so my classes so far seem to be going well. I'm into my third week at Keio and have found the academic transition to be far more agreeable than the culture transition. The classrooms are mostly very nice, my profs seem very educated and eager to teach exchange students in tandem with the local Japanese students and I picked courses that genuinely interest me.
I'm taking nine courses (I decided to not take the extra Japanese class), and am conducting an "Independent Study" while I am here too. The independent study is hopefully going to be really awesome- I basically get to read books I want to, write some reports and comparative essays and hopefully get a credit that will transfer over at Queen's.
While I'm a bit worried about the Japanese class I am taking (we have weekly tests), my other courses seem like they will be at a very steady pace, and I don't see myself getting stressed out about much in terms of school. All the readings are pretty short because the profs have to consider that some students will be reading in their second language and may not realistically be able to read 60-100 pages in a week. Its nice because I get the chance to really look at a piece of work, and try to pick apart more and pay attention to the smaller details.
I think that my favorite class would have to be 20th century Japanese and Western Short Fiction, or Literature as History with a special focus on colonialism. I feel like I have a strong background for the colonial class and can contribute a lot to in-class discussion, and the 20th century short fiction class is really interesting. Comparing the two different styles is revealing plenty about cultural differences.
Anyways, class has started. I'm surviving and liking them. Sooo, so far so good.
4/21/09
4/20/09
Ice Cream
Okay, so I HAD to do a post on Ice Cream.
Obviously I love the stuff, and am pretty adventurous when it comes to flavours- or so I thought!
I went to Asakusa this past weekend to check out another temple when I stumbled across an ice cream booth. I was hungry and wanted something sweet (what else is new..) and died when I read the labels of the ice cream flavours. There was "Soybean Paste", "Tea", "Milk", "Sakura" (which is the name of the famous pink flowers that bloom here), "PUMPKIN"!!!! "Sweet Potatoe"...
you catch my drift. I was amazed, and now faced with the perdicament of what flavour to choose! I ended up going with Pumpkin, and Tea, an odd combination, but on their own they tasted great. The pumpkin was literally pumkin flavour, not sweetened, but tasted exactally like what you pull our of pumpkins when carving them for halloween, I loved it.
Obviously I love the stuff, and am pretty adventurous when it comes to flavours- or so I thought!
I went to Asakusa this past weekend to check out another temple when I stumbled across an ice cream booth. I was hungry and wanted something sweet (what else is new..) and died when I read the labels of the ice cream flavours. There was "Soybean Paste", "Tea", "Milk", "Sakura" (which is the name of the famous pink flowers that bloom here), "PUMPKIN"!!!! "Sweet Potatoe"...
you catch my drift. I was amazed, and now faced with the perdicament of what flavour to choose! I ended up going with Pumpkin, and Tea, an odd combination, but on their own they tasted great. The pumpkin was literally pumkin flavour, not sweetened, but tasted exactally like what you pull our of pumpkins when carving them for halloween, I loved it.
Harajuku
After a long time of day dreaming about going to Harajuku, I finally decided to go and check out what all the fuss was about. My friend Riccardo and I met up in the busy Harajuku station two weekends ago to explore the fashion district of Tokyo together.
When I got off the train, I couldn't tell I was in the famous Harajuku district though- the station was pretty shabby in comparison to places like Shibyua, Shinjuku, even my little station Kamata! I was pretty surprised by this. When I finally found Riccardo (westerners stand out here...) we decided to check out a near by Meiji Temple. It was so bizarre how the city was right beside us, but we found ourselves in the forest, surrounded by nothing but beautiful trees and amazing temples.
This is an example of the walk through the woods to the temple. It was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining through the trees and lit up the entire place this brilliant bright green. I felt almost like I was back home in British Columbia! It was amazing. Riccardo thought it was funny that I was more impressed by the forest than the temple itself- but I can't help but get the feeling like once you've seen a couple temples, they all start to become one and the same. I have got to say that the Meiji Temple was beautiful, and I was lucky enough to watch a marriage being held while I was there. The bride was stunning, and dressed obviously in Traditional Japanese Wedding attire, huge head dress and all.
With their heads bowed, slowly walking through the temple grounds, I realized that the difference between West and East cultures is pretty amazingly huge. Weddings are always a celebration, and it was clearly a celebration in Japan, but it was so solemn and serious. The bride was not smiling at all, instead she looked about ready to cry under her gorgeous veil. Although I haven't been to many weddings anyways, I get the feeling that a western wedding is more of a giant party. People laughing and dancing, music playing as the bride glides down the isle. It was very different here to say the least.
This is a shot of the temple, and some geisha I saw in Harajuku!
It was amazing.
Now for the fashion of Harajuku!
I went back later on that weekend with Naomi, to spend some more time in the city part of Harajuku. I wanted to know where Gwen Stefani got all her inspiration from! Walking down the streets I was not surprised
that a westerner like Stefani would be delighted at the style here. The girls wore freaking CRAZY outfits, ranging from Little Bo Peep, to hard core punks with boots like you wouldn't believe and face masks with drawn on sad mouths. I wandered around with my mouth hanging open, trying not to stand out as much as I knew I was.
While you're not supposed to take photos of the clothes in the stores, I could not resist when I saw this line up of outfits. I was trying to picture the reaction my mother would have to something like this and was uncontrollably laughing with Naomi as we picked out which outfit we would for sure go out clubbing in (sarcasm insert here...). After I snapped the shot however I thou
ght that it might be a good idea to head out, I was worried the store owner would be upset if he caught me and I didn't want to cause a scene. We left and continued down along one of the most packed streets I have ever laid eyes on. (Pictured to the right) I felt so overwhelmed at all the people, all the colours, designs and noise. But it was amazing. Naomi and I got an ice cream at "Mac-u-don-al-u-do's" and continued to wander down the street in awe.
After finishing up there, we found a place called "Kiddie Land" and decided to check it out. It was an entire building (at least 6 floors) dedicated to toys and different themes ranging from Hello Kitty to Snoopy to random stuffed animals to Miyazaki. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! They had everything you could ever imagine as a child; cool T Shirts, awesome headphones, Ipod covers with various themes, stuffed animals in every inch of the place and toys and toys in between. It was amazing. they have this popular animation here which is basically any type of bean cartooned with a smiley face on i
t. They had life sized stuffed animals of these beans and I thought that they were pretty cute. Everything was brightly coloured, making little noises and there were impressed kids all around me. I loved it.
I hope to go back to Harajuku again soon to explore a little more of the district. I feel like it has so much to offer and I know that two trips will not cover even half of it. I can't wait to see it again- who knows, maybe I'll come back with crazy style after all the exposure here.
When I got off the train, I couldn't tell I was in the famous Harajuku district though- the station was pretty shabby in comparison to places like Shibyua, Shinjuku, even my little station Kamata! I was pretty surprised by this. When I finally found Riccardo (westerners stand out here...) we decided to check out a near by Meiji Temple. It was so bizarre how the city was right beside us, but we found ourselves in the forest, surrounded by nothing but beautiful trees and amazing temples.
This is an example of the walk through the woods to the temple. It was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining through the trees and lit up the entire place this brilliant bright green. I felt almost like I was back home in British Columbia! It was amazing. Riccardo thought it was funny that I was more impressed by the forest than the temple itself- but I can't help but get the feeling like once you've seen a couple temples, they all start to become one and the same. I have got to say that the Meiji Temple was beautiful, and I was lucky enough to watch a marriage being held while I was there. The bride was stunning, and dressed obviously in Traditional Japanese Wedding attire, huge head dress and all.
With their heads bowed, slowly walking through the temple grounds, I realized that the difference between West and East cultures is pretty amazingly huge. Weddings are always a celebration, and it was clearly a celebration in Japan, but it was so solemn and serious. The bride was not smiling at all, instead she looked about ready to cry under her gorgeous veil. Although I haven't been to many weddings anyways, I get the feeling that a western wedding is more of a giant party. People laughing and dancing, music playing as the bride glides down the isle. It was very different here to say the least.
This is a shot of the temple, and some geisha I saw in Harajuku!
It was amazing.
Now for the fashion of Harajuku!
I went back later on that weekend with Naomi, to spend some more time in the city part of Harajuku. I wanted to know where Gwen Stefani got all her inspiration from! Walking down the streets I was not surprised
that a westerner like Stefani would be delighted at the style here. The girls wore freaking CRAZY outfits, ranging from Little Bo Peep, to hard core punks with boots like you wouldn't believe and face masks with drawn on sad mouths. I wandered around with my mouth hanging open, trying not to stand out as much as I knew I was.While you're not supposed to take photos of the clothes in the stores, I could not resist when I saw this line up of outfits. I was trying to picture the reaction my mother would have to something like this and was uncontrollably laughing with Naomi as we picked out which outfit we would for sure go out clubbing in (sarcasm insert here...). After I snapped the shot however I thou
ght that it might be a good idea to head out, I was worried the store owner would be upset if he caught me and I didn't want to cause a scene. We left and continued down along one of the most packed streets I have ever laid eyes on. (Pictured to the right) I felt so overwhelmed at all the people, all the colours, designs and noise. But it was amazing. Naomi and I got an ice cream at "Mac-u-don-al-u-do's" and continued to wander down the street in awe.After finishing up there, we found a place called "Kiddie Land" and decided to check it out. It was an entire building (at least 6 floors) dedicated to toys and different themes ranging from Hello Kitty to Snoopy to random stuffed animals to Miyazaki. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! They had everything you could ever imagine as a child; cool T Shirts, awesome headphones, Ipod covers with various themes, stuffed animals in every inch of the place and toys and toys in between. It was amazing. they have this popular animation here which is basically any type of bean cartooned with a smiley face on i
t. They had life sized stuffed animals of these beans and I thought that they were pretty cute. Everything was brightly coloured, making little noises and there were impressed kids all around me. I loved it.I hope to go back to Harajuku again soon to explore a little more of the district. I feel like it has so much to offer and I know that two trips will not cover even half of it. I can't wait to see it again- who knows, maybe I'll come back with crazy style after all the exposure here.
Dinner With the Maeda'a
During my flight over to Tokyo, fate favoured me and I sat next to one of my high school administrators. He put me in touch with a family whom had gone to Brentwood, and whom he said would be more than willing to meet me and show me a good time.
After much correspondence with the family- the Maeda's, I met up with them in the central, business sector of Tokyo. We went to a hotel, the Grand Arc Hazomon and ducked downstairs to our very own private room with two sushi chefs just for us. I was a little nervous to try all the raw fish, as many of you know I've been a strict vegitarian for a while now and bringing fish back into my diet was a special exception made for Japan. I figure there is no time like the present, and no way I'm ever going to eat sushi like the sushi I'm going to eat here!
The starter was raw octopus, with its little suction cups still on the legs of it! I was kind of freaking out, but popped it into my mouth with a big smile on, not wanting to be rude. To my surprise I actually liked it! While the texture took a while to get used to, the flavour was nice and strong, (marinated with tariaki and ginger).
Next came rounds of sashimi (raw fish) served over rice, traditional sushi. They only serve one or two pieces of each type of sushi here, to make sure that guests are able to try each style before getting full. I hoovered down raw fish after raw fish, raw squid (my stomach did a back flip when I realized what I had just ate! I didn't ask questions, I just ate everything I could!). The different flavours, the textures, everything was a new experience. I really like the raw tuna, and was proud of myself for trying the raw salmon eggs. The eggs were really strange, they kind of popped in your mouth when you bit down on them, exploding everywhere and coating your mouth with a strong fish flavour. Interesting...
I had some warmed Saki, and some beers while I was eating and had great conversation with one of the sons who had come along to dinner with us, Shinsuke. His friend, Yusuke came along, and we had a great time over dinner while they explained to me what I was eating. They thought my reactions were hilarious, and they probably were.
Afterwards they took me out to another hotel to the 14th floor to have a cocktail. With the entire city scape of Tokyo sprawled out beneath us, all lit up for the evening, I was completley speechless. I had a yummy Daqari, and marveled at Tokyo Tower, which was lit up special that evening in hopes of impressing Olympics officials who had come to check out the city that night. It was beautiful.
I felt a little bad when I arrived to meet the Maeda's, because I thought a good gift idea would be to give them some real authentic Quebec Maply Syrup! I brought along a can that I had bought off a French Canadian in my dorm. I was happy to give them the gift, but felt a little sheepish when they handed me an elaborate gift all wrapped up and clearly very expensive. Inside a little wooden box was traditional Japanese Jelly, which you eat by itself. Its very firm and sweet, and made from a red bean here. Its delicious, but like I said, I felt bad handing them a can of maple syrup after I saw what they had for me! Oh well..
Getting home I was exhausted and collapsed in my bed. I had class the next morning at 9 and had to be up showered, fed and dressed for the train by 8.
What a long day.
After much correspondence with the family- the Maeda's, I met up with them in the central, business sector of Tokyo. We went to a hotel, the Grand Arc Hazomon and ducked downstairs to our very own private room with two sushi chefs just for us. I was a little nervous to try all the raw fish, as many of you know I've been a strict vegitarian for a while now and bringing fish back into my diet was a special exception made for Japan. I figure there is no time like the present, and no way I'm ever going to eat sushi like the sushi I'm going to eat here!
The starter was raw octopus, with its little suction cups still on the legs of it! I was kind of freaking out, but popped it into my mouth with a big smile on, not wanting to be rude. To my surprise I actually liked it! While the texture took a while to get used to, the flavour was nice and strong, (marinated with tariaki and ginger).
Next came rounds of sashimi (raw fish) served over rice, traditional sushi. They only serve one or two pieces of each type of sushi here, to make sure that guests are able to try each style before getting full. I hoovered down raw fish after raw fish, raw squid (my stomach did a back flip when I realized what I had just ate! I didn't ask questions, I just ate everything I could!). The different flavours, the textures, everything was a new experience. I really like the raw tuna, and was proud of myself for trying the raw salmon eggs. The eggs were really strange, they kind of popped in your mouth when you bit down on them, exploding everywhere and coating your mouth with a strong fish flavour. Interesting...
I had some warmed Saki, and some beers while I was eating and had great conversation with one of the sons who had come along to dinner with us, Shinsuke. His friend, Yusuke came along, and we had a great time over dinner while they explained to me what I was eating. They thought my reactions were hilarious, and they probably were.
Afterwards they took me out to another hotel to the 14th floor to have a cocktail. With the entire city scape of Tokyo sprawled out beneath us, all lit up for the evening, I was completley speechless. I had a yummy Daqari, and marveled at Tokyo Tower, which was lit up special that evening in hopes of impressing Olympics officials who had come to check out the city that night. It was beautiful.
I felt a little bad when I arrived to meet the Maeda's, because I thought a good gift idea would be to give them some real authentic Quebec Maply Syrup! I brought along a can that I had bought off a French Canadian in my dorm. I was happy to give them the gift, but felt a little sheepish when they handed me an elaborate gift all wrapped up and clearly very expensive. Inside a little wooden box was traditional Japanese Jelly, which you eat by itself. Its very firm and sweet, and made from a red bean here. Its delicious, but like I said, I felt bad handing them a can of maple syrup after I saw what they had for me! Oh well..
Getting home I was exhausted and collapsed in my bed. I had class the next morning at 9 and had to be up showered, fed and dressed for the train by 8.
What a long day.
oops, this is overdue
My friend Niomi and I went back to Shibuya to explore a bit of the city some more. We had seen the night life there, but in the morning haze we didn't really get to experience what Shibuya was all about. We decided to check out some museums there, and stumbles across the Tokyo Museum of Electricity. This is where i found this little toy dog robot! What was really cool about this robot is that on a large screen behind it, it would display what the dog was looking at. So when he barked and looked at me, the screen would show my face smiling back at him. It was really cool.
There were tons of other things there too, interesting science fair type experiments, little movies playing information about global warming and how nulcear energy can be more efficient than gas/ electric. Everything was in Japanese, and I got the feeling that this museum was more for young kids than university students, but Niomi and I had a gas while we were there.
4/3/09
checking out night life in downtown tokyo, and preparing for school
classes still haven't started, which is awesome. so I've been traveling around Tokyo and going out as much as i can before academics kick in.
I've been back to shibuya a few times, and I went out with some other international students who go to a different university in Tokyo. we had an absolute blast of a night- which didn't end until the first train home in the morning! we went to this place where there was hiyaku en beers (100 yen/beer!) and then we went to a very small club and danced away all night. it was great to see the night life here, its pretty wild!
I had no idea coming here what alcohol was going to be like, but i was surprised when i found out that you can buy alcohol in any convenient store for very cheap, and you can drink it when you walk around! (although this is very taboo, at 3 in the morning people are partying all over the streets!) i was completely shocked, as this is so different from Canada and BC more particularly where liquor is expensive, you can't just drink it outside and you have to go to a liquor store to get it. its interesting
recently, my building started to provide meals for us (lunch and dinner), which is really nice since i was spending so much money on food during the very beginning of my trip. i couldn't help but laugh when i walked downstairs at 7:30 in the morning to find that the "western" breakfast they were serving was hamburgers! i think its because in japan, you eat the same things you would eat for dinner as you do when you eat breakfast. rice is served at every meal, and usually fish and miso soup. i guess the western concept of "breakfast foods" doesn't really translate here. needless to say I've been eating a lot of rice here (A LOT of rice...) and its really good. i am a master at chop sticks now and some of my Japanese friends even compliment me! haha its so cute. there is no juice or milk or anything like that, there is a large water dispenser which outputs cold water, hot water and of course, green tea. I've been drinking lots of tea since I've arrived and I've really developed a taste for the green tea here. its much different than the type of green tea we get in Canada, since its a power that you add to the water, not a tea bag. i found it entertaining that even the water dispensers have green tea, they love the stuff here!
i went to a museum the other day with two friends in the middle of the city. the museum is called the "Mori" museum and its absolutely spectacular. i didn't get the chance to go into the gallery, but i did go up to what they call the "Observatory" floor. the museum is a massive skyscraper in the heart of Tokyo- right near Tokyo tower, and its 53 stories high. the observatory floor is the 52nd floor, and from floor to ceiling, 360 degrees around it is windows. you can only imagine the view of the city. Naomi, Ning and I arrived at the perfect time, just before sun set! so we got the privilege of watching the sun set over the city and watch as the city lights emerged turning Tokyo into hundreds of buzzing neon lights as far as the eye can see. i have never lived in a large city, or spent much time in a city for that matter and the feeling i got when i was on that floor was indescribable. on one hand i felt on top of the world, looking down casually over the immense city, but then on the other hand i felt extremely insignificant in the larger scheme of things. there are millions of people in Tokyo, some train stations deal with more than 15 million people per day (shibuya station woo!) and trying to wrap my head around that is next to impossible. i laughed and told my friends that where i live, the trees are the size of the skyscrapers.
I'm really excited for classes to start. I'm feeling very motivated and interested in all of the classes I've picked. each student must take at least 7 courses, and being the over zealous keener i am I'm thinking of registering for 10-11 classes. there are just so many awesome classes to choose from that i couldn't decide! i had a meeting with my academic advisor while I'm here and she thought i was hilarious. she really appreciated my enthusiasm for classes, and even suggested that she introduce me to one of the head literature professors at keio so that i can do some independent study for credit! how awesome is that? i get to pick what i want to read, read it, and report back to this amazingly intelligent woman and basically discuss once a week what i think about the literature. I'm choosing to focus on 20th century American literature, so i hope to cover some novels as well as poetry. i guess I'll find out more once i start! I'm also taking Japanese literature classes (taught in English duh) and some Japanese politics classes. I'm really excited. there is a class I'm looking into on Japanese art history, and another one about Japanese Buddhism. i have to maybe try to cut down a class or two, but luckily at keio they have a "trail week" where you can attend as many classes as you want and then the following week you register for your class. this is because you have to ask the professors blessing to take their class (a respect thing) and the process can be difficult. luckily all of my classes are okay to just sign up for without discussing with the professors first, and they are all offered in English. i was also told that class sizes will be very small (around 8 people) so I'm really looking forward to it!
I've been back to shibuya a few times, and I went out with some other international students who go to a different university in Tokyo. we had an absolute blast of a night- which didn't end until the first train home in the morning! we went to this place where there was hiyaku en beers (100 yen/beer!) and then we went to a very small club and danced away all night. it was great to see the night life here, its pretty wild!
I had no idea coming here what alcohol was going to be like, but i was surprised when i found out that you can buy alcohol in any convenient store for very cheap, and you can drink it when you walk around! (although this is very taboo, at 3 in the morning people are partying all over the streets!) i was completely shocked, as this is so different from Canada and BC more particularly where liquor is expensive, you can't just drink it outside and you have to go to a liquor store to get it. its interesting
recently, my building started to provide meals for us (lunch and dinner), which is really nice since i was spending so much money on food during the very beginning of my trip. i couldn't help but laugh when i walked downstairs at 7:30 in the morning to find that the "western" breakfast they were serving was hamburgers! i think its because in japan, you eat the same things you would eat for dinner as you do when you eat breakfast. rice is served at every meal, and usually fish and miso soup. i guess the western concept of "breakfast foods" doesn't really translate here. needless to say I've been eating a lot of rice here (A LOT of rice...) and its really good. i am a master at chop sticks now and some of my Japanese friends even compliment me! haha its so cute. there is no juice or milk or anything like that, there is a large water dispenser which outputs cold water, hot water and of course, green tea. I've been drinking lots of tea since I've arrived and I've really developed a taste for the green tea here. its much different than the type of green tea we get in Canada, since its a power that you add to the water, not a tea bag. i found it entertaining that even the water dispensers have green tea, they love the stuff here!
i went to a museum the other day with two friends in the middle of the city. the museum is called the "Mori" museum and its absolutely spectacular. i didn't get the chance to go into the gallery, but i did go up to what they call the "Observatory" floor. the museum is a massive skyscraper in the heart of Tokyo- right near Tokyo tower, and its 53 stories high. the observatory floor is the 52nd floor, and from floor to ceiling, 360 degrees around it is windows. you can only imagine the view of the city. Naomi, Ning and I arrived at the perfect time, just before sun set! so we got the privilege of watching the sun set over the city and watch as the city lights emerged turning Tokyo into hundreds of buzzing neon lights as far as the eye can see. i have never lived in a large city, or spent much time in a city for that matter and the feeling i got when i was on that floor was indescribable. on one hand i felt on top of the world, looking down casually over the immense city, but then on the other hand i felt extremely insignificant in the larger scheme of things. there are millions of people in Tokyo, some train stations deal with more than 15 million people per day (shibuya station woo!) and trying to wrap my head around that is next to impossible. i laughed and told my friends that where i live, the trees are the size of the skyscrapers.
I'm really excited for classes to start. I'm feeling very motivated and interested in all of the classes I've picked. each student must take at least 7 courses, and being the over zealous keener i am I'm thinking of registering for 10-11 classes. there are just so many awesome classes to choose from that i couldn't decide! i had a meeting with my academic advisor while I'm here and she thought i was hilarious. she really appreciated my enthusiasm for classes, and even suggested that she introduce me to one of the head literature professors at keio so that i can do some independent study for credit! how awesome is that? i get to pick what i want to read, read it, and report back to this amazingly intelligent woman and basically discuss once a week what i think about the literature. I'm choosing to focus on 20th century American literature, so i hope to cover some novels as well as poetry. i guess I'll find out more once i start! I'm also taking Japanese literature classes (taught in English duh) and some Japanese politics classes. I'm really excited. there is a class I'm looking into on Japanese art history, and another one about Japanese Buddhism. i have to maybe try to cut down a class or two, but luckily at keio they have a "trail week" where you can attend as many classes as you want and then the following week you register for your class. this is because you have to ask the professors blessing to take their class (a respect thing) and the process can be difficult. luckily all of my classes are okay to just sign up for without discussing with the professors first, and they are all offered in English. i was also told that class sizes will be very small (around 8 people) so I'm really looking forward to it!
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