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    • September
      • Sentou - Public Bath
        09/30/07
        The hot water is broken here, and now that it's gotten colder (yes, it's actually gotten colder!) I don't much like the idea of a cold shower. My host mom didn't either, and so she suggested we go to a public bath house.

        OKAY.

        I decided to not be chicken abo

      • Japanese TV
        09/25/07
        For anybody who's seen Japanese TV, you know that it's not quite the same as in the States. They love variety shows and their weird as heck comedy stars.

        One such comedy star is Kojima Yoshio. He shows up in a speedo and does a hilarious little song/dance number. XD Even without

      • Lost
        09/24/07
        Not the TV show (although that apparently airs on one of the super special cable channels here). I actually got lost yesterday.

        I went down to Osaka with Laura to meet up with a friend who had done an exchange at Carleton (yes, a Nihonjin). We barely recognized each other, it's been

      • Crabby Houdini :(
        09/22/07
        My prediction came true. Crabby Houdini was found dead this morning. Old age? Malnutrition? Only an autopsy can tell.

        ........ actually, now I kind of do want to autopsy him. Hmmmmm.


        AND, so that you have something fun to think about! When I first got to Japan and was doi

      • Saturday! + RIP
        09/22/07
        Today was kind of... eventful and uneventful at the same time.

        My host mom invited me to a concert that she was going to with her friends. Before that, we stopped by a temple.

        What I've noticed about temples here is that they are outdoorsy? The Judeo-Christian religions ar

      • Bureaucracy
        09/18/07
        Much like in Germany, Japanese bureaucracy can get to be a pain. Yesterday I decided to invest in a bus pass (which only covers my school route and nothing else, dammit), and I was turned away. They told me that I needed a certain blue paper. Of some sort. Evidence of commute, as it were.

      • Weekend (shopping + museums)
        09/18/07
        It was a long weekend, which means I had monday off (day for respecting elders or some-such). Friday I had Laura come over and stay at my place, Okaasan made okonomiyaki~ Well, rather, everybody made okonomiyaki themselves, because that is the point of okonomiyaki. It literally means something like

      • Crabby Houdini + Ohayou Gozaimasu
        09/13/07
        When I went down to breakfast this morning, one of the crabs had somehow, miraculously, managed to climb to the top of the cage. Not to say he got out, there's a lid with airholes definitely not wide enough for a crabby of his size to escape, but he was clinging to the roof of the lid upside do

      • Waraji to kani
        09/12/07
        Last Sunday, my host mom had some of the neighborhood people over for a craft session. One of the women had apparently mastered the art of making Waraji, a style of traditional slippers, and was going to show the rest of us how to make them.

        It is, in fact, very, very hard to do.
      • Nara
        09/10/07
        DISCLAIMER: All of these photos are Laura's, because I'm too lazy to upload mine.

        I went to Nara on Saturday with Laura and two Japanese girls. Well, rather, Laura and I went to Nara, and we met my speaking partner and her friend there. Yuri was smart and brought a friend who sp

      • Takoyaki
        09/06/07
        Yesterday we had a little mini party! Yuujirou, the already-moved-out son, came with his family (wife and two kids). Apparently he quite suddenly claimed to have a craving for Takoyaki.

        The "tako" in Takoyaki means "octopus." "Yaki" means friend/grilled/baked

      • Cellphones
        09/06/07
        I headed down to city hall yesterday to apply for my alien registration card. My host sister and I biked there, avoiding the busy roads, and I feel a lot steadier on the bike now, although I still panic a bit when a car/other people are coming at us. I really should get a helmet if I plan to do this

      • School + Food
        09/04/07
        Had my first day of classes yesterday. Because it was a tuesday, it included all of my classes. Everyday I've got a different schedule, it's kind of annoying. Anyway, Japanese 5 seems to be okay for me. I think I can manage this, despite the sensei giving me the interview saying everybody

      • Japanese class + Homestay
        09/02/07
        I know I mentioned it before, but I'm sure people just skimmed over it ;)
        I got into Spoken Japanese Lv 5, although I was told this might be a bit tough for me. That's okay, these past couple of years have just been simple repetition for me, and I want to finally learn something new.

      • Shopping in Hirakata
        09/01/07
        I went shopping with Laura yesterday. We hopped down to the Hirakata station, quickly finding a Karaoke place. The attendants there were kind of laughing at us, I think, but it's okay. We had fun anyway although we really need to expand our repetoire of songs.

        After that, we wandered

      • Kyoto Photos
        09/01/07
        All right, I promised photos, and here are some (but not all.)



        This is the temple, Kiyomizu, from a little ways inside. It's really high up on the mountains. Getting there was a hassle, but I'm glad we did.



        Washing my hands in holy water! The d

    • August