Yes, so I got lazy and stopped posting.
Why? Mainly because access to a computer in the area I was living was sparse. Once I was able to get on a computer (no less, right before dinner when I have a limit of 20 minutes), I only had the time for replying to friends and family in emails or on msn.
So forgive me. I doubt there is even a readership at this point, but nonetheless; You! You reading this right now, forgive me!
I can't even remember where I left off with my trip, but now I am back here in St.Catharines, studying. I won't be able to see Fumi until February. Oh, the trials and tribulations of lovers seperated by continents.
So yes, just studying. I still won't have anything interesting to say.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Saturday, August 05, 2006
He met his girlfriend's father and yet he is still alive...
Where to begin? As usual, so much has happened.
I left Patrick's house with a tearful goodbye at 7 in the morning on August the 3rd. It was reminiscent of a sad, sad movie from a time forgotten. He and I pressed against the opposite sides of the cold and unbending glass of the bullet train's window, crying and desperately trying to touch one last time. As the train departed he ran in a fleeting attempt of catching me and keeping me forever, alas, the train can go up to 200 kilometers per hour and he can only run up to 157.
All seriousness aside, I owe Patrick a lot. He was a great host and kept me entertained and alive for the 6 or so days I stayed with him. どうもありがとうございましたパット先輩。 I will send you some more Canada care packages in an attempt to repay you.
Anyways, back to my romantic story:
I arrived with little trouble even though I had to transfer 2 times to different trains. Thanks to my wonderful electronic dictionary I was able to figure out how to say "Which number car is this?" Whether it was accurate Japanese or not didn't matter (for now) as the nice old lady understood me when I talked to her. Once hearing my crap Japanese, her 3 grandchildren decided to swarm around me and spew phrases with reckless abandon, even though I only understood a 1/3rd of what they were saying. So it was a fun trip.
Fumi met me with a little trouble at Hakata station, because she told me to go to the wrong exit and her father (dun dun dunnn) picked us up and drove us to their house. Yoichi-san told me to call him "Fumipapa" which is a nice amicable start and I find he is very funny and silly, kind of like my Dad. We were both sizing each other up and nervous during the ride home as there were a lot of awkward pauses, but I think in terms of still being alive I can say: "mission accomplished".
I met Fumi's mother again, and to my pride (even though it's mostly politeness) she mentioned how I had come a long way in speaking Japanese. I have a little bit. I haven't really learned anything new, I'm just developing confidence in utilizing the language. Which is great, having studied it for 2 years and never really used it. Fumi's brother is a really funny guy as well and is also a bit shy though he doesn't look it. He has the stylings of a very laid-back "cool cat".
The 4th was my birthday and the Sakata family invited over their friends for a party in my honour. It was an amazing time. Yoichi-san insisted upon my having 21 shots of sake. What I had to do was go around and pour each guest a shot (there were 19) and they would pour me one in return. I didn't get very drunk, surprisingly.
That party tested my Japanese language skills quite a bit as I often was called away from Fumi (my active translator) to go speak with her parents and their friends. It was so fun though, and we were able to communicate fairly freely, though not clearly.
Oh, I forgot to say: The weather here is insane. Just-broke-out-of-a-mental-institution-and-is-going-on-a-murderous-rampage insane. I sweat constantly. Everyday the temperature is something like 34 degrees, but nowhere except convenience stores is there air conditioning. My room in Fumi's house (which is HUGE) has a unit, but I'm not spending my days here in couped up in a room.
Tonight is the fireworks festival (hanabi) and I get to dress up and look like a fool in clothing called Jinbee (jeenbay).
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. The only internet is in Shougo-san's room and I don't want to bother him.
I will have pictures up in a day or so.
Sorry for the wait, and I hope everything is well back home.
I left Patrick's house with a tearful goodbye at 7 in the morning on August the 3rd. It was reminiscent of a sad, sad movie from a time forgotten. He and I pressed against the opposite sides of the cold and unbending glass of the bullet train's window, crying and desperately trying to touch one last time. As the train departed he ran in a fleeting attempt of catching me and keeping me forever, alas, the train can go up to 200 kilometers per hour and he can only run up to 157.
All seriousness aside, I owe Patrick a lot. He was a great host and kept me entertained and alive for the 6 or so days I stayed with him. どうもありがとうございましたパット先輩。 I will send you some more Canada care packages in an attempt to repay you.
Anyways, back to my romantic story:
I arrived with little trouble even though I had to transfer 2 times to different trains. Thanks to my wonderful electronic dictionary I was able to figure out how to say "Which number car is this?" Whether it was accurate Japanese or not didn't matter (for now) as the nice old lady understood me when I talked to her. Once hearing my crap Japanese, her 3 grandchildren decided to swarm around me and spew phrases with reckless abandon, even though I only understood a 1/3rd of what they were saying. So it was a fun trip.
Fumi met me with a little trouble at Hakata station, because she told me to go to the wrong exit and her father (dun dun dunnn) picked us up and drove us to their house. Yoichi-san told me to call him "Fumipapa" which is a nice amicable start and I find he is very funny and silly, kind of like my Dad. We were both sizing each other up and nervous during the ride home as there were a lot of awkward pauses, but I think in terms of still being alive I can say: "mission accomplished".
I met Fumi's mother again, and to my pride (even though it's mostly politeness) she mentioned how I had come a long way in speaking Japanese. I have a little bit. I haven't really learned anything new, I'm just developing confidence in utilizing the language. Which is great, having studied it for 2 years and never really used it. Fumi's brother is a really funny guy as well and is also a bit shy though he doesn't look it. He has the stylings of a very laid-back "cool cat".
The 4th was my birthday and the Sakata family invited over their friends for a party in my honour. It was an amazing time. Yoichi-san insisted upon my having 21 shots of sake. What I had to do was go around and pour each guest a shot (there were 19) and they would pour me one in return. I didn't get very drunk, surprisingly.
That party tested my Japanese language skills quite a bit as I often was called away from Fumi (my active translator) to go speak with her parents and their friends. It was so fun though, and we were able to communicate fairly freely, though not clearly.
Oh, I forgot to say: The weather here is insane. Just-broke-out-of-a-mental-institution-and-is-going-on-a-murderous-rampage insane. I sweat constantly. Everyday the temperature is something like 34 degrees, but nowhere except convenience stores is there air conditioning. My room in Fumi's house (which is HUGE) has a unit, but I'm not spending my days here in couped up in a room.
Tonight is the fireworks festival (hanabi) and I get to dress up and look like a fool in clothing called Jinbee (jeenbay).
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. The only internet is in Shougo-san's room and I don't want to bother him.
I will have pictures up in a day or so.
Sorry for the wait, and I hope everything is well back home.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Some photos, as promised.
Pat and I relaxing in the capsule hotel:
Capsule alley:
Inside my capsule:
I don't know where to begin now. Quite a bit has happened since my last post. I had the opportunity to help Pat teach one of his classes, and realized that I do in fact want to be a teacher. It was a joy, especially when I went to go help out the younger children who were a little behind. They were so shy, but I finally got them to fully repeat the english sheet we had given. It was a nice sense of accomplishment. Here is the class:
After that, I went to the local bar Paper Moon and met some of Pat's friends. They had some good spaghetti and whiskey there.
The next day Pat, a fellow JET named Morgan, 2 girls named Miyuki and Teiko and I set out to go see Geibikei, a large gorge. The scenery along the way was so beautiful. Rice fields are a lush green that give a stark contrast to the sky. I don't think I can properly capture that in photo though, but I tried.
Anyhow, we got in this large boat, reminiscent of a gondola, pushed by this driver here:
To get an idea of how deeply chiselled this gorge is, in the centre of the photograph below is one of the "gondola"s. On the way back, the driver would sing an enka song written about Geibikei as you sat and enjoyed the scenery (or as I did, sweat buckets).
We arrived at the furthest point allowable for the boats to go, and walked along to an area where you would buy charms and throw them into a small hole for good luck. I got pretty close, but didn't make it.
The pathway:
Pat and I posing in front of the sign that has the character for lion (on Pat's left) just because we're leos. Go superstition!
After visiting Geibikei, we travelled along to Yuugendou, a limestone cave. It was used at one point by Japanese Christians when they were prosecuted in the 1600s or something close to that. Either way, it was really fun to go and explore, as there was one other couple in the whole of the caves.
Here I am, posing:
A 2 second exposure I did that looks nice small, but actually sucks at normal size:
The gang:
The awesomely old toilets:
After visiting Yuugendou we walked a short distance to see an area dedicated to those japanese christians who were killed. Here are little statues with supposedly hidden crosses contained in each carving:
For my grandma: Hydrangea are native to this area and create pretty bushes that compliment the statues etc. nicely.
We found that this area was actually closed as there was no one at the ticket booth, and no cars around. We decided to explore into the cave anyways and came out to a pathway that was blocked off. It seems there had been a landslide at least 2 years ago, so our trek up the side of the mountain was perilous with stairs completely destroyed and guardrails uprooted:
We were half expecting to find a decomposing body. Instead we found a lookout point where we took a photo of the 3 of us. We couldn't go all the way up (where there MUST be an abandoned shrine) because the 2 girls were waiting at the bottom. Climbing with high heels probably wasn't on their list of things to do.
And so ended my day. Now I plan on exploring a shrine nearby on my own, as Patrick has gone to his work until 4pm.
Capsule alley:
Inside my capsule:
I don't know where to begin now. Quite a bit has happened since my last post. I had the opportunity to help Pat teach one of his classes, and realized that I do in fact want to be a teacher. It was a joy, especially when I went to go help out the younger children who were a little behind. They were so shy, but I finally got them to fully repeat the english sheet we had given. It was a nice sense of accomplishment. Here is the class:
After that, I went to the local bar Paper Moon and met some of Pat's friends. They had some good spaghetti and whiskey there.The next day Pat, a fellow JET named Morgan, 2 girls named Miyuki and Teiko and I set out to go see Geibikei, a large gorge. The scenery along the way was so beautiful. Rice fields are a lush green that give a stark contrast to the sky. I don't think I can properly capture that in photo though, but I tried.
Anyhow, we got in this large boat, reminiscent of a gondola, pushed by this driver here:
To get an idea of how deeply chiselled this gorge is, in the centre of the photograph below is one of the "gondola"s. On the way back, the driver would sing an enka song written about Geibikei as you sat and enjoyed the scenery (or as I did, sweat buckets).
We arrived at the furthest point allowable for the boats to go, and walked along to an area where you would buy charms and throw them into a small hole for good luck. I got pretty close, but didn't make it.The pathway:
Pat and I posing in front of the sign that has the character for lion (on Pat's left) just because we're leos. Go superstition!
After visiting Geibikei, we travelled along to Yuugendou, a limestone cave. It was used at one point by Japanese Christians when they were prosecuted in the 1600s or something close to that. Either way, it was really fun to go and explore, as there was one other couple in the whole of the caves.
Here I am, posing:
A 2 second exposure I did that looks nice small, but actually sucks at normal size:
The gang:
The awesomely old toilets:
After visiting Yuugendou we walked a short distance to see an area dedicated to those japanese christians who were killed. Here are little statues with supposedly hidden crosses contained in each carving:
For my grandma: Hydrangea are native to this area and create pretty bushes that compliment the statues etc. nicely.
We found that this area was actually closed as there was no one at the ticket booth, and no cars around. We decided to explore into the cave anyways and came out to a pathway that was blocked off. It seems there had been a landslide at least 2 years ago, so our trek up the side of the mountain was perilous with stairs completely destroyed and guardrails uprooted:
We were half expecting to find a decomposing body. Instead we found a lookout point where we took a photo of the 3 of us. We couldn't go all the way up (where there MUST be an abandoned shrine) because the 2 girls were waiting at the bottom. Climbing with high heels probably wasn't on their list of things to do.
And so ended my day. Now I plan on exploring a shrine nearby on my own, as Patrick has gone to his work until 4pm.
Friday, July 28, 2006
I'm here, and alive.
Alright, I arrived safely and I'm now in Pat's beautiful apartment.
Yesterday I travelled around Tokyo with Pat, bought an electronic dictionary, met up with Kilreli (his real name is Pat as well) and slept in a capsule hotel.
What is a capsule hotel? Picture tubes hollowed into a wall, where people crawl into to sleep. Inside Is a panel that controls a personal tv and radio as well as an alarm clock. Having been my first time staying at one, it was quite an experience. The toilet there was also so small that I could hardly fit my legs into the stall to sit down. Not comfortable.
Today I met up with Rhett's girlfriend Melissa, and a fellow OP9 internet buddy. We had a good time trying to figure out what this trio of people were doing in the middle of a crowded street. They would accost passerby, but only a select few fashionable looking men and women. Eventually Patrick mustered up the courage to ask one of them what they were doing: he found they were recruiting for a "host" service, which is basically prostitution. At least, one of the trio hinted at it, by making a sort of "ok" hand signal, which is a gesture that connotes sex.
After such an interesting day, we are now sitting around eating Kraft Dinner. I hope everyone is doing well!
Tomorrow I get to help Pat teach a class of 5-10 year olds. Sounds fun!
Yesterday I travelled around Tokyo with Pat, bought an electronic dictionary, met up with Kilreli (his real name is Pat as well) and slept in a capsule hotel.
What is a capsule hotel? Picture tubes hollowed into a wall, where people crawl into to sleep. Inside Is a panel that controls a personal tv and radio as well as an alarm clock. Having been my first time staying at one, it was quite an experience. The toilet there was also so small that I could hardly fit my legs into the stall to sit down. Not comfortable.
Today I met up with Rhett's girlfriend Melissa, and a fellow OP9 internet buddy. We had a good time trying to figure out what this trio of people were doing in the middle of a crowded street. They would accost passerby, but only a select few fashionable looking men and women. Eventually Patrick mustered up the courage to ask one of them what they were doing: he found they were recruiting for a "host" service, which is basically prostitution. At least, one of the trio hinted at it, by making a sort of "ok" hand signal, which is a gesture that connotes sex.
After such an interesting day, we are now sitting around eating Kraft Dinner. I hope everyone is doing well!
Tomorrow I get to help Pat teach a class of 5-10 year olds. Sounds fun!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Good God...
Why haven't teleportation devices been invented yet?
It's 5am.
Bags are packed, I am eating fruit loops. Couldn't start off any better.
Well, unless we had Cap'n Crunch.
It's 5am.
Bags are packed, I am eating fruit loops. Couldn't start off any better.
Well, unless we had Cap'n Crunch.
First Post, Hey-o!
So this is going to be my blog for the big ol' trip to Japan. I leave tomorrow morning at 5am for the airport, but actually depart at 8am. I will be arriving on the 27th at approximately 2pm Japan-time. There I will be meeting up with the expat pal of mine, Patrick Brousseau. hyuk hyuk hyuk, no pun intended.
We plan to spend 3 days in Tokyo, then will return to his native area of Iwate in the north. After 5 or so days with him, it's off to see Fumi in the very south of japan for roughly 20 days, then home.
I will be posting pictures of my crrrrrrrrazy antics, but mostly just the family friendly ones.
Hi mom!
We plan to spend 3 days in Tokyo, then will return to his native area of Iwate in the north. After 5 or so days with him, it's off to see Fumi in the very south of japan for roughly 20 days, then home.
I will be posting pictures of my crrrrrrrrazy antics, but mostly just the family friendly ones.
Hi mom!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
