April 29th is a week filled with holidays. Since each holiday is a public holiday, it was decided to take the entire week off instead of having an extremely short work week. Thus, we have a week long break coming up. For more info, here's a link to Wiki's description of Golden Week.
In less than an hour, I will be heading off to the West Coast of Honshu Island to Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture. I am a high school friend living and teaching there, so I will be visiting her until Tues. Then on Weds, I have an overnight school trip to Hakone, a city famous for its hot springs.
Also, sidenote, I have been having trouble uploading photos, hence the extreme delays on photos. I will try and get them up when I get back.
Until then, Later Peeps!
Sorry for this posting being a bit late, but I am back in school already. This week, we are having a week-long break, called Golden Week. Kinda weird, I know. However, starting on April 29th is a week filled with holidays. Since each holiday is a public holiday, it was decided to take the entire week off instead of having an extremely short work week. Thus, we have a week long break coming up. For more info, here's a link to Wiki's description of Golden Week.
In less than an hour, I will be heading off to the West Coast of Honshu Island to Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture. I am a high school friend living and teaching there, so I will be visiting her until Tues. Then on Weds, I have an overnight school trip to Hakone, a city famous for its hot springs.
Also, sidenote, I have been having trouble uploading photos, hence the extreme delays on photos. I will try and get them up when I get back.
Until then, Later Peeps!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
In light of the Boston Marathon bombing...
This is not the type of post I would have thought I would be writing while abroad.
This morning I woke up and learned of the Boston Marathon bombing through a Facebook message from my mom. We have someone we know who runs with a team, so she was briefing me for the flood of news with the good news that the person we know and that person's team were alright.
But...
Many were not. I have read of the death and mayhem that this bombing has caused, and how it has changed some victims' lives. It...hurts. No word can describe the excruciating pain of bearing witness to another attack on US soil. With that being said, unlike 9/11, we cannot tell easily what kind of attack this was. I do hope we will know in the days to come.
Anyways, enough focus on the type of event this is. Let us remain focus for now on the victims to this attack. The most obvious victims are those who were killed or injured/maimed by the explosions. However, let us not forget the victims with invisible injuries, the ones who bore witness to the attack, the ones who were struck with fear over the possible loss of loved ones, the ones who did in fact lose someone, and the American people as a whole.
When something like this happens, we all suffer. Do not belittle your own suffering just because you are fairly removed from the event. You will still feel the pain of loss on your soul.
An attack like this wounds physically, emotionally, and mentally. We tend to forget the victims that were not amongst the physically wounded, since the wounded and the dead are the most easily identifiable victims of an attack.
When I heard about this attack, my heart, of course, ached for the physically wounded and the families who had just lost someone. But, my heart went out also to those who were invisibly wounded. I could imagine the breath my friend held in anticipation for the "We're ok!" from teammates and acquaintances. That hurts, waiting. I know, because I was that person when the Tohoku quake occurred. It's a fear that scars you for life, even if everyone you know was ok.
I thought about the people who stood witness...no....stand witness to the actual bomb. There is no past tense when you are confronted with an act like this. This is a wound that will never fully heal.
Then, as I chatted with another US study-abroad student here in Japan, via Facebook, I thought of the Americans who are abroad at this moment. We are culturally and emotionally isolated from the Boston Marathon attack. To us, this seems unreal, moreso than if we were at home. That is because we are isolated. We aren't going to walk out on the street and necessarily hear others discussing the bombing, nor will we easily find another American to open up to. Heck, we won't even be understood by others when we are distracted today. We are alone to a degree...which takes me to another set of victims....
The Americans abroad who have connections to Boston.
If you are in pain about this bombing, if I'm hurting from it, can you even try and imagine the person isolated by region and culture who's home has been rocked by an attack?
So why did I write this blog? It was not to honor the victims. It was not to add a check mark to my Americanism. It was because I am in pain from this attack. I needed others to hear my voice and to understand the viewpoint of another American who's experiencing this event abroad. And...it was to bring to light the different victims of such an attack.
I experienced the Oklahoma bombing as a young child watching the news, with very little understanding of the world nor my own nation. I experienced 9/11 as a middle-schooler being awoken by my mom for what was supposed to be a normal picture-day at school. Now, I am abroad experiencing yet another tragedy on my nation's soil, my home's soil. It hurts. It's unbearably painful not being home in the wake of this tragedy, even if my US home is hundreds of miles away from Boston. But from my own pain, I can realize the more fragility of those whose world was rocked right before their eyes, through bearing witness to the tragedy in Boston to having connections to Boston or its historical marathon.
This blog is the rawest blog I have written yet. If it seems like a rushing river of thoughts, well, it is.
Today I ask of you to think of all the victims of this attack, including those with the invisible wounds. Pray for our nation to gather these victims up in prayer and that God will use this tragedy for His Glory, for no event is too heavy for His Will! And Pray for the victims themselves, of course! Pray for the personnel having to handle the chaos before us, those in the medical field and those on the political front. We have yet to know who did this to our nation. It may have been a fellow American or an international. So you can only imagine how our law enforcement and political leaders have to handle this situation.
In short, pray for America this day. We grieve as one, we struggle as one, we seek relief as one. Let this be a tragedy that brings us back together as one family, just like how 9/11 initially united us as one. That unity, as tragic as it was, was one of the most beautiful and most hopeful miracle a child could see. Let us reunite as one for our children's sake!
This morning I woke up and learned of the Boston Marathon bombing through a Facebook message from my mom. We have someone we know who runs with a team, so she was briefing me for the flood of news with the good news that the person we know and that person's team were alright.
But...
Many were not. I have read of the death and mayhem that this bombing has caused, and how it has changed some victims' lives. It...hurts. No word can describe the excruciating pain of bearing witness to another attack on US soil. With that being said, unlike 9/11, we cannot tell easily what kind of attack this was. I do hope we will know in the days to come.
Anyways, enough focus on the type of event this is. Let us remain focus for now on the victims to this attack. The most obvious victims are those who were killed or injured/maimed by the explosions. However, let us not forget the victims with invisible injuries, the ones who bore witness to the attack, the ones who were struck with fear over the possible loss of loved ones, the ones who did in fact lose someone, and the American people as a whole.
When something like this happens, we all suffer. Do not belittle your own suffering just because you are fairly removed from the event. You will still feel the pain of loss on your soul.
An attack like this wounds physically, emotionally, and mentally. We tend to forget the victims that were not amongst the physically wounded, since the wounded and the dead are the most easily identifiable victims of an attack.
When I heard about this attack, my heart, of course, ached for the physically wounded and the families who had just lost someone. But, my heart went out also to those who were invisibly wounded. I could imagine the breath my friend held in anticipation for the "We're ok!" from teammates and acquaintances. That hurts, waiting. I know, because I was that person when the Tohoku quake occurred. It's a fear that scars you for life, even if everyone you know was ok.
I thought about the people who stood witness...no....stand witness to the actual bomb. There is no past tense when you are confronted with an act like this. This is a wound that will never fully heal.
Then, as I chatted with another US study-abroad student here in Japan, via Facebook, I thought of the Americans who are abroad at this moment. We are culturally and emotionally isolated from the Boston Marathon attack. To us, this seems unreal, moreso than if we were at home. That is because we are isolated. We aren't going to walk out on the street and necessarily hear others discussing the bombing, nor will we easily find another American to open up to. Heck, we won't even be understood by others when we are distracted today. We are alone to a degree...which takes me to another set of victims....
The Americans abroad who have connections to Boston.
If you are in pain about this bombing, if I'm hurting from it, can you even try and imagine the person isolated by region and culture who's home has been rocked by an attack?
So why did I write this blog? It was not to honor the victims. It was not to add a check mark to my Americanism. It was because I am in pain from this attack. I needed others to hear my voice and to understand the viewpoint of another American who's experiencing this event abroad. And...it was to bring to light the different victims of such an attack.
I experienced the Oklahoma bombing as a young child watching the news, with very little understanding of the world nor my own nation. I experienced 9/11 as a middle-schooler being awoken by my mom for what was supposed to be a normal picture-day at school. Now, I am abroad experiencing yet another tragedy on my nation's soil, my home's soil. It hurts. It's unbearably painful not being home in the wake of this tragedy, even if my US home is hundreds of miles away from Boston. But from my own pain, I can realize the more fragility of those whose world was rocked right before their eyes, through bearing witness to the tragedy in Boston to having connections to Boston or its historical marathon.
This blog is the rawest blog I have written yet. If it seems like a rushing river of thoughts, well, it is.
Today I ask of you to think of all the victims of this attack, including those with the invisible wounds. Pray for our nation to gather these victims up in prayer and that God will use this tragedy for His Glory, for no event is too heavy for His Will! And Pray for the victims themselves, of course! Pray for the personnel having to handle the chaos before us, those in the medical field and those on the political front. We have yet to know who did this to our nation. It may have been a fellow American or an international. So you can only imagine how our law enforcement and political leaders have to handle this situation.
In short, pray for America this day. We grieve as one, we struggle as one, we seek relief as one. Let this be a tragedy that brings us back together as one family, just like how 9/11 initially united us as one. That unity, as tragic as it was, was one of the most beautiful and most hopeful miracle a child could see. Let us reunite as one for our children's sake!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Happy White Day!
Hey People,
This'll be a quick post, seeing that I am leaving in a few for a friend's house tonight. Tomorrow for Japan is White Day. So you're probably thinking, What's White Day? Well, that's why I am here.
Do you remember a 'holiday' oh so many weeks ago called Single's Awareness Day...which is also known by couples as Valentine's Day? We all know that couples give each other gifts from the heart and new love is brought forth in the forms of flowers and chocolates and....yada yada yada.
Well, in Japan, only the girls give out chocolates to the guys (and female friends because we like giving gifts of chocolates to our friends). Yet, the guys merely have to receive the gifts on Valentine's Day, not give anything. Aren't they so lucky? If the guy has been friend-zoned by the girl (in other words, the girl sees the guy as merely a friend), he will probably get some bite-sized chocolates. But if the girl really likes the guy and wants to let him know her feelings towards him, she may make (or buy) a really special, hand-decorated chocolate....And he just has to receive the chocolate....except....
Along comes March 14, White Day. Noticed that White Day just happens to be exactly one month after Valentine's Day? Well, White Day is the reciprocal of Valentine's Day....in a sense. If the guy received a chocolate from a gal on Valentine's Day, they get one month to prepare a chocolatey gift for that gal who gave him the chocolate.
So, for those single men out there that did not receive any chocolate, they are (in theory) off the hook for White Day. For those who got something special from their sweetheart, they better prepare for White Day! For those who hate Valentine's Day, they better avoid Japan at all cost from January, when all the Valentine's Day stuff comes out, through March, because there is no escaping the packaging and advertisement for Valentine's/White Day!
Until then, Later Peeps!
This'll be a quick post, seeing that I am leaving in a few for a friend's house tonight. Tomorrow for Japan is White Day. So you're probably thinking, What's White Day? Well, that's why I am here.
Do you remember a 'holiday' oh so many weeks ago called Single's Awareness Day...which is also known by couples as Valentine's Day? We all know that couples give each other gifts from the heart and new love is brought forth in the forms of flowers and chocolates and....yada yada yada.
Well, in Japan, only the girls give out chocolates to the guys (and female friends because we like giving gifts of chocolates to our friends). Yet, the guys merely have to receive the gifts on Valentine's Day, not give anything. Aren't they so lucky? If the guy has been friend-zoned by the girl (in other words, the girl sees the guy as merely a friend), he will probably get some bite-sized chocolates. But if the girl really likes the guy and wants to let him know her feelings towards him, she may make (or buy) a really special, hand-decorated chocolate....And he just has to receive the chocolate....except....
Along comes March 14, White Day. Noticed that White Day just happens to be exactly one month after Valentine's Day? Well, White Day is the reciprocal of Valentine's Day....in a sense. If the guy received a chocolate from a gal on Valentine's Day, they get one month to prepare a chocolatey gift for that gal who gave him the chocolate.
So, for those single men out there that did not receive any chocolate, they are (in theory) off the hook for White Day. For those who got something special from their sweetheart, they better prepare for White Day! For those who hate Valentine's Day, they better avoid Japan at all cost from January, when all the Valentine's Day stuff comes out, through March, because there is no escaping the packaging and advertisement for Valentine's/White Day!
Until then, Later Peeps!
Monday, March 11, 2013
3/11. The Date Closest to the Japanese Heart
Hey People,
Here in Japan, it is the early hours of March 11th. 3/11, just like how 9/11 remains ever close to the American hearts, 3/11 is a date that is closest to the hearts of this generation in Japan.
I remember this date very well. Two years ago, I was sitting in front of the t.v. as I got started on my art homework. It was around 12 midnight PST. My mom was flipping through the channels, when she stopped on the local Japanese channel for the LA area. There on the screen was flooding being captured live. The news ticker, which was in English, explained that an earthquake had just hit the north-eastern part on the main island. However, it wasn't until my family and I watched as trucks were being swept down the Japanese streets followed by boats that had been washed ashore that we realized just how big this earthquake was. The final verdict was that the so-called 'Tohoku Quake' was a 9.0 Magnitude on the Richter scale, making it one of the largest recorded quakes worldwide.
I was horrified because, at the time, I was unfamiliar with the location of Tohoku relative to Tokyo and had many friends, both Japanese and American, living in Tokyo at the time. But, my fear was not without reason. The quake was large enough to shutdown transportation in Tokyo for a day, create cracks in the buildings throughout Tokyo, and cause fires and other damages around Tokyo.
Looking around my dorm room, I can find cracks going from floor to ceiling. I often wonder, Are these cracks the scars from the Tohoku Quake? Most likely...they are. Why do I assume that these cracks are scars? Well, nearly 24 hours after the quake struck, I was able to Skype one of my American friends, who was studying abroad at different Tokyo college from mine. He showed me the newly made cracks in his dorm's walls. So I know that these kinds of scars exist. The other reason is that these cracks are in the corners, where I assume most of the stress would be created in the walls.
This is my experience of the Tohoku Quake. While I was across the ocean, in a different land, living in a different culture from the quake victims, I still experienced the quake. However, the fear, confusion and shock I experienced will never measure up to the whirlwind of emotions that Japan and her people experienced that day. Tohoku has been forever changed. Thousands of lives disappeared and towns were destroyed. Having experienced the recovery of 9/11, I know that Japan's wounded heart is still bleeding. As I travel around Tokyo, I see people standing with boxes calling for others to help the Tohoku people to recover.
So as you are going about your day today and tomorrow, say a little prayer for the Japanese, especially for the Tohoku victims. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers this week.
If you are unfamiliar with the Tohoku Quake and its aftereffects, I am linking the Wikipedia article about it.
Edit: I just got linked to this BBC Documentary from one of my German friends, who I met in the US. It is a documentary on the Tohoku Quake highlighting children's experiences. I have yet to watch it. I did start it, but seeing that it is early hours of the morn here in Tokyo, I will have to watch it later.
2nd Edit: I follow an Anime news website called Anime News Network, which gives me anything news semi-related to anime, whether it's a green-lighting of new series or an inspirational charity drive. This particular news article that I am linking it an animation charity project for the Tohoku Quake victims. The charity project is a collaboration of Japanese and International artists and musicians who have created short few-minute-long films, which are being offered on iTunes. Embedded in the articles are the Youtube streams of the first two completed animations. Please at least try to watch them.
3rd Edit: Here's a nifty effort to support Japan's recovery. Japan has a well-loved children's anime character named Doraemon, who's a little cat robot that wields many different inventions. Well, around Tokyo, 100 statues of Doraemon have been erected in support and healing for Japan. Here's the link to the article from Anime News Network about this effort.
Until then, later peeps!
Here in Japan, it is the early hours of March 11th. 3/11, just like how 9/11 remains ever close to the American hearts, 3/11 is a date that is closest to the hearts of this generation in Japan.
I remember this date very well. Two years ago, I was sitting in front of the t.v. as I got started on my art homework. It was around 12 midnight PST. My mom was flipping through the channels, when she stopped on the local Japanese channel for the LA area. There on the screen was flooding being captured live. The news ticker, which was in English, explained that an earthquake had just hit the north-eastern part on the main island. However, it wasn't until my family and I watched as trucks were being swept down the Japanese streets followed by boats that had been washed ashore that we realized just how big this earthquake was. The final verdict was that the so-called 'Tohoku Quake' was a 9.0 Magnitude on the Richter scale, making it one of the largest recorded quakes worldwide.
I was horrified because, at the time, I was unfamiliar with the location of Tohoku relative to Tokyo and had many friends, both Japanese and American, living in Tokyo at the time. But, my fear was not without reason. The quake was large enough to shutdown transportation in Tokyo for a day, create cracks in the buildings throughout Tokyo, and cause fires and other damages around Tokyo.
Looking around my dorm room, I can find cracks going from floor to ceiling. I often wonder, Are these cracks the scars from the Tohoku Quake? Most likely...they are. Why do I assume that these cracks are scars? Well, nearly 24 hours after the quake struck, I was able to Skype one of my American friends, who was studying abroad at different Tokyo college from mine. He showed me the newly made cracks in his dorm's walls. So I know that these kinds of scars exist. The other reason is that these cracks are in the corners, where I assume most of the stress would be created in the walls.
This is my experience of the Tohoku Quake. While I was across the ocean, in a different land, living in a different culture from the quake victims, I still experienced the quake. However, the fear, confusion and shock I experienced will never measure up to the whirlwind of emotions that Japan and her people experienced that day. Tohoku has been forever changed. Thousands of lives disappeared and towns were destroyed. Having experienced the recovery of 9/11, I know that Japan's wounded heart is still bleeding. As I travel around Tokyo, I see people standing with boxes calling for others to help the Tohoku people to recover.
So as you are going about your day today and tomorrow, say a little prayer for the Japanese, especially for the Tohoku victims. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers this week.
If you are unfamiliar with the Tohoku Quake and its aftereffects, I am linking the Wikipedia article about it.
Edit: I just got linked to this BBC Documentary from one of my German friends, who I met in the US. It is a documentary on the Tohoku Quake highlighting children's experiences. I have yet to watch it. I did start it, but seeing that it is early hours of the morn here in Tokyo, I will have to watch it later.
2nd Edit: I follow an Anime news website called Anime News Network, which gives me anything news semi-related to anime, whether it's a green-lighting of new series or an inspirational charity drive. This particular news article that I am linking it an animation charity project for the Tohoku Quake victims. The charity project is a collaboration of Japanese and International artists and musicians who have created short few-minute-long films, which are being offered on iTunes. Embedded in the articles are the Youtube streams of the first two completed animations. Please at least try to watch them.
3rd Edit: Here's a nifty effort to support Japan's recovery. Japan has a well-loved children's anime character named Doraemon, who's a little cat robot that wields many different inventions. Well, around Tokyo, 100 statues of Doraemon have been erected in support and healing for Japan. Here's the link to the article from Anime News Network about this effort.
Until then, later peeps!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
HOKKAIDO PHOTOS!!!!
Hey-ya Peeps!
I'm back! (Which means that I have time and am on break!!!!) I have spent the morning sorting out my Hokkaido photos and they are now ready to post!!!!!
So without any further adieu~
THE PHOTOS!!!
I just adored how the officers were dragging a sled of stuff...so I snapped a pic of them. :P
I'm back! (Which means that I have time and am on break!!!!) I have spent the morning sorting out my Hokkaido photos and they are now ready to post!!!!!
So without any further adieu~
THE PHOTOS!!!
Welcome to Hokkaido, Japan, The Winter Wonderland of Japan! (My nickname for it!)
We got mountains!
We got valleys!
And of course...
SNOW!
And snow!
And more snow!
And more snow.
And, yet....more snow.
But, you get the picture.... (haha, picture! ... >.> *awkward glance to the side...*)
Note the random Bonsai tree on the train station platform...decoration, I suppose...
Note: these photos thus far and for a while down are from the plane or the train. (A rhyme for my bro. :P)
And here are my companions! Both are from my CSU group! We had to take a train, an underground subway and a trolley to get from the New Chitose Airport to our hotel, the Leo Palace Hotel!
And now, we have some pics of our double-decker hotel room (amazing room it was!).
We had ventured into the cold, snowy North to see the annual Snow Festival in Sapporo. Of course, I do have pics of the event. Below are photos of the snow sculptures that were along the very long Odori Park. We only got to see half the park during our stay, however....
I just adored how the officers were dragging a sled of stuff...so I snapped a pic of them. :P
Note the snow creature above! It is called a Shisa, but you may know it as a Lion-dog. It's a mythical creature from Okinawa, hence why I said to make note of this. We will be seeing this creature again...
By the way, the Shisa sculpture above was done by the Hokkaido-Okinawa Club (that's what the sign says in the blue oval with white typing).
I just loved how this fountain...uh...froze? Got snowed upon? ...was affected by the weather!
If ya want to have some fun with my pics, start trying to read the time on the tower in the pic above. That tower shows up quite a bit. It is located on the ....eastern side (I think...) of Odori Park. So, since my friends and I spent a lot of time in the general Odori Park area while we were sightseeing, that tower shows up in the pics a lot.
At this point, my friends and I took a momentary break from wandering Odori Park. Mind you, we had just flown in that morning and slept some in the afternoon. So, we needed to catch some dinner while we were out.
We saw a narrow little mall across the street from Odori Park, so we stepped in to check it out.
Then...I discovered the snow on my friend, Riski.
It was pretty snowy that night!
Some shots of the mall!
And some artist just keeled over at the sight of this photo above. Can someone say 'perspective change'?
By the way, we found dinner!
You know a fancy restaurant when they provide chopsticks rests! :D
Though we still got disposable chopsticks.....
What we are having here is Yakiniku. Yaki means to 'grill, bake, cook with fire', while niku is 'meat'.
And, yes. We pay higher prices for grilling our own meat....and veggies....
But, man, was the meat in Hokkaido delicious!
*Insert Riski's meat call/growl*
..
...
....
This may be my last posting if Riski reads this....
:D
So yeah, dinner was a bit pricey, but worth the money!
Then, we explored the rest of the mall.
..
...
Found nothing overly exciting....
So we headed downstairs to the train station below.
..
...
Where we found this decorative vault!
The vault was outside a bank...and looked like it was filled with ice...that's all I know about it...
After finding that vault (and waiting for people to move so we could take pics of it...), we headed back to the snowy outdoors to finish up one side of Odori Park.
Hold the horses again! The sculpture above is the Hinamatsuri sculpture. Hinamatsuri is a festival to honor daughters and bring them good luck in life. I will go into that in more detail later, since the festival is in March!
Now, let's continue our adventure!
Ok, so these two photos above and below are of the smoking area wall, which was featured in the photo above the Hinamatsuri sculpture. They are ice blocks that had a decorative crystaling pattern within. And I mean every ice block had this patterning in them!
Some in-progress snow sculptures.
We flew in the day before the Snow Festival started, so of course, not every sculpture was finished. We're artists, when are we every finished ahead of schedule? :D
...Though I do know one artist who usually is....
And some snow graffiti done by yours truly! It's of one of my main characters! :D
Yes, I stood in the middle of the street and snapped this photo. However! I was in the middle of the sidewalk on a pedestrian green light. (or blue light, which is how it's referred to in Japanese)!
The sign above is for the Japanese burger chain, Mos Burger. Typically, there is no anime girl associated with Mos Burger, which is why this sign was so interesting.
Riski in the snow!
Riski in a lot of snow!
By the time this photo above was taken, it was snowing a lot!
Onwards to Day 2!
Here we are at the Sapporo Clock Tower!
It was part of the original Sapporo Agricultural College, which later became the Hokkaido University.
Hokkaido was not part of the Japanese nation until after the fall of the Japanese Shogunate in 1868. Hokkaido (which was then known as Ezo) came under Japanese rule the year following the Shogunate collapse. The land was mostly uninhabited, so due to the large number of suddenly freed (to a degree) people, the Japanese government allowed people to become farmers up in Hokkaido. Gradually, due to the large number of people who knew very little about agriculture or were having trouble in the northern region, a Japanese agricultural school opened in Sapporo.
Who's heard the saying, "Boys, Be Ambitious"?
Most Japanese know this phrase. It came from an American Professor's farewell speech upon a few years of teaching at Sapporo Agricultural College. This professor, William Clark Smith, was one of the most influential Christians in Japan! Many of his students became active Christians, while a few are still known for their Christian ministries. I would highly suggest reading up further about this man!
On that note: this is how popular that saying is! This is an ending theme to an anime that I love (well, at least I read its manga weekly :D). Note the name of the song!
On ho, towards more Hokkaido!
Above is the original layout of the Sapporo Agricultural College. The Clock Tower was in the middle of the ... campus? Anyhoo, its current location would closer to the camera, where that big building is on the model.
After visiting the clock tower, my friends and I had some Ice cream...
...across a tiny street from the clock tower!
The above photo is just for kicks. I have a panorama feature on my new camera...which captures interesting photos occasionally.
Our next destination was the Old Government Building, nicknamed 'Akarenga' which means 'red bricks' (aka=red, renga=brick).
Akarenga had a park on its compound.
With some silly signs!
I love Japanese signs!
AKARENGA!
Within the rooms of Akarenga were many small historical displays. However, most of the signs were in Japanese, so I could not understand the significance of everything being displayed....
Peeking outside the windows....
A mock-up of a normal room in the Government Building.
The following photos are in backwards-chronological order, meaning it goes from most recent person to oldest person. It also occurred to me that I do not know who these individuals are....
Start from the left-hand side of the photos and go right....--->
The following photos are gifts from other cities and nations to Sapporo.
^ Yes...that's all that the US could manage to give.... >.>
Now, the following photos are of history of Hokkaido.
Note: this helmet is from WWII era...Come to find out due to this posting, Hokkaido was also attacked in WWII by the Allied forces! I never knew that... But, then again, this is why I like to blog....when I have the time and energy (sorry, peeps...).
Above is the sign for the history exhibit from which you just saw photos.
Below are the photos of the Natural History of Hokkaido exhibit (plus some non-natural history stuff from the same exhibit).
The fossil above is an ammonite fossil. The photo below is the display placard with a sign saying, "Go ahead and touch it" (at least that's a loose translation of the sign).
Note: those squiggly fossils are mammoth teeth! You will see a few more later on...just not in this post.
Ok, ok. I must apologize. Being that wacky artsy person, I had a bit of fun photographing the next few furry displays. :D
Message below if you remember the Sapporo Games of '72!
Because I wasn't around yet!...nor for a very long time after that!
:D
The following displays are from the first era of Japanese history, known as the Jomon Period. This was the Hunter-and-Gatherer era of Japan. The name of the era comes from the thread- or rope-like patterning on the pottery. Don't worry if you can't see them in these photos, I have more from another Hokkaido day!
From this point, we have a variety of historical artifacts. Some of these are from Hokkaido's late native people, the Ainu. There are no more full-blooded Ainu people and no native speakers of the Ainu tongue, which is really sad to me. But, we still have recordings of the Ainu tongue and linguistical studies from early- to mid-20th century!
Whoops! These are more Jomon Period artifacts in this display!
Back to unidentifiable historical artifacts (at least for me...).
More Jomon below.
Outside the window....
And done with Akarenga!
The sign below roughly reads:
Caution
Since frozen snow will fall, please be careful.
Below is a pic of how they keep the form of full-grown bonsai trees during the winter!
Some snowmen for the Snow Festival! (We didn't make them!)
Yes, we did love Hokkaido! (Though some did not appreciate the snow. :P )
Thanks, Riski, for photobombing my pic! :D
And off to our next destination!
.
...
.....
But that will be my next post!
In total, I will have more than 670 photos of Hokkaido on my blog, so enjoy! (or so sorry!)
Until then, Later Peeps!
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