Settling In

I've slowly been settling into Vancouver.

My new roommate is super nice and her friends have been welcoming, so I am not as worried as I originally thought I would be. I am still super nervous about starting classes, but that's another problem in itself.

I got my student card and student bus pass, which is awesome. All you have to do is show it to the bus driver and you can go almost anywhere in the city. It is $25 (2,500 yen) per month, which isn't cheap, but it isn't so bad either, especially if I use the bus a lot.

I really, really miss my family, and I also really miss Japan. I think I will try my best to live there when I get older and then my family can move there with me when they retire (which mom says will never happen...crazy lady).

Today, Christine's friends are taking us to a Japanese Ramen shop and I am looking forward to it very much! I never had Ramen that wasn't a package from a store, so I am hoping it is delicious.

I also found I love a lot more Arashi songs than I thought! Right now I really like "One Love", "How to Fly", and "Song for Me" (Ohno's solo). I listen to them on repeat for hours at a time!

Okay, I'd better get ready for ramen now! Will post soon!

Kanji Update!

In the past week I have worked my way up to learning to recognize/write first grade-level Japanese kanji (80 characters total). Took me a week!

Total Count: 80/1,006 (essential kanji characters)

So...this is going to take a while ^_^***

And yes, I will start updating this less once classes start...right now I am kind of bored, but in a good way.

Jpop Rec - Arashi

As far as my musical tastes are defined, I am kind of a classic rock/indie rock kind of girl. I used to do that pop music thing back in the 90's with *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys like everyone else (yes, even you did it, so embrace the shame). But most things that sound remotely pop-esque kind of make me feel like I am 12 again and that is never a fun thing (such an awkward age), so I tend to abhor it.

But now comes my new musical interest: Arashi.

Arashi is a Japanese five-member group of the Johnny's Entertainment variety and while there are elements of R&B/Rap (Sho-kun!), it is undeniably, most ostensibly, a pop group.

Some of their music makes me cringe and wonder when a Backstreet Boy is going to suddenly pop in with one of their ugly nylon tracksuits, but there are three Arashi songs that are right up my alley and that I would recommend without shame. There may be more music of theirs that I might like, but I have only listened to songs with music videos. In anycase, I recommend (especially the music videos):

Truth (dark, beautiful color scheme in music video, excellent orchestra)

Happiness (cutest music video ever!!! boys just being happy!)

Sakura Sake (real you-can-do-it song! about college acceptance letters)

Overall, I have enjoyed watching clips of the boys in tv shows and interviews. I especially love when they tease their appointed "leader" (Riida), Ohno Satoshi, who also happens to be my favorite Arashi member. He's got such a pretty singing voice, is a talented actor (he is so scary in Maou), and is such an air-headed momma's boy that you can't help going "awwww, I just want to take him and put him in my pocket!"

I also wish to firmly declare my support of Ohno not only because he has such an awesome name, but for the fact that he is having a hard time with a scandal about something that allegedly happened three years ago. No reason to go into details because I completely believe him when he says he is innocent of the charges, but I do believe he should get as much support as possible because it is still stressful and many fans are acting quite irrational. Each to his or her own I guess, but really, this little air-headed kid is too sweet to just abandon at the first sign of potential human weakness. But enough fangirling from me.

Well, actually I will end this rec post with a picture of Ikuta Toma because Johnny's hasn't debuted him yet (WHENGODWHEN?!) and everyone loves an underdog.

Here's to Ohno and Toma, the underdogs/downtrodden of Japan's (mainly musical) media industry. May they continue to surprise us all with their talent and tenacity in the face of adversity [aka, low ratings for Maou (;_;)].

~Owari!~

Lucky Day

Yesterday was my lucky day (^_^)!

My mom found my ring for me! I lost it at my aunt's house the day we went crabbing. After dinner I fell asleep on the couch and sometimes I fall asleep and take my ring off in my sleep. The circumstances are so mysterious! I am so happy I have the ring now because I feel it is my connection to my grandfather and my grandmother and Japan.

Also I am typing on my new HP laptop! It is a Pavillion dv2000, energy efficient (energy star product), the screen is so crisp, and Window's Alta Vista is not as slow as everyone was freaking out about. It has a really nice interface.

I have also started up my writing again. This time I am doing a fandom piece, but I might start back up with my short story for children again soon.

Mom doesn't like Honey and Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover) very much because Ikuta Toma's character keeps getting beat up and his hair is weird. I don't care, since I support Ikuta Toma in everything he does. Maybe one day I will get a chance to see one of his stage plays!

My parents are getting used to me talking about going to Kyoto next summer for the exchange study program in Japan. And guess what? My parents are going to Japan next spring break (April 10-17) and I get out of university April 8th.....we might end up in Japan at the same time!!! Then we can all help Atan pack and I will get to see my family even though I will be abroad all summer. How fortuitous!

Okay time for walking the dogs. Osampo ni ikimashyo?

I miss Japan.

I feel like a fish out of water, shocked and dazed.

There were many times when in Japan when I thought I was going to go mad with boredom. I slowly began to realize that it was merely due to the fact that I was unused to so much free time. I literally had too much time to study, which in normal terms overwhelms me to the point of mentally shutting down. I think I would have been a great deal better off if I had volunteered somewhere, had been employed, or was in a structured study program. Or actually, even internet access would have been a wonderful improvement (my grandmother does not have a computer).

But then there were the great moments that I had looked forward to each week. Japanese class got me pumped every friday morning. My sensei was so patient unlike so many of the other teachers, she taught and encouraged conversation which was exactly what I need. I loved my friend Shelley's entertaining stories as an American mother living in Japan (22 years!). I began cultivating a friendship with a Chinese girl, Lisee, a sweet and hardworking student. I was so regretful on my last day of class that I could not stay longer, as we were both at the point that we were actually conversing through a second language, Japanese. How amazing is that? It blows my mind!

And then there was the English class in Gyotoku. They are the sweetest, kindest, respectful people I have ever had the blessing to meet. They were always so interested in my reactions and my thoughts and were always willing to answer my questions. I had a great time tasting all the delicious lunches that we ate on Saturday (JAPANESE BARBEQUE IS THE BEST FOOD ON THIS EARTH), as well as always being drunk (multiple beers with lunch!). I always felt very well taken care of, almost like an ambassador, and I fear I never was able to express how grateful I was due to my own cultural context. No amount of bows or domo arigatou gozaimasu's could express what these people provided for me. I learned so much from them and I even now I am feeling tears behind my eyes thinking of all the good times.

And oh the food...the crazy-fun television programs...all the pretty boys (#^_^#)...

Now I am home in America and all I see is too-wide spaces, bland/over-portioned food, and a large number of unhealthy people. A lot of these problems are not people's fault, rather are due to corporate greed and the government's inability to educate the public on healthy habits. Our car culture has made us sedentary and it is true, the perception of being overweight has changed over time. The fatter our friends and peer groups become, the fatter "normal" looks to us.

I think now what is most disturbing is that I don't see any Asians, which I knew before, but now find odd and displacing. And I am starting to wonder when people look at me, do they wonder if I can even speak fluent English? Or do they automatically think I am Chinese, as people have in the past? Do they continue to assume that I must play 50 instruments and am good at math?

And if I could only stop my habit of bowing. Yes, I keep bowing, which was a tendency before Japan (I am sure my professors noticed it, as I noticed myself doing it), but now it is almost a constant habit.

I am much quieter now, observing everything with a distinct feeling of being ill-at ease, out of place. I know that it will pass, but then again, I am going to confuse things further by moving to Canada in two weeks. Imagine putting your life for the next year into only two suitcases. A daunting task, indeed! Good thing that I am a minimalist at heart.

Now I am just going to spend as much time with my family while I still can. I even got my mother hooked onto my favorite Japanese dorama, Hanazakari no kimitachi e! We both love Nakatsu (Ikuta Toma) because he's a spazz-tastic sweetheart. And yes, I always root for the underdog. Underdogs need love too.

Off to get some new clothes for Canada's much colder climate, though I am worried I will freeze because even America is much, much cooler than Japan right now. I go to sleep with three blankets and winter clothes, while my parents are in shorts and three fans. Pretty crazy, huh? Pray for me that I don't freeze!