I also took a closer look at the business card the haircut people gave me. On the back, in English, it says:
WE SUPPORT YOUR CUTIE WITH HAIR DESIGN
WITH TENDERNESS TIME
And how!!!
WITH TENDERNESS TIME
And how!!!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Bottle Coffee and Haircut--P.S.
Hey, so I did look at the bottle coffee more closely, and in with all the stuff I can't read it says "60%". So my educated guess is that the coffee is quite concentrated. I had a glass cut with some water and milk yesterday, and I was fine.
I also took a closer look at the business card the haircut people gave me. On the back, in English, it says:
I also took a closer look at the business card the haircut people gave me. On the back, in English, it says:
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bottle Coffee and a Haircut
10 June 2009
Talk about a day of extremes. The weather is warm and sticky, and right now it is raining (about 7 p.m.). Yesterday one of my professors rescheduled a class, and so I ended up having to get up a little earlier than usual. This morning I woke up feeling tired, as I often do when the barometer is falling. So I didn’t have breakfast (never advisable) and I had a coffee on the way to school. Then I went to lunch, and I had another coffee, and then went to Japanese class.
Today we got the feedback on our oral interview part of the midterm exam. They had recorded the interview, and my comprehension is way low. It took me forever to answer each time the professor asked a question. She repeatedly had to explain what she was asking, and then in my answers I was using the wrong particles and conjugations, and couldn’t remember vocabulary. So I didn’t feel like I had done very well on that.
When I got out of class I was feeling kind of depressed, and felt like I had a lot of homework to do, so I went to my room and had some iced coffee. I had bought this new kind of “bottle coffee”, the Valor brand, and some milk so I could mix up my own iced coffee at home. The two were about the same price as three small cans of premade iced coffee would be, and I was getting maybe six times as much for the price.
I have not been drinking too much coffee or tea during my stay, so that’s one thing. But I don’t know--I think this “bottle coffee” is super caffeinated or something, because I seriously freaked out. About half an hour after drinking my drink, I started feeling queasy and kind of panicked.
It’s hard to explain, but whenever I start having anxiety like that I feel like I’m going to have a seizure or a stroke or something and die. This fear is not completely irrational; I have had seizures before, but under really specific circumstances. I think it’s just something my little panic monster likes to grab onto and wave around. The monster then passes off the resulting fear as intuition that something bad really is happening, and this in turn deepens the panic. A vicious vicious cycle.
By the way, caffeine is totally a drug.
Since I've dealt with this before I knew that I should go to where people were and just chill out. So I went downstairs and flipped through the Japan Times and sort of waited for the feeling of panic to go away. I have a couple tools my therapist taught me, such as saying a cue word and a technique where you tap pressure points to reduce the anxiety. I did these, and then decided I should go for a walk.
I figured I would go buy some slippers, something I have been meaning to do for a while now. So I headed down the street to Jasco, the big department store. But as I walked, I felt worse and worse, more and more anxious. My left arm started feeling numb [I had been carrying a heavy bag all day on that shoulder], and my left ear started to feel like it needed to pop [I have TMJ and it sometimes makes my ears feel weird]. I just kept getting more and more concerned that something was physically wrong with me. Then I got this weird disconnected feeling, and decided I really needed to turn around and maybe, if I didn’t feel OK when I got back to the dorm, seek some help.
On the way home (I had walked about half a mile)I spotted a little hair salon. No one was inside except the two people who worked there. I have been needing a haircut, and suddenly I realized that probably all I needed in the way of help was some TLC. So I went in.
At first the two people inside, a younger man and a woman in maybe her mid-40’s (they could have been mother and son) were worried because between the three of us there was very little in the way of common language. The hairdresser had no English; the younger man had a bit, and I have a bit of Japanese. I assured them it was OK, and proceeded to kind of mime what I wanted done: cut the back short, leave the top longer, take up the sides and make the bangs spiky. Then I had to go to the ATM and get some more cash, so I left for about 10 min. when I got back, the hairdresser had found a picture that looked very similar to what I wanted. I was satisfied she knew what I wanted and we got started.
I had never had a haircut here in Japan before, but I had heard from Steve (Fesmire, the GMC professor doing a Fulbright in Kyoto this semester) that at his barber they always give him a neck pounding before they cut his hair. I didn’t know what to expect at a women’s salon, but I figured they would do something along the same lines. I think women get the better deal.
When you sit down on the chair, the shampoo person (in my case the young man) first puts a blanket on your lap and wraps a towel and one of those plastic bib things over your neck and shoulders. Second, the chair automatically reclines into a perfect position, lifting up your feet as well. So much nicer than American salon chairs. Then, he puts this very light, sweet smelling towel over your face--I think to block out light and allow you to feel comfortable with whatever your face needs to do while you are getting shampooed. Finally the young man washes your hair. FOR HALF AN HOUR. He did a whole scalp and jaw rub thing that was really awesome. It was really just what I needed.
After doing two rounds of shampoo and a conditioner, the young man led me over to the haircutting station. Then THE HAIRDRESSER gave me a massage! She did my neck and shoulders, and did the pounding thing on the neck/shoulder area that Steve described (it felt good). Then she gave me a cool magazine to look at and got going on the haircut.
We had decided on a cute pixie razor cut. I have had razor cuts before, and I always find them slightly uncomfortable; you feel this tugging on your hair from the razor that doesn’t feel exactly nice. I don’t know what kind of razor this lady used, but it must have been extra high quality or something. I didn’t feel a thing. She took a lot of time with the hair, shaking it around and seeing how it falls, which way it wants to go. It was really fascinating. She worked quietly, letting me read my magazine. Most hairdressers want to chat you up--although in this case, with the language barrier that would have been hard. I’ll be interested to know if it’s usual to just sit and read while the hairdresser does her thing. I think I prefer it to the conversation at American salons.
She cut the hair for a little while, and then asked me if I wanted the bangs shorter. Between the two of us the young man and I communicated that it was up to her. She seemed pleased by this, and proceeded to cut with more surety. She took off maybe another half inch, and showed me in the mirror what it looked like. I was happy, and then they took me back over to the sink! To rinse out the pieces of hair! This amazed me. I think this practice should be adopted by my local salon. Every time I get my hair cut I end up with hair all over the place until I wash it next. Rinsing it out before the blow out makes so much sense.
So the rinse happens, and the kid is doing the scalp thing again! By this time I’m thinking I'm so relaxed, if I have a stroke and die I won’t notice.
So, rinsed, I go back over to the chair, and the hairdresser examines her work. And she starts trimming and fixing and fussing--totally trying to get it exactly right. Finally she’s satisfied and gets out the hair dryer. And her assistant comes over and gets out a hair dryer too! They both stand there blow drying my hair, paying attention to how it is falling, smoothing out details, giving my temples a little rub here and there. If you think one hair dryer is nice, try two someday. Unbelievable.
When the hair is dry, the hairdresser takes over one last time and starts styling the hair, using a little gel and some hairspray. As she’s working she pauses every so often to trim an end or use the razor on a little piece she’s not liking. The attention to detail was really impressive. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised. All the service type stuff here is performed with an air that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s like people are very proud of their skills and what they have to offer, and you can tell. But then, simultaneously, they behave in a way that lets you know they are honored to serve you.
At first I was thinking that 5000 yen for a haircut was pricey--it’s about $48 US. But when you think about it, I got my hair washed three times, cut three times, and a head and neck massage. Plus, I no longer felt like my expiration was imminent. I feel like I got a really good deal.
And then--just when I thought it couldn’t get any better--the hairdresser GIVES ME FLOWERS! I’m telling you, I was blown away. Plus I really like the haircut!
After I paid, I retrieved my earrings from the little tray where they had been resting, and the hairdresser and the assistant kind of watched me put them back on. They nodded their approval with the total effect. On my way out the young man said, in English, “you look very pretty”, opened the door for me, and got my umbrella out of the stand and popped it open for me. They both saw me out the door, thanking me and bowing. I thanked them and bowed. Needless to say, I am going back as soon as I have the slightest bit of regrowth.
Also I am now officially never ever going to drink bottle coffee again. Tonight is our hall meeting and I’ll give the coffee away. Actually, that may be unethical. Maybe I should pour it down the drain. Man alive, how was I drinking four cups of coffee a day before?? Maybe a permanent switch to tea is in order, for real this time.
Pictures are up and to the left. Get your hair cut in Japan sometime. It rules.
Talk about a day of extremes. The weather is warm and sticky, and right now it is raining (about 7 p.m.). Yesterday one of my professors rescheduled a class, and so I ended up having to get up a little earlier than usual. This morning I woke up feeling tired, as I often do when the barometer is falling. So I didn’t have breakfast (never advisable) and I had a coffee on the way to school. Then I went to lunch, and I had another coffee, and then went to Japanese class.
Today we got the feedback on our oral interview part of the midterm exam. They had recorded the interview, and my comprehension is way low. It took me forever to answer each time the professor asked a question. She repeatedly had to explain what she was asking, and then in my answers I was using the wrong particles and conjugations, and couldn’t remember vocabulary. So I didn’t feel like I had done very well on that.
When I got out of class I was feeling kind of depressed, and felt like I had a lot of homework to do, so I went to my room and had some iced coffee. I had bought this new kind of “bottle coffee”, the Valor brand, and some milk so I could mix up my own iced coffee at home. The two were about the same price as three small cans of premade iced coffee would be, and I was getting maybe six times as much for the price.
I have not been drinking too much coffee or tea during my stay, so that’s one thing. But I don’t know--I think this “bottle coffee” is super caffeinated or something, because I seriously freaked out. About half an hour after drinking my drink, I started feeling queasy and kind of panicked.
It’s hard to explain, but whenever I start having anxiety like that I feel like I’m going to have a seizure or a stroke or something and die. This fear is not completely irrational; I have had seizures before, but under really specific circumstances. I think it’s just something my little panic monster likes to grab onto and wave around. The monster then passes off the resulting fear as intuition that something bad really is happening, and this in turn deepens the panic. A vicious vicious cycle.
By the way, caffeine is totally a drug.
Since I've dealt with this before I knew that I should go to where people were and just chill out. So I went downstairs and flipped through the Japan Times and sort of waited for the feeling of panic to go away. I have a couple tools my therapist taught me, such as saying a cue word and a technique where you tap pressure points to reduce the anxiety. I did these, and then decided I should go for a walk.
I figured I would go buy some slippers, something I have been meaning to do for a while now. So I headed down the street to Jasco, the big department store. But as I walked, I felt worse and worse, more and more anxious. My left arm started feeling numb [I had been carrying a heavy bag all day on that shoulder], and my left ear started to feel like it needed to pop [I have TMJ and it sometimes makes my ears feel weird]. I just kept getting more and more concerned that something was physically wrong with me. Then I got this weird disconnected feeling, and decided I really needed to turn around and maybe, if I didn’t feel OK when I got back to the dorm, seek some help.
On the way home (I had walked about half a mile)I spotted a little hair salon. No one was inside except the two people who worked there. I have been needing a haircut, and suddenly I realized that probably all I needed in the way of help was some TLC. So I went in.
At first the two people inside, a younger man and a woman in maybe her mid-40’s (they could have been mother and son) were worried because between the three of us there was very little in the way of common language. The hairdresser had no English; the younger man had a bit, and I have a bit of Japanese. I assured them it was OK, and proceeded to kind of mime what I wanted done: cut the back short, leave the top longer, take up the sides and make the bangs spiky. Then I had to go to the ATM and get some more cash, so I left for about 10 min. when I got back, the hairdresser had found a picture that looked very similar to what I wanted. I was satisfied she knew what I wanted and we got started.
I had never had a haircut here in Japan before, but I had heard from Steve (Fesmire, the GMC professor doing a Fulbright in Kyoto this semester) that at his barber they always give him a neck pounding before they cut his hair. I didn’t know what to expect at a women’s salon, but I figured they would do something along the same lines. I think women get the better deal.
When you sit down on the chair, the shampoo person (in my case the young man) first puts a blanket on your lap and wraps a towel and one of those plastic bib things over your neck and shoulders. Second, the chair automatically reclines into a perfect position, lifting up your feet as well. So much nicer than American salon chairs. Then, he puts this very light, sweet smelling towel over your face--I think to block out light and allow you to feel comfortable with whatever your face needs to do while you are getting shampooed. Finally the young man washes your hair. FOR HALF AN HOUR. He did a whole scalp and jaw rub thing that was really awesome. It was really just what I needed.
After doing two rounds of shampoo and a conditioner, the young man led me over to the haircutting station. Then THE HAIRDRESSER gave me a massage! She did my neck and shoulders, and did the pounding thing on the neck/shoulder area that Steve described (it felt good). Then she gave me a cool magazine to look at and got going on the haircut.
We had decided on a cute pixie razor cut. I have had razor cuts before, and I always find them slightly uncomfortable; you feel this tugging on your hair from the razor that doesn’t feel exactly nice. I don’t know what kind of razor this lady used, but it must have been extra high quality or something. I didn’t feel a thing. She took a lot of time with the hair, shaking it around and seeing how it falls, which way it wants to go. It was really fascinating. She worked quietly, letting me read my magazine. Most hairdressers want to chat you up--although in this case, with the language barrier that would have been hard. I’ll be interested to know if it’s usual to just sit and read while the hairdresser does her thing. I think I prefer it to the conversation at American salons.
She cut the hair for a little while, and then asked me if I wanted the bangs shorter. Between the two of us the young man and I communicated that it was up to her. She seemed pleased by this, and proceeded to cut with more surety. She took off maybe another half inch, and showed me in the mirror what it looked like. I was happy, and then they took me back over to the sink! To rinse out the pieces of hair! This amazed me. I think this practice should be adopted by my local salon. Every time I get my hair cut I end up with hair all over the place until I wash it next. Rinsing it out before the blow out makes so much sense.
So the rinse happens, and the kid is doing the scalp thing again! By this time I’m thinking I'm so relaxed, if I have a stroke and die I won’t notice.
So, rinsed, I go back over to the chair, and the hairdresser examines her work. And she starts trimming and fixing and fussing--totally trying to get it exactly right. Finally she’s satisfied and gets out the hair dryer. And her assistant comes over and gets out a hair dryer too! They both stand there blow drying my hair, paying attention to how it is falling, smoothing out details, giving my temples a little rub here and there. If you think one hair dryer is nice, try two someday. Unbelievable.
When the hair is dry, the hairdresser takes over one last time and starts styling the hair, using a little gel and some hairspray. As she’s working she pauses every so often to trim an end or use the razor on a little piece she’s not liking. The attention to detail was really impressive. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised. All the service type stuff here is performed with an air that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s like people are very proud of their skills and what they have to offer, and you can tell. But then, simultaneously, they behave in a way that lets you know they are honored to serve you.
At first I was thinking that 5000 yen for a haircut was pricey--it’s about $48 US. But when you think about it, I got my hair washed three times, cut three times, and a head and neck massage. Plus, I no longer felt like my expiration was imminent. I feel like I got a really good deal.
And then--just when I thought it couldn’t get any better--the hairdresser GIVES ME FLOWERS! I’m telling you, I was blown away. Plus I really like the haircut!
After I paid, I retrieved my earrings from the little tray where they had been resting, and the hairdresser and the assistant kind of watched me put them back on. They nodded their approval with the total effect. On my way out the young man said, in English, “you look very pretty”, opened the door for me, and got my umbrella out of the stand and popped it open for me. They both saw me out the door, thanking me and bowing. I thanked them and bowed. Needless to say, I am going back as soon as I have the slightest bit of regrowth.
Also I am now officially never ever going to drink bottle coffee again. Tonight is our hall meeting and I’ll give the coffee away. Actually, that may be unethical. Maybe I should pour it down the drain. Man alive, how was I drinking four cups of coffee a day before?? Maybe a permanent switch to tea is in order, for real this time.
Pictures are up and to the left. Get your hair cut in Japan sometime. It rules.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
John Rawls' Doctrine of Public Reason
Hi again!
So soon? Yeah! I wanted to post some pictures of my bike (see the very bottom of the page) and share with you what I learned today about Rawls' Doctrine of Public Reason. The following text is a short summary of the doctrine. I wrote it from the Rawls section of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which is quickly becoming my favorite online resource for philosophy stuffs.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Rawls’ doctrine of public reason can be summarized as follows:
Citizens engaged in certain political activities have a duty of civility to be able to justify their decisions on fundamental political issues by reference only to public values and public standards (Wenar, 2008).
What does this mean? The terms “certain political activities”, “duty of civility”, “fundamental political issues” and “public values/public standards” are the terms that need to be clarified in order to understand what Rawls’ doctrine asks of society.
Certain political activities
These include voting and serving in any elected or appointed office in government. Wenar, 2008)
Duty of civility
“Citizens have a moral duty of mutual respect and civic friendship not to justify political decisions on fundamental issues with partisan values or controversial standards of reasoning that could not be publicly redeemed” (Wenar, 2008). “Publicly redeemed” means justified with reasoning that stems not from religious, partisan or other beliefs, but only by means of “publicly acceptable standards are those that rely on common sense, on facts generally known, and on the conclusions of science that are well established and not controversial” (Wenar, 2008).
Fundamental political issues
These are restricted to questions of justice that affect all citizens. Rawls calls these “constitutional essentials and matters of basic justice”. For example, the question of who should be granted suffrage is a fundamental political issue (Wenar, 2008).
Public values
In order for Rawls’ doctrine to hold any sway, the public must come from a basic central common ground, or agreed-upon public values. These can be understood as a “political conception of justice...related to the freedom and equality of citizens and the fairness of ongoing social cooperation” (Wenar, 2008).
Public standards
“Public standards are principles of reasoning and rules of evidence that all citizens could reasonably endorse” (Wenar, 2008).
Source:
Wenar, Leif, "John Rawls", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/rawls/.
So soon? Yeah! I wanted to post some pictures of my bike (see the very bottom of the page) and share with you what I learned today about Rawls' Doctrine of Public Reason. The following text is a short summary of the doctrine. I wrote it from the Rawls section of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which is quickly becoming my favorite online resource for philosophy stuffs.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Rawls’ doctrine of public reason can be summarized as follows:
Citizens engaged in certain political activities have a duty of civility to be able to justify their decisions on fundamental political issues by reference only to public values and public standards (Wenar, 2008).
What does this mean? The terms “certain political activities”, “duty of civility”, “fundamental political issues” and “public values/public standards” are the terms that need to be clarified in order to understand what Rawls’ doctrine asks of society.
Certain political activities
These include voting and serving in any elected or appointed office in government. Wenar, 2008)
Duty of civility
“Citizens have a moral duty of mutual respect and civic friendship not to justify political decisions on fundamental issues with partisan values or controversial standards of reasoning that could not be publicly redeemed” (Wenar, 2008). “Publicly redeemed” means justified with reasoning that stems not from religious, partisan or other beliefs, but only by means of “publicly acceptable standards are those that rely on common sense, on facts generally known, and on the conclusions of science that are well established and not controversial” (Wenar, 2008).
Fundamental political issues
These are restricted to questions of justice that affect all citizens. Rawls calls these “constitutional essentials and matters of basic justice”. For example, the question of who should be granted suffrage is a fundamental political issue (Wenar, 2008).
Public values
In order for Rawls’ doctrine to hold any sway, the public must come from a basic central common ground, or agreed-upon public values. These can be understood as a “political conception of justice...related to the freedom and equality of citizens and the fairness of ongoing social cooperation” (Wenar, 2008).
Public standards
“Public standards are principles of reasoning and rules of evidence that all citizens could reasonably endorse” (Wenar, 2008).
Source:
Wenar, Leif, "John Rawls", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/rawls/.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
June???
8 June 2009
Well, another insane length of time has passed since my last entry. I have been putting in a lot of time studying for my Japanese midterm, for which I got a 66.5%. I think it’s the worst grade I’ve ever gotten on a test, including high school. I am really bummed about it, but it was a passing grade, so yay, I guess. It’s hard to think about putting in more time on other things when I am just barely passing Japanese, and the grade is going to affect my GPA at home. But I do need to devote some more time to my independent study project and my other 3 classes now that the semester is in full swing.
I did go to Kyoto last weekend, and got to do some Roketsuzome fiber art. They had a whole little operation set up, with dozens of designs you can choose from. You pick a design (I did bamboo) and then you put a piece of white fabric over the design. The desk is backlit so you can trace the design with hot liquid wax using a long haired brush. The wax cools and then the fabric is dyed dark blue, and the wax blocks the dye, making your design show up. It was really fun. I will try to post pictures. I made a pillow cover.
Also fun (but too brief) was my visit with Sam, Kazue and all the GMC students on the trip with them. They are in Tokyo right now, winding down their trip. I think they leave early this coming week.
I got a bike! I’ve been riding it for about a week now, it’s so convenient. I have stopped spending money on subway fare, so I think the 7,500 yen (about $72) was a good investment. I had been spending about $10 a week on subways, just going around town. Now I bike everywhere.
As a result I have noticed that when I walk anywhere, especially uphill or up stairs, the effort I have to exert is minimal. The bike is only one speed, so any kind of incline gets my heart rate up. It’s ideal training. I estimate that so far on this trip I have lost 35 lbs (the scales here are in kg and are kind of clunky old gym scales), and am hoping to lose another 15 by the time I leave in late August. I have started doing crunches, weights, stretching and modified push-ups every day in my room, along with eating very little bad stuff. (Although whenever I do I film it for your entertainment!) I’m really getting hopeful that when I get home I will be able to keep up with a similar regimen and keep off the weight/maybe lose even more! If I could lose a total of 75 I think I would be in a healthy range.
Well that’s it for now. I have been doing a lot of housekeeping/laundry/organizing today and need to get some homework time in before I bed down. I promise to write again sooner rather than later this time!
Well, another insane length of time has passed since my last entry. I have been putting in a lot of time studying for my Japanese midterm, for which I got a 66.5%. I think it’s the worst grade I’ve ever gotten on a test, including high school. I am really bummed about it, but it was a passing grade, so yay, I guess. It’s hard to think about putting in more time on other things when I am just barely passing Japanese, and the grade is going to affect my GPA at home. But I do need to devote some more time to my independent study project and my other 3 classes now that the semester is in full swing.
I did go to Kyoto last weekend, and got to do some Roketsuzome fiber art. They had a whole little operation set up, with dozens of designs you can choose from. You pick a design (I did bamboo) and then you put a piece of white fabric over the design. The desk is backlit so you can trace the design with hot liquid wax using a long haired brush. The wax cools and then the fabric is dyed dark blue, and the wax blocks the dye, making your design show up. It was really fun. I will try to post pictures. I made a pillow cover.
Also fun (but too brief) was my visit with Sam, Kazue and all the GMC students on the trip with them. They are in Tokyo right now, winding down their trip. I think they leave early this coming week.
I got a bike! I’ve been riding it for about a week now, it’s so convenient. I have stopped spending money on subway fare, so I think the 7,500 yen (about $72) was a good investment. I had been spending about $10 a week on subways, just going around town. Now I bike everywhere.
As a result I have noticed that when I walk anywhere, especially uphill or up stairs, the effort I have to exert is minimal. The bike is only one speed, so any kind of incline gets my heart rate up. It’s ideal training. I estimate that so far on this trip I have lost 35 lbs (the scales here are in kg and are kind of clunky old gym scales), and am hoping to lose another 15 by the time I leave in late August. I have started doing crunches, weights, stretching and modified push-ups every day in my room, along with eating very little bad stuff. (Although whenever I do I film it for your entertainment!) I’m really getting hopeful that when I get home I will be able to keep up with a similar regimen and keep off the weight/maybe lose even more! If I could lose a total of 75 I think I would be in a healthy range.
Well that’s it for now. I have been doing a lot of housekeeping/laundry/organizing today and need to get some homework time in before I bed down. I promise to write again sooner rather than later this time!
CULTURE SHOCK
18 May 2009
I went through period of fairly extreme homesickness/culture shock, where I did not want to go anywhere or do anything for like 2 weeks. I used my time fairly wisely, though: I knitted half a shrug and watched 3 seasons of Dexter. And studied. Spending Golden Week with Heather and Steve snapped me out of it, though, and barring an isolated incident the other day when I started crying in Morigiwa-sensei’s office I have been doing fairly well. I just miss everyone back home so much, and I am embarrassed and sort of ashamed that I don’t speak better Japanese.
It has been way too long since I last wrote. I am in the common room downstairs, hanging out with a bunch of people playing PSP and yelling at their little screens. It’s kind of funny. I can’t believe it’s already May 18--I have been here about 6 weeks or so. In 2 weeks I have midterm exams in Japanese language class, and I need to start really studying and practice talking more. My biggest problem is coming up with vocabulary on the fly. I know in my mind that we have been studying stuff like how to say “This ice cream is delicious. Won’t you eat some?” but I can’t quite fish out the Japanese words for these concepts.
I also have a topic for my independent study now, so that is a big relief. As I told my professor, I feel a renewed sense of purpose now that I know what my 4 credit independent study will be! And I have been putting in an hour a day doing practice LSAT problems. And trying to make sure I do some kind of upper body exercise every day. Actually I should make an hour by hour type schedule so I can prove to myself that all this stuff can be accomplished!
Overall though things are going pretty well. I think I am going to Hiroshima and Kyoto in the next couple of weeks. That will be a good cultural experience. Pretty soon May will be over and then June will arrive, along with the rainy season. One other project I have this summer is to learn the Thriller moves for the Halloween parade, and I have been thinking I want to get some people down here in the common room learning it. It may help me make sure I practice!
I went through period of fairly extreme homesickness/culture shock, where I did not want to go anywhere or do anything for like 2 weeks. I used my time fairly wisely, though: I knitted half a shrug and watched 3 seasons of Dexter. And studied. Spending Golden Week with Heather and Steve snapped me out of it, though, and barring an isolated incident the other day when I started crying in Morigiwa-sensei’s office I have been doing fairly well. I just miss everyone back home so much, and I am embarrassed and sort of ashamed that I don’t speak better Japanese.
It has been way too long since I last wrote. I am in the common room downstairs, hanging out with a bunch of people playing PSP and yelling at their little screens. It’s kind of funny. I can’t believe it’s already May 18--I have been here about 6 weeks or so. In 2 weeks I have midterm exams in Japanese language class, and I need to start really studying and practice talking more. My biggest problem is coming up with vocabulary on the fly. I know in my mind that we have been studying stuff like how to say “This ice cream is delicious. Won’t you eat some?” but I can’t quite fish out the Japanese words for these concepts.
I also have a topic for my independent study now, so that is a big relief. As I told my professor, I feel a renewed sense of purpose now that I know what my 4 credit independent study will be! And I have been putting in an hour a day doing practice LSAT problems. And trying to make sure I do some kind of upper body exercise every day. Actually I should make an hour by hour type schedule so I can prove to myself that all this stuff can be accomplished!
Overall though things are going pretty well. I think I am going to Hiroshima and Kyoto in the next couple of weeks. That will be a good cultural experience. Pretty soon May will be over and then June will arrive, along with the rainy season. One other project I have this summer is to learn the Thriller moves for the Halloween parade, and I have been thinking I want to get some people down here in the common room learning it. It may help me make sure I practice!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Hey all!
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I have been studying hard and aside from a trip to Kyoto during Golden Week (everyone but transportation/restaurant/shop people get paid vacations, and kids are out of school) I have been doing pretty much the same thing every day. My friend Regina asked about my days, and I realized I had never really spelled it out before so I copied and pasted my answer below:
My days are mostly like this:
Get up around 8:00 and make breakfast/drink coffee. Then I review Japanese language homework for a couple of hours.
If I have laundry or something, I do that too.
Japanese class is at 1:00, so I usually have a quick snack before I leave. Then I walk about 10 min. to campus, and have class for 1 1/2 hours. Japanese class meets once a day; my other classes are mostly on Tuesday and Friday, in the afternoon. Thursdays after Japanese I have a tutor.
After classes I get home and catch up on email before starting homework. I'm taking three law courses and doing an independent study in addition to the Japanese class. So I usually have at least 2-3 hours of homework, sometimes more. Somewhere in there I break for dinner.
I've started doing more yoga and weight lifting too, in addition to the walking I've been doing I have been able to drop some weight. So that's a newer aspect of my routine. :)
After homework and yoga I either go to bed or knit while I watch a movie or TV show online, depending on how I am feeling. Other times I call Dave or my mom and chat for a bit.
As I'm writing this I realize I need to start dedicating myself to practicing for the LSAT too! I take the test (entry test for law school) about a month after I get back home.
On the weekends I catch up on homework, clean my room, go to a shrine or temple or do something else that's kind of touristy. I usually end up doing a bit more lazing around than I probably should. It's really kind of a solitary life, most people are a lot younger than I am, and so I don't socialize a whole lot. I'm getting to old to stay out all night partying!
But really, it's been good for me. All this time to myself has made me have to address some bad habits and deal with/conquer some culture shock/homesickness/depression on my own. I am having to hold myself more accountable for how I spend my time, because so much of it is unstructured.
My classes are in constitutional law, international law, and there is one called "Gender and Development", which is less of a law course and more of a sociology/international studies course. It examines the status of the genders in developing countries and looks at United Nations and World Bank policies that are attempting to change how the genders are treated in developing countries. I find myself often asking, "is this ethical?" when we learn about various requirements different countries have to fulfill in order to receive aid or loans.
My independent study is on (of all things) the Salem witch trials. I wanted to do something about gender and law, and this is what came out. I chose it mostly because there is a lot of scholarly research stuff online--there are not a lot of English books in our library, so a lot of the reading has to be online.
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I have been studying hard and aside from a trip to Kyoto during Golden Week (everyone but transportation/restaurant/shop people get paid vacations, and kids are out of school) I have been doing pretty much the same thing every day. My friend Regina asked about my days, and I realized I had never really spelled it out before so I copied and pasted my answer below:
My days are mostly like this:
Get up around 8:00 and make breakfast/drink coffee. Then I review Japanese language homework for a couple of hours.
If I have laundry or something, I do that too.
Japanese class is at 1:00, so I usually have a quick snack before I leave. Then I walk about 10 min. to campus, and have class for 1 1/2 hours. Japanese class meets once a day; my other classes are mostly on Tuesday and Friday, in the afternoon. Thursdays after Japanese I have a tutor.
After classes I get home and catch up on email before starting homework. I'm taking three law courses and doing an independent study in addition to the Japanese class. So I usually have at least 2-3 hours of homework, sometimes more. Somewhere in there I break for dinner.
I've started doing more yoga and weight lifting too, in addition to the walking I've been doing I have been able to drop some weight. So that's a newer aspect of my routine. :)
After homework and yoga I either go to bed or knit while I watch a movie or TV show online, depending on how I am feeling. Other times I call Dave or my mom and chat for a bit.
As I'm writing this I realize I need to start dedicating myself to practicing for the LSAT too! I take the test (entry test for law school) about a month after I get back home.
On the weekends I catch up on homework, clean my room, go to a shrine or temple or do something else that's kind of touristy. I usually end up doing a bit more lazing around than I probably should. It's really kind of a solitary life, most people are a lot younger than I am, and so I don't socialize a whole lot. I'm getting to old to stay out all night partying!
But really, it's been good for me. All this time to myself has made me have to address some bad habits and deal with/conquer some culture shock/homesickness/depression on my own. I am having to hold myself more accountable for how I spend my time, because so much of it is unstructured.
My classes are in constitutional law, international law, and there is one called "Gender and Development", which is less of a law course and more of a sociology/international studies course. It examines the status of the genders in developing countries and looks at United Nations and World Bank policies that are attempting to change how the genders are treated in developing countries. I find myself often asking, "is this ethical?" when we learn about various requirements different countries have to fulfill in order to receive aid or loans.
My independent study is on (of all things) the Salem witch trials. I wanted to do something about gender and law, and this is what came out. I chose it mostly because there is a lot of scholarly research stuff online--there are not a lot of English books in our library, so a lot of the reading has to be online.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Kyoto
15 April 2009
It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week. So far I have attended three Japanese language classes, International Law, and Gender and Development. The rest of my schedule is somewhat up in the air until I can talk to my academic advisor, Morigiwa-sensei.
I have been spending A LOT of time drilling on Hiragana! There are 106 characters, and we had to learn them all in two days. According to Sam, this is not even as intense as it could be...but still! I learned the first thirty fairly solidly, but I need to keep working on the last 73. What makes it harder is that we are learning to recognize and say them while at the same time learning to write them. I have been mostly practicing the writing part, since that is what we are quizzed on. When the professor holds up cards and asks us to read them, however, I have a hard time.
For some reason, even though I knew I would have to learn to read, I didn’t picture having to do so much work to do it. Silly? Yes. I have been spending a lot of time just doing lines--copying out the characters over and over again, trying to cram it into my brain.
The weird part is that, okay, I know the characters and I can say the sound that each one is assigned to--so I can read out loud--but I don’t know what the word means yet! I just have to have faith that this is going to work, and I will be able to learn to speak and read at at least a 4 year old level, so I can at least be polite and say certain things.
The upside of all this is that I have been walking a lot, and have lost a couple inches already. I know because the pants that Jen fitted for me before I left are too loose now! I’m going to try washing them in hot water and see if they will shrink a bit. I’m counting on losing some poundage while I’m here, to give me a head start so I can just get the extra off.
Last weekend I went to Kyoto to visit Heather, Steve and Jamie. Heather’s parents, Connie and Ken, were still there so I got to meet them too. We went to Daigoji Temple and caught the last bit of the cherry blossoms.
It was a hot day (it has since cooled off considerably, after a rain yesterday). We crossed town on the subway (Jamie was tired and didn’t like the noises the train made) and got on a special bus that took us to the temple. Most notably, the temple is home to Japan’s oldest five-story pagoda, built in the 900’s. They were having a festival, where people were dressed up in period dress (I think 1600’s) and reenacting a visit from the shogun, complete with his entertainment. The cutest were the little cherry blossom hat-wearing girls, who did a little dance in a circle around an umbrella decorated with cherry blossoms.
I also took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to and from Kyoto. Talk about fast! But you can’t even feel it. It only took about 40 minutes to get from Nagoya to Kyoto. To put it in perspective, it takes about 30 minutes on the train to get from the Nagoya airport to the subway connection to my building.
The problem with the fast train is that it is expensive to ride--about $100 round trip--but I wanted to do it once, for the experience. I doubt that on future visits I will be taking such a luxurious ride...the JR train goes too, and it’s about half as expensive. It just takes three times as long! Shouldn’t it be a third as expensive, then? Hm.
So basically I’m settling in fairly well, missing my peeps, but enjoying the beautiful weather and learning new things. I hope to finalize my classes by Friday and settle into some kind of routine. I can’t believe I’ve only been here a week and a half. It seems like a lot longer!
It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week. So far I have attended three Japanese language classes, International Law, and Gender and Development. The rest of my schedule is somewhat up in the air until I can talk to my academic advisor, Morigiwa-sensei.
I have been spending A LOT of time drilling on Hiragana! There are 106 characters, and we had to learn them all in two days. According to Sam, this is not even as intense as it could be...but still! I learned the first thirty fairly solidly, but I need to keep working on the last 73. What makes it harder is that we are learning to recognize and say them while at the same time learning to write them. I have been mostly practicing the writing part, since that is what we are quizzed on. When the professor holds up cards and asks us to read them, however, I have a hard time.
For some reason, even though I knew I would have to learn to read, I didn’t picture having to do so much work to do it. Silly? Yes. I have been spending a lot of time just doing lines--copying out the characters over and over again, trying to cram it into my brain.
The weird part is that, okay, I know the characters and I can say the sound that each one is assigned to--so I can read out loud--but I don’t know what the word means yet! I just have to have faith that this is going to work, and I will be able to learn to speak and read at at least a 4 year old level, so I can at least be polite and say certain things.
The upside of all this is that I have been walking a lot, and have lost a couple inches already. I know because the pants that Jen fitted for me before I left are too loose now! I’m going to try washing them in hot water and see if they will shrink a bit. I’m counting on losing some poundage while I’m here, to give me a head start so I can just get the extra off.
Last weekend I went to Kyoto to visit Heather, Steve and Jamie. Heather’s parents, Connie and Ken, were still there so I got to meet them too. We went to Daigoji Temple and caught the last bit of the cherry blossoms.
It was a hot day (it has since cooled off considerably, after a rain yesterday). We crossed town on the subway (Jamie was tired and didn’t like the noises the train made) and got on a special bus that took us to the temple. Most notably, the temple is home to Japan’s oldest five-story pagoda, built in the 900’s. They were having a festival, where people were dressed up in period dress (I think 1600’s) and reenacting a visit from the shogun, complete with his entertainment. The cutest were the little cherry blossom hat-wearing girls, who did a little dance in a circle around an umbrella decorated with cherry blossoms.
I also took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to and from Kyoto. Talk about fast! But you can’t even feel it. It only took about 40 minutes to get from Nagoya to Kyoto. To put it in perspective, it takes about 30 minutes on the train to get from the Nagoya airport to the subway connection to my building.
The problem with the fast train is that it is expensive to ride--about $100 round trip--but I wanted to do it once, for the experience. I doubt that on future visits I will be taking such a luxurious ride...the JR train goes too, and it’s about half as expensive. It just takes three times as long! Shouldn’t it be a third as expensive, then? Hm.
So basically I’m settling in fairly well, missing my peeps, but enjoying the beautiful weather and learning new things. I hope to finalize my classes by Friday and settle into some kind of routine. I can’t believe I’ve only been here a week and a half. It seems like a lot longer!
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