Of Life

It's already midnight and I need to get to sleep soon, but I thought I'd make a quick update first. Classes are going well, and I'm learning a lot. The JLPT is in 3 months so I seriously need to crack down on the studying.

Tai's busy with job hunting. He's been going to seminars, interviews, and continuing his job search every day. I hope he'll be successful.

Speaking of him, his gift still hasn't come. I'm beginning to wonder if customs got a hold of it to be honest...I hope not. It was a mess dealing with them last time.

My work on my senior thesis project is coming along. I'm currently trying to find an advisor, and running into some problems with that. We'll see how it goes. No worries though. This is something I want to do, and I'll find a way to make it work. I feel as if it will be a culmination of my time in school, in Japan, and life goals in general, so it needs to be done. This just proves that anything worth doing is difficult, so I'll just work harder to make it possible.

I've received some wonderful care packages recently. Normally I advise against such things since I honestly don't need anything, but it was nice and I really appreciate them. From my loving parents, I have received makeup as well as some other essentials. Makeup in Japan is often laced with a bleaching agent since Japanese women (and many other women in this part of the world) like to have white skin. I'm not comfortable with that idea since I view it as extremely dangerous and unhealthy so I really do appreciate the care package. My grandmother also sent me some candy the other day. Thanks to all of you!

By the way, did everyone hear? They've apparently developed a powder that can collect the radiation from the water. The question is what to do with that powder then. I was watching a show in Tokyo about it and they were talking about shooting it in dry-ice-encased missiles down to the sea floor. If it's true, they think that the ice will not disintegrate at the depth. Obviously they're still searching, but it's an idea.

It's late now, and I'm starting to get stuck between English and Japanese, so I'm going to go to bed. To be honest, I'm not too sure which language is which when I'm tired now.

Bye all!

Michelle

Of Suzumebachi

Before we begin the main topic of this post, I just wanted to link a little something here for everyone to appreciate back home. It's about the contaminated food, specifically milk that people are worried about overseas. According to this article, it'd take you 58,000 glasses of milk to reach the level that would be considered harmful. Last time I checked, even people who love milk don't drink 58,000 glasses in a rapid period. Here's the article for you to enjoy: Radioactive Milk.

And now onto the main event: Suzumebachi. Suzumebachi are one of those terrifying things in Japan that Japan doesn't want to admit exist to anyone outside of Japan. This is because "terrifying" does not even begin to describe them. Suzumebachi is Japanese for "sparrow hornet." These hornets are several inches long with a wingspan to match. In comparison, make a fist. The hornet is about the length of that.

The suzumebachi are particularly aggressive, especially toward lawnmowers, and other loud noise. They will attack bikers and other people passing too close to the nest though. Unfortunately, since they're hornets, the nest is the trees where you can't see it. You only know you're close to the nest when you start seeing suzumebachi.

Being stung by one will require you to go to the hospital. Since the venom deals with the nervous system, it's fairly dangerous. If you get stung just a few times, you can die. Every year, there are dozens of people who die from them.

Perhaps the worst part of all of this is that the suzumebachi does not live necessarily in a remote area away from people. Of course they're in the forests, but they also live in the cities. For some reason, they really seem to like the area around Ritsumeikan University. I remember the first time I saw one, my friend stopped me and told me about them. The second time, I was walking to the bank with a friend, and I stopped and stared at the largest hornet I had ever seen in my life. These things just hover in the air, looking ridiculously threatening. In my opinion, you should never be able to the see the stinger of a hornet. When you can, you know it's going to be bad.

They also live in Tokyo and other major cities around Japan. Basically, if you find a nest, you call someone to get rid of it. It's not a good idea to take it down yourself.

These hornets became pretty famous recently due to videos that have been circulated around the web. 30 hornets went and destroyed a nest of 30,000 bees. If you're a beekeeper, these things are your worst enemy. Because I believe that everyone should have equal access to appreciate the terror, here's the video: 30 hornets vs 30,000 bees.

However, if you're a beekeeper who keeps Japanese honey bees, you're better off. These bees have developed a strategy to take out the hornets. Literally, they can withstand a higher body temperature, so they'll swarm the hornet and overheat it until it dies. The video is HERE. So, this begs the question, why not keep Japanese honey bees instead? The answer to this is that Japanese honey bees do not produce as much honey, so it's more profitable to keep the others.

If you're feeling adventurous, here are some pictures:
Suzumebachi

Nest

Wiki's Suzumebachi Page (Japanese Only)

One Japanese bug down. At least one more to go. If you want a sneak peek, check out Mukade. In the meantime, I'm off to Tokyo tomorrow! Take care all!

Michelle

Of Sakura Season

First off, some quick news. The nuclear reactor was updated to the same status as Chernobyl the other day. Apparently it qualifies as a 7 now because of a long, sustained release of radiation with significant damage. But honestly, nothing has really changed. It was a level 5 before. But really, nothing has changed within the past couple days, so don't worry.

Secondly, I have some pictures to share with you all of the sakura. This blog is about more than just earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear reactors after all. This year the sakura have had mixed reviews. In some ways, people are so appreciative. They only last about a week or two and then they're gone. It's this fleeting beauty amongst everything else, so it's appreciated all the more, especially in light of recent events. On the other hand though, due to the continued 自粛 (jishuku) mood, people still feel guilty about appreciating anything.

Needless to say though, people are still trying to enjoy the season though. The weather is getting warmer, and the sakura (cherry blossoms) mark the start of spring. So, in order for everyone to understand how this works, I'll explain.

The sakura begin to bloom when the weather just starts getting warmer. For all purposes, it's still fairly cool in the morning and at night. But people will go alone or as couples, school groups, company groups, families, etc. to enjoy the sakura together in parks.  The cherry blossoms since they only bloom for a short time should be enjoyed to the fullest, so people make sure to spend a decent amount of time outside to properly appreciate them.

Of course, no celebration is complete without alcohol, especially here in Japan. So, we all went to 花見 (hanami), or flower-viewing to go appreciate them. You can do this just in a park, or you can go to a shrine such as this one. We were at 平野神社 (Hirano Jinjya) for this picture. There were chairs and tables, benches, and these large platforms to enjoy the cherry blossoms. I drank 甘酒 (amazake), sweet sake, while my friends drank everything from Chu-Hi's to beer to hot sake. 

Of course, sakura during the day are also beautiful. This is Ritsumeikan University's Kinugasa Campus (立命館大学衣笠キャンパス) in full bloom. We've had a pretty strong wind recently, so the petals have been billowing around. There's actually a world for the falling petals, it's called 花吹雪 (hana-fubuki), which means "blowing flowers" or "falling flowers." The petals are getting in everything too. You walk into class and you, your books, your hair, and your food are covered in them. It's kind of cool, and definitely beautiful, but it's amazing to see them falling.

I have to get back to studying. I have a kanji test before I leave for Tokyo, so I need to actually make sure I can write them. Take care everyone!

Michelle

Of Sushi

Another bright and sunny day here in Kyoto. Spring has finally arrived, and it's beautiful. With that in mind, classes started the other day. Things are going well so far. I'm in B class. They go from F to A, A being the highest before you're put into seiki level, which is when you can take classes in Japanese with Japanese students. As is, I can take classes in English with them, but not their normal Japanese classes. Not gonna' lie, understanding is fine, so I may sneak into a couple this semester anyway if I get the chance. As is, right now I'm taking a Comprehensive Japanese class, a Listening & Speaking class, a Writing course, as well as International Organizations (which focuses on NGOs, etc.), Political Economies of East Asia (comparing Japan, China, Korea), possibly a Women's Studies course which is focused on women in war (I know. Not my specialty, but interesting), and last but not least, hopefully a International Management course (which looks at the logistics and marketing strategies of an international corporation). Overall, a pretty decent schedule if I do say so myself.

To answer a quick question that was posted in comments, classes will continue as normal. Kansai is in fact so fine that nothing will change whatsoever with regard to classes. We may take in some more students though who are refugees. Therefore, no worries with class schedules changing unless something major strikes Kansai. The rest of Japan is obviously a bit more affected. According to Tai, Rikkyo University is only taking in two international students this semester because the rest cancelled due to fears of going to Tokyo. I'd like to say that I'm personally proud of those students and especially one of them since he is also from Miami.

What people aren't understanding abroad is that Japan is quite a big country. The problem is that it's normally compared to California. People therefore get a little nervous because California is only 1 state in a country of 50 of them. However, Japan is also relatively the same size as Italy. Because Italy is a country and not a state (by the American English definition of course), people suddenly become much calmer. Therefore, I'd like to propose comparing Japan to Italy in size for the rest of time.

Due to the belief that Japan is a small country, people are refusing to buy fish from Japan. I understand as much as the next person that when you hear about radioactive materials being dumped into the ocean, the last thing you want to do is go eat fish. Most of Japan's fishing is done farther away from the coast though. This is due to past overfishing problems. But Michelle, you might say, fish swim. They can swim close to the coast. And yes, they can. I don't deny it. But if you're concerned about that, then don't eat fish that live close to shore. Those that live out in deeper waters should of course be checked, but if they make it into your markets, they are safe. Japan's economy depends on exports. They will be responsible in this.

In order to prevent more radiation from escaping to the ocean though, TEPCO has installed steel barriers and silt fences. Although I'm not sure about the effectiveness of this, we can only trust them for now.

I love me a good plate of sushi and honestly, if I can eat it here, then you can eat it thousands of miles away. Furthermore, most sushi restaurants abroad are actually switching to fish from other places. Even Japan is not necessarily making sushi from locally caught fish at times. If you're eating salmon sushi for example, it much more likely that it will be from Norway, and your tuna will likely be from Spain. The term sushi (寿司) refers to fish that is offered with vinegared rice. It is a preparation style, and in no way requires the fish to be harvested from Japanese waters. The only requirement of that fish is that it must be of an exceptionally high quality to serve raw. If it is not, you could end up making your customers sick. 

So, this begs the question, which is sushi? In the West, it often refers to what is called makizushi (巻寿司) here in Japan. This is the rolled sushi. It is rice, fish, and sometimes vegetables wrapped with rice in a piece of nori (海苔) or seaweed. A second of type of sushi is nigirizushi (握り寿司). This is hand-formed sushi which is a bit of rice, some wasabi, and fish or something on top. There is also oshizushi (押し寿司), which is literally "pressed sushi." This is specialty in Osaka, where a block-type sushi is formed. There is also inarizushi (稲荷寿司), which is a wrapper made of fried tofu filled with sushi rice. It was believed to be a favorite of the god Inari. I actually find this to be quite sweet, and normally reserve it as a dessert-type sushi for this reason. Second to last, we have chirashizushi (ちらし寿司), which is literally a "scattered sushi." This is when the fish is put on top of rice in a bowl. Lastly, there is narezushi (熟れ寿司), which I actually haven't had yet, but it's been fermented. Considering that Kyoto is known for it's fermented foods, I'll have to check it out.

So, now that we got cleared up. Please don't put your local sushi restaurant out of business. Go support them. It's delicious, and you should at enjoy it when you know its safe.

Oh, and before I go, I'd just like to state that I want a subscription to NIKKEI Shinbun so bad. Because I currently don't have a subscription, their newest articles right now are locked. I have to figure out the cost of it, but I think it'd be nice.

Sources:

Grab Your Chopsticks and Geiger Counters (WSJ)

TEPCO Installs Barrier to Prevent Sea Contamination (WSJ)

Another Earthquake

I don't want to write about these anymore. They're depressing. But I'll uphold my duty and write about it because otherwise who knows what will appear overseas. Plus, this is a sort of catalogue of my time in Japan, so I should at least catalogue correctly I suppose. Another earthquake just hit Japan. The Japanese news says that it was a 6, about 74 miles from Fukushima. Reuters says it was a 7.4 at the epicenter. There's a tsunami warning, but it looks like it's only around .5 m in the Tokyo and Touhoku areas. Near the reactor though it's closer to 2 m. No worries. Obviously, I still remain nothing of an expert on the topic of earthquakes and tsunami prevention, but the Fukushima Daiichi Plant is on a hill. So things should be ok. I was skyping Tai when it hit. The camera was shaking pretty bad in Tokyo where it registered at a 3, but otherwise it seems like things are ok. The only worry is that it really was a long earthquake. Like it seemed like it went on for a couple minutes. I don't know what's the earthquakes here recently, but the earth should never shake for a couple minutes, get stronger, and then weaken in strength. It's just wild.

Don't be worried though. To be honest, we expected this. The chance of us having another M7 earthquake this month was about 50% or so.

Is there any other news? I'm not sure. It's almost 1 am and I'm exhausted.

Japan is trying to get back on its feet, but these earthquakes are making it more difficult. I urge everyone to continue to donate in order to help those affected.

Still felt nothing in Kyoto. Everything continues to be safe here. Though I almost wish that it would hit here rather than continuing to hit those who are already affected and struggling to return to normal.

Miami apparently cancelled their trip to Japan. They do something called PacRim every year where they go to China, Korea, Japan, but they're not coming to Japan this summer. It's normally only a week that they spend here but it's a shame. In order to fully appreciate the business world, especially in this region, one needs to understand how Japan influences and is influenced by the surrounding countries. They still continue to support us who are studying abroad. No problems there. I understand they don't want to necessarily assure the safety of a large group in an area which has had so many natural disasters recently, but it's a shame. Japan is being hurt by the lack of tourists. Normally, Kyoto would be teeming with tourists who want to see the cherry blossoms. But there are significantly less than normal. Sure it makes the commutes easier, but it's depressing in a sort of way. Japan needs the tourism in order to boost its economy. But taking care of tourists right night would also be a mess. So who knows what the right decision is.

Is my English bad right now? I feel like it is. My grandpa just skyped me and I swear I almost spoke to him in Japanese...That's amazing honestly because my Japanese speaking continues to be at the top of the lousy scale.

Had classes today. It was nice to start class again, but more on that in another post. I'm going to class again tomorrow. Luckily they don't start till later (round 4). Sure the current earthquake will be the topic of conversation there. If you have questions, comment in the posts. I'll do my best to answer them and prevent more unfounded panic. More soon.

Michelle

Of the Loan

So I really don't want to focus on the nuclear situation this post, but I'll mention it just to keep you all updated. It definitely looks like this will be a process of months to get this plant under control in Fukushima. To try to find all the leak, TEPCO resorted to using bath salts the other day to produce a milky color in the water that could then be traced. The superabsorbent polymer method did not work. I'm not sure when things will be under control. I have a quick revision to my last post. I had mentioned that three mega-banks were going to give a loan to TEPCO. This loan is extremely risky, even for them. The amount that they're loaning is equal to their consolidated net profit. This was actually in that NIKKEI article, but I had to learn the word 匹敵する(hitteki suru) first.

Radiation levels in the ocean have risen significantly. Fish must now be checked in order to be sold.

I attended the Ritsumeikan Entrance Ceremony yesterday. The first half was full of serious speeches. The second was more light-hearted with music, interviews, and club recruiting. It was interesting. I managed to get a high-five from one of the football players.

I also went to 花見 (hanami), flower-viewing, tonight. The cherry blossoms 桜 (sakura) are blooming, so it's really beautiful. It was nice to just spend time with friends, make new friends, and for a little bit just appreciate the beauty around us. It's a stark contrast with the news that we're being surrounded with every day. On campus, the main topic is still the earthquake and what we can do to help. Everyone is checking on their friends, making sure they're ok. What we're finding is that often our friends our ok, but their families and homes are not. However, order remains. And the most common phrase you'll here now is 無事でよかった (buji de yokatta), I'm glad that you're safe.

I have to go to class tomorrow to figure out my classes. The semester starts Thursday.

I'm off now to get some sleep and prepare for a new day. Everyone take care!

Michelle

Of Some Confusion

TEPCO has been less than useful recently. We're told that the area around the Fukushima plant is high in radiation. Workers can only be in the reactors for a few minutes a time and there's radioactive particles in the water in the tunnels where they are working, compounding the issue. Furthermore, a warning bell went off which sent workers out of the reactor the other day. Then, we receive news that this was a malfunction in their system and the radiation actually wasn't that high. Other news sources such as Reuters, MIT, etc. report that even though the radiation is high near the reactor, people further away are fine. The radiation will be diluted by the sea and it will be so minuscule by the time that fish and other aquatic life consume it, it will be virtually nil. They tested water 30 km away for this. Radiation levels in downtown Tokyo are even lower than normal world averages. The water in Tokyo is safe another day for infants to drink, but that's not true in Chiba and some other prefectures that are closer to the reactor. It's gotten to the point here frankly the NY Times, CNN, FOX are just ignored for their continued "imminent doom" proclamations, and Reuters, MIT, and Nikkei are just releasing all information that they can confirm. This means that their reports often seem to be conflicting, but yet calming. The one thing that has risen out of this is the common belief that TEPCO needs to be more open, that the UN needs to help out more, and that everyone is infinitely grateful for those who have gone to the reactors to help. The workers and engineers there are not getting paid anymore than normal, and even though their families urge them not to go, they continue to go because their sense of duty to the safety of the country's people around them is their main priority.

Class schedules continue to be up in the air. We finally received the schedule today, and although everything seems to be on time, even things in Kansai are a little scattered. Students are arriving late, still waiting on their governments to give them permission to come. Some are coming even without that permission though.

I went out and bought the JLPT Registration form today. I've filled it out, and I'll take it to the post office soon to go get that finished. It's official: Level 2. Right now, I definitely can't pass it. But I'll study and do my best to try to be ready.

I have to register for classes back at Miami tomorrow. I can't even explain how far that seems from my mind at the moment.

The one thing that sticks out at the moment though is this recent dedication from everyone to scale back their excesses. Heaters are off, unnecessary lights are off, and people are gathering together to share energy. In a country where they coined the term "hikikomori" (引きこもり), literally, a person who shuts himself in his room to avoid contact with society, this alone is enough to really shock you. People who rarely if ever see each other are now sharing common areas. Although the conversations are coming slowly, the disaster has in a way made people closer and value what truly matters in life. I have to say, it's been a profound experience. And for this reason alone, I'm glad to have remained in Japan.

Of Harry Potter

Had a priceless moment the other day. After this semester's completion ceremony, around 110 of us decided to head off to a bar for a good old-fashioned 飲み放題(nomihoudai), "all-you-can-drink party." The best part of this is that most of this group was exchange students and because we have no idea where we're going, we decide to all head in a massive pact of about 50 people to the local bus stop. When the bus comes, we were surprised to find that there was not a single person on it. Luckily, that means all of us could find a seat. So we all seat down, taking up every seat on the bus might I add, and at the next stop, a few Japanese students get on. They look as if they've just seen a ghost. "Where on earth have all these foreigners come from? And why do they all know each other?" Those were probably their thoughts as we joked around, and had a general good time for the next 40 minutes of our bus ride.

When we got of the bus, we walked to the bar where we would be meeting all of friends. We're waiting outside the elevators to get on, when the elevator doors open. Unfortunately, it's full, but that doesn't mean we didn't have a bit of a laugh first. It went something like this:

Doors open.
The Japanese people inside let their jaws drop and stare at us like we're some kind of crazy foreign being. One guy goes "How-how 何と言う("how do you say it?") How do you do?"
The guy next to him sees our British friend and goes "Harry Potta-"
And then the doors close.

We board the next elevator and go up to the fifth floor where the bar is.
Doors open.
Small band of middle school children stop dead in their tracks and wonder what on earth is going on.
Our friend goes "How do you do children?"
Children look terrified.
We enter the bar and have a great night.

Oh, the fun of being a group of 50 people in a foreign country.

Michelle

Of Interesting Trends

Well, it's another week, and I feel obligated to crank out this blog post before people accuse me of not keeping my promise. So I'm cranking out some club music to get me in the mood. And I'm not gonna' lie, this is one of those weeks where it's actually difficult to think up a topic. I've gone through three or four now, and none of them have seemed to work, so I've decided to go with this.

First, I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year's, and whatever other holiday you may celebrate! Everything is lit up here in Japan; trees and lights are everywhere, and it's beautiful. Christmas is more of a friend or couples holiday here. New Year's is for families though. It's interesting to see it reversed from the States.

Second, I've noticed something really curious about dogs here in Japan. People really like their dogs, and when I say really, I mean obsess over. You know how there's this whole joke about "bag dogs"? Meaning, you don't let your dog walk and instead you carry it in your purse, or other bag. Here, that seems to be pretty common. I've seen more dogs in bags in the past couple days than I've seen in any Legally Blonde movie. They're in purses, briefcases, satchels, gift bags, you name it. There's a dog in it.

Also, while we're on the subject of dogs, there are some serious dogs in sweaters here. Every dog has a sweater. In the States, if you put a sweater on your dog, people laugh at it, and then they laugh at you. Because it's just strange. People don't do it. But here, dogs love sweaters, or rather, they have sweaters. At first, it was the bag dogs, and I thought, "Poor dog. Not only is it in a bag, but now it's forced to wear a sweater too." But then the trend grew. I saw a Golden Retriever the other day with a sweater on. I honestly don't think it did anything. It's a dog with really thick fur, but who knows. Dogs can wear sweaters too.

Finally, the most perplexing of all trends is the current fashion to wear what we'd term in the States as "hooker boots." For those of you who are not familiar with this term, think the boots that are very tall which basically go up to your thighs. These are not in any way acceptable back home, but people wear them everywhere here. I see girls come to school with their short little skirts (yes, in the middle of winter) and hooker boots. I see little girls who are barely old enough to walk wearing hooker boots. I see moms and grandmas wearing hooker boots. Of all trends I've seen so far, this is the one that confuses me the most. How on earth did these things get marketed to the masses?

I welcome any input.

In the meantime, happy holidays to all!

Michelle

Ritsumeikan Gakuensai

The 立命館学園祭 (Ritsumeikan Gakuensai) occurred over the weekend. This is a really big school festival, and when I say really big, I mean huge. Basically, every organization sets up a stall and does something for the festival. Here we have the SKP buddies (Study in Kyoto Program) trying to sell their delicious corn soup. Business was a little slow at the time, so we have Juri posing with a Free Hug sign if you buy the soup. Keep in mind it's really cheap, like 150-200 yen. The idea was for all of their foreign friends to hold these signs because "Ooh la la. Free hugs from foreigners." Amazingly, it was a superb market strategy and the soup sold quickly.

Organizations like the wrestling club and the judo club were also present. Remember the previous post? Yeah, they got their rink set up and wrestled for days. The judo club did demos and taught some.

I enjoyed the a capella circle though. They were really good!

And to top it off, we had some serious dancing going on a gigantic stage. I was only here for like 2 minutes though because I was getting hungry.

Here are some pictures of the stands and an advertising duo in Stitch and Tigger costumes.

Other cool things included crafts like making your own pottery, caricatures, and live spray paint art.

In other news, the leaves are beginning to change color. If the weather stays nice, I'll load some pictures of that up soon.

Also, unfortunately, not all news can be good news. Due to the recent attempted terrorist attacks on the US, Japan is having to take some fairly strict measures. Getting in and out of Japan is getting to be a little more difficult. The screening process is taking more time than usual, even for native Japanese and permanent residents. Packages cannot be shipped to the US if they weigh more than 1 pound now as well. This is surely a temporary measure, but no one is sure how long it will last. So I apologize to anyone who wanted something. I currently can't ship anything to anyone in the States.

Michelle

Of Trains and (Un)Manliness

Another post. Who knew? Told you I would make it up to you all. Well, this post will discuss the rush hour trains and (un)manliness.

I got on the train at rush hour the other day, unintentionally hitting the "just-off-work-and-trying-to-get-back-home" crowd. So, I get on the train, and I'm with a friend, and we only have four stops. Four. That's it. First stop, we though, "Wow, it's a little crowded. Luckily, we only have four stops." Second stop came and a mass of people rushed in. The doors barely closed. Third stop came up. More people came in. We were against the doors. There was no way that we could move. Business man behind me is falling asleep standing up. Business man behind my friend is falling asleep too. Girls on the other side of us are pressed against the doors like sardines. Would have loved to see their faces from the outside pressed up against the glass. I'm sure it was comical. It took about 10 minutes for the doors to close. People were in the way, you know. But you can ALWAYS fit another person. We got off at the fourth stop and were like "Wow, we can breathe again." So, lesson learned. Don't ride the train at rush hour. Just wait till later. There will be another train in 10 minutes. You can wait.

And now, onto the main theme of this post. (Un)manliness. Don't get me wrong. Japanese guys are very kind, and they make wonderful friends. No problems there. But sometimes you just have to question the guy's gender sometimes. No joke. I saw a person the other day who had a nice shiny black purse. Man bags are currently in style. So are big purses for girls. Useless. They were wearing small boots. Both girls and guys wear small shiny boots. They're fashionable, and fashion is very very important. They were also dressed fashionably. Definitely not helpful. Everyone must be fashionable, or the world will end. Finally, they had on tight pants. And when I saw tight, I mean tight, my friends. And this is the ultimate bane of my existence. You see, Japanese men don't really care if they reproduce or not. So they wear these ridiculously tight pants, and it's a pain in the butt. Because that's normally your last resort. Ended up it was a girl. But it took 20 minutes to decide. Consider this the norm. And now, onto the main event.

I got an e-mail the other day from the office at Ritsumeikan saying something the lines of, "Honorable person, please understand honorably that the foreigner benches will be moved. We hope this does not inconvenience you." After wondering why on earth they decided I needed that e-mail, and whether I should be offended or not, I decided to move to head over to the foreigner benches to go get a nice show. The wrestling team comes up. No. I'm not joking. The wrestling comes up. All 20 or so of them and 12 of them move to one table. These are picnic tables, guys. They're like maybe 20-30 pounds. Nothing. I can move one. By myself. Without trying. But no, 12 guys for one table. And they heave up the table with a shout of "Let's do it!" and they carry it away, grunting the entire time. Honestly, if they weren't tripping over each other's feet, it probably would have been a bit easier. But really, 12 guys. 12! Why do you need 12 guys to move one stinking table? I decided it was an exceptional amount of teamwork. After moving all three tables around the corner of a building, they decided to start setting up their wrestling rink. A U-Haul drives up. It's full of the most random crap I've ever seen in my life. Random metal pillars, 60 or so planks of wood, and other odds and ends. They carry out all the metal pillars. No problems there. Then, they move to the wood. This is when it gets even more ridiculous. Each plank of wood must be carried separately because we cannot damage it. Best of all. Each gets two guys, one on each end to cradle it carefully. Every now and then, you get up to three pieces, but normally, it's one to two. They actually look like they're having trouble moving these, and they're all dog-tired by the end because they've made about 50 trips to the stinking U-Haul. Now, I try not to make US-Japan comparisons, but I really can't help it here. In America, those 60 planks of wood would have been carried in maybe 10 trips. Maybe. That's the max there. It's likely be more like 5. Because here's the thing, US guys would have been like? "60 planks of wood? What the hell? That's too much!" And then they would have tried to be as lazy as humanly possible by getting it down as quickly as possible. So, they would have taken six or so at a time. Since girls were watching, that means they would have been placing bets, and rooting each other on to take more--all while shirtless. But this is not America. Every piece of wood gets tender loving care.

Ah well, till next time.

Michelle

Konbini

Hello all,

I'm currently studying for a Japanese exam, but you know what? I promised all of you I'd keep you up with the latest fads in Japan, so here you go. I'm not going to claim it's the best Japanese ever, but it's definitely something to appreciate. As you know, I go to the konbini all the time. And when I say all the time, it's all the time. It's just so convenient!

Well, a group of people decided to make a konbini video, and so without further ado, I present it to you below.

Enjoy!

Michelle

The Senkaku Islands

I know I just updated yesterday, but something has been in the news for a few days now, and I haven't reported on it, so I felt I should acknowledge it here. Some of you may have heard of the recent problems with China and Japan. If you haven't, I'll try to enlighten you here. There are a group of islands called the Senkaku Islands by Japan and the Diaoyu Islands by China. They're south of the Ryukyu Islands in Japan and located in the East China Sea. For people a little lacking in their geography, no worries, here's a map: Senkaku Islands Location.

These islands were never really a problem in the past. Japan acquired them through the treaty at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War from China. During that treaty, China handed over Taiwan and the surrounding islands to Japan. At the end of World War II though, Japan was forced to give Taiwan and other territories it had acquired from China back to China. Therefore, China claims that the islands are actually part of China.

Japan claims that they have been controlling the islands since 1895 though, and since the islands were uninhabited up until 1895, they are therefore under Japan's control. Since Japan had already made the islands into Japanese territory prior to the return of Taiwan to China, Japan argues that they were not included in the prior treaty and that they are part of China.

Taiwan also makes a claim on the islands, but for simplicity's sake, let's just stick with Japan and China for now.

So, we have China and Japan both claiming the islands. Before the 70's, there was no conflict over the Senkaku Islands. In 1969 though, it was announced that there was possibly oil on the islands, and suddenly the dispute broke out. This is also history though. The recent reason for the problem has arisen due to a recent Chinese fisherman who decided to go to the islands. Since he was in what Japan considered its waters, Japan arrested him. Before managing to arrest the fisherman though, he had run into two Japanese Coast Guard boats. The fisherman and his crew were arrested on September 7. Japan released the crew and the boat on September 13. However, Japan refused to release the fisherman.

China of course became angry and demanded the fisherman's release. Japan refused, stating that it was a domestic incident. China then took a dramatic move that no one here expected them to take. They suspended all rare earth exports to Japan indefinitely. By rare earth, we're talking precious metals here. Japan, kind of needing those, was still trying to contain the fisherman, but decided to finally release him. China resumed the exports within two days. However, relations are continuing to sour. The fisherman is being heralded as a hero in his country, and both China and Japan are standing strong.

China is demanding an apology from Japan and stating that if they receive their apology, they will ignore the entire incident. They are also asking for Japan to help pay for the damages to the fisherman's boat. Japan, on the other hand, is asking for an apology and requesting that damages be paid to the Coast Guard's boats. Japan, really wanting to expand trade in China is definitely feeling pressure, but I don't think it's likely that they will give in easily. China is trying to exert its power, so they also will not give in easily. It's really like two little kids arguing over something trivial, but at this point, nothing can be done.

I bring all of this up though because 1. This is going to mark how foreign relations proceed from this point between China and Japan. And 2. It has started to affect the student population. 1,000 Japanese students were supposed to go to China for some sort of world summit. Everything was set, and they were ready to go. This summit is in 2 weeks. About 2 days ago though, China decided to revoke all of their visas. At this point, it is not known if the students will be able to attend the summit or not.

We'll see what happens from here, but at the moment, things aren't looking good.

Michelle

Classes Have Begun and Comments on Japanese Punctuality

Classes have officially begun as of Monday. So everything is going well now. The first day was rather eventful. I was skyping mother dearest, since that's what good daughters do you know. And since I didn't want to be really rude, I decided I would skip breakfast. No big deal there. I never eat breakfast in the US. Let me just tell you that in Japan, you can't skip breakfast. Ever. After my 25 or so minute bike ride to school, I was feeling more than a little woozy. "I'm not feeling well," I told my friends. "Let me sit down for a minute." So I sat down, gave myself just a few minutes, took a sip of water, and felt fine. We went on our way again to the line. That lasted about oh 10 seconds before I felt worse than before. I made it to the wall, sat down, and promptly passed out. Yes, you read that right. Passed out. In the middle of the cafeteria. In front of the line. With every single person there going "What the heck just happened?!" So while my friends were trying to figure out if I was diabetic or not, luckily a nice Japanese student talked with them, and went to buy me a Coke. Coming to, I found not only the three friends I had started out with but also some of the Japanese buddies, who were more than a little flustered. They're checking on me, talking with my friends, and trying to translate to the cafeteria staff what happened. I'm here drinking my Coke, trying to be good when the health center comes in rolling a green chair. I'm not even kidding. You can't make this up. Realizing what's about to happen, I think now is a good time to throw in a couple Japanese words and say, "I'm fine. Really." Somehow I think I'm speaking Japanglish though because the Japanese buddies are still translating. While convincing the health center that I'm fine for me, the buddy is commenting about how terrible I look and that maybe I should go with them. Finally, we get the health center sent away, and since I've had that Coke, I'm feeling a lot better, so we get some food and continue. I then go to my next class where I promptly fail an exam, and finally to my listening & speaking class where I'm just tired and not paying attention. So yes, first day was overall a fail. But talk about a story!

Second day however was a phenomenal success. I ate breakfast! That was already a better start than the previous day. My classes were wonderful as were the teachers. I made a lot of new friends, and overall everything was great. Since that day, classes have been wonderful. So far, I've taken classes in Comprehensive Japanese, Japanese Listening and Speaking, Japanese Studies, Japanese Society, Japanese Economy, and Comparative Historiography (which is comparing Japan, Germany, and the USA and how our history depends on how we've been shaped by governmental and media propaganda). All of them have been phenomenally interesting.

Now, all of this is all well and good, but although it's relevant, it's probably not extremely interesting, so the rest of this post will be devoted to some good old-fashioned Japanese-ness. First, let's cover the concept of time here. Japanese are punctual, exceptionally so. If you're not punctual, you get yelled at by your friends, coworkers, boss, etc. It's just not acceptable to be late. And by late, we're meaning 1 minute late here. We're not on American time anymore, Toto. For example, in orientation, we were supposed to start something at 9:35. Our Japanese orientation leader, realizing that we were about to be late, instantly asked us all to get out our schedules. He then explained that we would regrettably be late, and asked that instead we would be beginning the next task at 9:36. If we would all mark that in our schedules, it would be appreciated. Meanwhile, it was 9:34. Oh Japan, how I love you.

Let's look at another fine example. In the US, we consider our trains, busses, planes, etc. to be on time if they are within a 10 minute window. That means 10 minutes early, on time. 10 minutes late, on time. In Japan, that's blasphemy. Here, things are considered late if they are delayed by 8 seconds. Yes, you read that right. 8 seconds. You can tell too. Those Japanese businessmen, they get out their watches when the train is about to arrive, and they frown. "Will I make it to work on time?" they wonder. "It's almost 9:30, and the train hasn't arrived yet." Meanwhile, the American is absolutely fascinated across the car. 8 seconds! It takes longer to breathe than that! If you don't believe me (and that's understandable. I know this is a radical notion), please refer to this link courtesy of the Wall Street Journal regarding Japanese punctuality: Lessons From Japan for U.S. Train Operator.

Finally, it is getting late, so I'll have to leave soon, but before I go, let me just let you in on a little bit of humor. So, women here end all of their sentences with ね(ne). Ne is sort of the Japanese equivalent of "don't you think?" or "right?" "It's a good day, ne?;" "It's hot out, ne?;" and so on and so on. The other day I actually ranted about this to someone. "It's driving me nuts! Ne ne ne ne ne! Everyone says ne!" And then I noticed that I started doing it. I'm not sure how long I've been doing it, but I've definitely picked up on the habit. It's almost bad in a way. I'm causing myself pain with all of my "ne"-ing. Worst part is, once you put one "ne" in, more are bound to come. Good news is, I'm starting to sound female in Japanese. Bad news is, I'm driving myself nuts. Ah well, to each their own I guess.

Last thing, and then I'm off. I keep talking about how awesome all of the vending machines and such are here. I have a video to share with all of you if you're still interested.

Enjoy!

Michelle